Chapter Text
The glowing golden egg clutched in hand, Izuku watched the people down below go about their lives. Most completely unaware of the observations he was making, seeing the world move forward while his ghost continues to watch and wait for the egg Koenma gave him to hatch.
He remembered the warnings given. That the Spirit Beast which hatches takes on a form based on the energy it consumes off of him- if he remains good and positive then the Spirit Beast will guide him back to the Living World and he can be resurrected. However…
If he’s giving off negative energy then the Spirit Beast will hatch into a monster and consume him, leaving nothing behind and his death will be permanent.
As he stared at the egg, Izuku thought back to what led him to this very moment. To what led up to him dying and making his mother cry more than on the fateful day he was declared Quirkless by Tsubasa-kun’s grandfather.
The same grandfather who…
-
It was his third day of junior high, he remembered now. On his way to school he saw Backdraft and Death Arms apprehending a villain with a porcupine quirk, so of course Izuku had to stop and update the notes he had on the two heroes who commonly patrolled his hometown.
None of the others watching the fight batted an eye at his note taking, a few whispering about him possibly going into management while others called him a standard fanboy. Though none was filled with any malice or ridicule because they didn’t know the truth about him or why he even took those notes.
However, he knew he had to quickly stuff and hide his notebook as deep in his backpack as possible before he even arrived at school. To a place where his peers would shoulder-check him if he came just a tad too close, whispers about him being useless and why he was even still around. Thinking he would grow up to be a quirkless nobody that would soon become a statistic for villain fights.
Or part of a different and far worse statistic.
Even with all of this happening, the teachers turning blind eyes to it all, Izuku could never feel bitter or any real hatred for this. He knows his goal and what he will do to achieve it, and will never let them all bring him down.
Despite the explosions that would almost deafen him during lunch time, the long fingers that would trip him during cleaning duty, a gust of wind blowing the papers he held out of his hand, he kept his metaphorical chin up and kept moving forward.
Because he knows that a Hero isn’t someone who will let others bring him down. To instead give a smile that’s enough to make anyone feel safe while he does whatever he can to save people. After all, just because no one tries to help him doesn’t mean he can’t do what he can to help others.
If he doesn’t help those that society decides to ignore, then who else will help them?
With a heart that still held hope for the world, he had left the school at the end of the day and walked in the direction of his home. He kept smiling throughout it all, knowing that he has to find some way of making his dream a reality when he doesn’t have a power like everyone else.
During that walk, it seemed like time had frozen when the sound of a ball bouncing into the street caught his ear. The ball, some sirens, and squealing tires.
No one else in the area moved, instead watching as a small child ran right into the road to retrieve his ball.
The ball which was in the path of a truck going way above the speed limit, being chased by police cars.
So Izuku had done the only logical thing at that moment.
Afterwards, it all became a blur until there was nothing but black.
--
“Hey, how’re you holding up?”
Izuku looked up from the egg that he was sure was starting to crack just a little, and gave a smile to the woman riding on the broomstick. Botan seemed to have a look of concern, so he did his best to smile and reassure her that he was indeed fine.
Botan just raised an eyebrow.
“I was just remembering the day I died,” he finally admitted. Remembering how his mother had rushed to the hospital when she got the news. The way she refused to believe that she was staring at his corpse and soon became wracked with nothing but pure guilt and continued to sob throughout it all.
Blaming herself when she did absolutely nothing that could have possibly led to Izuku doing something reckless to get himself killed.
And that was the main reason why he was wanting to hatch this egg and have his Spirit Beast guide him back. Just so he can tell his mom that it will be ok, that she doesn’t need to cry anymore, that he won’t do an act of recklessness like that ever again.
Even if that last bit was a lie, because he knows deep down that if his life can save at least one more then he would do it a hundred times over to save however many people he could.
“I still don’t understand how you can be ok with a lot of your peers being able to move on so quickly though,” Botan said, only to suddenly freeze and cover her mouth. Like she didn’t mean to say that out loud.
It was true though. A lot of his old classmates had decided to pretend he never even existed. Not a single one of them coming to the memorial service that his mom had. In truth she, the kid he saved, and that kid’s mother were the only ones who even attended.
“You did look into my life in your notebook, right?” Izuku asked, looking right at Botan. “None of them really cared about the Quirkless Nobody in their class because they knew I was just a statistic to them, not even a person,” he continued. “So I really don’t blame them for moving on- actually I’m glad they’re able to. It means that they can focus on making themselves into better people without having someone to look down on.”
“If that’s how you feel then...why are you going along with this plan to bring yourself back to life?”
“Because I don’t want my mom to cry anymore. Her husband didn’t even bother coming to the funeral, which means she really doesn’t have anyone else in her life and she doesn’t deserve that no matter what,” Izuku said, his smile sad at the thought of his mom going through that fate.
The only real regret he has of dying at this time.
Izuku looked up when he felt a hand set itself on his head.
Botan just gave a smile at him, lightly ruffling his hair. “Sometimes you act like a legitimate ray of sunshine,” she said.
“Uh- I- Well-” Izuku stammered out, blinking when he felt the egg shake some more.
He then heard the cracks form and looked right to Botan.
“Well Izuku, I think it’s about time. I wish you luck,” she said with a wide smile as the golden egg hatched and a pillar of glowing golden light shone from it.
---
He scrunched his eyes a bit, squeezing them against the bright sunlight that came from his window as the curtains blew. Something heavy laid on his chest and his fingers twitched ever so slightly- as if he hasn’t been able to move them in ages.
And then it hit him.
Izuku sat up suddenly, seeing that he’s surrounded by the smiling face of all his All Might posters, and that he could actually breathe.
“Ku!” A small voice squeaked from his lap.
He looked down to see that whatever was laying on his chest was now in his lap- a green creature that seemed like a type of fusion between a kitten and a bunny. The creature staring up at him with bright green eyes and seemed to have a bunch of curls on the top of its head.
Izuku suddenly remembered what seemed to have been a dream. About meeting Botan and Koenma, being dead, and then receiving an egg that would hatch into a Spirit Beast that would guide him back to the Living World-
At that moment his door opened, and he looked to see his mom had come in.
Her face was frozen with shock, and then came the waterfall tears as she rushed over and collapsed to her knees right by his bedside. Her hand reaching, hesitating, for his own.
“I- Izuku?”
He stared at her before trying to give a smile.
“Hey Mom, sorry for worrying you.”
---
It took a few days to convince her that it was real, that he’s fine. The creature mostly stayed silent, but at least his mom accepted that they now had a pet- even if she doesn’t know if it’s a cat or a bunny.
After that he was able to go back to school, where everyone remained silent and stared right at him. It was as if they were seeing a ghost or something that shouldn’t even be there. Even when he smiled at them all, they wound up avoiding him like the plague.
And then…
“Deku?”
He knew running into Kacchan was inevitable, they were still in the same class after all.
But he still did not expect to see his former friend’s eyes staring right at him with something that seemed almost fearful. A look that he never thought Bakugou Katsuki would hold in all of his life mainly because he was still someone who would become a great hero.
And heroes never fear for anything.
“What the actual- Aren’t you supposed to be fucking dead!? Why the hell are you here right now!?” Kacchan shouted.
Izuku didn’t say anything at first until he gave a smile to Kacchan.
“I couldn’t leave my mom all alone, so I got better,” he said.
------
“Koenma, are you sure about this? What if this turns into another Sensui?”
“I’m sure about this, Botan. He is a good person, but doesn’t see the world in Black and White like most others in his society. He may not realize it quite yet, but Izuku may in fact become one of the greatest Spirit Detectives in the world.”
“If you say so. Let’s just see how he handles his first test.”
“Indeed. Also any luck on your own investigation for the rise of Corpse Snatchers in Japan?”
“So far my only lead was this one doctor, but he disappeared after he failed to grab Izuku’s body. Do you think someone is making attempts at Necromancy?”
“It’s possible, which is very troubling. There’s no telling what the results will be, especially with the emergence of these strange Quirks.”