ʙᴀʙʏ ꜱᴛᴇᴘꜱ

(Thank you sm for the feature!!)

°•.•╔✿════๏⊙๏════✿╗•.•°

Introduction

.•°•╚✿════๏⊙๏════✿╝•°•.

Howdy! Welcome to my writing blog. For this month’s prompt for Ethergency’s “Year of the Tiger”, I decided to write a fluffy story with Eri and Aizawa! This prompt was pretty hard though…and not just cause I did this last minute! I wanted a scenario where Eri has to be brave, it’s not exactly how I wanted it to turn out, even as it’s a bit shorter than I wanted it to be, but overall it’s still solid! I hope y’all enjoy!

I wouldn’t have made this story without :snake: , they really helped me out with the idea.

☆:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::☆

Words: 768; 4,387 characters

Characters: Platonic Eri and Aizawa Shota, Kota, Mandalay/Shino

Warnings: Tooth-rotting fluff, minor references to torture and violence

Date started: 1-31-22

Date ended: 1-31-22

Time taken: Roughly 3 hours

Synopsis: Eri and Aizawa go to the park.

But Eri’s afraid…of what precisely? Thankfully,

Aizawa is there for her

Tags: #Leaderreview

°•.•╔✿════๏⊙๏════✿╗•.•°

The Story

.•°•╚✿════๏⊙๏════✿╝•°•.

She couldn’t do it.

She couldn’t do this, not here.

She’s a curse, a tool for destruction.

She’s no better than a villain.

Eri’s inner demons screeched like sirens. Loud. Piercing. Cruel and unmerciful. They never yielded to silence.

Her petite frame trembled, eyes rooted at the dirt below in a downcast glare. A sturdy body nudged her forward. Children screamed.

“It’s time, Eri…”.

She clamped her eyes shut, head shaking rapidly. The tiger plushie squished snugly in between her fingers. A heavy sigh escaped from the man.

The taller body shifted, moving to kneel at eye level. Aizawa settled his hand to frame the white-haired girl’s chin, gently encouraging her to meet his gaze.

“Eri…look at me, you have to do this by yourself hun. I can’t make new friends for you.” Even as grouchy as he sounded, Eri could sense the care laced in the rough edges of his voice. She felt grounded to his words, a comfort to her growing anxiety.

Ruby red orbs peeled open steadily, bottom lip wobbling.

“B-But peepaw, I’m scared! What if…what if the other kids don’t like me? What if they’re scared of me?”. Eri’s voice was panicked in a hushed mumble, so lowered that Aizawa almost didn’t catch what she whispered.

They were at a local park just a few miles away from the school. It’s been constant days in and out of the classroom. So Aizawa figured it would be a nice change to take the poor girl out to the park, to try and get Eri to socialize with other children her age; a chance she’s never been given before. However, there was an issue. Aizawa knew that Eri had trouble accepting new people into her life, but what he exactly didn’t count on was Eri’s fear. Not of the other kids, but-

Herself.

The harmful years Eri spent suffering the harmful damage of Overhaul’s abuse. The overbearing guilt built upon told what she was being used for. The torture she had to endure, and the constant experimentation with her quirk…Aizawa couldn’t imagine what nightmares lay dormant in her fragile head. It’s no wonder why she’s taken naps during their study sessions.

He drew his eyebrows together, sympathetic as he rubbed the tears that leaked out of Eri’s lashes. “Eri, shh, we’ve gone over this sweetie. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can assure you that no one will be scared. I’ll be here for you.” Aizawa smoothed his thumb over Eri’s cheeks, wiping the remaining tears away.

The young girl sniffed, mouth open in protest. “My…but what if my quirk goes off? I don’t wanna hurt anyone peepaw…”. She latched onto his black shirt, nuzzling her head into the soft fabric. He cards his fingers through her long braided hair before pulling back.

“You won’t. You’ve shown remarkable strength in your quirk control kiddo. Don’t worry, you have nothing to be afraid of. I trust you, hun, it’s time you trust yourself…”. He kissed her forehead, nuzzling her nose as he looked behind Eri, smiling ever so lightly; saved and reserved just for Eri only. “Come on sweetpea, look who’s here.”

Eri wiped her eyes, blinking. She turned around, instantly feeling butterflies burst in her stomach. It was Kota, shuffling with Shino, otherwise known as Mandalay. They approached the pair and Eri suddenly felt small. She hid behind Aizawa’s legs, peeking out to stare at the boy. Kota stared back, both unsure of what to do.

Aizawa cleared his throat, patting Eri’s head to encourage her. She clutched her plushie tighter, took a deep breath, and tiptoed to Kota.

“U-um, my name is Eri…and this is Mr. Tiger…do you…do you like heroes?”

Kota nodded eagerly, bravely coming up to Eri; his eyes sparkled.

“I do…you do too?”.

Eri bobbed her head. Kota gasped and pointed to a nearby sandbox.

“Come on then! Follow me, I wanna talk more about heroes!”. He tugged her hand.

Looking for permission, Eri was pleased to have been given a nod from Aizawa. She giggled, allowing the boy to lead them to the sandbox. As they ran off, Mandalay stood next to Aizawa and chuckled.

“Aww, how cute, your babysitting Eri now? Didn’t think the grouchy Eraserhead would want to look after a kid.” She joked lightly.

Aizawa’s eyes never left Eri, who shyly presented her horn to Kota. The hero huffed, “I’m not babysitting…that kid grew on me ok? She’s like a daughter to me…”.

He ignored Mandalay’s cooes, his attention focused on the happy expression on Eri’s face.

Daughter…Aizawa grew warm at the thought.

—————————————

°•.•╔✿════๏⊙๏════✿╗•.•°

Artist Credit!

.•°•╚✿════๏⊙๏════✿╝•°•.

• @fenkko on Instagram

————————

Thank you for checking out my blog! If you have any comments, feel free to leave them down below. Have a great day and or a pleasant night! :)

————————