Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Izuku wasn't one to take Bakugo's advice. But all it took was one sentence for him to reconsider his stance on Bakugo's advice.

"take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in your next life" 

He's been on that roof for god knows how long, Bakugo's words repeat in his head, over and over again.

"take a swan dive off the roof..." 

His shoulder burned, the starburst mark most definitely being 3rd degree burn. It isn't the first time Bakugo attacked him and most definitely won't be the last. “God I don’t even want to go to U.A, I gave up trying to be a hero after I found out what All Might did to dad” he thought to himself 

"take a swan dive off the roof..." 

"take a swan dive off…”

"take a swan dive..." 

“Swan dive…”

One simple sentence, 16 words, 7 of which stood out, 2 of which were ironic. Out of everyone Izuku never expected Bakugo of all people to suicide bait him.

“What if I actually did it? Bye bye hero career Kacchan all he’ll ever be is a villain…” he mumbled before he tilted his head. “Villain…” he mumbled, his eyes flickering to the edge of the roof before a feral grin spread across his face.

He grabbed his phone and called his dad. “Hey dad, do you still have that healing quirk? No, I just think it’s time for karma to pay a visit to dear ol’ Kacchan. I mean he wanted me to take a swan dive off of a roof and it’ll be such a shame for involuntary manslaughter to be on his file? He would be nothing but a villain” he said through laughter. After confirming if he were to take a swan dive he wouldn’t stay dead, Izuku wrote his suicide note, climbed off the roof and made his way to Aldera Middle School a feral cheshire grin on his face.

“Oh such a shame all this because I apparently don’t have a quirk” He said to himself giggling. He made his way to the roof taking his shoes off as he called his dad. “Do you have the body lookalike ready? Perfect, now I think video evidence would be good you know for my suicide? Oh…okay, perfect” he said, hanging up the phone as a portal opened.

Shigaraki stepped out with a huff “why do I need to be here?” he said. Izuku rolled his eyes “to record, now come on lets get this over with while dad hacks the cameras to get all the evidence of neglect, child abuse, child endangerment, bullying, etc. etc.” Izuku said before he walked to the edge.

Shigaraki clicked record as Izuku looked at the camera, fake tears pouring down his face as he said “tell my family I’m sorry” before he leaned back letting himself fall.

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Shigaraki clicked record as Izuku looked at the camera, fake tears pouring down his face as he said “tell my family I’m sorry” before he leaned back letting himself fall.

Izuku fell to the ground, or well he fell into a portal and a body that looked exactly like him—bruises, freckles, scars and all—landed where he would’ve fallen. Izuku’s fake tears turned into full blown laughs “oh god I wish I could see dear ol’ Kacchan’s face once the video gets posted everywhere” He turned to his dad…or well the man sitting in a wheelchair with half his face caved in. “You put the letter in his jacket pocket right? Who am i kidding of course you did” he said 

All For One or more commonly known as Midoriya Hisashi rolled his eyes fondly “yes Izuku everything is right where it needs to be just like how Tenko should be on the phone with the police reporting a suicide and the video has been posted everywhere.” Izuku’s smile brightened turning into a feral cheshire grin “well I’m alive, awake, and enthusiastic, do you have the ener-” he was cut off by his dad “you’re not healing me tonight. We can talk more about that in the morning. Right now you are going to eat then go to sleep”

Back at Aldera

Tenko sighed and opened his phone to call the police. “H-hello 110…I oh my god, I need to report a suicide. Yes I’m at Aldera Middle School…fuck I could’ve stopped him I saw him on the roof and…right okay okay…thank you” he said adding emotion to his voice despite his blank face. “What a drag” Tenko mumbled before Kurogiri opened a portal to send him back to the base.

“Next time do I really have to be the one doing all the work? I mean all you did was cry, say some words and then jump. But no I got stuck doing all the extra bullshit” Tenko basically whined. Izuku fake pouted “Aw but i thought you wanted to help me” which caused Tenko to roll his eyes “kill yourself?” he said before Izuku smirked “already did, remember? Or did having to do anything but sit around and play games all day ruin your memory? I always knew I was the smart one but way to prove it nii-chan” Izuku said in a condescending tone

“Boys enough. Izuku stop antagonizing your brother and Tenko you’re the eldest stop acting like a kid” Hisashi chimed in which caused both boys to mumble apologies. “Now Izuku, get to bed. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow.” Hisashi said before Kurogiri created a portal where he (dramatically if Izuku will say himself) exited.

Somewhere in Musutafu

Tsukauchi and Sansa arrived at the scene. “Detective Tsukauchi, Detective Sansa. It's good to see you again...though I wish it were on better occasions. The kid that jumped...he's in...was in middle school. We found this on the body” one of the police officers said holding a note. “Why are we even here? It’s quirkless shouldn’t we be happy it’s dead” another officer could be heard saying. Tsukauchi clenched his jaw "That boy is not an it and I suggest you leave and turn in your badge because we have multiple witnesses of quirk discrimination. A kid just took his life and you're worried about what his quirk is? Your disgusting get the fuck off my scene." he said his voice cold and stern.

He took a deep breath, put on gloves, took the letter from the officer and opened it.

Izuku’s Notebook – Entry 47 (Found Later)

(The page looks like it’s been folded and unfolded too many times. A corner is torn away. The handwriting changes from steady to almost unreadable halfway down the page.)

"If you’re reading this… then I guess I couldn’t keep pretending everything’s fine anymore.

I don’t even know what “fine” means now. I’ve said it so many times that it’s stopped sounding like a real word. Every time someone asks if I’m okay, I say it, and it feels like lying — but lying’s easier than watching their faces change when they realize the truth.

It’s strange — I always thought that if I just kept smiling, kept my head down, things would get better. That if I stayed quiet long enough, they’d forget I existed. But today proved me wrong.

Kacchan—no he’s Bakugo now— told me I should take a swan dive off a roof and pray for a quirk in my next life. Everyone laughed. Even some people I thought were my friends. The words burned more than any explosion ever could. The sound of it stuck in my head — sharp, echoing, impossible to shut off.

I wanted to say something back, but what could I say? He’s strong. He’s talented. He’s everything a hero is supposed to be. And me? I’m the joke. The quirkless kid who takes notes on people who actually matter.

I know people think it’s harmless. Just teasing. But when you hear it enough, it starts to sound like the truth. Every time he calls me “Deku,” it feels less like a nickname and more like a reminder — you’ll never be one of us.

The teachers see it. They hear it. But they don’t do anything. Maybe they think I’m too weak to stand up for myself. Maybe they just don’t care.

Sometimes I think if I write enough, I can drown it out. But words don’t make the noise stop anymore.

Lately, I can’t stand being around people. The hallways feel too close, too loud. When someone brushes past me, even by accident, it feels like the air disappears. I want to move, to speak, but my body forgets how.

There are memories that come and go — flashes I can’t name. I try not to think about them, but they find me anyway, like shadows that remember where I hide. I keep telling myself they’re just bad dreams, but my hands shake too much when I wake up for that to be true.

I used to think heroes could save anyone. That if I learned enough, trained enough, believed enough, I could be one of them. But what do you do when the thing you need saving from is the world you live in?

Sometimes I think it would hurt less if it was just the words. But it’s not. There’s the silence afterward, the way people look away, the way no one steps in. The way I flinch when I hear footsteps behind me, even when no one’s there.

There are things I can’t even write here. Things that make my stomach twist when I remember them. Maybe I’m a coward for not saying it out loud. Maybe I’m just tired.

I keep trying to convince myself that heroes are supposed to endure anything — that if I can just hold on, someday I’ll be strong enough to make it stop. But right now, it feels like the world’s already decided what I’m worth.

I can’t talk about it — not really. The words get stuck somewhere between my throat and my chest. Sometimes I start writing what happened, but the pen won’t move. I tear out the page before I can finish. I’m scared that if anyone sees, they’ll look at me differently. Or worse, they’ll look away.

I don’t hate Kacchan. I don’t even think he understands what he’s done. Maybe no one does. Maybe that’s why it hurts — because no one ever sees the damage until it’s already too deep.

I wish I could tell someone. I wish I could tell Mom. But she’s dead now and I’ll never get to tell her I’m sorry.

If you find this… I just want you to know I tried. I really did."

The last line is pressed so hard into the paper it nearly tears through. The ink pools at the end, where the pen must have stayed still for too long. Tsukauchi sucks in a breath before looking at Sansa “suicide baiting…he was suicide baited.” he said softly. “Do we have an id on the victim?” Sansa asked. Another office stepped forward with a school id “Midoriya Izuku” Tsukauchi nodded his head looking back at Sansa “Guess we have to go pay the Bakugo’s a visit and most likely call in Nedzu, if the school knew about this then chances are Midoriya-kun wasn’t the only victim.

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Okay so I have exams coming up so we won't have an update today sadly. But you'll get a double update next Saturday.

I do also want to clarify something since it's going to come up in the next chapter(s). Izuku has PTSD and Bipolar 1 which I decided to do and incorporate. I have done a ton of research on both disorders but if something is inaccurate please let me know. The fic also won't include katsuki past the first maybe 4-5 chapters, he is not necessarily important past Aldera getting looked into. Also these first few chapters are short asf for a reason it's mainly all background information before the fic actually starts, there will be flashbacks and I'll include an TW in the notes at the beginning.

But that's it, trust you'll get 2 chapters next week (maybe 3 who knows)