Chapter 38

Eri wasn't sure about the League of Villains for a long time. For the first week around them, she was skittish, trying not to get too close to them for fear of betrayal or of Kai bursting into the apartment complex, killing them all and dragging her back to her prison of a room. Tomura told her that he'd quite literally disarmed Kai so she'd be safe forever from him but she didn't believe him. He seemed like a scary man himself with his skin scarred but he seemed bluntly honest. He never lied to her. Not like the dozens of carers Kai hired over the year she was with him. If anything, he was one of the easiest to be around of the entire League alongside Atsuhiro, Kenji, Kurogiri, Izuku and Toru. None of them ever made any sudden movements and all of them were super nice.

Then there were others she was less happy to be around. Himiko and Mina were extremely excitable and she wasn't a fan. Jin was a bit less jumpy however he was the same amount of excitable. She didn't like how Ochako and Denki got too close to her face. Hiiro's attitude reminded her too much of a past carer who had tormented her for a week until Kai dismissed him, though he never raised a hand to her personally. Kendo was strange. He wasn't always around, but when he was, he avoided her for some reason. Maybe he hated her. Then there was Haru.

Doctor Haru and Eri had a very complicated relationship. She hated doctors. Too much time being strapped to medical equipment, being studied and prodded and torn apart and put back together. And yet Haru was kind. She gave a lollipop to eat while she looked over the scars on her arms and legs. Her touch was careful and soft unlike the other doctors and Kai who were cold and ruthless. She never caused her pain. But even still, she just couldn't bring herself to be around Haru for long. Every time she saw her, the white of her coat or the surgical mask she wore on occasion, she froze and felt herself forced to remember flashes of her time with Kai. She avoided her as much as she could.

It took her about two weeks to feel settled in to the apartment complex at least enough to not see shadows about to grab her around every corner. Thanks to Toru, Eri had new clothes and toys to play with and she felt safe in the small room she had in Izuku's apartment and close enough to someone she trusted when she didn't on certain nights. She even started to get used to some of the quirky behaviours of some of the other residents, like Mina or Jin. She liked the meals and drinks Kurogiri prepared her. She even was starting to learn basic reading and writing skills from Atsuhiro and Kenji. She finally felt safe. Which is why she felt even more on edge whenever she thought that, somehow, Kai would find her and tear it all away.

There was something Eri never got however. One of the rooms in the complex was something that Tomura had described as a Rec room. The League members often went in to relieve stress in various activities like darts or video games, something Eri found she enjoyed though she was still getting the hang of the different controls. But in there, for some reason, was a partially destroyed sword. Well, it looked like a sword. In reality it was a big pipe with knives and short, long blades attached to it with what looked like duct tape and three belts. There was a plaque under it that she couldn't read yet.

" Mister Compress." Eri asked one day during her lessons. " Who did that sword belong too?" Atsuhiro's face darkened at the question.

" Shuichi Iguichi." He answered. " His code name was Spinner. He was one who rallied to our cause same time I and a few others arrived. His name is beneath on the plaque. I can teach you how to read it, if you like."

" No. That's fine." Eri shook her head. " Did something bad happened to him?"

" Yes. He… had to go away." Compress said sadly. " That blade is something we use to memorialize him. That and these." Compress stood up and rolled up his trouser legs. Eri watched as two knife holsters became visible, wrapped around his lower legs. " Sometimes, you cannot rely on your quirk. Spinner knew that more than most. So, we all carry a few of the knives he held in his sword. For the moment we need it. Call it the ace up our sleeves, if you so wish."

" You're honouring his memory?"

" Indeed." Eri looked down.

" Grandfather told me that was important."

" Your grandfather?"

" I didn't know him long. A month maybe. He took me from Mom. He told me some things I don't really remember anymore. It didn't make sense to me at the time. But he said that honour to the departed is an important job for the living."

" He sounds like a wise man." Atsuhiro furrowed his eyebrows. " What happened to him, if you don't mind me asking?"

" He got sick. Then Mister Kai took over his group and put me in that dark place."

" Ah. I see. I apologize. I shouldn't have asked such terrible questions."

" It's fine." Eri sighed. " Can we just… get back to reading."

" Of course." Atsuhiro nodded. Their lesson ended shortly after that. Eri couldn't concentrate. She wondered who Spinner was and what he was like. She wondered if his loss was something that to do with Kai. If it was, it had to be her fault in someway..

Eri grew to really like Mina and Himiko. There was something about the two girls and how they seemed to be completely unafraid of anything and were always so full of energy that made them get past even her defensive personality. At first, their outgoing personalities and erratic behaviour scared her. But after a while, she got used to it and started to grow closer to the two girls. They were like big sisters. Sometimes, when Izuku was busy and Toru was away at school, Himiko and Mina would invite them to their apartment. There, Mina taught her something called dancing. It was fun but exhausting. Today she wasn't in the mood.

" What's the matter, Eri? You look glum." Himiko asked, sitting upside down over the two's sofa while Mina danced to a game in front of their TV. " I mean, you never smile which is a bit creepy, but today you look extra glum."

" I asked Mister Compress about that sword in the rec room." Eri said sadly. Himiko spun around, to sit up right.

" Spinner, right?" Himiko frowned. " We never really talked too much but he was always so happy. I mean, we killed Stainy but he seemed to blame heroes and idolised him and joined us cause of it. He was a bit naïve but he was nice. And his knives are really high quality. I use two of his and two of my own now."

" I have one I keep in my back pocket in case my quirk gets stopped by Eraserhead." Mina turned to the two, pausing her game. " My acid can melt through anything it can cut, but that guy is a real pain."

" Eraserhead?" Eri tipped her head in confusion.

" As long as he looks at you, you can't use your quirk so long as it's not a mutant quirk. Like Toru's second quirk, just a whole lot less limited." Himiko sighed. " It's not to damning for me but for Dabi and Bestie? Horrible."

" It could stop me hurting people."

" I don't think you need help with that."

" B-But… I'm-"

" Ah. I won't hear it." Himiko childishly covered her ears. Mina laughed, sitting between the two.

" She's right, Eri. You aren't a bad girl." Mina told her. " Everyone's quirk start off scary. Take mine for instance. I can create acid. I have destroyed SO many tables you don't even know. My mother has a massive acid burn across the left side of her face from when I first got it and started panicking and throwing it everywhere. But I learned, got better and now I can control it. You'll get there too in time. I trust you. You won't hurt anyone you don't want to hurt."

" I don't want to hurt anyone."

" Neither did I. Once."

" Ah. You're all being so moppy." Himiko complained. " Let's have some fun!"

" Right. Come on Eri." Mina got up, offering the young girl a hand and a grin. " Let's dance."

Denki and Ochako arrived later that night and were happy to find Eri waiting for them. When she asked about Spinner, Denki was happy to show off his knife, blade blackened by electric burns. He laughed about how he really should look after it better. According to Ochako, some of hers was a part of her suit, ready when she needed them most. Until then, she relied on fighting techniques Dabi had taught her, though had a few on her person. Things got a bit more serious when topic of Denki's day came up.

" Being a hero is such a pain." Denki complained. " The lessons speak so high and mighty about saving people and justice."

" If you don't like it, quit." Ochako told him.

" If it was only so simple."

" I don't understand." Eri frowned.

" What he means, Eri, is that heroes are hypocrites." The group looked up as Hitoshi stepped into the room, stifling a yawn. " They talk a big game and act like heroes to everyone but they really only care about themselves. That and the power the title Hero gives." Eri looked down. " Sorry, didn't mean to bring down the mood."

" Hey, Toshi." Ochako waved. " You look tired."

" I'm always tired. That's my secret."

" Ha. Not much of a secret." Denki laughed.

" Yeah. True."

" Is that why he didn't save me?" The three looked down sharply to Eri. " The hero with the big number and the cape. Is that why he didn't take me away from Mister Kai? Why he only came back when everyone else did too? Did he not care enough about me?"

" Oh, Eri." Ochako pulled the girl into a hug. " I'm so sorry."

" It's a shame, but that's how heroes work. If there's no fame in it for them, they'll only save their own skin." Hitoshi said with a shrug. " I'm sorry. I forgot you'd know that just as well as I do."

" What happened to you Mister Toshi?" Hitoshi sighed.

" My father, only guy I had left who loved me before this place. He… ain't coming back to me after something a hero did." Hitoshi tightened his fist. " At first I thought it was just one hero. I mean, we're raised to think they're our protectors after all. But then I came here and I realised…"

" They're all the same." Ochako sighed. " Izuku. He helped us all so much. But a hero told him, just because he was… Izuku calls it being broken. Not having a quirk or having a quirk that didn't work properly. He was Quirkless. And cause of that, the hero told him he couldn't do anything he dreamed of."

" Mister Izuku… was broken like me?"

" It was cause of that he reached out and helped us." Hitoshi said. " Cause he knows suffering. As do I and Ochako and Denki and everyone else in the League. And it's never right. And it's never your fault."

" But… it is. It's all my fault." Eri sniffed. " And, because of me, even your friend… he's gone because of-"

" Don't you dare." Ochako's voice shook. " That was that bastard Overhaul. It had nothing to do with you. Don't you dare blame yourself for Spinner's death."

" B-But, those bullets he made. T-They were because of m-me. So… If I didn't exist then-" She was cut off by Ochako hugging her even harder. Eri began to sob into the gravity girl's shoulder. " I-I'm sorry. I'm s-so so sorry."

" Don't be. It's not your fault. It never was." She whispered to her. The tears didn't stop but she felt safe. She wanted that feeling to last forever.

Eri was silent at lunch the next morning. She usually was, but Kurogiri could tell something was bothering her. He heard from Denki about what happened the night before. She was still blaming herself for everyone getting hurt. And now she even found a way to make the death of a man she never met into her fault. Truly, the girl thought little of herself. " Eri, my dear, may I ask you something?"

" Huh?"

" Why do you believe so little of yourself?"

" Because… I'm cursed." Eri looked down. " And I'm scared."

" Scared?"

" Because… you've all been so nice to me. But… when you realise I'm a danger… then I know it will end."

" Still concerned we will throw you away, hmm?" Kurogiri shook his head. " I promise you. We will not do that."

" But why? I still don't understand why you're being so nice to me."

" Because you are worth it." He answered simply. " You asked Izuku and Toru for aid and we shall help you with it."

" What he means is that you're one of us now." Tomura sat down in his usual spot at the corner of the bar hunching over as Kurogiri stepped to the side to pour his master a drink. " No curse, pain or anything else is gonna make us throw you away. We look after our own. Have a little faith."

" Mister Tomura." Eri looked over at him.

" My quirk is like yours, y'know. I can kill people with a touch if I want to. Except I can also destroy anything. Gotta be real careful. It's what the gloves are for." Tomura explained. " I killed people on accident long before I did it on purpose. People call us things. Monster. Curse. It's not because that's what we are. It's because they're scared of what we can do. It ain't got nothing to do with you and everything to do with other people." He looked over at her. " Stop letting other people dictate what you think of yourself."

" How wise." Kurogiri said.

" What do I feel like you're mocking me?"

" I would never do such a thing." Kurogiri replied. The tone of voice seemed to suggest he was lying but Eri wasn't really paying attention to it.

" What I think of myself…" She muttered. Ever since her quirk manifested, she was always called curse. Everyone said it. Why would everyone be wrong? She was a cursed, evil girl who, no matter what she did, she got someone hurt or killed. But that's not what Toru saw her as. Nor Izuku. Nor anyone in the League. Izuku used the word broken, but it wasn't used as a bad thing. Just someone who needed help. He was already trying to help with her quirk but, even when she messed up and accidentally turned a glass back into sandstone, he never shouted or got mad. He was understanding. And Toru was he same. To them, she was something more than cursed. She was… just Eri. " Why?" She muttered. " Why do you all care so much?" Tomura raised a confused eyebrow.

" Cause you're a stupid kid?" He answered. " I dunno. The bird bastard is a complete jackass. Whatever he told you, you're better off just forgetting it completely."

" But my quirk-"

" Stop worrying about it. You're too young for that." Tomura hummed. " Your quirk works by touch, right?"

" I-I think so?" Tomura dug threw his pocket before tossing a pair of gloves along the bar counter to her. They were black in colour and the section around the thumb had been crudely cut off, leaving loose strings where it had been.

" Use those if you're so worried. If you can't touch thing you can't activate your quirk. That's why I use mine." Tomura took a sip. Eri looked at them, slightly confused, before slipping them on. All three watched the fingers of the gloves flop down.

" I believe they are a bit too big for her, Tomura." Kurogiri snarked.

" Right. Didn't think of that. Fuck."

" If you'd like, I can send Haru to get a pair for you."

" I-If you think it will help." Eri mumbled. She glanced up at Tomura, somewhat confused. Maybe he wasn't as scary as he looked.

" He really did all that?" Dabi asked.

" Yeah." Eri nodded, glancing down at the simple pink gloves on her hands. Dabi burst out laughing.

" I can't see it. So soppy." Dabi shook his head. He raised a hand. " Hit me." Around the table Eri was sitting at this evening while Izuku and Toru were talking with Tomura was Dabi, Shoto, Momo, Kenji and Hiiro all playing some card game Eri didn't quite understand. She couldn't quite count as high as 21 yet and the pictures on the cards confused her so she sat out and watched. Momo, the card dealer, raise a hand and fire a card out of it at Dabi.

" He doesn't seem the type, I admit." Kenji laughed. Shoto nodded at Momo, who fired a card at him next. " I'll stay."

" Hit me." Hiiro asked. " Maybe he's the type of jackass to act cold to everyone but have a soft spot for kids."

" But then wouldn't he be more caring towards you?" Dabi snarked.

" Screw off." Hiiro huffed.

" I don't understand." Eri sighed.

" No-one can understand him."

" I'll stay." Dabi told Momo. Shoto shook his head.

" Hiiro has a point." Shoto admitted. " I can sort of understand Izuku, but Tomura's antics are a mystery to me."

" He cares about us and doesn't tend to lie. It's good enough for me." Kenji smiled. " I'll stay."

" Hit me." Hiiro said. He growled upon getting his card. " Ah fu-"

" Hiiro." Momo gave him a warning.

" Sorry."

" Everyone else staying?" Momo asked. They nodded. Everyone flipped over their cards.

" Ha ha! Suck it!" Dabi shouted. " You're a lucky charm, Kid!" Eri flinched at the sudden noise. " Oops. Sorry."

" I-It's fine." Eri muttered. " But I don't understand why you all put up with me." The group looked between each other.

" We would never turn you away." Shoto said simply.

" No duh." Hiiro chuckled. " It's cool to have someone younger than me here to stop these idiots taunting me."

" I'm still gonna do that." Dabi admitted.

" Why am I not surprised?"

" We don't need a reason to look after someone, you know." Momo told her.

" Indeed, dear. People like us look after our own." Magne smiled. " We may be called Villains, but we aren't all bad. We just protect our own and want to make life better for our own. And you are our own."

" But I don't understand-"

" Why?" Momo asked. Eri nodded her head slightly. " Because we know what it's like. To be lied to."

" To be tormented." Shoto muttered.

" To be hated for who you are." Magne told her. " Don't be worried Eri. We'll protect you from here on out. You're one of us, after all."

It wasn't long after that before Toru and Izuku returned, Eri immediately returning to their side. Some others came out of the bar to play cards with the others while other simply watched. Eri watched them carefully. She watched Himiko and Mina playfully taunting Dabi. Watched as Shoto and Momo discussed day to day topics between rounds, with Kurogiri giving Momo a break as the card dealer. As Atsuhiro and Kenji played the adults, watching over everyone. Watched Tomura get annoyed into a game by Hiiro and Jin, pushed into it by Haru. She looked up, watching Toru and Izuku simply relaxing, laughing along with it all. It finally hit her. She was safe here. No-one was going to steal her away. No-one was going to hurt her. No-one was going to abandon her or push her away. As it hit her and she finally accepted everyone's words, tears formed in her eyes.

" Eri? Are you alright?" Toru asked.

" Y-Yeah." Eri nodded. A small, foreign feeling of gentle warmth started welling up inside of her. A small smile crept onto her face as she finally let her guard down. This was her family now.