Everything hurts.

His head throbs as his limbs go weak. He can't find the energy to stand up, nor to panic, even when he sees the crimson puddle expanding from his cranium. He can hardly register the voices of people around him, as Izuku slowly succumbs to silence.

"Deku-kun!"

"Midoriya-kun! Can you hear me?!"

No, not really.

He can't hear anything. The world is fading out, his vision paling. A brown haired girl looms above him as he finds himself slowly closing his eyes. Izuku can't stop himself from succumbing to the pain. He feels himself floating into the void.

Suddenly, it all vanishes. The pain and anguish throbbing in his skull dissipates into thin air, as if nothing even happened in the first place.

What did happen, anyway? He can recall... an earthquake?

All thoughts coursing through his head come to a halt when someone smacks him right in the face and says, "Wake up, moron, I don't have all day."

Izuku had been daydreaming before the image of a boy with a hideous glare meets his eyes. Standing before him is an awfully short boy with a golden ring floating above his head. On reflex Izuku backs away, the scowl startling him.

The boy rolls his eyes as Izuku falls back onto the hardwood floor, but — wait, hardwood? He eyes widen as he knocks the smooth flooring beneath him.

"W-what in the world?!" he stutters. "Where on Earth am I?!"

The boy in front of him has majestic wings that let him hover above the ground, flapping wildly like a hummingbird. His black hair covers one of his eyes, and his hands are gloved. "Not on Earth, buddy. You're dead. Welcome to Heaven."

"Huh?!"

"You heard me. You hit your head, bled out, and here we are. Kind of stupid if you ask me."

Izuku's face contorts into several different expressions. He finally begins to notice how this boy looks, with a long white toga and bare feet. "W-wait a minute—"

"Here are the basics. I'm only saying this once, so shut your mouth and listen, alright? One, skin contact between angels is forbidden. Hear me?"

Izuku stands, "Hold on! Did you just say 'angels'?! W-wait, I'm — I'm dead?"

The boy's eyes roll as he gestures to a table with an hourglass on top. "You bet. This here shows how many more years you have left to live. Which is none. Don't you remember dying, like, at all?"

Come to think of it, he does remember lying stiff on some concrete and scattered rubble a couple seconds ago. He also recalls saving some children before they were caught in the crossfire of a collapsed building… and the faces of his two best friends.

Oh, man, are they alright?

"Anyway, two—"

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. Are you… an angel?"

He stares.

Izuku blinks.

"Are you serious? It took you this long to figure that out?" he snatches the halo out of the air, "Does this thing not make it clear enough? Do these not make it clear enough?" he shows off his wings.

"Yes, you're right, I'm sorry!" Izuku says, bowing multiple times.

Geez, this kid is scary... He can still hardly believe his eyes when he looks at him. A real, pure-hearted angel…

Although this one isn't very angelic...

He wants to believe that this isn't happening. That he hit his head too hard and now he's seeing things, but each moment he spends looking around, he's starting to believe this isn't all in his head.

Right now he's in a large room with couches and bright lights. A fireplace is lit, but the main oddity in here is the table with the hourglass and papers resting on it. The upper bulb of the hourglass is empty, the bottom holding a tub of sand.

He can sort of make out the ambience of chatter and… slot machines? What? There is a window off to his left.

"Wanna check it out?" asks the angel boy, which might have been the first nice thing he's said to him.

Izuku hesitates before warily stalking towards the glass. He peers down into the source of the noise, gulping down the lump in his throat.

…Whoa.

"Pretty great, huh?"

Izuku wouldn't call it 'great', but… whoa. There are no clouds, no fields of flowers, no one being forgiven for their sins, just…

A casino.

Heaven is a huge gambling house. Angels with wings, golden halos, togas, and sparkling eyes are gambling and drinking like there's no tomorrow. Izuku tenses, the pure atmosphere of this place making him uncomfortable.

This is Heaven? Wasn't gambling the devil's game, or something like that?

He spent months training to become the greatest Hero, to be prepared for anything and any challenge to come. But Izuku hadn't prepared for this at all. He can't even imagine surviving in an environment like this.

"Um," Izuku says, stepping away. "Mr. Angel, I don't—"

"My name is Messenger."

"...Messenger-san, I don't think I can… deal with, all that…"

Messenger tucks his hand behind his head, "Well you're going to have to, like it or not. Now, follow me, I'll—"

"Messenger-san." Izuku stands tall, like he's facing his mentor. "I want to go back to Earth. There are still people out there who need my help. I can't… abandon them like this. I can't stand by and let people die!"

Messenger falls silent. Izuku bows.

"Please! Let me go, and let me save their lives! I don't care if I have to come back right after, just let me finish the job, as a Hero!"

Abandoning All Might and everyone like this would be… pitiful.

…

…

"...A Hero, huh?"

Izuku looks up, "Yes! Please, Messenger-san!"

"Live like a Hero, die like one, I guess…" He sighs, crossing his arms, focusing on a particular item on the table. "Look, if you want to go back that badly, you're going to have to speak with my boss, Lord."

"Lord? Is he the one who can send me back?"

"You mean she."

Izuku blinks.

"That being said, she's got a real busy schedule. I'd send you out to see her right now if I could. I honestly want you gone as soon as possible myself."

Is this kid really an angel?

"W-what does that mean? That she has a busy schedule?"

Messenger avoids eye contact. His halo brightens. "You might have to wait a couple days. Weeks. Maybe months."

"Huh?!"

That's bad, isn't it? If that's the case, who knows how long it'll be before he can go back to living his life as a Hero?

Just then, someone enters.

A female angel invites herself in with a scroll in her hands, saying, "A message from Lord herself," before setting it on a stool and exiting.

Messenger reads the scroll silently. Anxiously Izuku watches. Suddenly Messenger crumbles the papyrus and tears it pieces, throwing whatever's left of it in the fire. He wears a mean scowl.

"You're real lucky. Lord wants to share croquettes with you. Right now. She's a big fan of Heroes."