Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izuku had many things on his bucket list to-do. Summoning a ghost was not one of them.

"Hey, deku. have you heard the rumor?" Katsuki spoke up as he shoved Izuku's shoulder to the hard concrete of the wall.

"Wha-what rumor..?" he sheepishly replied.

As Izuku was about to begin asking questions, a notebook was thrown in front of him by another one of Katsuki's cronies.

Inside, Izuku read out the instructions written in big bold handwriting, which Izuku recognized as his childhood friend's.

"There's a rumor going around that a supernatural lives in the bathroom of the old school building. We thought it'd be funny to watch you piss your pants after seeing a ghost, so entertain us the best you can. we'll have someone watching over your sorry ass to make sure you dont run away.

1. Head to the old school building and make sure NO ONE sees you.

2. Go to the third floor girls bathroom on the left side of the building and knock on the third stall from the door.

Knock, Knock, Knock.

3. Say the following chant out loud:

"Hanako-san, Hanako-san. are you in there?"

4. Open the stall door and wait for a reply.

The young green haired boy anxiously turned the toilet stall hinge, only to find an empty stall. He sighed in relief. Until he spoke too soon as he felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

"Riiight here."

─

"GAAAAAHHH!!!" Izuku screeched out as he turned his head around wildly, looking for the source of the ghastly voice, backing away into a corner.

"Bahahahah!!! you should've seen the look on your face!" replied the floating jumpscare.

"WHO-WHO ARE YOU!?"

"Huuh? you summoned me, didn't you? y'should atleast know who i am."

"WHY ARE YOU A GUY!? THIS IS A GIRLS BATHROOM!"

"I could ask you the same question"

A long silence passed between the two.

"Let's just ignore that.."

"Agreed."

"So what's your wish, mop-head?"

Izuku was about to comment on the nickname, but he was more focused on the wish part.

"I-I dont.. I don't really know what my wish is."

"..seriously? you go through all the trouble to summon me just to waste both of our time?"

"Do i have to make a wish?"

"Duh."

"Uh, then i guess it'd be─"
He was abruptly interrupted by the ghost boy. effectively shushing him my putting a finger over his lips.

"First of all! there are some rules to wish-making."

"Which are..?

"One! i can't fullfill genetically impossible wishes, like wishing for a quirk." Izuku sighed. "Two, the greater the wish, the greater the consequences. like for example, if you wish for millions of dollars, you'll have to pay an equal price. if you wish for a donut, you're free to go!" Izuku snickered. Who would wish for a donut?

"Alright then, i guess my wish will be.." he leaned in closer to the ghost's ear, whispering his answer.

"Woah. are you really sure? that's quite the strange wish."

"100 percent sure."

"Alright then, wish granted!" he launched himself full throttle onto the scrawny boy, physically stumbling him back onto the tiled floor.

"HUH!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Izuku's face heated up as Hanako squeezed the life out of him. He'd never been so close to someone, let alone a ghost.

"You wished for a friend, Duh!"

Chapter Text

Izuku wheezed as Hanako finally let him go, floating just above him with a grin that could only be described as pure evil.

“You're really warm, mop-head. I like that.” Hanako propped his chin on his hand, still hovering upside down. “You sure you just wanted a friend, or is there something else you want?” he added with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Izuku sputtered, flailing. “I–I–I just wanted a friend! That’s all! I’ve never really had any, so I–I figured if ghosts are real, then—then maybe I could—!”

Hanako laughed again. “You're lucky I'm so generous. Most humans just get cursed or eaten.” He winked. “But you’re kinda cute. I think I’ll keep you.”

“I’m not cute—! And I’m not a dog!” Izuku turned red, scrambling to his feet. But Hanako only smirked wider at the reaction.

Just then, the bathroom door creaked open.

“Hanako-saaan?” Yashiro’s voice rang out.

Izuku panicked, trying to hide himself behind one of the stalls. Oh no. A girl. In the girls bathroom. And I’m still here. I'm going to get expelled. Or worse. Suspended.

Yashiro paused as she stepped inside. Her eyes landed on Hanako—and then immediately narrowed at the extra set of shoes peeking out from behind a stall.

“...Why is there a boy in the girls' bathroom?” she deadpanned.

Hanako blinked, completely unfazed. “Oh, that’s Midoriya. He summoned me earlier. Very heartfelt wish. I made him my assistant!”

“Your what?! I didn't agree to this!” Izuku yelped, stepping out from behind the door.

Yashiro raised a brow, unimpressed. “I heard him screech from the hallway! do you know what boundaries are, Hanako!?”

"Boundaries are the space in-between life and dea─"

"NOT THOSE BOUNDARIES!" Yashiro seethed, elbowing the ghost, hard.

Yashiro furrowed her brows, clearly not having a good time.

"Anyway, I'm so sorry about him. he's usually, wait, no, he's always like this. I’m his assistant. It's.. a weird situation."

Hanako casually slung an arm over her shoulder. “She summoned me first! We’re very close.”

Yashiro elbowed him again even harder, cheeks pink. “Don’t say it like that!”

Izuku looked between them — the weird ghost who had just flattened him like a pancake, and the girl who somehow seemed both flustered and completely used to this. He had the distinct, creeping feeling that he had just walked in on something that wasn’t meant for a third party.

“…Should I come back later?” he asked meekly.

Hanako laughed. “Nope! You’re one of us now, mop-head.”

“I really don’t think I'm—”

“You wished for a friend, didn’t you?” Hanako leaned in with a wink. “Well, consider Yashiro an add-on!”

“Anyway!” Hanako clapped his hands as he floated back down from the roof. “Since you’re both here, we might as well get to work. Lots of supernaturals roaming around, and I need my loyal assistants to help keep things from spiraling into a total horror movie.”

They continues to chitter on, continuing their makeshift "New assistant orientation."

Kou burst in through the open door, holding a golden staff with a seal on it. "I sensed something weird going on again! Hanako, what did you do now?"

Hanako floated lazily toward him, resting his chin in his hand. “Hi! Kou-kun. We were having a little assistant orientation.”

Yashiro waved, still flustered. “He’s not kidding. Hanako added another one.”

Kou blinked, his gaze landing on Izuku.

"Wait. Why is Deku here?”

“Who are you!?” Izuku wailed.

Kou looked like he was about to explode. “Dude, everyone in our grade knows you! aren't you the quirkless kid Katsuki picks on?"

"..Yeah.."

“You're in junior high class 3-A right? I'm from 3-B, Minamoto Kou! Nice to finally meet someone who's my age!”

"Nice to meet you too!” Izuku said, voice strangely higher pitched than usual.

Strangely, he felt more at home with the three than he had felt at home with his 'friends', e.g Katsuki, in a while.

Chapter Text

Bakugo had no time for rumors.

And yet, here he was, tailing one.

The now resurfacing rumor of the 4th step on the stairs near the art room nicknamed the "Misaki stairs".

He didn’t believe in ghosts. But he did believe in weird behavior, and lately, Midoriya had been acting suspicious as hell — disappearing after class, whispering to upperclassmen, and hanging around the old building. When Bakugo caught sight of him talking to a girl from the high school division — Yashiro, was it? — and that weird blond kid from 3-B with the traffic safety earring.

But then he saw Aoi Akane, the most popular girl from the highschool division go into the stairwell.

Alone.

She looked… off. Like her steps weren’t hers.

Bakugo’s gut clenched. Something was wrong. He charged after her.

“Aoi-senpai?”

She didn’t turn around to face him, didn't even acknowledge him. Then she vanished.

No scream, no sound. Just gone.

“What the—?!” As Katsuki ran after her to investigate, he barely had time to process before a sudden weightlessness hit him — like the floor dropped out beneath him. A tug. A lurch.

And the world twisted sideways.

─

Yashiro blinked at the empty seat beside her.

Aoi was late. Aoi was never late. She always came early to wipe her desk with that weird floral handkerchief and gossip about teacher rumors, blissfully chatting away.

But today?

Nothing.

“Nene-chan, are you okay?” asked a classmate.

“Yeah, it’s just… Aoi didn’t come to school.”

“..Aoi?”

Yashiro turned. “Akane Aoi. My best friend? The most popular girl in our grade? Sits right here?”

The girl gave her a puzzled smile. “I don’t think anyone like that’s in our class.”

Yashiro’s heart dropped.

─

Meanwhile, in Kamome middle school Class 3-A, Midoriya stared at the desk behind him.

Empty.

No bag. No books. No shouting. No Bakugo Katsuki.

It didn’t feel right.

He leaned toward the kid in front of him. “Hey… where’s Bakugo today?”

“Bakugo?”

“Yeah, you know him. the one with the super useful explosion quirk?”

The boy blinked. “There’s no one named Bakugo in our class.”

Izuku’s stomach twisted. “What?… he’s always—”

The teacher entered. “Midoriya, eyes forward.”

“But he—” he glanced at the desk again.

His breath caught.

There was no desk behind him.

─

That afternoon, Yashiro practically sprinted into the old building, heart beating a million miles a minute.

She flung open the third-floor bathroom door. “Hanako-san! something’s wrong!”

Hanako paused his game of poker as he was playing against a mokke and he raised his brow.

“Yashiro. You’re yelling.”

“It’s Aoi!” she snapped. “She’s gone. Her desk’s empty, and no one remembers her except me!”

Hanako tilted his head, smile fading. “...Ah.”

A ripple of unease passed through the air.

“That would be the work of one of the Seven Mysteries,” he said calmly. “Most likely the Misaki Stairs, it's gotten popular again.”

Down in the hallway, Izuku skidded to a stop outside the same bathroom. His eyes were wide and frantic.

“Yashiro-san!” he gasped. “Kacchan—Bakugo’s—he’s gone! No one remembers him, not even our teacher!”

Yashiro’s heart sank. “Another one!?”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Izuku asked. “This has to be supernatural, right? It has to be.”

Hanako nodded from the edge of the window he was perching on. “I’m afraid you’re both correct.”

“The Misaki Stairs are one of the Seven Mysteries of Kamome Academy. Those who are unfortunate enough to encounter it by stepping on the fourth cursed step are dragged into its boundary — and those who step into a boundary have their existence erased from the memory of mortals, excluding humans who have a connection to the supernatural. Which means you guys.

Kou then arrived minutes later, sweat on his brow.

“Yashiro-senpai!” he said. “Spiritual energy on the third floor. It’s heavy! i also don't see Aoi-senpai anywhere, what happened to her?”

“You’re right on time,” Hanako said smoothly. “We’re forming a little rescue party.”

Kou stared at him. “Rescue party for what?”

Hanako gave him a quick run-down.

“We can try,” Hanako said. “But we need to move quickly. The longer they’re inside the boundary, the more their ties to the real world fade. Once everyone forgets them… they’ll disappear for good.”

Izuku swallowed hard.

“I’m going in.”

“Usually, i wouldn't help a supernatural with anything,” Kou said, staff ready. "But since it's Deku and Yashiro-senpai's friends, I'll make an exception this time. Don't consider this a regular thing, I still don't trust you, Hanako."

“Thank you, Kou-kun. Count me in as well." Yashiro added.

Hanako smiled — a dark, knowing smirk.

“You’re all such trouble,” he said fondly.

─

Chapter Text

"Nene-chan, have you heard the rumor?"

"The rumor of the Misaki Stairs: the second School Mystery or Kamome academy. The rumor goes that you aren't allowed to step on the fourth step of said stairwell, lest you want to get dragged to the realm of the dead and find yourself mutilated by scissors, chopped up into hundreds of pieces.
By morning, the blood of the mutilated victims drip from the cracks of the strairwell." Aoi told the rumor in a hushed voice.

"W-Wait, the stairs you're talking about are..?"

"The stairs in front of the third floor art room. Many students have seen blood drip from the stairs.." Aoi paused, seeing her friend's face go pale

"Huh? don't you like these types of rumors, nene-chan?"

"NO!─NO, I DO! I DO!" Yashiro tried to clear her name.

It was more that every rumor Aoi told her ended up coming true, first it was Hanako of the toilet, then the Mokke.. Was this one going to come true as well?

"Aoi, please come to the art room for a consultation on your work and studies. 4:30 PM." A teacher interrupted before Aoi got to continue the rumor.

"Ah, okay! coming!" Aoi bolted off, but still gave Nene a small smile as she rushed off to follow the teacher.

─

Remembering her dear friend, Yashiro's heart felt heavier as the four teens headed to the afformentioned stairs. Could she really save her? was she strong enough to power herself through? even with Hanako and two underclassmen backing her up? She wasn't sure. Yashiro was only sure that Aoi needed her help, and that she was more than ready to save her best friend.

Izuku noticed Yashiro's dilemma, and gently put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yashiro-senpai? are you okay?"

Apon the contact, Nene visibly jolted, in which the green haired boy quickly apologized profusely at anything he may or may not have done wrong.

The staircase groaned open beneath them, revealing an unnatural blood red seeping through the cracks. It wasn’t a place — it was a boundary. Alive, watchful.

Hanako gave them a thin smile. “Everyone ready?”

“No,” Yashiro said. “But when has that stopped us before?”

"Before we step in.." Hanako paused. "Every boundary has a source of its energy, called a Yorishiro. it takes the form of the school mystery's most prized object. as long as we destroy it, we can defeat the school mystery."

Kou stepped forward, staff pulsing faintly. “Then let’s find them and get out. As fast as we possibly can.”

Izuku clutched the talisman Hanako had handed him earlier to protect himself with, heart pounding.

Hanako floated over the fourth step. “Watch your footing. And whatever happens—”

“—Don’t look back,” Yashiro finished grimly.

They made the fourth step, and slowly but surely the world around them twisted into a spiraling mess of blur, color, and light. By the time Izuku could look up, he saw the only the red torii gates of Nana Fushigi's boundary.

Heart pounding, the green haired boy took the first step forward, with only one goal in mind;

Save Kacchan.

─

Inside the Boundary, The air was heavy. Pressed down on their shoulders like a curse, and added on to the creeping feeling of stepping into a place in-between the land of the living and the realm of the dead

Everything felt wrong, Izuku wanted to hurl.

The staircases twisted into unnatural spirals, bleeding into one another with a barely clear up or down direction, which caused Kou to nearly trip upwards on a stairwell that was heading down. Red torii gates loomed overhead, flickering in and out of view like mirages. The sky — if it could even be called that, was a deep, and suffocating inky black.

Ancient-looking bright red buildings with Taisho era architectured roofs blending into one-another, adding to the eerie vibe the place was giving off. The bright glow of the many lanterns didn't help Izuku from shaking in his boots at every direction he turned.

"This really is another world.. the atmosphere is completely different from the school's." Yashiro pondered as she clutched her chest.

Izuku held his talisman tighter, it seemed to ground him ─ having even a bit of borrowed power was quite comforting.

“Stay close,” Hanako warned, already on alert. “This place feeds on fear.”

Yashiro exhaled shakily. “Then it must be getting a full-course meal from me right now.”

Hanako floated ahead, knife in hand. “Misaki’s boundary is built on rules. Break one, and it takes something from you.”

"Whoa!" Yashiro spun around, only now noticing the creepy dolls littered around the pathway.

"These are.. dolls?" Izuku hurriedly rushed over to the doll Nene pointed at, eyeing it curiously.

As they presumed their walk up the stairs submerged in water, Nene poked her finger into the water anxiously only to pull away, much to the confusion of Kou and Midoriya.

─

Elsewhere in the Boundary

Bakugo’s knuckles were white around the broken railing.

“Tch! This place is screwing with my head.”

He could feel it: something pressing against his memories, erasing the edges of his thoughts. Already, he was forgetting the faces of people he knew. How long had he been in here? Minutes? Hours?

Aoi stumbled beside him, dazed. “Katsuki-kun… do you remember what the voice said to us?”

He grunted, still eyeing the discarded dolls whose faces were covered with a paper which has "two" written on it along the pathway. “Some creepy voice. Asking questions.”

“Right. About body parts. About... Misaki?”

She looked down, at the steps beneath their feet. Then at the dolls, Then back to the ground.

The ground that was sucking the two of them in.

Bakugo yelped and tried to claw his way out, only to find himself powerless. When he tried to use his quirk, nothing came out.

Doll hands dragged them deeper into the boundary, and Akane could feel herself losing consciousness.

─

Chapter Text

As they further ventured in the boundary, the eerie silence was shattered by the low clunk of a locked door up ahead.

Hanako frowned, hovering forward. “That wasn’t closed before..”

Yashiro rattled the handle uselessly. “It won’t budge.”

Just as Kou stepped forward to try brute force, several sharp "Ring!"s echoed through the stairwell, a red vintage rotary phone sitting on a pedestal beside the door. Its twisted cord snaked into the wall, pulsing faintly with a red light.

Yashiro stepped forward and hesitantly picked up the phone. “…Hello?”

There was static — and then, a cold, clipped voice:
"It's me." a Ghostly voice on the other end spoke up.

"Hello, um, who are you? Yashiro fidgeted. The other three boys stepped closer to the telephone.

"Misaki."

'A call from one of the seven Mysteries!?' Nene thought to herself, heart beating loud in her chest.

The voice continued. "I was once a teacher. I taught students in the school-house at the top of this stairway. But, I was killed here and mercilessly ripped to pieces.."

Yashiro trembled, her lip quivering. Izuku continued to scan the room, stil eyeing the various dolls. he had a gut feeling they were watching them.

"Now, human.. " The static voice continues.

"Would you find a body for me?"

"First, my arm. my right arm, in which i wrote letters on the blackboard with."

"W-wait! where's Aoi─"

"Be quick. Class is about to start." the ghastly voice said, as it hung up. only white noise could be heard after that.

A distorted click echoed like a heartbeat, and in the distance, a massive clunk reverberated through the boundary. It was followed by a sharp shhkk, and then the soft grinding of sand falling through glass.

“There's a timer?” Kou muttered, brow furrowed.

“Looks like we’re on a schedule,” Hanako hummed. “Let’s start hunting.”

─

They spread out through the twisting halls and corridors, the boundary warping subtly with every turn. Izuku took careful steps, eyes sharp.

The echo of the hourglass fading into silence left a palpable weight in the air.

“I hate this place,” Yashiro muttered, brushing off the dust and unsettling goosebumps crawling up her arms.

“No arguments here,” Kou said, staff at the ready. “We need to get outta here as fast as we can.”

Izuku looked around. This room — if you could call it that — stretched like a warped hallway, flanked by shoji doors, wooden drawers, shadowy cabinets, and shrines that seemed a little too well-maintained for a ghost-infested realm. Faint red lanterns floated overhead, and the floor creaked beneath every step.

Hanako clapped his hands once. “Alright, team. The box needs one of the arms. The right one. I say we poke around.”

“We’re not splitting up, right?” Yashiro asked warily

“Nah,” Kou said. “Let’s just spread out. Stay where we can still see each other.”

Izuku nodded, gripping his talisman. “Let’s move quickly.”

─

Izuku moved to a shelf near a shrine.

Most of it was dust and ash, but one drawer creaked open with a strange pressure — like something wanted him to look inside.

Inside, nestled among bits of paper and hair ties, was a soft fabric doll arm. It was stitched with uneven thread, patchworked with fading colors, but there was something warm about it. Familiar. Like someone had held it for comfort, once.

He reached out, and as his fingers brushed the arm—

Whispers.

“He didn’t scream when I cried…”
“Even when I had no mouth… he listened.”

The voice echoed in his mind, brushing his thoughts with icy silk.

Izuku shivered, pulling the arm closer.

“Midoriya?” Yashiro’s voice called from across the room.

“I found something!” he answered.

Across the way, Yashiro held up a pristine mannequin arm, smooth and artificial, with red-painted nails. “There are tons of these. Like someone was building a doll from scratch.”

Kou tugged open a closet and yanked out a dusty wooden muscle arm, carved in fine detail like an anatomy model. "This one's great!” he snickered, lightening up the mood.

"Take this seriously, Kou-kun!" Nene gave him a small jab in which Minamoto pouted.

Hanako floated above an old trunk, flipping it open lazily.

“Found mine,” he announced, holding up a robot arm that crackled faintly with electricity. “Kinda stylish, don’tcha think?”

“Why would that be here?” Yashiro asked, half-exasperated.

“This boundary pulls junk from all over the school. Probably from the tech room,” Hanako replied, spinning the arm like a toy.

The four of them gathered in front of the offering box.

The arm options lay in a messy row: fabric, mannequin, wooden, robot.

“This one looks closest to a real person’s,” Yashiro said, gesturing to hers.

“But that wooden one feels handcrafted,” Kou argued.

“I… I heard something when I touched this one,” Izuku admitted, eyes still on the patchwork doll limb. “A voice. Like she was crying.”

Hanako’s smile faded slightly. “You heard her?”

Izuku nodded slowly. “I think it’s… I think it’s hers.”

The others went quiet.

Then— CLINK.

"You're late.. You're late! now, who's the naughty kid that's late for class?"

The hourglass in the far corner shattered. Red sand scattered across the floor.

“…Class?” Yashiro whispered.

The lanterns dimmed.

"The timer ran out!" Nene yelped.

And then— click. click. click.

Doll heads began to twist toward them. One by one, the dolls on shelves, inside cabinets, hanging in corners began to move.

“WAAGH!” Kou yelled, swinging his staff as the nearest doll lunged.

A shadow flickered— SNIP!

The scissors descended, floating towards them with an aggresive "SNIP!" sound following each step the four took.

"GYAAAAH!" everyone yelped in unison, only barely avoiding being chopped in half.

Just then, a doll tried to cut through Izuku's chest with a pair of scissors from behind, aiming straight for his heart.

Izuku froze—until something in his chest snapped.

A spark. Green, Violent, yet raw.

Something, some unknown force pushed the doll off of his back.

His eyes glowed for a second. Just barely a split second.

Hanako most definitely noticed.

“Midoriya—!”

“I’M FINE!” Izuku shouted, staggering back.

“KID! THROW THE ARM!” Hanako barked.

"Y'DONT NEED TO ORDER ME AROUND!" Kou grabbed the fabric arm Izuku had found and tossed it into the offering box.

The dolls froze mid-motion, and the scissors vanished into mist.

Then, the door finally creaked open and just like that, the pressure lifted.

The group collapsed against the closed door, gasping.

“Good call, Deku,” Hanako said softly.

Izuku nodded, but didn’t respond.

He was still clutching his chest.

Still feeling the strange pulse of power that had surged through him.

What was that?

And why did Hanako look worried?

─

Chapter Text

As they reached the top of the stairwell, the fifth and final door creaked open.

Beyond it stretched only darkness.

No hallway. No windows. Just a vast, dark, fog-filled chamber, with water rippling across the tile floor under their shoes. Each step sent a faint splash echoing through the dark room, but otherwise, the space was oppressively silent.

Then—

“Eep—!” Yashiro stumbled, catching her foot on something soft beneath the water’s surface. A lump. Cloth? She crouched to feel it, but a cold unease slithered down her spine, a chill went down her back.

Hanako waved lazily behind him. “Yup. Feels like the finale to me.”

A figure approached through the fog.

Click. Click. Click. Shoes tapping against the floor—elegant, deliberate.

It was Misaki.

But it wasn't?

"Is that.. Misaki?" Izuku wobbled to take a closer look, still gripping his self-defense talisman.

"No, Misaki shouldn't have a body. that's why we looked for body parts earlier." Hanako replied.

"Then.. who's this?"

She wore a warm, almost maternal smile as she came into view. “Welcome. You’ve made it all the way here.”

"She's beautiful.." Nene commented.

"Hey, Yako." Hanako waved his ghostly hand lazily at the School Mystery.

"You." Yako snarled.

Then she spotted the fabric head—toppled near Yashiro’s feet.

The warmth drained from her face. “How—how dare you kick my doll!”

Yako stormed forward, picked up the fallen head, and returned it to a twisted form that had been sitting quietly behind her: the doll. The very one the group had assembled earlier with mismatched limbs—fabric, metal, mannequin parts, even a bike wheel.

It stared blankly ahead, now whole.

Yashiro swallowed. “Where are the missing students?”

Yako turned to her curiously, tilting her head just slightly. “Don’t you see them?”

The fog in the room began to thin.

And as it did, the shadows grew clearer—rows and heaps of limp shapes, slouched across the walls, half-submerged in the shallow water. Doll bodies. Stitched seams, Some with human silhouettes, others barely holding together.

Kou stepped back in alarm.

Izuku couldn’t move.

Right at the front, crumpled together near the base of a pillar, were Aoi and Katsuki.

Both unnervingly still.

Each had a paper seal over their faces, the same single kanji scrawled across the center: "2"

Yashiro dropped to her knees and pulled the fabric-weighted version of Aoi close, her hands trembling. “No… this can’t be…”

Izuku stared at Katsuki’s doll-like form—his limbs rigid, seams at his joints like he’d been sewn together. His voice failed him. Something inside him cracked wide open.

A sharp whir cut through the silence.

“Watch out!” Kou lunged, shielding midoriya with his arm.

A pair of scissors struck his sleeve and buried themselves deep. But what tore free wasn’t blood—it was stuffing. His arm began to unravel, fabric replacing skin, thread and all.

“Wha—what's this?!”

Hanako narrowed his eyes.

“We’re not at the deepest part of the boundary yet.”

“Huh?” Yashiro turned her head around,

And before anyone could react, he grabbed Yashiro by the wrist.

“Hanako-kun—what are you—?!”

“If it’s not up here..” He grinned, tying her hands swiftly with red thread.

Then he spun her toward the edge of the stairwell behind them.

“It has to be down there!”

With one hand, Hanako pushed her backward—down into the abyss of steps below.

“Wait—!” Kou and Izuku shouted at once.

Too late.

She disappeared down the stairwell, her voice echoing as she fell.

Hanako adjusted his sleeves and turned back toward the foggy chamber with his classic smirk, knife in hand. “Well, let’s wrap this up.”

The doll moved.

So did Yako.

Scissor blades shimmered in the air again—this time faster, thrown with uncanny precision. Kou stumbled to the side, holding his transforming arm close. Izuku ducked, shielding the ragdoll, cloth-like version of Katsuki with his arms.

His chest ached.

His fingers closed around the crumpled talisman Hanako had given him earlier.

And something shifted.

The talisman evaporated like air, and the spiritual energy inside the self-defense talisman Hanako gave him pulsed—drawing into his body like a current seeking a path.

It was cold. Sharp. But it filled him in an instant.

It seemed like time stopped moving in that moment, Hanako and Kou, even Yako felt the presence of something new. Something that wasn't supposed to be there.

The air dropped in temperature around him. Izuku’s outline flickered—briefly translucent, like he was a ghost of sorts.

He raised his head to look up at the School Mystery, Katsuki in his arms, in a makeshift bridal-style carry.

When his eyes lifted, they carried a different look.

Not quite his own.

A smirk ghosted across his face—almost smug. Almost playful.

Hanako’s energy surged through him, twisting his aura for just a moment.

The real Hanako stared at him in bewilderment.

"Wait, did he just absorb the energy i put into that talisman? Hey─that's my smirk!"

Kou barely managed to stifle a giggle.