Here you go, chapter 1. In case you're wondering, yes, I did write it in just one day and completely disregarded my studies. But updates won't be this frequent, generally speaking.
I'm so excited guys! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! So may reviews just from a prologue! I'm glad you found it interesting. Seeing your reviews makes me very happy because it reassures me that there is someone out there enjoying something that I make. You're all the motivation I need to sit my butt in a chair in front of my computer and start hitting the buttons of the keyboard. SO, A BIG, BIG THANKS!
Please forgive any careless mistakes, I was in a hurry to finish. Can you believe I spent eight hours writing this, and that I have to finish two projects fro tomorrow? Basically, I'm screwed. Oh, and I haven't taken a bath yet. Well, it was worth it!
I hope you like this chapter as well. Enjoy
The awful drowsiness made everything distant. He could sometimes hear mumbling, but it never made sense. Through half-closed eyes, he noticed bright flashes and figures. It was the doctors, trying to patch up the mess. Then another period of darkness. He couldn't move and didn't want to try to either. His body felt heavy.
Until finally, the tiredness went away.
Izuku took a deep breath and stirred. He could tell that he was lying somewhere soft and warm. The air had an acidic smell of drugs and sterilization. Someone's warm fingers had intertwined with his and were squeezing his hand tightly. His eyelids flickered with great effort. Izuku frowned.
An unknown ceiling of cream-coloured tiles loomed above him. Of course, the hospital…
His tongue was numb and there was a bland taste of sponge at the back of his throat. He tried to talk, but the vocal cords were still not ready to be strained, it seemed. Izuku slowly took in his surroundings.
A window at the right, with white curtains. A television on the opposite wall. The IV drop next to the comfy bed he was lying in. The sheets that were tangled around his body. The layers of bandages around his arms.
And then there was his sleeping mother. She had fetched a chair so that she could sit right next to him. Her hand was clutching his own with determination. No matter what, she was not going to let go of him, even when asleep. Her upper body had fallen on the edge of his pillow. Her mouth was slightly open and her head was at an awkward angle. It was an uncomfortable, light sleep that she was having. She had dozed off it seemed. For how long had she forced herself to stay awake by her son's side, holding that hand?
Izuku didn't care about the knot in his throat. He forced his voice to call for her. It was raspy, broken and weak.
"Mum?"
Her face contorted. The eyes shot open. Immediately, salty tears started to roll down her chubby cheeks. Her mouth opened and closed, making incoherent noises, until finally, she found the word she was looking for.
"Izuku? Izuku! Izuku, oh Izuku!"
She squeezed his hand and brought it to her face, rubbing it against her skin. Her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably from the violent sobs.
"Mum, it hurts…" he complained with a thin smile.
She gasped and let go of his arm. "I'm sorry! Oh, Izuku, I'm so sorry! I'm so very sorry!" she cried, over and over again.
"Mum, please don't cry. I'm fine now. I'm here now, Mum. I'm not going to leave you alone."
"Oh Izuku… I will do anything for you. Just tell me what's troubling you. We'll work together to fix it. Don't do that again. Don't do that ever again, Izuku. I love you so much, please, Izuku!"
Her slender fingers gently brushed away the bangs from his forehead.
"I won't do that ever again, Mum. I promise. It was stupid and scary. It was so scary."
She concealed her face with her hands, whimpering inconsolably like a child. Izuku was shocked to see the condition that she was in. He had almost broken her, deduced her to this miserable state. He didn't want to ever see his mother down on her knees. No, she was supposed to hold her head high, no matter what.
"I'm sorry Mum. I love you." He said, and despite the pain, stretched his arm to reach her. His fingers weakly pulled the hands away from the crying face, revealing the wide, puffy eyes that were the same green color as his own, like freshly-watered grass. She trembled at the cold touch.
"I wish I were a better mother to you, Izuku…" she mumbled.
"You are the best mother in the world."
"Then why? Why did I miss it? How could I have missed something so serious? You were suffering and I never noticed a thing…" she shook her head stubbornly.
"It wasn't serious or anything. I was just being childish. Selfish. Refusing to accept reality"
"Don't say that, Izuku. Of course it's serious. I already asked your teachers. They didn't give me the names, but I'm sure if we pursue the matter, we could even get the case to court, and-"
"Whoa, mum, slow down. I'm not suing anybody."
"Izuku, these kids did awful things to you. They could be doing it to others as well."
"It's not that, mum. It wasn't that from the start."
"Then what is it? What is it that I missed?"
He lowered his gaze to the white bandages around his arms. He could feel the wounds itch. "I'm just angry that people aren't born equal."
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.
.
"He's telling the truth" The police officer with the green bug antennas that protruded from his head announced.
The other police officer, a man in his late forties, sighed heavily and closed his eyes. "I see. That means that we may be dealing with a new quirk. I want the records of any quirks that could possibly be behind this."
Izuku smiled politely to the two officers.
He had told them about the peculiar incident. How he had jumped from the rooftop but had found himself with lethal cuts in his arms instead. But he had purposefully excluded the meetings that he had had on that rooftop right after jumping.
A story that they wouldn't have believed, had it not been for the be-antenna-ed policeman that had the quirk of recognizing lies. A very useful quirk for the job he was in.
"Well then, young man. I wish you a fast recovery."
They got up and left without any more questions, to the relief of the nurses that had taken it upon themselves to shower Izuku with caring attention. They watched him like hawks when his mother was not around and had frequent chats with him. The reason was easy to guess.
Izuku sighed and rested the manga on his lap. He had already read it three times that day. There was nothing interesting on the television either. It had been utter boredom for the past couple of days.
He glared at the IV irritably. That thing restricted his movements even when going to the bathroom. He absolutely resented it.
"What's wrong, dear? Do you want to sleep? Should I turn it off?" One of the nurses, the one that appeared to be in charge of taking care of him, pointed to the colorful screen of the television. She was probably not any younger than his mother. Her hair was pitch black, and she had a very friendly smile.
"Nakajima-san… I don't feel particularly tired today. Could I go for a walk?"
She raised an eyebrow. "That didn't go very well yesterday, Midoriya-kun."
The other day, he had begged to go out, just a little, and Nakajima-san had escorted him. Unfortunately, he had fainted a few minutes later in the elevator, startling an old lady that was in there with him. It had taken a lot of patience to calm her down.
"Just a quick trip to the cafeteria. Please…" he pleaded, with his palms pressed together. "If I feel wobbly, I will tell you right away!"
Her eyes softened. She sighed. "I'm coming with you of course. If you start to get dizzy, I will put you in a wheelchair and roll you back here."
"Thank you very much!" he lowered his head with gratitude.
Izuku slowly sat up, with his legs hanging from the side of the bed. A second of dizziness passed ticked by and the world blurred back into definite shape. Nakajima-san fetched him some green slippers and put them on his feet for him. "You look pale already." She remarked.
He put his weight on his legs and stood up. Nakajima-san stood by his side worriedly, ready to support him if he were to lose his balance.
"How do you feel, dear?"
"It feels like my knees are made of spaghetti" He admitted with a guilty grin.
The steps he took were small and hesitant. Nakajima-san stayed right next to him, holding him gently. He held the IV pole with one arm and dragged it along, hunched over it slightly in an attempt to support himself. Everything in his body felt weak and unstable. He could pass out easily, now that there was less blood in running through his veins.
"I will hold you more tightly now, Midoriya-kun. I can't have you collapsing again." Nakajima-san announced once they reached the two metallic slide doors of the elevator.
He nodded absent-mindedly and the strength of the grip around his waist and shoulder increased. The two doors slid open and they entered.
Izuku shot a curious glance at the little kid that was already in there. He wore the green patient clothes and slippers. He was not dragging around an IV, nor was he escorted by anyone. The kid didn't appear to be older than ten. He was scrawny and frail, with pale skin and sharp features. But his eyes had a playful glint that belonged to all children.
The doors closed behind them and the elevator started to descend. He felt the effect right away. Black dots started to obscure his vision. The nurse patted his shoulder comfortingly.
Izuku was sure that Nakajima-san would say something to the child, but she remained silent and awfully cheerful. She didn't once turn towards the kid, completely ignoring him. She should have at least said hello and asked what he was doing, wandering around all alone.
Something was striking him as weird about that kid, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. He stared at it intensely, until finally, the kid took notice.
The little boy blinked with curiosity, then gave a toothy smirk and waved at him. Izuku smiled back awkwardly.
The elevator slowed down, preparing for a stop.
"We're not at ground level yet." Nakajima-san told him.
Izuku took a deep breath. He was already feeling dizzy. Just how many more seconds would he have to withstand that sensation?
Just as the doors slid open, a shrill, furious cry made both of them freeze into place. Many things happened at once.
A certain hot-tempered boy barged in with the most terrifying scowl of all time. He literally threw his IV into the elevator, almost hitting poor Izuku and the startled Nakajima-san, and started frantically pressing the button on the panel that would close the doors more quickly. He was panting and sweating, probably ready to fall down on his knees, but as he looked at the nurse that was running towards the elevator from the end of the corridor with a desperate cry, he smirked so evilly that it instantly made him look more like a dangerous criminal than a normal hospital patient.
"DIE!" he yelled as if bellowing a war cry.
"No! Wait!"
The nurse seriously sped up. She stretched her arms towards him and, heaving like a dog, pushed herself to her limits. But it was too late. The doors closed right in her face. A painful bang echoed. She had slammed right into the metal.
A light shake indicated that the elevator had started again. The heavy breaths that the hot-tempered boy took gradually slowed down and became lighter. Nakajima-san stared at him with a horrified expression, utterly speechless.
"…K… Kacchan?"
"Hah?" he turned to him with an aggressive gaze. Bakugou looked exactly the same as ever, as unyielding as ever. His hair stood on edge, as always, and his red eyes burned with passion, as always. But all of that melted away into confusion, an emotion that Izuku had rarely seen show up on his face before. "…You're…" It was only for a fraction of a second though because it all reverted back to that what-are-you-looking-at-want-to-fight kind of look. "Why the hell are you here, Deku?"
"You're ok… I'm so glad you're ok, Kacchan!" Izuku radiated with bliss.
Bakugou was ok. He was out of the coma. He was going to be fine.
"The hell is up with you, of course I'm fine!"
"Someone you know, Midoriya-kun?" Nakajima-san asked, somehow having been brought back to her senses. Her smile was reduced to a thin, strict line. She was obviously unhappy with the way that red-eyed boy had been addressing her patient.
"Yes… He's my classmate, Bakugou Katsuki, " Izuku told her.
"I don't need you to be worried about me, you nerd! Why the hell are you here in the first place?"
"I will not tolerate such language." Nakajima-san coldly stated.
Bakugou looked at her murderously. "What's your problem, you hag?"
The elevator finally reached ground level and the doors slid open. Izuku grabbed the IV and walked out as quickly as he could, but Nakajima-san wasn't willing to give up on the case so easily. Bakugou glared back insolently.
"Kacchan, when did you wake up?"
"Four days ago, what do you care?" he snapped.
Four days ago. That was the same day that he had woken up as well. "I'm only happy for you, that's all…" Izuku said softly.
Bakugou was striding towards the cafeteria, carrying his IV like a barbell as if that was completely natural, while Izuku did his best to follow, dragging his feet behind him. Nakajima-san trotted along, deeply worried.
"Who the fuck asked you?" Bakugou hissed.
The automatic glass doors opened for them to enter the cafeteria. There were many empty grey tables and chairs. A soft music was playing from a lonely loudspeaker that hung from the poorly-decorated wall, low enough that there would be no disturbance for the hospital patients. The people behind the counter at the other end looked at the stampeding Bakougo with fear. It seemed like they had met him before.
"Do you have coffee?" he asked the cashier.
"Y-Yes…" the young man stuttered. "Of course. What kind of coffee would you like, sir?"
"Whatever, hurry it up."
Izuku panted heavily next to the cream-haired boy. He was holding onto the cold metallic pole of the IV to support himself. His legs were shaking uncontrollably.
"Kacchan, did you ditch the nurse to drink a cup of coffee?"
"Yeah, that's exactly how it is. Got a problem with that?"
"Eh? No, it's just that… maybe, you shouldn't have done that, Kacchan…" Izuku blurted out. His hand had gotten slippery from the sweating. He couldn't hold on any longer. "Uh… I think… I'm not…"
He was wobbling.
"What? What's with that funny face?" Bakugou yelled into his face.
Izuku's legs couldn't hold him any longer. He fell forward and landed right on Bakugou.
"Don't just casually touch me, you worthless bastard!" he shouted and gripped the boy's arm, shaking him off.
Izuku twitched at the sudden pain that came from his left arm and cried in agony. A shocked Bakugou released him right away. He just noticed the bandages that were wrapped around Midoriya's arms and questioned their purpose a little too late.
Nakajima-san intervened. She picked up the writhing Izuku from the floor and turned to look at Bakugou with burning anger.
"I should have understood from the moment he said you were one of his classmates. Can't you leave this poor boy alone? Look at what you have done to him! Do you realize how messed up this is?"
"No… I didn't… I…" Bakugou had lost all of his booming confidence it just mere seconds. "What happened to him? What happened to Midoriya?"
Nakajima-san didn't care to answer him. She helped the green-haired boy stand up on his legs and gently ushered him to the exit, leaving Bakugou behind. The people in the cafeteria were gazing at him with suspicious frowns, but he didn't give one shit about them. His eyes were fixated on the red trails left behind by the reopened wound on Izuku's arm. Bakugou was not an idiot. It slowly dawned to him what the nurse was referring to.
.
.
.
Amidst the chaos that had ensued after Bakugou's appearance, Izuku had forgotten about the little boy that he had seen at the elevator. But the kid had not forgotten about him, it seemed. He had sneaked into the room while Nakajima-san was putting him back into bed. The little boy stared at the bleeding arm with curiosity, as if watching a movie. Izuku felt uncomfortable being watched by him. Wasn't anyone going to notice him?
"The stitches are still in place. It was only a little bit of blood, thankfully." Nakajima-san sighed with relief and her shoulders drooped, having examined the wound from up close. "But we'll have the doctor check on it just to be safe."
Izuku silently nodded.
Nakajima-san smiled at him while she wrapped some new, clean bandages around his aching arm.
"Don't move around, ok?" she said, or more precisely, ordered, and rushed out of the room.
As if he could. If he tried to stand up in that condition, he would pass out right there and then.
Nakajima-san passed right by the little boy in the doorway, but once again, paid him no heed. It was just Izuku and the kid now.
The little boy silently walked up to his bed and smiled at him happily.
"That looked nasty." The little boy finally spoke, pointing at Izuku's arm.
Midoriya blinked. "Uh… thank you…" he mumbled, not sure how to respond.
"My name is Shota. And yours is Deku, right?"
Izuku rubbed the back of his neck with his good arm and have a half-hearted laugh. "It's Midoriya Izuku, actually."
"But that angry mister called you Deku, didn't he?"
"That's just what he likes to call me. But I'd prefer if you called me by my actual name instead." Izuku clarified.
"Okay then, Izuku"
'Too casual' , he thought but smiled politely.
"What are you doing here, anyway? Do you come and go as you please in this hospital?" Izuku asked, feeling very curious.
"More or less, that is exactly what I do," Shota replied with a soft giggle. "I don't talk to many people. You're the first one to pay attention to me."
"I'm sure your parents pay attention to you as well. And the doctors may seem a little distant, but they really do care."
"No they don't. Not anymore at least. Hey, what are your hobbies? I like watching TV. Do you play basketball?"
"Um… I don't watch TV that much… and I don't play basketball…"
"That's too bad. And I thought we could be friends!" Shota pouted.
Izuku desperately to find something to say that would interest the child.
"…I like All Might too."
That was all it took for Shota to break out in hysterical squeals.
"All Might is my favourite hero! He's the best of the best, the strongest of them all! He swoops in at the last minute and saves everyone with a smile!"
Izuku grinned, seeing how happy the little boy was.
"His fists are harder than steel!" Shota said in a deep voice and put up his hand. "His feet are faster than lightning!" he hopped from one leg to another, as if getting prepared to run a marathon. "His hair stand up, defying gravity!" he pointed at his head. "And when he saves the day, he laughs and says-"
"I am here!" Izuku shouted in an equally deep voice, beating Shota to it. He recognized the lines right away. He used to watch that show- adventures of All Might they called it- all the time when he was still in elementary.
Shota awed with disappointment, but he wouldn't give up so easily. "And remember kids, try hard enough and you can all become amazing heroes!" the little boy cited the show's All Might's catchphrase at the end of each episode.
Izuku's smile disappeared.
'It's not bad to dream. But you also have to consider what is realistic, young man'
"Remember that one time All Might fought with a group of villains in the underground? That was amazing, wasn't it? I wish I could be a cool hero like him!"
"Yeah. You're right… It was amazing." Izuku said and the corners of his lips curled upwards into a weak bittersweet grin.
"What do you want to be when you grow up, Izuku?" Shota asked, tapping his foot on the floor with excitement.
"Me? I… Just like you, I've always wanted to be a hero." He admitted.
"Really? We're the same then! We could become best friends!" the little boy exclaimed. "We've watched the same shows, we like the same hero, and we both want to be heroes! How cool is that?"
Just then, Izuku remembered that the Adventures of All Might had been the most popular show among the kids at that time. But it stopped airing after some issues of the companies that owned it. The problem was… that the last couple of episodes were broadcasted back when he was in fifth grade, if he remembered correctly. But Shota was much younger than him, probably less than ten. There was no way he could have watched the show.
"Shota, how old are you?" Izuku casually asked. Something about the situation was wrong. He could feel the hair rise on the back of his neck.
"Me? I think I'm eight…"
"You think…"
"Yeah, I'm not sure. I was eight a long, long time ago."
"What do you mean?"
"Izuku?"
The green-haired teen turned abruptly to the door. His mother had just entered. She had brought along a large pile of books and comics for him to read, and, to his embarrassment, his favourite All Might figurine. She set the stuff down on the counter and then stood in front of his bed, arms crossed, brows knitted, like a scared cat. Izuku felt that she had something serious to say, so he took his eyes off Shota, deciding that introductions would come later.
"Who were you talking to, Izuku? There's no one here…"
.
.
.
"You're leaving already, aren't you?"
Izuku nervously pulled at the straps of his school bag, which he had filled with all of his stuff. It felt weird wearing normal clothes again. Under the sleeves of his red sweatshirt, his arms were still bandaged and the wounds had started to turn into ugly scars. It was time for him to leave the hospital and return home. He would start school again the next day, already having missed many lessons.
Shota refused to raise his gaze from the floor.
"Will you be alright?"
"No." Shota stubbornly shook his head.
"I could come and visit from time to time."
"You said it yourself; you've got tons to study because you want to get into All Might's school. I wish I could go to UA too. It's not fair."
"I've got something for you, Shota."
"Hm?"
Izuku grinned. He reached into his bag, and after a little bit of searching, pulled out what he was looking for; All Might's figurine. He looked at it for a while, reminiscing about all those times he had used it for his games, back when he was much more little than Shota.
"I'd like you to have him." He said and offered the figurine.
Shota squinted at it with disbelief. Then he looked up at Midoriya's face. Then down at the tiny All Might in the teen's hands. Then up at him again. "You're… giving this to me? But don't you want to become like him? Like All Might?"
"I still do. But I can't keep holding onto that idea. I've decided that I will become a hero, but in my own way."
"Your own way…" Shota repeated, but his mind was elsewhere as he admired the figurine, touching the two yellow hair antennas with great interest.
"Hey, Shota… I think you can become a hero too."
The little boy's chocolate eyes glistened with an indiscernible emotion. He stared into Izuku's green own. "You do?"
"Yes. So let's both of us do our best to become the greatest heroes ever!" the green-haired teen extended his fist towards him.
Shota looked at it for a moment, then bumped his own little fist against Izuku's with a bright smile. "Thanks, Izuku! You really are a hero!"
Izuku ruffled the boy's brown hair. "You cannot believe how happy you just made me with those five words, Shota!"
Approaching footsteps. The two boys fell silent. Izuku nervously scratched his chin.
"Are you ready?"
He nodded to his mother.
"I'll make your favourite tonight. Katsudon!" She announced with a wry smirk. "You've only been fed weird hospital foods lately, so we should celebrate with a proper dish!"
"Thanks, mum!"
Izuku walked out of the room with one last glance over his shoulder. Shota waved at him with his free hand. With the other, he was clutching the figurine as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Izuku waved back.
All it took was a blink.
The boy disappeared, leaving no traces behind. Not a flash of light, nor a breeze.
'Goodbye'
Somehow, Izuku knew that Shota was not in the hospital anymore. He was finally where he needed to be.
Izuku and his mother went in the elevator. The old lady that he had encountered the first time he had taken the elevator and had startled by fainting in front of happened to be there too. She nodded a greeting to him, and he nodded back. His mother didn't seem to notice. No, actually, she wasn't able to see her. Nobody was. Not anymore.
The elevator stopped and the doors slid open.
What luck. Izuku gulped down his nervousness.
Bakougou and his mother, a woman that had similarly spiky hair and strict eyes joined them. They were carrying bags. Bakugou was wearing normal clothes too. He was probably returning home as well. The two mothers seemed surprised to see each other and exchanged greetings.
Bakougo was acting strange, Izuku noticed right away. He didn't glare at him the same way as before. It was still a glare of dislike, but it was much less aggressive.
"H-Hello…" Izuku stuttered awkwardly.
Bakougo just shrugged in silence.
'What was that awfully not-Bakugou reaction?' , Izuku wondered to himself.
While Izuku's mother was cold when it came to the mothers of the rest of his classmates, whom she had met individually and complained to after the incident, she didn't seem to hold a grudge against Bakougo's. She chatted with her without any problems.
'They seem to get along well'
At last, they reached the ground level and got out of the elevator.
The big glass doors awaited them on the left. Soon, he would be back at home, eating Katsudon with his mother.
His mind went to Shota's happy face when they waved at each other.
He could only find one explanation. That he actually had a quirk that manifested absurdly late, and that his quirk was not an easy one to handle. He could see the lurking spirits of the dead. It wasn't just Shota or that old lady. There were others wandering around the corridors, ghosts that people passed by on a daily basis, he noticed after a while. There were probably even more out there in the streets. He felt a bit terrified at the thought of going out again and confronting a brand new world that had more souls than before.
But he would take whatever challenge life presented him with.
Being a hero meant saving others. Izuku Midoriya was going to become that kind of hero.
An ESP power is the ability to communicate with the dead. I figured that one of the powers Izuku will get should be this one, which he awakened after falling from the rooftop. The ones that he talked to were people that had committed suicide. The girl with the yellow cardigan is different though... You'll see.
Next up, we have a chapter about... something! I have no idea what yet! Because I write everything on the fly, so I'm not sure. There's just this vague idea that I will develop.
Anyway, I wish you all the best. Thank you for reading.
Until next time!