A/N: Happy LATE New Years.
Reviews:
SpaceIsEndless: Thank-you still! I think most of the adults in Izuku's life, in some way, failed him - Inko included. This story, however, will address that and more.
8shadesofmadness: Thank-you! Though she does not know it, the small changes Ichika is going to make definitely are going to have big consequences in the future.
Evergone the Great: It's hard to say at this point. I want to keep Bakugou's character as close to canon as possible whilst making some changes now that Ichika's in his life to influence his growth. But with someone as volatile and unpredictable as Sparky Sparky Boom Man, who knows LOL.
Vivi Neferatari: Thank-you! World-building isn't my strongest thing to do, so I'm trying to add in little details to help me in that regard! Hopefully it's working!
Fortune: Yes, Izuku deserves better and his tormentors will definitely get their due.
SumeragiByakuren: I hope you enjoy this chapter, too! It was hard to write because I built this story on literally a scenario I imagined taking place during Chapter 200-and something :o. A long way to go so a lot of chapters to get through!
pendora59: Thank-you!
DodemGM: Thank-you! I decided to have Ichika in Class 1-B because it forces me to flesh out her character more in a way that she hopefully becomes her own and not another Mary-Sue. In saying that, I do think it's realistic for Yueei to separate twins to nurture individual growth. As for her Quirk, we'll be seeing that very soon!
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Shirogane Kei liked to think of himself as a well-established man, all things considered.
Being one of eight Quirkless business owners certainly was an accomplishment worth noting, especially when Shizuoka was one of the provinces with the least amount of Quirk-owned businesses. Still, for all the accomplishments Kei had achieved with his small and well-maintained Dojo, nothing could top the enrollment of the Midoriya twins.
Ichika and Izuku; a unique pair of siblings who stood on two completely different sides of evolution.
Where Ichika was Quirked, with her enrollment forms noting an emitter-type Quirk, Izuku was completely and utterly Quirkless. Quirkless!
In this day and age, it was so rare to meet another Quirkless individual, especially someone as young as Midoriya Izuku. And yet, there the young boy was– tucked into the side of Midoriya Ichika as the eldest of the two stared blankly at him. Almost as though she were assessing Kei to determine whether or not he was a threat.
The fact that she, a Quirked individual, would consider him a threat was almost as intriguing as her brother's mere existence; but Kei had an inkling that he'd need to get used to the oddities of his newest students, less he wanted to lose his sanity.
Evidently, when the young Dojo master takes the twins through their first session, there isn't much fanfare when their dynamic unravels before him.
As he expected, Ichika is the more assertive sibling out of the two. Always following Kei's actions straight away before Izuku follows her lead. Even when Kei talks to them about the practicum he's planned for them, it's always Ichika who speaks first before Izuku joins in. That is to say that Izuku isn't his sister's lesser, despite what their relationship initially infers.
Because while it is Ichika who manages Kei's maneuvres first, Ichika who voices her thoughts and observations first, Izuku's observations (as late as they come) are just as astute, his movements unsurprisingly more firm in their execution. They contrast each other perfectly in that regard. With Ichika mentally sharper and Izuku physically stronger, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future.
For now, though, all Kei wants to know is one thing.
"May I ask why you chose to study here," he asks, settling onto his calves as they finish their last few stretches. "I'm sure there were other Dojo's out there that you could've gone to".
The twins, from where they both lay on the tatami-covered floor, tilt their heads to look up at him. Rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed, they remind him of two green-colored bunnies after a long day of hopping around. When his question finally registers in their fatigue-addled minds, Kei almost expects to hear Ichika's soft voice answer.
Instead, much to his surprise, it's Izuku who speaks.
"I want to become a hero, Shirogane-sensei, like All-Might, " the young boy admits, bringing a hand up to scrub at his sweaty face. From his side, Ichika's nose twitches when a bit of sweat lands on her cheek. But does she wipe it off? No. Much to Izuku's amusement, his sister simply closes her eyes and shuffles closer to him, cuddling into his side as he bites back his giggle.
"But because I'm Quirkless, Icchan said I have to work extra hard if I want to achieve my goal so she talked to Mama to bring us here because you're Quirkless, too!" He rambles, arms flying everywhere as he explains. "There's no one better to teach me than you, Shirogane-sensei! And if I want to be a hero with Kacchan, I have to start training now to keep up."
Oh, Kei thinks before the severity of Izuku's explanation sinks in. Oh.
When Midoriya Inko enrolled both her children into his Dojo; Kei assumed that it had been a matter of self-defense for Izuku's part, and perhaps Ichika too considering she was his sister.
But this? Kei didn't know what to say.
Quirkless people were a dying race, an echo of life before. In a world with superpowered individuals, they were looked at as relics of evolution; beings who did not evolve in the way the majority had done. And like relics, society thought it better that they stay confined in the walls of wherever it is they lived. People like them didn't become heroes, as much as Kei wished differently. He'd only manage to open his Dojo because of the old money he'd inherited coming from a long line of martial artists.
The same could not be said for the rest of the Quirkless population. Discriminated against and often poverty-stricken, he and Izuku were the luckiest people like them could get.
When Kei's mind drifts back to the present, it seems he might've taken too long to reply because Izuku's eyes have fluttered shut, the exhaustion finally catching up to the young boy as his chest rises and falls evenly. Ichika, still tucked into his side, has her eyes closed too before–
"–Ne sensei," she murmurs, cracking her left eye to look up at him as Kei jolts.
Despite the exhaustion on her face, the look in her eye is clear and focused, sharp in the way her tousled hair is not. It's enough to make Kei realize that, despite her appearing to be dozing off earlier, the eldest Midoriya was probably giving her brother the space to speak comfortably without interruption.
"Izuku is going to be a hero whether society likes it or not, he just has to work for it," she continues, eye-darting to her brother before pinning Kei down again. "I'll be there to make sure that happens. Will you, sensei?"
The words, said so strongly despite the quiet whisper Ichika speaks with, hold no room for argument. What it does is make Kei reflect on everything he's learned, everything he still has yet to learn (and probably will come to learn with his two newest students), until the young Dojo master finds himself thinking: okay.
After all, with Izuku's firm conviction and Ichika's unwavering support, how can Shirogane Kei do anything other than agree?
"Of course, Midoriya-san," he says, watching as the eldest Midoriya's mouth twitches before softening into a small smile.
"Thank-you."
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When Shirogane Kei helps Midoriya Inko carry her two slumbering children into her car, it occurs to him that he never got to ask if Midoriya Ichika wanted to become a hero, too.
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After two weeks of constant training, the Midoriya twins don't make it to his Dojo on the last day of the week.
An emergency, Inko had explained.
In the background, Izuku's cries are loud and clear. Ichika's voice too, though it sounds like she's comforting Izuku more than crying.
Kei ends the call with Inko promising to bring the twins the following week and hoping whoever this Kacchan is recovers from the serious fever he's somehow come down with.
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AN: I was struggling so hard with this chapter, but alas - here it is. Please comment, favourite and follow!