Chapter One : there's really nothing left for me here

*Disclaimer : I don't own Boku no Hero Academia :I

*Reading Pointers :I

- blah blah = usually the setting and time of the scene

- "blah blah" = reserved for dialogue

- "blah blah" = revealing thoughts

- blah blah = emphasis

Aldera Junior High - Career Counseling Office

14 : 34

"Midoriya... don't you think it's about time you let it go?"

The question hung in the air for an uncomfortable minute or so before a certain green-haired student shook his head. Eyes shut tightly and fists curled, he refused.

"Midoriya, look here."

The young boy - in his last year of middle school - clasped clammy hands around his ears, hoping to drown out the words that only stabbed endlessly at everything he stood to reach. "No! No! No! I won't listen to a word you say!" With every shake of his head, he was dragged away even further from his most cherished dreams. It got to the point he was shaking, tearing up in his seat in front of the career counselor. The frustrations he suffered daily slowly poured out in a suffocating pool.

The bullying...

The hopelessness...

The quirklessness...

His worthless self...

In the adult's eyes currently witnessing the boy's vulnerable state, her mind only filled with slight irritation. She frowned as she arranged his file, "Let-"

"NO!" An unexpected shout came from Midoriya, his tearful green eyes showed hate, fear, and sadness simultaneously. This only continued to vex the woman until her hand came down to the side of his face. Flesh hitting against flesh, she bellowed, "Let go, kid!"

"Why are you so stubborn?! Be real! You're quirkless for goodness's sake! You have a death wish, huh, thinking you can save people without a damn quirk?!" This woman - no longer mindful of maintaining her professional posture - yelled with all her might. She just wanted to drill those words of truth into the kid's head. Other teachers were thinking of resolving the situation without the principal hearing of the sudden slap and outburst from the dedicated student career counselor. But it was rather pointless in the end.

Midoriya hurried out of the teacher's workroom, carelessly bumping into other students who were waiting for their turn to talk to their counselor on what track they would take and which school they would go to come high school year.

Coming to a sudden stop, he wiped at his tears, rubbing snot on the fabric of his gakuran. "Why?" He thought as he entered his classroom with his head down, walking swiftly to his seat. A little unsteady in his balance, he tripped over his own feet, arms reaching his table just in time his knees met the ground. Fighting back additional tears, a rather violent fist rocked his table. "Shitty Deku, you fuck! Stop whimpering like a quirkless weakling!"

Rage boiled within Midoriya, "Of course, it isn't enough! IT'S NOT ENOUGH!" He turned his face to the ash-blonde, meeting him with the same unfounded animosity he constantly received from the other. "Would you just fucking shut up?!" He roared, slamming his fist on the other boy's face. This turn of events garnered a look of complete shock from every student present in the class.

"You just socked Bakugou! You wanna die, Midoriya?" One with elongated fingers brought a hand to his mouth, attempting to hide his strained laughter. Bakugou - as his "friend" called him - rose higher than Midoriya. What came apparent to this explosive teen was that the weakling in front of him wasn't shaking. He wasn't backing away. He wasn't making any excuses to get away from him. The blonde activated his quirk, and with it came a set of mini explosions originating from his sweaty palms. There was a bloody look in his red eyes as he thought, "This is new..."

Directing all of his power towards the glaring green-eyed boy, he screamed vehemently, "DIE, DEKU!"

A blast like no other struck Midoriya straight in the chest. A force so strong that it knocked him to the wall. The other students giggled and chuckled amongst themselves as they made way for the fight. What they didn't realize soon enough was that it was the last punch drawn. "Get up, Deku..." Bakugou smiled as a new sense of exhilaration coursed through his body. How powerful he felt!

"He... He isn't..." A student stuttered, her breath catching in her throat. "Bakugou! He isn't moving!" She yelled, enough for the whole class to hear. Everyone - with the exception of Bakugou Katsuki - started to panic as the entirety of the grey smoke cleared up, displaying the unmoving Midoriya laying face-first on the tiled classroom floor.

"Settle down, younguns!" Their homeroom teacher entered, swinging his machine-like hand to disperse the smoke away from his face as he coughed a little. Although, when he saw the chaos that ensued after the sight of Midoriya's limp body and the blood-thirsty Bakugou, he immediately called the ambulance along with the authorities.

"Please! Get here as soon as possible!" The teacher scrambled to come to Midoriya's aid, checking the freckled boy's pulse. Teachers pushed through the door, "We heard the commotion! What's wrong?!"

"Midoriya! He's got no pulse!" After making the call, the teacher placed the phone near him, leaving the phone to record his efforts to rescucitate his student. The astounded Bakugou and the rest of the students were ushered out of the room.

"Mi-Midoriya! Come back! Come back! Midoriya!" Push after push, breath after breath, an uneasy feeling spread across the school staff. Quirkless student, Midoriya Izuku, was at death's door...

...

Musutafu General Hospital - Room 138 - Midoriya

18 : 54

"Please wake up... please, Izuku..." A chubby woman with dull green hair begged on her knees. She wept to no end, grasping her son's hand as if it was her lifeline. She cradled the boy's arm, heart aching immensely. The pain she felt was beyond a feeling. The sight of the heart monitor and the sound of its constant beeping brought physical harm to her health.

It wasn't long before things took turn for the worse.

With shallow breathing, she gulped down air. She placed a hand to her chest, blinking at the unbearable tightening of it. "God... please let my son live..." She gripped his hand, praying to whatever god existed, "If I should die, then let him live... live with a smile... on... his face." Her grip loosened, her heart stopping, freeing her from her usual struggle with life and death.

A few hours had gone by after the initial doctor's checkup that the nurse stationed in that floor made his rounds. He entered the room, greeting the boy's mother with a cheerful smile - one that he frequently used during work. Not hearing an audible reply from the woman, he placed his hand on her shoulder. Finding it odd that she didn't acknowledge his presence, he asked once more. "Mrs. Midoriya? Are you alright?" Shaking her shoulders, she suddenly fell backwards. Tear stains still clung to her cold and pale face.

The nurse checked her pulse, finding there was none. "Ma'am? Mrs. Midoriya?! Shit!" He immediately announced his findings through the phone he had with him, calling his supervisor to tell her that the patient's guardian died during her visit. It was even more devastating to find that Izuku himself was aware of what had happened. The boy was struck silent, a lost look in his eyes. The nurses had done their best efforts to comfort the boy but to no avail. All he could think at that moment as he looked at where his mother once laid, "It's all my fault..."

...

Musutafu General Hospital - Room 138 - Midoriya

23 : 21

Weeks passed with Izuku still under the extensive care of the hospital. Since his father worked abroad, he was provided with a caretaker to watch over his recovery - and possibly, his mental health. The old woman wasn't awful, but she wasn't his mother either. It was difficult for the boy to accept his mother's death. He barely ate. He barely slept. He cried often and was later diagnosed with insomnia. When receiving calls from his remaining guardian a world away grew tiresome, he stopped responding, though he would still listen to the messages quickly piling up in the answering machine.

*beep*

Hey, kid... I'm planning to go home. Then we can talk about what we're going to do... okay?

*beep*

*beep*

Izuku, I'm sorry... I should have been there for you...

*beep*

*beep*

Son, stay strong...

*beep*

The degree in which the man expressed his emotions seemed rather contained in the beginning, but even Izuku could tell his father was suffering just as much as he was. It didn't matter that they were far away from each other or how long they haven't seen each other, he knew it all along.

"This is all my fault..." Izuku walked the empty hallways, accompanied by his caregiver. His chest had surgical scars from his near-death experience having been blasted by Bakugou's powerful explosion. He didn't understand why, but even with the hate he felt for the blonde, he still admired the way the boy's quirk would obey his every command. At least, he had a quirk. Izuku had none.

He felt his scars, flattening his palm on his chest. It tingled a little. It wasn't physical pain. It was something he learned to force down and ignore if he wanted to "stay strong." Izuku blinked his green eyes, watching the darkness mingling with the city lights outside the glass window.

"When..." He turned his thin frame to gaze into the older woman's salmon-pink eyes. She nodded for him to continue, "Go on, Izuku..." Looking outside the window again, he inquired rather softly, "When can I leave?" It was an odd contrast from his usual agitated or apathetic demeanor. She stopped beside him, giving him enough time to glance her name from her nametag. "I am sure the hospital will allow your discharge once your father arrives." She nodded, closing her wrinkled eyelids, "He will be taking you home... why do you ask? Didn't he say he'd be coming in a month or so?"

Izuku wrapped his hands around his elbows as if embracing himself as he stared at nothing in particular, "It's just..." He contemplated, drawing his left index finger away from his arm to scratch at his freckles, "There's really nothing left for me here..."

After saying such a strange statement, Izuku started walking once again, his head craned upwards as he stared at the flickering ceiling lights above him.

Chapter One - The End