A/N: My first contribution to the BNHA fandom. I hope we get along. *Bows*

Aizawa met the uniform stare of his class evenly, bar one Midoriya, who kept writing notes furiously. He let himself appreciate the rare silence they'd fallen into. He hadn't even needed to raise his voice or use his Erasure.

"Sensei! Are you certain?"

"What?"

"Pinch me."

"Could you repeat that, please?"

"What the shit?"

"Is this real life?"

It lasted for all of three seconds.

"Eri will be your dorm mate for a little while," Aizawa reiterated. "During that time, I will not only condone, but encourage creative, constructive usage of your quirks outside of combat. Provided," he stressed, tired glare picking out a few specific students. "That none of you exploit this assignment for personal shenanigans. I will find out, and it will get back to me, and you will be put immediately under house arrest."

He let that sink in and continued once the moment passed.

"I referred to this as an assignment, and I expect you to handle it like one," he said. With a glance at the time, he sighed. "I don't feel like repeating myself, so take your questions to Midoriya. Homeroom is dismissed."

With that, he stalked off through the door, leaving the introverted kid to the imminent fate of excessive attention and a barrage of questions. Midoriya had improved on his confidence outside of combat, though he still had a ways to go. Being put in something of a leadership role could only be considered rational.

"Eri's quirk counseling has been ineffective so far," Aizawa said, reclined on a sofa opposite Midoriya in the teacher's lounge. "Barring a few pro heroes she recognizes from the rescue raid, she still has problems opening up to adults. Most counselors aren't capable of helping with such a potent quirk in the first place, and those few that are can't do much if she won't communicate."

Midoriya's face clearly conveyed his concern, and he fidgeted where he sat, no doubt moments away from devolving into a 'mumble storm'. Aizawa pressed on, hoping to avoid that.

"She's more open with students, provided someone she trusts is present and she's given a bit of coaxing. I planned for Monoma to help teach her some control, but since that fell through, Mirio brought up the idea of, essentially, exposure therapy."

"How do you mean, Sensei?" Midoriya asked, leaning forward in his seat. Aizawa couldn't help feeling just a little exasperated by how obvious he made his desire to help. He approved, but the kid really needed to learn how to put on a game face.

"Ever since her quirk manifested, Eri's been told that she's cursed," he said. "And most of her other experiences with quirks have involved violence, pain for others and herself, and death."

Midoriya nodded, hands clenched over his knees.

"She obviously already understands that quirks can be dangerous, and she appreciates the risk of hers more than any other," Aizawa said. "Short of being put under extreme duress or a panic attack, we shouldn't have to worry about her quirk running wild. So far, even when she's had nightmares, she's subconsciously repressed her ability."

Midoriya bit his lip at the mention of nightmares.

"For now, she needs to be taught that quirks, even destructive ones, have practical, everyday applications. Since she's repressing her own power, if she can't get comfortable with that"

"She can pick up on how other quirks can be used positively!" Midoriya blurted. He flushed, embarrassed at interrupting, though he didn't curl in on himself. Progress. "Sorry. How can I help?"

Aizawa rubbed at the scar under his eye.

"You'll be her keeper."

Midoriya froze.

"… Eh?"

"Mirio would be the ideal option, with more experience under his belt, but his schedule's in flux right now and he's still trying to figure things out should Eri be unable to return his quirk to him. He can explain his own experiences, though that won't be the same as demonstrations. And you," Aizawa sent Midoriya a look. "Are just about the only other person she trusts near her age. With you present, she's more likely to interact, engage and ask questions."

Midoriya looked down at his feet, mouth twitching like he was about to start mumbling.

"I'll do it." He said suddenly. "I'll do whatever I can to help."

Aizawa gave him a shallow nod.

"She's looking forward to it," he said with an imperceptible smile. He stood slowly, long overdue for a nap. "It goes without saying that, as children yourselves, you are to contact a teacher if you find yourself out of your depth with her."

"Okay!" Midoriya affirmed, a bit louder than Aizawa would have preferred given the hour.

"Mirio," Aizawa said into his phone. "Yeah, I've let the class know. Bring her to the dorms and we'll get her settled in before my next class. Best if she doesn't have everyone's attention on her at the outset."

Conversation done, he tucked his phone away. The underground hero had only agreed to Mirio's suggestion on a trial basis, though that should have been obvious. Much as his kids had a tendency to surprise him (unfortunately, in several cases) they were still kids, and first years at that. Circumstances had pushed them into testing for their provisional licenses early- that didn't equate to possessing the maturity for the care of a child.

Still, Midoriya had been relentless in his efforts to prepare during the two days' advance notice he'd gotten. Privately, somewhere in his cynical heart, Aizawa hoped that the responsibility for Eri would provide his foremost problem child with an incentive to stay out of trouble.

He sighed. He should be so lucky.