Daughter of Aizawa (True Colours) | | S.Todoroki, K.Bakugo

LXII: Bonding

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I made my way out of the springs and changed into an oversized sweatshirt and some shorts. I put on flips flops, leaving the area and meeting up with Midoriya. 

"I'll see you guys later!" I called out to the other girls.

"Okay!"

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I was walking down the hall until I spotted Midoriya holding Kota in his arms. I ran up to him in panic, "Is Kota-chan okay?" 

Midoriya nodded, "It was probably the fall that frightened him,"

"I see..."

We walked towards the manger office and opened the door, "excuse us?"

Mandalay got up from her seat, panicked, "What happened to Kota?!"

I looked at Midoriya then back at Mandalay, "He fell,"

Mandalay sighed, getting up from her seat, "I'll get a warm cloth, you can put him down on the couch,"

Midoriya placed him on the couch, taking his hat off and handing it to me. Mandalay came back with a warm cloth, placing it over his forehead and sighing, "I heard from Eraser that there was an embodiment of lust among the boys, so I just had him there keeping watch," she got up and turned to us, "Girls develop quickly, huh?"

"Eh... I'm just glad he's okay," Midoriya and I said together.

She looked at us surprised, chuckling, "I'm glad the two of you said that at the same time," 

I rubbed the back of my neck, shrugging. 

"Kota-kun has a negative view of heroes, doesn't he? For me, I've always been surrounded by people who wanted to be heroes-- Oh, I included. So I thought it was unusual for a boy his age to feel the way he does... " Midoriya said.

I shifted my gaze towards Kota, "Izuku-kun,"

"Huh?"

"Never mind... it'll probably be better for Mandalay to explain..." I mumbled. Mandalay leaned back in her chair, "You see... there are some people in the world that believe heroes don't belong in this society. If he had been raised normally, maybe he would've admired heroes, too,"

"Normally?" 

I sat down on the coffee table, "Sorry, sitting on tables isn't respectful bu--,"

Mandalay shook her head, "It's okay,"

The door opened quietly, causing us to look in the direction. Pixie-Bob walked in, frowning, "Mandalay's cousin-- Kota's parents were heroes, but they were killed in the line of duty..."

I looked at the ground, clenching my hands on the table. Midoriya gasped, "Wait, what?"

Mandalay put one of her arms over her face, "It was two years ago... they were protecting citizens from a villain but for a hero it as a respectable way to die, an honorable death. But... a child barely aware of what was around him couldn't understand that... his whole world was revolved around his parents and-- society kept praising them even though he said his parents left him behind. To Kota, heroes are a kind of human he can't understand and finds unpleasant,"

Midoriya didn't say anything as he continued to listen to Kota's story. My chest started hurting, thinking about the struggles he went through and how much it can relate to mine, except at least I have the one parent. I looked up at Mandalay, "Is that why you talked to my father?"