(A/N: part 2 of the double update! Giving one last warning for MANGA SPOILERS if you are anime only. ;) )

...

"I think that you like this boy."

"Of course, I like him," Shouto replied bluntly, a look of confusion on his face. "He's my friend."

"Yes, he is your friend," the mother conceded, giggling slightly at her son's obliviousness. "However, I think you might like him as more than a friend."

"More…than a friend?" the son lilted in inquiry. "What do you mean?"

Again, the mother fondly chuckled and patted their joined hands.

"As in when two people like each other so much to the point they are more than friends," Rei tried to explain but her son still looked confused. "Hmm…let's see. Do you know how some people act closer with each other more than others? Like couples in movies and shows on TV?"

"No, I don't," Shouto answered, lowering his eyes in embarrassment. "I never had time for such things."

The mother looked at her son with a sad expression knowing why he hadn't had time. But now was not the time to reflect on that.

"Well…," Rei said, searching her memories for another idea. Another way to attempt to explain. Then she remembered. "…how about in books?"

The teen sat there for a moment in thought before saying, "I'm not sure. I do like to read. Though I tend to stick to mysteries, historical fictions, and fantasy style books."

He read mysteries to keep his mind sharp to try and figure out the solution before it was revealed. Historical fictions for the retelling of the facts of history reformed into a tale that fleshed out the events, experiencing them through characters that helped provide more sense and meaning to it all. As for fantasy, not only because the adventures were entertaining and distracted him from his situation, but also because it pissed his father off who considered the genre a 'waste of time'.

Though with all that he has read, he hadn't ever really paid attention to how the characters interacted with each other. No specific examples came to mind about a character expressing liking someone as 'more than a friend'. Whatever that means. The son still wasn't sure what his mother was trying to tell him.

"Hmm, let's see if I can explain a different way," Rei said upon seeing her son was still confused. She couldn't refer to her own experience as her situation with Enji was not…conventional. "You say that when you hold hands with him you feel warm, yes?"

The boy gave a nod in reply.

"Do you feel this way about anyone else?" the mother asked. "Or is it just him?"

He thought for a moment. Reflecting on all their interactions to see if he could imagine doing that with anyone else. After some consideration, he didn't think he could because he didn't get the same feeling from any of his other friends. Only Izuku.

"No one else," he answered. "Just him."

"So, you only feel warm with him," Rei stated with a nod. "Do you feel anything else towards him?"

Shouto gazed down at their joined hands as he considered her question. He had felt warmth from Izuku since the second time they met and officially became friends. Had even felt warm because of him having to tame a blush from time to time around him. Had felt supported by him not only because of the offered Support Item but also Izuku had made a point to be there for him from the very start. He felt comfort from the other boy's words and their shared touches. He felt safe with him and able to share his secrets. Then there was that fluttering feeling he had felt the other day.

"Yesterday, I noticed a new feeling," Shouto said, looking up at his mother. "A sort of…fluttering in my chest. I'm not sure what it is exactly but it doesn't feel bad."

"I see," Rei responded with a contemplative look.

She didn't want to influence her child and accidentally mislead him. Especially after not seeing him for so long. But what he was describing reminded her of the feelings she had read about in romance novels in her youth. Tales of relationships and love. Of characters growing closer and closer as their feelings for each other grew and grew. Books that showed what a relationship could be even if she hadn't been able to experience it herself. It was then that she got an idea.

"You like to read, Shouto," Rei stated earning a nod from her son. "I still don't want to influence your thoughts on what your feelings could be. But I have some suggestions for reading material that might help you figure them out."

"Really?" Shouto asked with curiosity in his heterochromatic eyes.

"Yes, I do," Rei replied with a smile. "I'll write you a list so you can find them later. Okay?"

"Okay," Shouto said, giving her hands a squeeze. "Thanks, mom."

"Of course, Shouto," the mother said.

After that, the mother and son chatted about various things. What Shouto had been up to lately which entailed unsurprisingly training, both at home and at school, and time spent with Izuku as well as his other friends. Once he would not have made without the greenette's influence. Ever since he had entered Shouto's life, he had become a driving force of change. Breaking him out of his long establish shell of indifference and isolation.

At one point, Shouto received a text. Taking out his phone, he saw that it was from Izuku telling him that they was back from the meeting with Nezu and that he was welcome to join the sleepover at any time. He smiled fondly down at the message causing Rei to ask what he was looking out.

"Oh, it's from Izuku," Shouto answered. "He invited me to a sleepover he's having at his house today."

"That's sounds like fun," Rei said with a smile. "Are you excited?"

"Yes, I am," he replied with a nod. "It will be my first time attending one."

The mother's smile turned sad at that statement. It reminded of her son's sheltered childhood what with Enji wanting him to focus solely on training. Never really letting her child, their child, actually be the child that he was. At least her other children, or rather just Fuyumi and Natsuo, had been left to their own devices. While Touya and then Shouto had been pushed by their father to train to be the strongest Hero they could be ever since their Quirks came in.

"Shouto…this boy Izuku," the mother said, casting a glance down at their joined hands before looking back up. "Do you trust him?"

"Yes," Shouto answered with no hesitation. After everything he had been through with Izuku, how could he not?

"Does…does he know?" she asked, her eyes tracing the scar on her son's face.

"Yes," he again replied quickly.

"How much does he know?" the mother inquired further.

"I…" Shouto started before taking a steadying breath. "I basically told him everything."

Which was true. He had told Izuku about his father's ambitions for him and all he had done to create his 'masterpiece'. The Quirk marriage and the training. The abuse. Had told him about how all of it had come to a head one night where his mother snapped under the pressure of his old man. Though there were some things he hadn't told his friend yet. Like the actual extent of the training or what happened to his eldest brother. Or at least what he had been told happened to him.

"If you trust him with that much," Rei said before gesturing to his hidden injuries. "Then you should tell him about this."

Grey and blue eyes widened in alarm at that. He had already burdened his friend with so much of his past. Could he really burden him with this too? It wasn't like it was anything new. Not to him. Training sessions like this and the subsequent injuries from them was just a fact of life for the bi-color teen. More than a decade of his life has been spent this way and he only had a few more to get through before he could leave that house like Natsuo did.

Then maybe Fuyumi could leave too.

He knew that his sister stayed for him. Had become his support after Touya was gone. That his rough hands that had helped patch him up until they were gone had been replaced by his sister's cool smooth ones. That Shouto's continued existence in that house and her need to help her family kept her from leaving and living her life for herself. It made him feel guilty but it was the truth. If he didn't have to stay in that house with nowhere else to go, she could be free from the hell that was the Todoroki household.

'But what if it could be sooner?' a voice in his mind spoke up. 'What if his misdeeds were revealed and you could be free too?'

Shouto internally shook away that thought. Izuku had helped him so much. That was true. But what could one boy do against the world? Or rather two if it was Izuku and him together. Though that doesn't change the fact that they were still teenagers. Who would listen to the likes of them? Especially when it came to the Hero Commission's beloved Number Two Hero. And the Hero Commission…would they ever even allow the exposure of what happened behind the closed doors of the Todoroki estate?

Probably would sweep it under the rug to keep the established order.

Rei, seeing the conflict in her son's eyes, raised a hand to cup his cheek again to gently make him look at her.

"I'm not sure what is going on in your head," the mother said as she slowly swept a thumb across his cheek. "But regardless of what it is, I think you should tell your friend. However, the choice is yours. Choose whatever you are most comfortable with."

Grey and blue eyes gazed into the other's calm grey ones and said, "I will…mom."

The mother gave a small smile and a comforting pat to his face before letting go. They spent a while more together and even ate lunch in her room. The nurse who delivered it was kind enough to bring Shouto some as well since he was still checked in to see his mother. Both Todorokis thanked the nurse who said it was no problem before they left.

Eventually they both decided to call it a day. Rei because she wanted her son to have all the time he needed to experience his first sleepover. Shouto because he didn't want to overwhelm his mother too much on his first visit. Though it had gone on way longer than he had expected. But the fear that his mother would reject him was long gone.

Before he left, Shouto asked if he could keep in contact with his mother between visits. They had so much to catch up on after all. However, Rei revealed that she didn't have a cell phone nor was there a phone in the room. The son felt a bit dejected at that fact until he remembered something from earlier.

His mother had been reading a letter when he first entered the room. This inspired him to offer to write her letters which she happily accepted. She wrote down her address as well as the list of titles for him to find. Rei walked her son to her room door and they shared one more hug before he bid her goodbye. Shouto left the hospital with a subtle smile on his face overjoyed to have been reunited with his mother after so long.

Thank you, mom.

...

Rei smiled softly as she watched her son leave. So happy that he came to see her and had forgiven her for what she had done to him all those years go. Even if he said he never blamed her and instead Enji for it. But she still blamed herself for her weakness. Her son was so much stronger than her. Still living in that house and still enduring the harsh training. Still suffering from his father's obsession to be Number One.

I wish you didn't have to bear such hardship, Shouto. You are still so young. But you are not alone.

No. Her son was not alone. Rei would be there for him. Like Touya had been. Like Fuyumi and this Izuku was. She hoped to meet this friend of her son who inspired such change in him. To thank him for the care and support he had so willingly given to her son. For his words and actions that were the final push that brought her son back to her. To thank him for bringing Shouto back to into her life.

Once her youngest disappeared from her sight, she closed the door and returned to her seat by the window. Looking out at the sunlit trees, Rei reflected on what had brought them to this moment. Of their family circumstances that had molded her youngest son into the young man he was today.

Constantly kept busy with Enji's rigorous training regimen. Isolated from his siblings for the most part during those times. Only Touya having been privy to those sessions as the first child born to fulfill Enji's goals. Though the eldest Todoroki son had been there more as a backup successor to the Number Two Hero's aspirations. A role he had been cast in ever since his Quirk did not meet his father's expectations and was cemented when the youngest's perfectly balanced Quirk of fire and ice came in.

Shouto's Quirk was a better balance than Touya's own which had given him the power of flames that ran even hotter than his father's but were harmful to his own body. Which turned out to have taken after Rei's resistance to freezing temperatures rather than Enji's resistance to high heat. Leaving their eldest son vulnerable to burns from his own flames. A flaw that the head of the Todoroki household could not overlook and so pushed her to produce more children until a child with the perfect Quirk was born.

Until that happened, Enji had continued to train Touya though with less enthusiasm than before learning of his weakness to fire. One that most likely reminded the Number Two Hero of his own. Enji was resistant to his flames and could control the shape and temperature with ease. However, he tended to overheat if he used too much of his fire, causing his stamina to drain and impaired his actions and reactions.

This weakness was what had driven him to arrange a Quirk marriage with her in the first place. In the hopes to counter the vulnerability to overheating by combining Enji's Hellfire with the cooling effect of Rei's ice Quirk. To create the perfect Quirk that would finally help him reach his goals of having a Todoroki claim the Number One Hero spot. To beat All Might as Endeavor had never been able to do no matter how hard he tried. An ambition he would pass on to his progeny.

Wanting to increase the chances of having an offspring with the perfect quirk, the couple had agreed to have two children, one right after the other. After months of pregnancy and hours of labor, a screaming baby boy entered the world with a head covered in red peach-fuzz-like hair and was given the name Touya. With the kanji for 'light' and 'arrow' as a means to represent the first Todoroki child being the beacon to direct them forward.

A year later, Rei gave birth to a girl and named her Fuyumi meaning 'winter' and 'beauty' for the tiny whisps of mostly white hair with specks of red here and there. With the births of the agreed upon two children, the two Todoroki parents waited for their son's and daughter's Quirks to appear. Four years passed with the father and son beginning to train while the mother cared for her daughter. Enji had tried to train Fuyumi as well but she never showed any enthusiasm for it like Touya had and so he focused on his son instead much to the boy's delight.

Once their son had turned four, the days passed with Enji becoming more and more impatient. Longing to see the results of their coupling and if their efforts had borne the fruit of the perfect Quirk. The day his fire Quirk came in was one filled with joy and triumph. The ones that followed however…not as much.

It turned out that with Touya the attempt to manipulate genetics backfired, quite literally, when they learned he could be hurt by his own flames. Despite that, the boy had continued to be eager to train with his father and the man did work with his son even if a tad begrudgingly as he was imperfect. More as a place holder until a child was born with a more suitably balanced Quirk.

So, they tried again.

When Fuyumi's Quirk developed a year later, Enji didn't even bat an eye at her inheriting Rei's power to generate ice. For he had already given up on the idea of her being his successor due to her lack of ambition to follow in his footsteps. Also, because Rei had become pregnant with their third attempt. It was at this time that Touya's crimson red hair started to turn white. Whether from stress or medical reasons they didn't know, but it was then that Rei started to see the hints of sadness in her eldest child's blue eyes.

Despite his enthusiasm to train with his father. Despite his aspirations to be a Hero just like him. Despite the man continuing to work with him to train his imperfect Quirk. Somehow the boy knew. That he wasn't what his father wanted. Not exactly but close enough to keep training him. Thoughts that Touya revealed to his mother in the dead of night when she had gone to comfort her son. Ones that the mother attempted to sooth with calm words that he was more than enough as he was.

It seemed to have worked and whenever he did have troubling thoughts, Touya began to go to his mother and they would talk. Rei liked to believe that her words put her eldest son at ease. His returning to her side whenever he needed standing as her evidence. Touya seemed happier after talking with her. More confident in himself even though he still became doubtful from time to time. But enough that by the time the mother gave birth to a third child, Touya was ecstatic to meet his newest sibling.

In the hopes that the third attempt was successful, the expected boy was named Natsuo meaning 'summer' and 'masculine' before he was even out of the womb. All the Todorokis were excited to welcome the newest member to their growing family. However, as soon as Enji saw the small head of pure white fuzz, he already lost hope that his second son would be the successor he yearned for. A physical sign to him there was most likely none of his inner fire in the boy.

Touya clearly had it in him despite his red hair steadily turning white. Even Fuyumi had some signs of it in her with her flecks of red. But the pure white of Natsuo's showed no sign that he would. However, despite that, the Number Two Hero waited those four years until his second son's Quirk came in. Which as he suspected was not fire but another ice related Quirk that was weaker than the mother's original.

And so, they tried once more.

Nine more months of pregnancy. More time Enji spent training with Touya, whose once red hair had eventually faded into pure white, while leaving Fuyumi and Natsuo to their own devices. On the birth of their fourth child, they refrained from naming the baby until they were born to avoid the disappointment Enji had felt the last time. Upon seeing the head of half red half white fuzz, the father proudly labeled his third son Shouto. With the kanji meaning 'burning' and 'freezing' inspired by the red and white color respectively.

Four more years passed. With the prospect of finally having the successor he longed for, Enji found new motivation in training. He had kept his focus on Touya as long as he could but Rei still found herself having to keep him from starting to train Shouto too early. Her repeated push backs made him more and more frustrated in having to wait. Leading to him lashing out at her physically for the first time. And it wasn't the last.

Once Enji had started to train Shouto, Rei found herself between two warring brothers though the younger didn't know it. Touya was still being trained alongside Shouto however he could clearly see that his father favored his younger brother. By day, Rei worked to protect her youngest as best she could while taking care of her other children. While by night, she worked to comfort her eldest and reassure him he still had worth outside of training to be a Hero. That he was more than his Quirk.

The day Shouto's Quirk manifested was an especially trying day. Upon learning that the boy had developed a perfect balance of ice on one side and fire on the other, Enji was in one word ecstatic. It was then that the 'real' training began.

Before, despite him training the children too early in Rei's opinion, the sessions had been relatively tame. Stretches, running, workouts, various fighting styles, etc. Quirk training as well for Touya though the building damage from his Quirk roughened her eldest son's skin more and more as time passed. It was more due to the eldest son pushing himself too far rather than his father. Enji had already lost faith in Touya's Quirk and so didn't put much effort into that part of his training.

But with Shouto, Enji went all out right out of the gate. Pushing him way more than he should and well past his limits. Clearly not seeing his son as the child that he was. Only seeing the Quirk and the potential of it to fulfill his aspirations. To Enji, Shouto was not his son. He was his 'masterpiece'. A proudly declared label that broke something in Touya causing him to attempt to attack his own brother.

Rei had not been in the room when it happened. Only Enji, Touya, and Shouto were allowed in the training room. But apparently while Shouto's back was turned, Touya had lashed out and shot a ball of fire at his brother. The fire was so hot from his rage born of long festering resentment that the flames had turned blue. Something that had never happened before. Enji, with his years of fighting instincts, placed himself between his failure of a child and his masterpiece. Able to dispel the fire ball with ease redirecting it away from his perfect creation.

It was then that the rest of the house had been alerted to the commotion when Enji loudly dragged his eldest son from the training room. Rei and her two other children had run to see what was happening seeing the father toss the teen into his room and slamming the door shut. Shouto had followed the pair out of the training room looking as confused as his mother, sister, and his second elder brother. Seeing the rage on her husband's face, Rei was quick to shoo the children away to their rooms.

Her sons were reluctant to go. Rei knew they were worried about their brother. Even though Shouto and Natsuo did not spend much time together, they both spent time with Touya. After training, Touya would always dutifully help Shouto with after care and treat any injuries caused by the training. He would then come to Rei to talk of any insecurities he had before leaving to spend the rest of the night with Natsuo. His younger brother acting as further support to his fragile sense of worth.

Fuyumi, her ever dutiful daughter, worried about her elder brother too. But she also knew when she could step in and when she needed to back away from a situation. Especially when it came to Enji and his anger. After casting a concerned but understanding look to her mother, Fuyumi had herded her two younger brothers away.

Enji had been pissed. More than Rei had ever seen him before. She had been scared to break the dam that was holding back his anger but knew that if she waited, the coming ire would erupt even more violently. Something she had not bargained for when she had initially agreed to their arrangement. But she was four children deep into this 'family' and couldn't leave. Couldn't she?

The argument had started with a question of what had happened. Enji's voice had started as a gravelly growl and grew to a raging roar as he ranted about their 'failure' of a son. Right outside said son's door. Rei had tried her best to calm him down or at least move the…'conversation' to somewhere else. But that had led to him hitting her.

Having heard him strike her, the door had slammed opened and Touya charged at his father. Sending out more blue flames that surprised her as she had never seen him do that before. Though she hadn't seen really any of his training since he was young. Enji propelled the blue fire away from himself with his own flames with ease. Sending them around him to attach to surrounding walls and furniture.

The father and son continued to fight while the mother had rushed around them trying her best to put out the stray fires with her ice before the house caught completely on fire. It wasn't until Touya ended up accidentally hitting Rei when Enji had dodged one of his attacks that the fighting stopped. Her eldest son cut off his flames to run to his mother's aide instead. Taking advantage of his distraction, Enji had landed a strong blow to the boy's gut making him collapse to the ground retching up his stomach.

Seeing the teen was down, the man had spat out one last anger fueled declaration that as of that day he would no longer be training Touya. That he would waste no more time on a failure. That he was banned from ever interacting with Shouto again. With that he had stormed out of the house, leaving the mother and son on the floor where they lay. Eventually they both recovered enough to move, together going into Touya's room to collect themselves.

As they had patched each other up, Rei had done her best to assure her son that his father was wrong. That he wasn't a failure. But he could not accept her words as he had done before. It had been one too many times and with the ban from training he had been left with nothing. In that room, he had spouted out words laced with malice of the resentment that had been apparently smoldering within him for years. Something he had never talked with Rei about before.

The level of animosity her eldest son held for her youngest honestly scared her. His spewing bitterness had become frantic and she almost felt compelled to slap some sense into him. To break the spiral of hostility for his own brother. But she never wanted to hurt her own children. Not ever. Not when they had enough of that from their own father.

So, instead she had dragged her first-born son into her arms and held him until his angered rant turned to tears. Touya had broken down and cried into her shoulder, holding on to her as if for dear life. Which was probably true for his state of mind…as well as her own.

In the last few years, Rei had found herself having disparaging thoughts of her own same as Touya did. Not the same thoughts of in regards of self-worth but equally unpleasant. Of how her marriage had been a mistake. That she should have never agreed to marry or create children with that man. That monster. The burden that was being the wife of Endeavor was more stressful than she ever could have imagined.

Rei had found herself strained, both physically and mentally. Physically from the multiple births. Mentally from raising the children basically on her own. Spreading her attention between her four children best she could. Taking care of Fuyumi and Natsuo. Doing her best to protect Shouto. All while trying to sooth her eldest son after his father had effectively rejected him. Having already casted him aside in his mind even though he had still trained the boy until he pushed him away altogether. The mother had done her very best to comfort her son through the years but apparently her words hadn't been enough.

It had been all getting too much. Conceiving the children. Birthing the children. Raising the children. Trying to keep some sort of order in their lives while Enji's hell bent efforts led them into disarray over and over. It started to seem that all her efforts to keep this so-called family of theirs together was starting to be all for naught.

That night, the mother had managed to calm her eldest down at least to a certain degree. Had asked him not to hold Shouto responsible for his father's conduct. That he did not ask to be the center of his father's attention. That only Enji was responsible for his choices and actions. Her words seemed to have assuaged him enough to agree and he promised to not try to attack his brother again.

A year had passed after Shouto's Quirk manifested and with it a change to their family dynamic. Her youngest had been kept isolated even more from his siblings to have him focus on training. Touya was no longer allowed to train with them though she knew he would sneak off to do so anyway in some part of the Todoroki grounds. Coming back with more burns every time he did so. Ones that he tried to keep hidden from her and treat himself. But she knew about them and tried to help him when she did. Because a mother always knows.

Despite not being allowed to train and despite being 'banned', Touya would still go to Shouto after his sessions with their father to help patch him up. When he would come to her after to talk, he told her he no longer felt anger towards his brother. Instead, his anger had been redirected towards his father. For his rejection and harsh treatment of them. For ignoring his siblings. For hitting his mother.

It pained her that her son felt such resentment however she couldn't help but agree. It seemed that all their problems stemmed from the man who served as head of their family. Who ruled over them with a flaming iron fist. The one who ultimately had decided their fates. Rei as the bearer of his progeny. Touya, Fuyumi, and Natsuo as failures. Shouto as his masterpiece. Labels and roles none of them were really given a choice about.

Except…Rei had been given a choice. Had been presented an offer from the man to become his wife for the sake of bearing stronger Quirked children. It had seemed a sensible decision at the time. Her parents would be taken care of and she would have children to care for. Knowing she had wanted to be a mother since she was young but had not found a suitable partner yet. So, when this man who was a Hero had approached her with his offer, she had said yes. Because who would be more suitable than a Hero?

She had been wrong. So very very wrong. The man named Todoroki Enji and known as the Flame Hero Endeavor turned out to be far from the suitable match she had thought he would be. Pushing her to have child after child. Pushing their children either past their limits or away all together. Pushing his dominance over them all. Even going so far as to strike her when she tried to stop him or get in his way.

All of this stress and pressure to be a good mother to her children. To carry them and raise them. To keep them from losing themselves. All while Enji only cared about creating and training his masterpiece to mold them into the future Number One Hero. With no care for his other children or that his prized son was a child. A person. One who was not him but his own person who should be free to make his own choices.

But the man would not allow that. To him, only his ambitions mattered. Only his goal to create the strongest Hero to surpass All Might was important. Which was a goal Rei had agreed to when they had first gotten married, but after seeing what it was doing to her family, she found herself regretting it all. Of agreeing to a Quirk marriage and bearing his children. Because if she had known that this was the life they would be born into, she would have said no.

However, she was in too deep now. Wife of Endeavor. Mother of four. Two trained harshly and then one ultimately rejected in favor of the other. Two others cast aside. All being cared for by a mother who was doing her absolute best to keep her family together. At least her children and herself.

Rei had stopped considering Enji a part of her family after a while. For the treatment of his children. Hyper focusing on the chosen few while ignoring the others. For his treatment of her. The mother would not stop standing up for her children no matter how many times he hit her. But as time passed, despite her motherly instinct to protect, the more he hit her the more fearful she became of even the sight of the man.

That fear had festered in her much like her eldest son's resentment. Building over time no matter what she did to quench it. To the point she had started to see the man in her own children. Growing more and more worried of lashing out at them in fear. Especially Shouto as his left side with his red hair and blue eye reminded her the most of Enji. Leading to her calling her own mother for advice more and more. Much like Touya had done when he turned to her to talk. Rei's mother did her best to comfort her daughter. But soothing words heard through a phone only did so much.

The compounding stress. The growing fear. The resulting unwanted association of her youngest child to his monster of a father. All of it came to a head that night. Rei had been on the phone with her mother. She and Enji had had a heated argument earlier. Over the children same as ever. But he had threatened her more than he had ever before. That if she would not help him raise the children as he wanted, then he would remove her from the picture. Would send her away to never see her children again.

The thought of it terrified her. The mother's one happiness in her life was her children. Take them away then what did that leave her? A sham of a marriage? Because that's what it was. A farce that was a far cry from what a partnership should be. One she had agreed to but wished she never had. Married to a man who may be a Hero to the public, but to his own family he was not.

It was for this reason she had called her mother that night. To share her growing fears of hurting her own children. Becoming more like him. Rei knew she had needed to calm down. Which was why she had been making herself some tea. Only…that boiling water did not get used for tea. For her youngest son, her Shouto, had walked in mid conversation and asked her a simple question. But at his sudden appearance and the underlying stress she was still under, all she had seen was Enji.

And so, she snapped.

Rei had regretted it. Seconds after she had burned her own son. Worse than even Enji had ever done. Had tried to ice it with her own Quirk only to be yanked away from him. For his screams of pain had drawn the rest of the house to the scene of her shame. Meaning Enji had seen what she had done and so had ample reason to follow through with his threat.

Since that day, this very hospital room was where she had spent her days. For ten long years. In the beginning Rei hadn't been allowed visitors. Especially her own children in fear she would attack them as she had done to Shouto. It was during those years she had received a letter from her husband. Informing her of her eldest child's death. The details as to how exactly had been sparse but the fact that remained was that Touya was gone.

The doctors and the nurses helped Rei through her grief and she had managed to come to terms with the loss of her first born. As time passed in the same hospital room, she had become accustomed to a routine. Checkups, therapy,…isolation. Other than a few other patients she talked to from time to time, the workers of the hospital served as her main source of company for years and even then those moments were fleeting. No other visitors came to see her. Even Enji kept his distance though he still wrote her letters. Sparingly but it was still some kind of interaction.

Then a few years ago she had been gifted with a surprise visit by her daughter. Fuyumi had grown to a fine young woman who worked as an elementary school teacher. That first visit had filled Rei with so much joy. A feeling she hadn't felt in a long time. After that, she would get regular visits with her daughter and soon enough Natsuo had joined as well. Bringing her tales of his life as a college student.

Being able talk with her children again was a blessing. One she had not expected to receive. Not after Enji's threat had been implemented. But they had come to see her, choosing to include her in their lives. Or at least two of them. One was lost forever while the other…the mother had never blamed Shouto for never visiting. Not after what she had done to him.

But today…today he had come. Shouto had been in this very room after a decade. Had talked to her. Had allowed her to touch him. Held her hand. Hugged her. Told her he had missed her. That he had never blamed her for what had happened. For what she had done. Instead placing the blame on his father much like Touya did long ago. Again, she couldn't help but agree.

So much had happened since she had been sent away. Her son becoming a student at UA and placing third in the Sports Festival. Making friends. One particular friend who Rei owed so much to even though she had never met him. She didn't know when but she would meet this Midoriya Izuku and thank him for all that he has done for her son. And subsequently for her. And maybe someday…

…welcome him to their family.

...

Tumblr blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic

Notes extension: post/647745284747739136/part-2-chapter-2-reflect