AN: Thanks for reading and leaving a review everyone!

Dragonkiller453 - Mineta is no longer appearing in the story, no.

Himiko lay on her bed, her arms wrapped around her stuffed green bear when she felt a familiar weight sit down behind her.

"Go away, Izu."

"Himi… I need to talk to you. There's- well, there's something I need to tell you."

"I don't care," Himiko closed her eyes, trying to blink the water away.

"It's about my quirk."

"I don't care about your stupid quirk!" She spun to face him, eyes ablaze with a golden fury that caused Izuku to wince. "You lied to me! You said you were quirkless! We spent two years supporting each other! Promising to make the future better for people like us! And now-"

Izuku's face fell. "And now I have a quirk."

"H-how do you think that makes me feel?" Himiko choked out as she felt hot tears rolling down her face. "Knowing that- that you lied to me for so long. That you- that everything was a lie!"

"That's why I'm here," Izuku said as he started to curl in on himself. "I- I need to tell you something. Something that I shouldn't tell anyone - I can't tell Mom. But you deserve to know."

Himiko felt a knife twisting in her stomach. "What could you possibly tell me-"

"I really was quirkless," Izuku blurted out.

"That doesn't make sense!" Himiko threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Himi, please," Izuku begged his sister. "I didn't lie to you about that."

"Then how can you have a quirk if you're quirkless?!"

"I was given one-"

"Stop lying to me," Himiko hissed out. "That's impossible!"

"I-it's true," Izuku said, not backing down as green eyes met gold. "Back when I met All Might ten months ago. When I came home so happy? I left out part of the conversation. My training wasn't just to prepare for UA's entrance exam. It was also to prepare my body to hold a quirk."

"Are you saying that there's someone out there who can just - give quirks?" Himiko asked in disbelief.

"Sorta," Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "The quirk I have - it's transferable."

"And All Might just knew someone willing to transfer this quirk to you?"

"Y-yeah," Izuku said. "I know it's hard to believe but it's the truth. It's… it's why it's so important that nobody knows. If the wrong person found out about my quirk, I'd be in danger. Not only me but those I'm close to - the people I care about," He slowly reached out, only to watch as Himiko yanked her fist away. Closing his eyes, he let his hand drop to the bed, filling the space between them. "They'd be in danger too. People would stop at nothing to try and gain a second quirk."

"Izu…" Himiko felt the tears flowing freely again as she broke her brother's gaze and looked down at the bed. "Why?"

"Why what, Himi?"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Izuku looked down at his hand. "You're right. I shouldn't lie to you. I've been dreading telling you about this for ten months. Because it meant I had to lie to you. And keep lying to you."

"Damn it, Izu," Himiko choked out. "Why do you have to be so- so- you!?"

"Huh?"

She dared to raise her attention back to Izuku's face. "You! You're trusting me with- this big important secret! Because I'm mad at you!" She didn't even realize she had done it, but when she looked down she saw she had hooked her index finger around her brother's thumb. "It's unfair."

Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "You're allowed to be mad at me. I did kind of lie to you for ten months."

"That's not what I mean." Himiko shook her head. "I mean you're- you're you. You're the most selfless, caring person I know," Himiko bit her lip, feeling blood welling under her fangs. "If anyone deserves some special quirk it's you. It's- I'm- just- I'm scared."

"Scared of what?" Izuku asked softly.

"I don't want to lose you," Himiko admitted, curling in on herself as she felt her blush marks spread. "Now that you have a quirk - one that's so strong you literally broke yourself using it. I- I don't want to lose the Izu I know and love."

She gasped as she felt warmth envelop her, Izuku wrapping her up in a warm hug. "You almost lost me today," He admitted. "But then in the practical exam I remembered - I don't want to be that kind of hero." Pulling away, he tried to give his sister a shaky smile - the kind that he gave her when he was trying to be brave enough for both of them. "There's more than just saving people from villains. I want to be the hero who can tell a quirkless four-year-old that he can be a hero too. I want to be the kind of hero who will save a little girl calling for help - who is being abused because her parents don't like her quirk. They need heroes too."

"Izu." Himiko sobbed as she wrapped herself around her brother, tears flowing freely again. "You-you're- too much."

"I'm sorry Himi," Izuku held his sister as he felt her shaking. "I hope you can forgive me."

He felt the shaking change as Himiko let out a wet laugh. "You know I will. Just- not yet."

Izuku bobbed his head and pulled away. "I understand. I'll… give you the space you need."

"I know," Himiko said as she swatted away tears, "that's what makes it worse. So how'd you do it?"

Izuku laughed nervously. "I didn't omit anything about my part in that attack. I just - I met All Might on the roof before the attack, and we talked. He told me that my dream would be impossible, that I should be more realistic." He winced as he saw Himiko tense up. "Then he saw me in the attack. When I acted the way I did after that talk… All Might realized he was wrong." Izuku looked down at his hand. "And he offered to give me a quirk, to make the impossible a little more possible."

"Or he realized you'd kill yourself running into danger anyway," Himiko gave her brother a fond smile. "And wanted to make sure you didn't die."

"He said that too…" Izuku admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Himiko let out a short bark of laughter. She was about to continue when the siblings heard a quiet knock on the door before Inko poked her head in. As she surveyed the situation, both saw the worry etched into their mother's face.

"I don't know what happened today, but I made Izuku's favorite katsudon. It's ready if the two of you are."

"O-okay!" Izuku said a little too loudly. "We'll be out in a minute!" Izuku watched nervously until his mom closed the door, then she spun around to face his sister again, new panic settling into his face. "I haven't told Mom about my quirk yet!"

Himiko let out a frustrated sigh. "And you're sure she can't know the truth?"

"Other than me and All Might, there's 7 people in the world who know this quirk exists, including you," Izuku quickly explained. "That's how secret it is."

Himiko's eyes went wide as she realized the full weight of what he told her. "That's it?!"

"Yeah," Izuku laughed nervously. "It's that important."

"Ugh," Himiko crossed her arms. "You know I hate this, right?"

"I don't like it either," Izuku admits. "I um, promised myself that I'd tell you and Mom someday - when it's safe," He gave her a shaky grin. "You just found out a lot faster than I was expecting?"

"Fine," Himiko let out an irritated sigh and gave him a look that let him know they would be having another conversation about this. "So what are you going to tell Mom?"

"The same one I tried to tell you at UA," Izuku explained. "Most people get their quirks by age four or five at the latest, if they aren't born with them. But late bloomers exist - people whose quirks are so powerful their bodies suppress them until their bodies can handle the strain."

"Doesn't that happen when you are eight or nine?" Himiko asked. "Not fifteen!"

"That's true, but me breaking my bones actually helps sell the story," Izuku let out a nervous giggle, ducking his head to avoid his sister's glare. "Since I hurt myself using it, it proves that my body wasn't ready for it before now. And Mom never had me tested for Late Bloomer status because well… you know." Izuku looked back up at his sister. "So that's the story I'm going to use when I register my quirk."

"That sounds simple enough- and nerdy enough- to be believable." The ghost of a smirk appeared on Himiko's lips. "I'd ask what kind of quirk it is, but I know I'll hear all about it later." She stood up and offered out an arm that Izuku took and used to pull himself off of her bed. "Let's get cleaned up and talk to Mom."

A few minutes later the siblings joined their mom in the kitchen, letting an awkward silence fill the air as they helped her serve their food. It wasn't until all three of them sat down that Inko finally decided to break it.

"Are you ready to talk about it, or should it wait until after dinner?"

Izuku looked at Himiko, feeling a tightness in his stomach as his eyes drifted to his food. He knew he wasn't going to be able to eat - not with this hanging over him. Letting out a sigh, he looked at his mom.

"I hurt myself today." Izuku swallowed the lump in his throat. "Really badly. If UA didn't have Recovery Girl there, it would have taken me months to recover." He hung his head, unable to look at his mom as he lied to her. "Himi was really upset at me because of how badly I hurt myself."

Inko's eyes widened as she stared at her son in horror. "W-what happened? Himi's had injuries while training, but she- nothing that would have taken months to recover from!"

Picking up his chopsticks, Izuku started poking at his meal. "I manifested a quirk during the combat portion of the exam. It turns out I was a late bloomer," He laughed nervously as he forced himself to look at his mom. "Since I didn't know how to control my quirk in the middle of a combat trial, I um, broke both of my legs and one of my arms from backlash."

Inko's chopsticks clattered to the plate as her hands covered her mouth. Her face was a complex mixture of emotions as tears began to leak out of the corner of her eyes. "You have a quirk? All this time…"

"Yeah," Izuku gave his mom a crooked smile. "I've been thinking about it a lot. Trying to figure out how we missed it. I think my body was trying to keep me safe because I never had the muscle mass to survive using it. Like a built-in failsafe? And I just finished those ten months of intensive training…"

Izuku heard the sound of wood scraping against wood as Inko slid her chair back and stood up slowly. Circling the table, she placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder, her touch light - as if she was afraid of him breaking again. "How did your quirk break three of your limbs?"

"I have a theory," Izuku admitted. "I need to test it more, but I think it's an energy storage and enhancement quirk. Which if that's true… I think I've been storing energy since I was little without even realizing it? So my quirk's got a lot more power than my body knows how to deal with."

Inko looked horrified. "I-if your quirk can't control it, are you going to be okay? Do we need to call a doctor?"

Izuku shook his head quickly. "No! It's okay! Really!" Izuku spun around and held up his hands. "See? I'm perfectly fine. I just- need to find a way to test it safely."

"Do you think Mr. Yagi will be able to help?" Inko asked.

"Yeah," Izuku gave his mom a confident smile. "I'm pretty sure he can."

Moving with surprising speed, Inko grabbed Izuku, pulling him out of his chair and wrapping him in a hug. "I- you- this is everything you've ever wanted."

"Yeah," Izuku said softly as he wrapped his arms around his mom. "It is."

"It's a miracle," Inko said as tears flowed freely down her face. "I'm so happy for you."

The two held each other in a silent embrace for a few minutes as Izuku silently assured his mom that he was okay. That everything was okay. That he wouldn't break simply by having a quirk. That he was actually excited by this development!

Once she had recovered, Inko finally let go before turning to her daughter. Himiko watched the scene pensively from her seat. Judging by the expression on her face, Inko could tell that her daughter felt like an outsider intruding on a private moment, and she hated that. Stepping around the table, she repeated her action, pulling her daughter into a hug.

"You're a part of the family too, Himi. Never forget that."

"Thanks," Himiko said as she returned the hug, desperately clinging to Inko. "I know I should be happy, but I feel like I lost something special between me and Izu."

"You're allowed to feel that way," Inko said as she pulled away from her daughter, looking into her face. "I'm overwhelmed too, and I don't have the same bond the two of you have."

"I know," Himiko bit her lip. "I just… need time."

"Take all the time you need," Inko assured her. "We're here for you."

"And I- we still love you," Izuku added as he approached the pair.

"Thank you," Himiko sobbed before pulling her family into a hug. She felt them return her embrace, each reminding the others that they were there for them. That despite the fundamental shift that happened today, they were a family beyond blood. And today hasn't changed that.

Finally letting each other go, the three returned to their meal. After taking her first bite, Himiko turned toward her brother. "You never told me how you did on the test! Other than breaking yourself."

"Oh, right," Izuku's face fell as he looked at the piece of katsudon between his chopsticks. "I only managed to get twenty-eight points before well…" Izuku shoved the piece of food into his mouth, not wanting to belabor the point.

"What about hero points?" Himiko asked.

"Huh?" Izuku asked.

"Don't you remember my entrance letter from last year? There were two scores. The villain points and something called 'hero points,'" Himiko pressed an index finger to her chin as she thought about it. "Then again Kan didn't really say anything in the letter. I guess he wanted to be careful in case you were listening.

"I-" Izuku thought back to the exam. The only thing he could think of is. "-Uraraka."

"Who?" Inko asked curiously

Himiko's eyes went wide, then narrowed as a predatory smile appeared on her face. "Who's that?"

"I-" Izuku suddenly felt a fresh wave of worry. "The girl I was walking out with. Her name's Ochako Uraraka. She um- stopped me from tripping," Izuku began. "Then I saw she was in trouble and went to rescue her. That's when my- my quirk came in." Izuku whispered, feeling a sense of dread wash over him as Himiko's grin split her face.

"You were walking with a girl?" Inko asked curiously, looking at her son with renewed interest.

"That's adorable!" Himiko squealed. "It must be fate! Two lovers having their destined meeting-"

"Himi," Izuku squeaked out. "Life isn't like one of your rom-coms."

"Oh come on," Himiko said, "let me have my fun. Besides!" Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, like a predator hunting her prey. "You owe me."

"S-she's the only one I helped," Izuku stammered out, attempting to steer the conversation back to the original topic. "So I don't know if that'll be enough!"

"Oh no," Inko exclaimed.

"Yeah," Izuku said softly as worry filled him. "I thought I was doing well but some of the scores I was hearing-"

"I think you'll be fine," Himiko said confidently.

"What makes you say that?" Izuku asked nervously.

"Because we promised to attend UA together!" Himiko chirped. "And since I made it in, that means you have to! Besides," she leaned across the table. "Uraraka's going to be there, isn't she?"

Izuku groaned.

How long has Himiko been waiting for this opportunity?

The tension in the air slowly faded as they ate. And by the end of the meal, both Izuku and Himiko both felt better. That they were still there for each other.

Once he was done cleaning the dishes, Izuku returned to his room and collapsed on his bed, pulling out the small scrap of paper Ochako had tucked into his phone case. Adding the number to his phone, he proceeded to type out a long message apologizing to the girl. She didn't have to wait for him the way she did and he felt terrible about what happened.

It only took a few minutes for her to reply. She insisted it was okay, and that it was really cool that his sister cared that much about him. With the ghost of a smile, Izuku thanked her before wishing her goodnight. Collapsing on his bed, he stared at his ceiling.

"Hopefully the worst is over."

Unfortunately, Izuku's temporary mood was quickly quashed the next day when he woke up and saw that All Might still hadn't gotten back to him. With growing worry, Izuku sent another message before going for his morning jog.

The feeling only grew over the next several days. Despite both Himiko and Ochako assuring him that he would be okay, All Might's silence continued. Much like a raging storm falling on loose soil, it wore away at his fragile confidence, exposing previously buried insecurities.

Worse, All Might's silence meant Izuku didn't have a chance to figure out how to use One For All safely, either.

The days began to drag on as Izuku tried to keep his hopes up but feared that the worst had happened.

Himiko sat at her desk, idly doodling in the margins of her notebook to try and clear her mind. Izuku's nervousness at the exam results was contagious, and she had begun to worry. So did Mom, even if she was trying her best to hide it.

And then there was his quirk. He still acted the same, but her decade of abuse had left her with some deep scars. Even if Izuku deserved it, she still felt old wounds that had reopened And despite her outward demeanor, she needed time and assurance that this time was different.

She yelled at the sound of a hand slamming on her desk, her reflexes almost sending her to the floor in response. Recovering quickly, she glared at Emily, who stood over her with her arms crossed.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Midoriya, something's up! You and I both know I should never be able to walk right up to your desk and startle you like that." Her face softened almost imperceptibly as she gestured toward the rest of their friends. "We're worried about you."

"Thanks," Himiko found her lips curling upward as Atsuko gave her a small wave. Turning her attention back to her blonde classmate, she continued. "Things with Izu have just been… rough. Ever since he took the entrance exam."

"What'd your brother do?" Hideo asked as everyone joined the two girls. "I got the impression you'd stab someone for him."

"I would," Himiko let out a loud huff. "But I can't stab anxiety. He's worried he failed, and until the disk with his exam results shows up…"

"That sounds like your brother," Atsuko said, before leaning over to hug her best friend. "I'm sorry it's getting to you."

"I know how much you care about your brother, but you need to take care of yourself as well," Sakura added.

"In that case, it's decided!" Emily slammed her hand back on the desk. "This weekend we're going out! Whether or not your brother is feeling better."

Himiko stared at the other girl, her permanent blush slowly spreading. "That- yes!"

"Great! Anyone else?" Emily looked at the rest of their friends.

"Sorry, I'm going to be spending the weekend with my family," Hideo explained, "I haven't seen them for a few weeks and this might be the last chance before finals."

"You shouldn't feel bad for that," Atsuko gently said as she offered him a comforting smile. "Himi and I know a thing or two about girls' nights."

"We do!" Himiko chirped. Feeling uplifted by her friends, she decided that now was as good a time as any to tell them the other, bigger, issue. "That's not the only thing. Something else happened with Izu during the exam…"

"Oh no."

"What else could he have possibly done?"

"Welllll…" Himiko felt a small knot in her stomach and wondered if this is how Izuku felt last night. "It turns out he's not actually quirkless like we thought? He's technically a late bloomer, and his worry about the exam is because he broke himself in the middle of it when his quirk manifested."

Stunned silence filled the air as her friends stared at her, processing the news. Himiko's gaze darted between them, wondering who-

"WHAT?" Himiko swore she heard something crack with how hard Emily slammed her fist into the desk. "Details. Now."

And there it is.

Himiko let out a long groan as Emily planted herself on the desk.

Like he had every day this week, on his way home from school Izuku detoured to the mailboxes. Unlike the other days, however, when Izuku opened the box he saw a thick envelope sitting on top. Stomach churning in anticipation, he pulled it out, feeling its weight in his hands as he saw the UA logo emblazoned on the corner.

This is it!

The rest of the mail forgotten, Izuku rushed home, bursting into the apartment.

"Mom! My letter's here!"

"Is it?" Inko called out.

"Did you open it yet?" Himiko called out from her room.

"N-not yet," Izuku confirmed as he kicked off his shoes and ran into the living room. There he was greeted by his mom and sister, the latter partially changed as she prepared to head back out for the evening.

"What are you waiting for?" Himiko asked impatiently.

"It's up to him," Inko gently reminded her daughter. "If he wants to wait and open it in private, he can."

"No, it's ok." Izuku shook his head. "I want to watch it with you."

Flipping the letter over, he felt the weight as he broke the seal, revealing the holographic disk inside. Pulling it out, he placed it on the table and pressed the button to play the message.

"I am here!" All Might's face appeared on the screen. "As a recording! I must apologize for keeping your trainer preoccupied, but my staff has been busy while I was caught up in paperwork! You see, next year I will be joining the UA staff as a heroics teacher!"

He heard a gasp from Himiko behind him.

Right, I was the only one who knew that. Izuku reminded himself.

The projection of All Might continued. "But that is not why you are here! You would like to know how you did on the exam. For the written portion of the exam, you scored a 93%! This is the second-highest written score among all examinees. This is a testament to your bright mind. However, that alone is not enough to get into the hero course. There is also the matter of the practical exam!"

Izuku braced himself. Here it comes.

"For villain points, you were able to take down a respectable twenty-eight points. An impressive score, but unfortunately that is not enough on its own. However, it is not the only metric we use to determine your final score! Allow me to demonstrate with a video."

The video switched to a camera in Present Mic's office. Izuku gasped when he saw Ochako enter the office. "Um, Excuse me, Mic-Sensei?"

"What is it, little listener?"

"There was someone in my group - Izuku Midoriya. He hurt himself really badly trying to save me. And despite his injuries, he was trying to score more - he said he didn't have enough to pass. It doesn't feel right for him to fail the exam because of me. Could I give him some of my points? He at least deserves to have the points he would have gotten if he didn't save me!"

"Sorry! No-can-do!" Mic said from behind his desk. "Even though your heart's in the right place, rules are rules! You don't have to worry about him though! He may not have that many villain points, but he's going to have a good score anyways!"

"What?" Izuku was shaking at the revelation. Was this what Ochako was trying to tell him all week?

"Your actions are already an inspiration to others! As Nezu is fond of saying, it would be irresponsible of us to let that go to waste. And it would be irresponsible of UA to test on only a single metric. You see, there is another score - when there is serious danger and someone is in trouble, what do you do? These are the types of questions that go into our second score - Hero Points. And this year, you have set a new school record of 50 points!"

All Might paused for dramatic effect as a billboard appeared on a screen behind him. Much like the one they saw last year in Himiko's letter. And there, in first place, was his name. "Congratulations Young Midoriya. This is your Hero Academia!"

Izuku heard Himiko cheering behind him right before she and their mom latched onto him, all three crying as they hugged each other."

"I-I did it! I'm going to UA! We're going to become heroes together!"