Shouta loved Eri. He really did, which was why he was fuming when he got a call from the little girl's teacher. Evidently, she had been involved in a fight and as a result, was sent to the principal's office alongside her opponent. When he reached the school grounds, he crossed the playground in two large steps. Eri stood up slowly from the sandbox, afraid to meet her guardian's eyes. There were a few bruises on her forehead and a cut on her lip. It wasn't terribly bad but it still looked painful. As she slipped on her backpack and followed the man home, she was shaking.

Being a teacher, many thought that the erasure hero was used to children. In a way, he was but he taught in a high school, not a nursery. His own students were teenagers and not to mention, aspiring heroes. Shouta wanted to scream but he held back. Yelling at the little girl would only trigger her flashbacks to the days when she was held captive. Finally, after pacing around with Eri fearfully watching him, he sat down at the kitchen table across from her.

"Explain yourself,"

"I, um..."

The man sat patiently as the child fumbled over her words.

"Shouta, Miki said that you're not a real hero," she finally said.

"Well, it doesn't matter what she said, you still don't get yourself involved in fights," Shouta lectured. "Don't you remember what I told you?"

"Keep collateral damage little to none and focus on detaining the villain, only using violence if necessary. Otherwise, violence isn't an option,"

"You know this, so why did you get into a fight?"

"I got mad because Miki kept saying that you're not a real hero. Is that true?"

Shouta raised an eyebrow and reached into his pocket. He opened his wallet, took out his hero license and slid it across the table for Eri to see. Carefully, she picked it up, admiring the card.

"That's my license," he told her. "If you want more proof, ask All Might. He's famous enough and he can verify me,"

Shouta rolled his eyes at the word 'verify' but he couldn't think of another way to settle the argument that had led to a fist fight. Eri held the card back out to her guardian and he took it, tucking it back into his wallet.

"But if you have a license, then...?"

"Herowork is not about fame, Eri. It's about helping people. I don't like the media and I keep my name out of the news. It's annoying,"

The girl's eyes shone a little and nodded in understanding.

"This still doesn't excuse you getting into a fight at school," the man continued.

"But-," Eri looked down at her lap, beginning to cry. "Sh-she hit me first and Uncle Mic said that even though I shouldn't start fights, I'd better finish it,"

"Oh no,"

This was the exact philosophy that Shouta carried around but the only people who challenged him were villains so it made sense that he fought back. However, he hadn't expected to teach Eri that. He had adopted her, yes but as many parents said, no child ever came with a guide, not even if they were biological children. Knowing what she had been through, he did his best to normalize the girl's life. He had taught her how to read and write, answered all of her questions without hesitation or a hint of annoyance in his voice and he taught her about the world that she been kept from. Then, he finally sent her to school when she displayed some control over her power.

"Listen, what he said was sort of true," Shouta sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But sometimes, it better to just turn the other cheek,"

"Turn... the other cheek?" Eri looked up, confused.

"It's not always necessary to fight back, especially if it can be talked out,"

"But Uncle Mic said-,"

"What he said was wrong and I'll talk to him about this but right now, you need to understand that fights can be resolved in other ways,"

"How?"

"Well, for starters, the teacher is right there and you can tell her so she can help stop the arguing. Ignore them because that kind of stuff doesn't matter or just try to talk it out,"

"I think I understand,"

"Good, now go wash up and I'll start dinner,"

The little girl hopped down from her seat and began making her way out of the room but before she exited, she hesitated. Shouta watched as she started gently rubbing the small horn on her head. It was something that she did when she was nervous.

"I'm sorry, papa," she whispered.

"Do you know why you were wrong?"

Eri nodded vigorously.

"Then you'll know not to do it again,"

The girl nodded again and skipped out of the room. Shouta sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was grateful that Eri was a quick learner and she was the type of girl who was always polite and minded her manners. It wasn't unusual for kids to act out at times like when he was still a teenager and Hizashi would push his long time friend to do something stupid with him. They were both in their thirties now and things had changed; they had grown up. Still, some of that wildness stuck with the blonde hero (which was a bit of an understatement) and it never ceased to haunt Shouta.

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He furiously tapped on the touch screen as he called Hizashi. No one, not even people close to her, messed with his little girl by putting bogus ideas into her head. As soon as the blonde picked up the phone, he knew he was in trouble.