I use this coffee stick to stir the voices around

Izuku mulled over his thoughts over a hot chocolate somebody had offered to the local ghosts. What had happened before the day of his death? Why was Yosuke asked to kill him? And more importantly, what was it about Izuku that made him so worthwhile to kill? Izukku didn't think he was all that interesting or dangerous for that matter, but somehow, whoever this person was didn't agree. Nana Shimura had left some time ago, but Izuku had stayed. He had been leaning against the wall ever since someone sat in the chair he was sitting in. He took his hot chocolate out of the building, resolving to find Yosuke. He was going to find out what happened, or at least who to ask. First step to finding him, ask somebody who knows him well. He found his way to Sakura's house and started towards her room, when he heard an argument. Yosuke was standing in front of Sakura's bedroom door, talking to her about something.

"Get out of my house!" Sakura snapped, slamming the door in Yosuke's face.

"What did I do?" Yosuke asked, passing through the door. Izuku quietly followed, sitting on Sakura's bed.

"You lied to my face, that's what you did! You killed a kid in cold blood and lied about it!"

"I didn't do anything to you!"

"Yes, you did! Now get out! I should have kicked you out a long time ago!" Yosuke started to slink out of the room, but Izuku spoke up.

"Yosuke, I need to talk to you." Both Yosuke and Sakura jumped, suddenly very startled.

"Geez kid," Yosuke said. "Getting real good at that haunting stuff, aint you?" Izuku's glare only grew colder. "Not in the mood for that, huh?"

"Why did the person who ordered you to kill me want me dead?"

"I told you, I'm sworn to secrecy," Yosuke protested.

"Is there anyone who can tell me something?" Yosuke only pursed his lips and turned away from Izuku. "Yosuke!"

"Fine," Yosuke grumbled. "There's a ghost who might be able to tell you something. As far as I know, my boss never swore them to secrecy, because they're mostly just on the edges of the web, a new hire, if you will. The Boss runs most of the town. The ghost I'm telling you about is in Musuatfu today for the U.A sports festival, his grandson is gonna be there. Tall guy, blue hair. Looks like he would beat you up. You'll know him when you see him."

"Thank you, Yosuke," Izuku said stiffly. Yosuke left, and Izuku fell back onto the bed. "That was horribly stressful."

"Are you okay there, Midoriya?"

"I'm trying to solve my own murder," he sighed. "Honestly, so far, I could be better."

"I mean, you just got a lead."

"Right. The U.A sports festival. I was so busy lately, I barely remembered it." Izuku sat up. "There's probably going to be a lot going on there."

Sakura sat next to him. "Do you want to go?"

"I do. I've never been in person." Izuku didn't say anything else.

"Alright," Sakura said with a light sigh. "Let's go. This is the best lead that we've got." She stood up and grabbed a simple black cross-body bag off of a hook, but Izuku hadn't moved yet. "You coming, kid?"

Izuku nodded silently and floated over to her. "Yeah, sure. Let's go." They made it to the event just before it started, and Izuku perked up quickly. He spotted pro heroes wandering the crowd, and suddenly it felt like everything was alright again. He smiled and pointed out a hero in a green suit with a tail of peacock feathers sprouting from her lower back. She wasn't wearing shoes, as she had bird-of-prey-looking talons that clicked against the concrete when she walked. "Look there, that's Juno! She's known for her abilities in dance that allow her to take down enemies with just the mutant additions to her quirk." Izuku bounced on his toes a little. "She's so cool, I've wanted to meet her since her debut."

"What's her quirk?" Sakura smiled.

"She can stun her enemies if they look at her feathers when she displays them. It's really useful in combat!" Izuku spotted another hero. "Oh! There's Wash! And Miss Joke, then there's Electroshock, Hemmingway-" Izuku stopped in his tracks when he noticed that Sakura was distracted by something. For a moment, his old instincts came back. He shut up, figuring that Sakura had gotten bored and started ignoring him. Then he thought a second time. What was Sakura looking at?

"Hey kid, you were saying something?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, you were talking about the heroes and then you stopped. Did you see something?"

"Not really," Izuku said quietly.

"Go on then, you know a lot more about the people here than me," she smiled.

"You were looking elsewhere, I thought you'd um…" Izuku paused. "I thought you stopped listening."

"I'm sorry, I was, I promise. I'm just not used to seeing so many ghosts in one place." Sakura took another look around the stadium as she found a seat, and then turned to look at Izuku once she sat down. "Alright, you were saying something about the heroes around here?" Izuku smiled and started pointing out the heroes in the arena and talking about their quirks and careers. He stopped talking when he noticed a ghost in a mostly empty part of the stands, inhabited only by a few ghosts and some teachers. But this ghost, he looked vaguely familiar. He fit the description of the guy Yosuke had been talking about, but more than that, he looked like someone Izuku had seen before.

He looked starkly like Iida, one of the kids in 1-A. He could have passed for Iida if he tried, though he looked a little too old for the part. He seemed to be in his early thirties, but you never really could be sure with ghosts. "Hey, you see the blue haired guy over there?" Izuku pointed at the man.

"I do," Sakura said quietly. "You think he's the guy we're looking for?"

"Maybe," Izuku mused. "I'll go ask him about it." He floated to the man, who was sitting on the edge of one of the seats, watching the race. "Uh, hi," he said. The man looked up from the race.

"Can I help you?"

"Maybe," Izuku said slowly. "I was told you could give me information on a woman."

"That's a broad question, son, any woman in particular?" The man's eyebrows furrowed, vaguely reminding Izuku of his grandpa, the way his eyebrows bushed up like angry caterpillars, and the quizzical way his eyes narrowed and pointed. He constantly looked like he was thinking about something, and when he didn't he looked like he was worried about something. This was an older man, as much as his face lied.

"Well, that's the thing, I don't have her name. The guy telling me about her only called her Boss or the Boss. The other guy was sworn to secrecy about her name and who she was, and you fit the description of the guy he told me about."

The man nodded. He really did look like Iida, down to the stiff, disapproving stare and the sharp jawline. "My name is Katsuo Iida. I think I might be able to help you."

"Izuku Midoriya," Izuku said with a smile. So the guy really was related to Iida. "Do you have a relative in the hero course? I might know a kid that shares your last name." Izuku held his smile. It was best to stay in Katsuo's good graces.

"You're friends with Tenya?" Katsuo relaxed, and his stiff expression fell. He suddenly looked very excited to hear about the boy. His disposition again reminded Izuku of his grandpa, the way he looked when he had visited when he was alive.

"I know him, but I'm sure he doesn't know me. I died long before I could meet him, but he's in the same class as a friend I've been watching over."

"Ah, this feels just like the old times." Katsuo smiled, keeping one eye on the race. "Chatting with other parents about their kids, Only you look too young to have kids, how old are you anyway? Ghost ages can be deceptive."

"Still fourteen," Izuku smiled sadly.

"Ah, that sucks now, doesn't it?"

"It does, and that's why I'm asking about this woman in particular," Izuku said. "I was murdered, and I was told that it was ordered by a woman he only calls 'the Boss.'"

"Looking for revenge, are we now?"

"No," Izuku shook his head. "I want to know who ordered my death, and why they wanted me dead. That's all I want."

Katsuo thought for a moment. "I'll tell you what I can. I don't know her name, but she bases her operations out of Tartarus prison. Her husband is imprisoned there, he's got some kind of conditional immortality quirk. In my meeting with her, she mentioned something about how she and her kids were killed in the crossfires of a fight between a villain and a hero. She rambled incoherently about the awful tragedy and how she'd get back at this one guy, but that's all I heard."

"Alright, thank you. That's a big help," Izuku smiled.

"I'm glad I could help," Katsuo said.

"Why do you work for her, anyway?"

"Pardon?"

"I mean, the Boss. Why do you work for her? I was told you were associated with her."

"I am," Katsuo said slowly. "She promised to protect my grandson. I didn't trust myself to keep him completely safe. But now that I know she ordered the death of a boy around the age of my Tenya for reasons unknown, I might stop helping her." Katsuo held his face in his hands. "Oh dear, how will I keep him safe now?"

"I could help."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I could help. I'm already watching over a couple people from his class. I could help. I can interact with the world of the living, and I can become visible mostly on command."

"Could you really?"

"I could," Izuku nodded.

"Oh thank you, thank you, you blessed boy!" Katsuo clasped Izuku's relatively small hand in both of his bigger ones, and shook it with a strength that Izuku hadn't expected.

"It's the least I can do. You gave me a huge lead to follow in the case of solving my murder."

"I owe you a favor much bigger than that for giving me peace of mind, my friend. You have my support. In case you are ever in trouble, ask for me from the ghosts in this city. I will find you."

"You don't need to do that," Izuku said awkwardly.

"I don't, but I want to. You are protecting my grandson. I will protect you."

"Thank you, sir," Izuku said, trying his best to navigate the conversation.

"You are about his age, aren't you? My grandson, Tenya."

"I would be fifteen if I hadn't died, so yeah."

"Oh, you two would have gotten along so well. You remind me of him." Katsuo patted Izuku on the shoulder. "Here, let's watch the last of the race."

Meanwhile, Katsuki was in a tough fight with Todoroki for first place in the obstacle course. Todoroki crossed the finish line first, just barely, with Katsuki in second place. Katsuki hadn't taken that well, and was about two seconds away from blowing up (figuratively and literally), when he spotted a flash of green hair in the corner of his eye. His anger faded away as fast as it had appeared, and he whirled around, looking for the person with the green hair. He saw nothing, and decided to brush it off as his imagination, or someone else who happened to have green hair. It was an ordinary enough hair color, someone else had to have it. He spotted the frog girl standing off to the side, listening to Ms. Midnight talk about the next challenge. Right. One more game to win. He had to think quickly. It was a cavalry battle, which meant he would have to team up with somebody. Ugh. People. He wasn't a fan of teamwork, but then again, his brain reminded him, he hadn't been a fan of being nice to Izuku either, and look how that had turned out. He begrudgingly agreed with the thought, and decided that he would try to work with people, if only to win.

Kirishima first picked him out of the crowd, and Katsuki decided to add him to the team. Katsuki spotted another flash of green in the crowd, one that looked too familiar, and he then resolved to get more sleep that night, deciding he must have stayed up too late training the night before, even though he had gotten to bed around nine. He picked Ashido for his team next, and Kaminari more or less invited himself onto the team. Little did Katsuki know, as he prepared for the cavalry battle, Izuku was on the field with him, looking around for the people he was supposed to protect from danger. Katsuo had specifically told him to not interfere too much with the cavalry battle, but if Iida was about to be seriously hurt, to make sure he came out of it safely as best he could.

This was a tall order, and Izuku knew that, but he had to try. He had promised to protect Iida, and that was what he was going to do. He sighed, deciding that protecting three people was as good as protecting two. At least he had a job to do. Being dead had gotten a lot less boring over the past few months. He spotted Iida, who was looking around for a team. Most everyone was avoiding Todoroki due to his high point value, but Ochako approached him, offering a team-up, because she thought it was better to team up with friends. Todoroki awkwardly stumbled through a response before saying something akin to allowing her into the team. Izuku thought for a moment, trying to strategize. Who would be best to help Ochako make it into the next round? He thought for a second, and made a decision. He found Yaoyorozu and nudged her in Todoroki's general direction, and then found Iida, bumping him in the same general direction. Izuku smiled. His plan was shaping up already.

Step one: Make them team up

Step two: Profit

He shook his head, starting again

Step one: Get them to team up

Step two: Get them through the cavalry battle safely, and also protect Katsuki

Step three: Help them and Katsuki through the tournament, and hope nobody gets seriously hurt

Step four: Profit?

It was oversimplified, but it would work. He looked around, analyzing the different teams. Ochako and Iida could use their quirks together to enable better mobility for the team, and Ochako would allow them to fly. Yaoyorozu and Todoroki could work on attack and defense, though with Todoroki's ten million points, they would only need to stay out of the way. However, most of everyone in the arena would be going after Todoroki. Izuku grumbled. That would make it harder for Yaoyorozu And Iida to choose to team up with Todoroki. Right on cue, Yaoyorozu decided to not team up with Todoroki. They would need a good team if they were going to beat Katsuki and avoid him capturing their headbands. Izuku looked warily at his old 'friend.'

Izuku had had months of time to think about his life, and had many times over, even before he had died, come to the conclusion that Katsuki had treated him badly. That enough was obvious. He wasn't stupid, he knew that deep down, as much as Katsuki or his buddies or even he himself told him otherwise. But something had him still caring for his safety. Maybe it was the deep-down wish that there was someone in his life who chose to be with him and liked him for him. Whatever sparse friends Izuku had, he had a sneaking suspicion they secretly hated him, that at any moment he could make a mistake and everyone would hate him again. This of course, wasn't the truth entirely. For the most part, if the occasional person decided to be friends with the class outcast, they were outcasts themselves. Fellow quirkless people, the neurodivergent folks who acted too weird to be considered 'normal' by everyone else, the people with niche obsessive interests, and they really did like Izuku, a boy who was as weird as they were.

Of course, there were some people who did fit Izuku's paranoid view of the world, the view triggered by years of bullying and of course, people who pretended to like him only for the sugary feeling and shaky assurance that they were good people. Izuku might not have known then, but those people could not hide their lies from God or themselves, and they crumbled under the pressure of putting on a mask to hide from both.

Regardless of Izuku's certainty that Katsuki wanted nothing to do with him, he decided to help him out. He didn't need much help in the combat department, Izuku decided, leaving him more able to protect Ochako and Iida. One ghost could only do so much, and this was what he could do. One day he would end up protecting the whole class, Izuku joked inside his mind, and he laughed a bit to himself. Iida decided to join Todoroki's team, and Todoroki was approached by another girl, Mei Hatsume. Todoroki, realizing he was in no place to refuse the offer of a teammate as almost everyone had found a full team, welcomed Hatsume aboard.

The cavalry battle started with chaos. Team Todoroki focused more on getting out of the way, like Izuku expected, and they started by using Iida and Ochako's quirks. This was going all according to plan, and that's when things usually start to get wonky. In most parts of history, Plan A never works. Something far too often goes wrong or is unexpected or unseen. There always has to be a second plan, or at the very least a plan 1.5, in case everything goes haywire. Turns out, when roughly thirty-something people are going after you, it takes more than Hatsume's gadgets and Ochako and Iida's quirks to get away from everyone.

Izuku watched in tense anxiety as he watched the people he was charged to protect narrowly avoid an attack from Katsuki's team. Todoroki, however, showed that he had no need for Izuku's anxiety. He threw up a wall of ice four feet thick and roughly forty feet wide and tall. He threw up what could be best described as an ice castle, with all of the protection of a military fort and none of the elegance and architecture of a real castle. Parapets of ice shot up towards the sky and frozen walls swept around the field, stopping Team Todoroki's pursuers in their tracks. Whatever it was, it worked, and Izuku couldn't see anything going on.

What he heard, however, was important. He heard explosions, the shattering of ice, and Todoroki shouting orders to his teammates. One side of Todoroki's ice wall fell, and the team sped off into another direction, being tailed by a half dozen other teams. Izuku ran after them, and the game later ended with the four teams going into the next round. Izuku slowly floated back to the stands, where Sakura had been watching the whole festival, and therefore she had been watching him running around like a headless chicken. He hadn't done much to help, but he had been entertaining, and that was the important part, and sets of eyes lurked in the shadows, waiting for the time to strike.