"If you really want to be a hero, take a swan dive off the roof and pray you're born with a quirk in the next life!"

"You can't be a hero without a quirk."

Izuku stood at the edge of the rooftop, the words echoing in his brain. Even after saving Kacchan from the sludge villain (his fault, he should never have distracted All Might, useless), it was made abundantly clear to him that he really would never be a hero.

He was crazy for even thinking it was possible. A waste of his fourteen years of life, but then again, everyone thought he was a waste of space, so what did it matter?

The sun hadn't set yet, Izuku noted, his eyes drifting towards the sky. Slowly, he sat down on the building's ledge.

It was getting late. He'd never stayed out this late before, but he really didn't feel like going home just yet. Kacchan was probably angry Izuku had dared to try and help him (the heroes had told him quite thoroughly about how it was a stupid thing for him to do) and he didn't feel like getting yelled at some more today.

Besides, his mom was probably still working. What was the point in going back home to an empty house?

Sometimes, not that he would ever admit it, Izuku wondered why his mother cared so much about him. It was no secret to Izuku that his father had left them because of his quirklessness. He was the reason his mother was all alone in this world.

Without his father's support and the burden of raising him, Inko had been forced to give up on her own dreams. She worked day in and day out to provide him with everything he needed; the need to do so came as a rude shock in the wake of his father's abandonment. After all, Inko had been happy to be a housewife before that. Before his diagnosis.

And to top it all off, Izuku knew he wasn't an easy child to raise, never being able to help her out or ease her mind. He couldn't even promise to be successful in the future; like a good son should.

Not that she ever expected anything from him. It was hard to expect great things from someone who was so weak and pathetic. From someone who was just a useless Deku.

Yet she cared about him. Had chosen him over his father. Kept choosing him over everything else. Izuku couldn't understand why. Not when he wasn't even worth it after all the pain she had endured.

Would she be better off if he was gone?

Izuku stared down at the busy street below. It was quite the drop.

Undoubtedly. He'd always known that; this wasn't news.

Idly, Izuku wondered what it would feel like to fly. To have the wind rush through him, to let the weight drop from his shoulders. To finally be able to rest. Freeing, no doubt. He sent a longing gaze downwards, imagining how peaceful things would be. For just a moment, Izuku closed his eyes and imagined everything coming to an end.

It almost made the knot in his chest unravel. In the moment, he could be loud or quiet, scared or happy; free and unrestrained. And in the end, he'd disappear without a trace. Contentment thrummed in his veins and leaned down to get a better view of that empty sidewalk.

The grit of the building dug into his palms and brought him back to reality.

No matter how much he imagined it, he knew he could never actually do it. It was the same reason he hadn't run away as a child.

Once, he'd contemplated trying self-harm, nothing serious, just a cut here or there. He'd heard it gave you a rush of endorphins, a release unlike any other, especially when things felt too heavy to carry.

Yet, he couldn't do it.

He couldn't disrespect his mother's sacrifice. If he were to do any of those things, he'd waste her time and that was something he absolutely could not do.

He was already useless in every way imaginable. He couldn't make all of her hard work be wasted out of his own selfishness. He'd find a way to be useful to her. He had to.

A bitter laugh bubbled out of him. "Some hero," he spoke softly in the wind.

"What the fucking hell do you think you're doing, Deku?"

The voice was incredibly quiet, despite the anger resonating in it. Izuku was so surprised by its existence, however, that he nearly toppled down out of sheer surprise.

Immediately, a hand wrapped itself around his arm, the other digging into the back of his collar, pulling him back, curses being spat in his ear. They fell back, Izuku landing on something soft instead of cold, hard cement.

"What the fucking hell is wrong with you?!"

Izuku looked back to see Kacchan snarling at him. Eyes widening, he scrambled to get off of him and as far back as possible.

"K-Kacchan! W-what are you doing here?"

Kacchan growled. "Are you deaf now too, Deku? Answer the fucking question, idiot!"

Izuku didn't understand what was going on or what Kacchan wanted from him. Suddenly it struck him and he perked up. "O-oh! Are you talking about earlier?"

"No shit."

Izuku was very aware of how Kacchan's hands were curling into fists.

"Ah, nothing! I wasn't thinking anything! I mean I thought you needed saving but obviously, I just got in All Might's way. I know I had nothing to do with saving you, don't worry!" he rambled, hoping Kacchan would accept it and leave him alone.

Instead, a new rage lit up Kacchan's eyes and he stepped forward with one hand reaching out. Instinctively, Izuku flinched back, throwing up his own hands to protect his face with eyes shut tight.

When the burns didn't come, he tentatively opened one eye to peek at Kacchan.

The other boy was taking deep breaths clearly trying to control himself. "That wasn't what I was talking about. What were you doing here on this roof?"

Izuku could hear the clenched teeth and saw in Kacchan's eyes that he was just seconds from snapping. Perhaps that was why he couldn't help but blurt out the truth.

"Just thinking about your advice," he said, inching backwards a little.

"My advice?" Kacchan repeated flatly. "What advice?" He'd begun to relax a little which made Izuku stupidly lower his guard.

"The stuff about getting a quirk," he shrugged.

It happened so suddenly, Izuku didn't even have time to react. One minute, Kacchan was staring at him and the next he was holding him up by his collar, shaking him back and forth while his other hand was sputtering out tiny crackles.

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Kacchan vowed.

Izuku could feel whatever energy remained in his body leaving him. Still, he weakly tried to push Kacchan's hand off of his collar. "What, why?"

"How dare you?" Was spat into his face instead.

Izuku's arm dropped. What was he even supposed to say? He had no idea why Kacchan was acting this way and at this point, he didn't really care either. Maybe Kacchan would leave faster if Izuku stopped trying.

"Are you actually brainless? Or are you just that much of an obsessed asshole that nothing else fucking matters to you?"

Izuku felt like he was trying to solve a very complicated math problem. He was very aware that his existence alone was enough to trigger Kacchan, but he had no idea why Kacchan had come here to begin with. Izuku had specifically chosen this rooftop because no one from his class came anywhere near the building.

"What the fuck do you think? I came here because I saw you!" Kacchan growled, his grip on Izuku's collar getting tighter, making him choke. Abruptly, Kacchan let go and Izuku collapsed, on all fours, gasping for air.

"My coming here bothered you?" Izuku said, in between gasps.

"Of fucking course it did! Who do you think would be blamed if you were to throw yourself off of this shitty roof? I'm not gonna let your worthless ass get in the way of me getting into UA!"

"What?!" Izuku stared in disbelief, still trying to process Kacchan's words. "I wasn't going to throw myself off the roof!"

"As if," Kacchan scoffed. Izuku was trembling. Kacchan's words had finally registered and somehow they had broken something inside of him but given him a new strength all at the same time.

"And even if I did, there's no reason for anyone to think you had anything to do with it," he added quietly.

Kacchan rolled his eyes. "We weren't alone this afternoon. Those two idiots were listening in too. They'd blab real fast if it came down to it."

"Not against you," Izuku countered, fighting to keep his voice steady. He wasn't going to cry. Not here, not now. "You're right, I was contemplating it but I'm sorry to disappoint. I wasn't and am not going to do it. Sorry, you won't get to watch."

"Watch?! Hah?! What the fuck are you sprouting, Deku?" Kacchan took a threatening step towards him but Izuku was too tired to care.

"I know nothing would make you happier than getting rid of me for good but I can't do that to my mom. So sorry, Kacchan. At least you won't have to see me after this year, that's the best I can do right now."

There was silence for a moment. Then another. And then another.

When it continued to remain silent, Izuku risked glancing up. Kacchan was looking a little pale. It was an expression Izuku had never seen on his face before.

"Happy?" Kacchan echoed.

There was something in his tone that made Izuku feel guilty. "You were the one to suggest it," he pointed out defensively.

Kacchan had never looked so lost before. It didn't feel right. Izuku swallowed, the need to make Kacchan feel better overwhelming his anger.

"Ahh, no! I didn't mean it like that! It's okay! You weren't the first person to say it! And really, I would never actually do it." Izuku deflated a little.

His eyes trailed back to the rooftop ledge. He wasn't going to do it, but he had nearly fallen over hadn't he? And Kacchan was the one to save him. It didn't add up. Kacchan's words and actions never contradicted each other before and yet here they were.

"Th-thank you for saving me back there. I just realized I hadn't said it yet," Izuku sighed. "I guess, even you can end up saying things you don't mean, huh. Sorry for overreacting."

Kacchan was still quiet, staring at him, his expression now unreadable. Izuku did his best to stop quivering and stare back at him.

Finally, Kacchan responded, letting out a large explosion. Izuku fought the urge to curl into a ball and put his hands over his ears. He could still hardly believe that he'd lost his temper like that and snapped back at Kacchan. Imagine that! He, the useless Deku, snapping back at Kacchan.

Izuku had completely lost it, so he couldn't even complain if Kacchan chose to kill him.

"Get the fuck off this roof," was all Kacchan said instead.

"Huh?"

Kacchan grabbed Izuku's arm and bodily dragged him towards the door. "And don't ever let me fucking catch you thinking anything of that sort ever again, you hear me, shitty Deku?"

Perhaps the scariest thing was that Kacchan wasn't yelling. He was simply stating it as if it were fact. As if it was a promise.

The only thing Izuku could do was nod.

Kacchan let go and jerked his head towards the door. The minute he stepped onto the stairs, the door to the roof slammed shut. Seconds later, loud explosions could be heard, rattling the building.

Izuku didn't quite flee from the building. His mind was still racing as he tried to figure out just what had happened. Kacchan had veered so sharply off script that it had Izuku feeling entirely off kilter.

He paused, spotting a familiar tree and blinked in surprise. He had been so distracted, he'd ended up taking the path back home out of sheer habit.

He was a street away from home. A street away from giving up on all of his hopes and dreams. A street away from forever living an empty life.

Izuku took a single step forward and All Might slid out from the shadows in front of him.

"I am here!" he boomed and history was made.


And then he went on to break his bones because the boy has never heard of self-preservation and because that's done with a "purpose"...but that's a story for another time. I have many Feelings on the subject.

I'm contemplating writing Bakugou's perspective on this but we'll see if I ever get around to that.

Thank you for reading, everyone!