I was the older one. I was the center of my parent's lives. Until he came... At first, I didn't like him at all. Always crying, always needed to be looked after, and always made my parents tired. Why should there be another one? Wasn't I enough?
Somehow... As he grew, something changed.
" It's you again..." Yuusuke rubbed his eyes as the door of his room clicked open and from behind it peeked the tear-welled eyes of Yuu. " What? Can't sleep again?"
The boy nodded and Yuusuke sighed, nudging to the side of the bed to make room. " Come, you can sleep here tonight." And little Yuu climbed right beside his brother and hid under the quilts. " How troublesome. We should do something about this Quirk of yours. Else I'll have to look after you until I die."
Some strange sensation of responsibility, as the older brother... It was a burden...
" There... can't you even tie your shoes the right way? You're such a kid." Little Yuu looked down and fumbled with his fingers. " Right, and you can't even talk yet. And to think you even got your Quirk before me. How annoying."
He couldn't do the simplest thing ever since he was a child, it even took him a great deal of time to start talking.
" Alright, alright." Yuusuke put down the dishes he just finished washing and looked at the kid tugging on his shirt. " I'll have your dinner ready. Have some patience. Jeez, I'm an elementary schooler. Why should I look after you?"
Because my parents were busy with work, I was the one who ended up taking care of him most of the time.
" It's alright! Because I'm here now!"
" All Might! You're awesome!" Yuusuke's eyes sparkled at the TV. " When I get my Quirk too, I will be a great hero like you!" His eyes flicked back at the kid who sat on the corner. He stopped playing with his cubes and was staring up at the ceiling, his face contorting, about to begin crying. " Oh, not again..."
Even though I was in elementary already, My Quirk didn't manifest yet. It wasn't because I was Quirkless, but rather because I was a late bloomer as they put it. I didn't like that my younger brother, at the age of 3, had already got his while I was yet waiting... until...
" Calm down... I know it hurts but calm down!" But the kid was bawling loudly, tears streaming down his eyes, and clutching his knee where blood was trickling down. He had fallen off the stairs. Yuusuke wasn't sure what to do, he was just a kid himself, so why should he be laden with the burden of taking care of the child his parents refused to even look at?
It was then that he saw it, something like a mist, flowing within the kid's body, linking several glowing points. One of them was throbbing around the area of the injury. " What in the world..." And as soon as he touched his leg where it was throbbing, he felt tired, as though all of his energy was sucked out of him. But at the same time, Yuu's wound mended itself.
" Wha..." Yuusuke looked down at his hand, not yet getting what happened. " My Quirk..." He looked back at the kid whose sobs slowed and stifled, but eyes still wet. " You feeling okay? It doesn't hurt anymore?" And the kid shook his head. " Oh my gosh! It really manifested! But, what..."
Yuusuke ran his hand through his hair, feeling exhilarated but all the same confused. It was then that the kid toddled over to him and held on to his shirt. " Nihan..."
" Eh? What did you just say?"
It was a burden I didn't want to shoulder. But at the same time...
Yuu looked up at him. " Nihan..."
" Nih... you want to say Nii-san. What the heck you can't even say it probably."
I liked it... I really liked that feeling, of having him depend on me. The responsibility of being an older brother, it felt satisfying. To have him look up at me that way. To have him follow me everywhere.
But since when... Did I begin rejecting you too?
Yuusuke's eyes flew wide open as Yuu's blood flooded before him, some of it staining his own face and glasses...
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Sora suddenly felt her chest tightening. She halted midair and looked back in the direction of the mountain. Something is wrong. Her uneasiness was growing by the moment and she couldn't do anything about it.
Todoroki, Midoriya, and Bakugo didn't come back yet. Nor did Yuu who was supposed to head back as soon as the evacuation of the hospital was over. Present Mic and Garaki had long since come back, but still no Yuu.
The news of a giant villain wreaking havoc across half of Japan on his way there didn't help at all either. The civilians were in jeopardy. That was why they were rushing everyone out as soon as possible of there. Yao-momo and the others. I hope they're all right too.
She kept glancing back at the mountain, a lot had welled up in her heart and there was little she could do about it. She couldn't leave her position. Not now. Not while most needed. And still no information from the first lines too. Yuu, please be safe.
She reached the evacuation area just as Hado and two other heroes were entrusted to be messengers for the ones fighting at the front line. " There you are Angie-chan!" Hado called for her. " You're coming with us too! You can fly after all! We should tell Ryukyu and the rest of the giant villain."
That was a chance. " Roger!" And she caught up with them. What she didn't expect was to find Iida running by her side too. " Iida-kun?!"
" Hey, Ingenium-kun. Why are you here too?"
"I'll gladly accept my punishment for disobeying a direct order." Said the boy. " Four of my classmates haven't come back yet. Two of them, are the close friends who helped me realize the error of my way."
" Iida..." Sora's eyes narrowed. She too needed to find Yuu. Forget about anything else, she needed to save her close friend too. With a sharp strong slap to both her jaws, she cleared her mind. " Yosh! Let's hurry up, Iida!"
" Yes!"...
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He was late to react, by the time he turned around to aim his fire, his arm disappeared within the dog's jaws. Yuu ground his teeth at the pain of his bones crashing under the sharp fangs.
As it pushed him down to the ground, and with one swing of its head, the dog wretched his arm off, splattering blood all around them.
Yuu's head hit the ground roughly and the Nomu's weight fell upon his chest, breaking most of his rib cage.
Yuu's scream was muffled by the blood that flooded his throat. " That hurts damn you!!" With his left arm, he struck the Nomu with the strongest lightning he could produce and it was sent flying back through the burning wall of flames.
" Yuu!" Whisper shouted as he left his body and Yuu climbed to his legs, his clothes dabbed in blood and his right upper arm bleeding profusely. His hair went back to its usual color and the small flame on his bang died off.
This is bad... I'm losing consciousness... The hit from earlier ... A concussion... As he coughed, more blood gushed out his mouth. Nii-san is still here too ... I can't afford fainting now...
" If you're going to get on that stage make sure you're heard! Else why are you putting that much effort in the first place!"
If I faint now... Everything will be for nothing... Then... He clutched his injured arm tightly and with pain, the fog in his mind cleared a bit. " Kyubi! Thunderbird! Use me!"
Both Yokais looked back in shock just as Yuu's eyes glowed brightly and his hair floated around with the overflown power. " Before I faint... Use my energy to the last drop of it... Get rid of those things!"
" Yuu!?" They both were grappling with what he said. And it was Thunderbird who made up his mind first.
" Let's do it, Kyubi."
" But-"
" Unless we do it, even he will be left in danger!"
"... Alright!" She begrudgingly agreed. " Sage mode!" Kyubi was covered in a blue aura with her flames enlarging and burning brighter.
" Raging Mode!" Thunderbird was enveloped in a yellow aura with more sparks surrounding him.
" More! Take it all!" Yuu told them.
And so both their forms enlarged, morphing into their elements, a fire fox prowled the ground and a lightning bird tore across the sky.
Yuusuke held his eyes wide open, observing the flow of energy linking Yuu and his two spirits. This is too much... Where did that energy come from?
" Get away from here!" The fire fox growled as she darted across the Nomus, she swallowed them like how a wildfire swallows its victims, burning them in her large form to ashes. " Hell Inferno!" She let loose her fire which covered the whole ground.
" Oi! Watch out!" Burnin shouted as she covered her face only to realize the fire didn't burn them heroes, only Nomus. " What..."
" You all burn down in hell!"
" And you shall receive the wrath of the heavens!" The yellow lightning bird zapped through the flying enemies, shocking them hard their bodies twitched uncontrollably and their minds blew off in an instant. " Lightning Spear!" He darted across the sky at a high speed all that was heard after he passed was the loud rumbling of the thunder he turned into, illuminating the area and almost blinding the heroes nearby.
Hurry up... please... Yuu begged as his eyelids were getting heavier and his vision blurred. He felt his energy getting all sucked out at a great speed it was painful to maintain their connection.
Thunderbird and Kyubi's large-scale attacks allowed them to get down almost half of the Nomus surrounding them.
Before it's all lost...His knees buckled beneath him ... Please... Protect everyone... As he lost balance, he fell forward.
" Yuu!" Whisper cried, trying to catch him before he hit the ground, but another arm beat him to that. Yuusuke was already by Yuu's side.
Both spirits shifted back to their original forms before Thunderbird was pulled back to their world. Kyubi held her ground, her form flickered for a moment, almost fading, but she managed to keep her physical body and switch to her own energy. " Whisper's training worked."
She looked around, the heroes were gathering up, and the Nomus were reduced to almost a third of the army they originally were.
" What ... are you doing... get out of here..." Yuu murmured as Yuusuke laid him back with his head propped against his right arm.
" You have to shut up and stay still! You're the patient, I'm the doctor now!" He tore away a piece of the boy's cape and used it to press against his chopped arm. " Egg head, make yourself useful and keep it up! Press hard on it!"
Whisper didn't dither, not even argued. He obediently did as he was told. Yuusuke observed the flow of energy within Yuu's body while he tied another piece of cloth above the wound. " This seems bad... His life force is mostly blocked around his chest, several ribs must be down."
" But you can heal him, right!"
" Who do you think you're talking to." He said placing his hand on his brother's chest. " I'm a doctor!" His usually closed eyes shot wide open and glowed brightly in purple, so did his palm.
" Get away... before more of them come..." As he spoke, Yuu's eye was losing its light, slowly closing.
" Oh no, don't! If you faint now you may die because of stamina loss!" Yuusuke shouted at him. " Stay awake!"
However, Yuu had already drifted away.
" Damn it!" He clicked his tongue.
" Yuu!" Kyubi rushed back to them and so did Burnin.
" How is he?"
" Alive but could use some luck," Yuusuke told her. " I will look after him but I can't move him away. Not in this situation."
" Understood. Keep tending to him. The medics will be around here soon." Burnin turned to the rest of her team. " Reito-kun took care of most of them for us! Now is our turn to wrap things over here! Press on them! We have the advantage of number!" And she flew back to the battlefield.
" I will be keeping guard! You don't worry about getting attacked!" Kyubi stood steadily before them, daring anyone to get any closer. " Just focus on healing Yuu!" She said looking back at Yuusuke. He stared into her blue eyes and nodded.
" Yuusuke! Oi Yuusuke!" The man looked up at the ghost as he feverishly called for him. " He is not breathing!"
Yuusuke looked back at his brother, true for that, he wasn't. He cursed under his breath as he laid the boy down.
" What's happened?! Why isn't he breathing!? Do something you smart sleepwalking kid!" Whisper urged and he was met with a short sharp glare from Yuusuke.
" Calm down, there is a pulse, it's just that blood entered his airway." He said tilting Yuu's head back and leaning forward, breathing into his mouth twice before backing for a moment, then redoing the same process. " Come on, having my own brother die in my arms will leave a stain on my record!" And he bent down again. You wouldn't die from this. I know you wouldn't!...
" A mixture of both Quirks. One that allows him to see the flow of life energy and use his own energy to alter it."
" Our child has the perfect Quirk ever."
My parents liked to boast about my Quirk. As we grew up, I was dotted even more, and you were ignored all the same. The rift between us grew bigger. And for me, you became the example of what I shouldn't be like.
I guess that's when I began rejecting you as well.
" Such amazing Quirk should be used wisely."
" You have to choose your future carefully."
It was then that I realized, the expectations put on me because of my Quirk. They didn't want to push it, but my parents had already a path charted for me. I could have gone against it. I could have done whatever I wanted. But I didn't. I liked the attention. So I gave up on my dream. And made the easy choice.
" I will study medicine." My parents were really happy with my choice, but I didn't like it much. However, if it was to please them, then I'm fine.
" I want... to be a hero."
" You? With that Quirk? Not happening." They didn't even want to consider the possibilities. For them, your Quirk was useless, and it would always be. And so they tried mapping your future too.
For some reason, seeing you struggle against the path our parents made for you made me sick. Why? Why couldn't you accept it? Just do it already. Like I've done. Just accept that you're a failure and let them decide your life too.
" You understand, little brother. Your Quirk is nothing good, you inherited both our parents' Quirks but still, you're useless. You're a failure." Just crush down already. Just accept it. " People shouldn't struggle against their nature." Just admit it.
But you didn't. You continued to struggle and work hard to reach up to your dream. Even though, if you just accepted it, it would have been easier for you.
"Come on! Come on!" Yuusuke backed just as the boy coughed up, and his breath stabilized again.
" He's breathing!" Whisper exhaled in relief.
Yuusuke returned his hands over his chest. But just how much energy he used. Normally patients would wake up as soon as I shared my energy with them no matter how seriously wounded they were. He on the other hand...
Kyubi looked back at the battlefield where Heroes were still struggling with Nomus, but they were getting further and further from them. Burnin is trying to keep the fight away from us. You have my thanks.
" I know that boy..." The fox's eyes widened when she suddenly heard it and she raised her head up, glaring at a black creature flying above them.
It was a Nomu with three pairs of wings, blades protruding out of its arms, and what seemed like two circles of light wrapping around its brain. The Nomu stared down at them, tapping the side of its brain with its forefinger. " I know that boy... I'm sure I know him... which memory was it..."
" A talking... Nomu..." Whisper's eyes bulged out at that. Wasn't it enough just how many they had fought already?
The Nomu snapped his fingers. " I remembered him now..." Everyone squinted at him while he pointed at Yuu. " The neighbor... I knew it..."
" What is he talking about?" Yuusuke asked but it seemed no one had an answer.
" He could be useful..." The Nomu said as he swept towards Yuu.
" Get away from him! Fire Dragon Wheel!" Kyubi unleashed her fire dragon at him, forcing him back.
" That... hurts..." The Nomu said as he simply rubbed his arm and the charred mark went away.
" You will touch him over my dead body!" The fox growled at him.
" Is that... a threat...?"
" Are you mad! You don't have Yuu's energy anymore and you're drained out because of that last attack! You'll fade away if you fight in that form any longer!" Whisper shouted. It was true. She was hardly keeping herself together.
" That's fine with me! I was already prepared for that since I chose to stay back!" He lunged again, digging her fangs and claws into the Nomu's shoulder, trying to burn him down.
The Nomu punched her in the gut, forcing her back to the ground, and smirked widely at her as his wounds mended themselves. " That's right... let's... play!" He flapped all of his wings and a strong wind picked up, almost throwing them off.
" Blue Fox Inferno!" Fire foxes were discharged at the monster who kept swiftly dodging them as if it was nothing. Tsk, if I could only get some of his energy again. But I will have to get back to our world, and then... Her eyes flicked back at the siblings. I can't!
Whisper's eyes widened when he saw Kyubi's hind legs fading away into flames. " Kyubi! Let's ask for help!"
" The heroes already have their hands full! They can't get back here!"
" What about thunderbird!?"
" He was drained badly by the evacuation and the last attack it would take a while for him to cross back even if he gets help!"
This Nomu however, seems like something else... the way he dodged my attack, it was like... Her look sharpened. Now thinking back at it, his smell is too mixed but... There is this one familiar smell that stands out...
" That's right... no one can save you..." The Nomu laughed and blades extended out of his arms and everywhere around him. Kyubi hurriedly went to protect Yuu and the rest, only to get impaled.
This is bad... " keep away!" Another wave of fireballs made her sure of it. These moves... this form... this smell... no doubt about it... it's him...
" Whisper..." the ghost looked up at her. " Before time comes, make sure you warn him."
" What are you talking about? What time?"
Kyubi looked back at him. " ... I'm talking about the visions you see. It's about time you get it too."
" What... are you planning to do..." Whisper dreaded her answer by that point.
" Taking that thing down with me." She said as fire covered her. " Sage Mode!"
" ... yubi..." Whisper and Yuusuke's attention shifted back to the purple head. But he looked past them, at the fox coated in her fire.
She cast him one glance and nodded her head. " You've come a long way, Yuu. You're no longer the crying kid sitting in the corner. You've surrounded yourself with precious friends, so keep them close, all of them." And she bolted ahead at the Nomu.
" No!"
" A power up... you're getting... me interested..." The Nomu lunged towards her, large blades extending from his arms as he opted to slash at her.
" Kyubi! Don't!"
" I will take you down myself!" The flames swallowed her whole and she transformed into a raging fire fox. " I will give away everything to protect Yuu and Sora from you!" Her large claws clasped the creature and the flames all began to swirl around like a whirlpool with the Nomu in the middle of it. " Burn and be torn in the depth of hell! Raging Blue Storm!"
The swirling flames burned brighter, and the wind resulting from it grew sharper and more brutal Whisper and Yuusuke had a hard time standing their ground without being sucked into it.
" Kyubi... No..." Yuu called out but his hoarse voice couldn't have reached past the ones beside him.
" I'll protect Yuu! No matter what!!"
" You... sacrifice your body... for that..."
" I'm a guardian! I will sacrifice my whole being for him!"...