Chapter 7


The thing about nightmares is that when that person wakes up, it's over.

How sad, Shouto Todoroki.

It fades and doesn't come back. They can forget about the nightmare and roll back over and go to sleep. And then they can get a full night's rest.

How… sad.

But this?

This was no nightmare.

Todoroki…

Because if it was a nightmare…

Shouto.

Why isn't Shouto waking up?

Smoke was still filling the sky from the remnants of the fire on the collapsed warehouse. It was a horrific sight, especially since Shouto could see his name smeared on the wall. In blood.

He shuddered, his feet unable to move from that spot. It was almost enough to make him vomit but he swallowed it down, trying to stand strong. But he was quickly getting lightheaded, the scene before him trapping him in a daze and dark thoughts starting to take over.

How did this killer know who he was? And why did he write his name here? It didn't make sense. None of it made sense. Unless…

Unless Shouto was the next target.

Was… Was all of this just an elaborate plan? Kidnapping Bakugou, leading bread crumbs… Was it all to trap him here so the killer could leave him this disturbing message?

What the hell did he want?!

"Todoroki!"

Shouto distantly heard footsteps rushing towards him, and soon enough, they skidded to a halt, the voice panting by his side. It was Midoriya. He recognized his voice from afar. But he didn't turn to look at him.

His eyes were focused on the still-streaming blood on the wall.

"Todoroki, we have to go!" Midoriya said, and Shouto felt a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch. "Kacchan needs to get to a hospital! And we… we…"

Suddenly, his voice trailed off.

Shouto swallowed and slowly turned his head to look at his partner.

But Midoriya wasn't looking at him. He was looking at the blood on the wall. His face was pale, even in the orange glow from the flames, and his eyes were wide with fear.

"T-Todoroki…" Midoriya's voice trembled. His hand squeezed Shouto's shoulder. "What… What is this?"

Shouto's hands curled into fists by his sides, a strangled grunt crawling up his throat. It was suddenly too difficult to talk, his body paralyzed with shock and panic. What in the world was happening to him?

"Todoroki, let's get out of here," Midoriya said, tugging on his shoulder.

Shouto flinched again and whipped his head down to look at Midoriya. His green eyes changed from his fear-stricken state to one of desperation, as if he was begging Shouto to move.

"C'mon," Midoriya urged. "We need to get out of here."

Right. They had to leave.

But go where?

He felt himself being tugged away from the building, his mind still caught in a daze. The last remaining wall with the blood-spattered message crumbled to the ground, and Shouto turned his head to face forward, his stomach rolling with nausea. His vision started to blur, and his chest tightened painfully.

How sad.

"Todoroki?"

He snapped his head up to see Midoriya looking at him in concern as he was dragging him away. He just realized how tightly Midoriya was holding onto his wrist. It was borderline painful.

"Are you okay?" Midoriya asked, slowing them to a stop. "Hey, you're hyperventilating."

Ah, so that was why it was hard to breathe. Was that the reason for the dizziness, too?

"Breathe, Todoroki. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth," Midoriya said. He gently tugged on his wrist. "Sorry. We'll go slower, okay?"

Shouto nodded in response and let Midoriya tug him along the warehouses. He did as Midoriya instructed, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth.

In a time like this, he would normally be embarrassed. Whenever the occasional panic attack would spring up, he would try to get to a place where he was completely alone. But with Midoriya pulling him along like this, he couldn't get out of it.

However, Midoriya was walking slowly, making sure Shouto had plenty of time to recover before they met back up with the others. It was kindness that Shouto had never been shown before.

Before he even realized it, his chest had loosened, and his breaths were coming in evenly. The pain was manageable now, and his vision had cleared some. He still stumbled as he walked, still struggled to breathe. It had been a while since he'd panicked like this before. And the first time ever in front of someone else.

"Ah, Midoriya! Todoroki!"

Shouto glanced up from his hunched position and finally noticed the flashing lights in the distance. There was one ambulance and two fire trucks parked, and down the street, Shouto could see blue flashing lights.

Crap. More officers.

"Iida!" Midoriya called, keeping his hand on Shouto's wrist. Iida came to a stop in front of them, staring at them both with concern in his eyes. "Where's Kacchan?"

"Ah, the first ambulance took him to the hospital already, but the paramedics said he would be fine," Iida explained, and Shouto saw Midoriya's shoulders fall slightly. "But are you two all right? Todoroki, you look a bit… pale."

Midoriya glanced back at him, his eyes sharp as they studied over Shouto's hunched form. Then, he turned back to Iida, his hand squeezing Shouto's wrist.

"He checked out the explosion. I think he might've breathed in some of the smoke," Midoriya said. He briefly glanced back at Shouto, his eyes fond, and Shouto felt his chest warm in gratitude.

"Oh, my! Smoke inhalation can be very dangerous!" Iida said as he adjusted his glasses. "Quickly! Let's take him to the paramedics."

"Right. Good idea, Iida," Midoriya said. He glanced back at Shouto again. "You ready?"

Shouto nodded and allowed Midoriya to gently tug him towards the ambulance. The paramedics immediately checked him out, wiping off soot and dirt from his hair and checking his vitals. Then, they gave him an oxygen mask, asking him to hold it to his face. With the mask, he could definitely breathe easier, but that didn't quite calm the dread that sat on his chest like a brick.

"Feeling better?"

Midoriya hopped up next to him, his green eyes peering up next to him in concern. His shoulder pressed up against his, making his whole right side feel warm and tingly.

Shouto's chest shuddered at the touch, but instead of shifting away, he leaned into it.

"Y-Yeah," Shouto said softly. "Better."

Midoriya glanced around, watching as more police cars pulled up to the scene, his brows pinched. He was chewing on his lip and fidgeting with his hands, and Shouto wanted to reach out and grab one. He felt his cheeks flush.

"Todoroki…" Midoriya started, his voice low so that only Shouto could hear. "What… What was with that message?"

Shouto tried to swallow past the lump in his throat, his breaths coming in harsh pants. He gazed down into his lap, still holding the mask to his face.

"I… I don't know," Shouto said, his breaths fogging up the clear mask.

Midoriya's body tensed, his face falling. "Do you… Do you think the killer knows each one of us?"

Shouto paused, flipping the words over in his mind. It was a terrifying thought, but…

A shudder ripped through him at the thought and he hunched over onto his knees, his breaths still picking up.

"It… would make sense," Shouto said, his voice trembling slightly. "I wouldn't be surprised if he had information on all of us."

Midoriya's lips wobbled. "I was afraid you would say that."

Shouto eyed him carefully, trying to keep his breaths even enough. He wanted to offer some words of encouragement, but he couldn't quite speak around the lump in his throat.

All he could see in his mind were those red letters.

"Well, you've really made a mess of things."

Shouto and Midoriya jumped and straightened their backs.

Aizawa was walking towards them with a scowl on his face and his hands in his pockets. He stopped at the edge of the ambulance and stared down at them like they were children. He said nothing. He only sent an icy look towards Midoriya.

"Um…" Midoriya started, "Lieutenant, I—"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't fire you right now," Aizawa interrupted.

Midoriya shrank back and hunched in on himself, looking so small that it made Shouto's heart squeeze.

"You directly went behind my back and disobeyed an order. How can I trust an officer that does that?" Aizawa asked.

Shouto removed the mask from his face, his chest warming in defensive anger.

"He wanted to help find Bakugou," Shouto said. "He had good instincts and was right there with me when we found him."

Aizawa's eyes snapped towards him, his glare biting. "It'd be best you kept that oxygen mask over your mouth. Wouldn't want you to lose consciousness or anything."

Shouto blinked at him, understanding the threat. He swallowed and placed the mask back over his mouth and nose, sending Midoriya an apologetic look.

Aizawa turned his attention back to Midoriya, his arms rising to fold across his chest.

"Your actions were foolish and selfish. Don't you realize the risk you took when you decided things on your own?" Aizawa asked.

Midoriya winced, his one good hand curling into a fist while the other shook on his thigh.

Shouto wanted to scream and yell, tell Aizawa that they were cops! What else were they supposed to do? Sit around and let Bakugou possibly die?!

"I'm sorry," Midoriya apologized.

"And not only that, but you put yourself at risk. I had you resting for a reason. What do you think could have happened if you had made your injury worse?" Aizawa asked. "You need to think about your actions and what kind of consequences will result from them."

Midoriya nodded sadly, his eyes dropping to his lap as he bowed his head in shame.

"Yes, sir," Midoriya said softly.

Aizawa hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath in, and then nodded.

"Good. Now then, we should get to the task at hand. Great work on finding Bakugou," Aizawa said, nodding to both of them.

Midoriya popped his head back up. "You're… You're not firing me?"

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "No. I should, but I guess you're not the only foolish one around here."

Midoriya's lips wobbled and tears immediately sprung to his eyes. He bowed his head again towards Aizawa, deeper this time.

"Thank you very much!" Midoriya said loudly. "I won't let you down again, sir!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, just tone down the volume, would you? You're giving me a headache," Aizawa said. Midoriya lifted his head and wiped his nose. "Now then, how about you tell me why two of my officers have to receive medical attention?" Aizawa said, his eyes sliding over to Shouto who still had the oxygen mask over his face.

Shouto sat stiffly, those red words still ingrained into his mind. He didn't want to say anything about it, but Aizawa was watching him with anticipation in his eyes, and Shouto knew he couldn't stay silent for much longer. He slowly took the mask from his nose and mouth.

"Um… There's…" Shouto stammered—actually stammered. He had never been this shaken before, what in the world was wrong with him?

"Lieutenant," Midoriya called, snapping Shouto from his downward spiral. "I think we should call forensics to check out that warehouse. There was… a lot of blood."

Aizawa straightened his back. "Blood? Were there any bodies?"

Midoriya shook his head sadly. "No. It was smeared on one of the walls."

Aizawa blinked at him in shock, his entire body seeming to tighten in alarm. He focused his attention on Midoriya completely, his gaze piercing.

"Smeared on a wall?" Aizawa echoed. "What in the hell does that mean?"

Midoriya turned his head to look at Shouto, giving him a questioning look that seemed to ask for permission. Shouto winced and put the mask back over his face, trying to breathe slowly. He gave a curt nod and stared into his lap, and Midoriya took that as his cue.

"The blood created a message," Midoriya said with a sigh. "And… the message had Todoroki's name."

Aizawa's eyes widened and he snapped his head over to Shouto, who hunched in on himself at the stare. He wasn't sure if he was about to be reprimanded or not. It wasn't like he knew why his name was on the wall, but why did it feel like he was in trouble?

"Shit," Aizawa muttered, rubbing his hands down his face. "Alright. Is the message still over there?"

Midoriya shook his head and put his good hand to his chin. "The wall collapsed because of the fire, but the blood should still be on them…"

"Okay. We'll get forensics to check it out," Aizawa said. He eyed Shouto carefully. "Did anyone else see the message besides you two?"

Shouto huffed out a breath, fogging up the clear mask around his face, and looked to Midoriya. He had no clue if anyone else was around. Hell, the killer could've been right behind him and he would've had no idea.

But Midoriya shook his head. "No, it was just us."

Aizawa nodded. "Good. Let's keep it that way. We don't need the entire police department descending into panic," he said. He turned towards the rest of the police officers as they started to spread out amongst the warehouses. "We should regroup. You guys need to go to the hospital to get checked out."

Shouto sighed, leaning forward and hanging his head, his hand still loosely clutched to the oxygen mask around his face. Hospitals. Again. He was fine, for crying out loud.

And then there was the fact that Bakugou was also at the hospital. Would Midoriya run towards him when they got there? Shouto wouldn't and shouldn't be surprised if that were to happen.

"Um, Lieutenant!" Midoriya called, springing to his feet and calling after their superior before he could round up the rest of the officers. "What about Todoroki?"

Shouto glanced up at his name and saw Midoriya's back. He suppressed a jolt from how close he was.

Aizawa, on the other hand, raised a brow. "What about him?"

Midoriya's hands tightened into fists. "Shouldn't… Shouldn't he be protected?"

Shouto looked at him curiously, watching his broad back and shoulders move as he breathed heavily. Midoriya… wanted to protect him?

"Protected?" Aizawa echoed.

"Yeah!" Midoriya said, growing more confident. "The killer knows who he is! Shouldn't he be in hiding or something?"

Shouto frowned at that—he wasn't going to be a wimp about the whole thing. "I'm not going into hiding, Midoriya."

Midoriya whipped his head back to look at him, his green eyes fierce. "What?"

Shouto took the mask from his face, finally able to catch up on his uneven breaths.

"If I go into hiding now, the killer might slip through the cracks and disappear," Shouto explained. "This could be our chance to catch him."

Midoriya's jaw dropped. "You… You don't mean to use yourself as bait, do you?"

Shouto paused for a moment and then shrugged, looking at Midoriya with a serious expression.

"It could work," Shouto said.

"Todoroki, that's dangerous!" Midoriya cried.

"Maybe."

"Todoroki!"

"All right, enough," Aizawa interrupted, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll figure out what I want to do with you later. For now, get on that ambulance and go to the hospital. Both of you."

"Huh? Me, too?" Midoriya asked, pointing at himself with his good hand.

Aizawa gestured towards his broken hand, and both Midoriya and Shouto looked down at it to see the bandages falling off and his bruised knuckles showing through.

"Looks like you'll need a new cast," Aizawa said as he turned to walk away.

Midoriya sighed and reached over to cover his bad hand. He turned back towards Shouto and offered a small smile.

"I guess we need to get back to the hospital then, huh?" Midoriya said, trying to lighten the conversation.

Shouto sighed, long and slow. Back to that wretched place.

"Let's get this over with."


The ride to the hospital was quiet, the gentle ride jostling the two of them back and forth. Neither one of them needed to lie down, luckily, but the paramedics were still keeping close tabs on the two of them.

When they arrived at the hospital, Shouto was immediately whisked away for tests on his lungs. He had some smoke inhalation that needed treatment, and Shouto begrudgingly accepted. He just wanted to leave and go home to sleep all of this nonsense off.

"Okay, Todoroki-san, you're free to go," the doctor said, taking the tongue depressor from his mouth.

Shouto sighed and hopped out of the bed, still in his dirty uniform. He was thankful that he at least didn't have to change into those itchy gowns.

"Thank you," Shouto said with a quick bow, and then he fled the room.

As soon as he left the room, his shoulders sagged as exhaustion fell over him. He was ready for a hot shower and sleep.

But before that, he wanted to check on Midoriya to see how he was doing.

He roamed down the hall to see if he could find a nurse to point him in the right direction, but he didn't have to travel far to hear that soft voice. He heard Midoriya speaking in a nearby room. It must've been with a nurse, right? So he could go in and check on him without being a disturbance.

Shouto was two steps away from the open doorway of the hospital room, ready to walk in and talk to Midoriya, when he heard another voice loud and clear echoing from the room.

"So you have to stay here overnight?"

"Yeah. It pisses me off!"

Shouto stopped in his tracks, his body hidden behind the wall next to the doorway.

Bakugou.

Midoriya was in there with Bakugou.

Slowly and shamefully, Shouto leaned forward to peer around the edge of the doorway, getting a closer look.

Midoriya was sitting in a chair next to Bakugou's hospital bed, the angry blonde sitting up with his arms folded across his chest like a petulant child. But Midoriya looked happy and relieved, his green eyes shining with unshed tears as he listened to Bakugou rant about being stuck in the hospital bed.

Something ugly twisted inside Shouto's chest at the sight of the two of them sitting together, and he found it unbearable to watch. With a sigh, Shouto pulled himself away and hurried down the hall towards the exit of the hospital.

He wasn't sure what these feelings were that made his stomach clench and his chest burn, but he hated it.

"Ah, hey! Todoroki, wait up!"

Shouto's stride faltered when he felt a hand grab his shoulder, and he turned around to see Uraraka staring at him with a worried expression on her face. She was still in her police uniform, and Shouto wondered if she came straight from the crime scene.

"Hey, I was wondering where you guys were. Are you okay?" she asked.

Shouto fidgeted. "I'm fine."

Uraraka breathed out a heavy sigh and smiled, her hand coming to her chest.

"Well, that's a relief! I'm glad to see you're in one piece!" she said. She looked up at him again, her smile fading slightly. "And what about Deku and Bakugou?"

Shouto frowned. The image of the two of them sitting in the hospital room talking together was burned into his mind.

"They're fine," was his answer, and it tasted bitter on his tongue.

Uraraka's head tilted slightly at his response. "Oh, that's good then!"

Shouto hummed, his head turning towards the exit. It was right there.

"Should we go see them? I'm sure they're worried about you," Uraraka said.

Shouto recalled Midoriya's happy shining face. His patience was really wearing thin.

"Sorry, but I think I'm going to head back," Shouto said.

Uraraka's brows furrowed in concern. "Huh? You're leaving?"

Shouto turned away and nodded, his feet already guiding him to the doors.

"Yeah. I'll see you later, Uraraka."

Uraraka made a strangled noise from behind him, and she called out to him.

"Huh?! But, Todoroki—"

But the automatic doors shut behind him and her voice was cut off. The tension immediately dropped from Shouto's shoulders, and he breathed out slowly to try to get rid of the burning inside of his chest.

But the burn lingered, even as he walked down the sidewalk towards the train station. All he could picture in his mind was a smiling Midoriya, but that smile was directed towards someone else.


Once he realized the trains were no longer in service—just his stupid luck—he headed back to the police station. He figured he wasn't going to be able to rest at home anyway, not with the knowledge of being a target still in his mind—and not to mention the heavy feeling still weighing down on him from the sight at the hospital.

There were a few cots in the break room, and he knew Aizawa wouldn't care if he slept at the precinct. Hell, Aizawa had been caught snoozing in his office more than a few times, so Shouto knew he could get away with it.

He entered the precinct and nodded towards the front security guard, flashing him his badge, and then headed down towards their office space. There were lights on, surprisingly, and Shouto's brow furrowed in curiosity. He glanced down at his watch and sighed. It was getting close to 4 in the morning, which meant he only would get a few hours of sleep before the morning shift began.

If he could fall asleep, that is.

Shouto shoved his hands into his pockets and headed straight to the break room. There was bound to be at least one cot in there. And if not, Shouto could probably snooze on his desk. Since Bakugou wasn't going to be in, he had no worries about being harassed.

Shouto sighed. Bakugou was one of the last things he wanted to think about right now.

He passed by the numerous empty desks and headed towards the back of the office towards the break room. He could already smell coffee brewing, which was odd. Who would be here this early? Especially since everyone was out late at the crime scene?

He pushed open the door to the break room and nearly ran into someone on the other side.

"Oh, sorry," Shouto apologized, not focusing on the other person's face.

"Ah, as you should be."

Shouto glanced up and was met with dirty blonde hair and a smug smile.

Ugh. Monoma.

Shouto glared weakly at him in response, shuffling past him to search for any cots in the closet.

"I heard about your crazy stunts last night. Pretty bold for a goody-goody like you," Monoma said.

Shouto rolled his eyes, trying to ignore him. It was way too early for this.

"So what brings the ice prince here so early this morning, eh? Worried that we'll find something about the killer before you do?" Monoma pushed.

Shouto slammed the closet door shut after finding it empty, and he cut his eyes at Monoma, who was standing with his creepy, tooth-bearing smile, grinning as if he had just conquered over a country.

"What do you want, Monoma?" Shouto asked, feeling his body start to drain from exhaustion. He didn't realize how tired he had actually become from all of the night's excitement.

"Me? Nothing much," Monoma sneered. And then his smile widened in his crazy manner, his eyes condescending. "Just want to see you get put in your—ack!"

Once again, Kendo seemed to appear out of nowhere, her hand slapping him on the back of his head. He hunched forward and held his head, groaning pathetically.

"Will you just shut it? It's way too early for this," Kendo said, a steaming mug of coffee in her other hand. She glanced up at Shouto and gave a small smile. "Good morning, Todoroki."

Shouto took a quick breath through his nose, the annoyance in his chest melting away.

"Good morning, Kendo," Shouto greeted. "Why are you here so early?"

"I feel like I should be asking you that," she said, putting her free hand on her hip. "Weren't you just in the hospital?"

Shouto averted his eyes. Word travelled fast. Although, he knew she and Yaoyorozu were pretty good friends.

"I'm fine. Wasn't that big of a deal," Shouto said.

Kendo didn't look convinced but she shrugged it off. "If you say so. Anyway, we've been doing tests on those multiple samples we've gotten over the last few weeks. I'm running the results of your staple through the system now, so the matches should be showing up soon. Wanna come see?"

Shouto perked up at that and he nodded, making Kendo smile. She gestured towards the door with her thumb.

"C'mon, let's go check it out," she said. When Monoma straightened his back to follow, she pushed against his face and kept him in the break room. "You stay here and straighten up this room. You wrecked it in the first place. And make more coffee."

Monoma glowered but turned around to start picking up the trash that was left on the counter by the coffee maker.

Kendo smirked and led Shouto out of the break room and down towards the lab. She shut the door behind them and sat down at the computer, taking a sip of her coffee before setting the mug down next to the keyboard.

"Okay! It's done. Let's check out the results," Kendo said. She clicked on a button and watched the screen, her smile turning into a pout. "Darn. There're no matches on the criminal database."

Shouto frowned, as well. "So that means this guy's never been arrested before?"

"Exactly," Kendo said, slouching in her chair. "Which means, you could've just come across a random surgical staple. Which is a little gross, to be honest."

Shouto sighed, his hand climbing up to rub the back of his neck. Another dead end. How was he going to break the news to Midoriya about this?

He sighed. He didn't really want to think about Midoriya right now.

"Oh!" Kendo suddenly chirped, leaning forward in her seat. "It says that there are similar matches in our system."

Shouto leaned forward to stare at the screen. "Criminals?"

"No, I think just civilians," Kendo said.

She clicked a few buttons, and a few pictures popped up on the screen, making her gasp.

Shouto felt his stomach sink, his heart fluttering wildly.

"What the… this can't be right," Kendo said, her voice quivering. "Todoroki, this…"

She turned her head up to look at Shouto with a worried expression, but Shouto's eyes were stuck on the screen in front of him.

On the screen were his and his father's ID pictures along with the words:

80% DNA Match to Enji.

50% DNA Match to Shouto.