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i hear you're a good kisser.

are you staring at my lips?

how about a kiss for old time's sake?

maybe we could experiment a little.

have you ever thought about kissing me?

is there even an "us?"

a little bird told me you're a really good kisser.

could you see me as... more than just a friend?

what's a little fooling around between friends?

i'll admit, i have thought about you like that.

kissing you sounds like a very good idea.

i've been meaning to ask you out for ages.

maybe we could... see what happens.

there's no harm in a little experimentation.

did you want to kiss me back then?

for what it's worth, i really enjoyed the kiss and i wouldn't mind doing that again sometime.

could we pretend this is our first kiss?

maybe we could go on a date sometime.

you could start by coming closer.

just wondering what you taste like.

i saw you looking at me earlier.

could we talk about... us?

i'm not interested in anyone but you.

i bet if we tried, we could make it work.

a kiss won't kill us.

wanna makeout?

quick, kiss me before they walk over here.

i've wanted to kiss you for a long time now.

i never had the courage to ask you if you'd kiss me.

could i keep seeing you after this?

i really enjoyed it, by the way.

you're a much better kisser than i expected.

well, that got out of hand quickly.

maybe we should redo our first kiss.

next time, we should make it a date.

can i kiss you?

kissing sounds really fun right now.

have you been kissed before?

i never liked kissing until you.

you are... unbelievably good at that.

give me a minute to catch my breath.

your heart is racing.

are you okay? you look very flustered.

are my cheeks burning?

Tomura himself doesn't know what's binding him to this world after everything. His best guess... might as well be a complete shot in the dark, for all he knows. After grandma had saved what remained of his soul, maybe he'd somehow managed to latch onto Midoriya Izuku as a vestige, even when he should've disappeared... as for how, that's beyond him.

But seeing Midoriya so stunned; lost for words... fills him with an indefinable feeling. All this time, when he's been here, he's pretty sure Midoriya has never been able to sense his presence, until now. But... Tomura had always been there. And seeing how affected Midoriya was by his death - his failure to save Tenko, that crying boy and heinous villain - had given him a grim sense of satisfaction as he slowly rebuilt his soul, piece by piece.

But it hadn't been a feeling stemming from anger or sadism. It just felt like proof that the existence of Shigaraki Tomura had meant something after all. Maybe his life had been meaningless from beginning to end, just like Master said - but what Tomura had decided in the moment when he'd given Midoriya his final words was that it was all worth it, anyway.

Because of everything that happened to him, he met the League. Maybe he'd failed them in the end, but Tomura wanted to believe that the time he spent with them, no matter how short, still meant something. Even if it was a temporary thing, despite accomplishing nothing of their goals... he'd given them a place to belong, just like they had for him. Of course... that still didn't make it enough. Often, he felt pathetic clinging onto that belief, as if it could ever make up for anything that had happened; for his powerlessness, for what was done to him by everyone he should've been able to trust. He may have found some peace in his final moments, but Tomura had never been able to fully accept the ending he was given.

Is that why he's here now? For a long time, Tomura had only been drifting - drifting in feelings of failure, despair, anger and exhaustion. So why had he stubbornly refused to give in and fade away? He has a few ideas about that, but... even he doesn't really have a clear answer.

"...Don't know what to say, huh? Even after all this time?" He could feel bitter about that, if he wanted. There's certainly plenty of bitterness still left inside him, yet - somehow, it doesn't feel like it's directed at Midoriya himself. He just... doesn't hate him. Not anymore. And what a strange feeling that is.

Izuku turns his gaze away, as if Shigaraki's presence itself is causing him physical pain; a phenomenon of higher dimension not meant to be witnessed or tried to be understood by a human being.

And the saddest part is, this is exactly what Shigaraki Tomura is.

"Would you have thought any different if it had been me?" Izuku responds with a question of his own, only moments of hesitation preceding his words. Another one and he looks up again, ready to face the apparition of the former symbol of terror. Former and the last one, for nobody has dared to step up and fill the role. That phenomenon, for some, a man he couldn't save to him.

It would be easier to hold this conversation if he could convince himself it isn't truly real. Maybe then that pain of failure would subside by at least a little.