'What's your schedule for today?' Midnight approached Okaido during her lunch.

'Ms. Midnight!' Ochaco greeted and Mariko excused th students for a moment.

Senchi slid across the cafeteria's sofa and stood up, walking a few meters away from the group she was having a lunch with .

'What do you mean exactly?'

'Are you going to the gym or something?'

'I have the house arrest, remember?'

Midnight smirked.

'I am asking if you have any additional training with Eraser.'

'Oh no, he didn't mention anything,' Mariko frowned, thinking intensely. 'Wait, you are not-'

'Oh yes, I am,' Kayama smiled playfully, putting her hands on her neck.

'He would actually kill me or expel me,' she reminded.

'Do you want to give him something for his birthday?'

'Of course! I hate myself for that detention. I cannot believe how could I slip like that.'

'Then, there is one more option, if you don't want to be slightly rebellious.'

'Which is?' Mariko stared at the woman, who put a finger on her lips, shooting her a very suggestive glance, exposing her hips.

'You know...'

'You are actually mental,' Mariko laughed and covered her mouth, feeling a blush. 'How is THIS not rebellious?'

'Oh come on, you know I am joking,' Midnight chuckled and Senchi nodded with a smile. 'He won't even notice you being away for an hour or two.'

'Mr. Aizawa will literally notice anything. If I will be missing-'

'How would he know if you are not in your room? Does he hang out in there?'

Midnight winked, seeing Mariko finally realize her plan.

'I will take Eri on a trip and you could leave through the balcony. When Eri will not be around, he will definitely go for a nap,' she suggested, innocently looking around, checking if Eraserhead is anywhere around the cafeteria.

'Or you could just buy something for me, maybe?' Mariko responded, but the tone of her voice indicated that she doesn't like this idea at all.

'You don't want that, do you?'

'Hell no.'

'HA!' Midnight shouted and a few students turned their heads towards the two women. 'Rebellious youth, my favorite flavor. Are you in, then?'

'I'm in.' Mariko smiled like the devil himself.

The women exchanged naughty glances and then turned towards opposite directions. Okaido returned to the table and joined Ochaco, Asui, Jiro and Yao for the rest of the lunch.

In the evening, Mariko was doing everything cautiously. She did not want to trigger Mr. Aizawa and give him any other chance at punishing her for her behavior. The girl even decided to clean the common living room and kitchen, even though the teacher did not specify if she is supposed to do the house chores again.

After doing some tasks around the dorm, she went upstairs and knocked on Eri's door.

'Come in!' she heard the girls voice.

'Hi!' Mariko greeted her and stepped inside, seeing the girl sitting at her small table, writing a letter.

'Hi.' Eri responded with a bright smile on her face. She immediately looked at Okaido and handed her a letter. 'I wrote you one.'

'Oh?'

The student grabbed the paper and started reading, her sm ile widening as she inspected the letter. The wobbly Japanese characters created a paragraph, in which Eri asked Mariko to show her the hero costume that she described to the girl so long ago.

'I promise, kiddo, I didn't forget. It's just I am not allowed to wear it outside of my class. We could ask Mr. Aizawa, though, if you want to?'

'Yes!'

'Alright, let's go! Climb my back!' Mariko suggested and kneeled next to the table and the kid hopped on her shoulders.

The young woman grasped Eri's ankles, securing her on her back.

'If you will be uncomfortable, tell me instantly, yes?'

'Yes!'

The two of them left the room. Mariko ducked next to the door knob, allowing Eri to close the entrance while still sitting at her back. They hiked all the way to Eraser's door and then Eri knocked on the door. Mariko stepped back and bent her knees, crouching in front of the teacher's room.

'Yea?' he asked, showing up in the doorframe, his hair tied back in a messy ponytail.

'Well, who is going to say that?' Okaido asked, twisting her head to look at Eri.

'I will!'

'Alright.'

'Can I see Mariko's hero costume?' Eri requested.

Shota looked down at the student and then made eye contact with the little girl.

'Okaido is under house arrest, Eri.'

'Again?'

Mariko couldn't help but laugh. Eraser smirked and nodded. When the student looked back at the kid, she noticed her smile fading away.

'Oh, nooo.' Mariko dropped to her knees and straightened her back. 'Mr. Aizawa, please. It's for her. She shouldn't be the one affected by my actions.'

Both of the girls looked at Shota with pleading eyes.

'Tch,' he sighed, looking to the side. 'Fine. But don't get used to it, Okaido. It is supposed to be your punishment, I only do this for Eri,' he reminded.

'I know, I am very sorry about yesterday.' She slowly got up from her knees, mindful of the girl on her back.

The teacher closed the door to his room and started walking down the corridor.

'Eri will be cold, if we go out like that,' he informed and didn't turn towards the staircase, but continued walking down the hall.

When they entered Eri's room again, Okaido grabbed the kid and placed her on the floor, while Shota walked to the girl's drawer. He crouched next to it and searched for a winter cap and a pair of gloves - it was quite windy outside. Mariko patted the couch and a second later the kid hopped there, ready to get dressed. Okaido took her small, winter shoes, which were placed next to the drawer and handed them to the girl.

'Do you want some help?' Mariko suggested.

'No, I'm fine,' Eri replied.

Senchi sat back and looked at Eraser, who placed the gloves, a hat and a nice, pastel-yellow jacket next to the girl.

'And you?' he asked, glancing at Mariko, surprising her.

'I'm fine with my hoodie,' she assured. 'Much appreciated, though.'

Aizawa nodded and stood up, waiting beside the door.

'And you, sir?'

'Hm?'

'It's windy outside,' Mariko kindly reminded.

'I'm fine. Thanks.'

There was a moment of silence. The young woman dropped her head and stared at the invisible spot on the floor.

'That was so kind of him,' she though to herself, smiling.

'Ready!' Eri announced and Mariko picked her up again.

The three of them left the dorm, stepping outside the building; the cold wind blew on their faces. The young woman adjusted the kid on her back and glanced at the man walking next to her. She wanted to talk to him so badly, but she didn't know what to say. He didn't seem like the type to be into a small talk.

When they walked under one of the oaks, Eri extended her arm, reaching for a huge, red leaf.

'It's so pretty!' Eri said and waved the leaf in front of Mariko's face.

'It really is,' she admitted and hissed a second later, feeling the cold air sting her hands. She twitched and quive red.

She heard Mr. Aizawa sigh and looked up at him. He was staring at her, clearly annoyed.

'I told you to wear something,' he snapped.

'I am sorry,' Mariko blushed, embarrassed.

Shota reached out to the kid and Eri hopped on the teacher's back; the height difference allowed her to reach towards another pretty leaf. Okaido slid her hands into her hoodie pocket, feeling the nice warmth on her palms.

'Thank you, sir. I am sorry.'

'Just don't do that.'

Mariko shyly glanced at the man next to her.

'You keep going your way, even if sometimes it's just not good for you.'

The student suddenly felt guilty. She adored Eraserhead so much, she didn't want to annoy him, but at the same time, she liked teasing him and testing his patience. It was a weird combo, as it made her either very playful around the man, or extremely intimidated by his presence.

Shota noticed the immediate change in the student's energy and tried to analyze her.

'She's still not really mentally mature. But it's hard to blame her for that. Growing up without parents or any close family is always going to be hard. Then again, she acts differently around schoolmates or even the teachers...'

As Eri showed Aizawa the two gorgeous leaves that she found, Mariko raised the inner corners of her eyebrows and connected her fingers inside the pocket of her hoodie. She opened her mouth, but immediately closed it afterwards, playing with her thumbs. She had so many things to say, but she had no idea how to phrase them. Fortunately for her, Eraser was too busy with Eri to notice her at that moment.

They slowly walked to the school building, Okaido opening the entrance for the man and Eri. When they were finally inside, Eraser put the kid on the floor and the girl removed her hat from her head.

'Let's go to the second floor,' Mariko informed in a quiet, but friendly voice.

Eri grasped Okaido's hand and they climbed the staircase together. As the three of them approached the door leading to the 1A classroom, Mariko noticed some movement from the corner of her eye. She turned her head to the side and from around thirty meters, recognized Mei Hatsume, sprinting towards her at a full speed.

'OKAIDO!' she screamed and immediately stopped, sliding across the corridor. From far away it looked like she was running, but she was actually using some weird hover-boots. 'I have your grapple gauntlet.'

'Really? Already?' Mariko was shocked. 'Is the paperwork finished as well?'

'Yea! It is not that advanced, so the blueprint got accepted easily.'

'I see, that's so cool. Thank you.'

'No problem, here's the instruction, I need to go. Bye!' She turned around and dashed, creating an air corridor behind her.

Mariko followed the Support Department student with her gaze and then dropped her eyes onto the glove. It looked so top-shelf, aesthetic and professional.

The mechanism shooting out the white, thin Binding Cloth was cleverly fit inside of the gauntlet, taking surprisingly low amount of space, allowing the grapple-glove to be slim. The device was covered with a black, matte paint, that had a very nice, pleasant-to-touch texture. The tip of the Binding Cloth was finished with a nice, dark green, arrow shaped weight. It wasn't sharp, as it was supposed to give some additional velocity to the projectile.

Mariko put on the grapple on her left forearm and aimed at the corridor, without firing.

Aizawa opened the door to the classroom and entered the room, heading straight towards his desk. He reached somewhere below the desktop and pressed a button, unlocking the drawers with hero suits, which were mounted inside a wall.

'Go get changed.'

Mariko walked to her drawer at the very corner of the class, the little girl slowly following her.

'Will you show me the grapple as well?' Eri asked.

'Of course!' She grabbed the hero case with a number '22' on it and pushed the drawer back into the wall.

She trotted to the girl's dressing room and closed the room behind her, quickly opening the closest locker to hide her current clothes. As Okaido was changing, Eri grasped Aizawa's hand, holding the oak leaves in her other hand, and they left the classroom.

A few minutes later Mariko energetically left the dressing room. She swiftly closed the door and broke into a run, sharply turning at the corner of the hall. Eri, standing a few meters away, turned her head towards the student. For a few seconds she was staring at Mariko, inspecting her costume. Then, she smiled widely and pulled Aizawa's hand, making him look down at her bright face.

'Do you like it?' Mariko asked, rotating around to showcase the entire costume.

'It looks badass!'

'Eri, who taught you that word ?' Shota asked, frowning.

'Mirio,' she reponded and the young woman chuckled.

'Anyway,' Shota said. 'You should try out the grapple. Let's go to the Ground Gamma.'

As they left the school, Mariko carefully studied the instruction, while Eri and Aizawa engaged in a conversation. From what she had found out, the activation of the shooting mechanism was extremely simple. The glove reacted to muscle movement. To shoot, she just had to sharply raise her wrist; to recall the Binding Cloth, she had to do the opposite movement.

' Sounds easy, but the secret has to be the technique,' she thought.

When they finally stood inside the Ground Gamma, Mariko stopped below one of the industrial pipes and shot a grapple at it. The first time was unsuccessful, the arrow tip did not attach to any surface and she had to immediately recall the projectile.

'It's more of the Binding Cloth than an actual grapple,' Mariko noticed. 'Sensei, can you please lay down some theory for me?'

He nodded and gently put Eri back on the ground and then walked to Mariko, grabbing the end of his scarf-like weapon.

'Can you control the length of the Binding Cloth that you fire?' he asked.

'I am not sure.' She took a few steps back and aimed above the vertical pipe. She glanced at the instruction. 'Oh yea, if I turn my fist towards the ground while the gauntlet is firing, I can stop the mechanism from releasing more cloth.'

'Good, take it off for now,' he advised.

'Alright.'

Mariko did as she was asked and then the teacher placed the Binding Cloth around her shoulders.

'I think it will help you understand the grapple better, if you start with the basics. The Binding Cloth has a few materials that I am not going to name, but except for these, it is also made of a certain metal alloy.'

'Is the formula a secret of some sorts?' Mariko asked and smiled to Eri, who observed them curiously.

'Yea. Only the Support Department and companies have access to that,' Shota responded with a tired tone.

He grabbed the end of the weapon and placed it inside Mariko's right hand. She felt his incredibly warm skin against her cold palms, making her slightly shiver.

'The goal is to aim in a way that will make the Binding Cloth wrap itself around the object. The metal alloy in the weapon not only adds to the durability, but can also - to some degree - memorize the shape,' he continued. 'So, using the current scenario, you want the Cloth to go above the metal pipe, but because it is not a grapple, it is not supposed to touch it, but...'

'Wrap around it. So, I need to add a few additional meters of Cloth when throwing it?' Mariko furrowed her brows. 'It is like a reflective metal strip, then. Like those ones which you just slap on your arm or wrist or something and they wrap themselves around your body!' she was clearly excited.

Okaido looked at Shota, who looked at her with his red eyes.

'I am sorry!' She bowed before him, her face twisted in a nervous expression.

'I wish I could erase vocal chords,' he informed, still annoyed at her interrupting him. She slowly straightened herself up and looked into his eyes. He sighed, his eyes returning to a normal color. 'Yes, it's a bit like the reflective stripe.'

'That's so cool!' she admitted. 'Did you come up with the design yourself, sir?'

'Yes.'

'Wow,' she simply said, her expression softening.

There was an awkward moment of silence, after which Mariko quickly turned her head towards the pipe and tried throwing the cloth. She failed and the weapon landed on the ground.

'Have you ever thrown a card?' he asked her.

'No.'

'Here,' Aizawa said and grasped her right hand.

Mariko tensed and froze in place.

'Are you drunk or something?' he commented, feeling her shaky hands.

'No.'

'Cold?'

'Yea,' she lied. 'I promise I will bring the gloves next time.'

'In this particular case,' he grabbed her other hand and slid it across the Binding Cloth, straightening the weapon. 'Gloves could do more bad than good. Use your entire arm when you throw, there must be enough force applied for it to work.' He stood next to her and slowly demonstrated the movement. 'Like this. Entire body swing. Try it.'

Mariko slowly repeated his movements, then looked at him, non-verbally asking for affirmation. He nodded and then added:

'And remember to hold the tip of the cloth like a card. In between your fingers.'

'Alright,' she said and then stood still, very concentrated.

She squeezed the Binding Cloth between her right index and middle finger and shifted her hand to the tip of the weapon. Simultaneously, she stretched the fabric with her other hand, sliding the material on top of her left middle finger. As the right hand reached the end of the scarf, she swung her arm, throwing it towards the industrial pipe.

The binding weapon flew high in the air and wrapped around the pipe. The corner of Aizawa's mouth twitched.

'Oh!' Mariko gasped, surprised. She leaned backwards, testing the strength and stability of the binding. 'You're such a great teacher,' she admitted and pulled the capture weapon. He glanced at her focused face. 'And to make it unwrap, do you slightly relax it and then wrench, sir?'

'It depends on the angle and what are you grasping, but generally - yes.'

'That's so cool!' She wrapped her forearm in the cloth and jumped from the ground to swing.

She didn't have enough momentum for the swing to be fast, but it still felt extremely satisfying.

'Never do it again.'

Mariko looked at the man, slightly confused. When her body hung below the pipe, the teacher approached her.

'When you wrap it around your limbs, it is easier to pull yourself, but it can be lethal when facing an opponent with an actual brain.' He pointed at her forearm.

Mariko slowly unwrapped herself and lowered her body to the ground. Then, she slightly lifted the Binding Cloth and then gave it a yank, successfully removing it from the pipe.

'Wrap it around your arm,' he ordered.

She did as was told to and then saw him grab the Binding Cloth to pull her forward. He raised his knee, trying to land a kick, but she leaned to the side. She tried to unwrap her arm, but it was extremely difficult and gave him an immediate advantage. Using the Binding Cloth, he redirected her body and pulled her arm behind her back, immobilizing her.

'See?'

'Yea,' she hissed and then he released her.

She straightened her spine and rubbed the arm the teacher was pulling a second ago.

'That is so cool, though. Like, the entire concept of it,' she repeated.

As Senchi prepared herself for another throw, Mr. Aizawa checked on Eri and then leaned on the nearest wall of the fake factory building. He observed the girl for a few dozen minutes, appreciating the effort she put in the technique he explained to her. Most of her throws were unsuccessful, but she seemed extremely motivated.

At some point, he crossed the arms on his chest and spoke up:

'Did you forget about your support item?'

She stopped and turned towards him.

'Right...' Okaido lifted the Binding Cloth from her shoulders and handed it over to the teacher. She examined him as he equipped the weapon and then looked at Eri, who was standing next to him. 'Let's test the grapple!'

'OK!'

Mariko picked up the grapple that she laid on the ground some time ago and slid it on her left forearm. The girl fired the Binding Cloth and wrapped it around the same vertical pipe on which she was practicing. After the projectile landed, she pulled the fabric, testing it's strength.

'Don't be scared, Okaido. It won't break.'

'It just makes me uneasy, knowing that your Binding Cloth is so much thicker, sir. It seems like this one will tear apart.'

'Trust me when I say that this can handle someone three times as heavy as you, if not more.'

'Then why did you make yours with such a width?' she asked, Mario turned towards Eri who was now standing next to her, inspecting the grapple with curiosity.

'I find it more comfortable to throw,' he explained. 'And also,' he smirked sadistically, 'I do not need to worry about restricting blood circulation when I wrap it around my lousy students.'

'That's scary,' she commented and then swung on the grapple. 'Watch this, Eri. I will try to do something.'

'Oh? Be careful, Mariko,' the kid requested.

Whilst still in air, she recalled the Binding Cloth and immediately fired it at another pipe, gaining more momentum as she extended the swing.

'Wow!' Eri shouted behind the girl.

Mariko smiled, but quickly realized that she miscalculated. She released too much of the fabric from inside the gauntlet and because of that she was too close to the ground.

'Ahh!' Mariko hissed, as her right foot was dragged across the stone floor.

'It's not as simple as it may appear,' Shota commented and Eri covered her mouth, glancing at Aizawa and Mariko with concern.

'Oh, for sure,' the student said, as she landed on the ground.

'All I can advise you is to practice as much as you can. You need to develop a certain intuition to use it properly and you also might come up with your own style of swings. But for now,' Eraser looked at his phone. 'We should head back.'