(Greetings, dear readers. I hath returned from my two-week journey to visit my family who lives out of state.

I had fun, but now it's time to get things done.

That being said, I've been brewing some plans for this and future chapters. The ship vote is finally closed and the Izuku ships landed in a stalemate. So the ships for Izuku were tied between Itsuka and Shinsou. And because I can only see Izuku and Itsuka as good friends and business partners, I'm going with Shinsou who, at this point in the story, is already close enough to Izuku to be considered a crush. And because Izuku now has time to focus on himself, he'll have time to focus on being the child he is... I'm also getting him some therapy.

So yeah! Izuku is finally moving on. And I'm gonna make a comic about it later and put it on my Tumblr. My ask box is still open if you want to talk to the characters and ask questions.

And with that, let's begin!)

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(Izuku POV)

Ever since I became president, things have become a lot more manageable. It took a while to set all the basic legal rights in place to set up a republic. I based it on the Founding Fathers of America and altered it based on Japan's current Justice System. I had to change a few things to form the idea of freedom further and set the balance right. Magic laws are similar to quirk laws but with a few exceptions here and there. Self-defense, defense of others, and licensed quirk use in public were the current legal rights to copy and paste, but I had to make sure that the laws themselves weren't too restricting. Like, what if there was someone with a shield quirk who was shielding everyone from a bombing? Why are they getting punished for defending innocent people when their only crime is unauthorized quirk usage? Or what about healing quirks? What about teleportation quirks? Why punish them if they were healing the wounded from an attack and/or evacuating the people from it?

They were just helping, and there is nothing wrong with saving someone's life if you have the ability to do so.

I had to think of situations like that when setting up a well-balanced list of rules and loopholes. Hence, magic use is only punished when/if it is being used with the intent to harm or endanger another person(s). However, depending on the person harmed and the reason why, they can reduce or even escape punishment. The use of unlicensed magic for training or leisurely purposes is permitted only at home or in a designated environment, just like quirks. But as for in public, there are only certain people who can use their magic anywhere, like Grillby. Grillby is made of fire, so he can't exactly turn it off due to being an elemental. Additionally, he's a bartender with a cooking license who uses his magic to make delicious food that everyone loves. That being said, certain monsters with careers directly related to that monster's magic will be automatically allowed to use it and can easily be licensed if need be.

Basically the same laws as with quirks and weapons, but slightly less suffocating.

Classes weren't as difficult now that I didn't have my job to distract me. Oh, and I've been able to spend time with Shinsou a lot more. Sure, the others come over to study and hang out once in a while, but Shoto and Sinsou are the only ones to come over every other day. I'm guessing Shinsou got jealous that Shoto hung out more now that he was training with me, and decided to take me on small outings. Shoto's fire control has improved since he has my mom and me to guide him. He can control how much fire he uses and what part of his body it comes out of. He can reach higher temperatures without hurting his body now, which is cool. He also gets hand-to-hand lessons from me and Papyrus. Undyne is using this as a chance to let Papyrus show how good he is at training others. She said that if he shows good results, he'll get promoted! So there's that to look forward to as well.

But, with all that aside, things have turned out for the better.

But as of right now, I'm not working as president or as a student. I have a hero license now, which means hero work. Hawks requested me to patrol a certain area in Hosu. Apparently, that low-time thug I captured a while back was connected to a not-so-low-time organization that was suspected to be the cause of human experimentation and drug trafficking. I got in my hero outfit and pulled my hood pulled above my head. I peered into shady alleyways and busy streets as I jumped over rooftops. So far, none of the clues I was given had produced any fruit. I stopped a drunk pervert, helped a pregnant lady put things in her car, and broke up a fight between two men who were arguing over a sandwich- of all things.

I was about to end my shift when I saw a little girl with a small horn on the left side of her forehead running through an alleyway and watched as a tall man with a bird mask followed close behind. I could tell something was up, so I tailed them. A few minutes of stalking later and the little girl tripped and fell. The man began to slow as he approached her. Seeing the danger, I landed between the two, my footsteps completely silent. The masked man froze upon seeing me, and his fists clenched.

I inched back towards the girl. Her frightened state brought out my inner mother instincts, and I changed my speech to be more soothing. "Little one, is this man trying to hurt you?" I asked gently. The girl instinctively moved closer to me, silently answering my question. "She is my daughter, she was-" "Quiet, I wasn't talking to you," I ordered and the man grits his teeth. "Little one, are you in danger?" Still shivering, she nodded. I caught the action and got up to deal with the masked man. A growl escaped his lips and he pulled off the black gloves I just now noticed he was wearing.

The girl flinched at the movement and attempted to run to him, quickly stopping when I positioned my hand in front of her. A barely-visible green shield surrounded her, and I stepped forward. As my eyes adjusted to the dark alleyway, I could finally make out the man's appearance. Slim, in his early twenties with short, brown hair and small gold irises. This man was Overhaul, the man I was told to watch out for. Overhaul had a matter manipulation quirk that was touch activated. His quirk was very powerful and very dangerous.

If I took him out now, I would be completing my mission, and saving this girl at the same time. I could claim attempted kidnapping on Eri and get him put in jail while Hawks looks further into the actual situation. If the rumors are true, arresting this man here and now would put him in prison for life. I would be taking out two birds with one stone.

He launched himself forward with a bare hand and I easily dodged, summoning PERSEVERANCE to capture him. His eyes widened at his sudden paralysis and closed tightly when I used BRAVERY to slam him to the ground, rendering him unconscious. I pulled out a zip tied from my inventory and tied up his hands, making sure to put the glove back on and tie up his legs as well. Once finished, I called the police to come pick him up and also called Hawks.

I then turned my attention to the small child behind me, she was still shaking. As I approached her, she scooted back and bumped into the invisible wall. I pulled off my hood, revealing my face. I crouched down and held my hands up in surrender, showing that I meant no harm. "It's alright, your safe now. My name is Izuku Dreemur. What's yours?" I said with a gentle smile, despite already knowing her name. I held back a grimace when taking in her small form. Her arms and legs were covered with bandages, and she looked a bit thin for her age. "Eri," she spoke quietly, her eyes flickering between me and the unconscious villain tied up behind me.

"Eri, that man wasn't your father, was he?" I asked. She shook her head vigorously. "Well, Eri, would you mind coming with me?" she slowly nodded. I lowered the shield to let her grab my outstretched hand but was startled by the sound of distant sirens getting closer and grabbed onto my torso instead. I snorted- the sound resembling more of a short exhale- and picked her up. I held her close to me as I manipulated my strings to drag Overhaul out of the alleyway. I then went a step further and used PATIENCE to reverse gravity on him, causing him to float.

Can't manipulate matter if he can't touch it.

I whispered words of assurance to Eri when the police arrived due to the sensory overload she was getting from so many people making all sorts of loud noises. I gently told her to cover her ears and she did so, slowly relaxing as the noise lessened. The police put quirk-canceling cuffs on Overhaul and loaded the still-unconscious man into a squad car. I was interrogated by Detective Tsukauchi, who wrote down my every word. We decided that Eri wasn't going to answer any questions until she felt comfortable enough to do so, which meant we needed a change in scenery. He put me in the backseat of his patrol car and drove me to UA, while the squad car went to a containment center to hold Overhaul until we gathered all the evidence to lock him up.

Eri had calmed down considerably now that all the noise was gone and was sitting on the hospital bed in Recovery Girl's office. We had considered going to the station for interrogation, but that would only cause her more stress. Besides, she had some very concerning injuries that needed to be tended to immediately. "Izuku, why are we here?" Eri quivered. I pet her silver hair, "We are here so the Nurse can make you feel better." I avoided saying 'doctor', due to her most likely having a bad experience with them. Eri nodded and squeezed my arm tighter.

Recovery Girl walked in, ready to lecture me for getting hurt, but quickly changed course when she saw Eri. "Explain," she ordered, already pulling out a med kit. "I was on patrol and saw her running away from a man with a mask; who turned out to be the leader of the Yakuza, Overhaul (aka Kai Chisaki). I took him down, handed him to the police, and brought Eri here," I informed, making sure to be as straightforward as possible so we could get this done quickly. Eri was starting to get uncomfortable.

Recovery Girl nodded as she carefully removed Eri's bandages. Eri looked over to me and I nodded, holding her hand to keep her grounded. She allowed the nurse to take them off and we all flinched at the number of scars littering her tiny body. This girl couldn't be more than eight years old and she had already been through hell and back. Recovery Girl took to cleaning her wounds and rewrapping them. Despite being abused so horribly, she was surprisingly clean aside from the bloodstains. Guess that joke about Chisaki being a germaphobe was true.

Regardless, the patch-up was done and all that was left was a simple check-up. I looked away so she could get some clean clothes on, and she returned when she was finished changing. Her weight, height, and other status were recorded and she was diagnosed with malnutrition. I already knew that much and had plans to fix it, along with her wardrobe; but for now, there was still one last task to complete.

"Now Eri, Mr. Tsukauchi here is a police officer. He is going to ask you some questions, and you don't have to answer them if you're uncomfortable, but if you do, then we can put Overhaul away for good," I told her, choosing my wording carefully so as not to frighten her. She nodded and looked at the man in the trenchcoat. Tsukauchi nodded and sat down in a chair, directly facing her as he pulled out a recording device. "Remember, you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but it would help a lot if you did." she nodded in understanding.

"Do you know what Overhaul's plans were for you?"

. . .

Bullets. Quirk erasing bullets. Overhaul had caused her needless suffering and pain so he could use her blood to create these new bullets. So far, there were only a few prototypes that were still in the early stages of development, but those in themselves were still very dangerous on their own. And the reason he was using Eri's blood was because of her quirk. Eri didn't have any official documents saying what it was, as her existence had been hidden from the world, but according to her, "her quirk was a curse that made people disappear". Further description revealed it to be a quirk that could rewind anything back to its original state, or even rewind it to when it didn't even exist yet. I reassured her that her quirk wasn't a curse, and could be used for good if trained properly. I knew it would take some time to reaffirm that mindset, but I could only hope that it came soon. I told her that once she gained control of her quirk, she could learn how to rewind any injury before it happened and be a healer, like Recovery Girl. Her eyes sparkled with hope for that day to come.

Tsukauchi pulled me aside to speak about Eri's future living arrangements. "Normally, we would put her in foster care and then find her closest relatives, but I don't think that would end well," Tsikauchi informed and I nodded. "Even if we found a good family, there is no guarantee that she wouldn't use her quirk on accident due to a nightmare or panic attack," I agreed. "I quite agree!" Nezu chimed, popping out of Aizawa's scarf as the man opened the door. "It would be in Eri's best interest to stay with you, as she seems to have grown attached already," Nezu said, smiling a bit wider. Eri found her way back to my lap and sat there as I combed my fingers through her hair. "I will make arrangements for her to live with you and send the documents to your address. UA is almost done arranging the dorm system. After all the villain attacks from the League, it was decided that this was the safest option. But until then, please continue to take care of her," Nezu explained.

I duly nodded and texted Mom that I was coming home a bit early today.

. . .

Mom reacted to Eri the way I expected her to. She gushed over having a new set of tiny feet running around the house and immediately ran off to pull out her collection of striped apparel from the attic. If she's going to live with monsters, she may as well dress like one. And what better outfit for a child than a striped sweater? The only thing I'm worried about is whether or not she'll try to make us all match or whether she'll knit a whole new sweater entirely.

However, as it turns out, she had a striped sweater and a red skirt prepared instead- along with some brown boots. The color scheme was the exact opposite of me and Asriel. So while we got green and yellow stripes, Eri got yellow and green stripes. And to make her look even cuter, the sweater had a lace collar. Eri stood nervously at the doorway in her new clothes. "Um... do- do you like it?" she asked timidly. "You look great, Eri!" I told her. "Thank you," she mumbled.

I don't know where Mom got the skirt, but I'm now wondering where she keeps all of these matching sweaters. Does she have an entire wardrobe of our old clothes? But back to Eri, her new sweater seemed to fit her well enough, and the skirt is long enough to hide the scars on her legs. She is very happy about that, which is good, but also bad. The trauma Overhaul left behind is going to take years to fix, but those scars will never fade. My only worry is if she can accept those scars as a part of her, or if she will try to hide them from the world. I don't want her to feel self-conscious about her body, so I'll have to make sure that she isn't afraid of them. But for now, all I can do is be there for her so she can come to me when she's ready.

That being said, Azzy and I decide to watch some tv with her while Mom made dinner. We would usually take turns cooking with her, but Eri isn't ready to leave my side just yet, and she hasn't gotten acquainted with my brother either. She'll meet Dad when he gets home, and Mama Inko can see her when she's ready. I'm sure she'll be happy to meet all my friends and family and get to know all the people who will come and go from her new home. Getting her settled in is the top priority right now.

"Welcome to the family, Eri."

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(And the final necessary character has entered the story!

I'm not really sure how to write ships, as I've never really been in any healthy relationships (despite only having been in 2), but I've read a lot about them and have seen other ships. SO! I'll do my best and figure out the rest from here.

I have a few half-cooked plans brewing for the next few chapters, and a few character arcs as well, but it'll take awhile. Sorry for the long wait.

But anyway, thank you all for reading and I'll see you soon!)