History Fanfic / InASkyOfAMillionStars

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/16112111 In A Sky Of A Million Stars (Who Cares If One More Light Goes Out?)]]'' is a ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' {{Fanfic}} by [[https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stringlish/pseuds/Stringlish Stringlish]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn. It's a ForWantOfANail fic where Izuku attempted to commit suicide after being told he couldn't become a hero by All Might. The story delves into the aftermath of the attempt, and how it affects his friends and family -- specifically on Bakugou Katsuki.

* FairWeatherFriend: All of Katsuki's lackeys at Aldera prove to be this, as he was at the center of Izuku's suicide attempt due to being both Izuku's primary bully, and the person who witnessed said attempt and tried to save Izuku's life via CPR. When he comes back to Aldera, they all avoid him and instead join in on the growing rumor mill. Unsurprisingly, it isn't very hard for Katsuki to forego Aldera altogether in favor of homeschooling via their online program.
* FantasticAbleism: Discrimination against the quirkless and those with weak quirks is portrayed as this. Hisashi abandoned his family because his son was quirkless, and while Izuku doesn't particularly care for his father anymore, his mother's reaction to the situation (trying to convince Izuku he didn't need a quirk, neglecting her own quirk) had a negative effect on him, because he thought she was punishing herself because of him.
* ForWantOfANail:
** Because Izuku is still in the midst of his recovery and hasn't actually graduated from middle school yet, he's not a member of class 1-A -- Shinsou takes his seat instead.
** Thanks to that, he also isn't present during the USJ incident, only showing up after it's over. Katsuki, however, took inspiration from him and proves to be a huge thorn in Tomura's side during the attack, enough that Tomura develops a grudge against him in addition to the one he has against All Might.

* LikeParentLikeSpouse: It's noted by Katsuki that Izuku is a lot like his father, Masaru. Considering that Katsuki is basically a younger, immature, male version of his mother...

** Played straight at Aldera Junior High, where the environment is toxic and bullying runs rampant. Only the vice-principal shows any concern for the students; the teachers are ineffectual, apathetic and/or, in the worst cases, complicit. The principal is too concerned with keeping his hands clean of the mess and would rather throw his students under the bus than help them, much to Toshinori's disgust.

* ArrangedMarriage: The Todorokis. Unlike in canon, where it's implied Enji deliberately sought Rei out, here the marriage was arranged by their respective families without either of their consents. They tried to make it work at first, wanting their children to have happier childhoods and lives than they did, but Enji's obsession with beating All Might consumed him and destroyed the family dynamic.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Izuku's true love has always been quirks. Anyone who's read his Quirk Analysis Notebooks outright call him a genius for how good he is at breaking down quirks and their potential applications. [[spoiler:He's so brilliant at it that it's enough for Aizawa to give him an opportunity to join his class]].

** Katsuki blames himself for the attempt and devotes himself to making it up to Izuku anyway he can, including repairing their friendship. It also affects his behavior at school, where he is ''much'' softer (though still a JerkWithAHeartOfGold) than he is in canon.

* CombatMedic: After Izuku's suicide attempt, Katsuki dedicated himself to learning more battlefield first aid in preparation for similar incidents he will no doubt face as a hero. It was him who stabilized Aizawa during the USJ incident with Tsuyu's help.

** When Izuku wakes up and far enough in his recovery, he follows in his best friend's footsteps so he can finally graduate and go to U.A. himself.

* FantasticRacism: Discrimination against the quirkless and those with weak quirks is portrayed as this. Hisashi abandoned his family because his son was quirkless, and while Izuku doesn't particularly care for his father anymore, his mother's reaction to the situation (trying to convince Izuku he didn't need a quirk, neglecting her own quirk) had a negative effect on him, because he thought she was punishing herself because of him.

** Thanks to that, he also isn't present during the USJ incident, only showing up after it's over. Katsuki, however, took inspiration from him and proves to be a huge thorn in Tomura's side during the attack, enough that Tomura develops a grudge on him in addition to the one he has against All Might.

* LovingBully: Katsuki is implied to have become this before the attempt, towards Izuku. This is deconstructed; Izuku reciprocated his feelings, but didn't know they were mutual, so having the primary object of his affections treat him so terribly did a lot of damage to his psyche.

** Played with in regards to the Inko and the Bakugous. While they were aware about their children's feelings for each other, none of them supported it because of how unstable their relationship was. With this no longer being the case, they fully support the idea now and make active attempts to push Izuku and Katsuki together.

* SoProudOfYou: During his recovery after the USJ incident, Aizawa is shown to be simultaneously regretful that he wasn't strong enough to protect his students and proud that they managed to handle themselves just fine regardless. He is especially proud for Katsuki for taking charge of the situation and formulating a plan to hold off the villains long enough for help to finally get there.

* AdultFear:
** Learning that your child tried to commit suicide, and only barely managed to survive. Or, in the case of the Bakugous, learning the son of your friend tried to commit suicide, and that your own son saw it firsthand and had to perform CPR on them to save their life.
** Seeing your son wasting away at his comatose friend's side due to his GuiltComplex.
** The USJ incident. According to Izuku, Mitsuki broke several traffic laws trying to get to the site of the attack after learning about it.

* RealityEnsues:
** It takes months of rehabilitation and therapy for Izuku to recover from the attempt -- even a year after it happened, he can barely walk without crutches and he has a speech impediment that may stick with him for the rest of his life.
** Despite their relationship being ''much'' better than before, Katsuki and Izuku's bad history remains an ElephantInTheLivingRoom that they have trouble working through. It's because of that (and their feelings for each other) that Izuku has a hard time confiding to Katsuki about certain things and confides in Shouto instead.
** [[spoiler:Sitting in the pouring rain for an extended amount of time gives Izuku and Katsuki fevers, forcing them to skip school for two days]].

!!Tropes:

** Katsuki and Shouto are a lesser example. Despite supposedly disliking each other heavily, the two do form something of a bond and work well together when the chips are down. Shouto served as TheLancer to Katsuki during the USJ incident, helping him keep his head on straight when they were confronting Tomura and his main lackeys, and was the person Katsuki relied on most after himself when it was time to put their plan in action. Shouto is also one of the few people Katsuki trusts with Izuku, even going as far as telling him about the suicide attempt.

* BiTheWay: Izuku is confirmed to be bisexual, and had many crushes on both boys and girls over the years.

** Katsuki and Shouto are a lesser example. Despite supposedly disliking each other heavily, the two do form something of a bond and work well together when the chips are down. Shouto served as TheLancer to Katsuki during the USJ incident, helping him keep his head on straight when they were confronting Tomura and his main lackeys, and was the person Katsuki relied on most after himself when it was time to put their plan in action. Shouto is also one of the few people Katsuki trusts with Izuku, even going as far as telling him about the suicide attempt.
* {{WAFF}}: The story is one of "personal growth" and "healing". While there is a plot and it does get a little angsty at times, in the end the story's main goal is to make readers feel good and happy.

* ItsAllMyFault: Katsuki has this attitude for the first few chapters, thinking his bullying, particularly his careless SuicideDare, is what caused Izuku to jump. Despite being furious with him, Inko knows that this isn't actually the case -- Katsuki may have been Izuku's primary bully, but he was hardly the only one, and the bullying in itself was just one reason in the multitude Izuku had for his choice.

* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Izuku and Katsuki's feelings for each other are blatantly obvious.

* UsefulNotes/SignedLanguage: Due to his speech impediment, Izuku has difficulty speaking and learned JSL to compensate. Katsuki learns it as well (with the unfortunate consequence of teaching Izuku ''many'' curse words), as does Toshinori, [[spoiler:which is how Izuku figures out he's All Might]]. Present Mic also knows JSL, which is why Izuku is placed in his homeroom when he finally enters U.A.'s student body.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The author planned the story using the American School System. It never occurred to them that Japan used an entirely different system until users noticed and pointed it out. By that point, however, it was too late to change anything without having to rewrite most of what they had planned.

** Katsuki's previous HeroWorship of All Might takes a sharp downturn after he learns about Toshinori's role in Izuku's suicide attempt. While he does eventually come to respect and even like All Might again, he clearly doesn't idolize him as much as he used to.
** [[spoiler:Izuku's own idolization of All Might takes a massive hit after he learns the complete truth of the accident]].

* FantasticRacism: Discrimination against the quirkless and those with weak quirks is portrayed as this. While outright quirk marriages like Endeavor and Rei are not the norm, lesser versions, where couples separate because the offspring didn't have optimal quirks, are much more common than people think. Hisashi left Inko because Izuku turned out to be quirkless, and while Izuku doesn't particularly care for his father anymore, his mother's reaction to the situation (trying to convince Izuku he didn't need a quirk, neglecting her own quirk) had a negative effect on him, because he thought she was neglecting and hurting herself because of him.

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Izuku is this to Katsuki. After the attempt, Katsuki's guilt over the situation causes him to revolve his life around Izuku, even when Izuku was outright comatose and unable to interact at all with him. It serves as a deconstruction, as this causes him to neglect ''everything'' in his life in favor of just staying by Izuku's side. Eventually, his parents enlist a therapist to help him work through his grief so he can have a normal routine again, and when Izuku wakes up and becomes aware of the situation, he tries to convince Katsuki to make friends outside of him so they don't become codependent on each other.

** Played straight at Aldera Junior High. Only the vice-principal shows any concern for the students; the teachers are ineffectual or apathetic. The principal is too concerned with keeping his hands clean of the mess and would rather throw his students under the bus than help them, much to Toshinori's disgust.
** Very much averted at U.A., whose teachers all care for their students and want them to fulfill their full potential and beyond.

* ItsAllMyFault: Katsuki has this attitude for the first few chapters, thinking his careless SuicideDare is what caused Izuku to jump.

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Izuku is this to Katsuki. After the attempt, Katsuki's guilt over the situation causes him to revolve his life around Izuku, even when Izuku was outright comatose and unable to interact at all with him. It serves as a deconstruction, as this causes him to neglect ''everything'' in his life in favor just staying by Izuku's side. Eventually, his parents enlist a therapist to help him work through his grief so he can have a normal routine again, and when Izuku wakes up and becomes aware of the situation, he tries to convince Katsuki to make friends outside of him so they don't become codependent on each other.

* TalkingWithSigns: Due to his speech impediment, Izuku has difficulty speaking and learned JSL to compensate. Katsuki learns it as well (with the unfortunate consequence of teaching Izuku ''many'' curse words), as does Toshinori. Present Mic also knows JSL, which is why Izuku is placed in his homeroom when he finally enters U.A.'s student body.

** Despite their relationship being ''much'' better than before, Katsuki and Izuku's bad history remains an ElephantInTheLivingRoom that they have trouble working through.

* StartsWithASuicide: Played with. The actual attempt itself isn't shown, just the direct aftermath.

* OnlyFriend: Izuku was ultimately this to Katsuki prior to the attempt and vice versa. Despite the poor state of their relationship, Izuku was the one constant in Katsuki's life and the only person outside of his family who cared about him as a person. In return, despite treating him like shit, Katsuki was the only person to care about Izuku in return, as seen when he's the only one who was bothering to try and make any amends with him at all after what happened. This becomes blatantly obvious during Katsuki's first (and last) day at Aldera Junior High after the attempt; all the kids ([[FairWeatherFriend including his lackeys]]) avoid him and gossip about the situation, uncaring of the fact that he can hear them. Katsuki barely lasted until lunch before blowing up the cafeteria in a rage. They do start developing friendships with other people after the attempt, but these friendships are with adults -- as Izuku is stuck in a care facility for a good chunk of the story, he instead urges Katsuki to make friends with his U.A. classmates.

* ShipperOnDeck: The vast majority of Class 1-A start shipping Katsuki with Izuku after seeing them interact with each other. Mina even calls their more intimate moments "romantic".

* ChildhoodFriendRomance: The main pairing is Katsuki/Izuku. Thus far, Katsuki is confirmed to have feelings for Izuku, though is refraining from saying anything while Izuku is still in the middle of his recovery.

* FalseFriend: All of Katsuki's friends at Aldera prove to be this, as he was at the center of Izuku's suicide attempt due to being both Izuku's primary bully, and the person who witnessed said attempt and tried to save Izuku's life via CPR. When he comes back to Aldera, they all avoid him and instead join in on the growing rumor mill. Unsurprisingly, it isn't very hard for Katsuki to forego Aldera altogether in favor of homeschooling via their online program.

* OnlyFriend: Izuku was ultimately this to Katsuki prior to the attempt and vice versa. Despite the poor state of their relationship, Izuku was the one constant in Katsuki's life and the only person outside of his family who cared about him as a person. In return, despite treating him like shit, Katsuki was the only person to care about Izuku in return, as seen when he's the only one who was bothering to try and make any amends with him at all after what happened. This becomes blatantly obvious during Katsuki's first (and last) day at Aldera Junior High after the attempt; all the kids ([[FalseFriend including his lackeys]]) avoid him and gossip about the situation, uncaring of the fact that he can hear them. Katsuki barely lasted until lunch before blowing up the cafeteria in a rage.

* FairWeatherFriend: All of Katsuki's friends at Aldera prove to be this, as he was at the center of Izuku's suicide attempt due to being both Izuku's primary bully, and the person who witnessed said attempt and tried to save Izuku's life via CPR. When he comes back to Aldera, they all avoid him and instead join in on the growing rumor mill. Unsurprisingly, it isn't very hard for Katsuki to forego Aldera altogether in favor of homeschooling via their online program.

* OnlyFriend: Izuku was ultimately this to Katsuki prior to the attempt and vice versa. Despite the poor state of their relationship, Izuku was the one constant in Katsuki's life and the only person outside of his family who cared about him as a person. In return, despite treating him like shit, Katsuki was the only person to care about Izuku in return, as seen when he's the only one who was bothering to try and make any amends with him at all after what happened. This becomes blatantly obvious during Katsuki's first (and last) day at Aldera Junior High after the attempt; all the kids ([[FairWeatherFriend including his lackeys]]) avoid him and gossip about the situation, uncaring of the fact that he can hear them. Katsuki barely lasted until lunch before blowing up the cafeteria in a rage.

* LyingToProtectYourFeelings: Whenever Izuku's family and friends talk about the attempt within his earshot, they simply call it an "accident". This is because Izuku doesn't actually ''remember'' the attempt, and they know telling him would devastate him. [[spoiler:Sure enough, when he finds out, he flees U.A. and runs Dagobah Municipal Beach to sort out his feelings]].
* OnlyFriend: Izuku was ultimately this to Katsuki prior to the attempt. Despite the poor state of their relationship, Izuku was the one constant in Katsuki's life and the only person outside of his family who cared about him as a person. This becomes blatantly obvious during Katsuki's first (and last) day at Aldera Junior High after the attempt; all the kids avoid him and gossip about the situation, uncaring of the fact that he can hear them. Katsuki barely lasted until lunch before blowing up the cafeteria in a rage.
* RealityEnsues: It takes months of rehabilitation and therapy for Izuku to recover from the attempt -- even a year after it happened, he can barely walk without crutches and he has a speech impediment that may stick with him for the rest of his life.

* SoProudOfYou: During his recovery after the USJ incident, Aizawa is shown to be simultaneously regretful that he wasn't strong enough to protect his students and proud that they managed to handle themselves just fine regardless. He is especially proud for Katsuki for taking charge of the situation.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Katsuki's attitude towards himself after he punches out All Might, who, as he puts it, is a ''national icon''.

* OnlyFriend: Izuku was ultimately this to Katsuki prior to the attempt. Despite the poor state of their relationship, Izuku was the one constant in Katsuki's life and the only person outside of his family who cared about him as a person. This becomes blatantly obvious during Katsuki's first (and last) day at Aldera Junior High after the attempt;