He runs towards the girl, doing his best to lift up the rubble, but to no avail. "Please, Kacchan." he whispers harshly, body shaking from the effort, "Please! It's not cheating if it's to save a life! Help me, please! I'll give credit where credit's due, if you want."

"Oh how wrong you are," Iida mumbles. "But yes, saving a person is more important than how you did it, providing you didn't hurt anyone too greatly in the process."

"Thank you, Mr. Obvious." Bakugou drawls, making his little squad giggle.

The rubble Izuku has been tugging on becomes a little lighter for only a second before the weight comes back in full force, making the girl groan in agony. It must be too heavy for Kacchan too. He does his best to call for help and move the object with no result. "Ka…cchan…" he inhales sharlpy. Fuck, fuck. Please, not again.

"Half a minute until the exams ends, Listeners!" Present Mic announces over the intercoms, "Be sure to get as much points now, because this is your last chance!" Ah fuck, shit. Kacchan holy shit, please!

"I can't watch this – kero!" Tsu covers her eyes.

"Oh no no no!" Jirou sucks in her breath drawing away from the screen and into her seat.

"They wouldn't let a person die would they?" Iida asks with faltering hand movements. They look towards the teachers who purse their lips. It was mostly Nezu's call, though he probably would not have let them die. Probably. Maybe he would have let Uraraka break a few bones first before stopping the zero pointer. Maybe, to teach a lesson. Hopefully not.

The wind seems to pick up, the noises from the incoming robot increasing. Sss, the winds blows past Izuku, who is starting to sob. Sss…w…ww…ord…

"Huh?"

"Ussse your fucking sword, idiot…"

The voice sounds distant, like through water or a few rooms away, though it sounded like it was coming right from beside him at the same time. "K-Kacchan…?"

"It's real!" Sero gasps.

"No, because all those writing were imagined previously." Bakugou jeers.

"No, dude. Now you have the ability to speak with him! Which means you're fully a real ghost."

"I can't possess him, though."

Midoriya blinks. "W-what are we talking about?"

Mina shakes her head, batting her pink hand in the air dismissively, "Nah, that's demon talk, yo."

Kaminari perks up, excited for his next line, "Nah dude that's alien talk, bro! 'Cause you're always possessing his money!"

Mina rolls her eyes, "Guys out here really thinking taking care of a child is waste, really." she puffs.

"Sometimes you just gotta let a child pour dish soap all over your floor." Kirishima agrees.

"The fuck are you waiting for, bastard?"the wind hisses and Izuku pulls out his sword that's strapped to his back, sticking the tip it on top of the slab the girl is stuck under without really thinking, though he can't stick it all the way down. It's concrete, come on.

"Come on, Deku." the air whistles gently, caressing his face and body and ruffling his hair slightly with what feels like hope.

Izuku gulps. Alright! He has to do this! "Uh, Uhm! Can you use your Quirk? " Izuku asks the girl frantically, whipping his gaze from her to the slowly incoming robotic hand. She had a floating Quirk or something, right?

The girl coughs, "Yes. But this – boulder, debris. Thing! Is too heavy!" she shouts.

"Can you use it on me?"

Some of the students nod, understanding what Midoriya is planning, while others are on the edge of their seats, waiting for the plan.

"Uhm yeah, but not for long, because I'm a little nauseous." the girl admits before sending a hand and grabbing his ankle, making him float to the air much like that morning. After he floats a few good meters above them, doing his best to not think about the worst case scenario and keep himself above his sword, he calls down to the girl,

"Okay, deactivate!"

After a second he falls down to earth, much like how gravity does most of the time. He flails his arms a bit, keeping balance, as he screams. He lands with his legs slamming each side of the cross guard of his sword, before he falls to the side. The sword is thrust farther into the slab breaking it in half and the girl groans in pain.

The students coo in amazement, "Nice thinking, Midoriya." Kouda compliments, "Especially for you entrance exam…"

The greenette chuckles, "Thank you!" He has to admit. Even he is a little impressed. Seems like other him got the idea of using legs long ago.

"Yeah, dude!" Kirishima compliments, "That move was totally manly!" He looks at Bakugou, then, smiling wider, "Nice thinking, bro!"

The blond doesn't look at him, frowning at the screen. But that's no matter.

It's easier to pull her out of the debris after that, helping her hop out of the way of the killer robot as she mumbles and cries, thanking him desperately. The practical exam ends and they both visit Recovery Girl for the girl's broken leg before they wish luck to each other and say their goodbyes.

The train back home is quiet and calming. It seems kacchan is letting him have some peace after all that terrifying stuff happened, which is nice of him. Izuku isn't sure if he passed enough to be in the hero course, but he thinks he did pretty well! He remembers constantly using his sword against the robots with little to no break. He feels relaxed and exited when he walks into his home.

"Hey, Izuku. How did it go?" Inko asks from her place in the kitchen.

"It was really fun!" Izuku informs as he shifts the backpack strap on his shoulder, the sword and sheath sticking awkwardly out of it. He has no idea why they let him enter the train station. "I think I might pass!"

His mother looks surprised for a second before sending him a bright grin, turning her body to meet him fully, "That's great, honey. I'm happy to hear that," She places the rag in her hands on the counter, "I'm proud, Izuku."

Izuku bounces in place happily, excited to talk to Kacchan again after this, "Thanks, mom! I'm gonna go rest now!"

"Of course."

"Aww." Mina places two hands over her heart, "So sweet!"

"Midoriya is so pure," Shinsou sighs, "It's a little annoying, really."

"H-hey!"

"Agreed." Bakugou grunts. Too bright.

When Izuku enters his room, he tosses Kacchan's notebook and reserved pen on the floor like he does every day. The atmosphere is calm and peaceful. It hadn't felt like this in a while, really. Maybe it's the hope. Maybe it's because kacchan discovered a new way of communicating with him. Though admittedly he prefers the writing. It's a little creepy when someone is whispering right into your ear.

Maybe this warm feeling around Izuku is because Kacchan believes in him.

Well, he didn't admit it. But what else could that 'Come on, Deku' be?

It always takes kacchan at least half an hour to respond after the day, unless he has something to berate Izuku about. The notebook and pen lay still. That's a good thing.

It's Kacchan's fourth ghost notebook. Labeled 'Deku's ghost notebook 4'. As expected.

"I just noticed how much hero merch Midoriya has…" Tsu murmurs, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Todoroki chimes in. "I wish I was this excited about anything in my life."

Midoriya chuckles, "I really… really like heroes."

"We can see!" Uraraka laughs.

Bakugou squints at the room shown. If he remembers correctly, there used to be way more All Might posters and merch. Now he can't even see one figure at least.

"Did you see me, Kacchan?" Izuku asks happily as he flops onto his bed, stomach first. "I really think I did it, Kacchan!" He sighs dreamily. He feels so fresh, loose. He feels so free. It's warm, here. The good kind. Lately it was always just a little too cold in his room. He turns around on his back, his feet dragging his unmade blanket around themselves.

"I can't believe I let you not make your bed." Bakugou grumbles. Midoriya chuckles. He's fully hugging the blond's side now. He's not sure if the other noticed.

"Thank you Kacchan," Izuku yawns. He can't help but grin giddily. "I know you're only helping me because that's why you're haunting me, but I really do mean it. And… I know that I haven't really done all that much… I'm not even sure if I passed! Though I think I did… I got how many points…? I heard the others saying they got – oh I'm trailing off again," he giggles, looking at the items in the middle of his room.

The notebook and pen lay still. That's a good thing, if he remembers correctly.

"I'd like to hear that beautiful laugh every day." Hagakure admits, crossing her arms.

Midorya blushes. "I'm sure you hear that enough!"

"Not the nervous chuckle," Shinsou explains, "The honest kinda laugh."

"I'm sure I do that enough, too."

"Not nearly enough." Todoroki voices, "I'm sure I would have remembered if you did."

Midoriya becomes even redder, resembling a strawberry. "S-stop!"

"But yeah, I think… that if it wasn't for you, I might have given up on the whole being a hero thing," Izuku admits with his eyes closed. He's not afraid to say it. He feels like he's free to do anything. He doesn't care what Kacchan might think. "That day… it was already rough. Even before the whole… yeah." He smiles sadly, opening his eyes and averting his gaze towards the wall. 'Deku' is still written there in shaky handwriting. His mother hasn't mentioned it.

"You probably know why, for a few of the reasons, at least. But…" Izuku hugs himself, cheeks heating. "I'm really proud of you, Kacchan. If that makes sense. Lately, I really feel like we've been getting along together. Like old times." he admits, only slightly embarrassed, "You're my hero, Kacchan."

Bakugou drags a hand over his flushing face, irritated. For fuck's sake, this is so stupid.

"That was such a manly confession." Kirishima breathes, sparkles of manliness that Aoyama had approved appearing around him, making Bakugou narrow his eyes and blush harder. All of these idiots.

"So wholesome," Kayama coos. Yamada nods with a pout, pounding a fist over his heart.

Midoriya nuzzles into the blond next to him. He might just cry.

"Now all you have to do is respond." Kaminari mentions nonchalantly.

"How the fuck am I supposed to respond to that."

Izuku chances a glance to the floor. The notebook and pen lay still. That's a good thing, he's pretty sure.

"I know, I know," he exhales, shifting to lie on his side, "You hate all the sappy stuff, well… Did you see that move I did? I don't know if that's what you had in mind when suggesting I use my sword, but I thought it was pretty rad!" He chuckles. "The girl – Uraraka she said her name was – got a little hurt, but she said she was really thankful… I hope we'll get to be in the same class." There is no response, of course. "Like, really. I don't know if they were going to just let her get crushed by that zero pointer or something… But I essentially saved her life, right?"

He says it with a smile – he did something good – but something feels off. Not right.

If I'm here because you failed to be a hero, then I'll only really leave when you do succeed.

Realization dawns on the students. "Now I wanna sit next to Kacchan…" Kaminari murmurs, placing a hand over his own cheek.

"Let them have their moment." Mina whispers, wrapping the electric blond in a hug.

Izuku shakes his head. No, no. Kacchan said that he was going to help him become a hero. Not save just one person! He isn't even in U.A. High yet!

The notebook and pen lay still. That's a good thing, usually.

But if he failed to save one person… then saving another would… but.

But how would they even know that Uraraka was gonna die? No, no. "Kacchan." This must be a misunderstanding. "Stop kidding around, Kacchan!" Izuku crawls out of bed and towards the lifeless items sitting on his carpet.

"Uuh, I'm gonna cry I think." Jirou says, wiping at her eyes.

"Since when do you give a shit about me?" Bakugou inquires gruffly.

"Uhm, a while ago, I guess?" She says bashfully, scratching her cheek with one of her jacks and blushing, "We all care about you, you know that, right?"

"Oh." Bakugou bites his lip, "Of course I do!"

But his body is loose. His soul feels so free. Like he isn't possessed. It's too quiet. And it's too nice. Like he isn't haunted. If Kacchan was really here, even if he wasn't doing anything, it wouldn't have felt like this, right? Not that Kacchan's presence is bad, especially not recently, but is this… this.

Did Kacchan know?

Izuku thinks back to the exam. The slab dropped like it was set on fire, like a realization. Come on, Deku. I can't help you because it wouldn't be you who would be saving her, otherwise.

Uraraka sniffs lightly, raising her knees to her chest.

Come on, Deku. This is your chance. Kill two birds with one stone. Save us both, Deku. Be a hero.

He shakes his head mindlessly, placing his forehead against the carpet, in front of the motionless objects, like a prayer. The notebook and pen lay still. That was supposed to be a good thing.

Is this really it, with no goodbye? He was supposed to go through this already; he was supposed to be over it. Kacchan's other two friends are over it to some capacity, right? This isn't fair. Why does he have to go through this twice?!

He raises his head, feeling lightheaded from the position on the floor. Maybe. Maybe Kacchan was… brought back to life, with the help of the ghost Quirk. But where would he be? Izuku can only think of a few options.

Bakugou sighs, brows knit. That's no good. His arm around Midoriya tightens. The shorter teen sobs into his shoulder softly.

The first is that he's where he started to exist… which is in his mother. He doesn't expect aunty Mitsuki to magically give birth to a son in nine months. Every Quirk has their limits. And giving birth twice to the same person has to cross some sort of lines. Or he would just be. A… lifeless thing there. Izuku shivers, no thanks, nope.

The second option is that he is where his physical body is. In pieces. Six feet under.

And the last option he can think of is that he is reincarnated where his 'soul' is, which would usually be about around Izuku. But he's not here.

Who knows. He might really have just been a ghost, like the ones in the stories. Or a fragment of Izuku's imagination.

His body gives, and he falls to the carpet limply, burying his face in their notebook on some random page that's open. Crying. He couldn't have at least say goodbye? A warning? Why does Izuku feel so nice, but so shitty? Why is he so selfish, to be sad about Kacchan's departure? Why is he so shitty that he makes it about himself? He wanted it. Both of them did. He worked for it. He worked to succeed in the entrance exams, if not to be a hero for everyone, then to be for Kacchan. Why is he the only one that helped Izuku? Why is it Kacchan, out of all people? Why does he care so much about him? Why is it always him?

Izuku cries himself to sleep on Kacchan's notebook. His mother doesn't wake him up.

The notebook and pen lay still. That's a good thing.

The screen fades to black.

Before anyone has the time to process everything they had just witnessed, Aizawas starts talking, standing up. "Alright. Time for supper. Tomorrow there's no school as you know. Take that time for your advantage with studying, relaxing-"

"Teacher!" Mina squawks, "Give us a moment, geez!"

Aizawa sighs. "You can grief back the Heights Alliance. We need to lock this room and it's already getting late. If anyone wants to talk to me or any of the other staff, don't be afraid to approach us."

It takes another moment for everyone to get up and leave, Iida's promise of all the students making dinner together as great motivation for everyone to get going. "Get off me," Bakugou growls, shoving Midoriya off his bean bag roughly and stands up, not taking his friends' hands that are offered to him.

"Midoriya," Aizawa says as the greenette's friends approach him, "I'd like to speak to you for a moment, privately." He side-eyes the teen's friends, who all grimace and walk away.

"Oh ah, Teacher! Sure," he says nervously, looking around at the room and noticing that they're the only ones left. "What is it?" Midoriya asks, wiping his slightly puffy eyes.

"I know that there is most likely no reason to bring this up, seeing how the two of you had acted today. This goes without saying, hopefully, but if Bakugou is giving you any trouble, please do contact me or any of the other staff and we'll take care of it in a reserved manner. Not just Bakugou."

Midoriya shakes his head hurriedly, waving his hands, "No, no. He isn't giving me any trouble, sir." He takes a breath and runs a hand through his curly hair, biting his lip in thought for a moment, "Our relationship used to be a lot more, uh." He gestures to the screen that is now turned off, "But it really has gotten better!" He drops his hand. "It's not like Kacchan and I are best friends now or anything, but I really think he's doing better. He just had to be humbled a little. I know he is a good person, and soon a great hero, too." he says earnestly.

Aizawa nods. "Good. Now go to your friends. If I remember correctly, you don't need to help make dinner tonight." the teacher reminds with a slight smirk.

Meanwhile, "Man," Kamianri sighs, rubbing his eyes as he walks to the dorms with his friends, "I can't get over that. It was so tragic."

"I know," Kirishima says, clutching a fist in front of himself, "I know I should have expected at least a few sad universes but that hits hard. Like,"

"Like we knew he would most likely pass," Sero finishes for him, "But it still came as a surprise. Sort of."

"Yeah…" Mina agrees. The four look back at their starring friend, walking in the back of the group. Bakugou doesn't seem to be paying attention, cleaning something stuck between his teeth with a grimace. "We're really proud, Baku…" Mina woos.

Bakugou lowers his finger from his mouth, still very much sneering, "Eh?"

"You really changed, man!" Kaminari points out gladly, pausing in his step to let the other blond join them in their moving huddle. "We really beat the mean out of you, huh?"

Sero snickers, "He is very much still mean."

Bakugou clicks his tongue and ignores them, pacing forwards and ahead. Mina catches up with him soon enough with a huff, placing a hand over his shoulder, which he shrugs off. "Bakugou! We really are glad you're alive and our friend, yeah? Even if you're a little bit of an ass sometimes." She grins. "We're glad you're okay, Kacchan!"

"Of course I am," he scoffs, "No way is anything like that is happening to me soon, and it better not happen to any of you dumbasses either."

"Yeah, yeah," Kirishima says, batting his hand, "We love you too."

"Fuck off, Shitty Hair. If you idiots die, I'll have no fucking competition! There is no way I'm taking first place if all the others don't even reach second!" he shouts.

The others laugh, much to his confusion and annoyance. "Yeah, yeah!" they cheer in unison like weirdos.

"Come on, I'm hungry." Sero voices.

Hatada drinks her cup of soda with content as she walks back to her own dorms. The walk is quite long from the cinema, but she finds she doesn't mind, even if she prefers never moving ever. She didn't enter U.A. for their hero course, after all. But the quiet of the evening is refreshing.

After hearing all the stories about class 1-A, it's a little gobsmacking to see them act like this, like teenagers. They're pretty loud and apparently enjoy talking during movies a lot but whatever; Hatada did manage to sneak in a nap.

Usually, she enjoys staying with the people she's comfortable with – doing mostly nothing in her free time, but this whole experience is lifting her mood. She feels of use, even if none of the students really give an arse about her. It's still very sweet to watch them react to her Quirk, especially when some come to her after the 'episode' and thank her. All she can really do in the moment is nod dumbly because she's left tired after using her Quirk for so long. She returns to normal the next day anyways, so it's good they do it in the evening.

It's also amusing seeing that kid Bakugou, who was supposedly some scary, arrogant bastard be all… well, she wouldn't call it soft, but. Nice? With all his friends. They all seem like such great friends, that class. Makes her miss her own friends, which she will shortly meet back at the dorms.

Though, because of all the napping and homework, she doesn't have that much time to snack, which is a shame. But when she wakes up she doesn't particularly feel hungry. Even at dinner. She shrugs. Oh well, the next day she usually turns back to her constantly hungry self anyways.

"Where's Kacchan?" Midoriya asks as he enters the Heights Alliance, walking towards the kitchen and dining area where everyone is generally at, thinking of what to make for dinner.

"Oh, hey Midoriya." Tsu greets, "Bakugou already went to his bedroom – kero. Didn't want to stay with us, I guess."

"Wait he left?" Kirishima perks up, looking around hastily before turning the other way to head to the stairs before a hand on his shoulder stops him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sero asks, pointing a wooden spoon to the redhead's direction accusatorially. "We're making dinner together to cheer ourselves up, don't flake out on us."

"No, no," Kaminari says, patting Sero's hand away as he brings the other one up in his shrug, "He's going to talk to Bakugou, see?"

"Ohh…" Sero says strangely, placing the hand that isn't holding the spoon over his mouth before smirking, making Kirishima squirm, "I see. Go on then, go on."

"O-okay?" He gives them another hesitant look before turning around and shuffling away, not thinking of the cackles of his friends behind him.

"Hey Deku!" Uraraka bounces over, before snatching the bag of rice from his hands.

"Hey!"

"Sorry," she says, not looking sorry at all, "But you don't get to cook with us, Deku."

"W-what?" he sputters, tilting his head.

"It's a treat, remember?" Todoroki says from nowhere, holding a few pots uselessly as Jirou searches for the one in the size they need, a metal lid covering the bottom half of his face, "Let us do the work, Midoriya. Just relax in the meantime."

"You-you don't need to-"

"Hush it," Shinsou rumbles, "Just have some fun. Talk to us, if you want."

Midoriya sighs. A small smile tugs on his lips, "Okay."

"Hey Bakubro!" Krishima announces as he barges into the blond's room, not bothering to knock like every time he visits. Bakugou simply does a half spin on his office chair from his schoolwork and desk and levels a glare at the redhead who's now closing the door. "How're you feelin'?" he asks as he flops on the bed. It kind of reminds him too much of that last scene so he opts to sit upright immediately.

"I'm fucking fine as always, Shitty Hair."

Kirishima smiles, "That's good."

"Aren't you supposed to be baking? Cooking. Whatever." Bakugou grunts, turning back to what he was busy with, back towards the other.

"Yeah," he sighs. "You know…" he starts after a quiet pause, ignoring the other's implications, "When I watched that scene at the start where you were… y'know,"

"Murdered? Wiped all over the street? Brutally used as a-"

"Yes," Kirishima grumbles, cutting the other off unapologetically, "That. Well… I was scared. Like, not scared? But… upset?" He heaves another sigh, forgetting the though he had earlier and lays back down on the bed on his stomach with his palms holding his chin.

"Get over it, then." Bakugou shrugs, "You're probably gonna see much worse."

"I know!" he exclaims before frowning, "It's just that it's ya know. You. You're my best friend! Seeing you like that… and then just. Gone. I felt it, yeah?"

Bakugou snorts, shaking his head and scribbling down something on his notebook.

"It isn't funny." Kirishima huffs, somewhat upset. He shifts so he's lying on his side, cheek resting on his fist as he looks at his friend's back, "It's weird, I think. I don't blame Midoriya for not doing anything, in the slightest. He wanted to. And he was clearly upset too. And he thought he was Quirkless and I guess you guys had a rocky relationship… But if it was me… If I was in his place and I didn't do anything…"

He lets out a breath, raising his eyebrows. "Woof. I would be blaming myself for the rest of my life. Like, that wouldn't be manly at all! Is that hypocritical?" He drums his fingers on the mattress as Bakugou spins around in his chair, face flat.

"Yeah."

Kirishima hums, closing his eyes. "I knew you would say that."

Bakugou frowns. "Are you calling me predictable?"

"No. I'm just saying you care about us," he woos, grinning as the weight on his hand smudges his smile.

The blond clicks his tongue. "I didn't even say goodbye." he voices a little more quietly. Kirishima's eyes fly open, and he raises an eyebrow at Bakugou, who's crossing his arms, slumped in his seat with a scowl and his gaze averted. "To Deku. In the, the other universe…"

"Ah," Kirishima pouts, sitting upright again with his elbows propped on his thighs, chin on his palms.

They sit in silence. At some point, Bakugou looks back towards Kirishima who bites his lip, tilting his head.

"If you told him goodbye, then he would probably falter, right?" he asks, "He might start panicking or get some strange ideas while he was saving Uraraka."

Bakugou just looks at him, expression all the same.

"And he was in the air, too. When he was floating. He might have missed, which would have put the two of them in more danger." He lifts his head from his palms calmly, loosening his shoulders, "I think you did the right choice."

When he looks up from his legs, Bakugou is raising his own to his chest, hugging them and placing his chin over his knees, red eyes focused on Kirishima. Somehow he looks somewhat innocent, like that, with the bottom of his face covered, hugging himself. A teenager, when a friend they trust agrees with a choice they aren't sure about. The redhead blushes. "Okay." Bakugou says faintly.

It's quiet again, a comfortable silence.

"You want a hug?"

"No."

"Yeah, I thought so," Kirishima mutters and Bakugou spins around to continue whatever he was doing. "Bet you had enough of those lately."

The blond grunts and the redhead stands up, yawning and stretching. "Well. I better get going. I'll make sure they make dinner spicy tonight." He stalks up to Bakugou's desk and ruffles his friend's hair. It's not that soft like he expected – a little, because it's hair, after all – but it almost feels like hay. Soft hay, if that makes sense. It tickles his palm unpleasantly but he still smiles contently, a warm feeling blooming in his chest. He'd do it again.

Bakugou slaps his hand away, glowering at him and hissing at the redhead to get out of his room with a few halfassed explosions. When Kirishima gently closes the door behind him, he hears a faint, "Thanks," and then it's over. He beams, bouncing back towards the kitchen. He can't wait for tomorrow!