Throughout her entire life, since she was able to remember, Eri's existence was filled with four cloud painted walls, in a room that didn't even have a window for her to experience the sun. She never saw the outside beyond the inked pages of children's books, filled with words she couldn't even read. Her parents were a dream of blurry images, even her grandfather, who was said to have taken her in had a fading face. And everyone else around her had just been long coats, nice suits and plague masks. They didn't seem real.
There was nothing there for her, but pain and isolation. She didn't know that she would be escaping that day, but when the opportunity was there, Eri jumped at the chance. Willing to risk her life for the unknown, because it couldn't have been worse than what she knew in that room, in that place.
She didn't know that her feet would feel different when she walked on a ground of dirt compared to a ground of concrete, she didn't know the feeling of the changing winds and she didn't know the comfort of the sun's warmth. Not until today.
"Tell me if your feet hurt or if you get tired okay," Eri usually thought she had misplaced Sakura's presence, unaware that the kunoichi was deliberately quieting herself for her sake.
When Sakura told Eri to get ready for a walk, she didn't know what to expect and when Sakura explained that they were going to have a picnic in the mountains, Eri had to ask what a picnic was. That astounded Sakura, in the worst way, and she started to realize that Kai had kept the girl locked up her entire life until this point.
The full story of Eri's origin was put on hold while Sakura got her adjusted and comfortable to her new scene. She seemed ignorant of a lot of things, Sakura thought that a day out in the wilderness would be good for her transition. Sakura herself felt at ease when she was outside in the forests. Humans were social creatures, who needed each other to trot through life, but there was also an overwhelm that came with that. And given that all Eri knew of human interaction was imprisonment, Sakura didn't want to bring her into any crowds yet.
But she was pleasantly surprised by the curiosity and fascination Eri exhibited, as she took in every tree, shrub, sound, animal and insect that crossed their path.
Because she preferred to keep to herself, Sakura had to guess when Eri was forming questions about the environment. So she watched silently. Sakura wanted Eri to explore without feeling burdened by her presence. So she stepped quietly, breathed softly, and spoke as tenderly as possible.
When Eri saw a squirrel, eating an acorn she stopped to stare up at the fuzzy creature on the branch. Her eyes were wide as she followed the sway of its fluffy tail.
The rustling of the leaves underfoot had caught the squirrel's attention, and it froze mid-chew, its big eyes flicking up to meet the girl's gaze. For a moment, the two just stared at each other, the Eri in wonder and the squirrel in cautious curiosity.
Nothing happened beyond that, as the squirrel resumed its feast, Eri slowly took a step forward, then another. But as she drew closer, the squirrel skittered away, darting up the tree trunk and into a hole. Eri gasped in fright and stepped back, bumping into Sakura's legs. She was caught before she could fall.
Sakura held back a chuckle, gently standing Eri straight. "Are you trying to make friend's with the squirrel?"
"Squirrel," Eri repeated like she was memorizing the name for the first time, which she was.
"That's what that animal was. They live all around here in the trees," Sakura gestured all around them, and Eri leaned her head back to look at the canopy. "They like acorns and peanuts. You can get them to come close to you if you offer to feed them, but they're careful around anything bigger than them, that's why they run into the trees,"
"It's scared of me?"
"It's in their nature to be careful, that's how it survives. But they don't always just run and hide when they see us coming so you'll get to see more of them in the forest,"
Despite her disappointment, Eri couldn't help but stare at the branch, thinking about the squirrel and its bushy tail.
This walk through through the forest had bee the most stimulation Eri's senses ever received. She liked breathing in the smell of the pine trees and soft earth. And the way the rustling leaves made her ears tingle, while the wind caressed her hair without putting any weight on her head. She wanted to stare up at the trees while she walked so she could look at the patterns the canopy made with all the greens but Sakura warned her she might trip on a tree root. Eri also learned that despite being so quiet, the forest was teeming with life.
Sakura would stop them, and with eyes sharp as a kunoichis she would point out all of the wildlife that Eri on her own would have missed. Every time she saw a bird in the trees, or an insect sitting somewhere.
'Maybe we should go to the zoo, someday,' The thought just came to mind as she watched Eri's movements.
This girl was going to be on a long road to recovery, and Sakura knew she couldn't shirk this. The moment she chose to take Eri from Kai's hands, she had made it her responsibility to ensure his influence wouldn't touch her again. Regardless of the time it would cost her. It would become a pointless effort if she didn't know that Eri was recovered from being in that man's clutches.
Eri needed to feel secure now. Even though she was away from that place, Sakura knew that trauma could run so deep that even escaping the source wouldn't save you.
'Naruto would do the same thing.'
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Eri gasped as they finally arrived to what Sakura called their destination. A treasure, she said she found after coming to live here. Eri was introduced to a bright open landscape, a wide field of flowers that looked like moving sea of color. There was also a small stream running along the area.
Sakura grinned, pleased with Eri's wide eyed reaction, "You can go ahead and look around and play, but after we eat something,"
In less than a minute, Sakura had thrown down the blanket, smoothed out the edges and set up their snacks neatly in the middle, with plates and some bottles of drinks. She waited for Eri to inspect her meal, something she often did, but this time was a bit faster, perhaps the first time she had shown any impatience. She ate the rice balls, drank her juice and stared out at the field, waiting for permission from Sakura.
"Alright go ahead," Sakura chuckled, noting some rice on the child's face. She left the blanket, to walk along the field, inspecting the flowers with glittering eyes. Maybe that was the expression children made when they thought they were in a dream. Or a bird seeing the world outside its cage.
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After some time in the field, Sakura decided to go with Eri to the stream and let her dip her feet in the water. Giving her the experience of the sun's heat coupled with the cool waters on her ankles. Eri was enjoying the feeling of smooth stones and sand under her feet when she felt something brush passed her and squealed out, which caught Sakura's attention.
"What's wrong?!" Sakura tried to keep her tone calm, but she was worried that Eri might have hurt herself.
"S-Something's there!" Eri was looking at something in the water, a sliver of silver caught the light and Sakura giggled at her.
"That's a fish, Eri. They live in the waters here and they can't hurt you."
Eri looked at the creature beneath the waters, and Sakura suggested she could try to catch one but the young girl shook her head.
"I don't want to hurt them," Eri said softly. This made her heart flutter, seeing the girl's compassion.
"That's very kind of you, Eri," she said, "and it shows what a good heart you have. It's important to respect all living creatures, no matter how small they may be."
Together, they sat by the pond, watching as the fish swam lazily in the water. That's when a dragon fly landed on Eri's hand with its iridescent wings shimmering in the sunlight. Eri watched in awe as the insect perched on her finger, its delicate looking legs clinging to her skin.
"Look at that, it likes you." Sakura said, pointing to the dragonfly.
"It's so pretty," she said softly as if too much breath would send it away.
Sakura stood up, brushing the grass from her pants. "Do you want to go explore some more?"
"Yes," Eri stood up, her hand still outstretched as the dragonfly took flight.
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"Do you want to play some games?" Sakura asked.
"What are games?" Eri asked innocently, her voice tinged with curiosity.
Sakura's heart sank at the question. By now it was clear the kinds of conditions she was kept under by the Hassaikai leader but it didn't make it any easier to hear.
"Games are things we do for fun," she explained gently. "We can play different types of games outdoors, like racing or three sticks,"
While Eri's eyes could shine with hints of excitement and curiosity, she was still missing joy. And for the few days they had been together, Sakura noticed that Eri hadn't once smiled.
Sakura decided to teach Eri how to play three sticks, a simple game that only needed a lot of space and the ability to run and jump. Eri was hesitant at the beginning when she saw Sakura hopping over the sticks that were placed so closely together, but Sakura explained that they would eventually space them apart after each jump. The game didn't last too long, with Eri's stamina and height, the odds weren't in her favor, but that hadn't dissuaded her. The simple act had put something in Eri she wasn't familiar with. But she didn't dislike the feeling, every time she leapt across the sticks, wanting to reach the gap between the next.
The last time she ran, it was to escape, and it was full of fear, but that wasn't the case now, and for the first time, Eri was able to run for the fun of it and she could feel the excitement from it. Her lungs burned, and her heart was racing, but there was no fear when she took action.
Sakura also introduced Eri to the game red light, green light, where they took turns swapping between the runner and the watcher.
That day was going to be one Eri kept with her for the rest of her life.
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The sun was already set before they even reached the house after losing track of time. Eri could barely keep her eyes open after all the energy she spent today. Sakura noticed this while they were walking back, and once again attempted to approach Eri. She crouched down for her.
"I can carry you back to the house,"
She kept her breaths soft, and waited, growing hopeful when Eri didn't deny her straight away. All this time, Sakura had been careful when reaching for Eri and only made contact when necessary and with her explicit awareness.
"Okay…"
Sakura bit her lip as she felt Eri slowly press her weight onto her back, and she stood up to start making their way back home.
"I hope you had fun today,"
Eri muttered, "Fun?"
It was as if she was learning foreign concepts that should've come as an inheritance to all children. Eri didn't know how to play any games, she didn't smile, she couldn't laugh and she didn't know what it meant to have fun.
"How did today make you feel?"
In silence, Eri contemplated harder on the thought than she anticipated she would. But when she recalled all the events today, from the walk through the forest to see the animals, her chest felt like it was stuttering and grew warm.
"Like I want to do it again,"
That was enough to make Sakura smile.
"That's good,"
"It is?"
Sakura nodded, adjusting Eri on her back, "If you want to do this again, it means you enjoyed it. You had fun,"
Eri's cheeks flushed "Fun,"
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Izuku made his way through Height's Alliance with his head hung low and his eyes drooping while dragging his feet towards his room in a slum. Another training session completely flunked. A session that should've been an easy pass with his quirk, but without the mind functioning right the body was a remote without batteries. He had been reprimanded by two teachers for drifting during lessons and failing to answer the questions on the board. Shouta also gave him an earful for losing focus, but despite the reprimands Izuku couldn't seem to get his act together and he has been like that since coming back to school, and it had only gotten worse after his recent encounter with a certain hero and yakuza.
Internships had started once again and this time it was going to be hands on. Izuku was thrilled to be accepted by Sir Nighteye's agency. This hero was someone who personally worked with All Might for years using his ability Foresight to assist the number one hero in his endeavors before starting his own agency, and he was aware of One for All. He even trained one of the top Third Years of U.A Mirio Togata, a young man who took on nearly the entire Class A including Izuku and brought them down in less than 10 seconds.
So of course it was disheartening that the only reason Nighteye accepted Izuku as an intern was to convince him to surrender One for All to Mirio. As he didn't believe a quirkless novice like Izuku was fit for the role of the next Symbol of Peace.
It was even harder for Izuku to keep his composure there, after the encounter with Kai Chissaki, and his daughter. Their agency was watching out for the Hassaikai group to catch them in illegal activity, but Izuku wasn't able to move freely to help the girl who had begged him because of this
Nighteye even berated him for wanting to act in that manner.
'Be patient,' Is what he was ordered and although he followed through with the hero's demands, Izuku has not been at peace since then. He knew that heroes made difficult decisions and would lead difficult lives, but just like his classmates, he didn't have any real experience when it came to complications like this, and he couldn't anticipate how it would affect him psychologically.
'What would Sakura say?'
Izuku wouldn't be able to forget the way she carried herself and acted on her beliefs, even when her actions were berated over and over again. She never wavered. That was how certain she was of herself and what she stood for. Although Izuku didn't understand it himself. He admired her strength, not only her power but her ability to stand firm on what she thought was the right course of action.
'Even if she did break the rules,' Then again, he had done the same when getting lost in the moment. Throwing rationality to the wind and even getting his classmates in trouble with him. But he thought he was getting better, and that he would be able to earn back the trust Aizawa had so blatantly stated they'd damaged. At least it wasn't beyond repair.
He wanted to get to know her better. He wanted to hear her story; how she got to that point which was so clearly ahead of the rest of her peers. She had given him advice, and not just on his fighting style. Which had improved. He would've liked her input then. So she could tell him how he could be better from there, since it seemed like she would know.
But she had left. And no one understood or knew why.
While she was considered a runaway now, Shouta had kept them informed when there were sightings of her so they knew she was still here. When Izuku came back from his work studies, after the incident with Eri, he always thought about how Sakura might've handled the situation. Would she have allowed her senior peer to stop her from rescuing the girl?
'If it was Sakura, she would probably be able to save her in one punch,' That's just how good she had proven to be. Even when she was outnumbered against the League of Villains and All for One, she put her life on the line to protect Katsuki. And didn't even flinch at the notion of death.
Izuku still felt chills when it seemed that Kai was ready to attack them in that alley, the bloodlust. He sometimes thought it should've made him move quicker, made him stand between Kai and Eri. Instead, he had to pull away and it weighed on him.
Now, Izuku hadn't been able to get Eri out of his head. He wasn't sure what was happening to her.
"I couldn't do anything,"
"Midoriya," Izuku yelped turning on his heel to meet Shouto's blank stare. He had been listening to Izuku unknowingly mutter to himself, with that scrunched-up expression.
"What's the matter?"
Shouto looked like he was ready for bed. There were some bruises and bandages over his face. He and Katsuki were sporting a similar look due to their Provisional license exam course. Another outrageous outcome was that Shouto and Katsuki failed their Provisional licensing exam, while the rest of them managed to pass it. Izuku had a feeling it was by the skin of their teeth though.
But if they were able to pass their course, they would be caught up to the rest of their classmates again. The only downside was, they weren't allowed to join the internships. Katsuki was especially bitter about this.
Izuku was specifically instructed not to discuss the case Nighteye's agency was working on, which included his encounter with Kai and Eri. But much like his muttering, Izuku was oblivious to the fact that he had no poker face. And Shouto wasn't all that great at reading the room.
"I was just thinking about Sakura," The way Shouto's eyes changed, it was like watching a cat's ears stand on alert.
"Aizawa-sensei said they haven't seen her since she stopped that train,"
Yes, the heroes had made quite a showing with that. The villain had escaped, but at least they were able to prevent casualties. There was even footage caught of Sakura stopping a train by herself. She looked fine as well. Not even a strike to the heart was enough to stop her.
"I wish she would come back,"
He was sincere in his deflection. Izuku thought about how his mother almost refused to allow him to return to school. The teachers had to go to everyone's parents and get permission personally for this. And surprisingly no one put up much resistance. The parents trusted UA with their kids, despite the events.
Izuku had gone to Toshinori to ask why Sakura hadn't returned to school, and he explained she ran away. He assumed t was because she didn't want to be placed in a dorm system. That's when Toshinoir also shed light on Sakura's entire situation and origin.
"I'm not sure about all the details, but when I spoke to the commission they explained that Sakura showed signs of amnesia and that they couldn't track any existing relatives. She refused to be placed in the foster system, so they offered to allow her to live on her own like she wanted as long as she attended UA."
Izuku wasn't able to make sense of the explanation but had wondered if that was the reason Sakura seemed so indifferent towards hero training and classes. Of course, he was told not to give out this information since it was classified and if Shouta heard about this he would strangle Toshinori since this was meant only for the teacher's ears.
That made Izuku feel a bit guilty that he knew something so personal about Sakura.
'Everything is such a mess,'
"Me too,"
"Huh?" Izuku looked back at Shouto, realizing he had been caught in his own thoughts.
"I want her to come back too."