ââ//ââ//ââ//ââ//ââ//ââ//ââ//ââ//ââ//â
!TW! Suicidal ideation, smoking, mentions of violence
đ€â° Wishing on stars đ€â°
Noaâs quirk alerted her of an approaching presence. Hebi was a snake-like being, which provided them with faint heat-detecting abilities, so Noa, by proxy, had a built-in radar system. She could tell by the opposing temperatures that her brother had come to find her.
âHey, Sho.â She muttered without looking up, removing an ear bud.
Shoto sat down on the roof next to her, crossing his legs. âItâs dangerous up here.â
âYeah,â Noa sighed. âI know.â
He meant well, of courseâ but sometimes, when he cared too much, it could come off as just slightly patronizing. Occasionally, it was sort of endearing. Most of the time it made her feel like a child.
âBut look,â Noa said, pointing at the sky. âIt's so pretty.â
Shoto looked up, craning his neck. âThe stars?â
âHm.â Her brotherâs head tilted to the side a bit, and he squinted at the clouds. âIt is pretty, I guess.â He shrugged. âItâs just always there. There isnât much to look at after youâve seen them once.â
Noa looked over at him, his smooth, unchanging face, the red hair spilling over his scarred eye. A small smile made her purse her lips.
âI firmly disagree.â She said pleasantly. âI could never tire of them.â
Shoto glanced at her, and gave her a soft smile. The white side of his hair was ruffled by a gentle breeze. The unmarred grey eye twinkled underneath the moonlight.
Itâd been ten years since she was adopted, and Noa still wasn't able to define their relationship. It was⊠less than siblings, but more than training partners. There was no denying that they were family, but the bond between them defied basic explanation.
There was an understanding, though. A deep, intrinsic knowledge that whatever one was going through, the other was very likely experiencing the exact same thing. Their pain was mutual. The excessive amount of training they endured together bound them in a way that nothing else could. They had an odd sense of respect for one anotherâ they knew each other better than they knew themselves.
She didn't show it well, but Noa cared about her brother more than she cared about anything.
âAre you worried about school tomorrow?â Shoto asked, breaking her from her thoughts.
Noa frowned, caught. âHowâd you know?â
âYouâre on the roof again.â He said with a shrug. âYou always come up here when youâre worried.â
She fought off a smile. The boy wasn't wrong, but of course he knew that.
âI come up here when Iâm anything .â She corrected.
Shoto huffed through his nose. Her light sarcasm and little jokes often left him confused, but heâd gotten used to it over time. Heâd even grown somewhat fond of it.
âThereâs nothing to be anxious about, you know.â He said casually. Noa opened her mouth to object, but he beat her to it.
âThe other students don't matter.â Shoto said. âTheir opinions have nothing to do with our objective. As long as we focus, and keep our heads clear, we can achieve it.â
âAnd the objective isâŠâ Noa trailed off boredly, used to her brother's tangents.
He turned, looking at her dumbfounded. âHeroes, remember? Thatâs the whole reason weâre going.â
âWell yeah,â Noa rolled her eyes playfully. âBut that doesnât mean the other people at the school don't matter.â
âTheir opinions are irrelevant.â Shoto said, serious. âWe shouldn't pay them any attention.â
âOkay,â Noa lifted her hands, palms facing out. âYouâre right. Fuck âem all.â
The corners of Shotoâs mouth twitched, and he shook his head fondly. âI don't even know where you learn words like that.â
Noa smiled, crooked and teasing. âA dark, dark place, where only the most depraved people reside, saying the vilest things they can think of.â She said dramatically. âYou wouldn't last a second.â
Shoto raised an eyebrow at her, but had a strong suspicion she was joking.
Noa wiggled her fingers at him, lowering her voice to a whisper. âThe internet.â
He broke into a smile and pushed her hands away, laughing through his nose. Noa looked back at the sky, fighting off a smile. It was rare they had moments like these, where they could relax, actually enjoy each other's company instead of throwing punches. She tried her best to enjoy it while it lasted.
All jokes aside, both the siblingsâ internet usage was restricted. Noa made due with what she had.
Something caught her eye, and she gasped quietly, sitting up and leaning on her hand. âLook.â
She pointed at the sky, and Shotoâs gaze followed its direction. A thin, distant line of silver had just finished streaking across the swath of stars.
âYouâre supposed to make a wish.â Noa told him, breathless. The excitement made her eyes shine silver in the dim moonlight.
Seeing shooting stars was rare, but Noa hadn't ever been around someone else to show her enthusiasm for them. Her and Shoto shared one more glance before turning back to the sky, each of them uttering a silent plea with their thoughts.
It wasn't shocking what popped into Noaâs head. She was accustomed to seeing a hazy, blurred version of Aizawa, all those years ago, ruffling her hair. Almost every time she saw one of those combusting meteors, she would wish that she could go back to that day, do something- anything- to change the outcome. Sheâd wish that sheâd gone with him instead.
That was all usual, as far as wishes went. The shock she felt was caused by what followed afterâ a vision of her when she had escaped, jumping out the window of the building.
Only instead of Hebi saving her in the nick of time, they were too late. She splattered on the pavement in a pile of bursting blood and shattering bones.
Thatâs what she wished. That she never made it out alive in the first place. Never been thrown in the hands of Endeavor, out of the frying pan and into the fire.
From her left, Shoto looked at her, breaking her from her thoughts. No more than a second had passed.
âWhat did you wish for?â He asked in that monotone, slightly curious voice he always seemed to have.
Noa blinked, shoving her mind away, and forced a small smile. âDonât you know what everyone says about wishes? If you say them out loud, it won't come true.â She half-fibbed, shrugging casually. âSorry. My lips are sealed.â
For a moment, Shotoâs eyes grew wide. He looked at Noaâs mouth with concern, and she smiled.
âMetaphorically, Sho.â She said with affection, patting him on the shoulder. âMetaphorically.â
âOh.â He said, his face dropping.
Noa had to hold in her laugh. Having to explain her metaphors to him wasnât uncommon, and she found it endearing. She reached over and rubbed her hand over the top of his head, a gesture sheâd only learnt a few times. It was one of those rare occasions when they had physical contact outside of the training room at all.
Shoto smiled and dipped his head, shaking it to fix the mess sheâd made. He glanced up at the moon, noticing it reaching up as far as it could go.
âItâs getting late.â He said. âIâm going to get some sleep. You should too.â
Noa nodded, but waved her hand in polite dismissal. âGo without me. Iâll be down in a few minutes.â
âOkay,â Shoto said, standing up. âGoodnight.â
ââNight.â She replied, smiling as he walked back to the other side of the roof, climbing down on the porch.
It dropped once he was out of sight, and Noa sighed deeply. She closed her eyes for a second, letting the interaction register.
When the sky came back into view, she shoved her hand in the pocket of her sweatpants, and pulled out an old, smushed carton of cardboard. Had Shoto known about her habit, she would have asked him to light the cigarette for her before he left. But he didn't know, and she didn't feel like being chastised.
She pulled out her lighter and flicked it, taking a shallow puff of the cigarette. There was only a slight inhale before she blew the smoke out, not letting too much excess get in her lung.
Thatâs the thing about smoking. Not only was it unhealthy, but having one lung made it more than twice as dangerous. It was nothing short of a death sentence.
She took another shallow puff and blew the smoke out. Her eyes closed as she let the dim buzz of nicotine form. The more she smoked, the more her mind wandered.
Noa loved Shoto. Really, she didâ or at least, as much as she knew how to. He was her brother in the most complex sense of the definition. She loved all her family members, to an extent.
What she had a problem with was their situation, and Shoto would always be involved in that, no matter what. Even when pleasant, their interactions had the stain of their upbringing looming over the two of them like a gluttonous shadow.
The âsituationâ in question started not soon after sheâd been adopted. When Endeavor put her in his vehicle, strapped her in the car seat, and sped off toward his home, he had given her what he liked to call a âpep talk.â It was clear, blunt and direct. Her instructions were to move into his house, finish healing, and begin learning how to train as soon as possible.
She was to accompany Shoto on his way to the top of the hero charts, and help him get there by whatever means necessary. She would get food and shelter in exchangeâ education, running water, everything a child would physically need.
But she was strictly allowed limited interaction with the other family members. Only when she and Shoto were absolutely needed would they see the other children. Visits with his wife would be rare, and scheduled. She was to obey his instructions, and under no circumstances should she do otherwise.
Noa had listened from the backseat, looking down at her hands. Her thumb scraped against the cuticle of her forefinger, and she pushed, trying to re-open the scab that had been there months ago.
When they got to the house, Endeavor helped Noa out of the car and dropped her hand as soon as she was standing. He headed briskly inside, ushering her ahead of him. Noaâs eyes were wide as she took in what little she could of the pristine home, but she didnât see much before the door opened.
She hid behind his leg as he introduced her, giving a brief explanation to his family about why she was there. To help Shoto, he said simply.
The Todorokiâs had stared at her, most of them stunned into silence. Two of them, the oldest and youngest, had vacant expressions, but wide, blown eyes. One of them had two different hair colors split down the middle. The other had hair like snow, with one single red strand peeking up at the top.
It went like Endeavor said, mostly. She healed, started training immediately, and was put to work. She spent her afternoons in the sparring room with Shoto.
At night, though, when Endeavor went to sleep, some of the siblings learned to stay awake. Most times, it would be difficult for Noa to fall asleep, and theyâd find her hiding somewhere. When she would wake up screaming from a nightmare, they would come in and sit with her until she fell back asleep.
The visits didn't happen often, but very slowly, she came to know the siblings. Fuyumi took a liking to her, happy to finally have a sister. Her and Touya grew close before he passed.
Endeavor found out once, but it never truly stopped them. They continued to sneak around despite his threats and warnings. After the loss of their eldest sibling, though, everyone stopped leaving their rooms once the sun set.
Not much changed from there. She grew up, Shoto grew up, everyone grew up. Endeavorâs prized duo fought and fought, and leaned on one another to better their skills. More time passed. Natsuo left, and Fuyumi stayed, homeschooled them, and Endeavor never really stopped trying to get his ridiculous goal accomplished.
That night, though, a change was underway. UA would start the next morning, and the process of becoming a hero would truly begin.
It was good that she was getting out of the house, sure. It was good that she would be learning from somebody other than Endeavor or Fuyumi. Sure.
That didn't mean being around that many people would go over well, for either of the siblings. Thanks to their fatherâs sheltering, they were utterly socially inept, and neither one of them were going for the right reasons.
Shoto was going partly because he wanted to be a hero, but mainly to prove that he could do it without Endeavor. Maybe the man was forcing them to go altogether, but his son refused to do it his way.
Noa didn't want to be a hero at all.
She didn't want to go to the school, didn't want to learn about villains and citizens and ridiculous things like rescuing victims. To her, heroes were overconfident policemen. There mightâve been a few good ones, rarely, but most of them were frauds. It was an overloaded and over-appreciated profession.
More importantly, she didn't want to be around strangers. That many adolescents in one place was bound to be more than unpredictable, and with it being UA, legitimately anything could happen. People looking at her, talking to her, being around herâ she couldn't stand the thought of it. Knowing she would be perceived so much filled her with dread.
Thankfully, she would have Shoto to hide behind, but he wasn't the best with socialization either. He was likely worse at it than she was.
Tomorrow would be a disaster.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/63941974/chapters/164382949#workskin
