Chapter One:

At five years old, Yoichi had spent more of his life in the hospital than at home. He'd memorized the number of every room he'd stayed overnight in, out of a superstitious hope that once he'd been through every single room in the entire hospital, he would finally be freed by the doctors and his own miserable body. This time he slept in room 302. He'd been here before, unfortunately. He remembered the crack on the wall where he'd kicked it in a coughing fit.

The room smelled like antiseptic, the sweet fragrances of the cleaning fluid failing to disguise the bitterness. Yoichi hated that smell. He hated the glare from the florescent lights overhead, square lights alternating with grey ceiling tiles. He hated the beeping monitor next to his bed and the mask over his face, wires imprisoning him in this smelly place. For a long time, Yoichi's entire world had been lavender walls, a metal bed, and white sheets. At least he had a stack of comic books in a red bag and his Captain Hero stuffed doll to cuddle.

A cough shook Yoichi's body. The little tremors rattled down his frame like the warning signs of an earthquake. He tasted wetness and iron in the back of his throat. Warily, Yoichi watched the monitor by his bed, afraid that it would call the doctors to do more painful things to him. Fortunately an alarm did not sound. Moving gingerly, Yoichi lay on his back. He cradled Captain Hero to his chest. And he focused all his might on breathing. Breath in, a hum from the monitor and a rush of air up the tubes connected to his mouth. Breath out, still no alarm. A tear of relief trickled down his face.

Yoichi hated his body more than anything else in the world. He hated how small and withered his fingers looked. He hated how he couldn't even walk across the room without pain sprouting in his chest. He hated the mask tethering him to the lumpy bed. He hated nights spent staring at the ceiling because he hurt too much to fall asleep.

The door opened. Yoichi's head shot up. "I can still breathe! You don't need to take me away or poke me!" he cried.

"Silly, it's me." Hisashi stood in the doorway with a big grin.

"Hisashi!" Yoichi sprang up, standing on the cold floor with his bare feet. The tubes attached to his mask jerked and bit into his face. He held out his arms.

Running forward, Hisashi hugged his brother fiercely. They had been apart too long. Yoichi didn't understand why his parents wouldn't let his brother visit more. The nurses kept saying the Shigaraki parents must have their reasons, but they said it with scrunched up noses and a tone barely hiding disapproval for the parents' absence. Yoichi didn't care if his parents didn't come, he just wanted his brother.

"How are you feeling?" Hisashi asked in twin language.

Since no one else could understand their special secret language, Yoichi answered honestly. "Dreadful."

Hisashi sighed and clung tighter. "Then they won't let you come home." He buried his nose in his twin brother's hair, breathing deeply. "It's not fair. I need you."

Yoichi and Hisashi Shigaraki were twins, born in this very hospital less than an hour apart. The older brother had been named Yoichi with the kanji meaning First Son. However, Hisashi hated being called the little brother. He said that there was only an hour's difference between them, so why should he be considered lesser? Yoichi could understand that. His brother was stronger and healthier and smarter. It must feel silly to have such an inferior older brother, so Yoichi just referred to his twin as "Hisashi" or "brother." People had more or less forgotten that Yoichi was older since he so clearly wouldn't be inheriting any family business. Their parents had forgotten Yoichi, too. It made Yoichi feel happy that Hisashi at least needed him.

With a weak smile, Yoichi stroked his brother's back. "I'll do my best to get better. How long can you stay?"

"Not long." Hisashi made a face. "I'm just here while Dad fills out some boring papers."

Yoichi sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him. "Then tell me everything that happened to you since we last met."

Sitting down, Hisashi poured out a detailed story about school, Mom's manners lessons, and the annoying neighbor boy who kept stealing his ball. Yoichi nodded, absorbing each word. When Hisashi finished, he took Yoichi's head between his hands and met his eyes. "Now my memories are yours, too."

Yoichi put his hands on top of his brother's. "I'll remember. I got first place in the spelling bee. Mom slapped my hands for using the wrong fork. I pulled down the pants of that brat."

"You're me," Hisashi said in twin language. "And I'm you."

Yoichi echoed, "You're me, and I'm you." Then they both giggled.

Like this, Hisashi let Yoichi share in his experiences outside the hospital. These stories gave light to Yoichi's boring, painful existence. Yoichi would dream for weeks about everything that his brother had done. He would play pretend that he'd done all those same things himself. Sometimes Yoichi even forgot which of his memories were his own and which had happened to his brother. That way the twins were always together even when the world tried to break them apart. They couldn't count on anyone except each other. They'd been together since the womb and they would be together until the day they died.

Hisashi scowled. "I don't want to leave you." His nose scrunched up. "You've been here too long. Mom said you might never come home and then she wouldn't say why!"

Unfortunately, Yoichi had a vague inkling what his mother meant. He'd been having more and more trouble breathing. The doctors frowned each time they came by to check his vitals. The nurses told him often that he was brave, though he didn't feel brave, just tired. Every time one of the staff gave him a pitying look, Yoichi shrank into himself and wished to see his brother. If they couldn't cure him then why couldn't he at least suffer at home with his twin at his side? "I want to stay with you, too," Yoichi mumbled. Tears overflowed from his eyes.

Hisashi grabbed his twin's shoulders. "Let's swap clothing. If I'm dressed up like you then the doctors will think I belong here."

Yoichi frowned. "But then won't they take me home instead? We'll still be apart." Yoichi wanted to see the world outside but not as badly as he wanted to stay with his twin.

Gnawing on his lip, Hisashi said, "But then you'll get sick…and they'll take you back to the hospital…so we'll be together again!"

This logic checked out to a five-year-old. Yoichi stripped out of his pale green pajamas. Removing the mask hurt, but his brother helped him. As Yoichi buttoned up Hisashi's white shirt, he struggled to breathe without his mask. Inhale, exhale. By now Yoichi could hear those words in his sleep.

Wearing the hospital pajamas, Hisashi helped Yoichi put on his shoes. "Oh no. Your hair got too long." He touched his brother's long bangs.

"I've got scissors." Yoichi pulled out a craft kit from his backpack. The scissors were dull, but working together, the twins chopped Yoichi's hair unevenly.

When the door opened, Hisashi dove under the covers and Yoichi stood up. Trying to sound more brave and confident like his twin, Yoichi said, "I'm ready to go."

The doctor frowned down at him. "Yoichi? Why are you wearing your brother's clothes?"

Yoichi paled. "No, no, I'm Hisashi." A cough tickled the back of his throat. He suppressed it, but a raspy sound still escaped.

"You're too skinny to be Hisashi, and your hair…what did you do to your hair?" The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh, Yoichi. I know it's hard on you to stay here. But you need your breathing mask."

From down the hallway, their father called, "Did you find the boy?"

Yoichi stiffened at the angry note in his father's voice.

The doctor called, "Yes, he's in here. The twins swapped clothing."

Their father stomped into the room. He was a huge man, muscles bursting out of his suit. Ripping the covers off the bed, he pulled up Hisashi by his arm. "Come on."

The lines on the doctor's face deepened. "You should let the boys have time to say goodbye. Don't you want to say goodbye to your son, too?"

"I'm taking time off work to be here," their father said brusquely, dragging Hisashi past. "I'm ashamed of your ridiculous lies, boy."

Thrashing, Hisashi broke free. He knelt down and flung his arms around Yoichi. "No! You can't take me away! I'm Yoichi! It's not a lie, we're the same! You can't take him away from me!"

Overwhelmed, Yoichi cried, "Brother! Brother!" The twins clung together like a ship mast in the middle of a storm.

"Stop making a scene," their father growled. He grabbed the back of Hisashi's collar and yanked.

In a shocked tone, the doctor said, "There's no need to get violent."

"Now you've made me look bad," their father hissed. There was a scary look in his eyes. Yoichi immediately let go, afraid of the consequences for his brother if they continued to disobey.

But Hisashi only clung on tighter, screaming, "Yoichi is MINE! You can't take him away from me! He's me and I'm him! Mine, mine, mine!"

A dark hole flashed open on Hisashi's palms. Yoichi felt a crackle of energy run through him where his brother was gripping his shoulders. It left him feeling faint and nauseous. He swayed. Something was being sucked out of Yoichi's skin, into his brother. Hisashi's green eyes flashed red.

With one last wrench, their father forced the twins apart. The much bigger and stronger adult threw Hisashi over his shoulder and walked away, heedless of the howling and little fists pounding against his back.

Yoichi had no strength left. He fell backward, head smacking the wall.

Eyes widening, Hisashi cried, "Brother! No, no, no!" Little hands desperately reached toward his fallen twin.

The doctor ran to pick Yoichi up. Their father kept walking away.

There were more medical exams, more masks, more prodding, and more foul-tasting medicine. Throughout it all, Yoichi endured by fantasizing about his brother's memories. He imagined himself as a healthy boy running around getting praise from his teachers and causing mischief. It helped him disassociate from his aching body.

Yet for some strange reason, after all the exams, this time Yoichi started to feel better. His breathing improved. His cough faded to a manageable couple times a day. The doctors were baffled but thrilled. Just two weeks later, Yoichi was allowed to go home from the hospital. He could finally be together with his beloved twin.

And years passed before anyone tried to separate him from his brother again.

For a middle-schooler, Hisashi Shigaraki had a very busy routine. Every morning, he set his alarm to wake up at 6:00 A.M. By the time he woke up, his parents had already left for work. Both of his parents were lawyers. His father had trouble finding work since the incident that had led to him getting fired right before he'd been supposed to make partner. But he still seemed to have something to do that kept him out of the house every day including weekends.

After getting dressed, Hisashi went downstairs and made breakfast for both himself and his brother. For the first couple years after Yoichi came home from the hospital, there had been a cook, a tutor, and a caretaker. After his father lost his job, money had gotten tighter. The cook and tutor had been let go. Hisashi had insisted on firing the caretaker after finding bruises on Yoichi's arms. His parents had never hired a new one even though they had a couple loud fights about it. Hisashi had a vague sense that it might be illegal for Yoichi not to go to school or have a tutor, but he'd never pushed the issue because he feared bringing another stranger who might hurt his brother into the house.

Instead, Hisashi made scrambled eggs and toast standing on a stepstool in front of the stove. He packed a lunch for himself and his twin brother, leaving his brother's lunch in the fridge. Then he brought up breakfast to his brother's room. Yoichi's health had been improving, but he still struggled to move around and stay awake for long periods of time. On bad days when Yoichi's arms were sore, Hisashi fed his twin. Hisashi helped Yoichi bathe and gave him massages for the back pain. He'd taught himself how to massage using online instructions.

After a morning bath together, Yoichi sat on a stool while Hisashi combed his hair. They looked like perfect reflections of each other in the foggy bathroom mirror, except Yoichi's hair had gotten a bit longer. Hisashi frowned. He used nail clipper scissors to carefully even his twin's hair to the same length. Then he put his head on top of his twin brother's, smiling at their perfectly identical mirror images. Even though Yoichi didn't go to school, Hisashi dressed him in a spare school uniform every morning so they would look the same. Yoichi attended school with him in spirit, anyway. Sometimes when Yoichi was healthy and Hisashi felt exhausted, the twins would swap places. Yoichi would go to school and Hisashi would stay home. No one ever noticed. Why would anyone notice? They were two halves of the same person.

"Thank you, Hisashi." Yoichi tried to stand up, then tripped.

"Got you." Hisashi put an arm over his brother's shoulder, then helped him back to bed.

Sitting on the bed, Yoichi looked down at his bare feet. "It's a lot of work to look after me. I'm sorry."

It was indeed a lot of work for a child. Hisashi could not say that he didn't mind it. But he'd never once considered not doing it. Yoichi was Hisashi's other half. They were twins, one person split in two as they came screaming into the world together. Of course Hisashi had to care for Yoichi.

"I'll always look after you and protect you." Hisashi kissed the top of Yoichi's head. "It's us against the world."

Yoichi beamed and held out his arms for a hug. Hisashi nestled into the embrace. He loved that adoring look in his twin brother's eyes. Yoichi was soft and gentle and sweet. Hisashi needed that. No one in the entire world loved Hisashi the way Yoichi did. Their parents had rules and expectations and sparsely given praise, not hugs. Only Yoichi poured out his affection unconditionally. Without Yoichi, Hisashi would be all alone in this big house. That was why no matter how burdensome it got, Hisashi would always take care of his twin brother.

"Promise you'll never leave me," Hisashi muttered into his brother's soft, sweet-smelling shoulder. "You'll never let them take you away again."

"Of course not," Yoichi replied with total confidence in his ability to control adults and his own health. "I'd die before I let them drag me off the hospital and separate me from you."

"Don't die," Hisashi ordered sharply.

"I can never die. I'd live on inside of you," Yoichi said assuredly.

"Mmm." Hisashi liked the sound of that. Him and his twin, one again like they'd been in the womb. Of course he wouldn't let Yoichi die, though. They would live together forever.

Hisashi only withdrew from the hug because it was time to catch the school bus. The usual day consisted of: school, the bus home, working on his homework while teaching the day's lessons to Yoichi, telling his twin about his day so they could share memories, a precious hour to watch cartoons together, making dinner, helping Yoichi get ready for bed, and then repeating everything the next morning.

But on that day, something went wrong.

Once a month, Hisashi got off at a slightly early bus stop so that he could pick up his brother's medicine at the pharmacy. He had his mother's insurance card and no one had ever challenged his use of it. While he was waiting in line, screaming came from the front of the store.

As he did when confronted by loud noises at home, Hisashi reacted on habit. He ducked behind an aisle of vitamins and couched low, hiding.

A teenage boy staggered toward the pharmacy counter. Sweat poured down his face and soaked his violet hair. His skin was reddened. He muttered, "Hot…I'm burning up…someone, please help me." A small puff of flame came from his mouth.

The customers stampeded from the store. The woman behind the counter grabbed the phone and dialed the police, frantically hissing into the speaker.

The teenager groaned, then collapsed face-first to the ground.

Hisashi's palms itched. Looking down, he saw black holes forming in the center. He'd seen those holes on his hands once before, in the hospital with his brother. On instinct, he reached out his hand. He did not know what he needed, but he hungered.

Without any conscious thought, Hisashi fastened both his hands on the teenager's wrist. He felt a surge of energy, a dizzying rush of power. Then he yanked.

The boy's flush faded, and Hisashi spat out a tiny tongue of fire.

When Yoichi heard a car pulling up in the driveway, he peered out the window. It was his mother's bright red Honda Accord. Yoichi locked his door, then ran back to bed. A cough tickled his throat, but he suppressed it. When his parents came home, Yoichi always tried very hard to be silent and unnoticeable.

At least it wasn't his father. Mother normally came home in the late evening, but it was still only the afternoon. Perhaps she'd forgotten some papers. Yoichi wasn't completely sure if she realized he still lived in the house. He feared being sent back to the hospital to rot away alone, without his twin.

Curled up in bed, Yoichi pretended to be invisible. Then he heard shouting downstairs. That was not surprising, his parents fought a lot, except one of the voices was too young to be his father. Hisashi was crying.

Yoichi leapt out of bed. His twin needed him. They had no one except each other. They always had to protect each other.

Bare feet slapping against the wooden floor, Yoichi ran. Mother was dragging Hisashi up the stairs. Hisashi wailed and protested, "No! No!"

Mother slammed him against the wall. "Shut up! Do you realize how badly you've disgraced me today? I could barely convince the police that the witnesses were confused and you didn't have a power. We're dyeing your hair black." She grabbed his shoulders, and her tone softened. "This is for your own good. Do you know what might happen to you if people think that you're a freak?"

Hisashi sniffled. "I have to look like Yoichi! We're twins. We're supposed to look the exact same."

Softly, Yoichi offered, "We could dye my hair, too." He did not want to, but he would do it for his brother.

Mother looked up. Her nose wrinkled as her gaze fastened on Yoichi. "Yes, two white-haired children are even more suspicious than one."

"Please, brother," Yoichi said, looking at Hisashi. He tried to convey his desperation with his eyes. Please go along so she doesn't hurt you.

Hisashi rubbed his face. "Fine." But his eyes burned with defiance.

That night, while Mother snored in her room, Hisashi and Yoichi curled up together in the same bed. Sullenly, Hisashi whispered, "I liked our white hair." He stroked his twin's newly dark locks.

"I liked our hair, too. But we had to do it. At least we're still the same." Yoichi looked at the bruises on his brother's arms. "Did Mother do that to you?"

"Huh? No, that was the police. I don't want to talk about it." Hisashi tensed, his body become hard and anxious.

Soothingly, Yoichi said, "Then I won't ask." He wondered how terrible an experience must be for Hisashi not to want to share it. Usually Hisashi told everything that happened to him every day so they could live those experiences together. Plus it was useful for the times when they swapped and Yoichi pretended to be his brother. "Is it true? Do you have a power?"

"Yeah!" Hisashi's muscles loosened, his face transformed by wonder and joy. "There was an older boy at the pharmacy. He could breathe fire, but it was burning him. I touched him, and now I can breathe fire."

"Will it burn you?" Yoichi asked worriedly.

"There's only one way to find out." Hisashi sat up and puffed out a small flame. "Nope! It's easy! I must have the superior ability."

"Whoa!" Yoichi cried, then lowered his voice. "You're amazing, brother. You helped that boy like a hero. Your power is super cool! You got the most strong and awesome ability on all the TV shows."

Hisashi puffed out his chest. "Uh-huh, it's a protagonist ability."

"Do you think I'll get a power too?" Yoichi asked longingly. "We're twins, after all. I could even have the same power as you."

Hisashi hesitated. "But you've never had holes in your palms. See?" He held out his hands, the darkness flashing in the middle so black it stood out even in the night.

Yoichi felt a pang, that he no longer perfectly reflected his brother. Usually about once a week, Hisashi let Yoichi go to school pretending to be him. But lately Yoichi had been too sickly, to his disappointment. It was upsetting to see them grow even further apart. "I might get the holes later, when my body becomes stronger. Or! I might have another equally cool ability!"

Hisashi ruffled his brother's hair. "It's not like it matters. What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours."

"Uh-huh," Yoichi said, even though he still wanted a superpower.

While his twin speculated about developing a power, Hisashi came to two rapid and shocking conclusions: 1. For the first time in his life, he didn't want to share something with his twin brother; and 2. Hisashi had probably stolen Yoichi's power.

It all became clear in retrospect. Hisashi had touched Yoichi years ago and felt that exact same sensation of sucking. It had been such a distinct feeling that he could never forget it. But why hadn't he noticed another power? Yoichi's ability must be something so minor it had gone undetected, weak just like his brother.

If Yoichi found out, would he be angry? Hisashi didn't know if he could return abilities. He definitely couldn't return an ability without knowing what it was. Even worse, what if Yoichi was so sick because his ability had been stolen? What if Yoichi hated Hisashi for it?

Hisashi shuddered. He could not bear the idea of losing his twin's love. There was only one option. Hisashi would have to subtly figure out Yoichi's power, then covertly return it to him. Yoichi would never know what had happened.

But even though Hisashi tried out different powers for years, he never figured it out. The longer time went on, the more awkward it would become to admit what he'd done. Eventually Hisashi nearly convinced himself that he'd imagined it.

When Yoichi was fifteen years old, his parents died. It seemed almost inconceivable that they could perish in a car accident together because they were so rarely in the same place. Even though Yoichi had barely spoken to either of them in years, he still cried. He mourned for the good relationship he'd never had with his parents. Hisashi did not cry, so Yoichi cried even harder as if trying to exorcise his twin's share of grief.

The day after being orphaned, Yoichi dyed his hair back to his original white. It felt a bit disrespectful but he defiantly pushed forward anyway. Without them ever talking about it, Hisashi dyed his hair white too. It made Yoichi feel relieved that he and his twin were on the same wavelength.

Hisashi took care of all the funeral arrangements, but didn't attend. Yoichi went alone, which was unusual. The brothers were always together when given the choice. He supposed his twin must have been too busy figuring out what would happen to them next. They had no other close family. Hisashi had managed to get them both legally emancipated by spending a great deal of money.

When Yoichi returned home, Hisashi already had dinner waiting for him on the table. "How did the funeral go?"

"It went off without a hitch, thanks to all your planning." Yoichi sat down. "I spent the whole time listening to strangers pretend to care and act sorry for me. I don't think Mother and Father had one true friend in the bunch. I wish I hadn't gone. You were right to skip it, Hisashi."

"I'm always right, little brother." Hisashi smirked and ruffled Yoichi's hair.

Yoichi glared. "You're always insufferable, little brother." Ever since Hisashi had grown taller than Yoichi, his new thing had been to claim he was the big brother now. It had started out annoying and only gotten more annoying with time.

"Five centimeters taller outweighs being born five minutes sooner," Hisashi insisted.

Yoichi rolled his eyes. That was Hisashi's other new thing: counting exactly how much taller he got and lording it over his twin. It had stared out as "One centimeter taller outweighs being born thirty-five minutes sooner," then "Two centimeters taller outweighs being born thirty minutes sooner," and finally "Five centimeters taller outweighs being born five minutes sooner." Yoichi could not help noticing that the age gap was shrinking even has the height gap widened. But Hisashi had always been incorrigible about his lies. There was no point even arguing.

Instead, Yoichi said, "My name means First Son in Japanese. No one is going to believe you, and you'll make yourself look foolish." Hisashi could not be moved by morals or reason, but he hated looking foolish.

Hisashi widened his eyes comically. "But we've always been one, so if you're the older brother then I'm also the older brother."

Yoichi rolled his eyes. "Don't you think we're a bit old for that?"

"I've always shared my experiences with you, can't you share with me?" Hisashi stuck out his lower lip. "I want to be the older brother too."

Uneasy guilt ran featherlight fingers down Yoichi's spine. It was true, Hisashi had always looked after Yoichi and shared everything he possessed. Even now, Hisashi was the one taking care of them both. Poor, weak Yoichi had never been able to do anything in return. If Hisashi wanted to be older brother, then Yoichi ought to let him have whatever he wanted. It was just a silly little joke. Yet Yoichi felt irritated, perhaps because it was so silly yet Hisashi was pushing it so hard. Or perhaps because it felt like what little Yoichi had was being taken away. Or perhaps just because Hisashi was being so obnoxious about this.

Sinking lower in his seat, Yoichi grumbled, "If we're sharing then doesn't that mean we're both the older brother?"

"Maybe when you grow a bit taller, little brother!" Hisashi ground down his knuckles on Yoichi's head and laughed. Despite his annoyance, Yoichi laughed along out of the habit of mirroring his twin's reactions.

Yoichi's hair had finally grown long enough for him to cut off the dyed part and be naturally white. Ironically, that same day was when he started wearing a hat to cover his hair.

The school bullying was the first warning of the political climate in Japan. Yoichi had attended public school for the very first time alone, because his twin had skipped a couple grades and graduated early. Hisashi had been reluctant to let Yoichi go by himself but also too busy with his new business to spend much time together. These days even adults spoke to Hisashi in a respectful tone. On paper Hisashi was running a pawn shop with funds from the life insurance money, but actually he'd made money removing metapowers from people. Yoichi had heard that some people had powers that hurt their bodies, so he believed his brother was doing a good deed. Since Yoichi couldn't help with the family business he'd cheekily told his older brother that at least one of them could have fun at school and then share the memories afterward. Hisashi had laughed and agreed.

On his first day at school, Yoichi had arrived with high expectations about making a band of ride-or-die friends like in his manga. Instead he'd been shoved in the hallways, treated like a ghost by teachers, and chased about by a constant whisper of slurs. He'd been too stubborn to dye his hair black again. That would have felt like giving in to his mother and all the bullies. He'd also been too stubborn to tell his older brother about the bullying.

Hisashi had noticed some bruises when they bathed together. (The kids at school said it was strange that Yoichi took a bath with his older brother every night and slept in the same bed but they also said metahuman like a slur so what did they know?) With muttered threats, Hisashi had yanked Yoichi from school and arranged private tutoring. Although Yoichi could have questioned his little brother's right to make decisions for him, by that point he'd been so beaten down by bullies it had been a relief. Besides, Hisashi had always looked after Yoichi and provided all the money for his food and medicine, so Yoichi had never fully felt equal. He knew he was a burden and wanted to minimize the damage.

At least Hisashi had still allowed Yoichi to keep attending his art class. The studio owner had a kid with tiger ears and a tail, and she didn't tolerate any discrimination or bullying. Yoichi walked to the studio twice a week. Every single time, Yoichi felt stares as he walked down the sidewalk. At first he'd been able to convince himself that it was all his imagination. Yesterday a group of college-age kids driving down the street had thrown a can at him, screamed, "Metafreak!" then drove off laughing raucously.

Yoichi did not have a power, but the average citizen tended to lump together people with strange hair and eye colors with people who had meta abilities. Some of the bigots would tolerate those who dyed their hair to fit in, others would assume anyone with an unusual feature must have a power they were hiding. Several editorials had been written about the increasing number of businesses checking candidates for dyed hair or contact lenses before hiring. There had been a law proposed to make it illegal to discriminate based on dyed hair, but it had failed to pass.

After the last incident, Yoichi had put on a hat. He wanted to take a moral stand, but he wanted even more not to cause trouble for his brother. He walked quickly, looking in all directions.

By the time Yoichi arrived at the art studio, he was sweating from more than just the sun. Right as he opened the door, the building blew up.

The white light seared Yoichi's eyes, turning the entire world into blinding nothingness. Then the heat struck him, knocking him backward and slamming him into a tree. He'd been completely convinced that heat alone had pushed him backward until he looked down and saw splinters of the door sticking out of his chest. The pain was too horrendous to describe. Screaming came from the burning studio. People were trapped inside.

For Yoichi's entire life, he'd believed that if he ever faced a crisis with innocent lives in danger then he would rise to the challenge and rush to help like Captain Hero. What actually happened was that he passed out.

When Yoichi woke up, his entire body felt like one big bruise. His ears rang. He forced one blood-crusted eye open. The crackling flames from the art studio beat against his face.

With herculean effort, Yoichi stood up. Pain screamed from his chest. He had a vague notion that he needed to run into the building and save people. But as soon as he took a step forward, the heat hit him like a wall. During his very brief stint in public school, Yoichi had participated in a fire drill where the teachers told the students that they should never run into a burning building like a movie hero, because they'd just become another causality for the firemen to rescue. Feeling the limpness of his arms, Yoichi recognized the truth of this. He didn't have the strength to carry anyone. (Also, the screaming inside had already stopped, but Yoichi did not want to think about what that probably meant.)

Pulling out his phone, Yoichi dialed emergency services. No one picked up. How was that possible? How could the emergency number have failed? What was happening across Japan? "Help!" he screamed. No one answered. The street full of shops was oddly silent. Yoichi realized that he'd been unconscious for a while, and someone should have called the fire department long ago. And the police. That couldn't have been a natural fire, it had happened too fast. The art studio had received a few anonymous threats from people who didn't appreciate a boy with a tiger mutation living among them. A surprising number of idiots thought that metapowers were contagious. Maybe if he kept screaming for help, the wrong people might come.

Yoichi's phone had a dozen missed calls from his brother's office number. He tried calling back, but only got an answering machine. His battery was worryingly low. Yoichi had a dim notion that he needed to get home and find his brother. Hisashi would help. Hisashi always knew what to do. (At this time of day Hisashi would be at work, but Yoichi was too discombobulated to remember that.)

Legs shaking, Yoichi took a step forward. He did not dare look down at his chest. He did not think he'd like what he saw. He focused all his energy on putting one foot in front of the other.

There was screaming in the distance. Sounds like firecrackers or guns. Yoichi yanked his hat down completely over his hair and lowered his gaze to hide his green eyes with white pupils. Shamefully, he wished he'd dyed his hair black.

One foot in front of the other. One step at a time. Like that, Yoichi finally made it back home. Then he stared, unable to believe the sight before his eyes.

Yoichi's house was on fire. The windows had been broken. An "M" had been slashed across the door. Someone had done this because of his brother's power, or because of both of them.

All his strength gone, Yoichi collapsed to his knees and wept.

Tires screeched as a car pulled up. Hisashi leapt out. (The driving age was eighteen in Japan, so the twins weren't quite old enough, but Hisashi had taught himself how to drive anyway.)

"Yoichi! I was just at the art studio, I feared the worst had happened to you." Hisashi grabbed his twin and turned his body to examine his injured chest. Whatever he saw made him pale. "I'm getting you to a doctor. I know a private doctor, the public hospitals aren't safe right now."

Grabbing the front of his brother's shirt, Yoichi slurred, "The art studio…there were people screaming inside…" Images flashed across his mind of his kind, smiling teacher, her young son, and his classmates.

"It was already too late when I arrived," Hisashi said softly. "We have to get out of here." He lifted up his twin and carried him into the car.

Only later would Yoichi find out that many hospitals across Japan were refusing to serve people who looked metahuman. In some places doctors had taken it upon themselves to check if their patients had dyed roots or contact lenses disguising unusual pupils. Then they would brand an "M" on the victim's forehead so the world would know they were metahuman—though actually quite a few of those with different appearances were as powerless as Yoichi.

That day later became known as the start of the Metahuman Riots, although Yoichi could testify that the metahumans hadn't been the ones causing the violence on the first day. The riots lasted five terrible years, and by the end, nearly everyone had gotten involved.

Yoichi would always remember it as the day he decided to fight back.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: At the Children's Hospital

Random Doctor: Sir, have you considered getting your children therapy?

Dad: I'm already paying way too much money on Yoichi's medical bills, and that's only because CPS told that I couldn't keep Hisashi if I left my other son to die.

#

Omake: The Codependency is Off the Charts in the Twins AU

Yoichi: My brother lets me share in his experiences because I'm all cooped up at home. He's the best. Maybe in the future I'll be able to go outside and then share my experiences with him.

Hisashi: Why would an extension of myself need to go outside?

#

Omake: Sibling Pranks

Yoichi: There's no way that you could convince everyone that you're the older brother. Not even in some distant dystopian future where I'm dead and you're a supervillain. That would be ridiculous.

Hisashi: The joke is on you! I destroyed all our birth records! You're the little brother now.

Author's Note: This chapter comes with beautiful art! Many thanks to stealthsuitdeku for inspiring the first scene with Hisashi and Yoichi in the hospital. They are so adorable and I love the details like the mask on Yoichi's mouth. Really this picture was one of my motivations for this fic. Delete the spaces to get the link:
stealthsuitdeku.
tumblr.
com/
post/709440576961003520

In addition I commissioned stealthsuitdeku to draw Yoichi and Hisashi swapping clothing in middle school. The shading and the clothing is so pretty. Aren't they just too cute? Delete the spaces to get the link:
tumblr.
com/
aimportantdragoncollector/716607082363830272/the-devils-double-chapter-1-katydid

Thank you to pocketramblr and an anon asker for inspiring this whole new AU where Yoichi and All for One were twins and initially worked together. Or should I say curse you? I've already written a prologue about All for One and Yoichi's past twice yet here I am again. Despite how divergent certain aspects may seem, this fic will be a canon-compliant prologue (at least with as much canon as I knew at the time of writing. I still don't have names for Second and Third. Canonically it's unlikely that Yoichi and Hisashi were twins but it's possible.) I plan to skip forward in time next chapter to show Yoichi on All for One's side, then their inevitable conflict.

Yoichi as All for One's righthand man is a fascinating idea. When I was writing both "The Genesis of One for All" and "Kill What You Love," I struggled with figuring out All for One's motives for wanting Yoichi to join him. In canon All for One goes out of his way to empathize that Yoichi is weak, sickly, quirkless, and useless. But canon All for One didn't just want Yoichi to chill out and stop opposing him—he demands that Yoichi walk the path of villainy with him. Eventually I decided that All for One believes that if Yoichi becomes a villain then he will have nowhere else to go and have to stay with his brother, which I still think is a viable motive. However this AU opens up a new possibility. If Yoichi had once been All for One's righthand man, then it makes sense that All for One badly wants and perhaps needs him back. It would compromise his organization to have his second defect. Then All for One would have been lying about Yoichi being useless, which is very much in character.

Yoichi can mean First Son in Japanese (depending on the kanji) making it an odd name for a younger brother. Ever since Yoichi's name was revealed in canon, I've pondered about an AU where Yoichi and All for One were twins and Yoichi was older, but All for One tried to rewrite reality as he is prone to do and stole the older brother title. The codependency is even stronger in the twins AU and I look forward to showing the other ways this AU differs from my other pre-canon prologues. (I have three pre-canon prologues now, someone stop me haha.)

This fic will cover from Yoichi and All for One's early childhood to the transfer of One for All to Second. I'm planning to stop there so that I can end this fic on a happy note instead of Yoichi's death, and also because it's very debatable if this AU should be considered pre-canon or a completely different AU. Readers need not fear having to watch Yoichi die yet again. I don't think I can top my work in "Justice Born From Evil." Instead I will let my readers decide if Yoichi's fate follows canon or if Yoichi gets a good ending this time.

This fic will be my new regular Sunday update, even though I'm posting the first chapter on Saturday. I'm busy tomorrow. I reserve the right to update on Saturday instead of Sunday sometimes, since I assume no one objects to early updates. Let's make the official update day Sunday so that I can always be early and never late.