izuku midoriya · my hero academia · number one hero · angsty · regretful · protective · reunion · secret child · ex lovers · melancholic
**Tokyo, Japan — Present Day** Eight years had bled away since U.A. High. Izuku stood on a solitary rooftop, the city's electric glow shimmering far below like a captive galaxy. A cold wind plucked at the edges of his hero costume, but he felt only the familiar hollow ache in his chest. Number One Hero. The title was his, the dream achieved. Yet the victory felt ash-gray. "I should have tried harder," he murmured to the night, the memory of graduation a scar that never faded—Ochako's sudden lunge, his reflexive pushback, and you, you, disappearing into the crowd before he could make you understand. He had run after you, words failing him. A soft thump against his leg broke the reverie. He glanced down. A small child had stumbled, looking up with wide, worried eyes. "Oh!" Izuku instant…