Divided Minds

17

"Deku's going to fail", she could distinctively hear Kirishima mumble

She turned and faintly asked,"What did you call him?"

"Deku",he replied offering a confused face,"That's his hero name."

Blankly she turned back to the monitors. Izuku had taken the nickname Bakugou constantly used to bash and harass him. The nickname that meant "useless", but why?

She helplessly watched as Izuku ran through the hallways an angry bakugou running after him. Ururaka silently sneaking around, Iida stationed by the bomb.

By the looks of it, Bakugou wasn't cooperating and seemed only interested in chasing her brother. She hated the fact the monitors didn't have audio making it harder on her.

"What's your hero name? I've already got mine!",Kirishima grinned

"I'd never given mine much thought", she replied happy for a distraction

"I've looked forward to giving myself my own name. For you...firecracker!"

She grimaced and shook her head,"No."

"Fire wall!!",Kaminari shouted earning various shushes from the others in the room

"Fire wall?", she laughed out, "I sound like a computer program."

"Hey you're actually onto something",Kirishima nodded along

"There will be time to think of a proper name."

They both gave each other amused smiles, but it disappeared as their eyes turned to the screen. She turned and she wished she hadn't. Izuku stood badly injured, barely holding up as Bakugou stood before him untouched.

"Sir! Call it off!", Yaoyorozu yelled as All Might stood still, gaze fixated on the fight displayed in front of everyone

She looked between him and the screens. He was the teacher, wasn't he seeing how hurt Izuku was?

"All Might!", she snapped, but her tone quickly softened"Call it off!"

Izuku was talking to Bakugou, but she couldn't make it out as his mouth moved rapidly. Then with a swift movement they both lunged, however Izuku delivered a heavy blow.

Not towards Bakugou but up towards the ceiling, the impact was so big it tore through and all the way to where Iida was stationed. Izuku and Ururaka won.

Relief was soon flooded by anger as she turned to the hero before her. However she couldn't say anything because  All Might wore an expression of utmost pride.

"The Heroes Win!!!",he proudly yelled into the microphone

"I'd be damned",Kaminari said letting out a low whistle,"Your brothers got moves."

"Yeah..he does",but her eyes weren't on her victorious brother but on her teacher

After everyone had gone, the class was over. She'd practically flown back towards the locker room, tossed on her uniform and ran to the infirmary. The others were aware of the reason and Ururaka was nice enough to take care of her bag.

She rapidly knocked on the infirmary door until, recovery girl opened. An annoyed expression on her wrinkled face.

"Ah the Midorya girl, come in. He's over-", she didn't need to finish, she'd spotted him immediately

"Izuku?", she called out as she approached

He was sitting up right on the bed, his arms bandaged but looking alright. He turned his eyes sparkling.

"I won. I won Kacchan",he muttered in disbelief

"You did. You damn nerd", shegrinned but grabbed his ear yanking it,"You idiot! What's this I hear about Deku?"

His face turned a light shade of pink,"I-I its complicated but I'll make it a name that shows the opposite of what it means."

"I see."

His firmness and determination made her sigh as she released her hold on him. Taking his physique in, she could take in the obvious body muscle he'd built. He used to be so small and scrawny but now he was as well built as Bakugou. She grinned a sense of pride washing over.

"How about we train together?", she offered

"Yeah let's do it",he nodded

After getting the recovery girl's permission, they were both walking home. With Iida and Uruaka tagging along.

"You were amazing deku!",Ururaka gushed,"You were also a good villian Iida!"

"Thank you, though I much prefer staying on the hero side",Iida replied adjusting his glasses,"however I've got to say you had a good chance of winning as well."

"Thanks", she replied,"I'll see you guys tomorrow."

She waved as they walked in the opposite direction of them. Her brother also bid his goodbye but she noticed the way he tiptoed around her.

"Are you upset?"he asked suddenly

"What? No, a little but there's always tomorrow to win", she reassured him as the house came into view.

Opening the door their mother greeted her, her soft smile on her face.

"Welcome home."

"We're going to go train at the beach",Izuku informed her as he rushed into his room

She smiled faintly,"Hun."

She hummed in response as she exited her room, throwing on a jacket.

"How was school?",she asked

She slowly looked up,"..fine",an awkward silence

There had been a time where her asking such a simple question would've meant the world. Now however she wanted to stop relying on her validation. It felt nice, liberating in a weird way. She'd never felt so relieved to see her brother as in that moment.

"We're off!",he yelled as they rushed outside

[....]

Their mother stood in the empty house, her gaze focused on the now closed door. She turned away, entering her little bedroom. She had pictures of their little family placed on her drawers.

"She's starting to resemble him more and more", she muttered as she picked up a hidden picture behind her bed, as her hands trembled.

She found it difficult sometimes to be around her own daughter. Her eyes even though they resembled hers, felt cold no matter how much she tried. She wished the hero commission didn't get involved.