Mic did stay with her the first night until it was time for lights out. Yagi had left some time ago because he had an appointment so they were alone as he escorted her to the room she was to stay in.
"Okay. The alarm is set inside for before morning classes so someone can meet up with you from the staff. Probably be Aizawa - he checks in on Eri every morning to make sure she's showered an' dressed and stuff."
"Okay." The night loomed before her like a vast span of time she could barely hope to get through. She put on a brave face, however, and smiled at the tall, blond man.
"Goodnight, Mic."
"Sleep well."
But of course she didn't.
She lay in the pajamas provided by the school on the comfortable bed, tossing and turning until she gave up. Pulling the box of tissues that was on a nightstand on her lap, she cried quietly for some time.
After a few minutes of sobbing as silently as she could she heard a light tapping at her door. Elly got up and sniffed back any impending tears, took a deep breath and answered it. The door swung out and she stood blinking down at a young child with long, white hair and a horn on one side of her head.
"Oh!" She knew who this was, but she didn't want to startle her so she introduced herself. "Hi there. My name is Elly."
She wrinkled her nose, confused at the similarity between their names. "My name is Eri."
"Mine has l's in it. Yours has an r. We're very close, though!" She knew most of that didn't get through but she smiled and pointed at herself, enunciating the difference between them.
Eri saw that her smile was sad and wasn't sure how she could help. She pointed at her cheeks, which were stained with tears. "Why are you crying?"
Elly sighed. "I'm far from home and Present Mic thinks I'm a burden to him. I'm scared." She paused, then shrugged and said, "Scared," in Japanese.
Eri looked up at the sad lady and wanted to help. She knew what it was like to be all alone.
"Wait," she said in halting English. "Wait." She spun about and dashed off to her room. Elly was left surprised at the little one's determined face. She heard her rummaging around and then she came back out with a triumphant smile, holding something up.
It was one of those mascot stuffed toys the agencies produced of all the Pro Heroes. This one had a little fake leather jacket and ridiculous plume of hair she knew so well.
She held the plush out.
"Aww, cute." She giggled and repeated the word in Eri's own language, marveling at the fact that the first two words she used to communicate were very similar. When she would have given it back, however, Eri shook her head and pressed it back into her hands.
It was a gift.
Elly's eyes welled up with very different tears. She bent and hugged the little girl. "Thank you."
She slept better after that. Turned out she desperately craved a bit of simple human contact and comfort in the way that older people didn't always understand.
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