And my mother, ever the stubborn paragon of virtue, had made the wrong decision of helping the man out when he stumbled in front of us that night.

=oOo=

Knowing my sister, it was a miracle in and of itself that I had managed to reach the dining room without having her to come back and personally drag me out by force. When I got there, I spotted Ushio-nee balancing a bowl of food on her lap as she carefully wheeled her way to the table, taking care not to spill its contents. I was about to go and help her, but a head of blonde hair beat me to it.

"Thank you very much, Moku," my sister chirped, letting our little brother help her out before turning to me. "So you finally decided to join us, huh?"

"Well, I was gonna make it to the table one way or the other," I hummed with a shrug as the two of us took our spot at the table.

Dinner went without a hitch, and after telling Moku to get ready for bed, Ushio-nee opted to stay behind and keep me company while I cleaned after the meal. However, if the past few days had been any indication of how the rest of this would pan out, I was already starting to feel exhausted.

"Rinko, have you decided on a high school yet?"

It was a simple enough question, a question she had started asking ever since I had entered my last year in middle school, but it wasn't an easy question to answer, especially when my sister was a teacher at one of the most prestigious hero schools in Japan – the one and only UA. How she had landed the job two years ago despite everything, I would never know, and whenever I asked, she'd always laugh and say it was because of her winning personality.

She did not have a winning personality.

Anyway, there was always a bit of pressure whenever the topic of high school came up, and though our younger brother, who was about to enter middle school next year, already had his heart set on going to UA and becoming a Pro Hero, I was a different case. Despite all my dreaming back when I was a kid, I didn't want to be a Hero.

Heroes were selfish and inconsiderate and reckless.

I didn't want to be someone like that.

When I didn't answer, my sister continued to fill the silence. "You know, UA is going to start accepting applicants soon," she informed me. "Do you want me to get you a form?"

"Nee-san…" I grumbled as I turned to her, no doubt in my mind a frown already set on my face. "We've talked about this. I don't want to be a Hero."

"I know, I know," she assured me, raising her hands up in front of her in defense. "But at the very least apply. UA still has a very solid general studies program, you know. Even in that aspect, it's still one of the best. If you're planning on going to college, UA is a good choice too."

I made a face, knowing she was right. Hero school or not, UA was still prestigious, and graduating from a school like that could do me wonders in the future. "Yeah, yeah," I huffed. "You've told me that, like, a hundred times already."

"And each time you just shrugged me off," she sighed. "It's just… promise me you'll take the entrance exam?"

"For the general studies program, you mean," I clarified, and that earned me a look from my sister. "What? I'm not taking the test for the hero program, Nee-san. I don't want to."

"Rinko, please?" she insisted, clasping her hands to gether. "Just this one hero entrance exam. You can apply wherever for whatever, but please take the hero entrance exam for UA."

I clicked my tongue. "What for?" I asked. "It's not like I can pass the exam, and even in the off chance I do pass, I'd still turn it down."

"That's fine," my sister acquiesced, nodding firmly, her serious tone causing me to pause. "If that's what you really want, then that's fine with me. All I want is to provide you and Moku with all the opportunities I can for the two of you to be able to say that you lived your lives without any regrets…" Ushio-nee then gestured to herself, and I could feel the pit of my stomach grow cold.

Times like these, Ushio-nee really looked a lot like mom.

The period of time directly following our parents' death had been a difficult one, but it had been particularly draining for my sister. During the incident four years ago, a blow to her spine had rendered her paralyzed from the waist down and effectively ended her short career as a Pro Hero – her dream. Losing our parents and losing her dream, those two were more than enough to crush her, but then authorities had had to bring up who would serve as Moku and I's guardian.

Normally, Ushio-nee would have been recognized, being our sister and a legal adult, but due to the injuries she had sustained and her apparent disability, people doubted if she was capable of taking on the responsibility of caring for two children. My sister had needed to prove that she could support me and Moku; otherwise, she would have had to let some distant relative look after us until she was deemed fit to handle that kind of responsibility. But even back then, Ushio-nee had understood that she wouldn't able to use her legs again, and if she didn't fight for us right then and there, she'd also be losing the only family she had left.

It had been a lengthy debate, and honestly, I couldn't remember what had exactly happened during that time. All I knew was that Ushio-nee would spend a lot of nights crying by herself in the kitchen when she thought Moku and I had already gone to bed. Somehow though, Ushio-nee won the case, and Moku and I got to stay with her. Ever since then, she worked herself to the bone to support us in every way possible.

My shoulders sagged. Ushio-nee had already done so much for us, for Moku, for me, and had never asked for anything in return.

Aside from this one thing.

This one thing I didn't want to do.

Guilt started to well up inside me for denying her the one thing she had ever asked me of. What kind of ungrateful sister was I? If it was just that exam, then I guess it wouldn't hurt…

"As I am now, I doubt I can do much, but I'll do what I can. And if this body permits it, I'll go beyond that, plus ultra."

Before I knew it, a snort had already escaped my lips and all my grim thoughts came to a screeching halt. "You just had to ruin it with the school motto, didn't you?" I huffed with a sharp shake of my head as I turned my attention back to the dirty dishes still sitting in the sink in front of me.

"Oh, wait, did I almost get you? Ah, shit, forget I said it then! Please take the exam, Rinko," she insisted. "Please? For me?"

"…I'll think about it."

A gasp of surprise. "Really? You'll do it?"

"I said I'll think about it, Ushio-nee."

"Which is your way of saying you'll do it."

"…Shut up."