Here's your early Christmas gift. Next one will be in January.

Also in case I haven't said it before I do not like MHA ending and haven't even tried to see the final season of anime after learning how it ended.

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Comments:

Guest: yep.

Psy-Kick: at least that will be a major struggle for him.

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Proofread by 3DPhantom

Chapter 80: Doubt Between Brothers part 2

The next morning Izuku himself was smiling unusually wide in the car as they approached Shoto's sister's home. At least the judge had forgotten to say anything on how and with whom Shoto could get to school with, and Izuku had made sure to get his "instructions" in writing to prove that.

"Are you planning something?" Tenya asked. "I don't think you have smiled like that since…"

"Yep," Izuku responded and leaned against the window to determine how close they were.

They stopped and Eijiro ushered Shoto inside, one hand on his shoulder. He was only missing a suit and sunglasses to look like a stereotypic bodyguard, one Izuku would have hired in a heartbeat.

"I am okay Eijiro, really," Shoto said as he got almost pushed inside while Eijiro glanced around.

"Just being careful. He came here before, didn't he?"

"Yes," Izuku said before Shoto could. The three halves of redheads sat opposite him. Shoto focused his attention on Izuku.

"You look happy?"

"I finally got it."

"Got what?"

"A quirk, a quirk Ei can use with his current one," Izuku turned to face the full redhead, "and it lets you be faster too."

Eijiro opened his mouth but Izuku was already excited and needed every opportunity for something good.

"It's called Springy Body. It lets your body absorb and release kinetic energy like a spring," Izuku explained just a step above muttering to make sure he was comprehensible. As he spoke he focused on tensing his right arm, which shortened visibly as it compressed.

"With this you are going to hit even harder and easily get to people needing help a lot faster. You could turn yourself into a cannonball if you wanted, or at least catapult stone."

He released the tension on his arm and it stretched back to its usual length, expanding even faster than his usual punches moved. Shoto jolted at the sudden motion. Eijiro did not. Izuku offered him his hand.

"It's yours. I've already tested it to come up with training ideas. There is still time before the end of term exams to use it."

Eijiro looked at Izuku and his eyes slowly descended on the offered hand. Izuku had expected him to jump at the offer and accept it quickly. Then again, Izuku might have still underestimated the significance of transferring quirks for others. Izuku was tempted to just grab his hand but had enough sense to not do that. Even if both of them knew it was okay he believed others should be the ones to accept the gift or offer their quirk, depending which way he was transferring, unless he was de-quirking an enemy.

Eijiro's arm flinched up, but stopped. He pulled it back and turned his head so he was not facing Izuku directly.

"I don't think I can accept it."

…

Izuku stared at him, too confused and surprised to immediately find the correct words.

"What?" Seemed like the minimum required response.

"Sorry. I… I'm dealing with something… I don't think that quirk is a good idea right now."

"Ei?" Izuku said. "Is something wrong? I mean, you never had issue with transferring quirks before."

"I don't but… I don't think it is a good time to get a new quirk right now. I need to at least figure some things out first. Sorry, I know you want to help, but…"

His voice dropped out in the middle of the sentence like he had no more words ready to say. It applied to both of them. Things had been unusual with Eijiro for a while and now Izuku started feeling a nagging feeling of suspicion he absolutely did not like, with Eijiro least of all.

But what could he be hiding? With Ei it wouldn't be anything bad, but what could there be that would make him refuse and not tell them?

Unless he was the spy father had talked about and already had an extra quirk or two. It would have made sense for father to have directed him to be nice to Izuku.

Eijiro finally turned his head back so Izuku got a glance at his eyes full of genuine feeling.

No, it couldn't be that. Izuku was just letting his suspicion confuse him.

"I… won't make you take it," he said quietly. What else could he say? Afterwards they sat in awkward silence with Izuku and Eijiro trying to avoid each other's eyes. The tension was like a bubble that lasted until their final stop where Hitoshi decided to pop it.

"Okay, what happened today? Did Endeavour do something again?" Hitoshi looked around as he settled on the seat next to Izuku, especially at Shoto and Eijiro. "No, something about Eijiro, but… how? Did something happen to you?"

"It's not like that, Doctor Shinso," Izuku responded, impressed at Hitoshi's quick psychoanalysis of those present. Izuku even got some snark back in his voice thanks to that.

"I finally found a quirk for Ei and just offered it to him."

"And…?" Hitoshi waved his hand in a 'keep going' gesture. "Why am I not wearing sunglasses because you two grin too brightly nerding out about it? Does the quirk make people depressed? Not the first choice I would have gone for."

"No," Eijiro interrupted, "but I… refused it."

"Oh. Can I as why?"

"Well… I don't think it is good timing. I…"

"Okay," Hitoshi interrupted. "You don't need to try to explain it. If you want to figure out how to do something without it first or something. Izuku understands. He'd probably make you do something like that before giving you quirks if he wasn't so excited to hand all of us one like they were candy on Halloween."

Of course Hitoshi had understood the situation better. He wasn't as deep in darkness as Izuku who had immediately jumped to doubting Eijiro as a spy. The idea was silly really. Eijiro was great at a lot of things but deception, plotting, and keeping secrets? Those were not within his skillset.

Still… Izuku could not help a nagging feeling there was something more, something he might not like.

The drive wasn't long after that and they were at school before anything else happened. Eijiro and Shoto got out ahead of Izuku and Hitoshi. At least Eijiro did not feel the need to act like a bodyguard here. Izuku tugged Hitoshi's sleeve to keep behind them.

"What do you really think about Ei?" Izuku whispered. Hitoshi waited in silence for a moment until others were further away and Tenya was walking between them and the rest.

"I wasn't there when you made the offer. Too excited to wait for that apparently."

"Sorry… I get the feeling he is keeping something and didn't refuse because of what I thought, at least not only because of that. He isn't that good of a liar. There is probably at least some truth to it, perhaps something relating to his secret studying."

Hitoshi shook his head.

"I can see why you are worrying at least, considering how you tend to do it excessively with us. My apartment might be small but all of us live in your head rent free."

"Watch your words or I'll move you into a dark windowless room."

"Good, that's where you need us the most. As for the quirk, try to remember that most people, including great heroes, go through their entire lives with just a single quirk. Not like you have to get him one right this second for him to survive or be a hero, especially that survival part in his case."

"Yeah, you're right," Izuku responded, feeling a little better, just a little.

"Now are you going to tell me about that quirk?"

Of course Hitoshi understood there were few things more efficient at distracting Izuku than making him explain a new quirk.

…

In the teachers' lounge Mr. Aizawa looked outside and saw one of his students bounce over a treetop before disappearing behind it again. Aizawa sighed and walked back to the coffee machine.

…

To Aizawa's relief the morning passed uneventfully. Izuku just paid slightly less attention, glancing repeatedly towards Eijiro. How he had failed to brighten that guy's smile had to be one of his bigger failures, even if Eijiro had some good reason.

Or maybe Izuku's choice of quirk hadn't been as good as he thought. Not like he gave Eijiro a catalogue of quirks and let him choose. Hitoshi and Tenya had gotten theirs from family so that had never been a question.

As the last of the morning classes ended Izuku stood by the door looking at the approaching Eijiro, trying to think of something to say. Hitoshi had different plans. The brainwasher walked by Izuku, putting a hand on his shoulder as he did. Even with the tiniest of push Izuku followed his guidance without resistance, walking out with him.

"I don't think it is good to push him," Hitoshi whispered. "If he is hesitant to talk, making him uncomfortable about it won't make it better."

"I don't want that. I just hope I didn't try to push what I wanted on him too much. Never even asked him what he thought about the quirk he'd like."

"Oh don't worry about that. I think the idea of a second quirk is a bit confusing for him, but he is excited for it and trusts you to choose one probably more than himself. We've all seen how excited you were whenever the topic came up. No one minds that."

Izuku kept walking with Hitoshi without needing to respond to anything.

"So," Hitoshi continued, "have you heard anything about the final exams? Perhaps researched what is usually involved to plan training?"

"Not really," Izuku admitted. "I've… had other worries, too much to care about some test, and your training is based on what you need to survive as a hero, not on how to pass some exam."

"You might be the only one not caring, well you and Todoroki I guess. Everyone is talking about it. Written exam is one thing, but we also have practical one… just like the entrance exams."

Hitoshi's voice dropped for the final sentence.

"Toshi?"

"Just hoping I do better this time. I don't think I can count on secret scoring systems for every exam."

"You'll do fine."

"Are you sure? I may have trained hard, but everyone else has done the same. As long as no one opens their mouth I'm the weakest, especially in our group, and the test is designed for hero students, not whoever chooses to apply."

"Toshi," Izuku said a little more forcibly. "It's just an exam. The important thing is what you can get done in real life and you can do a lot. If UA fails to test in a way that compares to reality, it is their failure not yours. Worst case, Aizawa doesn't let you go to the summer camp and we can all go to the beach together without him."

"Yeah, that would mean harder training too."

"Training? What you talking about?" Eijiro asked behind them. Izuku chuckled and Hitoshi followed his example.

"The final exams," Hitoshi responded. I know you are more concerned about the written part, but some of us have to worry about the practical."

"Oh, what do you mean?"

"You should know better than most, considering you are the one that tosses me around second most often."

"Oh, you'll do fine… as long as they don't make us fight robots again, I guess. Your fists are still too soft to break them."

"Riight. So you have not heard anything about what it is going to be?"

"Nope, but I heard Lunch Rush is making Katsudon."

Izuku's head perked up. It was his favorite.

"Let's hurry before there's a line."

There was already a line, but at least they still found a large enough table for the whole group. Several of their other classmates were in the next table.

"It is a comprehensive test of everything we've learned this year," Uraraka said.

"Yep, but that is about all we could get mister Aizawa to tell us," Tsuyu added.

"Okay, so then it will cover combat training and rescue training, oh and basic training."

"That's not going to be a problem," Eijiro said across tables. "Midobro's training is a lot tougher than the school's."

"If only it was that simple," Hitoshi corrected.

"I mean, at least it means we'll be in good enough shape whatever else they have planned…"

Eijiro paused and his hair seemed to harden just before an elbow hit it.

At least he had learned to be more vigilant, or maybe it was just because he had taken it upon himself to protect Shoto who was sitting next to him.

Monoma from class 1B grunted in pain and took a step back before getting his smug look back.

"Oh sorry, your head is so big that it's hard to miss."

"And your elbow is easy to break. Would you like a demonstration?" Izuku responded, but Hitoshi nudged him and took over.

"What do you want? Came to donate your quirk?"

Monoma took another step back, but was smart enough to not respond to Hitoshi right away.

"I heard you guys stumbled upon the Hero Killer. Just like at the sports festival. Class 1A isn't happy unless they are the center of attention, but you do realize you are not in the spotlight because people think you are good heroes right? It's just that you keep getting into so much trouble. Here's food for thought. Some day the rest of us might get caught up in your mess and then we'll all become unwitting victims as well."

"If you are afraid of running into villains you might want to change schools then," Hitoshi interrupted. "Aren't you as a hero supposed to seek them out before anyone else, even if it puts you in danger?"

"Well," Monoma struggled with getting back on track.

"You might as well give up already," Izuku said and sipped his water, a lot calmer than before. "He might not punch as hard as Ei but his tongue is sharp enough to stab you deeper than Stain."

"That is not very heroic you know," Monoma said, ignoring Izuku's warnings. "What kind of…"

A hand chopped Monoma's neck and he fell on his knees. A girl from his class with long reddish-brown hair caught Monoma's tray and put it down before anything could spill.

"That is not funny Monoma. You heard what happened to Ida. Chill out."

She turned to look at Izuku's group.

"I apologize for him. I'm pretty sure there is a hole where his heart should be."

Izuku was taking notes on her chop and how Monoma seemed to be completely out from that single hit.

"Uhm, so I was listening. I know you are all worried about what is going to be on the big final practical. I heard it is going to be combat against robots like the entrance exam."

"Really?" Izuku asked. "How do you know that?"

"One of my friends who is a few grades up filled me in. I know cheating, but oh well."

"I doubt that. I would not be surprised if gathering information ahead of time was part of the test. Would not be the first time they leave hints to guide students," Izuku said.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Izuku waved her off.

"Nothing."

Monoma muttered something about a class full of idiots and got chopped again, but Izuku already moved his attention to Hitoshi whose shoulders had slumped.

"They probably have some tricks in how to stop the robots again and score more fairly even if there isn't secret scoring."

"How do you know? You aren't usually this confident in UA."

"Am not, but I've given them enough shit about the entrance exam to think twice before trying to pull off something worse. We can just give up with the whole school if they still evaluate people so narrowly. Could always expose Al… some secrets I found out to motivate change."

"Izuku, I think you are leaning too hard on the overprotective again."

Izuku had a pause and abandoned his first instinctual answers. Hitoshi needed something happier.

"What do you mean 'too hard'? I mean I know the words, but what do they have to do with this?"

Hitoshi shook his head. Now it was Izuku's turn to nudge him.

"It's just a school test, nothing like fighting real villains. If they fail to make it a good one that is their failure and even if they don't, you might surprise yourself."

"You have always been more confident in my abilities than I am."

"Well, you have always thought I am a better person than I am."

They looked at each other in silence for a moment.

"Hey," Eijiro interrupted, "I'm sure you'll both do well. That's what we have trained for and at least you don't need to worry about the written part."

"Considering how much time you have spent on studying for it I wouldn't worry about you either," Hitoshi said, but as he did something happened on Eijiro's face. It was over in an instant but there had been tensing, as if something tried to get out. Hitoshi paused for a few seconds.

"If you are handling the studying with the same obsession as your training you might even get the top score."

"Eh, probably not."

After lunch Izuku and Hitoshi stayed behind as Eijiro led their group, excited for the afternoon's hero class.

"Did you…?" Izuku asked.

"He's hiding something, and it relates to his private studying. Try not to overthink it."

Izuku should have let it be. Eijiro had a right to his own life, but something about it gnawed at him throughout the hero training session. In the end Izuku was coming from one of the training grounds with the rest of the class heading to the dressing rooms to change out of their hero costumes, at least Izuku would change into his PE uniform.

Izuku's full body hero costume looked pretty intact and clean on the outside, but with the warm day it was hot and wet on the inside, sticking to his skin even more than the tight costume did usually. That's what he got from designers that cared more about attracting fans and paparazzi than comfort of heroes they designed for. He had thought about opening the top during training but it would have just been left hanging and gotten in the way. He'd really have to get a separate jacket and something lighter under for the next variation of his costume. With hot days like this he understood Eijiro's choice of costume even beyond his quirk.

Izuku's head perked up and he realized Eijiro wasn't with the rest of the class. Instead of heading back towards the main school buildings he had taken another path that traversed horizontally between different training grounds. Izuku stopped to look after the red dot before it would disappear out of his sights.

If he was really studying for the written exams he would have rushed to the school building first, and it wasn't the first time. Now Izuku simply focused more on how strangely he was acting.

He fell behind the rest of the class and walked into a small forested patch on the schoolgrounds to approach Eijiro, unnoticed at least from a distance. It wasn't that he doubted Eijiro's intention, but curiosity was killing him. Even if he was just feeling he could train better with someone other than Izuku, why would he keep it secret? Did he fear someone would react badly to whatever he was doing, probably Izuku since why would he worry about anyone else?

The only other option was that he was doing something dangerous they would have stopped him from doing. After Tenya almost died that was certainly a possibility except Izuku could not imagine what such thing would be for Eijiro. He had way more issues fearing he wasn't good enough to help people than he had any business having, but if it was that he would have taken the new quirk. Adding a new quirk was the fastest way to get stronger and solve his speed concerns.

Izuku approached the edge of the forest patch. His legs compressed and then launched him up as close to the treetop as there were strong branches. He grabbed one and pulled himself to sit on it. His eyes were zooming in before he even settled down. Hatsume's quirk was really amazing. Eijiro was standing in front of one of the UA training grounds and when he turned towards Izuku, Izuku could even distinguish his eye color from several hundred meters away.

It was quite strange staring someone in the eyes without the other seeing him. Eijiro turned his head and Izuku zoomed out a bit, seeing who Eijiro was waiting for.

All Might.

No wonder he was hesitant to talk about what he was doing to anyone involved with Izuku. For sure Izuku would have been lying, even more than he already did, if he pretended he didn't feel betrayed.

Even besides his personal feelings of the man, All Might had not exactly impressed as a teacher. Even Gran Torino had agreed on that. Why would Eijiro even bother asking him for help? If he had asked. Izuku frowned. This could be some plot from All Might and Nezu and Aizawa to get close to him.

Still, how had Eijiro fallen for it? Izuku thought he had at least seen the issues with those people. Izuku would have loved to know what they had offered him, but the duo disappeared inside the training grounds and the walls surrounding the area were even higher than Izuku's branch.

He sat on it a long while longer looking at the closed gate. Eventually he slid off, catching himself to hang off his arms for a second before dropping down. His bones compressed but did not break upon landing. It was a really excellent quirk when one was able to utilize it, way undervalued by its previous owner. All the more reason for Izuku to feel down that he still had it.

There was a loud boom and the ground even shook under him. Izuku looked back at the training ground.

Eijiro couldn't have just asked All Might to get punched for training? That was too much even for him.

Then again he had not shown any severe injuries recently and that would have made sense. Punching harder was one thing All Might could do better than anyone in their group. Izuku could only make his punches felt by Eijiro with heat and Tenya's leg bones could only take so much.

Maybe Izuku could not blame Eijiro. Didn't mean he was happy as he joined the others for their training and something more was still nagging at the back of his head. He could only hope Eijiro knew what he was doing enough to not get taken advantage of.