Chapter Text
Makyoku frantically clicked on his pen while staring at his book on the laws of quirk use. It was four in the morning and he was supposed to be asleep six hours ago but the nerves were getting to him. He put his brother to bed around twelve and then went through a rollercoaster of emotions. He had a full out breakdown, reconsidering if this is truly what he wanted. If heroics is truly what he wants to do or if he’s only drawn to it out of spite. Makyoku is a realist. That much he knows. He’s not the best at self-perception but there are certain things about him that he’s sure of. Or at least he believes he’s sure of.
He gets frustrated and bites the end of the pen before slamming it into his desk and jumping off the chair. He ran a hand through his hair and sat down on the floor next to his makeshift bed. The blanket was an old curtain and the pillows were filled with cotton and old worn out clothes. He rubbed his hands over his face when he heard the floorboards creaking just outside his door. He recognized the footsteps to be Fujinata’s so he put his guard down and threw his head back into the side of the bed. Fujinata always comes by his room at exactly 4:22 in the morning. Not a minute early, not a minute late.
Fujinata slowly opened the door with a creek, his head poking through like he was waiting for permission to get in. Makyoku practically dragged his head out of the mattress and glared at his younger brother. “Can I-” Fujinata couldn’t finish because Makyoku interrupted him with a sharp “Get in.” and turned off the brightest light that sat next to his bed because he knows bright lights overwhelmed his brother.
The younger sibling didn’t wait for further instruction and walked in, the head of his Edgeshot plushy hanging out of the pocket of his shorts. Makyoku pulled out another book from under his mattress and skimmed through it like he hasn’t read it over twenty times already. He isn’t as nervous about the written exam as he is about the practical one. He’s on borrowed time and only has nine months until the entrance exam at UA.
Yeah, he could enroll into some other school like Shiketsu or Ketsubutsu Academy if he failed but he really wants to go to the same school as All Might and Endeavor. Also UA just so happens to be the closest to his home town. UA must really be doing something right since most of the top ten heroes come out of it. “Is there something on my face?” Makyoku grumbled. He’s tired and Fujinata is staring at him weird. “You didn’t sleep.” He mumbled, sitting in front of his elder brother and pulling his Edgeshot plushy to his chest. He’s always been the more observing kind. “Perceptive.” Makyoku rolled his eyes and turned back to his textbook.
Fujinata’s lips pursed into a thin line as he frowned and clutched the tiny plushy closer to his chest. “Aren’t you going to train today?” His head tilted in question. “I will.” Makyoku responded without moving his eyes away from his book. “But you didn’t sleep?”
Makyoku snorted and closed the book. “I’ll live.” He said bluntly, pulling one leg to his chest. “That’s not healthy.” Fujinata narrowed his eyes. His concern pissed Makyoku off but he doesn’t say anything because he knows that if he starts, he won’t be able to stop and putting an eleven year old through all of that is just cruel. “Are you gonna tag along today?” He asked instead.
That was the right thing to say apparently because Fujinata’s eyes lit up and he grinned ear to ear while nodding aggressively. Makyoku couldn’t help but smile too. “Mom asleep?” He asked once he got on his feet and his brother nodded once more. He shot his younger brother a mischievous grin and helped him get up. “Be very quiet.” He instructed and thankfully Fujinata is great at following instructions.
Fujinata is around four years younger than Makyoku. His hair color is identical to his elder brother’s except its messy and the spiky blue hair sticks up like he just woke up from sleep and didn’t bother fixing it. He has sharp pastel green eyes which he got entirely from their mother except there’s an innocent yet analytical glint in them that no one in their family has. He’s extremely observant of his surrounding and stands at a short 4 feet and 11 inches.
Makyoku has greyish blue hair but part of his hair turned white due to stress. His hair is way longer and falls just below his shoulder. It’s straight but curled towards the ends. His skin is pale like he hasn’t seen the sun in ages and one of his mismatched eyes is a deep shade of pink and the other is the same pastel lime as his mother’s. He’s extremely skinny and almost lanky from his horrible eating habits. He’s also genderfluid but assigned female at birth. He’s also quite average in height standing at 5 feet and 10 inches.
Makyoku took one last glance around the house before sneaking out through the crack in the storage with his brother behind him. The streets were quite this early in the morning but there were still some people passing by. The siblings walked through the darker alley until they reached a metal gate that had a sign saying ‘NO TRESPASSING’ in big bold letters in yellow over a black background. Makyoku pulled open the hole he and Fujinata cut through three years ago, slipping through into the abandoned parking lot. They walk deeper into the empty space, putting enough distance between themselves and civilization to ensure no one sees their shenanigans.
“Ready?” Makyoku popped his joints and got comfortable while Fujinata went over to sit down beneath an apple tree. He pulled out a notepad and pen and grinned childishly. “I’ll never not be ready for this.” He said. Makyoku didn’t waste another second and pulled out one of the abandoned cars in the lot using his telekinesis and throwing it up in the air before smashing it somewhere in the distance.
-
“How old were you when you got your quirk?” Fujinata asked as Makyoku laid in the centre of the parking lot. He was beyond tired. He had been training for over two hours and he could see the sun starting to rise in the east. He was panting and held a finger up, telling Fujinata to wait. The younger brother walked up to him and handed him a bottle of water. Makyoku doesn’t know where he got it from but he’s thankful. He sits up and chugs the water down in one go. “Four.” He said once he was done drinking and threw the bottle somewhere in the lot and it rolled away.
Fujinata’s lips pursed into a thin line and brows curved into a frown. “I’m 11.” He said with a pout. Makyoku snickered and ruffled his hair. “There’s nothing wrong with being quirkless.” He said. “You’re rare. You’re the twenty percent. That makes you rare.” He grinned up at his brother who was standing above him. Fujinata sat down beside him and made a kissy face, pulling his legs up to his chest. He doesn’t have his Edgeshot plushy with him.
Makyoku suddenly feels proud of him. His heart did a flip as he watched his brother write something in his notepad and put it back in his pocket. A few years ago he couldn’t even write. I did that. I taught him. He thought proudly and a bit selfishly. “You just… Focus on your studies and the books I nick for you, yeah? You wanted to be an engineer. You still want that?”
Fujinata’s eyes lit up and pupils dilated. His lips curved into a smile. He nodded. “I believe in you.” Makyoku ruffled his hair up again and this time he whined and batted his hand away. Makyoku just snickered. “You’ll grow up, get out of this place and become the best fucking engineer this world has ever seen. And I’ll cheer you on from the top of the hero charts.” Suddenly the earlier pride Makyoku felt disappeared.
He’s been thinking about it a lot lately. How the fuck is Fujinata supposed to survive once Makyoku is in UA? The thought terrifies him. Sometimes he considers not chasing after his silly dream and just staying with his brother. But he knows that if he does that, Fujinata will never forgive him. His brother is as passionate about his dream as he is. Sometimes he feels like he’s is even more passionate than Makyoku himself.
Fukushima is hours away from Musutafu. He can’t come home every day if he’s planning to study in UA. He’ll have to settle somewhere in Musutafu if he gets in UA. He can however visit during the holidays. But will his brother be able to fend for himself till then? Makyoku tries so hard not to overthink it. But how can he not?
Their family is fucked, they live in poverty, in a neighborhood full of petty criminals and creeps and their mother… Well, he doesn’t know where to start with her. Long story short, she used to be a great mother but things happened and she went insane, gets drunk and high every day now and never gets out of the house.
For the past six years Makyoku has taken responsibility over everything in their house. He’s the reason Fujinata is still even alive and didn’t starve to death or die of dehydration. Makyoku was forced to mature at the ripe old age of nine. And ain’t that hilarious? He closed his eyes and laid back down on the ground. He felt Fujinata lay down beside him and cuddle into his side.
“How did you get your quirk?” He mumbled, shifting his head to get more comfortable. Makyoku grinned at the memory. “Well, I was kind of pumped up. I really wanted to eat chocolate and dad hid the box full of kitkats at the top corner of the fridge. I was standing in front of an open fridge door and jumping up and down, trying to reach it. Then it just gravitated towards me and the contents fell on my face, the box covering the top of my head.” He couldn’t help his laugh, he loves that memory. “Dad wasn’t even mad. He was so proud that his little girl took after his quirk. He picked me up and spun me around the house all day. The next day I somehow managed to turn the entire house upside down.” He finished the story and sighed, putting an arm above his eyes.
He has many beautiful memories of his childhood. Looking back, his life before the incident wasn’t perfect but it was much better than what he has now. He never went to school because his parents couldn’t afford it and he grew up in a neighbourhood full of criminals. His life wasn’t perfect, far from it. But it wasn’t bad.
Back when their mom was still normal, she used to go to work on the days their dad stayed home. They couldn’t afford proper education but they bought more than enough books to make up for it. Makyoku learnt about heroes through the television his dad bought for them after Fujinata was born. He was three and has wanted to be a hero ever since.
It all feels so silly now. Nevermind the irony in Makyoku’s plan to steal money to get into a hero school. Or he could just manipulate the principal. Neither acts are heroic in any way but what choice does he have?
Makyoku’s head tilted towards a memory he’s particularly fond of. He’s laying on the roof of their one-story house with his father beside him. They were talking about the shapes of the clouds and he remembers his father pointing out a heart shaped one and saying it resembles his love for his family.
He remembers his mother calling them to come down and eat lunch and threatening to throw it away if they don’t with a two-year-old Fujinata curled up in her embrace. The memory makes his heart clench. Every goddamn time.
“Yoku?” Fujinata called, pulling him out of his trance. “Yes, Fuji?”
“Do you miss dad?” He asked bluntly and boy did that shake the life out of Makyoku. It was so sudden and so out of the blue. He stiffened and felt his heart drop to the floor. He knows that Fujinata barely got time to spend with their dad.
His voice cracked as he gave his brother weak smile before responding with a broken “Yes.”
He hoped his brother didn’t see the tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t appear weak in front of the only person he’s supposed to be protecting. He couldn’t.