I'd like to apologize for the drastic change in my posting schedule. I'm not active in the BNHA fandom at all right now, which is why my motivation to write for it isn't very high. Still, I have zero intention of discontinuing Wannabe Heroes anytime soon, especially not before I get to all the good stuff I have planned.

This chapter is an ice-cream swirl of angst and fluff, and was inspired by my desire to just get out some damn content already. I feel like my hint-dropping is getting pretty explicit with this chapter. Thanks for reading along xo

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Darkness, Then You

Shouta was just on the cusp of turning nineteen when his father died.

Hansuke Aizawa had been a good man. He was faithfully devoted to his wife, and endlessly doted on his children without any regard for their possible embarrassment. There wasn't a recital or graduation ceremony he missed, no matter how small. He would always spend his weekends with his son, teaching him how to skip rocks or how to ride a bike. He taught Shouta how to shave and how to treat others with respect. They would spend hours just talking, Hansuke always entertaining his many questions with that same bright smile. He always had all the answers. Looking back, most of Shouta's fondest childhood memories were accompanied by his father's steady hands and encouraging grin.

A villain attack destabilized the Ferris wheel on which his father and sister had been riding, and they fell from the top. Shouta had never seen his father use his Weightlessness Quirk on himself, and he didn't start then. His final act was to instead use it on Koharu, allowing her to drift harmlessly into the sky as he fell to the ground below. She reached the ground unharmed. Hansuke didn't.

His father had never been a proper Hero, but he had always been a hero in Shouta's eyes. His death only solidified that.

Shouta twisted the blame to lie on his shoulders. He told himself that he should have stopped it. He and his family were going to meet up for dinner in less than an hour— Shouta was going to treat them for once, his pockets finally full enough to take them somewhere nice. Shouta had been so close. Eraserhead had been on patrol in that very neighbourhood. They had practically been at his fingertips, and still they fell. And then his mother fell with them.

Kazue was not a cold woman, but she was not warm. She was nice when it mattered, but she was not kind. She was usually present, but she wasn't really there. She was a genius when it came to everything but dealing with other people. But without his father, she was just never the same. Their relationship quickly deteriorated without Hansuke to prop it up. Still— Shouta loved his mother.

Shouta was twenty when he lost her too.

Sometimes, in that endlessly still place between dreams and wakefulness, Shouta would forget his losses. His chest would feel light without them, finally unburdened by the puzzle pieces stripped from his life. He might even smile for once.

He clung to that drifting feeling now, curled in a cocoon of blankets atop his bed. In that place, his life was perfect. He had achieved his goal of becoming a Pro Hero, had no good reason to visit a graveyard, and most importantly— he had a very warm bed. It was his day off. He had no responsibilities. He could sleep all day long if he wanted to.

And then there was a gentle knock on the door, and Shouta remembered.

He had just lost his mother. He had just gained custody of a child involved in not one, but both of their parents' separate and tragic deaths, and oh fuck, she was at his door and oh shit, she needed him.

His blankets were kicked high into the air as Shouta scrambled from his bed, cursing himself for becoming so relaxed. Somehow Koharu had managed to sneak up on him— he hadn't heard her at all until she was already at his door. Tangled in his sheets, he fell to the floor in a panicked tangle of man and fabric. "Fucking hell," he grumbled into his floorboards before hoisting himself up.

Koharu was waiting when he opened the door. She was still wearing her pajamas and her hair was even more of an unbrushed mess than usual. Her small arms were crossed impatiently across her chest, and though her eyes were still a puffy red from crying, she stared up at her brother with unbridled annoyance. "It's morning," she said.

"Right," croaked Shouta. With a quick cough he cleared his throat and ushered the impatient Koharu away from his doorway so that he could step out of his room. "Breakfast. What should we eat?"

"You don't have any food," she replied in a quiet mumble. "I thought you were s'posed to be a grown-up now. Don't grown-ups have food?"

Shouta's feet faltered as his expression went temporarily blank. How had he remembered to get furniture, but not food? If memory served, all he had was stale cereal and some bizarre frozen pizza Hizashi had once brought and left behind. "Shit," he cursed aloud, already scrambling back to his room. "I'll go get us something."

"It's okay!" Koharu intervened, her voice turning chipper. "I'm making pizza!"

That brought pause. Shouta looked over his shoulder at his five-year-old sister, once again taking in just how small the girl was. His brain instantly provided the multitude of ways a child being in the kitchen, let alone operating the stove, could go wrong. Instead, his mouth supplied: "Pizza isn't breakfast."

Koharu's eyebrows shot into her hairline. "Why not?"

"...what do you mean? Because pizza isn't breakfast."

"Why not?"

"Because pizza is only for dinner," he tried to explain.

"Why?"

"Because—" pausing, Shouta considered the question and the many that would undoubtedly follow it before shrugging. It was better to cut her off now, and at least he didn't have to go out for groceries before having a cup of coffee. "Whatever, I guess it can be breakfast today, but we shouldn't make a habit of it." Koharu nodded in response, and he thought that was the end of it. But then—

"Why not?"

"Oh my god," he groaned as he slid both hands down his face. "Because I'm smarter than you and I said so, alright?"

His own words jogging his memory, Shouta jerked into action and headed towards his small, pathetically under-stocked kitchen to assess any damage. The cabinets looked untouched, and the stove looked completely innocent, aside from being turned on. A lone cardboard box sat on the counter, boasting a teriyaki chicken topped-pizza.

"You really shouldn't be using the stove. It's not safe for little kids," he scolded as Koharu joined him in the kitchen, her small frame lingering in the doorway and fiddling with her pants' drawstring.

Her cheeks puffed out at his words. "Mom let me do it," Koharu defended.

"What?" he replied with wide, blinking eyes. Their mother hadn't even let Shouta near the kitchen until he was eight, and even then he was hardly allowed to do more than operate the rice cooker. "That's ridiculous. That can't be true."

"It is true!" Koharu claimed with a stomp of her foot. "I can do all kinds of things!"

"I'm not denying that," placated Shouta as he peeked inside the oven to see the pizza. "But it's still dangerous. Just let me handle this stuff from now on, okay?"

Koharu's face flushed with anger as she pouted up at Shouta. She stomped her foot again. "No way! You'll just forget about me and I'll starve to death!"

She was a child. She couldn't have known the pain that would erupt in Shouta's chest at her words, but Shouta flinched back as though she had thrown them in his face like hot coal. Momentarily stripped of words, Shouta dropped to his knees and wrapped his sister into a tight hug. She was bones in his grasp, terribly fragile and altogether too small. His heart squeezed tightly as he heard her begin to sniffle, the tears falling like she had just been waiting for a chance to let them.

Shouta brought one of his hands to the back of her tiny head, and pushed it against his shoulder. He planted a quick kiss atop her messy locks of hair. "That's never going to happen," he swore. "I'll always be here when you need me, okay? I can get a dumb desk job or something. I can be home before dinner. I'll make breakfast every day."

"...that's stupid," came the quiet mumble against his shoulder. "You're s'posed to be a hero."

"I don't care," he said, and he was surprised to find that it was the truth. "You're more important. I promised that I would take care of you and I will."

Koharu pushed him away with all her might, and he was quick to let her. She stumbled back with wet cheeks and shockingly fiery eyes. A minuscule finger pointed harshly at his face. "You're so dumb! I'm still going to beat you one day, so you have to be a hero or it doesn't mean anything!"

Shouta rocked back on his heels. Snot was dribbling from Koharu's nose, and her messy hair was matted to her face where tears slid freely down her cheeks. Still, she was standing as tall as she could. Shouta's lips twitched into a small, barely there smile despite the unbearable ache still burning in his chest. "Fine, no drastic career changes... for now. But you can still leave the cooking to me, okay? I won't let you starve."

"You're starving me right now, dummy!" she shouted. With a loud huff, she stomped her foot again, the impact so small that it didn't make a sound.

Shouta's hands raised in defence. He would let the name-calling slide. "What do you want from me? I can't make the pizza cook any faster. You already did a good job starting it."

Koharu's pointing finger faltered and dropped at the unexpected praise. She looked to be considering Shouta's words carefully. "Fine," she finally said with a pout returning to her lips. "But you should have more food anyway!"

"You're right," Shouta said with a quick nod, eager to appease the girl. "It's a good thing I've got you here to whip me into shape, Haru. I bet you can do lots of things that I can't do."

Koharu's chest puffed up with pride, and she used the heavy sleeve of her sweater to wipe away the last of her stray tears. "I totally can! I even know how to stand on my hands!"

"While that's not totally what I meant," Shouta began with a small chuckle, ruffling Koharu's hair as he stood from his crouched position, "That's great. I can't do a handstand," he lied. "Maybe you can show me how while we wait for the pizza to cook?"

"I can show you!" declared the young girl as she darted back into the living room. Shouta followed to the door-frame and leaned into its arch with crossed arms.

Koharu looked back to ensure she had his eyes on her before she kicked up onto her hands, catching her weight easily. Her little legs curled for balance, and with a shuffle, she was sending Shouta an upside-down grin.

It was the first smile he had seen from her since he found her. Shouta knew immediately that the wide, gap-toothed smile she gave him then would be forever cemented in his heart, tucked close next to the memory of the first time she garbled out his name as a baby. Somehow, she had survived the consequences of losing both her parents and still smiled like nothing had happened to her. It was something Shouta had never quite managed to get the hang of. How the hell was she doing better at this than he was?

He didn't realize that he was crying until Koharu's smile had already faded.

Her feet returned silently to the floor and silently padded towards him. With both of her hands she reached for his own, a hand which he gladly offered. Koharu's eyes were solemn as she patted the back of his hand. "It's okay, Shouta," she said in her most soothing voice.

"I— I'm sorry, don't worry about me," he blubbered, turning his gaze away from her. He was supposed to be the one taking care of her; they had literally just established that. He wiped his arm back and forth against his eyes in a fruitless attempt to stem his tears.

She continued to pat his hand. "You don't have to cry," she said soothingly. "I can teach you how to do a handstand real good. I'm super smart, so it's okay that you're old and you still don't know how to do anything yet. I'll teach you."

She didn't know how right she was, he thought. If she could survive all that she had been through and still smile like that— then there was a lot that he could learn from her.

Shouta chuckled wetly. With his captured hand, he pulled Koharu closer in order to pick her up into his arms for a tight hug. She weighed so little that it was like he was holding nothing more than air, but he appreciated the warmth of her small form against his chest regardless. In a mumble, he confessed, "I don't know what I would do without you, kid."

And if was in his power, he would never have to find out.

chapter end

M — wb! Koharu absolutely needed that talk with Tokoyami, and I'm glad that I chose him as the one to give it to her. I'm really glad you liked the last chapter! Thanks so much!

MayNura — thank you so much for your review!

Fahdza — wb! Thanks for reviewing!

SecretPeach — ahh thanks so much! If you like Koharu and Shouta's relationship, hopefully you'll have enjoyed this chapter :) I'm eager to get through the festival, so hopefully I'll have more for you soon!