The first thing Izuku became aware of was the light. It streamed through the thin curtains of his bedroom window, painting streaks of gold across the ceiling and walls, creeping closer until it reached his face. The warmth of the morning sun brushed against his skin, coaxing him toward consciousness. He turned away from it instinctively, rolling onto his side, his back to the light as if that alone could delay the inevitable pull of the day ahead.

His body ached. Not just the dull, throbbing pain from the bruises left by Katsuki's fists and explosions, but something deeper, making even the smallest movement feel laborious.

The memories of yesterday clung to him as it lurked just beneath the surface of his mind. He had spent the entire night wrestling with them, caught between exhaustion and the sharp pangs of reality, his thoughts looping endlessly in his head. Every time he closed his eyes, he heard their laughter, saw their sneers, felt the searing pain of Katsuki's hand against his face.

And then, worst of all... The man he had idolized for as long as he could remember had confirmed what everyone else had always told him. His dream, the one he had clung to since childhood had been nothing more than a fragile illusion, doomed to crumble under the weight of reality. Izuku remained still, his dull green eyes staring at the wall in front of him. The poster of All Might towered above him, vibrant and triumphant, frozen in a moment of victory. Once upon a time, that image had filled him with joy, with admiration, with hope.

Now, it only made him sick. His fingers twitched as he reached up toward the poster, his breath shallow. The urge to tear it down, to rip it into shreds, burned inside him. His arm tensed, ready to pull—

A knock came on the door, shattering his trance.

"Izuku, dear, it's time to get ready for school," his mother's voice called through, her tone warm but laced with an unmistakable gentleness, the kind she always used when she was worried. "I made your favorite breakfast, so don't take too long or it'll get cold."

Izuku didn't answer. His arm slowly lowered, his fingers uncurling as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He kept his gaze on the poster, his blank expression reflected faintly in the glass.

"Izuku?" His mother's voice softened, more hesitant this time. "Is everything all right?"

For a moment, he didn't move. He felt suspended between the past and the present, caught in the remnants of last night's despair and the quiet reality of the morning. Then, finally, he forced himself to speak. "Yeah," he muttered, his voice hoarse, stripped of any emotion. "I'm coming."

On the other side of the door, Inko Midoriya hesitated. She lingered for a moment, her fingers lightly grazing the surface of the door as if debating whether to knock again. She had always been able to sense when something was wrong with him, but lately, that feeling had become unbearable. In the past her son had been so open, so expressive. Now, it felt like there was a wall between them. One that had been built brick by brick with every passing year, every unspoken fear, every painful truth neither of them had the courage to address.

But she didn't push. She never did.

With a quiet sigh, she turned and made her way back to the kitchen, leaving Izuku alone once more.

The sunlight had spread further into his room, casting soft glows across the shelves lined with All Might merchandise. It felt suffocating, that light. Like it was trying to reach inside him, to pull him into a world that no longer felt like his. Slowly, Izuku stood, his muscles protesting as he moved toward the window. He grabbed the cord to the blinds and pulled them shut, blocking out the morning entirely.

The room dimmed, shadows stretching across the walls. It was better this way.

He turned toward his mirror and caught sight of himself. His reflection was pale, his skin marred with dark bruises along his jaw, his cheekbone still tender from yesterday's encounter. The bags under his eyes were heavier than usual, deep and dark, a testament to the sleepless night that had left him feeling hollow.

But it didn't matter. None of it did. With slow, methodical movements, he crossed the room and opened his door. His schoolbag freshly washed, now neatly folded as it rested on the floor, placed there by his mother sometime before he woke up. He picked it up without a second thought, slinging it over his shoulder before heading toward the front door.

He had just slipped on his shoes when he heard her voice again.

"Wait, Izuku—aren't you going to eat?" Inko stepped out from the kitchen, a concerned frown tugging at her lips. "I made your favorite, sweetie. You should have something before you go."

Izuku didn't look up as he tied his laces. "I'm not hungry, Mom," he said quietly. "I'll just grab something at school later."

Before she could protest, before she could say anything else, he opened the door and stepped outside. The door clicked shut behind him.

For a long moment, Inko simply stood there, staring at the empty space where he had just been. Her hands curled slightly over the fabric of her apron, her heart aching in a way she didn't know how to put into words. Something was wrong. She knew it... But she also knew that Izuku would never tell her.


The school gate was quiet save for the occasional rustle of wind pushing cherry blossom petals across the pavement, swirling them into delicate patterns of pink and white. The morning air was cold with the scent of fresh earth lingering from the previous night's rain. Katsuki Bakugo stood with his usual group of friends, their expressions smug and expectant, their eyes locked onto a singular target. Izuku Midoriya.

The green-haired boy walked toward the entrance, his steps slow and deliberate, his mind elsewhere. He barely registered the group of students waiting for him, didn't care for whatever they were planning. He had endured worse... What was one more day?

"Hey, Deku," Katsuki's voice rang out, sharp with irritation, laced with something meaner, something possessive. "Where do you think you're going?"

Izuku didn't react. He kept walking, his gaze fixed on the school ahead, his posture rigid, mechanical.

"You really messed him up, huh?" one of Bakugo's lackeys chimed in, nudging Katsuki. "Or maybe he's just finally grown a backbone."

Katsuki's lips curled into a snarl, his patience snapping. His hand shot forward, and before Izuku could take another step, a sharp impact crashed against the back of his head. The force sent him stumbling, his knee scraping against the rough pavement as he caught himself.

"Listen to me when I'm talking to you, quirkless nobody!" Katsuki barked, his hands clenched into fists, tiny bursts of heat flickering between his fingers.

Izuku remained on the ground for a moment, his body motionless. Then, as if nothing had happened, he pushed himself up, dusted off his uniform, and continued walking, unfazed.

Katsuki's eyes widened in disbelief. His anger surged tenfold. "That goddamn Deku… he thinks he's better than me?" He crackled in his palms as his fury threatened to spill over, but before he could act, one of his friends grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey, not here," the boy warned, his voice low. "Teachers might see us."

Katsuki inhaled sharply through his nose, forcing himself to stand down, but the anger didn't fade—it festered, boiling beneath his skin. His fingers flexed before he extinguished the sparks in his palms. "Fine," he spat. "I'll deal with him later."

Stepping forward, he caught up with Izuku, his movements calculated, predatory. Throwing an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, he leaned in, his breath lukewarm against Izuku's ear.

"When lunch break hits, meet me outside," Katsuki murmured, his voice devoid of humor, laced only with quiet malice. "And don't even think about running." He pulled away, tapping his knuckles against Izuku's head as he walked off. His friends followed suit, each one snickering as they passed by, giving him similar taps, some harder than necessary.

Izuku barely felt it. His mind drifted, his thoughts a tangled mess of nothingness and everything all at once. He could still hear All Might's words ringing in his head, could still feel the weight of them pressing against his chest. He entered the classroom without a word, slipping into his usual seat near the back. The chair creaked under his weight as he sat down, resting his arms against the desk, his eyes unfocused as they settled on the window.

In the distance, the towering glass structure of U.A. stood, its emblem gleaming proudly against the morning sun. A symbol of greatness, of hope, of everything he had ever wanted to be.

"Look at him," a voice scoffed, snapping him back to reality.

"He's staring at U.A. again."

Laughter rippled through the classroom, hushed whispers bleeding together into a cruel symphony.

"Midoriya thinks he's gonna be a hero?"

"What a joke."

"Quirkless freak."

Days ago, those words would have stung. They would have chipped away at him, left cracks in the fragile walls he had built around himself. But now, they barely registered.

The sound of the classroom door sliding open signaled the arrival of the teacher, and as if on cue, the chatter ceased. Students hurried to their seats, feigning attentiveness as the school bell rang overhead. "Midoriya," a voice called, firm but not unkind. Izuku blinked, lifting his head to see the teacher standing before him, watching with thinly veiled concern.

"Are you even listening?" the teacher sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Class is over. It's lunchtime." Izuku stared at him blankly, as if processing the words took longer than it should have.

"Go eat something," he said simply. "And Midoriya?" He waited until the boy's eyes met his. "If I catch you staring at the clouds again instead of paying attention, you're getting detention."

Izuku nodded, barely registering the words as he stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder. The moment he stepped into the hallway, he was met with the sight of Katsuki leaning against the wall, arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently against the tiled floor.

"It took you long enough, Deku," he sneered, pushing off the wall. "Are you deaf or something?"

Izuku stared at him, his expression unreadable. Katsuki's grin twitched at the edges, his eyes scanning Izuku's face, searching for something—anything—but finding nothing. The silence irritated him. "Did you forget what I told you this morning?" he asked, voice laced with annoyance.

Izuku didn't respond.

Katsuki exhaled sharply through his nose, biting his lip before jerking his chin toward the staircase. "Follow me," he ordered. "We need to talk."

There was no point in resisting. Izuku followed as the two ascended the stairs in silence, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the empty stairwell. As they reached the top floor, Katsuki pulled a small key from his pocket, fitting it into the handle of the rooftop door. With a quiet click, the lock released, and the heavy door creaked open, revealing the vast open space of the rooftop.

A gust of wind swept past them, ruffling their hair, carrying the distant sounds of students below.

"Step out," Katsuki instructed, stepping aside. Izuku obeyed, walking forward until he stood near the edge, looking up at the vast blue sky above. The clouds drifted lazily, undisturbed, oblivious.

The door shut behind him. "Do you know why I brought you here?" Katsuki's voice was dangerously calm, far too steady.

Izuku turned slightly, just enough to glance at him from the corner of his eye. "If I had to guess," he murmured, "it's nothing that benefits me."

Katsuki grinned. "Oh, it benefits you, alright." There was a shift, a shift so slight that most wouldn't have caught it, but Izuku did. The way Katsuki's muscles tensed, the way his grin stretched just a little too wide.

And then pain.

A sharp kick to the ribs sent Izuku crashing to the floor, the impact knocking the air from his lungs. He gasped, coughing violently, his vision swimming. Katsuki loomed over him, his foot pressing against his chest, keeping him pinned. "You're acting like a real smartass lately, Deku," he mused, his voice dripping with amusement. "I don't like it."

Izuku groaned, barely able to move as Katsuki stepped back.

"Do you wanna know why I really brought you here?"

Izuku barely had the strength to lift his head as Katsuki grabbed his collar and hauled him up, forcing him to face the rooftop's edge.

"You see that?" he whispered, voice deceptively soft. "That's your way out. Start a new life, maybe you'll get a quirk this time." Katsuki's grip tightened as he pointed outwards to the ground. "No one would care. No one would miss you. You're nothing, Deku."

The wind howled around them. Izuku's breath hitched, as Katsuki began to laugh. "Go on, then," he urged. "Do it."

And for the first time in his life, Izuku truly believed he might die. The world around him slowed to an unnatural crawl, a sickening stillness washing over the rooftop as the weight of his existence bore down upon him. He could feel the pressure against his back, the cold metal railing digging into his ribs as Katsuki loomed over him, his breath hot, furious, manic.

Izuku did not resist. There was no struggle, no desperate flailing of limbs, no final act of defiance. The fire in his heart had long since extinguished, drowned beneath years of torment, crushed beneath the weight of every cruel word, every strike, every reminder that he was nothing.

And then, in the thick of his despair, a familiar presence returned.

A figure materialized before him, perched lazily on the very edge of the railing, staring out over the city skyline as if none of this truly mattered. The way the figure sat was almost casual, relaxed, as if it had been here all along, waiting patiently for this very moment to arrive.

The edges of its form flickered, indistinct, shifting in and out of clarity like a mirage in the summer heat. Yet, even through its incomplete form, Izuku could tell it was human, or at least something that once had been.

A deep, knowing voice echoed in the empty space between them. "So this is how it ends, huh?" it mused, tilting its head slightly as if pondering a thought. "I always wondered how long you'd last before finally breaking, and well… I suppose I have my answer now."

Izuku's breath faltered slightly. The figure's voice was eerily familiar, yet foreign all the same, as if he had heard it a thousand times in whispers within his own mind but never had the courage to acknowledge it.

"You only have a few moments left," the figure continued, its voice both matter-of-fact and taunting. "Once you go over that edge, there'll be screams, horror, devastation." A pause. "But... after they learn who it was just Deku? Who's going to care?" The figure exhaled, shaking its head. "You'll be nothing more than a joke. Absolutely worthless and not even worth remembering."

Izuku's throat tightened as he though in his mind, "Who… are you?"

The figure chuckled. "Now that's the right question." Slowly, it turned its head, and though its features remained incomplete, Izuku could feel the weight of its gaze burning into him. "You already know the answer."

Izuku swallowed, his body trembling. The figure leaned forward slightly, an amused smirk ghosting its lips. "I am you. Or at least, the part of you that you've spent your entire life trying to ignore. The anger. The hatred. The resentment. All the things you buried because you were too afraid to admit they existed."

It spread its arms in an almost theatrical manner. "But now, here we are. No more running. No more pretending. Just you… and me."

Izuku's breath shuddered, tears pricking at the edges of his vision. His lips parted, and before he could even think, the words spilled from him in a desperate, broken whisper.

"Help me."

For a brief moment, silence stretched between them, thick and suffocating. Then, the figure grinned, its form shifting, solidifying... molding itself into something far too familiar.

"Good," it said, voice low and satisfied. "I was hoping you'd say that." As the shape completed, and Izuku found himself staring at… himself. An eerie, perfect reflection, save for the unsettling smile stretched across its face, void of warmth.

A sharp shift in reality yanked Izuku back to the present. Katsuki gripped the collar of his uniform tighter, dragging him over the ledge, but something in Izuku had already changed. His body no longer slumped in defeat. His muscles twitched. His mind was still. His heart, once so fragile and uncertain, now beat with something unfamiliar, something new.

And before Katsuki could react—

BAM!

Katsuki's head collided violently with the metal railing, his grip on Izuku immediately releasing as he stumbled back.

"What the fu-?!" he spat, eyes wild, his body recoiling from the unexpected blow. He shook his head around to find out who did it. "Who the hell was it? Show yourself!"

Katsuki froze when he saw Izuku standing in front of him. It was Izuku, but something was different.

Izuku stood still, his posture eerily relaxed, his gaze dark and unreadable. But most unsettling of all was the expression on his face—a slow, creeping smirk that Katsuki had never seen before.

"Something wrong, Kacchan?" Izuku asked, tilting his head slightly. "Did you hit your head too hard?"

Katsuki's mouth opened, then closed, his fists clenching at his sides as a wave of confusion swept over him. "The hell are you on about?"

"Let me finish," Izuku cut him off. "I've sort of grown impatient letting you speak all the time," Izuku pointed out with frustration, his body shifting forward ever so slightly. His movements were fluid, calculated. "This is hilarious," he murmured, almost to himself. "Just look at your face."

"Is this really the Deku I always knew?" Katsuki thought.

"You know, I should probably thank you," Izuku continued, sighing dramatically. "I never would've gotten to this point without your help. It's… refreshing."

Katsuki's instincts screamed at him that something was wrong. But he buried it, crushed it beneath his anger. "Looks like you finally lost your damn mind," Katsuki spat, lifting his fists. "Good. Gives me an excuse to beat the shit outta you."

The school bell rang in the distance, but neither of them moved as they waited for an opening.

Then... Katsuki lunged. He threw a right hook aimed for Izuku's head, but Izuku ducked effortlessly, the wind from the punch barely grazing his hair.

Katsuki smirked. "Not bad." Then he drove his left fist into Izuku's stomach.

Izuku let out a choked gasp as the air was knocked from his lungs, his body doubling over. Katsuki wasted no time, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him toward the ledge. Izuku barely managed to stop himself, his back colliding roughly with the guard rail. Katsuki advanced, but before he could reach him, Izuku moved faster than he should have, his body twisting as he tackled Katsuki, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

The next moment, they were locked in a struggle, fists and elbows thrown in every direction, legs tangling as they wrestled for control.

"Get the hell off me, Deku!" Katsuki growled, slamming his fists into Izuku's ribs over and over, causing explosions to hurt him. Izuku tightened his grip, blood escaping his lips as he attempted to push himself away from the ledge in the scuffle. His breathing was ragged, his mind clouded, yet there was something intoxicating about this.

And then... A misstep. A slip as both of them tumbled.

Katsuki's breath suddenly exhaled. His stomach lurched as the sensation of weightlessness gripped him. But then... a hand. Izuku's fingers wrapped around his wrist at the last possible second, holding him inches from the edge of falling. Katsuki dangled, his heart pounding so violently it hurt. Izuku remained prone, his grip unwavering, eyes locked onto Katsuki.

"Is this what you wanted, Deku?" Katsuki spat, though his voice cracked at the edges. "Tell me!" He began to form tears in his eyes, he did not want to die... "Deku!"

Izuku didn't answer. His hold tightened, his muscles straining, his entire body trembling as he tried to pull Katsuki up. Students had gathered below from the noise heard above. A teacher sprinted across the courtyard. Shouts of alarm rang through the air.

Yet before anything could be done, Izuku felt his grip slip and for a second the world slowed. Katsuki's eyes widened, a single tear slipping free.

Izuku watched in silence as Katsuki fell, his back faced the ground as he looked into Izuku's eyes.

He fell with sickening sound.

Screams erupted throughout the school grounds, horror and disbelief tearing through the gathered students as they crowded toward the scene. Izuku remained where he was, unmoving, staring down at the lifeless body below that once was his friend. His chest felt tight, yet strangely light.

He raised a trembling hand to his face as is fingers brushed against his lips. He was… smiling.

There was no fear. No pain. No feeling of guilt.

A/N: Well I have to say, I hope my ideas so far have been expressed well. I won't really be saying much as to what will transpire in the story as we go, because that's up for you guys to discover. I was asked if Izuku Midoriya would gain a love interest, and it might happen. However, these kinds of things likely won't be at the forefront of the story. Thanks to everyone who has so far favourited and followed my story, it really makes me happy. See you in the next chapter.