(Izumi POV)
The next day, after a plain breakfast of rice and eggs, Mom drops me and Izuku off at our kindergarten class.
Izuku still isn't over what the doctor told them yesterday, so he decides to draw by himself during their break. Bakugo gives him a curious look, but he ignores it So he comes to hang out with me..
"Hey, what's up with Izuku? Did something happen at the doctor yesterday?" I wince at his question before sending Izuku a look. Seeing that he's out of earshot, I respond.
"Yeah… Apparently, Izuku is quirkless." He gasps, sending a wide-eyed look of surprise towards one of his best friends.
"But our plans… We were all going to be heroes together…"
Seeing his downcast expression, I get an apprehensive look. "What if… we still can?" My flame grows a bit brighter, though the size remains the same.
Katsuki gives me a shocked look. "Are you kidding!? He won't be able to be a hero without a quirk!" It dims, shrinking a bit on itself. "Have you not seen some of the villains out there? Look at some of the fights heroes and villains have and tell me if a quirkless person would be able to survive one of them, much less win!"
I look down, my flame reduced to embers, but not yet put out. "He," I gulp. "He could still be support. Or maybe work as our manager?" My voice is hesitant, as if afraid that Katsuki will be angry at me for voicing the remains of my hope.
He gets a thoughtful look on his face as he stares at Izuku. "Yeah… That could work." His eyes gleam. "He can be like the computer guy in tv shows and movies! He'll let us know when there's an attack, and where we need to go. Good thinking Izumi!"
I smile at the praise, a warm feeling flowing through my chest.
We can still be together.
We can still start an agency together.
Even if Izuku isn't a hero like us, we can still achieve our dreams together.
…
I can't believe that I thought that before.
𝌡𝌡𝌡
A few weeks after my brother was diagnosed as quirkless, I find him writing something down in a notebook as he watches a hero fight on tv. 'He seems really focused on it, I wonder what he's writing about?'
"Hey Izuku." He jumps, pulled out of his thoughts, and I can't help but giggle at his reaction. "What are you writing about?"
"O-oh, this?" He holds it up so I can see the title. 'Hero Analysis For the Future'. I tilt my head in confusion, not sure what it's supposed to be. He seems kind of hesitant to tell me too. "W-well, I thought that I should study how people's quirks work. If I'm going to be a hero without a quirk, then I'll need to know a lot about how they work."
I blink at him, failing to process what he said. 'Be a hero? But he can't, he's quirkless. He'd die the first time he fought a villain!'
I don't say that out loud though, instead giving him a tense smile. "O-oh. Ok." I go to my room, my mind in turmoil about what he said. 'What about our new plans? You're going to support me and Bakugou when we become heroes. You can't fight someone who can just open a hole in the ground underneath you.
Next time I see Katsuki, I'll need to tell him about what Izuku said.'
𝌡𝌡𝌡
"What!? He still wants to be a hero!? Even without a quirk!?" The next time we can talk to each other is the next day at school, and Katsuki's reaction is as loud as I thought it would be.
After he got his quirk, he's been getting more excitable. He's also been playing around with the sparks that come off his hand, much to the dismay of the teacher. He's started two fires in class since he got it, but the principal just laughs it off, saying that someone with such an amazing quirk needs to practice.
It made the teacher exasperated, but she didn't complain to him again. Instead, she got a fire extinguisher and left it next to her desk in case something catches on fire again.
And seeing how Katsuki's hands are sparking so much from his anger, I guess that she'll be needing it today.
"He can't be a hero without a quirk! He'll die!"
"I know, but what are we supposed to do? I thought that he gave up on being a hero since he hasn't mentioned it since he was diagnosed!"
He gets a thoughtful look on his face as he looks at where Izuku is drawing. He's been doing that a lot lately. After the other kids found out that he was quirkless, they started to ignore him.
Seeming to get an idea after seeing him, Katsuki looks back at me in excitement. "I know! We'll ignore him until he gives up! Then he'll see that he should be supporting us instead of doing something so dangerous."
I don't think that will work, and I tell him that. But by the time the break ends, he's convinced me that it's a good idea.
I just hope that I don't regret going along with it.
𝌡𝌡𝌡
I turn five today, so Mom and Dad are taking me to Universal Studios Japan! They both managed to get the day off, and I've never been to the USJ before! It's really fun! We go on all kinds of rides, we see some shows, and we eat all kinds of yummy food! But there's this nagging feeling eating into my stomach that I can't seem to get rid of.
When we get home late at night, tired from the exciting day, I finally realize what that feeling was.
Izuku is curled up on the couch, tear tracks smeared across his sleeping face.
We left behind Izuku! My parents exchange horrified looks before rushing to the kitchen. I hear sighs of relief as they realize that Izuku managed to make himself some food while they were gone. They come back with guilty faces as they look at him.
They start whispering to each other as I stare at my brother, who's hugging a watermarked notebook.
'Hero Analysis For the Future #2'.
"I'll take him next week. It can be like a father-son bonding thing…"
"Don't forget…"
"Don't worry, I'll set a reminder the day before…"
Seeming to have finished their whispered conversation, Dad picks Izuku up and takes him to his room, not noticing the notebook that falls from his arms.
I pick it up and follow, putting it on his desk before leaving for bed with guilt gnawing my stomach.
𝌡𝌡𝌡
Katsuki HIT Izuku! The three of us and two of Katsuki's friends were walking on a log bridge, marching to a tune he made up for our future agency, when he tripped and fell in the stream.
Of course, since it was Katsuki who fell in, none of us were worried. After all, he and I are going to be pros! A little thing like that isn't going to hurt him! But Izuku didn't seem to agree. I don't even know why he still follows us around at this point. He knows that we aren't going to talk to him.
He went down into the stream as we all watched, holding out his hand and asking if Katsuki was ok. I feel a twinge in my chest watching. 'He has the heart of a hero. But that's not enough. He needs a quirk too. Or else he'll just die'
Katsuki ignores the hand, pushing himself up. He glares at Izuku, his hands balled into fists. Then he punches him in the face!
I look on in shock as he falls into the stream, holding his cheek where Katsuki hit him. The boy himself is looking down at Izuku in shock before he sneers. "I don't need help from some quirkless Deku."
And he climbs back up on the opposite side of the stream. I look down at Izuku, who's started crying. He looks up at me, eyes begging for me to come down and comfort him, like I used to do when he got hurt. Before we were four.
But I clench my fists and firm my resolve. I turn away and follow Katsuki further into the forest. I need him to tell me why he hit my brother.
𝌡𝌡𝌡
"It's obvious by this point that ignoring him isn't going to work. If we want him to give up on being a hero, we need to do more."
I look at him in confusion. "What do you mean 'more'?"
He takes a breath. "We need to bully him. Show him that he can't stand up to people with quirks. Once he understands that a quirkless person can't beat someone who has one, he'll give up!"
I look at him uncertainly. "I don't know… That seems like it's going a bit too far."
He looks me in the eyes. "You think I want to do this? It's for his own good! As his sister, do you really want to see him get killed trying to fight someone like you, who has powerful telekinesis? Or someone like Death Arms, with super strength?"
I hesitate, my mind envisioning what he's saying with great clarity. I see Izuku, running at a villain. I see the villain waves his hand and Izuku shooting up into the sky. I see him fall. I see him-
I shake my head to get rid of the sight. I look at Katsuki. "Ok. Let's do it."
The embers of hope in my heart have long gone out.
𝌡𝌡𝌡
"Aw~. Kid Bakugou is so cute! I wonder what happened?"
He glares at Uraraka. "Screw you, Round Face!"
Kirishima chuckles. "Come on Baku-bro, don't be like that. We were all kids once. And look at you now, all manly!"
He scowls at him, but simply throws himself into the back of his seat. The people around him chuckle, the only person who doesn't is Tomura. He just looks at the screen, watching as the children make plans. Then before it cuts to the next scene, it goes gray, and bold words are plastered across it.
[I can't believe I thought our dreams could be achieved.]
Everyone looks at it in shock, suddenly apprehensive.
Kirishima lets out an uneasy laugh. "Heh, ha. C-come on guys, this is Midoriya we're talking about. I'm sure everything is going to work out." Nobody responds, and Bakugou starts to get a bad feeling as he remembers what he started doing.
"Hah! Look at that, even now he works hard to be a hero!" All Might beams at the people around him as they watch Izuku start on his path.
"I wonder what he's writing in there." Mummers Nezu.
"Probably some stupid fanboy trash about heroes." Tomura growls. He ignores the glares everyone else sends his way before turning back to the screen.
"Bakugou, are you an idiot?" The fact that it's Todoroki who's asking makes it all the more impactful.
"Shut the hell up, Icy-Hot." Though he says that, his usual fire is missing, and he doesn't meet anyone's eyes. Inko is looking at him in shock.
"Bakugou, did you do this to my Izuku?"
He scowls down at the floor. "No."
When everyone looks at Tsukauchi, he nods his head. "Truth."
The tension leaves everyone and Kirishima claps a hand on Bakugou's shoulder with a laugh. "I'm proud of you bro. You're way manlier than that guy." He jerks a thumb at the screen as a montage of Izuku following his sister and friend plays, all the while they pretend that he isn't even there.
An uncomfortable look crosses his face, unnoticed by all except Tomura. He hums in thought and Tsukauchi looks at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Just keep watching. I have a feeling that kid is about to get put on a harder difficulty."
He refuses to answer their questioning looks, so they sit back and watch.
They watch as Izumi has a fun day at the amusement park, smiling at her joy. They listen to Inko demanding that Soahc let her punch the other her in the face for forgetting her child, backed up by All Might wanting to do the same to himself.
All the while Tomura hums, waiting for what he knows is going to occur.
They gasp in shock as kid Bakugou punches kid Izuku and storms off. They shout at the two kids to think about what they're doing as they agree to bully the boy. Tomura smirks as he looks to the, for once, silent explosion boy.
"So, Mr. Hero-to-be, is this more in line with what you did to your Midoriya?"
Everyone is silent as they look at him. Kirishima with worry, Inko in horror, Uraraka in anger, All Might in shock, Todoroki in judgment, Nezu in consideration, Aizawa with dawning understanding, and Toga in disgust.
His answer is quiet, barely heard by the people around him. But it's enough for Tsukauchi.
"Truth."