The next morning, you woke up to the sight of your cute twin.
He was snuggling up to you so cutely, you couldn't help but giggle to yourself. Despite his half-hot quirk, he still was like a cat who seeked warmth and cuddles.
When you got up, he whined at the lack of warmth and you managed to brush some of his unruly bedhead to a much more neater hairstyle. And akin to a cat, he leaned in your warmth.
What a cute child.
Thinking over your conversation with Rei yesterday, you pondered over if Enji really would end up sending you away. After all, you've given him every reason to do so.
You're quirkless so you have no potential value. You've literally stabbed him so he has every reason to hate you (even if you had every right reason to do so). You've been helping Touya train. According to him, you're also a distraction to Shoto and moreover, your selective mutism can help further in the diagnosis that you should be sent away.
And he tries to do exactly that.
Over the next few days, after Enji's glares have toned down a bit, he finally invites someone over and makes you sit in a room with them.
Its a gentle looking man with a kind smile.
"Hello, [Name]-chan. My name is Yamazaki Murata. I am a psychologist associated with the NPO JAM, The Japanese Association of Mental Health."
You look at him with distrust, something that he should understand as a psychologist as to why you don't trust him.
"Recently, I was told that you tried to hurt your father. Is that correct?"
Again, no answer. But he doesn't seem that annoyed.
"Alright. Well, no need to start off so strong. How about you tell me what you like to do throughout the day? Do you enjoy spending time with Shoto?"
"Yes." Finally, you speak up. And you know he revels in your little answer. Trying to hide his relief that you're answering him and not being mute to him either.
"I see. What do you do with Shoto?" He scans your body language for any signs while you make sure to sit completely calm and poised, "We play. Sometimes I teach him how to read."
"Wow, you can read? Who taught you that? Is it your mother?" You don't answer that, instead you keep looking at him.
"Well it's fine if you don't want to answer. I won't press you if you don't want to answer me–"
"Why do I need a psychologist's diagnosis? Is it because of my selective mutism or the fact that I hurt En-I mean... my father?" The psychologist doesn't look that shocked. He was told beforehand that you were an extremely sharp child.
"Why do you think that you need a psychologist's diagnosis? You're a smart child, after all." As he smiled at you, you can't help but feel a bit annoyed.
"It depends. Are you truly on behalf of JAM or are you simply seeking out the answers my father wants, one way or another?"
"It seems like you have quite some issues-"
"Of course I do. It's only to be expected after I watched my own father mercilessly beat my mother down, simply because she didn't do as he told her to." For a moment, the psychologist's eyes widen in horror as they return back to normal.
"Yamazaki-san... I am not in need of a diagnosis, but who truly needs it... Is my father, who kicked me to a wall when all I did was try to save my mother." Narrowing his eyes at you, the man slowly started, "Correct me if I am wrong, but did you not try to hurt your father?"
"I only wanted to scare him with a knife, like I've seen in movies. He's the one who tried to burn me, so I got scared of the fire."
"He tried to... what?" Slowly, the man was beginning to realise that this wasn't what he was told beforehand. Realising that you've gotten the man right where you want him, you bring out the waterworks.
Tears begin to slowly form in your eyes, "Mom was on the ground and... Shoto was screaming at my father to stop bullying her. I just wanted to help them, but he only got angry at me and tried to shoot his flames at me. After which, I got scared and stabbed him. I didn't mean it, but he was the one who was hurting Mom..."
You looked up to meet his eyes with your own, but your big, doe eyes were filled with tears and misery, making the man guilty to what was happening.
"Yamazaki-san, my father is the reason why my brother is hurting himself... Touya-nii just wants to be noticed by him. Please help me, Yamazaki-san... Please don't let him send me away or else Touya and Shoto will get hurt."
It seems like Enji didn't know this.
If he wants to play this game, then you'll play too. Let's see who wins in the end.
————
Thanks to your phenomenal acting, Yamazaki did not diagnose you with anything that could warrant you being sent away to what you can assume to be a mental hospital or even a rehabilitation center.
Instead, Enji decided to take matters into his own hands and forged a diagnosis. I know, not very heroic of him.
In his report... you were diagnosed with psychopathy. A mental health condition characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits.
You don't know how, but somehow he managed to do it. Seriously, if you're the one with impaired empathy then Enji must be heartless.
Oh wait, he is.
Oh well, on the next day he received this fake report, he made sure to mention it to everyone during dinner, "I got her diagnosis and her behavior is to be closely monitored by mental health officials. She will be leaving this Thursday."
No one said anything when those words left his lips. Not even Rei, as she shook so violently that the chopsticks fell out of her hands. Natsuo and Fuyumi had a look of horror and Shoto....
Slash!!
A huge wave of pure ice slided all across the chabudai and stopped dangerously close to Enji's throat.
The man himself was shocked before snapping his eyes in the direction of his youngest son, "SHOTO–"
"I just tried to kill you... Does that also make me a sico-whatever you said? Why don't you send me away too? Or are you doing this because [Name] is quirkless?!"
"SHOTO, WATCH YOUR MOUTH-"
"NO, I WON'T!! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE [NAME] AWAY!" He pulled your arm before storming away to your room. Ever since the stabbing incident, you both had gone back to sharing a room. Enji wasn't very pleased but Shoto would scream and cry like no tommorow so he decided to spare him some mercy.
How truly kind.
Your twin turned back to give your father one last glare before turning away and tugging you along with him. Once you both reached the room, Shoto froze the doors shut so no one could come in and immediately pulled you into a tight hug, "It's okay... It's okay... I'll protect you, Big brother will protect you! I'll... I'll take whatever punishment he gives me, I won't let you be taken away..."
"Anyone but you, [Name]... Anyone but you."
Running his fingers through your hair, he shakily mutters to himself almost like a mantra while holding back his tears.
You're more worried for Shoto than you are for yourself and it shows with how you're the one who opts to calm your twin down. You can tell he's hyperventilating and freaking out now that his actions finally register in his tiny brain and he can only think about the absolute pain that follows them.
"It's okay... Shoto, don't worry..." You mutter softly and he's shaking at this point, but his tremors get worse when the ice he had frozen begins to melt at an alarming rate. It can only mean one thing: someone was using a fire quirk.
Obviously, the first person you both expect is Enji. But the moment it all melts and the door slides open, you both have your eyes widened.
"Touya..." The said boy looks at you before marching over to you and Shoto, still clinging onto each other, and he promptly snatches you from Shoto's grasps. The boy cries out but Touya walks away with you in his arms, all while glaring at Shoto in such a way that translates: Follow us and you're dead.
Touya takes you away to the backyard with the koi pond and finally places you down. However, the moment he does so, his eyes shine brighter than any fire you've seen.
"What the hell is he talking about?!" Touya begins and if you were any other child, you would have been confused as to what he was referring to.
"I'm sure you probably only know–" He screams at your nonchalant answer, "No!! No, I don't!"
Grabbing you by the shoulder, your albino brother has tears stinging at the edge of his eyes as he continues, "[Name], he's sending you away?!"
"Yeah... He managed to forge a diagnosis to have me sent to a rehabilitation center, saying that I'm a psychopath and I need to be closely monitored as I have already started showcasing psychopathic tendencies."
"What the hell even happened while I was gone?!"
"I stabbed him in the hand." Touya stops breathing for a moment, not being able to process the information you just threw at him.
"What?"
"I stabbed his hand. He was hurting mom, so I stabbed him." The poor kid doesn't even know how to feel as he ultimately let go of your shoulders in shock. You take this as your cue to walk away as you turn to him one last time, "This is why I told you to let go of seeking that man's approval... What kind of hero hits his wife and tries to have his kid sent away? You were much better off if you simply tried to ignore him."
However, before you can be sent away... Things take a turn for the worst.
At night, you and Shoto were cuddling in the same futon (because despite having a fire quirk, Shoto still gets cold without your hugs) when your twin felt his eyes open. He had a look of unease and thanks to your soldier habits, you wake up from the slightest jolts.
"Shoto, what's wrong?" You ask while rubbing your eyes. Meanwhile, your brother looks at you in discomfort.
"I gotta go to the toilet, [Name]." You lie back down in exasperation, "Ugh, you scared me. I thought it was Enji."
Your brother does find it odd that you're calling your dad by his given name but he doesn't say much as he tugs at your arm again, "[Name]."
"What?" You mutter out dryly, trying to drift back to sleep because you're damn tired.
Being a 5-year old who's going to be sent away to a mental hospital is tough, okay?
"Can you come with me? I'm scared..." As he trails off with his final sentence, you snap your eyes back open and turn your gaze towards him, "Why?"
"I'm scared of dad taking you away while I'm at the toilet..." Ugh, curse this child and his cute actions.
"Fine... Come on, let's go." You drag yourself out of the warm futon and into the cold night. Rubbing your eyes with your fist, you use the other hand to grasp onto Shoto's outstretched hand and begin to pull him in the direction of the toilet.
But you both stop in your tracks when you hear a sound from the kitchen.
"I don't think I can do this, mom... I don't think I can take care of the kids anymore." You hear your mom's voice speak as Shoto turns to you too. Your eyes are narrow in pity when you hear the voice crack while she's talking.
"Touya... and Shoto's left side... They remind me too much of him, everytime I look at them... I can't-" As you are busy listening, you don't even realise when your brother leaves your side and slowly walks up to Rei.
You gingerly follow him too, not wanting Shoto to be scolded alone that he was up at this ungodly hour.
Shoto is still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes when he starts, "Mom, what are you doing?" He tries to start a conversation but your eyes widen when you spot Rei turn to him with absolute horror.
You don't think much of it, until the kettle whistles and her hand slowly inches towards it. In the blink of an eye, Rei picks it up and out of utter fear, lunges at your brother.
And the worst part is... you've already predicted her actions the moment she inches closer to the kettle.
Your legs start working on their own, your lungs are burning as fear takes over your air passage. You don't care about anything other than the fact that...
Shoto is a child... who is about to get hurt.
Maybe it's the older sister in you that lunges ahead without a thought. Or maybe it's the soldier in you that wants to protect an innocent person.
But at that moment, you're not entirely sure why you are running towards him. You know that she is only scared of his left side. Shoto can withstand hot temperatures thanks to his quirk, he won't get hurt.
It'll probably burn a little, but it'll just feel like when you get a papercut. At least, that's what he told you fire feels like on his left side when it's too hot.
Yet... Here you are, running towards him while praying that you reach him on time.
You don't even stop to think about stopping Rei. All you can think of doing right now is saving Shoto, who is frozen like a deer in headlights as his mother lunges at him with a face so full of fear and disgust.
The silent night is filled with the screams of a child and the cries of a woman, who mistook her son for her terrifying husband.
Yet... The one who got hurt, was her daughter.
"I'M SO SORRY, [NAME]!! I'M SO SORRY!!" Rei's panicked screams echo in Shoto's ears as he still cannot comprehend what just happened.
One minute, his mother was rushing at him with burning hot water in the kettle and next... He felt the force of your body slamming against his as you used your tiny hands to shove his head as close to your chest as you could, in an attempt to shield him.
And then... Boiling water was poured on the left side of your face.
Your screams are loud and sharp, a contrasting pair with Rei's terrified and guilt-filled cries. Shoto has tears lining his mismatched eyes as he stares at your form, screaming in agony.
He is not aware of the true reason why you scream...
It is not because of the pain. Being a soldier meant that pain was a part of your life everyday. And against a being like All for One, pain was your friend. Because everytime you were thrown across the battlefield by that man, pain was what reminded you that you were still alive.
Pain was your constant reminder of life.
Yet, pain was also what reminded you of death.
The painful twists of your legs, the stabs in your shoulders and abdomen. The eye that was ripped out and the blood you felt that was slowly pouring out like a waterfall.
And then... the continuous feeling that the life was draining out of you.
The burning of your face didn't remind you of all of them, but the feeling of pain on your face was a feeling you recalled last when you fought All for One. And in your pain-ridden form, you didn't even know who was standing in front of you as of right now.
All you knew was that they were the one who hurt you, so they were your enemy.
Gathering all your strength, you pushed away the cold hand being pressed against your burning side, "GET OFF ME, YOU MONSTER!"
Rei's hands shook like no tommorow as she heard your words, tears still spilling out and along with them, apologies spilled out of her lips too.
But all you did was push and cry.
Shoto rushed to you too but you were backing away from everyone like a cornered animal.
And you couldn't help but let the darkness take over when you felt like it promised your relief.
So you fell limp in Rei's arms as the 2nd degree burn finally took its toll on you.