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Katsuki’s life had always been fucked up. Seeing spirits should have definitely gotten him tossed into some sort of institution but his parents didn’t find it necessary. He always felt like he should thank them but it didn’t really matter since he could still see the fuckers.
Katsuki also had a daring personality along with being too stubborn for his own good which how he found himself in an abandoned manor. Despite common belief, abandoned places like this we’re usually just as devoid of the living as they were of the dead.
Sure, he would probably get in trouble for trespassing but he also knew everyone avoided the rotting, traditional manor as if it was still burning. It had been left to fall apart after fire had ravaged a good portion of the building and killed the tenants.
The place was fucking huge though, even with the eastern section of the building being in shambles. The place had been the same for years but this was the first time Katsuki ever ventured inside the vast complex. He wouldn’t call himself superstitious but the burnt out husks of walls gave him an awful chill when he found himself walking past.
He just decided to relax against some of the furniture in the part of the manor that wasn’t burnt instead. It seemed weird that the place wasn’t tagged up with graffiti or gutted for all furniture and items of value but Katsuki wasn’t going to complain about it being unlocked instead of having shattered windows like most of the places he’d ventured to.
It was fairly warm too which was a relief from the winter chill that seemed to pervade everything during this time of the year. It was most likely the insulation of the building, keeping his own body heat in, but it was getting hot .
The temperature in the room was becoming unbearable at the rate it was rising but for some reason the door was fucking jammed . Katsuki would consider himself plenty resourceful so with the door not working he grabbed the nearest item and smashed into the window but it wouldn’t break either, fractures in the glass appearing before they mended themselves.
He could feel sweat dripping down his back from the intense heat as his heart pounded with panic. He was going to be boiled alive in some shitty old house because he got curious instead of listening to his fucking instincts. The stupid place always gave him chills and now he was going to die for not trusting his initial response.
Given the circumstances, no one could blame him for when he screamed at being grabbed suddenly by a boy about his age with white and red hair, split perfectly down the middle. Before Katsuki could properly react, he was being tugged down a hallway. Nearly, sprinting to keep up with grip on his arm.
His lungs burnt like hell when they finally stopped but he couldn’t really give a shit since he wasn’t actually burning now. The boy had lead them to a room that didn’t seem familiar but closed the door behind them, visibly shaking.
“You shouldn’t be here. You need to leave.” The boy insisted, his back to Katsuki while his head rested against the door.
“Why the fuck are you here then? And I tried leaving but the door wouldn’t fucking open, thanks.” Katsuki huffed out. Sure this dude probably just saved or whatever but he needed some goddamn answers.
Instead he was staring, horrified, as the boy turned his head to reveal the half of his face burnt horribly. “He’ll be angry if you’re here.” the boy insisted, “He’ll kill you just like the others.”
Katsuki fought back the urge to start retching, looking for the right words. “What the fuck is going on?”
Not exactly the right words but they’d work.
“My father is going to try to kill you.” He stated it with purposeful intonation while Katsuki did his best not to stare at burns across the left side of his face, made more apparent by the piercing blue of that eye.
“Well I’ll fight the fucker then. Who even are you?”
“I’m Todoroki Shouto.” He explained, voice quiet and even, “You won’t be able to fight off my father. You just need to get out of here.”
“What about you then? You can’t just stay with a murderer in this abandoned hellhole.” Katsuki insisted, glaring at Todoroki.
“He can’t kill me twice.” Todoroki replied dryly, and sure Katsuki should have realized he was a fucking ghost but they usually didn’t seem so present.
“Then why the fuck are you here? Move on or something.”
“I can’t.” Katsuki didn’t miss the flinch that occurred when bright flames sprouted in the courtyard.
“That sounds like bullshit.”
“It’s not something I can help. Just wait in here until the temperature goes back down, then leave.” Todoroki instructed, pushing Katsuki back to sit on the futon. “This was my room so neither of my parents come here.”
“Where the fuck are you going?”
“I’m going to distract my father so you can get out of here. If you see a woman with white hair then just run, okay?”
“Why can’t you stop being so goddamn cryptic and explain what is happening to me.”
“Hopefully nothing will happen to you. Just get out of here.” Todoroki answered before walking through the nearest wall and leaving Katsuki alone.
It was still uncomfortably warm but not the scalding heat like before so Katsuki hunkered down on the futon, examining the room and waiting for the heat to dissipate.
Flames sprouted up again but this time they were farther away and the heat was dissipating more rapidly. Once the temperature evened out, Katsuki left the room and headed down the hall in the opposite direction of where he’d seen the fire.
When he stepped outside he was met with biting cold as a thin layer of ice crunched beneath his feet. He could immediately tell the cold was unnatural and the contrast of it with the extreme heat from earlier didn’t make him feel any better. Everything within him was telling him to go back but he had to press forward to get out of this forsaken place.
The ice was almost beautiful, patterns glistening over every visible surface as the moonlight reflected off of them. Katsuki thought he could hear yelling and the roaring of flames in the distance but the sound was being drowned out by the quiet crying coming from further ahead.
He peered through the overgrown bushes of what was once a garden to see a figure sitting on a bench next to a frozen pond. Her white hair seemed to glow as her shoulders trembled with each sob she gave, words unintelligible through her distress. Each sob was accompanied by thicker ice that seemed to be spreading further into the garden and the nearby buildings.
Of course Todoroki couldn’t have stopped being vague for a moment to warn him that there was a fucking yuki-onna chilling in the garden. That would have been too easy. Instead he was hiding behind a bush and trying to figure out he was going to not die.
It took everything for him not to scream when a hand fell upon his shoulder, mismatched eyes appearing in his field of vision. “We should get away from here.” Todoroki whispered to him, but Katsuki was more distracted by the scorch marks on his clothes and a huge handprint burnt onto his neck. The new burn on his neck was almost as sickening as the matching handprint on his forearm.
He must have been staring because Todoroki shied away from the prying eyes, pulling Katsuki along with his other hand. He knew Todoroki was technically dead but the burns still looked immensely painful. They were a garish red that stood out against pale skin, inflamed and angry.
Their pace across the property was more cautious than hurried but Katsuki couldn’t be angry about it after everything he had seen. There was still something nagging at him, however.
“Why are you helping me?”
Todoroki stopped dead in his tracks at Katsuki’s question, hair falling in front of his face as he looked down. His left hand came to grasp at his right arm, nails digging into the burnt skin with frightening intensity. Todoroki was mumbling to himself but Katsuki could only stare until he saw blood as nails tore at the already damaged flesh.
The way Todoroki was gouging at his own skin, causing rivulets of blood to run down his arm. The red was stark against his unnaturally pale skin and strangely reminiscent of his hair but all Katsuki could do was cover his mouth as he suppressed the urge to vomit.
He needed to get out.
Even though Todoroki had seemed sane at first it was obvious that he was also being corrupted by this place. Whether it was the location itself or the other presences, he didn’t care to find out.
Instead, Katsuki pushed onward and tried to calm his erratic heart while looking for the exit. His eyes zoned in on an area of the property that was as of yet untouched by ice and fire before he grabbed Todoroki’s arm and pulled his hand away from where it was clawing at his scar and eye.
“We need to get out of here.” Before Todoroki could react, Katsuki began pulling him towards the nearest exit at a hurried place. He could tell the ghost wasn’t exactly a lost cause yet like both of his parents were, but if he continued to stay then he would eventually be just as corrupt as them.
Normally, Katsuki could care less about whatever fate awaited the ghosts he’s seen or met but they usually didn’t get themselves hurt trying to save his life.
Todoroki had a surprising amount of presence for a ghost and sure, part of that was Katsuki’s own ability to see him but usually ghosts couldn’t touch him unless they were particularly violent. It didn’t make sense but he wasn’t going to complain if it meant he could get him away from the hellscape that the manor was turning into.
“I can’t. I can’t go.” Todoroki seemed to choke on the words as he stumbled to keep up with Katsuki.
“Sounds like some bullshit. If it’s a huge deal you can come back and check in but they aren’t going anywhere.”
With a decisive tug, both of them were back in the building and making their way towards the exit, Katsuki refusing to let go of Todoroki’s wrist. Now that he could think again, he noticed that said wrist wasn’t as cold as he was used to from most spirits. It wasn’t warm like body heat but it lacked the biting cold that he associated with the spirits he had interacted with before.
It wasn’t until they reached the main entrance that Todoroki stopped Katsuki, eyes wide with panic. “I can’t leave.”
“Do you know that for sure or do you not want to leave?”
Todoroki opened his mouth before closing it, brows furrowed as he glanced downward with clenched hands. “I don’t know,” his voice was barely above a whisper, “I just feel like I have to stay.”
“If you stay this place is going to corrupt you. You’ll end up like your parents or worse.”
“How can you be so sure?” Todoroki looked up at him, expression resembling a pout if not for the hard glint in his eyes.
“I’ve seen it happen before.” Katsuki sighed and reached out for Todoroki, “We can try to help your parents but you need to get away from here first.”
“We have to help my mother.” Todoroki’s eyes were unwavering when he gripped Katsuki’s outreached hand and followed him out.
“We will. One way or another.” Katsuki agreed, his breathing already easier outside of the oppressive boundaries of the manor.
The walk back to Katsuki’s residence didn’t take long, the two remaining in silence until Mitsuki greeted her son in usual fashion. Katsuki answered with a few choice expletives before shoving Todoroki into his room and collapsing onto his bed with an exaggerated huff.
“Don’t mess with any of my shit.”
Todoroki only tilted his head in response to the demand, hands intertwined in front of him while his shoulders went stiff. “I wasn’t planning on it. It just feel strange.”
“You got a problem with my house you piece of shit ghost?” Katsuki could feel his eyebrow twitch but Todoroki was quick to shake his head.
“I feel different,” he explained, clenching and releasing his hands, “it’s almost like a dream.”
“Well it sure as hell isn’t. Now find something to do while I go to sleep.” Katsuki was glad that Todoroki was starting to seem normal, the fresh burns gone and the old scar not nearly as gruesome as it had looked at the manner.
“I won’t be around for a bit anyways. I can tell.”
Katsuki shoved himself into a sitting position at breakneck speed, eyes boring into Todoroki, “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Todoroki seemed startled by his outburst, eyes wide and clueless as he gaped at Katsuki. “Well, it’s kind of like going to sleep I suppose? Sometimes I just disappear for a couple days and it’s like I don’t really exist.”
“I thought you were a ghost!” Katsuki bit out the words, “That’s not something normal ghosts do!”
“I’m pretty sure I’m a ghost?” Todoroki still had that clueless look on his face, eyes focusing on his hands with an unnecessary amount of concentration.
“How do you not know? Did you kick the bucket or not?”
A grimace appeared on Todoroki’s face for a moment, eyes reflecting pain, before he schooled his expression back into something neutral. “I only remember that it hurt.”
Katsuki sighed, trying to reign his temper back in, “Well don’t worry about it right now.”
The entire situation was nagging at him but it was also a problem for another day. Instead he settled back in his bed, weariness from having almost died finally catching up with him.
When the morning finally arrived Todoroki was nowhere to be seen but Katsuki didn’t let it bother him too much. There was enough about Todoroki that was already bothering him.
With a grunt and a cracking noise as he popped his back, Katsuki was quick to snag breakfast before locking himself in his room and starting up his laptop. Sure it was rude to pry into someone’s life but Todoroki was already dead so it’s not like it mattered anyways.
Once his shitty computer got its act together, he stared at the search page and wondered how the fuck he was supposed to find out what happened. Todoroki was a common surname and he knew jack shit about what had even happened in the first place.
With an irritated huff, Katsuki typed todoroki obituaries into the search bar but was met with a lot of entries that were way too recent and had nothing to with a fire. The page was just flat out depressing so he was quick to go back to the homepage. He saw enough dead people, thanks.
The more rational part of his brain considered asking Todoroki himself but after the freaky shit that happened yesterday where he was trying to gouge his own eyes he decided against it. He’d seen enough freaky shit for a good week at the very least and wanted to avoid it as much as possible. Who knew if digging Todoroki for answers would set him off or not.
It was better to do his own digging if possible. After coming up with nothing conclusive his first couple attempts, Katsuki was prepared to call it when his most recent search finally brought up something relevant.
The first article just waxed poetic about Todoroki Enji and how his death was a loss for all and what a tragic accident the fire had been. Katsuki only skimmed the article, already tired of the author’s apparent hard-on for the elder Todoroki.
Farther down the page, a much smaller article explained that a dispute between the Todoroki parents had lead to a fire that engulfed the portion of the manor they had been in. According to the article, the two had died pretty quickly from the flames while their youngest child was seriously injured before being taken to the hospital.
The article didn’t say anything about Todoroki Shouto’s death, just explaining that he was in critical condition from severe burns and that the outlook was bleak. Beyond that, there wasn’t any information on the other Todoroki children and what had become of them.
With a sigh, Katsuki shut the page before leaning back in his bed, legs warm from the whirring of the laptop fans. He still felt like he knew next to nothing but maybe he could at least help Todoroki move on. It’d only be fair to repay him for saving Katsuki’s life.
Unfortunately, that would mean having to find his siblings which probably wouldn’t be the easiest task in the world. From what he could, most of them dropped off the map after what happened at their family home with their mother and father. One of them seemed to be well off as a member of some sort of metal band but he was the only one Katsuki could find information on.
With a sigh, Bakugou resigned himself to asking Todoroki some questions once he was back. He’d just have to be smart about what he asked.
He hadn’t expected Todoroki to scare the shit out of him when he finally did appear again but at least he knew the asshole was back. He apologized for startling Katsuki but it also didn’t seem sincere through the barely suppressed grin.
It was strange seeing him acting somewhat normal, almost human even. As much as Katsuki wanted answers, his questions died when he saw Todoroki looking genuinely at peace while Katsuki explained some of the decorations in his room.
Todoroki still had the obvious markings of a ghost but he wasn’t nearly as grotesque or ethereal as the ones he was used to seeing. The only thing that was notable was the massive burn that seemed to cover half his face before traveling down his neck and disappearing beneath his shirt.
Being away from the house was already having an effect on Todoroki as well. When Katsuki had first seen the scar it looked fresh almost, bloody and raw, but now it was faded as if healed over time. It would never be gone but it looked less painful.
With a sigh, Katsuki faced Todoroki and watched him, “Do you remember how you died?”
Todoroki’s face contorted for a moment before evening out as he glanced away, “Not particularly. I know my parents were arguing. Mostly just my dad yelling.”
“Shaky home life?” Katsuki could see that his shoulders were wound tight and there was a subtle shaking.
“You can say that.” Todoroki gave a bitter laugh and let his bangs fall in front of his eyes, “Either way things escalated. I was trying to check on my mother because it got quiet but everything was burning already and it was just too hot.”
“You couldn’t get out.”
Todoroki nodded in agreement even though it was a statement, “So here I am.”
“Do you know why you’re still here? There has to be a reason you haven’t moved on yet.” Katsuki explained, turning to face Todoroki fully and tapping his shoulder gently. “Most spirits stuck here have some sort of vibe. Like your parents were both emotionally charged in different ways.”
“I’m not really sure. Sometimes I’ll feel emotions intensely or think that I can hear my sister. Most of the time I just feel empty and tired.”
“Your sister?”
Todoroki looked up at the questioning tone and nodded, “Fuyumi. She’s my older sister. She’d always watch out for me whenever our parents were fighting.”
“Well maybe I can try talking to her. If you have any regrets regarding her it might help to get those cleared up.”
“I couldn’t do that to her. She should have moved on by now.”
“Well I can still check on her.” Katsuki insisted, pulling his laptop back into his lap and quickly searching for “todoroki fuyumi”.
“You don’t have to.”
“Listen,” Katsuki interjected before Todoroki could continue, “I’m not gonna let your haunted candy cane ass just keep wandering around if I can get you to move on just by talking to your sister.”
“I, um, thank you?” Todoroki’s eyebrows knit together, eyes wide from confusion but Katsuki was ready to get this out of the way as soon as he could.
“Says here that she’s a teacher for a school that isn’t far. After my classes I’ll head over and chat with her.”
Katsuki began to close his laptop when Todoroki out a hand on his, mismatched eyes looking straight at him. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
Despite how soft he was speaking, Katsuki could hear the hard determination in his voice. It felt like he was doing something right to have Todoroki look like that and he could only answer with a nod.
Of course, Katsuki wasn’t expecting Todoroki to come to school with him the following day but it kept things interesting. Especially when he received a strange look from him while putting on his hearing aids.
“I don’t need them to talk to you since you’re a fucking ghost and I don’t actually hear your voice.” he explained briefly before leaving for school.
Todoroki was quiet for the most part, sometimes wandering around briefly, but he never did anything that would cause too much of a distraction for Katsuki so the day was normal enough. More than anything he seemed content to just watch the daily life.
It wasn’t until the day was drawing to it’s close that Todoroki started acting strange, moving around constantly and tugging at his fingers in a display of anxiety. Katsuki had enough by the time class was dismissed for the day and finally snapped once they were alone, “Will you calm the fuck down? I thought you wanted to see your sister.”
“I miss her but I don’t want to complicate things.”
“I’ll make sure things don’t get weird.” Katsuki assured before grabbing his belongings and making his way towards the primary school that Fuyumi worked at.
He was prepared to ask Todoroki what she looked like if he hadn’t disappeared but quickly snapped his mouth shut upon seeing pristine white hair with occasional streaks of red in it. He’d eat his fucking shoe if that wasn’t Todoroki’s sister.
“Excuse me, Todoroki-san?” Katsuki saw her turn around quickly, eyes wide behind the frames of her glasses.
“I haven’t been called that in a while.” Her expression seemed to relax upon seeing Katsuki, smiling warmly at him. “How can I help you?”
“My name is Bakugou Katsuki. I had some questions and maybe some answers. It’s about your brother.”
Her brows immediately knit together, bottom lip puffing out in a slight pout that he had seen on Shouto a couple times. “Is it Koudai again? He’s always such a troublemaker.”
“Um, no. It’s about Shouto.”
“Oh,” Fuyumi’s expression dropped immediately, “I can assure you that Shouto hasn’t been doing anything.”
“I know he hasn’t but I feel like he’d want to know that you’re okay and happy.”
“I’d hope he’s well aware. I visit him every week and always tell him about my day.” Fuyumi explained before looking at Katsuki, “How do you even know about Shouto?”
“Listen,” Katsuki huffed out, looking at Shouto briefly before training his eyes on the older Todoroki, “I don’t want to sound like some fucking maniac but I’ve been talking to your brother. Like actually talking to him. Not just his headstone or whatever.”
“My brother isn’t dead.” Fuyumi insisted sharply, “I don’t know who you’ve been talking to but Shouto is still very much alive.”
“Wait, really?” Katsuki was more surprised than anything, “You’re not crazy right? Cuz I’ve been talking to his fucking ghost.”
“Shouto is in a coma and I don’t appreciate this joke of yours.”
“It’s not a joke. The candy cane fucker saved my life so I’m trying to help him somehow. I just assumed he was dead since I can see ghosts and shit, okay?”
The look Fuyumi gave him was surprisingly calm but also too searching for Katsuki’s comfort. “Would you please accompany to the hospital, Bakugou?”
“I donno if that’s a good idea.” Seeing Shouto’s ghost was one thing, but he wasn’t used to actually seeing the bodies of those he saw.
“Please, I won’t keep you for long.”
Katsuki relented, walking next to Fuyumi as they made their way towards the hospital. “My brother hasn’t woken up since our parents passed away so I’ve been taking care of him.”
It was mostly silent as Fuyumi led him through the hospital. He could feel his hands shaking slightly but rationalized that it wouldn’t matter since Shouto wasn’t conscious anyways. Rationality flew out the window when he saw him.
He seemed too pale for it to be healthy, different tubes and machines connected to the comatose form. Even though he was breathing steadily Katsuki felt like he was looking at a corpse.
Fuyumi adjusted the blanket carefully with a sad but fond look at Shouto. “It’s a good thing our father passed away in that fire because I’ll never forgive him for doing this to Shouto.”
“What happened? I tried looking it up but didn’t really find much.”
“Our father has always been neglectful and abusive. Unfortunately, Shouto was his favorite .” She explained, lips curling with disgust on the last word as she took Shouto’s hand gently. “I tried to help when I could and so did our mother but we could only do so much. Our mother was arguing with him about it again while they were in the kitchen.”
Fuyumi’s lips pursed together as she rubbed the back of Shouto’s hand gently, “When he walked in and our mother threw the water from the kettle at him. It only got worse from there.”
“Why hasn’t he woken up?” Katsuki questioned, finally approaching the bed.
“His injuries were serious when he was first admitted to the hospital. He’s recovered alright but the doctors don’t know if he’ll wake up.”
“This is such bullshit. I’ll make that fucker wake up.” Katsuki insisted with a huff. “He thinks he died.”
“You said you were talking to him?”
“Yeah. He kinda helped me out while I was your family’s old place.” Katsuki explained, sinking into his jacket further, “Your dad’s ghost kind of tried to kill me but he saved me.”
“Sounds like Shouto. He would always try to take the brunt of our father’s anger.” Fuyumi sighed, pushing Shouto’s hair away from his face. “He’s been like this for almost a year now.”
“I’m going to get him to wake up.” He could hope that Shouto would remember him when he woke up but either way he was determined.
Katsuki exchanged numbers and farewells with Fuyumi before he arrived at home and plopped himself on the couch next to his mother. She looked up at him for a moment before scooting closer with a questioning glance. “What were you up to today?”
“I went to the hospital. One of the ghosts I met isn’t actually dead.” He always tried to push away emotions that weren’t anger but there was no point in hiding from his mother. As much as they clashed, he also trusted her unconditionally.
“Wouldn’t that be a good thing?”
“It would if I knew how to get him to wake the fuck up. He’s in a coma.” Katsuki explained with a huff, arms crossed over his chest.
“Does he think he’s dead?” She questioned, casually playing with Katsuki’s hair as she spoke.
“He does right now. I was gonna tell him the truth when I see him again.”
“I think I have something that might work better.”
The following day, Katsuki was more than ready for when Shouto would decide to show up again and was happy to see him after school got out. He was quick to take Shouto’s wrist and start leaving for the hospital. “You’re coming with me.”
“Where are we going?” Katsuki ignored the question, choosing instead quicken his pace to the hospital. It took him a bit to remember which room he was looking for but the look on Shouto’s face when they entered was indescribable.
“I don’t-” he paused for a moment, looking between Katsuki and the bed with lost eyes, “I thought I was dead.”
“Your sister misses you. A lot.” Katsuki explained, pushing Shouto closer to his body, “So why don’t you just calm down and wake the fuck up.”
“Thank you.” Shouto’s voice was barely above a whisper but before Katsuki could say anything else he disappeared.
He was ready to give up when the various monitors in the room started beeping irregularly before Shouto sat up suddenly. He was gasping, breath fogging up the mask over his face as his whole body shook with each intake of air.
It didn’t matter whether Shouto would remember him or not when he turned to see Fuyumi in tears.