All The Power

46: Watching TV

The glow from Eri's quirk died down and the little girl lowered her hands from the formally potted plant, now a pot of soil. Izuku crouched down next to her and gave her a beaming smile.

"Wonderful! You didn't need any help that time. You're doing great." Izuku complimented her and patted her head.

Eri shyly ducked her head at the praise but looked up with a smile. "Thanks."

It's been less than a week since the Wild Wild Pussy Cats visited. The Hero Billboard will be coming up soon but Izuku didn't much care for it. The only other thing to note was the elevated security around UA after the School Festival. Apparently, the villain duo that broke in was the last straw for the School board. They demanded UA implement even more security which surely hit their budget heavily. Now, it's a regular thing to see exam robots roaming the school grounds scanning constants for threats. In addition, Izuku saw a few people installing devices near the walls that showed UA grounds. He guessed that they were some kind of sensors.

The biggest thing for Izuku during that time was Eri. She began to smile regularly and he was overjoyed to see the usually quiet and reserved girl be more expressive. The rest of Izuku's gang was similarly happy for the child and they did their best to get her to smile even more by goofing off or messing around near her.

"I'm getting kinda hungry, how about you?" Izuku asked Eri as he stood up.

She tilted her head in consideration and shrugged. "A little."

He smiled and nodded. "A snack it is." He led the way back inside the dorms and to the kitchen.

Denki and Hanta looked up from the kitchen counter where they were eating some chips while chatting and playing on their phones. The two waved in greeting at the absorber and child. Eri went up to the other two comfortably and was helped up into an open chair at the counter. Hanta slid over the plate of chips to Eri without looking away from his phone. Denki pouted when his hand only met the counter. He quickly got off his seat and sat on the other side of Eri to gain access to the plate of chips again.

Izuku looked through the cabinets for something healthier for Eri and asked the other two. "What's going on?" He caught a glance at the screens on their phones were the same.

Hanta hummed out. "Just reading if there was anything different for the Hero Billboard this year. Other than a new number-one hero in thirty-odd years." He shrugged towards the end.

"Probably be Endeavor, right? He doesn't have the charisma of All Might, no one does, but he's in line for the number one spot." Denki added.

Izuku nodded at their statements and began to wash an apple for Eri. He began to cut it into slices as he spoke. "Crime will rise, it's inevitable. All Might was a crime deterrent, one way too big. And what happens when that deterrent leaves a hole too big to fill, crime rises to seep through the gaps." Izuku set the plate of apple slices in front of Eri.

Denki nodded and then smirked at his friend. "You'd be real good in a poetry club. Maybe ask Tokoyami, I'm sure he knows a few spots."

Hanta snorted and pointed at Izuku with a chip. "That wasn't poetry, it was just idioms and metaphor speak."

"What'd you call him?" Denki asked in a horrible Texan accent. "He ain't no idiot." He tipped an invisible hat in respect of Izuku.

Denki got what he wanted as Eri giggled softly at their back and forth. The other three smiled at hearing her laugh and continued with their conversation.

The night came and most everyone in 1A was gathered up in the common room to watch the Billboard begin. Izuku was sandwiched between Tooru and Denki on the couch with Mina playing on her phone seated at his feet between Tooru and him. Everyone was watching the TV as the program began with the introduction of the host and moved on to notable events that happened in the past year. Most of it was focused on the battle between All Might and All for One. Clips were shown here and there with the final scene of the battle showing Yagi Toshinori standing victorious over a beaten All for One.