Six years ago...
UA; Eri's bedroom.

"ONE FOR ALL... FULL COWLING!! TEXAS... SMASH!!" a female child's voice cried as a considerably smaller version of Deku flied against an ogre doll made of plastic, bringing it down, along with a wall of multicoloured bricks. "URAVITY, NOW!!"

"RELEASE!!" an older female voice was heard in response, while its owner let a heavy History book she could totally use more often fall over the defeated ogre. Then she brought the Uravity plushie closer to the one Eri held in her tiny hand "WE MADE IT, DEKU! THE CITY IS SAFE AGAIN!"

"YES! YOU'VE BEEN AMAZING, URAVITY! LIKE YOU ALWAYS ARE!" Eri kept faking Deku's voice as she shook its green dressed hero plushie.

"AWWW, STOP, YOU ARE MAKING ME BLUSH!!" Mina contained her giggle while she overacted Uraraka's voice with her respective plushie in her hand. "YOU KNOW, I'VE ALWAYS ADMIRED YOU, NOT ONLY AS A HERO BUT ALSO AS A PERSON! I THINK YOU ARE SUCH A CUTE, BRAVE AND CARING BOY!"

"REALLY? YOU MEAN IT? I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF YOU AS A GREAT HERO AND AN EVEN GREATER WOMAN! YOU ARE SO SWEET, KIND, DETERMINED AND PRETTY! AND YOU ARE ALWAYS THERE FOR ME! IN MY EYES YOU'LL ALWAYS BE THE PERFECT GIRL!"

"DEKU, PLEASE, THE HONOUR OF BEING THE PERFECT GIRL OBVIOUSLY GOES TO MINA, BUT I CAN'T HELP IT! THE TRUE REASON I LOVE FIGHTING BY YOUR SIDE IS BECAUSE... WELL... I'VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH YOU ALMOST SINCE THE DAY WE MET!"

"OH MY GOD!" the Deku plushie with the voice of Eri gasped.  "I'VE ALSO LOVED YOU SINCE OUR FIRST YEAR AT UA! NO MATTER HOW MANY PESKY GIRLS TRIED TO LAY A HAND ON ME, YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE I WANTED TO GET CLOSER!"

"THIS IS WONDERFUL! I DON'T KNOW WHAT DUMB REASONS KEPT US FROM CONFESSING OUR FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER! SO... TELL ME, DEKU: DOES THIS MAKE US OFFICIALLY A COUPLE?" Mina was having the time of her life with only imagining Uraraka watching their improvised scene between those two plushies.

"A COUPLE? LET'S GO BEYOND!" Eri took her fangirling to the next level: she made the Deku plushie get on its knees and Mina let her take the Uravity plushie and bring it even closer to its partner. "OH, URAVITY... WILL YOU BE MY HEROIC WIFE??"

"AAAAAWW, DEKU, OF COURSE I WILL!! AND THEN WE'LL GIVE ERI TWO OR THREE SIBLINGS SO SHE CAN PLAY WITH THEM ALL DAY, AND WE'LL SAVE THE WORLD LIKE A FAMILY!!" Mina couldn't take it any more, and she joined to Eri's giggling as the little girl made the two plushies came face to face and smooch together, until the two players heard a knock on the open door behind them and immediately turned hiding the plushies behind their backs:

"Oh, hi, Eijiro!" Mina played innocent, while a confused looking Kirishima stood there, not sure about what to make out of that scene. "We were just playing with the plushies Auntie Momo made for Eri! Right?"

"Yay!" Eri flashed that smile of hers that would make any judge want to declare her innocent for life. "It has been a lot of fun!"

"Wow, I'm sure it has, little one!" Kirishima stirred the smiley Eri's silver hair before catching sight of the beaten and trapped poor ogre. "It's good that you've finally found some use for your History book, Mina."

"Oh, give me a break! Yesterday I studied the last lesson until I could reach before falling asleep!" Mina complained.

"Oh, really? That deserves some celebration!" Kirishima asked with sly eyes. "They just opened a new grill restaurant in Kashyyyk. What if I take you out for dinner?"

"Mr Red Riot..." Mina carried a hand to her chest and seductively grinned. "You certainly know how to spoil a lady..." she blinked an eye to Eri, who cheerfully blinked hers in response. "Come on, Eri, go brush your teeth. Ochako and Midoriya will be here in a minute to read you a book before sleeping."

"Yes!" Eri squealed in delight, as she got up and returned the two plushies to her bed before running to the bathroom. "Bye, Pinky! Bye, Red Riot! Have fun while dating!"

Kirishima chuckled and a naughty Mina slightly punched him in the arm.

********************

Two years ago...
Walkway to UA.

"I see. So that's what happened..." Deku muttered.

"It wasn't Kota's fault. That bunch of bullies were saying I was a weirdo with a Quirk too dangerous to belong in society and everyone in school should avoid me like plague...." Eri explained. It wasn't her for whom she was concerned, though. "All Kota did was stand up to them for me."

The argument with the four bullies had ended up in a fight where Kota was receiving more than giving until Eri arrived and demanded them to leave her friend alone. When the bullies caught sight of the Rewind User running in their direction with her hand extended and her horn slightly bigger than when she was calmed, they run away in a hurry as if their lives depended on it. She then helped a bruised Kota to get up. The boy tried to keep his tough guy persona despite his sniffing and watery eye deviating, but he eventually told Eri what happened.

"I'll talk to him later" Deku promised. "Did those guys try to hurt you at some point?"

"No! Everything they do is looking at me with disgust and tell everyone they can I am some kind of..." Eri didn't end the sentence, but Deku knew what she was referring to: Overhaul always said she was a cursed child who must be kept under strict control, and despite her lovable nature, since Eri joined a regular school her Quirk had caused many children to be scared. Things got considerably better when the rest of the students spread that Eri was a close friend of a whole gallery of Pro Heroes that included The Big Three, Eraser, Uravity, Froppy, Pinky, Red Riot, and of course, Deku. Her popularity had reached a point where sometimes she felt overwhelmed and bullies were so jealous yet afraid of her Quirk they had to contempt themselves with talking trash behind her back.

"We've talked about this, Eri: you are nothing like that" Deku and his friends had made themselves clear on that aspect, and he would remind it to her as many times as necessary. "You are a wonderful child whose power will help a lot of people in the future, and I don't want you to be affected by what ignorants may say..."

"I know! And I told Kota I don't care anymore about what mean people say about me!" Eri cried in protest. "I mean, I am happy he cares about me, but I don't want him to get into trouble because of it."

"Neither do I. Kota's never been a particularly open boy, even since he joined Elementary School, but as grumpy as he is, he seems to have let you into his small social circle" Deku's work as a hero kept him busy, but he never missed an opportunity to check how the youngest of his friends did. "And I am glad to know that you look after each other."

"Oh, he acts tough, but I know he's actually a softie" Eri enthusiastically smiled. "Do you remember that key chain with your shape I used to carry hanging from by bag? Last month, there was one day when I left my bag in the classroom as I got out for a while; when I returned I found someone, one of those meanies for sure, had crashed it to pieces against the floor. It made me sad, but I didn't let anyone know. However, the next morning, when I returned from gym class to the classroom and checked my bag... well, Kota grudgingly denied he had something to do with it, but I know he had an identical key chain and he's the only one he could have replaced mine..."

"He did that? Wow, that's incredible..." Kota's aunt had told Deku about that key chain and how jealously he kept it, so the boy's gesture took him by surprise. Not all heroics required the use of a Quirk and a costume, or even getting out of a classroom at all.

"Please, don't go hard on him" Eri pleaded. "Just tell him to stay out of fights. You are kind of his idol too, so he'll listen to you."

"We'll see" Deku sighed. He wasn't the finest example of not getting involved in a fight to protect Eri.

*******************

July 8th, 10:00.
UA's rooftop.

"Well, look at you, Eri!" Nejire awed after the now formally dressed Eri had hugged the three members of the hero team. Eri was wearing a long sleeved red dress with white shoes and she was wearing a brand new hairstyle that consisted of her silver hair braided, with the back of it tied up and two long strands over her shoulders, leaving sight of two ruby red earrings. "We are not on-duty today, guys, but we may have to arrest her for all the hearts she could steal with that outfit!"

Eri just laughed and dissimulated her blush the best she could. Mrs Midoriya had already told her she looked like a princess out of a fairytale, although she knew any outfit that day would pale in comparison with Uraraka's.

"You better stay on guard, Nejire" Mirio teased. "This little lady could be the one catching the bouquet!"

"Unlikely. If the use of Quirks is allowed, I would put my money on her" Tamaki muttered.

"Thank you,Suneater" Nejire modestly smiled. "Come on, you guys tell me Tamaki doesn't look handsome in the suit I helped him choose!"

"He does indeed!" Eri cheerfully jumped.

"T... thanks" Tamaki looked down on the floor, visibly embarrassed. "But more like you were the one who chose it, Nejire. I know little or nothing about fashion..."

"Oh I'm not so sure" Mirio said. "Back in New York she asked you a little help to find herself the perfect outfit for the wedding" he pointed at Nejire's long clear green dress that showed the best of her curves and came complimented with blue belt, bracelets and heeled shoes. The dress was so light that when the skirt moved one could have the impression that she floated, like a fairy. "And I would say you succeeded!"

"And I certify it!" Nejire widened her smile and briefly made a supermodel pose. "Oh my, Eri: the place is starting to get filled. You better go pick a good seat for you and your friend!"

"Your friend, Eri?" Mirio asked. "You didn't tell me you had a date for the wedding!"

"Well... it's not really a date" Eri innocently answered as she went to have a seat while she waited for Kota. "I think..."

********************

July 10th, 11:30.
Unknown location.

The place where Eri had woken up barely one day ago could have been mistaken by a hotel room: white walls, good illumination, a comfortable bed, a small toilet, clean clothes and even some supplies at her disposal. One of the walls was actually a huge reinforced glass that acted as a window. She could appreciate the view of a vast green vegetation and the sea in the distance, under a sunny sky with no clouds. But the now teen Eri spent enough time imprisoned as a child to recognize her situation.

The cell included a mechanism that allowed Eri to activate four holograpic screens. These ones showed parages and landscapes she guessed they belonged to the surroundings of wherever she was being kept. The views were breathtaking: extensive beaches of white sands where various people from all countries had fun, surfers dominating big waves, cruise ships in the middle of a bright blue ocean, luxury hotels with parties and spectacular swimming pools...

After a while angrily struggling to open the only door of the room and trying to use some furniture to break the crystal wall, obtaining no result, she got frustrated, pressed a button to low the blinds and sat on the bed. Now the room was much darker, but having that view with no possibility of getting out was like a bad joke. 

Eri was affraid and tried to think and guess where they could have taken her. She remembered being captured when she went after Kota. She just hoped Deku or some other hero had rescued Kota before something bad happened to him, as well as the rest of her friends were safe. The girl had had no news since them.

Tears began to fill her eyes. She had too many unanswered questions and what were those villains going to do with her was only one of them.

"I must be brave... Deku wouldn't be affraid..."

"I love your new place, Eri"

Eri instantly composed and reminded herself she was alone inside the room, but her heart started to accelerate because of her inner fear.

"It's been years, hasn't it?" the eerie voice sounded as clear and menacing as Eri remembered eight years ahead. "Did you miss me? I do have missed you."

"Shut up" Eri closed her eyes but found the courage to reply. "You are not here."

"I've always been here" Overhaul continued. "You don't even remember your life before we met, do you? Back then you were so small... and already so problematic..."

"You... aren't... real. You're only inside my mind..." Eri slowly opened her eyes, but she knew she'd have to face his image.

"I am not real?" as soon as Eri briefly caught sight of the man with the beaked mask she rapidly turned her eyes towards the floor. "An all grown up girl and still such a slow learner. I am your darkest memory. I am the fear you try to bury under all the cuddles you receive from your hero friends. I am the trauma you wish to nobody. I am the reason behind your love for heroes. Of course I am inside your mind... because I live there, and I always have. I can tell you, Eri, that makes me very real."

Eri breathed heavily. Deku and Lelimillion made sure she received assistance for her childhood trauma in the hands of this villain, and it gave positive results for years. But now, with all that was going on, feelings, thoughts, fears, questions and trauma chaotically danced in her head. Her heroes were not there to protect her and most likely had no clue about where she was. She was encaged like she was eight years ago, when Overhaul was the closest thing to a relative or father figure she had.

No. It wasn't the time to remove the past; Overhaul was stopped and who knew if he still would be alive. She might be captive, but she wouldn't be the damsel in distress who could do nothing but cry as she waited for a hero.

"If you are so real... why don't you open the door so I can get out of here?" Eri dared that manifestation of her trauma, doing her best not to tremble.

"Who knew?" Overhaul icily taunted. "Little Eri has found herself some courage over the years. But I am a memory, sweet child, not a genie. Besides, do you even have a plan if you're out?"

"Leave me alone" anger joined Eri's festival of vibrant emotions.

"Could it be... you'd be willing to use your Quirk against them? Well, you can't say you don't know what your Rewind can do to humans, can you?"

"I... couldn't know...what I was..." Deku was the one who convinced her that what happened to her father wasn't her fault, but Deku wasn't there and she almost choked with her own words.

"Don't you cry. Perhaps he deserved it after all. Yes, I definitely put you through hell, but wasn't he married to the woman who abandoned you to me in the first place?" his voice sounded each time closer to her.

"Go away... I told you to leave me alone..."

"Oh... why are you so upset?" the ghost of her past gave no truce. "There are too many bad people ready to hurt you and your loved ones in the world. Would it be that wrong to hurt them so you can be saved?

Eri slighly removed her hands from her red eyes, knowing she had no choice but to watch.

"I mean..." Overhaul's evil eyes drilled her soul when he showed her the two stumps that replaced his hands. Those hands Eri's current kidnapper disintegrated so many years ago. "We villains need to be pusnished anyway, don't you think?"

"I said, GO AWAY!" Eri loudly cried as she got on her feet and opened her eyes for the second time.

She panted for a minute and let herself fall back into the bed. When she remembered the villains could be watching her she resolved to wipe out her tears and wait for them to come with a straight face. Inko Midoriya and some of the heroes still regarded her as a little girl, but her personal hero wasn't the best of them all for nothing, and she dreamed of being like him someday. For that reason, she would endure whatever it took before her friends could come and help her.

It wouldn't take long, since after some minutes the door of the room emitted a sound that announced it was about to be opened.

End of chapter 25.

This was shorter than I expected, but I need to study the order and development of the following events. Gosh, Todorokistraight is going to kill me for this last cliffhanger...

With all that is happening I hate leaving you readers (doesn't matter if you are many or few) without knowing for a long time, so I'll do my best to update, even if that implies shorter chapters. But I won't do it before making sure it is correctly done and worth of all the positive comments you have left these months.

Anyway, I had planned for long to give Eri some chapter for her own. One could say this could count as filler, but since there are too many characters and relationships to explore in this fanfic, I came up with this way.

I've read my favorite authors show us all of Eri's cuteness, mainly as a baby and as a small child, so it is time to meet the teen Eri as I like to imagine: sweet, caring, still some innocent, but strong and determined to face her own trauma.

It's kind of cliché to include a part when one of the good guys speaks with one of his enemies in his head when he is in a terrible situation, but I found it necessary.

As for that memory of her playing with Mina... I won't lie, that's kind of a part of me when Deku and Uraraka team up in the series... I am terrible🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️... buuuut, you know I love making a bit of fun of the fandom, and that includes me.

Well! This is all for now, Watties! Pleaaaase, don't get mad and bear in mind I must read more of the manga to make it as compatible as possible. Studying, family and house keeping also takes me most part of the day, but I solemnly promise this story had an end in my mind, and you will all see it when possible (need time, please:().

See you soon! Honest Fiction's word!