For Her | Sequel to 'Number 7' | Aizawa x OC Fanfic

Thirty Two: An Unlikely Ally

Akiyasu

Shota had urged me to go on a walk with him and Eri this morning. Afraid to disappoint him, I agreed and got dressed into something other than sweats and a t-shirt. Stepping outside for the first time since I had left the hospital was scary, but seeing all the faces of the students, their families, and my friends wasn't as overwhelming as I had expected it to be.

I smiled at them, nodded, waved, and said polite hellos, but I didn't stay for conversation. When we finally reached the sidewalk that tracked the outside of the UA buildings, I took a deep breath and tried to enjoy the sunshine on my skin.

We didn't get far before Shota grabbed my hand and clasped our fingers together, holding onto me as we walked.

"Thank you for coming with me." Shota said suddenly, making me turn to look at his face. He was smiling at me- something I hadn't seen him do in a long time.

"You shouldn't have to thank me." I frowned, sighing and resting my head on his shoulder.

He placed a kiss at the top of my head. "I just want you to smile."

Letting out a breath, I straightened, turned my face to look at him once more, and smiled at him. "I will try."

"Look at that. You're already doing it."

He got me to laugh a little, which caused him to immediately look happy despite the lack of teeth in his small smile.

"Hey, look what I can do!" Eri suddenly yelled at us, running ahead of us before doing a somersault in the grass.

Smiling to myself, I held onto Shota's hand tighter and leaned into him, watching Eri with as much attention as I could possibly give.

"She's getting bigger." I remarked.

Shota chuckled. "I noticed that too."

The two of us watched her run around for a while, laughing at her antics as we walked by ourselves. By the time we had reached the front gate, Eri had tired herself out and Shota had scooped her into his arms.

"Oh, to have a child's energy." I lamented.

Shota laughed and rubbed her back gently. "She certainly knows how to enjoy herself now."

"Then we did something right." I smiled, reaching up and brushing a hair behind her ear.

Sighing, I looked to the trees only to stop short when I noticed a figure standing outside of the gate. Shota followed my gaze, noticing the same person immediately.

"Know him?" He asked me, to which I shook my head.

"I'll go see what he wants." He offered, handing Eri off to me. Holding onto her tightly, I watched from a distance as Shota approached the gate but didn't step outside.

The two spoke in tones too quiet to hear, but nothing exciting happened that I could observe. Eventually, Shota turned on his heel and came back to me, a piece of paper in his hand.

"What's that?" I asked, waiting for him to catch up to me.

"A phone number." He answered. "That guy told me to call this number."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "He wouldn't say. He just walked off."

"What's your gut telling you?" I asked him, wondering if he felt uneasy about it.

"I'm a little hesitant."

"What's the worst that can happen?"

"I don't know. With the quirks that exist now, It's hard to tell what could happen." He answered honestly, to which I nodded.