stop waiting for your hero,
be your own

"YOU'RE PUSHING YOURSELF TOO HARD." Ever since the sludge monster attack, Izuku had transformed into another person. With his new trainer, he declared that he would get into UA, no matter what. Ivette and Inko were surprised and had their own doubts; nonetheless, they supported him, abiding by the training plan supplied to Izuku.

Ivette watched her brother lift weights at his desk, using his other hand to scribble notes in his book. Izuku jumped upon hearing her voice, almost dropping his dumbbell. "I-Ivette." He turned to the door, noticing her leaning against the entryway.

"Go to sleep, Izuku," she said. "You'll just wear yourself out if you continue."

"I have to keep going." Izuku looked at his hands, fingers curled around the metal. His eyes burned with an obstinate determination. "If I'm going to get into UA, I have to do all I can. To be like All Might."

"̷͍̳͂̾̆͒̀̈́̅͜͝H̵͚̳͖̳̥̪̮̻͖̞̀̌̀͗̆͠e̴̩̅̍͗̌̾̅'̵̡̢͓̪̼͙̭̮̪̅͐̂̑̏̊̋͜͝ͅs̴͕̭͖̲̿̿̈́́͊̓ ̴̳̅̓̌̓̀̅͝h̶̛̟̮̀͗͠͝ĩ̷̤̳̠͙̻͙͚̉̎̒̽̐͘͝ͅḑ̴̨̜͉͖̯̥̣͎̍i̶̛̱͉͔͉̣͉̗͇͌̇͂̓́̕͘n̷̨͎̲͈̼͔͔̲͆́̐̾́̊̊̾̒g̵̳̰̤̠̩̝̩̳̳̍̽ ̸̝̱̝̽͑̏͋̿̏́͝s̷̗͉̰̺͍̹͑̂ǫ̷̳̭̻̱́̃̓̄̄m̷̭̭̠̾̾̉̂̓͗̑͗̍͛ę̴̛̼̙͕̱̙̬͉͓̯͛̉̅́̋͜t̵̥̅͒̈͜͝ḩ̵̢̡͖̙͕̠͙̻̼͚̄̇̌͆i̶̧̲͎̼͉̘̠̱͖̳͚͒̐̌͆̔̿͘͝n̵̨̢̛͙̓̑̐̃͊̐͠͝g̵͓̯̖̲̺̦͉̘͎̱̩̿̒̽̏.̵̻̤̑̒̀"̷̢̛͎̠̯̞̇͛̕͝

Ivette watched him with narrowed eyes. Under her piercing gaze, Izuku was reminded of how daunting his twin sister could be. She had a presence that demanded attention, demanded caution, and above all, demanded respect.

"Alright," she hummed. Ivette turned on her heel, making her way back to her bedroom opposite his, opening the door and shutting it gently, mindful of their sleeping mother in the room next door.

Izuku stared at her door.

He wondered how she'd react if he told her his secret.

She's my sister. Surely I can tell her, he thought. His mind brought back the promise he made to All Might, and he shook his head. I can't. Not yet, at least.

( unfortunately, he was not aware that his sister had the power of telepathy. ivette already knew every dirty little secret )

༺═──────────────═༻

"Good luck," wished Ivette, watching Izuku tie up his shoelaces. He had come back from his training at the beach, and Ivette could proudly say that her brother was no longer a scrawny kid. Although he retained his nervous and anxious habits, Izuku looked buff and muscular — a vast contrast to her lazy self.

"Arigato!" And with that, Izuku made his way out the door, beginning a new life for himself.

Ivette, for the majority of the day, lounged around, conversing with her voice in her head to pass the time. She offered a hand in helping completing the chores, opting to do Izuku's as well since she had the time. Once all those were done, she read her books.

You see, Ivette had already completed her entrance exam. With no need to be a hero, and no need to apply to a hero course, Ivette simply took a test for a school nearby, acing it with flying colours.

Ivette was smart; plus, she studied for it.

Not really much to study, she mused, flicking her legs in the air, eyes trained onto the book held above her face. Japan's educational system for the repressed is quite easy.

"̸̱̩̻̕͘P̶̳̻̯͑̎ŗ̴̗͇̈́͠e̴̩̞̿a̵̹̘̣̚c̴̛̟̲͖̊ẖ̶̼̉.̶̺͎̋ ̷̧̆T̴̻̆h̴͔͔̺̆̅i̶̩͋͊͒ņ̵̍̕k̷͍̭̗̇̄ ̷͎̱̋͗w̵͕̒e̵͉̓̐͗ ̷̟̃s̷̹̋h̴̫̠̥̀ŏ̷̭̽ü̵̟̗̣l̸̜͝͠d̸̗̯̓͊ ̷̪͈̭̇̓̊c̷͎̤̪̈͠ẖ̵̯̃͌̊ȧ̵̩̏͜ṉ̴͎̣͛g̸̥͆̓e̶͖͛̕ ̸̮͚̈̐̔ṯ̴͗h̶͙͎͛͛͝a̵̧̨̟͊́͘ţ̷̦̈́͂̕?̸̦͇͉̑ ̵̛̩̆O̶̰͓͛̉͘p̵̛͔̝͇p̷̟̅̈̕r̵̖̆̓e̴̡̛̙̟͒s̷̙͆͐̿s̵̪̺͙͌̌͝ ̷̗̣̽t̸̢̳̊̈́͘h̴̗͓͗̌ē̸̡͔ ̷̱̾̔̋r̸̼̦͉͗e̸̜̒̍p̸̤̠͋r̸͇̈̒͜e̴̪͕̝͋ŝ̷̥͚͝s̷̳͆o̷̻͈̍̋̌r̵̖̹̎̋s̶̨͍̣͛̚?̶̟̜͋̆͑"̷̬̘̰̋͝ ̸̺͝

No. It's not worth our time.

༺═──────────────═༻

A frown tugged at her lips upon seeing the dejected expression on Izuku's face. They sat around the table, bowls of food placed before them.

"Izuku? Izuku?" called their mother worriedly. "Why are you smiling at the fish?"

"Oh, gomen! I'm fine!" He scarfed down his rice, and the two females glanced at each other. They knew something hadn't gone right.

Rather than telling her family her results for her entrance exam, which she aced, Ivette stood from the table, gathering their empty plates once dinner ended. "I'll clean the dishes," she said, heading over to the sink. Ivette didn't want to dampen Izuku's mood more.

She listened as his mother attempted to cheer up Izuku, congratulating him for just partaking in the exams. When Inko left, Ivette washed her hands, turning off the tap and making her way over to the couch.

"Zuku—"

The door to their apartment burst open, their mother scrambling in on her knees. "Izu-Izu-Izu...! Izu-Izu-Izu...Izuku! It's here! It came!" She held out the white envelope sealed with UA's logo in wax. "It's here!"

Izuku retired to his room, wanting a bit of privacy.

"Do you think he'll pass?" mumbled Inko nervously, pacing outside her son's door.

"̴͕̀̽ͅW̷̧͎͛̂ǐ̶̮ͅţ̸̱͐h̸̄͋ͅ ̷̩̰̼̃͑ẇ̸̮͇̅̈́h̷̳͕̯͗a̵̩̫͚̽̽t̵̬́̀͝ ̶̧͚̳̀̂̐ḣ̶̺̠̅͗à̶̭̄͂p̵͔̬̺͑p̷͇͇̣̿ḛ̸̌̅̒n̷̝̈́e̶͖͘d̴̟͚̻̍̇ ̷̹͗̒ṱ̵͎͑̏̾͜o̵̞̪̓͆ḑ̵̧͎̑a̵͍̱̼̿y̴̥̅̀̚,̶̗́ ̶̹͔̇̓͐͜Į̷̖̫̓̎ ̷̢̙͚͑͐d̴̳̼͐̀o̵͇̤̔̿ͅu̴̡̪̝̒̓̋b̴̫̓t̸̨̬̒̈́̓ͅ ̷̬͆̅͝t̵̗͑ͅh̴͉͈͂͠ͅa̵̺̱̾t̷͉̞̿̈͝ͅ.̵͔̃̏ ̶̛͖͑͜Ẉ̴̝̦́̑h̵͎̭̺͂̿o̷̬̱̿̕ͅ ̸̯̤̆ö̶̹͓̤̑n̵̡̺̓̆͐ͅ ̴̹̟̈ẹ̸̹̒ǎ̴͍͑̐r̸̫̂t̸̼̮̘͛h̴̢̯̘̋͗̎ ̷̡̣̄̏̂w̶̹͛ȍ̴͈̕ü̵̦̺̪l̷̟̞̀d̷̯̳̀͂ ̵͙͠r̶̩̜̾̐̂͜ẻ̴̺̜̱͑́c̷̣͊r̴͚̊ṳ̸̳̀̂ȉ̸̜̹͋͛ț̷̦͝ ̵͕̼̐̊͘a̴̝͔͑͌ ̸̦̓̏b̸̦͐̓̕o̵̙̅y̵̜̅̃ ̷̭̺̳́t̸̲̭͎́̓͐ḩ̶̦̮͗ä̷͎ẗ̶̢̬̜̿̽ ̴͇̇s̶̝͂ẖ̵͖̿͒a̷̯̠̅̃͝ẗ̴̟̥́̑͘t̴͓̉̓͘͜e̵̝͔̱͊ȓ̶̭͇͇̐̏è̵̦͋͝d̶̦̾͌ ̸͙̂͒͜h̴͖͐̚i̸̯̒̽ş̵̯̂̋̓ͅ ̶̬̑͆ẅ̵̭́͘ḣ̷̯̄͛o̶̬̥͍̔̋l̷̠̞̬̋͑͝e̶̡͇̜̅̎͂ ̵̻̖̞͝å̴̩͝ŗ̴̺͓͑̉̃m̸̭̳͉̕?̸̳͎̀̓"̴͍͑̆͐

Ivette shrugged, leaning against the wall.

"Who knows?"

They waited, anxiety gnawing at their insides.

Ivette looked up, hearing the pounding footsteps. The door to Izuku's room was thrown open, and the boy in question stood with tears tumbling down his face. "I GOT IN!"

Surprise washed over them, followed by pride; broad grins stretched across their faces. "Well done, Izuku!" cried their mother, eyes watering. She lunged for her son, wrapping him in the biggest hug. "Let's eat cake!"

"Cake?"

They walked towards the kitchen, where Ivette headed straight to the fridge.

"Ivette made some." He turned towards the said girl, seeing her take out a plate. His eyes widened in shock and awe, seeing his sister's cursive handwriting spell out congratulations in the centre.

Izuku whirled over to her.

"You made this for me?"

A soft smile curled at her lips, and she nodded. "I knew you could do it."

Izuku's lips quivered, tears returning in their voyage down his cheeks.

"IVETTE!"

She didn't tell him that she had planned to eat it all if he didn't get in.

"̴͈͇͉̜͍̆̎W̸͉͔͚̋̈́͐ͅę̷̱̣͇͎͚̈́̀̍͝ ̶̻̠͚̺͎͙̌̿̌̉́͠s̸̗͇͆̽̓ḧ̶̼̥̠́̋̍͑ò̶̘̗̖̮̻̙ử̴̺͙͉̯̃l̸̢̛͙̋͑͜d̸̛͖̰̘͎̉̈́͠'̸̡̘̗̜̞̟͗̄v̸̗̱͓́̓͋̈́ẹ̸͉̖͗͆͆͑ ̷̨̜̬͍͉̑͛͋̅̕͝e̴̘̬̓ą̶̞̣͎̭͗͂̑̓̈́ţ̵̛̦̻̩̫͊̿̀͠e̵̙͒ņ̴͔̟̬̌̒ ̷͎͓̦̮̻̀͠ͅi̸͎̼͚͇̐̋̓̾̌͝t̶̩͇͙̜̬̓̏̽ ̴̝̣̤̈́̈̇͝ͅȃ̷͖ľ̵̹͔͂̇̍̾̚l̵̖̳̭̥̑.̵̜̫̎̈́͐̈́͊"̵̮̗͈̜͖̀̏͐͋

The three Midoriya's ate gleefully, sharing laughter and tears of joy. A homey ambience surrounded them, cocooning them in blankets of warmth and love. With Izuku passing and Ivette passing as well, the three of them were ecstatic and content with their future.

But those cracks still lingered.

Haunting like pesky ghosts.

As they were eating, Izuku suddenly remembered an important detail of his life.

"Oh! I met my soulmate today!"

The two gawked at him.

"AND YOU'RE ONLY TELLING US NOW?!" exclaimed their mother, eyes wide and hands moving around frantically. Happiness bloomed in Ivette's chest, snaking around her heart. She glanced down, finally noticing the faint pink band around his wrist.

Ivette looked at hers, seeing three grey bands.

I hope I never see the colour.

Now, don't get it wrong, Ivette didn't hate soulmates; it was the opposite, really. She adored them, primarily when she was younger. But things change. With her quirks manifestation, Ivette wanted nothing more than to keep it a secret. She did not doubt that she would be a prime target should the information get leaked. Therefore, she invested in a choker to suppress her quirk.

The only flaw?

It did not shut up the entity in her head.

"̴̢͆͗I̴̹͆̌ ̵͖̮͠ŝ̷͈̳̔t̶̟̍̾i̶̦̎l̶̡̄l̸̨̟͛̀ ̸̩́̆͜t̸̨͎͐̂h̴̪́̉i̷̭̫͊n̷̝̐͜k̷̥̀ ̸̪͎͒͑i̵̺͆t̶̘̼͐'̵̟͛s̸̻͕͂̎ ̶͎̝̔̆a̸͖͂͜ ̵̳̲̉b̵̠͒̔a̸̙̮͋̈́d̷̩̦̈̔ ̷͓͊i̵̱͒d̵͔̑̅͜e̷̻͐̍a̸̙͉̿.̶̨̛̤̚ ̸̗͙̏W̸͙̃͐ͅe̸̻̓ͅ ̷̠̟͆͘ş̷͓̽h̷̥̜̅̂o̷̞͘u̵͉͌͜ļ̶͓̈́d̷͉̩͘ ̸͖̥̒̅r̸̠̝̅̌u̵̩̝̿l̸͈̊ė̷̢ ̸̥͚͘t̶̹́ḧ̶̫̝́͠e̶̫̞̒ ̸̞͠w̸̦̱̔̿o̸̢̡̚r̶͇͖͆̃l̵͍̙̂̊d̵̯̀,̸̯͖̋ ̸̭̞͂̋n̴̼̕o̴͚͙̒̐t̸̥́ ̷̡̾ḫ̴͔̇̊i̶̱͎̇̉d̴̺̲̆̆e̴̼̬̕ ̶̭̜͒f̷͙̒ṟ̶͊̅ȏ̷̗͝ṃ̸̦̑̽ ̸͓͠i̷̯͉̓ṭ̵̊̽.̷̰̅"̷̹̽

It's for the best. Her eyes focused on the grey bands wrapped around her wrist.

You see, in this world of theirs, everybody is born with a band on their wrists. How many bands a person had depended on how many soulmates they had. Every band started grey, blank. When a person's quirk manifested, that band changed colour, provided your other soulmate's quirk had also manifested. If they hadn't, then the bands would stay blank.

Ivette wanted hers to remain grey.

No matter what.

༺═──────────────═༻

The morning sang with beautiful harmony — the sun smiled down at its people, the birds chirped blithely, and the breeze waved heartily, providing music to the dancing leaves. All in all, it was a marvellous morning, one filled with bliss and tranquillity.

"I'll see you after school," said Izuku, waving goodbye to his sister as they split up, taking their different paths to school. Ivette rose her hand, watching him leave. Her lips quirked upwards, and she proceeded down the new route, eyes absorbing the area and memorising it into her brain.

Ivette's school wasn't anything special. The greenette, on her first day, kept to herself, not intending to make any friends. She just needed to study and graduate, and then she could do whatever she wanted with her life.

Meanwhile, in UA High School, two soulmates encountered each other. After the explosion of threats Bakugo made towards the austere boy, Iida, Kirishima pulled him aside, discussing their bond.

They were both very accepting, albeit slightly hesitant. One thought, he's so amazing; why would he ever want me as his soulmate?

The other thought, you're mine, i'm yours; please stay and try to see through my aggressive nature...and understand.

Bakugo recognised Kirishima from the entrance exam. He placed second, a few points below him, and because of that, he developed a fond respect for the redhead.

During their quirk assessment, the two realised Todoroki was also their soulmate. Once school had ended, they discussed everything together: as they expected, Todoroki accepted the bond.

Although, fear shone in his eyes.

He thought, i'm scared, but I want to experience love. Can you help me?

"I don't know if it's just me," started Kirishima, sitting on one of the park benches, "but I've seen our other band go green multiple times."

The sun was setting, an array of red, orange and yellow. Magnificent. And oh, so warm.

Bakugo quirked a brow. "When?"

"Mainly last year. Twice this year."

"I felt the bond around then," Todoroki confessed quietly, gathering their attention. "The bond with our fourth."

Kirishima perked up. "And now?"

Todoroki shook his head. "I think I might have imagined it..." He rose his arm, eyes trailing to the single grey band around his wrist, spotting the same on the others' wrist. "After all, its still grey."

"I guess you're right," sighed Kirishima, leaning back against the bench, gaze upon the clouds. "I wonder if it's a girl or boy."

Bakugo followed his gaze. "I have a feeling it's a girl."

And I think I may know who it is.

༺═──────────────═༻

"Don't give up, Zuku." Currently sat around their dining table, Ivette rubbed her brother's back comfortingly. He recounted the events of his first day: his failure in the quirk assessment tests. "You've just begun. I know you can do this."

Izuku's lips quivered, and she smiled sympathetically, wrapping him in a side hug, making do with the uncomfortable position.

"I believe in you." 

He buried his face into her shoulder. "Arigato, Ivette."

༺═──────────────═༻

Settling into their new routines, the Midoriya twins began to see less and less of each other. With Izuku focused on his hero training and Ivette focused on her general studies, they barely had time to hang out. The only time they properly had a conversation was at dinner, the moment where all three of them conversed and bonded as a family.

When Izuku returned home with his arm in a cast, worry propagated through Ivette.

"What the hell are they making you do there?!" she roared, eyes flaring with anger.

Izuku was quick to calm her down, panicking and explaining that it was practically his fault.

Ivette purely snarled, the choker around her neck pulsing.

She froze, recognising the sign. I don't need to break it anytime soon.

"Ivette, please. It's okay."

Said girl crossed her arms over her chest, huffing and ignoring her mother's scolding. "Had I not known how determined you are to be a hero, I would've forced you out of that daft school."

Izuku laughed, thanking his sister for her concern. "But I'll be good as new in no time." He grinned, lips spread wide, displaying his pearly white teeth.

"̴̢͔̓̂Y̸̢͗ò̵̥̅ͅṷ̸̓̽ ̸͇̬́͠d̸̻̟̿̚o̷̙̯̚ṋ̵̅'̸͙̄͒ţ̸͕̓ ̵̜͐ņ̴̟̒̒e̵̢͕̕ë̴͔͍͆d̵͇̬̊ ̶̡̺̓t̷͇̪͌o̸̡͊ ̵̳͑l̴͚̓ó̷̱̰o̶̝̼͒k̷̮̀ ̸̖̣̔ḟ̷̻͖̍ū̴͕r̴͉̂̕ţ̶̬̉́ẖ̴̄͜͠e̷͉͂́r̶͎͘ ̷̭̌͜f̸̫͛r̶͍̝̓o̷̘͈͗̔m̴̮͍̍̓ ̷̦̀y̷̦͠ͅo̴̼̫͗͆ǘ̷̦r̷̥̲͗̒ ̷̬̉õ̷̼w̸̛͚͖͋n̷͚͎̾̾ ̶̨̏b̷̪̽̉r̵̲͇̀o̷̱͛t̸̖̙̃͝h̷̹̠͊e̸͉̼̚r̵̳̠̀̇ ̸͍̆̿t̸͕͖̔͒o̶͙͒ ̴̙̊͑s̷̬̭̾̈ę̴͙͊e̴̬͙͒ ̵͇̕t̴̩͈̎h̶̬͊͌͜ȩ̸̤̃ ̸̗͠v̴̳̻͒ḭ̴́̈́c̸̛̣̠̐t̶̺̹̃̊i̷̞̗͗m̴̯̒s̸̛̱ ̸̢͇͗ȏ̷̝̟f̷͕̈́̽ ̴̟̅̄t̸̳̃h̴̯͔͂i̷͎͋s̵̭̈́̈ ̶͎͌͘t̶̳͍̓̎o̸̘̖̎x̴͎̯͒i̷̳͖̊č̴͍̙ ̴̹̦̆h̴̖̥́̃ȩ̴͓̃̏r̵̼̯̆o̷̤̪̊̕ ̸̨̼͒̂w̵͚̍̓o̴̭͝r̷̩̅ĺ̶͔̼͠d̷̪͛̀.̸̛̤̆"̸͍͇̀

Ivette only frowned.