On the Ledge [Complete]

Epilogue

Izuku's mother pulls him into a tight embrace. "I'll be right here whenever you're finished. I'm so proud of you, Izuku, for doing this. Good luck, okay?"

Izuku nods and pulls away from her. The sudden lack of warmth causes him to shiver. Turning, he looks at the woman who called him back. She has short brown hair and bright green eyes. She's taller than average, wearing a navy-blue blouse with black dress pants and heels. She smiles at him, which helps him relax just a smidge.

He follows her back to her office. The lighting is dim and warm. "Please," she says, "take a seat." She gestures for him to sit on a grey couch while she sits in an armchair facing him. Izuku complies, sitting down right in the middle of the sofa. He rubs his hands in his lab. She's holding a folder that Izuku hadn't noticed before now. She flicks it open and reads whatever's inside.

"Hello Midoriya, my name is Mikoto Kotetsu, you can call me Mikoto. It's my understanding that Recovery Girl recommended me to you because you were experiencing depressive episodes and suicidal thoughts and actions?"

Izuku nods. "That's right."

Mikoto closes the folder, her eyes focused on him now. "Tell me a little about that."

"I, um..." Trying to explain it all in so few words is daunting. Izuku's never really spoken about this out loud, willingly.

"That's okay, Midoriya, whatever you're comfortable with."

"Well, I guess I've had... depressive thoughts for several years now, but the, um, other stuff, is more recent."

"And by 'other stuff,' do you mean thoughts of suicide?"

Izuku nods, his voice hidden somewhere in his chest. This just feels wrong. Talking about this so nonchalantly. What is this even supposed to do? How is this supposed to help? All this is doing is making Izuku want to crawl back in his bed and never get out. But he promised Yagi, and now his mother, that he would try.

"Okay," Mikoto says, her voice soft. Izuku finds it oddly comforting. All of her focus is on him, but Izuku finds it hard to look her in the eye. "And how do you feel about meeting here with me today? About speaking with a therapist?"

"Well... I never thought that I would actually speak with anyone about this stuff. I just, I've always been very independent."

Mikoto waits for him to continue, but when he doesn't, she prompts him further. "And how does this make you feel, right now?"

Izuku hesitates, he doesn't want to hurt her feelings, but Mikoto has already read his mind. "It's okay, Midoirya, you can be honest. I promise you won't hurt my feelings."

He can't help it, he cracks a smile, even giggles a little. Something about it is just funny. "I'm nervous... well, scared, I guess. I don't really see how this is going to help me."

Mikoto leans back in her chair. "Those are perfectly normal thoughts to have. Talking about our emotions, especially difficult ones, can be very scary, but it's talking about – acknowledging – those feelings that helps us work through them. Now, you mentioned that you only started having suicidal thoughts a little while ago. Could there be anything that happened around or shortly before they started, that might be linked to them?"

"Well, my dad got a new job overseas at the beginning of the year, so it's just been Mom and me. And then, Kacchan's been... distant as well." Izuku answers, shifting in his seat.

"Okay. I'm sure your Dad being out of the house has been hard getting used to. And this 'Kacchan' seems like an important person to you."

Izuku's eyes light up. "Yeah, Kacchan and I have been friends since we were little because our moms are friends. But lately he's... been quite mean to me. Sometimes he acts like he's ashamed he knows me."