A Mother's Touch

Chapter 12

As expected, shopping on Black Friday was absolutely hellish. No, it was worse than hell. Aylee didn't think she would make it at some points on the way there and when she got to the store. She woke up before 5 am to wait in long lines with old women who were practically seasoned in their shopping rush tactics. Elbows were flying in all the sales bins and the dressing room line was obscenely long, almost reaching the back of the store.

Every store she went to shared the same M.O., no matter the place she went too. Packed to the max, stressful, and loud. Honestly, she didn't think it would be this bad because of the skyrocket sales in online shopping on the anticipated holiday. But, after dodging wild Karen's left and right, her mood quickly soured.

She went into each store with a clear list of things she would have to hunt for. But, Aylee's real goal was to find Shoto some new clothes to fit him, at a reasonable price. Hawks had tried and failed already to convince her to just send someone out to buy from an expensive high-end clothing store she couldn't even pronounce the name for. But, she couldn't justify buying the newly grown 7-year-old designer clothes when he would most likely grow out of them by the next week.

Luckily, on another quick family visit, Natusuo had boldly slipped something into her hands while the others weren't looking. The famously coveted black card with Todoroki Enji engraved in gold lettering stamped onto the front. It was like she had struck gold.

Aylee had tried to refuse at first and give the card back to him until she spotted the cardholder's name. The guilt she felt suddenly evaporated and Aylee was almost eager to spend that flaming asshole's money. But, Aylee still tightly held onto this innate instinct that compelled her to shop wisely and save money.

So there she was, at 6 am, sifting through the children's clothing racks and frantically trying to find her charge's new size in the chaos. Aylee eyed the other moms before diligently going back to her current task. She decided to first focus on getting the basics: like socks, shirts, pants, and shoes before moving on to finding his outerwear.

Her basket slowly started to get full, but she couldn't help it. There were too many cute outfits to choose from. She managed to hassle a shirt with little penguins on them and some light-up sneakers on sale from a nearby woman eyeing them. The caretaker practically risked her own life for some of these discounted items. But, it would all be worth it to see him actually dress like a real child, instead of the stiff and overly formal outfits Fuyumi found in storage that he had originally worn. Aylee could practically see her little peppermint stomping down UA's halls to make his tennis shoes light up with every heavy step.

She really should start documenting his growth and fast-paced childhood for the future. Maybe he'll want to see some photos from this strange time in his life. Aylee already had some cute photos on her phone from when he was younger, but not nearly enough.

Aylee maneuvered her basket over to another clothing stand and accidentally bumped into a larger but very warm body. She quickly stepped back to create some space and immediately, apologies spilled from her lips.

"I'm so sorry are you alri-"

But, her words got stuck in her throat when her eyes met his unwavering gaze. Fiery turquoise blues stared down at the shorter woman. He wore a black medical mask over his lower face but it couldn't cover all of his burnt skin and staples from view. His hands were causally fisted in his black hoodie pockets and his hood partially covered his black spiky hair. All in all, it was just a shitty disguise for a wanted villain to wear in public.

Aylee recovered her thoughts and lightly blushed after realizing she was still staring at the villain who attacked her and Shoto. Maybe she could just pretend to not recognize him and play along before getting the hell out of dodge. This was the only card she had to play for now.