"Sayuri?!" Fuyumi greeted her with tears instantly filling her eyes. She threw her arms around her friend, hugging her tightly and patting her hands against her back as if to make sure she was real. "What happened? I got a text saying that you were going out of town with your boyfriend, but…"
She tugged at her hood and bit her lip, frowning. Shaking her head and moving aside a little to show Fuyumi the small figure standing behind her. Sayuri gently guided Eri to stand in front of her, nodding down at the child and giving Fuyumi an urgent look. "Can I come in? Maybe…we could talk about this over tea?"
Her friend's eyes widened and she opened the door more. "Sayuri, what did you do?! Come in! Hurry, hurry!" She let the two into the Todoroki house and paused. Glancing back and forth outside to make sure no one was looking at the house.
Sayuri lifted Eri and carefully pulled back her hood, revealing the little girl's face. "We weren't followed, but…"
As they stepped into the dining room, Fuyumi closed the distance between them and slipped Sayuri's hood back. Her glasses slipped down a little and her mouth drew into a deep frown. "Sayuri, what happened to your face? Who did this? Did your boyfriend do this to you?"
She winced as her friend's chilled fingertips brushed along her cheek. "No. He wouldn't do this. It's…complicated. I didn't have anywhere else to go right now."
Fuyumi gave her a stern frown and rested her forehead against Sayuri's. "It's okay. You'll be safe here. I promise. I'll make some tea. Why don't you both sit down? I'll be right back and you can tell me what's going on."
It felt wrong to be in the Todoroki house. Not just because she was afraid of Endeavor. Not just because someone could have followed them. What made her insides twist into knots was the knowledge that Dabi could not be with them if they were in the house. She had to separate from him to see her friend because he was her friend's brother. He had suffered so much more pain than she had in this house, yet here she was. It felt like a betrayal.
"This is Fuyumi," Sayuri introduced her when she returned. She smiled down at Eri as the little girl shyly glanced at the other woman. "And, Fuyumi, this is my…daughter. Her name's Emi."
"Your daughter?" Fuyumi gave her a concerned frown as she poured tea for all three of them.
"Yes. My daughter." She met her friend's gaze, feeling a tightening in her chest. "I'm her mom now," she added in a quieter tone.
"My…mom?" Eri looked up at her with wide, kind of watery red eyes.
She was worried that she might have said something wrong. That she might have said something that would hurt the little girl's feelings. She was proven wrong when Eri hugged her. A sad, small smile curved her lips. "Moms protect their kids. And that's what I'm doing."
Fuyumi rested her chin in her hand and raised her eyebrows. "I never thought you'd have kids, to be honest." She grinned when Sayuri looked over. "But you seem like you're doing a good job. So where's the boyfriend?"
Truthfully, Dabi was close. He had escorted them to the area, making sure that no one was following them, and now he was hanging around the neighborhood waiting for Sayuri to emerge. The plan was for them to scout out a new place to hide, but she had wanted to leave Eri somewhere safe. As much as they both hated the idea, they knew that it was highly unlikely that someone would attack Endeavor's home and risk drawing attention to their shady group.
"About that…" She rubbed at the back of her neck and lowered her gaze to the steaming cup of tea in front of her. "Could you...er…babysit for a little while? Like maybe just an hour? We're trying to find somewhere to live. If you get what I mean."
Fuyumi's eyes widened again. "Is her dad-?"
"Her dad didn't want me to take her. It's…complicated." Sayuri winced as she heard something she had hoped to not hear. A huff of disapproval from the doorway. She slouched in her seat, reaching over to take Eri's hand. Her stomach churning sickly when she heard the low boom of that voice.
"Oh. It's just you." He paused as he noticed the little girl beside Sayuri. A quiet scoff could be heard in the doorway.
"You're home early. Sayuri brought her daughter to visit-" Fuyumi began.
"A daughter. I don't remember Fuyumi ever saying you married. How do your parents feel about you having a child out of wedlock?"
Normally, she would have cowered. She would have slouched at the table and stayed silent. Something was different today. Something about the man dragging Eri into his criticism of Sayuri ignited a spark of outrage in her and the young woman turned in her seat to glower at the man with narrowed lilac eyes.
"How does the public feel about you breaking your youngest son's arm in three places during a "sparring accident" when he was ten?" Her voice was even, her tone was icy, and the words were biting.
Endeavor glared back at her with intensity. For a moment, it seemed like he might storm into the room and drag her out of his house by force. Instead, he continued to glower at her until Fuyumi seemed to snap him out of his rage.
"Dinner's in the kitchen," the young woman spoke up. "I got a plate ready for you. You just need to heat it up a little."
Thankfully, he seemed to decide that dinner was more important than casting the angry pale-haired woman out of his home. With a final, angry huff, Endeavor turned away and set off for the kitchen. Fuyumi had tensed when he first spoke up and now she visibly relaxed, sighing.
"Sorry about that, Sayuri. He wasn't supposed to be home for another hour." She put on a half-smile that was just a little sad. "I can watch her while you look for a place to live, but are you sure you don't want to stay here tonight?"
"Fuyumi, look at me." She reached across the table and took her friend's hands in hers. "I'm shaking. Fuyumi, that man scares me. But I know Emi will be okay with you."
After a hug and a promise to return for Eri as soon as possible, she went outside. The sunset made the sky a bloody red and pink as she walked; her hood up, her eyes skimming the area. When Sayuri rounded the corner, she felt an arm dart around her waist and she almost screamed until she heard his voice.
"I saw the old man go in. Did he give you any trouble?" Dabi squeezed her back close against his chest, his lips brushing against her ear.
She felt heat rising to her cheeks and she rested a hand over his. "I…actually stood up for myself this time," she answered.
"Oh yeah?" He gripped her hand and started walking. Bringing Sayuri to walk alongside him and smirking as he tugged his hood forward more. "What'd you say?"
Describing the interaction to him, she felt a surge of something. Courage. Confidence. She smiled at the memory of standing up to Endeavor. When she saw his smirk spread into a grin, Sayuri nudged his shoulder with hers. "What? It's been a while since I saw you look this excited," she teased.
"Tch. Been a while since I had you alone," he retorted. They turned down an alley and he hooked a finger through one of her belt loops, smirking at the young woman when she looked at him. "Didn't think you had it in you to snap back like that. What happened to the teary little kid that used to take everybody's injuries?"
She half-grinned, more to herself than to Dabi. "You miss her?"
He tugged sharply, making her stumble and slipping his arm around her waist to pull her against him. "Maybe, but I think I like the new Sayuri a little more."
When she lifted her head to tease him again, his mouth covered hers and he swallowed her words. Sayuri wrapped her arms around his neck and flicked her tongue along his lower lip. Butterflies taking flight in her stomach and chest as he pressed her back against a wall.
A hand dug into her pale hair within her hood and he thrust his hips against hers when he felt her nip at the staple beneath his bottom lip. Dabi broke the kiss and ran his fingers through her hair, his expression shifting to a frown as he watched the shimmery, snowy locks slide between his digits. "Should probably do something about this," he muttered.
"What? My hair…? You think coloring it would help? We could get some dye-"
"I like it this color." A conflicted, frustrated sigh left him and he let his fingers trail down to the bruise on her cheek. "Come on. We've gotta get some supplies and find a place to stay. Maybe get some hair color." He took her hand and started walking again.
Sayuri stayed close to him and had to fight the temptation to glance over her shoulder. They had left the coffee shop pretty early that morning and spent most of the day gradually making their way to the Todoroki house. Dabi leading the way, choosing certain routes to try to keep Chisaki's men off their trail.
It went without saying that she felt safer with Dabi at her side, but she felt guilty. Powerless. After the encounter with Kurono and Chisaki's underlings the previous day, Sayuri had to admit to herself that she was weak in comparison. Having a healing quirk definitely did not help matters.
There has to be something I can do. What if I had Eri with me yesterday? I wouldn't have been able to protect her. Kurono could've killed me if he wanted to and I wouldn't have been able to stop him. What if Dabi and I have to separate for some reason? I'll be an easy target and if Kurono finds me again…I don't think he'll let me live.
"What's the problem?" Dabi murmured. Keeping his voice down as they entered a store. His sharp turquoise eyes darted in her direction for an instant before he scanned the area. Deciding it was safe, he continued onward. Set on a particular section of the store and moving without hesitation.
She only realized she was squeezing his hand after he spoke. Sayuri lowered her head to try to keep her face hidden and she loosened her hold. "Just…thinking. Maybe I'm overthinking."
"What is it? Worried about the kid?" He waited for a response and when she remained silence, Dabi came to his own conclusion. "She's gonna be fine. Fuyumi won't let the old man near her. I wanna make this quick anyway. I don't like leaving her there, either."
A glance over showed him frowning and she felt her pulse skip. "You know, you're actually not a bad dad," she tried to tease him.
"What's that supposed to mean? That sounds…pretty lame."
"It's cute…how you take care of her." Sayuri's cheeks were burning when she looked directly at him and when he smirked, she quickly looked away.
Shift P.O.V
He had his reasons, but they were pretty simple. He wanted to do a better job than his father had and he was actually starting to care about the kid. Not that this was an easy thing for him to admit. Just something about seeing the pale-haired little girl next to Sayuri seemed to activate some feeling deep in him that almost felt like an instinct.
"Go grab some food. The place is pretty empty. If somebody gets close, just come find me or yell, got it?" Dabi waited for her to nod before he released her hand and stalked away to grab some items on his own. Content that she would be fine. He wanted to take a minute for himself.
Temporary color spray. Comes out in three washes. Huh. Dabi grabbed a can off the shelf and skimmed the instructions. Deciding it would be easy enough to use without making a mess, he slipped the can into his pocket and briefly considered getting one for Eri.
Thinking about the kid inevitably made him think about where she was. The thought of asking for help made him annoyed, but the fact that they had asked Fuyumi just made his stomach turn. She would take good care of the kid. He knew she would take good care of the kid. That was part of what made him so irritated.
Dabi was walking down an aisle full of cold medicines and supplies when he paused in his steps. He focused on something that was hanging from a hook. A children's medical mask with little smiling cat faces printed on it. A weird urge started to form that he slowly recognized. The thought that Eri should have this mask; it was a cute pattern and it would hide her face if they were in public.
Now with the can of hair color spray and the mask tucked into his jacket, he went to look for Sayuri. He found her standing in front of a selection of apples and quietly approached her from behind. Dabi's arms slipped around her waist, his chin resting on the top of her head, and he smirked. "Got you."
She jumped when he embraced her and then settled a hand over his left arm. "Don't scare me like that," she mumbled.
"You think he'd be this gentle?" Dabi leaned down, bringing his lips near her ear, and tightened his arms around her. "That guy…looked like he wanted to eat you up," he teased. His lips brushed against her ear and he felt her hips push back against him. "But only I can do that, right, Sayuri?" A hand slid to her hip and his fingers hooked into the waist of her jeans.
"We don't have time for that right now," she half-heartedly argued. "Maybe…after we have a safe place to stay. We could work something out."
