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Izuku’s big brother is not from Japan. Technically, he’s not even related. Barry Allen came into Izuku’s life when he was six, a boy whose mother had been murdered by his father. Barry denies it, of course. Not that Izuku knows any of that. He knows that his father’s friend had a son, and that son needed a home while everything got sorted.
They don’t hit it off, at first. Maybe it’s the fact that Barry tries to run away, or maybe it’s the fact that he doesn’t speak very much Japanese to begin with, but they don’t get along. Not until Izuku starts getting picked on by some other kids and Barry comes to pick him up and tells them to go away.
Barry gives Izuku a hero action figure, and Izuku decides that maybe he isn’t so bad.
- - - - - -
They’re doodling together, Izuku talking and occasionally stopping to breathe while Barry just listens. Then, Barry stops him. “Who is,” he pauses, searching for the word, “All Might?”
Izuku freezes, only for a moment. Then, he grabs Barry by the wrist and drags him to his room, pointing out every action figure of All Might and explaining every single reason that All Might is the best person in the universe.
He does allow an honorable mention for a few other heroes, because though they are not at All Might’s level, Barry does need to know about them.
- - - - - -
It only flourishes from there. Barry nerds out in English and Izuku nerds out in Japanese and they both learn a little about the other language. By the time three years has passed, Barry and Izuku are both very good at interpreting each other.
The trial should have taken a shorter amount of time, but from the information that Barry and Izuku have managed to piece together, Izuku’s dad is trying to extend the trial to find Henry Allen innocent.
It isn’t working, but he is trying.
- - - - - -
Much like when he came into Izuku’s life, Barry leaves it without much fanfare. He gets a hug at the airport, and a promise to keep in touch, and then he goes home. The trial was over, Henry Allen was in jail, and Barry had a new home with the Wests.
- - - - - -
They keep their promise, e-mailing back and forth and eventually joining the fifth iteration of discord to communicate. Izuku sends odd hero facts and Barry sends terrible jokes at 3am in the morning.
They text and talk, and it never really stops. It isn’t the same, certainly, because it is a very different thing to be able to go down the hall to speak to someone, but it’s the best they’ll get.
- - - - - -
Izuku: Good luck on exams!
Barry: I feel like a barrometer.
Izuku: what?
Barry: Under a lot of pressure. Also, I’m Barry like a barrometer
Izuku: blocked
- - - - - -
Barry: and then I said ‘you too’
Barry: she said ‘how are you’
Barry: we live in the same house I can’t escape her laughter
Barry: I’m gonna come live with you
Izuku: awesome! but there’s only 2 bedrooms so youll have to share.
- - - - - -
Barry: how do you say ‘I love you’
Izuku: probably just like that
Barry: not helping
- - - - - -
Izuku: hey
Barry: hey
Izuku: don’t be mad, but I got into another fight with Kacchan
Barry: I’m gonna come over there and fight him. My real quirk is anger
Izuku: everyone has that
Barry: Not like me they don’t
- - - - - -
Izuku: I Met All Might!!!
Barry: yay
Izuku: am I sensing sarcasm
Barry: no. never. What gave you that idea?
- - - - - -
Lightning strikes like a girl scout with a baseball bat, for no apparent reason and unexpectedly. As soon as he gets the great news from All Might, he finds out that Barry Allen is in a coma. Apparently, the universe can’t allow him to be fully happy.
- - - - - -
When Izuku meets All Might, he tells Barry. When he gets into the hero course, talks to a girl for the first time, gets a quirk, he sends a message to Barry.
That would be much nicer if Barry would just respond, but Izuku sends him these updates so that Barry will know what happened when he wakes up. When. Not if, whatever those stupid doctors say.
Dad visits Barry and sends updates, which is why they’re all bothered when it’s found that his guardians have sent him to a private facility. They don’t get any more updates, after that. Apparently, Joe West doesn’t like Izuku’s dad very much.
- - - - - -
They’re a few weeks into UA when Izuku finally gets a message from Barry. It’s only a little embarrassing when Uraraka finds him doing a happy dance in the hallway, because all of the energy has to go somewhere.
“Barry’s awake!” He tells her, and when he explains it to her, she gets excited too.
“That’s awesome!”
- - - - - -
Barry: i lived
Izuku: when did you wake up?!?!
Barry: 10 minutes ago
Izuku: You’re still at the doctors?
Barry: lol no
- - - - - -
Barry: I think I have a quirk
Izuku: me too!
- - - - - -
Barry joins the hero track through the police force. It basically amounts to night classes and practical exercises, so that he can get his hero license. It’s convenient for people who didn’t get the chance to become heroes while they were still in school.
Although, there isn’t an American hero school anyway. They go to high school normally and there’s a program they can join that takes them directly into a hero college.
- - - - - -
Barry has super speed. He can run anywhere that he wants, and no one can really stop him. He definitely does not abuse this to ignore travel expenses and just visit Izuku. That would be wrong.
- - - - - -
“You can walk on water?”
Barry nods.
“And run up buildings?”
Nod.
“And phase through objects?”
This time he shakes his head. “I might be able to,” he says, “But right now I can’t.”
Izuku frowns. “You said that STAR labs was helping you, right?”
“Yeah. Caitlyn and Cisco are helping me train. But what about your quirk?”
- - - - - -
Unfortunately, though, Barry always has to go home. They make it a weekly thing, when they just take time to hang out. It’s really exciting when Izuku gets to see STAR labs, even if Barry had to carry him.
Cisco is a fellow nerd with a weak quirk, which is why he devoted his time to building gadgets. Caitlyn doesn’t talk about her quirk, at all, but Barry has mentioned that she isn’t quirkless.
- - - - - -
The Sports Festival is broadcasted all over the world, which is nerve-wracking enough, but it’s worse knowing his friends will be watching him with his new quirk.
He was right to be worried.
“What were you thinking?! You need control, you don’t heal as fast as I do and-“
- - - - - -
“You were frozen in ice?! You shouldn’t be tangling with villains, you’re still in training!” Izuku doesn’t have the option of going to see Barry in person, but he can call him to yell.
“He declared me his nemesis. I didn’t have a choice! And I don’t think you have room to talk after last week. The hero killer?!”