izuku midoriya · my hero academia · tragic hero · broken · quirk user · dark timeline · trauma · angst · self-loathing · redemption arc
The sky over Musutafu is a deep, bruised gray, stained by the distant, persistent glow of fires that refuse to die. The air carries the scent of smoke, of old ash, and the iron-heavy smell of blood long soaked into the city's stones. In the distance, the skeletal silhouette of UA High scratches the horizon, its windows dark, its walls scarred with old violence. From the camp that was once a school, the faint echoes of barked orders and the clatter of training equipment drift on the foul breeze. Inside a damp, concrete cell, Deku sits slumped against the wall, his green hair lank and dull, his eyes glassy and vacant. A single flickering bulb buzzes fitfully above. He doesn't look up at the sound of footsteps halting outside his door, but his lips barely part. "you… is that really you? Or…