Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. Still.
So I apologize for my long absence, but I've been swamped with work and classes.
Anyways, I spent a LOT of time trying to figure out how the hell to make this close to canon without drastically altering the scheme of things. One, obviously, Iida and Stain have to fight... somehow. And Midoriya doesn't have control over One-For-All yet, either, which is another problem. So, I think this story may only go on a few more chapters, and the characters that I think will get a chapter will include, and not in this order: Uraraka, Iida, Midoriya (II), Bakugou, Kaminari... and today's chapter, Todoroki.
Maybe more might happen, especially if I feel like it won't be dragging out, and also depending on the pace, but yeah, that's the thoughts for the future.
So lets rock and roll!
The heroic internships went plainly and smoothly, which was a huge surprise to nearly every single student from class 1-A. It was almost as if something planned went off without a single problem, just like it had been planned.
Todoroki, as silent as he was, admittedly was just as surprised as everyone else. But he knew not to complain.
As the first class since the internships neared commencement, Todoroki quietly made his way to his desk, doing his best to ignore the amiable chatter between all the other students, as he felt guilty for eavesdropping. Quite frankly, his mind was in a whole other place at the moment, anyways, as his eyes gently drifted to the empty seat that was typically occupied by a hunched over teenager with green hair.
He still wasn't back.
It wasn't that surprising, in all honesty, but a part of Todoroki was... sad.
"Good morning, Todoroki." The gentle voice of Momo Yaoyorozu broke Shoto's thoughts, but he found that he didn't mind the interruption. He turned to face the tall girl, smiling softly in greeting, and resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow at Momo's brief surprise. He knew his changes had been noticeable by those that paid attention (though he'd never guess All Might, of all people, would notice first) but his father had pointed it out too; he was changing.
He was accepting people into his life, finally.
"Good morning, Yaoyorozu." He hesitated. His time without comrades was not lost on him, and he struggled to figure out the next thing to say. Without meaning to, he wondered, 'what would Midoriya do?', and the answer came to him like he'd been struck by lightning. "How was your internship?"
Once more, Yaoyorozu was overcome by a moment of shock, but her expression settled, and she smiled bashfully, a dash of red dusting her cheeks as she presumably thought back on her internship. "W-well... it was certainly... interesting. I'm not certain it was what I was expecting, though. How about yours?"
Todoroki pondered the question for a moment. Was he satisfied with the experience? He'd been worried initially; he knew Iida had dark-seated thoughts on his brother's attacker, and it appeared that Iida was unable to locate Stain... this time. He knew those feelings, because he, too, had the same expression during his entire childhood. The all-consuming lust for revenge. It nipped at his self-control like a starved animal, and the urge to let loose and relish in that revenge was temping... too tempting. He had fallen for it... until Midoriya had intervened.
Just like that, he'd snapped Todoroki's desire for revenge, and inspired him to overcome his father by not even becoming his father.
Going to his father's agency was only to prove to himself that he'd relinquished his father's control over his destiny, as well as develop control over his now-accepted fire-quirk. Whether he accepted his dead-beat father or not, the man knew how to utilize his power to the maximum... and the only way to protect those that Shoto had come to accept into his life, was to learn to harness those powers.
"It was... helpful." A genuine smile grew on Yaoyorozu's face as she heard his words. "I think it was important to my personal growth... and maybe, even my growth as a hero."
"That's excellent; that sounds like exactly what Mr. Aizawa wanted for us!"
Spoken aloud, the man suddenly appeared, walking into the classroom with his usual tired appearance and dark eyes. This time... there was something else though. The way he carried himself was different. Shoto's eyes narrowed slightly as he drank in Aizawa's slow gait, the contemplative look in his eye, one that held uncertainty and doubt. It was the same look of someone who had no idea of what to do, but had no other choices.
The look didn't vanish as Aizawa came to a stop at the desk, but it did diminish as he looked over the class, seemingly satisfied no one was hurt.
"It seems as if you managed to avoid trouble during the internships... at least we can get through one section of class without something happening..." He mumbled, causing a few people to sweat drop. Shoto couldn't miss the sweep that Aizawa's eyes did over the class, pausing ever-so-slightly over the empty desk of Midoriya.
He took in a deep breath.
"I have a new class assignment for everyone."
The silent conversation between Jirou and Kaminari halted, both students freezing and their eyes darting to Aizawa. Mineta, who'd been enraptured in a daydream, suddenly woke up from his fantasy and was now staring intently at his teacher. Even Bakugou's attention, previously diminished by his nonchalant manner, was leaning forward, his full focus now forward.
"As I promised... I have an update on Midoriya's progress."
There was a collective sharp intake of breaths, and a few mute murmurs between students. Aizawa's glare intensified, but he didn't resort to using his quirk... yet. Todoroki felt his heart rate pick up just a little, and he even felt himself leaning forward slightly so as to not miss anything his teacher had to say.
"He's alive."
It took everything in Todoroki to avoid rolling his eyes. He figured if the green-haired teen had passed, they would've been alerted sooner... at least, he hoped they would've been alerted sooner. Kirishima, however, didn't share the same self-restraint as Todoroki, and spoke out.
"But how is he, sir?! Is he awake?"
Aizawa placed his glare on Kirishima, who shivered, and sheepishly averted his gaze, but he didn't lose the concerned look on his face. The red-haired teenager couldn't be accused of being emotionless, that much was certain.
"As I was saying..." Aizawa said slowly and deliberately, pushing his point across that he didn't want any interruptions. "His progress has been slow. What I'm going to tell you, is something I'm going to tell you in full confidence. Absolutely, under no circumstances, should you be spreading this around like some sort of illness. Confidentiality. Consider this your test."
Slowly, the gears in Todoroki's head turned as he took in the implications his teacher had left for them. It sounded as if...
Aizawa shuffled some papers on his desk slowly. "His growth toward being restored has been... slow. Painfully slow. With everything taken into consideration... I have made the decision to allow everyone in this room, the opportunity to interact with Midoriya, in order to help facilitate his recovery. My hope is that he will begin to recognize those who he calls comrades... and that, maybe, he can begin to function as a reliable hero, in the near future."
This time, there was no containing the flurry of activity as multiple voices went off simultaneously. All the chatter originated around the same basis: everyone wanted to be the first to see Midoriya. Todoroki grimaced; he wondered how much of their desire was seated on wanting to help the young hero, versus how much was dedicated toward getting information just to sate their thirst of curiosity.
He felt bad about thinking so little of his classmates... but for some, he couldn't dare understand why they were so invested in helping the green-haired teenager. Unless...
Todoroki's expression softened. 'Unless this is just another example of how Midoriya's kindness has touched everyone...' he thought to himself.
From the front of the room, a loud 'hm!' was heard, followed immediately by the rising of Aizawa's thick black hair, and sudden brightening of his eyes. The bandages around his neck, that typically hung loosely, were now suspended in mid-air, and the chatter that previously filled the room, was now absent, vanishing in the face of someone that commanded respect and unleashed authority merely by becoming serious.
Todoroki smiled ever-so-slightly. It was hard to argue with Aizawa's teaching style when it was so effective...
"You'll have to communicate with myself and Recovery Girl before seeing Midoriya... and you'll have to abide by specific rules when you're in his room. You should all know his power..." Todoroki grimaced and gently touched his abdomen. He hadn't yet forgotten that strength... "...so it's imperative that you don't do anything rash and force him to attack out of defense."
Aizawa looked directly at Kirishima, and then at Bakugou, citing defensive responses from the both of them, but ultimately, they were ignored.
"We'll be spending this class having each of you plan out what you'll be doing to help Midoriya's recovery. I'll send small groups to Recovery Girl's office to schedule times, as well. Feel free to cooperate with others... but we can't allow everyone into the room at the same time, so keep that in mind when you're planning your course of action." Aizawa walked to the front of each row, and passed a sheet of paper back, presumably to be used for plotting and jotting down potential ideas.
As the paper made its way back, Todoroki accepted it silently, and stared at it. A few students began mumbling to one another, chattering quietly, but loudly enough to make sure people around could jump in and add input if they felt necessary. Shoto let his eyes scan the room to see how other's were working. Uraraka and Iida were both sent to Recovery Girl, to which no one was surprised. With Uraraka's recently withdrawn behavior, allowing her the opportunity to finally interact with Midoriya would be therapeutic for her... at least, that was the hope.
Aizawa watched the duo exit the room, and Todoroki caught the slight look of concern on his expression, before he sighed and turned his attention toward evaluations from the internship. Shoto didn't have to ponder long on why he was concerned. Seeing your friend in such a broken state... would it be helpful for the young girl to see her best friend - and possibly crush? - in such a shattered state, or would she only become worse after seeing him?
It was hard to determine. Heroes would have to deal with the worst when it came to people's health... so this experience would only open Aizawa's eyes toward which of his students would be able to hang with the pros.
Allowing his eyes to keep probing, the half-cold, half-hot user was surprised to see most of the girls cooperating with separate people in a small huddle, almost none of them working together like they usually did. Jirou was - not surprisingly - with Kaminari, whilst Tsuyu was working with Tokoyami and Shoji. Only Ashido was cooperating with another girl, and that was Hagakure, who was also with Ojiro and Sato. Koda and Aoyama were conversing... which ended up being more Aoyama than Koda, who just wrote everything down frantically.
"Todoroki?" The teen paused his scan of the room, and turned to face Yaoyorozu, who was slightly red in the face and clutching her paper tightly. "W-would you be interested in perhaps... working together?" Before he had a chance to respond, she spoke again. "I know it's strange, but... you seem to know Midoriya well, and I really want to help him. So... please?"
Todoroki smiled softly, reassuring her gently as he spoke. "Sure; but you shouldn't think you wouldn't come up with anything on your own."
"It's not a matter of can't... but a matter of how. He... Midoriya is an excellent classmate... a great friend. I want to help him in the most beneficial way."
A voice interrupted. "You could always benefit me and show me your bo- ACK!" While Yaoyorozu was against violent actions against her classmates... Todoroki would admit that he didn't condone violence toward those that didn't deserve it. Mineta, on the other hand, nearly always deserved it. And nobody would look twice if the tiny leecher was suddenly coated in a thin veil of ice.
The tall girl winced, but ultimately, ignored the scene in front of her, her memory replaying the Sports Festival, which led to the quiet mantra of, 'he deserved it, he deserved it...'.
"S-so," Yaoyorozu spoke, forcing a smile onto her face as she pushed Mineta's groaning form from her thoughts. "Shall we get started?"
Just as Todoroki had suspected, the taller girl had plenty of brilliant ideas. Her knowledge far exceeded simply knowing the structures of non-biological objects, and even though she was arguably the most socially awkward of all the girls, she was a very kind, caring and thoughtful person, which made her perfect for developing plans to aid their classmate.
Todoroki's plan was simple: show him scenes from All Might's recorded fights. While initially, Yaoyorozu was skeptical about this plan - not knowing how seeing a fight would make him think - she admitted that they were on the right track. Childhood memories were arguably the way to go... even if Midoriya didn't believe his mom was alive. That, of course, was dependent on the rumors.
For their plans to work, they'd have to avoid bringing up the topic of his kidnapping. In fact, the goal was to avoid anything related - having him talk things out was not going to earn them his trust.
A good ten minutes passed before Aizawa allowed them to schedule an appointment with Recovery Girl - only, she had some rather surprising news.
"I'd like you to attempt to talk to him."
Todoroki blinked, but did his best to remain passive. "May I ask why?"
Recovery Girl smiled the 'old woman smile', but looked at the duo with warmth. "Of course you may."
A moment passed.
"Will you tell us...?" Yaoyorozu asked slowly.
"Nope," Recovery Girl said, just as warmly.
Todoroki hummed gently, but decided to just roll with the punches. If the legendary support heroine wanted him and the class vice president to speak with Midoriya... well, at the very least, they could give it a shot. Even if the reason was masked and hidden. Even if he had absolutely no idea what to actually say, because he had no idea what he was going to come face-to-face with.
To his right, Yaoyorozu fussed quietly, muttered gently under her breath as she condemned doing something without a known reason. She was methodical, if nothing else, and being asked to do something important like this without a known reason...? It was enough to drive her insane.
Recovery Girl struggled from her chair, cursing at its height, before she grabbed her cane and walked over to a chart that was laying on a desk. "The only thing you need to know is that he is easily spooked... and his memory is severely impaired. However... he's no longer using his quirk randomly, and from what I've observed, he's accepted that we're not his enemy."
Two positives; the first being this his quirk was no longer a wild bomb waiting to detonate. Todoroki slightly relaxed. Knowing that his body wasn't going to end up like the ice he'd thrown at Midoriya in the Sports Festival was... reassuring, at best.
Slowly, the duo opened to door to Midoriya's room, and hesitantly entered, as if their classmate was a wild animal, waiting to lash out at them. There was no noise within - no shuffling of feet, no heavy labored breathing, no nervous or demented mumbling... everything that would have caused Todoroki to become slightly more trigger-happy, so to speak.
"M-Midoriya?" Yaoyorozu asked softly, a rare flutter in her voice. While she could lack self-confidence, Shoto couldn't ever recall a time where she wasn't sure of someone else. He'd never seen her in a tense situation. Combat training, while effectively a good measure of a person's own mental fortitude, was easily able to be ignored as real, and it could sometimes miss the element of danger.
From underneath a bundle of blankets, slowly, a mass of green-haired emerged, revealing a pair of frightened, but familiar, emerald eyes.
He didn't speak. But he didn't have to. This was their Izuku.
Despite the fear in his eyes, a rush of relief washed over Todoroki as he finally saw - with his own eyes - an alive and moving Midoriya.
"Hello," Yaoyorozu said slowly, but kindly. She knelt down to accompany her soft tone, and shot Todoroki a strong look when he awkward remained standing. It clicked what she wanted him to do, and he joined her in her rather 'submissive' posture. It made sense, Todoroki realized. Midoriya had been relying totally on instincts from what Kaminari and Jirou had said... taking that into consideration, it made perfect sense why they were appealing to that fact.
Yaoyorozu was a very smart girl, Todoroki realized for what seemed like the umpteenth time.
"My name is Momo Yaoyorozu... but you can call me Momo." Her voice was still soft and delicate, a stark contrast from her commanding, but no less friendly voice she'd use when she needed to complete any vice presidential tasks for the class. Even her look was softer, as a tender smile touched her face, and cast a warm feeling from where she stood. Izuku hardly moved, but the fear in his eyes dimmed ever-so-slightly. "Can you tell me your name?"
A moment passed, and Todoroki wondered if Izuku even knew his name, let alone knew anything, but a raw voice broke the silence. "I-Izu... Izuku."
Yaoyorozu smiled widely. "Good! It's a pleasure to meet you, Izuku!"
Subtly, the taller girl (still kneeling) elbowed Todoroki in the ribs, and gestured with her eyes toward Izuku. While it wasn't clear what she wanted exactly, the half-hot, half-cold user figured she wanted him to introduce himself. He fumbled with his thoughts, awkwardly trying to figure out what to say to the barely responsive teen.
"My name is Shoto. Do... you remember me?"
Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to ask if Izuku remembered him... but then, part of him yearned for the answer. He needed to know if Midoriya remembered him or not... and while he wasn't exactly sure why that was, he just felt like it was important to him. Selfish, yes, but he still needed to know. And judging by the disapproving look that flashed across Yaoyorozu's face, it was clear she wanted to avoid that topic, if possible.
Even so, Midoriya's face scrunched up inside the blanket, and for a second, Todoroki wasn't sure if he was happy the small boy was thinking, or slightly disappointed it wasn't an immediate reaction. Finally, he spoke. "I... p-p-people tell me... I don't remember things..." Todoroki's heart fell ever-so-slightly. So he didn't remember him. Not that it was a surprise... but it was no less disappointing.
"I... see." Todoroki said lightly, trying to keep the emotions from his voice.
"B-but... y-y-you seem... familiar."
Both Yaoyorozu and Todoroki froze; digesting his words. Familiar?
Slowly, Izuku unwrapped his body from the thick burrito-like wrap he had done for himself, and gently, he untangled his body from the mess of blankets. Shoto tried to avoid wincing as he saw the scars that littered Izuku's once plain-looking skin. His arms, most notably, were disfigured on the surface, and the skin looked mangled with deep, ugly scars running up and down, some areas crudely healing, while others came together a little cleaner.
On his bicep, a dark purple zone of skin denoted where the IV was likely once fastened in, but also removed several times... perhaps by accident, perhaps on purpose. Even with Recovery Girl's healing, there was a very high chance that Midoriya was going to have permanent scarring, likely a result of overusing his quirk. His legs, while mostly covered by his gown, also had some scarring, although it was much fainter and less pronounced.
"I... you... who are you...?"
It was the most whole, complete sentence they'd heard Midoriya say yet. No stuttering, no shaking in his voice, no fear... just genuine curiosity.
"Like I said, my name is Shoto. We... we fought, once. In a festival."
Thankfully, it seemed like saying they'd fought didn't drive the smaller boy into a fear-filled frenzy, as he remained in his bed, his eyes looking down as he was lost deep in concentration, trying to recall the elusive memory that was on the tip of his outstretched finger tips. But a frown creased itself into his face and he shook his head with frustration. "I... still can't... r-remember."
"It's okay." Shoto said. "I do."
Midoriya looked up, and a childlike look of curiosity began to shine in his eyes. "D-did... I do good?"
"You did fantastic," Yaoyorozu said, stepping in place of Todoroki. She gave the duo a slight smile, obviously a change of emotion from her thoughts earlier, concerning Todoroki's random question. "You were one of the strongest at the festival, actually."
"R-really...?"
He was so earnest that it made Todoroki feel like he was talking to a young child. He couldn't avoid smiling as the injured boy's eyes lit up with excitement. An idea occurred to the half-hot, half-cold user. He wasn't sure how it was going to be received, but truthfully, he didn't particularly care what others thought - he and Midoriya had formed a friendship through battle... and he knew the green-haired boy appreciated that bond the same that he did.
"Would you like to hear about it?"
The look on Midoriya's face was so bright, Todoroki wasn't sure if he could stand to look the teen in the face directly. He nodded and the nervous energy that had previously swarmed about his body had vanished, replaced with undying curiosity and childlike excitement. Even though Yaoyorozu looked slightly unsure, she still smiled, and nodded in approval, which Todoroki appreciated.
He knew this would help.
Gently, he folded his legs into a criss-cross, and thought back to the fight, pondering the most appropriate way to recount its tale. Finally, he settled on the beginning; his initial thoughts. "I was... anxious to fight you. You and I... we had a rivalry, heading into this fight, which... I pushed you into." Midoriya frowned ever-so-slightly, but remained curious, and didn't interrupt. "But mostly, I was excited. Your power is... breath-taking. In terms of raw power, you're the most capable person in Class A. And I knew I couldn't let you wield that power as freely as you wanted, if I was to have any chance of winning."
"I-I..." Midoriya interrupted, slowly thinking aloud. "I'm that... s-strong?"
"You're very strong," Todoroki said. "And when we started our fight, you were the first person to last past my initial attack. I had to think on my toes to avoid being pushed out of the arena. But even as you reached your limit... you did something that impressed and... surprised me." He wouldn't admit out loud that he was scared.
He hadn't yet admitted that to anyone but his mother. He had a reputation... he had pride, even though he tried his best to ignore those traits. His father was the one who cared about those trivial things... he did not. But even so, he avoided saying he feared anything. It was taboo for him; and yet, when he visited his mother and spoke of the fight... he admitted to her, quietly, that he was afraid.
The damage he watched Midoriya inflict upon himself - willingly - was terrifying to watch, let alone fight again. When Midoriya had used his already broken fingers to launch another attack... Todoroki had no idea who he was fighting anymore. The once jovial, hero enthusiast was gone, and replaced with a desperate man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
It felt like he was face-to-face with a madman.
"You surpassed your limitations, and kept going, far beyond your limit."
Yaoyorozu flinched as she recalled the memories in her brain, and Todoroki hoped she'd caught onto how he was avoiding the topic of self-injury. He wasn't exactly sure how the topic would settle with the skittish teenager they were currently entrusted to.
Midoriya fiddled with the ends of his blanket, knuckling the fabric and clutching it tightly in his hands, glancing downward with a forlorn expression clearly on his face. "I... I-I'm scared of my power."
"Why are you scared?" Yaoyorozu asked gently. To Todoroki, she sounded like a mother asking a child why they were scared of the dark. She made a motion to move forward, and Midoriya flinched, folding himself back into a ball, halting her progress, but slowly, he opened up his body, looking uncertain. "M-may... I?"
Despite his uncertainty, he nodded, and slowly, Yaoyorozu walked over to the bed, before taking a seat next to the young teenager. Their size difference was only enhanced by his reserved posture, but Todoroki smiled inwardly at the progress they'd had thus far. It was almost remarkable how far they'd already come in such a short time.
Todoroki stood up, but Midoriya's green eyes were round and staring up at the tall girl next to him. Unlike the way he looked at Uraraka (which Todoroki had noticed in the past, but had never cared about up until now), the way he was staring at Yaoyorozu was something akin to respect and awe, like he was meeting his favorite hero for the first time.
"You said you were scared?" She was obviously trying to avoid prodding too much, but it was clear she was seeking an answer, and knowing her, she wouldn't rest until she got said answer. The only perk was that Midoriya obviously had no idea of this.
He nodded once, his gaze falling into his lap where his hands were folded neatly, but tightly, as if he were cradling his heart within his hands, and he didn't want anyone to hurt him. "I-I hurt myself. And o-others." Todoroki was going to try to reassure him, but it was the tightening of Midoriya's hands that caused him to hesitate and hear out the boy all the way. "A-and... people... t-took me..."
A tear slipped from Midoriya's eye, before he clenched his eyes shut. Just like that, it was clear: they couldn't go any further.
Yaoyorozu looked at Todoroki with panicked uncertainty, which the boy just met with a typically blank look, before he gestured toward Midoriya with his head, and made a hugging gesture. The girl looked surprised - and slightly embarrassed - but she opened her arms and delicately wrapped them around the shaking boy. He froze like a deer in headlights, but after a moment of adjustment, he leaned into her, and resumed his silent crying.
Two pairs of hearts ached; and Todoroki felt his rage spike as he thought about the people that made his friend like this. Did they even know what they'd done to the poor child? Did they even care? What exactly was their whole goal in breaking this teenager into a fractured image of the person he once was? Most importantly... did he even want to be a hero anymore?
The question was legitimately the only question that nobody had the courage to ask, because nobody was certain that they wanted the answer. For the few that managed to do it, heroes that were kidnapped, and eventually escaped, ended up retiring due to the associated risks. PTSD, along with other mental conditions, ended up plaguing them for the rest of their lives, and it went on to affect their hero work. Sleep deprivation was already associated with being a top-tier hero, partially due to the long and strenuous hours, but also thanks to the second-guessing and hindsight that crept up on a person in their most vulnerable hour.
Heroes that had added problems, such as combat-related PTSD, or another type of mental disability, would regard themselves as a liability in the field, and after only one or two failures, they'd retire in an effort to avoid "hurting anyone else", as they'd say.
Midoriya was no exception to this population. Even if he recovered... there was no guarantee he'd return to heroics.
All Todoroki could do was watch as his broken friend cried into the arms of a girl who was hurting just looking at him. Her gaze, as she looked up at Todoroki, was no less watery than the boy crying currently, and that was the moment that Todoroki realized the truth behind everything.
This was going to be as hard for the class as it was for Midoriya.
If they couldn't bear watching their friend cry and suffer... they were never going to be cut out for heroism. If they couldn't do this...
What could they do?