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“Heyo! 666 gang!” Mina sang, draping her arms around Kirishima’s and Bakugou’s necks. “Who’s ready for some spooky spirit fun?”
“Get the fuck off me,” Bakugou snarled.
“Awww, Baku- booooo,” Mina purred, kicking her feet up and swinging from the boys. “Don’t be a drag. It’s Halloween! Shouldn’t we have some fun?”
“We aren’t celebrating some shitty western holiday, raccoon eyes,” he spat back, disentangling himself from her hold.
“And why not? Hmm?” Mina demanded, one hand on her hip, her other still around Kirishima’s broad shoulders.
“Because it’s stupid.”
“Oh, I get it. You’re afraid of spirits, huh? Don’t worry, Kats. I’ll keep you safe.” Mina flexed her free arm and gave him her best shit-eating grin.
No way was Bakugou going to rain on her parade. It was dreary enough in the dorms this time of year, and Mina was sick of it! Halloween was as good of an excuse as any to get into a healthy amount of trouble with her friends. Besides, she had a really fun prank she wanted to pull, and that involved getting the gang together.
“Not afraid of spirits,” he growled. “Especially when they don’t fucking exist.”
“Suit yourself.” Mina shrugged. “But if you really don’t care, then there’s no reason not to join us.” She paused for effect and then added, “Unless you really are afraid, in which case, you are more than welcome to go to bed like the old man that you are.”
Bakugou spluttered, his piercing red eyes boring into an entirely unaffected Mina.
“Kiri, you down?” Mina asked, ignoring the puffed up pomeranian (Bakugou) that was seconds from biting her ankles. She waggled her eyebrows and pushed herself up onto her tiptoes, leaning further into his space.
“Aww, I dunno,” he said, running a hand through his hair with a sheepish smile. “Mum always said not to mess around with that kinda spirit stuff. Just to be respectful and not cause trouble, ya know? Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to mess around like that?”
“C’mon,” Mina pleaded. “You guys are killin’ me! It’s not like we’re gonna post up at someone’s family shrine or something. I’m talking spooky spirits, and I know exactly how we’re gonna get ahold of them.”
As it turned out, Mina had a foolproof plan for “summoning” her spooky spirits. A few weeks back, a rather gaudy pagoda had cropped up at the mall, selling seasonal odds and ends. She’d rifled through their display but only found cheap, gimmicky crap that didn’t interest her.
She’d been about to turn away when the masked manager caught her attention. He asked her what she was looking for and had tutted at her response before ducking behind his counter to dig around in a drawer she couldn’t see. He returned with a rather beat-up flip phone in hand, promising it was a one of a kind spirit phone that would allow her to contact the dead—but only on Halloween.
So, of course, she’d bought it on sight and left in high spirits, scheming about how she was going to get the boys good.
Shooting Kaminari a furtive wink, Mina slammed the battered pink phone on the floor between the boys. She’d gathered Sero, Kirishima, Bakugou, her co-conspirator, and a secret invisible someone in the common area, where they were going to get ‘spooky with it’ and summon a spirit— definitely for reals, as she’d put it earlier.
“What the hell?” Bakugou groaned. “Did you dig that out of the dump?”
“Nope!” Mina smiled, popping her ‘p.’ “Nothing like that at all. I got it from a magic man, who said that, once a year on Halloween, we can summon any spirit!”
“Any spirit…” Bakugou said in monotone, his expression thoroughly unimpressed. “Someone tell this crazy woman that spirits don’t exist. She won’t goddamn listen to me. Tape-Face, you do it.”
“I dunno,” Sero said thoughtfully. “What if it works? Could be fun.”
“Listen.” Kaminari leaned into their circle. “If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, right? But if it does, then we’ll be the first students to have summoned a ghost on campus, and that’s a damn good story to have on tap.”
This got a good snort out of Sero, who elbowed him in the side.
“Yeah, man. Totally,” he snickered, not bothering to hide his toothy grin. “You just want a cool story that will make the e-girls fall for you.”
“Oof,” Kirishima sighed, shaking his head to hide the teasing glint in his eye. “Denki, my man, you really gotta get over that e-girl addiction.”
“It’s not an addiction!” Kaminari retorted, the bridge of his nose dusted with pink. “I just like the lil’ hearts they do on their cheeks, and they have pretty hair.”
“Tch. Sparky, everyone knows you have a thing for fishnets and nouveau goth preps.”
Everyone turned to look at Bakugou.
“What?!”
“Nothin’, man,” Sero snickered. “Just didn’t know you had an opinion on e-fashion.”
“I fuckin’ don’t!” Bakugou barked. “Just summon the damn spirit already.”
“Boys, focus,” Mina said coolly, clasping her hands together. “Our fuddy-duddy grandpa has an early bedtime that we are well past. So, let’s summon this spirit before he gets even crabbier.”
Kaminari gave Mina a less than subtle thumbs-up, and she rolled her eyes, holding back a grin.
Their plan was simple: Mina would dial the spirit number, which would play the gag recording most likely programmed into its voicemail box. Then, Hagakure, waiting in the wings, would make some stuff float, and Kaminari would flicker the lights. Everyone would be scared shitless, and Mina would have the best laugh at the expense of her friends, namely Bakugou, who was sure to flip his everloving mind.
“So, who are we, ya know, calling?” Kirishima asked.
“Oh, my sweet baby boy, I’m glad you asked!” Mina grinned, snatching the phone up and flipping it open. “If we’ve only got one shot at this, we better make it spicy, right? So, I figured go big or go home—let’s summon a serial killer!”
“Mina!” Kirishima choked, blinking owlishly.
“Oh, fuck,” Sero chuckled.
“Absolutely fucking not!” Bakugou roared, lunging to seize the phone from Mina.
“Hold up, hold up!” Kaminari intercepted Bakugou’s reach, zapping him with a light pulse of his quirk. “I believe you said there was no such thing as spirits, and Mina is right. What’s the point of summoning a spirit if there are no stakes to it?”
“I won’t stop you, but I am not a part of this,” Sero noted, unwrapping a piece of candy and popping it into his mouth.
“This is such a bad idea,” Kirishima groaned.
“Kats, hold Kiri’s hand,” Mina demanded, punching a number into the phone’s keypad. Bakugou did not take his friend’s hand, and Kirishima spluttered at the implication that he was being a baby.
Mina finished dialing the number the masked man had given her and then tapped the speakerphone button.
The phone rang.
And it rang.
And it rang.
And Bakugou looked pissed, and Mina started to wonder if she had been scammed and the number was just a dud.
“Spirit Connections, who may I spook you with?” a scratchy voice said through the line.
Kirishima and Bakugou balked some. Sero looked weary, and Mina and Kaminari were positively thrilled, clutching each other’s arms.
“We’d like to chat with the Schoolgirl Slasher, please, and thank you!” Mina cackled.
“You’ll have until 3 am to complete your call, at which time your connection may drop, unless...well...nevermind.” There was a deep sigh from the operator. “One moment while I connect you.”
An instrumental cover of “Spooky Scary Skeletons” played while they waited for their call to transfer, and Mina could barely contain her giggles.
“Living cuties!” a girlish voice squealed from the phone. It was distorted by static, which added to the spooky effect Mina was hoping for. “It’s been so long since I got to play with anyone alive!”
“Well, ya know,” Mina cooed, “we’ve been dyin’ to talk to you.”
“To me?” the voice gasped, genuine surprise carrying through the line. The noise was followed by heavy breathing, which made Kirishima shudder and Bakugou scowl.
So, it was an actress, not a recording, Mina thought. Even better.
“Yeah, babe!” Mina grinned. “Heard you’re a real killer—in more ways than one.” She winked at her friends before adding, “So are you a real serial killer, or what?”
“Are you seriously flirting right now?” Kirishima whispered.
Mina threw a piece of candy at him, which ended up hitting an irate Bakugou in the chest.
“It’s just some bitch on the other line,” he barked, pelting the candy back at Mina. “It’s a weak trick.”
“Bakugou Katsuki,” Mina gasped, feigning more offense than she actually felt. “That’s rude! You’re probably going to get us haunted now.”
“Thought that was the damn point,” he growled back.
“Guys, I don’t know—” Kirishima started but didn’t get to finish.
“Admit you set this up,” Bakugou barked. “You probably just dialed one of the shitty extras’ numbers, and now, they’re playing along with whatever we say.”
“Not true!” Mina sniffed, narrowing her eyes at Bakugou. He was mostly spot-on, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of admitting it. No! Not at all. She was sticking to her bit.
It was time for Phase 2 of her prank.
“Hey, sweetie,” Mina cooed into the phone. “We’ve got some real tough guys here that don’t believe in ghosts. Mind setting them straight?”
“If I help you, does that mean we’re friends?” Static continued to disrupt the line, making the word ‘friends’ hiss harshly.
“Aww, hun.” Mina grinned, cocking her head and fixing Bakugou with an overly smug expression. His scowl deepened, but she didn’t break eye contact with him as she replied, “We can be whatever you want us to be.”
Kirishima looked mildly stricken. Sero laughed, clearly amused by Mina’s antics, and Kaminari vibrated in his seat, ready and waiting for his cue to flicker the lights. Bakugou was—well—he was thoroughly unamused, pissed even.
“Whatever I want?”
Mina could hear the actress’s eyes grow wide. It was kind of cute if she was honest.
Maybe she’d try and get the girl’s personal number later. She wouldn’t mind chatting up a fellow spooky season lover. The girl sounded sweet, and if her job was anything to judge by, she was probably pretty fun to chill with too.
“Uh-huh,” Mina affirmed.
“Be my girlfriend!”
“Bet,” Mina snickered, getting varying groans that ranged from entertained to annoyed out of the boys.
“Okay! I’ll haunt you, then, Ashido Mina.”
Mina paled—as much as a girl with pink skin could—and swallowed thickly. Maybe the call center fielding these late-night Halloween calls had caller ID; it was possible. A reverse phone look up, maybe? They probably had that kind of service available for such calls. Still, it was a bit unnerving that the girl was ready with her full name like that. It certainly gave Mina goosebumps, and she was the one orchestrating the prank.
A stark chill rolled through the common area, nipping at Mina’s cheeks and arms. The dorm doors blew open, and papers flew off a nearby table, carried by the harsh breeze that snaked through the room. The lights began to flicker, slowly at first but then faster until several loud pops erupted from them. Glass showered from the ceiling as the lights exploded, raining down over the now screeching teens.
It was mayhem.
And much more than Mina had bargained for, but she wasn’t complaining.
Sure, it would be a real pain to explain the lights. Kaminari had occasional difficulties with his quirk that resulted in power outages or other troublesome electrical problems, but it felt wrong to put the blame on him when she had asked him to get involved in her prank. Still, he hadn’t needed to commit so fully. She’d said ‘flicker,’ dammit! Not ‘destroy.’
Several pillows began to bob in the air. Textbooks whizzed across the room. Kirishima hardened his arms and frantically swatted at anything that flew too close to him. Sero and Kaminari were scrambling over each other while Bakugou bellowed curses at Mina and dove for the phone.
“Let’s play!” a bubbly voice chimed, seemingly emitting from the phone but several times louder than it had been before.
Bakugou snatched the battered pink phone from Mina and snapped it shut with enough force that she was convinced he’d cracked the plastic body.
The wind stopped howling. The air warmed, and everything stopped floating, pillows and paper dropping to land amid the glass on the floor.
“So, we’re definitely haunted now,” Sero said, grimacing. “Right? Like there is no way we aren’t totally haunted now.”
Kirishima hadn’t released his hardening and didn’t seem like he was planning to. Bakugou’s hair was a poofy mess. His eyes, narrowed and furious, were fixed on Kaminari, who’d succumbed to a traitorous fit of laughter that was so violent he was wheezing.
“Unbelievable,” Bakugou spat, his gaze flickering between Kaminari and Mina. Kicking a pillow, he stomped from the common room.
It ended up being a pretty smart move on his behalf because, seconds after he’d disappeared to his room, Aizawa came bursting into the common room, his hair on end, eyes glowing red, and capture weapon at the ready.
“Someone explain now,” he said, his voice colder than the outside air.
“So, let me get this straight,” Sero moaned. “The ghost wasn’t real, but our detention is? C’mon, guys. This blows.”
“That’s messed up,” Kirishima sighed. His sullen dejection was worse than anger would have been, Mina decided. She felt bad. She wasn’t trying to get them in trouble. The prank just went a little wrong!
Though detention was kind of worth it when she would forever have the moment that Bakugou’s scowl dropped to be replaced by a mask of horror saved in her memories for a rainy day.
“I’ll make it up to ya, okay?” Mina offered. “Maybe Sensei will be more understanding in the morning, and I can negotiate with him or something. I don’t know. I’ll fix it, though!”
“Eh, don’t stress it,” Kirishima said, rubbing at the back of his head and smiling. “Extra training isn’t so bad. He’s right anyway: If we have time to goof off, we have time to train.”
“Speak for yourself,” Kaminari groaned. “Night, Mina. See you in hell tomorrow.” A small whimper escaped the electric blond as the boys made their way to their dorms.
Slight guilt aside, Mina floated to her room on a cloud of euphoria. So maybe they’d been forced to clean up all the glass in the common area, and maybe they’d be stuck doing odd jobs around campus to make up for the cost of replacing the lights. And yes, there was the extra training to keep them too busy for shenanigans.
But...her prank had mostly worked!
She’d successfully spooked the boys with Kaminari and Hagakure’s help, and she’d gotten a hilarious story to tell from it.
Speaking of Hagakure, Mina nearly collided with her in the hallway, having been too lost in her happy thoughts to see the cute set of pajamas floating her way.
“Oh, sorry, babe!” Mina jumped out of the way, bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. “Thanks, by the way! That wouldn’t have been half as killer without your help.”
“My help?” Hagakure echoed, her pajama sleeve coming up to tap near where her mouth must have been. “I was actually just rushing down to see if I was too late. So, I’m not sure what you mean. I wasn’t able to get down in time. Yaomomo was helping me with my English essay, and I couldn’t exactly tell her I had a prank and that I needed to go, ya know?”
“Huh?” Mina frowned. “Whaddya mean? You were totally there. Like, stuff floated.”
“I don’t know, Mina.” Hagakure shrugged. “Super sorry ‘bout it, but I was tied up with Yaomomo all evening.”
Confused and bewildered, Mina wished her friend goodnight and slipped into her room. As she threw on her pajamas and brushed her teeth, her mind buzzed. She ran through the evening on a loop, over and over. Something wasn’t right.
The wind hadn’t been planned, but that must have been a coincidence. At the time, she’d thought Hagakure was just going the extra mile, pushing the dorm doors open or something. There was also the matter of the lights. Kaminari swore he barely used his quirk and that there was no way it should have been enough to explode them. The air had also been colder than death, but Mina had assumed it was because of the wind. Now, she wasn’t so sure.
What were the odds that they’d actually spoken to a ghost? Slim, right? There was little to no chance. It just wasn’t believable, she decided, dropping the pink flip phone into a drawer before slipping into bed.
Snug and warm in her sheets, Mina reached to plug in her phone. She laid back, staring at the ceiling.
Then, her phone rang. Perplexed, she checked the caller ID, wondering who was calling at 3 am. ‘Unknown’ blinked on her screen. She had more than half a mind to ignore the call and go to bed, but a small part of her worried. What if there was an emergency, and she’d missed the call for some beauty sleep? Totally not cool!
“Sup,” Mina said through a yawn.
“Heya, cutie!” a saccharine voice purred through the line. “You’re lookin’ killer.”
“Think ya got the wrong number there, babe.” Mina laughed, rolling her eyes. “But, hey, thanks.”
“Mmmmm,” the voice hummed. “I don’t think so. We did just talk, but I wanted to talk to you alone.”
“Real funny, Tooru,” Mina giggled.
“Who’s Tooru?” the voice hissed, curdling with open jealousy.
“Uh, babes, I’m not gonna fall for that shtick.”
“Mina-chan!” the voice wailed. “You said we could be girlfriends. Do you already have one? Because if you do, I’m gonna be awfully jealous.”
Mina’s brow wrinkled, and she pulled her phone away to look at the screen. So was this girl the actress from the ghost line? Mina had been a bit curious about talking to her, but she had to admit it was a touch concerning that the girl had gotten her personal number somehow.
“Uh, no,” Mina said. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“That’s not true. You have me.”
“Well—”
“So, just the one, you mean? Not some other living girl.”
The girl's inflection on ‘living’ made Mina snort. She couldn’t help it. Sure, she was a bit spooked, but she was also impressed by the girl’s commitment to her serial killer ghost bit.
“Living girls are overrated,” Mina said, playing along. She rolled over onto her belly, propping her cheek against her phone and kicking her feet. “I’ve always wanted someone with a bit more spirit. I’m sure you understand.”
“Awwh, Mina-chan!”
“Hey, since we’re dating and all, can I get your name?”
“Oh, yeah! Toga Himiko, but you should just call me Himiko, kay?”
“Okay, Himiko,” Mina purred. “I can do that. Say, how did you get into this whole gig? Can I ask that?”
“What gig?” Himiko sounded genuinely confused. Mina wasn’t buying it, though.
“Oh, you know,” Mina said, rolling her eyes and grinning. “The whole ‘serial killer’ business.” Again, she snorted at the absurdity of it all, wondering what kind of backstory the girl would attempt to give her. Even though she was dying to get to know the real Himiko, a part of her was curious to know how long she would stick with her story before cracking.
“Well, I don’t really think of myself like that. I don’t think it’s fair, really.”
“What do you mean?” Mina prompted, not having expected Himiko to go silent after so little explanation. Maybe this was it; maybe this was the extent to which she’d prepared her ‘Schoolgirl Slasher’ story. It was almost a disappointing thought.
“I just don’t think loving people is wrong, but if loving people makes me a murderer, then I guess I am a serial killer.”
“Aww, babes. There’s nothing wrong with loving people. It’s not like you could love them to death or something.”
“Yeah!” Himiko agreed. “And it’s not like dying is that bad anyways, right? I never get hungry, and I don’t have to use the bathroom or sleep.”
“Well, it’s got some drawbacks.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for one, I can’t kiss you,” Mina said with an exaggerated pout.
“I could kiss you!” Himiko offered enthusiastically.
“Really?” Mina laughed, chewing her lip for a second. “Well, if that’s true, I would let you. You know, since we’re dating.”
Himiko didn’t respond, and Mina began to feel as if she’d gone too far. Then again, openly flirting with Himiko wasn’t as bad as Himiko having searched up Mina’s phone number without permission, or so Mina told herself.
“Uh, Himiko? Babe? You good?”
“Yeah,” Himiko replied, her voice a breathy wisp that curled through the phone, raising the fine hairs on Mina’s skin. “I’ve just never kissed a living girl before. So I...got lost in thought.”
“Aww, hun,” Mina cooed. “That’s adorable—honestly. You don’t gotta be shy with me, though. I’d love to be your first living girl kiss.”
“Mmkay,” Himiko hummed. “Are you ready, Mina-chan?”
“Am I ready?” Mina giggled. Himiko was really too funny, but if she wanted to roleplay a kiss through the phone, Mina wasn’t going to rain on her parade. “Born ready, babe.”
“Kay,” Himiko breathed, going quiet again.
Mina waited, her lips quirked as she considered what the other girl might be doing on her end of the call. Was she puckering her lips and pretending to kiss her? That would be pretty cheesy but kind of cute.
Without warning, the temperature in Mina’s room plummeted. Like before, she was raked by a violent shudder. She reached to tug her blankets over her shoulders but froze when something ice-cold pressed against her lips.
She was too shocked to move.
After a moment—a moment the length of a first kiss—the cold receded, leaving Mina more spooked than a cool girl like her cared to admit.
Panicked, she jabbed at her phone frantically, ending the call. That wasn’t enough, though. Oh, no—she had goosebumps bigger than Bakugou’s ego. No, no, no. She wasn’t done. She turned her phone off. Then, she placed it in her desk with the pink flip phone, dropped a textbook on top of both, and slammed the drawer shut. She had half a mind to dissolve the phones with her acid but decided better of it.
Vaulting back into bed, Mina tugged her blankets up over her horns and proceeded to huddle under the covers until morning.
She didn’t sleep a wink.
Ashido Mina had a girlfriend. Or rather, a ghoulfriend.
At first, she refused to believe she was haunted as a matter of principle. She didn’t not believe in ghosts, but there was no way some cheap party trick phone was responsible for her new ghost girlfriend. Then again, the signs were piling up, and they were increasingly hard to ignore.
For one, her belongings kept getting misplaced. She wasn’t a forgetful or absentminded person in the slightest, so it was frustrating to find so many of her things out of order. Similarly, random odds and ends from her classmates started showing up in her room without her having taken them, which didn’t go over very well when her peers started noticing. Mina wasn’t a thief, and her classmates believed that, luckily. Still, they were getting fed up with her constant “borrowing.”
On top of that, her sleep was increasingly poor, and she didn’t sleep at all most nights. Strange shadows stretched along her floor and walls, sometimes even dancing across the ceiling as she lay in bed with her covers pulled up to her chin.
She felt like she was being watched to the point that she’d become incredibly jumpy. At first, her friends thought her newfound skittishness was funny, except Bakugou, who found it annoying. Though their amusement of it waned once they started to notice the dark circles under Mina’s eyes. Then, they were concerned.
Mina wanted to tell them it was nothing, but she couldn’t—not when she was starting to believe, without a doubt, that she was haunted.
Still, she didn’t outright tell them, not in so many words. She wasn’t about to be accused of pulling the same prank twice. She did, however, let slip the odd happenings that had been plaguing her since the night of the prank.
Picking up trash with Kirishima, she mentioned the drastic drops in temperature that occurred after hours, saying offhandedly that it was weird they only occurred in her room. Another time with Sero, she let slip that sometimes she felt something cold brush her cheek or shoulder, and that, once, she even felt like she’d been hugged by a very cold Hagakure, which made little sense, especially since the invisible girl had been away for a family emergency that night.
When Mina’s electronics started acting up, Kaminari had looked at her funny, a deep furrow in his usually carefree brow. Whatever he thought he kept to himself, though.
She never bothered mentioning the noises; there were always strange bumps in the night in a dorm their size.
And then there was the matter of the texts.
And the late-night calls.
The ones from Himiko. Toga Himiko. Her ghoulfriend…
Those were the most significant signs and the reason Mina finally gave in to believing the truth that had been haunting her since that first night.
Himiko called Mina nightly and texted her daily. They were dating, so it only made sense that they would talk often; Himiko insisted as much.
The first few nights, Mina tried to convince herself that Himiko really was just a girl who’d taken her two-bit acting opportunity too far. She’d even googled ‘Toga Himiko’ to suss out if Himiko was just stealing a story from online.
All Mina had been able to find was a story about a young girl who’d apparently slashed up a handful of her classmates, killing several, before being found in a pool of her own blood in an alley between her school and home. The article didn’t mention a name, but there was a headshot of an energetic looking blonde with messy buns and cat-shaped eyes.
Mina hadn’t known what to think. As much as she wanted to believe that Himiko was using the story, she wasn’t successful in selling herself on that conviction—not when so much of what Himiko said was too genuine, coupled with the clear signs of paranormal activity.
But… Despite Mina’s decision to believe she was dating a ghost, who was probably (definitely) a serial killer, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything about it. She was sure that anyone else would have tried to exorcise Himiko—or do a spirit cleansing of some sort at the very least.
It was just that...well...Himiko was cute.
And Mina was in serious danger of falling for her.
It wasn’t Himiko’s looks. Though, if that picture of the Schoolgirl Slasher was actually Himiko, Mina wouldn’t complain. She’d always had a thing for girls with sharp teeth.
Rather, it was Himiko’s verve and spirit that enraptured her.
She was so full of love and support that Mina was baffled that Himiko had been a killer. She gave compliments freely, wasn’t afraid to say what she was thinking, and seemed entirely enamored with Mina. Her only concerning trait was her jealousy, but Mina wasn’t particularly worried about that. She wasn’t one to play mind games, so Himiko didn’t have a reason to get tense.
Confused and conflicted, Mina drifted through her days like a zombie, only coming to life when she was chatting with Himiko. During the days, guilt overwhelmed her; she couldn’t date a serial killer, after all! But come nighttime, her tune changed, her resolve softening when she answered or returned Himiko’s calls. She’d even gotten used to Himiko’s ghost kisses, treasuring them like a rare secret. Sometimes during class, she’d touch her fingers to her lips, remembering, and a cold chill would tear up her spine, giving her gooseflesh.
Nearing the girls’ one month anniversary, Mina started to get an itch under her skin. She wanted to tell her friends, even if they didn’t understand. She wanted to tell them about Himiko.
“Himiko,” Mina whined into her phone, snuggled up in her blankets. “I think I wanna tell the boys. About us, I mean.”
“You should,” Himiko said without skipping a beat. “You’re all mine, and they should know it.”
“Babe!” Mina laughed.
“What?” Himiko huffed. A cold touch brushed Mina’s curls from her eyes. “I don’t like to share.”
“Aww, c’mon,” Mina said, blushing. “You totally share. You share your time with me.”
“That’s different. I’d do anything for you, Mina-chan.”
An absolutely horrible thought leapt into Mina’s mind, and her mouth opened before she could stop herself.
“Would you kill for me?”
There was a long pause—so long, in fact, that Mina began to wonder if the call had dropped, or if, by some twist of fate, she had everything about Himiko wrong.
“I’d love to,” Himiko breathed, her voice low and almost sultry as it crackled through the line.
Mina swallowed.
“You know I love you, Mina-chan.”
“What if,” Mina spoke, her throat tight, “I didn’t want you to?”
“Huh?” Confusion painted Himiko’s tone. “Whaddya mean?”
“What if I don’t want you to kill people?”
“Well, that’s the thing, isn’t it? I don’t actually kill people. The only people that have died are the ones I love. They just don’t last very long when I love them,” Himiko breathed.
“But, I thought…” At this point, Mina had no idea what she’d thought.
“You found out about the kids from my old school, huh?” Himiko guessed, her tone curious but unbothered. “You shouldn’t worry about them. Those are all old crushes, and they aren’t so cute now. So, you’re the only person I love, kay?”
“Because they’re... dead, right?” Mina asked against her better judgment.
“Mmm,” Himiko hummed. “I guess so—but that shouldn't matter!” Giggles floated out of the phone, and Mina sighed, slumping back on her pillow.
This conversation helped her little. Mina still had no clue if it was a good idea to tell her friends about Himiko. With her luck, they’d probably think she’d lost it and gone villain or something. Nothing else could explain why her reaction to Himiko’s dark side was to be mildly worried rather than absolutely horrified.
Still, her itch to spill the beans wasn’t going to scratch itself.
“Truth or dare?” Mina asked, smirking at Sero and batting her eyelashes.
“Truth.”
“If it was possible, would you date a ghost?” Mina leaned forward into the circle of her friends, eager to hear his response.
“Well,” he started, rubbing his chin. “I mean, I dunno. Like, if I was dating someone and then they died, would I keep dating their ghost? Sure, I guess. But, like, a random ghost? Probably not. ‘s kinda weird, isn’t it?”
“Not weird if they’re hot,” Kaminari rebuked.
“Hey, now,” Sero laughed. “I know you’d date anything with a pulse that looked your way, but a ghost? What if they were ancient or something? Or sus?”
“Sus is sexy.” Kaminari shrugged.
“Depends on what kinda sus.” Sero shook his head, resigned.
“Fine,” Kaminari conceded. “I guess no serial killers or whatever...unless they’re cute.”
“Kaminari!” Kirishima choked. “Bro!”
“Don’t bother.” Bakugou rolled his eyes. “Sparky’s a degenerate. That’s not news.”
“Wait, guys,” Mina pleaded. “Be serious for a sec, kay?”
“You already asked Plain-Face his truth. Your turn’s over!”
“No! I’ve gotta tell you guys something.” Mina swatted at Bakugou. He growled and squinted at her but backed down, unwilling to expend more energy on wrangling their ‘shitty game night.’
“So, I met a girl,” Mina said, her cheeks flaming and palms perspiring. “She’s, uh...she’s my girlfriend.”
Kaminari and Sero whooped. Bakugou looked thoroughly uninterested, and Kirishima leaned over to wrap an arm around Mina in a side hug.
“Congrats, dude!” He grinned, releasing her. “That’s amazing!”
“Do we know her?” Sero asked.
“Well,” Mina squeaked, her nerves getting the better of her. “You don’t not know her…‘cause...we’ve kinda all talked to her before. Uh, a month ago...so…”
“Who?” Kaminari pressed, scooching closer, his eyes wide as saucers.
“You remember the phone call we made on Halloween?”
“The girl from the phone?” Sero cackled. “Wait, wait! You got her number?”
“Not exactly, she—”
“Is she cute? What’s she look like?” Kaminari butted in. “Are her hands soft?”
“Bro, c’mon,” Kirishima snorted, punching Kaminari in the arm.
“Um,” Mina laughed. “I don’t really know how her hands feel because we haven’t exactly…”
“Oh, are you guys long distance?” Kirishima asked.
“Sort of,” Mina laughed again, the sound nervous and uncomfortable to her ears.
“Spit it out, Raccoon Eyes!”
Mina sucked in a breath, secretly grateful for Bakugou’s no-nonsense demands. Getting the truth out was hard enough. Ripping the bandaid off was probably the least painful option at her disposal.
“Her name is Toga Himiko, and—please don’t laugh but—she’s a ghost. I have a girlfriend, and she’s a ghost…”
They laughed.
Who wouldn’t?
“Guys!”
“Sorry, Mina,” Kirishima winced, trying to stifle his laughter. “But you just said your girlfriend is a ghost, and that’s just...well...I dunno, dude. That’s a new one.”
“It’s bullshit,” Bakugou corrected.
“Hold on.” Kaminari frowned, his expression screwing up in deep concentration. “She’s, like, actually haunted, though, isn’t she? Sero and I were talking about it. So, if she’s haunted, couldn’t she also be telling the truth?” He looked from Sero to Kirishima, not bothering to look at Bakugou.
“I mean…” Sero mused, trailing off.
Kirishima shifted in his seat, befuddled and unsure.
“I’m not lying. I can prove it!” Mina blurted.
“Believe her or don’t,” Bakugou cut in. “I’m not gonna fall for her shitty prank attempt.”
“Honestly,” Kaminari said, “I believe her.”
“It’s okay, Mina.” Kirishima smiled, patting Mina’s knee. “You don’t have to prove anything.”
“So, what’s she like, though?” Sero asked.
“Um…”
“Racoon eyes, your girlfriend is a fucking serial killer!” Bakugou roared, slamming his phone down on the table.
“Yeah, but a dead one! She can't hurt anyone now! What's the harm?”
“What’s the HARM?” Spit was flying, and Bakugou’s face was an alarming shade of crimson. On all accounts, it was a normal lunch with Lord Explosion Murder.
“Mina!” Kirishima gasped, jerking to face her.
Sighing, Mina buried her face in her hands, letting her curls hide her embarrassed blush.
“I’ve still yet to hear if she’s cute,” Kaminari said, popping a piece of tofu into his mouth and chewing as though he hadn’t just heard one of his best friends accuse his other bestie of dating a serial killer.
Frankly, Mina was surprised the boys hadn’t put two and two together sooner. It must have been a slow day for heckling Deku if Bakugou had actually spent time googling Mina’s ‘bullshit ghost girlfriend.’
“To be fair, she can’t kill again…right?” Sero set his chopsticks aside.
“I don’t know,” Mina sighed, “but she said she won’t. So, it’s a moot point.”
“MOOT POINT? Because she made some shitty promise?!”
Mina was glad she’d finished eating already. There was no way there wouldn’t be Baku-spit in her food by now.
“I mean, I support you, Mina,” Kirishima said carefully. “But if she really is a, uh, serial killer…” He swallowed thickly. “I think you should probably exorcise her. That’s the right thing to do, I think—just to make sure she’s not going to hurt anyone, of course!”
Groaning, Mina slumped on the table, folding her arms over her head. Just great, she thought. How much more wrong could this whole relationship go?
“Are you mad at me?” Himiko asked, her voice smaller than normal.
“Huh?”
“You seem...upset or something.”
“Oh,” Mina said. “No, I’m not mad at you, babes. It’s not that.”
“What is it?”
“It’s just that...well…” Mina didn’t know how to put her thoughts into words, at least not in a way that wouldn’t potentially set Himiko off on the boys. “I dunno. School stuff. I don’t wanna bore you with it.”
“You could never bore me, Mina-chan,” Himiko chimed, her voice warm like spiced tea. “You’re the most interesting person I know—and not just ‘cause you’re alive. You’re pink and pretty and fun, and your eyes remind me of home.”
Warmth spread along Mina’s ribs, and she smiled into her pillow, unable to wallow in her blues when Himiko said such sweet things.
“Thanks, hun,” Mina said. “I can always count on you to cheer me up.” She paused and then added, “I wish we could do normal girlfriend stuff.”
“Normal girlfriend stuff?”
Mina could hear Himiko’s confused frown.
“We aren’t...normal?” she asked.
“Aww, babes. I don’t mean it like that, but to be honest, yeah. We aren’t really traditional, are we? You’re dead, and I’m alive.”
“Do you wish I was alive like you?” Himiko’s tone was guarded, and Mina wasn’t sure what answer, if any, the girl hoped to hear back.
“I wish we could hold hands,” Mina replied. “And I wish that, on bad days, we could do nice things for each other. Like, make cookies or something. But I love you the way you are, okay? It’s alright that we’re different. It’s just a little hard sometimes. Does that make sense?”
“Oh!” Himiko gasped in understanding. “I get it! You want me to make you cookies, then?”
“Tch,” Mina snorted. “Yeah, that’d be nice. Don’t worry about it, though. Talking is enough.”
Perhaps, Mina had sounded too wistful on their last phone call because, when the time came for Himiko to call the following night, she did not. Instead, she showed up at Mina’s door... in Bakugou’s body.
“Mina-chan!” Bakugou squealed outside Mina’s door, knocking eagerly.
At once, Mina knew something was wrong. Bakugou never squealed, and he never called her ‘Mina-chan,’ much less a name other than ‘Racoon Eyes’ or ‘Pinky.’
“Himiko?” Mina hissed, opening her door a crack and yanking the poor boy through before slamming it shut again. “Are you possessing my friend right now?”
“Yeah! Totally cute, right?” She—or rather, Bakugou—beamed. It was all deeply unsettling; his face wasn’t meant to make such expressions.
With Bakugou’s hands, Himiko held a pan of rather sorry looking, misshapen sugar cookies. The dough looked undercooked in places and burnt in others. Lumpy red frosting was splattered across their tops, and several looked outright inedible.
“Here!” She thrust the pan toward Mina. “You said you wanted cookies and to do living things. So,” she blushed furiously, Bakugou’s face turning cherry red (not unlike how it did when he yelled), “I made you these, and we can hang out now!”
“Oh, sweetie,” Mina groaned. “You’re too kind, really, but he’s gonna be so mad.”
“Kacchan will be?” Himiko tilted Bakugou’s head, eyes going wide.
“K-kacchan?” Mina choked. “Babes, please tell me you didn’t talk to people while possessing Bakugou’s body.
“Only the cute boy with freckles. No one else,” Himiko promised.
“He’s gonna kill me,” Mina said, selecting the least offensive looking cookie from the pan and taking a bite. “Pfft-ah! Himiko! Hun, by chance, did you mix up the salt and sugar?”
“No.” Himiko shook Bakugou’s head. “I didn’t use the salt because, well...I didn’t. I used baking soda!”
“Right,” Mina said, discreetly pocketing the remains of the truly heinous cookie in her pajama pants pocket.
“So, living stuff?” Himiko hummed expectantly.
Mina was at a loss for what to do. She couldn’t very well hang out with Himiko while she was puppeteering Bakugou’s body. He would kill her, and then Mina would only be doing dead girl things with Himiko. Still, it felt bad to usher her girlfriend out when she’d done something that she’d believed to be what Mina wanted. And it was a sweet gesture, even if it was poorly executed and a bit creepy.
In the end, she settled on letting Himiko stay for one movie and platonic cuddles only! She wasn’t about to get killed, summoned back, and killed again all because Himiko tried to smooch her wearing Bakugou’s skin. No way!
Himiko had been understanding enough, especially when Mina explained that she only wanted to kiss her and not her friends. Luckily, Himiko had found that deeply romantic and agreed to be a good guest in the body she’d borrowed.
Even in Bakugou’s body, it was surreal to be with Himiko like this. Mina had never been able to see her, not truly. She’d seen shadows, felt cold touches, but she’d never seen Himiko move—never been able to observe her physical mannerisms.
She watched Himiko chew her lower lip and memorized the way her eyes scrunched when she was amused. She took note of how freely and frequently Himiko blushed and cherished how quick she was to smile.
She wished she could have seen Himiko in her own body.
Transfixed by her girlfriend’s spirited habits, Mina decided she would worry about Bakugou’s wrath later.
She didn’t have to wait long.
Bakugou was furious and out for blood.
But not Mina’s.
He wanted Himiko gone, and he wanted it to happen yesterday.
Suddenly, Mister ‘I Don’t Believe in Spirits’ was all aboard the ‘exorcise her express,’ and he wasn’t about to wait for Mina to do it herself.
His first attempt to banish Himiko didn’t work, but he wasn’t about to fail twice.
So, the night that Himiko didn’t call, Mina cried herself to sleep, certain she’d never hear from her serial killer ghost girlfriend again.
After having her girlfriend exorcized, Mina didn’t know what to do with herself. She wasn’t single now, was she? She didn’t feel single, and she missed Himiko so deeply that, for the first month after losing her, she didn’t talk to Bakugou at all—to the point that the rest of her friends started badgering him to apologize. He didn’t, and frankly, Mina didn’t want him to.
She wasn’t planning to cut him off forever. She just needed time and some space to think.
Eventually, the pain of missing Himiko dulled, but it never faded. Mina’s heart was haunted by memories of the time they shared, and she didn’t want to forget, even if things would have been better that way.
And…
She had an ace up her sleeve that she hoped would be enough to reunite them.
Ten months and thirteen days after losing Himiko, Mina steeled her resolve. She was getting her girlfriend back, come hell, high water, or Bakugou’s belligerence.
Pulling her coat around herself, Mina perched on the roof of 2-A’s dorm building, her knees tucked up to her chest. Gossamer rays of pale, blue moonlight illuminated the rooftop, and Mina’s eyes shone, reflecting the twinkling autumn stars.
From her pocket, she retrieved a battered, pink flip phone. Punching a number in, she held it to her ear, her hands shaking, though not from the chill in the air.
The line rang, and it rang.
And Mina’s chest grew tight, and she was certain that—
“Spirit Connections, who may I spook you with?”
“Toga Himiko,” Mina breathed.
There was a pause, and then…
“You’ll have until 3 am to complete your call, at which time your connection may drop, unless...well...unless you invite the spirit to haunt you. One moment while I connect you.”
The same instrumental cover of “Spooky Scary Skeletons” from the year before played while the call transferred, and Mina couldn’t contain her smile.
After the call connected, there was a moment of silence, followed by a sharp inhale on the other side of the line. It was all she needed to hear, and the sound of it nearly stopped her heart.
“Babes,” Mina said, her voice shaking and saturated with emotion. “I’ve been dyin’ to talk to you.”