Glitch • BNHA x Reader

Chapter Twenty-Six

You needed to talk to Aizawa. Why, you may ask? You needed his permission to keep Eri in the dorms. You trusted him to look after her. The only problem was that you hadn't talked to him ever since coming back to the dorms. You knew that you probably should have, but unfortunately you had been a tad bit busy grieving the death of your friend for the past few days.

So, as you trudged your way to the 1A dorms, you held your arms to your chest, trying to think of what you would say to the older man when you arrived. I'm sorry would be a good start, you thought to yourself. Eri held your hand as you walked, the two of you ignoring any weird looks that the students gave you as you passed.

You weren't sure how you'd explain her presence to him. You weren't sure how much you could tell him without it raising his suspicions. You couldn't just... say that you found her abandoned in an alley, could you? That would be a bold-faced lie. You knew that you'd have no choice but to tell him that you'd been working for the yakuza boss, which you were certain was a conversation that would go absolutely swimmingly.

When you arrived at 1A, you were greeted with a cheery faced Mina, who immediately started gushing over Eri. The poor girl didn't respond well, hiding her face in your side as you asked the pink-skinned girl where her teacher was. Mina pointed you in his direction and you set off again, careful to keep Eri close by.

When you reached the man, you were hesitant to speak. He looked over at you and did a double take, as if surprised that you were even there at all. You gave him a weak smile, Eri's hand squeezing your own. She seemed to know how nervous you were for this and did her best to comfort you despite being in a whole new environment herself. You had to say, you appreciated the kid.

You stared at the teacher for a while longer before he spoke curtly. "You're okay."

You nodded, averting your eyes to the side. "I... I'm managing."

Although only Mirio knew what had happened that night with Overhaul, it was clear to anyone who looked at you that you had been through something traumatic. There were prominent bags under your eyes that weren't there before, and the way that you carried yourself was different- wary, even. Your eyes no longer sparked with confidence and your smile didn't reach them either. Needless to say, you looked like hell.

"I'd ask what happened, but I don't think you'd tell me," he told you, and you flinched. At your involuntary action, he sighed, and his eyes flicked towards Eri curiously. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you probably wouldn't want to talk about it, anyways. Who's the kid?"

"This is Eri," you began. You told him almost everything- from Overhaul saving you from your attackers on the street to you working under him as his babysitter. Aizawa listened to you in stunned silence, clearly not expecting you to have gone through all of this. You continued nevertheless. "I found her a while ago wandering around in an alleyway. I'd been looking for a way to get her out of Overhaul's care for a while now, and this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. She needs somewhere safe. Is it okay if she stays here with me?"

Aizawa sighed, expression growing soft as he took in the kid that was cowering behind you. "Look. I won't deny that some of the decisions that you've made are incredibly stupid. But what's done is done, and you can't change the past. I appreciate you being honest with me. The kid can stay."

You felt tears well up in your eyes as you listened to him speak. Without thinking, you wrapped him in a hug, a stifled sob coming from you. You felt him stiffen in shock, but one of his hands came around you to wrap you in a half hug. You couldn't help but appreciate the notion as you pulled back, a small smile on your lips.

"Thank you." You meant it. You knew that he still didn't know the full story, but at least Eri had some place that would look after her now. At least she wouldn't have to worry about getting dragged back to the son of a bitch who had murdered your friend. That was more than enough for you.