Thank Kami for summer break, Izuku didn’t think he would have been able to handle school and the bomb that had dropped. But at least Yui-nee didn’t have to be with her parents anymore! Living together was like having a real older sister!
They'd basically kept their heads down for the last two weeks, Yui-nee had put the apartment under Hisashi Midoriya, Izuku's father that had left for America after he'd been diagnosed Quirkless, and had gotten documents stating that she was his cousin on his father’s side. She'd even gotten a black curly wig and red contacts to match Hisashi's.
Luckily the land lady had believed the fake ID and the story that went with it. She was an emancipated minor taking care of her younger cousin for her father that was working in America to send money for his family back home. It...might have helped that she had swooned and pinched his cheek when he referred to her as Yui-nee.
They ended up ordering most of what they needed online to be delivered, Yui-nee had shown him the cards linked to a few separate bank accounts she'd created for herself.
“I was already taking money for my parents, why not take some for myself? They didn’t give me an allowance, and the people we took from wouldn’t miss it. Government officials and CEOs that have more than you could spend in a lifetime.” She'd told him.
Izuku was uncomfortable that she was using stolen money, but most of it was from emptying out her parent’s accounts after their arrest. He knew they needed money to keep a roof over their head and fed, so he didn’t make a fuss…maybe sleeping in a real bed for the first time in two months had chipped away at his morals.
Stumbling from his room Izuku shuffled into the kitchen, the sun shining through the window on a pleasant Monday morning two weeks since they moved in. He went to go to the fridge when he noticed Yui-nee in front of the coffee machine, looking like she'd pulled another all-nighter.
He stopped to stare at her, his eyes wide and the morning fog in his mind clearing when he saw her bare arms and shoulders. Ever since they’d met she wore pants and hoodies no matter the heat or exercise. Now scars patterned her exposed pale skin, over her upper arms and shoulders, one even curving from her collarbone to her shoulder. Most were pale with age but some stood out in pinks and reds. Varying in length but most were clean lines marring her flesh.
He must have made a noise since her head snapped up, those turquoise eyes zeroing in on him as she tensed. Izuku fought not to move, keeping his eyes on hers as the moments passed. Eventually she sighed as she looked away.
"It was only a matter of time till you saw them," She turned back to the coffee maker before placing a hand on her hip and looking over her shoulder at him. "Tell you what, Izu. I'll offer you an exchange, you can ask any questions about…these. But for every question I answer, I get to ask about those,” her eyes flashed to the shiny starburst scars on my bare arms. He couldn’t stop the flinch, his shoulders hunching up as his teeth found his bottom lip to worry on.
Izuku didn’t like talking about his scars, he wasn’t ashamed of them or anything! He knew if he became a hero he’d get a lot of them. Yui-nee had never asked about the scars or the bandages he knew she’d seen when they were training, but her gaze had gone cold and her jaw had clenched. If he told her the truth…he wasn’t sure if he could stop her from hurting someone.
He still nodded, if they were going to be family then he wouldn’t hide this from her. “Okay, I-I accept.” He stuttered out, his chin lifting to meet her gaze.
She tilted her head a bit as she watched him before she sighed. “I need more coffee, did you want to eat breakfast first?”
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His stomach was in knots, seeing her scars and now knowing he was going to tell her about his own, he quickly shook his head. He grabbed a juice pouch from the fridge and downed it to get rid of the gritty feelings in his mouth from just getting up. “I'm not really hungry…”
She took down the oversized mug that was bright green with cherry blossoms on it, filling it to the brim before she led the way to the living room. The coffee table was covered in wires and metal and other components Izuku wasn’t sure of. Yui-nee said she wanted to try building support weapons. She could get stuff from the villain connections her parents had introduced her to, but she said she wanted to leave that behind.
She took a gulp of coffee before she sat down on the floor, her legs crisscrossed as she looked up at him. He knelt down across from her, his hands fisted on his knees. “I’m wearing a sports bra if you want to see the rest, if you’re comfortable.”
“There’s more?” His voice squeaked out.
She nodded, “Yeah, I have more on my torso and back. A few on my legs.” Her voice had started to drop into the dry monotone that she’d had when she first met him. The tone she dropped into whenever she answered questions about her parents.
Izuku nodded, “If you’re okay showing me…” He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, he had a feeling she either didn’t like the scars because her own memories or the attention she’d get from them, maybe it was both.
Her nod was quick before she pulled the tank top over her head. Izuku felt his breath leave him like he’d just been judo flipped and slammed in the sand. Yui-nee’s torso was riddled with so many scars he was trying to figure out how she was sitting in front of him. There was one on her right side that looked like something had tried to rip a chunk out of her, a shiny ripple of burn scars over her left hip, claw and knife marks and smooth circular scars that he thought were from bullets.
“H-how?” His voice came out choked and dry, “Why? Why would anyone…you’re a kid!” Izuku had to blink back tears, Is her back this bad? I don’t think I want to know…
“Izu….villains don’t care how old you are, most of them crave the power of hurting people smaller and weaker than them.” She looked up at the ceiling, “And for the why, my mother thought the best way to learn how to fight was to put me in illegal fighting rings. I was pitted against adults, teenagers or other kids and had to survive. No one died, the guy who ran it had this woman with a healing Quirk. The only draw back was the pain of the wound tripled, and it scarred.”
“Some of the scars like these.” She ran fingers along the smooth lines on her upper arms, “Are from my mother’s knives. She only went for places that could be covered up. I learned how to stitch up the ones that went too deep when I was six? Seven? Somewhere around that age.” She looked back at him, her gaze had a fire in them, her voice came out of the monotone. “I’m not ashamed of my scars. Most of these are from when I was younger, just learning how to fight. They show that I survived shit I know regular kids would never have had to. I cover them because I don’t like people staring and they’re pretty distinctive on someone my age.” She lifted a shoulder in a shrug, before she turned around.
Her back wasn’t as bad as the front, but it did have a good amount of knife wounds. “My mother thought a good awareness test was trying to stab me in the back.” She turned back around, watching him. “You okay, Izu? We can take a break.”
He shook his head, “I-I’m fine, a-are there more?”
“Just some more knife scars on my legs. My torso is the worst of it because that’s where the internal organs are.” She took another gulp of coffee, before she looked at him, “Can you tell me about yours?” Her voice was soft and gentle and Izuku knew at the question that even though she’d shown him hers, she was giving him an out.
He gave her a soft nod before he pulled off his shirt. Compared to her, his scars seemed like nothing to him. His arms up to his shoulders had scattered starbursts of burn scars that ranged in color, from the old pale to the newer red. He had a few on his legs and torso, but his arms were the worst, and some on his back.
Yui-nee was quiet for a long time, the air conditioner kicking in made him jump at the sudden noise. “Izu, are those from the same person? That’s a distinct pattern.” Her voice was cold and hard and promised pain to someone.
“It’s really fine, Yui-nee! They’re just from rough housing with friends! The teachers at school never said anything so its really nothing!” He rushed to assure her, his hands flailing in front of him. “Kacchan has a powerful Quirk and he’s still learning how to control it!” Her hands clenched as she pulled on the tank top and stood, “Yui-nee?”
She grabbed a hoodie that was hanging on the back of the couch and yanked it on, grabbing a screwdriver from the table. “I’ll be right back, Izu. Your school is Aldera Elementary right?”