Sora and Yuu were completely different. While the former was more outgoing and bubbly, the latter was rather timid and withdrawn. Despite that, they were as close as two childhood friends could ever be.
Years of friendship with Sora had taught Yuu to step out sometimes and allow himself to mingle with others, that being the person he was was fine and he needed not to feel ashamed with that. However, the girl was sometimes relentless in her attempts to draw him out of his shell.
That night, upon hearing of the horror story circle Ashido and the rest were planning in Tokoyami's room, she was quick to drag him and join them despite his protests.
The boy had two reasons for that. First, was the eerie atmosphere Tokoyami's room gave. Now he was never one to judge his classmate about his liking, but Yuu preferred to stay away from it. And second, was that he was never good with scary tales, for as you all know, his whole life was much or less one itself.
Despite that, Yuu found himself sitting next to an enthusiastic Sora as Ashido, Kaminari, Shoji, Asui and Sero turned off the lights and lit a few candles in the middle of the circle for more thrill, no care at all about an annoyed Tokoyami or a shivering Yuu.
As they were about to start off with Sero's story, a rather unexpected guest joined them, Mineta. He made a beeline to sit between Sora and Asui, albeit she wouldn't allow that. So she hauled and dropped him in between Shoji and Kaminari.
The light of the candles flicked as Sero began recounting, his tone switching between calm and loud to match the events. " That's when he saw it… A blood-soaked corpse!" With one final rising note to puncture the end, Mineta cried and clung to Shoji for dear life.
" Woah, that was fun! What did you think of it, Yuu?Yuu!" The girl cried in surprise when she saw the pale boy by her side, sitting still and shivering.
" Your roommate is practically a ghost and you're already terrified by this!" Whisper expressed his disappointment with a chop to Yuu's head that forced blood to circulate up again.
" I can't help it, okay! I never liked ghost stories!" Yuu retorted.
" Oh come on. I thought the hardest to get a reaction from would be you, Seijin. But seems you're an easy one to scare," laughed Sero as he gave the boy by his side a pat on the shoulder.
Moving from Mineta's obvious pervert reason to join them that night, Ashido tried to tell her own story. But being the bullet of energy and romance-loving person she was, it proved to be hard for her. The story itself was good, but the way Mina recounted it didn't get any reaction from them, well save for Yuu of course.
" Then, why don't you go next?" Suggested Whisper seeing the trembling boy. " Tell them about the time you were almost spirited away."
" Ribbit, if it's a story coming from Seijin-chan, then it's bound to be real, right?" The ghost smirked broadly at that and nudged Yuu in the back.
" Come on, go on."
" But… I don't like dwelling on that incident…" Yuu strutted just remembering it.
" The time you were almost spirited away? I never heard this one! Tell me please!"
Looking at Sora's sparkling eyes, the boy didn't have much choice. So he shifted so his chin rested on his knees and stared down at the candle illuminating his face. " This is a story of when I was but a naive child…"
" He's totally in the mood!" Cried Ashido in surprise.
" His expression is really good for telling ghost stories!" Piped Kaminari.
" You want to hear it or not?"
" We want! We want!" They chorused.
" When I was a kid, before I've even met Whisper, my parents took me and my brother as they went to visit our grandparents in Hokkaido. We were held back because of a snowstorm and arrived at their place quite late in the night. When we reached the threshold, I saw someone trudging around the house. I knew he was my grandfather since he had the tendency to check around after each snowstorm so I followed after him. However, by the time I came around the corner, I saw him trudging down the lawn and into the forest. I ran after him, crying out his name but he never looked back. Maybe it was because of the strong wind he didn't hear me, I thought. As we continued wading through the forest, I realized where he had brought me, it was an old graveyard for those who had fallen in the war. Kids in that area were strictly warned of approaching it."
" An old forbidden graveyard… and snowstorm… this is getting interesting," through his smile, Kaminari gulped.
" I ignored the whispers and cries of the ghosts and forgotten spirits who dwelled there. I knew as long as I had my grandfather around, I would be fine. So I kept fighting against the wind growing stronger and pushed to catch up with him. But he was fast, the whiteness grew, and the biting cold was unbearable. Finally unable to see my grandfather or my way back anymore, I searched for a place to stay and found a hollowed tree. Taking refuge there to keep warm, I was determined to catch up with my grandfather once he made his journey back home. But too tired from the storm and the trip, I fell asleep in there. Next day, I woke up in Granny's house with a fever. And as I was told, my uncle went out to search for me that night when I disappeared and brought me home on his back."
" Well, that's not a ghost story at all," argued Ashido. " There was nothing terrifying about it."
" Nope, I wouldn't think so either," Yuu continued. " Until I've attended my grandfather's funeral a few hours later."
" Eek!" Mineta squealed, wringing his limbs around Shoji's arms tightly.
" Funeral as in… he died in that storm?" Shoji inquired reluctantly.
" Not at all," Yuu's usually low voice seemed to send goosebumps down their spines as he spoke. " According to my uncle, my grandfather was in his casket the whole night. He was already dead by the time we came."
" But then…" Ashido's voice shook. " Who was it you were following that night? Or… what was it?"
" I don't know either, whether it was a spirit or a human, I didn't get an answer. All I know is that in either case, it wasn't grandfather. But one thing I was sure of, if Uncle hadn't come to get me that night, I might have frozen to death in that graveyard. And he warned me of ever approaching it again, apparently, he knew of something I didn't know of."
" Woah! You should have told me that story before! Although, I'm sorry about your grandfather and all but… this is truly an interesting one!" Sora was the only one who seemed to not be affected by the story.
" The fact that this story is actually real is what makes it all the more scary," shivered Sero.
" This is a mild story though," Yuu told him.
" Eh! All of this and it's mild! What's the scariest thing you went through, Seijin!" Kaminari cried.
A shiver ran down his spine. " Believe me, you don't want to know."
" Some tales should be left unknown," muttered Tokoyami from his chair in the corner of the room, away from them.
" What, are you scared already, Tokoyami?" Ashido teased with a broad grin.
" Don't push your luck with me."
" I know! Why not tell us a story yourself? Pretty sure you have some good ones too! And your voice is so perfect for telling ghost stories!" Ashido suggested.
Everyone seemed to agree, save for Yuu again. Under the pressure of their looks, Tokoyami felt obliged to answer their request, and so he embarked on telling a story he got from his grandfather, whom he heard from a friend. It was about a one hundred ghost stories that were usually told at this man's village for entertainment and a soul-sucking demon imposing as a blonde woman who went after every habitant of it and killed them, leaving strands of her blond hair by her victims' bodies.
In the middle of the story, Ashido jumped behind Shoji while holding onto Asui's arm, saying she felt safer there. True for that, Shoji's back seemed like the safest place from both demons and pervert hands groping where they don't belong.
Before she knew it, Sora realized Yuu was holding onto her arm and retreating behind her too as Tokoyami's story went on.
" ...But my grandfather's friend was convinced of it. He died, suddenly, several days later, with a single strand of blond hair wrapped about his neck."
" Bo!"
" Eeeek!" A collective cry sounded out much to Tokoyami's surprise before Yuu blanched, keeling over on Sora's lap with his soul hovering over his mouth.
" Yuu! That was no fun! Whisper!" Sora cried at the ghost who was laughing loudly at that.
" Sorry, but seriously! Ghost stories! You know, a real ghost ought to try to scare you while at that!"
" You almost stopped my heart, Whisper!" Ashido flailed her fist angrily at him.
" But it was worth it!" He continued laughing.
" That's not fair!" Mineta had a dark aura around him as his eyes bulged out in the direction of Sora and Yuu, the girl trying to wake her friend up. " Why does he get to fall in some girl's lap?! Damn lucky piece of scum! I want to be in his place!" Shoji was still keeping him at bay with one of his arms.
" Although Ashido was right, this story is gonna keep me awake tonight…" Sero rubbed his arms as though feeling cold.
" Apologies, if this was too scary." He was flustered by their reaction to Whisper's tease.
As Yuu came to, Tokayami informed them that he had no idea whether the story was true or not, only the lesson from it was confirmed to them. " Stories themselves should be treated as more than mere amusement or way to pass the time. Wandering cursed spirits roam closer to home than we might expect, and they are always listening."
Everyone then decided on ending the ghost story night on that remark.
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The next day, Yuu and Sora were surprised to find the group from the previous day's story circle quite agitated before Mineta lunged at them, pointing a finger at Whisper frantically. " That wasn't funny, Whisper! Lurking by my room's door and calling out my name in the middle of the night!"
" What are you even talking about?" Whisper quirked his eyebrow at the short boy.
" It was you, right, right?!" They weren't sure whether the boy was questioning or begging by that point. Sora looked at the rest of the group and decided to investigate the problem.
" A buzzing?" She tilted her head at that.
" Didn't you hear it? You're the ones with super hearing, both of you, on our floor!" Ashido pointed and Sora and Yuu exchanged wary looks at that.
" Even I heard it," Jiro joined.
" As a matter of fact, I've been listening to music when I fell asleep last night," said Yuu.
" And I had been really tired last night so… I plugged my ears too." Sora rubbed her neck.
" Why is it that only us who heard it?" Asked Kaminari. " Could it be the curse?"
" Curse? What curse?" Inquired Iida most concerned about his classmates.
" It's no curse. It's Simple, you were afraid last night and you stayed awake so you were able to hear it," Whisper stated bluntly. " Tokoyami though, it's rare for the storyteller to be scared by their own story. Why stay late then?"
" After dwelling in the darkness for too long, one could not leave it easily."
" What does he mean?" Whisper's eyebrow shot up.
" Means he probably was staying up yesterday watching some horror movie or something like that," Yuu answered.
" Although we all heard the buzzing, only Mineta claims to have heard a voice calling his name," Kaminari spoke up.
" I tell you! It's the woman from the story! And she came for me!" Mineta cried as their classmates asked about the said story. Bakugo didn't seem to like the topic and left the room.
" What do you think, Seijin-kun? This should be within your area?" Iida turned back to him.
" It couldn't have possibly been a ghost or so, else I would know of their existence in the dorms. They don't exactly bother with hiding. And they always react to each other." Yuu tapped his chin.
" Either way, this requires an investigation, whether it's a cursed spirit or not. As class president, I shall take responsibility and further look into it this night," Iida stated firmly.
" You're not possibly suggesting to stay up?" Whisper shot a glance at him.
" What else could I do?"
" If so then allow me to do it," Yuu interrupted. " I'm the one who can see and talk to spirits after all."
" Nonsense, I wouldn't want my classmates to cut short their sleep and mess up their sleeping schedule!"
" You don't have to worry about that. I'm used to having so little sleep time after all."
Iida was about to rebuke Yuu for his carelessness about his sleeping habits before he remembered it was because of his Quirk.
" Plus, you have a strict bedtime. It would be more worrying for you if you cut short your sleep what's with having school the next day, you won't be able to get by, earnest-kun," Whisper pointed and Iida had to admit it was true.
" Very well then," said Iida as he held his hand up. " If anything happened at all, please don't hesitate to wake me up."
" Sure," the boy nodded.
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Yuu had been checking every floor that night, keeping his senses strained. As he prowled the third floor for the second time that night, there were no disturbances whatsoever.
Maybe it was nothing after all.
As soon as he dared think that, he heard it, the low buzzing, as though it was coming from the walls. He tried following its source, only to encounter Iida, Kaminari, Ojiro, and Koda who stepped out of their rooms.
" You guys heard it too?" Whisper asked them.
" We couldn't rest after hearing the story," Ojiro gave an awkward smile.
" What about the noise though?" Kaminari asked looking into Yuu's eyes. The boy shook his head, he couldn't find the source. It wasn't until Mineta's scream made them jump out of their skins.
Rushing to the floor below, they found a disturbed Mineta recounting how he was visited again by the ghost. This time, Aoyama and Midoriya seconded his story.
Yuu was beyond bewildered. There was no trace whatsoever of a ghost or a spirit lurking around. The only possible explanation though…
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Their last resort was their homeroom teacher, Aizawa. They didn't ponder much whether it was appropriate to talk with their teacher about something as a haunted dorm or a cursed story, but they had no other choice in the matter. Especially not when Aizawa noticed their performance dropping after their lack of sleep.
Upon hearing the whole story, Aizawa was about to question how they could believe in something as irrational as ghost stories before his eyes fell on Yuu and he fell silent. The boy was living proof that the paranormal actually existed in the world, though, whether it was like rumors described them or not remained to be seen.
" It's not the first time we hear of stories like that. There were stories even back in my time about things like that, like one of the 'Seven Mysteries of UA' is the ghost of an alum who couldn't become a hero haunting the grounds, around where the dorms are now. What do you think?" He shot his eyes at Yuu and the boy shifted uncomfortably.
" I don't think it's a ghost. At least, none of the ones residing in the dorms. But… we still can't explain the happenings."
After hearing Aizawa's story, the class was even more flustered. There was no putting them to bed that night.
Aizawa, tired of the whole racket, decided to go inspect the scene that night. With a deep bow, they all thanked their teacher.
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The night was a stormy one, fit for a horror movie setting as Whisper pointed out.
" For a construction erected in a couple days, this building is holding just fine," Sora pointed looking outside the window of the second floor which had rain rapping against its glass.
" What do you take Cementos-sensei for?" Said Yuu, frowning deeply. " Hope there won't be a blackout tonight, and while everyone is disturbed by the noise."
" You said it wasn't a ghost, right?" Sora cocked her head towards him.
" Nope, I'm sure it's not… yet…"
" If you say so, then I believe you." Sora smiled. " If it's not a ghost, then there should be an explanation."
" Hope there is."
" That Aizawa is late though," Whisper stated looking at their classmates who were growing impatient.
" True…" Worry was palpable on her face. " If he didn't come here yet, let's check down in the common area." Following her advice, they went down to the first floor, only to be taken aback by their teacher lying on the floor.
Sato and Koda moved him into a more comfortable position on the sofa. The class was troubled. Not only were they facing some unknown entity, but their teacher was out cold.
" Ack! He has a blond hair strand around his neck!" Cried Kaminari from beside their teacher. " Oh, it's mine."
" Don't joke like that! You dunce!" Growled Bakugo, but Whisper wouldn't let that pass on peacefully.
" Ooooh. You're afraid are you not?" He teased, prompting Bakugo to warm his palms with explosions.
" Don't play around egg head, or I'm boiling you!"
" Fat chance! If you can even lay a finger on me!"
" Enough, you both!" Yuu cried out, separating both of them before some fight started. " I'm not sure what's happening here but Aizawa-sensei got hurt! I don't think this is time to be arguing!"
" You dare order me! Baggy eyes!" Yuu gulped as she faced Bakugo's glare. He might have just made the gravest mistake of his life.
" Regardless of what might be the cause, we should alert other teachers to what happened," Asui interjected.
However, fate had it that at the very moment Iida was looking for a landline to contact their teachers, a blackout occurred. Everyone huddled and it was all hubbub for a moment when someone cried out for help, only worsening the mood.
Iida, taking his duty seriously, attempted to calm them down along with Yaoyorozu who created a flashlight for them before she squealed, telling them something was scurrying around. Yuu and Sora squinted through the darkness, but they could see nothing. It must be small. Thought Yuu as he looked closer. " We need more light!" He told them.
Bakugo and Kaminari used their Quirks to light the room for a second when Sora spotted something small and white jumping before them and then disappearing in the darkness. It was immediately identified as a ghost by the rest of their classmates.
" S-Seijin… which is more effective against ghosts, ice or fire?" Came Todoroki's question.
Todoroki-san is serious about this!
" That would depend on their natural elements but most ghosts are associated with ice so, fire is more effective if they were in physical form- More importantly it's not a ghost!" The boy reminded.
As the front door swung open, a fork of lightning revealed a blond figure at the threshold. Their instinct kicked in, and most of them unleashed their Quirks at it.
" Wait!" Sora's cry was drowned among the other shouts and was left unheard.
The figure fell to the ground with the students circulating it before Yuu ran to the very front, standing in between them. " Hold on! It's a human!"
" Huh?!"
The lights came on, revealing the supposed ghost to be their English teacher, Present Mic.
" Mic-sensei!" The class was aghast at the revelation. Jiro quickly checked for a heartbeat and breathed in relief when she found it.
It was then that the class took in the damage their Quirks had caused to the building and the entrance. Mineta's sticky balls were stuck everywhere, the doors were hanging off their hinges and charred marks covered the walls and floor.
" What happened here?" The class looked back at that low familiar voice and they found Aizawa standing up to his own two feet.
" Aizawa-sensei!"
" The blond ghost! We thought…!"
" And you were…!"
" Was it a villain who did that?!"
" A real ghost! I tell you!"
" Enough!" Aizawa was growing tired from the whole mess so he shut them up with his stern glare.
Sora and Yuu came from the doorway, supporting an unconscious Present Mic while Aizawa looked around the ceiling for something. The class followed him as though feeling safer behind him.
Aizawa then pointed at something in the ceiling and Asui grabbed it for him. Aizawa held up the black device so they could all take a good look at it. " This is the cause of it all."
" Eh?"
" It's what's causing the buzzing. And when I tried to climb and get it, I slipped on a kitchen rag and fell back."
Hagakure, who was the one who left it on the table, apologized deeply for her ignorance.
Using a magnifying glass to inspect the object, the whole of class A peeked down at it. A minuscule machine was the source of the buzzing. What intrigued them however was its origin.
Aizawa had the answer, he pointed at the anti-peeping security panel at the door to the girls' bathing area, the one the girls had asked Hatsume Mei specifically to make to keep a certain boy from peeping while they were showering. Aizawa tossed the device at it and it inserted itself perfectly into an empty slot.
" Recharging… Recharging…" A feminine voice spoke. Mineta immediately recognized the voice.
After asking the inventor, Hatsume admitted to having tweaked the mechanism so as to keep Mineta in his room at night time.
" But… what about that white ghost we saw?" Implored Kaminari. " I'm sure it wasn't Whisper."
" You mean this?" Whisper stated, holding up a certain white rabbit. That was Koda's pet rabbit, little Yuwai. Koda apparently had left the door of his room open and it slipped out.
When they dared think everything was finally back to normal, their teacher cleared his throat, reminding them of the chaos they were standing in, from the groaning of Present Mic to the creaking of the broken door, nothing was normal about the common area.
" Ghost stories, huh?" Aizawa's glowing red eyes and his disheveled black hair made them gulp in fear. Yuu had to admit he was facing something even worse than ghosts or demons.
" I want written apology letters from each and every one of you! And for the next days, lights will be out at eight sharp! And no more ghost stories until the end of this year! Am I clear?"
" Yes, sensei!"
" Now fix this door and get to your beds!"
" Yes, sensei!!"