tw: Whole lotta suicide/suicidal thoughts - read at your own discretion.
When Himiko hung herself, she had a couple of expectations.
The first was that it'd hurt like a bitch, but to her shock, the second she kicked the chair out from under her, it was almost as if she simply stopped.
Her second assumption was that there'd be some form of an afterlife. She wasn't religious of course, but there was a small part of her that expected pearly white gates to greet her.
Or the burning flames of hell. Her parents always said she was a disgusting little devil, so it'd be oddly fitting.
But nope - there wasn't an afterlife. Or there was, and she somehow skipped the trip to it.
However in all her speculating she never would've imagined that it was possible to become a ghost.
The thought didn't even cross her mind as she was tying the noose - the concept was simply so foreign that it couldn't be possible.
But here she was - see-through and floating in front of her hanging corpse. Once facing the facts, there wasn't any denying that she became a spirit.
While this wasn't the outcome she had in mind, she supposed she could work with it. There was something oddly freeing about having no body, and she'd be lying if she said flight wasn't a fun little perk.
Hell, she wished she had the ability to simply float instead of being born as a filthy bloodsucking leech. She'd have loving parents, no creepy fangs and possibly even the chance of doing something with her life without a villainous quirk holding her down.
Himiko was broken out of her thoughts by vigorous knocking against the door and instinctively flinched before coming to a realisation:
She was already dead; what the hell could her parents even do to her?
She couldn't help but giggle to herself until the door was slammed open, revealing the vicious snarl on her father's face which immediately transmuted into shock upon seeing the hanging corpse of his daughter.
Well - that was her cue to leave.
She didn't particularly want to stick around to see either of her parents' reactions on the off chance they displayed genuine remorse. If they had the heart to care when she was dead, they should've spared some of that kindness for when she was still alive.
Upon hearing her father let out a shrill scream, she immediately headed straight for the wall and let out a celebratory whoop when she emerged midair outside their apartment.
She didn't know how long she had until a grim reaper yoinked her spirit, but she sure as hell was going to enjoy the perks of ghost hood while it lasted.
As it turned out, being a ghost got really old, really quick.
After spending the first few days poking her head into strangers' showers (because seriously - who wouldn't?) Himiko chose to just roam the streets of Japanese prefectures she never visited.
As of yet, literally nothing of interest took place.
Sure, there was the occasional villain attack, but she wasn't all too fond of gratuitous violence. The cycle was always the same anyway: bad guy does crime — good guy finds crime — bad guy goes to prison. She'd probably gain more entertainment by simply bashing her head into a wall.
Not that she could do that anyway, with her intangibility and all.
Reading texts over shoulders was mind numbingly dull too, and peaking in on the social lives of others only reinforced how lonely she was back when she was alive, which was something she firmly wanted to avoid thinking about.
Back to shower hopping it is.
Diving into an apartment complex to her left, she was mildly intrigued to find a boy her age.
Scrawny, a little on the short side, but overall pretty cute with those freckles dusting his cheeks.
"If I die and go to hell I swear to God I'm gon' be pissed—"
And abysmal at singing.
She couldn't fault him though - she heard some pretty bad vocals while hopping from bathroom to bathroom, so she came to the conclusion that people didn't pay much attention to their pitch when they thought they were alone.
"If I could I would feel nothing, tha—WOAH!"
Himiko watched in mild amusement as the boy slipped mid lyric, got wrapped up in his curtain and fell out of the shower straight onto the bathroom floor.
Her amusement quickly morphed into surprise when he began pointing directly towards her.
"Wh—what are you doing in here?!" He shrieked, using the shower curtain to preserve what little modesty he could.
…What the fuck?
After her antics, she was certain she had zero influence on the real world, but a random green-haired kid could apparently see her.
His quirk, perhaps? She didn't notice him activate anything, but it could've been some weird passive vision enhancement.
Unfortunately, speculating wasn't going to get her anywhere, and she could see the boy becoming increasingly more agitated if his weird mumbling was anything to go by.
"Umm…" Himiko tilted her head in a silent question as the boy spoke up. "Are you a…ghost?"
"…Eh?" Himiko eloquently asked.
The boy raised his hands placatingly in front of him. "O-oh - sorry if that sounded a bit offensive, but I was talking about your quirk." He moved a hand over to his cheek and scratched it awkwardly as he continued. "You look relatively pellucid, so I'm just assuming that you've got some sort of quirk that allows you to dissociate from your body."
"Is there a version without words like 'pellucid' and 'dissociate'?"
He sighed, clearly exasperated already. "Girl spirit leave body — girl become floaty — girl show up in bathroom."
"Oh!" Her eyes widened in realisation before flashing him a grin. "Nope, you were right the first time."
"Huh?" His nose scrunched up in confusion, which Himiko could safely say made him appear a good dozen times cuter.
"I'm a ghost, obviously." She did a twirl in the air before gesturing towards her clothing. "I would've thought the nightgown made that obvious."
He narrowed his eyes. "You're lying."
Just as she was about to reply, Himiko heard a yell from within the house. "Izuku! You'll be late for school if you spend all morning singing in the shower!"
The boy - Izuku, she now knew - had the decency to look flustered as he responded. "I'll be out in a minute!"
"That's a lie." Himiko pointed a finger towards his head. "You're nowhere near done if you've still got shampoo in your hair."
"I wash my hair last." Izuku made extra effort to conceal himself with the curtain before hopping back into the shower.
"Oh." Himiko frowned. "You're weird."
"Says the voyeur." He mumbled before clearing his throat. "Could you give me privacy?"
"Is no an option?"
"I'll scream for my mum."
"Enjoy your shower!" Himiko cut her losses and made a beeline for his mother.
She was somewhat curious as to whether she could see her too, but after waving and shouting in her face for a solid 5 minutes, she deduced that the woman likely couldn't.
That, or the woman had a one track mind when it came to preparing breakfast.
And that was the scene Izuku walked in on.
"Uhh…Mum?" He asked wearily.
"Yes honey?"
"Can't you see that?" Izuku pointed to Himiko, who was shouting and kicking up a storm right in front of his mother's eyes.
"The breakfast, dear?" The woman chuckled. "I'd be a pretty terrible cook if I couldn't see what I was making."
Himiko saw his eyebrows rise in realisation and shot him a smirk. "Told ya so - I'm a ghost."
After doing a quick sweep of the surrounding buildings while Izuku ate, Himiko managed to draw one conclusion regarding him: he was the only one who could see her.
No matter how much screaming, rampaging and passing through people she attempted, she received not a single reaction.
Not that she was complaining. She'd much rather have it be a guy her age than some weird old pervert, and she might even get a kick out of haunting the poor boy.
The same poor boy who just left his flat.
"Hey, Izuku!" She yelled, successfully getting him to flinch and turn in her direction.
"O-oh, it's just you." He mumbled before continuing on his way.
Himiko caught up to him and floated by his side as he walked. "So, whatcha up to?"
"Going to school." His voice remained demure as he stared at the ground while moving.
"Y'know, you're pretty shy ain't ya?" She mused. "You were a hell of a lot more talky when you were naked earlier."
Izuku tripped over his own footing as his cheeks flushed red.
Oh yeah - she was really gonna enjoy teasing this boy.
Izuku regained his footing and readjusted his bag straps. "D-don't you need to go back to your body, or something?"
Himiko narrowed her eyes. "I thought I told you - I'm a ghost."
"Ghosts aren't real." He muttered. "If I'm the only one who can see you, then that's probably just another perk to your quirk."
Himiko let out a humourless chuckle. "I wish this was my quirk, but if you want some proof then you could always google it later. They've probably announced my suicide already." She raised her hand to her face to mimic a microphone and cleared her throat. "Creepy schoolgirl Himiko tragically hangs herself. Please follow these links if you're having suicidal thoughts, blah-blah-blah."
Izuku stopped abruptly, causing Himiko to accidentally send a foot floating through his head. "Suicide?" He stared at her wide-eyed.
"Mhm!" She nodded, a grin on her face. "A bit sad, but I'm able to fly around and stuff so it was a pretty neat trade off." She brought a hand to her collar and pulled it down slightly, revealing a distinct rope mark around her neck. "Here's a lil extra proof for ya."
She saw Izuku glance at the mark, but quickly avert his eyes with a blush dusting his cheeks.
"Oh?" Himiko teased mirthfully. "Did somebody get a bit of an eyeful?"
Izuku choked on his spit before quickly composing himself, but Himiko chose to count that as a win in her favour.
"So let's act like you are telling the truth—"
"I am."
"—why'd you do it?"
Himiko's grin faltered, a somber smile taking its place. "It's…weird, I guess." She lowered to the ground, floating so close to the floor that she was essentially standing by Izuku's side. "I got a bit sick of dragging my body through my shitty life, so I wanted a bit of freedom." She did a twirl and gestured towards herself. "I guess my wish was fulfilled a bit too literally since I'm here like this."
A few seconds passed without a word being uttered between them, and Himiko quickly grew restless.
"Cheer up, will ya?" She giggled, passing a hand through his head and making him flinch at the unanticipated action.
"Ah—umm, right." Izuku mumbled, resuming his stride toward the bus stop.
Himiko lifted herself and recommenced her floating beside his head. "So, any questions?"
She withheld a groan as Izuku shook his head. What was the fun in haunting somebody if they wanted to be a giant stick in the mud?
The rest of the trip to school consisted solely of Himiko firing questions, and Izuku replying with noncommittal hums.
Up until the most recent conversation, Izuku was certain that Himiko was simply another person attempting to make him feel jealous by flaunting their quirk around him.
Not that he could blame her - the ability to float and become intangible was impressive, regardless of whether it was dissociation or her actual body.
But now, after her rather…unnerving recount of suicide? He was beginning to think this was a lot more than a simple case of teasing.
He assumed she was pulling his leg when she offhandedly mentioned killing herself, and her general mood didn't help dissolve that assumption, but what came after drastically changed his opinion. She might've appeared jubilant on the surface, but there was no faking the solemnity in her tone as she recounted her reason behind committing suicide, and as disturbing as it was to admit it, he could even feel a sort of kinship with her story.
Struggling to push himself through each day was something he could certainly relate to, and as morbid as it sounded he'd be lying if he said he never considered simply giving up.
Of course, in the past, those ideas never progressed past idle thoughts, but this felt different. If Himiko was telling the truth, this meant life existed after death.
A life where he could be free, and while it wasn't a quirk, the floating and intangibility would be the closest thing he could ever obtain to a power. Hell, the girl seemed to love the experience, so he could only imagine how liberated he'd feel with it.
"Himiko?"
Izuku heard her gasp and float in front of him.
"Finally!" She exclaimed. "Do you know how long I've been tryna grab your attention?"
Izuku tilted his head. "Huh?"
"You kept on brushing me off." She whined as she covered her face with her hands. Izuku spotted her shoulders began to shudder slightly, but a blind man could see that it was just an act. "It's like I'm not even here…"
Well, if she was a ghost she technically wasn't here…
"That's mean." Himiko dropped the facade and folded her arms over her chest.
"…Did I say that out loud?" He inquired wearily, and received a nod in response.
"Well, I don't really care anyway." Himiko shrugged before he could begin apologising. "What's up? You looked pretty deep in thought there."
Izuku took a second before replying. "As soon as you died, you turned into whatever…this is, right?" Himiko nodded. "Do you think it works for other people?"
He watched her eyebrows furrow in concentration as she flew rings around him until finally coming to a halt a few seconds later.
"I dunno, it's weird." She hummed. "I can't see any other ghosts, but since you can see me there might be something special about you."
"If I had to guess, and this is purely hypothetical, it's possible that everyone becomes a ghost, but they simply can't see each other." Izuku speculated. "So on the off chance I…" He stopped himself before going any further. "Nevermind." He mumbled.
Even considering the concept of ghosts was ridiculous, and that was before even factoring in the unreliable source of the information.
He was 90% sure the world wouldn't give a rat's ass about a random quirkless kid offing himself. Hell, Kacchan would probably have the gall to laugh at his funeral.
What mattered, however, was that there was zero guarantee he'd end up being reincarnated as a floating spirit. The fact that Himiko was the only ghost in existence from her point of view only solidified the fact that it'd be far too risky to hedge his bets on suicide.
"You're wondering if you should kill yourself too, huh?"
Izuku abruptly stumbled in shock.
"Wha—how'd you know?!" He half-shrieked.
Himiko simply giggled. "You were muttering, silly."
Izuku was tempted to just off himself to save him from his embarrassment.
"As for your point," Himiko continued, "I don't see why you can't give it a try." She casually shrugged, much to his shock.
"So you're telling me to kill myself?"
"Hey, you just wanted some advice." She floated a hand through his ribcage. "And you're quirkless, right? You'd probably like this ghost thing a lot more than I do, and I like it a lot."
"Yeah, I could tell…" Izuku grumbled.
Himiko floated in front of him, causing him to instinctively stop in his tracks in spite of the fact that he could walk through her. "So, you gonna do it?" She asked eagerly, her canines visible from the smile she sported.
Himiko did her best to contain her glee as she awaited a response, but considering she could feel the grin on her face, she knew she wasn't doing a good job at it.
After all, how could she hide her excitement when the one person she could talk to was somebody who was exactly like her?
Sure, there were some trivial differences. While she had her filthy quirk, Izuku was quirkless, and as much as she wished she was blessed with the gift of normality she knew he longed for the exact opposite.
However, once looking beyond the exterior, their quirk situation both led them to similar positions. They hated how they were born, and they both wished for a perfect escape. The only reason she found it sooner was because she had the guts to take the dive first, but after witnessing the proof it wouldn't be long until Izuku inevitably took the same plunge as she did. That way, he'd be able to do everything she could, and she couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he began flying around.
(And a small, microscopic part of her selfishly hoped if he offed himself, she'd have a little companionship during her ghosthood.)
"We're at the school." Izuku said, successfully snapping Himiko out of her thoughts.
She turned, and much to her surprise, he was right. There were clusters of students walking through the gate a couple of meters ahead, with Izuku nearing the entrance himself.
"Can't wait to sit through more shitty math lessons." Himiko sighed, only for Izuku to walk through her.
"I don't want people thinking I'm quirkless and crazy." He mumbled loud enough for only her to pick up. "You should probably find something to do, since sticking by me will be as fruitful as speaking to a wall."
"Yeah, fine." She relented as she observed him walking away.
Shower hopping would be a pretty good pastime for a few hours, so it wasn't as if she was devoid of things to do.
Besides, it wasn't like he prohibited her from popping in for a visit during lunch.
Izuku heard the bell ring, signalling the end of the fourth period and start of lunch.
On any other day, he might've simply remained in the classroom to eat his boxed lunch, but when pairing the lashing he got from Bakugo during homeroom with the…eventful spectral incident from the morning he desperately needed some fresh air.
After swiftly packing up and avoiding any confrontations, he assumed he found his peace on the rooftop until he saw Himiko doing loops in the air.
Upon catching sight of him, she halted her acrobatics and flew over to him. "Took you long enough!"
"How'd you even find me here?" Izuku half-groaned.
"You've got no friends, right?" She asked.
"Wha—" He spluttered. "Of course I have friends!"
"Oh yeah?" Himiko raised an eyebrow challengingly and raised a finger. "Name 1."
"…"
"My point exactly." She lowered her hand. "I used to come to the roof for some peace too, so I knew I'd catch you here."
"Was that back when you were 'alive'?" Izuku accentuated his points with air quotes before taking a seat on the ground, pulling out his bento box from his bag.
"I did say we were pretty similar." Himiko chimed in and joined him on the floor. "So what's eating you up now?"
Izuku sighed and picked at the rice with his chopsticks. "It's just classmates being assholes, as usual."
"Yeah, I guessed as much."
Izuku swallowed a clump of rice and held the box out towards her. "Do you want a bite?"
"Ghost, moron." She giggled.
Had his hands not been full, Izuku would've facepalmed, but instead he settled for an agonised groan.
"Don't stress - it's an easy mistake to make." Himiko waved off. "It's not like I get hungry at all."
"That's…kind of lucky." Izuku shoved another cluster into his mouth.
"One of the many benefits of being dead." Himiko levitated slightly off the ground in demonstration. "A jump from up here would probably do the trick if you're interested." She offered.
With his mouth full, Izuku opted for a half-hearted glare to voice his thoughts, and judging by the way she pouted and lowered herself it managed to do the trick.
"I'm telling ya - living sucks real bad compared to this."
Izuku's mind immediately flashed back to his morning in homeroom, and he could acquiesce that she may have had a point.
"You're thinking about it, right?" Himiko further inquired.
"There's no way." He refuted. "It might be hard to become a hero as I am now, but it's downright impossible if I'm dead."
Himiko's eyes widened. "Hold on, you want to be a hero?"
Izuku's cheeks flushed lightly in embarrassment. His dream wasn't exactly a secret, but unlike his childhood years he no longer spread it like gospel. As agonising as the bullying was, it at least taught him to keep a lid on his aspirations, lest he find himself in a situation similar to this one. He could only hope Himiko's short attention span would lead to less time spent teasing him.
"Well it's not like having a quirk is a requirement for the UA hero course…" He murmured through the food in his mouth.
"Yeah, and it's not like you need legs to drive, but they'd come in pretty damn handy." She countered. "I guess I don't see the harm in you trying anyway." She shrugged.
This time, it was Izuku's eyes that widened.
Her initial response was as expected, but he certainly didn't foresee the second part. Prior to this moment, everyone in his life had either subtly disregarded his dream or outright told him it was outlandish. For somebody to actually have an ounce of faith was refreshing to say the least.
"You're…serious?" He murmured in disbelief.
"Mhm." She nodded and flashed him a toothy grin. "It shouldn't take too long for a villain to get rid of ya, so from that point you can just live out your ghosthood with me."
And just like that, the harsh reality of quirklessness slapped him in the face for the hundredth time. He should've known having somebody genuinely believe in him wasn't possible, but that buried flicker of optimism within his heart couldn't help but surge earlier at the prospect.
Izuku hopped up to his feet and began packing up. "You're ridiculous."
"Hey!" Himiko floated to his height with her legs still crossed. "Where're you off to now?"
"Class." He headed for the roof's door.
"Come on, don't be like that." Himiko whined. "You've still got like 10 minutes till your lesson—"
The roof door slammed to cut off any further arguments.
Upon reflection, Himiko realised that her actions on the rooftop were a tad too far.
That wasn't to say she didn't mean what she said - Izuku made for fascinating company, and she wanted nothing less than to spend an eternity with him as opposed to remaining in solitude.
What she did regret was the way her point came across. She always knew her social skills were a bit lacking, but the way Izuku's eyes lost a hint of life only solidified that she must've touched a nerve or two.
Even on the off chance he killed himself from her harsh words, what good was a ghost-buddy if he hated her guts?
No - she was going to apologise the second she found him, as well as halting any suicide discussions.
Of course, that was provided she even managed to find him.
After waiting by the gate for a solid 10 minutes after school ended, she still couldn't catch a glimpse of that curly green hair in the crowd of fleeting students, and decided to take the search into her own hands.
Taking to the skies, Himiko halted a few stories above the rooftop in order to get a bird's-eye view of the land owned by the school, and lo and behold, Izuku was stood near a koi pond behind the school.
Himiko zoomed over to his location and slowed her descent as she got closer in order to get a clearer idea of the situation.
She could recall Izuku looking a little put out after their lunch conversation, but here?
He looked completely empty.
The lesson time should've tempered his anger at her, but for some reason any previous frustration transformed itself into pure desolation.
Well if anything, his current state only encouraged the fact that she had to cheer him up.
"Hey, Izuku!" She called out to him, drawing a flinch out of him as he snapped his gaze up to her floating form.
"Oh, it's just you."
She lowered herself to the ground beside him and took a glance at the pond, noticing his notebook submerged. "Yeah, homework's a bitch." She chuckled lightly in attempt to lift the mood.
"It's not homework." Izuku corrected, his voice near-toneless. "It's my hero notes."
Fuck.
Not even a minute and she already made the situation 10 times more awkward.
For the first time, she dearly hoped she'd just disappear from his view.
In the midst of her embarrassed, she didn't even notice him pick up the book and shove it in his backpack, and it was only the sound of his retreating footsteps that broke her out of her thoughts.
"Wait up!"
Himiko tried everything.
She asked about his notes, that damn fish pond and was even desperate enough to bring up the weather, but regardless of her attempts to strike up a conversation Izuku simply kept walking, seemingly lost in his thoughts and once again offering non-comittal hums as responses.
At the very least, she could take solace in the fact that he didn't actually appear pissed at her. Unlike during lunch, his eyes lacked that fire directed towards her, so she assumed he was more peeved about something that happened during his final lessons—
Slap.
Had she been alive Himiko was certain her heart would've leapt out of her chest at the abrupt noise, and upon looking to her side she noticed Izuku was stationary and had both of his palms resting on his cheeks.
"No more brooding!" Izuku stated resolutely.
"Finally!" She celebrated. "It was getting pretty boring talking to myself there."
"Wait, I was ignoring you again?"
Himiko simply sighed. "Nevermind." She floated to his side and landed to mimic walking. "So what was that all about?"
"I just decided I was gonna be a hero no matter what anybody else says." He shrugged as they continued moving. "It's not anything groundbreaking, but it's always nice to have some self-affirmation."
"That's great - I hope you succeed!"
"Why? So I can get myself killed by some fodder?" Izuku humourlessly chuckled.
Before Himiko could do anything to refute that statement, she was interrupted by the sound of a manhole cover clanging against the roof of the tunnel above them, and the two teenagers froze in their tracks as…something began oozing out from the hole in the ground.
Sewage? Slime? Either way, the thing had eyes and Himiko was certain it didn't look friendly.
"A medium sized body suit, huh? You'll make a great hiding spot kid!"
Within an instant the sludge lunged for the pair, and Himiko instinctively shielded herself with her arms until the attacker passed through her, reaffirming that she was completely invulnerable.
Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Izuku, and he was swiftly submerged in the green goop, leaving Himiko to stare in stunned disbelief as he clawed at the sludge threatening to enter his oesophagus.
As she watched him struggle against the villain, she felt torn, since, on the one hand, he was undoubtedly in an immense amount of pain. While searching up methods of suicide, she saw that drowning was a much more painful process than asphyxiation, so on the off chance being hung didn't immediately snap her neck, suffocating was still a more preferable alternative to drowning. Watching Izuku undergo the process was difficult to say the least, especially when she could practically see his eyes pleading out for help.
On the other hand, this would lead to exactly what she was pining for. If Izuku did die here, assuming there was something special about him, he'd become a ghost, and as a bonus he wouldn't hold any resentment towards her since his death wouldn't be a result of any suicide baiting.
Sure, he looked pained now, but it wasn't as if his day-to-day life was all sunshine and rainbows. He was clearly bullied, and unless he miraculously manifested a quirk that wasn't going to change anytime soon. In all honesty, dying here could even be considered a mercy if it meant saving him from a life of extra torment.
Regardless, it wasn't as if she could do anything about it. She was completely intangible after all, and calling for help wouldn't do shit if Izuku was the only one who could see her.
"Izuku!" Himiko began clawing at the sludge, ignoring the way her hands passed harmlessly through.
What was she doing?
It didn't take any thinking to know her efforts were fruitless, but for some reason her body refused to conform to logic and kept trying to rip the sludge from out of Izuku's mouth. Flashing her eyes towards his, she could see them beginning to droop slightly which only increased her panic tenfold.
Before she could begin shouting expletives in an attempt to keep him awake, she was interrupted one again by another emergence from the manhole.
"Fear not citizen!"
Himiko might not have been a diehard hero fan, but even a deaf person could recognise that boisterous voice.
"For I am here!"
She turned around and was faced with All Might, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she finally allowed herself to relax. By some miracle, the strongest man alive happened upon the scene, meaning any danger Izuku was in was practically nullified. To this date, the number 1 hero had never lost a fight, and she highly doubted his winning streak would come to an end by the hands of a two-bit thug.
"Detroit smash!"
Although, apparently, her worries were grossly misplaced - instead of being taken out by a villain, Izuku was knocked out of commission as collateral from All Might's punch.
"Young man - are you alright?" All Might asked, rapidly smacking an unconscious Izuku's cheek.
"Of course not you blond gorilla." Himiko muttered to herself. "A skyscraper would probably topple from the force of your punches, so it's not like some scrawny middle schooler would stand a better chance."
On the bright side, he didn't accidentally kill Izuku. She would've been beyond pissed if all her fretting over him was for naught because of the oaf's carelessness.
While Izuku was unconscious, she decided she'd spend her time dedicated to more pressing matters: why did she feel the need to actually help Izuku?
Despite all the logic pointing to the fact that she'd be completely useless against the villain, for some odd reason she still couldn't help but get involved.
She initially thought her goal with Izuku was to just let him get killed as soon as possible so she could share the perks of being a ghost with somebody, but that clearly wasn't the case. If it was, she would've kicked back and simply waited until the criminal killed him.
Instead, she aimlessly attempted to help him for no reason at all—
No, that was a lie. She knew the reason why - she couldn't bring herself ignore the look in his eye. In that instant, any thoughts about letting him suffer disappeared in favour of doing her damnest to help him.
Before now, she was certain she only enjoyed his company because he was the only person she could talk to, and likely the only person who could also become a ghost by her side, but could it be possible that she actually cared about him?
Suddenly seeing him suffer and die became a lot less appealing than it was a couple of hours prior. She might've only known him for a day, but she could already see that they shared an alarming amount of similarities. They were both social rejects as a result of quirks, lacked friends and were equally unhappy with their lives. Hell, if Izuku ended up with parents as rancid as her own, Himiko very much doubted he'd still be alive—
No - another lie.
Izuku already had more than enough reasons to off himself, but the fact that he remained resilient only showed that, in spite of the similar cards they were dealt in life, Izuku's spirit was far stronger.
And it was for that reason that she didn't want to see him die. He evidently had a lot more to live for than she did, and while she very much doubted he could feasibly become a hero, she didn't want to see him die until he at least gave it everything he had.
Besides, the world worked in mysterious ways. With enough miracles, Izuku could maybe even surpass All Might—
Hold on - where the fuck did the pair of them go?
Looking down to where they initially were, Himiko saw an empty pavement and groaned in exasperation.
Out of all the rash decisions Izuku made in his life, grabbing onto All Might's leg during his ascent might've been the most foolish one to date.
That wasn't to say he regretted it though - there wasn't a chance he was going to let his role model disappear without asking him the question that had been plaguing his mind for the better part of a decade. He did feel a little bad for leaving Himiko behind, but she was clearly lost in her own thoughts, so snapping her out of of them would've been a bit rude.
Plus, he didn't exactly want her to witness All Might's true form.
The man in question cleared his throat, grasping Izuku's attention. "Well, you've caught me with my proverbial pants down, so you might as well ask that question you wanted to earlier."
"Oh, right - sorry for spacing out there!" Izuku hurriedly apologised before taking a deep breath to steel his nerves. "But I just wanted to ask if it's possible for me to become a hero without a quirk."
"Without a quirk huh?" All Might muttered under his breath. "Sorry kid, but I'm gonna have to say no."
Just like that, Izuku's reality came crashing back down onto him.
"You see, it's a dangerous job even for those with quirks." All Might explained, but the words simply went in through one of Izuku's ears and out the other.
All Might's answer was no.
He heard the same response from countless people throughout his life, but he refused to let their words shackle him. After all, in one of All Might's interviews, he stated that anyone could become a hero, and if his idol supported his dream then it didn't matter that nobody else did.
But lo and behold, his idol didn't support shit - he was lying all along, and the hope he clung onto for years was all for naught.
But honestly? It didn't even hurt as much as he thought it would. Somewhere deep in his heart he probably knew his dream was genuinely impossible, regardless of what All Might thought. It was just cold fact - only those with power prospered in this world, and without it he was next to worthless. All Might's words didn't change much- all it did was snuff out the ember of childish hope within him.
He could somewhat register All Might listing a few career options before leaving, but he didn't pay the man any mind as his thoughts were preoccupied with an entirely different topic:
What was he meant to do now?
He was smart, sure, and with enough effort he could probably build himself an incredible future. Law, medicine - both were excellent career paths, but deep down, he knew he just couldn't do it. All he'd be doing is dragging his feet through high school, university and even his job while despising his choices, leading him to inevitably put a gun in his mouth in his mid thirties—
Although, come to think of it, that end result didn't sound especially bad.
Himiko, as strange as the girl seemed, was proof in itself - suicide was liberating. To be able to float through the world unshackled by burdens sounded heavenly, and the intangibility would serve as a giant upgrade from his current quirkless state.
He wasn't naive enough to believe that ghosthood was completely possible, of course, but he couldn't bring himself to care. So what if he didn't become a ghost? If there was really no life after death then, at the very least, all his pain was guaranteed to disappear.
While the thoughts ran rampant in his mind, Izuku absently began stalking towards the roof'd edge, and was only snapped out of his thoughts when his hand came into contact with the ledge.
One jump was all it'd take, and afterlife or not, his suffering was guaranteed to end.
No more dealing with the terrible hand he was dealt in this harsh world. No more dealing with Kacchan and his relentless teasing.
No more dealing with himself and his multitude of problems.
Izuku shakily crawled up on the ledge, and stopped when he was fully seated on his knees. He knew his shaking legs wouldn't be able to support his body standing on the ledge, so he'd have to settle for this instead.
Hell, this felt more real anyway. Even if he could stand he doubted he'd have the mental fortitude to consciously jump, but all it'd take in his instance would be to release his white-knuckled grip on the ledge. His imbalance would take care of the rest, and before he knew it he'd be soaring down to his peace.
"There you are!"
Izuku flinched at the abrupt shout, and he could briefly register that it was Himiko's voice before his unbearably sweaty palms gave out, causing him to lose his grip on the ledge and fall forward off the building.
Himiko assumed it wouldn't be possible for a 7 foot giant to simply disappear into thin air, but Himiko had to give credit where credit was due - the bastard was surprisingly stealthy, especially if he was stuck carrying an unconscious teenager around.
Of course, the smart option would be to simply go to Izuku's house and camp it out until he got back, but she wasn't the most patient person around. Plus, his most recent thoughts regarding her were that she was a selfish cow who wanted him dead - she was really hoping to find him to rectify that misunderstanding as soon as possible.
After scouring a mile radius around the bridge they were initially under, Himiko chose to try her luck with a bird's-eye view. While All Might's bright blond hair and large stature made him a pretty rare specimen in Japan, it'd still be next to impossible to distinguish between people at her height, but that didn't mean she wasn't willing to at least attempt it.
As expected, she didn't spot All Might, but that didn't matter much considering she found Izuku himself sitting on a rooftop a couple dozen metres away, with the mop of green curls atop his head being the main giveaway.
"There you are!" Himiko shouted as she flew towards him. "You have zero clue how close I was to giving…up…"
Himiko's yelling trailed off into a whisper as she fully registered Izuku's position.
He wasn't just on a rooftop - he was on a ledge, and though she couldn't make out his expression, she knew it couldn't possibly mean anything good.
Then, as if responding to her thoughts, she saw Izuku lean forward, showing no signs of stopping.
Instantly fearing the worst, Himiko pushed her flight to its upper limits in an attempt to reach him and, by some miracle, force him to get off the ledge.
But Izuku apparently had different plans - by the time she was a few metres away he was completely separated from the ledge, and from her closer distance, she could finally make out his expression:
He was smiling.
She didn't know why, but the look felt so wrong resting on his face that it sent a chill up her spine. There wasn't an ounce of joy within that smile - it was simple agonised acceptance, and she couldn't help but compare it to the same smile she wore every day she forced herself through her life.
In the depths of her mind, she knew the better option would be to simply let him fall. If he was feeling just as hopeless as she was when she offed herself, it would be cruel to steal his chance at rest from him, but her body just couldn't comply.
Instead of pausing her flight, she continued until she was inches away from Izuku, and she wrapped her arms around his body before finally landing on the top of the roof.
Himiko briefly wondered with how the hell she managed to actually touch him, but that was hardly at the forefront of her mind.
"What the hell's wrong with you?!" Himiko pressed up tighter against Izuku in an attempt to ensure he stayed rooted in his position.
Izuku's breath hitched in his throat. "How…how are you tangible—?"
"Nevermind that." She interrupted, looking up from his chest and staring him in the eye. "Please tell me this was all just a misunderstanding - you weren't actually tryna jump, were you?"
Izuku diverted his gaze to the side, providing Himiko with her answer.
"You moron!" She lightly slammed her fist on his chest. "What happened to all your hope? Your dreams?"
Izuku began to sit up, forcing Himiko to get off him and sit on her knees front of him. "It's impossible, remember?" He stated, his voice
nearly devoid of emotion. "Even you said as much yourself."
"It doesn't matter what I said—"
"But it does matter what All Might said." Izuku interjected. "And he just told me I didn't stand a chance."
Just as Himiko was prepared to counter his point, she felt him grab her by the shoulders, and for the first time in the conversation he was staring directly into her eyes.
And as unnerving as it was, she much preferred the empty apathy from earlier to the pure agony that now resided in those green orbs of his.
"Don't you see? Nobody thinks I can do it." Izuku spoke hysterically, with his voice on the verge of cracking. "Hell, I don't even think I can do it. All I've been doing ever since I was a child was hopelessly cling onto this one dream." He vented, and Himiko couldn't find it in herself to interrupt.
"Every night I go to sleep hating myself because I know my goals are impossible, and the next morning I act like the previous day didn't happen only to repeat the same stupid cycle." Izuku's grip on her shoulders tightened slightly, and at this point she was beginning to see his eyes tear up. "I'm sick of living like this - can't I just rest?"
For the first time, Himiko found herself genuinely lost for words. She could pull the typical 'life will get better' bullshit, but she knew that wasn't what he needed.
Instead, she thought back to what she would've wanted to hear.
Himiko pushed up closer against Izuku, causing him stiffen with his hands resting limply on her shoulders as she wrapped her own arms around his torso.
"You're wonderful." She stated; quiet enough that it was barely above a whisper but still audible due to their close proximity. "And even without a quirk, you're the strongest person I've ever met."
She heard his breath catch in his throat, and chose to continue.
"I spent days flying around watching people live their lives thinking that nobody can see them, and most of them are wasting the perfect hands they were dealt in life." Himiko slowly pulled away from the hug, tracing her arms lightly up his torso and neck until her palms rested on his cheeks, forcing Izuku's teary eyes to peer into her own.
"Then there's you - a person born without something they all take for granted, but instead of wasting away, you lived your life with solid goals." She felt her throat close up and took a second to swallow down a sob that was threatening to escape. "I've seen people with quirks resort to taking their issues out on other people, meanwhile you're making sure nobody else is burdened by your problems. Hell, the worst thing I've seen you do is that god-awful singing in the shower." Himiko giggled, and a small sob worked it's way into the laugh, but she ignored it in favour of the fact that Izuku himself let a chuckle slip through his lips.
"You're the best person in this shitty unfair world, and I'm so thankful that you let me have the honour of haunting you."
Upon the sentence's completion, Izuku couldn't fight down the tears any longer and dived into Himiko to cry, only for her to clutch at him with equal intensity and begin sobbing into his shoulder.
Himiko was floating beside Izuku as they made their way to his house, and despite the fact that they hadn't spoken since the rooftop, their hands remained interlocked for the entirety of the journey, allowing them to enjoy each other's company in spite of the silence.
"Umm…Himiko?"
Well - the former silence.
"Hmm?" She hummed as they continued their stride.
"It's probably not that important, but how are you actually tangible?" Izuku squeezed her hand lightly to enforce his point. "You're still transparent, but do you think other people can see you now too?"
"That's a good question." Himiko pondered, letting silence hang in the air for a few seconds before she sent her leg flying through a passing civilian.
"Himiko!" Izuku yelled instinctively, but upon receiving questioning glances from other pedestrians he diverted his gaze back to the ground in embarrassment.
"Nope." Himiko readjusted herself so she was floating beside Izuku once again. "Guess you're the special one yet again."
"You know, you could've poked a person instead of kicking them." Izuku chided under his breath, doing his best to not attract the attention of others. "What if you actually hit them?"
"Then I suppose you'd have to save me from the big bad pedestrian, Mr Hero." Himiko chuckled, before her eyes widened in realisation. "Wait - you're the only one who can see me."
"I think we're well past that revelation by now."
"And if I'm able to touch you, does that mean if I fly you around, it'd look like you're floating from anybody else's point of view?"
Izuku paused in his step. "Holy…you're right."
"See? Quirks ain't shit!" Himiko floated behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "With me by your side you'll definitely be a great hero."
Himiko heard a sniffle and laughed lightly. "Waterworks again? You can't be crying on the job if you wanna save kids from burning buildings."
"Y-yeah, you're right." Izuku rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve. "Thanks."
"It's cool—"
"No, not just for that." Izuku continued walking, but placed his hand on his shoulder to grab Himiko's arm. "Thank you for the roof - you made me realise that there's more to me as a person than just becoming a hero."
Himiko rested her chin atop Izuku's head, nuzzling against his hair. "You're welcome, Izuku."
The journey home continued, with Izuku carrying Himiko as a pseudo backpack.
"And you're telling me this hero doesn't team up with anyone?" Himiko asked in intrigue, reading over Izuku's shoulder as he transferred notes from his burnt notebook over to a fresh one.
"Nope - nobody at all." Izuku confirmed. "She says teamwork makes heroes look weak."
Himiko grinned. "I like this woman!"
"You know we're gonna be teaming up when I'm a hero, right?" Himiko exhaled an 'oh' in realisation, drawing a chuckle out of Izuku. "But I guess she's right - All Might doesn't team up with anyone, and he's the strongest guy around." Izuku pointed out, though a hint of venom was present in his voice upon mentioning the hero's name.
"If he was really so strong he wouldn't be walking around with a hole in his stomach." Himiko pointed out. "With me watching your back, you don't gotta worry about getting speared anytime soon."
Izuku huffed in amusement before shutting the notebook and stretching in his seat. "Alright - that should be everything done!"
"Finally!" Himiko celebrated. "You've been sat there for hours."
"I'm not exactly an artist, so the sketches take me a while." Izuku got up and shook his hands to alleviate the cramps.
"Also, isn't your mum wondering why you're having a whole conversation with yourself in here?"
"You heard my muttering while writing - I think she's just learned to tune out my rambling after all this time." Izuku explained as he walked over to his bed. "Well, today's been pretty stressful, so I'm gonna get some sleep."
"Yeah, I don't blame ya." Himiko acquiesced. "I ain't slept since I…well, ya know." She mimed a tying motion around her neck. "I don't think I'm even meant to get tired, but my mind's so drained right now. I can only imagine how exhausted you are after writing those boring notes."
"Gee, thanks." Izuku rolled his eyes, but a smile remained on his lips as he laid down in his mattress.
Himiko simply floated at the foot of the bed, staring at Izuku for a few seconds until he finally spoke up.
"So…would you mind getting the light?" He asked hesitantly.
"Really?" Himiko raised an eyebrow. "I just vented about how worn out I was and you're still not gonna invite me into the bed?"
Izuku's cheeks immediately flared up as he sat up on the bed. "Wha-huh?" He squeaked.
"C'mon, it's nothing special." Himiko drawled out. "Unless you wanna let a frail girl's back suffer from sleeping on the floor…?" She goaded.
Himiko chose not to mention the fact that she constantly floated, and as a result, even if she did want to collapse into the bed, she'd just fall through it.
Izuku sighed in exasperation. "You're just guilt tripping me, aren't you?"
"Yup." Himiko confirmed. "Is it working?" She asked with a grin.
"…yes."
Izuku rose to his feet, switching on his bedside lamp and turning his bedroom light off.
Upon turning around, he saw Himiko reaching for the hem of her dress, and quickly interrupted before she began lifting it.
"Hey!"
"Hm?" She paused.
"What are you doing?"
"I sleep stark naked." She stated innocently.
"You're lying." Izuku narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "If that was the case, you wouldn't own a nightgown in the first place."
"Fine - be boring then." Himiko huffed as she released her dress and floated in the bed, mimicking the action of laying down.
"You're a handful, you know that?" Izuku whined halfheartedly before climbing into the bed with his back turned.
"Mhm." Himiko hummed, wrapping her arms around Izuku's torso and nuzzling into the back of his neck. "Complaining?"
Izuku relaxed in her grip. "No, ma'am." He responded sarcastically. "So about my whole flying thing—"
"Nope."
Izuku scrunched up his nose in confusion. "Huh?"
"If we start this conversation now, we'll be talking all night, and you'll eventually start scribbling in your diary."
"Notebook." He corrected.
"Same thing." She shrugged. "But how about this - I'll take you flying tomorrow."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Himiko affirmed. "You're really gonna love it, y'know? It's like you're completely weightless, since you don't gotta put any weight on your muscles." She fantasised. "It's a whole other type of freedom up there—"
Himiko was interrupted by a particularly loud snore, and couldn't contain her giggle.
"Fine, tomorrow." Himiko tightened her grip on Izuku's torso.
"Good night, Izuku."
Hope you enjoyed!