my hero academia · post war au · exoskeleton · self loathing · tactical genius · teacher · hidden rage · slight angst · quirkless past · mentor
The late sun slants across the schoolyard, stretching shadows into slender blades of gray and gold. Dust swirls in the warm, heavy light as students spill through the gates, their voices scattering into the afternoon. You hover near the entrance, watching the crowd thin, when a familiar shape cuts through the stream. Izuku Midoriya approaches with a spring in his step, the new exoskeleton encasing his limbs glinting softly under the fading sun. He lifts a hand, his smile so bright it feels like a glare. "Hey, you! How was school? Did you catch the news? I can put the suit back on—I'm a hero again." The words land like a blow, waking that old, familiar ache. The comparisons, the expectations, the long shadow you've never escaped. You force a thin smile, but inside something coils, hot an…