You knew you had died. I mean, it was pretty obvious that you did. You really didn't have any expectations to live after that encounter with All For One.
But instead of feeling some sort of peace or tranquility, you were met with being surrounded by a warm fluid, in a dark, enclosed space with a blob right next to you.
You couldn't breath, but at the same time, you didn't feel suffocated. You knew you hadn't eaten anything, yet you didn't feel hungry, you didn't feel thirsty.
When you imagined life after death, this is certainly not what you had imagined. You were expecting to meet your parents and your sister, all your comrades that died in the war, your childhood friends, but none of that.
"Just a little more, Todoroki-san!!" A distant voice rings in your ears and the blob next to you is suddenly gone. A drift of air passes by you, and you hear joy in the voice of whoever was talking.
"Alright! The first child is out! Now, just a little more!" A woman lets out a scream and suddenly, an extreme pushing force is exerted on you. Your ears are flooded with a range of sounds but all you can see is black and white, the world seems like it's covered in grey.
"She's out!! Hurry, wrap them up!" You feel someone hold onto you as the cries of a child enter your ears, "The first born is healthy!" A woman declares and the person handling you begins to massage your back and chest.
"Why...?" The person handling you speaks, horrified that one child was crying and you weren't.
"She isn't crying! Clean her up, and check her breathing. If she still doesn't cry, then get ready for CPR." You hear someone yelling, but you're still quite delirious, "What... is going on? Are... Are my kids-Are they okay?" A tired feminine voice rings in your ears and you still can't be bothered to let out a word.
"She has a heartbeat, but she's not crying or opening her mouth!"
The person handling you finally starts thumping you with a bit of force and his little force is like a stab wound for little you. Your mouth shoots open and a cry escapes your lips.
The entire room erupts in cheers upon hearing your cries but you try to tone it down.
What the fuck is happening?!
Your cries aren't as loud as the brat who's screaming bloody murder right beside you, but the lady handling you still wraps you both in blankets and sends for you both to be cleaned before Rei can see you both.
On your way there, you hear someone's voice speaking in the distance. You think it's a man, "You did it... You gave birth to a perfect heir, Rei."
And yet, you still haven't realised what has happened...
After getting 'cleaned up' like someone had said before, you are presented towards what you assume to be a woman and a man (suddenly your eyesight is worse than the time you were fighting All For One).
"Have you thought of a name for them?" Another lady asks, who is not the one who's holding you right now and the man nods as he points to the brat next to you, "Shoto. Todoroki Shoto." He's about to point at you when the lady holding onto you speaks up, "I... want to name her." The man stops and ultimately let's her do whatever the fuck she wants.
The lady caresses your face and leans over. Only then, do you get a clear image of the woman's face. She's smiling softly as she peers down at you, "Todoroki [Name]... Just like the warrior who protected all of Japan..."
————
You finally realise it.
You were never one to believe in rebirth, it was always such a stupid concept to you. You, who had hurt and killed so many people (even if they were bad), wasn't even sure if you'd end up in heaven.
But for some fucked up reason, you were thrown right back into the mortal realm. What kind of sick joke is this?! The fact that you're reborn is so messed up to you, that you cannot stop crying.
Your 'mother' tries everything, from check-ups to the doctor to letting you play with what you find out, is your twin brother.
But you despise that kid as well. He's not your brother, he never will be. You only had one brother and that is [Brother Name]. But your mother, who you now know is called Rei, is adamant that your brother is the key to stopping you from crying.
If that's the case, then boy is she in for a ride-
Your father, who you only know as a fiery blob thanks to the shit vision of a baby, is not too pleased with your incessive crying. But there's only so much poor Rei can do. She has done her best, but you still won't stop.
At some point in time, even you grow tired of crying. So you just stop. You still aren't over the entire ordeal but you are taken over by the situation and a wave of fatigue hits you.
You realise how much you have been wronged.
You had a family; a brother and a lover... A lover you were going to start your family with... Someone who had proposed to you already...
The gravity of the situation finally hits you and you cannot help but feel tired. You haven't even started your new life yet you're already tired of it.
You remember the faces of your loved ones and all that leaves your eyes are silent tears, no sobs, no screaming. In the end, you realise once again... That life is anything but fair.
You had been dealt the bad hand before... What's wrong with putting up with that misery all over again? And at some point, you; [Last Name][Name], more famously known as Phlegethon, give up on crying and just come to accept your fate.
The moment you do stop crying, is when Rei is finally at peace. Unfortunately for you, peace is a temporary concept that really doesn't hold any weight in your life.
Because after you're done crying, only then do you start focusing on your new family. It's odd, so very odd. Everytime you see your father (who's still a fiery blob, by the way), you see how your mother stiffens up. Your siblings coo and watch you in wonder, but none of them are allowed to be too close to you.
While it definitely raises some red flags in your head, your baby mind cannot bear thinking so much, and thus you find yourself sleeping a lot more than your twin. Your twin, somehow has a rather interesting hair color. His hair is naturally separated as white and red. Even his eyes are different.
By your second week as a child, you finally realise the purpose of your birth.
It seems like after the war ended, some people with quirks began to abuse their power and use them for the worse. It was then that a new profession known as Heroes was introduced. Heroes have the job of protecting civilians, and stopping the bad guys, now dubbed as villains (how original).
But there is something else... Heroes are also ranked. And it seems like your father is the second highest ranking hero in the entire country of Japan.
But he's not happy. He is obsessed with the notion of becoming number one. And that obsession is what led him to get married and even have kids that may surpass the number one hero, just so he can feel the fame at the very top.
How stupid, how shallow...
Is this what the world has come to after the war? Is this what you and your comrades died for? So people can have kids and abuse them just to feel some fame, and some satisfaction of being the best?
It sickens you... And what makes it worse is that he has drilled his ambitions into the mind of your oldest brother, before suddenly stripping him away of the opportunity and giving it to Shoto.
Even you, are regarded as a failure.
And this does not have a very good effect on the mental health of your eldest brother, because just a month after you have been brought in this world, he charges at Shoto with a flaming fist.
He is quickly stopped and ultimately, Shoto is quarantined from everyone. No one is allowed to go near him except for your mother and father, sometimes you too when Shoto won't stop crying for you. So, obviously... You are the only option for your siblings to play with.
Unlike Shoto, your hair is not split evenly in half. Your hair is white, with red roots that start from the crown of your head. Your father is quick to realise that your future quirk will not be what he wants, and doesn't even hesitate for a second to discard you like a failed product.
Although, the rest of your new family is still very loving. Your brother, Natsuo still plays with you and tries to make you laugh (something that he realizes is a difficult task because you never smile or giggle at anything) and your sister, Fuyumi still takes care of you.
Your mother is constantly trying her best, and you don't really hold her accountable when she forgets about you in midst of taking care of Shoto. Your father is a piece of trash, who is forcing her to put all her attention into the care and needs of your twin.
So much so, that he is okay with her neglecting the rest of your siblings and you.
Fuyumi says that it's okay, that your father is only worried for Shoto, but you know that's a lie. You pity these kids, having to lie to themselves that their father cares for them, when he clearly only cares about his fame.
These poor, poor kids...
Maybe it's the older sister in you, but you feel yourself slowly getting attached to these kids. And you can't help but worry about them and how badly their mental health must be affected by this.
But there is only so much your little body can do. Besides, you're still somewhat bitter over being reborn. You figured you would be more in disbelief of your rebirth, but then figured that after humans began developing superpowers, nothing seems too impossible.
Improbable, yes. But not impossible.
As you grow somewhat older, at the age of 1, you are finally allowed to properly spend time with your brother. Since he is finally allowed to see you, he is ecstatic. He follows you around as much as he can with his tiny legs, stumbling behind you like a baby duckling imprinting their mother.
Your mother cannot get over how cute this is.
The moment you both turn 2, you and your brother get visited by your mother's parents... a lot. And somehow, your new grandmother is as misogynistic as a woman could be. She favours your brother over you, simply because he's the perfect heir.
Thankfully so, your twin brother favours you the most in the entire household. So all you have to do is waddle over to him, hold his hand and tug with the slightest bit of force and he's already doing whatever you want.
It doesn't help that he's older than you by 5 minutes, so he thinks that you're his sister that he needs to protect and pamper.
But then you are hit by the universe's cruelty. Because Shoto is every bit of a cuddle bug... just like [Brother Name]. How sickening... even now, all you see is your little brother, who must have been so devastated by your death.
Shoto, on the other hand, refuses to sleep without you, eat without you, bathe without you, or even watch TV without you.
He's attached to you like a leech and it really helps in a lot of ways. Especially when you need to get him away from your father. All you do is tug at him and he's willing to follow you to the depths of Hell.
And your father isn't exactly the most pleased with your unnecessary meddling. He thinks you're a failure, and you should stay away from Shoto, his perfect creation. It sickens you, yes.
But you refrain from saying anything.
In fact, you hardly ever talk much. At first, your mother takes you to the doctor when she realizes that you don't talk, almost at all. And then, the doctor diagnoses you with selective mutism, seeing how you do speak sometimes with Shoto.
Ultimately, your brother thinks that he's extra special, given how he's the only one who you talk to. Frankly, you don't have the heart to take the privilege away from him so you let him indulge in his happy fantasies as long as he wants.
By the age of two, your brother has started to show a lot of interest in heroes. Your mother clearly encourages this, but also makes sure to tell him that just because your father is a hero doesn't mean that he has to be a hero too. He can be whatever he wants.
Unfortunately, your eldest brother does not share this sentiment. You've seen how he sneaks out to train his quirk, hoping that if he gets strong enough, your father will finally notice him.
It really is pitiful to watch.
But unfortunately, you wonder if you can do anything to help.
There's only so much you can do in a two year old's body. You can't even pick up a book and read because you're worried you might be seen as a prodigy or child genius (in your previous life, you were definitely regarded as one and it led you to getting drafted in the army).
The only thing you can do is watch TV and stare at Natsuo as he tries to make you laugh. The only interaction you have with your eldest brother is when he walks in the kitchen to see Natsuo making funny faces at you, hoping you'd elicit as much as a giggle.
"What are you doing, Natsu?" Toya asks as he takes a bottle of water from the fridge, "[Name] never laughs! As her older brother, it's my duty to make her laugh."
The eldest turns to you and looks at you with a tired gaze, his dead eyes matching yours, "Give it up. Don't you see? She won't laugh. She's probably realised that she's a failure in dad's eyes, too.... I doubt anyone would laugh in that situation."
You can only blink in disbelief. But you really can't find it in you to respond to him.
You really want to help him break out of that stupid mindset he has.
At the age of 3, you expected Shoto to be less clingy but he really hasn't relented. In fact, his clinginess has gotten worse. He cries whenever he doesn't see you in the timespan of an hour and always follows you, saying, "I'm your big brother! I'll protect you, so I gotta stay close!"
You don't pay him much mind and let him do as he pleases. By the age of three, you finally gather enough courage to pick up a book. Firstly, it's the one with the most pictures so Shoto, who's right beside you, can also indulge in it. But as you spend more and more time reading, he eventually gets bored and just opts to play next to you with his toys. This gives you enough space to actually catch up on the history that went down after the war.
As soon as you open a history book, Your family maid, who was watching over you both, walks over to you when she sees a picture; your, [Last Name][Name]'s picture.
"Young miss, do you know who that is?" She points at the picture and you subconsciously shake your head. Your don't want them knowing that you know of certain things already. The maid's actions managed to get Shoto's attention as he also waddles over to you, "Who's that?"
"That, young master, is [Last Name][Name]-sama. She is the person whom your mother named the young miss after."
"[Last Name][Name]? Is she a hero?" The old maid smiled as her wrinkles became more evident, "In a way, yes. Are you aware of the Great Quirk War?" Shoto shook his head, while you were just listening in on their conversation.
"The Great Quirk War was the first war ever fought after humans began to develop quirks. People who had quirks were drafted in the armies and they all fought against a powerful being who wished to destroy this world." Shoto seemed more and more enamored by the story while you were just quietly listening in.
"But, you see... [Last Name][Name] was the one who defeated that being and ended the Great Quirk War. She is also known as the first ever Symbol Of Peace. There is even a statue of her in the heart of Hosu. She really was amazing!"
Ah... They really know how to make you blush, huh?
"You hear that, [Name]? The original owner of your name is so cool! You're gonna be just as cool as her, you and I! We're gonna be the best heroes!!" You only nodded shyly as the maid left you both to your own devices. By now, Shoto's interest in whatever you were reading had returned and he glued himself to your side to see more of the great [Last Name][Name].
Not knowing that he was sitting right beside her, this whole time.