Chapter Text
Yuriko had a great life. Her parents were the ever popular vigilantes Psyche and Shifter. Psyche was known for being an absolute pain in the ass for the police force, always one step ahead of them. She was an infamous info broker and a great undercover villian. She brought down organizations from the inside, always leaving a note for the police to find. On the other hand Shifter was known for stopping local crimes. Petty thievery and drunken brawls to cold hearted murderers and filthy muggers, he patroled the neighborhoods keeping the streets safe for civilians. Yuriko had two brothers and a sister who had been saved by her parents. The first one was Shimura Tenko, a victim of a quirk accident resulting in the death of his mother and sister. The second one was Todoroki Touya, a victim of a quirk marriage scheme and severe physical abuse by the hands of his flaming trash bag of a father. The third was Toga Himiko, a girl the same age as her who was forced to pretend to be "the perfect little girl" by her parents who didnt accept her. They might not of had the most conventional life but they were happy. They all felt safe with their new family. That all changed in one fateful day.
The day had started off normal enough. We woke up, had breakfast, and then sat down to watch some Disney movies. But then mom jolted upright. Dad asked her what was wrong and she urgently said "He's going to join them today." She turns to him and says "We got to go now or else we won't be able to stop them." He looked at Yuriko, then to mom's desperate face, then back to Yuriko again. "I'm sorry sweetheart we gotta go. We'll spend even more time with you when we get back, ok?" She nodded. They had found a yakuza gang that was still active and it had some very powerful people. Their mission would take a week max, so they had to leave right away. Whenever they went on a mission they sent Touya, Tenko, and Toga to Kurogiri because if any of them were found they would be taken away. Yuriko has to be left at the house to prevent suspicion. They collected everything they needed, put on their vigilante gear, and left for the gang's hideout. She counted the days as they passed.
On day one she revels in the freedom to do whatever she wants, playing vigilantes and drawing pictures for her parents while losing track of the time that passes by.
On day two she reads as many books as she can, absorbing all of the knowledge in them, hoping to impress her parents when they get home.
On day three she goes out to the park and explores the forest till nightfall. Watching the stars shine despite the darkness of the night teaches her that no matter how dark everything seems there will always be light.
On day four she cleans the house and does the laundry, leaving everything spotless and........ empty.
On day five she misses them. Their warm hugs, their loving eyes, and comforting smiles. The way they wrap her in a blanket burrito at bedtime, the way they try to make up any time they lost being a vigilante.........
On day six she wanders wordless around the house looking for something, anything to keep her mind off her parents.
On day seven she waits expectantly for her parents to come home counting the hours till they come through that door.
7pm....
8pm....
9pm....
10pm....
11pm....
12pm....
But they don't come back.
On day eight she starts to worry. 'They haven't come back yet. What if they're hurt!' She reaches into her mind and feels for their presence. She searches for awhile before realizing. 'I cant...feel them.' She curls up pathetically on the floor. She's searching frantically now. 'I...I cant...' She bursts into tears. She stops looking. 'T...They're gone....' She remembers what her mom said if they didnt come back.
*flashback*
They were getting ready to leave for the mission. Just before they left, her mom kneeled down and asked. "Do you remember what to do if we dont come back?"
She responded immediately. "If you dont come back then I have to get the notebook and call the number on the fridge."
Mom ruffled her hair. "Good job sweetheart."
Dad opened the door. "We love you."
"Love you too! Bye mom and dad!" She chirped back.
"Bye Yuriko!" They sang and closed the door.
*end of flashback*
She never thought this would actually happen. They told her that they might not come back one day but... 'They....they cant leave her. They cant.' She holds her legs curling further into herself. Her breath comes in short gasps and she feels like shes suffocating. 'THEY CANT LEAVE HER. NO. COME BACK.' She cant hear anything. Her thoughts are too loud. Her hands go to her ears, covering them. Make it stop. "COME BACK! PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME! NO. NO! PLEASE!!" She screams. She puts all of her feelings, all of her despair, into her screams. Her breath hitches and she cries a broken sob. "N-no please come back... please.... dont.... leave.... me........ no." She whimpers pathetically. Laying on the floor in a puddle of her own tears, she spends several minutes calming herself down. When she's done she picks herself up off of the ground and searches for the notebook. 'Hopefully this will help me figure out what happened.' She finally stumbles upon it, hidden underneath the floor boards. She reads the title "Vigilante Reports". 'This looks like it.' She thinks as she files the name away for later. She flips through it, absorbing the information. There are notes on many illegal operations happening in the city; a map connecting them together. Notes on each of her siblings; she takes extra time on these pages. The notes on their current mission labeled "Operation: Rewind ". And the last page had notes on a new underground pro hero called Eraserhead. The notes said he was a kind-hearted up and coming pro hero that quickly and efficiently took down villains.
She slams the book shut. 'Was this worth it? Was this mission more important than me? Why couldnt they have let the heros do it?' She starts tearing up again. 'No, keep it together this isnt going to help.' She snaps herself out of her spiraling thoughts as she grabs the notebook and pushes herself up off the ground. 'Time to call this number I guess.' She drags herself to the fridge looking around for the number. After a quick scan, she spots it on the side of the fridge facing the countertop. Transforming into her cat form, she leaps up on the counter and grabs the note with her mouth. She leaps back down and changes back. As she shuffles to the phone, she looks down at the paper and dials the number. She knows that whatever happens now she will always remember her family.
Aizawa wasn't having a great day. His alarm didn't go off, Hisashi wasn't there when he woke up, and his back was killing him. So when he got a call from work he was already in a bad mood. His case, catching the two most wanted vigilantes, wasnt easy and they always seemed to get away. But this week he hasn't seen a sight of them at all and it was worrying to say the least.
"What?" He answers his phone irritated.
"Hey Eraserhead, we got a call from a child that told us an address and requested you specifically." He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Alright, where is it?"
As he rounds the corner to the apartment complex, he feels the effect of a quirk on him. He immediately goes on the defensive, activating Erasure and grabbing his capture weapon.
'Woah your eyes are glowing' he hears a child's voice in his head. He breathes a sigh of relief and cancels Erasure.
'That's cool.' The voice resonates in his head as he continues towards the apartment building.
'What does this kid want?'
'I want to talk to you.' He startles.
'Did I scare you?' He enters the building.
'You can read my thoughts?'
'Only if I want to.'
'So why talk to me kid?'
'Are you Eraserhead?' The child's voice is chillingly serious now, almost... threatening. He pauses halfway up stairwell in shock. He takes a second to collect himself then replys cautiously.
'And what if I am, what does it matter to you?'
'Because I asked for Eraserhead and if they sent someone else that would be a bad show of trust.' He continues up the stairwell.
'You're the child who called the station.'
'Yup!' The child replys happily, returning to normal. He lets out a breath he didnt know he was holding and comes out to a hallway.
'Why?'
'Because that was what I was supposed to do.' The child says like they are reciting it from memory. He's almost to the room number.
'What do you mean?'
'....if my parents didn't come back, I was supposed to call for you.' The child quietly mutters. He stops in front of the door shocked.
'Come back from what?'
'.....'
'I'm coming in.'
'....ok.'
He opens the door to a hallway with a kitchen on his left and a living room straight ahead. He cautiously steps into the living room. Looking around the room he spots some family photos. As he walks closer to look at them he hears a growl.
'Don't.' He spins around and there on the ground is a dark navy blue jaguar cub.
'What the hell?'
'Don't touch those.' He sees the cub staring threateningly into his eyes, hackles raised.
'Ok I won't.' He slowly crouches so he's at ground level. The cub looks more on edge.
"Calm down I'm not gonna hurt you." He says softly.
'Are you the kid?'
'No, there's just a random jaguar cub in this apartment. Of course its me.'
'Brat.'
'Hey I heard that!' Aizawa smirks. The cub relaxes a bit.
'What's your name kid?'
'Yuriko.'
'Aizawa. Is that your quirk?'
'What?'
He gestures to the panther cub. "That."
'Oh. Yeah!' Aizawa sees the cub transform into a 6 year old girl with shoulder length dark navy blue hair, pale skin, and piercing seafoam green eyes. She looks up at him and signs.
"Better?"
"Yes." He takes a deep breath and then asks what has been bothering him since he entered this apartment.
"Yuriko, you mentioned something about your parents not coming back." The girl tenses up.
"Why did they leave?"
The little girl looks sullen and on the verge of tears. It's then that he notices her eyes are red and puffy. 'Probably from crying.' He thinks.
"They had to leave on a...... business trip." She pauses midsentence like she had to think about what to say. Suspicious.
"A business trip?" He says incredulously.
"Y-yeah" she signs nervously. He raises an eyebrow questioningly. She looks down at her hands and starts fidgeting with them. He sighs.
"Its ok kid you dont have to tell me." She visible relaxes.
"What makes you think they wont come back?" Her eyes start to glisten with unshed tears as she shakes her head.
"Its my quirk. I cant feel them anymore. That means the connection is gone and that they are..... they are....." She bursts into tears. He kneels down and envelops her in a hug.
"Shhh it's okay. Let it out." 'Why do I feel so protective of her? I just met her.' He thinks as he runs his hand through her hair. Her sobs eventually die down as he cradles her 'his child' to his chest.
'Wait what? Did I just refer to her as mine?!?' As he is freaking out about his paternal instincts, the kid waves a hand in front of his face. He blinks startling out of his thoughts and looks down at the child pressed against his chest.
"So what now?" She asks. That's a good question. She doesn't have any parents to go back to and he sure as hell wont leave her here alone. Maybe he should bring her back to the police station? They might know what to do. He nods his head in confirmation of his idea while she tilts her head at him waiting for a response.
"We are going to go to the police station." He picks her up and starts walking to the door when she starts struggling to get out of his grip. When that doesn't work she taps his face. That gets his attention.
"What is it?"
"Can I get a few things?" She looks at him pleadingly. He thinks about for a few seconds but eventually complies. Nodding his head he puts her down. The second shes on the floor she bolts to her room and starts packing all of her things into a backpack. She grabs clothes, pictures of her family, a few toys, and her notebooks. When shes done in her room she goes through her parents room looking for anything they may of left for her. Just as she is about to give up she sees something in the corner of her eye. She spins around to look in the corner of the room behind the nightstand. If she looks closely she can see that the wall is protruding a bit. She moves the nightstand and crouches down to look at the wall better. She experimentally pushes the wall a bit and is surprised when it swings open. Inside is a box and a few notebooks. She stuffs them into her bag and closes the wall door leaving the room like she saw it. After she double checks the secret compartment in the floor boards she returns to aizawa adjusting the backpack on her back.
"Ok I'm ready now." He looks at her full backpack and lifts his eyebrow. He doesn't say anything, just holds his hand out expectantly. She tilts her head questioningly.
"Give me the bag, kid. I'll carry it." She brightens in understanding and shrugs it off handing it to him. He takes it and slings it over his shoulder with practiced ease. He looks at her in thought for a minute before coming to a conclusion. Kneeling down he holds his hands out and asks.
"Do you want me to carry you again?" As an answer she jumps into his arms, almost knocking him over from the unexpected tackle. He chuckles under his breath as he lifts her off the floor and carries her close to his chest. Then they set off to the police station talking about little things to pass the time. Each conversation pulls him a little more out of his rough exterior. Hes growing more and more reluctant to leave her the more she breaks down his walls. But she has a family somewhere. And he cant be the only one that loves her. Right?