A Hero's Dirty Work (Villain Deku / Vigilante Deku au)

The Date

Michi held Eri on his shoulders, and she looked around with that almost-smile on her face. Between Shoto and Denki today, he really hoped a real smile would come out. Shoto because he was so sincere in everything he did, and the way he interacted with people would mean a lot to Eri. Denki because, well, he was Denki. That kid was hilarious.

"Do you like your new clothes?" he asked her. She hummed happily.

"I love them. They make me so pretty!"

"Well, they are very pretty, but not as pretty as you," Michi corrected. "Remember, make sure to call me Michi. If you accidentally called me by my other name, that would be bad."

Eri nodded determinedly, not wanting to let her big brother down. "I'm just going to call you big brother anyway," she said. "I like calling you that."

"I like it when you call me that too, Eri-berry. It makes me happy. By the way, I'm proud of you! You're doing so well with so many people around," Michi praised.

"Well, if I get overwhelmed I can just think about how happy I am that you don't have those bandages anymore, and I feel all better," she said. Michi smiled.

"We're almost there," he said, and she squirmed in excitement. They'd decided to meet for dinner at a small cafe near the school, and the others were probably already there; Michi and Eri were running a bit late, but that was okay.

"Michi!" Denki called in excitement, running over to him. "You're here! Oh, and that must be Eri! How are you, Eri?"

"I'm doing okay," she said. Her voice sounded a bit small, but she met his eyes and everything.

"So, Eri. Did your brother tell you about how he promised not to help set me up with Jiro, but then he did anyway?" Denki asked her, lowering his voice and glancing back towards the others as they walked towards them.

"No," she said, his antics making her light up with the closest thing to a smile Michi had seen yet. He knew this was a good idea.

"Well, he did. Can you believe that? You should tell him to be nicer to me," Denki said, giving her a sneaky little wink.

"Be nicer to electric boy," Eri said to Michi. He pouted at her.

"You're already on his side?" Michi protested. "It's only been like three seconds!"

"Yes, but I like him," Eri said, nodding. Denki beamed, and Michi smiled at him.

"Can I hold you?" Denki asked tentatively. "It's okay if you want to stay with your brother, but I think it could be fun."

Eri hesitated, but only for a minute. "Okay," she decided. She held out her arms, and Denki smiled from ear to ear as he scooped her up and set her on his hip.

"Hi, you guys!" Mina said as they got closer. Shoto, Kyoka, and Momo were standing around and looking a bit awkward, honestly, but they did look excited. Even Shoto, though it was hard to tell. 

"Hey, how's it going?" Michi said with a grin. "Guys, this is my little sister, Eri. Eri, this is Shoto, Momo, Kyoka, Mina, and electric boy's name is Denki."

"Hi, Eri! Nice to meet you!" Momo said, giving her a little wave.

"How come Denki already gets to hold her?" Kyoka protested. "I thought we were supposed to give her some space."

"Yeah, but we're best friends now," Denki said, getting Eri to give him a fist-bump. "So it doesn't count for me. Right, Eri?" She bobbed her head up and down, agreeing with him.

Shoto, of course, came forward to give her a little handshake. "Hello," he said to her, his eyes wide. As the youngest in his family, Michi wasn't sure how much he'd really interacted with kids before. "Michi's told me a lot about you, but you're even more adorable than he said," Shoto told her.