🌼Before you Read 🌼

🌼The last part to Raiden's Babysitting Adventure.

🌼In case anyone is wondering, Eikō, the boy who developed a Quirk in the last chapter, his Quirk is Explosion. It wasn't really well-explained imo because Raiden didn't really get to experience the whole thing...just received the exploding end of it.

🌼Fun Fact: the next day, the triplets begged Niko for "Raiden's girlfriend" to babysit them. You can probably guess the curses that came out of Raiden's mouth as he claimed otherwise when Niko told him about it.

🌼I also forgot the chapter question in the last chapter...so there will be two for this one. Enjoy the last part of Raiden's Babysitting Adventure!

🌼Tami Smith: Babysitting Master 🌼

Things seemed to have settled down a lot after I found Keiko in the kitchen. Luckily, Niko must have hidden the knives somewhere the little monster couldn't find them, but there were still pots and pans everywhere. The reason why the baby was crying so much was because a pan had fallen on her head. She didn't seem to fight when I grabbed her and handed her off to Tami, who decided the movie for the triplets as they were fighting between some dog movie and a silly cartoon, stating they'd have time to watch both. When she saw me, she grabbed Keiko from my arms and rocked her to sleep. That didn't take long before she joined us before the first movie could end.

Halfway through the second movie, I turned to look over at Tami and the triplets that were laying against her. By the looks of things, Eikō and Rin had both passed out on her while Hoshi was sitting on the other end of the couch, eyes glued on the t.v. Tami looked down at Eikō and Rin, smiling as she did.

I watched as she carefully moved Rin, so her head was on her shoulder instead of laying on top of both Tami and me. The moment the child was off of me, I moved to grab Eikō, mimicking her movements, so both kids stayed asleep. Tami carefully stood up and didn't say a word as she walked out of the room. Holding onto Eikō, I did the same.

Even though we could have made it quicker by putting the kids in their bed and meeting back in the room Hoshi was in, Tami and I went to each of the kids rooms to put them in their beds. I followed Tami as she went into Rin's room to see how she would make sure the small girl would stay asleep when she placed her in bed. For a moment, I thought she was going to wake up, but Rin just rolled over and curled up into a ball instead. Despite that, Tami grabbed the blanket and gently placed it over her.

The same thing happened when I put Eikō in his bed. He didn't even try to pry his eyes open when I let go. I blinked, remembering all the car rides I'd go on and fell asleep on when I was younger. It didn't matter if it was one of my older siblings or one of my parents who would carry me back to bed, I would always wake up as soon as I felt something moved. I thought these kids would've done the same thing since they were crazy as crazy could be, yet there they were, dead asleep.

As Tami and I walked out of Eikō's room, I turned to look at her.

"Hey, thanks for helping me out," I told her. "I appreciate it."

Tami shrugged as her eyes were glued on the floor. "It was nothing, really. It was a lot of fun."

For once, I couldn't agree more. Without Tami, this would've been a nightmare, but she somehow made this a lot easier than it could've been. I wouldn't admit that out loud though. If Niko, or any of my older siblings, found out, there would be no way they'd let me out of babysitting. That time could be spent doing something much better.

But, it'd be a lie if I said I loathed every moment of it. I just couldn't say it was because of the kids.

"How'd you always know what do it?" I asked. "How did you know how to calm down Eikō and his siblings when his Quirk developed or changed Keiko's diaper?"

The blonde looked up at me. "I helped out a lot when Ollie was born," she told me. "They can be easily distracted."

Somehow, even though she had always given the answer about her brother, I couldn't believe it. She seemed too much of a natural for that. Besides, her brother was seven years old. I couldn't imagine a seven year-old Tami willing to help out as much. At least, I don't think she would do things without a fuss.

Besides, I remember her voice claiming to be Eikō's brother just moments ago.

So, I called her out on her bluff. "I don't buy it. You would've been too young to change his diapers, and you two are too close to get into huge fights."

Just as I had expected, Tami's face started to heat up. Her hand raised to scratch the back of her neck. It didn't take long for her to stop in the middle of the hallways, tearing her gaze away from me.

"Okay, but you have to promise not to tell anyone," she told me. Tami didn't even pause as she told her story. "Life wasn't exactly easy growing up. Mom and Peter did their best to make ends meet, but even I knew when things weren't going too well when...there were days I noticed neither of them eat what they provided on the table or other things. By the time middle school started, I noticed there was a babysitting club, and it gave me the idea that maybe I could babysit some kids in the neighborhood to make some money. I told Mom and Peter that I wasn't being charged much, buying snacks for Ollie and me to kind of prove that, but I'd always sneak whatever I could into their room. I don't think they knew about that; otherwise, they wouldn't have let me do it. They didn't want me to worry, but how could I not? They worked so many hours in the factory, doing what they could, but it still wasn't enough.

"It's not like I didn't mind. I don't want you thinking my parents are bad. They did their best, and besides, babysitting was a ton of fun. I learned how to make different kinds of food because of it, and the kids were always so cute," Tami added. "I just had to stop babysitting when I went to U.A. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I saw your nieces and nephews. They brought back some good memories."

I froze when I heard all that. There were times I forgot the kind of family Tami came from, not that it was a bad thing or anything. It was just her and her brother for the most part because their parents weren't home as much as mine could be. Their parents had to work extra shifts at work because they were Quirkless, or at least, they were treated like Quirkless people. Tami told me that her step-dad had a Quirk, but it wasn't one he told people as he was a bit afraid how people would perceive it. It wasn't bad. It was actually a fairly useful Quirk to have, but seeing how his son didn't have a Quirk, well, I could see why he kept it from people.

Still, the Quirkless weren't treated fairly, which I figured was probably one of the reasons Tami started out in the Hero Department, to try and do what she could to help her family. True, they could still get a degree to get them a different job, but that'd cost money, and people wouldn't give loans or scholarships to help them. Sometimes, schools would overlook the Quirkless, which just made it harder on them.

Most people in this world had Quirks, so I never really thought much about it. Then again, I came from a family filled with Quirks that people found useful. Both my parents were even Pro Heroes at one point.

Until Tami told me that story, I never realized how hard some people had it, especially since she never let it show. Like Kaito, she always had a smile on her face, making everything think she was okay.

"I'm sorry," I told her.

The blonde turned around, realizing I was no longer walking beside her. She didn't look bothered by our conversation as she just gave a small smile.

"It's fine, honestly," she told me. "I never really thought much of it, especially seeing how they'd light up when they saw some extra money in their pockets. Besides, we don't have to worry about that anymore since—"

Whatever Tami was going to say, I would never know. It was at that moment we heard Hoshi screaming on the top of his lungs, almost as if something bad happened again. Tami and I dropped everything at that moment as we ran through the hall and ran right into the family room where Hoshi was in.

Words could not describe my disappointment as he peeked his head out of his hands and looked over at up, pointing at the t.v. I glanced over, noticing whatever movie we were watching, we must've been at the climax of it as the hero of the movie was fighting the bad guy. Only, at the scene we were at, the hero looked as if he was in a losing battle.

The scene wasn't even that scary, yet Tami walked over to the couch and hugged him close to her, soothing his fear. When Tami wasn't looking, the brat looked back at me with a toothy grin, almost as if the whole thing was planned. I wanted to tell him how pointless it was when it was just a movie, but I fought against it as I sat on the other side of Tami, watching the rest of the movie.

🌼🌼🌼

Tami didn't say much after opening up, but I couldn't really blame her. With Hoshi around, we couldn't really say anything without him overhearing. True, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep, but when I noticed his small head lying on Tami's lap, I realized it'd be impossible to get him to put him to bed or to ask Tami more about what she had said earlier.

That was because there was a dull weight pushing into my shoulder. I turned my head to see Tami's head laying there. Her eyes had fluttered shut, meaning she wasn't conscious of her actions. It was probably for the best; otherwise, she would've been embarrassed.

She couldn't have been that comfortable laying there like that. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I let her lay on my shoulder like that, she, too, would fall down into my lap. If she woke up like that, I couldn't imagine the hole she'd mentally dig herself in. I carefully shifted myself to the side and wrapped my arm around her, propped her up against my chest, as I gently rubbed her opposite shoulder.

It surprised me she didn't wake up. She probably wore herself out keeping up with all four of my nieces and nephews. If the oldest was here, she would have probably passed out sooner.

The longer I thought about it, the more the small smile on my face started to disappear. This girl was the most selfless and caring person I had ever met. She always brought out the best in people, and she wouldn't even have to try. Without her, babysitting these four kids would've ended in a house fire or one of them getting injured. Nothing bad happened since I had her help. Everything went perfectly.

It was because of all those things I knew I didn't stand a chance. Tami needed someone who was just as bright and kind as she was. If she wasn't around, I would've made them all cry multiple times before sending them to bed. Hell, Keiko wouldn't have a clean diaper and would have a sore throat if it wasn't for Tami. The way she was so patient with them, it amazed me.

The least I could do for her now was let her sleep peacefully beside me.

🌼🌼🌼

The sound of a camera clicking caused me to jump. I wasn't sure how, but like Tami, I somehow fell asleep on the couch. My stomach turned as I saw Tami stretching her arms up beside me. It took a lot for me not to smirk at her innocent actions, especially since I last remembered her using me as a pillow.

"Awe," my sister's voice cooed, "I'm so getting that framed."

My head snapped over, seeing my sister standing there in front of me. Her brown colored eyes sparkled as she looked at her phone. Even though we were siblings, we didn't look related at all. She may have taken after mamá's brown hair and eyes, but her light skin was far lighter than mine, taking after our dad that way. When it came to physique, she was as scrawny as mamá was back in her hero days, appearing not to have an ounce of muscle or fat on her.

"What took you so long?" I asked as I looked at the wall.

It wasn't shocking to see that it was well past midnight. What was shocking was the black scribbled artwork that was drawn on the walls. My eyes widened as I saw it as I vividly remember not being there.

Hell, if I remembered right, there were no markers lying around this entire time. The three three-year-olds were all in—

"Hoshi," I grumbled.

My sister chuckled at my comment. "Oh, don't worry about the walls."

Though she wasn't fully awake, Tami was the next to respond. "Wha—about walls?" She asked groggily as she looked over at me.

When she did, I noticed a shift in her body that I turned to look at her. Her brown eyes widened as we looked at each other, but she wasn't the only one. It didn't take a genius to realize why. Tami had black sharpie drawn all over her face, whether it was poorly drawn circles, scribbles, or even an attempt to write random letters. That wasn't the worst of it all. The ends of her hair were dipped in black, almost as if the little satan spawn tried to dye her hair black.

Seeing her look at me with horror, I knew she wasn't the only one with a marker drawn over her face. As I looked down, I could see the black markings running down my neck and covering my arms too.

I growled as I stood up. My hands clenched into fists as I did. "Where is that little monster?"

Niko giggled. "Oh, no need to worry about him. After all, if you would've put him to bed instead of dozing off yourself—"

"Hell with that! The little twerp—"

I stopped when I felt something tugging the back of my shirt. I turned my head to see Tami still sitting on the couch. Her eyes widened a bit in fear as she had her lips pressed together. It wasn't enough to make me stop, but seeing the blonde shaking her head no, I realized the difference between her and me, another reason why she deserved much better in life.

She wouldn't react to what that devil spawn did to her. In her eyes, that little monster was as helpless as she was when she played "princess" in that little game of theirs. If something happened to him, like if she would've seen Niko whip him with la chancla, she would be upset as she didn't like seeing other people get hurt. The kid deserved it, but she wouldn't like it.

Besides, even if she didn't say a word about it, she might've had a point. If I would've reacted, that kid would've gotten a broken bone or something all because of my Quirk. I wouldn't have been able to hold back.

"Again, I'm sorry about what my kid did to you, but I brought home some castella from the restaurant. You can either save it for later or eat it in the car if you want to," my sister told us.

Tami let go of my shirt as she looked up at Niko as soon as she mentioned food. I couldn't stay mad when I saw her eyes light up a bit at the mention of it. It surprised me how someone so tiny would get so excited over food, even if she didn't have the stomach to hold much of it.

At least she could find the positives in this, even if her face was painted in permanent marker. One of these days, I hope I could do the same thing. Someday, I hope I could be more like her in the sense that she could always find the bright side, but not in an annoying way like Kaito would.

I knew she'd always say that she felt like she owed me, but it was always the other way around. She was the kind of person I wanted to be. Maybe not exactly like her, but I wish I had an ounce of her kindness or selflessness. I knew my dad wouldn't have wanted that, but we needed more heroes like her in this would.

Maybe babysitting for my older siblings wouldn't be so bad after all if I had Tami around. Besides the walls and Tami and my faces, nothing really got out of control. Sure, there was the incident with Keiko's diaper change and Eikō discovering his Quirk, but Tami had everything under control. If she was willing to do this again and wanted to, that is, I think I would babysit for Niko in the future.

Nothing more was really said as we followed Niko out of her house and hopped into her car. If it wasn't for the castella Niko got for us to eat, I was certain Tami would've passed out the few blocks we had to drive to get to her house.

I didn't have any of the giant sponge cake as we drove. As Tami pushed her plastic fork Niko gave her into the soft cake, plopping into her mouth as she hummed happily, I just watched, happy that I had a friend like her. Someday, I just hope I can return the favor. She deserved to live the happiest life ever. If I could, I would make sure she wouldn't have to struggle ever again.

If I could, I would protect Tami and keep her safe, just like how she protected me from losing my sanity with my nieces and nephews.

🌼The End🌼

🌼Chapter Questions:🌼
How would you survive taking care of the Nishimura kids?

What was your favorite part of this short story?

🌼Character Spotlight: Tami Smith🌼
Age: 15 Years Old
Quirk: BioChange

🌼Character Spotlight: Raiden Yamamoto🌼
Age: 15 Years Old
Quirk: Ultra Strength

Song: Goodbye for Now by Chris Bussey