I've never before in my life walked slower than I did this evening walking home from the sports festival. My trek home, which usually takes 30 minutes tops, I managed to stretch to an hour and a half, all so I could delay the inevitable. But eventually I was walking up the front steps of my home and staring in trepidation at my own front door.
Inasa was already waiting for me on the other side of the door. When I opened it, he barely waited for me to get my shoes and coat off before he pulled me into a tight hug.
"You did so amazing today, Iri-ne. I've never been prouder of you than I was today." Inasa whispers into my ear. Whispering is not a thing he nor I ever do, subtlety is not usually our strong suit, so now I'm even more on edge despite the encompassing hug. I can feel the tension in his body as well.
"How mad is he?" I ask as I hold him tight.
"It's uh... he hasn't said a word. He watched the whole thing though. He's even rewatching parts of it now in his study." He admits as we part from our hug.
"Any chance he's watching with a beaming proud smile?" I ask with barely a shred of hope, knowing that's far from the truth. Inasa's grimace was enough to prove that point for me. "Worth a shot. Alright, I put this off long enough. I'm ready." I put my game face on as I square my shoulders to exude a confidence I don't feel right now.
"Not alone you're not." Inasa says as he takes my hand and smiles softly at me. "We were in this together the whole time. We'll face this together now."
"Thanks Ina-nii." I managed to give a small smile up to him. I knock lightly on Father's study door, taking a final deep breath before I walk in without waiting for a response.
We walked into the room and saw our father sitting in his lounge chair, the TV on and replaying my tournament fights. He hasn't looked up to acknowledge us yet, but he knows we're here. We walk to stand to the side of him, waiting for the inevitable. He's simply staring at the screen, an unreadable expression on his face as he holds the remote in his hand, occasionally rewinding or fast forwarding to certain parts of my fights.
"Inasa, leave." Father finally breaks the silence after almost 10 minutes.
"No." Inasa immediately rebukes. "I've helped her all this time, I'll face this together with my twin."
"I will not repeat myself." Father says, finally turning to look at us. He's giving Inasa a challenging glare, but then he turns the challenging look to myself. I realize then, I can't have my brother here for this. My actions have my own consequences, and I have to stop letting my big brother defend me.
"It's ok, Ina-nii." I take my hand away from my brother as he snaps his head to look at me. "I got myself into this, I can defend myself now." I look up at him and we have a silent conversation. I can see he's begging to stay and defend me, but I'm letting him know I can do this myself. He finally sighs in understanding and walks out of the door, pausing to say one final thing.
"You've always been an amazing hero to me, Iri-ne. Today you just proved to the world you're going to be one of the top heroes in the future, right alongside me." Inasa says before closing the door, leaving the room to fall into a heavy silence.
"Tell me about the fights." Father says as he indicates for me to sit down, which I do and look up at him uncertainly.
"Which... which fights? The ones today?" I ask to clarify.
"All of them." He corrects me, his tone bitter and deep as he stares hard at me. "Start with your entrance exams. Your hero course entrance exams you were never allowed to take."
I take a breath as I feel his disappointment radiate off him before I start to speak. "I... I tricked yo-"
"Only speak about the fights." He cuts me off loudly. "The rest, like your disobedience, we will discuss later. You will tell me first exactly how you got through each fight, with complete descriptions."
"O-Ok." I stutter quietly, shrinking slightly away from his anger before I steel myself once again. "The entrance exams were a fight against robots. I flew above the competition and destroyed the robots quickly. A giant one appeared at the end and I went to make sure no other students were harmed by it. I saved a few kids by stopping falling rubble by redirecting it with a strong gust. The exam ended before I could try and take down the giant robot." I finish telling him, still confused why we're talking about my fights. I can't tell if I'm digging my own grave by being descriptive or not.
"Did you fight in your hero course class at all once you started?" He says deeply next, still sneering when he says 'hero course', so I know he's definitely pissed about that.
"Yes." I admit and he stares at me until I continue. "We had a hero vs villain battle trial in teams of two. I was on a villain team alongside a boy who spoke to animals. We were against a girl who shoots acid and a boy with a navel laser. I worked with my partner to do attacks against the two heroes. We lured them up to the top floor, which made them tired before they got to us. I used wind to redirect the acid to the laser boy and my partner used rats to attack the acid user. I then used martial arts to knock them both out. That was the only fighting we've done in class... so far." I finish the last of that quietly, hoping it's not the only time I fight in the class.
"Tell me... tell me exactly where you were and what you did when the villains attacked the school." He says lowly next, a tremor of anger slipping further out of his voice. "Tell me where you were when you were supposed to be safe in your school, but instead you were faced with evil. Tell me." His piercing stare was difficult to look at, but I also started to see the fear he had beneath his anger. I flushed with guilt that I caused him that fear.
"I was..." I contemplate lying or playing down the danger I was in, but I figured blunt honesty was probably the best right now. "I was in the thick of it all. After I tag teamed with two other students to fight the warp villain, we were all sent to a part of the USJ together. The two boys and I quickly took out the group of weaker villains that were waiting for us, and I mostly just used martial arts since they were really weak." I swear, I felt like I was hallucinating for a moment, because it almost looked like my father smirked for a fraction of a second. I shook my head, it was probably just my exhaustion since I still was tired from the tournament.
"Uh, after that the two boys and I figured since we were the ones who knew where the warp guy's weakness was, we could take him down." I continue on with my story. "We showed up against the main villains in time to save All Might from the Nomu creature. It was frozen from another student's ice right before I got there, and I shattered it's arm. It re-grew back though, which was creepy. Uh, I may have then sort of attacked the hands guy who may or may not have potentially been the leader of the League of Villains, and I may or may not have used my wind and my staff weapon to cut him a few times. He kind of sent the Nomu to uh, get me after that." I admit sheepishly, feeling smaller as he's sitting up taller and narrowing his eyes, his hand crushing the glass of liquor he has been holding this whole time. He didn't seem to care or notice that his hand was now bleeding. "All Might stopped it though!" I quickly continue. "All Might stopped the Nomu and then the teachers all showed up and arrested the villains... though the warp guy and hands guy escaped."
"So the villain who only you and two other students know the weakness of, and the villain leader who you personally harmed and angered, both escaped?" He asks with a growl and I nod meekly a few times. When he says that out loud, it doesn't really sound all that good for me. When I think he's about to go off about that, he grits his teeth before turning back to the TV. "The sports festival. Your fight specifically against the Todoroki boy. Explain that now."
"He's the reason Inasa didn't go to UA." I admit quietly with a frown. "I've hated him for that this whole time. He ruined my plans. So when we fought, I couldn't contain my anger. I... I know I went too hard, I wasn't thinking right during half the fight. I used too much of my quirk to break his ice when I should have avoided it. I was fast enough to avoid it, but I chose to destroy it instead. I sort of by the end gave up on my anger towards him though. It's not his fault Inasa hates Endeavor. I just... I just hated the look in his eyes before today."
"The final fight." He says quietly after a moment of silence as he fast forwards to the fight against Bakugo.
"Bakugo is my friend." I say as I too look at the screen and see the anger in the blondes eyes once I'm not fighting back. "I wanted to give him a better fight, he deserved it. He helped me train a bit for this, so he knew I wasn't giving him my all. I was just so tired, I didn't have enough in me to fight him."
"Your training." He spit out angrily. "How long has that been going on without my knowledge? How long after I told you repeatedly that you aren't allowed to be a hero have you been going behind my back to train?"
"Since I was almost eight." I admit, only this time it's with more conviction as I meet his eyes. "I trained myself at night almost every night. While you trained Inasa during the days, I would train myself quietly to overcome my blind spot. Then at night, Inasa would show me what he learned before going to bed, and I would stay up and train myself in silence to learn it."
"I followed your rules of never using my quirk at school or at the dojo." I continue after a shaky breath, finally letting my emotions show through. "I took the insults from my peers day after day and used that as my motivation. Every single day people would tell me what I couldn't do" I take another shaky breath as my anger builds. "My classmates told me I couldn't amount to anything since I was a weak sheltered cyclops. My teachers would tell me I couldn't use my quirk at all because you forbade me to. My sparring partners at the dojo, all except one, told me I couldn't fight because I couldn't judge distance. You..." I stand up and glare at him as I unleash the truth onto him. "You told me I couldn't be a hero, the one thing I always wanted in my life. So I used every single thing that each of you all told me I couldn't do, and I trained myself to do the opposite. I trained my quirk to subconsciously be constantly active all the time to cover my blind spot and improve my depth perception. I spent my time watching, always watching and observing others, watching you, so I could be creative to compensate for my weaker grasp of my own quirk since I couldn't train it properly. I spend an hour every single day jogging to keep my lungs strong, since my doctors said I couldn't expect to live a normal life! I pushed myself to my limits countless times because even though you gave up on my dream when I got injured, I never did!"
"Iri-" He starts to say as he stands as well.
"AND I PROVED EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WRONG!" I bellow out at him as the tears flow from my eye. "I JUST PLACED SECOND IN THE UA SPORTS FESTIVAL, USING ONLY THE SKILLS I'VE TAUGHT MYSELF! I DID IT WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT!" I feel the sobs take over then as I bring my hand up to wipe the tears, my strength sapped and my weakness showing. "Why... Why couldn't you support me, daddy?"
"Because I can't lose you too." He says brokenly as he engulfs me into a hug, my body feeling tiny compared to his. "I can't lose you like I lost your mother. You were so close to d-dying that day, I never wanted to feel that again. I never w-want to get that phone call again that my daughter is in the hospital on life support."
"But can't you see?" I ask softly, my tear stained face pressed into his torso. "That's why I want to be a hero. So that the next time an innocent mother and child are taken by an evil person, I can be there to save them, and save them both. I want to be a hero so there can be less victims."
"I'm... I am sorry, Irisa, for making you feel like I didn't support you." He says as he holds me even tighter. "I just... can't lose you. You are at a disadvantage out there, villains won't hesitate to target those weaknesses."
"Stop seeing me as a broken girl who's going to shatter at any moment." I scowl at him as I pull away. "Everyone, everywhere, has a weakness. Mine may be a little more on display than others, but that just made me train harder to overcome it. I get it dad, I do, I'm crippled. But my handicap doesn't make me any less capable."
"Recovery Girl already informed me about how you furthered the damage to your lungs. I know you want to pretend that injury doesn't exist because it's not visible, but it's still there." He counters quietly as he looks at me sadly.
"I got mad and I pushed myself too far today. And I already learned my lesson, I think my failure in my final fight was evidence of that." I grumble as I cross my arms, but feel the need to plead my case before I pass out from exhaustion. "But I've improved so much since going to UA. I've gained friends dad, real friends who don't even mention my eye or think less of me for it. I've trained with them and become more versatile and comfortable. I've started to become my own person, and I've gained confidence I've only ever faked in the past. Please dad, please accept that I'm at UA for a purpose, and please accept that I'm going to be a hero. I hate... I hated lying to you, but I feared your rejection even more. Please, can you support me as much as you do Inasa?"
"Irisa..." He says after a heavy silence. "I never meant to make you feel like you were less than your brother. I never wanted you to feel isolated from your peers. I just wanted you to be safe. But... I can see you're a lot like me, you're a Yoarashi, and we always find that one thing to be stubborn about." He gives a weak chuckle as I look back up to him, feeling a glimmer of hope build in my chest. "Once we hate something, we hate it. Once we love something, we love it to death. Once we set a goal, not a force in this earth can stop us from achieving it."
"Does... does this mean I can stay at UA? I can stay with my class?" I ask with trepidation. "Does this mean you support me being a hero?"
"It means that I understand you." He says with resignation. "It will take me time to come to terms with you putting yourself into danger for a career I don't approve of for you. You'll have to give me that time, it goes against my own goal to keep you safe. But... for now... you may stay at UA in the hero course." My eyes widen at his acceptance, even if it's only partial. "I expect you to train hard and prove to me this isn't a mistake."
"I will!" I say fervently as I nod my head vigorously. "I'm going to excel! I'm at the top already, but I'm going to fight to stay there!"
"Cocky." He mutters out under his breath, but I still hear it and giggle lightly. "The old lady says you can't use your quirk for a week. Once you're cleared, you will begin training with me. You may have gotten far on your own, but I can still see many weaknesses with your quirk usage. I will not go easy on you, either. If you think you can handle being a hero, you will endure my training." He says firmly as he points his finger at me.
"You say all that like it's a punishment." I observe with a glowing grin on my face. "I haven't gotten to train with you since I was six. I can't wait to beat you into the ground, old man." I say confidently before I start to sway from exhaustion.
"Go to sleep." He says with a glare. "Your punishment is that you're going to clean the entire estate, by hand, with no quirk, every day for the next week. I already let the staff have a week off. And you're grounded. For forever." He finishes grumpily as he walks out of the study. "Get to bed before I take your phone too!" He barks out at the door since I haven't moved from my spot.
I squeak and run out of the room, going straight to Inasa's room. He's not in there, so he must be waiting in mine. I find him pacing with a storm of wind nervously flowing around him once I open my door.
"Iri-ne!" Inasa yells out once he sees me, floating over to me quickly and grasping my shoulders. "I am so sorry I couldn't be there with you!! How did it go?! Did you stand your ground? Did you yell? I can see tears, did you cry?! Why do you have so many bandages on still?! Are you tired from the fighting or from the fighting!?"
"Ina-nii!" I slap him as hard as I can straight across the face to get him to stop yelling questions at my face, my palm stinging from the force, but he just grins sheepishly at me to let me know he's fine. "It's ok you couldn't be in there, no need to be sorry. It went odd but well, he's letting me stay at UA in my class for now at least. I stood my ground, I yelled a little bit. I cried a little bit too, but it's ok! The bandages are because I was in two intense back to back fights today. I'm tired from both the fighting and the other type of fighting." I answer all his questions in the order I remember them. "I'm going to pass out now." I add as I feel my vision going black for the third time today.
Inasa catches me, still ranting about something as he places me in my bed, but I'm already drifting off to sleep so I don't catch any of it. I vaguely feel him take off my eyepatch for me and pull the blanket over me though, so I fall asleep comfortably with a small smile. Today could have gone a lot worse, and while I didn't get our father's full acceptance, I'm at least not lying to him anymore and I'm allowed to continue training to be a hero. My dreams are one step closer to being achieved.