Behind the Smile | TodoBakuDeku | Book 1

Chapter 13

Midoriya's POV

I made my way down the stairs of a secret corridor, entering into a wide-open area. The walls were covered in portraits of children. Some were basic school photos, while others were candid shots. As I neared for a closer look, I saw each and every photo had eyes that looked to be gouged out and replaced with deep purple orbs.

There was a feeling of being watched as I circled around the room. The entranceway seemed to have vanished, and I became trapped. As I sprint around the room, feeling around for some kind of opening or secret lever, I feel the room growing smaller. The children from the photos began to come alive, all directing their undivided attention at me. "Save us!" They pleaded, consistently getting louder every second.

I tried to activate One For All, to somehow try to stop the room from closing in on me. When the quirk stayed dormant, I looked down to see quirk-canceling cuffs had somehow made their way onto my wrists. "I'm sorry! I'm trying. Just please let me think!"

The voices grew louder and the room was seconds from devouring me, when two sets of hands reached down from above me. I tried to reach them but the distance was too far.

"Deku!"

"Kacchan?" I began to cry out. "Kacchan, please. I'm scared."

"Deku, can you hear us?"

"Yes! Yes, please just help me. Get me out of here." I jumped again, grazing the fingertips of one of the dangling hands above me.

"Midoriya, we're here. We've got you," I could hear Todoroki shout.

"Todoroki! Kacchan! Please, make it stop!" I sobbed before deciding to give my escape one last chance. With all my might, I sprung into the air, this time grabbing onto both Kacchan's and Todoroki's hands. They pulled me up and out of the hell I had been trapped in.

— — — —

Third Person POV

When Recovery Girl pulled back the curtain to a sleeping Midoriya the two boys ran to his side.

"Try not to wake him. He needs plenty of rest, so I can heal him a bit more," Recovery Girl gently warned Todoroki and Bakugo before turning her attention the teacher turned parental figure. "He didn't have enough energy when you brought him here, Aizawa."

Todoroki may have cried his heart out in front of Bakugo before, but now it was as if the tears had all but dried up and were replaced with a fiery rage much like the one the other typically displayed. He was angry with the whole situation, he wanted to destroy Psycho Flip, he was pissed the heroes weren't doing more, and most of all, he was disappointed in himself.

He reached out for Midoriya's hand and tenderly kissed it, not caring who saw him or what they thought of it. "Midoriya," Todoroki whispered into the dulled puff of green hair. "I am so sorry. I was supposed to protect you. How can I call myself a hero if I can't even keep..." he paused before collecting his thoughts. "...keep the ones I love safe."

Bakugo, who had been frozen in his tracks from the second he walked into the room, finally broke free of the trance and walked over to comfort his friend. "Oi...Sho," he pulled Todoroki's shoulder back affectionately, as to bring his attention away from the wallowing pity he was spiraling into. "This isn't just on you. I've known the nerd since we were in diapers. I should have known. I...We both fucked up." He wiped away his own tears before shakily pulling Todoroki into a warm embrace. "But what matters most is what we do now. He needs us to be strong an–"

"That's exactly right," Aizawa cut in, placing a hand on each of the boys' heads. "He needs us all, but don't forget that you need a support system, too. Sometimes heroes need saving, and this is one of those times. No more secrets. Understood?"

The boys pulled back, wiping whatever remaining tears had stained their faces, and nodded. They then brought their direction back to Midoriya. Bakugo's eyes sprung open when he realized the greenette's wrists were strapped to the bed.

"Oi, why is he tied up like that!" He reached out to undo straps but was stopped by a sharp slap on the hand from Recovery Girl.

"Don't touch those! He was scratching his wounds open in his sleep. He'll never heal if he keeps doing that."

Bakugo left his hand drift over the bandages encasing his arms, before smoothly brushing any hair out of Midoriya's face.

Todoroki still clung to Midoriya's hand, as if ready for someone to forcefully try to take him away at any given moment. "I get the arms, but why is his stomach wrapped? Did he get into a fight and not tell us?"

Recovery Girl and Aizawa looked at each other solemnly and shook their heads. "No, kid. As Recovery Girl said, he really did do a number on himself."

And that was it. Suddenly, the dam opened and the tears Todoroki thought had dried up began to flow once more. Bakugo pulled up a chair as close as he could next to Midoriya and then softly guided Todoroki to sit on his lap. There they sat, crying into each other's embrace, all while holding the hand of the boy they loved.

— — — — —

A couple of hours passed and in that time Todoroki and Bakugo never left Midoriya's side. They refused to allow anything more to happen to him, whether by his own doing or someone else's. He was too important to them. He completed them. Without him, there would always be a piece missing that they would never be able to replace, not that they'd want to.

In the time they sat there, Midoriya had stirred and pulled against his restraints several times but didn't wake up. It was getting late and even though Aizawa told them to get some rest, he knew he was wasting his breath.

Midoriya began to stir again, but this time was different. He was murmuring like he was trying to say something to them from within his unconsciousness. He then violently started pulling against the restraints, as tears poured from his closed eyes.

"I'm sorry!" He screamed while thrashing.

Bakugo tried to hold him down, while Todoroki cupped his face, attempting to calm him. "Shhhh," Todoroki hushed. "You're okay. We're here with you."

"Deku! You need to wake up!" Bakugo was at a loss. He didn't know how to express the fear he was feeling. Watching a boy you love in so much pain was heartwrenching, even for the explosive soon-to-be hero.

"Kacchan?" Midoriya whimpered, as his movements slowed slightly.

"Yea, nerd it's your Kacchan. Now, it's time to wake up, okay?"

"Kacchan, please. I'm scared," he pleaded, trying to break free from the nightmare he found himself trapped in.

Todoroki, still cupping Midoriya's cheek with one hand, shakily combed his fingers through his matted hair with the other. "Midoriya, we're here. We've got you," he reassured.

"Todoroki! Kacchan! Please make it stop!" Midoriya screamed.

"Where the fuck is Recovery Girl?!" Bakugo began to panic. Just as he was about to go against all instincts and leave Midoriya to find help, the greenette's eyes slowly fluttered open, as all thrashing stopped.

"Y-you're...you're both...r-really here, right?" Midoriya cried.

"Yea, dummy. We're here," Bakugo sniffled, before undoing the restraints on his right wrist and crawling into the bed next to him. Todoroki was at a loss for words but did the same on the left side.

The three boys clung to one another. No more words were said, as they drifted to sleep in each other's arms.