Sadly, Izuku didn't stay asleep for very long. The cool air woke him up, uncomfortable and groggy as he was. For that split second of consciousness though, he was fully unaware of his situation. He felt no impending doom, only anger that he was awake.

Seconds don't last long, though. Izuku rolled over and startled so badly he nearly flung himself out of bed, "ooAAAH!"-ing at the sight of the body next to him.

No, it wasn't a corpse, but it was Todoroki. Which, in of itself was strange. He wasn't asleep, but just..

Laying. Waiting. Izuku clutched his blanket to his body, less upset than he was earlier. If anything, he was primarily confused with a touch of bitter.

Were these the stages of grief? He had no idea.

"Todoroki!"

Shouto's head turned and he looked at him, and Izuku swore he looked quite cozy laying there on his back. He had something on his mind that'd been bothering him since this morning. A pressing question, pulsing through his mind.

"How did you die?"

Shock. Shock flew across Shouto's face, and Izuku definitely caught it. Why was he so surprised? Wasn't this his job?

"I have been strongly advised not to say. Not yet."

Izuku gaped at the boy for a minute before he settled back into bed. Strongly advised not to tell him, how did this whole ghost thing work?

...howdidit work? His mind was racing.

Funny, how his attention had so drastically shifted, but it was in the name of self preservation. He hadn't consciously realized it yet but if he continued to mope around like a zombie, that'd be six months wasted. Six months he could've spent living instead of acting like he was already dead.

If Todoroki wasn't gonna tell him how he'd died, he was going to tell him something else. He was going to exploit his situation for any information he could gain.

Izuku slid open the door to his nightstand and retrieved a white and blue composition book. He had quite the collection; both full battered books and new blank ones completely filled opposing sides of the drawer, with a few stuffed in between them.

He liked to learn. He had a tendency to hyperfocus on things that interested him. Some books were filled with history, some detailed the governing mechanics of worlds he'd come up with.

He had a passion for learning and creating, and as he pulled a pencil out of the vintage All Might cup on his nightstand, he turned his body to Shouto, who was now sitting upright.

"So. What's it like?" Izuku asked.

He could see Todoroki's confusion, eyebrows bunching together and pushing up his forehead. Izuku lowered his pencil and continued.

"After you die. Where do you go?" he continued, full of curiosity.

He seemed hesitant to speak. Not like he couldn't, more so he just seemed like he didn't want to. But...Midoriya's intense stare made it hard to stay quiet.

"It's a big room. White and gray. Sophisticated." Shouto finally replied.

Izuku took notes. Since Shouto was a man of few words, it was easy to just write down exactly what he said.

"Where do you go from there?"

Izuku was genuinely intrigued. Sure, there was the school's vague overview, but it was about as helpful as sex ed. Not at all.

"...they evaluate you." Shouto muttered.

"Elaborate?"

"..They make you relive..."

Shouto grit his teeth, and Izuku could see his strain. So instead, he tried to change the topic.

"Does this building have windows?" Izuku quipped. Even such a simple question was still one that interested him.

Shouto, however, wasn't finished. One question at a time, Midoriya, he's going as fast as he can.

"They make you relive your death. Through memories. If you manage to relive it without crumbling, you're drafted."

Fascinating. So it wasn't a volunteer thing, it was mandatory? Drafted..

"What exactly are you drafted for?"

"Becoming a death guide. You're on your own until they need you." Shouto spoke slowly and carefully, as if every word was hand-picked.

"On your own where?"

"Sitting in the office."

"Doesn't it get lonely, waiting for so long?"

"Time isn't the same, there."

"How long have you been dead?"

He could see he'd hit a nerve. Shouto inhaled sharply at the question, turning his head.

He could understand why..he supposed that was a sensitive topic, maybe it was one of those things better left untouched.

"...I don't know, Izuku." He breathed.

His eyes widened. He'd answered?

Shouto spoke as though he was forced to, though. Almost like it took all his energy just to confess to that. Frankly, after this conversation, he looked exhausted.

Izuku wasn't satisfied, but he wasn't a monster. He finished scribbling down the majority of what they'd discussed before he sat the notebook back in the drawer.

The silence was very, very uncomfortable. Izuku looked at the clock, and raised his brows when he realized it was only nine. Knowing his dear mother she'd be out shopping for another two to three hours. Which meant, if he wanted to keep from completely spiraling again, he needed to entertain himself and his new acquaintance.

Izuku turned to him with an awkward smile.

"Um..do you have a favorite movie?" He said hopefully.

"I never really watched TV."

Well, there went that idea. He thought he might entertain him with a movie from his life. If he never really watched TV, though, that didn't mean he was alive before they were made.

It meant he just didn't watch it.

Clothes weren't a good indicator of time either. It was a uniform, white with blue lettering on the left chest that read "Guide Corp.".

Even though he was almost positive nothing was on, he plucked the remote off the floor where it'd fallen when he slept, and flipped through the channels until..

Oh! Finding Nemo was on!

"You've seen this one for sure."

Todoroki stayed quiet. Izuku wasn't sure if it was just him being antisocial, or a genuine lack of knowing how to respond.

"..right?" He continued.

After a short pause, Shouto replied.

"I haven't."

Izuku looked at him, stunned. Maybe this was after his time? He didn't know, but either way, he knew Shouto needed to see it. It was important to Izuku, since he could relate to Nemo and his fin.

He wasn't like everyone else, but that didn't mean he was worth less. It just meant he was unique! It had a good message, and..well, maybe Shouto would relate.

"We're watching it, then. You need to see it, I think you'll really love it." He said, and for once that day, his genuine hope reached his eyes.

At that, Izuku swore he saw Shouto's expression soften.