Massive thank you to RimK10, kksambo and DeUltimateBookworm for your reviews! And it looks like we have the first vote for a love interest, and y'know, I can see Yayoi showing Kacchan a thing or two when they meet haha!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I'll see you next time!

VIII.

Maybe, just maybe, she'd jumped the gun a little with calling Enji out.

Enji stopped requesting she come to spend time with him entirely after that conversation, and he never even went to fetch her for visits to Touya. But Shouto still went through training, still went to visit Touya, and with each day that passed Yayoi's anxiety grew. Did she just fuck up? She didn't take into account fucking up. She didn't consider that Enji would be so put off by a toddler that he just ignored her for the rest of her life.

After the first week, which she spent relaxing and writing in one of her art books a general timeline in crayon once more, Yayoi wondered if she'd had a substantial enough effect on Enji to actually make him hesitate this long.

After the second week, Yayoi stopped her timelines and instead explored the large property with Mariya. Every so often she'd come across Enji and Shouto in one of the training rooms, and every time she would be told to leave by Enji without a shred of remorse. That was the start of the panic beginning to set in, watching Shouto throw up on the floor from overworking his small body just as Mariya shut the door on Enji's orders.

After the third week, Yayoi took to training herself. There was only so much she could do, but she knew the basics of her Quirk. She made things hot, and she made things cold. But if Enji refused to train her, she had to get back into his favour with power. Yayoi absolutely struck a nerve the last time they actually spoke, but Enji was a greedy man; if Yayoi just outshone Shouto, she'd get the attention again. And now that Enji knew she was aware he didn't actually care about her, maybe he wouldn't be so hesitant to be rough as well.

Finally, four weeks later, she had her little training regime down pat. Mariya may have been her babysitter, but she was also a mother herself—so when Yayoi demanded races around the halls to clean, something so innocent but so helpful in the long run, Mariya never questioned it. Without Enji and Shouto, Yayoi was bored. And what better to do for a bored child than to give her something to do? Every morning she would race Mariya through the halls while pushing a cloth along the floor, and after that would be breakfast. Mariya's motherly nature never clashed with Rei's, now that Yayoi spent more time with her actual mother, so it was surprising to see them both brainstorm a meal to give Yayoi extra energy for the day that was still healthy. Gone were the days of protein bars, and in came the days of mango pudding cups and fruit jelly that Yayoi ate up with glee. This was a proper breakfast, she'd think every time Rei sat across from her and opened a cup for her.

Week five without Enji finally brought her into experimenting. It was also the week when, finally understanding what Touya had done to Yayoi, Natsuo had approached her awkwardly.

Natsuo… He was at the age when kids started learning about solids, gasses and liquids in school, she thought. So it was an innocent request, when she asked to see his Quirk—he scooped some water into a bucket and froze it, a very simple affair—and went on to ask how she could use hers. Natsuo was eager to be as friendly to Yayoi as possible after the Touya debacle, so he had no qualms telling her in broken phrases about how Yayoi could melt his ice and maybe even turn it into steam. He was woefully behind in his homework, though, with how much he got wrong, but it was good to see even a child older than her could predict the basics of her Quirk.

The only downside had come when Yayoi warmed up her hand as best she could, only to barely melt an inch of the ice in the bucket no matter how hard she pushed her hand into the ice. A pitiful, hand-shaped puddle stared back at her by the time she was done, but it was a start.

It was the hiccups that woke her one night. Soft cries, hushed sniffles. Yayoi was a light sleeper thanks to being vigilant for Enji pacing the halls, but tonight she was ashamed at how long it had taken her to wake up.

Shouto was in the process of crawling into her bed when she sat up and rubbed her eyes. He was crying, face covered in tears and snot, and the bruises from the recent training session still hadn't faded no matter how much Rei treated him. Her heart lurched into her throat, the sight of him triggering more panic than ever, and she all but dragged him into the sheets with her and hugged him tight. She should never have said anything a month ago. She should've played dumb and pretended like Enji had been hearing things.

He trembled violently almost all night, only falling asleep properly when dawn began to break. Yayoi couldn't take this. Maybe she'd gotten too comfortable playing the mastermind of sorts, shifting the blame to Enji. Maybe she'd forgotten, in a sense, just how horrifying it was to see such a small, helpless child on the verge of breaking down in front of you. All those nights spent cradling her little brother in her past life, sleepless nights keeping nightmares at bay, and she got too comfortable thinking it wouldn't happen to Shouto.

This was just a month. Imagine what ten more years would be.

Yayoi chewed her lip as she wiggled out of the bed. She did her best not to disturb Shouto, even going so far as to keep a toy near him that he could cuddle when he felt lonely, and she made sure to give him a little peck on the top of his head when she tucked him back in. The sun was set to rise soon, just like Enji was; Yayoi, despite how soundly asleep Shouto finally was when her feet hit the ground, took extra care to be quiet as she hurried around her room and slid open her door.

Week six saw Yayoi sitting outside of her bedroom, armed with a bucket of small toys that would be annoying to step on with bare feet and a second-hand plastic magical girl wand. She was no Sailor Moon, and this was no Moon Kaleido Scope, but she was sure as hell going to shape her shit up and protect her brother. Just not in the name of the moon.

She bundled herself up in a loose coat, her little nightgown covered up for decency, and Yayoi didn't even bother to put any of her cutesy slippers on her feet. If she was going up against Enji, she wouldn't care if she herself stepped on the toy landmines she laid out for him. With her cheap wand in hand, she stood firmly in front of her bedroom door and closed it softly behind her. Yayoi wasn't sure how long she stood there for, wasn't sure how often her eyelids became heavy—how often she had to pinch herself to wake herself back up. But she knew enough time had passed to make her more uneasy than relieved that Enji hadn't come for Shouto in her room yet.

Enji hadn't made a single peep, actually.

Mariya eventually turned up in the hall, a tray with two meals in her hands and a knowing look on her face. The sun had clearly risen now, the others surely out of bed and doing their own morning routines. Surely, she thought, Shouto had been asleep for two hours by now. Two hours longer than Enji would've normally let him.

"Your father went out as soon as he woke up today," Mariya told her. Yayoi relaxed, slumped onto the floor and leaned against the wall. Mariya patted her head sympathetically, almost, and that knowing smile was still there. "You'll make a fine hero, Yayoi-sama. I'm sure Shouto-sama already thinks of you as one."

It wasn't like Yayoi had ever expressed a desire to be a hero, but the assumption was natural. Enji spent time with the twins that he neglected on the others, and he wanted a hero protégé, so why wouldn't the twins be polluted with ideas of being great Pro Heroes like their oh-so-lauded father? Even now, the event that pushed Shouto to idolise All Might hadn't happened yet as far as she knew—and that was just watching him save people the same way Deku had at this age.

Come to think of it, what even was that event that was filmed? It was a big thing, judging by the reactions of the people being rescued, and Yayoi had seen the destruction in the Kamino Ward battle; it wasn't that far off from being the same in level. Was it that incident that forced All Might to get surgery? No, Sir Nighteye was involved in that, wasn't he? Ugh, maybe Horikoshi hadn't thought up Sir Nighteye in the beginning? But other stuff lined up like Mirio being the lead prospect for One for All when All Might took up teaching at UA.

Once more, Mariya reached down and patted her head affectionately. Yayoi could feel her cheeks strained from her pout, and she slapped them with a groan. "Mariya," she grumbled after a while. "Wanna go out."

"Today?" Mariya lifted a plate from the tray, and on the plate was a sandwich cut into small triangles. Ah, Mariya knew how much Yayoi loved extra jam on her sandwiches…

Yayoi shook her head. "Wanna take Shouto too," she grumbled again. "Don't want Papa finding him."

"Oh? You're so bold, Yayoi-sama." Mariya shook her head and opened the door. She slid it partially closed as she crept inside, and Yayoi peeked in as she heard Mariya wake Shouto. He was bleary and panicked, apologising profusely, but Mariya was just as motherly to him as she was to Yayoi. She patted his head and hushed him, and Yayoi felt an odd sense of relief when Shouto calmed as Mariya told him to eat breakfast before sleeping a little longer.

Okay, so maybe today was her only chance to get some dirt on the current events. Bit last-minute, but it was workable. If all went well, she'd be home before Enji and Shouto would be able to relax for once. She munched thoughtfully on her sandwich, pondered the things to actually look for. Names and ages were no use to her—she couldn't even remember what age Hawks was supposed to have been saved by Enji at. For all she knew, he was still in his abusive home and waiting to be saved. Not to mention, someone like Midnight already had merch alongside Cementoss.

Today would've been a great day to get some digging done. Or training. But as soon as she ate the sandwich and snuck back into the room with promises from Mariya to warn them when Enji returned, her toddler body became fatigued from a night without sleep. For now, all Yayoi could do was crawl back into bed with Shouto and hope for the best.

That was how week seven was ushered in.

Things had been picking up at work for Enji, it seemed, and Shouto was brave enough after a couple of days to come out of his room and spend time with Rei. As much as Yayoi viewed Rei as a coward, or at least weak-willed for the most part, seeing mother and son reunited and free of worry for once was cathartic. All the things Enji could make great if he just left. How happy his children would be if he was never their father.

It was nearing the two month mark already. Yayoi was surprised at how much time she actually got to spend with Shouto, and how much training she snuck in with Natsuo whenever he wasn't busy with homework. She couldn't instantly melt the ice he gave her, sure, but she was improving on making her skin hotter. Even Natsuo was praising her, and he'd all but stopped when Enji started doting on her last year.

Her opportunity for gathering information was practically placed on a silver platter thanks to Natsuo in the middle of week seven, while Enji was still sleeping at the office and busy with his work. Natsuo was absently eating dinner and watching Yayoi sneak food onto Shouto's plate, and all of a sudden he piped up to Rei: "When are Shouto and Yayoi going on their first errand?"

Oh. Oh she forgot about that tradition. Granted, she and her brother never got to do it back in her past life since the only errands they'd be sent on were errands minors couldn't make purchases for, which were useless in the long term. But if the first errand was still practiced in this world… Oh yeah, she could work with this.

Rei and Fuyumi were equally gobsmacked by the question. Mariya, meanwhile, was unsurprised and kept a straight face as she wiped Shouto's food off his cheeks.

"They're only four," Rei tried. Natsuo hummed in agreement, nodded a few times.

"Then Yayoi," he decided.

Shouto piped up with an excited chirp of, "Is Yaya gonna do something?"

"Hold on, honey." Rei sighed and shook her head. "Natsuo, Yayoi is still only four. She's far too young to go out on her own to run an errand. Now if she were closer to seven, I'd consider it."

Natsuo huffed at her. "Yayoi's plenty grown up," he grumbled.

"I said no, Natsuo."

She liked it better when Rei couldn't even put her foot down to anyone in this house.

"Rei-sama," Mariya finally piped up. Rei pursed her lips and allowed Mariya to come closer, and it was obvious that there was a secret proposal being made by Mariya when her hand covered her face and she whispered ever so softly into Rei's ear. Rei's expression faltered, then her brows furrowed, and she nodded along slowly.

Finally, Rei mumbled, "Yes, you're right… But… Just check with Enji first."

Yayoi gaped at Rei. Check with Enji first? When would Rei want anyone to do that? Especially when it came to her kids?

There was no more talk of her first errand when dinner was done, and it never came up again throughout the rest of the week. In fact, it never came up again for another month. Yayoi was stunned silent the longer time went on—the longer Enji just didn't give the kids the time of day and Rei got to spend longer hours with them. Shouto actually knew Yayoi's favourite things now that he got to be with her more often.

And then it finally happened: Week twelve.

"You come straight home if you feel nervous, okay?"

"Yes, Mama."

"And don't talk to any strangers! Especially if they try to take you somewhere."

"Yes, Mama."

"And—And make sure you press the alarm on your bag if someone does anything to you."

"I will, Mama."

Rei wrung her hands together. "Are you sure you're alright to do this?"

Honestly, she wasn't expecting the chance to do it at all. But it was exactly what she needed to test the waters outside of the estate and figure out what was going on right now. For all she knew, All Might was still in his prime and Stain was already drifting away from his vigilantism.

Yayoi adjusted the bag over her shoulders and nodded confidently. "Mariya set my watch so I know the time," she declared. As if to prove a point, she held out the arm with the large plastic watch wrapped around it. Of course, it was Endeavour merchandise for toddlers. No All Might merch allowed in this Christian household.

"You're not… scared?" Rei knelt down and gave Yayoi a rather concerned look. For all the time she never really spent with Rei, at least Rei knew how to be a caring mother who fussed over her kids at the right moment. She was even giving Yayoi an out. "It's a long way to Papa's work."

"Yaya will be fine!" Yayoi insisted. "There are heroes outside who can keep Yaya safe!"

Rei pecked her on the head two dozen times before she even let her take a single step outside. When Yayoi breathed in the fresh air and looked beyond the walls of her home, unrestricted by Enji's will for the first time, she couldn't help beaming to herself.

A whole world at her fingertips, and if her first errand went well enough, it would be her playground until Enji went back to normal.