Stars (Dead Deku AU)

Chapter One - A Joke

When a child loses their parents they are called an orphan. If a person was to lose their spouse they are called a widow or widower. However, there is no name for a parent who has lost their child. This is because not a single word can begin to describe the pain of losing something that was loved so dearly as a parent loving their child.  -Ronald Reagan.

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He wasn't one of those people.

Izuku Midoriya wasn't one of those people that would turn tail and run the minute the going got tough. It was one of the traits that Katsuki Bakugo despised about him the most.

So that day, when Bakugo heard that Deku had committed suicide he didn't believe it. He thought it was a joke. A prank. One that Deku was going to pay for later.

But Bakugo never got revenge.

After all, Izuku had already paid with his life.

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The funeral was a sombre affair. Not many people came. And there were no children. Apart from Bakugo of course. Funny, how the very same boy that told Izuku to kill himself was the one that was feeling the second most pain.

The one feeling the most was Inko.

Inko Midoriya.

Izuku Midoriya's mother.

She wasn't even crying. Still in too much shock. She moved about the motions of a perfect hostess however. Thanking people for coming. Asking ''oh should I take this for you?'' Saying ''just this way Mitsuki!''

When the priest came and they lowered Izuku's body into the grave she still wasn't crying.

When guests started to leave and said the customary ''I'm sorry for your loss'' she thanked them all over again and waved them off. She still wasn't crying.

When she arrived home, put her bag down, hung up her coat and called Izuku down for dinner she still wasn't crying.

The only time tears left her eyes in great big lumps, leaving a salty taste in her mouth and ruining her half of the dinner was when she looked up and saw the empty seat.

The empty seat that would never again be filled by her son.

The empty seat that reminded her of every memory she had had with Izuku.

The empty seat with the steaming hot food lying in front of it that she had made because she refused to believe her son was dead.

But it was true.

Her son was dead.

He committed suicide.

As Inko's cries racked the night she muttered over and over to herself ''what kind of mother doesn't realise when her child is hurting..''

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Darkness. No. First light. Then Darkness. Darkness with a capital D.

Pain. Yes. Pain. Everywhere. No. Not near his heart. Everywhere but his heart.

Sounds. What sounds were there? A soft mumbling. Were those words his or someone elses?

And light. Not darkness. And definitely not the Darkness with a capital D. It seeped through his closed eyelids which slowly flickered open, exposing beautiful green eyes.

De...ku...? Was that his name? He couldn't remember.

No. His name was... was...

Izuku Midoriya!

That's it.

The boy named Izuku Midoriya stood up. He was in a park. Why was he in a park?

He thought back to what he had been doing previously. Air. There was the feeling of air on his body. Why did he feel air? He didn't feel anything now. Not the intense pain that had been scratching at every part of his body just a few seconds before him. Not the wind that blew past his ear, dragging a few leaves with it. Nothing.

Izuku glanced down at his hands and his eyes widened, horrified. They were littered with unfamiliar scars, cuts, bruises. Anything you could imagine. And blood too. Lots of blood.

''N-no!'' Izuku wanted to yell but instead all that came out was a frantic whisper ''go away!'' He shook his hands as if, somehow, that would make the cuts and blood go away. Strangely enough, it did.

''W-what...?''

Had he- had he finally gotten his quirk?

Izuku's lips let out a small smile, which was weird. Surely he should be feeling happier. He had just discovered his quirk after all. It was as if his emotions were just out of reach. Taunting him. Calling him closer, only to move out of the way at the last minute.

Regardless, Izuku brushed it off and looked around him, he recognised this place. It was... near his house. No. He lived in an apartment... over... there! Izuku set off running and, being his usual clumsy self, tripped over his own feet.

In an attempt to save himself, Izuku grabbed onto the nearest tree. Or at least, he tried to. Instead, his hand fell right through. What the-

With a thud Izuku hit the ground.

And with that thud came thousands of memories. Each one came rushing by so fast that Izuku barely had time to remember them.

Oh. That's why I felt air.

I died.