Rei and Shoto saw my smile and came over. But that wasn't before I saw the flinch from both of them.
'...It's started for them, hasn't it...?' a sigh escaped my lips even though I didn't want it to, 'That bastard's training of Shoto and his physical abuse of Aunt Rei...If only I was strong enough to kick his ass...' I bit my lip, feeling the anger building up inside of me.
I may be a reincarnator but that doesn't mean I don't have feelings. Experiencing this life and remembering all those novels with Mc's who were calm no matter what makes me laugh at how bullshit it truly was to think that I could be calm when people I've grown up with are getting treated like this.
But mainly my anger was pointed towards my own looks. Let's just say the Todoroki looks are very genetically dominant within me and apart from looking more like my dad than him (and being much superior in terms of handsomeness), my appearance is very close to Enji's. As in I have red hair, blue eyes and the typical Todoroki sharp and angled face that Shoto seemed to be missing.
'No doubt this will cause trouble in the future between me Shoto and Aunt Rei...' I felt a pit open up in my stomach but I kept a smile on my face. The best I could do is show a face Enji never did; Happiness.
"Tatsuya-chan, you've grown since I've last seen you and as I guessed, you look much more handsome than before," Rei smiled at me but I could still see the subconscious wariness she had.
I didn't let it bother me and instantly walked up and hugged her, "You're as beautiful as always, Aunt Rei!" I felt a gentle and slightly thin hand ruffle my hair.
Rei laughed as she looked down at me, "Haaa~ So young and yet you're already a smooth talker, Tatsuya-chan," she mentally chided herself for thinking this cute child could be anything like him, similar appearance or not.
"Tatsuya!" I felt a figure throw themselves at me and hug me with all their strength. Obviously, it was Shoto.
I separated myself from Rei and hugged him in return, "Shoto! How've you been cousin?" I really had missed my cousins and knowing what he'd been through recently, I knew I needed to give him at least some kind of solace.
I don't know whether it's because I'm related to him, I liked his character in the show or maybe even both of those reasons, but I wanted to help him along his path. Not changing it completely, just acting as a support along the way.
The journey makes the man after all.
Despite knowing his answer, I still asked it. Shoto shook a little and I saw Rei worriedly look at him but he quickly broke through it, "I've been training my Quirk...I want to be a Hero after all..." his voice was slightly timid, unlike the cold and indifferent Shoto of the show.
"Ohh! I've been training as well! Want to show each other our progress!?" I broke away from our hug and tried to inject some energy into him. It seemed to work because, despite his slightly red eyes, he shook his head up and down very vigorously.
I saw Rei smile at me and from the knowing tint to it, she knew what I was up to. All she didn't know was that I knew why Shoto was unsettled and timid.
"Tatsuya-chan, I'll come with you to watch over you two, okay?" Rei didn't exactly look comfortable in the same place as Endeavor, so she wanted to come along. I, of course, nodded my head in agreement.
The three of us walked up to my mom and dad who were casually chatting with Endeavor.
"So, Enji, how's the Hero work going?" my mother looked over at her brother with a curious light in her eyes. But before he could answer and started ranting about how he'd become the best, I cut in.
"Mom, dad, uncle, me and Shoto are going to go outside and show each other our Quirks and our progress, okay?" I put on my best innocent smile and puppy-dog eyes, "Oh and Aunt Rei is coming to look over us so we'll be fine, don't worry!"
My mom wanted to disagree at first but seeing my pleading eyes and Shoto's red eyes, she said yes. Plus she trusted Rei to keep up out of trouble. My dad laughed and felt glad that I at least had one friend to hang out with.
Endeavor being the grumpy bastard he is, just grunted but he did seem mildly interested in me and my Quirk. Not in a platonic 'You're my family, I'm a changed man, and I wish to take interest in something other than myself' kind of way but more of a 'You might be competition' kind of way.
Rei and Shoto, getting the go-ahead, quickly walked away from the group, heading for the outside. I didn't blame them and soon followed, not wanting to be in the same room as Endeavor as he made me angry to my very core.
What I forgot about was that All Might had been next to me on the table all along and he just sat there, awkwardly smiling to himself, "Was I just completely ignored?..."
Meanwhile, in the front courtyard, me and Shoto we talking about pro-heroes while Rei watched over us with a warm smile.
"So, Shoto, how much power can your Quirk put out?" I asked absentmindedly as I look at the sky. Shoto walked in front of me with a rare smug face and held both his hands up. One hand started to flame up before becoming a small blaze across his entire hand and the other hand started to let off an incredibly cold mist.
"I can go even further but I'd ruin my suit if I did..." Shoto looked embarrassed when his mom started clapping and I looked at him in surprise.
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'I didn't expect him to be this far into his Quirk at this young...Despite it being nothing compared to when he was in the show, this power is enough to completely outclass normal people...Lucky I'm not normal then~'
I also let a smug look come over my face, "[Reinforcement x4!]" I went all out as I crouched to the ground before jumping straight up in a vertical line.
"Woah!" was all both Rei and Shoto could say when they saw how high I could jump without a run beforehand. Let alone Rei I could probably jump right over All Might with this height. Right now I was about 11ft in the air which may not seem like much but it's just above 3 meters which is surprisingly high. ( Author note: Get a tape measure and look at 3 meters, it really is surprisingly long.)
Now, this wouldn't be so impressive if an Adult with an enhancement Quirk had done this but seeing as I had only just turned 5 today, this jump height was something that couldn't be done by most, if not all 5-year-olds.
I landed with a small thud before releasing the reinforcement. I looked over at the stunned Shoto and Rei. Seeing their faces, a smirk traveled onto my face, "Hm? What's wrong you two? Never seen such a genius before~?" my teasing seemed to snap them out of their stupor and they both looked at me with different looks.
Shoto looked at me with awe and admiration, while Rei looked at me with a strange look. What I didn't know was that she was furthering my image away from Endeavor despite my appearance.
"Tatsuya! You're so strong!! How much did you train to get where you are now?!" Shoto started to fire questions at me with machine gun speed, causing sweat to collect on my brow.
'He's really interested in strength, isn't he?...' I let out a sigh and heard Rei's stifled chuckles.
"Tatsuya-chan, you really are strong. Plus your handsome appearance, you'll definitely be a popular hero when you grow up~" hearing her teasing, I felt my face burn up a little. It's not every day a beautiful woman like Rei teases you like this.
"Hmph, stop teasing me, Aunt Rei!" I put on a fake-pout and turned my head away from her. She chuckled even more at this, completely failing to stop it from coming out. Rei walked over to me and ruffled mine and Shoto's hair up, "You boys have really cheered me up!"
"Eh? You were sad, mom?" Shoto looked worriedly up at Rei who dismissed his questions with a smile. I just looked at her and felt glad that I could make such a troubled woman smile and even feel an iota of happiness.
Suddenly they heard a timid voice behind them, "Uh--Uhh, excuse me...m-my name is Momo Yaoyorozu...My mother said I should come and congratulate Yamamoto-kun..." her eyes looked a bit nervous but there was definitely some awe in there as she had obviously seen the jump he'd just done.
Rei turned around and when she saw Momo she covered her mouth a little as she gasped at how cute Momo looked in her black and white dress, "Hohoho, it nice to meet you Yaoyorozu-chan," she smiled mysteriously, "I'll leave you, kids, here, but don't stay here too long and Tatsuya-chan!" my attention was immediately on her, so she carried on, "Look after Shoto and Yaoyorozu-chan, okay?"
I subconsciously nodded and before I knew it Rei was gone and there was only us three standing around.
Shoto was hiding behind me, obviously shy about meeting a new person. Seeing this, I let out a small sigh before walking over to Yaoyorozu with a small smile on my face.
Even though I knew she'd grow up to be a beauty, even just looking at her cute appearance now I could tell she'd be a beauty who could start wars.
"Hello, Yaoyorozu-chan, my names Tatsuya Yamamoto, it's good to meet you!" I held my hand out in a friendly handshake and she timidly took it. I smiled at this and snaked my arm around to my back before pulling Shoto from behind me, "And this is my Cousin! Shoto, introduce yourself!" my firm voice made him feel indignant but he got on with it anyway.
"H-hello, my name's Shoto Todoroki...it's nice to meet you..." he stuttered his greeting before slowly falling back behind me again causing me to sigh.
"Sorry, Yaoyorozu-chan, Shoto's a bit shy..." I smiled wryly at her with an apologetic look on my face. She quietly nodded her head before the conversation went quiet again.
'Arghhhh! Why are kids so difficult!?!' despite my mental annoyance, I calmly spoke, "We were just discussing our Quirks, Yaoyorozu-chan, do you want to join in?" I questioned her, wondering if her resolve to be a hero was apparent yet.
Her eyes seemed to light up and her reserved look went out the window as her eyes lit up like stars, "Mhm! What Quirks do you two have?" she walked much closer to the two of them, obviously interested in learning more about them and making them her friends.
I then went on to show her some stuff I could do with my Quirk. She'd already seen the jump, so I showed her how fast I could sprint, how I could pick up both her and Shoto like they weighed nothing and also how I had the balance, dexterity, and strength to hold my body up with one finger.
By the end of it, she was in awe of my Quirk's physical capabilities. Also, Shoto slowly came out of his shell as he saw the conversation between the two of us and saw that Momo was a nice girl.
When he showed her his quirk, she looked like she was about to explode with awe from the two of us. This in awe and hyper look slowly deflated as she talked about her own Quirk.
"All I can do is make things from my fat...But you two both have such good Quirks for being a hero..." I saw the tears building up in her eyes and felt my heart ache for the kid. I know how it is to doubt yourself and how bad it feels when you meet someone you think is 'superior' to you.
That's why I had to help her through it.
"Yayorozu-chan, what are you talking about?!" my sudden outburst knocked her out of her self-doubt as she looked at me with wide eyes, confused on what I was on about. Nonetheless, I carried on, "You could use your Quirk to save a lot of people! All I can do is beat up villains and Shoto could beat up villains and maybe warm you up on a cold day of cool you down on a hot one," Shoto pinch my back, "What I'm trying to say is; What if there's a gas attack? or a chemical attack? I can't punch the gas and Shoto can't burn it or freeze it, but you, Yaororozu-chan, you could create gas masks for everyone and keep them safe!"
My words seemed to have stunned her for a minute before her eyes went completely teary and she threw herself at me in a hug, "Thank you, Yamamoto-kun!" as she thanked me I pat her on the back, wondering if I'd taken away Shoto's future limelight.
After a while, Momo let go of me and wouldn't look me in the eyes.
'Oi oi, isn't this behavior way too mature for a 5-year-old??? Why are you averting your gaze, Momo? We only hugged! And very briefly at that! Aren't kids supposed to be more innocent!?!' my inner lamentations caused me to sigh for the umpteenth time today before I looked at the two kids next to me.
"We should probably go inside now, the party should be in full swing soon and I'm getting pretty hungry," as if to agree with me my stomach growled quite loudly causing Yaoyorozu to giggle and Shoto looked at me in disbelief, obviously remember the last time he saw me eat.
Nonetheless, despite their reactions, all three of us walked back to the front door of my house.