The Lost Heroes

Nekoma

!!TRIGGER WARNING: PANIC ATTACKS!! IF THAT'S NOT FOR YOU, SKIP THE ITALICS!!

"What?" Midoriya questioned, as if he just asked to get some breakfast.

Kageyama was the one who recovered first. "Hmm, let's see if you can hit my quicks." Hinata stared at him with wide eyes. Kageyama saw his expression, and shrugged in answer.

"It's not like we have any other options. And besides, if Midoriya can hit my quicks, it'll be like you're still there." he stated. Hinata still looked confused. Kageyama sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Look," he explained, "Midoriya is not that much taller than you, right?" we all nodded.

"Then, if he can hit my quicks, then we still have an advantage over Nekoma. Plus, they'll be on edge because they don't know who Midoriya is."

"Did-did you..." Hinata trailed off, searching for words, "are you feeling okay?!" he asked, walking closer to Kageyama. He attempted to put his hand on the taller boy's forehead. Kageyama growled, grabbing Hinata's wrist and shoving it down. Midoriya smirked again, and once again I was confused. I shook it off as Hinata replied, looking for all the world like he was serious,

"It's just that you never think through things so thoroughly!" Hinata exclaimed. Kageyama flushed red, though I couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. I doubled over, laughing. Midoriya went slack-jawed at the sight whirling around.

"You're laughing!" Midoriya screamed in awe. I composed myself, managing to stop laughing, but not able to contain my smile fully.

"Yeah, I was." I told him, letting my smile grow a fraction. I couldn't help myself, Midoriya's presence just makes me happier, makes me feel all soft and warm. Before I met him, my emotions were on a tight leash, my walls so high that no one had had a chance of getting through them. And I wanted it that way. I thought I didn't need any friends, and I found it hard enough to trust my teachers enough to actually learn from them, much less a bunch of other kids. Once the sports festival came around, I was so sure I could win without using my left side, was determined to do so, just to spite my old man. Then everything changed once I fought Midoriya.

"IT'S YOURS! YOUR QUIRK, NOT HIS!"

That one sentence. It was enough to send me hurtling through my memories, making me relive things I thought I had forgotten about. My mother, sitting beside me as we watched All Might on the TV screen, my mother soothing me whenever I cried because the training I went through became too much for a five-year old. It was enough for me to realize, if only temporarily, that even though I have his DNA, I am not my father.

Ever since that day, Midoriya has wormed his way past my guard, with little to no effort on his part. He was always unfailingly kind, offering to eat lunch with me or train together, and asking if he wanted to walk home together. After the dorms became implemented, he would always come over, either to study or do homework together. Or sometimes, he would bring snacks and movies from his room, and we would spend hours curled up on my bed, lost in the TV screen. Sometimes we would talk. We had gotten very close within the span of a few months, close enough that I slightly opened up about my childhood. Midoriya never pried, never asked for anything that I couldn't give him. He was always happy, or so I thought.

Once he told me that he was bullied from early childhood by Bakugo, and he suffered from panic attacks and depression, my heart ached for him. No one should feel worthless, and I made sure to tell him that often. When he had his first panic attack that I knew about, I found him in the bathroom outside the dorms, sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall with his knees drawn up to his chest, shaking and struggling to breathe with tears running heavily down his face.