Chapter 1

Meet Again

The cafeteria was full of students. Iida, Uraraka, and Izuku were having a conversation at one of the many tables. Well, it was really just the two former holding the convo. The latter was in his own thoughts. The day after their party, Sunday, he had found himself thinking about Ritsuko at different times in the day.

It was Monday now, and he was still getting some thoughts about her. Thankfully, it didn't distract him too much from his classes.

When his mind went to her, the first thing he would think of were her dark grey eyes. Pained and hopeless; nothing but despair. Then he thought about how she seemed as though she was in pain. He wasn't sure why or where, and it made him worry about her. It also made him think that there was a possibility that someone was abusing her.

"Hey, Deku, do you like butterscotch or caramel more?" he heard Uraraka question.

"Caramel," he answered on autopilot with a quieted tone, his green eyes looking off to the side.

"Are you alright?" Iida asked a bit worriedly. "You haven't been really focused all day."

Izuku turned to look at them, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" He sounded a bit unsure though. The two stared at him for a few seconds.

"Whatever is going on, you can tell us," the brunette said before taking a bite of her lunch. Iida nodded in agreement. He thought for a moment about whether or not he should tell them. Izuku decided that he would, but he would leave out her name.

"It's just that, when I was at the store to get more stuff for the party, I bumped into this girl. Literally," he explained. "There was something about her though."

Uraraka's face lit up for a second. "My god, Deku fell in love with a stranger at first sight!"

Izuku raised his hands up in a defensive manner, "N- no! I- it's not like t- that!"

"Those stutters kind of suggest otherwise," she teased.

"Take in to acount, he stutters whenever he talks to a girl in gerenal," Iida pointed out.

Izuku's face was a bit red. Then the bell went off. Lunch was now over. He got up with the other two, threw away the rest of his food, and then headed off to class with them. Again, his mind wondered off to her, but he was still able to focus on his following lessons.

~~~

"There you go," Ritsuko said. She had just slid a tray of food through a small opening in the cell door to the black haired boy she saw earlier. The tray had food on it. She was also able to slide a small bottle of water through.

"Thank you," he voiced greatfully. He took a few bites before stopping. The boy looked up at her with his dull orange eyes. They weren't shining like they were the previous night.

"Ritsuko?" he started.

"Yes, Kuro?"

"I'm next, aren't I?"

Ritsuko paused. She knew exactly what he meant. She sighed before telling him, "Yes. I apologize."

A small smile appeared on the boy's face, his orange eyes lighting up a bit. "Thank you for letting me know, but there is no need for you to apologize. You can't control what happens, so nothing is your fault."

"Right..." Ritsuko stood up and walked over to her wooden crate before turning around. She ran a hair through her light blue hair.

"Would you guys like some music while you have lunch?" she asked, her voice echoing to the cells in the hall. There were a lot of 'yes' and 'please', so she did. Ritsuko carefully picked up her violin and bow. Then she jumped on the crate and began playing a few songs.

When lunch was over, she stopped and went off to her room. She tucked her violin in its case along with the bow. After doing that, she looked through the candy she had stashed in her dresser. There was only one thing left. It was a small chocolate bar.

'I guess I'll stop by my favorite chocolate store to get my favorite chocolate box,' she thought to herself. 'I can share some with Kuro. He can have the caramel since I don't it chocolate. I hope that he likes caramel in chocolate.'

She quickly left her room, and out of the bar. Luckily, no one was there to stop her. Ritsuko had to walk longer since the place was a lot further into the city, but it was worth it to her.

~~~

"Alright, see you tomorrow, Deku!" Uraraka called as she crossed the intersection.

"Right!" Izuku replied. He continued on his side of the street, making his way to the place he stayed at. About ten minutes of him walking pass until he gets to a less populated area of the city. Just out of the corner of his sight, he caught a glimpse of long, light blue hair. He saw her enter a small chocolate shop across the street. Quickly, he got to the next crosswalk to get to the other side. Luckily, it was already signalling pedestrians to cross, so he didn't have to wait. It took only a few seconds for him to get to the chocolate shop.

He walked through the open door. The short boy looked around for a second. When he didn't spot her, he decided to check the aisles. Izuku turned into to one, and he nearly bumped into the person he was looking for. Again.

"S- sorry," he said. Ritsuko looked down at him, her dark eyes staring into his green ones. However, that lasted only a few seconds since she turned her head slightly.

"It's fine," she told him. Ritsuko didn't expect to run into him, especially the very next day. She had the box of chocolates that she came for, so she would quickly pay and get away from him.

"I- it was R- Ritsuko, r- right?" he questioned.

"Yes," she answered immediately, wanting to get distance from him as fast as possible. Although, she didn't want to be mean or rude about it.

He was making her feel that weird, new feeling. She didn't like it.

"M- maybe, do you want to t- talk for a bit?" Izuku asked. Ritsuko remained silent. Then she decided that she could at least repay him for helping her last night.

"Do you like caramel?" Ritsuko inquired him, ignoring the feeling in her body. The boy seemed slightly confused when she answered him with that question.

"Y- yeah, why?"

"I'm not a big fan of caramel."

"O- oh... Okay."

She motioned for him to follow, which he did. It took only a few minutes for her to pay for the chocolates. After that, she took him to a nearby park. They sat down on one of the wooden benches. Ritsuko opened the large box to reveal all of the different kinds of chocolate. She gave the lid to Izuku so he could see the inside of said lid. It told what him what the flavor each one was.

"Milk chocolate's mine," she declared.

After Izuku finished studying the lid to see which piece was flavored what, he asked, "Which other ones do you want?"

"Just milk chocolate is fine for me. Please eat some caramel ones though," Ritsuko informed him. He looked down at the pieces, thinking about which one he wanted. He settled with the one in the bottom left corner, it being a caramel flavored one. He popped the small square shaped piece of chocolate in his mouth.

His green eyes widened as he savored the flavor that explode in his mouth. He had never had chocolate quite like this. Then again, he didn't have fancy, expensive chocolate like this very often.

"These are really good! I haven't had chocolate from this shop before!" Izuku praised, managing not to stutter this time. Ritsuko stared at him for a little bit.

"Buy some from there when you get thr chance," she finally suggested, placing a piece of chocolate in her mouth. They reached for the box at the same time, grabbed the same kind of piece that were opposite of each other since the chocolates were placed in a symmetrical layout. The two pieces were dark chocolate. They put it in their mouths at the same time, both chewing the piece as soon as it touched their tongue.

When he was done, he asked, "What made you get these today?"

"A... friend," she answered, giving it some thought. Ritsuko was a bit glad that he became more confident and stopped stuttering.

"They must mean a lot, right?"

"Yes." Ritsuko kept making her sentences short. The less she talked, the less he would know about her. For her, it seemed better that way.

The two allowed a silence to fall over them. However, it was a comfortable one. Izuku decided to take a quick look at her again. She was wearing a grey shirt, dark blue jeans, simple black shoes, and the white winter jacket she wore when he first met her. This time he was able to see the necklace she wore. It was a small, dark blue, sparkly stone in the shape of a heart. The stone was attached to a black string that was holding it around her neck.

It didn't take very long, but soon they were almost finished with the chocolates. Then Izuku realized something.

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" he spoke, an apologetic tone used in his words.

"Why?"

"All the chocolate is almost gone! You're friend won't get a lot..."

"No worries," the light blue haired girl said. She took the black foil that the chocolates were placed on and raised it up, revealing another tray with the same pieces set in the same array.

"Oh," he whispered. After hearing him, she lowered the foil back into the box. Then Ritsuko closed the box with the lid. She just sat there, looking at what was in front of her. It was a woman playing tug of war with her dog, which was a big golden retriever.

Meanwhile, Izuku looked up into the sky. The blue canvas was dotted with a few white clouds here and there. Then he checked the time on his phone. It was 4:57. He knew that they had been there for quite a while, so he guessed that they arrived at the park at about 4:30. Maybe a little later than that. As soon as he put his phone away, he heard her stand up.

"W- where are you going?" Izuku stuttered out. His confidence had slipped away.

"Home," she told him.

"L- let me w- walk you home," he said, rising to his feet.

"No," Ritsuko instantly said. Her voice was a mix of aggression and worry, and it caught him off guard a little. Then she began to walk away from him.

"W- wait for a second," he said. Ritsuko stopped and slowly turned to him. "C- can we... meet again? Here t- tomorrow at around 4:30?"

The girl was hesitant. She wasn't sure what would happen if she started to meet with him. If her father found out, she had no doubt that he would be angry and upset. Although, the idea of meeting someone new peeked her interest. Ritsuko liked that he was nice to her, but she was scared of the new feeling he gave her. She wasn't positive of the outcome, but there was something that told her that a good thing would come from it.

"Okay," she told him. She saw his face gain a big smile.

"Alright! I- I'll see you then, Ritsuko!"

With that, she turned back around and began her trek toward the place she stayed. The only place she considered 'home', but she knew that it wasn't how one should be.

She declared that the next time they met, it would determine whether or not she wanted to see him more.

~~~

"Thank you, Ritsuko, for giving me some of these!" Kuro whispered happily.

"You're welcome."

Kuro swallowed the piece of chocolate in his mouth. His orange eyes seemed to dim slightly, a bit of happiness escaping the fourteen year old boy. "Will it hurt?"

Ritsuko slowly opened her dark grey eyes, the sadness that was almost always in them becoming more apparent. "Unfortunately, it most likely will."

A sad smile appeared on his pale face. He lowered his head, his black hair covering his eyes. "How long will it take?"

"About an hour," she told him in a calm and gentle voice. Kuro looked up to her, one of his orange eyes showing.

"You deserve better than all of this; Kaito too!" he suddenly blurted. "Someone like you two should never be forced into something like this. Although, we are very glad that you are here at the same time. You're the only ones that gives us comfort. You are the one that gives us medical treatment, and you help us fall asleep when we can't by playing the violin. You help prepare us before they turn us into nomus or whatever else they do. Kaito too; he talks to us when we are bored. I think I speak for all of us in saying 'thank you so much for what you do'."

Ritsuko stared at him for a moment. "What song do you want me to play before I leave? I won't see you again after tonight, so I want you to pick a song."

"The first one that you played when I got here," he told her. She knew exactly which one it was. Everytime a new person came, she always played the same song when people first wake after being placed in one of the various cells.

"Okay." Ritsuko sat on her crate and began playing the song. The song started out slow and quiet. Shortly after the start, it changed into a much faster tempo, and the notes were louder. Each long note she held she used vibrato to make it sound nicer. To make it sound more beautiful. Towards the end the piece abruptly slowed. She played three long notes with a rest in between, each one being one pitch lower than the last. The last note was held for three beats before she lifted her bow slightly above the strings. She held herself like that until she couldn't hear the echo anymore.

Quietly, she got off of the box. Ritsuko walked to the door and made her way to her room. On her way, she felt pain bolt through her right side. The pain that was already in her right hip significantly worsened. She nearly fell to the ground, but she caught herself by leaning against the cold wall. Ignoring it as best she could, she looked up to see the cause. It was a tall male with short blonde hair. His brown eyes were full of anger.

"It's been awhile, Haze," she stated in a flat tone.

"God damn, I hate you," he said with anger.

"That's why you hit me when you see me," Ritsuko said. He scoffed at her.

"Sorry, I just feel the need to hit things that anger me or get in my way. Hell, when it comes to you, it's both." He bared his teeth as he walked away before adding, "You're lucky that the guy with the hands is your father."

Ritsuko went into her room as soon as she saw him turn the corner. She placed the box of chocolates on her desk, and she put the violin and bow in the case they belonged in. The girl couldn't stop the tears cascading down her pale cheeks and she locked the black and white case.

The pain she was feeling was unbearable.

Carefully and slowly, she eased herself onto her soft bed after flipping the lamp off. She tried to stop crying, but she could just not find a way to do that. Ritsuko placed earbuds in her ears and turned on her music player. She tried listening to the music, but her mind kept focusing on the pain in her hip instead. Her right hand clenched the white bedsheet, her index finger being the only one not making contact with it.

Ritsuko buried her tear stained face into her pillow. Thankfully, sleep came to her pretty quick.

Word Count: 2730

~ Posted September 1, 2018