Hi everyonel! Sorry for the delay in the update, but I have had a few bad times with the pandemic. I hope you are well and that you like this chapter, leave your comments.
Touya woke with a start, his face sweaty and breathing hard. He put a hand to his chest and tighten the fabric of his gray shirt.
He had had that dream again, the one where his quirk was out of control and his body was burning like a piece of wood bathed in gasoline. He could even hear her skin screech on contact with fire. A chill ran down his spine. The little boy put his hands to his face and tried to breathe normally. He was afraid that it will happen again, and that his quirk will burn him alive.
He turned to look out the window next to his bed, the moonlight was very bright, that relaxed him, everything was fine, he thought, everything was calm. He lay back down hugging his pillow and tried to sleep. The boy had managed to fall asleep after that bad dream. He was able to sleep well the rest of the night and woke up the next morning to hear the birds singing outside his window. He had a few days having continuously that dream, which made him wake up agitated and scared, with his body sweaty and his hands clenched in his fists so hard that they were sometimes sore. He had not wanted to say anything to his mother or brothers because he did not want to worry them, however, he was uneasy about that horrible dream.
Touya rubbed his sleepy face. His hair was tousled and made he look very cute. He got out of bed and walked the hall unto to the living room. On the way, he met Fuyumi leaving her room.
"Good morning brother" Fuyumi greeted smiling, she was always in a good mood and it was very comforting to spend time with her, she was a girl with a lot of charisma.
"Good morning Fuyu," Touya smiled as he put a hand to the back of his neck.
"You must be hungry, you didn't eat dinner last night," she said, pointing in a scolding tone.
"Yes," replied the whitish-haired boy ashamed.
They walked together to the kitchen where they prepared two dishes with cereal and sat down to eat together. Touya and Fuyumi used to be very close, they took care of each other and were complicit in each other's antics. Although Touya was the oldest, his sister was the one who seemed the oldest because she was a little taller and was always worrying and helping Natsu and him.
"We woke up very early," Touya said, playing with his cereal.
"I think so, everyone is still sleeping."
The boy was silent for a moment, wandering in his mind. Suddenly he said with a serious face:
"Doesn't Dad seem different to you?"
The girl with white hair and red locks stared at him calmly through her glasses.
"Yes, it is different, it seems less distant, I think that's good"
"It worries me" Touya said, smiling halfway.
"I think if he relaxes we'll all have a better time."
"At least I won't train for a while," he said as he ate cereal.
Fuyumi looked at him compassionately. He had seen Touya strive himself and be pushed to his limits, ending up tired and often hurt. She pained greatly to see his brother suffer with their father's training. And she felt guilty for not being able to do something to help him. Her father not found any talent in her, so he decided to dedicate himself to Touya. However, he was fragile, and couldn't keep up the ritm with his strenuous training. So she was continually encouraging Touya and helping him with what he could, even Natsuo understood his older brother's pain and clung to him like a little monkey so that he would not be taken to the training room. Natsuo always ended up being scolded by Enji and watching as Touya was forced to do something he didn't want to do.
When they finished their cereal, Fuyumi and Touya went out to the patio and lay down on the grass. The little girl liked to see the clouds in the sky. The morning was cool, the sky was a beautiful blue and the clouds moved slowly through it.
"That looks like a rabbit," Fuyumi pointed skyward andand her hair was flapping in the wind
"That one looks like Dad with his flames burning," Touya laughed.
"It's true, although also looks like Natsu with the foam of the soap on his face," she said as she tapped her feet effusively on the floor.
While their children were having fun finding shapes in the white clouds of the sky, the alarm clock in their parents' room rang with despair. Enji reluctantly turned it off. The woman beside him stirred, waking up.
"Good morning," Rei smiled, looking at her husband.
"Good morning," he said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Enji looked at her over his shoulder. He couldn't remember how good it felt to wake up with her by his side. The woman got up and hurried to the bathroom.
"My bladder looks like a bomb about to explode," she exclaimed.
He only saw her close the door. He ran a hand through his hair and waited for his wife to come out so he could take a shower. A moment later she came out and gave him a warm smile.
"I like to see you like this"
Enji looked at her curiously. She made a gesture pointing at her own face.
"You haven't used your flames at home, I like your face without them"
Rei stepped in front of him and ran a hand down his cheek. Enji lost himself in his wife's gaze and took her hand. They looked at each other for a few seconds that seemed to freeze around them. Enji could feel his heartbeat go faster and Rei's scent was lost in his pores. She leaned down and kissed him, it was a quick kiss but full of tenderness.
"Rei, I ..." He said almost in a whisper, his voice seemed to be choppy.
"You don't need to say anything now," she said calmly.
However, there were so many things that Enji wanted to tell him. But he knew it wouldn't be worth it, maybe she called him crazy. Who could believe what was happening, he thought. He watched her put on a short dress and queue up her hair.
"I'll go see if the kids have already woken up, we'll wait for you for breakfast."
He nodded as she left the room.
"Touya, Fuyumi," Rei shouted from the house to her children, "come inside"
Both brothers got up, shook the grass on their, and ran to the house laughing.
"Good morning children," said the mother, being hugged by her children.
"Good morning, Mom," Touya and Fuyumi said in unison, smiling.
They went to the kitchen where Natsuo was sitting at the table with a sleepy face. His hair was tousled and he was wearing his dinosaur pajamas.
"He has a gudetama face," Touya said with a laugh.
Fuyumi approached her little brother and wiped his face with a paper napkin.
"Natsu finishes waking up," Fuyumi said cheerfully.
"I'm awake," Natsu shouted.
"Leave your brother calm" Rei was making breakfast, "he had a lot of snacks last night and couldn't sleep"
She approached her youngest son and hugged him while kissing his face. The little boy giggled and finally woke up.
Enji entered the kitchen and watched them all shut up. He sat next to his children.
"Good morning," he said calmly.
"Good morning, Dad," Fuyumi replied.
Touya did not reply and Natsuo only smiled in response to his father's greeting. Rei set the dishes with breakfast on the table and sat next to her husband.
Breakfast went smoothly, there were no screams or recriminations, Rei tried to make her children talk and encouraged them to be more open to the presence of their father, who did not usually accompany them to breakfast.
At the end the mother sent the older boys to take a shower and she went with Natsu to help him. Enji spent time in his office reading about time quirks and found nothing to help him understand how he had come to that time.
Rei knocked lightly on the door to her husband's office.
"Enji..."
"Come in", he said from the other side.
Rei came in and looked at him sitting behind his desk, there were many books scattered and he looked tired.
"I'm going out," she said, putting a hand on her belly, "do you take care of the children?"
"Where are you going?" he asked puzzled.
"I have a medical appointment"
Enji blinked in understanding.
"Do you want me to accompany you?"
She looked at him in surprise.
"I'd love to," she said, smiling cheerfully at him.
"Just let me change my clothes"
"Sure, I'll call Yukino-chan to care the kids while we're gone"
Miyazawa Yukino was a young lady who used to help Rei take care of children. She was the Todoroki babysitter. She was a cheerful young woman who liked to play with children and was always thinking of fun activities to entertain them.
The girl arrived at the Todoroki house just 15 minutes after Rei will call her. She had black hair until shoulder length. Her face was that of a funny and gentle young woman. Her light eyes sparkled with confidence.
"Yukino-chan thanks for coming so quickly," Rei met her at the entrance of the house.
"It is nothing Todoroki-sama, I am glad to see the children."
"They will also be happy to see you, right now they are watching television, they can take whatever they want from the kitchen or order food, there is money in the usual drawer," she smiled at the girl.
"Okay, don't worry, everything will be fine."
Enji appeared, adjusting the sling on his jacket. He had rarely seen the babysitter, and in fact did not remember her much; So he knew very little about her, but hoped she would be a good person to her children.
"Ready dear?" Rei asked.
"Yes," he replied as he put his hand on Rei's shoulder, and looked at the girl in front of them, "you can call my wife if necessary."
"Yes, call if something happens, see you later Yukino-chan"
"Yes, thank you," said the girl, kindly.
They both left the house and the driver was waiting for them. She entered first and then he settled down next to her.
"Do you think everything is fine with the baby?" He ask hesitating.
"Of course. Last time the doctor told me that everything was going very well. Shouto is a calm baby, he does not give me problems"
"Shouto?" he said curiously, "like calligraphy?"
She gave a contagious laugh and looked at him.
"No, with the burn and freeze kanjis"
"I understand," he said as he took her hand, "why did you choose that one?"
"I have thought differently this time, with the others names I thought a lot, this time has been different, I only thought of you burning and my freezing, it may sound silly but that was how I chose the name"
"Rei, I want to change ..." he said seriously and suddenly.
She noticed the tone of his voice, believed that there was something different about her husband, she noticed it from the night that Fuyumi found him screaming in his office. But now she knew it wasn't just assumptions. Her husband was different but in a good way. He was more attentive and open to his family, and that comforted her, because she had begun to think badly of him.
"I know ..." She tight his hand, "and I'm glad to be by your side."
Enji suddenly felt liberated somehow. He could count on her, he could be happy with his family if he tried, if he had good intentions and if he really wanted to change the future for everyone.
"I will become a hero that you and the children can be proud of, but above all I will be a father that they can love." He kissed her hand and she felt tears gathering in her eyes.
"I know you can do it Enji. Until now you have strained too hard to get where you are..."
"But at what cost, dear?" His voice sounded with regret.
"That doesn't matter now, because you've decided to make changes, and we'll be here with you."
He nodded. Rei leaned her head against his shoulder.
"Thank you," he said softly.
