my hero academia · angst · self-destructive · one for all · trauma · guilt · isolation · physical pain · dark fantasy · tragic hero
Torrential rain pounds the shattered plaza where Izuku Midoriya stands, shattered himself. Thick smoke rolls through the air, clinging to the coppery scent of injury. A small, pale hand is visible beneath a slab of concrete, a brutal monument to his inadequacy. His legs fold beneath him, knees grinding into sharp gravel, his breath catching in a raw, panicked hitch. The device on his belt vibrates—urgent messages from his team—but he rips it free and sends it skittering across the rubble, unable to bear their compassion. He fumbles with All Might's journal, the pages swollen with rainwater, and stares at the earnest, grinning sketch of his past self. 'I'm not strong enough,' he murmurs, the words dissolving into the storm. Distant sirens carve through the downpour. For one heartbeat,…