It'd been a week since the rescue mission and (y/n) had just been released from the hospital, sporting very few injuries, as the villains had been quite careful not to harm her (for their own sakes of course). This meant that there were only seven days left before the UA school year -and my job- started. That wasn't much time to adjust.

Now she stood in front of my apartment building, wearing the surprisingly modest sweatshirt and shorts Midnight had bought for her as an alternative to the hospital clothing. Her hair and broken stump of a horn glinted in the sunlight and the (h/c) gazed at the entrance to my ratty apartment with wide eyes. I placed my hand on the back of my neck and sighed, exhausted, "Sorry, I know it's not much, but it's close to UA and affordable so-" I stopped talking and tilted my head to examine her expression. She didn't seem to be listening to what I was saying, just staring up at the small building in awe, a little glint of wariness visible beneath the gleam of her (e/c) eyes. I sighed again, of course she was wary. This girl had never known anything close to trust and here he was giving her a house asking her to call it 'home'. But I was surprised that anything about the old dump would put that glint of awe in her eyes.

I focused my attention on the plastic grocery bags at my feet containing the few belongings I'd picked up for her at the grocery store on our way to move her in. They didn't contain much, just a toothbrush, a comb, and an extra blanket. I picked up the bags with a yawn and began fishing in my pockets for my house keys with my spare hand.

"So um," (y/n) started, drawing my attention back to her, "I get to live here?" she asked, looking to me for confirmation. I nodded,

"It's pretty small so you'll have to share a room with Eri, but yeah you get to live here. I guess you could consider it your new h-" I stopped myself before saying it and she sighed, looking down and holding her arm.

"Home? And how long is that going to last?"

The question took me by surprise. It wasn't mean-spirited at all, nor was there any spite behind the words. Her voice was innocent and she seemed to be genuinely asking. Truthfully, I didn't know the answer, so I responded the best way I could think of, "Don't worry about that just yet. For now we should focus on getting you settled in."

She nodded, plastering a polite smile on her face and following behind me.

Once we were inside I gave her a moment to adjust to her new surroundings and then cleared my throat and pointed lazily to a door positioned to the left of of the small kitchen and living room. "That's Eri's and your room. I already have a bed set up for you in there, so you can set your stuff down and get settled in." She nodded curtly and gingerly took the bags from my hands, heading down the hall.

Once she'd disappeared behind the door I collapsed on the couch and let out a breath I hadn't realized that I'd been holding. A year ago I never could've imagined that I'd still be living here, in this crappy apartment, teaching a class of idiots I've somehow come to respect, and living with- not one- but two young girls with deadly quirks who were raised and abused by villains.

"Ugh. What is my life."

(y/n) was now under the protection of UA, but since she's not a student there, she couldn't actually live there, so Nezu decided that it'd be a grand idea to stick her with me. Apparently because I'd done so well acclimating Eri to the world. Curse my sucky yet somehow affective parenting/teaching abilities.

Still, I wouldn't mind looking after the girl for a while, at the very least to make sure she'd be living in a safe environment, and luckily she wasn't much of a handful. Not to mention Eri had become very attached to her and would likely not be letting her leave any time soon.

From the moment the two had been reunited in the hospital up until the moment we'd had to pry them away from each other this morning (y/n) and Eri been joined at the hip, like the last two years of not seeing each other had been mere minutes. They might not have remembered everything about their time in the Shie Hassaikai together, but they certainly had created a bond then that seemed too strong to dissipate with just time. They truly seemed like sisters.

I set the two grocery bags down on the bed and plopped down, pulling my knees up and hugging them to my chest. The position was defensive, and one of habit, but I was reminded that I was no longer in a cell and didn't need to be on the defense as much anymore. Still, I was wary and felt the need to confirm my freedom, so I left my perch on the bed and reached out my hand to jiggle the doorknob. I was relived and slightly surprised when the door easily swung outward in response to my action. I peeked around the opening and immediately my eyes began tracing an escape path through the living room to the front door, which was left slightly ajar. I figured it would take under two seconds for me to run. But before I could strategize my escape any more I caught sight of Eraser-head. He was lying on the couch with an arm draped over his eyes, either deep in thought, asleep, or somewhere in-between, but he didn't see me. I didn't want to disturb him so I closed the door quietly and retreated back into the room.

So I really could escape. The thought brought me some relief. Relief that I hadn't felt in a long time. Even in the hospital there had been people posted to keep a close watch on me and make sure I stayed put. A small smile teased at my lips at the new feeling of freedom. Though before I let myself relax I moved to wedge the small window between me and Eri's beds open. This would allow myself another easy escape. It'd be a small fit, but I could make it if need be.

"Just in case." I whispered to myself. I blinked, trying to decide if this was wrong of me, especially when Eraser-head was showing me so much kindness by letting me in his home. Though before I could fall too much into my thoughts, I decided to examine the room a little further.

Above Eri's bed were a few drawings of her with different combinations of three people. One of which I recognized as the hero Lemillion by his belt. Another I guessed was Eraser-head. The third had a large, unruly head of green hair and sported a smile even bigger than Lemillion's. Though the smiling figures made me a little uneasy, I couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through my chest at the thought that Eri had found a family again. One that I was coming to believe would treat her right.

I hadn't told Eraser this but I was ecstatic to hear that Eri would only be a few steps away at any given time. When we were younger I'd demanded to sleep in the same room as her so that I could protect her. Not like my protection was ever very affective, but I had managed to ward off most the nightmares that had consistently plagued her through the nights, and her crying had always ceased when I was near. Now, not only did sharing a room with her again mean that I would only be a whisper away if she needed help, but -on the more selfish side of things- it brought me some familiar comfort in this strange new world.

I laid down on the bed, which was amazingly comfortable. You could certainly tell by his choice in blankets and pillows that Eraser-head took a lot of naps. I flipped over onto my stomach on the fluffy comforter and closed my eyes, recalling the first time I'd seen Eri in two years.

It was the third night I'd spent in the hospital. Fatgum and Lemillion had just woken up from the coma-like state that the brief exposure to my blood had put them in and been discharged, and I wasn't sure what exactly they were keeping me there for. The LOV knew what kind of havoc would be reeked if any of my blood was spilt, so other than a few bruises my only problem was the malnourished state I'd been kept in for the past two years. But I assumed that could just be treated over time with a healthy diet. There were also the scrapes on my back, but they were shallow and had healed on the drive away from the LOV's hideout. Much like most of my body, my hair held some healing properties -though they weren't very strong- so as soon as the bleeding had stopped all I had to do was tuck my long tresses into the back of my shirt and let my hair swing against my back with the car's movements. The cuts were nonexistent by the time a doctor came to check me out. So, while I wasn't exactly healthy per say, I was uninjured, and figured that they only kept me under clinic supervision as long as they did because they didn't know what to do with me otherwise.

It was dark and I'd been sitting perched on the edge of the bed, reading my chart. Apparently I wasn't authorized to be reading it, but I'd already memorized every word of the exit signs and posters and needed some new material. There wasn't much I could do while they were still 'running tests', so regaining my nearly-lost ability to comprehend and translate writing into words seemed a good enough use of my time.

Suddenly my attention was drawn away from my studies as I began hearing voices resonating down the hall. Although the hospital was usually bustling with people and problems, this time of night had proved to be relatively silent, so the voices called to me. I swung my legs out of the cot and walked over the cold tile to pressed my hands up on the door, listening tentatively. Most of the doors of the rooms on this hall were see through, and windows lined their walls, but I'd been put in a special room because of the testing done on the deadly properties contained within my body and my strange quirk. Because of this the door was opaque and there were no windows so I couldn't see the source of the voices, but still, I managed to discern one of the voices as the hero who'd been visiting me most frequently, Eraser-head. The second was higher, softer, and a little more energetic than the exhausted hero's. It also seemed to belong to someone quite young, and somewhere in my brain something began tugging on a quiet memory, trying to force me to recognize the strangely familiar sound. Then it got closer. And I ran.

I fumbled with the door handle for a few moments before it gave in and I stumbled out into the hallway. Then I quickly stood up, regaining my footing on the slippery floors, and leaned a hand against the wall, looking around for the source of the little voice. The little girl. But there was silence.

And then a cry.

"(N/N)!!!" It yelled. I whirled around to be met with a bone-crushing hug that would've hurt had I not been in such a mess of emotions.

"Eri?" I smiled, teary eyed, into her hair as we sank to the floor, wrapping my arms around her in response to her own embrace. "Is that really you?" I asked. Since Chisaki had sold me to the LOV I'd always told myself that one day I would escape and find Eri again, save her, but part of me thought that it would never truly happen.

"It's me (n/n)!" But it happened. Here she was. Safe.

"You're okay!" I began crying and the little girl soon joined in, pressing her face into my neck, our tears of recognition and familial love mixing together as they pooled on the hospital floor. I didn't notice when Eraser-head approached us and kneeled down, eyeing the two sobbing girls, but I jolted upright when he put a hand on my shoulder. I turned to him, glaring. "Why didn't any of you tell me she was with you? Why didn't you tell me she was safe?!"

He stepped back, "Eri was the whole reason we learned about your situation, but we weren't exactly sure of your relationship so we thought it best not to inform you until we figured more out. I wasn't even supposed to bring her here now, but she couldn't seem to sleep knowing she could be with you."

"She's my sister." Eri whispered into the collar of my hospital gown. The hero looked to me as I rested my chin on her small shoulder,

"She keeps saying that, but we weren't made aware that Eri had any siblings. Are you truly her biological sister?"

"Does that really matter?" I mumbled, hugging Eri as she smiled up at me. As she smiled. I'd only ever seen Eri smile in the dark, in my arms, like this. But then, her smiles were one-in-a-million, rare and awkward. Now, it appeared to come so easily, like she'd never been hurt, never had a reason to cry until now. "Being blood related or not hasn't mattered before, I don't see why it would now."

He sighed and got up, dusting himself off and reaching out a hand, "I suppose it doesn't."

I opened my eyes and smiled. No matter what this new world threw at me I'd be with my sister. That was what mattered. And that was all I needed.