Once Shine was asleep, Miss Joke sat up rather awkwardly.

Aizawa wondered how long she'd been awake. "Did you hear all of that?"

"Who, me?" Emi said innocently. Then she chuckled softly. "Maybe some of it... She's right, you know. You are alike... You just can't see it that way."

"I see enough. But Likstar's method is not acceptable."

"I'm sure that will stop her..."

"On the other hand," Aizawa said, "we've had many discussions about this, and she's got a point. There's more to prepping young heroes than just the skills and training... Something was different about this."

"Yes, it was terrifying..." Miss Joke rubbed her arm where she'd been pricked.

"I meant with the kids..." Aizawa said, "I don't know what is was. But Yaoyurozu was acting with more confidence than I've seen from her in a long time. Bakugo didn't fight with anyone that I noticed, and Todoroki didn't rush in overconfidently-- he waited for orders. They also acted more mature than at least 3 of the Pro heroes there did."

"Oh." Miss Joke wondered what she did that was immature.

"I'm counting myself in that," Aizawa said.

"Oh." Miss Joke was stunned.

"Looking back on it, it's embarrassing how caught up I got in arguing over nothing," Aizawa admitted, "And Likstar had those villains cooperating... How do you make sense of that? Under her, the students acted like Pros."

"And the Pros acted like students," Miss Joke said smoothly, "I know. What do you think I've been telling you for months? She's got something special, Eraser. What she sees about people...or maybe what they see because of her influence, it's powerful."

"She's not that special, though. Her personality isn't," Aizawa said, "The only thing that's weird is how firmly she really believes what she's saying. No one has that much confidence."

"I think some people do," Emi said vaguely, "I agree it's not really her personality, though she's fun. It's her conviction... It's attractive, isn't it? Conviction usually is."

"And dangerous."

"Dangerous to whom? All I saw was it made people who otherwise hate each other cooperate because they agreed with it."

"We all agreed in principle about it," Aizawa said.

"But, Eraser, we don't agree to the point where we'll put aside our biases over it," Emi said, "And that's the true test, isn't it? We both know without those villains, we would have failed. It's undeniable. You can thank Likstar for their cooperation. Whatever they claimed their reason was, it was obvious to me they just wanted to help her. They're grateful for her protection. But she's protecting us from them too. And what it comes down to is, we all need to be saved from each other because we can't save ourselves-- we're too prejudiced. We lack the ability to talk things out and settle things any other way than by an all out war..." She sighed. "I'm not sure what's going to happen in the world at large within a few months. Maybe a little space isn't such a bad thing."

Aizawa couldn't argue with that.

"Will you be okay?" He changed the subject.

Emi sighed again. "I...don't know. Guess I'll know soon enough. I'm going to hold off freaking out until I'm certain...but, hey, I was pretty good even without it, wasn't I?"

"Well, it's not like years of training is for nothing-- when you don't have a power type quirk, anyway," Aizawa hedged.

"Was that close to a compliment, there, Eraser?"

"Don't read into it."

"Well, I'm half retired anyway," Miss Joke said.

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Must you always try to find a bright side?"

"Must you always find the dark side?" Miss Joke said.

"It would be normal to be upset."

"And I'll be upset once I know I have a reason to be. Don't try to pressure me into it. I'm not your student." Miss Joke didn't mean that to be as hurtful as it sounded. She was understandably worn a little thin.

Aizawa was shocked.

"Oh..." Emi realized her mistake. "I'm sorry... I don't know why I said that the way I did."

"That's what you think, huh?" Aizawa said dully.

"No, no, it was just..." Emi fumbled for an excuse. None came. "I mean, you're kind of...pushy."

"Pushy?" Aizawa raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, don't push me into it. That's what I meant."

"I'm pushy. From the person who constantly pushes my buttons."

"It's called fair play..." Miss Joke quipped, "Anyway, it's not like you take it seriously..."

"Seriously annoying..."

"There's that quick retort," Miss Joke said, winking.

"Be serious, Joke."

"I was being serious," Miss Joke said, "You know, you can be serious while you're joking. It's an art."

"Is that so?" Aizawa said surprisingly.

Miss Joke realized her mistake. "Uh, I mean, when you're trying to lighten the mood it is..." she laughed nervously.

The car stopped right then, thank goodness, and at her house.

Miss Joke nudged Shine. "Wake up. We're here."

"No..." Shine moaned, "Just 5 more minutes."

"You can sleep inside."

"Fine..." Shine sat up like a robot. "Bye, kids."

"Hmm?" Momo blinked. She'd fallen on Todoroki's shoulder without meaning to. He was out cold too.

"Aww," Shine couldn't help saying.

"Likstar, make sure Eri is comfortable," Aizawa said, prying Eri up. She barely stirred.

Miss Joke picked her up. "Don't worry, Eraser, she'll be fine. Let Likstar rest, huh?"

"I could sleep for a week..." Shine mumbled.

"I could sleep for two," Miss Joke sighed, stepping up to her door, "Well, at least it's the weekend..."

* * *

Back at UA, Aizawa and the students snuck in... The whole falling asleep on each other thing was ignored.

"I suppose I don't even need to say no one should know about this until we officially announce Eri is found," Aizawa said.

"Yes, sir," they all said.

"Then good night." He walked towards his room.

They filed in quietly.

Of course, some of the class knew they were gone, but they'd fallen asleep in the living area while waiting for them or in their own rooms, as it turned out-- as they woke up later still in their clothes.

Shoji was one of them, since he could listen for them, but he didn't ask any questions, just went off to bed with a, "Oh, you're back."

"Well...this was the worst mission ever..." Momo said, "But at least we're here."

"Sure." Shoto walked away, not happy.

"He really seems a little more down than I thought, since we technically succeeded..." Kaminari noted.

"Todoroki has had a difficult night," Momo sighed, "As have we all... I'm going to sleep for 24 hours." She went off too.

Kaminari shrugged. "Well...I kind of think it was cool, you know."

"Cool?" Jiro said weirdly.

"I mean not the creepy part, but everyone working together, and even without quirks, it was awesome." Kaminari gestured. "I mean, not that I did anything...but you were great, Jiro, with the hearing and stuff."

"Well," Jiro looked at the floor, "you did the lightbulb thing, right?"

"Yeah..." Kaminari deflated a little. "That was the most useful thing I did..."

"And the gun thing..."

"Oh, right." He brightened. "I did that. Did I look gangsta?"

Jiro snorted a laugh. Which was his goal, as he didn't really think she was going to agree with him--but then she did something that shocked him. She leaned over and gave him a sort of fierce hug.

Kaminari just froze. What was going on? Was this real? Or was his brain fried right now? It felt good though...after how bad today was especially...but then again, maybe that wasn't a great sign.

"Uh...Jiro...are you...uh, okay?"

Jiro made a sort of tired noise. "It was just...so...stressful, you know... I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been making it a little lighter... I thought I was going to lose it."

What the heck was happening?! Definitely a dream.

"Jiro...did I fry my brain and just forget about it?" Kaminari asked nervously, "Or are you going to kill me?"

Jiro shoved him away. "Don't be such a weirdo, Kaminari. I was just...I don't know..." She turned red. "Shut up. Forget it, okay?"

"Huh? But I didn't--" Kaminari began, but Jiro just stormed out of the room in high dudgeon.

"Ah...crap," Kaminari sighed, "I'm such an idiot... What was that?"

[If you can't tell, you really are an idiot, Denki.]

* * *

Miss Joke slept like the dead-- but then woke up to the sound of screaming.

She'd left Eri in the bedroom and put herself in a chair with a futon, since Shine was on the couch, and thought no more of it. She'd been too tired.

But Eri thought she was alone and in a strange room and freaked out.

Shine sat up too, looking bleary eyed.

Miss Joke raced into the bedroom and flipped on the light.

Eri was holding a pillow over her head and breathing hard. 

"Hey, Sweetie, it's okay. It's just me," Miss Joke said, lifting the pillow up.

Eri closed her eyes. "I want Mr. Aizawa!"

"Mr. Aizawa had to go home, honey," Miss Joke tried to speak evenly. 

"Did he leave me here?!" Eri wailed, "Is it because I was bad?"

"What? No, he just had to take care of his other students..." Miss Joke said. She's dealt with scared kids before, but this was a whole other level of traumatized... What if this didn't work?

Shine stumbled into the room. "Eri?" she said.

Eri looked over at her, and relief came over her face. "Miss Shine?"

"Hey," Shine said very gently, "Are you scared?"

Eri whimpered. "I thought... It was just a dream... Was it just a dream? Are we still trapped?"

"No, we got away. This is Miss Joke's house." Shine gestured around. "We're just staying here so we'll be safe. See? You remember Miss Joke, right?"

Eri nodded. 

"And Aizawa didn't want to leave you here, but he didn't want anyone to look for us, so he had to go home, and we'll go back in a couple days, okay?"

Eri nodded, not very happy about it.

"Can I do anything to help?" Miss Joke said meekly.

Eri shook her head.

"She'll be hungry," Shine said quietly, "Maybe find something easy to swallow, huh? And maybe some warm milk. I hear Aizawa uses that."

Miss Joke nodded and went to examine her kitchen.

Shine sat with her a while and patted her head and held her hand. Eri lay back down finally, still gripping Shine's arm.

Miss Joke looked back in.

"She's so peaceful when she's with you," she said, "How do you do it?"

"I...really don't know," Shine shrugged, "Maybe...when you've been through similar stuff, you just...know what it's like, and kids can tell. You have to earn trust, though, Emi. Don't feel like it means you're not qualified just because you don't know what to do. A lot of it is consistency. Kids don't care if we make petty mistakes, usually, so much as that we put in the time and effort to learn. She's not gonna judge. That's why I like kids... They don't have as high expectations as adults' usually unrealistic ones... Why do we grow up and convince ourselves that people can be more than human?" She sighed. "It's hard enough to be human, sometimes, isn't it?"

"You should rest more," Miss Joke said.

"She might panic." Shine lay down next to her. "I'll just stay here. She's small enough. You could use the couch, then."

Miss Joke shrugged and shut the door.

"Trust is like a pond of murky water, too dark to see, mysteriously under cover, i can't - jump off the high dive even though i really want to, my toes are hanging off the ledge

 trust is a tree that towers fifty feet above us grown over time through many seasons believing in something more than just the surface. i trust that this is worth it, but my toes are hanging off the ledge. lord help me there's a thorn in my side, i feel the tension in the fear and truth I carry life in between the divide, but all the wrestling has left me bruised 

 how sweet the taste of certainty, the gift you gave is safe with me, hold to this - significance & lean into the process rest & know - the love you hold it won't be taken back, nohow sweet the taste of certainty the gift you gave is safe with me

 trust is like the middle of the ocean, can't see the bottom but i'm floating here supported. I know that it can take me even deeper if i let it but my limbs are trying to swim away 

 it's like a tree that towers fifty feet above us. grown over time through many seasons believing in something more than just the surface. i trust that this is worth it but my toes are hanging off the ledge

 hold to this - significance & lean into the process. rest & know - the love you hold - it won't be taken back, no 

 i see the walls that are torn & bent. a tug of war in the now not yet. holding back what they can't contain. can you - tell me why i feel this way?

 i have faith that the world i'm in. will be redeemed to its place again. but there's a weight that i can't explain. so tell me why i feel this way 

 how sweet the taste of certainty. releasing hope to carry me. moving deeper in a place of rest. seeking victory inside a death.

* * * 

The next day, Sunday, was spent pretty much just in recuperating for everyone.

Shine took an hour long shower just to get all the dust off, and she wasn't the only one.

Eri finally got a decent meal and seemed to be more calm. Except for her nightmares. In her waking moments she seemed to have accepted that the ordeal was over. She jumped every time the walls creaked or the door opened, but other than that, she didn't freak out.

Shine and Miss Joke did their best to entertain her with lighthearted stuff. Miss Joke also had classwork to look over. It was sort of nice not to be alone in her apartment though. She was a social person.

Her parrot took to Eri, thankfully, as parrots can be known for being rather hostile to strangers. But perhaps it sensed she didn't need another hater right about then. And Eri loved the "talking bird" and the cats.

Well, she wouldn't be Aizawa's adopted daughter, Shine said, if she didn't like cats.

Shine found the parrot rather annoying, personally, but she kept that to herself. Eri kept trying to teach it how to say new stuff. And finally it did say "Plus Ultra!"

"Like I needed to hear that anymore often than twice a year," Miss Joke told Shine dryly.

Shine shrugged. "But she's so happy..."

"I know. I'll endure," Emi said philosophically.

Shine called Wally also to talk, but she was so tired, she fell asleep on the phone. 

Maybe it was an effect of the warping blocking her, but she wasn't staying awake longer than 4 or 5 hours together. She took a lot of naps that day. Miss Joke thought it was best to let her.

She herself knew she was going to have to go to the hospital sooner or later.

Aizawa popped over at about 10 am.

"Did you even sleep?" she asked him, when she answered the door.

He shrugged. "How is she?"

"Well, Eri is playing with Channel 7--" Miss Joke called the parrot that whenever she was annoyed with it, "--and Likstar is asleep. I take it you left West in charge, or he'd no doubt be here."

"Yeah." Aizawa tugged his collar awkwardly. "And how are you...?"

"Oh...well...battling," Miss Joke said, "Honestly...I haven't tried to use it today."

Truthfully she was afraid to try, not sure she could handle it if nothing happened.

"Oh..." Aizawa looked really uncomfortable... It was kind of adorable, to be honest.

He came in. "Eri?"

"Mr. Aizawa!" Eri raced over and grabbed his knees. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I should be asking you that," Aizawa said, "Did they treat you right over here? No one made you play 52 pickup, did they?"

"Eraser, that was one time," Emi said, reproachfully.

"With every new hire," he shot back.

"Well...okay, but it never gets old," she shrugged.

"It's been cool." Eri had picked up this word from Wally and Kaminari both. "I taught Polly how to say 'plus ultra.'" 

"Plus Ultra," Polly squawked.

"You know that ravens actually can speak better than parrots," Aizawa said.

"But parrots are prettier," Miss Joke said, "and ravens creep people out. That just wouldn't match my aesthetic, now would it?"

"I think parrots are creepy enough. They're always evil in movies," Aizawa said.

"So are ravens," Miss Joke said.

"Evil?" Eri said.

"Not mine," Miss Joke said.

Shine wandered out of the bedroom. "Oh, hi, Eraser," she yawned, "Sorry, I'm not really awake right now..."

"You look like you got put through a blender. Why are you even up?" Aizawa said.

"Don't give me that paternal talk. Save it for your students," Shine waved him off, "I'm fine..." She walked into the doorframe to the kitchen before successfully making her way into it.

"Yeah, she's kind of a baby about being tired, turns out," Miss Joke said, smirking, "It's funny, because she's so mature when she's awake. Everyone has their weak side, right?"

"She seems like she's a hazard to herself," Aizawa said.

They heard Shine drop something in the kitchen and mutter, "Crap."

"I'm sure that wasn't breakable," Miss Joke said.

"Mr. Aizawa, are you going to stay?" Eri asked, tugging his arm.

"I'm afraid I can't. I have to teach," Aizawa said, "but I'll be back. For now, you should be resting."

"I'm not tired," Eri declared, "I'm teaching Polly more words." 

She had a list of words already she wanted it to learn.

"Of all the names, Polly was your most creative," Aizawa said.

"I thought the cliché was funny," Miss Joke shrugged, "And I do kind of look like a pirate, don't I? Sometimes I bring her to school with me for the bit."

"And you expect your students to take you seriously."

"Eraser, your problem is that you never want your students to not take you seriously," Miss Joke said sagely.

"True." Shine came back into view with a cup of coffee and a banana. "So how are they?"

"Last I saw, they were fine. The ones with us aren't even up yet," Aizawa said flatly.

Shine nodded.

After a bit of just talking, Shine and Eri started singing and dancing. Where Eri got the energy, no one knew. And where Shine got it, well, she just seemed to summon it wherever Eri was concerned.

"One thing about her, she's never too tired for her kids," Emi told Aizawa, as they were just observing, "I noticed it yesterday too. She mustered her resolve for them. Really is like you."

"Stop saying things like that," Aizawa said.

"Why?" Emi was actually kind of hurt.

"I...uh, didn't mean it like that... It's just awkward," Aizawa said.

"It's awkward 'cause I'm praising you...? Even when it's not teasing?" Emi was further hurt.

"I don't...handle it well..." Aizawa forced himself to admit.

"Ah, that? I knew that already," Miss Joke scoffed, "If that's all, I'll just ignore it."

"I love you a bushel and a peck," Shine cued Eri.

"A bushel and peck," Eri echoed.

"A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck-- and a barrel and a heap,"

"A barrel and a heap,"

"And I'm talking in my sleep about you..." 

"About you."

"I love you a bushel and peck, though you make my heart a wreck,"

"Make my heart a wreck."

"Make my heart a wreck, and you make my life a mess, yes, a mess of happiness...Yes, I love you a bushel and peck. You bet your pretty neck I do!" Shine and Eri spun around.

"That's so cute," Miss Joke said, "Ah, I wish my kids weren't too old for that."

"I hardly think that would be appropriate to sing to students," Aizawa said.

"You ever think you worry too much about that?" Emi said.

Aizawa sighed. "Well, Eri should be just fine here for a few days."

Privately, he wasn't sure Eri would want to come back at all. She might be afraid to...and maybe he doubted if she really found it more fun to be at the dorms with him anyway.

As if reading his mind, Emi said, "But she misses you though. She asked about it all the time. You've made quite the impression on her."

"I'm not sure why. It's not like I do a whole lot for her."

"Oh, sure...you don't take care of her or feed her or help her with her quirk," Emi said sarcastically, "Really, Eraser, you are dense at times."

"I suppose this signals the end of the compliments? That's a relief," Aizawa said.

"I could compliment you more," Emi offered.

"No thanks."

Emi started laughing. "Still got it..."

"Really..." Aizawa frowned, "I'm not sure how to help her...after that... I was supposed to keep her safe, and I didn't. She'll never trust me again. And how can I trust myself? They could still be out there."

"Don't say that so loud." Miss Joke dragged him into the kitchen. "She'll hear you...and you're being ridiculous. Really, who's the clown out of the two of us? Eri trusts you. You think she's going to blame you for that? The child doesn't have a guilt tripping bone in her body. And it's not your fault, for goodness sake. West was the one watching her when it happened, and I don't blame him either."

"Who could? He didn't get the chance to fight. But I let her out of my sight."

"You have to do that, Eraser... You know, we can't be helicopter mentors, here... Eri must learn to fight for herself too...and, you know, I think she did," Miss Joke said, "Shine told me a bit more about what happened, and I heard her tell Wally too. Eri...stood up to Overhaul. She resisted him. You think that wasn't partly your influence? She even controlled her quirk briefly."

"She did?" Aizawa was shocked.

"Yeah, she helped," Emi said, "And no one could ask a little girl to defend herself from that man, but she did it of her own volition. Shine said it was the bravest thing she's ever seen. And who do you think taught her that?" She poked Aizawa. "All of you. But she kept asking for you, didn't she? I have to think that's partly what made her want to get away. She's got something new now. She's got people to get back to, so when she runs, she's not just running blindly. I think that makes a difference. Don't underestimate it."

Aizawa was silent.

Miss Joke cautiously put a hand on his shoulder--which was quite a reach for her. "You've just got to let go of it and be thankful instead, I think... To quote a wise person I know, you can't worry about making mistakes. Trust is about consistency. To just keep trying again and again. That's what matters. Not getting it perfect. And she's not going to care."

She hope that sounded as good coming from her as from Shine.

But it had more of an effect than she thought. Aizawa had probably been holding back ever since Eri went missing, but even he had his limits, and he started crying...silently, but still.

Miss Joke had never seen him cry and was shocked. She just froze.

"I am grateful..." Aizawa muttered, sounding emotional for him, "more than you can imagine... I don't know what's wrong with me. I've never been one to get worked up..."

"Shota," Miss Joke used his real name, "it's perfectly normal to be upset after something like that. It's just human..."

Shine was right, she thought to herself. Just being human was hard. 

Aizawa was quiet for a long time, just shaking with emotion. He didn't sob though. He really wasn't the type to be that vocal.

It was almost worse that way, like you could tell how much he held it all in, just by how hard he was trying not to break down.

Emi was not sure what to do. This wasn't really her thing. She just patted his shoulder awkwardly.

But perhaps it didn't really matter how good she was at it. It wasn't like Aizawa had a lot to compare it too.

Thank goodness Shine kept Eri busy all that time. Actually she looked in at one point, saw what was going on, and told Eri they should go look for a game to play. Eri agreed. She was always very compliant, but at least now she was not compliant in a frightened way.

"Switch with me!" Miss Joke wanted to yell but of course didn't.

[Shine=best wing woman]

Anyway, this was kind of nice, in an awkward way, dropping the professional charade for awhile. When was the last time she just acted like a friend like this?

She had a feeling Eraser wouldn't have shown this weakness to anyone at UA because he had a front to keep up at work, just as she would never have acted this way at Ketsubutsu...but away from your co-workers and students, you had a little more freedom.

Finally he calmed down.

"Sorry you had to witness that..." he said, clearing his throat.

"Oh, don't mention it..." Miss Joke said, "I didn't witness anything." She winked. "You just came to check on Eri and lost track of time. Happens."

Aizawa nodded. "Thank you... I should check on her, actually."

Miss Joke nodded.

Then she let out a sigh of relief. Once he left the room. 

"What was that?" She put a hand on her heart. It was pounding. "That was new... Something's really gotten into everyone..."

Why was she smiling? She shook herself.

[Okay that was the cutest Eraserjoke scene ever, wasn't it? Sigh... Love my ships.]

[On another note, this story, like a lot of fanfics, does deal with some sensitive subjects, and while I don't really write triggering scenes for the most part, I know even talking about it can bring up some stuff.

If anyone wants to talk about it, feel free to message me-- or just leave comments if you think of something especially about the part that could be upsetting.

I actually base a lot of what I write on personal experience and the experience of people I know for how it feels and how people react to it.

For Eri, it's a challenge. I've seen kids deal with trauma in different ways. Often it's weird how normal they can seem at first glance, but then something they say kind of gives it away. I've worked hard to be realistic and not make it better or worse than I think it is.

Trauma isn't all about angst, I think. A lot of it is just about uncertainty, and for a young kid, I think that's especially true. They aren't old enough to be angry or bitter about it yet.

But it can be hard to write too, because she's just a baby, and it's upsetting. I get it if some people cry just thinking about it. I didn't want to make it too horrifying.

Anyway, thanks for reading this extra part if you did and for reading this far at all, 'cause, geez, is this a long story. Peace out .]