Sorry for the delay, I published first part later than I wanted and needed sleep. On top of that, I took some time to give this second chapter a final check for corrections. But it's here now! Enjoy!

Chapter 2: You Can be a Hero - Part 2

The outside of the daycare center was already crowded by the time Inko's car arrived. A lot of confused and scared children herded around their assigned caretakers. Despite knowing the situation, Inko, once she got out of the car, couldn't help but give the crowd of children a cursory glance to see if her baby boy was there. Aqua was beside Inko, guiding her along and trying to find whoever they needed to approach.

It took a lot for Aqua to settle her mother's nerves as they were driving back to the daycare center, assuring the woman that the current predicament wasn't her fault. Despite being the one to help Inko, however, Aqua was barely keeping herself together after hearing what happened. Just how much was Izuku's magic going out of control? Would any of the adults be able to stop him?

Her thoughts were cut off when Inko halted their movements as she spotted Ms. Yami getting looked over by the newly-arrived paramedics. Whatever may have happened to her, she didn't seem too worse for wear now.

Inko was the first of the duo to reach the caretaker.

"Are you alright? Is Izuku okay? Is he out here?" the greenette frantically inquired of the other woman.

"I-I'm alright," Ms. Yami replied, a bit startled from Inko's questioning, but quickly regaining composure, "I got burned a bit, but since I moved away from Izuku when the heat was rising around him, it wasn't anything too serious."

"But where's Izuku?" asked a stern Aqua, not quite liking the fact that the other woman dodged the last two questions.

Ms. Yami flinched at the blunette's tone, understanding the urgency, but not wanting to escalate the two women's worries.

"I'm a-afraid he's still inside. His Quirk just made it too dangerous to be near him."

"So, you just left him there!?" Aqua snapped.

"Aqua!" Inko rounded on her in shock.

Internally, Aqua knew she was wrong for snapping at the caretaker like that, and she'd normally scold herself for losing her composure so quickly, but this was her brother's well-being in question. She'd been dreading to see what state Izuku was in after losing control of his magic and to find out that nothing's been done to get him to stop didn't calm her nerves in the slightest.

"I'm so sorry!" Ms. Yami said remorsefully, "I didn't want to leave him, but his Quirk was becoming too dangerous and we had to get the other children out! First, there was fire, then we saw ice sprout from him, and then bolts of lightning were streaking across the room! Katsuki already got himself hurt from trying to stop Izuku earlier."

Aqua and Inko immediately felt their hearts stop after hearing that last part. They quickly looked around hoping to spot the young blond. Thankfully, they saw him close by getting looked after by another paramedic, though he seemed to not appreciate the care as he kept trying to ward the man off with insults and insist that he was fine. The two women wanted to immediately check on him (Inko especially for Mitsuki's sake), but it at least seemed like he was out of danger for the moment.

"Once I was getting treated, Suzuki went back inside to try and talk Izuku down," Yami continued after seeing the duo calm down a bit, "I called for the heroes shortly after I called you. They're currently trying to send ones available who can counteract Izuku's Quirk. They should be arriving any minute."

Yami sighed as she looked down, her inability to help weighing on her.

"I wish I could do more. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let this happen," she started to weep bitterly at her failure. She had been concerned for Izuku after being told that he was Quirkless. With Quirklessness being such a rarity these days, there was little she knew about how to handle the perceptions of the other kids. But maybe if she had just been sterner with the kids on how they treated Izuku, they wouldn't be dealing with a crisis right now.

As Inko moved forward to comfort the crying woman and assure her that it wasn't her fault—though she wasn't doing much better herself—Aqua looked back at the daycare center with a frown. The shame at having yelled at Ms. Yami filled her. The caretaker wouldn't have been prepared for a power that wasn't diagnosed as a Quirk. Even Dr. Tsubasa couldn't have known to check for signs of a power not linked to any physical traits. But Aqua did. This whole crisis could've been avoided if she hadn't been so hesitant on telling Inko about it, or at least letting Izuku know that he had powers. Regardless of how anyone else saw it, this was her mess.

Considering her time spent in this world, Aqua knew that she was supposed to let the pro heroes handle this. For all she knew, this wouldn't be the first time a person lost control of their Quirk and had to be stopped, but as a Keyblade Master, getting Izuku to reign in his new power was her responsibility. So, steeling her nerves once again, Aqua turned back to Yami.

"Ms. Yami," she said, bringing the other woman's sobs to a halt and getting her attention, "Please don't blame yourself. I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier, but if you can, please tell me what room Izuku is in."

The caretaker briefly blinked through her tears in surprise at the blue-haired woman's request. She found herself answering before even thinking about what Aqua planned to do.

"O-oh, it's down the left hallway as you enter and the third door on the right. Why do you-" Her eyes widened in realization, "H-hold on! You're not planning to-"

"Mom, please stay out here, and look after Katsuki if you can," Aqua addressed Inko without paying Yami's concerns any mind, "I promise to be back soon."

With all of her words said, Aqua sprinted into the building without hesitation, doing her best to not flinch as she heard Inko's call to come back.

Remembering Ms. Yami's directions, Aqua quickly made it to where Izuku was said to be. Upon arriving, she noticed a man standing in front of the door, apparently calling to whoever was inside.

That must be Suzuki. Aqua put together from the earlier explanation.

In about an instant, Aqua slid to a stop in front of the door, much to the shock of the identified 'Suzuki'. She ignored his inquiry about who she was and why she was there as she peered into the room to locate Izuku. When she did, she gasped in horror.

In the center of the room, Izuku, her little brother, was lying face down on the ice-covered floor (which continued to spread across the room) covered in clumps of ice and a few burns. She could see his body shivering and cold vapor leaving his mouth as he breathed sporadically. His eyes that Aqua was so used to seeing with liveliness now appeared dull and unfocused as tears were staining his cheeks.

"Izuku…" she breathed out in disbelief. This isn't good. He's already suffering the effects of backlash.

Suddenly, Izuku's eyes started to regain focus.

"O-o-onee-ch-chan?" he muttered weakly.

"Izuku!" Aqua yelled frantically as she ran to him.

"Miss! Please, get back!" Suzuki yelled from his place.

Immediately, Izuku's eyes shot up in realization that his big sister was actually here! That she could actually get hurt by him too!

"N-no! S-stay away, O-onee-chan!" Izuku cried out with a hoarse voice and waved his hand at her in panic.

Electricity flew from his hands and dispersed into more bolts of lightning to his growing horror. Luckily for Aqua, she managed to stop herself right before she could get hit with the worst of the Thunder spell. She could tell the lightning was relatively weak, but it was best to avoid them if possible. She still managed to feel somewhat of a shock since she was close enough, though.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Onee-chan!" Izuku cried some more after seeing what he caused, "I-I keep trying to stop it, but… I can't control it! I'm sorry! I just keep getting people hurt! I'm sorry!"

Aqua's heart was tearing apart at the seams as she watched Izuku break down in tears again. She felt urge to run a second time, but immediately caught herself from making the same mistake.

Dammit, Aqua, think first before jumping in like that! She scolded herself in her head. I can't risk startling him again. The magical outbursts must have gotten weaker, so he can't have much power left, but they're still taking a toll on his body.

Taking a few calming breaths, she quickly came up with a different strategy.

"Hey," she replied back in a calm tone, "It's alright. I must have startled you real bad earlier. Sorry for that."

Izuku slowly stopped his sniffling and looked up at his sister in confusion. Her smiling face was all he could see, and it brightened even more when she had his attention.

"But it's going to be alright, now. Your big sister's here and she's not going anywhere," Aqua stated as she started to bend her knees and lower herself almost to a crouch, something she faintly remembered her master doing when she was younger whenever she or Terra were especially upset.

"I'm here to help you, Izuku."

The little boy listened to his sister's soft voice, and for a moment he could almost let his cares go, but he quickly remembered what was happening and what he did and vehemently shook his head.

"N-no! Y-you shouldn't do that!" he looked down when he saw Aqua's confused face, "You… you should just leave me here. I did a bad thing. I hurt Ms. Yami and Kacchan! I'm no better t-than… than a v-villain. A monster. I don't deserve anything. I can't do anything right, and I'll just hurt you too!"

Aqua immediately felt her heart break after hearing her brother's words as he resorted to sobbing again as sparks surrounded him, but she kept her smile up even though she could feel tears building.

"Izuku, please look at me," She kept her voice soft, though it still wavered a bit, but it got the boy's attention again.

"That's not true. You're not going to hurt me, and you're not a monster, Izuku. Not at all," Aqua paused a bit in her speech as she couldn't help but think back to facing Terra and Ven as their darker counterparts. Her breath hitched a bit, but she kept going.

"Right now…" she began to feel the tears fall, "You're still my adorable little brother that I love very much. You just need some help."

Aqua could see the shock on Izuku's face. It seemed like she was getting through to him now.

"Do you want me to help you?" she asked.

Izuku, for his part, couldn't say anymore words. After hearing Onee-chan say those things, he felt a warmth in his chest drive away all of his doubts and despair. All he could feel now was hope. Overwhelmed with this feeling, all he could do was nod fervently at his sister's question.

Aqua felt her shoulders relax.

"Okay. I'm going to get closer, but slowly this time," she said as she began to do just that when she saw Izuku nod.

She crept forward in her crouch-like position, carefully navigating through the ice on the floor until she was kneeling within arm's reach of Izuku. He still seemed to be shaking a bit whether it was from the cold or anxiety.

"Can I ask you to do something for me?" Aqua asked, getting the boy to perk up, "I want you to take a deep breath, hold it for a few seconds, and then breathe out. I promise it'll help. I'll show you."

She demonstrated for a few times before giving Izuku the chance to try. He followed his sister's breathing pattern and, before long, noticed he was becoming calmer. In fact, he noticed that the ice that was spreading in the room came to a stop, and he no longer felt jittery as the sparks around him disappeared. He still felt cold, though, as he noticed the ice covering his arms as well as the rest of his body.

"Here," he heard his sister say before turning to see fire in her hand, "I can warm you up if you want."

He stared at it before realizing that Onee-chan was waiting for his permission. Once again, he nodded before his sister brought it closer to him. It was strange, he thought. He would think that he'd be afraid of fire by now, what with the scary man's fire-breathing Quirk and his own fire, but his big sister's flame felt so warm and inviting, he didn't feel scared at all.

Before he realized, the ice had melted and Izuku felt Aqua put something on him. It was the hoodie she was wearing, and he was no longer cold.

"Is it alright if I hug you?" he heard her ask.

He nodded without a second thought, and was held in a careful, but loving embrace. Feeling safe again, Izuku felt his tears build up for what he hoped would be the final time today, and cried into his sister's shirt, apologizing again and again what he had done as he felt Onee-chan's hand running through his curly hair.

"It's okay," he heard her say, softly, "There's no need to be sorry. You must've felt very scared and alone. But it's alright, now. I'm here and I won't let you feel alone again."

Izuku nodded as he started to feel tired as his grip on his sister's shirt was lessening.

"You can rest, now. I'll still be here."

With how weakened he was, Izuku could only hum in response and he passed out shortly after.

After Aqua had gotten Izuku to calm down, she made her way out of the room carrying Izuku in her arms. She saw the heroes along the way staring in shock as they stood there. They seemed to have been convinced by Suzuki to let her handle the situation. She paid them little to no mind regardless.

Once outside, Aqua handed Izuku off to the paramedics to have him checked over, though she did so reluctantly. She had sneakily used a bit of Cure on him beforehand to heal the worst of his injuries, so she could rest easy about his health.

She did get a bit of a scolding from the pro heroes for interfering with a rescue as a civilian, but thankfully, Ms. Yami and Mr. Suzuki defended her and insisted that she stopped the situation sooner and that the blame rested more on them for allowing it to happen in the first place, although Inko also brought up that she was present when her son was misdiagnosed as Quirkless and probably could have questioned it more.

At the end of the day, the heroes decided to let Aqua off with a warning since no one else got hurt. They even offered for their agencies to cover any damages to the daycare since they already went through the trouble of arriving.

Izuku was loaded up in an ambulance to take him to the nearby hospital, and, after some convincing, Aqua was allowed to ride the ambulance with him to keep him company in case he woke up while Inko agreed to take Katsuki in her car to the hospital and call Mitsuki to pick him up from there.

Currently, Aqua and Inko were in Izuku's hospital room sitting beside his bed. The doctors and nurses had already healed and done their tests on him and deemed him perfectly healthy. At the moment, he was being kept for observation before discharging him the next day. Mitsuki had already arrived, and once she confirmed Katsuki's safety (much to his chagrin), she made sure to check on Izuku. She went ahead and took Katsuki home when she knew Izuku was fine, but not without promising to get with Inko later about potentially paying Dr. Tsubasa a proper… "visit" in regard to what happened. That did draw a bit of concern from Aqua, especially when Inko strangely seemed to actually consider Mitsuki's offer. She silently hoped it wouldn't come to that. She definitely couldn't imagine her mother to be the violent type.

A sigh from Inko distracted Aqua from her musings.

"This day turned out to be such a mess," the mother tiredly said before offering a smile to Aqua, "I can't thank you enough again, sweetie. I could hardly think of what to do back then, but you didn't hesitate for a second to save him."

She looked to the sleeping form of her son, "He may not be able to say it now, but I'm sure he feels really lucky to have you."

Aqua, however, didn't feel like basking in her mother's praise. She only kept her head down as guilt was eating her up on the inside. She messed up. She didn't deserve such kind words.

"You shouldn't be thanking me," she spoke, closing her eyes, "I could've stopped things from escalating to this point, but I didn't."

"Aqua, please don't please don't blame yourself for this," Inko replied with worry in her tone, "This came as a surprise to all of us. When that man diagnosed Izuku as Quirkless by mistake, I should've done more to encourage him and not give up so easi-"

"It wasn't a misdiagnosis," Aqua interrupted her, "Izuku is actually Quirkless."

Inko blinked incredulously at the bluenette's words.

"What? How can you say that, Aqua? You were there, and everyone at the daycare saw him manifest a Quirk."

Except it's not a Quirk. Aqua's mind supplied, though she didn't have much energy to express it.

After seeing Aqua become quiet for a while, Inko sighed again to herself.

"Aqua… just help me understand," she pleaded while placing a hand on Aqua's shoulder, "Is there something I don't get? Maybe you saw something differently when you found him?"

Aqua's sigh blew on the locks of hair in front of her face. It's starting to get long. She thought, and then refocused her mind on the question, since it was clear she had the go-ahead.

"It's not that," She started, "The thing is… I've known about his power for a while, ever since the attack during his birthday."

Subconsciously, her hand reached for her neck.

"It actually saved my life that day, and I've been noticing traces of it since then, but those bursts were so weak even he didn't seem to be aware of it. The reason this larger burst happened today must've been the emotional stress he's been holding in since Friday. I've been meaning to tell you about it, but I didn't know of way to get Izuku to prove it without forcing him and I was worried about how you'd react to the implications of him having that power… though maybe that's all just been an excuse."

Inko didn't know what to think as she kept listening to her daughter speak.

"Mom, do you remember what I was talking about with you earlier? About Izuku having a power that's not a Quirk?" Aqua asked, finally looking up at her mother.

"Ah, yes," Inko replied, "You never got to finish what you were saying, did you?"

Aqua nodded, "And do you remember when I told you about myself? About what my power originates from?"

Inko paused. She was starting to get concerned as the wheels in her head began to turn.

"…Where are you… going with this?" she asked with trepidation.

"Mom," Aqua started, looking straight into Inko's eyes, "Izuku… is like me. He's a Keyblade wielder. Or, well… potential Keyblade wielder.

Inko blinked. And then blinked again. "Huh?"

Aqua ran a hand through her hair as she looked down again.

Yeah, that went about as well as I would've expected.

"W-wait! Wait wait wait wait wait!" Inko whisper-yelled, checking to make sure she didn't wake up her son, "K-keyblades? Izuku? But.. I-I thought… Y-you said you attained your power in another world, right?"

Aqua scratched her cheek before answering, "Well… to be more precise, I came from another world. As for the Keyblade choosing its wielder… it's not exactly limited to one world."

Inko's mouth hung open for a minute. Even when she closed it, she didn't say anything for a while. She had turned away from Aqua and just sat there, lost in thought. The young woman could only guess some of the millions of thoughts running through Inko's head in that moment, and could only tense in preparation to answer what she could.

"Just… how did this even happen in the first place?" Inko finally asked.

"I have a theory," Aqua replied, "When he picked up my master's Keyblade, it might've jumpstarted his abilities in a way. Without that, it probably would've taken longer for his magic to manifest."

Inko felt that she had more questions regarding that response, but chose to let it go for now.

"Okay… I'm not sure how that works, but…" Inko looked tense for moment before speaking, "Essentially, Izuku will have the same powers as you do."

She saw the blue-haired girl nod.

"So then…" Inko's joined hands tightened from the fear growing in her gut as she spoke, "That monster that attacked… if another like that comes around… w-will… will Izuku become a target too?"

Aqua closed her eyes as she hoped that resolve would fill her next words.

"I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen."

From Inko's startled gasp, it seemed that Aqua's assurance didn't work as well as she had hoped.

"But that still means they'll be after him! Why?"

The bluenette sighed.

"Look. It's just that…" Aqua wasn't sure how best to explain without getting her mother to freak out.

"The power that Izuku and I share…" she spoke up again, "creatures of darkness fear it. We have the power to destroy them permanently. Since they mostly feed off of the light within people's hearts… our light is what they'll likely try to hunt the most."

"O-oh," was all Inko could say as her hands started shaking.

"But that's why I said that I'd make sure it doesn't happen," Aqua said as she gently put her hand on Inko's, "I'll take on those problems alone if I have to. Trust me. The last thing I want is to throw Izuku into a fight he didn't ask to be a part of."

Although Inko wasn't very comforted by the idea of Aqua having to face those issues alone, her daughter's words did manage to calm her down slightly. Things were already scary enough when Hisashi was after them, but at least with his recent imprisonment and physical condition, that was no longer an issue to worry about. If Aqua was sure about tackling the other problem, then she'd leave her to it.

"Okay," she sighed after taking a deep breath.

She looked over at the sleeping form of her son again.

"Looks like I'll be scheduling meetings with a Quirk Counselor, after all. Though, now I'm not sure how much that's going to help."

"To be fair, it'd probably look suspicious if you didn't," Aqua retorted, gazing back at her little brother as well, "In the meantime, he'll need someone more familiar with how his powers work to teach him how to reign them in."

She felt Inko's eyes on her, so, she continued, "Naturally, since Izuku will wield a Keyblade of his own, he'll need a Keyblade Master to teach and prepare him. I suppose that I'm the someone who fits that qualification."

Inko was about to remark that Aqua was the only one with the qualification, but her concern for her won out in the end.

"Aqua? You're not sounding very sure of yourself," said Inko.

Aqua let out a humorless chuckle, "Well, it's just that… I'd rather not get anyone's hopes up. I may be a Keyblade Master, but… I never truly lived up to that title."

"How come?" Inko asked with a bit of worry and confusion.

"It's just…" the bluenette lowered her head to see her joined hands that were clenched tightly.

"For as long as I've been Master Eraqus's student along with Terra, I've always aspired to be the strong and capable Keyblade Master he was raising me to become. But ever since I was given that responsibility, nothing ever went right. I wasn't able to keep Terra and Ven from danger, and when I tried to intervene, I just made things worse. After everything that happened, what did my title truly mean when the stakes were high? I lost Eraqus, Ven is asleep, and Terra is probably in dire straits trying to find me! I barely managed to help with Izuku, but that incident was already caused by my negligence in the first place, so, what's the next time that I'll fail Izuku? Just what reason does he have to look up to someone who's that much of a failure and-"

"Aqua," Inko's stern voice cut through the girl's rant.

Aqua finally stopped her rambling at her adoptive mother's voice and looked around herself to see that ice was spreading. Inko must've seen it quickly to get her to stop.

She quickly gained a look of horror as she immediately dispelled the ice. An incident had already occurred, and yet her she was, about to cause more property damage and possibly more harm to her brother due to a breakdown.

"Oh my- I'm so sorry!" Aqua whisper-yelled, horrified, "Damn it. I'm supposed to keep it together, and I can't even-"

"I think that's quite enough, sweetie," Inko said calmly while grabbing Aqua's shaking hands to calm her down, "You definitely have a lot going through your mind, but I think I get the gist of it."

Aqua just refused to look up at her mother as she let the older woman rub circles into her hands.

"You're worried that you won't do a good job training him because of what you told me about your past, right?"

Inko watched as the girl in front of her lamely nodded. She sighed as she did her best to squash down any uncertainty about what she needed to say.

"Listen. I may not… understand everything about your life or what your powers are for, but to me, it seems like you're putting more pressure on yourself than you need to."

Inko raised her hand in front of her when she saw Aqua look up, ready to protest, "Let me finish."

The young woman sighed and let her mother continue.

"Thinking back to what you told me, and what you went through, you probably expect so much from yourself that the even idea of failing is terrifying. But, right now, I think what's more important is for you to reflect on what you accomplished since you came to this world."

Inko had to stop herself from laughing at the incredulous look Aqua was giving her.

"I know it doesn't seem like much to you, but please bear with me," Inko said as she raised a hand to count off her daughter's accomplishments.

"Firstly, you protected us from Hisashi when he came for Izuku, and no matter how you think you handled that encounter, it would've been much worse if you weren't there."

Aqua shut her mouth as Inko raised a second finger.

"Second, thanks to you protecting Izuku a second time when Hisashi attacked, I don't have to worry about him coming after us ever again. Third, you fought off that monster when almost none of the heroes had arrived and protected everyone that you could. Fourth, you got acknowledged by the principal of UA and were given the chance to become a pro hero… all the while spending time with a charming young man."

Aqua blushed at that last one and looked away in annoyance, much to Inko's amusement.

"And finally, most important of all, you saved my little boy from himself when his… magic was out of control. You were already everything to him as a big sister, but with this? I wouldn't be surprised if he called you his hero from now on."

The younger woman's eyes turned away, this time with uncertainty, but Inko could tell it was more contemplative than before. She reached out to hold Aqua's hands again.

"What I'm trying to get at with all of this, dear, is that while I know that the past is important to you and you feel like there's a lot you need to do, you can't let any of those defeats and setbacks rob you of the little victories you achieve because I think those victories are what will push you to greater ones."

At that moment, Inko watched Aqua's eyes widen in both shock and a bit of wonder. It was starting make her feel a bit too flattered.

"I-I mean… it might be a bit too presumptuous for someone like me to say that, b-but my point still stands…" Inko sputtered out of panic, but managed to calm down as she smiled, "From all this time I have spent with you, Aqua, I know you're a wonderful person. Too wonderful to have your self-doubts weigh you down. So, no matter what kind of master you expect yourself to be… You trying your best for that little boy who loves you very much? I think that's more than enough."

Aqua didn't say anything for a while, and Inko began to worry that she may have overstepped her bounds. That worry spiked when she saw tears beginning to fall the bluenette's eyes, and she quickly began to fret over her, asking if she was alright.

"It's f-fine, mom. I-" Aqua choked out as she started to wipe her tears.

Inko had no idea how much she needed to hear that. Heck, even she herself didn't. She had been stewing in her feelings of inadequacy more than she realized ever since this morning. The memories of how she failed her loved ones chilled her to the core. She didn't realize how much it was getting to her until Inko's words managed to melt a bit of the frost from her heart.

She still had her insecurities, she couldn't deny that, but maybe it would be fine. She looked at the boy resting in the bed in front of her. She couldn't hesitate—not anymore. With how much Izuku had come to mean to her, if he was willing to place that much trust in her, then she'd gladly take that leap of faith.

She turned to Inko and quickly gave her a hug, much to the green-haired woman's surprise.

"Thank you, mom," her voice resolute, but slightly shaky from crying, "That meant so much more than you know."

She pulled away from Inko as she wiped her tears away.

"You're right. I've been a little messed up about the whole thing. I don't know if I'll do a good job as a master, but… I'll try."

Inko smiled, feeling the beginnings of tears build in her eyes as she saw her daughter regain her confidence.

"That's all anyone can ask for," Inko said as she gripped as Aqua's hand.

Suddenly, in the midst of their heart-warming moment, the two women were interrupted by sounds of whimpering from the bed.

To their alarm, Izuku seemed to have woken up in a panic as fire was swirling around his arms while he was flailing his arms trying wave the flames away.

Aqua wasted no time in rushing to her brother's side.

"Izuku! Izuku!" She tried to get his attention, but Izuku was still in a panicked state.

Aqua grabbed his hand even as the fire was lashing at her. She could hear Inko stepping up to them while crying out in concern.

"Mom! Stay back!" She commanded and turned her attention back to Izuku.

Instinctually, she wanted to use Blizzard on the fire, but couldn't bear the thought of getting Izuku hurt again. She had to get his attention, somehow.

She gently placed her free hand on Izuku's cheek, doing her best to soothe him. After a moment of worry that she wasn't getting anywhere, Izuku opened his eyes when he finally noticed a sensation other than the flames.

"O-onee-chan?" he said softly. His arms stopped flailing, but he was still shaking.

Aqua smiled and kept calm despite the pain from the fire.

"Hey there. I'm still here, just like I promised. Do you remember how to breathe like I showed you?"

The boy nodded slowly and began to do as he remembered from before.

In. Out.

He was okay now.

In.

His big sister was here, like she promised.

Out.

He was safe again.

Izuku kept up his rhythmic breathing until he felt the change in temperature. When he opened his eyes again, the fire was gone.

"Good job, Izuku," he heard his sister say as she ruffled his hair. He looked up at her and saw while her clothes got a little burned, Aqua was relatively unharmed.

"You feeling okay? You seemed pretty frightened," she soothingly said to him.

Izuku for his part couldn't back the tears again and dove in to hug Aqua while apologizing profusely.

Inko, while she was in panic mode at seeing Izuku's power go out of control again, was relieved to see Aqua managing to calm Izuku down. From that, she was certain the girl had no reason to doubt herself; she'd do just fine in helping her son control it.

When she assumed it was safe to approach, she walked over to check on Izuku.

"Hey sweetie. Are you feeling okay? You're not too hurt, are you?" she asked as she reached out a hand toward him.

Izuku saw the hand and his eyes widened as he instantly recoiled in fear and clung to Aqua even more tightly as if to hide himself, shaking his head as he whimpered.

Inko's hand froze. Just what was that response? Had her son become afraid of her? Had she failed Izuku that badly that he doesn't want to be anywhere near her? Her thoughts began to shake her to the core.

Aqua, picking up on what her mother must've been thinking, said to her, "Wait, mom. It's not what you think! Izuku is… I think he's afraid of hurting you."

She turned her attention to her little brother.

"Is that right?" She asked him, and got a fervent nod in response.

Inko calmed down slightly after seeing her son confirm Aqua's assurance, but then felt her heart break all the more. Her sweet baby boy is now so convinced that he'll hurt other people that he can't even have his mother's affection. Was there really nothing she could do?

She shook her head before her worries got the best of her.

Stop that! This isn't the time for pity! You need to do more for him than just that! Inko scolded herself in her mind.

She steadied herself and moved back closer to her son.

"Izuku," she said softly which she saw got Izuku to mutter more apologies into Aqua's shirt.

Inko smiled sadly, "You're not in trouble, sweetie. You know that your big sister and I are still here and that we love you, right?"

She saw her son slowly turn his head toward her in confusion, tears still in his eyes. He hesitated a little before nodding slowly.

Inko's smile brightened in return.

"Good. And I know that what you're going through right now is scary, but I promise that no matter how hard it is, we'll get through it together; as a family."

Izuku's eyes slowly widened before he felt his hair being messed with.

"She's right, Izuku," he heard Aqua speak, "You don't have to face your fears alone. We'll be there for you every step of the way."

Izuku lowered his head a bit before nodding again. Inko seemed satisfied with the response before saying she had to go get the nurse and let them know that Izuku woke up.

Once she left the room, it was silent between the two siblings. Nothing but the sound of air conditioning permeated the room. Izuku had loosened his grip on Aqua and wasn't crying as much as before, but Aqua still held onto him and combed her hand through his hair to keep him comfortable while waiting.

"O-onee-chan?" the boy's quiet voice muttered.

Aqua hummed in response to let him know that she was listening. She felt her brother squirm a bit before continuing.

"D-did… Did you mean it? T-that I'm not…" he trailed off, afraid to even look at her.

It didn't take much for Aqua to piece it together.

"Yes. I meant what I said, Izuku. You're not a monster. I don't think you could ever be one," she replied with a smile.

"And I'm not… l-like that s-scary man?" Izuku whimpered a bit more.

Aqua shook her head as she held Izuku closer.

"No way. Not in a million years," she said, holding back from saying she'd punch Hisashi's lights out wherever he was imprisoned, though he technically didn't do anything this time.

Izuku grew quiet again, and Aqua began to be concerned what he would ask next.

"S-so…" he started again, "c-can… can I s-still be a h-hero? Even though… e-even though I-I… can't control m-my… Quirk? A-and I hurt and scared people?"

Hearing this, Aqua's concern grew. It seemed that her brother's fear was deeper than anticipated.

"Izuku," she began to ask him, "Are you scared of it? Your… Quirk?"

She felt him wince for a moment before he nodded, not saying anything else.

Aqua sighed before answering him, "Listen, what happened was an accident. Everyone knows you didn't mean for it to happen. And besides, if you ask me, I don't think your Quirk is scary."

Izuku looked up at his sister in surprise, but he didn't say a word, so she continued.

"You have one of the kindest hearts that I know," she said, "You always talk about how you want to be a hero who saves everyone with a smile, letting everyone know it'll be okay, just like All Might, right? I think your Quirk reflects that, truly. You just didn't have anyone who could show you how to control it, or how to understand it."

Aqua saw how Izuku's eyes remain fixed on her, and she mustered up her resolve for what she had to say next.

"Izuku, I think… no. I know you can become a hero, the best you can be," she said as she smiled at the confounded look on her little brother's face.

"And…and if you're willing…" Aqua started with hesitance before looking back into Izuku's eyes again, "I promise to help you become one."

A moment or two passed before Izuku's wide eyes began to be filled with tears again, except this time they were tears of relief—happiness. He hugged his big sister with all of the tiny strength he could muster to express a gratitude that was too large for words.

Aqua smiled tenderly as she hugged him back feeling a weight start to leave her shoulders. She still felt scared, she couldn't deny that, but at least it seemed like they both were.

It'll be okay, though. She thought. No matter what it takes, we'll face the future together.

Aaand that's a wrap! Hope you all enjoyed what I have so far! I'll be working on the next chapter whenever I get to it. Fun fact: I originally wanted to expand on the scene with Mitsuki. When she made the offer to Inko, she'd pull out a bokken (wooden sword) as, per my headcanon, she used to carry it around in her high school days like Taiga Aisaka from Toradora, and Inko would agree and Aqua would have to immediately de-escalate the situation. However, the chapter was already getting too long (this was before I split it into two parts), and, looking back, it would've derailed the chapter from its main focus. Have a great day everbody and I hope to update again soon!