all might's dead. the hero who saved everyone with a smile is in ashes. dust chokes izuku to the point of hacking, tears glued to his eye but no gravity affecting it.
(he was just here)
on the rooftop. and he left. all might said he couldn't-so he won't. the man's strong image blurs in izuku's memory, nothing to become without the number one. izuku blinks but the tears neither fall nor dissipate.
(he was just here and he was smiling)
like izuku had made a joke. like izuku should've laughed too. he tries. it sounds awful, it always has according to kacchan, too hysterical and high-pitched to be like all-more like a girl. or someone crying.
(he was just here and he wanted to laugh)
at izuku. at his quirklessness. at his childish dreams and imaginary problems, all might wanted to laugh. izuku "laughs" in tandem.
(alone)
he is. there's no one in the world like useless deku and his useless life. what a stupid thing to be upset over, why not just laugh? it was all so funny. to think he stood a chance at his fake dreams and even faker problems. kacchan's right. more tears come but they're blocked, glossing his eyesight.
(he was just here and now he's gone)
which one? maybe they left because he wasn't real. maybe everyone in the world was fake and izuku was the only real man left. alone. izuku can barely see anymore and he's alone.
(what now?)
jump after him, but which one again which one? both leaps lead to broken bones. it starts off slow but the tears do fall. they stream alongside izuku's giggles, childish and light because what becomes of your false self in the real world?
(mom)
she's made him believe in this world but which one? which one again which one is it fake or real? who's who? which one'll shatter at the first fall? he has the half-mind that he wants to run home so she can dry his tears but he's laughing so hard he can't even breathe almost.
(fall)
his lungs constrict, heaving out the final choke of laughter before pausing. his body is frozen within dreams and reality. izuku then realizes where he is, the rooftop. the rooftop, so high he can't even see the false images of people beneath him.
(fall)
again. does he fall or jump? sink or float? if kacchan hadn't burnt his notebook he could record the results after, of soaring with the clouds. izuku bites back a laugh, aflame and aching with expired joy.
(fall and)
he'll surely survive. the building isn't that high or maybe he miscounted through blurry vision but which one would prove his reality false? his body on the concrete breathing or still? izuku breathes again. it's neither fast nor slow, calm nor nervous. for the first time in his life he's filled with real non-emotion. in this moment, the only thing real is his breathing.
(i'll catch you)
izuku comes to the edge of the rooftop, where minutes ago, lifetimes ago, his hero had been right besides him. lifetimes ago his other hero had showed him the real world. and minutes ago, izuku had made his decision.
whether it's fake or real, whether he sinks or floats, izuku falls.