So, the big mystery was gone. Shiori was a bird, the quirk erasing bullet had proved that. But this wasn't the issue. 

Well, it was. Both Mirio and Shiori had been hit with the quirk erasing bullets and although they had a plan to help Eri use her quirk to reverse it both were stuck quirkless until then. Or perhaps until she got old enough to control her quirk properly, or maybe forever. 

Of course Mirio was upset about it too, he had every right to be. But he wasn't letting any of it affect his hero training or attitude. Shiori didn't have that choice. It was pretty hard to ignore the bullet's effect when you were stuck as a bird. 

Shiori was sucked out of his own thoughts when Hizashi entered his dorm room. The bird had been sitting in one of the hanging structures in his closet and was a little startled at the sudden intrusion. It wasn't like he could lock the door to keep people out though. U.A used a key card system and he hadn't figured out how to swipe it in bird form yet. 

"Hey little listener!" The teacher said with a soft smile "How're you holding up in here?". Shiori didn't answer, too upset at not being able to talk. "Do you wanna come eat some breakfast? Everyone else has already headed to class so you wont be interrupted." Yamada suggested. 

The bird nodded and flew onto Hizashi's shoulder to head down to the kitchen. There was lots of food, and Shiori hadn't eaten at all since yesterday morning before he headed out to rescue Eri. He didn't regret what he did in any way, he just didn't like the result. Midoriya and the pros probably could have handled it without needing Shiori to protect those police officers. He huffed in frustration at the thought. 

Choosing some melon bread, because who cares about nutrients while you cant even train, he went to open the package. "Ah Shi, you can't eat that. It'll expand in your stomach and hurt you." Hizashi said, taking the bread away and holding out a small bowl of seeds. He smiled as Shiori approached the bowl, but frowned almost instantly after.

Shiori was crying. He had spent so long. So so long as a bird, not wanting to be human, being scared his mother would find him if he was human. And now look at him. Stuck in his 'true form'. He shivered at the thought of calling it that. He was both. He was happy as both. 

And he wanted his other form back. 

Hizashi softly pet the tiny bird, trying to soothe the teen in any way possible. The teacher felt powerless to help the boy he had sworn to protect. 

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ ----- ------ 

Defiantly, Shiori had flown away from Hizashi and shown up in class. Todoroki had been nice enough to let him in through the window. Aizawa noticed him almost instantly, gesturing for the boy to sit up at the front. Shiori shook his head and flapped over to his own desk. 

So what if he was a bird? He was still a student and he wasn't going to let yesterday ruin that. 

Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the action, attracting the attention of the entire class. Midoriya's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight. 'He knows' Shiori thought dejectedly. It was inevitable, but it wasn't pleasant. 

A quiz was passed out shortly after, a quiz Shiori had studied for. The whole class was confused, save for Kaminari, when Aizawa passed a test to Shiori, dropping a tiny pot of ink next to the bird. 

It was only 7 questions and Shiori finished quickly, flying to the front to place it on Aizawa's desk. He quickly flew back to sit with Tokoyami, who seemed nearly done. Shiori didn't want to bother him much, but his feathers were really warm. 

"Yamada, back to your own seat." Aizawa said in a warning tone. Now that got attention. Shiori quickly flew back to his own seat. "Yamada?" Bakugou repeated quietly "I knew you were a fucking bird!". 

Now, there wasn't a particularly large amount of hate in that shout, more of a triumphant 'I was right'. Shiori was too annoyed to care. So fucking what? Everyone was going to find out anyways. Quickly he flew back to the window and gave Todoroki a pleading look. 

Luckily the half and half teen took pity on Shiori and despite Aizawa saying he had to stay in class, opened the window. Shiori flew off without looking back. It was all too much for him, too much too soon. 

Maybe it would get easier.

---- ----- ----- ---- ----- ----- ----- ------ ----- 

"So Eri, this is Shiori." Midoriya said, pointing to the small white snowball on his shoulder. It had been 3 days since Shiori had been stuck as a bird. Some good things had happened, like making up with Midoriya and Hizashi and Aizawa. All awkwardness was gone and Aizawa had forgiven him for stupidly getting himself involved. 

The white haired girl looked at the bird with curiosity. "He my junior and he helped rescue you." Mirio explained with a wide smile. Shiori nodded his head and chirped, it was the best hello he could manage like this. 

"He's a bird." The girl said bluntly, looking confusedly at her saviors. Midoriya gritted his teeth. "Uh you see, his quirk let him turn into a human or a bird but Overhaul shot him with the same bullet he shot Lemillion with, so now he's stuck as a bird.". 

Eri began to tear up. "M sorry." She said, red eyes staring straight into Shiori's black ones. "Its all my fault.". Shiori quickly shook his head and fluttered over to the girl's shoulder, nuzzling into her wet cheek. 

"I think Shiori is trying to say its not your fault." Mirio interpreted. Shiori nodded eagerly. "See, he's just upset at Overhaul for this. He's gonna have a tough time getting his hero license like that, but we'll figure it out.". 

It was reassuring for Shiori to hear that too. "I'm gonna give you your quirks back." Eri said with newfound resolve. Her words were still soft and hesitant, but she seemed so genuine it was hard not to think of her as strong in that moment. 

They could figure this out. 

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Sorry for another delay in posting. I just got the covid vaccine and my arm is so freaking sore so typing was kinda hard but obviously worth it for partial immunity. Stay safe guys. 

The first chapter of 'Attempt' the story you guys voted on is out now, so you might want to check that out! 

Stay Tuned!