Unlikely As It May Seem (An Izumina Fanfiction)

Ch. 39: The Return of a Hero

To say Aizawa, Izuku, and Mina were shocked by what Eri had said would have been an understatement. But to say it with such conviction truly floored those present. So much so that Aizawa showed a surprising amount of emotion for the normally stoic underground hero. He was, however, the quickest to regain his composure, kneeling down in front of the girl.

"Eri," he said, finding his voice. "This is a very big decision, but it could also potentially be dangerous. For you, and for Ragdoll." Hearing that it could be dangerous gave the little girl pause, and her determination seemed to falter a bit. Tears began to well up in her eyes.

"I don't want to hurt the nice lady," she said. "I just want her to be happy." There was a moment of silence as Aizawa looked over to Izuku and Mina. Izuku was deep in thought before speaking up.

"Why don't we pitch the idea to Ragdoll?" he said. "See what she thinks. She may be up for it, as long as we have fail-safes and contingencies in place to protect both of them." He then looked Aizawa directly in the eye. "Obviously, you would need to be present to erase her Quirk should things start to go south." Aizawa nodded, while Mina allowed a little smile to cross her face.

"Izu and Eri are right, though," the pink-skinned girl added. "This could be a really good thing." His students were right, Aizawa nodded, before looking back over to Eri.

"If you're still sure about this, we can go and talk to them, but," there was a pause, and everyone paid attention whenever he started a phrase with 'but', "I'm going to give you the night to sleep on it before you rush to this kind of decision. If tomorrow, you still feel the same way, we'll meet with the Pussycats to discuss it."

Eri nodded vigorously, before leaping into Aizawa's arms.

"Thank you for believing in me," she near-whispered, though Izuku and Mina had heard her. It brought tears to their eyes, as Eri broke the embrace and then ran over to the two of them, reiterating what she had just told Aizawa to them as well. The sight made Aizawa smile a bit before clearing his throat.

"I've got some work to do," he said. "The three of you enjoy the rest of your day." The three bid Aizawa a farewell as he took his leave. He stopped just outside the dorms, allowing himself to fully smile.

*****

The next day, and Eri's resolve had not changed. She wanted to do this for Ragdoll, and had agreed to every term Aizawa had in order to ensure her and Ragdoll's safety, as well as what to expect, and to be prepared in case Ragdoll rejected the idea.

So, they found themselves, Aizawa, Eri, Izuku, and Mina, in a meeting with Mandalay, Ragdoll, Tiger, and Pixie Bob, explaining to them Eri's Quirk, and her offer. The Pussycats were all struck silent for a moment. And Ragdoll looked like she was about to flood the room with tears. She stepped forward, kneeling down in front of the girl.

"Why would you want to do such a wonderful thing for me?" she asked the girl. The girl looked up to her.

"Because you're nice," she said simply. "And I want you to be happy. I was told you were happy when you were a Hero, and I can, maybe, help you be one again." Her voice had started with resolve, but had grown shy as she talked. There was still determination in her eyes, though, and Aizawa saw that as a good sign.

They went over everything, including their plans to keep the two of them safe, the possibility that it might not work given the frame of time that Ragdoll had gone without her Quirk, and the other details and planning. The Pussycats asked for a few minutes to discuss, and asked the others to wait outside the office for them.

As they waited outside, Kota came around the corner. He was surprised to see them there, but happy to see Izuku nonetheless. He was happy to see Eri, too, as he had had fun playing with her, but he tried his best to hide that fact.

It didn't take long, but it could have seemed like an eternity for the door to the office to open again to reveal the form of Ragdoll. It was clear she had let herself cry a bit, but there was something about her that seemed...lighter. Happier.

"I want to try."

*****

It didn't take them long to set everything up that they needed to. It was really just about finding a secure location in the office, set up the failsafes, and have Aizawa on standby. Though they had both wanted to stay with Eri just in case, it was decided that the fewer people in the room, the better, so Mina had bowed out so Izuku could help watch over Eri. With One for All, he would be more apt to handle the situation than Mina was.

Before they were set to being, though, Mina hugged the girl tightly, and Eri returned the hug tenfold.

"I'm so proud of you, Eri-berry," she said. After the moment, and everyone giving wishes of luck, Aizawa, Eri, Izuku, and Ragdoll stood in the room, ready to begin. Aizawa nodded to Eri, and the little girl approached Ragdoll. They took each other's hands, and Eri shut her eyes. After a moment, he horn began to glow and grow.

At first, Ragdoll didn't feel any different. Eri's face scrunched up after a few moments, and finally, something struck the both of them. There was a connection made, and a look of pain etched both of their faces.

Ragdoll grit her teeth as Eri started to cry a little. Izuku was concerned, because they were both hurting.

"Aizawa, erase her Quirk!" he said, his own tears threatening to pour out. Just as Aizawa was ready to do so, Eri called out.

"No! I'm fine! I'm almost there!" she shouted, which gave Ragdoll a little ease of mind.

"We're okay," Ragdoll followed up. However, with a final scream from Ragdoll, and a yell of pain from Eri, the two broke apart. Izuku had used One for All to catch a falling Ragdoll, while Aizawa had caught Eri mid-fall. The girl had passed out, but there was a smile etched on her face.

Ragdoll recovered a moment later, groaning in a bit of pain. She regained her footing, thanking Izuku for catching her. She then reached out, testing to see if her Quirk was back.

Outside, the others had heard the scream and yell, and were getting ready to jump into action to help. However, the silence that followed seem to calm them down for the most part. They were still anxiously waiting to see what the end result would be.

The doors opened to reveal Aizawa with an unconscious Eri in his arms, and behind him, Ragdoll and Izuku. Tears were streaming down Ragdoll's face, and, at first, the others feared that it hadn't worked. Those thoughts were quickly dashed aside when she looked up to everyone, her smile beaming through the tears.

"It worked!"