Last Words

Katsuki had never worn a suit in his life, and even when heading to his aunt and uncle's wedding he had simply worn the good sweatpants, but he had insisted on wearing something nice to Izuku's funeral. Inko had cried for hours when she woke up to Katsuki's scream and realized that her son had died. She had very clearly recently cried, and the blond was sure she was trying her best not to break into loud sobs and disrupt the service. She and Mitsuki had decided to sit quietly together, mutually sniffling. Katsuki remembered what had happened at school the day their teachers had to tell the class a kid had died. His friends had quickly realized that Izuku was the aforementioned kid. Not even they cracked a joke, but rather stayed in solemn silence with the rest of the class, stunned and guilty like a murderer found innocent. Katsuki hadn't said anything.

Nobody did that day.

"And now we have Katsuki Bakugo with the eulogy."

One of his friends, who had come to the funeral, gasped in surprise. Katsuki sent a glare their way and walked up to the podium. He took a deep breath and started to talk.

"Izuku Midoriya was an annoying little shit." Inko and Mitsuki made an offended noise and Inko looked as though she was about to punch him in the throat, which she probably was. "But he was my friend, as loose of a definition as that is. And I sucked at being his friend. And I took his kind nature for granted." His voice cracked. Katsuki stared at the ground. "Everything I thought about him was wrong. Sure, he seemed to be scared of everything, but that's what made him the bravest person I ever met. Because bravery isn't not being scared. It's being scared and doing it anyway. Izuku was kind, loyal, trustworthy, and most of all a good friend." Katsuki took in a ragged breath. "Everything I wish I could have been." He dropped his hands from the podium and murmured his final words. "And maybe if I knew that sooner, he'd still be around to hear it." Katsuki wasn't sure if anyone had heard his last sentence, but he didn't care. The blond walked back to his seat without another word. He sat down relatively harshly, his typical slouch and stormy personality brewing into a quiet hurricane behind a curtain. A chill passed in a gust of wind. Katsuki shivered.

The Bakugo household was gloomy after the funeral, despite the fact Inko had let them bring home the leftover doughnuts. However, Masaru was positive nothing, not even doughnuts, one of Mitsuki's favorite sweets, could cheer any of them up. He almost wished that Mitsuki and Katsuki would start bickering again, for the sole purpose that things would seem as though nothing had changed and Izuku would stop by any moment with some cookies and a smile. Mitsuki was curled up in a blanket, quietly eating some form of food on the couch next to Katsuki. Maybe it was spicy, Masaru didn't know. A comedy movie was on the TV, but neither blond felt like laughing. Masaru switched it off.

"Mitsuki, Katsuki, why don't you go take a nap. Maybe you'll feel a little better with some sleep." Mitsuki grumbled and shuffled away, blanket in tow and food in hand. Katsuki set down his food and flopped over on the couch, pulling the blanket up to his chin. Masaru felt a twinge of concern. "You alright, kiddo?"

"No"

"Can I help?"

"Let me know if you get a time rewind quirk or some crap, that might," Katuki muttered sharply and closed his eyes.

Masaru opened his mouth but decided not to respond. "I'll just-"

"Sorry."

"Hm?"

"Sorry. That was kinda rude or whatever." Masaru stood in stunned silence and walked away.

Izuku woke up confused and lying in his hospital bed. His pains were gone, so he figured he was on pain medicine. He sat up and to his surprise, he was in his normal clothes. He looked around and saw his mom in tears, hugging Mitsuki tightly. Katsuki sat next to him, staring numbly at the floor. "Kaachan? What's going on?" When the blond didn't respond, he reached out to tap his shoulder. To his shock, his hand passed through him. Izuku freaked out and jumped back, starting to float in the air a couple of feet above the ground. Izuku stared at the scene in shock, realizing that death had stopped at his hospital room door. He had known that he was going to die soon, but the reality of it hit him like a train, or how he had hit the ground. Instead of a hospital gown, he wore his casual clothes. Maybe his spirit decided to get changed as he was leaving his body.

Izuku looked around and willed himself to come closer to the floor. He managed to touch the tile, but just barely so that when he walked it was as if he were skating across the floor rather than walking on it. To be honest, it was a quicker way of walking, feeling as light as air, but it still felt unnerving and strange. He crossed the room to stand next to Inko. He wished that he could hug her and tell her it was going to be okay. But, being a ghost, he couldn't. So instead he watched the scene unfold, tailing behind his mom and Katsuki like a shadow.

Watching one's funeral is weird.

To be honest, Izuku hadn't known what to do now that he was dead. So he followed his mom and Katsuki around for a few days, only straying from their side a few times, like when he went to see Allmight stop a villain or two. He was surprised when Katsuki had insisted on wearing a suit to his funeral. Izuku was floating by his mom, watching people sniffle and stare numbly at the ground, the sky, and into the distance. Izuku recognized a few faces in the small crowd, like Mitsuki and his mom, of course, his dad, who had flown from Florida (and canceled a business deal) To come to the funeral, His aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas, and other assorted relatives drizzled into the group. Some kids from his class had shown up, including Katsuki and one of his friends. To be honest, Izuku felt comforted by the fact that even a bully had come to pay his respects.

Katsuki walked up to the podium. Izuku sat up in the air, rather than lying back.

"Izuku Midoriya was an annoying little shit." Izuku made a noise of confusion while his mom gasped, offended. "But he was my friend, as loose of a definition as that is. And I sucked at being his friend. And I took his kind nature for granted." Izuku stared in surprise at the statement. "Everything I thought about him was wrong. Sure, he seemed to be scared of everything, but that's what made him the bravest person I ever met. Because bravery isn't not being scared. It's being scared and doing it anyway. Izuku was kind, loyal, trustworthy, and most of all a good friend." Katsuki paused, not knowing that Izuku was listening. "Everything I wish I could have been." The green-haired ghost didn't know what he was feeling, but it felt a lot like confidence. Katsuki said something else that he barely caught. "And maybe if I knew that sooner, he'd still be around to hear it." Izuku dropped to the ground and walked with Katsuki to his chair, sitting in the empty seat next to him. Katsuki shivered. Izuku looked around and stared at the goings-on for a little while before wandering away.

Izuku didn't know why he headed back to his roof, the one he had jumped off, but he was there anyway. Maybe it was the memory of Allmight, maybe it was something that made him feel like he wasn't dead, he didn't know. Whatever the reason was, he was standing by the edge. He stepped up, sitting on the wall that kept people from falling off, his legs dangling ghostily over the edge. A flash of memory hit him, the air rushing past him as he fell, the wind whipping through his hair and his fear as he clawed at somewhere, anywhere to slow his fall. Izuku screamed and jumped back, floating a few feet above the ground. He gathered his composure again and lowered back to the ground.

Izuku spotted a kid standing on the wall. The kid's eyes were closed and his head was tilted back. A vivid memory flashed into Izuku's head.

The wind, the fear, the sickening crunch as he hit the pavement,

Izuku didn't know when he started running or when he yelled, but before he knew it, he was running to the kid.

The kid freaked out and stumbled. He fell back and tumbled off the roof.

"Hey!" Izuku jumped forward without thinking and his hand shot out, grabbing at the kid's wrist. To his surprise, his hand latched onto the kid's wrist instead of passing through it. Izuku pulled the boy back onto the relatively safe ground and sighed in relief. "You okay?"

"Yeah, but thank you."

"Do you wanna talk?" Izuku asked sheepishly, not entirely sure what to say.

Izuku ended up chatting with the kid. He was about his age, so they talked about normal stuff for the most part. Favorite heroes, TV shows, and soon the topic turned to school, and then to bullies.

"Some people are the worst," Izuku complained.

"I know, right? There's these people that always-" The boy paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "No, I shouldn't be complaining about them. I barely know you."

"No, go on. Maybe I can relate."

The boy sighed. "It's these boys. They torment me all the time, say some really awful stuff. I hate going to school, and once I tried to make myself throw up so I could get out of school."

"That sounds awful," Izuku murmured, remembering the time Katsuki had broken his rib while blowing him up. He'd had to lie to his mom, say he fell from somewhere.

The boy sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. "And I can't stay home, because my dad makes my life feel miserable and my mom's too scared to stand up to him. I feel so miserable all the time and I've started to lash out at what friends I actually have." The boy started to cry. "I hate it here! I just want to get out of this world before it beats me up anymore."

Izuku's heart hurt, or at least the area where his heart should be felt like a stab wound. He knew exactly how this boy felt. "I know how you feel."

"No, you don't!" the boy spat. "How could you know?"

"I went through something very close myself."

"Huh? But you're just some middle school kid."

"Yes, and it happened. My dad's always on business trips and I was constantly bullied by my classmates and other people at school because I'm quirkless."

"You're quirkless?"

"Yes," Izuku sighed. "I know. And I had one bully who used to be my friend when I was a little kid. I was always scared, very jittery, and I felt miserable too much of the time from the torment."

"Why would they make fun of you for being quirkless?"

"Not sure. Maybe they wanted someone to pick on to feel powerful. Or maybe it's because I was easy to make fun of, whether because I was small or because I want to be a hero."

"You want to be a hero? But you're-"

"Quirkless, I know," Izuku sighed. "That's what they told me."

"How did you get past it?"

"Spite."

"Huh?"

"I wasn't gonna let them outlive me," Izuku joked, knowing full well they outlived him. "And I had a test to take, and who on Earth was going to water my plant if I wasn't there? Who was going to be there for my mom? Find every reason to stay here, and stay. This life isn't the end."

The boy thought for a moment. "Thanks, that really helps." He rubbed his eyes.

"I'm glad I could have helped someone." Izuku tried to put his hand on the kid's shoulder, but his hand passed though him. The kid looked back at Izuku and freaked out, jumping up from his seat and looking around.

"Wait, where did you go?" The kid nervously turned in a circle, looking for the kid he had seen just a minute before. Izuku looked at his hands, realizing that the kid couldn't see him anymore. He sighed and wandered away. Izuku didn't know what to do after that. Rather, he didn't know what to do for the next few months. Meanwhile, Katsuki was training for the entrance exam. Izuku hung around him for the time being. Katsuki got progressively better at fighting as time went on. Soon, it was time for the U.A. entrance exam. Izuku tailed behind Katsuki, who was taking the train to the exam. Izuku was a little nervous, despite not needing to take the exam himself. He was sure that he was just nervous for his friend.

The time was now.

The moment Katsuki- And Izuku- Had waited for for months. But Katsuki was taking a detour and had left over an hour early. Katsuki hung a left after getting off the train and walked down the street. "Wait, this isn't the school," Izuku murmured, tailing behind the blond in the air. Katsuki turned right and paused his progression down the sidewalk. Izuku recognized the place.

The gates of the cemetery.

Katsuki pushed the gates open and walked in, taking a few turns down some of the paths. He stopped at an elaborate gravestone with a few fresh flowers lying on it. The blond knelt down by the granite stone. Moss and dirt coated it, but not enough for it to have been there longer than a few months. He set a small paper plate of katsudon in front of the gravestone. Izuku looked at the gravestone.

Izuku Midoriya

Katsuki sighed and stayed silent for a few seconds. "Hey nerd. I brought you your favorite food, I guess." He seemed to be thinking. "I'm going to the U.A. entrance exam," he started. "But you probably already knew that." Katsuki shivered. Whether it was from the wind or Izuku's presence, Izuku didn't know.

"Kaachan..."

"Your mom misses you. You- you probably know that too. I'm gonna try my best at the entrance exam. I'm gonna be the best hero I can be. You know, for both of us." He stared at the ground. Izuku had sat on the gravestone. "I hope you like the food. Or, if you're not there- well, I hope the crows like it." He stood up and walked away. Izuku stared at the food and tailed behind his friend. It took another half-hour train ride, but Katsuki finally arrived at U.A.

Izuku lost Katsuki quickly when the practical exam started, so he was left wandering around the exam area. All the students were talented, taking down robots. He spotted a boy with purple hair, running from a robot and cursing profusely. Izuku thought quickly and decided to follow him. The boy looked tired, but determined. Izuku watched as the boy used his quirk, which appeared to be based around his voice. The longer he watched, the more he realized how powerful it was. However, it wasn't an attack-based quirk. There was no way he would get a high enough score to get into the hero course.

The boy skidded to the side and yelled to a nearby person, who responded with a "what?!" The person stopped in their tracks and the boy climbed onto the back of the robot, clearly not accustomed to the physical activity. He struggled and struggled but managed to pull the back panel off the robot and started tugging at the wires. Izuku floated up and reached for the wires, wanting to help. He touched a wire the purple-haired boy was tugging at, pulling it out, to Izuku's surprise. The boy reached for another, that Izuku helped with, again. The two boys quickly pulled out enough wires. The light in the robot's eyes died, and it collapsed to the ground.

The purple-haired boy smiled confidently and took off running to the next robot. They ran into a two-pointer, which the boy tried to scale like he'd tried with the one-pointer, but the robot was moving too violently, and it was too far up to get to the panel easily. Izuku thought carefully and grabbed the boy's wrists, not passing through them like a lot of other things. He floated up to the panel, carrying the now frightened boy. Izuku set the boy near a place he could hang on and yank out the wires. The boy was wide-eyed and absolutely terrified, probably questioning his sanity. He finally recovered from the shock and pulled off the panel, managing to yank out the wires, which had been hastily connected. Whoever had made this robot was clearly in a hurry.

This continued, the boy trying his best and Izuku helping where he could. He wasn't sure why. Maybe he just wanted someone who deserved it to get into the hero course. Maybe he thought of himself, feeling helpless fighting against something you couldn't win against in a million years. Maybe he just couldn't stand there when he could help someone.

Izuku was startled by a loud crash. Had he not been a ghost, he would have fallen to the ground like a few people had. However, it had scared him half to well, death. He whirled around, looking for the source of the noise, seeing a brown-haired girl trapped under some rubble. She was struggling to move, and the large zero-pointer robot was coming closer. She'd be crushed, and everyone was running away. Izuku took off running, or rather he started floating forward really quickly. It was a lot faster than he could have moved while he was alive, so he arrived at the girl's side within a few seconds. He reached out to the rubble, not even sure if he could touch it or even lift it, for that matter, Nonetheless, his fingers hovered just underneath the main part of the rubble. Izuku gripped the collection of metal and drywall and floated it out of the way. He remained in the air for a few seconds, examining the surrounding area.

She murmured a quiet 'huh?" before realizing the rubble was off of her and attempting to crawl to safety. Izuku grimaced. One of her legs looked broken, and she was pretty bloodied up. Izuku came close to the ground, reaching to pick her up. At first, his hand passed through her, but at a second try, he was able to scoop her up and pull her to the side.

"That looks nasty, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded, then winced. "It just hurts to breathe. Or move." Izuku was shocked. Sure he had been interacting with things for a few months, but nobody had actually talked to him since that kid he'd saved. A loud explosion was heard. The robot came crashing down, shaking him and the girl like a milkshake. Katsuki stepped off the robot and took off running to the next one.

"Kinda feel weird being here and all, I don't have any actual points."

"Really? Why'd you save me then? And that quirk seems pretty cool. Powerful enough to take down at least one."

"I don't know really. I guess. I couldn't watch someone get hurt." The bell signalling the end of the practical exam sounded. An old lady started making her way around the grounds, healing people with her quirk. She got to the brown-haired girl, healing her broken bones within a few seconds.

"Hey, I'm Uraraka, what's your-" Uraraka's question dropped when she noticed the boy had vanished. Izuku was still there, but he wasn't visible to her anymore. "-Name," she finished quietly. Izuku thought quietly and traced his name in the sand in front of her. "Izuku Midoriya," she muttered to herself, reading aloud.