After the short presentation Tomoe took me again in my basement/room. I didn't really get if she was being just paranoid or she heard Endavour coming, however she didn't relax till we closed the door.

Not that I care. In that moment I was just recollecting all the data , all the small data, I had on that world from Before: a kid without superpowers met his favourite hero, who turns out to have a quirk who can spare. I knew luck wasn't something so convenient, yet was my niece's favourite anime so I couldn't just break her trust spilling my doubts.

In that moment everything I could think about that story was going to be crucial for me. If I avoided the major plot developments I could maybe get unscratched from this whole new expirience. All in all I was lucky. Being set away from my not-so-friendly father was a major set further to my plan of getting out all the storm shit coming.

I had a really simple plan: try to get away from that dangerous household once I was old enough to take care of myself. Which, in Japan, meant by the time I turned fifteen I would be safe and sound in the other corner of the country. Still I had a long time to go. And the first step was getting education.

Now when I died I was in my early thirties, so I hadn't been to school – or anything near studying influence – for over a decade. That, added to my principally field job – the desk didn't fit me too much -, was clearly a sign that I would be out of shape. Added with the whole japanese alphabet (I didn't even know if alphabet was the right to word to adress it with), romanji aside, it was going to take an unholy amount of time to actually grasp something from this whole 'culture' thing. If I had to live in Japan I needed to act like a japanese. First rule of an infiltrator.

I shaked my head, rapidly getting rid of that thought from Before, focusing on my main goal. I still connected this life from the other. Sure, somethings were going to be very helpful for my surviving in this unknown world, but I wanted to split the two lives as two different things. Homesickness was a dangerous issue, and the last thing I want to fall for is definetly that. (She knows what homesickness means, doesn't she?)

With a long sigh I got up from my bed. At the age of two I've been finally able to get a proper bed. The crib was something I utterly hated, considered the fact that I couldn't willingly get out from it (pity for my toddler form). I was still not in full control of my body, so as much as I mastered walking I still felt like a drunk trying to walk on a straight line. An obvious disaster.

Tomoe was sitting on the armchair in front of the bright fire coming from the chimney (were we in winter? I couldn't really remember the last time I took track of time), reading a book with coroful red cover with kanji being written in gold. Her reading glasses placed at the end of the nose, dangerously near falling, white hair wrapped in a messy bun, she looked extremely involved on the novel she was reading.

I missed being able to merge in a hole different world, breaking free of the chains of reality and, for once, thinking of troubles that are not truly mine. Reading of how they get to overcome the endless cycle of pain was a little comforting, at least during the periods when real life sucked the most. Two years far away from that feeling was awful, considering the hard times were coming.

And, when shit was going to hit the fan, there wasn't going to be time for little pleasure such as reading. At least not for a very long time. I knew that the simple fact that I didn't have a clue of how japanese was structured was going to be a major pain in the ass. Well, better become used to pains.

Patting my chubby little hand on her leg, I caught her attention. Smiling gently she took me on her lap, carefully closing the book, bookmark in place.

"Do you need something Nozomi-chan?" she asked, sinking in the armchair because of my weight.

"I want to read" I simply answered, frowning slightly at the unsurness in my voice. I didn't know why I esitated, but I didn't care. The last thing I needed was to bend my head on understanding myself. I have never been good at it, and sure I wasn't starting now. New life or not I was still complicated.

Tomoe looked surprised at most. Sure I was advanced for my age, speaking perfectly at the age of two was incredible, but usually children didn't start reading and writing 'till the age of six. And then here I come, asking for education. Another reason for this sudden thirst of knowledge was boredome. Yes, I had toys but, putting aside my mental age, even a child would be bored as hell by having to play every single day with the same things. And there wasn't even a tv, much to my dismay. I'd really appreaciate knowing how this world was going.

"Why would you want to read?" she asked out of curiosity, setting aside the initial surprise. I could read in her eyes that she truly didn't understand my reasons to be so inclined to reading. I couldn't blame her. She probably spent sometime with Shouto too, so she didn't expected me to act too different from him, probably assuming twins were somehow led to act the same. But as heterozygous twins we were more brother and sister, but as much as it was common knowledge, it was often forgotten. I thought that didn't even hear my quiver in the original question, as she wad acting like I was full of resolve and determinated. It seemed she was doing all the job for me, which I was defenetly grateful for.

"Because I'm bored, and there's nothing I can do for fun. So I remembred about the time you talked me about books and reading and it seemed so fun! You were very happy when you talked about it, so I wanted to be happy too!" I answered, false cheerfullness and overwhelming cuteness enhancing my words, trying push on her soft side. Luckly she was one to fall for such things and soon her questioning look melted in a warm smile.

"Well, I guess it's time for you to learn written japanese!" she said happily, clapping her hands in exitement.

I simply reprimed an annoyed sigh. There were going to be long weeks.

o0o

There was it. That was the moment where my brain fried completly. I was trying to remember the god knows-which-number kanji as I simply shut down. My eyelids didn't want to comply a simple task such as staying open, i yawned every two minutes or so and I started mumbling things that made no sense at all. Which seemed to highly amuse Tomoe, who was snickering quietly, trying to contain the laughter she was probably shaking her from the inside. I pouted, more to seem believable than anything, as I grew frustrated. It's been two months from when I started my writing training and I reached two hundred kanji quota, something my caretaker highly respected me for, and something that simply made me want to throw a tantrum.

My child needs took over most of the times when I studied for more than a short period of time before becoming sleepy, tired and in high need of a coffee. Something that I wasn't getting anytime soon. I sighed, resting my head on the table, as my breath slowly became regular and my eyelids heavier at every blink. I fell in Morpheus embrace with a soft laugh in my ears.

Sleep isn't something I like to get. Sure, napping and the general action is something I used to cherish, and I probably would even now, but when the only thing you can dream about are nightmares it quickly escalates the list of thing I don't really look forward. Getting a bullet in your head every single night is enough to make even the thoughest person crumble, so I tries to avoid it as much as I could, but luckly that time I was to tired to dream.

So when I woke up – not having the slight clue of what time was it - my mood was better than average. During the first year in this world I could sleep through the day without being bothered by anything, and the fact that I still could get some sleep came as an appreaciated news.

I sat up, scanning the room around me and rubbing my eyes, still kind of sleepy. It didn't come with surprise that Tomoe wasn't there, probably babysitting Shouto as he couldn't still be left alone. The amount of fate she put in me was incredible, but it was better that way. Japanese culture was different from the American one, even when it came to kids thought capacity. Guess is something that I had to get used to. I hopped down from the bed, wandering towards the fridge, looking for something to eat, meanwhile noticing that all the mess that derived from the writing lessons was still there, looking awful. Tomoe was good, but she was a bit lazy, not that I was any different.

Opening the fridge and grabbing an apple, I turned to find something to do in the meantime as I actually wasn't feeling like trying to figure out other kanjis without supervision. I was smart, but literature had never been my sector. Looking around I actually noted something odd: the door was open. Although Tomoe trusted me on not going out, leaving me keys just in case of emergency, even though I needes a chair to get to the lock, she didn't trust anyone to come in. I doubted highly Endavour or anyone by any mean was going to attempt of going in that specific room of the basement, but who was I to speak?

So when I saw the door open I got wary. I needed to work on surrounding awareness seen how much time I used to spot something so easy like that. Slowly I headed to the door peeking outside, just slightly. The besement wasn't the most crowded area of the household, but sure thing I didn't want to risk being spotted by Endavour. My plan were to get as far as I could from here and sure I wasn't getting screwed by an open door. The corridor was dark, just a saber of light from inside my room. The absence of windows was kind of disorienting but I worked on worst places so I wasn't in the position to complain. If I was a real child, then the issue was different.

I couldn't see much, but I was pretty sure I was hearing steps going far ahead on the left, the opposite way of the stairs to return to the main house. Now, my self preservation instinct knocked in, trying to make me avoid at all costs going on esplorations, but curiosity won over as my tiny chubby feets began to lead me in the dark. I couldn't claim to be uneffected by the dark, paranoia showing non exstisting things, but over the years I learned to ignore whatever I thought I saw in the dark. Being able to hide in the shadows was a major trait of my old job, which could come very handy as time passes. The faint sound of the footsteps of whoever I was following, seemed to lead to a closed door. I could see a little line of light, which confermed the presence of someone. Suddendly angry voices began to raise from the inside, making me get closer and set my ear in the wood, hoping that they would mantain the same voice height.

"-n't hide her for ever Rei! She'll grow up, she'll start question - hell, she already does! - and as much as I'd like to keep her away from Enji, Nozomi-chan will eventually meet him. He is her father, as much as you don't like it" Tomoe's voice was full of, apparent, concern, but I couldn't quite say why it was hard to belive.

"Dammit, you think I don't know? I saw her Tomoe, she is too smart to just accept things as they are. And if you're really answering all of her questions on the world Nozomi will ask to go outside. And we can't hide her forever. Bit for now we'll stick to the plan" was the faint answer of my mother. I didn't understand the reason why they were having a conversation on the matter. They agreed on the fact that I needed to stay hidden, which was probably the point they set in stone before I was even born, so it left me wondring what was going on.

"But…!"

"Enough, Tomoe. We aren't airing someone to teach her to control her quirk, even less to fight. You'll do just fine. I know it's hard, but is for her sake. No one must come across the mention of her, let aside come near her. I made myself clear?"

"Crystal"

A cold chill descended my spine as I tensed. Rei's charatcher was something I barely remember coming across, but I was pretty sure she was a broken woman, even before the big incident. It was kind of scaring aknowledging that she was more than a psicopath*. The little exchange made me feel a bit out of the tune. Sure, Tomoe's request was stupid and dangerous, even though she kind had a point on the fact that I needed someone competent to teach me how to deal those freak super powers once they were going to show. Rei, on the other hand, was very careful and determinated on not committing any faux pas, so much that she's loosing sight on the bigger plan.

Also Tomoe's reaction, the way she said it, was worrying. It was like she was annoyed, but the kind of issue that's not too much of trouble, like something she could easly take care of in the near future, even if it was kind of irritating.

But I knew, from the tones and choice of word, that there was more than met the eye, even for someone who knew the general background of the situation. Hearing footsteps coming in my direction I started running at the top speed my short legs could muster, nearly falling a couple of times, storming in my room and locking it as faster as I could. I belived they stopped talking about something else or there was no chance I could make it in time against an adult size body.

Breathing deeply I seated on the wooden chair around the table, slamming my head on the table. I was surrounded by an ambiguous situation, with supposed parental figures mentally unstable or not totally sincere. If I thought my years of struggle were still far I was hilariously wrong.

Once Tomoe was back she was already returned to her gentle persona, seemingly totally unfazed by the previous conversation with my mother. And it was scary to notice how her acting were good. She was the kind of person that once you discover her second face is difficult to trust. However, like I was drinking a glass of water, I welcomed her with the brightest smile my still toothless mouth could pull off, being replied by hers.

"How was Shouto today?" I asked, as of routine, pretending to be interested in my notes, not really paying any attention to them. I couldn't bear to watch her in her eyes without feeling impelling disgust surging, and now that I could just ignore her I caught the occasion. No need on risking my temper to be loose.

"Not exactly quiet, so I guess he was fine" she replied smiling slightly. I lifted my head, only to see her sitting on the couch and sigh tiredly. I didn't know whhat to think exactly. I was sure she was up to something, pleasant or not I still didn't know, and starting an argument would end up just with me loosing badly, seen my two years old situation.

My eyes locked with hers and we started a staring contest that I could say neither of us would win. We didn't get what was going on the mind of the other and this only ended up being frustrating as hell. Well, Tomoe got the worst shot as from her perspective, no matter how much I proved to be smart, I was still a baby. Getting outsmarted by someone you change diapers to is not something you look for.

The atmosphere of the room changed from chill to tensed the exact moment we diverted our gazes, me returning my writing hell and her relaxing on the couch. I knew that paranoia was a necessary evil, expirience made sure to drill it in my head, but there, in a supposedly secure location, I couldn't help but force myself to not react too much out of the line, to just calm down and breath while I could still do it.

But my body was of an entire different opinion, and so I got the worst out of it. Tomoe seemed to not care, but I was quiet sure she was aware of the sudden behavior. I didn't get if she knew I eavesdropped but she was far too smart to shrug it off. And I really didn't know what to expect.

Sighing heavily I closed my books and started to clean all the mess, not feeling to even pretend to study, my head working on hundreds of thoughts at te same moment. In the end the day was a complete disaster, and my apparent peace shattered in a million piece.

Author's Note

Unfortunately I couldn't add all the scenes I wanted to without destroying the flow of the story, which is kinda sad, but I'll try to make up in the next chapters. I'm really sorry for being so late but I'll try to fill up a monthly quota of chapters, hopefully I'll manage to balance time from school (included school hours I study around twelve hours per day, five of them being regular class).

The next two chapters will be juicy as heck, especially the fifth, so get yourself ready!

Thanks for the follows and, the favoureds and the review!

They really make me happy.