—haze—

Toya felt himself doze off, woken by sticky toddler fingers reaching up to touch his scarred face, while he looked down at her turquoise and pale gray eyes—

"Another way you're like your Uncle Shoto," Toya said, watching the lack of fear showing in her eyes, which blinked back toddler tiredness before snuggling in, and he waited, ears straining to hear the villagers returning, while—

—while uncle kept watch, bringing them water.

And one of the ladies, or both, who were there at Shoko's birth brought items, not things from the home, because—

"Can't go back there. Possibly ever." His hand, with the scar going around his wrist where healthy skin met skin graft, touched the back of his daughter's head. "I don't want her to see her mother like that. I hope she didn't. Please don't let her have seen what I saw."

Toya swallowed.

...

A light flickered, bobbing through the night like a ghost as the toddler's drool soaked into Toya's yukata. Fingers brushed across the back of her head, strands of hair sticking ouf ot the braided loops he'd patiently plaited before the sun went down.

"Come."

Toya stood, slowly and gently so as not to wake Shoko, as he looked at the man who was the one his uncle, Eari's biological uncle, trusted enough to get him wherever he was going.

"Here."

Toya turned to look at Eari's uncle as the man pulled the shoulder bag over his shoulder.

"You'll find things you'll need in here," the man said, a frown upon his face. "I'm sorry that we couldn't spend more time together."

"Don't give up on seeing Shoko again," Toya said.

A smile twisted onto the man's face, his eyes filled with sorrow. "I mean the four of us, but I do hope to see the two of you again, not just Shoko, Toya."

Toya nodded his head. "Thank you, oji-san."

"Oh, don't thank me just yet," the man said. "You may not like..." There came a pause as the man frowned. "Toya, you may not like the instructions I have for you, but I honestly think it's your best bet, so I'm going to apologize now for what I'm going to have you do."

"Right," Toya said, as the man that his uncle-in-law trusted motioned for him to follow, dimming the light.

"We need to hurry, but we're taking advantage of the fact that it is still night and will take time for the village to bring in officials to look into the matter of your wife's death."

"Murder," Toya said. "I'm not afraid to say she was murdered."

"That..." The man gave him a funny look, as if Toya's words unsettled him, but then—

The man led him down the hill, not taking the usual path away from the temple, but through the rough terrain. Toya couldn't help but feel glad Shoko was asleep and not pestering to walk on her own.

Every so often, the man and even Toya glanced around, the worry of the villagers discovering them remaining, but then—

They eventually, after what felt like forever, got to a place near a road on what was the back side of the temple, where a van waited, and the man told Toya to settle in, to hunker down, but try and get some sleep.

And Toya dozed off again.

...

Sticky fingers woke him again, and—

Toya stared, getting a better look at the van, his body straining out.

"Stay down. I've a bit of time to go before I can let you off, and then you'll be on your own for a few kilometers, but Yasuo said he thinks you can manage to get yourself and Shoko to Musutafu."

"Musutafu?" Toya asked, "Meaning All Might and Endevour, but I guess that would be the safest place. More importantly..." He glanced around. "The van is," there came a pause, and, "This van isn't world war era."

"I, no," and then came the laugh. "Yasuo said something about you feeling out of place and time. I actually love my Sambar, but it's also quite old and not likely to give you a good idea of the year, kiddo."

"Right," Toya said.

"Did you really think..." The man said, and then paused. "Never mind."

Toya frowned, keeping his head down as Shoko touched his mouth and he let out a sigh, opening up the bag, to find a container of water and some food ready for the two of them to eat, as well as a hair brush. Gently, as Shoko ate, he undid her loops and braided her hair into a single strand to make things easier before turning his attention to the notes sitting on top.

And then he stiffened, his turquoise eyes widening as Shoko continued eating as they kept their heads down.

"What..."

"Something the matter?"

"I, no," Toya said, looking at the letter.

"Toya, if you're reading this, then something happened. I meant to say this when Shoko was older, but I'm sorry for tricking you."

"Tricking me?" Toya frowned while the man driving him and Shoko closer to the city he was born in, at least from the timeline he remembered, continued driving.

"I didn't tell you about my Quirk, but had my uncle arrange for us to be married so you'd have something to live for, but in case something happened to me, I wanted to make sure there was something else that..."

Toya took a deep breath, closing the letter before moving on to the next one, not wanting to read the letter, seeing one from his uncle, another apology, along with some cash that Toya could use.

"Toya," the letter starts out. "I'm writing this quickly, but first, I'm again sorry. I did look into things and said nothing because you and Eari were so happy, but I also didn't want to make you feel the other villagers were right in suspecting you. But regarding your suspicions regarding that day, the day that Eari found you? It occurred in the winter after you turned eighteen, but you're twenty-two now, to give you a frame of reference, given how you've been unsure of where and when you ended up because of your partial amnesia."

Toya shifted Shoko slightly, her fingers reaching out for the letter, only for him to lift the paper out of her reach as he continued, wondering if having the memories of another universe counted as having amnesia.

"I was able to find a witness, but if their word is to be trusted, yes, you and your Quirk were turned into a bomb that day. Don't blame yourself for what happened, as if what they're telling me is true, you had Trigger forced onto you. It may be why you lost your memories and became unsure of when and where you ended up. But again, don't blame yourself."

The paper crumpled slightly as Toya closed the containers of food from the women who were there when Shoka was born, now that Shoko was gone, before frowning at the next part.

"Second, find Endevour."

He swallowed, wanting to curse, yet held the words back as Toya hugged Shoko, his eyes glancing at her before returning to the letter.

"I know from what you've said he's likely not been the best father to you, but the one thing he is good at is being a Pro Hero and protecting people. Thus, don't seek that man out as your father, but as the Pro Hero. Endevour will protect you and Shoko, but trust him as a Pro Hero even if you can't trust him as your father."

The letter crumpled, both going into the bag. "Right."

And then he sat back, holding Shoko close, rubbing her back, having no words when she looked at him with one eye like that of her mothers and one like his and Endevour's asking for her mama, with no words coming, until—

"This is as far as I'm taking you. I'm going to be heading down a different route, but trying to make it obvious that I'm..."

"Won't you get in trouble for this?"

"Yasao told you, no, that you're not running from justice, but towards it, right?"

"Right," Toya said. "Endeavor."

He took a deep breath, and then—

Soon he found himself walking to Musutafu, his daughter clutched in his arms, the man pointing out where on the map they were as well as the direction he needed to walk in to make his way back to his hometown.

—hoping—

Even though hope felt as if it died like a flame going out with Eari's life being snuffed out, a strange feeling his brain kept screaming, "Didn't really happen," even though—

"I know what I saw."