Eri's Hero Academia

The First Day of School

Eri fussed about with the hem of her yellow shirt as Mirio led her to the black car parked on the curb of the hero school's entrance. Backpack heavy with her new supplies, she stuck close to Mirio's side as always. Pink blossoms flooded the trees in every street, the full force of spring unable to ignore; along with the start of the new school year. Second grade, the anxiety this term brought on hit Eri in waves.

She remained silent as the car ride droned on, Mirio idly spoke on about different topics as the many shops and other building fronts passed by. What the topics were, Eri didn't know- she wasn't paying attention. After a while, even the passing scene from the window couldn't distract her from her own thoughts.

Betraying herself, she took a long look at her arms, exposed by the short sleeves. She studied each jagged mark and pink line in full, her vision tunneling in, mind drifting to darker memories.

"Hello? Earth-to-Eri!" Mirio frantically waved his hand in front of her face. When the girl turned her head upward to greet the blonde, he was smiling, "What's up, you looked like you were thinking real hard."

Eri hesitated. She often found it hard to put some of her doubt and fear into words, but her anxiety spilled out, "...What if the others don't like me? What if my scars scare them? What if I scare them? What if they hate me?!"

Mirio suddenly grabbed her tiny hands and held them in his.

"Eri, listen to me," Mirio paused, "No one is going to be scared of you and no one is going to hate you. Do you want to know how I know that?"

Eri shrugged.

"Because I know that you're a great person. You're cheerful, sweet, and super friendly, and are always up to trying something new. Your scars won't scare them away, if anything they'll just show how brave you are."

Eri felt hot tears roll down her cheeks. Mirio did nothing but boost her spirits and happiness since he rescued her. She didn't feel worthy of any of it, but kept that to herself as she rubbed at her face and tried to stop the tears.

"Hey, hey, there's no need for that!" Mirio removed her hands from her face and grinned at her. He gripped his chin and looked to be deep in thought, "But if you're really that worried about the other students..." he snapped his fingers and smirked, "Maybe you can practice introducing yourself!"

Eri raised her head in interest, "Introduce myself?"

"Yeah! You basically say your name in front of the class."

"Oh."

"It's okay! That's why we can practice here! Like this: I'm Mirio Togata and I like heroes and ramen!" Mirio then settled back into a relaxed position. "Just go for it!"

"Okay," she steeled herself, "I'm Eri."

Mirio laughed, "That's great, but maybe add some other things. A last name and some interests for starters."

Eri nodded in understanding, "I got it," Mirio leaned in, ready to listen to her, "I'm Eri and I like apples."

"Great! But what about a last name?"

"The last name is the name that comes after the first name, right?" Eri recalled one of her previous lessons.

Mirio nodded.

Eri looked down, spirits falling once again, "Overhaul took care of me when my mother gave me to him," Mirio scowled, as what Chisaki did to Eri couldn't possibly qualify as 'care', "I'll have his name, everyone would know that he was a villain. I don't want anyone to know about that. The others would think that I'm a villain, too." The last sentence was barely a whisper.