≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪
WARNINGS: Blood, Swearing, Death
≫ ──── ««•◦ ✪ ◦•»» ──── ≪
(Y/n) — ????'s Apartment — Afternoon
The blinding light quickly fizzled out and you were left in the dark. Your entire body jolted and spasmed, but even that stopped while you were still in the midst of some void. The feeling was nauseating, your whole head was spinning and it seemed like gravity couldn't decide where to pull you towards.
Were you falling upwards at one point?
You tried glancing around because you knew Ryuko also got struck, maybe he was stuck with you in this darkness. But alas, he was nowhere to be seen. It's not exactly like you can see anything, but you still hoped.
In fact, you couldn't see your body... Or feel it.
Ryuko! You tried calling.
Ryuko!
Ryuko... Blackness spread across your vision like spilled ink, and it was becoming harder and harder to catch a breath of air.
Ryu...ko...
Ryu-chan...
"RYUKO!" You flew up but quickly fell back when your vision warped in ways you never imagined could happen. Not that there was much to see—going from blinding light to all-consuming darkness, then back to bright lights, you're surprised you didn't end up going blind. So instead you screamed and covered your scorned eyes.
However, your entire figure stiffened and your mouth shut itself up when a figure ran over with your limited sight. Whoever it was had some crazy messy hair that covered the main light, leaving a shadowy face that made your whole body cringe inside.
Who was this person?
"H-hey!" It was the voice of a boy. A boy your age, but higher than what you're used to. "Calm down, you're not in any danger, I swear!"
After a minute, the room stopped spinning and the bright light gave way to a small room. You were lying on a couch and in front of you was indeed a boy... a boy with green fluffy hair. Was it natural? Who was he?
Not for a moment did you let your guard down. "I'm sorry, this must've been alarming. Were you conscious when we took you to Recovery Girl? Aaaah, I'm sorry! I didn't know!"
"No."
"I'm sorry, huh?"
"No. I wasn't conscious when you took me to this... Recovery Girl." The name slipped off your tongue weirdly. It certainly wasn't a name anyone used back home. Home... HOME! "WAIT! Where am I?" You shot a glare at the boy, so wanting to grab him by the collar. "And who are you?"
"Ah! Calm down, please!" The boy looked miserable, desperation spread across his childish features. "My name is Izuku Midoriya and you are in my home!"
"Where's my brother? I swear if you laid a finger on even one strand of his hair–"
"The boy? Your brother? He's in my room right now! He's still asleep! I have done nothing to him, please don't kill me!" This 'Midoriya' scrambled back, ramming right into a small table and nearly knocking a vase over, sending him into another frenzy.
What a pain.
As the boy was distracted checking for cracks, you got up with a falter in your step and marched over to the only door out of this damn room. It was then you realized how light of weight you were carrying around and your labored hand went to your side.
"My katana!" Midoriya paused his frantic babbling as more sweat trickled down his forehead. "Where the hell did you put my sword?"
"Your sword? Um..."
"(Y/N)-CHAN! (Y/N)-Chan?! Huh? AAAH! What is THAT?!" You looked to the door, then back at Midoriya, then back to the exit. Ugh, forget the boy. You swung open the door and ran to the room where you heard Ryuko's confused screams.
"Ryu-chan?! Are you okay?"
"Onee-chan, what the hell is all of this?"
He was in a bed with now messed up sheets and had his back pressed against the wall while staring at the walls. Each covered in photos and art of a muscular man, more muscular than Gyomei it seemed. He had unnatural yellow hair that stuck up and was always punching.
You hated hand-to-hand combat because you were never good at it. It's too risky for your limbs if you use your gravity technique and plus, it always hurts like hell afterward. It's utterly useless against demons, even the super low-grade ones that even a random man with a nichirin-blade could accidentally kill, so what was the point?
Midoriya slid right behind you right when you said: "I have no idea. A guy who punches a lot? He kind of looks like Rengoku-san." Your heart swelled for a moment.
"Th-that's All Might! The number one hero in all of Japan!"
"AAH! And who are YOU?!" screamed Ryuko yet again.
The boy waved his hand in front of his panicked face. It reminded you of all the lower leveled demon slayers you had to deal with—all so jittery and could not relax for their lives. Literally, it got some of them in serious trouble.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya, but could you please lower your voice? I don't want my neighbors to get mad about the noise."
"Where–"
"In my room... in my apartment complex."
"And those...?"
"Are my action figures of All Might."
Ryuko shot a few more questions and Midoriya shot back just as many answers, Ryuko's last asked question leading Midoriya into a looooooong tangent about cats and then Ryuko's namesake and then dragons. How did you even get here?
"Cats are agile creatures that a lot of people look at to base their skills of balance since their balancing and landing on all fours are amazing. Cats were also a huge inspiration for the hero team 'Wild Wild Pussycats', which did you know has a... your name is Ryuko, yes? Yeah, they have a team member with the name Ryuko, with the meaning of 'flow' and 'child' referring to her quirk. Then there is another hero with the name 'Ryuko' with the meaning of dragon and child behind it. She's known as the Dragon Hero. She's quite popular and her quirk isn't all that flashy, but certainly cool and–"
"Hold on," you said.
"Ack! My bad, I'm sorry! I always go on these tangents. I'm just a huge nerd on heroes and their quirks, and I'm not a stalker just a huge fan and–"
"Ugh! Would you stop talking for just a minute, please?" Midoriya covered his mouth and nodded, innocently. "You've mentioned 'quirks' twice, and it sounds like it's being used not in its normal definition. What is it? ...You're allowed to speak again. But spare us the details and keep it short."
Short was not in Midoriya's dictionary, apparently.
"Quirks are like superpowers coded into a person from birth. They're genetic. And not everyone has a quirk, 20% don't. With supernatural powers coming about, crime began to climb, and so did heroes! They're so cool! The number one hero is All Might, which are the figurines you see there."
"Midoriya-san."
"You can go to school to become a hero. There is U.A., Ketsubutsu, Shiketsu, Isamu, Seijin, Seiai..."
"Midoriya-san."
"Wow, there are a lot that starts with 's'. I wonder why? Those are just in the general area, there's more. Each is unique and—"
"MIDORIYA-KUN, would you shut up!" Ryuko hollered. He slapped Midoriya across the face, and that surely shut up the boy real quick. "You could've just stopped at quirks being superpowers, damn it! You're giving me a freankin' headache! I just woke up."
Your brother groaned and rolled himself off the bed, only to land head first on the wooden floor. Back home, you didn't bother with luxuries such as sleeping in a raised bed. Or mattresses to be frank. When you were on missions and took pit stops at Wisteria Inns, they rarely provided a bed with a proper bed frame—they're so expensive and futons worked just as well.
In fact, you could argue better in most cases! You could roll into a stand, something a raised bed clearly impairs your ability to.
Okay, that's only one reason, but if you weren't so half-dead, maybe you could've come up with better reasons.
When your brother so confidently fell to the ground, you couldn't help but laugh. He looked like an overturned turtle stuck on its back. "Wow, what a way out of bed, Ryu-chan!" Ryuko laughed as well. He got back up while scratching the back of his head, which was partly shaved.
When he was ten, he insisted he'd do Final Selection, which Ubuyashiki-sama was very reluctant to do. But Ryuko, being Ryuko, left on his own and came back still living and with a crow he named Keiji.
During the test, some swordsman had cut off the back of his incredibly messy locks, and Ryuko has loved the hairstyle since.
Your brother sat back on the bed after swaying for a second.
After looking around, Midoriya laughed as well.
"Midoriya," you said, voice lowered. You do not get to laugh at Ryuko, is what you wanted to say, but thinking it over. It sounded way too petty. You didn't feel like wasting your breath on a stranger. So you let it... but not the boy. "Just let us out of here. Tell us where we are and drop us off on the nearest road out of town."
"I really advise against th–" This time, you did grab him by the collar.
"I forgot. Where the hell is my uniform and sword?" You glanced at your brother. "And my brother's things as well."
"Please forgive me, but I don't have them."
"So where are they?"
The boy hesitated, which was a mistake. "Listen here," you hissed. "I just want to get home. I don't know what you are doing, or what you're hoping to accomplish by keeping us here. Were you the cause of that bright light?"
Midoriya's scared face caused a pang in your chest. It made you drop him.
Why were you so mad all of a sudden?
As Shinobu says, only immature people let their emotions get the best of them. Were you just being immature? No.
You didn't trust this kid. And you failed to keep your guard up. What if this 'Midoriya' had exploited that and done something? What if something happened to Ryuko?
The anger pointed at Midoriya reflected back to yourself, and so you slapped yourself. The burning sensation slowly fizzled out as the boy just stood there in silence, alongside your brother. Both were dumbfounded by your action.
"Look, I don't know what bright light you're talking about, but I have no connection to it at all. You've got to believe me. I found you almost dead on a back road, and with the help of some friends, took you to U.A. to see Recovery Girl. Then she instructed me to take you home and make sure you're both okay when you wake up."
Oh.
"And your weapons?" he continued. "They were confiscated and given to the police. In fact, I think the police will be coming here tomorrow to question you both about why you had swords in public and what you did to end up in the state you did. You're not heroes with a license so you may be getting in some trouble."
Shit. The last thing you needed was trouble with the police. What in the world were you going to tell them? And how were you going to get your sword back? How are you going to explain why you had swords?
Hey. By the way, there are demons crawling everywhere and I slay them.
No, wait. That sounds like a viable answer, but the Demon Slayer Corp is a secret organization. Ah, shoot, that puts you in an even worse position.
Midoriya walked out, pausing at the door frame. "(Y/n)-san and Ryuko-kun, right? I'll go get something to eat while you two calm down. Oh, and something to drink. Any allergies?"
"No," you said.
"Alright, I'll be right back. Please calm down and... stay in here I guess." And down the hallway he was with the door closing behind, leaving you and Ryuko in an unwanted silence. When the boy was out of earshot, or at least at a distance he couldn't hear low voices, you were the first to break it.
"We're in a shitty position, it seems, Ryu-chan."
"No thanks to you," mumbled your brother. You watched to see if his expression would turn into a panic, but it didn't.
"Excuse me?"
"I know you hate trusting people or whatever, but it's screwed you over many times before and it's going to screw you over now."
"Ryuko. Do you have any idea what kind of situation we're in?"
"No. But do you? 'What are you hoping to accomplish by keeping us here?', seriously? Do you think he's holding us captive here?"
"Well, what if he is?"
"Well, what if he's not? What if Midoriya is truly trying to help us and you've gone ahead and dug a deep line in between us and him?"
"Shut up, would you?"
"Why? Because I'm younger? Because you're older and you apparently know better?"
A fire ignited somewhere inside you, and not the kind Rengoku preaches about all the time. You reared your hand back and went for a punch. Ryuko easily dodged. And he easily took your fist and held it firm in his own grip.
"Onee-chan," Ryuko said, almost chuckling in disappointment. "I can't believe I get to say this, but you're being immature and need to cool it."
You pulled your arm from Ryuko and sat down at the desk next to the bed. "Fine." You leaned back and stretched your arms and legs, before falling into a position where all your limbs hung from your body.
After all of that screaming and accusing and augmenting, the world seemed to be spinning again. Nausea overtook your body and you forced yourself to sit back up. Looks like whatever happened was still affecting you.
Ryuko as well. He slumped and fell back onto the pillow.
There was one thing you could agree on: you hated whatever you were stuck in.
There was a knock at Midoriya's front door followed by the scrambling of the boy's feet. "Hello? Oh, Mom! And... Tsukauchi-sensei!"
"Izuku..." It was the voice of a woman. Perhaps this woman was Midoriya's mother. "What did you do? You weren't using your new quirk in public, right? You know you have to be careful!"
"Mom, this isn't about me. An incident happened that involved two beaten-up teenagers. After taking them to U.A. for a check-up, Recovery Girl sent me home with them."
"Where are these children?"
We are not children.
"In my room. Please come in, Mr. Tsukauchi-sensei. Right, this way..." Midoriya's voice came closer and closer to the door, and the hairs on your neck rose higher and higher.
They weren't supposed to come until tomorrow!
Midoriya swung open the door to the room and standing behind him was a small woman with similarly green hair and... a police officer.
.~Taisho Secrets~
- Yes. Ryuko was 10 when he completed the Final Selection. Buuuut, you were there with him. He didn't know that, but he never needs to know that his sister was there to protect him if anything went wrong.
- You were 12 when you completed the Final Selection.