Work Text:
10 years…
That was how long it's been for the two Hitoshi Brothers.
Born to the same mother and father, living under the same conditions yet dealing with two different inner lifestyles at the same time.
But never forget one another in their times of need
.....
Hitoshi Shinso the oldest of two brothers, he was not much of a looker. He always had his dark purple hair up as if he had just woken up from deep sleep along with bags under his eyes as if he didn't get sleep at all, contradicting his hairstyle. Not much of a talker yet loved to express his sarcastic remarks whenever he got the chance or crack jokes to lighten up the mood. Always loved to play card games or puzzle games with older kids or his teachers, it made kids interested in him.
To others, he was just there, but not completely out of the picture.
Hitoshi Izuku was completely different from his brother, very puffy dark green curly hair with matching emerald green eyes that seem to always light up at the mention of heroes or his big brother. A smile on his face that seems to never leave except waiver at times when scared, nervous, or just frightened in general. He always seemed cheerful and happy, especially when hanging out with Shinso everyone seemed to get along with him, and he seemed to love making friends.
To others, he was a natural-born sunshine
But with the two together, no one could separate them
Until life started to shift in the wrong direction
.....
Shinso had finally got his quirk at the age of three. He didn't realize it for a while until he noticed that when he started to talk to people, they would sometimes freeze up and have a blank look in their eyes. He tried to talk to them, but they wouldn't answer for a few seconds, until they came back and asked what happened. The poor boy, just as confused himself, could never give an answer until he was taken to the doctor to be diagnosed, and it turned out he had a brainwashing quirk.
Now Izuku couldn't be happier for his big brother continuing to mutter about all the possibilities his quirk had and Shinso was grateful for that, however it wasn't the same with everyone else, especially their parents. Inko tried her best to support her child, to motivate him, and tell him his quirk was something amazing, however she couldn't get over the slight fear of the unknown of her child quirk. While Hizashi couldn't be any more verbal about how his son's quirk was fit for a villain.
Even at school, Shinso got the same remarks…
“You have a villain's quirk!”
“Don't touch me, I'm scared of you!”
“I don't want you talking to me anymore…”
“I don't think we can be friends”
“You can never be a hero with that quirk! Loser!”
It went on, and on, and on, and it became unbearable at points, but Shinso was just happy that he still had his little Izu right next to him. He told him everything was okay and that his quirk was not a villain quirk, and it was the best one around.
At the age of four, the final age for a child to come up with their quirk, Inko decided to take Izuku along with Shinso to the doctor to see if Izuku had a quirk. Nearly vibrating in his seat, he waited for the doctor to tell him that he had one, to tell him what he had and what special power he held within him. His big brother sitting right next to him, smiling and waiting so he could cheer on his little brother.
That moment never came
.....
“I'm sorry you're quirkless, meaning you don't have a quirk”
Staring blankly at the doctor, Izuku couldn't move, he had a smile plastered on his face, but his eyes were blank. At this point, no one was even sure if he was looking at the doctor or the wall behind him. Inko looked at her son in defeat but also fear, not knowing how her husband would react to the new information. Thanking the doctor for their time, they left and went back home, where they had to meet the wrath of their father and the start of something terrible.
“How could you give birth to two worthless children! Are you that incompetent to give me children with reliable quirks!”
“Please quiet down, the boys will hear”
“I don't care if they hear! They don't deserve to be in this household, and I don't deserve to be the father of a villain and a worthless son!”
“Hizashi, please-”
The sound of the slamming door could be heard all the way from the boy's room, who were quietly listening from their slightly open door. The muffled sound of crying could be heard along with the thump of their mother falling to the floor, covering her mouth while she cried, knowing her husband would not return.
All Izuku and Shinso could do was sit together holding hands tightly, and holding back their own tears as they let their mother grieve on the floor of their living room.
One year had passed and everything was falling apart, Inko could not care for her children anymore after driving herself almost to the brink of insanity and deep depression. She was taken to a mental hospital after her neighbor Bakugou Mitsuki visited their home only to see it was filthy and reeked of alcohol. The boys thankfully were relatively ok, other than looking very thin and tired. Their mother couldn't bring herself to do anything to her boys. She loved them too much, but the pain in her heart was too much, so instead she ended up hurting herself and muttering apologies for destroying her son's lives.
The two brothers having to deal with bullying at school along with trying to help their mother recuperate. They had both gotten the mindset that was far too mature for children their age, however, it couldn't be helped. They were growing up in an environment where they needed to make smart choices.
Following their mother's admission to the mental ward, the two brothers were sent into the foster care system, where they were placed in a temporary home. Thankfully, one of the social workers was willing to take them in for the time being. There they were bathed, got new clothes, and we're able to relax for once in their life. Having been taken out of school for the time being so the boys could rest their minds and bodies and try to go back to being the children they were.
After almost two weeks of waiting they were both placed into a family home of four, a mother, father, and two sons. Trying to be respectful and polite, they did everything the family asked of them. At first, it was okay the parents treated them as equals, the children kept their distance. Yet, after finding out that one was quirkless and one had a 'villain's quirk' everything was quick to change. The father made Shinso eat in the room that he shared with Izuku away from the family and made Izuku clean the house to show some type of worth in the house.
The boys never got any type of sympathy from the children, instead they got smart remarks, abuse whenever they spoke to them in a supposedly disrespectful tone, or just looked at them the wrong way. Shinso always tried to protect his brother, seeing as Izuku was more emotional and weak-minded. It made Izuku feel even worse when he had to watch his brother deal with the consequences of speaking back when it was his fault, to begin with.
Spending almost a week in this house, when the social worker came to speak with both boys and see how things are going with them. The brothers spilled everything, causing them to leave the house and get placed into another. The cycle was almost the same however gradually getting worse and worse until at some point the time had finally come.
The two boys had to be separated
.....
At the age of three, Shinso got his quirk
At the age of four, Izuku was diagnosed as quirkless
At the age of five, both boys we're separated not knowing when they would see each other again
However, just as this all started with life taking the wrong turn, it seemed like it was trying to go back on the right path
.....
10 years
10 years of pain
10 years of regret
10 years of the same routine
10 years of learning new things
10 years of wallowing
10 years of being okay
Was it worth waiting for 10 years?
The Hitoshi brothers would say.....
.....
High School, a new start, was how Izuku liked to think of it. After dealing with so much during middle school from Kacchan bullying him, to meeting All Might, and even gaining a quick after, Izuku could say that his life was finally taking a turn for the better.
All Might had taken Izuku in after hearing his situation, since he was not an official foster parent. He could not keep Izuku but seeing as he was the symbol of peace and using some connections with people he knew he was able to hold Izuku with him until they found a place for him to stay.
The green-haired boy couldn't be any happier or any more grateful.
He signed up for UA, his dream school where he wanted to become a hero. A dream had been chasing since he was young and ever since he could remember. After training with All Might to get a hold of One for All, he took the entrance exam and was able to pass miraculously with the help of his heroic deeds and a girl he was able to save.
It had been a week into school and Izuku was doing fairly well. Having already made friends, and good connections with his teachers. Of course, it wasn't all too good since being in the same class as Kacchan was intimidating, especially when he had to sit behind him. However, he was able to make it through, seeing as both boys kept to themselves and with their own groups. At the moment it was a free period, and Aizawa- Sensei was sleeping away in his yellow sleeping bag under his desk. The holder for One for All was currently standing by Uraraka's desk, speaking with the girl, along with Kaminari and Asui.
“What did you think of my new move the other day, Deku?” Uraraka asked the greenete, “I thought it was great, Uraraka! Of course, it still needs fine-tuning, but with the way it's executed and the way it works with your quirk, I think it could be even better than it is now.” Izuku continued starting his common muttering as he continued to speak about his friend's quirk and all the possibilities of how she could improve and make it even better. This caused Uraraka and Karminari to both laugh as they watched their friend zone out into his own little world. Asui just patted Izuku's as she smiled at the boy who jumped, laughing slightly as he apologized for the muttering.
After a few more seconds of the class being carefree, the sound of clapping could be heard, making all the students turn to the front of the class to see Aizawa standing in his sleeping bag with a tired look. “It's time to go out to the training field. Everyone gets into your gym uniforms and meets outside” he said before his class responded to him and filed out of the room to get changed.
After making sure that the class was empty, letting out a sigh, Aizawa pulled out his phone and texted Vlad King. “That problem child better thank me after this later” He muttered to himself, showing a sliver of a slight smile before it disappeared, never to be seen again.
Everyone was waiting for Aizawa, once seeing their teacher walk in front of them, they all turned silent waiting for his Instructions as to what they were going to do for training today. “For today we'll be working some more on your quirks, trying to nullify your weaknesses while trying to also increase your strengths. We will also be trying to discover anything new with your quirks and see if we could develop even more assets that will help you in the field.”
This made the students talk amongst themselves about what they were gonna do for training, making jokes, and messing with one another. Before Izuku could even think about what he was going to do, Aizawa continued speaking
“However there is one thing I'd like to do before we start training, I'm not one to usually do this especially for students in my class, yet I felt this was something that was well needed and deserved for these two students.” Now that caused the whole class to erupt into confused whispers.
“What's Aizawa-Sensei talking about?”
“It's for students?”
“The fuck, I just wanna train”
“Who is he talking about?”
“What's going on?”
Iida was about to raise his hand to ask a question before he saw Vlad King from class 1-C general studies walking towards them from the other entrance of the training ground along with a student next to him. Not everyone had noticed them yet, “Everyone I'd like you all to meet a guest that will be joining us for today to see if he is a good fit for class 1-A, be respectful and meet Hitoshi Shinso”
Just like that, everyone faced Vlad's direction, who had gotten a bit closer to the class before moving their eyes and focusing on the purple-haired boy walking alongside him. Though, their gazes moved away as soon as they heard a gasp from their resident bone breaker.
Izuku had his eyes wide, hands to his side's both limp and unmoving, his mouth slightly ajar as he stared at the boy that was walking closer and closer to his class. The boy had returned Izuku's stare right at him and stopped in his place as soon as he really saw him, they both just looked at each other. For a full five seconds, nothing was said before Izuku finally broke the silence
“.......Shi-Shinso?”
.....
10 years
10 years of pain
10 years of regret
10 years of the same routine
10 years of learning new things
10 years of wallowing
10 years of being okay
Was it worth waiting for 10 years?
The Hitoshi brothers would say
.....
Shinso was never really one to think about the positives in life, having been surrounded by so many negatives it was hard for him to really believe that there was anything good left except for the heroes in society. Having been passed from one home to the next didn't really help this mindset.
He could never find somewhere where he could just stay at least a month, no one was willing to keep him anytime they found out about his brainwashing quirk. It made him resent it. He would always tell his social worker, if he hadn't been born with his quirk, everything would be so much better.
It didn't help that he no longer had his little brother to help him keep away all the bad thoughts and bad feelings. To keep his mind at bay, he tried to think about how his brother could be having it slightly better than him. One of the few positive thoughts he could have during his times of sadness and despair
After surviving middle school, around the time he took the entrance exam for UA he was placed into another foster home, this time was a loving caring old lady. She lived in a spacious home not far from the school. She was the only one there except for her two cats Miko and Peanut that kept her company.
Shinso was hesitant at first around the older woman, scared that the whole thing was just a ploy to get him to get his guard down so she could drag him down. Yet she showed that she honestly cared for the boy and didn't care about his quirk, never once mentioning it. She tried her best to reach out to him, show him she wasn't a threat, and took her time with him even when he pushed her away. It was a new change of pace for him, and he welcomed it in due time.
After getting accepted into UA, Shinso was a bit disappointed that he wasn't accepted into the hero course, but nonetheless he got accepted into the school so he was happy with at least making that accomplishment. As rusty the first few days were, he was able to meet a few people that seemed to like him just for being him, enjoying his sarcastic remarks and loving to challenge him in puzzle games. He found people that made him smile a bit more, though he would never admit it openly.
Currently, Shinso was just in class sitting at his desk writing in his notebook when his teacher, Vlad King, announced the next period was starting. Present Mic made his way into the room with his usual loud voice and a big smile.
However, just before he left, he called Shinso out of class. Confusion spread on the purple-headed boy's face, but nonetheless closed his notebook, following his homeroom teacher out of the room.
Once they had left, Vlad spoke. “I know it's sudden, but principal Nezu thought it would be a good idea for you to join class 1-A's training lesson for today. He thinks it will give you good insight and new ideas as you go along with the lesson.” Vlad King informed his students.
Now, this new piece of information caused the boy's eyebrows to rise in surprise. He was getting a chance to join 1-A for their training lessons today. That was surprising, seeing as he wasn't really someone well known in his class or the school in general, save for any incident revolving around his quirk. However, he didn't complain and just nodded in agreement and understanding as they walked to the locker room so Shinso could change before heading out to the training ground.
Now to say at the least Shinso didn't know what he was expecting, maybe the class to have been running laps around the training ground, or to be greeted with explosions and determined yells along with debris falling everywhere. However, he wasn't expecting to be greeted by a familiar green head with shocking green eyes who was staring at him as soon as he heard Aizawa say his name. Stopping as soon as he saw who exactly he was looking at, he couldn't stop the water that started to pool in his eyes.
How long has it been?
'He looks the same as I remember'
'He still has mom's eyes'
'His hair still looks like he just woke up'
'Was he always that muscular?'
'Did he get taller?'
'I missed you so much......'
Slowly Shinso raised his arms, waiting for the greenete to come into them wanting to hold him.
“Come here Izu”
Without a second thought, Izuku had activated his quirk and practically rammed into Shinso practically toppling both over if it hadn't been for the older having a firm grip on the ground. Tightly wrapping his arms around the other, Shinso hid his face in Izuku's green curls, while the greenete hid his face in his brother's chest openly sobbing, not even bothering to hide the mess that he was becoming.
“Shinso, Shinso…!!!” He repeated like a mantra as if, if he stopped, Shinso would disappear from him at that very second. Shinso had one hand holding Izuku's head to him, while gently running his fingers through his hair, “I'm here Izu… I'm here” he told the smaller boy. He had his own silent tears running down his face.
Both were feeling such a tremendous amount of euphoria, they couldn't even explain how happy they were. They had practically forgotten about the class that was looking at the two with confusion, some with tears of their own in their eyes and some (Bakugo) who seemed not to care (but we all know he has some type of soft heart). “Everyone, Shinso is Izuku's older brother. They have been separated for almost 10 years. Both attending UA, they didn't know either one of them was here. So me and Vlad King decided it would be best to get them together.”
After Aizawa explained, the class erupted into shouts of surprise, all asking the two teachers questions and giving remarks about the whole thing. Leaving the two brothers to one another's embrace.
It had been so long since they had seen each other, countless nights thinking if the other was still even alive if they had finally found the perfect family if they were healthy and well.
All those nights dreaming and hoping to see each other again…
......
10 years
10 years of pain
10 years of regret
10 years of the same routine
10 years of learning new things
10 years of wallowing
10 years of being okay
Was it worth waiting for 10 years?
The Hitoshi brothers would say.....
“This was well worth the wait”
Something that happened because life took a wrong turn, but was fixed as soon as it took the right path.
Anyone could say Life Works in strange ways.
(Edited 03/19/2024)