Secrets Skin Deep

New Family?

The ride to the police station was quiet. Reika had fallen asleep halfway through the drive, her body was exhausted and couldn't stay awake any longer. When they reached the station, Eraserhead carefully got out, ensuring she was secure before making his way into the building behind the chief.

They make their way past the office before entering a small break room. They decided this was more comfortable for Reika than an interrogation room. Eraserhead gently laid Reika down on the couch before grabbing a cup of coffee from the stand. He turns to the door when Tsukauchi enters the room.

"How is she doing?" Tsukauchi asks, also grabbing a cup of coffee. The two adults sit at the table and glance at the sleeping child. "I think she was more upset at losing the game than seeing her parents being taken away. I'm not sure she fully understands the situation. I'm waiting for her to wake up before I tell her."

The two men sit in silence, drinking their coffee while they wait for Reika to wake up. It didn't take long before they noticed her starting to wake up.

Reika sits up slowly, using one hand to push herself up, and the other to try and brush her hair out of her face. "Mr. Sketchy? Where am I?" She asks, finally spotting the same man from earlier sitting with another man. 'Mr. Sketchy' leans forward slightly, putting his coffee down. "You're at the police station. I'll tell you more about why, but I think introductions are long overdue by now. My name is Aizawa Shota. I'm an underground hero who goes by the name Eraserhead. This is Tsukauchi Naomasa, a detective here at the police force. And finally,-" Aizawa is cut off as the door opens, revealing a dog/man.

"My name is Tsuragamae Kenji, I'm the police chief." Tsuragamae walks to the table that the other two adults are sitting at. "And you are here because your parents have been arrested, leaving you with nowhere to go for now. This brings us to our next issue, who is going to take care of you? Do you know if you have any other family members?"

Reika looks around at the men before lowering her head. "No, only Mama and Papa." The chief sighs lowly before sitting down. "Then I assume we'll have to place you in a care facility until we can find a permanent place for you to go." Reika looks up at them sadly before her eyes dart to Aizawa. "Can't I stay with Mr. S- uh, Mr. Aizawa? He's the only person I know, and I don't wanna go somewhere I'll be alone."

Tsuragamae looks at her sadly, "I'm afraid that's not going to-" "I'll do it." Aizawa cuts him off. Everyone turns to look at him with a surprised face. Aizawa wasn't exactly known for liking children, let alone taking care of them. "She already has a comfort with me, it wouldn't be smart to take that from her and place her somewhere by herself. Especially since everything happened to her so suddenly, it could send her into a shocked state or hurt her mental health even worse. I can take care of her."

"Are you sure Shota, taking care of a kid is a big responsibility. Are you ready for that added onto your plate?" Tsukauchi asks, the concern for his friend written clearly on his face. "I'm sure, besides, I deal with kids all the time. What's one more?" He meets Reika's eyes and tells himself that for her, he'd do anything. He didn't know why exactly he became so protective of the kid, especially since he barely met her the day before. However, for some reason, when he said that, he knew in his gut that it was the right thing to do.

Everyone sits in silence for a minute, thinking it over. "Fine then, I'll have the office print out the paperwork for you to fill out, and then we can move forward from there." The words had barely left the chief's mouth before Reika jumped up and ran into Aizawa's lap, hugging him close.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Her little body jumped with joy. "That's settled then. Come to the office when you get a chance and we can fill everything out. I'll leave the rest to you." The chief says, a chuckle in his tone. "Tsukauchi, can you come with me to finish filing the paperwork for today?" Aizawa watched as the two walked out of the room, giving them a nod in thanks before focusing on the child still clinging to him.

Adjusting his hold on the child, he brings her to face him. "Reika, do you understand what this means? Like fully understand. You won't be with your parents anymore, I'll be your guardian." Reika sits back, looking up at him. "Uh-huh. Mama and Papa always told me if we lost the game they'd go into time out and someone else would have to take care of me. I trust you, Mr. Aizawa."

Aizawa smiles at the kid before standing up, holding her against his hip as he does. "Well then, let's get this paperwork over and go home. I'm tired, and I'm sure you are too." Reika shakes her head, sniffling a yawn behind her hands. "Nu-uh. I'm not tired. I could stay up for hours more." Aizawa looks at her through the corner of his eyes. Seeing her own eyes dropping with exhaustion. "Sure kiddo, whatever you say."

The two make their way out of the room, and into the office area, where the desk lady hands him a stack of papers. Aizawa gently sets Reika down on a chair before going over and beginning to fill out the paperwork. Once he's done, he turns back to Reika, seeing her completely passed out, lying sideways in the small chair. He gently scoops her back into his arms before exiting the station.

Tsuragamae had arranged a ride for them back to Aizawa's house. As he settles into the backseat, he holds Reika close to him. He knew this was going to be a challenging time, being a hero, teacher, and parental figure. However, Aizawa was never one to back down when something was hard. And he promised himself he would help her, so help her he would.

"Don't worry kid, you're safe now."

Word Count: 1070