[A/N] This chapter is basically a time skip chapter. By the end we will be closer to where the MHA anime starts. YAY!

"Yuuma-ni-san! Good morning!" Ritsu jumped onto Yuuma with a happy gusto, the older boy just barely catching him. "Morning, Ri-chan."

"Hey hey, can you show me the water trick again, Ni-san? Pleeassee?"

Yuuma watched as his eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Sure." Both of them went to the kitchen, running the water in the sink. Yuuma pointed his finger at the faucet, and small glow could be seen around the water. He flicked his hand, and a small water bubble separated from the stream, floating its way to them. Once it was there, the mesmerized younger watched as it spun faster and faster, switching from being a flat shape back to a round shape. Then Yuuma closed his palm, condensing the atoms in the water and thus changing it from it's liquid form to a small sphere of ice.

"Catch, Ri-chan." He tossed the ice ball to him, Ritsu reaching to catch it only for it to return to being water. Ritsu closed his eyes, thinking he was going to get wet, but instead the water changed form again, becoming a bunch of fish swimming through the air. "Wow... You're the awesome-est Ni-san EVER!"

Yuuma couldn't help but smile slightly as the younger boy gazed around the kitchen in pure wonder. "Now you try it, Ritsu."

"Me? I don't know if I can do something so cool..."

"It just takes a bit of practice. Come on, give it a try."

"Okay... I'll try it!" The ten year old said, determined. He was going to make his ni-san proud of him.

Ritsu turned the water back on, putting both of his hands up. One could see the faint glow as he activated his quirk. It took a minute, but there was finally a little bubble of water that he'd manage to separate from the stream of water in the sink. It wasn't a perfect sphere like Yuuma's was, however. It was very shaky.

"That's really good, Ritsu! Now imagine that the ball is getting smaller and smaller." Ritsu nodded, struggling a bit. He tried, and for a second, it did start to turn to ice, but the next second it exploded leaving a puddle of water on the kitchen floor. "Aw, man..."

"That's ok, Ri-chan. You did really good for you first try! When I first tried it I couldn't even get the water bubble to stay stable. It burst as soon as I got it out of the faucet! Remember?" Ritsu giggled, feeling better about not getting it right. He did remember that.

It was back when his mom was still working on his control. She told him to keep the water from bursting, and keep it stable in a sphere. But every time it would burst, and all of them would get wet! But the exercise was so fun no one minded it. It took him a full year to finally get it right because of how much raw power he had. Ritsu knew that he'd never be as strong as Yuuma, which was probably why his control was a bit better starting out than his was.

But Ritsu was determined to be as strong as his ni-san. His ni-san was so strong. So much stronger than him. He was awesome! He could do all these cool tricks like make plants grow and fly. He could fly! How cool was that?! He was the greatest! He could do other stuff too, and it was crazy! He was awesome!

They had been living together for six years now. It had been six years since the incident that took his parents' lives. When he first got there, he barely smiled. No, he didn't smile. He never laughed. And he hardly ate. Ritsu had made it his solidary mission to get him to smile again like he used to when they were smaller. And his mom, Yuuma's aunt, Airi, trained him to control his quirk which would often go slightly out of control and make stuff float and bend all of the spoons.

At first, Yuuma didn't find it all that appealing. He didn't like using his power all that much. So Airi had to ease him into using it more, and assure him that there was no way he could hurt her or Ritsu with it. She knew the very thought scared him. Yuuma knew how dangerous his powers were, but she wanted to show him the plus side to them, and all of the wonderful things he could do. Thus the water ball training.

When Yuuma was still 5, he didn't see it as training. He didn't know that by keeping the water in a bubble, he was actually controlling his output. If he didn't destroy the fragile bubble, he wouldn't destroy anything else, and he learned how much power he needed to put out in order for it to be dangerous and not dangerous. The bubble represented a person. And when he got the hang of that, he moved up in difficulty until he was lifting his aunt up herself.

It took him two years to get to that level. And now he could do it without batting an eye. After that, she had to figure out how to train him using his energy manipulation. She thought that it was going to be very complicated, but it turned out Yuuma had already figured it out without actually trying to.

Through his eyes, everyone had a type of energy coming from them. Different colors, different shapes. The body was made of energy, and that was what Yuuma could see when he concentrated enough. Injuries made the energy become dull, less vibrant. He figured this out when Ritsu got hurt while they were playing. He'd simply scraped his knee a bit after falling. But Yuuma started panicking and wanted to do something for him.

So, seven year old Yuuma put some of his overflowing energy into the dull places where Ritsu was hurt, thus healing him. From that day on, they called that ability Psychic Healing. Yuuma didn't even need to touch a person, animal, or plant to do this, but touching made it easier and more precise. This day was a turning point for Yuuma, because he'd found something that he could do to help that wasn't dangerous.

It made him happy, and on that day he smiled for the first time in almost three years. It was just a small smile but it was enough. Ritsu was so happy for him, and thought he was the coolest person in the world. That was also the day Ritsu started asking him about the different tricks he could do with his powers. Like helping plants to grow faster, only for the fruit to be very disgusting because it was grown too soon. And the trick with the water where he turned it into ice and made animals with it. Or making them fly around by putting energy in the bottoms of their feet.

He had started doing this because he knew that discovering all of the good things his quirk could do made Yuuma feel better about himself.

Without realizing it, Yuuma became happier. Not as happy as he was before, but he was happy. He smiled a little more, laughed a little more, and began to open up a little more.

It took six whole years to get to that better place. And now Yuuma was a cute 11 year old boy who still dreamed of maybe becoming a scholar, or a doctor, or a scientist.

The doctor option was looking rather great because he could heal people! That option sounded plausible to him. But, he didn't like seeing blood, or the sick, he didn't like hospitals all that much. Never did, but now it was a little more so because of the painful memories it brought back. But he liked helping.

There were other jobs that helped, too. Maybe he could be a police officer like his aunt? He'd seen the police around a lot, and was even friends with a few of them. They were really cool. But... it left a bitter taste in his mouth. It reminded him of his parents, who worked with the police as heroes. But now it was less painful and more bittersweet. He remembered how much his parents loved their job.

Heroes... the thought crossed his mind. The buried hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd make a decent hero like his mom and dad were. He wouldn't be a detective like they were, but... he could do something. He could find a way to protect what was dear to him.

The more and more he thought about it, the more he wanted to. He thought that by being a hero, he could be a little closer to his parents... even if it was just a little. He liked helping people, and it wasn't like he couldn't be all of the things he wanted and still be a hero too. His Mom and Dad were heroes that saved people, and he wanted to be just like them.

But he couldn't deny that the very thought scared him. What if everything went wrong like it did that day? What if he wasn't strong enough? Or fast enough? What if he wasn't enough? What if what if whatifwhatif—

So many things could go wrong.

So, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind once again. Today was not a day to be thinking about negative stuff.

Yuuma went back to his room to get ready for the day. Today was their moving day. He'd be going back home for the first time in 6 years. He was nervous, very nervous. He'd be transferring back in to school. It made him feel a little self conscious. He was small for his age. Even though he was one year older than Ritsu, the younger boy made it look like the reverse was true because of their height difference!

Why was he so small? He drank milk everyday! He ate all of his veggies, and he's been physically training with his aunt for almost 6 years now! But still he hasn't gained any height! He wasn't as chubby anymore, but baby fat still clung to him. Why? Oh well, even if all of the kids will be way bigger than him, it's not like he wasn't already used to that. He was an accelerated student; because he was able to skip grades, he was younger than everyone else. Younger meant smaller.

His thoughts went to the blank form in his hands.

Choosing his high school, it was still blank. It was a big choice he had to make which would decided where his future was leading. Where did he want to go? What did he want to learn? Who did he want to be? Yuuma didn't know. He'd been struggling with his dreams ever since 'that' day. It had gotten to the point he wasn't sure of anything anymore. So he just continued to stare at the page that had nothing written on it.

As if he were summoned, Ritsu came into the room to check in on him. "Have you thought of where you want to go yet, Ni-san?"

"No, not yet." Yuuma said, folding the paper and putting it in his bag for safe keeping. He was honestly tired of thinking. "I'm not sure what I want." Yuuma sighed, and Ritsu started thinking.

"What about Yuuei?"

"But that's a hero school, Ristu. The best one! I don't know if I'd make it in..." Yuuma said. Ritsu sighed, wanting Yuuma to have more confidence in himself. When Yuuma had told him that he'd thought about being a hero, Ritsu was so happy for him! Yuuma was so kind, so cool, he'd make the best hero ever!

But, Yuuma was so conflicted about it. Ten-year-old Ritsu wasn't really sure why. Every kid wanted to be a hero! But, for some reason the thought made Yuuma sad. Ritsu was sure it had something to due with his late aunt and uncle, Yuuma's mom and dad.

Ritsu did not voice that realization, he knew it made Yuuma sad. Making Yuuma sad was the number one Taboo in Ritsu's book. If a single tear hit the ground, to Ritsu? That meant the world ended and whatever demon committed the sin deserved the most savage of divine retribution.

He was the head of the Yuuma Protection Squad.

Yuuma, not noticing that his cousin had went into a passionate internal monologue about protecting his happiness, had thought of so many things he could be. A scholar? A scientist? A doctor? A teacher? A police officer like his aunt, Ritsu's mom?

...A hero?

He wasn't sure if he had what it took to be a good hero. Sure, he was smart, and his quirk was strong. Sure, his heart was large enough to fit an elephant in it. But those amazing things Ritsu knew about him didn't change the fact that Yuuma was unsure of himself. He was so scared of letting them down because of this.

Ritsu knew he had it in him. Yuuma kept him safe when he'd walk him to his school, and made him smile when he was feeling down. He even made his mom smile when she'd had a particularly rough day at work by showing her his progress with his quirk control. Even when he couldn't smile... he made sure that the people around him were.

How is that not hero worthy, Ni-san?

"I know you can, Yuuma. You are the greatest Ni-san in the world, so I know you can do it. And if you don't, you're still the greatest, because you're Ni-san, and Ni-san is the greatest!" Ritsu said with certainty. The ten year old could go on all day about how great his ni-san was.

"Ri-chan..." Yuuma smiled, the confidence rolling off of Ritsu in waves making even him feel a little better. If Ritsu thought so, then what was the harm in trying, right? Sure, all of the kids would be a little older than him, and all of them would be much bigger than him since he was still small but... If Ritsu believes in him, he can do anything!

A big brother lives up to his little brothers expectations, and overcomes them. He must be a role model for Ritsu, he can't let him down! Yuuma felt his determination bubble up. Ritsu believed in him. He clenched his tiny hand into a fist, nodding to himself as he repeated over and over that he could do this.

Ritsu watched as Yuuma psyched himself up, and the only thing the younger boy could think was: 'My Ni-san is so cute.' His soft black hair was still in a bowl-cut, his cheeks were still a little chubby with tinges of pink dusted on them. Ritsu was taller than Yuuma by a good few inches; you'd mistake him for the older of the two. Most people did when they saw them together.

"Yuuma! Ritsu! Come on, its time to leave." Instantly all of Yuuma's determination vanished, and he was back to his nervous self again.

"Coming Mom!" Ritsu said, pulling Yuuma along. The younger boy knew that if he didn't hold his hand it was a possibility that he would fly away and hide. Yuuma's nerves were betraying him, but the tight, reassuring grip on his hand calmed him down. Ritsu always managed to calm him down, he always knew what to say, same as Aunt Airi.

They were the best.

They both got in the car, and the long drive back to Musutafu began. No one dared to say anything, and for a while, the car was very silent. He was going home, and honestly he wasn't sure if he was ready to go back to that house. Was he ready? Would it hurt to go back there after all of this time? Yuuma pushed the thoughts down, but he knew that deep in the represses of his mind that he hoped, futilely, that his parents would burst through the door and welcome him home.

The very thought saddened him as it would never some true. He didn't want to let out those negative feelings that were growing inside of him. But he couldn't smile either at the thought of being home again.

35%

"Ni-san." Ritsu said, noticing Yuuma's nerves. "It's okay to be sad. But it's also okay to be happy." He squeezed Yuuma's small hand and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll be with you the whole time, okay?"

Ritsu had been working hard to get Yuuma to open up like he used to. Ever since that day, he kept himself from really showing his emotions. It got to a point where he wasn't sure what emotion he was feeling and he had to reconnect with himself again. Ritsu wasn't an expert on it, but his mom had explained that it was because his quirk was connected to his emotions that he was like that.

Ritsu's mom had told him that it was going to be okay. He'd be able to smile again like he used to one day, and she said that Ritsu was helping him with that. He wasn't sure how he was helping, but if he was helping Ni-san feel better then he was happy!

"Yeah... Thanks, Ri-chan." Yuuma said, squeezing his hand back. Ritsu really had become his moral support in the past 6 years. Yuuma didn't know where he would be without him and Aunt Airi. After he'd locked all of his emotions in a mental box, he found it hard to reconnect with the people around him, but Ritsu was a ball of sunshine and Aunt Airi was understanding.

For the past 6 years, he'd been homeschooled by his aunt. But now that his powers were under more control, she thought it was best that he go back to being in the regular school system. That, and she recently got a job promotion, which meant she was going to be a lot more busy than she used to be.

Yuuma knew that they would come back home one day when he left 6 years ago, and today was that day. But as he stepped through the familiar threshold, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness flicker inside him. There were pictures still on the walls, pictures of his mom, dad, and himself. All of them with goofy smiles and warm hugs.

Yeah, there was sadness. But he was happy to be back in this familiar place. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed it. Taking a small photo off of the shelf in the hallway, he gazed at it with fondness glimmering in his dull, large eyes.

"...I'm home, Mom. Dad." He whispered, gently placing it back where it should be. He left for his old room, the same feelings of nostalgia, happiness, and sadness as nothing had changed from how he left it. He put his things down, preparing for his first day at regular middle school.

He was nervous to be going back to regular schooling. Aldera Junior High. Maybe his experience there will help him make a decision for his future? Maybe he'd make some new friends?

Maybe he'd even see some old ones?

[A/N] Yay. finally. Here we go!