Haunting

Chapter Eleven: USJ

Nedzu gently turned the page of the book Izuku was reading, the little ghost muttering in a stream of incoherent rambles as he replicated the pictures as best as he could with his broken wrist. Even with the injury, Nedzu could say the kid was doing a great job, hovering just above the table with crossed legs as he stared down at the book.

Being able to see Izuku and being able to understand him were two very different things. Nedzu heard what everyone else did - garbled and warped nonsense - and sometimes being able to see Izuku didn't explain any better why he was doing the things he did. The communication barrier was able to be worked around with loose gestures and vague noises, but only communicating that way didn't sit well with Nedzu knowing there were better options out there. He messed with a few ideas before he realized a pretty simple solution: sign language.

He could see the kid after all, which meant he could watch his hands.

Nedzu did his own private research on the subject, and when Hizashi noticed a sign language book resting on Nedzu's desk one day, he asked about the sudden interest. Nedzu was blunt about his motives, and Present Mic was all too happy to be an even deeper well of knowledge on the topic. For the little listener, he had said with a grin. Having a Quirk like Hizashi's at a young age no doubt caused problems, and he wasn't surprised in the slightest to learn the Pro Hero was very fluent in sign.

Nedzu's Quirk allowed him to learn sign language very, very quickly, and by day three he could classify as fluent. Teaching Izuku wouldn't be that easy, he knew.

Well, he thought he knew. The more he taught Izuku the more Nedzu was beginning to realize the kid absorbed information like a sponge . It had only been two days, and even though he was nowhere near Nedzu's level, Izuku could still sign more complicated expressions than would normally be expected, not only as a complete beginner to the language but also with his age. Granted, it still wasn't full sentences, but he was getting there.

Nedzu was impressed. He wasn't impressed often. Dead or alive, potential was potential, and he'd be damned if he didn't encourage that level of intelligence for as long as Izuku was listening.

Izuku patiently tapped at the table, and Nedzu flipped another page. He went back to signing to himself and muttering.

Usually Izuku wouldn't be with Nedzu at the moment. It was still technically class time, but the Hero Course was on a trip to the USJ sight for the day, so Izuku had invited himself in, arms wrapped around himself as he shivered in the quiet of the room, form a little too unstable. Nedzu didn't have the heart to turn him away. Instead he decided to get in another day's worth of sign language practice, and Izuku agreed readily, posture relaxing as he eagerly floated over to the principal with his wide, watchful eyes.

He still couldn't move the pages. At least, not consistently enough to be worth it - Izuku explaining he had a mild breakthrough but nothing concrete - and the action seemed to tire him out relatively quickly. Izuku only wanted to focus on the language anyway, not split his attention with moving things and exhausting himself as well, so Nedzu offered to do the page turning for him, which led them to where they were now.

It was a peaceful atmosphere in the staff room. Even doing paperwork, Nedzu could say he was enjoying himself. As much as Izuku's words distorted and warped, a voice not supposed to be heard, it was still an odd kind of soothing, especially having a vague idea of what he was murmuring about.

The mood was broken by a soft knock on the door. Toshinori let himself in with a sheepish smile.

Izuku didn't quite retreat, but he startled, floating up high and backwards until he was tucked away in the corner, whisps, just like the first time Nedzu saw him.