….
"Oh no." Natsuo muttered, taking half a step backward toward the frame. "Not again. Shoto, get in front of me."
"No." Shoto said instantly, stepping aside without a hint of hesitation. "Face your responsibilities."
"You traitor–"
Too late. Himiko had already sprinted across the floor; while Eri scrambled down right behind her.
Himiko skidded to a halt in front of the trio, pointing an accusatory finger straight up at Shoto's perfectly blank face.
"Eri-chan told Himi about you!" she declared, puffing out her cheeks. "You're the half-and-half brother! The one with the poker face who always looks like he lost his juice box!"
Shoto blinked once, glancing down at the tiny blonde girl. "...I don't lose my juice boxes."
"It doesn't matter..." Natsuo muttered under his breath. "If they say you lost it, then you lost it."
Shoto deadpan as ever, though he crouched down slightly to inspect the girl looking up at him. "Are you Toya's youngest?"
"I am the guard bunny!" Himiko huffed proudly, baring her sharp little teeth in a tiny growl. "I bite bad guys!"
"Fascinating." Shoto nodded solemnly. "Our family has many animals now."
"Don't encourage her, Shoto!" Rumi groaned from across the room.
Once done with Shoto, Himiko is already tugging onto Fuyumi's coat hem. "And you're Auntie Fuyumi. Papa said you make the best soup, but you cry too much when you're happy."
Fuyumi's hands flew to her heart, her breath catching as a pair of emotional tears finally overflowed behind her glasses. "Oh... oh goodness, you're both so precious... I am not crying, sweetie, my eyes are just... oh, Natsuo, look at them!"
"Don't start crying right now, Fuyumi, Toya's gonna mock us for a month." Natsuo groaned, though he was already helplessly crouching down as Himiko abandoned Fuyumi and attached herself to his pant leg like a golden barnacle.
"Pick me up, giraffe!" she demanded. "Show Himi the ceiling fan!"
"Fine, fine, up you go." Natsuo sighed with a defeated grin, easily scooping the blonde toddler up onto his broad shoulders.
Himiko squealed with delight, immediately grabbing two fistfuls of his white hair for balance. "Ow!! Hey! Easy on the steering, goblin!"
"Faster, giraffe! Gallop to the window!"
Eri giggled, shyly reaching out to take Fuyumi's offered hand, letting the older sister gently guide her toward the bed where Rei was watching with a glowing smile.
Dabi simply watched the utter chaos unfold in the middle of the room.
Beside him, Rumi had finally dropped her hands from her face, watching the Todoroki siblings get completely overrun by two toddlers.
Across the room, Rei met her eldest son's gaze over the heads of her children.
The soft, radiant peace in her gray eyes said everything words never could.
Dabi let out a breath through his teeth, the corner of his mouth curling upward.
….
….
[After Several Days]
Toya discharged his mother.
The SUV idled to a halt in the reserved faculty bay, the gates of U.A. High shutting behind them.
Inside the vehicle–
Rei sat in the front passenger seat, her hands clutched around her handbag tightly.
She stared through the tinted windshield at the buildings and the high concrete barriers.
After a long while, stepping out into the wide open air, even behind the fortress walls of a school, felt dizzyingly vast.
Dabi stopped, the sudden silence inside the car settling heavy and quiet.
"You don't have to bolt out if you're not ready." He said, his tone flat, unvarnished by false cheer. He unbuckled his seatbelt, resting his forearms against the steering wheel. "Nobody's timing you."
Rei swallowed, her chest hitching with a shallow breath before she managed a nod. "...I know. It's just... larger than I pictured."
Before the silence could linger, the back door slid open.
Himiko tumbled onto the pavement with Rei's wool shawls, while Eri hopped down more carefully as she held the door for her grandmother.
"Grandma, your slippers are right here." Eri said softly, setting a pair of soft fleece shoes.
Rei stepped down. When her feet touched the ground, her knees gave a slight wobble, her hand darting out to catch the car frame for balance.
She took a slow breath of the mountain air. Her lips parted, trembling faintly, but the words stayed caught in her throat.
Standing near the walkway were Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shoto.
Fuyumi was practically vibrating with nervous energy, clutching an apron to her chest, her smile trembling as if she was terrified that breathing too loudly would shatter the moment.
Shoto lingered half a step behind her, carefully carrying a potted winter camellia, his eyes fixed on Rei with intensity.
And then there was Natsuo.
He was standing with his broad shoulders hunched, his hands jammed so deep into his coat pockets that the fabric strained. His jaw was clenched tight, his eyes darting between Rei's frail frame and Dabi's face.
Anyone looking at him would think he was ready to pick a fistfight.
In reality, his stomach was twisting itself into knots.
He was thrilled out of his mind that their mother was finally out of that hell, and having Toya back still felt like an impossible miracle he didn't know how to handle.
But because Natsuo had spent the last decade using anger as armor, he had no idea how to express sheer relief without feeling completely stripped bare.
So instead, he just defaulted to being aggressively defensive.
"Well? Are we just gonna stand in the freezing wind until Mom's toes turn blue?" Natsuo barked, his voice coming out way harsher than he intended.
Fuyumi winced, shooting him an elbow to the ribs. "Natsuo! Be nice!"
"I am being nice!" Natsuo snapped back defensively. "I am saying it's cold! Pop the hatch, Toya, before I carry the damn car inside myself."
Dabi popped the trunk latch, hauling out the first heavy box and casting a deadpan glance at his younger brother.
"Still have the emotional range of a brick, I see." Dabi drawled, his eyes narrowing in amusement. "Grab the other crate, loudmouth. And mind the corners."
Natsuo's jaw ticked.
He grabbed the remaining box, muttering fiercely under his breath: "Yeah, yeah. God forbid you say 'thanks for helping, Natsuo.' You're still as annoying as you were when we were seven."
"And you still pout like a toddler." Dabi shot back smoothly, walking toward the entrance. "Keep moving."
Natsuo grumbled, his ears burning red as he stomped up the path, though he slowed his stride to match Rei's tentative pace without saying a word.
Dabi's ground-floor quarters were huge.
In the open kitchen, Rumi leaned against the counter, paring an apple with a small knife. She caught the stiff, defensive atmosphere instantly, nodding once toward Rei with respect rather than her usual loud bravado.
"Welcome, Rei-san." Rumi said, her voice grounded and easy.
"Thank you, Usagiyama-san." Rei said quietly, bowing her head.
Natsuo dumped his crate, blowing out a sharp breath.
He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall and glaring at the high-security deadbolts and windows like they had personally offended him.
"So this is U.A. faculty housing." Natsuo grumbled, kicking the toe of his boot against the baseboard. "Feels like you just traded one set of hospital guards for a bunch of pro heroes who didn't even notice a kid getting kidnapped last week."
Fuyumi gasped softly, horrified. "Natsuo! Toya worked so hard to get this cleared–"
"I am just saying!" Natsuo threw his hands up, his voice cracking with exasperation as he tried and failed to mask the sheer vulnerability bubbling under his skin. "You drag Mom out of the hospital…. Which is great, obviously, it's amazing. But then you stick her right in the middle of the school that's currently the biggest target in Japan.
"And you're acting like everything is totally normal. Am I the only one who thinks this is insane?!"
Shoto set the camellia on the table, turning his head in an unblinking stare. "You're yelling because you're happy, Natsuo."
Natsuo nearly choked on his own spit. "Who yells because they're happy?!"
"You do." Shoto replied, utterly deadpan.
From beside the kotatsu, Rei let out a laugh.
She sat down slowly on the plush cushion, tucking her hands into her lap. The tension that had held her rigid in the car seemed to finally crack, smoothed over by the ridiculous, familiar bickering of her sons.
"It really hasn't changed." she murmured as she looked up at Natsuo. "You always shouted the loudest whenever you were worried about someone. Come sit by me, Natsuo."
"...Yeah. Alright. Coming, Mom."
Natsuo rubbed the back of his neck, deflated and dropped down beside her.
Before he could even get comfortable, Himiko lunged out from behind the kitchen, clutching a plush bunny and sliding onto his knees with zero hesitation.
"Giraffe uncle is grumpy!" she cheered, poking his cheek. "He needs a sweet bun to fix his face!"
"Don't touch my face with jam hands, gremlin."
Natsuo grunted, but he didn't shove her off. In fact, his large, clumsy hand gently hovered near her back to keep her from tumbling off his lap as she squirmed.
Eri carefully carried a steaming mug over, holding it with two hands, and set it down right in front of him. "Here, Uncle Natsu. It's barley tea. It cools your head down."
Natsuo stared at the little girl, then at the cup, the last remnants of his stubborn scowl melting into an awkward grin.
"Thanks, kiddo." he mumbled, tapping the side of the mug.
Across the counter, Fuyumi had finally stopped hovering and was quickly chopping scallions, her shoulders shaking with silent, happy laughter.
Rumi tossed an apple slice cleanly into Dabi's hand, giving Natsuo an amused smirk from across the room.
Dabi leaned against the stove, chewing the apple as the pot of broth bubbled steadily between them.
The apartment was loud, cluttered, and full of awkward, defensive habits built over years of surviving in separate corners of the world.
Nobody was totally cured, and nobody had forgotten the past.
As the tea was passed around and Natsuo grumpily let Himiko balance a stuffed animal on his head, the family sat together, clumsy and with different opinions, but finally under the same roof.
.
….
[To be continued…]
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