Chapter Text
Izuku sat watching the sun slowly set then the stars coming out one by one. He finally stood up as the darkness of night made the pavement below hard to see.
His tears had long dried leaving salt tracks on his freckled cheeks and his eyes were void of any spark of life he once had. He was ready.
"Will you catch me?" He whispered. The shadowy figure had been there since he'd made his decision hours ago. They stretched out their skeletal hands invitingly.
"Of course, child." Their white bone hands contrasted sharply with their formless black cloak that shifted in a non existent breeze. Their abyss-like eyes were somehow warm and comforting.
Izuku sighed in relief as he leaned forward into the figure's embrace. He didn't feel or hear the impact of his body hitting the pavement below as he was wrapped up in Death's soft cloak.
"All I wanted was to help people. Was that so bad?" He whispered numbly. Death gently stroked his hair.
"Do you still wish to? You can still help people."
Izuku looked up into Death's pitch black irises that held nothing, a deep endless void.
"How?"
"You could become a Reaper. You could comfort the souls of those who die and guide them to the afterlife."
"Really?"
"Yes. But it'll be hard. You cannot save people as a Reaper, only comfort and guide them when their time runs out. Do you understand?"
"Yes. I understand."
"Do you want to become a Reaper?"
"Yes."
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Izuku twirled his scythe as he walked along the rail of a tall tower building. He was waiting for any signal that someone was dying or dead. It was unnervingly peaceful tonight. Usually there would be about half a dozen deaths in a night for a city like Musutafu but tonight Izuku has only guided two souls to the afterlife.
It's been two years since he's become a Reaper. He'd be fourteen now if he still aged. Death was kind to him, as were the other Reapers. He liked comforting and helping the souls of the dead and he’d found friends in Cat and Hawthorn. Reapers had nicknames as a way of leaving behind their former selves, his was Greeny. Really, he was happy like this.
A sudden twinge in his senses had his head snapping up in the direction of the signal. With a flourish of his blade, he disappeared from the roof.
The scene he appeared at was not pretty. They rarely ever were. A woman laid bleeding and a man towered over her, violating her. The ever growing pool of blood under them clearly indicated why he'd sensed it.
The woman laid unmoving, eyes slowly losing their light. Her dull gaze latched onto him as a single, last tear rolled from the corner of her eye.
Then she was there. A ghostly apparition stood near him. He smiled softly at her.
"It's okay. I'll guide you now." He held out his hand for her to take. She did, looking resigned. He gently pulled her into a hug and she buried her face into his shoulder muffling her sobs.
"Are you Death?" She asked when her sobs became sniffles.
"No. I'm not Death. I'm a Reaper. I help Death guide souls to the afterlife." Izuku explained kindly.
"The afterlife?" She whispered. Izuku nodded.
"Mmhmm. Don't worry, you can find peace there."
She suppressed another sob and took a second to compose herself.
"O-okay. I'm ready."
Izuku smiled and with a practiced swing of his scythe, he tore open a pathway for her.
"Rest in peace Hinami." He called after her as she stepped into the tear and disappeared.
Izuku then left without looking back at the disgusting man and the body of his victim.
Vile.