Chapter Text
Looking down at the concrete from the roof of the building All Might had left him on, Izuku wondered not for the first time that day what happens when you die. He knew there were many different beliefs out there. Maybe he’d go to some sort of afterlife? A place where you continued to live on as you were in life for eternity didn’t appeal to him. He hated how he was now. Perhaps he would be reincarnated, like Kacchan had said. But even if he prayed and prayed, with his luck he’d probably end up just as quirkless and useless in the next life as he was in this one.
Honestly? He hoped there was nothing. That he’d die and that would be the end and he could finally rest. He was just so tired. Tired of the bullying from his classmates. Tired of the bruises and burns from his once childhood friend. Tired of his teachers doing nothing. Tired of spider lilies on his desk and the smell of nitroglycerin sweat and pain and being useless worthless quirkless Deku.
He thought about what All Might had told him. That he needed to be realistic. What was realistic was that he’d never amount to anything. He’d seen the statistics about quirkless people. The unemployment rates, disqualifications from jobs, homelessness, hate crimes and murders.
The suicide rates.
He supposed being realistic he was always going to end up here.
He didn’t think he’d need a note. No one would care to read it, except maybe his mom. Even then, she would probably know why without having to read anything. She didn’t need a leftover piece of paper to hold her back from moving on. And she would, she was strong. Without him around she could make more friends. She wouldn’t have to work as much to support them. Maybe even his dad would come back and they could be happy together again, like they were before he was diagnosed as quirkless.
Taking off his backpack and red sneakers, he gently set them aside next to the railing. Grabbing onto the bar for support, he climbed over the railing. One leg. Then the other.
Oh god he was actually doing this.
His body was facing the roof and he wasn’t quite sure how to turn around. He looked over his shoulder and flinched when he saw just how high up he was. Maybe it would be easier if he didn’t turn around after all. He didn’t need to see the ground rushing up to meet him anyway. He took a deep breath as he braced himself. This was it. He was going to jump. All he had to do was let gravity take over and he could finally rest. He wouldn’t have to be so tired anymore. There’d be no more burns. No words. No more pain. No more tears. No more Deku.
All he had to do was let go.
He looked at his hands gripping the railing.
He had to let go.
His knuckles were white with how hard he was holding it.
Let Go.
Izuku felt tears well up in his eyes and slide down his face as he looked at his hands. He wanted to jump. He wanted it to be over. He wanted to rest.
But he was scared. He was scared of never seeing his mom again. Never eating katsudon. Never being able to write about every new quirk he saw. Never helping anyone. Never proving he wasn’t useless. Never becoming a hero.
A choked sob wracked its way out of him as he closed his eyes to the onslaught of tears. It figured. It just made sense that even now he was weak and couldn’t even kill himself right. He shouldn’t be hesitating. He shouldn't burden everyone with his continued existence. Everyone would be better off without him. They wouldn’t care. They’d be glad. In a few years nobody would even remember the quirkless boy who jumped off a roof.
“Please don’t.”
His eyes flew open and the first thing he saw was red. Wings with feathers of bright vermillion were stretched out as if ready to take off at a moment's notice. He knew those wings. He’d seen them on tv and in photos online. He even had a poster with them on it at home. Izuku’s eyes traced the wings down to the body of the hero they were attached to. Hawks stood there on the roof with his arms carefully reaching out, as if he was trying to approach a scared animal. His face was a twist of concern and a smile, almost like he was trying to be reassuring but his worry was drowning it out. His eyes met Izuku’s and all the boy could see was golden warmth.
“Kid, if you jump I promise you I’d remember it for the rest of my life.”
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Keigo sighed as he flew above the city of Musutafu. He didn’t really understand why he was here. He was away from his home turf in Fukuoka “on vacation”, but really it was just business for the HPSC. Ever since All Might started showing up in the area again, there’d been speculation as to why he was in the city. Ideas and theories were all over the place but one in particular had caught the commissions eye.
There were some rumors spreading that All Might was going to be teaching at UA the following year. Why the number one hero, who didn’t even have a teaching license apparently, would decide to become a teacher was something he didn’t know. Neither did the commission, and the commission didn’t like not knowing things. So they’d come up with what they considered to be a brilliant idea, which usually never ended well for him.
A teacher. Him. At UA. Never mind the fact that there were no open positions and they didn’t have any idea what class he’d even try to teach. The commission had been wanting an in with UA for years. Nedzu held control over his school with an iron grip, giving very little influence to those outside. They’d tried to get people on staff before, but Nedzu had the ultimate decision on if someone was hired or not. So long as the mouse-bear-thing didn’t want the commission involved, they wouldn’t be. With High Spec there was no way anyone working for the commission could sneak past his checks either.
If All Might worked at UA though? That set a precedent. It showed that as long as you were a hero of high enough rank and repute, you didn’t need to have a teacher's license. Keigo fit that description, and conveniently for the HPSC he was held under their thumb. Thus the hair-brained scheme to get UA to accept him as a new hire.
He still had time. He hadn’t scheduled a meeting with the school yet seeing as how he didn’t have a game plan put together. But Keigo knew that he had to come up with something to get hired, or the commission would have his hide. Not only that, but it had better be something damn good if it was going to have any chance at convincing Nedzu.
It was as he was contemplating this that he spotted someone moving on a roof ahead of him. Sharpening his vision, he saw someone in a school uniform climbing over the railing at the edge. He felt his stomach drop as his whole being was filled with dread. He hastened his pace until he was able to touch down on the roof the kid was on. The boy was muttering to himself with his eyes closed, not seeming to have realized the hero was there.
Keigo had no idea what he was supposed to do. He’d never come across a jumper before. There should be training for this but if it existed he’d never taken it. Did he grab the kid? No, that wouldn’t solve anything, and he might fight back if he really wanted to jump. He’d try talking to him first, see if he could get him to come down. He let a feather drift behind the kid ready to catch him though, just in case.
Trying to look as non-threatening as possible, he slowly approached the boy while trying to decipher what was being said. His heart broke as he heard the kid, he had to only be in middle school he looked so young, listed off reasons why he should kill himself. Finally finding his voice, Keigo spoke up softly.
“Please don’t.”
There was a gasp as the kid’s head jerked up in response, eyes flying wide open. He saw a spark of recognition there before teary green eyes met his own. He held his hands out in what he hoped was a calming manner, wings ready to go at the first sign of the boy falling.
“Kid, if you jump I promise you I’d remember it for the rest of my life.”
Keigo watched as the boy seemed to process his words before biting his lip and shaking his head in denial. He could see the kids shoulders shaking as he tried to contain his crying. The winged hero waited patiently for the boy to say something, letting him get his thoughts together first.
“You don’t even know me. If you did you wouldn’t care.” And wasn’t that horrible to hear. The idea that knowing him would make him care less somehow. What could this kid have gone through to be so certain that even a hero would turn their back on him. He gave the boy a shaky smile, hoping it was more put together than he felt.
“How about you let me be the judge of that. Come down from there and we can talk. Let me get to know you first.” He could tell the boy was thinking it over, which was a good sign right? He hoped so. The kid looked back over his shoulder before quickly facing forward again. After a moment of hesitation, a moment where Keigo was scared he’d have to dive for the boy after all, there was a small nod as he started climbing back over the rail.
Letting out a breath of relief, Keigo walked up to the kid now that he was safe on the other side of the railing. He startled a bit when the boy sank to his knees on the roof and continued to cry. His heart went out to him; so young and yet convinced the world was against him. And maybe it was, Keigo was no stranger to hardship. He joined the other on his knees and gently pulled him into a hug, wrapping his arms around the boy. He felt him stiffen for a moment against him and he was worried he’d made a mistake with the physical contact. Before he could pull back however, he found the kid wrapping his own arms around his back, his hands grasping tight onto the fabric of his jacket. Keigo felt his heart break even more as quiet tears changed to loud sobbing as the boy cried his heart out.
“That’s it, let it out.” He started rubbing his hand in circles on the kids back, trying to sooth him as best as he knew how. One hand found its way into green curls to pet his head and his wings curled around the boy, shielding him from the outside world that must have hurt him so much. The fingers tangled in his jacket tightened, holding on as though he was afraid Keigo would disappear in a moment and he’d be left alone on this roof once again.
“I’m not going anywhere.” And he wasn’t. This kid needed help, and he was going to give it to him as best he could. He would see this through to wherever it took them. He was already invested. He already cared.
Keigo found he was fine with that.