In His Eyes

XXXV

Iida Tenya, second and last son of the Iida household, was a constant disappointment. Or at least he thought he was one.

He wasn't as heroic or friendly as his brother, he wasn't as smart or skilled as his mother, he definitely wasn't as successful or known as his father. He was simply... there.

Tenya did not doubt his parents, they were some of the most responsible people he knew, but he couldn't help but think that he only came into being because of a faulty condom. He never asked his parents, that would just be rude.

He was the second son and the last son, he had a lot of expectation on his shoulders, and he fulfilled none of it.

He couldn't control his quirk, his eye sight was shitty (excuse his language), his studying skills were on par with a lazy student (his parents told him he had ADHD but Tenya still felt responsible for his lack of knowledge), his social circle was very, very small. The list goes on and on about how much of a failure Tenya believed he was.

Sure his parents praised him and his brother was always so confident about what Tenya could do, and Tenya was grateful for all of their kind words. He was always angry with himself for not believing them and making a fuss, but he couldn't help but think he was a nothing.

He came from a wealthy household, he was always taken care of and had many advantages over other students, so why couldn't he reach the goals he's supposed to reach? Why does his brother keep walking farther and farther ahead while Tenya himself keeps circling the same, small enclosure?

Why was Tenya such a disgrace?

He was loud, yes he saw it, you would have to be a fool not to. He was brash, he was unlikable, he was clumsy, he was as smart as the next person, but his family kept saying that he was a genius.

Why?

Why did his family keep saying those things? Why didn't they see the truth? Their son, the second and last son, is a nothing. No accomplishments, no trophies, no actions worthy of noting. He had done nothing, he had said nothing, he was nothing.

Tenya kept his head up and his words to himself, but the longer he did that, the more the thoughts build up.

Disgrace

Failure.

Useless.

Stupid.

Broken.

A Lie.

Midoriya never believed what Tenya said about himself. He never scolded Tenya for thinking that way either, opting to explain that he did have a lot weighing on his shoulders and that it was normal to think like that. Tenya's sense of being alienated lessened when he heard that. He wasn't the only one who felt that way, there were others who thought like him. Midoriya showed Tenya some of these people, and Tenya was shocked to see that each and every one of them was astounding. He loudly declared what he thought and was shocked to find out that that was how other people saw him. They didn't see a worthless son, they saw a blossoming child. Midoriya talked and talked to Tenya and often let the elder boy show off. He built up confidence in Tenya, and Tenya was forever thankful. He still had negative thoughts, but when he did he repeated what Midoriya told him.

He was Iida Tenya, the second and last son, and he won't let others mark his goals for him.

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Midoriya Eri. She liked the name, but did she deserve it?

Who's fault was it that her original mother was dead?

Who's fault is it that Grandma almost died too?

Who's fault is it that all those people got hurt?

Who's fault is it that Grandma now needs a better job?

Hers. It was all her fault.

She shouldn't have been born, she shouldn't have talked to the masked man, she shouldn't have run away when the attack happened.

It was all her fault, and she did nothing to help.

Her new mama was stressed, he was always stressed. But he kept hiding it and helping her new uncles and her instead of helping himself. She could see that he was hurting, so why couldn't she do anything?

Her new papa got a job for her, he was always tired and she could tell he felt guilty about something. Something that was probably her fault.
Her papa was suffering through a job for her, why did she make him feel guilty?

Her uncles always played with her and smiled with her, but they were hurting too. Why, after all the times they made her smile, couldn't she make them smile?

Why were her uncle Touya and Tenko always so tense? Why was auntie Toga so antsy? Was it because of her? Was it because they were scared she would bring more trouble around?

Eri gripped her toy block tighter.

Why was she so useless?

Why couldn't she help mama or papa or her uncles or her grandma or her grandpa, who always seemed to be stuck in a memory when he went quiet for to long.

Eri didn't notice the tip of her finger had been sliced on the block.

What good had come from her being around?

She was startled out of her deep thought when Midoriya grabbed her off of the ground. Eri looked at him and saw the bags under his eyes.

"Look at that, you've hurt yourself. Let's go clean that up, okay?"

Eri nodded along with his words and put her uninjured and into her mama's hair. She kept silent when Izuku rinsed off the blood and made a small whimper when he added the peroxide. He bandaged her finger up quickly and set her back down.

"All better?"

Eri looked at her finger and flexed it slowly. She looked up to Midoriya and smiled, "It feels better! Thanks, mama!"

Eri watched Midoriya smile. It was a small one, no teeth showed. But it was genuine. Eri's worries grew a little bit smaller.

She made her mama happy.