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Title: We Don't Live In Fairytales

Summary: Your life would be so much easier if your little sister wasn't such a trouble magnet, and if she wasn't constantly afflicted by weird chuunibyou delusions of being a "main character," damn it. [2nd POV, OC, AU, NaNo '17]

Rating: T

Warnings: Violence, gore, language, etc. in future chapters. More to be added, maybe?

Disclaimer: I do not own BNHA

(AN at bottom.)

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We Don't Live In Fairytales

"01. crawl out into summer rain"

.

"You'll take care of her, won't you?"

.

.

On a warm, sunny afternoon, you find yourself staring down your little kid sister in a secluded corner of the children's park. The little girl's lip wobbles ever so slightly, but to her credit, she refuses to fidget underneath the weight of your steady gaze, even as the silent seconds slowly trickle by.

… Fair enough. You'll probably never admit this to anyone, but in this moment you find yourself mildly surprised and even impressed by her mental fortitude. Although the unassuming form of a young sixteen year old doesn't exactly strike the most imposing of figures, you are well aware that you are fully capable of making (and have made, on multiple occasions) grown men tremble in their shoes when you put your mind to it… much less a little five year old child, whom you currently tower over in terms of height by sheer virtue of age alone. And yet, your little baby sister still refuses to back down.

Good.

You resist a humorless smile.

In this world, there are many things that go bump in the night, and while you might be loosely considered one of those things, you are also well aware that you are far from the worst they have to offer. Even though little Mika is only just another five year old girl at the moment, seeing this show of mental strength coming from her, this unyielding strength, is… reassuring.

You had been worried, for quite some time now, about your little sister's shy words and shyer demeanor, but it seems like you've been needlessly worrying over nothing. Living with Haru-baa-san for the past year seems to have been good for her, given that your little sister has grown from a timid little scrap into the defiant little lady you see before you now.

Still, it's one thing to be a little spitfire, and another thing entirely when being a little spitfire also means being a little brat, and dragging away your older sister from the middle of work certainly qualifies as the latter. It's a good thing that it had been good-natured Misaki-san working on the hospital's front desk shift with you and not someone like, say, ill-tempered Nanase-san, who definitely would've raised a hell of a ruckus if she caught you ditching work for something like catering to the whims of a five year old younger sibling.

When Haru-baa-san had called you earlier and mentioned something about blood and little Mika asking after you, it hadn't even occurred to you for a single moment to stay put at your desk shift for the remainder of the hour. Because this is Mika, your dear little sister calling out to you in a cry for help, and if there's blood–

But no. Evidently not.

You take one last baleful look at your stubborn, tricky little sister, then glance towards the sniffling ball of green fluff beside her. It takes a truly herculean effort on your part to resist the urge to strangle Haru-baa-san at this point, the old woman rambling away beside your ear with something about roughhousing children and clumsy feet… not that you really care about any of it anymore. Mika is fine. There's nothing wrong with your sister. It's only the green-haired boy beside her who's skinned his knees and palms, but what does that have to do with you?

"Please, nee-chan?" the little girl clasps her hands together in front of herself, wide doe-eyes blinking imploringly up at you. "Izu-kun got hurt chasing away the bullies for me! Baa-chan didn't bring band-aids or anything for the boo-boos, so…"

You pin your Mika with a deadpan expression. Really? Your little sister's Quirk is by no means invincible, but it does make her a hell of a lot sturdier than most children her age. And considering her temperament, you certainly can't imagine your little spitfire sitting around on her hands if any of the children decided to play rough with her. She's not some damsel in distress who needs another person to rush in and save her like a knight in shining armor; Mika is more like the damsel who would bludgeon the dragon to death before sticking her nose up at the knight afterwards. God knows why 'Izu-kun got hurt chasing away the bullies' for Mika.

Skepticism aside, though, you don't poke any holes in your little sister's words and instead just let out a heavy sigh, setting down the first aid kit you brought with you from your workplace and beckoning the sniffling little boy over to your side. It's easy enough to clean the cuts and wrap them up –this is something you can do in your sleep, honestly– and the kid is quiet about it, for the most part, which helps with your budding headache. He even ducks his head and mumbles Thank you when you are done, which puts him one level above Mika when it comes to manners and respect, at least.

"Thanks, nee-chan!" your little sister chimes in, smiling brightly. "I knew you'd be able to help!"

"Don't push it, brat," is what you mutter in response. But instead of coming out as something warning the words are almost fond instead, much to your chagrin and resignation. "… Don't call me while I'm at work again unless it's an emergency, y'hear?"

"S-S-Sorry!" At least the boy is sharp enough to sense your irritation. Your oblivious sister, on the other hand, is another matter entirely.

"It's alright! No need to be a stranger, Izu-kun. Nee-chan just tends to get grumpy a lot." Mika makes the victory sign in his direction with a wink. "Didn't I tell you already? We're going to be best friends, Izu-kun!"

… Wait, what?

You stare at your little sister, sparkling and shining with rainbows and glitter in the background as she grins stupidly and makes her heartfelt declaration, and wonder when the little girl who never seemed to be interested in socializing with others her age decided to make a random boy off the playground her best friend. Was there something you missed out on about your little sister? Since when did a switch suddenly flip in her brain, and since when did your life turn into something straight out of the pages of a shoujo manga?

.

.

"Stop laughing at me, Misaki-san."

"S-Sorry, give me another second, just let me –ha!" the older nurse all but falls over the edge of the receptionist desk in another wave of fresh giggles. So much for composure.

You roll your eyes. "You're free to stop any day now, Misaki-san."

"Right, right… whew, haven't laughed like that in awhile." Despite those words, it takes a solid several more moments before violet-haired Misaki can sit upright again, but her eyes are still shining with thinly-veiled laughter. "Oh, Yuuko-chan. You should really listen to yourself… Although, don't you think you're a little too sensitive when it comes to Mika-chan?"

"… She's my sister," you shrug, before letting your head drop down into your hands with a long-suffering groan. "Misaki-san, my little baby sister just went and claimed a random boy she met in the park as her best friend. I'm allowed to be concerned about this, right? I mean, who does that?"

"Your little sister, apparently," is the nurse's witty response. Before you can do more than shoot another poisonous glare over your arms at her, though, Misaki smiles and raises her hands placatingly. "Now, now, I have children of my own, Yuuko-chan. Give me a little more credit here, won't you?"

You slowly raise your head just enough to give your co-worker a dubious once-over in response, which says just about everything encompassing your feelings on that particular matter. Misaki shakes her head.

"Children don't think the way we do, Yuuko-chan," the woman says. "Sometimes they'll act just based on a feeling, or on their gut instincts. If they see someone and go, 'Ooh, he feels nice!' then it's only natural that they try to become friends with them, right? … Come on, let's be honest now, Yuuko-chan. Is it bothering you that your little sister suddenly has a best friend now, or is it bothering you that her best friend is a boy?"

"Misaki-san!"

The woman starts laughing again. You decide to retract everything nice you've ever thought about the woman before. She's terrible. Then again, it's probably your own fault in the first place, for thinking she could offer something helpful about understanding your little sister's convoluted thought process.

… Honestly, what even goes on in the mind of that girl?

You know that children are prone to change, of course. Young children are prone to change, and boy do they change. Mika is the perfect example of that. She's come a long way from the shy little thing constantly tugging at your coattails as she trails along behind you, and it's clear that living with Haru-baa-san here in Musutafu has been good for her. It's just that now she's also sometimes prone to spontaneous bouts of randomness and you're not really quite sure what to do with her anymore.

Or… is Misaki actually right, and you should really just keep your nose out of your little sister's private matters? In the end it's not really that big of a deal; your little sister just made a friend out in the park, after all. Just a friend. It's normal for children to have friends, isn't it? Midoriya Izuku just happens to be Mika's first friend. There's nothing too special about that.

… It's only three o'clock in the afternoon and you're already starting to feel like you need a drink after this. You really love your little sister, eccentricities and all, but you also know with a growing, budding certainty increasing with each passing day that Mika will be the reason why the rest of your prematurely graying hair will turn white, damn it. Stupid genetics. Stupid little sisters.

In truth, you'll always regret sending your little sister off to live with Haru-baa-san while you spent your last two years alone in Tokyo. But you know perfectly well that there's no way you could've managed taking care of a three year old kid on top of getting everything else done, and you'd promised. It had been your last promise to your parents in their final moments that you would take care of your little sister no matter what, and it's a promise that you have no intention of breaking, ever. Even if it had meant sending your sister off to live with someone else at the time–

Not that it matters anymore; it's all over now. Coming to Musutafu again had been a little awkward in the beginning, but Mika had warmed up to you again quickly enough, and dealing with Haru-baa-san is no problem. Right now you're just a newcomer interning at the local Numata Hospital, and if everything goes as expected, you'll have a permanent job here after your trial period is up.

So, life is good.

… Life would be so much better if you could figure out how to deal with your little sister again, though.

.

.

In terms of appearances, Mika looks a lot like your late mother. Dark hair, brown-gold eyes, delicate chin and high cheekbones to match. It's the sort of refined, elegant look that stands completely at odds with her devil-may-care, bubbly personality, which makes it a lot easier to interact with her than you remember it once being. After all, your mother would never be caught dead making a fool out of herself the way your little sister seems to do on a regular basis.

You're not quite sure what it says about you, though, that you're becoming steadily accustomed to your little sister's… eccentricities.

"Mika-chan." You pause in the half-open doorway to your little sister's room, mentally floundering. You're not really quite sure where to continue from here, because What the fuck? "What the… May I ask what you're doing?"

Your dear little sister turns around to look at you from where she's half-perched on the windowsill with one end of her bed sheet upended and tied to the bed post, while the other end is tied around her waist. And the little girl has the gall to smile.

"Hi, nee-chan!" she chirps. "Guess what? I'm testing out the effects of anime physics today! This is gonna be great!"

Then she turns and jumps out the window.

You lunge.

In all your sixteen years, you have never moved so fast in your life as you did in that moment, when your little sister's life flashes before your eyes. By the time you finally haul your stupid, stupid little sister back up again by the bed sheets she'd somehow had the foresight to tie around herself earlier, when she looks up at you with those stupid doe-eyes and tilts her head quizzically, as if to ask What's wrong–

It's almost a physical pain to restrain yourself from violently shaking the little girl by her shoulders, because what the hell. Who on earth in their right mind jumps out from the window on the seventh floor of the building?! Mika's enhancement-type Quirk makes her sturdy, yes, but not that sturdy goddamnit.

"Imouto," you whisper softly, cupping your little sister's face in your hands. You lean in, gently touching your forehead to your little sister's own.

And.

Smile.

"Don't ever do that again."

Your little sister makes an 'eep'-ing sound at your hissed words, much to your satisfaction. "R-Right. Okay. G-Got it, nee-chan!"

You let out another sigh, leaning backwards, because that is all the response you can hope for, coming from Mika. "… Dare I ask what it was this time, Mika-chan? You don't have a flying Quirk; you're lucky I came here on time."

The girl lets out a bit of sheepish, nervous laughter. "Um, yeah. Uh… I was just… that's what heroes do all the time, right? Like 'boom, swoosh!' Out the window and away!"

…

Carefully, and with infinite, agonizing slowness, you reach up with a single hand and pinch the bridge of your nose, trying in vain to stave off the oncoming headache accompanying your little sister's brainless words. Is she even aware of what's coming out of her mouth?

In hindsight, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let your little sister's relationship with Midoriya be. You're aware that the Quirkless kid has an unhealthy obsession with heroes and a destructive (or masochistic; whichever or) streak a mile wide, but you hadn't been aware that his starry-eyed attitude regarding heroes was starting to extend to your little sister, too.

"Mika-chan–"

"Hey, can you help me with my Quirk, nee-chan?" your little sister suddenly asks, cutting you off in the middle of your words, and you pause, because this is… new. "I'm going to be a hero with Izu-kun when I grow up!"

… Or maybe not.

"Why?"

It's a simple enough question, all things considered.

"Because!"

You should've expected it. Her answer is equally simple, and explains nothing, the infuriating little girl.

You do not approve of heroics, in general. The risks inherent, the danger to it, the aspect of entertainment. But… your little sister does need to learn how to control her Quirk sooner or later, if only to keep from accidentally harming herself and others around her with it, and you can't protect her forever. This might as well be a good segue into that, and give her some motivation into working hard.

Alright, then.

"You have our mother's Quirk. I inherited mine from dad's side of the family, but I'll guide you through what I remember of hers," you finally decide to tell your little sister, whose eyes shine as bright as stars, vibrating with excitement.

(You did not get the luxury to figure out the mechanics of your own abilities in a safe learning environment, but you will make sure that your sister will not have to suffer as you once did.)

"Yatta! Thanks, nee-chan!"

Your lips curve into a fond smile upon hearing her laughter. "Don't thank me just yet, brat. I won't go easy on you."

"Yeah? Bring it on!" It's good, this fire in your little sister's eyes. You fervently hope it's a fire that will never go out. "I've gotta get as strong as I can so I can help Izu-kun!"

You raise an eyebrow at that errant comment. "… Your friend is Quirkless."

It's strange. For a moment, Mika's eyes are so knowing, as she looks up at you and smiles a small, secret smile, as if there's a joke the whole world is playing and she is the only one who knows the answer. It only lasts a moment before she is bouncing down the floorboards of the hallway again, but it's enough to give you pause, however briefly.

You stop in your tracks and look after your little sister thoughtfully, wondering if there's something you've overlooked… again. For someone whose Quirk means being used to catching all the details, it's quite unsettling to be struck with the feeling of missing something right underneath your nose.

"Hurry up, nee-chan!"

"… Coming, Mika-chan."

.

.

…

.

Author's Notes:

Hello! Welcome to We Don't Live In Fairytales. Guess who's finally bit the bullet and jumped on the NaNo bandwagon this year? ;3 … I probably won't finish this fic in a month, considering my track record with writing, but I'll give it a try.

Also: This is such a bad decision. I need to be doing like 10 different things related to schoolwork right now, but instead I'm sitting here typing this up. I'm going to regret this so much tomorrow.

The unconventional 2nd POV narrative style used here is inspired by Vroomian's Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, which I highly recommend to everyone who might be reading this. KnB fanfic, but you don't have to be familiar with the manga/anime to enjoy the story! It's very well-written and I've been wanting to give a shot at writing in 2nd perspective for awhile now ever since reading that fic. I definitely would encourage you to try it out if you like what you see in the narrative style here. :D Another 2nd POV fic I would recommend checking out is Sythe's A Mass Effect Infiltrator in the World of One Piece, though that one is more of one shot and hasn't been updated recently.

(Feel free to rec me any well-written 2nd POV OC fics if you're aware of any, too. :3)

Getting into the BNHA fandom again these days, and noticed that a lot of OC fics seem to feature the OC reborn as Izuku's childhood friend. So here's my take on it, somewhat? Our MC is older than the main cast's generation by a good decade, but MC's sister falls into the same age group, so there will be some wiggle room for interactions there despite the age gap. I have a few vague PLANS in mind for this fic, which might be interesting ohoho. We'll see. ;3

Not too much to take note of here just yet, I guess. If you have any questions or would like to discuss things you see in this fic, feel free to review/PM me.

Also feel free to point out grammar mistakes/other errors in the text, please.

QUESTION: What do you think about the 2nd POV style that's used, and what would you like to see in this story?

That's it for now. Till next time, folks!

XxZuiliu