Chapter Text
"Blabbermouth to your left, not watching where she's going."
Izuku shifted to the right and felt someone's shoulder slightly brush against his own as he walked through the tide of other students, nose deep in his journal and pencil scribbling away to get Death Arm's bracers just right.
"Jerk sticking out his leg to your right."
He lifted his leg and stepped over the foot that had been sticking out to trip him, his tongue sticking out in concentration because the bracers just didn't look right, too small? Or was he making his hands too big? They were large hands…he got a decent view of them when the hero had driven his fist into a villain's sternum.
Maybe he should just broaden the bracers and—
"Class to your right, no one in the way."
Izuku listened to the raspy voice in his ear, turning and walking through the doorway that led into the classroom. Weaving through the desks to his own in the far back, he sat himself down and erased the bracers so he could make the adjustments he had planned, while a faintly translucent figure sat down on the side of his desk.
Adjustments made, he took one more look at the drawing and nodded in satisfaction, the bracers looking much better on the large man's wrists. He still wished he had gotten a chance to ask him about his quirk, but he was a bit…
"Ew. Why are you drawing him? He's a dick."
…mean.
"He's still a hero." Izuku pointed out, and glanced up to meet a pair of bright green eyes that matched his own, with thick green curls that almost covered them. She had the same freckles as him, but her face lacked the softness that Izuku and his—their mother had.
Izumi also happened to be invisible to everyone but Izuku.
She rolled her eyes while leaning back, Izuku's pencil sinking slightly into her elbow, and pointed her translucent finger at the rough grimace that he had sketched onto the surly hero's face. "A hero that's so focused on punching some dickheads lights out, he doesn't consider the wall he just bulldozed with the idiot's body."
Izuku couldn't help but wince, quickly glancing back down towards the drawing, meeting the graphite eyes that were glaring up at him. "He had to take Razorback down and fast. There were civilians, and the risk of one of those quills hitting someone was only gonna get hig—"
"Then he should have just hit him harder, not take down a damn wall!" Izumi snapped back while throwing her hands up into the air. "Throat, temple, fucks sake, he has a strength quirk, deck the rusty razor in the balls and finish it!" Izuku couldn't help the wince that crossed his face at Izumi's annoyance, but she wasn't done.
"No, what he wanted to do was what all heroes want to do; He wanted to show off, he wanted the cameras to catch him looking cool." She puffed up her chest and held up her arms in a mock macho pose, and deepened her voice. "'See these? See how strong my muscles are? How awesome my quirk is? I can break down brick walls and ruin someone's store! You should buy the cereal my ugly mug is plastered on!'"
"…Death Arm isn't sponsored by any c—"
"He's talking to himself again…" Izuku instantly tensed, heat flashing across his cheeks as he heard the whispered snickers in the row of seats next to him. He hadn't realized the class was starting to fill with his classmates, and some had been glancing his way and whispering between each other, not so quiet laughter joining their words.
After his prayers to vanish off the face of the earth went unanswered, he settled for burying himself back into his journal. Izumi just sent the group of snickering classmates a seething glare that might have sent them scrambling away if they could see it, then hopped on top of Izuku's desk, jumped onto the other—
—and then delivered a kick that would have knocked the girl who had first spoken right out, probably causing some serious injury if her foot didn't just sail harmlessly through the girl's head as she laughed with her friends. The kick was followed by the heel of Izumi's shoe coming down in a vicious axe kick that sailed through the girl's shoulder, and then Izumi patted her elbow and jumped up to deliver her finisher.
She fell through the back of the girl's head, through the desk, and then right through the floor.
Izuku couldn't help the small smile that tugged on the corners of his lips, especially when Izumi's grinning face shoved itself through his desk and journal so she could get right in his face. "Would have knocked her lights out." She snickered, Izuku leaning back as she pulled herself up and sat cross-legged on top of his desk.
The bell rang, and everyone slowly went to their seats and quieted down when their teacher stepped inside to go about the usual 'morning class' and talk of what would be on today's schedule. Not that Izuku was focusing at all, his eyes were starting to glaze over as that droning voice went on and on…and then he glanced up at Izumi's frowning face, her eyes watching the teacher intently, listening for him.
Izuku had been seven when Izumi appeared in his life, literally. He'd come home from school, another day filled with stares and teasing and pitying stares from other kids and their teachers; his lack of a quirk had been like a massive target etched into his back. He tried to tell them that they were wrong; he was just a late bloomer, he lacked the toe joint, but he was only met with more teasing, or fake smiles and agreements he could see right through.
Mom had seen the pain in his chest before he had even shown it to her, arms circling him and holding him tight while he sobbed into her shoulder, fingers gripping her sweater. She tried to calm him, but he heard the hitch in her voice, the struggles to not cry just like he was, and knowing he was causing his mother to cry only made him feel worse.
Later, he'd learn it was just a Midoriya family trait to cry at the slightest hint of someone else's tears.
He'd gone to his room after that, posters and figurines staring down at him with broad smiles and confidence in their poses. All Might filled his room, and while normally seeing the very Symbol Of Peace, his hero, his idol, would have cheered him up, he only felt more of that ache deep in his chest, and sat at the side of his bed, drawing his legs up to his chest and blocked the world from view.
He wanted to know why. Why hadn't his quirk come in yet? Why was everyone so mean? Why did teachers act like he was dumb and couldn't see behind their fake smiles? Why did he have to make his mother cry? Why did his dad have to be gone for so long?
"Why are you curled up like that? Are you crying?"
If he hadn't spent most of the evening sobbing his throat raw, he might have let out a shriek. Instead, all he managed was a wheezing squeak while throwing his arms up as if to ward off some kind of attack from the unknown voice. When nothing came, he slowly cracked his itchy eyes open…and thought he was looking at a mirror.
Because standing in front of him, arms crossed and cheek puffed out into a pout was…a girl. A girl who looked just like him, even wearing the same shorts and yellow t-shirt he had on. Her hair was the same, her eyes were the same, even her face looked like his! But she was…translucent, like some kind of ghost, but she was clearly standing on his floor…
"Who…" He coughed, throat raw from his crying and eyes watering, but he didn't want to blink, for fear of the girl vanishing. "…who are you?"
She blinked and tilted her head in thought, nose scrunching up a little. "…Izumi." She finally answered, nodding her head and looking back down at him. "My name's Izumi." She then unfolded her arms and walked over to where Izuku was still sitting. She then flopped down next to him, crossing her legs and leaning forward as she looked around the room. "You're Izuku."
He startled slightly, hearing his name come from the girl that he didn't even know, but didn't feel…as scared now, seeing that she was sitting down next to him. "Ye-Yeah…Midoriya Izuku…" At that, the girl—Izumi—perked up and turned to point a finger right between his eyes, almost making him fall back in shock.
"Me too! My name, it's Midoriya Izumi! So that means—"
"—we're related?" Izuku finished with a small gasp, his eyes going wide. "But wait, I don't…I don't have a sister, it's just been mom and me…" Dad was gone so much that it was always just them…but if what she said was true, then… "What's my—our dad's name?"
Izumi didn't need to think this time, like memories were starting to flood back into her head. "Midoriya Hisashi. He works at a hero scouting agency in the United States." Izuku felt his little jaw drop in shock. She was right, how was she right?
"What's—"
"—weak telepathic quirk."
"Where are—"
"—Musutafu."
"Who is my favorite hero!?"
Izumi just…stared at him, while his limited edition All Might poster smiled down at them right above his bed. "…nevermind. I…"
Izuku wasn't sure what he was supposed to do; he had a sister? But that just…it didn't make sense! He never even heard of Izumi, but she knew stuff about him, and looked just like him and…looked almost see-through…
Swallowing the nervousness building up in his throat, he slowly lifted one of his tiny hands, and Izumi did the exact same. They reached out towards each other, emerald eyes staring into each other as their fingertips closed the distance, and for just a moment, they felt each other's touch, warmth flooding through their fingers—
Fwoosh!
And they both yelped and fell backwards as green flames flashed between their fingers. Izuku landed on his back and Izumi just fell right through the floor. Izuku couldn't help the rush of fear and worry that washed over him as he scrambled forward to where Izumi had just been sitting moments ago, eyes wide. "Izumi!?" He called out, ignoring the protest of his throat at being used even further.
His worry was calmed, however, as two hands reached out through his carpeted floor and seemed to rest on it, and then Izumi pulled herself up, cheeks puffed out as she did so. Izuku wanted to help, but that flash of fire had startled him enough that he didn't attempt to make contact with her. Thankfully, she was able to pull herself back up and out of the floor, flopping onto her butt with a little huff.
"Okay. So, that was really, really weird." Izumi said plainly, and Izuku couldn't help but agree with her, lifting his hand to stare down at the finger that had touched hers, but there didn't seem to be any sort of burns.
Just as Izuku was settling back down across from Izumi, Izuku heard rushing footsteps and his door was pushed open, his mother's worried face staring down at him. Water was dripping from her hands, and she had her apron on, probably in the middle of cooking dinner…when Izuku had…
Oh…
"Izuku!? Are you okay!?" She rushed inside and knelt down to cup Izuku's cheeks with still-wet hands, tilting his head this way and that. "I heard a thump, and you sounded scared—" Her eyes were filled with worry and had the same tint that Izuku's had from crying, and were close to starting up again.
"M-Mom, mom I'm okay." He tried to assure her, then glanced back to where Izumi had been sitting, almost expecting her to have vanished from sight. But no, she was sitting there with wide, startled eyes, looking at Inko…
…who hadn't even glanced towards her.
"Oh, thank goodness…you need to be more careful, honey." Inko said in a softer voice, and smiled while moving a couple of strands of wild green locks out of the way of his eyes. "What happened? Did you trip over one of your pencils? I told you to keep your floor clean…" As she spoke, she reached towards one of the wayward pencils that Izuku forgot to keep off his floor, always doodling away at his journals, and reached right through Izumi to pick it up.
"Maybe an All Might rug would keep you from making such a mess." The playful tease didn't fully reach Izuku's ears, his eyes were wide and staring at an equally surprised Izumi. "…Izuku? Honey?" Inko's voice quickly started to grow worried again, and she slipped the pencil into her apron, drying her hands as well before reaching out to rest her hand on his forehead. "Are you getting a fever…?"
"M-Mom…" Izuku managed to stutter out, Izumi trembling as she looked at him with her wide eyes, glancing towards mom and then back towards him. And he saw the wetness building in her eyes while he gripped onto his—their mother's arm. "Mom I…do I…" He gulped down the ball of nervousness building up in his throat.
"Do I have a sister?"
The question was so out of nowhere that Inko startled, eyes wide and lips opening, then closing, then opening again. "A…sister, honey?" She said slowly, carefully, and the hand that had been on his forehead slowly moved to rest on his shoulder. He hadn't noticed it yet, but he had started to tremble again, and couldn't tear his eyes away from Izumi as she reached out, as if to rest her hand on his mother's shoulder.
"Mo—" Her hand fell right through her, and she didn't even notice the attempt of contact, focusing her worried stare solely on Izuku.
"No, you…don't. Izuku, maybe we should go to the hospital, you're really worrying me." She was already getting up and tugged Izuku up onto his shaky feet. Izumi remained on the floor, staring at the ground where her hand now rested, and Izuku could see the gleaming droplets falling from her face, only to vanish once they hit the ground.
He shook his head and finally tore his eyes away from Izumi to meet Inko's worried eyes, and he knew he must have looked crazy, but he couldn't help it, seeing someone cry, seeing Izumi, his sister, cry was all he needed to beat down the anxiety crawling up his throat.
"What—Mom, mom I need…" He grabbed one of her hands in his, squeezing it and using the familiar contact to ground himself, and to hopefully calm her down just enough to talk. "…does Izumi…that name, is it…?"
He didn't have to finish the question, thankfully. Inko had stopped trying to lead Izuku to the door and was staring down at him with puzzled eyes. After a moment, she nodded her head while resting a hand on top of his head.
"That…was what Hisashi wanted to name you, if you were a girl."
Shhhhwooosh-bang!
The classroom door rattled as it was shoved open, and the sudden sound caused everyone, Izuku included, to jump in surprise. The memory faded quickly from his memory, and when he glanced around, Izumi was gone, probably sleeping, and the cause of the noise had been…well, a very predictable one.
Bakugo Katsuki stepped inside with his usual glower, hands shoved into his pockets, and slouching like he was bearing the weight of the world. No apology for being late, no explanation, and like always, he didn't need it. The teacher just scribbled something down on the attendance sheet and continued on with the class while the walking stick of TNT stormed over to his desk and sat back, kicking his feet up and not even bothering to pretend he was listening.
'Classic Kacchan…' Izuku couldn't help but think, and ignored the sour taste in his mouth as he looked at the back of his…not really best friend's head. He was glad Izumi had gone to sleep, because otherwise he would have to listen to her constant insults or watch her try to fight the explosive blond. Funny when it was two rows away from him, not so much when it was right in front of him.
Katsuki was, according to Izumi, everything she hated about heroes. Loud, arrogant, a total douchbag that needed to get pushed down a step or eight, and popular with everyone because of how strong he was. He was a bully, a loud bully, a bully that got away with taunting and using his quirk all he liked, no punishment delt because even the teachers knew he was going to be a hero, and that meant great things for Aldera's future.
And Izumi hated him.
But Izuku…he knew that Katsuki would be a hero, not only that, he would be a great hero, a strong hero! He might not be popular, but he'd save lives, he'd take down villains, that was what was important! And there was no doubt in Izuku's mind that Katsuki wo—
"Keep staring at me like that, and I'll smash your fucking face into that desk, Deku."
Venom lashed across Izuku, and he jolted, realizing he had totally zoned out while looking right at Katsuki. Blazing, anger-filled eyes bore into his, and he quickly scrambled to grab his bag as the bell let out a shrill ring.
"S-Sorry! Sorry, Kacchan, I just—"
He was shut up by an explosion inches from his face, sending him stumbling back, his leg catching on one of the desks and falling right onto his butt. Izuku winced, but quickly scrambled back as Katsuki stalked towards him, firecrackers popping in his hand as he glared daggers down at Izuku. On instinct, Izuku covered his face with his arms, hands splayed out as if to try and hold Katsuki off.
"Kacchan, wait—! Wait, I didn't mean to stare, I just spaced—!" His excuse died in his throat and was replaced with a pained wheeze as Katsuki's foot came down on his stomach, pushing down and making Izuku almost fold in half. Before he could fully register the pain in his stomach, a hand lashed out and grabbed him by the front of his school uniform and yanked him forward.
"Got something to say, you worthless Deku trash?" He growled, eyes narrowed, and his hand smoking against the collar of his uniform. He felt the heat from his palm through the fabric, and nervous sweat began running down his face as he grabbed onto Katuski's wrist, scrawny fingers doing nothing as Izuku trembled like a leaf. "Just gonna sit there, pissing yourself? Or are you gonna try and use your useless ass quirk? I fucking dare you."
He wouldn't. Izuku had never once tried to fight back against his old best friend, not when his words grew harsher and crueler, or when he started to use Izuku for practice with his quirk. He had just done his best to keep his head down, to duck out of sight or just run away when he had to.
Katsuki didn't know that, though.
For a moment, Izuku saw the playground. He saw the trembling kid he had lept to defend, he saw Katsuki, younger, but no less meaner, standing in front of him with his two lackeys. He felt the punches, the taunts—and then he felt the flash of heat, a strange out-of-body experience…
…and when he blinked back, one of the boys was cradling his hand and crying, the other had a twisted wing and looked as if he had been knocked out. And Katsuki had a bloody nose and was kicking him in the side, over and over again, while shouting at him.
'Stupid Deku! Stupid, lying Deku! You do have a quirk! You liar!'
He didn't know what had happened, at least not then. The boy he rescued had run off, and there was no way he would be able to ask Katsuki or his two followers. But he did know Izumi had done something, because she had slept for a full week and wouldn't say anything if he asked. As far as Katsuki was concerned, Izuku had used a quirk, and used it to fight him.
And, in Katsuki's eyes, Izuku was refusing to use it again.
"Tsk. That's what I thought. Fucking useless." Katsuki spat, shoving Izuku back and causing the back of his head to bounce off the wall. "Stay in the dirt where you belong, Deku. Or I'll remind you as many times as it takes to get it through your thick fucking skull." With that, Katsuki shoved his hands into his pocket and walked out of the empty classroom…save for the teacher quietly working on his laptop.
Izuku slowly got up, wincing at what he knew was going to be a harsh bruise on his stomach and tried to dust off the footprint. Grabbing his bag and holding his stomach, he walked towards the door, and would hopefully be able to eat his lunch even with the pain in his stomach.
"Midoriya." Izuku paused and looked over to see his teacher still typing on his laptop, not even looking up at him. "Please refrain from causing any more trouble."
Typical.
"I'll…try…" Was all Izuku could manage, and he slipped out of the class and into the hall. Without Izumi, he kept his eyes out for any trouble, but thankfully, his little talk with Katsuki had meant the halls were now clear. So he was able to walk without getting jostled or tripped, slipping out a side exit, and walking over to the tiny koi pond that he liked to sit at during lunch.
Quiet, no one else was around, and no one ever came back there, a perfect place for him to settle down and lean back with a sigh, hand on his stomach. The throbbing hadn't stopped, and he didn't want to chance throwing up the packed lunch his mom had made for him. So he just leaned his head back against the wall and let his eyes slip closed, trying to focus on the trickle of water next to him instead of the pain in his stomach.
And then fell asleep.
A small green flame appeared in the middle of the sleeping boy's chest, flickering and swaying in a non-existent wind. It began to grow, swelling and spreading across his chest, and stomach, and limbs. Soon, he was engulfed in the green flames, and yet did not thrash or scream in pain. He remained where he lay, the jade green inferno roaring and bathing the wall in light, before it simply ceased, as if smothered by an invisible hand.
Where Izuku had once been lying, a slightly taller figure now slumped in his place. They wore the same black gakuran of Aldera, but it looked too small on their body, slightly more muscle filling it out instead of the scrawny limbs Izuku possessed. Slowly, the body moved, chest pushing out as they took a deep breath and then sighed out.
Deep, green eyes opened, a sharper face replacing soft cheeks, but with the same spattering of freckles, and Midoriya Izumi got to her feet and gave a couple of stretches. She then reached down and pulled out the lunch Izuku hadn't had the stomach to eat and wolfed it down, ignoring the faint ache on her stomach.
Stretches done, food eaten, and Izuku sleeping quietly in the back of her head, Izumi let a small grin stretch across her lips and started running towards the sidewalk. Lunch would be over in ten minutes, but she didn't plan to go back to that shitty excuse for a classroom for the rest of the day, and she knew the teacher wouldn't even notice Izuku was gone; he was so invisible in their eyes, and that worked out for Izumi.
After all, she had to get her training in so she could be strong enough to protect her little brother.