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Decims first encounter with the strange group of humans goes about as well as you’d expect. There's a man, he shoots flames and words and fists and his memories are a jumble of pain taken and inflicted, and Decim finds he doesn’t like him already. The second is of someone, not quite a child, but not quite grown, who takes pain and pain and pain and turns into hope and happiness and drive.
The man tries to shoot him with fire when he says they aren’t allowed to leave, and the kid jumps in front of him, and he ends up restraining them both until the kid agrees to play a game.
They end up playing skee ball, and the man is violent and loses quickly, and the kid is quiet and resigned. He watches as they remember the building falling on top of them, one too concerned with catching the criminal, the other more concerned with saving the lives of people trapped and hurt.
The kid wins the game, and he seems sad, so so sad, and he cries, and he says he’s sorry because he didn’t do enough to save the others trapped with them. The man has to be restrained, because he bites and snarls and rages and won’t stop until he wins.
Enji Todoroki is sent to the void, and the kid still lingers.
“I know this is a lot to ask but.. If you see my friends, the people I know, can you…” The child is crying, and he looks so bittersweet. “Can you tell them, tell them that I loved them, up until the very end? Tell them that.” The kid swallows heavily, tears flowing freely down his face. “Tell them that I’m sorry, and that it wasn’t their fault. Can you please do that?”
And Decim looks at the child who wanted to do nothing but save other people, nothing but to be a hero, no matter how much opposition got in his way. He looks at the child who died trying to save other people, and he agrees.
Izuku Midoriya steps into the elevator with a sad smile on his face, giving him a whispered ‘thank you’ before the doors close. As the elevator ascends, Decim puts in a special request.
~~
A man and a woman are next, following soon after the boy. The man looks older than he expected, tired, emaciated. But his memories show a heart big enough to encompass the world, and compassion enough to keep it. The woman is small, stout, and walks like the world has laid on her shoulders for far too long. Her memories are fogged with tears and sadness, helplessness and then a bright burst that fades to nothing.
They play a board game together, and the woman picks up a card and flips it over, and little Izuku is staring back at her. She cries, cries so hard because she feels she didn’t do enough, and the man cries too, because he is guilt ridden over all the people he couldn’t save, and he’s sorry he could never protect the woman's child.
The game is finished, and he leads them to the elevator, and he passes on the message.
The woman starts sobbing, and the man covers his mother, and they both look so unendingly tired that for a moment Decim almost wishes heaven did exist, so these people could see the child again, so that they could take a break from their pain. But, it doesn’t, and the doors close on their crying faces, and, he thinks, at least they knew he loved them both.
~~
There’s a boy with engines in his legs and a heart of hardened steel, shining and brilliant and a little bit broken but still good, and there's a girl with the world at her fingertips and excitement as bubbly as her personality and a deep aching regret that not even time could fix.
They play old maid together, and smiling up at him from the Joker card is the child, and the girl gets it first and sobs, and the boy looks as if he is barely holding together. The cards have pictures of a school on them, costumes and people and places. There’s a school logo and a stadium, training grounds and dorms, and then there’s other things. There's the boy's brother, and the girl's parents, and then there's a collapsing building and they remember.
The game is quiet, sad, and soon enough it is time for them to go. He passes along the message, and the girl gets a sad smile on her face.
“Of course he’d want to make sure we knew, Deku was always helping others. Always.” And then she is crying and the boy is crying and they both step into the elevator, and Decim watches them go.
~~
The pair are two boys, hot and cold and mix together to mellow out. One has fire in his palms and in his heart, but it burns with warmth and not pain, and it is meant to help, not hurt. The other has ice and fire in his veins, and a heart that’s constantly clashing with itself, but somehow still finds a way to be kind.
They play darts, and the men both play fair, and one remembers watching their friend die. The other gets furious, and sad, and he fights and fights and fights, and the other holds him back, until they both are broken on the floor. They remember their deaths, and they are resigned, and somehow Decim finds himself admiring them for that.
He passes on the boy's message, and there is such anger in one. He laughs and insults but there is such respect in his tone, such hidden sadness that Decim can’t find himself to judge. And the other chuckles, dry, sad, and only shakes his head before he steps into the elevator.
~~
There is a steady stream of people, after that. A man with a flair for dramatics to match with the laser he shoots, and a girl who he can’t see and a man with a tail. There’s a girl who creates things, and a boy with a shadow, and a kid with stick and bounce. There's the boy with tape and the silent one, then there’s the sugar eater and the red riot. There’s the girl with a loud heartbeat and the boy who shocks, the girl who spews acid and the one who’s a frog. There's the boy who controls and the one with six arms, and for each one he passes along a message, and gets a different response.
Decim wonders, idly, as he’s cleaning out the glasses, if they would all meet again when reincarnated. He glances over to the stands, where each one stands proud, and he hopes that they do. He looks at the boy, Izuku, and though he can’t remember his story, some part of him wishes he did.