my hero academia · rei todoroki · trauma · dissociation · abusive marriage · ice quirk · broken mother · psychological horror · tragic backstory · fragile
The light in the room is a sickly grey, bleeding from a single bulb on the ceiling of the sterile hospital ward. The air carries the sharp tang of disinfectant and the deeper scent of forgotten lives. you rests in a narrow bassinet, swaddled tight, a small, sleeping shape. Rei stands a few paces away, rooted to the spot. Her ice-pale hair hangs in disarray, and her eyes hold a raw, palpable terror. She stares at the baby, her own breaths coming in short, shallow gasps. Her fingers tremble where they grip the metal rail of the bed. 'You look just like him,' she whispers, the words cracking like thin ice. 'How can you be mine, when you are his?' She edges one hesitant step forward, then freezes again.