Eraserhead and Scribe III

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Umm...Scribe? There's someone here to see you." Chelsea sounded hesitant.

Scribe looked up from her perch on the window seat in her apartment. It was the only place she could count on—in the small apartment above the bookstore, at least—to consistently get sunlight. And something in her needed the light. "Who is it?" She didn't really care, because she knew it wasn't him. She knew where he was, and it wasn't there.

For answer, Chelsea stepped aside and All Might's tall, thin figure filled the doorway. "I am here, Scribe."

She couldn't help smiling. "Good morning, Toshi. Come in and have some tea?"

Toshinori Yagi, the retired All Might, might weigh less than she did, she thought, but he still seemed to fill a room with his presence. He stepped inside, a little stooped over to accommodate the sloped roof of her apartment, and she rose to give him a hug. His arms enveloped her for a moment, and she leaned against him with a sigh. "It's so good to see you, Toshi."

"It is good to see you, too, Scribe." He stepped back. "I hope you are well."

"As well as—" She broke off, lowering her gaze. "I am well, thank you."

"I didn't come at Aizawa's behest, Scribe. I hope you know that."

She barely smiled, turning away from him. "I never thought you had."

He caught her hand as she turned. "But he misses you. He's...not himself."

"Who is?" She raised her eyebrows, looking over her shoulder at him. "I never should have come back to Japan." And left half my heart there.

He heaved a deep sigh. Then he nodded as if resigned. "You mentioned tea?"

"It's herbal." She walked past him to the kitchenette. "I don't have green."

"I'll take what I can get." He sank onto the overstuffed couch, looking around. She watched him curiously over the counter. He idly picked up a book and studied the cover for a moment, then set it aside with an air of purpose when she returned with two cups of tea and handed him one. "I've come to ask you to return to Japan with me."

She took a seat across from him. "You know I can't do that, Toshi."

"Why?" He waved his hands a little wildly, sloshing hot tea onto his hand.

She handed him a napkin. "It's just too much. When...when I recovered from the...the coma...I thought we could go back to what we were, me and Shota. But I always felt like he was waiting, wondering if...when...my feelings for Tomura would resurface." She dropped her gaze, her voice very low. "And I couldn't even tell him they weren't there."

He set aside his tea and put both hands on hers. "Scribe, none of us blame you for what happened. Not me, not Aizawa, not the kids." Her breath hitched when he mentioned the kids. She tried not to think about them and how she'd left them in the middle of the school year. He tightened his grasp on her hands for a moment, then released her. "They're all okay, by the way. Proceeding with training as scheduled. Aizawa has kept them on a strict regimen. He has not neglected his duties as their teacher for a moment."

"Not like me." She half smiled, then let it go. "Toshi, have you considered what would happen if I went back? Would he...do you think...we can't just go back to how it was. I know that." She winced, remembering the arguments and chilliness of how it had been between them. They'd been totally unable to discuss anything close to what she had been through. Because I always stopped him when we got close to talking about Tomura. Because I couldn't face what I felt.