Chapter Text
Compared to her brothers, Fuyumi was sure her days could be considered boringly normal.
Now that she’d finally started teaching, the young woman fell into a regular routine. Get up early and have breakfast with her father, like she’d always done, before getting ready for the day and leaving the house with Haruo to get to their workplace together. They took the public transport to the area, like Haruo had done for years, and walked to the school, grabbing coffee on the way at a little shop owned by a lovely old lady who greeted both with sweet enthusiasm. Once they were in the building and staff room, they’d catch up with their colleagues and on any new announcements, before going to their assigned classrooms and preparing for the students to come in.
Fuyumi taught the first years, all six year olds with various backgrounds, some having come straight from kindergarten, and others not. There were many of them with completely different personalities and needs, which made class difficult to teach when a couple were so rowdy, but Fuyumi loved every second of it. Having three brothers and being the only girl had given her the patience of a saint and the tenacity of a bull.
And the students were quick to learn that. Their teacher is a delightful, friendly woman, but the look she gave when they misbehaved, especially when it came to misusing their Quirks, it was a look that could freeze hell itself.
Some of the more rebellious six year olds like to take it as a challenge and test their boundaries.
Books clattered to the ground as Fuyumi jumped upon hearing the sudden high pitched scream at the back of the classroom, quickly followed by tearful wails. Abandoning the books on the floor she’d been giving out to the kids for today’s class before it started, she rushed to the little girl to see what was wrong, but she needn’t ask. Pink bubble gum was marred into her black fur, the little girl’s Quirk being a black bear heteromorph one, and it was sticking all her fine thick fur into a painful clot. The girl sobbed, an accusatory finger pointed to her smug neighbour, another little girl with unkempt bleach blonde hair.
The obnoxious sound of bubble gum popping emitted from her mouth.
Fuyumi ignored the blonde and kneeled beside the gum covered victim instead. This irked the little blonde.
“Are you alright?” A pointless question to ask, but Fuyumi wanted to know how hurt her student was. Her furred face was stained with a cascade of tears, little fanged teeth chewing at her trembling lip, and she shook her head. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it all better.”
“Do I have to cut my fur?” The girl sobbed.
“Not at all. A little oil and some patience, and it’ll slip right out.” Fuyumi took the girl’s clawed hand. “You have such lovely fur, it’d be a shame to cut it.
At the compliment, the little bear girl sniffled but smiled. The blonde grumbled, annoyed at being ignored. Fuyumi paid her no mind, and instead brought the other girl to her desk so she could do just as she said. This wasn’t the first bubble gum incident.
“Miss Todoroki!” She whined, kicking her feet.
“Yes?” Fuyumi replied now that she was properly addressed, spritzing some hair oil unto the solidified gum. No answer. “Dear, could you pick up my books and give them out to the rest of the class?”
“Why should I?” The blonde drawled. Fuyumi looked up from her important task to smile at the little girl.
“Because I trust you to do a good job.” She chimed and returned to combing the gum out of the bear girl’s fur. “This might hurt a little, I’m sorry.” The warning was quickly followed by a sharp ‘ouch’. “You’re being so brave, just a little bit more patience, and there! It’s out.” Fuyumi showed her student the gum on the comb. “Your fur is very soft, you must take great care of it.”
“Momma brushes me every morning!” The now happy girl bounced, joyful at having her fur back to its pristine state. “Thank you, Miss Todoroki!”
“Miss Todoroki…” The teacher and student looked to the little blonde as she walked to them with crossed arms, pouting. “I gave out all the books.”
“That’s wonderful, thank you.” The grateful reply made the girl with unkempt hair blush. “Can you tell me why you put gum in your friend’s hair?” With a shameful look to the floor, she shook her head and said nothing. “You have such a fun Quirk, it’s a shame to use it to ruin somebody else’s looks.”
Fuyumi watched as the messy haired girl shrunk in on herself, not as smug as she had been a minute ago. A gentle pull on Fuyumi’s sleeve made her look down to her bear student, who pointed to the brushes on the desk. The bubble gum incidents weren’t common, necessarily, but they couldn’t be brushed off as accidents anymore. With an understanding smile, the teacher let her student pick a hairbrush and meekly approached her six year old perpetrator.
“Do you want to play hairdresser before class starts?” She offered, holding up the brush. “I have hairclips in my bag.”
Pride swelled in Fuyumi’s chest upon seeing her two little students hold hands and return to their desks. The bear student dutifully and gently brushed through the bleach blonde hair, imitating Fuyumi’s kindly actions. By the time class had started, Fuyumi had two very neat students at the back of her class, pink clips have been adding to the now brushed blonde’s hair. Her smile was genuine.
But the misuse of Quirks and childish jealousy weren’t the only issue in class. Energetic little boys hated to sit still and listen to their teacher drawl on and on, especially when it was sunny outside, with a welcoming courtyard full of potential for fun.
“Boys, settle down.” Fuyumi asked firmly for the third time in a row when a group of boys refused to be quiet so she could teach basic math. They did not, in fact, settle down. Fuyumi sighed, before getting an idea. “When is snack time?”
“At ten!” One boy yelled, very excited at the prospect of snacks.
“Good. What time is it now?” Fuyumi followed up, pointing to the clock.
“Eight, Miss.” Another boy replied.
“Very good. So if it’s now eight and snack time is at ten, how many hours is that?” A wave of unsure murmurs washed over the crowd. After getting no answer for a couple seconds, Fuyumi turned back to the whiteboard and wrote numbers. “Ten minus eight, is?”
“Oh, two!” The first boy exclaimed instantly. “Two hours!”
“Correct.” Fuyumi cheered softly, clapping her hands at the boy who puffed his chest out in pride. “In two hours, we’ll all head outside and have snack time in the courtyard, how does that sound?”
The class cheered.
Haruo was happily surprised to see Fuyumi’s class obediently sitting in the courtyard, basking in the sun as their teacher made sure everybody had their snacks. One little boy had forgotten his snacks at home, so Fuyumi pulled out her emergency apple juice and carrot sticks to give to him so he’d have something to munch with the others.
“Hey, kids.” Haruo greeted as he strolled up to them, curious.
“Hello Mr Todoroki!” They all said back, too focused on their snacks to really look at the PE teacher as he went to see his granddaughter.
“Fun idea to bring them out here. It’s a shame to be stuck inside when it’s so nice.” Haruo praised the younger woman who beamed at him. “I’m having this lot for PE after lunch, so we could eat together and discuss what we should do with them.”
“Great idea.” Fuyumi so loved working in the same building as her grandfather, it made every little obstacle that much easier knowing she had someone with more experience she could confide in. In turn, Haruo could confide in her too.
“I tried suggesting therapy to your father, but, well…” Haruo paused, taking a bite of the pork Rei had packed for him and Fuyumi that morning. “You know him.” Fuyumi giggled.
“Therapy, me? I’m a big masculine man, I don’t need no therapy.” The crude imitation of Enji made Haruo choke out of laughter on his bite as Fuyumi stuck out her lower lip and chin in mock defiance, exaggeratingly frowning, sounding like a character from Toshinori's old movies, before she too burst into a fit of giggles. “Yes, I know and I agree, dad should at least have one session. Even if not for his childhood, being a Pro-Hero must come with some mental weight.” A mouthful of sticky rice interrupted her for a moment. “But if Touya can’t get dad to therapy, I don’t think there’s much any of us can do.”
Her grandfather couldn’t argue that. Enji was wrapped around her children’s little fingers, but not even the beloved eldest could budge the doting father.
That afternoon, the gymnasium was a complete battlefield, the fatal game of dodgeball obliterating six year olds left and right, colourful foam balls being pelted with no mercy as Haruo watched on in amusem*nt. Seemed Fuyumi had gotten a little of her brothers’ competitiveness, because she was not holding back against her students. And her students adored her for it. For every foam ball to the face, they picked themselves up and doubled their energy to take down their beautiful teacher. Haruo was sure the parents would be very grateful for the good sleep their tired out children would have that night.
Yes, Fuyumi’s days were mundane. No Pro-Heroes or life threatening villains, no deep ethical questions or medical morals to consider, no colourful suits or extensive Quirk training. It was just homelife, schoolwork, typical kid behaviour and morning coffee. Completely, utterly mundane.
And Fuyumi loved it that way. She loved being that little piece of normality in a family all about Pro-Heroes, Quirks and what threat Endeavor faced today. Shoto was still homeschooled by Rei, but he was already well in the mindset of becoming a Pro-Hero to follow in the footsteps of their beloved Uncle Toshinori. Natsuo was a license student hero, and Touya was researching Quirks like a crazy scientist, not to mention, always spending time at the Agency. For research purposes. Not because he wanted to see Burnin’. For sure.
Fuyumi loved her silly little life, and bringing joy to these silly little kids and solving their silly little problems that were oh so very important to them. Even on tough days, she had Haruo to back her up and always looked forward to coming back in to work.
“I’m sorry for putting gum in your hair. Thank you for brushing mine.”
“It’s okay! I’ll brush it for you every day if you want!”
A teary-eyed single father holding his bleach blonde daughter’s hand as a mama bear gave him hair care advice, their two little daughters the best of friends despite the morning kafuffle. The word playdate even reached Fuyumi’s ears.
“How was your day?” A mother asks.
“I got a star in math!” A very rambunctious little boy proudly announces, showing off his star sticker on his worksheet. His mother matched his energy.
These moments made it all worth it to Fuyumi.
Haruo was happy to see his granddaughter thrive in her important teacher role. She was the first taste of school many of these children would have, and she took that responsibility with confidence, patience and so much love. Even in the moments she had stare the children down to get them to listen. He loved their mundane routine. Getting coffee with Fuyumi in the morning was one of his favourite parts of the day, the journey back home with the chance for the two of them to catch up being a very close second.
With the streets safe like they’d never been when Haruo was growing up and as a young adult, the ability to walk and talk without worrying about a random hit and run was such a wonderful luxury that Haruo fully welcomed.
A normal life.
Getting home, Fuyumi and Haruo saw Touya’s shoes were already there. The only response to their ‘we’re home’ was Rei’s ‘welcome back’ from the kitchen, and the sound of the TV. It sounded like the news, a completely normal thing in this house. Probably something Endeavor and, or All Might related, if Touya and Shoto were watching.
“Hey boys, how—” Haruo’s voice hitched.
Wide, blue eyes stared at the screen. A frantic hand was almost aggressively petting Harusame. Little paws made flexed and relaxed on the Endeavor hoodie, a weak, unsure purr barely heard over the sounds coming from the TV.
“The middle schooler who cut her classmate, injuring him badly, is still on the run and the investigation in the case continues.”
Still on the run? When had this happened? Had he missed this on the news? The screen said, ‘Bloody Tragedy at Graduation’, was this back in March, April? He would’ve been in the middle of intense classes, but surely he would’ve caught wind of this. How long had this girl been on the run for?
“She had a straw in the blood in Saito’s wound…”
“Touya, I don’t want to watch this.” Shoto said meekly. This grossed him out and made him feel itchy.
Blood, she has a fascination with blood. Did that have to do with her Quirk? Had she acted out before? It seems not, everybody sounds shocked and horrified.
“She had a repulsive look on her face…”
Touya was shaking, and Fuyumi quickly trotted into the room to grab the remote. This wasn’t going to do her brother any good, especially not with Shoto in the room. Maybe it was unfair of her to assume the worse, but she wasn’t risking it.
“She’s…a demon child.” Was the last line uttered from the speakers. By the girl’s very own parents. Haruo felt nauseous just thinking about calling his own son such a horrid thing.
Despite no more sound emitting from the TV and it’s now black screen, Touya was still shaking, staring like a madman at the abyss. His hair was on end, his shoulders shook, his grip on Harusame was getting so tight the cat made a little meow of discomfort.
His stomach was turning. He was going to be sick. Cold sweat formed at his nape.
“Touya?” Fuyumi’s worriedly uttering of his name made Touya exhale through clenched teeth.
“She’s just a middle schooler…”
The words gurgled up his throat almost as fast as the bile did, and it was all Touya could do to throw Harusame off of his lap and slam the window open so violently it rattled to vomit out of it. Harusame hissed and scurried away at the abrupt movement, the sound echoing down to Rei.
The wet sound of Touya retching did too.
