Chapter 189: Eri's Shichi-Go-San Day (2)
~Third POV~
[Heights Alliance (Faculty Dorm) – Outside, Japan]
With that, Eri and Shinso both searched for the missing kitten. They yelled, trying to get the kitten's attention.
"Kitty!"
"Got your dinner here!"
They moved through the dense forest slowly until they heard voices from a more open area up ahead.
"Too slow, Thief!"
"Yeah, right!"
Hearing that familiar name, Eri and Shinso peeked into the clearing to find Ren and Bakugo training together. The former was trying to evade the latter by using his [Blackwhip] Quirk to fly from tree to tree, but the latter was quick to alter course with precise explosions from his palms.
At last, Bakugo caught Ren and made him eat a small blast, transforming Ren's usually wavy hair into a frizzled Afro as he yelped, "Ah! Look what you did to my hair, you untrained Pomeranian!"
Bakugo merely laughed as he yelled, "Ha! Victory for Bakugo!"
Training with each other, All Might approached the two as he said in a charismatic tone, "Bakugo, kid! No need for that extra boom once you've caught him!"
Shinso muttered, lightly surprised, as he said, "Whoa. That's All Might."
The undisputed number one hero had been a fixture at U.A. for nearly a year now, but the Hero Course student still wasn't quite used to the man's larger-than-life presence. Shinso's eyes shifted to All Might's protégé.
"Ren Yuki…"
"It's Power Ranger…"
Shinso and Eri spoke simultaneously and turned to look at each other as she asked, "Are you friends with Power Ranger?"
Shinso paused before carefully saying his answer oddly, "I wouldn't put it that way."
Eri looked puzzled by this answer, so Shinso thought for a moment before clarifying in a determined tone, "I guess he's the guy I wanna beat the most…"
He was almost embarrassed by his own explanation. Eri didn't have the slightest idea what that meant, but if nothing else, she could sense that Shinso didn't have anything against Ren.
Another moment passed, and Shinso realized Eri was still staring at Ren as he asked curiously, "Do you wanna say hi to him?"
Eri looked uncertain, shrinking back into the shadows of the trees to make sure she stayed out of sight as she muttered shyly, "But, um… He's doing training…"
Returning to the trio training, Bakugo yelled, preparing himself sternly, "C'mon! Get your ass up and start running!"
Standing up, returning to the grin, Ren smirked, stretching his legs in a confident tone, "As long as you chase me just as hard!"
All Might yelled, getting Ren's attention, "Focus up, Yuki, kid!"
Turning to his mentor, Ren nodded as he said, "You got it!"
*KABOOOM*
Bakugo, starting ahead, roared out at Ren with a determined expression, "Pfft, I could catch you with my eyes shut! Hope you're ready for that Afro to get a whole lot crispier!"
Shinso watched this back-and-forth and thought seriously, eyes narrowing, 'So he's honing his skills again, huh?'
As Bakugo shouted and triggered more of his merciless explosions, Shinso thought about Eri's evasive attitude and realized with more clarity what he had sensed in her. He hesitated to pry further, but no—he couldn't abandon the thought.
After all, those hoping to become heroes tended to meddle, so Shinso retreated into the shadows to join Eri and press the issue as he asked, "Did something bad happen?"
Eri stared at Shinso, shocked that he would even ask. It wasn't the kind of question she expected from a perfect stranger as Shinso pressed forward. "Did you have a fight with someone, maybe?"
Eri shook her head as Shinso continued, "Did Sensei get mad at you?"
More head shaking, but this time, Eri spoke up nervously, "Sensei and Mirio and everyone are always really nice to me …"
Shinso blinked, rubbing the back of his head as he apologized, "Oh? Good. Sorry for asking those weird questions."
But the brief conversation had somehow given Eri the urge to share the full extent of her feelings with someone. Shinso happened to be standing there and lending a sympathetic ear, so all the emotions locked away in Eri's chest were ready to come tumbling out, "Um, actually…"
Eri explained how her own Quirk training wasn't going that well and how she wondered if she was even capable of accomplishing the things being asked of her. She stumbled over her words often, but Shinso listened earnestly, offering only the occasional "Uh-huh" or "Mm-hmm" to encourage her to keep going.
When Eri was finally done, Shinso said, "I see …"
Eri stared at her silent conversation partner and wondered if, after hearing her tale, he now found her annoying. Shinso noticed her anxious stare and broke his silence as he said, "Amazing."
This made Eri blink, muttering, "Huh?"
Shinso lightly chuckled at Eri's reaction as he explained calmly, putting his hands in his pockets, "When I was your age, I'd never even dreamed of doing any sort of training. So it's amazing to me that you're working so hard at it."
Eri blinked at him, and Shinso stared up at the slivers of blue sky visible through the canopy as he continued, "I'm doing my own training now too, y'know. Sometimes, I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of it, but at the same time, I know I've got a long way to go. It's like Eraser Head—I mean, Aizawa Sensei—always says. When trying your best starts to feel really hard, that's how you know you're growing."
Eri questioned confused, "I'm growing? Bigger?"
But before Shinso could explain, Togata's voice came, interrupting the moment, "Eri! You around here?"
Eri froze in place, unsure how to respond, so Shinso spoke up instead, "Uh, she's over here!"
Togata spotted the pair and smiled in relief at the sight of Eri as he asked in relief, "Eri, you gave me the scare of my life, disappearing like that!"
Eri nodded her head, looking down and apologizing sadly, "I'm sorry. But, um…"
But Shinso stepped up as he explained calmly to Togata, "We were looking for an injured kitten, and we thought it might've come this way."
Togata, turning to Shinso, squinted his eyes before remembering who he was in a happy tone, "And who might you be? Wait… oh! Oh! Hero Course kid in Class 1-A! That's you? Well, it's swell to meetcha, Shinso. Anyway, what's this about a kitten? Ah, hang on—is that Ren?"
Ren from the battlefield smashed the air, launching his [Blackwhip], "Oh, whoops! Better avoid this!!"
*Whip*
Bakugo had gotten tangled up in a strand of [Blackwhip] and was now dangling from a tree by the ankle as he roared angrily, "If you did that on purpose, I swear I'll murder you for real this time!"
But Ren ignored this latest Baku blowup and roared back, gesturing his hand to come to him in a confident tone, "Say, if I did, what are ya gonna do about it, big boy?"
Bakugo grits his teeth at his response as he growled at him, "Screw you jerk! Get me down from here, dweeb!"
Ren rolled his eyes but helped Bakugo down. With a sly grin, using [Float] Quirk, he smugly challenged Bakugo he said, before dashing off, "Come and get me!"
*Swoosh*
Bakugo gave chase, and Ren launched into the air, practicing his skills. Eventually, Bakugo caught up again and levied an explosion at Ren as he mumbled, "Hmm..."
In an instant, [Instinct] and [Danger Sense] forewarned him of Bakugo's incoming attacks as the tips of his hair blackened and sizzled as he muttered confidently, "Let's go Bakugo!"
Their fight continued as Eri gasped, watching the entire time, "Ah!"
Eri watched Ren being able to handle Bakugo with ease, with a smile on his face. No matter how many times he failed, the determined look on his face showed that the only thing on his mind was how to improve the next time.
Undaunted and unwavering, he had his eyes on that next step toward his future. Just seeing this, Eri couldn't help but blurt out, "How does Ren try so hard?"
This was a question Eri wanted to know if she'd been ruminating on the question but couldn't hold it in anymore. Turning to Eri with a grin, Togata said bluntly, "Because he knows who he wants to become. Yuki has found his target and is running toward it at top speed."
Shinso nodded in agreement as he added, "I get how that is."
Though Eri's eyes were still locked on Togata and his smile. Togata's words reminded Eri of his own actions in a way. Togata never stopped training.
After supervising a session with Eri, he would go for a run on his own or even do some exercises with Tamaki Amajiki and Nejire Hado. The girl had witnessed him in action like that, day after day. He might have donned a look of grim determination during a training session, but at all other times, he somehow maintained that sunny smile.
Here, Eri was surrounded by people who smiled through it all. Ones who always treated others with kindness.
Strong people who had somehow found ways to comfort themselves through moments of pain and weakness, as she thought, impressed, 'Mirio and Ren and everyone are all trying hard so they can be the people they want to be.'
At this thought, Eri's heart sped up, and she felt her body fill with a gentle warmth. As the group observed Ren's training, Eri said in an amazed tone, "Ren is so amazing!"
The boys resumed their game of cat and mouse. Her eyes sparkled at Ren's hard-earned success as Togata said with a nod, "Mm-hmm!"
But then came a voice from behind, startling the group with an enthusiastic tone, "Heh, youthful passion is a beautiful thing."
Turning around, revealed it was Midnight. Togata asked confused, "Midnight! How long have you been standing there?"
The teacher was leaning against a tree, clearly spellbound by the boys and their training. While searching for Eri, the scent of sweat and determination had led her to this spot.
Eri, confused, asked who had heard that phrase and similar ones before, "What's 'yooth-ful pashun'?"
Midnight paused to think before answering in an honest tone, winking at her, "Hmm. It's like … when young people are living their lives to their fullest potential."
Eri blinked in wonderment as she asked, "Can I have that too?"
Midnight squatted down and gave Eri an encouraging smile as she said confidently, "Of course you can."
Eri was flabbergasted. Midnight, looking Eri square in the eyes, continued, "But! You have to tell grown-ups before wandering off somewhere, okay? Everyone was so worried about you."
Eri gloomily said, "Okay…"
Midnight mussed her hair before standing up and glancing around, asking curiously, "Why are we all out here, anyway?"
Shinso started to explain, "Actually, it's because—"
But he was interrupted by a familiar meow. Instinctively, Shinso and Midnight spun around to face the source of the sound and spotted a white tail in the shade of a nearby tree.
Midnight cooed, already going gaga for a cat she'd never met in a cute tone, "Aww, a pwecious kitty cat."
Shinso cleared his voice as he said, continuing his explanation to Midnight, "As I was saying, we think that kitten hurt its leg, so we were searching for it."
Hearing that, Midnight asked in shock, "It's injured? How awful."
Shinso was about to call out to the kitten, but he stopped himself and decided to approach it quietly instead. The cat-loving Midnight took his cue and did the same, but from the opposite side.
They weren't quite sneaky enough, however; the kitten noticed the looming humans and ran off again in a panic. This time, though, Togata had looped ahead and was ready to intercept and nab the kitten as Shinso said in a thankful tone, "Phew… Thanks for that."
After he and the others had caught up to Togata, he said smiling, cradling the kitten, "No trouble at all!"
Cradled within his broad arms, the kitten was meowing for dear life. Eri asked, concerned about the kitten. "Is the kitty really hurt?"
Togata dropped to his knees so everyone could get a better look, and Shinso gently parted the fur on the kitten's hind leg to examine the injury. There seemed to be many tiny stab wounds that were still oozing blood.
Seeing this, Eri winced in sympathy as she thought, concerned, 'Poor kitty… That must hurt…'
The kitten's desperate yowling continued as Eri thought, 'It must hurt so much…'
Eri thought the meowing sounded a lot like crying. Was the kitten crying out for help? At this thought, Eri balled her tiny fists.
Shinso, seeing this, hadn't expected the injury to be this bad as he suggested, "Maybe it got pecked at by a crow?"
Midnight nodded her expression turned serious as she said calmly, "I think we need a medical professional for this. Maybe Recovery Girl could … Ah, no, never mind. She won't be back until late tonight."
Shinso, as he stood up, ready to take action, said determined, "For now, it needs some first aid."
Eri, looking down at her hands with fear in her eyes, muttered, "I-I want to help…"
The others hadn't expected this. As Eri says, "With my Quirk, I mean…"
Togata shifted his gaze from Eri to Midnight questioningly. After a pause, Midnight nodded, and Togata placed the kitten in Eri's arms.
She looked up at him for reassurance as he said calmly, "It'll be okay. You can heal the kitty."
Eri nodded and tried to comfort the small trembling animal as she muttered, "Kitty… You're gonna be okay…"
In her hands, she felt that pulsing warmth. The weight of life itself. In that moment, all Eri wanted to do was hold the hurt, crying kitten and take away the pain as she thought, 'It's okay… I'm okay…'
Eri began to focus, preparing to use her Quirk. But her glowing horn frightened the kitten, causing it to cry out again, more distressed than ever. Eri's focus broke, and the glow faded, edged out by the return of the cold dread in her heart as she thought, 'What if I make the kitty disappear…?'
Eri froze up as if someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart. But then, Ren's voice echoed in her mind in a calm tone, 'It's gonna work out! Just believe in yourself, Eri!'
Ren's words of encouragement echoed in her head. From the clearing, Ren eyed Eri's group, who already got the gist of the situation.
With a sly smile, he used Telepathy to give Eri a little push of encouragement to help the kitten out. At that moment, nothing could have been more reassuring for Eri to hear.
She recalled how Ren kept facing that challenge—no matter how many times he fell—and the gentle warmth began to fill Eri's chest once more as she mumbled, "Yes. It's gonna work out."
Eri mumbled to herself as she began to focus again. Her horn glowed, and the kitten's injuries started to close up as its body was rewound to a prior state of being. Within moments, the wounds had vanished, along with the bloodstains on its skin and fur as Eri sighed, "Phew…"
Eri sighed, wasting no time in removing her hands from the kitten. Togata exclaimed, whose praise brought a wide smile of relief to Eri's face, "You really did it, Eri! The kitty's all better now!"
The kitten couldn't possibly comprehend the process it had just undergone, but it remained by Eri's side, licking her hand and meowing all the while. Shinso smiled as he translated for Eri to hear, "That's its way of saying, 'Thank you for helping me.'"
Eri considered this and petted the kitten's head. Eri said with a giggle, causing Midnight's and Togata's smiles to grow even wider, "Is the hurt gone? I'm so glad."
For a moment, the kitten licked at the wet food Shinso had brought until it decided to run off again for some unknowable reason. Shinso sighed as he said, then turned to Eri, "All right, I'd better hunt it down again. What I said earlier about growing. It's all about getting better, day by day, and moving forward."
Eri repeated, "Moving forward."
As Shinso walked away, Eri kept muttering those final two words, mulling them over. It was when Midnight spoke up as she said, "Well, shall we?"
She, Togata, and Eri began walking toward the teachers' dorm together. Eri innocently asked, "Will I get to meet that kitty again?"
Togata smiled, nodding his head as he said cheerfully, patting Eri's head, "Of course! Hey, that's something to look forward to!"
Eri smiled happily and said, "Good."
Midnight looked down at the girl, unsure how to put her thoughts into words. She took a deep breath as she said calmly, "Listen, Eri… I'm sorry for forcing all that Shichi-Go-San stuff on you. It's no big deal if you'd rather not. As long as you're growing up healthy and happy, that's good enough for all of us."
Midnight's soft smile came off as truly apologetic, which shocked Eri. The girl thought it over before raising her head and answering, "No, I wanna do Shichi-Go-San. Because that kimono is so pretty."
Midnight's eyes widened as she smiled, excited to hear Eri's choice as she said, "Really? Glad to hear it! Ah, we'll have to get you some chitose-ame too!"
Tilting her head, Eri says, "What's that?"
Midnight explained with a sly grin on her face as she continued in an excited tone, "They're these loooong candy sticks. You can lick them for what feels like forever before they get any smaller."
Eri started to drool a little at the thought of a sweet stick of everlasting candy as she said innocently, "Candy that doesn't disappear…"
Now, she was fully on board with Shichi-Go-San. As they walked, Eri wondered as she thought curiously, 'I wanna show Ren my kimono. I can thank him again for saving me.'
As she imagined showing her savior her holiday look, Eri glanced around the campus and spotted the main school building not too far off. She thought curiously, 'Maybe someday I'll get to try hard at this school too, like Ren and everyone.'
Eri's heart skipped a beat at the very thought. Togata asked, seeing Eri pause. "What's up, Eri?"
Eri said with a smile, "Nothing."
Now, she could picture herself walking around these grounds in the future, wearing a school uniform.
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A/N: Ah... it's good that people like this story. Shame it only had 12 Chapters left. Oh, did I say too much no worries, just ignore this have a good day. ;)