Chapter Text
“You can be a hero!” Izuku felt tears in his eyes as he heard those words. All his life he had longed for someone, anyone to believe in him and his dream. If only All Might had been talking to Izuku and not his twin brother.
Just earlier that day All Might had told Izuku on the roof top to give up his dream. There was no way a quirkless kid could be a hero. He had saved Izuku and his twin, Mikumo, from a slime villain and Izuku had clung on to him to ask the question that had plagued both brothers their whole lives. After leaving the roof to go find Mikumo, Izuku came upon the same villain attacking Kacchan. Izuku was about to run in when Mikumo beat him to it.
Now, Izuku had been waiting for his brother along the path home. He did not mean to eavesdrop, but All Might had practically come out of nowhere.
“You are worthy to inherit my quirk.” All Might’s words confused Izuku. He listened in as the hero explained his quirk to Mikumo before planning for them to meet for training the following day.
Izuku could not listen to any more. He needed to get away. So he ran. He did not know how long or how far he ran, but by the time he dragged his tired feet back home it was dark. His mom was worried of course. She told him he needed to not stay out so late. “Something could have happened to you.” He did not bother telling her that something did happen. Telling her about the slime villain would just make her worry more.
Eventually, Izuku made it to the room he and Mikumo shared. His brother was already there waiting. “Izuku, are you okay? After you grabbed All Might when he flew off, you took so long to come home.”
“I’m fine.” Izuku forced a smile. He debated how much to say about All Might. “I asked him if we could be heroes without quirks. He said ‘no’.” Izuku saw the guilt in his twin’s eyes at that. No doubt he was thinking about the offer All Might made him. But it was pointless. It’s not like they could both inherit the quirk. At this point Izuku would just get in Mikumo’s way. “I think it’s time I look at other options.”
“What? No!” Mikumo grabbed Izuku’s hand. “We promised we would be heroes together. You have to at least try.”
He looked desperate as he stared into Izuku’s eyes. In the end Izuku could not deny his brother’s request. “Alright. I’ll at least try.” He would hold out until the entrance exam. If he failed that, then he would bury his dream and just support his brother.
————
The Midoriya brothers had always been inseparable. They were identical twins so maybe that was to be expected, but it had always irritated Katsuki to no end. It was because of this that he had a hard time making sense of the last few months.
Deku 1 had been pretty much the same as always. Maybe a little more mopey, but not really that different. Deku 2 on the other hand was being really strange. He rushed out of class at the end of the day without even waiting for his twin. He was also getting more muscular. Not that Katsuki really cared or would have noticed except for the fact that the twins did not look as much alike anymore. Katsuki used to be one of the few people who always knew who was who with the Midoriyas. Now everyone could tell.
Tormenting Deku 1 had become almost too easy without his brother there to split the attention. Though it did give Deku 1 more freedoms to throw sarcastic comebacks at his tormentors. The verbal sparring was way more fun with Deku 1 to the point where he usually did not bother hitting the nerd. He just focused on tearing down his dreams of being a hero with words. It seemed to be working, too. Deku 1 had admitted that he was looking at other options.
Still, Katsuki wanted to know what was going on with the other twin. “Hey, nerd.” Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s collar after class and dragged him around to the side of the building. “Where’s your lookalike running off to after school every day?”
“Do you actually care? Or does it just irritate you that there is something you don’t know?” Deku 1 tried to glare but only managed to look like a sad puppy.
“How about you just tell me and I don’t burn any of your books?” Katsuki tightened his grip on the collar while small explosions popped in his free hand.
Deku 1 gave a shaky scared smile. “Ah, so we’re negotiating now? I think I might need more than that since you might still burn my books tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Katsuki smirked. “Tell me what you know and I promise not to destroy any of your books for the rest of the term.” That was only three weeks so it would not be too hard to stick to.
After chewing his lip for a moment the smaller boy nodded in agreement. Katsuki released his collar and stood with his arms crossed. “He started doing some extra training for being a hero.” Deku’s voice was quiet, almost sad. “Some one offered to train him, but I wasn’t exactly invited. He runs off to that after school everyday.”
Katsuki felt conflicted. He hated the idea of either Deku trying to be a hero. They were quirkless and weak. But the idea of someone singling one of the Dekus out just did not sit right with him. Especially Deku 2. Deku 1 had always been the one to stand up to him and take the hits to protect his twin. Why would someone pick Mikumo to train instead of Izuku?
“Whatever,” Katsuki waved dismissively. “Get lost.”
Deku 1 did so and ran off. Katsuki watched him go and wondered just what those idiots were really up to.
————
Izuku had never really felt lonely before. Even when all his friend stopped talking to him and Kacchan started bullying them, he still had Mikumo. They did everything together. Until now.
Izuku had barely seen his brother for ten months. They ate at the same table and slept in the same room, but other than that they may as well have been strangers. They did not even walk to school together any more.
Maybe that’s why it felt strange walking to UA together for the entrance exam. Or maybe it was all the realizations Izuku had along the way. They no longer looked exactly the same. Mikumo had noticeably more muscle that could be seen by anyone who cared to look close. Izuku knew that Mikumo probably had his new quirk now. Another thing to set him apart. Mikumo would probably pass this entrance exam and Izuku would fail. This may be the last time they travel to a school together.
As they entered the gates both boys stared in awe at the imposing structure before them. “Out of my way, Dekus!” A familiar voice ordered.
Both boys flinched. Mikumo jumped to the side so that he was on the other side of Izuku from Katsuki. They were both completely out of the blond’s way now. “Kacchan!” Mikumo yelped. “G-good morning. Let’s do our best.”
Kacchan ignored them and walked inside. Izuku let out a sigh. This was it. He started to walk to the entrance only to trip over his own feet. Before he could face plant on the sidewalk, someone touched him and suddenly he was floating.
“Are you okay?” A girl’s voice asked. Izuku could only stare in shock as the girl explained her quirk and wished him luck before running inside.
“That was really nice of her,” Mikumo said.
“Yeah,” Izuku agreed. He was still a little in shock from actually having a positive interaction with a girl. And a cute girl at that.
If only things had not gone so far down hill after that. Izuku did okay on the written exam, but he was completely useless during the practical. He did not destroy a single robot and just wound up running around like an idiot. Maybe that’s all he was for trying this in the first place. A delusional idiot.
Both Izuku and Mikumo were quiet on the way home. And for the next few days the silence continued. Finally, their results came. Mikumo wanted to open them together, but Izuku refused. He already knew what the results would be. As expected his was a simple letter of rejection. Mikumo came out of their room crying tears of joy. “I made it. I’m going to be a hero. They had rescue point and I was able to make it in for that.”
“Congratulations.” Izuku hugged his brother and hid his own pain behind a fake smile. “You’ll be a great hero.”
“You didn’t make it?” Mikumo looked so sad, but Izuku did not know if it was genuine. After all, how could Mikumo have expected anything else.
“No, but don’t worry about that. You can be a hero for both of us.” Was Izuku a bad brother for felling jealous?