Chapter 10: Fubuki's Choice

The entrance exam is close at hand, and her brother has grown leaps and bounds.

Like a sponge, Izuku soaked up everything he was taught.

All Might honed his physical abilities.

Tatsumaki pushed his raw power to its limits.

While Fubuki focused on his technique.

Not surprisingly, Izuku was very similar to Tatsumaki when it came to mastering new skills.

Fubuki was the first to learn telepathy, at least with her sister, and Tatsumaki learned it in a few moments. Izuku did the same in a few minutes.

It's not so bad, Fubuki thinks.

It makes sense for siblings to have such connected minds.

But then Izuku learned new abilities from the comic books he read. Teleportation and psychic reinforcement of objects.

Every time she helps train Izuku, she can see him disappearing over the horizon of power. Leaving her in the dark. Alone and forgotten.

But she hasn't taken the step to prevent that. Not yet.

But the time to decide was now. Today was the last day, and it was Fubuki's turn to train him.

The beach was clean, and Valkyrie was sitting nearby in her child form, watching as she usually does. The sun was dipping across the ocean, bathing the beach in a golden glow.

Fubuki: "Well, Izuku, I guess today is the last day of training."

Izuku: "Yes! Thank you for everything, Fubuki!"

Fubuki: "I don't have much else to teach you. You're a great student. I'm… so proud of you, Izu."

Fubuki edges closer to Izuku and places a hand on his cheek. He gives her an innocent, sweet smile.

'Just a quick peck on the lips and it will be over. He'll thank me later when he's safe from danger. Just do it. Do it before he becomes too strong for it. Do it… '

But… she couldn't. At least, not like this. So she lets him go, turns around, and walks away some paces.

Fubuki: "Izuku, since this is the last day, I have something special in mind."

Izuku: "What is-"

A blast of psychic force pushed Izuku across the sand. Valkyrie nearly jumped up, ready to protect her big brother. But it was Fubuki's next words that stayed her hands.

Fubuki: "A graduation test. Prove to me that you're really ready, Izuku."

Izuku stood back up to see Fubuki staring at him with determination as rocks floated around her.

Izuku: "R-Right, I won't disappoint you, Fubuki!"

Izuku instantly appeared behind Fubuki in a flash of green and threw a punch at her. But the blow was blocked by a shimmering light blue shield.

Fubuki looked back at her brother, and with a glance, expanded the shield, pushing Izuku away. With a flick of her finger, a surge of sand flies toward the younger psychic.

Flipping in the air, Izuku summons his own shield to block the assault. Fubuki fully turns to her brother just as he teleports out of the way of the attack. But the sandstorm doesn't abate; it follows him wherever he goes.

All according to plan.

He teleports near Fubuki and flies towards her, with the storm closing behind. His older sister only smiles and flies upward just when Izuku was about to collide with her.

Instead of her, Izuku collides with another stream of sand. Izuku tries to teleport before he's hit from both sides. But for some reason, he can't teleport.

That second was all it took for the two storms to collide and engulf him. But that wasn't all.

Fubuki: "Whistling Typhoon."

The two colliding sandstorms surged to become a small spherical tornado that emitted a sharp whistle. Fubuki, however, doesn't lower her guard. It's taking more than half her focus to lock her brother's ability to teleport.

So it didn't surprise her too much when Izuku cut through the storm with his psychic sword. More like his tie straightened and empowered by his quirk.

But that strike also sent a wave of green energy, which Fubuki had to block. This gave Izuku the freedom to teleport to Fubuki and hit her with the broad side of his sword.

Shield cracked and flung away, Fubuki looked to see the green flames healing the damage Fubuki did to Izuku.

Fubuki: "Tch."

Izuku flies after her, and Fubuki meets him with another onslaught of sand. The two clashed and flew across the beach like blue and green stars.

Valkyrie: "Whoa… "

The older sister did all she could to pin and overwhelm Izuku with sand. But he would cut them all apart or teleport out of the way.

Fubuki: 'He's not even a real hero yet, and he's doing this well… "

Her breathing was becoming a bit ragged, and her energy reserves were draining. She was never that good at drawn-out fights against aggressive melee fighters. But… she had to win this fight.

Losing would be too much.

So she gave Izuku an opening, which he took, going for a horizontal slash to the midsection. But Fubuki stopped it by psychically grabbing Izuku's sword arm.

Within that moment, Fubuki placed her free hand on his side, sending a powerful blast through him.

Izuku: "Ugh."

The blow was enough to send him crashing into the sand. Sand that quickly deepened, dragging him into the depths. But he wouldn't let it end like that. He expanded his psychic shield, pushing the sand away.

But to do that, he had to release some of the energy he put into his tie. That allowed Fubuki to overcome his control.

She used telekinesis to grab his tie, removing his greatest weapon. But Izuku used one hand to keep the shield up and another to grab his tie.

Before long, Fubuki focused all her attention on the tie, forgoing the quicksand and storm.

That means it was down to a tug of war, a direct power comparison. One, Fubuki was losing. One she always lost.

Fubuki: 'No... not again."

But why fight so hard? If she wins, Izuku proves he can't survive hero work. But if he wins, it proves without a shadow of a doubt that she has been left behind.

The tie slips closer to Izuku.

Damned either way. There will be no reason not to seal his powers like Psykos.

The tie slips closer to Izuku.

But as she looks at her brother, she sees his determined gaze that holds the desire to not let his older sister down. To prove he can survive and thrive as a hero. A hero like his sisters.

Fubuki: 'He really… looks up to us… '

Those eyes, full of love and respect.

The tie slips closer to Fubuki.

Fubuki: 'I... don't want to lose that.'

The sight of Izuku's eyes filling with pain and betrayal at learning that his beloved sister took his quirk. The same eyes Psykos gave her.

Fubuki: 'I don't want to see that.'

The tie slips closer to Fubuki.

It was at that moment she made her choice. To win.

The tie slips closer to Fubuki.

Not to seal or 'save' her brother, but to hold onto that admiration just a while longer. To stand next to him with pride. Because no one would admire a weak hero.

Fubuki: 'So, I'll win!'

Her eyes flash a deep blue as her hair stands up in response to her declaration. Sea water erupts as a wave behind Izuku and overshadows his back.

Izuku: "Huh?"

That moment of confusion was all Fubuki needed to seal the deal. She took the tie and rushed Izuku, who was too late to stop the water from falling on him.

What came next was pure instinct. Fubuki was after the tie just to remove its access to her brother. She never learned how to empower objects and turn them into weapons like Izuku.

But now?

The tie explodes with blue light and transforms into its sword form.

As soon as Izuku got up to continue, he saw a psychic sword near his chest.

He lost; Fubuki won.

Fubuki doesn't notice the feat she pulled off; instead, her gaze falls on her brother's stunned expression.

Izuku: "So… so… so… "

Fubuki: 'Oh no, he doesn't think I'll prevent him from going to the entrance exam because of this, right?'

Izuku: "So… so coool!"

Fubuki: "H-Huh?"

Izuku: "You're amazing, Fubuki! You even copied my psi sword!"

Fubuki: "I… what?"

Just as she notices the blade in her hand, it falls limp and turns back into a tie.

Izuku: "That was great; thank you, Fubuki. I think I'm ready for the entrance exam."

Fubuki couldn't help but blush at the praise.

Fubuki: "Don't exaggerate, Izu. I don't even know how I did that. Tatsumaki would have been better for this."

Izuku: "I don't think so."

Fubuki: "What?"

Izuku: "Tatsu sometimes forgets to hold back."

Fubuki: "Haha, I guess. But I do too, sometimes."

Izuku: "But you won't send me into low orbit."

Fubuki: 'Yeah… because I'm much weaker than her. You'll be the same, eventually.'

Izuku: "But I have to update your hero profile. After seeing it up close, your abilities are truly incredible."

Fubuki: "I think I said stop exaggerating, Izuku."

But he was already in his own little world.

Izuku: "Your telekinesis control is precise enough to speed up objects without destroying them like Tatsu tends to do. The sand's turning speed and irregular angles were also surprising. It was difficult in a different way than Tatsu's overwhelming amount."

Izuku: "Then there's her control over water and blocking my teleportation; I didn't expect that. Could Fubuki have more hidden abilities? What's the limit of psychic powers? Why are we so similar but different? Could Fubuki make mental projections? She did learn telepathy on her own. What if-"

Fubuki tuned out the rest of his mumbling. She heard enough and was… speechless. Izuku is talking like Fubuki could grow stronger. That she was… better than Tatsumaki at some things.

Did she just not work hard enough to improve?

No.

She knows for a fact that she worked harder than anyone to surpass her sister. She strained her power until she passed out and still kept going. But no matter how much she tried, her power paled in comparison.

But that's just it. Her sheer power pales; what about other skills? Yeah, Tatsumaki learned telepathy quickly but she never went beyond it.

Could there be other psychic abilities to learn? Maybe one Fubuki is suited to.

Fubuki: 'Could I have focused… on the wrong thing? Can I still grow?'

She looks down at the tie in her hand and furrows her eyebrows. She almost didn't notice Valkyrie pulling on her shirt.

Fubuki: "Huh?"

Valkyrie: "Feel… better?"

Fubuki: "… Maybe."

Valkyrie smiled up at her, and Fubuki, for a moment, thought the girl was cute. But she won't lose to the cuteness that easily. Instead, she turns back to the still mumbling Izuku.

Fubuki: "Izuku!"

Izuku: "Y-Yes?"

Fubuki: "We should get back home; you're drenched."

Izuku: "Oh yeah, you're right. I could also use a hot bath. That water was unusually cold."

Fubuki: "Sorry… "

Izuku: "N-No, you don't have to apologize. It was great seeing you in action."

Fubuki: "I-Is that so?"

The three begin their way home. Valkyrie was holding Izuku's hand and even tried sneaking into Fubuki's but her onee-chan still isn't ready for that.

Fubuki: "Izuku, can you… lend me some of those comics you've been reading?"

Izuku: "Of course! Should I give some to Tatsu too?"

Fubuki: "Uh, no. I don't think she would enjoy them enough to learn anything."

Izuku: "If you say so. But if you learn any new abilities, be sure to tell me."

Fubuki: "Sure, anything for you, little brother."

She ruffles his hair and smiles. At least for now, Fubuki is hopeful for the future. There's a new path open, one she prays will have a good ending.