Uwah! Thank you guys for the feedback so far! Here's the last of the pre-written chapters, and it's a doozy! I'm working on chapter 6 now that I have more context to the Todoroki family in canon and how they'd all interact at this point in Yayoi's life!

Massive thank yous to Frenchie Is French and InfinityRabbit for your reviews!

V.

His annoyance was back just shy of their third birthday, his brows always knitted together whenever he saw Yayoi and Shouto together. Yayoi tried to pay it no mind, sure he was just trying to figure out whether or not either of them would be failures, and during her rare moments with Shouto she was the doting, loving sister he deserved. Mariya, by this point the Enji's personal maid and Yayoi's personal babysitter, always chatted quietly with Rei and gleefully gave the twins sweets whenever Yayoi dragged Shouto over to beg for some. As baffling and cruel as it was, it felt a lot like Mariya was more Yayoi's mother than Rei was.

Shouto was adorable as ever. Now that they had proper motor skills, and that Shouto could talk and follow and laugh with her, she was truly baffled by how much of a shy, precious little kid he was before… everything. Yayoi helped him around the room, his hand clasped tightly in hers, and Shouto always called after her if she ever loosened her grip. He was enamoured with her, and his big, bright smile was more than enough for Yayoi to put up with him grabbing her pigtails without warning.

The day of their third birthday, Enji and Rei had an outing. Technically Rei and her other three children had an outing, and Enji took the twins with Mariya to a cake store for their choice of cake. As much as she hated Enji being around Shouto so much, she was relieved to have been given a whole day with them as they turned three. Ever since Enji took notice of her, time with her siblings and even her mother was sparing. At this point, she knew it was better to just treasure these rare moments and go back to her usual routine when Enji took her away from everyone again.

"So many cakes…" Shouto marvelled. He clung to her as they stared through the glass display, eyeing all the birthday cakes on display with hungry eyes. Yayoi nodded fervently, remembering the days when she would take her—her old brother on trips to the store to pick out his own cake. There was a light in children's eyes when they saw a treat they were allowed to have their pick of, and the near hours of waiting for them to pick were always worth it. But with Enji and Mariya keeping an eye on the time, Rei crouched behind the twins nervously, they were very clearly not allowed hours to make their choice.

"Yaya likes strawberries," Yayoi said to Shouto, and she jabbed her finger at the glass where a strawberry cake was on display. Shouto let out an interested sound, but his gaze quickly moved to the chocolate cake beside it.

"Lotta chocolate," Shouto whispered. Yayoi squeezed his hand and shook her head. Before Mariya or even Rei could tell him that so much chocolate would make him sick, she was telling him matter-of-factly that Faust told her that too much chocolate lets the dentists poke at your teeth. Shouto let go of her hand, two chubby palms clamping over his mouth, and he gave her a horrified look.

Enji stepped forward then, clearly pleased by the response she'd given. "The last thing we need is to spend countless yen on braces and fillings," he grumbled. "Yayoi, pick a cake."

Yayoi huffed up at him. How dare he take the choice from Shouto? Prick. Asshole. Fiend.

She turned back to Shouto and dragged him further down the cake display, the clerk following them as she did so. What would be a good choice, she wondered? Clearly Enji was using this as a chance to test her too, but she didn't know anything about his preferences for food from both growing up under his thumb for three years and having hundreds of chapters of manga to reference. Enji didn't get attention as a father or a person outside of his abuse and, loathe as she was to admit it, eventual start of his redemption. She was blindly guessing now.

Yayoi stopped when she saw it. The red velvet birthday cake. She let out a gasp, and Shouto was quick to follow her gaze as she shouted, "That one! The one that looks like Shouto's hair!"

She adored red velvet cake in her old life. Never too sweet, never to savoury, and the cream cheese icing balanced the red velvet mix perfectly. She was never one for sweet things, but she always took the chance to eat red velvet cakes if one was presented.

"Are you sure?" the clerk asked. He looked to Enji uncertainly, then to Rei, and Rei just helplessly hid behind her children.

"Box it," Enji said after a while. "I'll take the red velvet cake."

The clerk nodded. Just as he got the box prepared, he paused and asked, "Would you like anything written on the cake? A 'happy birthday'?"

Enji sneered. No well wishes for their birthday was written on the cake. Even if it didn't say happy birthday, though, Shouto and Yayoi knew it was for them and them only.

Mariya, however, was a saviour today. She snidely remarked that a birthday cake without candles was a tad pathetic, in her humble opinion, and that even All Might would put candles on a cake. Enji slammed a packet of red birthday candles onto the counter, beard almost throwing out embers as it burned bright enough to tan the clerk's face. And with that, the twins had six candles to blow out after dinner—three each, and a whole cake they'd be able to enjoy.

They didn't go home immediately. Enji, in his infinite wisdom, deemed today to be a decent enough day to let the press take pictures of him. They were getting annoying, he grumbled from his spot in the limo, and soon enough they'd be getting in the way of his job. He had to sate them, and what better way than with his wife and twin toddlers out in the open? Mariya dutifully bid them farewell as the limo dropped them off to a small cafe on the corner of the street, sure to be filled with passer-by who would post to social media and alert the press to take pictures; as she and the limo drove away, straight for Todoroki Estate with the cake in tow, Enji picked Yayoi up off the ground and carried her without a care into the cafe. Rei and Shouto were left behind, and Yayoi was almost worried Rei would make a break for somewhere safe with Shouto—run away, anything—as she held his hand and hesitated. Yayoi, as much as she hated the idea of Shouto's life being so uncertain if Rei left, almost prayed Rei made the leap of faith and ran.

But Rei followed her husband inside, and she quietly sat down at the table he picked with Shouto on her lap. Despite her calm exterior, the fear in her eyes was enough to tell Yayoi just how impossible simply running would be. Running would never be enough. Not for Rei, nor for Shouto.

Despite the little high chair added to the stool she was seated at, Yayoi elected to simply stand up and, if she got tired of standing, sit on her knees. She hated how difficult it was to reach the table on those things, how much her legs got in the way because of the added height, and it wasn't like Enji was protesting her decision. He just eyed her, thoughtful for a moment, and opened his menu.

"Pick something for the twins," Enji told Rei. "I'll allow a treat just this once. Don't expect this kind of leniency again in the future."

Prick. To give Rei something to feel better about, Yayoi raised her hand and loudly proclaimed, "Yaya wants what Shouto has! Yaya picked the cake!"

Rei gave her a weak smile. "That's very kind of you, Yayoi. Let's see what Shouto wants, hm?"

They eventually settled on some raisin toast to share, lathered in a jam of Shouto's choice. It was, admittedly, the one food Yayoi had hoped he wouldn't pick. But she was a good big sister, and she beamed happily as she told Shouto as she was happy to share raisin toast with him. Never mind that she hated raisins, for all she knew Shouto hated red velvet and cream cheese.

Rei ordered her own snack and drink, and once more with a glance at Yayoi Enji decided to order a coffee—extra hot, he demanded, and when told it may burn him Enji scoffed that it was hard to feel the heat when he was the heat. It wasn't unusual for him to have his coffee, or any warm drink for that matter, extra hot. Enji's Quirk seemed to regulate heat through his body, so in order to feel the warmth of a drink, she supposed it made sense to have it heated more than usual.

The raisin toast was brought out long before Enji's coffee, and Yayoi was surprised by how calm he was the whole time. She could've sworn he was the type to demand things be done quickly, that he be served first, but he must have been on his best behaviour just in case. She wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth—it was her birthday, he was behaving, and he even let her pick a cake. Either she was getting on his good side already, being daddy's little (demanding) girl, or he knew he was on thin ice when it came to his family out in the open. Win-win.

She let Rei lather her toast with jam, and Yayoi nibbled away at it slowly while Shouto made a quick mess of his own. She watched him, enamoured by how carefree he was and how his only worry was missing his mouth when he picked up his food. It was still hard to believe sometimes what kind of person he became, how out of the loop he'd become when it came to social situations, but more than anything she at least had his future friends to look forward to. As much as she wasn't a fan of how much of a typical good boy Izuku was, she had to admit he brought out the best in Shouto back when the boy began his mental healing. Yayoi popped the rest of her toast in her mouth, licked her lips; and when Enji began to move, still watching her, she caught sight of Rei holding back a flinch as she gripped Shouto's arm.

"E—Endeavour? You're Endeavour, right?"

Yayoi stared up at Enji with wide eyes. Enji looked annoyed again, though not as much as she'd expected when the fan approached. A young man with a small notebook had approached, still in his school uniform, and he was watching Enji with dazzled eyes. A fan who was about to get a rude awakening, Yayoi thought, and then she noticed where Enji's hand had been reaching. She wiped at her face with one hand, felt jam smear on her cheek, and without waiting for Enji to move she simply grabbed one of his napkins and began wiping at her face properly.

Enji let out a grunt and turned for the fan, lowering his hand. Rei visibly began to relax, her grip on Shouto loosening some.

"What," Enji said, curt as ever. The fan wasn't fazed, inching closer as he realised his idol acknowledged him.

"I'm a huge fan of yours!" the kid gushed. "Ever since I saw your fight with Buzzsaw in Tokyo, I admired you! I own all your merch and everything!"

Yayoi didn't recall there being a person called Buzzsaw or Enji going to Tokyo in the series. Must have happened before Shouto was born, she reasoned as she turned to watch the fan.

Enji huffed. He wasn't happy at only being admired after his fight with Buzzsaw, it seemed.

"Is that all?" he growled.

"Oh! Forgive me, sir, I was hoping I could get your autograph?" The kid held out his notebook and a pen that was, Yayoi noticed, very much not Endeavour merch. It was very much All Might merch. Oh, this kid was digging the hole deeper and deeper at this rate.

And Enji noticed the pen as well. "You want me to sign your notebook," he said slowly, annoyance very clear, "while I'm here, having lunch with my family, on my children's birthday."

The kid didn't get the hint. "Yes! Please!" he begged.

From behind the kid, Yayoi could see the waiter who'd taken Enji's order emerge from the kitchen with a tall mug of coffee. The steam was visible from where she sat.

"I don't think you understand what I just said," Enji snarled. "I am here with my family. It is my children's birthday. I am currently waiting for my lunch. And you want to barge in uninvited and demand things of me while toting someone else's merchandise? Is that what I'm hearing?"

The kid blanched. The words were sinking in. "N—No, sir, I didn't mean—"

"But you did," Enji scoffed. "You just confirmed as such yourself not even a moment ago."

"I'm sorry—"

The waiter tried to move around the kid, almost at the table and picking the coffee up from the tray he carried in over with. Man, Yayoi could see it now—that kid was going to turn around, and both him and the waiter were going to get some pretty bad burns when he ran into the waiter. Enji gave the kid a sharp glare, seemingly desperate to be rid of the boy once he realised his coffee was near, and it was more than enough to make what she predicted come true. The waiter tried to step around the kid, moving toward Yayoi's side of the table so the kid could leave behind Enji, but the kid had other plans. He turned on his heel, shaken and spooked by his idol denouncing him (for good reason, she would admit for once, but a Pro Hero was supposed to be ready for fans approaching them on the street). And when he bumped into the waiter, the coffee mug was practically flung into the air by the force of the impact.

Yayoi heard Rei cry out, but she was still watching Enji—and, from the corner of her eye, the coffee. She'd been so sure it would land on the kid and the waiter, so ready to be pulled away by Rei and for Enji to start yelling. Either at the waiter or the kid, Yayoi wasn't sure yet. She… really wasn't expecting to see the coffee fly towards herself. The steam coming from it was enough to obscure her vision first, but Yayoi almost didn't even notice. Not even when the mug landed on her, and Rei hurried over to her side in a panic. She didn't feel a thing, didn't realise that she was now covered in steaming hot coffee from head to toe. Enji didn't even seem to register it, dumbfounded as the waiter cried out for someone with medical experience to come over.

What kind of burns did hot liquid give people again? It could reach third degree, couldn't it? And kids were way more susceptible. Yayoi looked down at herself, hands raised as the skin began to turn red. Oh. Oh no. She got Enji's attention first, and she got the goddamn burn from hot liquid first. And Rei wasn't even relieved by this.

Rei was hovering over her, openly weeping, and babbled, "It's okay, Yayoi, you're okay, Daddy's going to fix you right up—"

The words seemed to at least snap Enji out of his shock. He jumped out of his chair, beard flaring at full force, and he bellowed at the top of his lungs to the staff, "Someone hail a taxi! Get a car ready! Something!"

Huh. Even Enji could care sometimes. Yayoi wasn't going to delude herself, though—this was definitely him panicking over his asset more than his child.

No matter how long she sat there, skin turning red as a lobster's and staring at the slowly cooling coffee covering her, she didn't really feel anything. It was like—like she had been splashed with just lukewarm water, not boiling coffee, and part of her felt like the reactions of everyone were unfounded. She was fine, right? She didn't see any actual burns forming, and it wasn't like it hurt. It had to have started hurting by now, right?

The manager ran over to Enji, keys in hand, and announced he would loan him his car. Enji didn't thank him, just took the keys, and even as he picked Yayoi up off of the chair and held her awkwardly in front of him, trying to avoid irritating her skin, she felt nothing.

"Well, she isn't hurt," the doctor started. Enji sank into his chair with a long exhale. It'd been an hour since Yayoi had been driven to the hospital, and she'd been cleaned down by nurses as the doctor inspected her. Instead of her cute little dress Mariya had picked for her, she was in a hospital gown and wrapped in a towel on a bed. "That would explain the lack of reaction, so we can rule out any nerve damage."

"The coffee was boiling," Enji pointed out. The doctor cleared her throat and nodded.

"Yes, the nurses noticed it was still rather warm by the time she was cleaned." She swivelled in her chair, looking back to her computer, and clicked her mouse a few times. "You said she's three, correct?"

"Today, yes."

"I see. Well, I think we can assume her body is making changes to accommodate her Quirk, then. She's at that age."

Both Enji and Yayoi gave the doctor wide-eyed stares. Right. She actually forgot that was a thing she had to look forward to around this age.

Yayoi sat and watched as Enji and the doctor conversed about her body preparing for her Quirk. Enji no longer seemed annoyed, almost pleased, and he nodded along eagerly every time the doctor mentioned having a high temperature resistance like Enji seemed to. All it did was make him more and more relieved that his daughter had been doused in his coffee. Relieved that she was progressing, that she wasn't weak like Touya. Yayoi wrapped the towel around herself tighter and looked down at her bare feet. As far as she knew she was unscathed, but she'd seen her skin turn red not long after the coffee had landed on her. Maybe that was what the doctor meant when she said it was accommodating? Despite not being injured, her skin still reacted as though a huge rush of heat just hit her?

Yaoi frowned. Since Izuku hadn't been born with a Quirk, she supposed the series never delved farther than "people with Quirks lack this bone in their toe and Izuku still has his" with their world building of Quirks in kids. After all, Present Mic was rumoured to have been born with his on day one; and the first known case of a Quirk was a glowing baby in China. And if it took a few years for children in modern Quirk society to grow into their Quirks, then it did make some sense for the Quirks to require adjustments to the body first.

Oh. It was pre-puberty puberty. That was basically what the process of the body preparing for a Quirk to surface was.

She was broken from her thoughts by Enji rising from his chair, grinning like a madman despite the situation as he watched Yayoi.

"Let's go home, Yayoi," he said, voice low and almost drawn out. "I think it's time we schedule Shouto for a checkup as well."

There was no use hoping Shouto didn't have a Quirk. As far as she knew, everything was set in stone with those things—except, of course, when it came to One for All. She knew Shouto was going to awaken his Quirk, and he was going to be the apple in Enji's eye whether he liked it or not.

So, Yayoi thought as she slid off the bed and into Enji's arms, maybe she should get a head start. If she seemed to have a better constitution than Touya did at this age, maybe there was a chance her Quirk would be, well, Hellflame—just like Enji's. She beamed up at Enji, the expression making her sick, and she clung to him excitedly.

"Is Yaya gonna have Papa's Quirk?" she asked.

Enji said nothing. He just grinned, so disgustingly proud of himself, as he walked out of the hospital with Yayoi in his arms.