DISCLAIMER: IN NO WAY AM I TRYING TO JUSTIFY THE CONTEXT OF THIS CHAPTER. REMEMBER GUYS, MINOR X ADULT RELATIONSHIPS ARE ILLEGAL. THIS IS FICTIONAL.

KAI WAS ALWAYS ON YOUR MIND. The one who saved your life, the one who pulled you back from the brink when death had already curled its cold fingers around you. Without him, you would've been gone—buried, forgotten, erased. And yet, he was also the one who had stolen from you. Your quirk. Your very essence.

But he gave it back, didn't he? He was sorry. He told you so, again and again, in whispers against your skin, in the way his golden eyes darkened whenever you looked at someone that wasn't him.

Kai killed the Hero Commission President for you. He silenced the one who had tormented you for over a decade, the one who had watched your every move, waiting for you to break. And he made sure they paid the ultimate price. But that was love, wasn't it? Protecting what's yours at any cost?

And Kai loved you—so much that it blurred the lines between devotion and obsession, between reverence and possession. His love was too deep, too all-consuming for you to distinguish whether it was tender or terrifying. But you never questioned it. Because you wanted to believe in the goodness of people, in redemption, in salvation.

You didn't know what he had done to Eri. You didn't know what horrors he had committed in the name of love. The girl never spoke of the experiments, never whispered a word about what he had taken from her. You didn't know that Kai was the one who had stolen her parents' lives. You thought, like the rest of the world, that they had perished in a villain attack.

Because you, like everyone else, were a product of Kai's unwavering devotion, his addiction, his adoration. You didn't see the chains he wrapped around you, the way he shaped the world so you would never want to leave him.

And the most dangerous part?

You were starting to fall.

You, who once looked at him with disgust after he took your quirk, now found yourself drawn to the way his voice softened just for you. You saw the tenderness in the hands that had wrought destruction, felt the warmth in the heart that should have been too cold to love. Kai had abandoned his quirk removal drug the moment he saw that look of pure, unfiltered hatred in your eyes. And that was enough.

Nezu had erased his crimes, wiped his slate clean in exchange for his genius—his intellect now serving the heroes' side.

But Kai wasn't doing this for redemption. No.

He was doing it for you.

You, [Name], believed in the kindness within him, like a ray of sunshine breaking through the thickest storm clouds. And all Kai wanted was to bask in your light, to let it sear into his skin, to consume him whole. He convinced himself that becoming "good," aligning with the heroes, was worth it—if it meant staying by your side. He would rewrite his own story, reshape his beliefs, abandon the very foundation of who he was... for you.

Because Kai Chisaki could live without power, without ambition, without his old ideals.

But he could never live without you.

Still, there was one thing that even he couldn't change.

The gap between you.

You were seventeen. He was twenty-three.

Society would never accept it. They would call him a monster, whisper about manipulation, grooming, corruption. Even if he waited, even if he did nothing, the world would twist his love into something grotesque.

But that didn't matter.

Because you felt it too.

Beneath the teasing and the stolen glances, beneath your stubbornness and your naivety, you felt it. The way your heart skipped when his voice dropped to that low, measured hum. The way your breath hitched when his fingers brushed against yours. Kai was a shelter, a fortress, a protective force that wrapped around you like armor. And under his umbrella, you had never felt safer.

You would grow up, carve out your own path, and when the world could no longer dictate what was "right" or "wrong," you would stand before him and confess the truth you already knew.

You loved him.

And Kai, sitting in UA's pristine laboratory, thought only of you. You were on his mind, like always—haunting him, consuming him, driving him to be a better man because you deserved nothing less. His gloved hands moved with meticulous precision, conducting a titration as he worked on a new experiment. His lips parted slightly as he focused, his mind drifting—

Shigaraki Umiko. All For One's daughter. Aizawa [Name]. The adopted child of Eraserhead.

His obsession. His salvation. His everything.

His tongue flicked over his lips as he steadied his grip, watching the liquid swirl—

Then the door swung open.

Kai's hand slipped. The drop missed. His jaw clenched as the solution was ruined, the pristine white laboratory table trembling under his grip.

"It better be good, Kurono," Kai muttered, voice cold, forced, irritated at the sudden disruption.

Kurono, panting from running, hesitated for a brief second before swallowing thickly.

"Boss..." He took a breath. "He's awake."

Kai didn't ask who.

He already knew.

Pops.

The man he had put into a coma.
The man whose ideals had once been his foundation.
The man he betrayed when he slaughtered Eri's parents.

The past he had tried so desperately to bury was clawing its way back to the surface.

Kai's fingers twitched as he adjusted his gloves, his breath slow and measured despite the storm rising inside him. His golden eyes flickered dangerously beneath his mask as he turned to Kurono. "When?"

"Just now. He's awake."

Kai didn't need further explanation. His body moved before his mind could catch up, coat swishing behind him as he strode through the halls of the hospital. The sterile scent of antiseptic clung to him, the echo of his footsteps hammering in his ears.

Pops was there. Awake. Sitting up in bed, the weight of years pressing down on his frail shoulders. His eyes—once sharp, filled with wisdom and judgment—were now empty, hollowed out by time and loss.

Kai exhaled sharply, pulling down his mask as he stepped closer.

"Kai," Pops murmured,  his voice hoarse, like a man who had been drowning in silence for too long. "Where's Eri?" His fingers twitched against the hospital blanket. "She's alive, isn't she?" A pause. Then, quieter—like he was afraid of the answer—"My daughter... and her husband... they didn't make it, did they?"

The weight of Pops' gaze settled on Kai like a brand, demanding truth.

Kai tightened his gloved grip against his palm. His heartbeat was steady, calculated. His pulse didn't waver. He had practiced this for so long that even he believed it.

"They died," Kai said, voice unwavering. "A villain attacked. I managed to escape with Eri."

A thick, heavy silence stretched between them, a silence that spoke louder than any words ever could. Pops inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as if he were bracing himself, as if the weight of what lay between them was almost too much to bear. The sorrow on his face was raw—unfiltered, seeping into the lines of his aging features like an irreversible scar.

Kai had seen this look before. Grief was a disease. Slow. Spreading. Devouring.

When Pops finally opened his eyes, they were searching—desperate for something in Kai's expression that he would never find. Once upon a time, those eyes could see through him with terrifying accuracy, stripping away every lie, every carefully crafted mask, until all that remained was the truth.

Now? Now, they saw only what they wanted to see.

"Are you lying?"

The words were quiet, but they cut through the stillness like a blade.

Kai met his gaze, his own eyes dark, unreadable. "No."

The lie left his lips so smoothly it felt like the truth.

Pops let out a slow, shuddering sigh. His shoulders loosened, his entire body melting into something close to relief. A small, broken smile tugged at his lips. "Thank goodness."

The relief in his voice made Kai sick.

It would've been kinder to tell him the truth. But kindness had never been his specialty.

"Is Eri... okay?" Pops asked, his voice fragile, as if the answer could shatter whatever was left of him. He was a man who had lost everything, clinging to one final thread of hope.

"She was adopted," Kai answered evenly, reaching for a disinfectant wipe, his gloved hands moving with meticulous precision as he cleaned a nearby stool before sitting. "By Aizawa Shota." A pause. Just a fraction of a second. "[Name]'s father."

Your father.

You. His obsession. His salvation.

Kai had built his redemption around you, carved a future where he could exist in the warmth of your light. You, who had once looked at him with pure, unfiltered hatred. But he had fixed that, hadn't he? Your disgust had melted away, piece by piece, until something softer had taken its place. Something fragile. Something precious.

You, who didn't know the full extent of his sins. You, who saw the best in him when the rest of the world had tried to tear him apart.

Pops would never understand. No one would.

But that was fine.

Because you were his.

And just like that, Pops was gone. The last breath left his lips with that same, trusting smile.

You had no idea he had been in a coma at all. You had been fed lies, wrapped in the comfort of a half-truth. Everyone was dead except for Eri—at least, that was what you were told. And you believed it. Because that was what a savior complex did to a person. It made you blind to the worst parts of people. It made you foolish.

Kai was now your savior.

And it would take a lot to change that.

After Pops' death, Kai worked tirelessly to rectify his mistakes—or at least, that's what he told himself.

Eri.

She roamed the hallways of U.A. while you and Aizawa were in class. The teachers took turns watching over her when your father was too busy, and of course, it made sense. U.A. was the safest place for her.

Kai had spent hours justifying his sins, convincing himself that everything he did was necessary. But even he knew there were some things that could never be undone.

The least he could do was try.

"Eri."

Her name slipped from his lips like a ghost of the past, echoing down the empty corridors.

Eri froze.

The hallway was silent—too silent. It was class time, and no one else was supposed to be out here. For a second, she debated running. Pretending she hadn't heard.
But then his hand landed gently on her shoulder.

Her breath hitched.

The air felt heavy, suffocating, as memories she tried to bury clawed their way back to the surface. Shadows of pain and fear danced at the edges of her vision. Yet, she remained still, her small body rigid, her heart thudding so loudly she was sure he could hear it.

"Y-yes, Uncle?" she asked softly, her voice fragile, as if one wrong word would shatter her. Her palms were beginning to sweat, and her chest tightened, but she willed herself to breathe.

Kai exhaled slowly, his head tilting downward ever so slightly, his eyes unable to meet hers. There were no words to truly fix what he had broken, no apology that could undo the past. But this... this was his first step.

"I'm sorry, Eri," he murmured, his voice hoarse. "For everything."
His words hung in the air, heavy with regret. They felt foreign on his tongue, weighted with the burden of his sins.

Eri didn't move. She didn't dare to.

She didn't know how to respond to this man—this man who was a monster in her nightmares but a savior in your eyes. The man who took everything from her but also gave her back a piece of herself. Her tiny hands trembled, but she kept them at her sides, balled into fists.

"I shouldn't have blamed you for your parents' deaths," he admitted, and for once, there was no calculation behind his words. No agenda. Just the quiet confession of a man who had destroyed something he could never fix. "I'm sorry for making you suffer."

Two lies.

To Eri, he had woven a story of tragedy, convincing her that she had been the one responsible for her parents' deaths. That her unstable Quirk had been the cause.

To everyone else, the truth had been rewritten—a villain attack. A senseless tragedy, out of her control.

Two different versions of reality, crafted to suit his needs.

Eri's hands clenched tighter. Her fingernails dug into her palms, grounding her, keeping her from shaking. She felt anger—anger at him, anger at herself, anger at the world. But above all, she felt tired. So tired of being angry.

"The past..." she whispered, her voice trembling. "I don't want to remember it. I can't. I finally feel happy with Chichi and Big Sis."

Her words were soft, but her tone was firm, unyielding. She was determined to protect the life she had built, the happiness she had found.

No matter what it cost her.

She looked up at him then, crimson eyes filled with something far too wise for a child. A mix of fear, pain, and... forgiveness. A forgiveness she didn't want to give but felt she had to, for her own sake.

"There are times when your experiments come back in my nightmares," she admitted. Her voice was small, a whisper meant only for herself. "But... you saved Big Sis."

Her shoulders straightened, her chin lifted. She was trying to be brave, trying to be strong—like you always told her to be.

"That's enough for me."

A pause. A breath. A decision.

"Everything that's happened between us is gone," she said, her tone carefully measured. "Because you saved Big Sis. And you make her smile."

Her voice didn't waver. She was resolute, standing tall despite the fear gnawing at her insides.
"If she ever finds out the truth... she'll sever ties with you."

Kai's breath stopped.

The weight of her words hit him harder than any blow he had ever received. He knew she was right. He knew the price of his lies.

Eri wasn't stupid.

She had seen the way you lingered in his lab, how your eyes softened when you looked at him, how your laughter filled the room in ways he never deserved.

She had watched the way you hovered, how your hands trailed over old documents a little too long, how your questions never quite stopped.

She knew.

She knew you felt something for him.

It stung. But she couldn't hate you for it. You had saved her from an endless, downward spiral.
The least she could do... was this.
Support you.

Even if it meant lying to herself.

Neither you nor Aizawa had ever asked her about her parents. And she preferred it that way.
Her tiny hands clenched, her little mind doing its best to erase those memories.

Kai reached out, his gloved hand resting lightly atop her head.
She stiffened. Just for a second. But she didn't flinch.

She had already decided.

"Thank you, Eri," Kai murmured, his voice breaking ever so slightly.

And for the first time, he meant it.

//

The sun poured through the lab window, golden light scattering across the cluttered workspace. You sat perched on the high stool, legs swinging idly, the gentle sway matching the rhythm of your heartbeat.

It was quiet here, the only sound the soft clink of glassware and Kai's deliberate movements. You watched him intently, head resting in your hands, a soft smile playing on your lips. His golden eyes were fixed on his experiment, but his focus wavered as your gaze lingered.

"Hey, Kai," you called, your voice light and playful, breaking the fragile silence. He looked up, the dropper in his hand trembling for a fraction of a second. You caught it—of course, you did. Nothing about him escaped your attention, not the way his shoulders tensed when you were around, nor the way his eyes softened, just a little, when you smiled.

"[Name], shouldn't you be training?" he asked, his tone even, but his eyes betrayed him. They flickered to you, unable to help themselves, before returning to the glass beaker in front of him. He tried to appear indifferent, but his movements were slower, more deliberate, as if he was trying to prolong this moment. His fingers were steady, but his heart was another story entirely, thundering in his chest.

You hummed, leaning back, arms stretching above your head as you arched your back. The motion was innocent, careless even, but it made his breath catch. You were sunlight personified, golden and untouchable, and yet you were here, invading his shadows.

"Since I've graduated, I have more freedom. My training still continues, but it won't be long before I become a pro." Your eyes sparkled mischievously as you inspected your nails, voice casual. "Besides, do you not want me here?"

His heart stuttered. How could you say that so easily, so innocently? Didn't you know the effect you had on him? How your very presence made his carefully constructed walls crack? He cleared his throat, masking his turmoil with a scowl.

"That's not what I meant." He hated the way his voice wavered, hated the power you had over him without even realizing it. But most of all, he hated that he couldn't bring himself to ask you to leave. Not when you looked at him like that, your eyes full of warmth and light.

You grinned, swinging your legs more energetically. "I know. I just like teasing you." Your cheeky smile was his undoing.

He busied himself with his experiment, trying to ignore the fluttering in his chest. But his resolve wavered as he caught sight of you again, bathed in sunlight, eyes sparkling with mischief. You were nineteen now, an adult in the world's eyes, no longer the wide-eyed student who used to peek into his lab out of curiosity. And he... he was twenty-five, old enough to know better. Old enough to recognize the tightrope he was walking.

The age difference still lingered between you, a whisper of impropriety that echoed in the recesses of his mind. Six years wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but the gap felt insurmountable when it came to his feelings for you. Feelings he had no right to have.

But it didn't stop him. He was drawn to you, helpless against the pull.

Your eyes softened, a teasing lilt in your voice as you spoke. "You're always so serious, Kai. Relax a little. It's just me."

Just you. The one person who could unravel him with a word, a smile. You had no idea, did you? No idea how much power you held over him. How easily you could break him.

He looked at you then, really looked, taking in the way the sunlight danced in