….

  [Dabi's Ft]

  "Come on, Eri. One more bite."

  Dabi in his casual clothes sat at his kitchen table, chopsticks in hand, trying to feed a very stubborn five-year-old.

  "...not… hungry."

  However, the small white-haired and horned girl shook her head. She was wearing an oversized shirt - one of Rumi's - that hung on her like a dress.

  "You need to eat." Dabi insisted, holding out another spoonful of rice. "You are still recovering."

  It had been three days since the raid on the Shie Hassaikai compound. After the news broke - Hero Mirko arrests a major Yakuza organization, rescues abused child - the situation had become complicated fast.

  Investigations, inquiries, mountains of paperwork and questions about jurisdiction and proper procedure and why two Heroes had raided a private compound without a warrant.

  But the evidence they found had been damning. The quirk-erasing drug and the medical records showing repeated use of Eri's quirk, and the testimony from rescued subordinates.

  In the end, the authorities had little choice but to commend the operation.

  And then came the question of what to do with Eri.

  The four-year-old child had no one left.

  Her mother had abandoned her years ago, convinced Eri was cursed after her quirk caused her father to disappear. The only person who had taken her in afterward was her grandfather - the head of the Yakuza, he was dead now.

  Legally and practically, she had no retives, guardian, or pce waiting for her.

  Even after the rescue, even with the boratory gone, the world outside did not automatically become a home.

  It was simply a different kind of waiting room.

  And technically, she should have gone into the foster system. But after what she had been through, the idea of pcing her with strangers who didn't understand her trauma seemed cruel.

  So after a lot of back and forth - and some string-pulling from both Rumi's agency and Gran Torino's contacts - temporary custody had been granted to the two Heroes who had rescued her.

  Obviously, the decision wasn't born of sentiment.

  The HPSC had initially pushed for a high-security containment facility, viewing Eri's [Rewind Quirk] as a Css-S biohazard.

  Whenever a white-coated government doctor approached, the air around her distorted, threatening to rewind the cellur age of anyone within a three-meter radius.

  If not for Dabi's insistence that Aizawa - the Erasure Hero - remain on standby, the situation could have spiraled into catastrophe.

  After several tense attempts and careful observation, one fact became clear.

  Only two people did not trigger her quirk's overdrive.

  Dabi and Rumi.

  That was how temporary custody of Eri ended up in their hands - making them, overnight, the world's least prepared guardians to a traumatized five-year-old with a votile quirk.

  Within the Hero community, they weren't a high-profile couple. Dabi's existence had always been deliberately low-key, and Rumi had never cared much for publicity beyond her work.

  They had moved in together about a year earlier.

  What began as a partnership built on training had shifted gradually into something deeper. Dabi had eventually admitted what he felt, and Rumi - in her characteristically blunt way - had told him she felt the same.

  Dating had been uncomplicated, living together had been natural. They banced each other well, strengths offsetting weaknesses without friction.

  But raising a child?

  That was uncharted territory for both of them.

  "Just three more bites." Dabi negotiated. "Then you can be done."

  Eri eyed the bowl of oats with open suspicion. After a moment, with the careful deliberation of a child testing the limits of her leverage, she reached across the table and grabbed one of Rumi's rabbit ears.

  ?!!Rumi froze mid-sip.

  At the far end of the table, coffee halfway to her lips and case files spread out in front of her, she went completely still.

  Anyone else who touched her ears without permission would have lost teeth. She had put people in the hospital for less.

  But this was Eri.

  A small, fragile child who was only just beginning to understand what safe contact felt like.

  So Rumi stayed perfectly still.

  Eri's fingers were gentle, exploratory. She traced along the edge of the ear, feeling the softness of the fur, watching with quiet fascination as it twitched slightly under her touch.

  "Soft." Eri murmured.

  Rumi's ear twitched again despite her best effort to control it.

  Dabi noticed the microscopic tension in her shoulders and had to fight the urge to smirk.

  "Careful." he said lightly, resting his chin against his hand. "Those are cssified Hero equipment."

  Rumi shot him a ft look without turning her head. "Keep talking and you're eating oats too."

  Eri blinked between them, fingers still buried in soft fur.

  Rumi slowly lowered her coffee cup to the table.

  "…They're sensitive." she admitted, voice unusually restrained. "So don't yank. Gentle is fine."

  Eri nodded seriously, adjusting her grip with exaggerated care.

  Dabi slid the bowl a little closer to her. "Here, take a bite." he negotiated smoothly. "You've already unlocked ear privileges. That's premium access."

  Rumi's other ear flicked in protest.

  Eri looked at the oats… then at the ear in her hand… then obediently took a bite.

  Dabi hid his grin behind his sleeve.

  Rumi muttered under her breath. "I can't believe I am being used as colteral."

  That's when the doorbell rang.

  Dabi sighed. "Who now?"

  He stood up, making sure Eri was secure in her chair, and went to answer the door.

  Standing on his doorstep, looking nervous and slightly worse for wear, was Izuku Midoriya.

  Rumi didn't look up from the table. "If it's a reporter, tell them I don't exist."

  Dabi called back over his shoulder. "It's the green-haired kid."

  "Okay." Rumi replied, continuing to feed Eri now that Dabi had abandoned his post.

  Dabi stepped aside. "Come in. What's up?"

  Midoriya entered hesitantly, his eyes immediately nding on Eri. Recognition flickered across his face - he had seen the news about the Yakuza raid and the rescued girl.

  He connected the dots that the unnamed underground Hero was probably Dabi, but he was smart enough not to say it out loud.

  The media coverage had been carefully controlled. Details about the quirk-erasing drug had been suppressed - the Hero Public Safety Commission - deemed it too dangerous for public knowledge.

  As far as most people knew, it was just a quirk-enhancement drug operation that got busted.

  Midoriya's arms were in casts. He moved stiffly, clearly still recovering from yesterday's exam.

  "So you messed up the exam?" Dabi asked, getting straight to the point.

  In the background, both Rumi and Eri turned to stare at the newcomer, watching without blinking.

  Midoriya's face went pale. "H-how did you–"

  "Frankly, it's not hard to figure out. You are here after three days, and you have got that expression people get when they think they have failed."

  Midoriya fidgeted with his casts.

  Then, in a rush, he expined everything.

  The exam. The robots. His complete inability to score points. Using One For All only once - to save a girl from the Zero-Pointer - and destroying his body in the process.

  "So in the end, except for the Zero-Pointer which doesn't have any points, I couldn't do anything."

  Midoriya finished miserably. "I failed. After all that training, all that preparation, I still–"

  "Is he really the successor to All Might?" Rumi asked bluntly, not bothering to sugarcoat it.

  She knew about Midoriya being trained as All Might's successor - Dabi had told her that much - but not the specifics about One For All. Just that All Might was grooming the kid to take over someday.

  Midoriya went completely white. His already low self-esteem, battered by the exam, dropped even further. His eyes started to water.

  That's when Eri spoke up.

  "Mama wrong."

  She had been watching this exchange carefully. And now, with the blunt honesty only children possess, she dodged the spoon Rumi was trying to feed her and stood up on the table.

  Rumi blinked. Dabi's head snapped around. Midoriya's crying paused mid-sniffle.

  "What?" her bunny ear's stretched.

  .

  ….

  [To be continued…]

  [Short Chapter. Had to cut here since the next one became too big]

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