Okay, after yet another month, here's another chapter. I'm sorry it took so long...
You may (or not) have noticed the new relationship tag. To be honest I was on the fence as well about the pairing, but thinking back on it, I feel like it'd work out very well with how the story is gonna move forward. The story isn't gonna be romance focused though. Just a side thing.
But anyway, this chapter will be mostly from Takato's POV. You'll also see the return of both Nezu and Katsuki.
Enjoy :v
「「「・」」」
The red string of fate was a common discussion hushed among the girls in his class. A promise of a soul-bonded companion, a predestined love unbroken by fate. Or so the story went.
The two and a half hour long ride to Shizuoka allowed Takato some time to muse over the thread tied to his pinky that was now wedged between the closed passenger door. Outside, the thread extended beyond his sight, and whenever the car swerved or make a turn, it would follow and even tie itself around the car. Yet no matter how much he pulled his pinky away in his seat, the wedged thread not once restricted his movement.
Tao assumed he was playing with Tsubasa, the cat herself twisting her head left and right to follow his senseless hand movements.
He and Tao talked a bit throughout the ride, the man bringing up the lack of his Impmon plushie on his person and Takato jokingly replying he had a new best friend in the cat. Impmon, meaning Izuku, was safe at home sleeping and not responding to anything sent through their mental links.
"Just be sure to not let her run around the place," Tao said when they finally arrived at the Hypnos building.
Takato nodded and exited the car, Tsubasa slowly climbing his shirt to perch on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. She can't really move much so she'll be with me all the time. Right, girl?" He kept his hand beside her to keep her from falling and briefly established a mental connection between them.
"Mrow," she mewled. 'Sun warm. Want sleep,' was what he understood before she leaned against his neck and promptly took a nap. It was amazing how fast she fell asleep.
As he followed Tao inside, Takato's attention briefly returned to the thread which was now looped around the car at least once. Immediately after he wondered whether it would stay like that, the thread flew over the car as if blown by the wind. The now untangled thread softly landed on the ground, extending a few blocks away before disappearing into a corner.
Takato swore to investigate it later before shifting his attention to the entrance's steps lest he fall.
The hypnos building interior greeted him with a drop in temperature that disturbed Tsubasa's beauty sleep, but it was nothing the elevator's music couldn't help. Several storeys up later, they made their way towards the Wild Bunch section of the building.
The employees, all civil servants, nodded at Tao in polite acknowledgement when they passed by each other.
The room Takato had gotten used to in these few months was just as bright as ever when they stepped in. The kindergarten theme they were going for however was massively undercut by entangled the cords and wires all over the place.
There was a portable blackboard wedged in the corner of the room, flanked by two Wild Bunch members, Babel and Daisy, who were in the middle of a conversation.
One thing he liked about them being international researchers was that he could do away with Japanese customs. Being a bakers' son, he had bowed to customers enough times more than he could count. It was nice to just grin and wave at them in greetings without all the formality. Though sometimes they did like to shake hands a bit too much, but personally he thought it was neat.
"Morning, Takato. Who's that you brought?" Babel, a bald African-American man, smiled at him and Tao.
"Morning, Babel, Daisy. This here is Tsubasa." He scratched behind the sleeping cat's ear, chuckling. "I don't think she's waking up anytime soon to introduce herself."
Daisy, a blonde American woman, adjusted the blackboard a little so it faced the seat in the middle of the room directly.
"That's alright. She has plenty of time to sleep in class," she joked and picked up a piece of chalk. "Now take a seat. If we finish early, the earlier you can go out and play."
Takato nodded and thus began his first session of the day; quirk laws and ethics.
「「「・」」」
"An unlicensed minor with a telekinesis quirk dropped her purse while crossing the road. What must she do?" Daisy wrote on the blackboard while Babel stood in the corner of the room.
Takato absentmindedly caressed Tsubasa's fur in his laps.
"According to the law, display of quirks in public is prohibited unless you have a license to do so. Failure to abide by the law may result in a fine. But..." He chanced a glance at his two instructors. "Using her telekinesis in this case to pick up her purse is technically allowed. Right?"
"And why is that?" Babel raised a challenging brow.
"Because as long as it's not harmful or an inconvenience to anyone, it is well within their freedom to use their quirks."
In contrast to Babel who nodded in a neutral but encouraging way, Daisy outright shook her head, unsatisfied with his answer.
"Incorrect," Daisy said simply. It was hard to resent her however when she said it with such an amused smile. "Quirk use in public, no matter how harmless, still falls under this law. It is merely by convention that people look the other way instead of reporting it?"
"Then why does it matter?"
"Because it can be used against you if you're not careful," Babel replied and took over the blakcboard, writing down a name of a person over all the notes there. "Tobita Danjuurou. This man performed an act vigilantism and ended up being sued by the person he saved."
"That's not nice." Takato squinted his eyes. He couldn't imagine Izuku suing him for doing the same. Not that he could say it out loud.
"It's not," Daisy nodded in agreement. She drew a line under a symbol of a scale. "But law is law, so you have to know your way with it."
After some more drilling on well-known and not so well-known quirk laws, Daisy and Babel dropped him onto Curly's care for the next session; physical check-up.
"My people back home believe souls are reincarnated in cycles," the Indian woman started as she slid in the blood pressure cuff to his bicep. "But you, my boy, can skip through the reincarnation phase entirely, as in the case of our new friend here." She pointed at Tsubasa who looked at the contraption in curiosity.
"I-is it that obvious?"
To outside eyes, Takato was only nervous at having his unsupervised quirk usage blown out. Inside however, he was trying not to freak out at the possibility of them learning about Izuku eventually.
It didn't relieve his concern, but Curly's amused reaction calmed his nerve somewhat.
"Well, you tell me." Her laugh wasn't a reaction of someone who just discovered a child had gone over their back.
"Honestly it did cross my mind you'd continue to use your quirks on animals," she said as she started pumping into the cuff. While he worried the inflated cuff would crush his arm, Tsubasa playfully pawed at it. "When Tao told me a physically healthy cat can't walk properly, I just connected the dots. What was she? A snake?"
"Bird, actually."
Inwardly, Takato wanted to just bang his head onto the inflated cuff. Of course he had to run his mouth off and announced his secret for everyone. He fought back a defeated groan by playing with Tsubasa's soft fur.
"But that explains your headache episodes from before. Everyone was worried your quirk was acting up. Turned out it was just a naughty boy who wanted a pet."
Takato saw an opportunity for a perfect lie and took it!
"I-I'm sorry..." He apologized, head downcast complete with remorseful mannerism and all that. If he didn't have talent for acting before, his parents could take him to any television studio now.
Curly smiled when he looked back up, her hand reaching to unclasp the cuff as it, and a disappointed Tsubasa, deflated again
"A power that transcends life and death. Some people would kill to have it," the woman said. "I won't scold you on how you should use your ability, but do be careful who you show it to. We want to keep it a secret for a reason."
"I understand..."
Yup, Toei should hire him if they ever made a Digimon show.
Several more tests later, Curly gave him a lollipop and left him on a sugar rush waiting for his session with Tao; counselling.
"Dolphin had to go back home to Germany so somebody else will take over later," the man said when he entered the room.
"I know." Takato chirped. "It's his granddaughter's death anniversary."
Tao gave him a look that said "really?"
"You didn't ask when you read his mind, did you?" the man said.
"...I will not confirm nor deny that," he repeated what he'd learned from Daisy and Babel.
Tao just shook his head and took a seat to start their session, notebook ready in hand.
The man asked him the usual question: how was he feeling, were there things that were stressing him out, did he slack off on his homework again... When they were done, Takato had let everything off his chest that wasn't about Izuku and the potential of their secret being found out.
If Curly were to do that blood pressure test again right now, she'd need to send him straight to the hospital. But until Tao outright state his suspicion, Takato allowed himself the luxury to relax and smother his cat. She didn't seem to mind...
"Mrow." 'Takato. Warm.'
Takato squealed and hugged her more.
'You're warm too, Tsubasa.'
'Need! Breath!'
...much.
Tao looked down at his watch before turning to Takato again, smiling. "How do you feel about a little trip around Musutafu?"
Takato lifted his gaze curiously while letting the cat nibble on his finger. "You're taking me out?"
Tao shrugged. "Not me, but since we've collected enough data from your quirk, we thought you deserve some time away from the wires and all that."
Last time he was left to his own device in the city, a body fell on him and, to everyone else, started a series of headaches that disrupted his life. He doubt they'd let him go unchaperoned again so he wasn't surprised a few minutes later when someone opened the door and addressed him. Their furry form did however.
"Ah, Takato. How have you been?" Nezu-san dropped to the floor after obviously having trouble turning the doorknob and had to jump to reach it. "What say you we leave this cramped place and have some fun somewhere else?"
Perhaps it was just Takato's imagination again, but where his red thread slithered on the floor next to the tiny man, a faint feminine sillhouette appeared before disappearing in just the blink of an eye.
「「「・」」」
The world should have been different, yet it remained the same. Once the funeral procession and everything else had gone to pass, the world too stopped paying attention to one Midoriya Izuku, now no more than a corpse buried under this grave in front of him.
And Katsuki hated it.
To hell with the lackeys calling it guilt— Because it wasn't!
He just hated how everyone had moved on like nothing had happened.
'Suicidal quirkless boy, a tragedy'
'Discrimination against the quirkless and why we should care'
'Midoriya Izuku, a cautionary tale against bullying'
Bla bla bla, whatever else the media had been spouting.
Katsuki took pride in being an asshole, but that the the world all wanted a piece of Deku's dead body for the first few days, only to go radio silence like he was just a new fad... Hypocrite, all of them.
He narrowed his unconcerned eyes at the tomb, an uninterested look on his uncaring face. Unaffected, no matter what everyone else said.
Deku died, and the only proof of his existence was this newly built grave with a casket filled with his goopy remains. And his deadbeat dad too Katsuki supposed, not that that was gonna last for long. The Midoriyas were moving to the states soon.
Huh, now that was one thing changing.
With a sneer of goodbye to a ghost who wouldn't reply, Katsuki adjusted the bag slung over his shoulder and headed in the direction he called home, the cemetary shrinking behind him to make way for neighborhoods and human civilization.
No sooner had he found himself standing by his house's door. The hag greeted him cordially so he allowed her to be adressed by "mom" in his head until whenever he decided he didn't want to.
"Katsuki, how was school?" She smiled, her arms moving in a motion that warned of the awkward hug she'd been trying to get herself used to. He didn't understand her sentiment, nor the use of physical affection in this house, so it was fortunate she hesitated enough for him to slide by her.
"Everyone's stupid." He said and passed her before she could even reply.
'Kacchan, greet your mom properly,' an annoyingly precocious kindergarten Deku chided him from the back of his head. He paused in his step, wondering what in the world had gotten into him when he opened his mouth again.
"Teacher said my English essay was good." That was all he managed to say before the genkan became too uncomfortable to breathe in.
His shoes came undone after mutually abusing each other with their heels. Soon he was out of her concerned gaze, but no matter how much he tried to hide away in his room, the motherly expression lingered in his mind.
He huffed and buried his face in his pillow. What did it matter if it reminded him of his grieving neighbor?
When lunch came about, Katsuki had already washed his thoughts away of anything relating to the Midoriyas by focusing on how overly seasoned the Katsudon was.
Katsudon.
Deku's favorite dish.
And why the hell would he remember that tiny detail if he wasn't the least bit affected by the idiot's death... that he had an active part in.
"Katsuki?" Dad called him from across the table when he stopped eating. Both him and mom gave him the same look, the one that they should be reserving for another kid that deserved it more than he could possibly did. Only that kid was dead now.
"It was me." He put down his chopsticks and bowl to look at his parents. Or at least until their undivided attention on him forced him to shift his gaze away.
He sighed.
"The rumors you heard, it's true. I told Dek– Izuku to jump off the school roof. Didn't think he'd do it for real. I bullied him, but not just me, everyone in the class. But everyone followed my lead."
He said it with such a straight face despite the raging storm inside him. But at the same time, it felt as though a burden had been lifted off his shoulder. The guilt, he admitted it now, still ate at him but at least the truth was out.
At first the table fell into an eerie silence. Both mom and dad looked at him in horror as it dawned on them what their demon spawn of a son had done.
Katsuki braced himself for the oncoming slap, yet what surprised him most was that it wasn't his hot-tempered mom that had left a handmark on his cheek. No, it was Bakugou Masaru, a man so calm his anger resembled a cold and chilling hell.
"Katsuki," the man said after almost climbing the table to get to him. His chair had tipped and fallen on its back from the force he used to push himself up. The usually reserved man was gone, leaving only this warden of hell that towever over Katsuki like he was an ant.
"Yes," Katsuki replied obediently, avoiding looking into dad's eyes and taking a deep breath for whatever punishment awaited him.
"When we go out with the Midoriyas this evening, I want you to shut your mouth and never mention whatever you said just now." Dad hissed, pointing his finger at him. "Your Aunty Inko had just gotten over her son's death and I don't want you to ruin it right before she has to move away. Is. That. Clear?"
"Yes, sir."
With nothing more to say, the man sighed softly and picked up his chair back up before sitting down again.
"Take your food and eat in your room," he said, voice stern but laced with defeat and what even Katsuki could tell was disappointment.
Katsuki didn't look at mom's face when he turned around to leave, but he knew she was just as distraught.
His bowl of untouched Katsudon soon found its new home on the floor by his bed.
It was what was hidden underneath that caught his attention however; a plastic container that hid more stuff inside. He pulled it from under the bed an opened the lid.
A can of unfinished beer he stole from the fridge– Blegh, whoever said alcohol tasted good, he wanted to punch that guy.
A barely burnt ciggarete stick he stealthily snatched up from the street– Nope, smoking didn't feel that wonderful either unless he wanted to choke himself.
A playboy magazine the lackeys lent him– He didn't understand porn.
The box held every bad coping mechanism that he'd attempted to adopt as a habit yet they all failed to distract him from the knife twisting inside his chest. How uplifting...
'You're amazing, Kacchan!' kindergartener Deku beamed at him.
"...shut up, idiot." He huffed and stuffed the Katsudon in his face until his mouth could fit no more.
He chewed well, but the thought of just swallowing it all wholly did cross his mind.
Damn, was it overseasoned.
「「「・」」」
On a list of places Takato expected Nezu-san to take him to, an amusement park was actually on the list he'd reserved for his parents. He wasn't going to complain however, not that he could anyway with a stick of sweet, sweet cotton candy smushed onto his face.
The mechanical humming from beside him made him look at the not-quite man who was riding an electric scooter to keep up pace with him. Tsubasa for some reason refused to sit in the scooter's basket, so she just lay atop Takato's head like some kind of a hat.
"Mrow." 'Scary.'
'What's scary?'
'Big person.'
'Big person?' Takato scanned around them to see several tall men passing by whether in group or by themselves. 'Like those guys?'
'No.'
For a brief moment, there was a spike of emotion enough to rouse a minor headache. Only when it faded away did Takato realize it was because of a woman who had just walked past them.
'Scary. Like before. Before Takato. Long black fur, white skin. Hurt Tsubasa.'
'Oh.'
While Takato sent reassurance over their mental link that she was safe with him, Nezu-san took the opportinity to start off a conversation.
"How are you enjoying Musutafu, young man?" The man asked.
Takato shrugged, making sure Tsubasa didn't fall off his head while she glared left and right.
"It's alright. Not as many people here like in Shinjuku even for a place like this." He vaguely waved his cotton candy in a circling motion. "Kinda reminds me of Okinawa except here I don't have to wear sunscreen. Or hide away from typhoons..." he added as an afterthought, reminded of the times he spent there to visit his cousin.
Nezu-san only listened to his ramble in amusement. The not so small but not so large crowds of people around them shuffled away whenever they came near to make way for his scooter.
Takato didn't know why a man who barely knew him suddenly wanted to treat him to a trip to this park and even paid for everything he so much as hinted to want. His parents would scold him for taking advantage of the kindness... but his parents weren't here were they? And so with that thought Takato guiltily— But not regretfully— stepped into the park's main attraction, the ferris wheel, after some more free treats which were mostly sweets plus some chips.
"Thank you for taking me here," Takato said while munching on pieces of potato chips. The door of their carriage closed automatically, and away from the presence of other people, Tsubasa allowed herself to unfurl herself atop Takato's hair to enjoy the view. At least until the pods suddenly moved so she hopped down to bundle in his arms.
Nezu-san waved his hand nonchalantly on the seat opposite him. The man's furry face took on his signature cheery expression that Takato found so easy to approach.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it, after all the sudden headaches you had to suffer through. Think of it as a celebratory treat."
Takato choked mid-bite but the pods suddenly stopping again to pick up the next passengers covered his surprise. When he was done with his coughing bout and their carriage was moving again, he looked up to see Nezu's smiling face gone.
There was something deeply uncomfortable with the serious look he gave Takato.
Perhaps it was the air conditioning kicking in, but the air taking such a drop in temperature made the smooth ride up with no more stops much less enjoyable than it should be.
"Nezu-san? Are you alright?" Takato said, wondering if it was nothing more than motion sickness that had the man looking so grave.
"No, no, I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about. After all," the man looked him in the eye, not a drop of mirth visible across his features. "Not everyone has to carry the burden of an emotionally unstable teenager inside their head."
The land shrunk beneath them as their pod picked up speed. Tsubasa, oblivious to the unfolding scene, pawed at Takato's shirt to point at the windows. He ignored her.
"How did you know?" He breathed out, the beautiful view outside lost to him.
"I had my doubts. It was nothing more than a passing thought, so I didn't really to think much of it," Nezu-san replied. "Or at least until Yamaki confirmed that the start of your headache episodes did indeed coincide with the date Midoriya Izuku died."
Takato started which didn't go unnoticed.
"And just now, you confirmed my suspicion." Nezu-san frowned but there was an amused smile there, much like his parents whenever he thought he did something wrong.
"You can't make me cancel the quirk." Takato protested but the man held up a hand.
"I'm not telling you to do that, but I am curious how you plan to proceed forward."
The pod gradually moving faster almost didn't register to Takato's mind when the man hopped down to stand in front of him. Adults usually had the kind of authority that Takato believed to have come from their taller stature, but the way Nezu-san stared him down despite being shorter proved that height had nothing to do with it at all.
"Mrow?"
Takato ignored her again.
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't understand your thought process at first. What good is there keeping somebody alive when they can't do nothing more than exist... and then I heard about your science project."
By now, the pod was at a constant speed. The man continued to stand there as the scenery outside the pod changed to that of the blue sky.
"Tao's two children, Li Jenrya and Li Shiuchon. Fascinating quirks they have. Why, it's almost like you wanted to combine them to create something else, something that can be a physical body for a certain disembodied soul."
Takato opened his mouth but no words came out. He closed it again, unsure how to respond. Nezu-san spoke again when it was clear he wouldn't say anything.
"What are you planning to do? Tell his parents that you, a boy they don't even know, is trying to resurrect supposedly dead child? The child that they already buried and mourned? Do you know how cruel that is?"
"I don't need to tell, I just have to show them!" Takato said, finding his voice again. Tsubasa cowered at the rising volume but he didn't have enough presence of mind to pay her attention. "They'll see that he's alive and they can be a happy family again."
"And what if you can't show them by the time of the science fair? What makes you think you're not under any time constrain?"
"...what?"
Nezu-san took back his seat opposite Takato but instead of facing him, the man turned his back and stood on his knees to enjoy the view by the window. He even waved to whoever saw him from the ground.
"I met Midoriya Inko a few days ago, you see. She said she and her husband are moving to America. Now this is a secret, but I did some "digging" and found the plane tickets they bought online." Nezu-san glanced over his shoulder, an unreadable look on his face. "People are sentimental, so the Midoriyas picked the date most important to them. Care to guess which date that is?"
Takato stayed silent, prompting the man to yet again turn his gaze away.
"Fifteen of July," he said, looking outside. "They picked their son's birthday, the date of which just so happens to coincide on the day before your science fair."
「「「・」」」
Takato barely waited for the pod to lock properly to the platform before jumping off the thing. The person manning it shouted at him for littering but he could care less about wasted potato chips.
He pushed against the crowds, squeezing through them where he could, running until he found the entrance.
Guided by the memories of the still unavailable Izuku, he dashed around every pedestrian and cyclist he came across. The bustling Korusuka street was connected to the quiter Nabu street by a foot bridge, a journey that took him stumbling a few times plus some strangers asking if he was okay. When he was done gasping his way through it, he made way towards a less used shorcut in the form of the abandoned Hofu neighborhood.
Rumor had it the houses here were haunted, so not a lot of people passed through. Izuku being himself however thought it was neat and memorized every inch of the place to hang out here whenever he wanted to be left alone.
Takato safely passed through the neighborhood with no scratch and only a pair of legs that was beginning to feel like jelly.
Aldera Junior High soon came into view. Some students were having extra-corricular activities, a crowd Izuku was never able to fit with. Most people wanted to avoid association with someone notorious for being bullied and taken advantage of.
Takato barely gave the school a glance to proceed towards the next street, Besupi, that housed Izuku's cram school. It was a high end cram school so not many students from his school attended it. It was a place of respite away from negativity that the boy took full advantage of. He even made some acquaintances there. If Takato squinted, he could see familiar faces from Izuku's memory.
And at last, Takato arrived at the place dear to Izuku. His apartment complex.
The elevator was out of service, so Takato with his screaming legs dashed up the stairs two steps at a time. By the end of it he was huffing for breath when he finally found the door to the Midoriya household.
"What are you planning to do? Tell his parents that you, a boy they don't even know, is trying to resurrect supposedly dead child? The child that they already buried and mourned? Do you know how cruel that is?" Nezu-san's voiced echoed in his mind.
Takato frowned, his shaking hand hovering over the bell button. Once he pushed it, the secret would be over. But...
He bit his lip, wondering if he was making the right choice.
Izuku's family was his source of happiness, and they his. He didn't deserve his parents leaving him, and his parents shouldn't have to bear the pain if they knew their son was alive.
By the time Takato had taken another deep breath, he realized his finger had already pushed the button, evident by the muffled chime from inside the house.
"...huh?" He tilted his head when nobody answered after ten seconds. He tried again, ringing the bell for another ten seconds only to be met with the same silence. After several quick successions of button pushing later, it was clear nobody was inside.
"The Midoriyas are on an outing."
Takato jumped, looking beside him to see Nezu-san approaching. Tsubasa lay inside his arms but not for long when she saw Takato and immediately tried to reach for him.
"H-hey, wait!" He held out his hands, running forward and hoping to catch her before she could fall. Thankfully, she landed perfectly and even managed to walk, with some difficulty, towards his figure that was frozen from surprise.
"Mrow?" The cat looked up at him. Picking her up and establishing a connection with her, he realized he'd made a mistake leaving her alone. 'Takato where? Tsubasa scared.'
"Oh, Tsubasa. I'm so sorry.' Takato hugged her to his chest. Having her close calmed his adrenaline somewhat, allowing him to calmly address the man watching them. "You knew the Midoriyas wouldn't be here, didn't you. That's why you didn't stop me."
Nezu-san shrugged. "It would be disastrous for everyone involved, and I'd rather not give the Midoriyas hope in case this little plan of yours didn't work out."
"It will work," Takato said with no bite, nor energy. He was exhausted to give anything more than a neutral expression. "I know it."
"You are a good kid, Takato." Nezu-san sighed softly, a kind look on his face. "I won't be stopping you, but I want you to know that actions has consequences, no matter your intentions. Ressurecting Midoriya Izuku will have repercussions, but telling his parents before you can be sure of your success is a recipe for disaster. I know you know that."
Takato frowned but didn't argue. His hands absentmindedly carressed Tsubasa, the cat more than happy to snuggle into his chest to let him play with her.
"Come on, let's get you back." Nezu-san said and headed for the stairs in silence. Takato begrudgingly followed his lead. When they were on the ground again, he realized that the man was actually able to keep up with his pace from the amusement park all the way to the apartment.
"Told you I needed the scooter." Nezu-san shrugged and looked at the innocent-looking scooter that couldn't possibly be as fast as he was suggesting. "Now. You can have the seat, I'll just stand on the leg rest. Tsubasa can have the basket. You okay with that, young lady?"
"Mrow!" 'Wind! Fun!'
Takato couldn't help the amused snort as he followed the arrangement. He made sure Nezu-san had enough room to stand in front of him though that did mean he had to dangle his feet. As promised, the scooter zoomed through the streets with ease, the wind blowing on their face as they kept at consistent speed.
"You already knew I was going to run, right?" Takato said when they passed by Aldera Junior high. "You chose the amusement park for a reason."
"To be honest, I just wanted a place where I could catch you of guard. It just so happened that the Midoriya apartment is nearby so I thought, why don't I have some fun while traumatizing a kid that's going to bring me troubles in the future."
"You're evil." Takato laughed.
Tao was waiting for them when they arrived at the Hypnos building, his car ready to take Takato home. He waved his goodbye to Nezu-san with Tsubasa mewling hers as well.
Takato chose to sit on the back, and by sitting, he meant lying down until he fell asleep from the monotonous humming of the car engine, Tsubasa snuggling up to him.
「「「・」」」
Katsuki kept his frown to himself as aunty Inko yet again pulled him for another session with the changing room, piles and piles of clothes waiting to be tried out. This was his punishment, he was sure of it.
He got off too easy to be honest, he thought as he looked at his potential new wardrobe in the mirror. He looked like a sissy.
"Katsuki-kun. Are the clothes fitting you?" The woman askes from the other side of the changing room.
"They're too bright."
"Katsuki!" Mom shouted.
"What? Do want me to lie or something?"
"It's called tact!"
He sighed while the the two women argued over what kind of fashion monstrosity would suit him best. Uncle Hisashi to the off site mentioned something about American fashion trend which roped dad into joining the conversation as well, leaving Katsuki sighing and lying his forehead against the changing room's mirror.
He hated this.
Yet he still got of too easy.
「「「・」」」
The next day found Takato and the rest of his friend sitting around his room
"So we really have until the science fair to finish this?" Jenrya asked.
Takato nodded, one of his hands making sure Tsubasa didn't fall of his head. The cat had found her new favorite resting place and wouldn't budge.
Shiuchon pulled out a piece of brown fabric from her schoolbag, grinning. "I've started knitting the skin. Just a bit though."
"That's great, Shiuchon."
Takato smiled but couldn't keep the frown off his face when he saw the Impmon plushie lying down in the middle of their circle.
"Is he still not waking up?" Juri mimicked his frown and picked ghe plushie up. "I wonder of something's wrong?"
"You can still sense him, right, Takato?" Jenrya scooted over to Juri's side to study it as well.
"Yeah, he's there. Just... there," Takato said and held out his hand to ask for it. As he brushed his finger over the squishy plaything, he wondered if Izuku blacking out had anything to do with the red thread on his pinky. It didn't seem to be a coincidence.
"We can do it," Shiuchon said and broke him out of his musing. Her smiling face didn't wash out all his doubts especially after his conversation with Nezu-san. But it was hard not to smile as well what with her words. "We can't give up yet just because a rat tells us not to."
"Shiuchon, that's not nice!" Jenrya chided.
"Well, if he's not a rat he wouldn't name himself Nezu would he?"
"Still. It's rude."
Juri laughed and added her two cents as well. "But he must have known people would call him that right. He probably doesn't mind."
"I-I mean... That..." Jenrya faltered.
Takato smiled watching them banter, though there were still worries at the back of his mind.
"Mrow?" 'Takato okay?'
'I'm okay. Thanks, Tsubasa.'
'You can do it, Takato,' a voice that distinctly wasn't Tsubasa said in his mind. He stiffened, feeling a cold hand on his shoulder. But when he glanced over it, there was nobody there. The sensation disappeared as soon as it came.
While he tried to make sense of what was going on, Tsubasa jumped off his head, walking slowly but confidently to the door. Strangely enough, she was circling around a spot in the air like she would when nuzzling his foot. Maybe it was a cat thing.
Still, Takato wondered if the voice earlier it was his imagination. He let his eyes wander to his pinky again, trailing down the thread where it slithered across the floor—
Takato stiffened again, his eyes wide as he studied the figure stepping on the thread. Black nails, black teeth, grey hair, inverted colored eyes... The girl opened her mouth into something akin to a grin. But just as immediately, she disappeared into thin air, leaving him gaping at a supposedly empty space.
"Takato, you alright?" Juri asked. She and the siblings gave him a concerned look. "Takato?" she tried again when he didn't respond.
Gulping, he returning his gaze to the door. Tsubasa had remained at the same place, though now he had a suspicion what she was playing with. Or rather, who.
Ghosts were real. And he didn't know how to feel about that.
「「「・」」」
Izuku floated in the sea of nothingness, aimless, suspended in a realm beyond matter and non-matter.
Ao Shun's egg rested snuggled into his chest, its budding fetus singing a song of sorrow, a lament of the sinful...
「「「・」」」
Takato finally finds out about (other) ghosts. Yay.
Izuku "sleeping" is because of Ao Shun, who we've established to be Megidramon, who in turn is another form of Guilmon.
Anywho, Hypnos and Wild Bunch. They have Takato's best interest at heart, which is why they provide Takato with quirk law education and anything else he may need in regards to his quirk. Also yes, Toei exists in this universe :p. They just don't have the anime but the Dorumon movie and card/video games are all and well.
We also saw Katsuki's return in this chapter dealing with his guilt. I'm afraid of making him too OOC though T-T. Hopefully I did him some justice. What I understand about his character is he's prideful but takes accountability very seriously, which was why he hated when he won against Shouto in the tournament. The same applies for this cause nobody's holding accountable for something contributed to, i.e. Izuku's death.
I enjoyed writing Nezu a lot. The way I see it, he's an quite mature person that would indulge in some chaos now and then. Apparently he's just around 20 years old.
Anyway, I've said before that it'd take just 4 chapters for Izuku to get his body. Well, I lied. There's gonna be two more chapters, and one of them will be dedicated fully to the process of reviving Izuku. I don't want it to be anti-climactic.
And lastly, next chapter someone is gonna die. They're not a major character but I still feel like I should warn you guys since they've appeared a lot in this story. Their death will serve a narrative purpose and isn't a random one-off thing so... yeah, next chapter is gonna be heavy.
Now with all that said, see you next chapter (๑•﹏•)
