Work Text:
-One-
The cafeteria is always too crowded, too noisy, and today is no exception. When his friends ask him if he wants to eat lunch together with them, Izuku quickly makes the excuse that he already has plans with All Might.
That’s a lie, and it burns to say it, but the cafeteria is just too much for him to handle.
“Hm…” Todoroki-kun side-eyes him for a moment, most likely adding the lie into his ever-growing pile of evidence that Izuku is in fact All Might’s secret love child. Iida-kun and Uraraka-san are understanding enough, though.
“I’m really sorry! I can’t afford to miss this meeting, especially when it’s with All Might!” With his excuse soundly made, Izuku bolts off with an excuse that he’ll be late slipping from his mouth before his friends can be concerned with how fast he’s moving even without activating full cowl.
When he knows he’s soundly out of all of his friends' sight, he scurries up too many staircases until he reaches the roof and shuts the door behind himself.
The roof is empty, but that’s exactly what Izuku had wanted.
Finding a good place to sit, Izuku does just that, and leans back to relax.
There was a time when he thought it would be nice to be able to float with the clouds.
“You’re that crazy freshman who broke all his fingers!” Izuku hears, and his eyes snap to the side, where there’s another student. He didn’t hear him come over at all.
His hair is white, wispy like the clouds, and his eyes are bright and curious. There’s a Breathe-Right strip slapped right across his nose, the brand ever powerful even after two centuries. Izuku swears that he’s never seen this student before, but he’s wearing a Yuuei uniform all the same.
The most startling thing about the student is that he’s staring directly at Izuku’s face, only a few inches away. He’s floating on a cloud and leaning forward to stare at him. It’s uncomfortably close, but Izuku is laying down, so it’s fairly hard to lean backwards. Instead, he opts to roll to the side fairly quickly. Let it be said that Izuku did not jump away from the other student.
“Huh?” The cheery student seems surprised, but he grins. “What’re ya doin’ over there!” He calls at Izuku’s too startled form.
“Were you using the roof for something? I’m sorry!” Izuku stammers out, and the other boy looks at him puzzled for a minute before he grins and waves his arms.
“No, the roof wasn’t occupied at all! Besides, it doesn’t really matter if a student or two comes up here during lunch, right?” The boy declares cheerfully and drops himself next to where Izuku had rolled to.
“Right, I haven’t seen you before. You’re an upperclassman, then?” Izuku asks, and the boy nods.
“I’m Shirakumo Oboro! I’m in class 2-A!” Shirakumo-senpai cheerfully introduces himself, and Izuku nods. He hadn’t had an opportunity to meet anyone from that class, but this is a good start.
“I’m Midoriya Izuku. It’s good to meet you, Shirakumo-senpai.” Izuku chirps.
The two of them spend the rest of the lunch period gazing at the sky until the bell rings, and Izuku bolts off to avoid being expelled.
“Come on, Senpai! You’ll be late!” Izuku calls, but Shirakumo-senpai only waves cheerfully at him, before laying back down to gaze at the sky some more.
Shirakumo-senpai is weird, Izuku thinks as he scurries down the stairs two at a time. He’s weird, but nice.
-Two-
Izuku pushes open the doors to the rooftop, expecting a quiet place to read. Last time was quiet enough, so he expects the same of this visit. The assignment for English is hard to focus on, especially when he thinks about.
Shirakumo-senpai is already sitting by the railing, gazing up at the sky. His head is tilted backwards, but it snaps forward when he seems to hear Izuku approach.
“Izuku! It’s good to see you!” Izuku stills, but shuffles to sit down next to Shirakumo-senpai, who waves his hands enthusiastically. Small clouds float around in whisps around him, and it makes it hard to see anything past the edge of the building.
“I thought that the second years were on internships this week, Shirakumo-Senpai?” Izuku asks, but Shirakumo laughs. More wisps of clouds float around the roof, obscuring his vision. It’s sort of like thick fog. Izuku falls backwards, and is cushioned by another thick cloud, like a soft pillow.
“Right, right. Don’t worry too much about that sort of thing, Izuku!” Shirakumo-senpai laughs, and Izuku cracks open his textbook after a minute of staring at the clouds.
Shirakumo-senpai shoves his head directly in front of the pages.
“Oh! English! I totally have a friend who likes that, so I can help you out if you need it!” Shirakumo-senpai begins, and then starts rambling this and that in English. None of it is particularly useful for the assignment, but it’s sort of calming to listen to someone else ramble for a bit
Shirakumo Oboro is a weirdo, but that’s okay.
“Once, I found a cat in the rain, so I brought it to class with me.” Shirakumo-senpai continues in English, and Izuku nods along. “It was totally cute, and he was so small! His name is Sushi! After my favorite food!” Shirakumo-senpai continues.
“Midnight-Sensei’s cat has the same name!” Izuku chirps in, and Shirakumo-senpai stills, a blush high on his cheeks.
“Really? Then I’m glad to hear that they’re doing well! Both of them!”
“Is she taking care of your cat, then?” Izuku asks, and Shirakumo-senpai gazes into a cat shaped cloud somewhat longingly.
“You can say that.”
The two of them pass the rest of the afternoon in the haze of clouds, pouring over Izuku’s English textbook until his friends kick open the door.
“Deku-kun! Come on! We’re going to go see the new All Might movie, and you’re late!” Uraraka-san yells, and Izuku calls back.
“Oh, sure! Let me just pack up!” Izuku goes to wave goodbye to Shirakumo-senpai, but he and the clouds are already gone from sight.
-Three-
It’s a little thing, but the rooftop is always cold. Izuku would have assumed that it’s only so cold because the roof IS outside and there’s probably a breeze, but when he pulls out his notebook to record the cool things that he had seen that day (Kirishima-kun’s hardening was very impressive and the way that Tsuyu-san bounced off the walls could be applied to full cowl), the pages don’t flutter around at all.
Izuku bites his thumb as he tries to think of an explanation as to why the roof is always so cold when there’s nothing that would make it cold except for whatever temperature it is outside.
He flinches when it becomes uncomfortably cold, and he turns around to see a shock of white.
It’s a cloud.
“Shirakumo-senpai? You’re here again?” Izuku exclaims, but it’s the same as always. Shirakumo-senpai is always on the roof.
“Hey, long time no see, Izuku!” Shirakumo-senpai greets him, and Izuku smiles warmly.
“Oh, so bright!” Shirakumo-senpai exclaims, and then plops down onto the ground next to Izuku.
“What are you up to today, Izuku?” Shirakumo-senpai tries to peek at Izuku’s notebook, but Izuku slaps it shut on Shirakumo-senpai’s nose.
“Honk…” Shirakumo-senpai’s voice is a little nasally, but he laughs good naturedly. “Whoa, Izuku! You got some strength behind it!” Izuku pales, and begins to apologize, but Shirakumo-senpai waves that off.
“Don’t worry! Don’t worry! It was fun!” Shirakumo-senpai says, but somehow, Izuku thinks it’s only to make him feel more comfortable with having slapped his notebook shut around his cheeks.
“It’s analysis… and things that I thought were cool…” Izuku begins, sliding the notebook off Shirakumo-senpai’s face.
“Analysis, huh? Thought that you learned that in second year?” Shirakumo-senpai laughs.
“It’s just a hobby…” Izuku mutters, and Shirakumo-senpai perks up.
“Show me! Show me! Oh, do me!” He exclaims excitedly.
“Well then…” Izuku dissolves into mutters and the two of them spend the rest of the afternoon forming and reforming clouds, testing out various hypothesis. Izuku could almost cry, anything that flows out of his mouth has been fair game, and when Shirakumo-senpai doesn’t catch it, he even lets Izuku repeat it.
-Four-
There’s an extra bento in Midoriya’s hands, and he makes another excuse to slip away from his friends. Sometimes, he just does it.
“I’m going to do some homework while I eat on the roof. I’m sorry….” Midoriya excuses himself before he runs off. His friends watch him run off, looking ever curious about it.
“Deku-kun sure spends a lot of time on the roof, huh?” Uraraka comments after a moment. Tenya nods after a moment, seeming to come to his own conclusions.
“It is good of Midoriya-kun to do his assignments early! Allowing him to study will allow for him to take advantage of the school’s facilities!” Tenya doesn’t shout, but it’s getting there.
Yep.
In the vents above the self-proclaimed Deku-squad lays Shouta. He sips on the jelly pack quietly as he sees how long it will take for any of the students to notice that he’s there. It’s a good exercise for any potential students wanting to go underground. So far, only Asui has spotted him, and sent him a long blink, much like that of a cat.
It’s probably a good thing that no one in this group wants to be an underground hero, then.
“Isn’t his friend in 2-A.” Todoroki contributes to the conversation, looking slightly bitter and staring at an extra bento that he’s brought with him.
“Right, I think I heard Deku-kun saying he was going to talk with Shirakumo-senpai earlier!” Uraraka contributes with a little cheer.
Shouta’s blood runs cold.
There’s not a single student in the second year with that name. There hasn’t been, not for the longest time. At least, not since he was a second year.
Oboro is dead.
It’s strange that Midoriya’s claiming to have met him. There’s no one that benefits if this is a cruel prank, but Midoriya isn’t the type. He’s got too wide, too honest eyes, and he cries when he hurts his friends.
Shouta slips out of the vent, appearing in front of his students, who only exclaim in surprised confusion before Shouta stomps down the hallway.
He doesn’t even hear Tenya’s worried shouts as Shouta tracks down his problem child.
-
“Oh, it’s Midoriya-kun! Midoriya-kun!” An upperclassman slides open the door while a mob of second years come to look at Izuku. It makes him feel a little uneasy, having so much positive attention.
“What’s up Midoriya-chan?” An upperclassman, Kagami-senpai, asks him. She’s always too friendly when he encounters her in the halls, but she’s always said that Izuku has reminded her of a little brother.
“Oh, um, I was wondering if Shirakumo-senpai was in?” Izuku asks from the doorway. Kagami-senpai shakes her head but tilts it in confusion a moment later.
“Maybe you’re mistaken? We don’t have a Shirakumo-san here. And there’s not one in 2-B either…” Kagami-senpai hums to herself deep in thought and then walks into a desk a moment later.
“Hm, I’m sure that Shirakumo-san is probably waiting for you wherever you two normally meet up, Midoriya-kun…” Nekota-senpai reassures him, cat ears twitching slightly while the cat tail waggles excitedly.
“Right. Um, thank you all, anyways…” Izuku says awkwardly, and Nekota-senpai takes the chance to pet him, grinning ear to ear as he ruffles Izuku’s hair. Izuku makes his escape before any of the other 2-A students have the same idea as Nekota-senpai.
But Nekota-senpai had good advice anyways, so he makes his way up to the rooftops, mulling the new information over carefully.
-
Izuku stands at the doorway to the roof, the extra bento in hand. It’s filled with some sushi, nothing too budget breaking, but Izuku hopes that it’s enough.
“Izuku! You’re here!” Shirakumo-senpai floats over to him, and grins at him. Izuku bites his thumb for a moment.
“Hi, Shirakumo-senpai…” Izuku looks carefully at him. Shirakumo-senpai has been nothing BUT nice to him. It’s hard to believe that none of the second years that he talked to knew him.
“Oh, something wrong? You have the same face as one of my friends whenever he’s worried about something…” Shirakumo-senpai begins, and Izuku silently hands him the lunchbox.
“Oh, thanks!” Shirakumo-senpai begins, and gently sets it on a cloud. “But really, what’s wrong, Izuku?”
“I asked for you at the 2-A classroom, but Kagami-senpai said that you weren’t in that class…” Izuku looks up at Shirakumo-senpai again, and he looks sheepish.
“That’s right, I guess. Well, I’m not lying, I’m actually-“
“Oboro?” Both Izuku and Shirakumo-senpai turn around at the name.
Midnight-sensei, Mic-sensei, and Aizawa-sensei are all there, staring at the two of them.
“Wow, you’re all so old now.” Shirakumo-senpai begins. Midnight-sensei is speechless, and Mic-sensei’s jaw is dropped, but there’s no sound.
“You guys look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Shirakumo-senpai begins, and Aizawa-sensei activates Erasure in a second. The clouds around Shirakumo-senpai disperse, and the bento clatters to the ground.
Shirakumo-senpai is still there, though, looking sadly at the bento.
“Shirakumo-senpai?” Izuku asks, bewildered with the flutter of activity, but Aizawa-sensei aims Erasure at him when he goes to ask if Shirakumo-senpai is alright.
“I wanted to eat that, too.” Shirakumo-senpai begins, but is quickly silenced, midsentence.
He’s gone.
-Five-
Izuku slumps down, staring at where Shirakumo-senpai was standing. He was there. The contents of the bento are scattered across the rooftop, evidence of their meeting.
His teachers are quiet, too. Mic-sensei gently crouches down beside him and begins checking him over for any injuries. There aren’t any, but shock is a hell of a drug.
“Midoriya, did you know what this was?” He finally hears Aizawa-sensei begin, and he feels the effects of Aizawa-sensei’s razor-sharp glare begin to dissipate.
“I… what? Shirakumo-senpai just vanished!” Izuku looks back at the rooftop, which is empty. In a moment, he thinks he sees a wisp of cloud, before Shirakumo-senpai phases back into existence.
“Izuku! Are you okay? Shouta, that was totally mean!” Shirakumo-senpai sends a cloud in Aizawa-sensei’s direction before running over to check on Izuku. His hands are solid as ever, but when Aizawa-sensei swats the cloud away and tries to wrap his capture weapon around Shirakumo-senpai, they phase through him.
Aizawa-sensei activates his quirk again, catching Izuku in range, and Oboro-senpai disappears yet again.
Everyone looks even paler than before.
What does this mean?
Izuku’s escorted from the rooftop, and straight to Recovery Girl’s. Testing from quirk effects reveal that Izuku’s not being affected with anything.
Izuku later learns of his quirk. His invisible quirk. Ghosts blend into regular human activities so nicely and seamlessly that it’s difficult to tell if they’re alive or dead. Maybe that’s why he was never able to tell that he had it.
It was a quirk that was inherited from his great grandmother on his mother’s side, with a slight mutation that made ghosts visible to those around him.
Ghosts like Shirakumo Oboro, who watches over the student body from the Yuuei Rooftops.
“Oboro…we were friends while attending Yuuei.” Aizawa-sensei begins, and Izuku listens to whatever Aizawa-sensei is willing to share.
“Do you… want to see him again, then?” Izuku offers. To Izuku, Shirakumo-senpai is kind friend, but to Aizawa-sensei, he’s an even more important person.
-Plus (Ultra) 1-
“A ghost…” Todoroki-kun whispers, and he looks like he wants to start another one of his conspiracies. Izuku sets the bentos on the rooftop and sits down, and then drags Todoroki-kun down, too.
Uraraka-san and Tsuyu-san are already seated, laughing at a joke that Shirakumo-senpai has shared with them.
“Shirakumo-senpai! Quirks are prohibited outside of classes!” Iida-kun scolds, but Shirakumo-senpai snaps his fingers, and a cloud appears over Iida-kun’s face.
“Shirakumo-senpai! Evaporate this cloud at once!”
“I don’t think I will, Tenya! I can’t believe you’re so big now! You used to be a baby!”
Uraraka-san giggles into her hand, and Todoroki-kun watches very curiously, before leaning over to whisper in his ear.
“Make my brother appear, too….please.” It’s tacked on in the end, but Izuku gives a little nod.
“Um, if he’s ever in range, let me know, Todoroki-kun.” Izuku agrees, and continues unpacking the bentos, placing one in front of everyone. He’s packed extra mochi for Uraraka-san, and there’s a box of soba for Todoroki-kun. Iida-kun gets two bottles of juice, and Tsuyu-san gets two jelly cups.
“Oh, Shirakumo-senpai! Did you want anything?” Izuku calls out, and Shirakumo-senpai just waves his hands.
“I’m good!” Shirakumo-senpai says, and Izuku nods.
“I hope you weren’t planning on keeping us out of the fun, kids!” Midnight-sensei slams open the rooftop access, lunch in hand, and trailed by Mic-sensei and Aizawa-sensei.
“You guys! Good to see you!” Shirakumo-senpai cheers and sends one more cloud Iida-kun’s way before he dashes over to his own friends.
“We wouldn’t miss it.”