I Will Endure (For You)

beat my wings till i fall asleep

"If you want to be a hero the badly, here's a quick way to do it: pray that you'll have a Quirk in your next life and take a dive off the roof!" Kacchan tosses the words over his shoulder carelessly, disgust dripping off each syllable. Izuku whips around, horror stabbing through his very being. He opens his mouth, speechless and choking.

"What?" His nightmare taunts. This is a nightmare, right? It has to be. Kacchan would never... The familiar burning in his shoulder says otherwise. Izuku's whole body hurts. Worse, his heart aches. Old wounds bursting open and festering darkness washing over him like a tidal wave.

Kacchan's taunt burns Izuku, much like his quirk. The words scrape at his soul, sinking into him like a parasite. He trembles where he stands as Kacchan and his friends finally leave. Shaking breaths and quiet sobs trailing after Izuku as he wanders aimlessly, trying to find his notebook. Trudging around a corner outside, Izuku finally sees it, floating gently in a koi pond. Pulling it out of the water, he carefully examines it. Ruined. Pages stick together and where the ink isn't charred to a crisp, it's blurred beyond recognition. Looking at it feels like waking from a dream. A bird sings above him, and his eyes are drawn to the roof. Unbidden, Kacchan's advice rings in his ears. Eyes aching with repressed tears, Izuku marches up the stairs. His chest tightens and it feels like someone is slowly squeezing the air out of him. Vision swimming and hot tears spilling over his cheeks, Izuku clutches his ruined notebook to his chest. Heart beating erratically in his throat, Izuku toes the edge of the rooftop. The fence it rusty, and groans ominously behind him. Izuku doesn't look down, doesn't want to see the sheer drop. It's just high enough, he knows. Izuku looks up to the vast sky. Looks up, and wonders. Hugging his broken dreams, Izuku reaches up to the sky and steps forward into the nothing.

He feels almost weightless, free of all his burdens. The wind screams in his ears as Izuku looks at the ground rushing up to meet him. He distantly realizes that the grass is the same shade as his mother's eyes. Air rips at him, as if trying to pull him into the sky. He's falling so slowly and the air is now a pleading whisper. Izuku can only see his mother's eyes, red- rimmed and glassy with unshed tears. He can hear her desperately apologizing, muffled sobs echoing in his heart. He remembers the empty apartments, long days of grueling work, and the willing solitude. Regret and terror races through him, ice in his veins.

'Sorry, mom. I did something bad... I forgot, Mom. I'm so sorry. I don't want to leave you alone!'

Izuku grits his teeth and swallows his angry tears. He wants to live, dammit! Even if it's only for his mom, he wants to live! The air screams and the world speeds up again. He braces himself, desperation and sorrow tearing at him. His eyes focus on the green racing towards him and something gold flickers in the corner of his eye. Before he can turn to look, Izuku hits the ground.