This storry passed 300 folows! This is crazy! I love you all!
Because my fantastic beta OTrizy thinks that I need to add a warning for you all to not be so surprised of what will happen in this chapter, let me just warn you in advance: in this chapter a minor will drink alcohol and smoke. Also this chapter may contain unexpected OOC-ness and angst. It really depends on your point of view.

(I am so sorryyyy)

Quote: "Our greatest glory isn't in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."- Confucius

I propped my chin in the palm of my right hand, feeling utterly bored. From the corner of my eyes, I saw my brother, trying to not doze off and Katsuki who completely gave up and was now sprawled over his table, sleeping soundly.

I tilted my head in consideration. Sleep didn't sound so bad. I looked at our teacher at the front of the classroom. She was trying to bore us, talking on and on about how we should think about our future and be careful to choose the right school. I snorted quietly and shook my head in amusement. She was saying the same shit for a few weeks now; it was a little sad that she still didn't realize nobody listened to her.

I observed her critically and weighted pros and cons of falling asleep. If she noticed me, she would scold me and give me one-day long detention - I already knew this from experience. She was unfair like this – Katsuki was allowed to sleep through her lectures without problems, all because he had good grades in her subject (she taught chemistry - I hated that subject just because she was the one teaching it).

Hmm… today was Friday, thus she wouldn't be able to give me detention for tomorrow. So I'd say I go for it.

I placed both of my hands on the table and with a content sigh, I settled my head atop of them. Closing my eyes and was about to drift into the land of dreams… however, I was interrupted by a nastily sounding cough that sounded too close for my comfort.

I opened one eye and sent ugly look at the person standing next to my desk. How did she get here so fast? Was she actually waiting for this moment or what? A frown made an appearance on my face as the woman next to me opened her mouth.

"I am boring you, Midoriya-chan?" My teacher asked in very biting tone.

I bit my tongue to prevent an automatic response of 'Yes you are'. Instead, I straightened in my chair gracefully and bared my teeth in a parody of a smile, knowing full well how unsettling I was to other people when I did that. I heard the rustling of clothes as the attention of others was drawn to us, they were undoubtedly looking forwards to the show. I think I even heard soft groan and light slap - my brother - and irritated sleepy murmur, followed by a snort – made by no other than woken up Katsuki.

Great, I always appreciated a good audience.

"No, not at all sensei," I answered pleasantly, trying to be polite. Only a few weeks remained, staying out of trouble until that sounded like a good idea.

"Is that so? Then mind telling me, why you are sleeping in my class? I am trying to prepare you to the best of my abilities. My words will help guide for the years to come and you just sleep through everything?" she said a little too loudly. I tilted my head; she was taking this too seriously. What was her problem? Was this personal?

"I was not sleeping actually; I was only in the process of falling asleep." I replied caustically before I could stop myself. I tried to be civil, okay? Nobody could say that I didn't. This just slipped…

Totally not regretting though when In my smile sharp said

"You… You…" Eeeh lady, I think people aren't supposed to be that purple in the face.

"Yes?"

"Do you really think someone with your grades could afford to not pay attention to me?!" She snapped out scathingly. I lifted my eyebrow. Using my grades now? Wow, what a bitch. Not that I was that much bothered to be her words – I think I did pretty good in school, all things considered. But I wasn't about to let her walk over me…

"Yes, that's actually what I think. It's not like I will hear something new or important anyway," I said with a sharp smile, enjoying the way her eyebrows scrunched together in anger.

"You-" she said barked, but suddenly she pause and calmed down and an unpleasant smile appeared on her face. I was instantly on my guard and smile fell off my face. "Do you know what you are going to do in the future then, Midoriya-chan? If you think you don't need to listen to me…"

"Well, I am already accepted into Orudera Junior High School," I answered carefully, not really knowing where she was going with the sudden change of topic. She already knew this.

"Oh? That's nice. And then what?"

"I will follow my brother's choice of school. "

"Oh yes. He wants to be a hero, right?" She turned to face my brother and I bristled at the condescending tone she used.

My hand twitched, an urge to punch that smug face rising in me. I bared my teeth and with a look that promised pain, I dared her to add something. I would have loved to hit her.

But she didn't follow up; instead, she walked back to the front, continuing her 'lesson' as if nothing happened. She left me fuming in my seat, irritated and certainly not falling asleep anytime soon.

xXxXxXx

I shoved my school supplies into bag angrily, not minding that I creased my notes and other papers that way. Saying I was furious would be an understatement of the year.

That bitch…

Did she think that just because she was a teacher, she could talk to people this way?! I endured her behavior through all six years, but she crossed the line today. Nobody made fun of my family without me striking back, twice as violently. I just needed to be more indigenous with the retaliation this time as I didn't want it to be traced back to me. Mark my thoughts; however, I will make her pay for this. Was I sounding too bloodthirsty? Good, let's keep it like that.

Once I had everything in my bag, I turned around to look if my brother was done with his packing as well. I was surprised to find no one where my brother was supposed to be. I searched for him around the room in confusion. He never left without me, except times I had cleaning duty and even then he made sure to tell me he was leaving.

I bit my lip when I didn't catch a sight of him. He was behaving weirdly for some time now - he no longer joined me in my morning exercises (with him stopping, Katsuki stopped too… the routine felt strangely lonely these days) and instead started to spend more time in our room, writing into a notebook he refused to show me (I once caught kanji for 'hero' on the cover). He spoke less in class too and overall was behaved more withdrawn…

I don't know when it started. Maybe it was gradual and I was just ignorant… When I asked him about it, he only smiled and said that it was my imagination and that he was totally fine. However, his smile was just a tiny bit strained…

I… I am not good with this stuff. I mean, with Theo, he always told me what was wrong, I didn't need to ask. And it was usually things I couldn't do anything about – like him worrying that he wouldn't be accepted into a school he wanted. Only one time we had a disagreement between us and well… I don't want to think about that.

Anyway, because I didn't want to pry, I left it like that, hoping that it was only puberty. Nobody bullied him – which I was sure of as I chased away everyone before they could even start. Maybe I was thinking too much into this?

Ugh… let's just ask shorty if he knows where my brother went. Too much thinking is bad for your head.

Deciding that, I walked towards the boy that was currently stretching behind his desk because someone didn't make a fuss about him falling asleep. Irritation sparkling in me again, I threw my very heavy backpack onto his desk. The loud sound startling the yawning boy and making him sit up straight.

"W-what the fuck? Why did you do that you shitty hag?!" he growled when he made a note of who was the cause of the noise. Not feeling all that good at the moment, I decided to ignore his question and instead I came right to the point.

"Do you know where Izuku went?"

He stopped glowering at me and instead lifted an eyebrow at my question. My own twitched in annoyance. He was taking too damn long to answer.

"He didn't tell you? The teacher wanted to discuss something with him. Told me that I could go ahead," he finally answered with a shrug. I nodded silently in thanks and started to slowly shuffle away, thoughts of why I wasn't told circulating in my head. Did I do something wrong? Sure I back-talked to the teacher before, but that was nothing new. Right, so I don't really know what I could have done…

If something was the matter he shouldn't be afraid to tell me, we were twins after all.

I reached gate soon but instead of walking through and going home, I decided to sit on the grass, leaning my back on a stone fence.

Ignoring questioning looks of my classmates, I sat in silence until I spotted my brother's dark green curls. I jumped on my feet and neared him, an uncertain smile on my face. However, even this smile fell when I saw his troubled expression.

"Otouto…? Are you okay?" I asked him once I was near enough. He jumped at my question and his eyes widened. He tried to mask everything the next second with a smile, but it looked so fake. It was like a punch in the stomach.

"Nee-chan why-" I didn't let him finish. I placed my hands on his shoulders and I bent slightly (I was taller than him as he was still waiting for his growth spurt) to have my eyes on the same level as his. My grip was gentle but firm and the smile I hated the moment it appeared on his face, slipped away to make room for a confused frown. He looked anywhere but at me and I fought an urge to storm the whole grounds in search of whoever made him like that.

"Izuku," I called seriously. My tone forced him to look right into my eyes.

"What happened? Which teacher called you? Was it that bitch? What did she say?!" I continued to fire questions without waiting for a reply, too enraged in that moment. After few seconds I had to stop to take a deep breath as I forgot to properly breathe in my agitated state.

Once I was sure had enough air again, I was about to start my interrogation a new, but I was stopped by my brother.

"Nothing happened nee-chan. Really. Let's go home," after saying this he gently pried away from my hands and started to walk away. I closed and opened my mouth few times, words failing me. In the end, I let my mouth fall shut with a loud clack and followed after my brother's retreating form.

When I managed to catch up to him, I positioned myself to his right and carefully observed his expression. He looked as if he was so deep in thought that he didn't even realize I was looking at him intently. After few seconds I turned my head away to face the path before us, confused and frustrated thoughts circling through my mind.

What should I do…?

My gaze snapped to the right at the playground we just passed. We used to play in there a lot when we were younger. Deciding quickly, I snatched my brother's hand, making him yelp in surprise. Entering the playground, I dragged him towards a pair of swings.

Playground and swings should set a familiar and relaxing atmosphere… right?

I let go of his hand once we reached our destination and feeling nervous all of a sudden I laughed uneasily.

"Haha… We still have some time before dinner, right? So… so I thought we can play a little… have some bonding brother-sister time, huh?" When he continued to be silent with an expression I couldn't decipher. I shuffled in place restlessly. Deciding that I needed to hold onto something, I walked over to one of the swings.

My hands were clammy therefore when I took hold of the swing's chain; it nearly slipped out of my hold.

I was feeling so out of my depth, it wasn't even funny. Even when we found out Izuku was quirkless, even when Chizome had a meltdown before me, even when at times I felt lost and uncertain of this new life, I still had something that I could hold onto… memory, feeling, an emotion that guided me through that situation. Now, however… I couldn't find anything in myself. I felt small and insignificant. I wanted to scream out and release all my confusion/frustration/anxiety.

My grip on the chain intensified to the point where it hurt. I didn't really register that though, fully concentrating on the more pressing matters. Like my quiet brother.

The silence was too much for me after a while and I decided to speak up again.

"Um… I liked when we played on swings… You would sit in one and I would push you… gradually pushing you higher and higher… you always laughed a lot…" I continued to babble on and on about how we played in past.

I trailed off when my brother turned his head away to look across the playground at a group of kids playing in a sandbox. I bit my lip. God, I was so pathetic. I was mentally more than forty years old. Get a grip woman. I took a shaky breath and opened my mouth again.

"Uh, wanna try it again? You can sit here and I will put-" I paused abruptly when he released a heavy sigh.

"You still see me as a kid, huh…"

What…?

"I am already twelve, nee-chan! I am no longer that boy you have to constantly look after, I can take care of myself!" he said in a rush as he walked few steps towards me. I took a step back, chain slipping from my cold hands. I couldn't muster any strength to speak, but I didn't have to as my brother still wasn't done talking.

"But you still… still… do you really think I am that incompetent?!"

"N-no… I don't…" I stuttered out finally, but I was once again interrupted.

"You, you clearly think so!" he exclaimed loudly. I took another step back, my eyes wide.

What… what was happening now. I couldn't follow.

"Y-you solve all my problems without me knowing. You don't let me stand for myself. You always follow me anywhere – are you worried I hurt myself falling down, or what? The only times you don't breathe down my neck are when you have club activities or you decide to 'disappear' for a few hours. What's with that anyway? I can't be left to roam freely but you can just disappear to fight with who knows who?! D-don't think I didn't notice those bruises and scratches you have on you when you return…"

I blinked repeatedly. Was I, was I really that much of a stalker? I just… I was worried someone would bully him and… afraid. Afraid that if I weren't next to him most of time, something would happen to him, like it did to Theo and I couldn't… wouldn't be able to keep going if I lost Izuku.

"A-anyway! That's not important now! What I am trying to say is… is…that I… " he fumbled for words and I continued to look at him, morbid curiosity growing in me. I knew I wouldn't like what he had to say, but I still wanted to hear it.

"…You?" I pushed softly.

"I h-h-hate that part of you!" he yelled at the end, eyes clamped down and fists clenched.

Hate…?

I jerked back as if struck, my brother's words making my stomach churn. I felt dizzy and ice-cold, my hands were clammy and sweat was going down my temples. I tried to calm down by taking deep breaths, but as if I suddenly forgot how to breathe, I could only take short, shallow ones.

I bit my lower lip and clenched my fists enough to draw blood in order to quench my growing panic. The sharp pain helped to ground me a little. Or at least enough for me to concentrate on my surroundings again. I noticed that small rocks and leaves, which undoubtedly flew into the air because of my quirk, were lying around me in small heaps. The playground was now deserted, kids from before had to run always somewhere during my near panic attack. I suppose sudden mini tornado would scare anyone, though my brother wasn't even aware something like that happened and was still shouting with eyes tightly closed.

With some difficulty I forced myself to concentrate on his words, only my pure-will preventing me from breaking down into tears here and there.

"… any idea how I feel? You are always t-there. You protect me, help me, do everything for me, I've never once seen you worrying about yourself! I feel so useless and powerless and I hate that because heroes are supposed to be the ones that protect. How could I ever become one if I stayed like this, hiding behind your skirt? I can n-never be a man everyone can look up to if I am constantly smothered by my sister…"

"And… And everyone says it's such a pity you don't have any ambition to become a hero because you are the one with more potential. You have a quirk - that you manage to use in many ways others thought were impossible before. You excel in anything physical-related and you are hard to overlook with your personality. You are stronger, flashier and more noticeable… you are so much b-better in every way. And I know that this isn't your fault, this is just the way you are and I can't change anything by being miserable, but I am so tired of constantly being in your shadow and I am so sick of being jealous. I hate that I feel like this. I want to feel happy for you and just to be a supportive brother, because this is not your fault, I am just being stupid. And I shouldn't s-shout at you like this but I can't think straight and I just… I just…"

I let his words wash over me as I looked at him with dull eyes. I was in no state to process what was said to me, but I made sure to register every word of it- I made him feel like this, I deserved every last of these painful words. I was there… but at the same time, I wasn't.

I stood there quietly with a perfectly blanked face. After a while, Izuku's stopped talking and was instead breathing heavily in order to take back the breath he lost.

Tears were flowing down my brother's face and I while I wanted to take him into my arms and soothe him, I didn't have enough mental strength left to do that. Just one push and all my efforts to stay composed would crumble. I needed to stay like this just little longer. I couldn't afford to break down. Not now.

I didn't speak even when the silence stretched for minutes. In the end, it was Katsuki's surprising arrival that broke the sudden stillness of the playground.

"What happened? I heard yelling and…" the older boy trailed off when he looked properly at our current states. It must have been a sight; two distraught kids, one crying his eyes out and other with bloody lips and hands. His sharp eyes looked between the two us, slow realization appearing in them He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, my brother turned around and bolted away.

I was about to yell at him to stop, but I reconsidered it the next second. I gazed down on the ground, stained with few drops of my own blood and stomped an urge to follow him, knowing that it wouldn't be appreciated by my sibling in his current state.

The rustle of clothes made me snap my head to the side, my gaze landing on the red-eyed boy. What was he still doing here? He should be following my brother, he needed a friend now. Not having enough energy to muster my best glare, I only opened my mouth and willed my sluggish tongue to form words.

"Why are you still here?" I croaked hollowly, not caring about the way my voice made him shiver and his eyes to narrow.

"I…" he started but one look at my expressionless face made him stop whatever he was about to say. Instead, he scratched his head and started to swear too quickly and quietly for me to discern each word. I had a feeling I would be impressed in his vocabulary if the situation was different, though.

After he was done with whatever that was supposed to be, he started to walk towards the woods, frustrated frown on his face.

I sighed quietly in relief. Izuku was in good hands now. My hands started to shake slightly. I willed them to calm down. Not now, not in front of Katsuki and not in a place where anybody could see.

I felt soft touch on my shoulder. I jerked violently and raised my hand to punch the stupid person who crept on me. However, I stalled my hand when I realized it was only the ash-haired boy. He raised an unimpressed eyebrow at my hand that was few centimeters from his face. My only answer was a blank stare; however, I did let my hand fall down.

I was about to force myself to speak again, though before I could, I was stopped by the sound of a fabric being ripped up. I peered down at his hands in confusion.

He tore off a short strip from his green shirt and was now showing it into my clammy hand. I stared at it uncomprehendingly.

"You know… Izuku isn't the only one I consider my friend…" he said softly. My eyes widened and I lifted my gaze from the fabric in my hand to stare at him, but by that time he already whirled around and ran away in search of my brother.

…

… stupid …

My shoulders started to tremble and I raised both of my hands in front of my mouth to muffle any sounds I could release. Rocks and leaves started to rotate slightly in place as I continued to lose and regain control of my powers in irregular intervals.

Wanting to feel as if I was hidden from other eyes at least a little; I dragged myself behind the nearest tree. I slid down the tree bark and used one hand to embrace both of my legs, pressing them to me. I placed my head on my knees, tremors now going through my whole body.

Katsuki is so stupid.

Izuku too, why did he wait so long to tell me his true feelings? I was strong, I could bear them.

I chuckled without any humor behind it. The chuckles transformed into muffled sobs. Yeah, I was coping so greatly now, huh? Mere minutes ago I was seconds away from panic attack… Was I really so unstable? My grip on my legs tightened.

How could I be so inconsiderate? How come I've never noticed that my brother was silently suffering? I always prided myself in being observant individual… but clearly, I was so, so blind.

xXxXxXx

I rubbed roughly my puffy eyes and leaned back my head against a bark of a tree, gazing at a blue sky dazedly. I was crying for a long time… It wouldn't be far-fetched to say that few hours passed.

"Haaaa…" I sighed mournfully. I would need to head home soon; mom would be worried if I didn't appear for dinner at least. A quick look at my watch told me I had around half an hour until I would need to head back.

My brother was probably already there… I made a pained expression.

The dinner would be awkward affair tonight. Izuku would feel guilty after what he said and wouldn't dare to look at me and mom wouldn't know what to do to cheer us up. Praying for what happened wouldn't do much but to make the atmosphere even more uncomfortable, too, so she would give up eventually. And I… well I would probably stay silent, not looking at anyone.

I didn't want to go.

I looked to the side at a phone lying innocently on the ground. My face contorted into chagrined grimace. Sometime during my crying episode, I had this really weak moment in which I just wanted to hear someone's voice… so I called the very first contact I came across, which turned out to be Chizome. I don't want to recall what I babbled into the phone during our short call so all I can say for sure was that I was a huge mess. Gosh, how could I ever face him after this? Good thing that he was too busy at the moment, therefore, I didn't have to –

"Finally found you."

The familiar gruff voice made me snap out of my daze and I promptly twisted my head to the side, only to set my eyes on the one I wished I wouldn't meet for the rest of my life. My eyes grew bigger and I scrambled to my feet, feeling a cross between alarm and mortification.

Fuck. What was he doing here?!

"You… what…"

"You look better than I thought you would. I rushed here, expecting to find a wreck, but you are alright now? What the hell?" he mumbled, going around me, examining me from all sides. I blinked and looked down at my body. My clothes were creased and dirty, in one hand I had the short strip of fabric that had blood stains on it and the other was placed in the trunk of the tree for balance. I was sure my face was quite a sight, too.

This was what one would call alright? Well, I felt a little better now I suppose, but – no, this was irrelevant now, what was he doing here in the first place? How did he get here so fast? It was like three-hour long ride from his home by train and he didn't own a car last time I asked.

"Why are you here? ... And you said you rushed here? I, uh, did something happen?" I croaked out my voice sounding scratchy, so I cleared my throat to dispose of a clump that formed there. He looked at me incredulously and I shuffled in place restlessly.

"Did something happen?! My phone suddenly started ringing- out of our agreed time might I add. Expecting an emergency I bolt towards it and what do I get: hysterical teenager bawling into my phone and babbling nonsense. Is it really that surprising that I instantly drove here - probably breaking several speed limits on the way - after I forced whereabouts out of you? You are always so composed and confident, hearing you in sound like that… was a shock."

"You have a car?" I asked dully, not really caring about the answer that much as I was too stunned by his words. Was, was he worried about me? But that… I inhaled and exhaled shakily, trying to stop myself from crying anew.

"Is that really so important now?!" Was the disbelieving exclamation of the adult before me. He looked so appalled by my question…

I chuckled. Chizome opened and closed his mouth, forehead crinkling in confusion.

Chuckles transformed into full-blown laughter and tears gathered in the corner of my eyes. Were they happy or sad tears? Who cares, really. I was amazed that I still had any left, though.

It was only a few minutes later when I finally stopped laughing. The only other person present was leaning against the tree and having a strange mix of amusement, relief, and annoyance on his face.

"Are you done?" he asked unnecessarily. Because I was currently rubbing my face do dispose of tear-tracks, I only made a sound of agreement.

"Excellent. Now, how do you feel?"

I stopped to rub my face with sleeves of my school uniform and scrunched my forehead in thought. How did I feel? That was hard to say… I wasn't okay by the long shot, but I was…

"Better. A lot better now," I said softly turning to face him fully, I managed to raise corners of my lips into a crooked smile as I did so. The sort-of smile was reciprocated, though he looked even less as a smile.

"Glad to hear that."

In the silence that ensued after that, I took the time to examine him, noting what changed over the year I didn't saw him (we managed to meet shortly during last holidays).

His hairs were longer now and formed even worse nest than before. He wore a bandage over his 'nose' – more like what was left of it. I felt my left eyebrow twitch in irritation at the reminder of his stupid feat, but I squashed down the feeling. He had some new scars here and there, but nothing too impressive. He was a little more muscular but overall? I didn't find any drastic changes.

Satisfied with my observations I addressed my significantly older friend.

"How long can you stay here?"

"Well, I don't have anything planned for today and most of tomorrow, though I need to be home before tomorrow's midnight," he said after thinking a bit. Then he tilted his head and added: "You want to go somewhere?"

"Depends. You have money on you?" My question accompanied by sharp smirk made him narrow his eyes in suspicion, he answered nonetheless though.

"I have a card on me. I planned to stay a day here anyway. In a hotel. I am not going to sleep in your house again, my… appearance significantly changed."

I opened my mouth to counter, but I clamped it shut soon after. While I wanted to protest, it was true that his scars and absence of his nose would be questioned and he can't really explain how it happened. Underground tournaments weren't exactly legal. And ones, where killing was allowed, were banned for sure - I had a feeling he participated in those. I've never asked, though.

Anyway, while excuses could possibly be made, the fact that he planned to sleep in a hotel for tonight played greatly into my hands.

"Good. That's perfect. I am gonna sleep in a hotel tonight with you then. Can you rent a room with two beds? Also, can you buy something for me? I will pay you back for everything once I have my own income."

He looked stumped by my request and I could see why. He probably expected that I would try to persuade him to sleep in our house. But honestly? I wanted anything but to go sleep there tonight. I needed more time before I could face my brother again.

"What? Why would I rent an extra bed for you? You can sleep in your own house! And why do I need to buy anything? I can lend you money, I guess, but you can buy those things on your own. I am not your slave, brat," he said with a frown, sending glare my way for a good measure

"Aaah. You see. I don't really wanna go home today…" I said simply. I didn't want to go into detail why but was sure I didn't need to. Chizome was an intelligent individual; he could put two and two together. From the look he sent me, he indeed got what I didn't say. His frown deepened if it was possible but in the end, he looked skywards with a groan and in that moment I knew I won. I grinned.

"I am glad you see it my way. Oh, and they wouldn't sell the things I want to me." I bent down to pick up my phone from the ground. Once I had it in my hand I searched through its contacts until I found moms. Clicking on it, I considered pros and cons of either calling or messaging her.

"They wouldn't…? What the hell are those things?" he asked with distrust. I hummed noncommittally and waved in a way that told him to wait.

Ah, fuck it.

I clicked a button for call and as I waited for mom to pick up her phone, I answered his question in a nonchalant tone.

"Isn't it obvious? I need some high-quality booze."

I deserve it after this shitty day.

xXxXxXx

I shifted slightly as I slowly emerged from dreamless sleep, groan escaping my lips when a killer headache made itself know.

God… I certainly didn't miss this part of drinking.

Thinking back to the night before, it was a wonder I didn't end in a hospital with alcohol poisoning. Though I suppose I didn't really know how much I drank overall as my memories became fuzzy halfway.

I tried to open my eyes, but I instantly regretted that decision as my head started to hurt, even more, I've felt dizzy and pizza I ate a few hours ago was trying to go out the same way it came.

"Ugh..."

I crawled over to the end of the bed and looked around for something I could use. Thanking whoever put it here, I reached for a metal trash can and dumped contents of my stomach into it.

Once I was done I fell back into the mattress with a miserable sigh. I slowly raised my hand to knead my forehead, but I stopped my hand halfway in an air and scrunched my eyes to look better at the bandage encircling my palm. When I looked at the other hand, I was not surprised to find out that it got the same treatment. So I was remembering that right, he did bandage them. Such unnecessary action… The sound of the door being opened made me slowly turn my head, my hands forgot for the time being.

Chizome entered our hotel room, two white bags in his left hand and closing the door with his right. I made a questioning sound, too weak to speak at the moment. He paused when he heard me.

"You up, huh?" he said, probably deliberately raising his voice to make me suffer even more. I groaned and graf orgone of the two pillows, throwing it at him. He gracefully evaded the throw and chuckled in amusement. I glared at him, plans of murder hatching in my head. Still chuckling he raked through one of the bags. Finding whatever he searched for, he placed both bags on the second bed in the room and with two things in hand he walked over to me.

When he was near enough I recognized that one of the things was a bottle of water and the second was… a packet of painkillers. Immediately all thoughts of murder vanished as I urged with a stare my savior to hurry the fuck up. He smirked and I would have been afraid that he wouldn't give them to me, but I knew even he wasn't that cruel.

A few minutes later I felt the effect of tablet finally kick in and I released long content sigh when the pain in my head lessened greatly.

"I take it that you feel better." stated the adult in the room. He was quietly lying in his bed during the past minutes, giving me time to recover. Deciding that he was free to make noises now, he started to shuffle around.

I hummed and cracked one of my eyes to look what he was doing. He was searching for something in one of the bags again. A few seconds later he made a pleased exclamation when he pulled out a hamburger wrapped in napkins. A mouth-watering scent assaulted my nose and loud grumble was made by my stomach. I blushed slightly and quickly snapped my eye shut, not wanting to see his smug expression. That still didn't prevent me from hearing his snickers, though.

Something landed on my bed and turned my head towards it eyes snapping open in excitement… that was short lived, however, as my eyes landed upon a pack full of crackers.

With horror filled eyes I looked at my older friend. Was I… was I expected to eat these disgusting things?!

His shit-eating grin was enough of an answer.

xXxXxXx

I slept for most of a day after I ate little of that… that… and only woke up irregularly to drink a little of water. I chatted a bit with Chizome during those times too, though it was mainly him complaining to me about what happened in a soap opera he was watching in that moment.

Around five o'clock I was waking up by Chizome saying I should take a quick shower and change into the clothes he bought earlier that day. I was pleasantly surprised by his consideration and quick thinking as going home in clothes that were: dirty, smelled of alcohol and had blood and alcohol stains on them wasn't the best idea.

After a refreshing shower and dressed in clean clothes (that were a size bigger, but beggars can't be choosers), I walked on the small balcony where Chizome was already standing, smoking a cigarette. I nudged him and stretched my hand towards him. His left eyebrow reached his hairline and he sent me an incredulous look. I continued to look at him blankly, hand still stretched before me.

He shook his head and I thought he would refuse, but he only released a grouchy grumble and threw a pack of cigarettes at me. I caught it with some difficulty (I was still feeling tired and dizzy) and pulled out one. Then I threw the rest back, in exchange a lighter was flicked at me.

I ignited the cigarette and with familiarity I probably shouldn't display I inhaled, releasing a small cloud shortly after.

"I didn't know you smoked."

"Hmm… I don't. But today I feel like doing it," I answered lightly. It was true that in my past life I sometimes had a cigarette or two a week, but I've never seen much appeal in those cancer sticks. I only smoked when the mood stuck... like today.

We continued to smoke in silence only when mere cigarette butts were left, did I turn towards Chizome, addressing him.

"Thank you," I said with sincere appreciation. He helped me a lot during these few hours.

"Don't sweat it," he retorted back leaning nonchalantly on a balcony railing, trying to act as if he totally wasn't embarrassed by my sudden gratitude. I smiled and squashed an urge to tease him; I'll let him off the hook for today.

"You know what you are going to do now?" His question made me lose my smile instantly. I frowned and turned my head away from him to look forward, at the city before us. I tried to imprint every detail of it into my head.

After few seconds I sighed and reached for my phone in my pocket. Opening it, I ignored missed calls I got over the day and went straight towards the contact tagged as 'Granny'.

"Yeah… I know."

~Change of POV~

When he was a child, Akaguro Chizome never really thought of himself as being different from his peers.

He grew up as an only child in the peaceful neighborhood, surrounded by parent's love and few friends. He wasn't a troublesome child and his grades were average and just as any child his age he admired heroes and wanted to be like them when he grew up.

This desire prevailed into his teenage years and thus he was overjoyed when he was accepted into a hero high school in his neighborhood - it lesser known hero school as with his quirk he wouldn't be able to pass U.A. entrance test.

After spending there few weeks he started to realize that not everyone viewed the hero occupation the same way as him.

Money. Fame. Social standing.

Everyone around him chased after these things, forsaking true values of a hero.

He felt disgusted and dispirited. He tried to make them see their errors but nobody listened to him, instead, they only started to make fun of him. In the end, he decided to drop out of school and was about to give up completely. Then All Might appeared out of nowhere, laughing in the face of danger and he gained back his once lost determination.

He would current society, even if he had to print posters, do street oratory speeches and persuade others, one person at the time.

However, he soon learned that people didn't want to change. They didn't want to listen to something that was soiling a propaganda they were used to. His friends were starting to avoid him and while his parents tried to be supportive, they really didn't fully understood what he tried to accomplish.

But he preserved – he was a seventeen-year old bull-headed teenager, he wouldn't be deterred by something like this.

But then things started to worsen - taunting remarks turning into physical violence. With his quirk, it was hard to bounce them off, but he managed. In one of these instances, he met rude brat that took pleasure in kicking others in a groin on the first day they met.

She was a peculiar little thing, sometimes too mature and knowledgeable for her age – abnormally so – but other she was childish, arrogant and ridiculously stupid. At the start, he considered her only as someone who he could tease without feeling guilt, but as he spent more time with her and they actually started to talk, he started to get really fond of her. She grew on him like a mushroom and in the end, he stopped to resist and started to call her a friend in his mind (never loud though).

Sure, some could view a friendship between eighteen years old teenager and four years old a little weird, but he couldn't care less. He never really saw her as a child she physically was anyway. She just felt... off. It was like she was older than her appearance indicated, maybe even older than him. This… should be considered strange, he supposed.

Her miraculous knowledge of English was suspicious, too as he gathered over the years that their father wasn't around. But… he never dug for explanations, if she wanted she would tell him and as she never did, he allowed her to keep her secret. He accumulated his fair share of secrets over the years anyway. And in the first place, in their world, there were a lot of unexplained things that nobody dared to question.

Anyway while she told him he was being stupid and naive for thinking that he would change anything this way, she would sometimes help him give posters to other people (taking advantage of her cute child appearance - the kid could be quite manipulative if she wanted) or she would go buy him refreshments when the day was especially hot. Sometimes, she even offered some insight on persuading other people.

It felt kind of nice to have someone to discuss things with, even if that someone only answered with sarcastic remarks. And of course making fun of her was a great way to relieve stress. He felt like he could keep going like this, like his preaching on the streets wasn't pointless.

But of course, all good things had to end and the day when his world was turned sideways came. That day started so innocently too - mom wanted to go on one of her shopping sprees, Dad didn't have a choice and had to go with her as her personal bag carrier. Chizome didn't think much of it until he saw what happened on television.

He instantly rushed there and well... he doesn't remember much of that day. Or even the next when he had to identify their bodies...

He was working on autopilot crushed by disbelief, grief and bathed in denial.

He was sort of out of it the weeks preceding the funeral (he didn't need to concern himself with it as distant relatives promised to take care of it). When the day of the funeral came and other's hollow words of sympathy made him even more distant.

After everyone departed and he was left standing alone before the tomb with two familiar names etched on it, everything suddenly too real and overwhelming…. something finally broke in him and the first tears fell.

He took another few weeks to recover. He didn't speak with anyone during that time and he didn't go out, surviving only on instant noodles and crackers.

He was thinking a lot during that time, too. He finally saw that he needed to do more drastic things to change the society. Hate and anger that hatched in him supported fully his new decision to dispose of all those individuals that stained the reputation of heroes; to kill all those fakers.

He didn't know what made him confess his new plan to his bratty little friend – it was very stupid to share something like that when he thought about that now, years later. She could have reacted in a lot of ways, the most likely being that she would run away screaming and sever all ties with him or even going right to the nearest police station. She didn't do any of that, instead, she was the most serious than he ever saw her and she calmly helped him see better through the haze of anger and hate that settled over his mind.

When he went home the next day, one plush toy heavier (he still to this day can't understand why he stole it… it was just some weird impulse), it was with a clearer mind and lifted spirits.

His plan wasn't thrown out, he just needed to revise it a little, maybe do better planning. It wasn't a bad idea; after all, if one wanted to change anything, especially for the better, one had to stain his hands and sacrifice something- usually humanity. He realized it now.

Over the next seven years, he meticulously trained his body and quirk and did research about various things – cultivating both his body and mind. He also joined underground tournaments to try his abilities in real fight – also to gain money. He registered there under the nickname of a Stain – he decided on it because one kanji in his name meant 'stain' and he also found it very fitting as he planned to stain his hands for his cause.

The plus was that by fighting in those tournaments, he made… well certainly not friends, but he could call them acquaintances. He realized that he was really cut off from the outside world after a little bit of 'socializing'.

The only hitch that happened during those years was him losing his nose. Not that he minded much, it hurt like a bitch, sure, but overall he couldn't care less. The lecture he got from Kou though… ugh, it was unbearable.

He really should have expected something to happen after those few years of 'sort of peace'. But he didn't, therefore he was completely unprepared when his only friend suddenly called him. He didn't understand most of the call, but he knew that it has something with her brother and that she was upset and crying. So, of course, like a good friend he was, he sits into his new car (bought of the money from tournaments) and drove there immediately. Only to come when she already calmed down.

Damn that distance.

The following conversation and request confused him, but if it would make her feel better, then he wasn't one to disagree – like any man he wasn't good with upset girls. It was a relief she was self-sufficient, all it took were few bottles of alcohol.

He probably shouldn't allow the underage kid to drink, but hey, he wasn't one to talk. Planning to become a villain and joining illegal tournaments… he was such a bad influence when he thought about it now.

Though drinking was one thing, smoking other. She looked like she had experience, too.

God, she was such troublesome, weird and suspicious brat.

He observed idly the smoking teenager from the corner of his eyes. She grew a lot over the last year, the puberty hitting her like a truck. She was taller, reaching his chest now; therefore he would say her height was around 160 cm. He quickly crossed over her no-longer flat figure, he never thought of her that way and 'checking' her out would just be gross. Her long hairs were done into a simple braid that ended in the half of her back. He never understood why she made such a big fuss about braiding them until he once saw her with her hair free - she looked like a poodle. Her slightly tanned face was full of freckles as ever and her green eyes were narrowed in thought.

It was a good thing that she was so deep in thought because she could be scarily observant when she wanted to. She would have instantly noticed that he was looking at her and would then probably call him a pervert with a smug smile. The thought made him shook his head in irritation and turn away, giving his full attention to a cigarette again.

She was a troublesome, weird and suspicious brat, but she was also the closest he had to family now (his distant relatives didn't count) so he wouldn't pry and would just be glad she felt better now.

I AM SO SORRY... not.

It had to happen! It wasn't just random decision to made them have this 'confrontation'. I was actually planning to write this for half a year already. Because say what you want, if my twin had quirk and I didn't, it would made a little... well I would be sad. Also I don't know if it was seen from my writing, but Kou is really, really pushy and obsessive with protecting Izuku. I mean, Theo died in her arms so she is very paranoid and well... Izuku doesn't like this, because while she is supporting his dream, she isn't exactly helping him gain his confidence be constantly helping him with everything. Also, I had other reason for doing this... you will see in next chapter, though I foreshadowed it in this.

Also Kou drinking/smoking wouldn't be a regular thing, this time was special, because she was feeling very low and when Chizome appeared he gave her resources to do what she did. Keep in mind that while she is minor psychically, mentally she is over forty.

Also what do you think about Chizome's POV?

Reviews:

xenocanaan - I am curious what you will say to this chapter then. XD

CallmeCrazylol - Lol. That's true. I totally didn't realize this. XD Love your name, btw.

Chin x2 - Heeeere~

iroxanamiranda - Wow! Thank you so much for writing this! It made me so happy! I hope you will like this chapter, too, then. No, she didn't meet Mineta, it was actually Kirishima. I am sure nobody recognize him as he has different hair when he is young.

OTrizy - Here comes your ego booster my little bear friend! Lol yeah, plushies needs to be protected, be careful not to hit hard, okay? Not wanna lose my beta bc she hit a wall too hard, lol. Anyway, don't worry! I don't need second beta when I have you! You are doing a fantastic job~

Nahoki-san - Lol! This made me laugh so much. Also, I totally like your idea! I am gonna steal it and write it - I make sure to mention you, though. XD However it would need to be changed a little, because Kou isn't one to have crushes and all, she will instead yell something like -'Marry me!' - Izuku will still look done, though. XD

Night-Blooming Cereus - Ah, sorry, no Todoroki. While I love him, he doesn't fit into my story. Also, yeah, I hated Katsuki at the start of manga, too. He was the reason I started to write this, too. Lol.

grandmaa - Awww, thank you! I love OCs, too!

Guest Jul 24 - Yup! I love when OCs meets a lot of different characters before they even appear in a anime. It makes me wonder who will appear next.

Scarlet3Wolf12 - ? I don't know what you wrote as nothing was posted.

Dodo - I am sorry, but Todoroki will not appear early. I don't want for Kou to know too much of canon characters. They are 12, they aren't so young that they will forget each other. Still nice idea, though.