"Eri, right?" Unknown blinked down at the girl.
Big red eyes stared back as she nodded.
Unknown remained still for a moment. She opened the door a bit wider, leaning out to glance up and down the hallway, but saw no one else. She leaned back, again looking down at the unaccompanied girl, and slowly crouched to meet her at eye level.
"Are you... lost?"
Eri shook her head.
"Ok... were you looking for me?"
Eri nodded, a small smile appearing on her face as she reached out to take Unknown's hand in hers. "Hi!" she greeted softly.
"...hi. Do you... want to come in?"
Receiving a quick nod, Unknown blinked once more before standing up and moving aside to let the girl in. Still a bit puzzled, she closed the door, turning to Eri who now stood a few steps in front of her. She noticed the girl looked quite different from the last time she saw her during the raid on Shie Hassaikai. She looked well, now wearing a red overall dress atop a collared shirt instead of the plain, ill-fitting cloth dress she remembered seeing her in during her time at the base. Her arms and legs were no longer bandaged, and the small smile she wore told her she was doing much better.
"Oh, sorry," Unknown shifted apologetically as she caught herself staring. "So... why were you looking for me?"
Eri played with her hands behind her back, smiling with a tinge of embarrassment. "I heard you were here and I wanted to see you," she uttered softly, cheeks flushing a light pink.
Unknown wasn't quite sure how to respond, instead simply nodding uncertainly. "Well... it's nice to see you again. I'm glad you're doing better." She hesitated, abruptly recalling how bad she was with children, "...do you want something to play with?"
Upon receiving an enthusiastic nod, Unknown shuffled over to pull the large cloth bag from underneath her bed. She remembered receiving a few stuffed animals for her supposed birthday that one time, quickly finding one and freeing it from the confines of the bag. It was a rather cute penguin plush, standing about a foot tall and cartoonishly plump with short little arms at its side. Eri instantly lit up as she saw the plush, stepping forward and carefully taking hold of it as the older girl held it out to her. She squeezed it experimentally, marveling at the soft material as she squished it a few more times, the penguin bouncing back to its original shape after each press.
Unknown soon found herself sat on the floor with Eri as the girl enthusiastically played with the stuffed animal along with two others she had brought out from the bag. With a bit of questioning, she eventually found out Eri was living at the school now, having been moved here following her own hospital release. She didn't speak all that much, it seemed, making it a bit difficult to glean any significant detail on the situation, but Unknown could tell she was quite happy. From what she could gather, the girl was very fond of Aizawa and the students, including a few who she guessed were from other classes, considering she didn't recognize their names: someone named Mirio who would often come play with her, someone named Nejire who would braid her hair, someone named Tamaki who brought her apples and had a "really cool" quirk.
"And we had lots of Christmas decorations too! The tree was big and pretty, and I got presents!"
"That's nice. What did you get?"
"A really big sword!"
"...is that so?"
"Mhm! Mr. Aizawa said you were in the hospital before- did you have Christmas in the hospital?"
"I don't think so, no."
"Oh, that's ok! They put the decorations away already, but they'll put them up again next year!"
"That's nice."
A pleasant silence settled as Eri combed through the penguin's short fur, gently dragging her fingertips across the plush fabric. After she was satisfied with her work, she smiled, hugging it tightly before setting it beside her, turning her attention to a round frog plush next.
"Hey, Eri," Unknown spoke up after a long moment, drawing the girl's curious eyes up to her, "...are you supposed to be talking to me?"
"What do you mean?" Eri tilted her head.
"Well, you know I'm dangerous, right?"
The girl blinked, her hands stilling to rest atop the frog's head. She seemed to consider something for a moment, her gaze lowering a fraction before she resumed her gentle strokes across the stuffed animal. "My quirk is dangerous too. That's why Mr. Aizawa has to take care of me here," she started, her smile momentarily slipping before it quickly returned, even brighter than before. "If you're not scared of me, then I'm not scared of you either!"
Unknown was about to open her mouth to explain how that really wasn't how it worked, but upon seeing the childish joy beaming from the little girl, the kind of joy she couldn't quite recall feeling at her age, she opted instead to simply return the smile, albeit a bit more muted.
"Ok, I just don't want you to get in any trouble."
Eri remained cheerfully distracted for a few more hours, in the process managing to rope a very confused Unknown into playing house with her, before a quiet buzz sounded from behind them, catching both their attentions. The older girl excused herself for a moment as she set down the plush that had been sitting on her lap, standing up and moving to check on the phone laying atop her desk.
"Are you ok?" Eri asked curiously, peeping up from her spot on the floor.
"Yea, I'm fine. Eraserhead just asked if you were here. I think he's looking for you," she mused, tapping out a reply as she made her way back towards the girl. She sat down and set the plush onto her lap once more, placing her phone aside. "He says he's coming by in a minute."
Eri let out a quiet "oh" before returning her gaze to the penguin in her hands. She resumed playing with the plush, although for some reason, she seemed a bit uneasy.
Not five minutes later, a knock sounded at the door, prompting Unknown to rise from her spot once again.
"Eraser," she greeted as she stepped aside to give him view of Eri, whose attention was already turned to the pair.
"Eri, didn't I tell you to wait until I was back to come visit?" Aizawa sighed, appearing tired as always.
"Sorry..." the girl uttered softly, climbing to her feet and shuffling over to the two, still hugging the penguin to her chest. Her big red eyes stared up at him apologetically. "I got excited... please don't be mad at Naoko," she urged, gently grabbing onto his sleeve.
Aizawa sighed, using his free hand to softly ruffle her hair. "It's alright, just go back to your room for now. You can visit again when I come back from work, alright?"
Eri nodded eagerly, her nervousness all but melting away as she turned back to Unknown. She hugged the penguin one last time, smiling down at it softly before holding it out to her.
"You can keep it," Unknown offered, though she wasn't expecting the girl to practically light up at her words, eyes widening and shimmering with wonder as they blinked up at her.
"Really?" she asked, a wide grin overtaking her features.
"Sure, go ahead."
A tiny, delighted gasp escaped from the girl as she quickly took a step forward, one arm still holding the plush while the other squeezed tightly around Unknown, a string of excited "thank you"s spilling from her. Unknown hesitated for a moment, glancing down in surprise before slowly moving to pat her on the back, her other hand gently removing the girl's arm from around her and taking half a step back.
"It was nice seeing you again Eri," she smiled faintly. "You should go back to your room now. I'll... see you around?"
Eri nodded enthusiastically, both arms wrapped around her new plush as she looked up at Aizawa.
"Go ahead. Wait for me by the door," he patted her on the head, sending her off with an encouraging nod. The girl smiled once more and obediently slipped past him, waving back at Unknown and bidding her goodbye before cheerfully running off down the hallway.
"That was nice of you," Aizawa mused as he watched the little girl slip into the elevator, returning her wave just before the doors closed in front of her.
"I never liked stuffed animals. The Manager always gave them to us as rewards," she shrugged. "Besides, I'm not using it anyways."
"Did anything happen while she was here?"
"No. She's perfectly alive, as you can see."
"That's not what I mean. Do you know what her quirk is?"
"I heard a few things while I was with Shie Hassaikai. As you can see, I'm alive too, un-rewinded and everything."
"You're taking all this quite well."
"Thank you."
"I'm being serious. You seem to have adjusted quickly."
"Well, it's definitely nice to be out of that place. Oh, and... I forgot to thank you, for everything you did."
"No need, I was just doing my job."
"...right. Well anyway, you should probably be getting back to that class of yours, don't you think? Your lunch break is almost over," she mused, glancing down at the time on her phone.
"Right, I'll be going then. Take care of yourself, Unknown."
"Jeez, no need to sound so formal, Eraser. I'll see you around."
_______________________________________________
The days continued on in Heights Alliance much as they always had; the chatter was lively, filled with banter and games and the scent of cooking at mealtimes. Schoolwork was rigorous and hero work even more so, the class of twenty continuing towards their dreams of becoming pro-heroes while also enjoying the journey to its full. It was hard, rewarding work, and Heights Alliance was their refuge from the stress and worry of such a demanding schedule. The only difference now was the presence of a specter in their midst.
Their newest housemate was like a ghost: silent, elusive, and seen by few. Haunting the second-floor girls' hall, Unknown had only been glimpsed a handful of times slipping in and out of her room, retreating from sight a mere moment later. The only people who had the interest, or bravery, as some thought of it, to interact with her were Uraraka, Midoriya, and Eri. Midoriya had dropped by twice to ask if she was alright and if there was anything he could do for her, to which she of course denied, thanking him for his thoughtfulness. Eri came by to play quite often, mostly during the evenings or weekends when Aizawa was there to supervise, but sometimes she came alone as well, making Unknown promise not to tell the hero before cheerfully pulling her into playing some game or another. The older girl didn't always know how the games worked, such as "cat's cradle" or "marbles," but Eri was always eager to teach her as best she could. Unknown wasn't particularly good with children, but she liked her enough to make an effort.
"Eri, how's that penguin toy doing?"
"Good! I named him Snowflake because he lives in the snow!"
"Fitting."
Sometimes, however, Unknown's curiosity got the best of her, and she would ask some off-handed questions that she usually expected too much from.
"Eri, what do you think my name is?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Why do you call me Naoko?"
"Because everyone else calls you that, right?"
"Well, in a way, I suppose, but my name is Unknown."
"But that's just your other name, right? Like how people call Mr. Aizawa 'Eraserhead?' I like your real name more!"
"That's not... well, nevermind. Forget what I said."
"Oh, ok. Look! I finished! If you unfold it, the people are holding hands!"
Thanks to Eri, Unknown now had an assortment of trinkets and crafts the girl had gifted her. She said the room would look prettier if it was decorated, and since then had been earnestly creating decorations to fill all the empty space. Two chains of paper men were taped on the wall next to the door, a number of crayon drawings filled the formerly blank space around the bed, dozens of little origami figures sat atop the dresser, and the edges of the desk were lined with rolled handicraft flowers. It was cute, in a way, and Unknown didn't have the heart to reject the girl's little presents, so she opted to let her do as she pleased.
Besides Eri, there was only one person that frequented the second-floor girls' wing. Uraraka brought Unknown dinner every night, usually after everyone else had dispersed from the common area. Over the weeks, Uraraka had become much less nervous in her brief exchanges with the other girl, though she never stayed very long, always quickly excusing herself after delivering the plate or tray of whatever they had made that night. She must still have been at least a bit anxious, or perhaps uncomfortable, as Unknown could hardly ever get a word in before the girl was hurrying back down the hall. Unknown assumed she felt some sort of responsibility for her, having been the main advocate in bringing her here in the first place, and while she appreciated the effort, she wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.
"You don't have to do this, you know," Unknown stated quietly, glancing down at the large bowl held up to her.
"What do you mean?" Uraraka tilted her head in surprise. The girl hardly ever spoke anything beyond a "thank you" during their quick encounters so far, catching her a bit off guard.
"I can get my own food- you don't need to bring it to me all the time. I don't want to be a bother."
"No! It's not a bother at all! I know you might not want to run into... certain people just yet, I don't want you to feel pressured to come downstairs if it makes you uncomfortable or anything, so I thought I could help out a little. It's nothing really! I don't mind at all!" She flashed a small smile, and Unknown saw it was genuine, if not a bit nervous.
"Thank you," she uttered after a momentary pause, gently taking the bowl from her hands.
"No problem! It's curry chicken- I hope you like it! Um, well, I'll just be going now!"
"Uraraka."
The girl paused just as she was about to retreat down the hallway, glancing back in surprise.
"Do you want to come in?"
The days had been quite a bit less dull since then. Between Uraraka and Eri, Unknown hadn't had so much company in months, and although they might not have been an everyday presence, the very knowledge of their willingness to remain around her for any extended period of time was quite comforting. She was no longer entirely a stranger lurking reclusively in the recesses Heights Alliance; there were a few people willing to extend a friendly hand, and it was a kindness she received openly, though not without a bit of guilt.
Unknown tried not to think too much about the three she had left behind. Though she didn't often show it, she was always quite fond of them, just as she was with the others before them. It was an uncertain life, never knowing when one of them might disappear, crossing some unknown threshold or violating some arbitrary rule and simply vanishing from their lives at a moment's notice. She had seen it before; the children she met when she was first brought to that miserable house- if they were children- none of them were ever quite sure of their own ages- had been the ones to teach her the unspoken rules. They spoke in hushed voices of what not to do, how she should listen without question, how she should avoid him during his fits of rage. They had learned from experience, and from the ones before them as well. And when they began disappearing one by one, Unknown could do nothing but continue crawling on like nothing ever happened, living for the sake of being alive. They weren't allowed to speak about the ones that disappeared, he had even gone so far as to convince them they had never existed, and thanks to his quirk, it was easy to believe him. Unknown knew they had existed, she was almost certain of it, although she could no longer remember their names.
She didn't know where those other children had gone. She had her suspicions, of course, but she couldn't be certain they were all necessarily dead. Perhaps some of them had managed to escape, living somewhere he couldn't reach them. She liked to think it was a possibility; they had all been strong, after all, he would never have taken them in the first place if they weren't. Surely a few of them must have been able to get away, right?
Regardless, she supposed there was no benefit in thinking about that anymore. There were only three she knew for certain were still alive: Amnestica, Horus, and Traceback. Unknown had yet to hear anything regarding their conditions or whereabouts aside from what little information was public. They were in a hospital somewhere- maybe the same one, maybe not- and were being treated for the effects of his quirk. As far as she knew, they had discovered little about its details, not yet having identified how long the effects would last, nor if they would ever completely fade away. Even now, well over a year since she had begun avoiding his mind-affecting quirk, Unknown could still feel the heavy tendrils of his influence over her mind. As much as she despised it, she still believed much of what he had taught her, still retained many of his values, but what could she do about it? That was what she had been taught growing up, what she had learned as plain fact, and even now that she knew otherwise, her instincts had already been set in his image. Fighting against instinct was difficult, she had quickly discovered.
But it wouldn't always be this way, right? It would get easier with time, wouldn't it? She was sure it would; she was sure she wouldn't have to live like this for much longer.
Things were getting better. They had to be.
A series of quick taps came at the door, and Unknown knew who it was before she ever stood up to open it.
A familiar, excited grin greeted her as she pulled open the door. Eri beamed as she held something out in front of her, glowing with pride as some combination of words surely spilled from her mouth. Perhaps she was saying something about what she held in her hands, or perhaps about how her day had gone, but either way, Unknown was too distracted to hear it.
"Are you alright?" Aizawa asked, snapping her out of her daze after she remained silent for a moment too long.
Unknown quickly glanced up at the man, almost having missed his presence from where he stood behind Eri. He looked as tired as usual, she observed, though perhaps a bit livelier now that it was the weekend.
"Of course, sorry. Hi, Eri, come in," she smiled, moving aside for the pair to enter.
And as they did, she heard them begin to speak once more, their words slipping past her ears as she glanced back to the hallway, to the spot where Eri once stood.
For a moment, as she was opening the door, she could have sworn it was a different little girl standing there, grinning up at her with that distant memory of a smile.