Chapter Text
Izuku didn’t dream anymore, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.
It wasn’t odd for him to find himself like this, suspended in darkness in a dream-like state. He was fully aware of what it was and where he was. Izuku was inside the headspace of One For All. A broken, barely there version, but still the same as it always had been. None of the ghosts he knew before resided here anymore, all having been destroyed in the war when Izuku gave up his Quirk.
So alone, he floats, submerged in black, inky nothingness. He never really knew how long he’d stay like this. He never understood why he was still able to enter this domain. His Quirk was gone, passed on to a man he couldn’t save, not properly, and destroyed.
He was aware that there were remnants of One For All, this realm being proof enough of that. There was also the strong connection he still got strumming in his chest with All Might.
It was nice, sometimes, like meditating. It felt like being underwater, floating without a current to sweep you up or push you around. He could just be, and think. If he had a particularly hard day, this dreamland was a welcomed state to be in. He could mull over his waking life, analyse his routines, or the people in his day-to-day.
However, it had its moments where the nothingness was suffocating.
Nothing. No sound, no sights, no touch.
Nothing.
No matter how hard Izuku tried to look for something, it was just black.
If he were lucky, his eyes would trick him, and he’d see the black turn static-y. Little white and grey dots fluttering about in his vision. Like one of those old box TV screens that parents would threaten their children about getting too close to. He absentmindedly wondered if the inside of a quirk would give him square eyes.
His eyes tricked him like this often, which is why he didn’t react when he saw a distinct white flutter in the darkness.
It was so pale against the nothing that Izuku almost had to squint.
It was… something?
Maybe this place had finally broken him, and he was going insane. He could swear that looked like-
Izuku couldn’t control when he woke up from the headspace, so his eyes snapping open to the real world wasn’t what alarmed him.
There was something there.
His mind would never betray him that much. He had truly seen something in the headspace. Something white and flowy.
Something that he didn’t have time to dwell on.
Izuku rubs his scarred hand over his face, digging the heel of his palms into his tired eyes, mentally preparing himself to get out from under his warm covers. His alarm hadn’t sounded yet, but by the light filtering in from the adjacent bathroom window, he knew it wouldn’t be long before it chirped incessantly at him.
So, begrudgingly, Izuku pulled himself out of bed to start his morning workout.
↞↠
The war had come to an end a staggering eight years ago, but Izuku still thought about it, and often.
He ran the razor along his face, staring emotionlessly into his bathroom mirror. He was thankful he didn’t actually grow much facial hair; he’d hate to have to shave daily or have a five o’clock shadow by the afternoon. Besides, he got enough teasing for resembling a broccoli; god forbid people start comparing him to shrubbery, too.
They had lost a lot in that time, as tends to happen during wars. Many civilians and Pro-Heroes had been murdered, or perished as collateral damage. He found himself lucky that none of his classmates had gotten killed —or rather, no one had stayed dead—, but he still mourned the loss of others. Midnight, in particular, was a sore topic for him and his past classmates still.
However, the death that haunted him the most was the one that he caused.
When he said haunted, he meant it literally. Okay, maybe not literally, but it felt like he was being haunted. Izuku occasionally caught sight of Shigaraki Tomura in the corner of his vision. Be it a flicker of white hair in a crowd, a lanky figure in black in his peripheral vision, or a flash of red shoes when he was looking down at his phone. Every time Izuku looked directly at ‘him’, ‘he’ would vanish.
So, consequently, it was all in his head. Shigaraki was dead, having been so for years. Ghosts aren’t real, not unless it was the vestiges in his long-lost Quirk.
Izuku feels a little tug on his heart as he rinses off his razor in the sink.
The only issue was that the number of times he saw Shigaraki had gotten more frequent, and… vivid. At first, he only hallucinated him a handful of times a year, in the corner of his eye and for no longer than a split second. He had seen his personal hallucination more times this year alone than he had in the past eight altogether.
The last time he had the villain's vague form fully was a few months ago on a rooftop. A rooftop he was flying past while surrounded by his friends in his hero suit. A rooftop where he had first met All Might on.
The man had smiled at him.
Izuku’s brow pinched as he shook his head, putting his razor in its place in a little blue cup before leaning over the sink to wash his face.
Raising his head back up, he spots Shigaraki’s translucent face peering back at him in the mirror, looking positively baffled.
Izuku hummed, feeling a chuckle in his throat as he looked at the perplexed villain. Shigaraki had always displayed such visceral emotions on his face, as if he had to contort his features to convey just how strongly he felt all his emotions. Izuku almost wanted to say ‘yeah, me too’ at the look of confusion.
He picked up the towel and dabbed it gently on his face, removing any lingering water.
…
Wait.
Izuku’s head shot back up violently, expecting the figure in the mirror to be gone. However, the red eyes just stared back at him. Izuku slowly turned around, expecting it to be then that Shigaraki would disappear.
He was met with the see-through form of his past nemesis. He even turned his own head to meet Izuku’s eyes face-to-face instead of through the mirror.
He stood there, translucent, in a long-sleeved black V-neck, with equally black skinny jeans that stopped too high up on his ankles and flat red sneakers that rivalled Izuku’s own pair. His hair sat at his shoulders, framing his face messily; pure, pale white, a few strands falling in the middle of his face to sit on his rather tall nose. Deep, wrinkled crimson eyes bore into him, the scar on his right eye and over the left side of his lip lying heavy on Izuku’s consciousness now that he knew how he got them. Then there was that stupid mole that reminded him of Nana Shimura.
He looked just like Izuku remembered him. How he was before All For One got too intermingled in his head.
...what the hell.
Izuku scrunched his eyes closed and shook his head. When he opened them again, Shigaraki was gone.
Oh, yeah, great, cool. He was going crazy. That’s cool, yep, mhm.
↞↠
On occasion, All Might would drive Izuku to UA, just for the sake of chatting with him. The man had long since retired, but sorely lacked things to do with his day-to-day life. While Izuku was impressed, he was also slightly perturbed about his mentor somehow still having a license, especially with how the old man drives.
The tyres screeched as Izuku held on to his tattered yellow work bag (previously his school bag) with one hand, and gripped the grab handle with the other, trying to keep himself steady.
“What’s on the roster today, young Midoriya?” All Might chirped happily, thankfully gripping the wheel with both hands for once. At least his control would be a little better than his usual single-handed grip.
“Usual. History classes in the morning. The Hero Course kids are doing collateral damage classes later in the afternoon that I get to help supervise,” Izuku’s voice wavered slightly as he spoke. “Apparently, according to Aziawa Sensei, I’m perfect to co-teach that kinda class, as my old Quirk caused a lot of damage.”
“You’re telling me,” All Might smirked, making a sharp right turn that almost had Izuku flying out the window. “USJ again, or one of the grounds?”
“Ground Beta, I think. Though the kids seem to really love the USJ,” Izuku chuckled. “Wish I could feel the same. The place still gives me goosebumps.”
“I can’t really blame you, you don’t just forget something like that,” All might gave him a sideways glance, slowing the car down slightly by some miracle.
“The kids are doing a good job of replacing memories,” Izuku smiled at his mentor.
“I’m glad you’ve got the kids. How’re your friends?”
All Might asked this every time he drove Izuku, a question which was always answered with;
“Good. Busy.”
“Usual, huh?” All Might muttered flatly, eyes on the road as he concentrated, driving evening out as he mulled over something in his head.
“...Yeah.”
“You know you can reach out to them, right?” his mentor's grip on the steering wheel tightened.
“...All Might-” Izuku started.
“I’m serious! Just because they’re busy being Pro-Heroes doesn’t mean they’re gonna say no to a dinner date or coffee,” All Might glanced over to his charge. “You’re a Pro now, too. If anything, you’re even busier than they are.”
That was true enough. All of his friends were busy being full-time Pro-Heroes, yes, but Izuku was balancing being a full-time teacher as well as a part-time hero.
He had just… drifted from all of them when their carrier paths didn’t align. He couldn’t keep up in conversations. They’d all talk about some villain they had taken down together, laughing and reminiscing, but he couldn’t join the conversation because he had spent his very same day telling his students not to throw erasers at each other. He couldn’t relate to them anymore, and they couldn’t relate to him.
Things had gotten better since he rejoined the hero field, but he still had a lot of catching up to do with his peers. There were a lot of social bonds he needed to mend and rekindle.
“I’m sure they’ll reach out if they want to see me,” Izuku sighed. “Besides, I see them when working now. Especially Ochaco.”
“That's coworkers, not friends. Take it from me, reach out,” All Might all but demanded. “They probably think you’re too busy to talk to.”
“Eh, it feels like that, sometimes,” Izuku laughed lightheartedly.
“I know,” All Might side-eyed him with a soft, knowing smile. “Just remember, connections are important.”
Izuku smiled at his mentor, giving him a determined nod that didn’t quite reach his heart. He let out a breath as the car came to a stop in the parking lot of UA. He once again felt that little pull at his chest. Perhaps it was time to see a doctor.
He rubbed at his chest lightly as he opened the car door, sliding out and onto his feet.
“I’ll drop by for lunch, if you’d like,” His mentor suggested.
Said suggestion usually implied that he was going to bring Izuku something greasy and salty, which the young man had absolutely no qualms with. As he was about to nod happily, his eyes caught a figure over the roof of the low sports car, startling him.
Looking up to glance directly at the figure, it disappeared.
“Young Midoriya?” All Might’s voice snapped him out of his staring.
“Oh, yes! Sorry, my, uh,” Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “You made me realise I should invite my friends out for food sometime.”
The wide smile on All Might’s face was enough to calm Izuku’s nerves. His mentor could read him well, and Izuku didn’t really want the man worrying about his charge having a psychotic break. Thankfully, the promise of Izuku socialising was enough to pacify (or perhaps distract) him.
↞↠
Izuku enjoyed his General Studies students, especially when it was his homeroom class he got to teach.
Being able to drone on and on about topics, and have a room of people listening to you in rapt attention? Dream come true for him, honestly. Notably, when he got to teach about other Pro-Heroes or hero history in general. Perhaps they would open up a Quirk class just for him to have an outlet on that subject, too. Extracurricular class, maybe? Though he didn’t really have the time to teach another class in his current life.
“Though the origin of Quirks is mostly unknown, it’s theorised that they evolved from a disease carried by rodents,” Izuku droned, turning to point at the projector behind him. “Other theories consist of rapid evolution, various religions and so on.”
His General Studies class was rather small this year, consisting of only sixteen students. Not that he particularly minded. They were far easier to control in such a small number. Though with such small classes, it meant that most subjects combined two classes into one, so he had both his class, 1C, and Present Mic’s class, 1D.
“The rapid evolution of Quirks very quickly led to a collapse in society as a whole, rather apocalyptic, if you ask me.” He turned back around with a small smile, eyeing his students to make sure they were all listening.
While this part of history was incredibly well-known, it also emerged as a topic in recent assignments and quizzes. It was also the introduction to this semester's topic: Quirks, Heroes and Villains, which was his absolute favourite part of teaching this curriculum.
“A lot of human history that was being studied was destroyed during this time, sadly, but thankfully, most of the already documented events are still available. Otherwise, I would be out of a job,” he smiled towards his students again, deflating a little when none of the teens even twitched at his joke. Most were too busy inspecting the room or looking out the windows.
He couldn’t fully blame them for not actually listening to him. This was probably the most bland topic they were going to cover for this semester. Most of his classes in the past perked up when they covered the history of particular Pro-Heroes, or the war.
“I know it’s dull, but if I can cover this before the bell rings, we can get right into the more interesting parts of Quirk and Hero history next lesson,” he slumped.
Izuku didn’t actually have much time left with this class before they all went on their (and his) lunch break. Admittedly, he was keen to rush over the topic too, so he could talk about some Pro-Heroes. He could be in his twenties and still be a fanboy, sue him.
“The first documented quirk to appear was a glowing baby, born in Qing Qing, China,” he continued, mostly to himself, if he was being honest. “Though the first documented, they were not the first case of a Quirk –called Meta Abilities at the time– existing.”
“After that-” he was caught off guard as his chest gave a little pull.
Izuku was about to continue when the silhouette of him caught his eye.
Shigaraki was standing there behind Eri, head tilted, looking dead on at Izuku. Eri tilted her head in turn —he assumed because he was staring in her direction— the same way Shigaraki had his tilted.
“Did they always look that similar?” Izuku muttered under his breath. “Sure, the eye colour is slightly different, but red nonetheless- surely there's no relation? No, his eyes and hair weren’t that colour originally. Although hers might not have been either. It was stress-induced, wasn’t it? It wouldn’t be out of-”
“Midoriya, you’re muttering to yourself again,” Koda threw a pencil at his teacher's head. Thankfully, the eraser end hit Izuku’s temple, not the lead end.
Izuku's eyes widened as he turned his head to look at the boy.
“Koda!” Eri puffed her cheeks out in frustration at her fellow student.
“Eh- Sorry, Deku Sensei,” he corrects, completely unforgiving of the pencil projectile.
“Koda, you-” the bell cut him off, as the students excitedly scuffled to take their leave.
He watched in stunned silence as his students marched out of the classroom, chatting among themselves. Eri gave him a small wave and a worried pout as she left. He waved at her in turn with a small, awkward smile.
Izuku turned his head back to lay eyes on the desk his pupil was occupying not even a few seconds ago, locking eyes with the ghostly form of Shigaraki again. He was about to try to blink the villain away from his sight, until Shigaraki started walking over to him.
Izuku had the urge to back up as Shigaraki stood before him, tilting his head in the opposite direction than it was before with pinched brows, as if Izuku was the odd one in this situation.
“What the hell?”
The man smiled at him.
It was the same smirk Izuku remembered so well. The scarred side of his upper lip lifted to expose pointy canine tooth, the corresponding eye squinting.
It was a mean smirk. Izuku correlated it with jeers and mockery.
“You’re not real, shut up,” Izuku tried to kick him in the shin, but his foot phased straight through. “Can you just- leave me alone? I’ve spent enough time thinking about you. I just want to move on. Why is my brain doing this to me?”
Izuku rubbed his face, and Shigaraki was gone.
↞↠
It felt heavenly to be on patrol again after all these years.
His schedule had never been fuller in his life –his calendar app looked more like a Christmas tree than a calendar–, but he wouldn’t trade it in for anything else. Every weekday, right after teaching, he’d go on patrol in various portions of Shizuoka until the late hours of the evening. On Sundays, he’d join Ochaco at her Quirk Counselling operation, visiting schools and rehabilitation centres alike. Saturdays were his only real days off anymore, and he simply used them to relax (as much as Izuku was able to relax).
He had always liked to keep himself busy, but there were times when he found it was a bit… much.
Izuku nodded at some civilians passing him by with a bright smile, his hero suit whirring as he moved his hand to wave.
His packed schedule wasn’t so bad, considering most of his various responsibilities resided in Shizuoka. UA was only a thirteen-minute train ride away from his apartment building, and the Shizuoka Hero Commission Outlet was an additional five minutes from there. The only time he really had to go out of his way was for the Quirk Counselling, which was based in Saitama, but had many rotating outlets throughout Tokyo.
He was thankful that living here meant he was still able to see his mother often.
Patrols weren’t difficult, just long. It was almost exciting when he did get some action for a night. On occasion, the Hero Commission would send him out on targeted assignments, but without any current marks active, he was left to roam. It made him feel more like a police officer than a hero.
Izuku rounded a corner into an alleyway with a sigh of boredom. His hero suit whirred with green lights as he powered it up, preparing to jump to a shallow rooftop without the help of his grappler. The explosion of mechanical power launched him high into the air, the shock absorption in his soles taking the brunt of his weight as he landed cleanly on the concrete rooftop. The building stretched on for a fair while, making it a perfect shortcut to avoid twisting alleyways and get to his next patrol checkpoint.
He felt the sharp tug on his chest again, feeling trepidation crawl up his spine.
Izuku turned around, eyeing the (now a bit more familiar) ghostly form of Shigaraki. At least his brain was kind enough to give him a warning for when it was going to mess with him.
“Okay, now I really have to see a psychiatrist,” Izuku laughed to himself awkwardly as Shigaraki rolled his eyes. Izuku turned back around to walk away and just ignore his hallucination’s prying leer.
He stopped dead in his tracks as a searing pain ripped through his chest, making him gasp and slap a hand to his sternum.
He hissed and stumbled backwards as his eyes snapped down to his form, taking in the swirling purple haze around his upper torso.
A villain attack? No, that can’t-
Izuku looked over his shoulder to see Shigaraki rubbing at his own chest in bewilderment, a thin, pulsing purple string attaching the two of them together.
Okay, that was enough. Izuku couldn’t keep pretending the other man wasn’t blatantly in front of him. Fair enough, thinking that when it was mere glimpses in his peripheral vision, but seeing Shigaraki outright? Multiple times? In the same day, no less.
Still, Izuku was having a hard time believing it.
“Are you… real?” Izuku asked, turning to face the other slowly.
Shigaraki is too busy pawing at his own chest, clearly having been hurt himself by whatever had pulled at Izuku.
“Shigaraki,” Izuku snapped, and Shigaraki looked up at him, tilting his head, pale hair swaying with the movement. “Are you… actually you?”
Shigaraki looked off into the distance in mock thought, then shrugged noncommittally.
“What the hell.” Izuku muttered. “How could- you’re supposed to- surely you’re not a-”
A vestige.
He had Shigaraki as a vestige inside of his head.
He was being haunted by the guy he murdered.
“But One For All is gone? How are you- it should have disappeared when I transferred it to you! You shouldn’t be here!?” Izuku gripped at his untamed mossy locks as he mumbled to himself, almost deliriously. “Was it because we got inside each other's heads?! Oh god, please don’t tell me All For One is somewhere in there too!”
Izuku could feel bile rise in his throat. His palms suddenly felt too clammy under his gloves as he flexed them into his hair.
Shigaraki just rolled his eyes again, looking bored, but shook his head ‘no’.
“Could you not be so calm?! I don’t-”
“-BZZT- Deku?” the intercom in his ear cut him off loudly. “There’s been a robbery down at Uwahara. Can you get to it?”
There were other heroes on patrol right now. He could very easily pass it off to another person and continue to deal with his current situation. He could process all his thoughts and feelings- he could process his shallow breaths and tight jaw- just pass it off to another hero-
“I’m on my way!” Izuku spoke into his intercom microphone, placing a gloved hand near his ear to activate it. He let go of the device and pointed a finger at Shigaraki, ignoring the way it shook. “We talk later.”
The villain scoffed at him mutely.
Izuku set off his grapple into a nearby rooftop, launching himself off with a strong swing, only to scream out as his chest felt like it was being torn out of him. He lost control of his gear and took a tumble into the alleyway below, subconsciously rolling into a safe landing to avoid lasting damage to his bones and joints through sheer instinct alone.
Shigaraki wasn’t so lucky.
Seemingly having been pulled along by the thread at their chests, the villain hit the ground with a thud right next to Izuku. The beam of purple between them faded away now that they were closer to each other.
Izuku stood up and shook his head, glancing down at his ghost, who was rolling onto his back with pinched brows. He looked up at Izuku and… growled, probably? Shigaraki made a face that normally implied he was growling, but no sound actually came out.
Izuku rubbed gently at his chest, then his left shoulder, where most of his weight had landed in his full body roll. He… probably should have been expecting that. Clearly, they had to keep in proximity to each other. Shigaraki wasn’t a ghost; he was a vestige. He was a part of Izuku somehow, which meant they had a limit on how far the other could travel. It was the same for the other past users, though Izuku remembers them simply fading away when they got too far, not yanking him around and paralysing him with pain.
People in danger- people in danger-
“Look, we’re obviously connected to each other somehow, but I have a job to do,” He grouched, pinning a pointed look at the vestige. “So it would be really helpful if you could disappear right now.”
The villain blinked up at him slowly.
“Oh my god,” Izuku murmured, eyes wide as it dawned on him why Shigaraki had been appearing at random. “You don’t know how to disappear.”
Shigaraki only grimaced at him, looking off to the right to avoid Izuku’s eyes.
“Do you even know how to summon yourself?”
Shigaraki just grimaced harder, shrinking in on himself, his shoulders raising up to his ears.
“Okay, fine, just- follow me, please?” Izuku begged.
To his surprise, the villain blankly stared at him for about five seconds, then listened. He lazily stood up, looking much like a lethargic cat. He rolled his left shoulder and nodded for Izuku to lead the way.
Running on foot wasn't exactly Izuku’s ideal form of transport, much preferring his gear doing the heavy lifting, but he was fast on his feet nonetheless. He found himself thankful that Shigaraki was equally as quick, his pace falling in evenly next to Izuku, though less determined in stride.
Izuku almost collided with a man as he skidded around a corner. The man yelped, but before Izuku could stutter out an apology, he turned and fled.
“Oh. Okay?” Izuku's brows furrowed as he watched the man hightail it.
A ghostly pale hand waved in front of his face, grabbing his attention.
Shigaraki pointed down at the ground dramatically, glaring at Izuku with bright red eyes. He gestured wildly at a black duffel bag lying haphazardly on the pavement, wads of yen scattered where the bag had fallen open.
“Oh,” Izuku muttered dumbly.
Shigaraki’s gestures became harsher, pointing with his whole hand at the man making a break for it while staring wide-eyed at Izuku.
“Right! Christ-” Izuku startled as he picked up the bag and slung it over his shoulder, quickly moving to apprehend the criminal who had already made it a few streets away.
Had Shigaraki’s appearance really scattered his brain that much?
“Freeze!” Two police officers, who he assumed had been tailing the man before Izuku cut him off accidentally, halted the thief, who made a turn down another alleyway, pushing an old lady over in his haste.
“Here, take this, I've got him-“ Izuku reassured as he threw the duffel bag in the general direction of the officers.
His suit whirred with power as he activated its ‘full cowl’ mode, mechanical pistons on his legs working hard to propel his movements forward. Five power-aided strides later, he came to a stuttered halt as his ribs snared. It felt like someone just tried to crack him open, spine first, like an egg.
The pain dulled as he heard the insistent thudding of Shigaraki’s footsteps —how does he have footsteps?— behind him.
“Right- you probably can’t keep up with my gear,” Izuku shook his head and continued on foot, hoping his ghost would be at least able to keep up with his pursuit. If he remembers correctly, Shigaraki was always particularly quick during fights, but his stamina —while not being genetically modified, that is— was still up in the air.
If only the man could just disappear. Izuku had a job to do. A job he could have passed off to other heroes, yes- but still!
Shigaraki seemed to do fine, falling into pace with him easily. Izuku upped the gear a few notches; Shigaraki matched him flawlessly.
Izuku found himself lucky that the villain was even behaving, fully having expected the man to attempt to put a wrench in his hero work just to mess with him.
Maybe Shigaraki was just as thrown off by being a vestige as Izuku was.
Gear or no gear, it wouldn’t stop Izuku from taking down a mere thief. The man hadn’t even used his Quirk yet; he was simply running away on foot. He was admittedly fast for a regular civilian, giving Izuku a run for his money–literally.
He had to fight down the itch to ricochet off the walls of the alleyway and just take the man down. That would definitely hurt him and Shigaraki.
Holy hell, Shigaraki was here - not the time. Job to do.
Izuku managed to get a few centimetres away from the man, dropping low to sweep his legs out from under him in a forward slide. The man tumbled, yelping, and Izuku planted his foot, barging his shoulder into the thief's side, pinning him to the ground.
“You piece of shit!” the man bellowed, his long, untied orange hair getting in his face as he twisted his neck to yell at Izuku.
Izuku readied himself for a Quirk attack, powering up his gear to combat anything that was thrown at him.
It never came.
“Hey, you got him! Great work, Deku,” one of the earlier police officers cheered from a few metres down the alleyway, pacing at an easy sprint towards the hero.
Izuku smiled at the officer, offering the man's wrists when he got closer for handcuffing. The metal clicked easily in a firm restraining hold.
“You lowsey fucking Quirk-ed fuckers!” the man below him bellowed. “You’ll pay you bastards. You’ll see. Your precious Quirks won’t save you for long.”
Izuku couldn’t help but huff a laugh. That was incredibly ironic, and the man most likely didn’t even realise. Izuku wondered if he’d be even more upset to find out he was apprehended by the one and only Quirkless hero. Without his hero gear, no less.
The man kicked and screamed some more as he was taken away by other surrounding officers. Izuku decided to zone his petty ranting out.
“Thank you, Deku. The other one got away, unfortunately. I don’t think we would have gotten this one without you,” the police officer who originally talked to him bowed deeply. “If it’s not too much to ask, could you be on the lookout for the other perpetrator during the rest of your patrol? All we know is he’s blond with a fire Quirk.”
“Oh, there were two of them?” Izuku questioned. “I… didn’t let the other get away, did I?”
“No, he ran the other way; you didn’t cross paths with him at all. We had two officers on him, but he vanished.” The officer explained.
“Ah, I see. I’ll be on the lookout then. I’ll be sure to report it as well, for any heroes patrolling after me.” Izuku smiled good-naturedly.
The officer nodded and turned to follow up with his crew.
That could have been bad, not being able to use his gear properly. A lot of his fighting style relied on his movements, particularly speed. He couldn’t imagine how harrowing it would have felt if he had of messed up so badly, especially when he knew there were other heroes on patrol in the immediate area that could have done much better than he had. He was glad Shigaraki was able to keep up.
Shigaraki-
Izuku looked around the small area, trying to catch a glimpse of transparent pale hair or leering red eyes.
Nothing. He was gone.
It would have been nice if he had done that five minutes ago.
↞↠
Izuku submitted his completed grading to the UA school teachers' portal, closing the window and taking a long stretch. He stared at his home screen as he ran his fingers through his mossy hair, catching a few knots as it went.
He owned a laptop, but he liked sitting in his office to do work; it forced him to focus.
He was so tired, he could feel the fatigue pulling below his eyes, but his nerves were alight, strumming under his skin.
Today had been… a lot. He couldn’t decide if he should tell someone about the reappearance of Shigaraki, even if only as a spectre. Surely nobody would believe him. All might or Kacchan, maybe? Nonetheless, if they freaked out, Izuku didn’t want deal with it. There was enough on his plate already. He didn’t want to have to calm Kacchan down from explosive rage or pick All Might off the floor when he inevitably fainted.
Was he suppressing his own emotions? Probably. He didn’t want to dwell on it for too long.
He didn’t have the time for that.
The tug on his chest startled him out of his thoughts. Izuku craned his head to the left to look up at where his ghost stood behind him.
Shigaraki shook his head gently, then looked down and returned Izuku’s gaze.
Izuku had the nervous urge to wave.
Before Izuku got the chance to give in to the urge, Shigaraki started looking around Izuku's cramped office space, sneering at the All Might merchandise Izuku had scattered around the walls and display shelves.
“Oh, whine about it.” Izuku sassed.
The sneer turned in his direction, growing meaner.
Shigaraki said something, though Izuku still couldn’t read lips, so it was lost to him. The villain's eyes then locked on lzukus computer monitor. His head tilted as he moved closer to the screen, leaning over Izuku’s shoulder.
“What?” Izuku looked back at the screen himself.
Shigaraki pointed to the ‘steam’ shortcut.
Of course, Izuku had almost forgotten the villain was a massive dork.
“Oh, yeah. I don’t really use it much, though. Kirishima and Kaminari used to make me play some games with them. We all had a Minecraft realm together, too. That was fun,” Izuku clicked on the shortcut to launch the application “I actually wonder if that’s still up. I don’t remember who owned it. Maybe they’re still paying for it.”
Shigaraki pouted upon looking at the admittedly bare library of games izukus steam library hosted.
“Well, sorry I’m not a big gamer. I don’t really have the time for it.” Izuku puffed his cheeks out.
Shigaraki started pointing at the screen again, his bitten fingernail hovering over the ‘steam’ dropdown in the top left hand corners hotbar. Izuku clicked it, then continued to follow the next few wordless instructions until his account was logged out.
“I didn’t think you’d take that much offence to my lack of games,” Izuku almost laughed.
Shigaraki rolled his eyes, then started pointing at the keyboard lying on the desk.
Izuku obediently typed in all the keys Shigaraki's hand hovered over, eventually hitting enter and logging into a new account he didn’t recognise.
It took a few moments to dawn on him.
“Hey, wait, is this your account?!” Izuku startled as the game library popped up, filled to the brim with varying genres of games. Izuku whipped his head over to Shigaraki’s direction. “Are you sure this is fine? I don’t want to mess with your stuff.”
Shigaraki wasn’t listening to him; instead, he was looking over the game selection thoughtfully.
He started pointing at the screen again, directing Izuku into opening a window with a lot of technical mumbo jumbo that Izuku didn’t completely understand. He knew it was his computer specifications, but he wasn’t sure what all of them meant.
Clearly, Shigaraki did, though, if the displeased look on his face was anything to go by.
Shigaraki sneered at the computer tower before gesturing for Izuku to close the window altogether.
As the window closed and Steam was in full display on the monitor again, Shigaraki pointed to a game.
Taking the hint, Izuku clicked on it, then swiftly started his download.
“You’re just lucky I’m in too much shock about you still existing,” Izuku murmured as he watched the blue bar slowly fill up. “Otherwise, I’d have more questions about what you’re making me download.”
The game itself looked innocent enough, with a soft, lineless colour palette and various objects littered around the main title.
Besides, how much harm could come from a game called ‘A Little To The Left’?
Apparently, the main harm was the one done to his sleep schedule.
He should have known that Shigaraki would have puzzle games in his collection. The man liked to analyse almost as much as Izuku did. It was half the reason he was such a challenge to fight against in the past.
The mechanics were simple –leaving no learning curve for Izuku to overcome–, the music and graphics were pleasant to the eyes, the puzzles were challenging –and satisfying– enough to keep his brain engaged without getting bored, and, just when he thought it couldn’t get any better, there were multiple ways to solve some of the puzzles.
He found himself instantly replaying levels to find all of the puzzle outcomes, taking great joy when he worked them out swiftly.
It had enraptured him, in all honesty. Where he should have been in bed by ten o’clock, the digital time display on his monitor told him it was just past twelve.
He was going to be kicking himself in the morning, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care after exercising his brain so thoroughly. Especially because Shigaraki had been calmly and silently –not like he really had a choice– watching over his should the whole time.
However, sleep is important, and he was a responsible adult, so he shut down the game and switched off his computer.
He stretched, feeling his well-worked muscles pull in delight, before lifting himself from the chair.
Shigaraki looked towards him with droopy eyes.
Huh. Ghosts can get tired. Who knew?
“I’m gonna go to bed,” Izuku informed him, though he probably didn’t need to. “You can go… haunt my toaster or something.”
Shigaraki gave him a half-hearted sneer.