Heroes, Vigilantes, and Villains

Chapter nine

"Mister," the doctor said, turning away from Eri to look at me, "can we talk outside?"

I could see Eri gripping at the sheets on the bed. "I'll be right outside the curtain," I assured her. "It won't take long. Don't touch anything sharp, I don't want you to hurt yourself."

The girl nodded again before swinging her legs slightly as she sat on the edge of the bed.

I followed the doctor out of the small room. We walked down the hall just a bit, so that Eri couldn't hear us talk about her.

The doctor sighed heavily, dragging his hand down his face. "She's not sick in any way. I don't think the girl has even come in contact with many things that could make her sick during her life. It's highly likely that she was kept in a very sterile environment," the doctor explained. He seemed to know that I'm not the brother or guardian of the girl, and that I haven't had her for long. "She's malnourished and has scars all over her body. It's highly likely that she was being used as some sort of test subject."

I couldn't help but sigh. I'd expected something like this since I found her.

Damn it...

"Do you know what her quirk is?" The doctor asked. I shook my head no. "It's highly likely that her quirk was why they were using her."

"She wasn't experimented on, but her DNA was used for experiments is what you're saying?"

"Most likely, yes. It's probable that her quirk is dangerous to living organisms or could be made to be so."

It's probably connected to that horn of her's.

I couldn't help but sigh again. "Okay... what is it that you want in return for this?"

The doctor shook his head no. "I don't charge for these types of things. But we're going to have to admit her to a quirk facility until we figure out what her quirk is."

"I- okay..." I whispered, not seeing any other options. It's not like I have the resources to take care of her the way that they would be able to. If her quirk starts up and she can't control it, they have the means to cancel it, I don't.

I really, really, didn't like the idea of sending her to one of those places. I've seen the way that people treat those different from them in this society. I know the way that Hitoshi is treated at school. I don't want to send an already hurting girl to a facility that might hurt her more if her quirk does prove to be dangerous.

"Kid,"the doctor called, pulling me out of my thoughts. "It's one of the good ones. I would send any of the kids that come through here to a place that would only make them suffer more than they already have. You'll even be able to visit her daily."

"Okay," I told him with more surety. "I'll tell her myself."

The doctor nodded. I walked back to Eri's room, finding the girl playing with the him of her dress.

I need to buy her some actual clothes.

I sat down on the bed next to Eri, swinging my legs in time with her's. She looked at me sadly. "Are you sending me away now that you know who I am?" She asked quietly.

I shook my head no, causing the girl to look directly at me. I ignored this sudden change and continued to look at our swinging feet. "I'm sending you somewhere to teach you control of your quirk, but I'll visit every single day. If you want me to. It has nothing to do with what's happened, what's been done, to you."

"I'm cursed," Eri whispered.

I shook my head no. "No, you're not. But if you're not ready to believe differently right now, then we can be cursed together."

I finally looked at the girl.

"Don't look at me like that."

The girl's eyes were shining at me. She was looking at me the way that people looked at heroes on the street. It's not a look that I deserve to have directed at me.

The girl seemed to find this amusing as she kicked her feet with a little more energy.

"Thank you for saving me," she whispered.

I wanted to tell the girl that I just helped her like anyone who saw the situation should have, but I didn't want to kill her good mood.

—-

I called my mom on the way to the nearest clothing store and explained the situation, omitting some of the more dangerous details. The doctor had given Eri some shoes and an old dress for her to wear, but the quirk facility actually lets their patients wear the clothes that they bring with them, so we needed to buy some before we could take her.

The girl never smiled as we walked, but I could tell that she was in a good mood as she held onto my hand while we walked. She was swinging our connected arms and looking around at everything around us. I made sure to keep to the less busy streets so as to not overload Eri.

Mom joined us at the first store. She looked at Eri like she was the cutest thing that she'd seen in years. We got her seven outfits and a couple pairs of pajamas along with the other basic necessities before taking her to the facility. I snuck some of my own things into the mix.

I watched Eri closely, to make sure she was alright during everything. She seemed wary of my mother, sticking closer to my side once she showed up, but she didn't seem to hate her. It was because I was watching her that I saw the way that the girl's eyes lit up when we walked past a bakery. I taped mom on the shoulder before leading us in.

"You can pick one of anything you want, my treat," I told her, putting the girl that I'd been carrying down so she could look around.

She looked around before hesitantly pointing to something shiny and red. Candy Apple. I got her two, one for now and one for when I get to visit her. I saw my mom smile as she watched the light blue haired girl eat the sweet.

I guess I have a little sister now.

—-

That night I threw on the dark green hoodie and black goggles that I bought during the outing and snuck out my window.