NA: warning, this story is not for the faint of heart, there will be blood, there will be gore, there will be character death, and possible demonic possession YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Izuku Midoriya stared at the monster before him, its body was gelatinous and tinged a sickly green hue. Its eyes, free floating in the goop were staring into his soul, the whites of his eyes a lime green and the pupils were small pinpricks of shadow. Its grin was hideous stretching far wider than normally possible. It cackled, the voice was ear wrenching, like two rocks grinding against each other.
" just what I need, a new meat puppet!" at those words Izuku's eyes widened in terror. His voice was hoarse and came out in barely a whisper
" n-n-no, please" the monster's eyes lit up.
" Don't worry," it said with sardonic glee " it won't hurt long!" the beast threw itself at Izuku, its body coiling around him. Izuku thrashed uselessly against his bonds his eyes wide tears beginning to pour out as the sludge poured over him depriving him of oxygen. He struggled, arms flailing through the goop uselessly trying to reach the sweet air outside.
He knew he was going to die, he could feel weakness flooding into him. his eyes grew hazy. 'It's over, isn't it?'
yet through failing eyes, he could see the shadows outside his prison congeal into a human figure. The figure was sickly pale, its skin tinged a light green, like moldy cheese. It is clothed in oppressive robes blacker than sin with a hood covering its head. The hood fell back revealing a bloody stump. maggots crawled over the festered wound and flies buzzed around it, the skin near the wound was modeled green and red as infection took over. its arm rose and gripped in its sickly pale hand was hair long and blacker than night. And as if time had stopped his eyes trailed down to its source. The face was pale and bloodstained, the skin stretched tightly over a battered skull. Its grin was a gash that reached from one ear to the other. Its eyes were holes into oblivion. Its mouth opened, and through deaf ears, he heard "IZUKU MIDORIYA" and with those words all was black.
All was darkness, forever darkness, warm shadow to caress the soul. He felt was weightless. what was weight? Suddenly a light, it was a small light nothing more than a pinprick, yet to someone who has only known darkness, it was brighter enough to sear the soul. Then another appeared, and another and the sky shone with a thousand lights.a voice deep within his mind spoke wonderingly 'stars?' And brightest of all hung above him, the moon perfect in its radiance was above him a thousand mile away, and just out of reach. He looked below him to find its twin hanging in a twin sky as perfect a recreation as a mirror.
He floated there in the perfect radiance of twin moons for what seemed like an eternity. Yet slowly fragments of memory came to him, fragments of him floating in from the ether. Slowly he knew himself as Izuku Midoriya. Quirkles, boring, fearful and cowering Izuku Midoriya yet he could tell something was missing from his memories. And he began to wonder where he was?
And as he looked around more he noticed the stars directly in front of him warping slightly pulling apart revealing the darkness behind, and as he turned his head the anomaly followed him always staying in the center of his vision. And as he moved about it began growing larger, until the black was about the size of a man, and out of the shadows stepped a figure in black robes a hood concealing his face. And as if on cue the final piece of his life snapped into place. He knew his whole life story and its inevitable end. Images flashed before his eyes, a bloody rotten stump.
His heart leaped into his throat as the figure threw back its hood, revealing not the fetid neck what he feared but a healthy face making a pleasant smile. Yet as he looked at that face he could not help but make comparisons between it and a pale, rotting, maggot-ridden face. It was the same person, how?
" Oh, so you remember me, Izuku Midoriya?" it grinned devilishly yet its voice was pleasant like honey with an odd accent that made it seem like he was on the brink of singing.
Izuku's brain was a swirl of thoughts, terror at what this thing could be fighting with a thousand questions yet as he thought he spewed out the first thing that came to mind
"How do you know my name?" it's smile grew wider, this time with mirth and laughter tinged his sing-song voice
" really out of all the questions that is the one you ask? Not where you are, not what I am, not do theses pants make my ass look fat?" he chuckled but the laughter drained from its face replacing it with grim certainty " but to answer your question, I know all the names of the deceased, it is my duty to call their names and bring them to the afterlife."
"Shinigami" Izuku whispered, and his eyes widened as he realized his fate "that means…"
"Yes, you're dead"
Izuku paused letting its words soak in and slowly he tilted back until he was staring into the moon. He was dead.
"Hmmm" he felt as if that should mean more to him, he knew he should be panicking or trying to bargain with the creature before him, he just didn't feel like it. In fact, everything just seemed pointless, he wondered if oblivion would be like this, to sit under a starry sky for all eternity, or perhaps he would dream… dreams, didn't he have one? Something about being a hero. He couldn't tell everything was foggy the sky blurred moon blending into stars. "Hero…" he whispered.
The weight of years slammed into him. He had a dream! Had he suffered through years of torment because of his dream to let it slip through his fingers now?! He wouldn't, he couldn't
'i will be a hero' his thoughts screamed 'I WILL BE A HERO' louder "I WILL BE A HERO!" he screamed to the heavens. The world snapped into focus, he lunged at the robed figure catching it by the lapels of his robes and slammed it up against something.
" GIVE ME A SECOND CHANCE!" its eyes darkened in anger it seized izuku by the neck and threw him back, he flipped midair and faced the figure.
"THERE ARE NO SECOND CHANCES!" it screamed spittle flying, a black mist visibly leaking from its neck, gone was the pleasant smile its mouth was curled in a rictus of anger.
" there are no second chances," it said again its voice calmer " but I'm a reasonable spirit, I will make you a deal." it said black holes borrowing into Izuku's own green orbs " let me share your body" Izuku spoke without hesitation
"Yes"
Its grin was a gash that reached from ear to ear " Hello Izuku, my name is Tomino"
."
It reached out its hand and Midoriya shook it " it is a pleasure doing business with you" it descended into mad cackling
next chapter: June 26
