Cross the Divide

Living with Ghosts

Midoriya stood in front of the dorm building, his heart hammering against his chest. This was it. He was about to face the people who had once been his closest friends, but now, to them, he was nothing more than a ghost. A reminder of a boy they had lost. A boy who had sacrificed everything to protect them.

Next to him, Aizawa and Hawks waited patiently. The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows across the courtyard, and a chill hung in the air. Midoriya shivered—not just from the cold, but from the thought of what he was about to face.

"Ready, kid?" Hawks asked, though his tone suggested that he knew Midoriya was anything but ready.

Midoriya nodded, even though his hands were shaking. He wasn't sure how to do this—how to walk into a room full of people who loved him in another world, who had watched him die. How would they react to seeing him, alive and breathing?

The dorm door swung open with a creak, and Aizawa led the way inside. The familiar scent of the building hit Midoriya like a wave of nostalgia, but it was tainted by the knowledge that this wasn't the same place. It couldn't be. The laughter, the light-hearted moments shared with friends—those things had been buried with him in this world.

The common room was quiet, save for the faint murmur of voices from upstairs. Midoriya's heart raced as footsteps approached from the hallway, and then the door opened. The first person to step into view was Todoroki.

For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes locked onto Midoriya, his expression unreadable. The air between them thickened with tension, a silent acknowledgment of the impossibility standing before him. Midoriya could see the flicker of disbelief in Todoroki's eyes—the hesitation of someone who was seeing a ghost for the first time.

"Midoriya," Todoroki's voice was steady, but there was something raw beneath it. "You're..."

Midoriya opened his mouth, but no words came out. What was he supposed to say? I'm sorry I died? I'm sorry I'm not the same one you lost?

"It's really him," Hawks said gently, stepping forward to stand beside Midoriya. "But not the Midoriya you knew. He's from another world."

Todoroki's gaze flickered to Hawks, then back to Midoriya. His face was a perfect mask of control, but his eyes told a different story. There was confusion, and something else—something Midoriya had never seen before.

Todoroki stepped closer, his voice quieter now. "I thought... I thought I'd never see you again."

The weight of the words crushed Midoriya's chest. He could hear the pain behind them, could feel the burden Todoroki had carried since his death. It was unbearable, knowing that in this world, he had left people behind to mourn him.

Before he could respond, more voices filled the room. The rest of Class 2-A was slowly gathering, drawn by the sudden tension. Midoriya's breath hitched when he saw Uraraka, her eyes wide with shock. Bakugo stood next to her, his face pale, though his fists were clenched tight.

"Deku?" Uraraka's voice trembled, as if she were afraid speaking too loudly might shatter this fragile moment.

Midoriya swallowed hard, nodding. "It's me."

Her hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes filled with tears. "I... I don't understand. You... you died. You saved us all, and... you're gone."

Bakugo took a step forward, his voice low and dangerous. "What the hell is going on here, nerd? You're supposed to be dead."

Midoriya met Bakugo's glare, and for the first time since arriving in this world, he felt a flicker of something familiar. The raw intensity in Bakugo's voice—while harsh—was grounded in something deeper. Pain, maybe. Or confusion.

"I'm not the Midoriya who died," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm from a different world... one where I didn't have to sacrifice myself."

The room fell into a suffocating silence. His words hung heavy in the air, thick with implications. Midoriya could see the hurt etched into their faces—these people who had mourned him, who had fought in the aftermath of his death.

Todoroki was the first to break the silence. "So, in your world, you survived?"

Midoriya nodded, feeling the weight of his own existence pressing down on him. "Yeah. I... we won, but I didn't die. I'm still here."

Bakugo scoffed, his face contorting into a snarl. "Of course you didn't die. You've always been too stubborn for that."

His words carried a mix of anger and relief, and for a moment, Midoriya could almost pretend they were back in his world. But the grief in the room was palpable, and it crushed any sense of normalcy.

The group's attention was drawn to the staircase, where Shinso, the newest addition to the class, stood observing. His eyes met Midoriya's with a quiet curiosity, though his expression was unreadable. It was strange seeing someone else here in Aoyama's place—a stark reminder of how much this world had changed in his absence.

Midoriya took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "I don't know why I'm here, or how to get back. But... until we figure it out, I guess I'll be staying here. If that's okay."

Uraraka wiped at her eyes, her voice soft but determined. "Of course, it's okay, Deku. You're still our friend, no matter what."

Her words sent a painful pang through Midoriya's heart. But am I really their friend? he thought. I'm not the Midoriya they knew. I'm not the one they lost.

Todoroki's voice broke through his thoughts. "You can take your old room. It's still... it's still the same."

Midoriya wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse. The idea of stepping into a room that had been preserved like a shrine to his memory made his skin crawl, but at the same time, it was comforting to know that some part of him had remained in this world.

"Thanks," Midoriya said, his voice tight with emotion. He turned to follow Todoroki and Hawks up the stairs, leaving the rest of the class in stunned silence behind him.

As they walked, Todoroki spoke in a low voice. "This isn't going to be easy for anyone. Seeing you... it's bringing back a lot of memories. A lot of pain."

Midoriya nodded, his throat tight. He could feel the weight of those memories pressing down on him with every step. The ghosts of his other self lingered in every corner, haunting the people he had left behind.

When they reached his room, Todoroki pushed the door open. Midoriya hesitated before stepping inside. The room was exactly how he had left it—or rather, how this world's Midoriya had left it. The bed was neatly made, his All Might posters still plastered across the walls, and his notebooks stacked on the desk.

It was too much. Too familiar, yet too foreign.

Todoroki stood by the door, watching him. "We'll figure this out, Midoriya."

Midoriya nodded, though he wasn't sure he believed it. He stepped into the room, feeling the weight of his own absence as he closed the door behind him.

The silence of the room was suffocating. Midoriya sat on the bed, his hands shaking. This world wasn't his, and yet, he was trapped in it. Surrounded by people who loved a version of him that no longer existed.