Chapter Text
Of course.
Of course.
Of course All Might would never think a quirkless loser like me could be a hero. It honestly shouldn’t surprise me, but as I snivel alone on this rooftop like a crybaby I can't help but be confused, surprised, and hurt. God, my chest hurts. My eyes hurt from sobbing but i can’t seem to get it under control, can’t seem to get anything under control, can't seem to breathe. I take as deep a breath as I can manage and look around, wiping my eyes.
The wind whips my hair around wildly as I take in the view from the rooftop All Might left me on, and I think back to what Kacchan said earlier. Maybe I was better off hoping for a quirk in my next life. Maybe then things would be better. I wouldn't have to disappoint the people around me every day just by existing, I wouldn't have to deal with the torment everyday from my classmates, I wouldn't be such a hopeless loser. Maybe Kacchan was right.
I walk slowly towards the edge of the rooftop, pausing when I think of my mom. How would she feel about this? She’d be devastated of course, but maybe after i'm gone she’ll finally move on from dad, finally move on from this town, finally be seen with something other than pity. I see how the other parents look at her every time there’s an event at the school, how they see her having a quirkless kid as shameful. I’m not sure having a dead kid is much better, but I don't know if it really matters at this point. I know it’s selfish but I’m sure mom will manage. I’ve Made up my mind.
I take the last few remaining steps up to the edge of the roof and set my school bag down. I slip off my shoes before stepping up onto the ledge. I wonder briefly if they’ll put up a fence around the edge of the rooftop after I'm gone, but quickly dismiss the thought. The breeze is somehow even stronger now and it chills me to my bones in the unseasonable cold of april. The cool feeling of the concrete under my socks is comforting as I inch closer and closer to the edge, feeling my stomach drop as I peer over at the traffic below. I take another deep breath, my face still wet with tears, and lean into the breeze.
My stomach flies into my throat as the ground rapidly approaches under me and I shut my eyes tight against the air rushing all around my body. I hear nothing but the whooshing of air before I sense nothing at all.
The world is dark and empty, and it is peaceful.
And then I wake up.
The first thing I notice is the pain. My whole body feels like it’s on fire, and as I try to move I notice I’m more stiff than I’ve ever been. My eyelids practically creak as I pry them open and my joints scream as I sit up. I look down at my aching body and notice a large symmetrical scar on my chest that definitely wasn’t there before. Gingerly I run a finger along the ridges left there and realize with a start I’ve been autopsied.
I whip my head around to see where I am, regretting it immediately when the pain in my head sears even brighter. I gently press my palms to my eyes for a moment as the pain slowly subsides. I look around again, slower this time, and notice tables of medical equipment and smooth metal tables that look about the size of a person. I'm sitting on one, I realize, and I quickly notice that the only thing stopping me from being outright naked is a thin white sheet. I feel my face heat up as I look around desperately to find clothes, only to be met with the searing headache again. Carefully I ease myself off the table, finding my legs shaky but otherwise capable of holding me. I stumble a bit as I walk towards one of the doors I can see, holding the sheet wrapped around me like a lifeline. I crack the door open silently and peek around it, thankful to find an empty office. The windows are dark, and I think it must be night time outside.
“-course, I’m just here to finish the report” I hear a deep voice on the other side of the door I just came through, and I nearly jump through the roof. I scan the room I'm in and see a row of four lockers, one of which is ajar with a few pairs of black scrubs hanging in it. I throw a pair on as fast as humanly possible, the adrenaline coursing through me momentarily making me forget how much pain I’m in, and pry open a window as I hear the first sounds of alarm coming from the man and the person he was talking to in the other room. The window slams open easier than I thought it would, making a sound which I'm sure doesn't go unnoticed by the people in the other room. I throw myself through the window, scraping my stomach on the ledge and landing hard on my hands and knees, and I’m suddenly grateful that the office was on the ground floor instead of some place higher up.
I hear shouting from the room behind me as I take off running down the street, taking a sharp right and sprinting down an alleyway. I keep running even as I hear shoes pounding behind me and a man’s voice yelling for me to stop. I take sharp lefts and rights until I'm not even sure where I came from anymore. My breath is heaving and my legs are shaking as I find a fire escape and begin to climb it, collapsing for a moment as I make it to the top. My rest is short lived though as i can hear someone a few rooftops over breathing heavily I stand shakily and look toward the sound to see a man with long dark hair and large yellow goggles about three buildings away breathing heavily and scanning the streets below.
“Eraserhead?” I breathe, more stunned than anything. “I’ve been running from Eraserhead?” Panic builds in my chest as I quickly start to walk toward the opposite side of the building. Does this make me a criminal? Am I going to be arrested for evading capture? I look at the gap between this building and the next and decide i don't have time to be afraid of falling. I take a deep breath and sprint for the edge before leaping as far as I can. I just barely make it to the edge of the other building, catching my foot on the ledge and going face first into the concrete, sprawling as my body crashes into the rooftop. I lay there silently for a moment, hoping I didn’t just give myself away to eraserhead.
Slowly I drag myself to my feet, looking around as I start walking to the other side of the roof. The underground hero is nowhere to be seen, and luckily there is a fire escape heading down on this side of the building so I don't have to repeat the spectacular fall that just happened. The adrenaline is wearing off as I slowly make my way down the fire escape, and everything is starting to hurt again. It’s no longer a searing pain, but a dull throb that makes its way down to my bones.
Slowly my breath returns as I wander barefoot through the streets of what I assume to be musutafu. I don't recognize anything, and I give up on walking as the sun rises and settle down next to a dumpster. I curl up with my back against the wall as I go over the events of the day. Why am I still alive? Am I really alive? What am I supposed to do now? Questions and confusion fill my head as I slowly drift off to sleep, the cold from the ground seeping through the fabric of my stolen scrubs.