Summary -
The incident with the sludge villain and All Might happened a year earlier, and All Might didn't drop the bottle.
Izuku, completely crushed, tries to kill himself. He survives, but his spine and legs are damaged beyond repair and he'll never be able to walk without help again.
Cooped up in his house he starts taking apart the various electronics out of boredom. He finds he actually enjoys it.
Determined to help her baby be more independent and bring back the spark of life he used to have, Inko decides a service dog would be a good idea.
Follow Izuku as he gains a four legged friend, several two legged friends, and becomes one of the best inventors in the world.
Midoriya Izuku was only thirteen years old and he wanted to die. He sat on an empty rooftop, knees pulled up to his chest and head buried in them. His shoulders shook as he cried. He was so tired. He had just met his idol, All Might, and asked him if he could be a hero without a Quirk. He had said no.
Izuku wiped his eyes. Normally they were filled with light and joy but now they were dull and empty. His dream was gone, shattered to pieces and whisked away like leaves on the wind.
You wanna be a hero so bad? I've got a time saving idea for you. If you think you'll have a Quirk in your next life… go take a swan dive off the roof!
At that moment the words of his bully seemed all too appealing. Izuku stood and took off his shoes before climbing over the railing. He didn't even bother to write a note. What was the point? The only one who would miss him was his mom, and once he was gone she could move on. Maybe his dad would come back and they would have another kid, one with a Quirk who would actually be someone worth loving.
Izuku looked out over the city. He knew no one would care about his death. His name would simply be added to the long list of Quirkless people who had committed suicide.
He took a deep breath, wasting just a bit more air, and jumped.
As cliche as it was, Izuku woke to beeping. His head felt foggy and his thoughts were muddled, not letting him fully focus on anything. His whole body felt heavy and odd.
He slowly peeled open his eyes and winced at the light. He was in a hospital room. Why was he here exactly?
"You're awake!" A cheerful voice said from beside him. He tried to turn his head, but when that didn't work he just moved his eyes. Standing next to his bed was a young man with dark brown hair and pink eyes. Izuku tried to say something but his tongue felt heavy and wouldn't cooperate.
The nurse smiled. "You're on a lot of drugs. I'll get you some water." With that the nurse left.
Izuku's eyes trailed around the room. Several monitors were beside his bed, showing his vitals. He had an IV in one arm, the tube going under a thick cast. His other arm also had a cast. A brace was wrapped around his neck, which was what kept it from moving.
The nurse came back in and put the end of a straw in a cup of water in his mouth.
"Small sips," he advised. "You've been unconscious for three days now and your stomach won't be able to handle much."
Izuku remembered what had happened now. He had tried to kill himself by jumping off a roof. God, he was so useless he couldn't even kill himself properly. His eyes burned like he was going to cry, but no tears were shed.
Then his eyelids grew heavy, and a moment later the cocktail of drugs in his system pulled him back into sleep.
The next time he woke up, two days later, Izuku was a lot more lucid.
The nurse introduced himself as Maruyama Giichi, and said he would be the one taking care of Izuku during the day. He explained that the casts were due to the fact that he had broken a lot of bones, and the brace on his neck was to keep his spine from getting more damaged then it already was.
His mom came in a couple hours later. Inko sobbed and apologized over and over. She blamed herself for not seeing how much pain he was in until he tried to commit suicide. He didn't say anything.
A week later the doctor, a woman named Maeda Chouko, finally removed his brace and casts. His limbs were sore and stiff after having been in them for so long, so it was a relief to finally have them off.
Dr. Maeda said they needed to run a few tests now that his body was more fully healed.
Izuku felt like static was filling his ears and mind when he heard the diagnosis.
Partially paralyzed from the waist down. Nothing they could do.
He was going to be paralyzed for the rest of his life. He would never be able to walk without help, and his balance was akin to a newborn giraffe, so things as simple as bending over to pick something up would be much, much harder if not impossible.
Izuku's eyes burned and he fought back sobs. Now he really had no chance of being a hero. Quirkless and paralyzed. And on top of that he was diagnosed with severe anxiety, suicidal depression, and PTSD.
The universe really loved to screw him over, didn't it?
Over the next week he learned how to walk with crutches. When he was finally discharged he got to keep a pair. He was also put on suicide watch in case he tried something again.
He spent the drive from the hospital to his apartment staring out the window. He wondered how much worse the bullying was going to be now. He dreaded going back to school so deeply it was almost a physical pain.
His mom had to help him up the three flights of stairs to their apartment because the elevator was out of order. (Izuku honestly didn't remember a time when it did work.)
Once in the apartment Izuku made a beeline for his room. He spent the next few hours watching hero fights on the computer. He didn't bother taking notes. What was the point anymore?
During dinner Inko told him that she was going to temporarily pull him out of school and have them send him his work electronically. He was relieved.
A few days later he heard his mom crying because she couldn't find a therapist that would take a Quirkless patient.
That night he barely slept as his mind whispered about the thousand different ways he could die.
Jump off a roof again. What were the chances he would survive twice?
Slit his wrists while his mom was at work.
Overdose on his meds.
Jump in front of a train.
Hang himself.
Drown himself.
(What did he do to deserve this?)
Over the next few weeks Izuku continued to grow more and more restless. He got bored to the point that while his mom was at work he disassembled the hair dryer and put it back together again. It was… actually pretty fun.
He then proceeded to do the same to the microwave and TV. His mom came back when he was halfway through putting the latter back together and proceeded to freak out. He quickly assured her he knew what he was doing. (He didn't. He watched two YouTube tutorials.)
Inko seemed skeptical, but she didn't know how to repair a TV so she let him continue. Whence he was done it worked perfectly. He felt a swell of pride in his chest.
"Izuku? Can I come in please?" Inko called as she knocked on his bedroom door.
"Yeah!" Izuku replied, looking up from where he was reading a book. Inko was smiling widely as she sat on his bed next to him.
"I was thinking maybe we should get you a service dog," she said.
Izuku blinked in surprise. "But aren't they really expensive?"
Inko smiled wider. "I found a nonprofit organization that trains service dogs for minors with disabilities. They don't require people to pay for the dogs, and only ask that you donate if you can since that's what keeps them running.
"Everyone who's gotten a dog from them gives really good reviews and says that they changed their lives. I looked into it and you would be eligible for a dog to help you walk and to help with your depression and anxiety."
Izuku was too shocked to say anything for a long moment. He had known dogs were trained for that sort of thing but he never dreamed he would get one. Finally he snapped out of his shock and grinned widely.
"I would love one!"
Inko smiled back. "I'll put in an application. There is a waiting list so it might be a while."
"I'm willing to wait as long as it takes."
Izuku didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve happiness after all he had put his mother through.
That night he pulled the blade from his mother's razor and cut deep gashes into his arms until he was too weak to do it anymore.
Izuku stared at his reflection in the mirror. He was pale and bloody and looked like a ghost. He promptly burst into tears.
He was lucky his mom had been up getting some water or she might not have heard him. She called an ambulance and slowed the bleeding as much as she could, but he would need stitches. He was lucky she was a nurse, and knew what she was doing.
A week later his mom finally found him a therapist he talked to over video chat once a week. It was nice to have someone listen and help him, and not say he was a liar when he told her about what had happened to him. He never said any names. It wasn't like anything would happen to punish those who hurt him if he did, so he just didn't bother.
And yet he couldn't shake the thoughts that prowled through the shadows of his mind like a tiger waiting to strike. They said that she didn't really care, that she was only listening and helping because she was being paid to.
