hinatayvonne: hope it wasnt ooc oof—

xenocanaan: thank you!

dodemgm: oof—thank you! im glad you like it! && i guess things are going to be less tragic after the todoroki arc :DD

uchihae: dude you flatter me too much ksksks

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tokiwa loves and loves and loves

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(This Masaomi does not graduate from middle school with top honors. He is too distracted by the enigmatic stories that his classmate has. Do you know Imagawa Tokiwa?—that is the classmate she is talking about. At first, all he knows about her is how she is the younger sister of a Pro-Hero, one of the few heroes who did not graduate from UA and Masaomi supposes that is why the Bone Hero is not as popular as others. He also knows that Tokiwa only hangs out with a certain group of friends but is popular enough to gain some admirers. He kind of is like that too but everything somehow changes when the world announces that he needs to learn more about Imagawa Tokiwa and those eerie amber eyes of hers.

This Masaomi ends up distracted from his schoolwork, abandoning the baseball team for something more with a sheepish smile and with his hand reaching to the back of his head to show how guilty he is. He really isn't. He finds himself meeting up with Tokiwa in coffee shop after coffee shop, rambling about Pro-Heroes and a future too clear to be untrue. He remembers exactly when they started calling each other by their given names. It had been the same time when they decided they would be partners in this situation. Masaomi does not know whether he suggested the idea because he wanted to be involved, wanted to have a meaning in this world aside from simply being here [what's wrong with just being here?—everything], or because he genuinely wants to be there for Tokiwa who has been alone for far too long. He never asks himself why and Tokiwa does not too, and instead, they thread their fingers together like lovers do. It takes them a while to realize everything in between.

This Masaomi gives his everything to Tokiwa's strange predicament. He still manages to get higher than average scores, mostly because of the guilt flickering in Tokiwa's eyes, but more often that not, people find Masaomi with Tokiwa: in coffee shops, parks, libraries, personal rooms—are they dating? His chest is overwhelmed by too many emotions to name and he absolutely adores it. He wraps his arms around Tokiwa when she is sad and happy and lonely and needy, and Tokiwa does the same. Something that he finds out about Tokiwa is how easy she can love. She gets attached too easily, and when she does, she finds it hard to let go. Which why Masaomi guides her through everything, Masaomi loves her through everything and of course—

This Masaomi marries young, gets a child young, and everything seems so rushed but if not now, then when? He does not regret anything. He loves Tokiwa. He loves Osamu. He loves them all.

In another world, Masaomi graduates with top honors. He is not distracted by everything and his peers applaud him for being a baseball player as well. His friends adore him, he gets admirers. Do you know Imagawa Tokiwa?—ah, Imagawa-san? Masaomi only talked to Imagawa-san a handful of times and most of them had been passing conversations. He focuses on his scores, his parents' smiles, and the future that is too scary for someone like him. He is not like those neon-glazed kisses. He cannot stand out like those with flashy quirks and those with 'hero' plastered across their foreheads. His doctor suggests for him to be a policeman because that quirk can help lots of people, and he turns it down. [This is only one of the few things similar with him and this Masaomi; selfish and ] "I want to be like you," he—they—say.

And he does become just like his former doctor, only better, younger—in another world, Masaomi marries at thirty, with an emptiness he cannot describe.)

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The elementary school feels almost like the Todoroki Family's mansion. (Osamu still feels strange seeing a mansion right before his eyes. He lives in an aparment with his mother and father—a classmate [technically not a friend because as much as his mother and father want him to have one or two, none of them piques his interest] who visited once said that their apartment is really big, followed by a question asking if his parents are rich. Osamu didn't know what to answer. Their apartment suits them perfectly with three to four rooms and two bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a dining room. It does not take him a while to find out that his father's job, despite being a newbie, pays amazingly, and her mother's books are nothing to sniff at either. Osamu doesn't think he's rich. His classmate says otherwise.) Back in school, the teachers have many things to say about him and maybe he inherits it from his father whose eyes are narrowed and his natural aversion towards everything that he does not care about, but Osamu just doesn't really care.

They say his mother has odd opinions with her books, how she talks about villains with ease, and how her main characters are twisted and not heroic and not main character-ish and they wonder about what kind of child she has raised. Osamu has never read her books, not even her drafts because his mother never allowed him to. They also have something to say about his father, more on the relationship of his parents—they got married too young, got a child too young, and look Ueda-san just graduated from college!—and wait, are they still supported by their parents?

Osamu has never thought his parents are young, having nothing to compare them too. Little Osamu, sheltered, protected. Little Osamu, loved by dearest Mama and Papa. All he knows and needs to know about his parents is that his mother likes to keep him close, and when his father smiles, he feels like grinning back too. He hears people—strangers—worrying about him sometimes, saying that little Osamu doesn't have enough friends, barely have any friends and Osamu supposes he never feels like he needs friends. Mama is always at home, writing and writing, and Papa always manages to finds time for him. His grandparents adore him too and besides, all the other kids think he's strange anyway.

This is the first time Osamu has seen another family this up close. Is this what a normal family is supposed to look like? Is this the type of family people compare his own family to?

Before arriving in the Todoroki Household, his mother told him that there are four children there and one of them is Todoroki Shouto who is supposedly his age. The first thing his mother tells him is to not comment about the odd appearance Shouto has and really, because of that, he expected to see some horrendous appearance but instead, he sees a boy who looks as human as he is; with his hair parted in the middle, eyes mismatched, and he looks like any other boy next door. He has seen stranger faces back in elementary school. Some kids had horns and tails, some had admittedly terrifying side-effects because of their Quirks. Shouto looks normal.

It doesn't take a while for the adults to make them leave the room, and the way Shouto's father looks at him—turquoise eyes and something deep beyond the ocean kind of emotions; Mama says that Endeavor is a great Pro-Hero, and does not elaborate further—makes him expect that he will jump in excitement. While Endeavor is not necessarily his most favorite hero, he is still somewhere around his second or third favorite. Endeavor, the hero who doesn't care about fanservice or anything fake that boosts his popularity (when Papa brings it up, his eyes open), only about his job, job, job, job, and job—he looks up at Endeavor so much but seeing him in front of his small body, just a mere child before a hero's normal day—furrowed eyebrows and crossed arms, not costumes or anything like that. Before him is Todoroki Enji and not Endeavor but it seems so similar. He feels the heavy heat and the cold at the same time. He expects to see warmth with Todoroki Enji, something different from Endeavor, but it's still the same.

Is he supposed to feel relieved that his hero is not fake? That everything is not for a stunt? Or disappointed because Endeavor as a Papa is different from his Papa.

Shouto looks uncomfortable as much as he is, maybe even more so because Osamu has been told once or twice by his paternal grandparents that he looks exactly like his father, all intimidating eyes when he was much younger. While his mother told him, before arriving to this mansion, that he did not need to befriend Shouto but his father said otherwise. "Osamu and Shouto are a little similar," his father told him, a hand on his shoulder and itching to pat his head, "your mama would never tell you but—but I know that she thinks it would help a lot if you befriend Shouto."

Osamu really doesn't want to talk to Shouto. It's one thing if Papa wants him to do something but it's a whole other thing when Mama wants him to do the same thing to. Mama doesn't like making him do things so much, something that his grandparents of both sides dislike. So for once, Papa and Mama agree on making him do the same thing, something that has never happened and it makes him feel excited, truth to be told. And if befriending Shouto will make them happy, then, why not?

It takes him a moment to gather everything and actually tap Shouto's shoulders. And maybe it's because his Papa has a thing about liars, and maybe it's because Mama adapted to that mindset too. Something about liars make him feel disgusted. So when he taps Shouto's shoulders, he says the first thing in his mind.

"Mama and Papa said to be your friend, so let's be friend."

(Years later, Shouto finds himself doing the same.)

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Todoroki Rei is not entirely overwhelmed by the Ueda Family. Tokiwa, regardless of the controversies concerning her books and the seemingly innocent facade she shows to Enji who had left the house for hero business, is very easy to talk to. The moment Enji leaves the room, Rei watches how Tokiwa's shoulder slouches and sighs. The way Masaomi glares at her, casually tapping her back to emphasize how disrespectful her sudden change is—everything about their interaction is foreign to Rei. Her own family has never interacted like that; her mother and father had not been necessarily in love when they got married and Rei does not really expect to fall in love when they announced that she will be marrying Todoroki Enji. She never did. Rei is docile and kind, and she has known her place since the beginning. She learns not to expect much even before she met Todoroki Enji and the children she has with him.

Seeing how the two of them, Tokiwa and Masaomi, interact makes her want to hope for something, perhaps something kinder.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Tokiwa breaks the silence. "Rei-san," her voice is not as high-pitched as Rei expects and for some reason, it comforts her more, "aren't you going to ask something about Shouto-kun's development? Enji-san's been hogging Masaomi the whole time so I suppose you never had the chance to pitch in a question—" Tokiwa jolts when Masaomi nudges her side. "What?"

Masaomi sighs. "I apologize, Rei-san," he tilts his head as a small sign of embarrassment, "Tokiwa isn't really known for her filter. I suppose it's my fault."

Rei remembers hearing from Enji about their Quirks; Osamu just turned four, so his Quirk really isn't expected to show up anytime soon and Rei can still hear the resounding implication that Enji drops (he better has a Quirk), while Masaomi's Quirk can make somebody immediately tell the truth whether they want it or not with something as simple as skin contact. Tokiwa's Quirk is much more complicated though. Clairvoyance can imply many things—the ability to see spirits, see things further than any human can, but Tokiwa's Quirk leans to the ability to see the future. Rei wants to know how far she can see, if Shouto using only his ice side will actually happen.

Tokiwa seems like an anomaly. Rei knows the Imagawa Family but of course, not personally. Everybody who has seen how the Bone Hero bloomed knows as much. There are barely any heroes out there who are not from UA. Either they get into an unfortunate accident—because their training is not enough—or simply because they are not as popular as UA graduates. Everybody expected so much of Imagawa Toushirou whose metallic bones pop out of his skin so easily without blood staining his silvery hero costume and his brilliant smile. That is until he lost a limb from an infamous villain, and now teaches in his former school, Ketsubutsu High, and maybe that is why there are barely any heroes that did not graduate from UA. She wonders where Tokiwa's Quirk comes from because according to interviews during when the Bone Hero: Spine had been popular, his—their—parents could bend spoons and have stronger bodily resistance, and then Tokiwa's Clairvoyance comes in all of the sudden.

Rei smiles politely at the two as she refills their tea. "Oh, no, no," she shakes her head, "it's alright, Masaomi-san. I suppose I was just surprised."

Masaomi chuckles back. "Tokiwa's just excited, you see. She loves traditional things," he explains briefly, "she even has lots of old books at home."

How endearing, Rei thinks as she glances at Tokiwa whose eyes makes its way to the single picture frame by a nearby table. Rei's smile feels cold on her own lips, seeing that the single picture does not have Shouto nor does it have Enji in it, only herself and the three other kids she has failed. Touya looks so pale in that picture. "I find myself really interested with Natsuki Souseki's works, actually," Rei shares hesitantly. Before she can ask if they would like more snacks, she meets the amber vibrance of Tokiwa's eyes.

"Natsume Souseki!?" Tokiwa exclaims, almost childlike and Masaomi grimaces. "Really? That's—I don't think it's really surprising. What have you been reading, Rei-san? I'm kind of surprised that other people are also reading classic books like that. It's from the twentieth century, you know. Kind of—kind of far away."

Rei does not notice the meloncholy behind her voice and instead, returns her words with similar excitement. "I've been reading Kokoro, and I've been liking it so far," she says.

(Masaomi does not bother pointing out how her shoulders are relaxing, how her smile is becoming more and more genuine, and neither does he point out how Tokiwa is gradually adapting to Rei's presence. He expects it to last longer, the coldness that Tokiwa gives to Rei. He never understood why Tokiwa actively says that she does not like Rei. But before arriving to the Todoroki household, Masaomi had grabbed both of her shoulders and made her look in his eyes. He hates it when Tokiwa gets paranoid and scared. The Tokiwa he knows has no filter and knows how to dance between the fine line of love and lies. He wonders if that is why he ended up getting enthralled by her once enigmatic waltz. "They're not characters, Tokiwa," he said, "they're real, live people who suffers and cries and also smiles. So please, don't just—just pass them off as some kind of two-dimensional characters. They're real. You're not the only one whose authentic here."

He lowered his head, leaning against Tokiwa's shaking shoulders. How long is she going to be afraid? How long is she going to think she's alone? Is that how shallow he seems to her? Does she not think that he is as real as her? Is she still trapped in the mindset that everything is just a fantasy? "Please, Tokiwa," he begged, "look at me."

"I'm sorry," she stammered and reached for the picture frame beside them, "of course I know you're real. Of course. I just—don't worry. I know. I love Osamu and you, you know. I'm just—you—"

"I know," he insisted, "I know."

And that was okay.)

Masaomi watches fondly as Tokiwa begins drilling Rei about the different kinds of twentieth and twenty-first century she is unbelievable fond of. After all, once Tokiwa starts, she can barely stop. "You've heard about Dazai Osamu and Akutagawa Ryuunosoke, right? Well, of course you've have! If you already started with the classics and I don't doubt that you've gone to them already," she rambles and trails off, arms flying everywhere when she grabs her phone and shows another author to Rei who seems very interested at where their conservation is going.

He smiles. "Well, Rei-san, I think I should go check on the kids, right? Who knows what they're doing right now," he excuses himself and Tokiwa glares at him for the insuation that Shouto and Osamu are actually becoming close friends. Ah. He never really managed to tell Tokiwa that he explicitly told Osamu to go ahead and befriend Osamu, did he? He hopes they will not end up fighting when they get home. Fighting with Tokiwa is a tiring, after all, especially with her paranoia. (But Tokiwa's just like that. Masaomi knows her like he knows the back of his hand.) Tokiwa, after all, only agreed with associating with Shouto and possibly finding a reason to leave when Osamu develops his Quirk but Masaomi wants something more than that.

He wants to help. (The childlike dream within him who wants to be a hero knocks on his door.) Even butterfly wings can cause hurricanes in the other side of the world.

"Masaomi-san!" He stops on his tracks when Rei calls for him. He tilts his head in acknowledgement. "If it's not a bother, can I ask for a favor?"

Even butterfly wings—

"Tokiwa-san asked if I have some questions for my children's development, and Masaomi-san works under Sakuragaoka-san."

—can cause hurricanes in the other side of the world.

"Will you check on my eldest son?"

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"As if to build a fence around the fatal emptiness inside her, she had to create a sunny person that she became. But if you peeled away the ornamental egos that she had built, there was only an abbys of nothingness and the intense thirst that came with it. Though she tried to forget it, the nothingness would visit her periodically—on a lonely rainy afternoon, or at dawn when she woke up from a nightmare. What she needed at such times was to be held by someone, anyone," Tokiwa quotes unconciously to herself as she lets two children settle on her lap. The Todoroki Mansion's porch seemed so lonely at first glance but she squinted and had found herself staring at Shouto tripping over nothing and staring at Osamu who had been staring back at little Shouto with the same intensity. She still cannot forget the dread tapping her shoulder when she saw them acting like friends (close enough to be remembered in the future and just thinking about Osamu mingling with the freckled boy and the sad blonde array of explosions scares her) but for some reason, she cannot find it in herself to become angry. Is it pity?

When Rei asked Masaomi to check on her eldest son—and there is only one eldest son she can think of; the mysterious Todoroki Touya whose Quirk is a lot more powerful than Enji's (blue fire is hotter, warmer, capable of burning and defeating those flames of Mister Hero over there—Dabi?), whose body is fragile, as shown in the various images of how the second youngest child of the Todoroki family is a lot taller than little Touya—Tokiwa did not feel dread nor did she feel the need to run because aren't they getting involved a little too much? But isn't that what you wanted? You wanted to get involved and help them, you're just being hypocrital now. Masaomi met her gaze that same time they both saw the silent plea in Rei's eyes, a hint of defiance against Mister Flame Hero somewhere wandering around the streets, and Tokiwa did not know what to do.

Is she really going to forsake a child for her own safety? She can but—she could have but—she has a son now. Osamu is her child, and Touya is Rei's child. What is this?

Are you really pitying them?

No, no, it's not pity.

Something deeper than pity, something more terrifying than pity because what happens if they ask for help and no one helps Osamu? ("Aren't you going to say anything? What the hell!? Don't look at me like that!") Tokiwa dislikes this feeling. She has always hated fear.

"Where's that from, Ueda-san?" Shouto asks curiously from her side, still absolutely enthralled by the way Tokiwa's hair matches Osamu's perfectly.

Looking at Shouto without his scar is strange. Tokiwa almost wants to laugh: a canon character, one of the main characters of this disastrous playground she is forced to be in, is leaning against her right side like a child. He is a child. It feels so foreign, having something you thought was a dream become something more authentic than yourself. Osamu, from her other side, seems too close to taking a nap. Osamu. She always feels overwhelmed by emotions whenever she is reminded that Osamu is here, a little boy she created from nothing and has become her everything. The thought of Osamu makes her spine chill. The things she will do to make sure Osamu is safe—she has never felt a deeper love such as this. Masaomi is different and looking at the way Masaomi sees Osamu, Tokiwa knows he feels the same.

"Just from a book I read not too long ago," Tokiwa answers vaguely, "and you can call me Tokiwa-san. Osamu is also Ueda, you know."

Shouto's cheeks turn red upon that realization and Tokiwa sighs.

Everyone's still kids.

Tokiwa has seen All Might once or twice before and while she thought that seeing someone as big time as he is must be rare, she is completely wrong. All Might is everywhere, completely different from Endeavor who just drops in to defeat the villain, glance at the crowd if there are any injured or any more runaway bad guys, and leaves. And perhaps, that is what makes All Might seem unreal. (It remembers a scene from a failure of a movie, something it watched mainly because of the gigantic expectations set upon the film. This scene gave it chills, an emotion it cannot exactly describe but the awe and the curiosity is still there. The hero stands between the crowds and crowds of people begging for even a single touch of his glory, begging and crying and continuously pleading for his arrival. The hero becomes a god, and when the hero died, humanity lost its god. She dislikes what All Might represents. Todoroki Enji is not a good man but Endeavor is a great Pro-Hero.)

She remembers, from lost memories, how everyone had laughed at Todoroki Enji's road to redemption—it laughs, amused at his attempts.

Isn't that—isn't that at least nice? At least the man is trying, at least he knows his faults. True, everything is wrong, everything about that family is wicked and twisted but at least he knows. At least he is trying.

Tokiwa glances at the scarless face Shouto has.

It's strange but—

He seems to suit this look better than the other.

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(1) shortest chapter i've written for this fic because i literally have nothing to add. and actually, i was planning a huge time skip after this and by huge, i mean present time skip kind of huge. i just wanted to show ya'll the changes *cough* and the not changes *cough cough cough cough cOUGH* that happened and just explain how and why it happened along the way because then it would be msyterious and interesting, right? bc if i just full-blown showed everything then it would be kind of boring and would drag on waaaaaaaaaay longer than everyone would like. so is the huge time skip okay? or nah? bc i would totally love to hear your opinion on this bc i'm having a super hard time deciding.

(2) also masaomi meets touya (who is dabi in this fic bc if touya isnt dabi istg) in this chapter + some osamu & shouto short bonding time. tokiwa is contemplating some things and foreshadowing quotes AHEM AHEM AHEM & really tokiwa needs to calm herself but yeah.

(3) also you all may think tokiwa is rather hypocrital and she is. she originally plans to shove osamu & shouto together for only a short period of time, at least until osamu develops his quirk while masaomi genuinely wants to help the todo fam. tokiwa still wants to avoid them and its mostly because she still hasnt adapted to the whole 'real' thing since masaomi technically isnt even a canon character, so is osamu, so she isnt into the whole not 2d kind of feel, despite the quirks surrounding her but to be fair, she is a writer and she doesn't actively use her quirk as much as everyone thinks. she still mostly feels its bc of her past memories. she has a really hard time differentiating her quirk from her past memories which only worsens the situation but masaomi is there to help.