-Midoriya's POV-
We watched as Sasaki walked into the gym with Eri. 'How can people take lives so easily and be indifferent about it?' It was something I had wondered ever since I met Shigaraki.
Togata-senpai and I knelt down as Eri nervously approached us. With his usual smile, Togata-senpai spoke softly. "Hey Eri-chan."
I followed after. "Have you been well Eri-chan?" She nodded shyly and in a soft voice, began talking about what she had been doing since Sasaki took her. 'Sweet apples for breakfast? You can't give that to a child!'
As we talked, she mentioned the offer Sasaki had given her. Both Togata-senpai and I frowned. 'Go with him? He's a villain.'
Togata-senpai asked gently. "Do you feel safe with him?" I shot him a questioning glance as Eri nodded. He didn't look at me. "Do you think he can keep you safe?" She thought about it before nodding again.
Togata-senpai continued, "Do you feel safe with us?" I froze. 'I promised to save her... and I didn't.' She gave a small nod. "Do you think we can keep you safe?" She nodded again, just as shyly.
Togata-senpai opened his arms, and I took that cue to do the same. "Whatever choice you make, I'm sure neither of us nor Sasaki-san will be upset." Tears welled up in her eyes, and I felt mine forming too. Eri ran into our embrace, wrapping her small arms around us as best she could. Togata-senpai began tearing up as well.
After talking a bit more, Togata suggested we head back to the others. As we walked, I couldn't help but take in the details of Sasaki. His dull purple eyes stood out against his blonde, shoulder-length hair. 'Did he dye it?' The scars that once marked his face and neck were gone, likely covered with makeup. 'Didn't he also have a tattoo around his neck?' I glanced at Togata-senpai, who was also studying Sasaki.
Eri now stood in front of Sasaki as he knelt down. "Made your choice of what you want to do?" No one said anything, giving her time to decide. 'She's not really going to go with him... is she?
After a moment, she reached out, diving into arms. I saw Sasaki flinch slightly. 'Is he not used to being touched?' In a small but determined voice, she said, "I-I want to go with you."
The only ones who didn't look surprised were Togata-senpai, Aizawa-sensei, and Principal Nezu. Sasaki's eyes widened briefly, but he simply wrapped his arms around her and stood up. He looked at Principal Nezu. "Seems like she's coming with me. I'll be out of Japan by the end of the day. Good enough for you?"
Principal Nezu nodded. "That will suffice."
Sasaki adjusted Eri in his arms. "Eri, say goodbye." She turned slightly and gave us a small wave.
We watched them leave until they disappeared from sight. I found myself speaking in a smaller voice than I intended. "Will we see them again?"
Aizawa-sensei crossed his arms and spoke. "I'd say so. Nezu, what would you have done if he decided to start attacking?"
Principal Nezu chuckled. "He seems to be extremely injured. He was subconsciously guarding his right side from the moment we met him. I would say that on top of my contingency plans, if everyone here fought, I guarantee he would have fallen."
He glanced at us all. "Now then everyone, it's time for some of you to head to class, and for others to start grading tests!"
With that, we returned to our day.
-Ryou's POV-
We were walking out of the train station, heading back to the hotel. 'She just had to hit my right side with that hug, didn't she?' When Eri dove into me earlier, her small body hit just the right angle to flare up my injury.
Eri hadn't spoken much during the ride, mostly staring out the window as the scenery passed by. Once we arrived back at the hotel, I got dressed back in my black kimono, got rid of the dye in our hair and started packing everything while she quietly watched. I spoke up, trying to keep her engaged.
"We'll be leaving this place for a while." I explained as I folded some clothes. "We're going to a very faraway place. Are you sure you still want to come with me?"
She nodded shyly but firmly. "Yes."
I hummed, a little impressed by her determination. "Alright, then you should know, I'm not from here." I pulled out a few small marbles and sat down next to her. "Each of these marbles represents a world."
I held up a blue one. "This one is where we are now." Then I showed her a red one. "And this is where we're headed, my home, and soon to be yours."
I placed them in my palm, spaced apart, and added a few more marbles in between. "To get to our home, we'll have to travel through different worlds along the way. Does that make sense?"
Eri gave me a small nod, and I smirked.
"To make it easier to understand." I continued. "we'll be taking a magical train to travel to far away places. And who knows, we might even find a magical place that has magical sweet apples." Her eyes lit up at that, excitement clear on her face.
"But." I added. "we might also end up in some scary places. Don't worry though, we'll be fine as long as we avoid a world where some guy carries a giant hunk of metal... or where people have names based on vegetables or fruit." She gave me a confused look, which made me chuckle.
I then held out the wooden pendant, noticing the white line around Buddha's face was now fully connected. "This is our ticket for the magical train, and it's ready to be used. Are you ready, Eri?"
She nodded again. I stood up, slinging the bags of clothes over one shoulder and lifting Eri with my other arm.
I began channeling magic into the pendant, focusing on activating it. The pendant started to glow brightly.
"Here we go, Eri!" I called out, and with that, we were teleported in a flash of dazzling colors, both of us closing our eyes against the brightness.
When we opened our eyes, we were greeted by a sea of beautiful purple flowers. 'Wisteria' my mind supplied. I heard Eri gasp in awe beside me. "I-it's beautiful."
I hummed in agreement. "They're Wisteria flowers, Eri."
As we admired the garden of Wisteria, I suddenly picked up the sound of hurried footsteps rushing toward us. They stopped behind me, about twenty feet away. I turned around, still holding Eri in my arms, and found myself facing three individuals.
Gyomei Himejima the Stone Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji the Love Hashira, And lastly Sanemi Shinazugawa the Wind Hashira who already looked furious.
'Well, this is interesting.' I thought, meeting Sanemi's hostile gaze as he gripped his sword.