[AKUTAMI RESIDENCE – EVENING]
The front door clicked open.
Yuta stepped inside first, rubbing the back of his neck with a wince. Recovery Girl's quirk was a lifesaver, though that didn't fully ease his body's discomfort despite being completely fine on the outside.
'I should technically be fine now. What's going on?'
Eri peeked from behind him, blanket around her shoulders like a cape. Aiko followed last, keys in hand.
"Shoes off," she said automatically.
"I know," Yuta muttered, bending down slowly—
Aiko sighed. "You're moving like a pensioner."
"I'll be fine. Just need to sleep it off."
Eri copied him, taking her shoes off with tiny, careful movements. When she finished, she looked up as if waiting for approval.
"You did great," Yuta said.
She blinked… then nodded once.
Aiko smiled and patted her head before rolling her wheelchair ahead.
"Eri, sweetheart, your temporary room is this way."
Eri stayed close to Yuta instead, gripping the hem of his hoodie like a lifeline.
Aiko glanced back. "Or you can follow him. Both are fine."
Yuta whispered down to her, "It's okay. Just the room. I'll be right there."
Eri hesitated… then whispered something barely audible.
"…Come too?"
Yuta froze.
Aiko mouthed a silent aw.
"I'm coming," Yuta said in a softer tone than intended.
Eri finally let go of his hoodie—barely—and walked toward the hallway with tiny, cautious steps.
He walked beside Aiko. She leaned in and whispered, "You're good with her."
"Mom, please, my heart is already malfunctioning."
He helped push his mom towards Eri's temporary quarters. The room was small but warm—fresh sheets, soft lighting, a set of plushies Aiko had bought within the last 24 hours.
"Just when did you find you find the time to do all this?"
Yuta asked, mouth agape. Aiko smiled but didn't answer.
Eri stepped inside. Her bright eyes examining the surroundings then stopped like she didn't know what to do with the space. Her posture shrank. The blanket tightened around her shoulders. Both mother and son had their faces fall.
'Well, no one said adjusting was going to be easy.'
Aiko gave him a look, gesturing with her head.
Yuta sighed. Nevertheless, he moved forward and knelt beside her—not too close, not too far.
"It's yours for now," he said. "You can change anything later if you want."
Eri stared at the bed like it was a puzzle.
Aiko came in behind them. "Do you want to sit?"
Eri didn't move.
So Yuta sat on the bed first.
Eri followed immediately.
Aiko watched this and sighed again, softer. "Poor child."
Then rolled her wheelchair around. "Alright. I'll get dinner started. Yuta, stay with her. You're not allowed to do anything strenuous anyway."
"What, am I in charge of emotional support duty?"
"Yes."
"That wasn't a question, was it?"
"No."
Yuta slumped. "Understood." He wasn't planning on running laps anyway. Silence settled after she left. Enough to make it somewhat awkward.
'What do I say?' He thought clueless. He wasn't really bad with children interactions. However Eri was a special case. What could he do? Give her an All Might Plus Ultra Impact video game? Or introduce her to checkers or something?
"…Does it hurt?"
Thankfully, Eri spoke first. With Aiko gone, the girl had visibly relaxed under his gaze.
Yuta blinked. "Does what hurt?"
"What happened to you."
He hesitated.
Then exhaled.
"A little. But it'll go away."
She nodded, eyes fixed on her feet. "…I'm glad you're ... I'm glad you didn't go away." The thought lingered longer than he would have liked.
He probably wasn't the first person Overhaul had deconstructed before her. Just the first person to survive it.
He reached out, ruffled her hair lightly. "Yeah. Me too."
Was this Main Character Syndrome? Come to think of it, his life had been pretty unremarkable before memory awakening. The highlight of the past 15 years was his Mom's accident at Stain's hands. Yet just a week after, he would experience ... All this.
"I better not be in some ..'
He paused, then sighed and put the thought behind him. For a moment, nothing else mattered—the forms, the Sports Festival, the investigation, the counseling sessions, Stain.
Just this tiny kid leaning against him like he was the safest thing in the world. It felt ... Good.
Aiko peeked from the kitchen. Her eyes softened.
This, she decided, was the right choice.
---
[A LITTLE LATER – DINNER]
Dinner was quiet.
Eri ate slowly, careful, as if unsure she was allowed to enjoy food. Aiko kept refilling her bowl before she even had to ask. Yuta kept distracting her with dumb commentary.
"Mom, why does your soup taste like it has trauma processing mixed in?"
Aiko whacked him with a ladle.
"Small bites," Aiko instructed. "You two. Both of you."
"I'm literally injured, not six," Yuta said.
"Then act like it."
Eri giggled—just barely.
Yuta blinked at her.
"Did you just laugh at my suffering?" The girl lowered her head, saying nothing. Aiko smiled into her teacup. "Alright, let's get a few things done straight. Orientation! Eri, welcome to the family."
She paused.
"Now Eri, let's set a few rules down."
"Rule one: We eat dinner together. Rule two: If Yuta attempts anything reckless, you must report him immediately. Don't cover up for him. Rule three—"
"Mom, what is this—"
"—Rule three: bedtime is at eight thirty sharp unless you are bleeding. Yuta, talking to you."
"Mom?"
"By the way. You're grounded."
"WHAT?"
"You think I've forgotten about the stunt you pulled? You nearly gave me a heart attack. Not just grounded. No video games, no cartoons .. no TV privileges, no magazines ..."
"But I saved Eri."
"No buts. I don't care how noble your cause was. Every action has consequences. You'll just have to deal with it."
Eri watched the exchange with wide eyes.
Finally,
"… So this is my life now, huh?" Yuta leaned against the chair, eyes dull like the world had lost all meaning.
Aiko's voice came from behind him.
"Yes. Try not to ruin it again." Yuta snorted. Eri lowered her head, seemingly in thought.
With the warm atmosphere, the dinner proceeded smoothly after that.
Thirty minutes later, Eri was asleep
Yuta stood in the hallway, one hand on the doorframe of Eri's room. She'd finally tuckered herself out—blanket tucked under her chin, holding a rabbit plush like it was a shield.
Aiko approached quietly.
"She likes you," she murmured.
"She's a kid, Mom. Kids don't have great taste."
Aiko sighed, then elbowed him.
He winced.
"Stop trying to joke your way out of this."
"Did you have to do that?"
"You've proven you need sense knocked into you every once in a while."
She admonished, eyes never leaving Eri.
"I haven't seen a kid quite like her. She's scared, and scarred. Those won't go away easily."
"Yeah," Yuta said. "I know."
Aiko studied him. "And you?"
Yuta hesitated.
"…I'll be fine."
Aiko didn't believe him. But she nodded anyway.
"Good. Now get some rest. You have counseling tomorrow."
Yuta groaned.
Yuta groaned. "Can we not."
"No. Oh, and Yuta?"
"…Yes?"
"If you ever scare me like that again, I am grounding you until graduation."
"Love you too mom—" She rolled away.
The lights of the Akutami home were put out for the night.
Yuta closed the door to his room, He flicked the light on and dropped onto his bed face-first.
'What a day.'
Foster care paperwork. Recovery Girl checkups. Eri, ... To think he had been in the hospital for nearly a whole week.
'I'm gonna have so much homework to catch up on.'
He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.
The sports festival was in Seven days, and he would probably have a lot to catch up on. 'I'll just ask Hana to lend me her ..'
He paused.
Suddenly remembering, 'I HAVE FRIENDS.'
'Six days,' he thought. 'I haven't messaged Hana or Kimura or Tanaka in Six days.'
He reached for his phone—
His hand stopped mid-air.
'Right.'
He didn't have a phone anymore.
It was destroyed during the fight with Overhaul. Crushed. Probably sitting in an evidence locker somewhere, or incinerated with the rest of the crime scene debris.
'Great.'
He rubbed his face.
'I'll have to get a new one tomorrow. Explain why I ghosted them for a week. Hope they don't think I'm dead.'
He exhaled before getting into bed. Time elapsed. By the time it was midnight, Yuta still hadn't been able to fall asleep.
'Just what the hell is going on?'
He stood up. Something felt .. wrong. At first, he attributed it to his body unwilling to continue lying down after three days of doing nothing, but that clearly wasn't it.
He rolled his shoulders. Stretched his arms. Tested his legs.
Externally, everything seemed fine. Recovery Girl had healed the major damage. His quirk had reconstructed the rest.
But internally?
Something was still wrong.
'What is it?'
He closed his eyes and focused.
Chakra pathways.
He could feel them—faintly—like a network of threads running through his body.
But something was off.
He activated his Sharingan.
The world sharpened.
He turned his focus inward.
And froze.
His chakra pathways were visible now—glowing faintly beneath his skin like veins of light.
But they weren't smooth.
They were frayed. Strained. Damaged.
Like someone had forced too much pressure through a pipe that wasn't built to handle it.
'What the hell…?'
He traced the damage mentally.
It was worst near his core—where his chakra reserves were stored.
The pathways leading outward were cracked. Stressed. Barely holding together.
'This is from the Mangekyō.'
He realized it immediately.
When he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan against Overhaul, he'd forced out chakra he didn't have.
His body hadn't been ready.
His reserves hadn't been deep enough.
And his pathways had paid the price.
'So that's why I still feel like crap.'
Recovery Girl had healed his physical injuries.
But this?
This was something else entirely.
Chakra pathway damage wasn't something conventional medicine could fix.
'Can I even fix this?'
He deactivated the Sharingan and sat back down.
His chakra reserves had increased—that much was obvious. The near-death experience had pushed him past a threshold.
But his pathways were damaged.
Which meant using chakra—especially large amounts—would hurt.
A lot.
'And I have seven days to figure this out before the Sports Festival.'
He lay back and stared at the ceiling.
'Well.'
He exhaled slowly.
'That sucks.'
__
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased chapters by joining my Patreon!
💧 WATER TIER (5$) – Read 3 chapters ahead of public releases
🌍 EARTH TIER ($7) – Read 5 chapters ahead, with bonus lore, author notes, and behind-the-scenes content
🔥 FIRE TIER ($10) – Read 8 chapters ahead, get full access to all extras, and vote in exclusive polls for bonus content
📎 Patreon.com/Future805
Even a small pledge makes a huge difference — thank you for reading