Deku of the Dead

The Dead One

"So Mr.Midorya, can you tell me how you discovered your quirk again"

He doesn't know why they keep asking him this. It's boring really, the excuse he's come up with and stuck to. He just can't bring himself to tell anyone what Kacchan did, he doesn't want to. He still looks up to the blond teen, they still have so much potential as a hero, for Izuku to put such a blemish on Katsuki because of something stupid Izuku did? It seems unfair.

He says he accidentally fell off the roof. It was an accident. He claims he's not sure why he was up there, the damage to his head from the fall, and the likely trauma of dying, excuses this. But they keep asking and he's scared that he'll mess up and ruin it all.

There are other questions though, like 'does he feel any different?' Not really, he feels the same, better actually. He feels, he feels, he feels like he can't put it into words.

It's not too different nothing feels changed and yet he can't explain this new thing. It's as though he's new, he doesn't feel tired or exhausted despite not being able to sleep for more than two hours last night, no matter how hard he tried. Something has been added but doesn't feel different, so he says the same.

They move onto more practical tests, pulling up data on similar quirks but nothing they have matches this remotely. So they turn to the next best source, primary research, aka doing tests directly onto Midoriya. With his and his mother's consent of course.

They take samples and run machines over him. Unsettlingly they find he is slowly decaying, but from an accident involving a broken glass and a cut finger and another's blood they did find that it can be slowed and somewhat reversed. Unfortunately it they've yet to find anything other than, for lack of better word, human that can do this.

And running with this very zombie like revelation they pull out all the old folk tales and lore of the undead that they can to test out. Some more excited than others at the prospect, doing nothing to settle Izuku's nerves.

They even call up the mortician! And with him a boxed lunch of pasta and something else that Deku can't identify. It's pink and small curled into squiggled spaghetti like shapes much like the pasta it rests in, reminding Midoriya of uncooked mince meat or a strange type of prawn? It does look delicious though, and when it's placed in-front of the greenette, not even a split second after he's given permission, does he dig into the meal with a hunger he didn't know was there.

The pink squishy mystery meat was heaven! He doesn't know what it is or where it can from but the more he eats the quieter this new found hunger grows. Tubed pasta and meat alike are shoveled feverishly into Izuku's mouth and swallowed down.

"He eats brains! This is so cool!" Came a cry that startled the green haired teen from eating the food they had offered still sat on the table, a helping of the pink meat that he now knew was part of a brain, half way to his open mouth.

The mortician has brought up the lunch. There was no way this was the brain of an animal. They, they had fed him- he wanted to feel sick. He really did want to. But he just couldn't seem to find it.

He really is a zombie.

They took further samples afterwards then moved onto more tests of which went by in a blur.  Now he's back in the office again with the doctor from before.

"Just a quick debrief on what we've found so far and then you're free to go home Midoriya's, though do stay in touch as we may need to call you in for check ups and retesting as we've never encountered this type of quirk before and are unsure of how it could develop or if we've even found all of the effects it's has at the moment." He sounds tired, it has gotten quite late, but with a quick rub at his eyes and a flip through some sheets on a clip board he continues on.

"Other than the highly regenerative features you explained to us from your fall, with what we have found it appears he's very similar to a western undead creature know as a zombie, although lacking obvious traits of brain deadness and violent behaviour. The quirk has however, kept you in a post mortem state, you don't seem to be breathing as well and we've not been able to locate signs of a heart beat helping to explain your more paler appearance." He gestures.

Izuku's Mother is shaking trying to hold in tears. Izuku doesn't blame her, the doctor is basically saying that he's dead and not really a human anymore it's probably as unsettling for her as it is for him if her tightening grip around his arm is any indication.

"The MRI we conducted on your brain shows increased activity all over, which is honestly amazing to see, but we don't know entirely what it means as we've only run into this sort of thing with emitter quirks like your mothers but even then it only has effect on small aspects of it!" There's a light excitement in his tone as the quick specialist brings up this fact before moving on once again with a different topic of Izuku's quirk.

"The blood and other samples you've left with us we will continue to investigate and again will call you in if we find or need to test something, now onto what I guess is a prescription?" A nervous chuckle as he trails off pulling a cooler bag up onto the table between them from underneath. "Since we are almost positive that your body will continue to deteriorate if left unattended and so far this is the only thing we've found to counteract it!"

He doesn't even have to tell him what's in that bag. Ever since he'd eaten some earlier he's become acutely aware of everything around him and he can practically smell what's inside that bag. He knew this was going to be coming through, and he can't just rot away. His mother wouldn't be able to handle it, he can't do that to her!

"Yeah it's mostly brain as it seems to be the most effective, if you can't stomach it yet mixing it with food doesn't affect it potency so long as you don't cook the brain itself. The mortician will have one for you every fortnight, he's also packed in some body parts and such for variety or something? It still counteracts your quirks draw back just to a lesser degree..." he trails of taking note of the pale complexion of Inko and Izuku's own unsure and worried expression.

"Oh Urr don't worry I can assure you it's all ethical, it's only been taken for organ donors and those who donated their bodies to science as well as the Quirk law that was passed a few years ago that means any unavoidable conditions needed for quirks will be catered to and payed by the government so all of this is covered." It reassures the Midoriya's a bit. It's not as bad as it could be. Although it's still surreal even in this age of quirks.

"Just one last thing before you leave though, since this is temporarily classed as a immortality quirk our department and it's staff will have strict confidentiality on Young Midoriya's quirk. All documentation on features will be kept off of our system to avoid theft and for your own privacy" he explains in complete seriousness. "Immortality quirks can be very short after and for your safety we suggest you not go out yelling that quirk feature to the roof tops". Izuku can understand that he's seen things on the internet about it. People's opinions on quirk immortality is split and some are down right terrifying now that they apply to his current position.

He doesn't particularly like much about this so far. He still enjoys that he now has a quirk but, eating people feels so wrong and that hunger... He feels as though it could have swallowed him whole if he let it grow any further. So to put it simply he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. The hard place being having to eat people and the rock being what ever would happen if he were to deny that deep primal hunger he is now very much aware of.