Chapter Text
Izuku thinks the first sign of being haunted should be something subtle. A little hint from the universe that can be waved away as a tired mind playing tricks. Cupboards left open, or a door creaking ominously, maybe a cold breeze or frightening chill. Something strange in the air, a cursed feeling slowly building tension until the moment of a jumpscare set to a shrill soundtrack.
That is not the case with Shigaraki Tomura.
Izuku wakes up at 3:00 AM on a normal Tuesday, four weeks post-hospital discharge. His room is dark, because it is nighttime - and that is prime ghost hour, but the thing is Shigaraki is... well. There he is, Shigaraki lurking in the corner of Izuku's room. Looking exactly like the first time they met. Cut off hands gripping his head, his face, his arms. White hair short, eyes two points of mean chaos in between the webbing of the fingers gripping his skull.
The persona is frankly ridiculous.
Awkward compared to how Shigaraki grew in strength in the final battle, like seeing the photo gallery made by a salaryman of his goofy pre-teen years. Creepy, and terrifying, and worst of all a sight that fills Izuku with the deepest pangs of guilt and regret and what-ifs. Shigaraki needed help, and Izuku only saved himself and the world while Shigaraki died scared and in pain.
Blinking blearily, tears in his eyes, Izuku takes the lurking form of Shigaraki as a sign that he should stop avoiding therapy like its a plague bearing rat.
"Sorry," Izuku tells the dark corner of his room. "It's not fair, is it?" Sighing, Izuku falls into his bed and turns his pillow to the cold side again, purposefully facing away from the apparition. He closes his eyes and tries to fall back asleep.
"Hey," hisses Shigaraki's familiar voice, loud and real. "Don't ignore me! Who said you could go back to sleep?"
The bed rattles, Shigaraki's kick hitting the frame.
Izuku bites his tongue, muffling a shriek. "What the -?"
Shigaraki crosses his arms, somehow avoiding knocking off any of his hand accessories, looming right in front of Izuku's face. He grins. "We meet again, Midoriya Izuku; hero name Deku."
Izuku grabs his pillow and throws it. What should be a clean hit flies through Shigaraki's ghostly body to slam on the wall opposite with a bang, falling uselessly to the ground.
Izuku despairs. "Eek! No way!"
"Are you stupid or something? I have no body, all thanks to your 'heroic' actions. I am dead, Midoriya. Your physical attacks are no longer effective." Shigaraki taunts. He spreads his arms wide and Izuku can see the wall on the otherside of his semi-corporeal form.
Izuku has never researched or paid attention to paranormal or spiritual beliefs. He regrets the gaping hole in his knowledge, his mouth slack in surprise and mind rolling. This is a horror plot, truly.
Shigaraki is dead. Izuku killed him by his actions. Manslaughter by all justice.
This shouldn't be possible. Shigaraki's soul is gone. Why - why is he standing in Izuku's room?!
"You are not real. Just a figment of my imagination. A hallucination, maybe some budding psychosis from the pressure of everything coming together. My brain is going a little haywire, you know? A lot happened the last, uh, year -"
"Don't reduce my contributions to simple descriptions like that! I made the hero's lives hell, my end goal may have not been successful, but I have irreversibly ruined your year and that will not go unremarked on! Praise me, Deku, for giving your existence meaning."
Izuku rubs both palms hard on his face. He takes a second to be grateful for having two hands, then slaps his cheeks until they are red and stinging. Shigaraki smirks smugly behind the withered hand.
Izuku catastrophizies. "I - I am young, but schizophrenia isn't completely out of the question."
Shigaraki rolls his eyes. "Admit it. You just missed me."
"No," Izuku bites his thumb, chewing off the nail. "That can't be right."
Shigaraki doesn't disappear in the morning light. He also never stops talking, his monologue focused on good vs evil, the afterlife and the state of Izuku's laundry pile. Izuku is further impressed by Katsuki's ability to avoid becoming a villain when kidnapped. He had to put up with this level of being talked at when chained up at Kamino.
Shigaraki does love the sound of his own voice.
The talking points are extremely annoying as well now Izuku can't actually hit him. Which he can't. Objects, doors, walls - none touch Shigaraki in this form. He passes through the physical world without interaction unless he concentrates hard, and at the most that leaves a weird molecular vibration to move things. Frictionless slides like opening doors or drawers, or quick attacks on the walls to make the picture frame fall are a lot easier for Shigaraki to do compared to lifting up objects and tossing them.
When Izuku reaches out his hand and touches Shigaraki, he feels nothing but cold air.
Well, if Shigaraki is real then his risk level is greatly reduced from his previous S ranking for super villainy. More information is needed. Maybe Izuku isn't the only one who can see Shigaraki, after all.
"Good morning, Kacchan!"
Katsuki yawns, showing his back teeth. He is in mid-stretch, arms lifted and bent behind his neck as he slowly lumbers out of the elevator. A thin sliver of skin shows on his lower belly, his spine a perfect arch. "'zuku? What are doing up so early?"
Izuku smiles nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He glances over at the bored-looking Shigaraki-spector. "I couldn't go back to sleep. Hey, weird question, are we alone?"
Shigaraki takes a step forward, peering in a sneer at Katsuki. "I can't believe he is above ground. What a cheater."
Despite how Izuku can see Shigaraki creep in the sanctity of their safe dorm rooms, Katsuki shows no signs of noticing the ghost/hallucination.
"This early in the morning? Yeah, none of the other's will be awake for a bit." Katsuki’s eyebrows furrow in worry, his fresh scars tugging on his cheek and making one side of his lips into a more pronounced frown. "Shitty sleep, huh. Wanna fucking talk about it or whatever?"
Shigaraki groans dramatically. "Damn. You lot ruined him. What's this fee-fee talk? This guy... his potential to be a villain is at an all time low."
"Shigaraki!" Izuku snaps. Oh, how Izuku wants to hit him. Katsuki’s character growth is amazing. No one is doing it better than Kacchan -
"What are you doing wasting brain space on that lame asshole," Katsuki snorts and bumps into Izuku on purpose. He is warm, and Izuku takes a hearty sniff, inhaling the scent of a fresh out-of-bed Kacchan. "Don't let that jackass keep you from your beauty sleep. He is dead and gone."
Katsuki swings an arm over his shoulders, reeling Izuku in for a tight hug of his dreams. Their heights are usually similar, but Izuku knows Katsuki is growing, their shoulders bumping at changed level. Izuku allows himself a moment of self-indulgence and burries his face in Katsuki’s neck. Izuku's knees grow weak.
Katsuki doesn't push him away. He welcomes Izuku's touch.
"Urgh, gay." Shigaraki mumbles. "Holy shit, is this hell?"
Izuku ignores Shigaraki. Heaven is a better descriptor for where Izuku rests his head.
"I refuse to spend my afterlife watching you virgins hug it out while you wait for marriage." Shigaraki heads for the wall, his face pinched tight and awkward. "Rest in piss, you stupid loser heroes."
That feels vaguely uncalled for, but Izuku is distracted. Katsuki and Izuku are truly alone, Shigaraki gone from the room. Izuku sighs happily where he is slowly sliding to Katsuki’s sternum. He nuzzles the muscles there, his hand hovering over the spot that Shigaraki tore open months ago. "Sorry, Kacchan. It's going to be okay."
".... get your hands off my chest."
"R-right."
Katsuki rolls his eyes and drops his hold on Izuku. "I'm all healed up, idiot. You don't need to keep checking."
"Checking?" Izuku tears his eyes from the low hanging collar of Katsuki’s shirt. "Uh, yeah. Sorry."
"Whatever," dismisses Katsuki. "Go on, you're up anyways. Eat some food and we'll go for a run."
"Together? Okay! That sounds great."
It is less great when two minutes into the run, Shigaraki begins floating behind Izuku. Tethered to Izuku, expression furious, and dragged without wind resistance like a strange, multi-limbed balloon.
"The fuck," Shigaraki rasps out a petulant complaint. "Running? At 6 am? And I was called a criminal."
First thing before class, Izuku corners Tokoyami. "Hi, hello, good morning!"
Tokoyami tilts his regal beak to the side. "It is a morning. What darkness ails you, my friend?"
Beaming, Izuku asks Tokoyami about the reality of exorcism. Shigaraki is interested too, Izuku can tell by the fact that he shuts up for once, commentary gone. Interested, and eyeing Izuku doubtfully.
"You wanna exorcise me, brat? Causing the total destruction of my body wasn't enough for you, now you're going to destroy my soul too?"
"A haunting?" Tokoyami sparkles darkly pleased. "I'd be delighted to assist in sending the spirit to the other plane. What type of malevolent spirit curses your waking hours?"
"Er, type?"
"There are many forms spirits from the afterlife can take. Demons, wandering souls, wretched ghosts, poltergeists," Tokoyami counts off on his fingers. "The type of haunting is correlated to the correct seance to remove the spirit. Have you started small with purifying charms, salt bags?"
"You know a lot about this kind of stuff, huh."
"Midoriya knows heroes. I know occult."
"I have no clue what is going on," Izuku admits. "Shig- I mean, the spirit is here. He can't go far from me."
Tokoyami blinks. "The spirit is with us now?"
"We almost took you," Shigaraki pokes Tokoyami's feathered head. "Spinner had many valid points. You suffered as all Mutant Types have suffered under the rigid expectations of society. We would've allowed you to flourish, a dark army of shadows at your beak and call."
"No one else has noticed, but I see him."
Tokoyami's beak clicks. His joy switches to concern. "A foul ill has befallen you. Seek out aid from Recovery Girl. Perhaps it was a quirk gone awiry. Spirits are generally unseen except in less than ideal situations. A thorough medical will check confirm your sanity."
"Ha! He thinks you're bonkers." Shigaraki chortles.
"... Thanks, Tokoyami."
"Get some rest, Midoriya."
Rest is out of reach, and there is no time to go to the nurse for antipsychotics. Going crazy isn't a dot on his bingo card for the year, but the longer Shigaraki flits around the classroom making off-base and very mean comments about every student, the more Izuku wants to cover his ears and ignore the worried looks.
He wants to defend his classmates is strong. His tongue is sore from bitting it. Yet he can't respond to the villain without getting thrown into the loony bin and Shigaraki knows it. Spine straight, Izuku endures the longest class of his life.
"Who is this guy?! Or that one?! What - why is a seat at the most prestigious hero school taken by a kid who looks about 6 years old and in in diapers? Are you - is UA seriously this corrupt? I knew it, of course. Filthy business to create child soldiers and release them on liberating forces. It's depraved. Terrible. Don't you understand the crushing loss of your side's moral high ground? It's a miracle none of you rugrats died at my hands."
Shigaraki isn't being fair. His argument is cherry picked and absurd. Izuku's heard better from toxic baiters online.
"Shut up, Izuku!" Katsuki whirls around in his seat and hisses. "Your mumbling is off the charts today. I can't hear myself think."
"Sorry, Kacchan!" Izuku shoves his knuckles into his mouth, glaring Shigaraki for getting him in trouble. Sero wearily ducks his head, cowering.
Izuku tries to pay attention to class.
Shigaraki's eyes gleam, focus sharpening on the bristling Katsuki. "Him. We keep circling around to him. Your Kacchan. I should've killed him that day - or everytime I had him so close to me. Torn him to shreds on that battlefield, aimed my spikes an inch to the left to skewer his heart - or even so long ago when I had him defenseless under my spell, trapped in my lair. He was a fiesty one. I never regretting stealing him from you. Do you know I felt his pulse slow under my fingertips a few weeks ago. Had the warmth of his blood soaking my skin. If I think hard, I can still remember how one of the spraying droplets tasted when it fell on my tongue."
Something clenches in Izuku's stomach, his skin drawn tight. The ache in his joints, the bright pain of losing One for All, none of it hits the level of fearful nausea that the memory of Katsuki’s almost death brings him.
Shigaraki shimmers, floating through Izuku's classmates like they are nothing and comes to a stop next to Katsuki. The dead man's hand, once a terrifying weapon, reaches out and hovers tellingly over the back of Katsuki’s bared and vulnerable neck. He strokes the space without making contact, expressionless.
Don't, Izuku wants to scream.
Shigaraki doesn't. His hands fall uselessly to his side.
"What a waste," he murmurs. "A beautiful, sad waste. We would've been amazing together. Our destruction laid on society until rubble and dust and ash remained, allowing new growth to flourish from the ruins. Now the world is stagnant. Nothing is changed, little heroes. Rot has yet to be purged."
Izuku learns nothing in class that day. Shigaraki haunts the room, the sadness in his voice too loud to ignore.
"Young Midoriya," Yagi smiles warmly in his direction. "It is good to see you."
"Yes, yes," Izuku leans forward on the couch opposite from All Might - or, er, Yagi-san. "I wanted to talk to you about something."
"I am here for you to talk to about anything. What is on your mind?"
"Shigaraki." Izuku says.
Yagi's eyes soften, his smile slipping away into a comforting and sympathetic grimace. "Of course. He is often in my thoughts as well."
Shigaraki, ghostly over Yagi's oblivious shoulder, perks up and shoots Izuku a smug look.
"Y-yes.... I see him, Yagi-san. Everywhere. Like right now, in fact." Izuku haltingly admits. "I don't know what to do."
Yagi nods like it's a normal thing Izuku is saying. "I understand. What occurs during battle leaves lasting scars and not all are visible in the first weeks of recovery. You must tend to your injuries, even the ones that are not physical."
"He is a ghost," Izuku tells him.
"Shigaraki's death is unfortunate, we all agree on that. You will have to find a way to live with reality for the rest of your life. Ghosts or no ghosts, it grief is a part of it."
Izuku spares a glance to where Shigaraki lingers. His face is unreadable. Tension hums from his tight shoulders, his arms crossed protectively over his chest. Izuku wonders if this is the first time Shigaraki has seen All Might up close without trying to kill him, without All for One whispering poison in his ear.
The past can't be changed. They have to move forward, and move on.
"But what should I do about his ghost?" asks Izuku. "How can I help him settle?"
"Speak to him," Yagi spreads his large bony hands wide in a shrug. "Express your regrets, and hold steadfast to your promises to not let any one within your reach fall to the same fate that Shigaraki experienced. Live, and do good - and I know that you are already doing that. It may take time to find peace within yourself."
"Could - could Shigaraki become a vestige? Like the First and the others?"
"The quirk is gone, Midoriya. Only embers remain. The vestiges are no more." Yagi's grief is tangible. "Shigaraki is gone."
Grimacing, Izuku makes eye contact with the very much present Shigaraki. "We thought - Sorry. I just - it was supposed to be easy after we won, but seeing Shigaraki out of the corner of my eye wherever I go isn't - well, I want to do the right thing. I want to help."
Yagi smiles and pats Izuku on the back. "You do help. I have faith you will keep trying your best, and that will always be commendable."
Shigaraki sniffs. "What a lame speech. I expected better from the likes of All Might. And you aren't slick, Deku. Where's your honesty? Why aren't you telling this washed up hero that I am right here in this room with you, listening and aware of your cute pity party?"
Izuku winces. Yagi looks on serenely, not understanding that Izuku isn't talking metaphorically here as Shigaraki points out. Sounding insane might be the best option to get All Might to understand that no, really, Shigaraki is literally haunting him at this very moment.
"Do you believe in ghosts?" asks Izuku.
"Nope," Yagi pops the 'p' loudly, like Kaminari does, and adds a cheerful grin. "But my beliefs have nothing to do with your living reality. Why, once I had a team-up with this gentleman who was very spiritual. He worked hard to ensured our meetings were purified in many ways. He used to rant and rave about how the spiritual world was spying on us. Nothing could convince him otherwise regarding his fear that the corrupt government was working towards domination with aliens. Great man, he was. Lots of lives saved. Ah, I wonder how his treatment is going.... "
"Ah."
Shigaraki snorts. "Ha, he will think you're bonkers too."
Mouth pulled in a tense grin, Izuku hastily finishes his tea.
"I still need to solve the problem that is you."
"Ouch," Shigaraki dutifully haunts Izuku's shadow as they walk through the UA grounds. "Way to make a dead man feel wanted."
Izuku ignores him. "All Might was right about one thing, I have to make peace with your death. Maybe we need to discuss the final battle together, to understand what happened in your final moments. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"
Shigaraki pulls a face. "I remember the burning agony of my body being ripped to shreds on a molecular level." He goes quiet. "It hurt. A million stinging cuts on my skin, and there was this pressure in my head, my brain swelling against my skull until the blood vessels burst and then - nothing."
Izuku's face is pale and cold. He feels sick to his stomach. "Sorry," he sniffs through the rush of heavy tears. "I'm so sorry."
Shigaraki looks into the middle distance, untouchable. "I don't remember waking up, not as an act to itself. The battlefield and my body are gone, and I'm here. I don't want to be here."
Izuku rubs roughly at his cheeks. There's no signs of crying on Shigaraki's face. Izuku is happy enough to do it for the both of them. "Yeah, I don't think this is where you'll be happy in death. So what - what can we do together about this? Complete some of your unfinished business, maybe?"
"Well," Shigaraki hums thoughtfully. "I never reached my goal of destroying society. You could do that for me? Bring the world to ruin in my place?"
"Um. No. I won't be doing that."
"Spoil sport. You know you want to watch the world burn. A better future than this has to be out there. To leave this world in a bacteria-ridden pond filled with oppression from so-called heroes will never allow my soul to rest."
Shigaraki isn't wrong. The same thought has passed through Izuku's mind many times. "But I won't kill anyone, do you understand? People's lives are not a pawn in the hero vs villain fight, Shigaraki. Putting aside your calls for ruin, what is it at the core that you think we need to change?" Izuku brings his notebook out at the ready.
"Better protections for the non-standard quirks." Shigaraki lifts his fingers to list. "Support and family services need to be involved, obviously."
"Education, right? If people understand quirks, and the individual needs, then that can de-stigmatize the whole subset. Quirk users will be more likely to seek out help if help was actually made available to them."
"Yes! Quirk restrictions and licensing needs to be done away with -"
"What? Why?"
"Why? Why are committees of non-elected officials such as the Hero Commission in charge of who can use their birthright in the first place? It's forced control of the masses, Midoriya. That is why heroes are such sought after roles. And why villains come into play, if they are punished for existing then why follow any rule in society?"
"But... unregulated quirk use could be dangerous."
"... you are quirkless, aren't you?" asks Shigaraki, disarmingly quiet. "Yes. Only echoes of One for All remain in your DNA. Does your weak heart pitter-patter at the danger of stepping outside these fortified walls of UA knowing absolutely everyone around you has more ability than you do? And that they are just so perfectly polite and law abiding?"
Izuku stares at his bright red shoes. "No."
"Trust me on this one. The world needs to allow people to use their quirks. We already have laws against killing and fucking up other people's lives, do we not?"
"Fine. Okay, I'll add it to the list." Izuku writes it out, his opinion morphing because yes, yes, that is the point. Quirks aren't going anywhere, and are evolving rapidly. Resentment is going to poison the well of good faith if these things are not handled carefully. To bad this isn't a problem Izuku can punch into submission, but - but it's true. In a few years, he will be completely quirkless. His punches will hit with the strength of an ordinary human, no augmentation.
Shigaraki's mouth gapes a little. "Wait, what? You are agreeing with me?"
"Yes." resolutely, Izuku nods. "I agree that I don't know enough here, and I need to learn more and research it, but I'm not going to dismiss your opinion. This is something you believe in strongly. I am not taking any action though, not until we understand all the circumstances."
"Oh. This is honestly a first."
"Not many people agree with you?"
"Not many from your side."
Izuku sighs. "Well, maybe if you are stuck here haunting me, you can take the time to see that a lot of people want others to be safe and successful too. We reject your methods, and Stain's methods as too extreme and counterproductive. To do this right takes time and patience."
"Or," Shigaraki's faces lights up. "We should just murder a bunch of people and enforce our ideals. All Might'll be easy for a quirkless kid like you to kill. Just take a knife and stab him!"
"No, no way! Absolutely not - I refuse -" Izuku splutters.
"Are you okay, Midoriya-kun?"
Izuku jumps five feet into the air, yelping. He grabs his chest as he whirls around to see the worried, the cute, and the unbothered expressions on Iida, Uraraka and Todoroki respectively.
"Are you talking to yourself, Deku?" Uraraka asks gently, peering curiously through Shigaraki.
"Ahaha," Izuku rubs the back of his neck. "Um. Hey guys."
"Hello," responds Todoroki. "What's in the notebook?"
"Ooh, uh, nothing important! Just ideas." Izuku clutches his notebook to his chest and hopes no one caught the title hastily scribbled. "What are you guys up to?"
"Study group!" Iida announces. "Please join us in preparing for tomorrow's exam."
Sweating a little, Izuku swallows. "We have an exam?"
Uraraka gives him a pitying look. "Yes. I noticed you were distracted in class today. Are you mad at Sero?"
"No - no, I just, there was a fly? Buzzing around. In my ear."
Todoroki nods. "I will let Sero know. Bakugou was taunting him saying how much you hold a grudge, and how everyone will side with you in the class divorce."
"... please don't let Kacchan bully Sero. I'm not mad at him at all! Sero is a great guy."
"I am happy to hear you agree."
"Is it only the fly?" Uraraka chews her cheek, her big kind eyes a natural balm to Izuku's soul. "You seem stressed. And you were just, you know, yelling in an empty hallway."
"I see." Iida twists his mouth into a stern line and bows low. "I must apologize. I have been a terrible friend lately, and have ignored your needs. If you wish to speak to someone, you do not need to converse alone. Please lean on us."
Smiling weakly, Izuku can't help but be teary eyed at Iida's declaration. "Thank you. I am not sure you can help me, but knowing I am not alone -"
"You'll never be alone again," Shigaraki interrupts. "I'll haunt you until your bones turn to dust."
"- I am hearing voices." Izuku finishes, fed up.
"Voices?" Todoroki perks up. "What type of voices?"
"Er, type?"
Todoroki nods. "Yes. Like, paranoia? Or violent tendencies? Perhaps thoughts of murder or suicide or murder-suicide?"
Shigaraki whistles low. "Fucking Todoroki's are a weird bunch."
"Ah. Well. Murder does seem to be on the mind? But I won't listen to him, obviously."
"Obviously," Uraraka echoes. "Right. Whose voice, if you don't mind me asking? You said him."
"Shigaraki. He is a ghost, I guess. Haunting me."
"Ah."
Iida adjusts his glasses. "Well, that is clearly illogical. We must attend to Recovery Girl."
Todoroki frowns. "Why?"
Blinking, the group turns to Todoroki.
"Hearing voices is not normal," Iida offers gently.
Todoroki's head tilts to the side like a confused cat. "Are you sure it isn't? Uraraka, have you ever heard the voice of a ghost?"
Strangely, Uraraka's face turns melancholy. "I - yes. Yes. I've heard her - it's fine, who I heard."
"That’s it then. Three out of the four of us have heard a voice not ours in our head. Statistically, it is normal."
"Ah, Todoroki-kun, what voice have you heard?"
Todoroki does not answer Iida.
"Ah, ha, anyways. I am trying to find ways to help settle the spirit that doesn't involve their preferred murder methods," Izuku continues. "So far, I've come up with advocating fair quirk-use laws and education."
"Oh! I like that," Uraraka beams. "How about accommodations for physical needs of different quirks, including so-called scary ones. Mental health support is something I've been looking into specializing specifically. If we taught children young how to cope with quirk-related impluse control, then they will be better prepared as they grow."
"..." says Shigaraki at Izuku's smug smile.
"That’s exactly what I'm looking for!"
"It is a great initiative," Iida supports. "Funding is important too. As I come from a steady means due to intergenerational hero work, we often run into families who seem stuck in a negative cycle. Ensuring the necessities of life, health and safety will help reduce the stress caused by less-standard quirks."
"Touya," Todoroki adds. "Touya would've been saved if he had better tools. More career opportunities, different advertising outside the hero-tracks."
Izuku rushes to write these things down. "Thank you! See, none of these need murder!"
"Only time," Shigaraki points out. "Which, as I am dead, I have eternity. Do you, Deku?"
Frustrated, Izuku frowns. "I want to support this anyways. No matter how many years it takes, this can be in our reach to achieve, and save so many lives."
Uraraka lays a soft hand on his shoulder. "It will. And we will all work together to make it happen." She sparkles.
Shigaraki gags. "Oh, no. This is going to be so boring. I don't wanna be stuck here watching these goody-two-shoes making that face at you for decades. Find something simple to satisfy my soul."
"Okay, yes. I need something faster to get rid of my ghost."
Iida mumbles a word that ends in -pine.
"Hm. Maybe you need to stop stressing about it so much. Go on a vacation, do something that the ghost never had an opportunity to do in life like travel -"
Izuku stops listening to Uraraka. Crossing the hallway is Katsuki, grinning handsomely at a morous Sero. His golden hair gleams, his skin flushed rosy with life. The strong column of his throat bobs as he tosses his head back in an obnoxious cackle. Izuku's world spins to a sudden stop. Katsuki catches sight of them, eye contact intensifying until all Izuku can see is dazzling red and long graceful eyelashes.
Shigaraki comes up to Izuku's left shoulder and whispers into his ear, making goosebumps rise on his skin. "I know what I want."
Mouth dry, Izuku wonders if Shigaraki is here to drag Izuku down to hell.
"Kacchan."