Nomu

Part 37

"Trying to escape again?! When will you learn?!" Shigiraki kicked Deku hard in the ribs.

"Ple-please! I wasn't! I-I promise!" He coughed and doubled over in pain when he was kicked.
To his horror he heard a cracking sound, most likely his ribs breaking.

"Maybe this time you'll learn your lesson." Shigiraki growled angrily, kicking Deku again.

Deku yelped in pain before his wrists were suddenly shackled to the ground. He felt his pulse quicken and he tried desperately to shake himself free, moving erratically despite the pain.

"No no no!! Ple-please! Don't hu-hu-hurt me!" He screamed, watching as Shigaraki drew nearer.

Suddenly Deku's eyes flew open and he screamed.
"No! Wait!" He yelled, realizing someone had him. He rushed to get away before getting his bearings and realizing where he was.

He was in his bedroom, not with the league.

He frantically looked between his mom and Bakugou, who both looked equally concerned and scared.

It was a dream. He thought, before breaking down.
He doubled over in sobs.
It felt so real. I thought I was there. He thought as he cried.

"I'm so-sorry. I-I-I'm being to loud." He managed to spit out through his crying.

Inko and Bakugou shared a saddened and worried look.

"I did-didn't mean to wake y-you up, I'm s-s-sorry."

"Deku no it's ok. We're not mad. You're safe."
Bakugou said a little frantically.
Inko moved forward again, desperately wanting to hug her son, to comfort him.

Deku was still crying, trying to calm himself down in fear of retribution, but to no avail.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder.
He screamed and flinched hard, away from the person touching him.
He let out a scream and jolted away.

"Don't hurt me!" He yelled out, terrified.

Inko quickly drew her hand back.

"Maybe we should just wait for him to calm down." Bakugou said quietly to Inko. She nodded her agreement.

A few minutes passed before Deku was finally able to start calming himself down.
He wiped the tears off his cheeks and was hiccuping from his crying.
He was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest against the wall, staring at the floor and still trying to calm down.

"I-I'm sorry." He said quietly, his voice shaking as he wiped away a few more tears.

"Oh honey no. You don't need to apologize." Inko said sadly, her voice heavy with emotion.

"Do you need anything? We're here to help you." Bakugou said softly, sitting on his knees.

Deku didn't answer, lowering his head and hunching over more. His eyes filled with tears again, threatening to fall.

"C-can I hav-v-ve a hug...." His voice shook and broke like he was about to start crying again.

Inko and Bakugou shared a look before they both moved forward. They hesitantly wrapped their arms around Deku in a tight embrace.
Deku started crying again and hugged them back.
"I missed you." He said through his tears not to either one of them in particular.

"We missed you to." Bakugou said, hugging his friend tightly.

———
The next morning Deku woke up before both Bakugou and his mom.
They were all three still on the floor.

He shuffled nervously. He didn't want to wake either of them up, subconsciously thinking he'd get in trouble, be hurt.
He sat up, sore from sleeping on the hardwood floor.

He looked between Bakugou and his mom and noticed they were both still in their clothes from the day before.

He felt bad. He knew they hadn't even left to get changed because of him.

He looked back over at Bakugou, sound asleep. He was honestly surprised it was Bakugou that was staying with him and showing so much concern.
Deku hadn't really considered them really close friends before he was kidnapped.
Their relationship was a lot better then before, but still, it's not like they were best friends.

But he smiled. He'd always felt he wanted to be closer with him, but didn't really know how.

He went to lay back against the wall, scared to get up, when suddenly he saw Bakugou stirring.
Deku yelped and quickly moved away from him.

Bakugou rubbed his eyes and groaned, opening his eyes to find Deku cautiously watching him.

"Morning nerd." He grinned.

Deku swallowed the lump in his throat before anxiously answering.
"M-mor-morning." He mentally kicked himself for his awful stutter. He'd never had one before being kidnapped.

"How are you feeling?" Bakugou asked, slowly sitting up, his face wearing its usual look of concern.

"Fi-fine." Deku hung his head.

Bakugou didn't say anything in return, but Deku could feel him staring at him.

The talking and movement woke Inko up as well.

"What time is it?" She asked, yawning.

"Umm..." Bakugou glanced up at the clock. "Time for breakfast."

"Do you want breakfast Izuku?" Inko asked gently.
He looked up at her. He was hungry, but he didn't want to leave. For some reason his room felt...safe.

He shook his head.

"We can bring something up if you want." Bakugou said.

Deku looked back up at Bakugou. He thought for a second more before nodding.

"Yeah..ok." He said quietly.

"We'll be right back honey." Inko stood up, walking with Bakugou to the door.
He watched as they turned the knob and opened the door, leaving him alone in his room.

As soon as they were gone, Deku pulled his knees up to his chest, still sitting on the floor, looking nervously around his room.

Suddenly, his room didn't feel so safe anymore.