(pls excuse any grammar/ spelling mistakes, the longer the chapter, the harder the editing :))
·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•٠·˙ ˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•٠·˙
ღ꧁ღ╭⊱ꕥ ꕥ⊱╮ღ꧂ღ
·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•٠·˙ ˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•٠·˙
Patrol was slow tonight.
Eli had gotten so used to nights filled with back-to-back criminals and would-be criminals. So many petty thefts, burglaries, and assaults. Soothing civilians in alleyways and walking them home.
But tonight was slower, and despite her boredom, she was thankful for the peace.
She sat atop a building with her leg stuck out, watching the beauty of the stars and the music made by the city below thinking to her family and wondering what they could be doing.
Keigo always made her snacks for when she got home late from patrol, so, if anything, she had that to look forward to when she was greeted home.
.
It'd been about two weeks since Shigaraki began frequenting the rooftop. He was surprised by his unnaturally high patience, but maybe that was because he didn't come every day to avoid Erasureheads wrath.
At home, he watched the same news stations that gave the same story over and over again. They reveled in All Might's success and went on and on about the revealment of his true form. They replayed that heroic fight between the old foes, Shigaraki just watched.
He didn't know whether to feel sad or happy about it anymore. It was more like just watching a story, it wasn't real, but the plan he'd drilled into him still lit up the back of Shigaraki's mind every so often.
He thought about what would happen if he were to proceed with his plan, plans that had already fallen apart. They'd been written under the guise that Izumi and Jaden would succeed in getting Eli to cooperate, but that didn't happen, so half of the plan had already crumbled to dust. There was, of course, a backup, should they fail, but then that plan required lots of money and will, neither of which Shigarki really had at the moment.
"What was the plan again?" he muttered to himself.
Here he was another night, sitting on this very same rooftop, waiting for someone. Staring at the same stars for what felt like the millionth time.
Eli still hadn't come, and this was somewhat of a relief to the man. He didn't know what he would say to her, nor if her attitude had changed in the time they hadn't spoken. The question he asked himself all that time ago.
'Would she show mercy?'
She didn't. He knew they were dead, they had to be. If they were alive they would've trudged their way back by now mad as all hell, and it wouldn't have surprised him if Izumi had destroyed their compound herself had the heroes not done it themselves.
He watched that broadcast--
"All students have been apprehended and are in stable condition," the newscast said.
The plan had failed, it had failed in a way that none of them could've comprehended, all because of one variable. One mistake, miscalculation, one underestimation...
Izumi and Jaden believed themselves above Eli. Not in power, no they weren't that daft, they believed that the power they held over her was something only they, as parents, could achieve. They believed fear was more powerful than love. In one aspect, they were right, fear could indeed quench all love within the vicinity if said fear was potent enough, but it wasn't fear that defeated them.
It was rage.
Deep within his mind, something told him that she would win. There was an air of superiority that spun around her, but she didn't exude such a thing. It sat around her, almost like a warning, but the kind smile she had could draw anyone in.
She was like a venus fly-trap.
Beautiful and necessary, but deadly.
So here was another day of waiting. It was really cold tonight, but he'd been given a thick jacket that did much more than his thin long sleeve. It was given to him by a passing homeless resource provider. And guess who funded it...
A thud was heard behind him, but instead of behaving indifferently, he turned around to see her standing there. She watched him more carefully than she'd ever done, or maybe she was making her suspicion just that more obvious.
But that didn't matter, because she was finally here.
"Tomura," she said, standing in place as she couldn't help but wonder what could be the problem now.
It was only her second day back on patrol, and here he was. The man with a nationwide manhunt for him, standing on a roof waiting for her for god knows how long.
She sighed, her thoughts conflicting. She'd meant what she said to Hitoshi, that she should have taken care of Tomura a very long time ago. Put him in a place where he couldn't hurt anybody, but standing on this roof again, her offense was low. He gave her vital information about them and was the reason she could find them so quickly.
She also knew that he was not present during the fight between the heroes and AFO. It was confusing the night off, for the plan was originally to depose AFO and see what they could get out of Shigaraki.
But, the question remained in Eli's head.
If she knew he was a target, then why would she come to this very rooftop that day?
Eli had the smallest, grain of rice size amount of trust in Tomura. She didn't know why, but he was simply one of those people that you look at, and know. Something happened to Tomura, the way it had happened to her.
Touya, Keigo, Izuku, Hitoshi, Shoto...
He had that same look in his eyes. That apprehension, the lack of trust in not only the people around him but in himself.
The only two times Eli had seen him look something other than that, which was when they first met.
It only lasted half a second because then All Might came barreling in, and his expression changed. But suddenly, he had these huge red eyes, they kind of looked like Eri's and Eli could've sworn she remembered his shoulders shaking.
Then, when Snipe and the others arrived, and Eli caught those bullets, another brief moment of solace. Tomura barely had the chance to look at her before Kurogiri snatched him away.
Landing in his room, Tomura opened his eyes, only to see his hand outstretched to the side, where she had been. Once he realized what he was doing, he snatched his hand back.
Staring down at his hand, he wanted to laugh.
"It's been a while, how've you been?" he asked.
Eli started hard at the young man, quirking an eyebrow up before she crossed her arms.
"The kids are safe, thanks to your information, if that's what you were trying to ask," she responded, taking a couple of steps toward him, adjusting her costume around her neck before she stood beside him staring below at the city below.
"That's... good to hear," he said. He was still looking up at her, Eli taking a silent breath before she sat beside him.
"So, what is it now?" she asked simply.
"It's not urgent, I can wait if you have more important things to do," he responded, going back to looking out at the city.
Taken aback, Eli's lip twitched up as she began to sense something a little more than just a change of heart.
"I can be the judge of that," she retorted. "So, what is it? Having an identity crisis again?" she asked, trying her best to get rid of the tension between them.
Sure, she was mistrustful of the man, but she was secure in her ability to defend themselves. But, given the fact that all he had to do was touch her, the fact that he hasn't killed her yet, meant a lot.
And she had yet to get rid of the childish box she put him in when they first met.
"...Were your parents worse than me?" he asked, looking at her without meeting her eyes before looking away once more. Eli's eyes widened in confusion, wondering where this could've come from. But, answering would lead her there faster, so she did.
"Yeah, they'd of already tried or even killed me by now," she said.
Eli raised a hand, looking at it briefly, thinking back to that moment with her mother. That moment when the woman knew it was over, and to just give up.
She wanted to laugh because regardless of their defeat, they'd succeeded. They'd made their dream child, and that was her. The perfect weapon, the perfect successor to their respective Quirks.
She showed them what they had created, she showed them their mistakes, and she showed them that everything she was, was a result, not of their determination and drive, but of their abuse.
With a smirk, Eli shook her head. She thought that she could've done it slower, savored it maybe, but then again, they weren't the primary goal.
"And you've had twice as many," he responded.
"Your point? Why are we here right now Shigaraki, Erasure tells me you've been waiting here a while," she said, smirking a bit to herself as Tomura's surprise became evident.
Of course, he was trying to avoid him, but it was surprising to him that Eli wasn't the only one giving him something like a chance. There was a moment of silence after this information before he sighed and put his head down.
"I'm... confused. I don't know what to do anymore, everything was so simple once..." he said.
His memory before being taken in by AFO was odd, he remembered a dog, his sisters, his mother, his father... then pain.
His father was mean, that's the only thing his young mind could come up with at the time, but now that he was older, his father was a monster. His mother loved him, maybe not enough to protect him, but enough for him to miss her. His siblings were annoying, but he remembered them sneaking snacks into his room when he was on punishment. His dog was sweet and fluffy and slept in his bed and only his.
What he'd done to them.
Shigaraki explained in detail, how he felt at the moment, how scared he was of his dad, and how much he cried that day. When suddenly none of them were there and there he remained with ungloved hands and a collapsing home.
"When he took me in, he taught me that debts had to be paid, and this was my debt to him. But he's gone now, so the only one paying the price would be me, if... if I were to go through with his plans," he said quietly.
"He knew that with that green-haired boy of yours, there would be no one on earth able to stop him, except... you," he said with a shake of his head.
"It was either take your Quirk, kill you, or recruit you. Those were his only options, but they weren't my only options," he almost whispered, a great deal of shame floating through his tone.
"Should I be worried?" she asked.
She didn't reflect on the worry she should've been feeling. Shigraki knew he was dangerous, and the whiteness of his hair now reflected that. Somehow it made him colder, and the power loomed over his shoulders.
Decay was his Quirk, but now he had so many, it felt like his body was vibrating every time he tried to keep calm. AFO kept many things secret from him and one of those secrets was the nightmares. The screams in the night of all the Quirks he'd taken, the conscious powers that harassed him to let them go.
(Unlike the One for All holders, I imagine they just finished their first week of partying at least)
He was tired, so tired.
The man had four different types of kinetic booster-type Quirks, none that measured up to Eli's. They only boosted the amount he was emitting, but they were limited to when they were actually in use. He couldn't keep them active at all times, while Eli's had been active since she was 4.
All the different powers he had couldn't beat All Might. And All Might couldn't beat Eli.
Where did that leave him but here? Apprehensive of his future and hesitating from hurting the only person that didn't treat him like a weapon or someone unworthy of saving.
Tomura wasn't dumb, he knew he was a bad guy. He'd killed innocents and terrorized children.
Sometimes he found himself wondering.
'Why doesn't she just kill me, get it over with, I'm tired,' he thought.
He released a sigh and shook his head.
"No... I owe you my life. I used to think you were stupid, or even naïve for not killing me when you could've. But, if that was the case, Izumi and Jaden would still be with us," he said with a nod.
"You've certainly exceeded my expectations. Everything is so weird now, so no, I don't really know why we are on this roof, or what I plan to do. I don't know what I want you to say and I don't know why... why I thought somehow I could earn your forgiveness if I came or..." he stopped, shaking his head.
...
"You have every right to be confused. You don't, didn't have any self-independence, whereas I... seem to be the opposite. It isn't weird that now that AFO is gone, you don't know what to do anymore. He controlled most if not everything about you so of course when he and everyone else is gone, you'd be confused, more now than ever," she nodded.
She glanced over at him and sighed at his tired face.
"Look, as both a hero and a mother, I... appreciate what you've done for me. It must've been hard to grow such different opinions and thoughts from everyone around you, especially the ones who taught you to think otherwise. I owe you their lives, but I'm pretty sure we're even now from the time I saved you from two more bullets," she said, smiling a bit as she saw Tomura breathe out a chuckle.
"The most I can do for you is cover. I can't do that to them by taking you-" he cut her off.
"I'm not asking you to take me in. I'm not that delusional," he responded.
"It's enough for me to know that you of all people can see something in me, even if I can't see it," he told her.
"So, thank you, Eli-chan," he smiled.
Eli stared at the man before her, wondering where was this smile all those months ago. It was such a sweet smile too.
.
With school around the corner, it was time for school shopping. They needed new materials, clothes, new sheets maybe, and of course, they were shopping to decorate their new dorms.
The students were excited, and she'd gotten approximately, 17 (Mei was included after Mina added her to the Class 1A group chat out of pink hair solidarity) messages about how excited they'd be. Eli didn't even have to tell her own about the news, for she literally heard their phones go off throughout the house.
To her surprise, they didn't seem as excited as she thought, but when Kiri suggested to Katsuki that they go school shopping together, the shopping trip suddenly turned into a small class field trip.
And with every class field trip, there needed to be parent supervisors... and you can guess who was automatically picked for the job.
"C'mon Kat, I gotta get hair dye for the new semester," Kirishima was pulling Kat along to a beauty store in the mall, but Katsuki was too preoccupied with arguing with Kota.
"Bugs are not allowed on me, let me go!" Katsuki said, trying to shake off Kota, but like the rest of his family, he was stubborn, so that wouldn't work on him.
"NO! You promised to take me to the comic store and pick some out to start with!" Kota grumbled.
Katsuki grit his teeth and looked at Eli, who was standing between Keigo and Touya, who shared the same wobbling lower lip as they suppressed their laughter at the scene.
Aside from her rather obvious laughter, she gave him a knowing look, silently telling him to do the right thing. With a stern tightness in her eyes, she gestured to Kota, who still looked up at Katsuki with big eyes and chunky cheeks.
Katsuki sighed and pursed his lips. He picked Kota from the back of his jacket.
"Hey, HEY-- oh," Kota said, as he went from dangling in the air to on the tall boys' shoulders.
"Fine, let's go, Ei, we gotta stop at the comic store first," Katsuki told Kirishima before the two switched roles and suddenly Katsuki was the one dragging Kirishima places.
"Sounds good to me," Kiri said with a toothy smile, stumbling a bit in his black crocs before he began to keep up with their pace.
Kota smiled giddily from his tall seat, and Eli smiled widely at the three.
'They are so cute,' she thought.
"Denki and I are going to Hot Topic?" Hitoshi spoke up next.
"Of course you are," Touya laughed.
"You had staples literally holding you together for nearly 20 years, don't try to tell me I'm emo," Hitoshi retorted.
"AHA-" Eli cut herself off quickly with a slap of her hand over her mouth, but Keigo's laughter came quickly after that, he instead making no move to try to stop it.
"He got you, he got you really good man," Izuku pats his shoulder while Shoto, Ochaco, and Tenya stood close behind him all giggling to themselves.
Touya really had to get used to them knowing who he was now, much more who he used to be. Only the family knew most things, like his past, and his... REALLY illegal actions, but all the general public knew, like the students before him, was that he was Touya Todoroki, Dabi, and he was labeled a vigilante.
(But Nezu had been urging him to get his hero license to avoid any other legal trouble, just to keep things simple; he'd think about it, but it was a difficult choice considering his... grievances-- okay trauma, there.)
"I liked your staples," Eli said with a small smile.
"From a distance," she coughed into her arm, patting his other shoulder with her other hand.
"Okay I see where he gets it now," Keigo muttered, looking at the two, Eli and Hitoshi, who sported the same little grins at their jokes.
"Okay enough about his staples-" Himiko interjected.
"Alright-"
"Can we go to Hot Topic too?" Himiko asked, holding Eri's hand while Hizashi and Shouta stood a little behind watching with fond smiles.
"Why are you guys asking me? Do as you please," Eli said with a small smile, a calm gaze in her eyes.
The 4 siblings present shared exchanging looks before squinting their eyes at their sister suspiciously.
Just last week she was fretting over them leaving her side at the grocery store and about not leaving them home while she was at work. Now she was letting them have free reign in a huge mall full of people.
Izuku glanced down at the watch on her wrist. He'd never seen it before, matter of fact he didn't think he'd ever seen her wear a watch at all. It was completely black with a simple clock on it. It was thick on her wrist, and the band that held it seemed to be metallic as well. He tilted his head at the watch before looking back at her, to see Eli looking right at him.
She shook her wrist and nodded subtly.
'Oh shit, we have trackers,' Izuku thought.
'Wait, when did she-'
Izuku heard a small laugh, looking to see it was Keigo, who glanced at him with a slight smirk.
Now that he thought about it, Kiego's feathers didn't look as full as they usually did. He then felt something wriggling in his jacket pocket. Izuku's mouth opened in surprise, but despite this, as a young hero, he couldn't help his amazement.
Eli giggled just a bit.
'Putting trackers on feathers is much easier than putting them on kids... I should get one for Mei,' she pondered.
Plus, fun fact, Ren actually put a tracker on her first night of patrol. She didn't know it until two days later. Speak of the devil, she could actually see him making his way through the crowds as the spoke.
"Really, have fun. Plus, we have to focus on Eri and Kota," Eli said. Once they were done at the comic shop, which was on the ground floor and not far at all, Eli would retrieve him so that Katsuki could spend his time with his friends.
Izuku, amongst his amazement, snapped out of it, and would have to remind himself to ask her how did she... reverse-pick-pocket him when he couldn't even remember them standing too close today?
"I think we're good guys, plus Momo and Kiyoko are already here, they're at the food court, let's go meet them," Izuku told them.
"Hmm," Himiko said, a glint in her eyes before she lurched forward and hugged Eli.
"Oh," she said, chuckling before patting her back and hugging her back.
Shoto gave her a weak-ass side hug but was then subject to a kiss on the forehead, Izuku hugged her as well, and the students weren't afraid to hug her either before they went along with them, leaving Eri with them.
"Hi... uhm Aunty," Eri said.
Eli's hand flew to her mouth as tears threatened to break from her eyes.
'She's so damn precious, I'm gonna cry,' she thought.
"Do not start, I'm literally begging you," Touya said, earning a slap to the arm.
"Let her have her moment, she's never had a little girl before," Hizashi hissed in the man's ear, simply referring that when Himiko had become Eli's child, she was a lot older than the others.
"She does this with every child, don't act like this is new. She almost cried last week while brushing Him's hair and they watched like half of Invincible in one night just because she asked her to, and she's almost 18!" Touya hissed back.
"For every next word you speak, is another staple I'm putting back,"
Touya didn't get the chance to retort before Keigo snatched him by the mouth.
"Dude, you're like 0-3 today, just shut up," Keigo urged.
"Touya losing once again, can't say this is unusual," Ren said, as he walked with heavy steps, unknowing that he was attracting all the attention from the older ladies in the mall.
"When did you even get here," Touya glared.
"Don't worry about it little guy," Ren patronized, knowing that he was about a foot taller than Touya, which didn't sit well with the guy who was now used to being the tallest in their house.
Touya huffed and crossed his arms.
"Your Dad's told me that you'll be starting school this semester with Kota," Eli started, bending down to level with a small smile, thankful that she'd parted her hair down the middle today so that she could see the girl clearly.
"Mhm," she said shyly, twiddling her fingers as her heel rubbed anxiously against the floor. Her eyes went back and forth between Eli's eyes, her hair, her clothes, the floor, and her Dads.
Eli just smiled.
"Kota will be coming out soon, would it be okay if we all shopped together?" she asked.
Eri blushed a bit as she nodded quickly. It wasn't a mystery that Eri did like the three before her, she was just getting used to everything. I mean, they were the ones that saved her and initially, Keigo and Eli were the only ones she tended to be the closest to since they were the ones who'd rescued her from that room and taken her to get help.
But she hadn't realized how hard it would be on her young mind to adapt to all the sudden love being thrust towards her.
Her Dads... she'd only just begun calling them that a couple of days ago. They watched all sorts of TV shows together, new ones, that Eri was so excited to see since Overhaul censored a lot of what she watched(so she wouldn't get any ideas). Well, it was in these childish shows, where the kid would fall or the kid would be hungry or even have a tantrum, that their parents would hush them up, feed them, ask what's wrong, and then tuck them into bed.
She watched that same cycle so many times, and by her 4th night there, she'd been so hooked to the screen that Shouta had to slip a 2mg melatonin gummy in a donut and treat her like a pet who needs to take her medicine. She remembered waking up still tired, whether from the gummy or her short binge, and behind her was Shouta.
He was sitting behind her with his legs stretched out and his head leaning against the couch cushion, fast asleep with one of his arms securely around her so that she wouldn't fall or anything. Hizashi was close by, laying across the couch with their hands holding each other at the very edge of the couch. Their long hair was sprayed out behind them, intertwining with each other, almost like a backup plan if Shouta's hand fell out of his husband's grip.
Hizashi snored and Shouta didn't move an inch, and neither did Eri.
She fell asleep again soon after anyway, and three days later, Eri realized that they had been doing exactly what the parents in the shows she watched did, and let the word 'Dad' slip.
They got so excited (Shouta nearly cried, but don't tell him I told you that), and Hizashi let it slip that Eli wanted to be her Aunt, so she thought she'd give it a try...
A hand rubbed against her head, taking her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Eli, her Dads closing in on them just in time to shake her out of any of her anxious thoughts.
"You doing alright there, soldier?" Shouta asked, a weirdly kind smile on his face as he brushed Eri's hair out her face, and Eli chuckled as she watched Hizashi fiddle with her hair clip to get it back in place.
"Soldier?" Keigo asked a playful smirk on his face at the cute nickname.
Shouta froze, realizing what he was doing and in front of who, only to find those same asshole smirks on their faces when he looked up.
"Dad says I was very strong for defeating Overhaul, so he calls me soldier," Eri said in her quiet voice.
Eli's smirk grew as she nudged the two beside her and nodded proudly.
"Yes, I was the one who told them all about it, little soldier," Eli said with a nod and a smile.
Eri blushed and thanked her again, leaving her once again to gawk at how precious she was before Katsuki returned with Kirishima and Kota. Kota skipped happily with his paper bag and once he made it to them, he held it out proudly for his mom to see. Katsuki and Kirishima were gone after a wave, and Eli could help but roll her eyes hearing Katsuki curse about how expensive it was as if she wasn't the one who paid for it.
"Oh very nice Bug, I see your reading list is growing nicely," Eli said making the boy puff out his cheeks angrily.
"Not you too," he whined.
"It's cute, what you don't like it?" Eli asked teasingly as she didn't hesitate to pick him up when his arms instinctively went up.
"But I don't look like a bug, do I?" he asked.
"Well... now that I'm really looking at you-"
"Maaa,"
Eli laughed and kissed his forehead.
"No, you do not look like a bug, you look like a handsome young man. I like calling you Bug since it's cute," she told him, hoping the boy would be alright with it.
'It really is a cute nickname,'
"Just like you," she added, watching as the boy grew embarrassed but giggled as he hugged her tightly.
"I like it too," he told her.
"Does that mean I get to call you that too?" Touya butt in.
"Me too, or else it's not fair," Keigo added.
"Can I go back to calling you Birdy and Burnt Toast?" Kota retorted.
...
The shopping was brutal. They must've looked in dozens of stores, of course, one of them had to be the toy store, and by the time they finally sat down to have some lunch, Eli was no longer carrying Kota, instead replacing him with 3-4 bags on each arm, most of it for Kota. She trusted her older ones to be able to buy suitable things for school, but she still picked a couple of little things she was sure they'd probably forgotten.
While she held their things, Touya and Keigo held hers and their own. (retail therapy is so real)
Clothes and things for the house mostly.
She got Izuku a new pair of shoes, white with red accents because by the Gods did she want to throw out those red shoes he'd been holding on to since middle school, and got Himiko some uniforms for school since she'd be enrolled in General Studies this year, along with some accessories she thought she'd like. Hopefully, she'd start a trend because it really bothered Eli that as people working in heroics, which included all different classes since UA was a hero school, the students didn't typically make their uniforms their own.
She was aware of the problem of superiority that the students aiming to be actual Pro-Heroes had over the other students. So, she planned to address it by branching out her new counseling job requirements to the students outside of Class 1A, 1B, and Support Hero courses.
She got Shoto some new uniform pants because she was positive the boy did not notice that he was growing through his pants like a weed. She even picked up some other pants for him as well, outside of the uniform. Unlike Shoto, Hitoshi had been growing out of his shirts. His shoulders and arms had broadened considerably under his training with Shouta, so he needed new uniform shirts and she got him a bigger robe as well.
She got Katsuki about five new uniform shirts because eventually, his sweat ruins the material, so she was also actively trying to figure out a solution so she didn't have to re-buy shirts every couple of months.
Kota had everything though, from new uniforms, a backpack, a pencil case, three pairs of new shoes, and a cute keychain for his backpack so he'd know which is his. She was also gonna label it, but the keychain was of a ladybug, so Eli couldn't resist.
Touya actually spend 5 minutes staring at a painting that was on sale because he said it'd look cool in the living room, and now he was holding a 12x16 canvas of forest of what looked to be a pine tree, purple and blue flames shining only under a blacklight.
He was thankful that only he knew about that last part because he did NOT want to be subject to another fire joke.
Keigo made Kota and Eli help him decide on bathroom accessories that he didn't need nor would use because the man hadn't used his own bathroom in weeks. He also got some soap for his feathers, and pajamas... he really liked pajamas.
Well, anyone would after realizing that it is perfectly okay to stay in your pajamas all day if you don't plan on going anywhere, and even that depends on if you're going somewhere significant enough to warrant daytime clothes.
The number of times he'd seen Eli come home, literally wrestle her clothes off, chuck them who knows where, and remain in pajamas until the very second she had to leave for work again is insane.
Ren was holding about 3 bags on each arm, gifts for all the kids. He didn't know why and he was sure they didn't need them, but as house grandpa, he had to fulfill his duties.
Shouta and Hizashi were the most exhausted of all of them. They weren't just school shopping, they were shopping in general for Eri.
Holding five bags on each arm, the two parents could only wither into their food court chairs as Eri ate french fries and chicken tenders with a content smile beside Kota with the same meal.
"Tell me it isn't like this every semester," Shouta groaned a bit.
"...It gets easier-"
"Oh, my god." Shouta groaned louder.
"Grandpa, can we have some more ketchup?" Kota asked Ren. Eli's heart fluttered in contentment as she watched the smitten old man put ketchup on both their plates.
"You know before the semester starts, I propose a spa night," Hizashi spoke up, Eli immediately perking up at the thought of it.
"Yes! We absolutely should," Eli was immediately on board, thinking of Nemuri, who she hadn't spent time with in a good while.
"Weekend before the semester, they will already be moved into their dorms," Shouta spoke up.
"And Mom will be happy to watch Thing 1 and 2," Touya said, he and Kota sticking their tongues out each other teasingly.
"Done, I'm already texting Nemuri," Hizashi said.
"I'm texting Yumi and Natsu,"
"I'm texting Miruko,"
Touya's head snapped to her. He knew about the little crush she had on her a couple of years back when she first made the young hero's costume. He listened to her fawn and gawk over her for like a month until the crush died out.
It was the most miserable month of Touya's life (AFTER he became Dabi).
The point is, the anxiety he'd buried deep within himself resurfaced, and he could feel his leg tapping against the floor faster and faster and faster and faster--
A hand settled on his thigh.
"I think Yumi has a crush on her," Eli chuckled, hearing a gasp from Kota.
"Aunty Yumi has a crush on Miruko? Really?!" he asked.
'Sometimes I forget kids can actually hear you,' Eli sighed in her head.
"How come she's Aunty, and I'm not Uncle, what am I not good enough for you?" Touya said, offended.
"No you are not," Ren answered for him, earning a laugh from Eli.
"...I'll tell you later," Kota muttered to himself, looking away with a small blush on his cheeks.
"Oh, ho ho," Eli laughed, Kota sticking his tongue out at her once she laughed.
"C-Can I call you Uncle?" they heard Eri speak up, fiddling with one of her fries as she did. Touya paused as he looked at her with the same expression Eli had earlier. He wore a quaking smile and sparkly blue eyes.
"Okay I see what you mean now," he muttered to Eli.
"Of course, you can call him that, make sure to say it as many times as you can so it really sets in mmkay?" Keigo said with a smug smile, remembering how embarrassed he got when Shoto started calling him brother.
At first, it felt like he didn't deserve it, since he'd hated his brother for so long, but now it felt like a badge of honor.
"What about you?" Eri asked, Touya instantly looked at the man as he was now embarrassed as well.
"Don't fold now, you asked her Dad before we went to go get her," Eli retorted, both men glaring at her.
Asking was one thing, but her actually doing it was so sweet that it made the men want to shrivel up, die, and then buy her a pony.
"R-really?" Eri asked, her red eyes basically sparkling.
"Mhm," Eli responded smiling as she passed Kota a napkin.
'I've never had Aunts and Uncles before,' she thought.
Of course, she'd also never really had a dad, but now she got two! Eri's mouth twitched as she wiggled excitedly in her seat before nodding to herself.
"O-okay!" she said, her feet swinging back in forth giddily before she ate another french fry with the smallest of smiles on her face.
"Do you have a favorite color kid?" Touya asked almost immediately, an oddly serious look on his face. Eri had a confused look on her face before she looked down at her dark red dress.
She had this white blouse underneath with pretty black flowers that looked stenciled on, over a red dress, her black tights, and grey boots. She liked this red but... looking up she made eye contact with Keigo. She played with her fingers before she pointed at Keigo's feathers.
"That red," she said pointing at his wings.
"Let's go Kei, I need you for color reference," Touya stood up from the table immediately.
"...And I need you for size reference," he said looking straight at Kota.
"What?! B-but--"
"Your birthday is coming up too isn't it?" Keigo stated as he looked at Kota with a persuasive smirk as he gestured obviously to Touya.
"Mama, can you save this for me?" Kota responded immediately, hopping from his chair and scurrying excitedly toward Touya with his arms up.
Touya rolled his eyes as he picked him up, putting him on his shoulders, and smiled as he heard the kid giggle excitedly.
"Yea, go on ahead honey," she said with an approving nod, to which the three boys went off to whatever store they planned.
"Well, you certainly have those boys wrapped around your fingers," Ren chuckled.
He watched their interactions alongside the two other men he owed his thanks for their many years of looking after Eli. Keigo held clothes in his arms and Touya held out Kota so Eli could roughly measure the clothes on his body. She'd set clothes that she was getting in Keigos' arms while the others were put back where she found them.
"Yea grandpa, and that one and the other 5 have you wrapped around their fingers. Don't think I didn't see you buy five rolls of yarn for Himi and what was it, three different hot sauce kits for Kat?" Eli smirked at the man who glared playfully as he shook his head.
"Yea, yea, whatever kid," Ren said, ruffling her hair with a roll of his eyes.
"Uhm, Aunty?" Eri called, making Eli snap her head to her.
"Yes sweetheart, need anything?" she asked.
"Uhm, this is Kota's grandpa?" she asked, looking over at Ren with slightly fearful eyes.
Ren only smiled and sat back to create some distance between them. He knew he was a big guy, kind of scary too, but if Kota wasn't afraid of him, he was sure the little miss would learn to see that he was just a big teddy bear... with a gun.
"Well, yeah, if that's what Kota says," Eli said.
She'd always wanted to make sure that the relationships Kota, specifically, made weren't forced. Just because he called her mom doesn't mean that he had to call the others anything. Nobody needed that kind of pressure. Luckily, he seemed to have adjusted and grown relationships with all of them in their own way, and she was appreciative of that blatant affection. It made her feel like she had a typical family, somewhat.
"So, isn't he your Dad?" she asked, looking at him.
Ren looked at Eli, curious as to what they'd say. He had little expectations, but he couldn't help the way his focus shifted to her.
Eli smiled a bit to herself before she nodded, not hesitant in her answer.
"Yeah, he usually is, but other times I think he just wants to be able to come over and take my milk and sugar whenever he wants," Eli chuckled, Shouta and Hizashi joining her as he pats the little girl's back.
"Eli..." she heard Ren say, a tone of voice she'd heard maybe once.
Looking over at Ren, she saw the huge man looming over her with teary eyes and a comical expression on his face.
"I've always wanted to be a father," he said before hugging her tightly.
"Okay big guy," Eli pat his back, breathing another laugh as she did.
For a moment, there was a flowery aura surrounding them. Hizashi and Shouta stared fondly at the two, Eli working around his arms to eat the rest of their food since Ren wouldn't let go of his 'precious daughter'. Eri smiled a bit as well, happy to not ask her final question of why Eli didn't call him Dad, but it seemed like they maybe didn't need it. It confused the young girl, but she was happy to see the two so happy.
In fact, she was also surprised that such a big man could laugh so joyously and weep so outwardly. It took away from his big stature and scary tattoos.
It made him look really nice actually.
.
Izuku was in a children's clothing store with his brothers and friends trying desperately to find clothes for Kota.
"Does Kota like blue, he likes blue right?" Izuku asked, bringing the dark blue shirt up for Shoto to look at closely.
"...Is that not black?"
"Are you being serious right now IcyHot?" Katsuki asked, already having gone to a toy store and got Kota a Nerf gun. He was looking for chaos, especially since he got two more in case Kota wanted an all-out war.
"Aren't you guys supposed to be getting school stuff?" Ochaco asked, standing near Himiko as she did the exact thing they were.
She was only going to get him some shirts from here because she wanted to get him some candy, and a slingshot!
Well, if she could find one.
"Don't worry, I took care of all the school shopping," Hitoshi spoke up, holding up 2 bags of notebooks, pens, lead, and other things.
He actually didn't, Eli did, but it's the thought that counts.
"Did you get-"
"Yes, I got you a black notebook, god... picky ass" Hitoshi rolled his eyes beside Denki, who had some bags with decorations for his dorm.
"Well, what about your dorms?" Momo spoke up, all siblings freezing at the reminder.
Katsuki looked off to the side with a grunt of dissatisfaction, while Izuku put the shirt back, wanting to go anywhere but this conversation. Shoto fiddled with the handles of his own bag of things, but he felt Izuku grab his arm as the boy began to walk away.
"About that... we were thinking of asking Nee-chan if it'd be okay to stay home," Hitoshi spoke up, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
"What? Why!?" Kiyoka asked. Believe it or not, she was looking forward to them all being together in one dorm.
Her classmates, no, her friends were good to be around, and she liked to do so. Not to mention, she really was also looking forward to the music cult Fumi was talking about setting up once they got there, and they couldn't do that without them. Katsuki, Hitoshi, and Himiko always brought interesting music to the table, probably from all the old movies they watched together.
"Hito?" Denki looked at Hitoshi curiously, who didn't look at him, only stared at the floor or the rack of clothes or the fitting room or the--
"Wait, Izuku, we should talk about this," Tenya spoke up, putting a hand on Izuku's shoulder to stop him from leaving.
"Why don't you want to live in the dorms?" Mina asked, sadly looking at them all, for she too had been looking forward to them all being there.
"They don't want to leave," Shoto spoke up for them. They looked at Shoto in surprise, having been used to speaking for him, and not the other way around.
Katsuki grunted and shook his head. He crossed his arms, looking away from them once again as he maintain the tough look on his face.
"Bell would flip if we did," Katsuki tried to say.
"But isn't she coming too?" Mei asked, holding bags from Home Depot and only Home Depot.
"Yeah, but--" Izuku cut himself off, growing frustrated. All Izuku knew is that he didn't want to leave, that leaving mean something was ending, and that whatever it was, he didn't want it to.
The dorms were a topic that was rarely brought up in the Mirodiya household. After they received the news, Eli sat them down to talk about it, and for the first time in a long time, the smile on her face didn't look like all the others.
She seemed sad, but she hugged them and kissed them like everything was normal. She started making bigger dinners and cleaning more even after their deep clean not too long ago. She worked tirelessly, and she was asleep at night when they'd come to her, holding Kota impossibly close to her.
Izuku had strange feelings about leaving, aside from his sister's reaction, it was odd. Practically, it was an amazing thought, to be able to stay at school full-time and go home on weekends. Nee-chan wouldn't be too far and neither would All Might or the rest of his teachers.
But the thought of packing his bag and leaving home was strange to him. In Japanese culture, it wasn't weird for someone to live with their parents for as long as they wanted, or at least until marriage. This felt like they were cutting it short, and man did Izuku relish being able to come home after school, after studying, and training his sister.
She'd have dinner on the stove and she give him a kiss before she sent him off to bed. Nowadays, Eli would stash boxes of hot chocolate under her bed for very bad nights, especially for herself.
She drank slowly and would reheat it as many times as she needed so she wouldn't go all sugar-crazy, but Shoto or Touya would gladly heat it for her. Izuku would come and have a cup. Hitoshi or Shoto would probably be next, and Himiko would probably be there before either of them. Kota would already be there and Touya or Keigo, sometimes both could be found probably passed out at some corner of the bed.
It was like a haven.
Sometimes they sat in silence, some maybe fell asleep, and some would watch something or talk.
Izuku couldn't help but think that he needed that, those nights, because he didn't want to talk to Eli about everything that had happened when they'd been kidnapped. He couldn't talk about Hitoshi's screams or the constant pain he was in from having his limbs broken with little to no medical attention, he couldn't talk about Himiko's face when she saw how hard she hit the tree, nor could he talk about the insanity he felt during the silence.
The silence after Katsuki and Hitoshi returned, bloody and tired. Shoto's unwillingness to talk at all, so afraid that if he said anything he would die. Looking at Jaden and seeing Endeavour, seeing that his sister had similar, if not worse experiences, the hopelessness he felt bound by chains, too weak to use his Quirk, and too tired to do anything but drag Katsuki and Hitoshi back to their corner and hold them, as weak as he was.
They all had similar thoughts.
"It's weird to leave, it feels like I just got here," Himiko said with a sheepish smile.
Shoto nodded to himself, planting his feet on the ground so Izuku couldn't take him further. Izuku turned to look at them, silently communicating. Pleading eyes and a tight fist at his side where he held the bag in his hand.
He chewed at the inside of his mouth before looking away from Shoto, letting go to proceed on his own only for a hand to stop him.
"Izu... we should talk about this," he told him.
Izuku froze in place as he listened to Shoto. It was always the other way around, them getting Shoto to talk. To talk about anything and everything, to talk simply because he was silenced for so long. (recite the tik tok sound if you real)
So, with heavy shoulders, and tears brimming his eyes, he wiped them quickly before turning around.
"Izu," Himiko said sadly, leaving Ochaco's side to go over to him.
"Shit," Hitoshi muttered, handing Denki his bag.
"We gotta..." Hitoshi trailed off, staring at the frustrated expressions of his siblings. "We gotta talk about some things guys, could we just-" he cut himself off with a sigh as he looked at all their friends
"Yes, of course, Hitoshi," Tenya replied immediately as he began his class president duties, rounding up their friends to get going.
"Yes, let us, uhm, we should head to the cafeteria, just meet us when you're done," Momo said with a kind smile and a nod before she and the others went to the cafeteria, while Ochaco and Denki stayed off to the side, as they continued to shop in the same store.
Heading to a far corner of the store, Hitoshi joined his siblings watching as Katsuki and Izuku bickered while Shoto and Himiko stood between them with irritated expressions.
"Izuku... I think they are right, w-we shouldn't stay," Katsuki's stutter surprised Hitoshi, but he continued to listen.
"Why not? It's not like Nee-chan would care, in fact, she'd love it if we did," Izuku argued.
"She needs a break Izu," Katsuki argued back.
"B-but, if we leave then what? What if she decides that she doesn't want to stay in the dorms with us, for Kota?" Izuku said back, frustrated tears running down his face.
"I mean... I don't really want to leave either," Himiko muttered.
Hitoshi frowned, raising his hand to touch her shoulder before bringing her into an indefinite side hug. She held on to his hand, her grip had but Hitoshi didn't mind. Katsuki sighed and shook his head.
"Lady... we can't-" Katsuki tried but Izuku cut him off.
"AND WHY NOT?!" Izuku suddenly yelled, the thud of the bag in his hand sounding as both his hands balled into tight fists.
"Izu-" Shoto tried.
"NO! You guys don't get it I-," Izuku sneered to himself, his tears finally falling as he shook his head at the thought. He raised his hand to cover his head, his shoulders shaking rapidly as his thoughts jumbled, unable to form a sentence to explain himself.
Rough hands touched him, and suddenly he was being hugged. Opening his eyes, he saw that same ash-blonde hair by him.
"Fine, we can talk to her about it, but you have to explain yourself," Katsuki gruffed out, keeping his arms secure as he thought about his crybaby younger brother. Izuku sniffed and his head leaned against Katsuki's collarbone lazily.
"You smell like axe body spray and chili peppers,"
"You little shit!"
Then they heard gunshots go off.
Four of them.
.
.
Ren's breath escaped him as he held Eli's body in his arms. She groaned in discomfort as he moved her. Blood was everywhere, his hands, his chest, his face... and he was doing all he could to stop the bleeding.
"Stupid, stupid fucking..." Ren cursed as he wrapped part of his ripped shirt around the wound in her should before quickly moving on her side to do the same.
"Eli? Eli?! Hey!" Ren shook her as he worked, his head shooting up and looking around to see if he could see Shouta or Hizashi.
His hand swatted at her face and Eli's eyes blinked open slowly, groaning loudly she felt pain sweep into all parts of her body.
"What the fuck?"
Ren chuckled through his worry as he continued what he was doing.
"There you are," he said, breathing a sigh of relief as he finished tying off her wound.
"Ren? What-" she cut herself off, her body jolting to sit up, the pain doing little to stop her as she forced herself to her feet.
"Eli, woah, uh, uh," Ren said, not hesitating to stop her, which was easy since she was so weak at the moment.
"Alright c'mon," he said, mostly to himself, before he picked her up as gently as he could. She didn't fight him
"We-" she stopped to take a breath as she wiggled in his hold, trying to get to something on her side.
"We have to get to them-"
"KINETIC?!" they heard someone scream, followed by a clip of shots going off. Ren ducked down as fast as he could before spinning to see who it was and Eli had no time to focus on her pain as she saw the familiar mask on the man with a semi-automatic rifle in his arms, four other men standing behind him holding katanas and guns.
A whistle echoed through the mall and suddenly two other men walked from behind a corner, dragging Shouta and Hizashi's bodies with them.
On one of the man's shoulders was a child, Eri.
"You didn't think you wiped all of us out did you?" the man in the center said, snapping his fingers, and the man holding Eri made haste to hand over the girl who was so frozen in fear all she could do was stare at Eli and Ren with those same big red eyes.
Eli sighed as she breathed through her pain.
"No, but I was really hoping so," she said through heavy breathing, her Quirk stirring beneath her skin. Glancing at her arm, she could feel the warmth of the kinetic energy swirling through her, and she hoped that she could buy herself enough time.
The man laughed as he went on with his rant.
"There's a gun in my pocket," she muttered, the very pocket that she was trying to get to without alerting the men in front of her.
Hearing her, Ren adjusted his arms and tilted his body so that she could lean a bit more toward him, giving her much more freedom to move faster.
The man went on about his debt to Overhaul and how the little girl he was holding would revive the honor of the Yakuza, but Ren just kept staring at Eri.
He was hoping that she would see him and feel a bit more at ease. He wanted to keep her calm because he and the other adults were aware that the only reason she could be out like this anyway was because of Shouta.
Her inability to control her Quirk didn't just affect her it could affect anyone. But right now, Shouta was unconscious, the bullet in his lower abdomen leaking blood too rapidly.
Eli's face grew hot as she listened to the men go on about their vendettas.
Something about killing their leader, how disrespecting the Yakuza was unforgivable, and that the killing of her in public would do much more for their reputation than anything.
Killing the underground sweetheart it you will. Leaving Erasurehead to pick up all slack, something borderline impossible in such a crime-ridden city.
"Now," the man said, pressing the gun in his hand to Eri's temple, the girl trembling in fear, as she stared with cold red eyes at her parent's slack bodies on the ground. She bit her lips as she began to feel something in her growing, like bile up her throat.
"How bout you step away, or you could go with her," the man said as his cronies pointed their firearms at them, the ones who didn't take defensive stands with their katanas.
The pain Eli had felt had dissipated, and if the bullets were still lodged in her body, she could care less about if she was hurt. All she knew was that they had guns and they let off shots, so she knew who was on the way.
She needed this over, now.
"Wow, how young people talk to their elders, you should be ashamed," Ren stated, keeping an eye on Eri and her horn.
The last thing they needed was for her Quirk to go ballistic.
But Eli couldn't move without that man pulling the trigger.
"Fine, don't hurt her," Eli spoke up, breathing through the now simple discomfort that her wounds caused.
"Just let me..." Eli made a show of trying to get out of Ren's arms, struggling intentionally and letting out the most obnoxious noises of pain. The men snickered, their guard lowering little by little.
Ren enhanced this image unintentionally.
"Eli you don't have to-"
"I have to Ren,"
"No. No, you don't," Ren shook his head.
His grip on her was firm, and despite her act, she was pretty weak right now. Her Quirk was working tirelessly to mend her wounds, but none of the bullets went in and out, so Eli knew she'd have to have surgery to get them out.
'Or...'
Although that did mean her bleeding was slowing, so that was a good sign.
Ren was itching to grab the knife he had strapped to his thigh, but he had to think carefully.
If he...
A blur went by, and Eli's eyes widened, her Quirk flaring as she watched whisps of white hair under a hood slide across the floor, hand outreached. Her eyes glowed red as she saw the scene play out, as if in slow motion.
The hand was on the man's shoulder before anyone could respond, and the man let out a gargled cry before he was literal dust on the floor. A glove was on his hand in an instant, and in his arms was Eri, who shook as she began to let out small, stressful cries. Her face was fully red, and her arms were clasped so close to her chest that Eli could almost feel her shaking.
Red eyes stared at one another.
"Make one more move and I'll dust her," he threatened, his hood dropping, and his form was revealed.
"Tenko!" Eli shouted, rage seeping into her skin at the threat.
Shigaraki fought a flinch before he looked at Eli with unwavering eyes. He looked at her as he did that night, his eyes flying between her and the remaining Yakuza suggestively. He wiggled his hand, the glove obviously showing, giving Eli a sign that he wasn't trying to hurt her.
But it was like these Yakuza idiots were educated regarding such a Quirk.
"You little rat," Ren spit out instantly, taking Eli's gun himself and pointing it at Shigaraki, his knife in hand as he began to take steps toward, finally letting Eli down as he did.
He saw that look as well. Sure it was made toward Eli, but if Ren trusted anyone it was her. So, he chose to go with it.
"HEY! DONT MOVE!" yelled the Yakuza members, some turning their guns to them as the others stayed on Shigaraki.
"Oh please, Eli drop the act," Ren scoffed, flinging his knife at Shigaraki in the same instant, pinning his jacket to the wall behind him, and leaving him staring in bewilderment.
With the smallest of smirks, the next thing she knew her Quirk was functioning at 10% and she was disarming the men before her. They shot off bullets, at rapid speed, and Eri screamed in terror at the scary sounds again.
Eli gasped as she looked at Eri, blocking a man with a katana before kicking him away. Terror coated her face before she urged her Quirk higher, kicking off her leg, to punch the men holding Shouta and Hizashi.
She grunted as they didn't let up, one using his Quirk to hit her with some kind of energy, but Eli's Quirk seemed to deflect it. She wasted no time, to bring her elbow down on their faces, knocking them out cold and catching both men's bodies, and Ren could be heard cackling as he let off shots.
"C'mon, guys you have to wake up," Eli said, slapping Shouta in the face a bit as she shook him awake.
She looked back up at Eri to see her horn flickering with a yellow, misty glow. Her breathing intensified as she began to feel genuine fear for Tenko, as she began to shake the two even harder.
She launched a fallen cafeteria chair at a man coming their way as she tried to shake the two awake.
"What?" Hizashi coughed roughly, holding his shoulder in pain before his eyes began to force themselves open. They swished around roughly before they landed on Eri. Her entire body was shaking at this point, but what was most strange was the way that held her, who Hizashi knew was Shigaraki was trying to... console her?
It wasn't working, and Hizashi gasped as he saw her horn full-on glowing, and Tenko holding her tightly but staring at the glow with what could only be called fearful eyes.
"Oh my god, Sho!" Hizashi yelled.
Shouta shot up, the sound of his husband's voice awake him, and he gasped as he felt pain in his torso.
Eli grabbed his face and turned it toward Eri, who was sobbing as her body was encased by her Quirk. It looked like she was fighting it, but her small body could only do so much against such a powerful Quirk.
Shouta was quick to use his Quirk, but, it was already happening.
Eri released a scream that rivaled her Papa's, and so did Shigaraki.
Eri's body was limp the next second and Eli dropped her father's as she raced to catch the fallen child as her Quirk turned off, only to find herself catching something else too.
Eri laid slack against Eli, and she cried quietly as Shouta didn't dare take his eyes off her.
"Sh, sh,h, no you're okay," Eli said, rubbing the girl's back with one hand as she fumbled with a weight in the jacket that Shigaraki had worn.
"What?" Eli muttered as she tried to work around Eri to unfold the clothes.
She paused when she heard a whine, followed by a small cry.
Eli paused, her eyes wide as she hastened to release the child.
Big red eyes stared at her. Big eyes on a small body. Whisps of black hair fanned against their head. Chunky red cheeks and cracked lines of irritated skin, but the sweetest eyes.
"Oh..." Eli said, her eyes softening completely as she stared at Shigaraki.
With her back to everyone, she couldn't help but wonder how Eri's Quirk could do such a thing. The child couldn't be over a year old and was staring at Eli with the most curious eyes. She brushed her finger against his cheek and the baby babbled as it took her fingers with both hands.
Eli flinched a bit, watching as all 10 of his fingers touched her and tried to put her fingers in their mouth.
Tears almost formed as she stared at him, wondering if Eri knew.
Eli remembered Shigaraki's story. She didn't want to say anything, but she couldn't help but feel as though he was what Touya would have turned out to be had it not been for their meeting. She couldn't help but see Himiko in the way he spoke about his family. Scared to speak badly of them plainly, yet bold in his delivery. The glare on his face when he talked about his father, the soft look when he talked about his mother, his dog, his siblings...
Did Eri know? Did she know that this was probably the biggest mercy could've given him?
She gave him another chance.
Eli brought the child closer to her, holding him to her chest as she turned around with him still bundled in his hood. She pulled the knife out of the wall behind him with a grunt, throwing it to the side as she did.
"Nee-chan!" she heard a collection of voices shout.
They were huffing, having broken out of the store they were in after the mall went on lockdown. They weren't sure how they were going to get away with breaking four security guards' ankles, but they didn't seem to care as they ran full speed toward them, and their classmates were watching from within nearby stores that were locked to keep the civilians safe.
Seems like Touya and Keigo had the same idea because a thud sounded behind her as well.
"Mama!" Kota cried, reaching his arms out to Eli, only for Keigo to hand him off to Touya before rushing towards her.
"Shit, Eli you're covered in blood," Keigo said, inspecting her as Touya did the same.
"Nee-chan, we heard the shots, you're not hurt are you- Nee-chan!" Izuku said frantically after seeing her stumble a bit. Once he got closer, he began to see that her black clothing was drenched in blood.
Ren helped Shouta and Hizashi up, acting as an arm to help the walk.
"Eri- baby," Hizashi said, paying no mind to the pain he had in his shoulder as he held his arms out to take Eri.
Eri struggled out of Eli's hold, so Eli made it easier for her. Groaning just a bit she let her down, stumbling a bit more as she began to put all her weight on her left leg to give her side a break, only to feel pain erupt in her leg as well.
Eli breathed heavily as she looked at them all. Himiko hadn't said anything but had taken to looking at the entry holes with a scared expression. Izuku was tearing up as he began to help Ren with helping the two men walk. Hitoshi was behind her, holding up as Touya inspected Shoto and he did the same. Kastuki stared at her with curious eyes, eyeing the bundle in her arms, staring curiously at the familiar dry lines across the face of the baby in her arms.
Tenko babbled and pulled at Eli's clothes and made cute baby noises, calling attention to the baby.
Eli took a breath, holding the baby tightly, but not enough to hurt him. She stepped back when Keigo gestured to himself, insisting that he take the baby. He didn't care if he didn't know where in the actual hell a child spawned, but Eli was in no state to be holding children.
Eli shook her head, and held him to her chest, rubbing the child back.
She looked up at Kota and held an arm out. Kota wrestled out of Touya's hold, launching himself toward her. Eli groaned loudly as she caught him, Hitoshi scowling as he held her up.
"Hi baby," she said, tired eyes looking at him. Kota cried as he wrapped his arms around her, eyeing the baby with careful eyes before he hugged his mother even tighter.
"C'mon, mama has to go to the hospital," she said through heavy breaths
She took heavy breaths and held Kota tighter, primarily since it seemed like he wasn't letting go. She walked/limped forward, noticing the new pain in her leg increasing greatly.
"Shit," she cursed, looking down at her leg.
"When did that happen?" she asked herself, flooding leaking from her leg to the floor. She stared at the pool, seeing the trail from where she was to where Shouta and Hizashi had once laid.
"God you are insufferable," Touya said, cursing under his breath as he pushed everyone away from her.
A tear had slipped down his cheek as he took Kota away. He paid no mind to the boy fighting him, he only handed him to Katsuki as he picked Eli up. He looked at the baby briefly before he adjusted them both in her hold.
"This one wasn't my fault though," Eli said, her breathing slowing as she began to lay her head against his shoulders, her eyes blinking as if she wanted to sleep.
"Yeah? If you could see your face right now," he said, almost laughing. Had she not been covered in blood and at the point of passing out from exhaustion, you'd think she was doing nothing other than paying extra mind to the child.
He continued to play with Eli's hands, turning to pull at the jacket Touya had on, babbling and giggling as he did so.
The rest stayed close by as they walked out of the mall in tight formation.
Eli smiled up at Touya, looking over to see Keigo standing beside him. In front of her were the boys, the back of their heads telling her that only three of them were 'guarding' her, Kota sitting in Katsuki's arms, turning around to look back at Eli frequently. Himiko was on the other side of Touya, while Ren followed with Shouta, Hizashi, and Izuku, Izuku having urged Eri away from them, holding her exhausted body as Ren steadied the other men.
Although Eli sat with a proud smile on her face.
"Wait, wait!" Eli said, trying to sit up in Touya's hold.
"Don't even think about it," he threatened, holding her in place making Ren laugh at the fact that she actually listened to him instead of Ren. Touya had an annoyed look on his face. It wasn't toward Eli, but at the entire situation, and he was doing his best not to cry in front of all the kids because the question of why sat in Touya's head like a rock.
'Why does she keep having to get hurt?' he asked himself.
"What is it Nee-chan?" Shoto asked, his worry climbing as he moved to hold Eli's free hand.
Eli pursed her lips.
"We'll be fine, go get our stuff off the floor. I'm not re-purchasing all that," Eli stated.
"Are you serious right now Bell?" Katsuki said through grit teeth.
"Yup. Izuku is on online baby shopping duty when we get to the hospital too,"
Izuku giggled just a little, rubbing Eri's back. The tears in his eyes hadn't dried, but right now he couldn't help but be thankful that she was up and talking.
"Okay, Nee-chan, I'll do it," Izuku said through his tears.
"Will you help him Himi, Kat? You-" she took a couple of heavy breaths.
"You'll need lots of stuff okay? Diapers, wipes, soap for babies, get formula and baby food, oh and get some eczema lotion that's safe for babies, onesies, and pajamas. No shoes, I doubt he can walk, so socks will do" Eli chuckled to herself.
"Already planning on keeping this one?" Keigo asked, teary yet happy eyes staring at Eli as felt her hand squeeze his arm sporadically. She smiled a bit.
"Yeah, I'm sure no one else will take him," Eli muttered, sadly looking at the baby.
She knew this didn't wash away his crimes, but if she could give him a chance, a chance to grow up correctly, then she would.
She could care less about her workload or how much heavier it'd be. This was a full-on baby and babies needed more time, attention, and care. The only baby she'd ever had was Izuku, but, it was because of her care that her children trusted her enough to step away and begin grabbing all the shopping bags that were left on the floor including Touya's painting that had done nothing but fall over in all the chaos.
Maybe she could help with this one too.
Maybe Shigaraki didn't deserve what she was willing to do given all he'd done, but he was nothing but a child now.
And all children deserve a chance.
·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•٠·˙ ˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•٠·˙
11987 words
yes you read that right, 10,000+ words
now it's time to watch moon knight and then get some homework done.
hope you enjoyed the chapter.
i actually had planned to have eli literally murder shigaraki for being behind their kidnapping, but shigaraki is such an interesting character that as i was writing i just kept feeling more and more bad for him.
i had to do something that wouldn't exactly redeem him, but at least give him the chance to grow up nicely. this is also part of the reason i had them save eri so early because i wanted him this way before they go get their provisional licenses, and then we can just focus on their growing family dynamic (after she wipes out any other issues that might arise like extra yakuza members)
i don't plan to give you guys more heartache concerning how the boys feel about the dorm situation. yall know Eli, and she will make sure they and everyone else is good, while Keigo, Touya, and her friends make sure she's good
also if you haven't noticed, i'm trying to create like a father/son relationship with Kota and the Keigo/Touya, slowly but surely. mostly because i don't want there to be any confusion regarding their relationships since i know with so many characters it can get a little confusing. i also don't want it to feel forced, like just because the boys know that T+K like eli doesn't mean they are addressing them differently than what they are comfortable with
anyway, bye guys, love you love you love you!
eat, drink, pee!
^ keigo getting ready to do anything eli and keigo ask him (the man is smitten)