~O~

With a smile that was either taunting or reassuring, Deku-san asked,

"What's a hero course girl doing in here~?"

Uraraka blinked twice, a little confused upon the boy's question, "Eh? Um... What I'm doing in here? Uh..."

Now what was she supposed to say? She had no idea what was she supposed to tell a ghost what she was doing in his little haunting area that looked worse than a basement that had been locked for over ten years. Ashido sent her there to summon the ghost out of curiosity and just for a pint of entertainment but since no matter how many rumors there had been, the only logical thing that came to mind was; ghosts aren't real dammit!!!

And now that there was a real ghost boy — who was rather innocent looking for someone with rumors to kill students — consider her having the greatest panic of their entire life. Sure the ghost boy looked innocent and his aura screamed safety, she was still unsure what that smile of his meant but one shouldn't judge a book by its cover!! Danger was still at hand! She didn't know what this ghost was capable of! Rumors are rumors and in Deku-san's case there were many different rumors and she didn't know which one to go along with.

A quick mental slap to herself and Uraraka tried her hardest to put her herself together so she could think of a way out of this. Now, she wasn't the smartest tool in the shed but she knew that this situation would either kill her or grant her everything she wished for.

"Hello~? I'm still here, you know..." Deku-san stated and with his next statement a mischievous smirk crawled onto his face as he closed in a little towards the brunette, "Spacing out like that... Its almost like you got scared by me a little too much."

Uraraka shivered at the ghost's gesture, 'Oh damn right you got me scared... Pretty sure you're gonna kill me next. I hate you, Mina....'

"Hm~ I wonder..." The boy backed up before letting himself float in the air freely and that was when she noticed two white will-o-wisps — one with a green center and the other with a red one — floating around his frame in circles, stopping at the sides of his face which itself took a turn to a dark expression as he stopped in mid air, staring at the brunette with a piercing gaze that only triggered her fear more.

"Are you really capable of being a hero?" The green head asked, locking his hands behind his back. His posture proved the seriousness of the question.

Every kind of safety and protection that the brunette felt around the boy was gone and replaced by fright and solemnness.

"I-I... I—!"

"A ghost that could possibly be the death of you; that's what the rumors say about me, right? Weren't you afraid before? Did you even think once what if the ghost is real before calling out to me, hm~? What will you do if I were to kill at this very instant? What should a hero in training do in this case, hm? Quirks can't really harm me, you know~" Deku-san's voice took a teasing turn with a mocking tone.

The brunette in question, however, remained silent. With no words to reply with, she turned her head to a side, looking away from the ghost boy.

The ghost boy shook his head sideways and said with a pitiful tone, "Oh you poor innocent coconut head~"

•  •  •

"Hah?" Uraraka tilted her head to a side, confused before registering what she was just called. She immediately turned her head back to the ghost, "Who—? Who are you calling a coconut head?!"

He blinked twice with a confused smile on his face, "Um... I'm pretty sure you're the one I'm talking to."

"My head is not like a coconut, you... You... You broccoli!" Uraraka accusing pointed her index finger at the green head.

"Broccoli?!" Deku-san gasped, he looked shocked as if no one had ever called him that before.

Uraraka continued, "Y-Yeah broccoli!! Like have you even seen your hair?! I doubt you've brushed it in years! You've probably used more curlers in your life than Mina does!"

"Curlers?!" He gasped again, looking twice as shocked as before, "Mind you, my hair is completely natural!"

"How is green hair natural?!" Uraraka yelled in question.

"I don't know?! My mom had green hair!" Deku-san yelled back as he protectively covered his messy hair with his arms, "What is your problem with my hair?!"

The brunette retorted, "What is your problem with my head?!"

"I was just trying to enlighten the atmosphere!" He exclaimed.

"Why would you need to enlighten the a-atmosphere?!" Uraraka asked.

"You were scared!" Deku-san threw up his hands in frustration.

She replied, "Your fault!"

"How is that my fau—?! You know what? Enough with this bickering. Why did you summon me?" Deku-san folded his arms as his feet made contact with the dusty floor once again, the will-o-wisps following his movements.

Before the brunette could reply, the green head placed a finger on his chin as he himself began to analyze the answer, "Considering that there aren't any ‘accurate rumors’ about me and what I do, you are either here out of curiosity and want answers to various questions these rumors couldn't answer... Or you are one of those people who think it would be fun to summon a ghost after school."

By the way he mentioned those people, Uraraka could this might-be-deadly apparition didn't like those people at all and she fell into the said category at the moment. If she lived, consider Mina dead.

So, the only rational step to take was to ask questions. She could be able to figure out more about what these nine mysteries were, his past, if he really was a murderer if heroes or not and many other things. Not a bad idea... Plus he could prove to be friendly!

Uraraka stood up, dusting her clothes with her hands as she sheepishly began, "S-So... Um... Can I ask you a few things?"

Upon hearing that, an apparently genuine smile appeared on his face, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead."

Fiddling with fingers to lessen her anxiousness, Uraraka asked, "Do you...? Um... Deku-san, do you really k-kill h-heroes?"

The ghost boy in question remained silent for a while before replying with a sigh, "Ah... These rumors... I, uh... I aimed to be a hero too, you know... Well, that's not important anymore. No, I don't kill anyone." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at his shoes.

The brunette was sure that she saw a hint of sadness in those emerald green eyes.

"Unless necessary." Deku-san looked at her again with a devious smirk and a dark aura.

"WAAH!" Uraraka almost smacked him for that but her hand went through his body. Well, retreating her hand from his chest felt really awkward.

And even though, he had no actual body, he felt... Cold. Very cold. And that just reminded her that she was talking to a dead person. A boy of her age who died under circumstances she didn't know of. And that just... Something in that was just not okay for her. She felt... Sad.

"Hey..." Her attention was diverted by the green head poking her head. He said, "It's getting late. If you don't have anything else to ask, you should head back to the dorms. It's nearly dark outside."

"Oh? Um. Yeah. Right. I should get going..." Uraraka replied as she hesitantly began to walk back towards the door, leaving the ghost boy behind alone.

Before reaching the doorknob, the brunette stopped in her tracks. She turned around to face the green head once more, "Deku-san...?"

"Hm~?"

"Why do you trash the support lab?" Uraraka asked with a stoic expression.

"Ah... Can you please repeat that again? I trash the support lab?" Deku-san asked, pointing at himself almost sarcastically.

"Th-That's what Hatsume said! The ghost of the hero course student makes a mess of that place after she leaves! Sh-She also said that other's missing stuff is also on her worktable sometimes... So, I just asked about it... It wasn't you...?"

"Nope. In fact~" The green head floated up to the girl as the will-o-wisps followed suit, "How about you help me with it?"

"Help you with it?" Uraraka asked.

Deku-san nodded, "Hm~! Mind giving me a hand to catch the little thieves?"

"Thieves? What thieves?"

"Well, haven't you heard this rumor; Yousei-san..."

✿​ﾟﾟ°❀°ﾟﾟ✿

❝Have you lost anything recently? It must be the work of Yousei-san...❞

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