Inseparable Bonds

The Ring of Laughter

Iida and Youyarozu walked out of the janitor closet, following the group of four. It was true that the entire class had gotten protective of them, but Bakugo and Todoroki were the main protectors of the group.

The duo listened to the conversations they were having, and never tried to join them. It would be hard to get Midoriya to smile, let alone, talk to one of them.

Only once did one of them look back, and it was Kirishima. When he did turn, he gave a small smile, but Iida couldn't shake the feeling that it was fake. It looked so real! How many times do you have to fake a smile to make it look so sincere?!

Yaoyorozu elbowed him in the ribs, shaking Iida from his train of thought, just in time to hear Midoriya laugh. The sound made the duo relax again. If Midoriya can laugh again, he'll be able to trust us all again.

Iida looked at the faces of his classmates. Smiles had been drawn on their faces, obviously happy that their friend was laughing once more. The sound of laughter filled all five of them with hope. Hope that things would go back to as close to normal as they could with All Might and Sato dead.

"No, pumpkins are Halloween apples," Todoroki said.

Midoriya laughed again, and Kirishima joined. Bakugo smiled, and Todoroki shot confused glances at the three. Iida and Youyarozu smiled from ear to ear. They were laughing, smiling!

They turned the corner, and all laughter died. In the middle of the hallway, sat Kota, holding onto his pants, crying. Todoroki ran up to him, placing a hand on his back and started whispering.

Kota looked up, and locked eyes with the greenete. Tears started flowing faster as he got up and ran. He grabbed onto Midoriya's waist, and despite Bakugo's growls, he never let go.

However, Midoriya didn't mind. The funny thing about dying and coming back to life, is you remember the moment you died in vivid detail. The only memory AFO couldn't erase. The only memory Midoriya used to keep going through the chaos. Midoriya needed to make sure he was ok, even if he forgot the boy's name. He needed to make sure he'd been a hero to at least one person.

Midoriya smiled, and knelt down, returning the tight embrace. Bakugo stopped growling at Kota, and even knelt down, trying to comfort him.

"Y-you... wh-why did you... d-die for m-me-e?" Kota sobbed, burying his head in Midoriya's chest. 

Iida and Yaoyorozu found this most intriguing. Of all the people Midoriya saw before he was kidnapped, this was the one he still trusted. They were dumbfounded.

Midoriya moved his hand to Kota's head, pulling him closer to his chest. "Because... because I had to save you, even if it meant my life."

Kota looked up into the pearly green eyes, and for the first time since he found out Midoriya was still alive, and living at U.A. he smiled. He got up, and grabbed Midoriya's hand, pulling up, and toward the dorms.

***

Kota reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a burnt notebook. Midoriya and Bakugo recognized it instantly. He slowly walked over to Midoriya, and held them out.

"A lot happened while you were away. When we figured out that U.A. would be building you a dorm, and label it as yours, your mom kept this incase something happened to it, so she sent in decoys. Ones that were full of old notes about the house. I'm sorry this is all I could do for you. Your mom did so much more."

Midoriya's eyes hardened with anger, but it quickly went away when Kota walked toward him with his notebooks. Tears filled Midoriya's eyes as he took the notebooks.

Memories of the good times filled his mind: The day he got into U.A.; the day he met Uraraka; the internship with Gran Torino; the sludge villain; the beach; the day he got his quirk; even the day his notebook was burned; the sports festival; sparring with Bakugo; meeting Kota; returning home. Times had moved by so quickly.

For once, Midoriya, Kirishima, Bakugo, and Todoroki all gave a genuine smile. These four had been through a lot, but they weren't ready yet to tell the full story to the class. The class wasn't ready for it, but a feeling in the pit of their stomach said the class wasn't going to give up on asking, and pieces of their past would show whether they wanted it to or not.

The five of them walked out, and headed toward Midoriya's dorm, laughing and talking as a group. The positive vibes of the class were helping, more than staying away from anyone would.

By this time it'd been two weeks since they'd been freed. And the class was four weeks closer to getting the full story. But Midoriya couldn't stop thinking about his mother.

It'd been too long since he'd even talked to his mother. Though the more he thought about it, the more he didn't want to see her. If she showed up at his door, he'd slam it. He'd turn her away quicker than the last time he saw her, and this time, he had people who didn't want him to stop talking.

"Todoroki, Bakugo, Kirishima, Midoriya, Kota... uhh... hi!" Ojiro said, stepping into the elevator.

Midoriya turned his head to Kirishima, hoping for an answer from him, but got none. Kota just waved, and ran off to the kitchen, and Todoroki chased after him.

The doorbell rang. Tsu was the first to open it. At the door, stood a blonde girl with blue eyes. She was relatively tall, and was beautiful, except for the single scar that ran across her head. It stretched from her hair line to her chin. Instead of a burn scar, it was a cut scar. It looked like someone or something had cut her skin, and sewed it back together.

"Hi! I'm Misaki!" she waved.