『before my life was ripped away』

After the strange encounter ended, the boy was left to himself, wondering what on earth just happened. Was this man real? Could he see Izuku? Why was he awake? Did Izuku wake him up. But most importantly,

Who was this man?

Izuku chuckles to himself as he floats up through the building. It's the first faint sign of happiness he's felt since, well the... incident.

It's much welcomed as the cold shell of his form warms ever so slightly. It's small and mostly unnoticeable but it's such a nice feeling. After all the confusion anger and sadness of the past week this new emotion is a nice change. Izuku can only hope it will stick around and maybe grow stronger.

As he ponders he floats straight through the ceiling, it's not a fast movement but he doesn't mind. The speed allows him to look at the other peoples apartments. Again he feels joy at the thought that he can spy without anyone noticing. Maybe he could learn to touch and move stuff like in movies. People would just see a floating object.

Well he thinks no one would notice. That man early this morning proved his first statement wrong. Someone could see him. His happiness faulted and the empty feeling comes trickling back.

Shouldn't he be happy he's not alone anymore? That someone can maybe hug him, hold his hand, pat his head? Could he be less alone than he once thought?

Yet all that he can think is that it's not real. No, for all he knows that was an illusion made while he was mid break down. He was upset and lashing out his mind could have easily tricked him to try and help. Besides that's his apartment his mother probably still lives there. That man was just a figment of his imagination, created to calm him down and make him feel less alone.

His mind is cruel.

He soon finds he's made it to the roof and hovers just above the raised edge. To most it would seem as if he were sitting but it appears he can't physically touch anything. Not yet. Again he feels like he should sigh. He looks down at his body he was dressed in the same clothes he always wore. Plain white shirt, an all might hoodie his blue jeans and of course his red high tops. He can't help but frown at the sight. Although it's his clothes the colours are faded and dull. No rips or burn marks are visible and there's no blood or any kind of scaring on his body. Izuku can't help but find it strange. He knew how he died, practically watched it, yet here he is looking better if not more transparent then usual.

He lifts his hand up and looks through it. "A ghost." He says.

Placing it back down he takes time to glances across the city. It was beautiful. He'd never under appreciate the world ever again. Not now that he's no longer a part of it. The way the barley rising sun glinted and shone on the far horizon. The way the dark blue sky still held the city letting street lights and early morning cars dimly light up the street.

He's sure a cool breeze would be blowing. It would hit his cheeks painting them a warm red to match his nose. His hair would bob and flicker around letting his curls fall however they please. He'd close his eyes and enjoy the refreshing feeling that bit lightly and dared him to shiver.

Sadly all he can feel now is... well, he won't lie it's mostly nothing. Although emotions do stir up from time to time. It's normally faint. Almost dulled down. And they never stay long or at lest he doesn't feel they do. If he thinks to much they get stronger. They can feel so overwhelming, especially when they all join together. It's overpowering, and leads him into a full force flash back. His senses come back temporarily and he feels like he did in the moment. The heat. Pain. Screams. What's worse is the smell, burning. Him burning. Then it fades, no more pain. It takes his sight away but he can still sense everything else.

Then he snaps out of it, and he's dead again. No feeling. No senses. Just empty and dead.

It's silly at one point he was scared of waking up to a new day. Scared of feeling nothing but empty. Scared he act on thoughts that plagued his mind and drove him to lay awake thinking. So he'd not sleep just grow more tired every day. The more tired he was the lower his defences were against his brain.

He was upset he couldn't help anyone. Upset he was useless. He knew when he was told what would happen.

A quirkless kid is like an early death anyway.

Still he prayed he would one day change the fate he was given. Be able to be strong and stand up for all others like him. Maybe he'd become the first quirkless hero. A hero no one believes in until he proves himself. He wanted to change what people thought.

Quirkless did not equal useless.

He thought he'd finally done it when he met todoroki. It was someone who didn't care about his quirk. He only cared about his personality. He looked at Izuku as a person not as a quirk. He felt safe around him. He let his guard down. He had a friend.

Now he never wakes up. He hasn't made up his mind if that's a good thing or not yet. Maybe if he can't sleep he can't have nightmares. Well flash backs don't count as nightmare so this morning doesn't count.

Now he has no friends. He has no bullies. No one can hurt him mentally or physically ever again. No one can hit him, touch him, hug him or even look at him ever again.

Izuku shakes his head. He really doesn't want to think about that. Or about how poor Shoto has to live with the man who single handedly killed him, more like tortured him. Or about him and what he did, He doesn't deserve it anyways. And Izuku doesn't need any more problems.

All people in this world have the potential to be bad. Izuku stays well clear of them all. Well except the ones who gained his trust like, the league, Shoto and kacchan his mother. But to be fair they don't really count. There will always be exceptions.

A brief smile passes his lips. The days don't scare him. Not anymore. He still wishes he could just leave. Like a big Vanishing act. He never thought about what came after death. It never crossed his mind that it could be like this. Not once did he think he'd still be stuck after trying to escape.

He thought it would end. Maybe black then nothing. Reincarnation? Heaven, hell? Angels? It seems laughable that anything good would be waiting. Izuku let's out a weird grunt of a laugh.

By the time he'd snapped himself out of his thought train. The sun was high in the sky. He let out a dry chuckle. I guess time meant nothing to him now. When he was alive he was constantly racing against it and now. He can let it slip through his hands with no second thought. It's not like he could leave even if he wanted to.

He slowly made his way back down to his apartment. As soon as he arrived he looked for any sign that his mother still lived here. He checked the bedrooms the living room and the kitchen.

He found no trace of her. She too seems to have gone.

It was somewhat sad at how empty it was now. No essence of a family home. No framed photos or artwork. Just a more modern looking minimalist style house. Eventually he gives up his mopping and settles in the living room.

He doesn't know how but he ends up half in the sofa, with A black and white cat sat next to him. The cat glances over to him and doesn't look through him. It lets out a meow and tilts its head to the side.

Izuku amused by the fluffy demon waves his arms about creating little wind gusts. The cats ear twitches but he stays sat next to the ghost boy.

"Huh that's new." He says softly. That cat that was twitching its ear looks over to the boy again. It's eyes glare at him almost judgementally it's clear the wind was not appreciated. "Ughhh?" Izuku can't tell if the cat can sense or see him clearly. Or if it was confused to were the wind came from.

His answer was answered almost immediately when a ginger cat pounced on him. The cat went straight though Izuku who let out a little giggle. The second cat continued to paw and catch Izuku and stared at his paw as it when through him.

Izuku floated up and "sat" down on the sofa letting the cats mess about. It was a fun time passer. Every time the ginger cat thought he had Izuku the boy just easily slipped through the grasp. In the end the cats settle down one sat in Izuku it's head poking though his legs. The other staying where it originated from next to the boy.

After a while Izuku gets bored of silence. The quiet let's his mind wander to places he does't want it to. He looked around the room for any amusement but again the room was sorely lacking that family touch. There was however a good sized tv mounted on the wall. Wondering how he could turn said tv on he thought back to the little gust of win. A chuckle escapes the ghost boys lips as he decides to test his new ghost abilities a bit.

First he just stared at the tv. Thinking hard about the Chanel he wanted.

Safe to say it didn't work.

Next he tries waving his hand in various ways. This has more luck. A strong gust of wind breaks through the apartment knocking over a potted plant. "Ah jeez." Izuku frowns out. The pot hadn't smashed but there was a mess and Izuku couldn't clean it. "Okay when the man comes home can you pretend you did it?" He asked the cat next to him.

He got an ear twitch in response.

He tries again aiming for the tv. It works as the tv flickers and pops to life. He internally cheered. Once the tv was fully working a news channel starts playing and Izuku listened in.

《After almost a month the league has come out of hiding and made its new move. They seem to be Rioting against the death of their "captive" as they... oh goodness They seem to be vandalising the todoroki residence.》

Izuku couldn't help but snort at that. "Karma to you and your shit show!" He yells out getting several meows in response. "Yeah tell em guys! Blah. Stupid man." He sticks his tongue out at the tv. The ginger cat tries to catch Izuku's raised hand. It didn't work. "Nice try ginger but you ain't catching me!"

A laugh sounds from the doorway where the man stands keys in hand.

"Not a fan of endeavour?"