When someone has been a hero, or at least a hero-in-training, for so long, and has been through situation after danger after crisis so many times already, a select few may start to get a sort of six sense for these sort of things, like they already know that something is wrong, like something bad is about to happen. Apparently, Todoroki is one of these people.
Another rescue simulation. Todoroki found it hard to believe that he was the only one noticing a pattern in heroics classes as of late. Not that he couldn't understand what All Might was trying to do. With the crime rate steadily increasing and how much experience they all already have in fighting the villains behind said crimes, the rescue training was necessary. Even the most heroic of them needed more work in that department, some more so than others.
He didn't think he needed to mention any names.
Finding himself standing next to Asui, Todoroki listened silently as the students looked over the already destroyed ruins of ground beta as All Might explained the day's lesson. From what he understood, all twenty of them would be let loose separately across the city ruins, set to show the aftermath of a major villain attack, to save as many civilians, represented by dummies, as possible. They were unaware of the number of these 'civilians' and they could team up as necessary for the safety of said civilians. They would also be required to leave their main hero equipment behind, if they had any, in the event that the attack caused damage or overuse.
"It's going to be strange without these, kero." Asui thought aloud as she pulled off her goggles and set them next to the contents of Todoroki's utility belt. Uraraka and Midoriya came by next, Uraraka tossing her helmet onto the pile while Midoriya carefully set down his gloves. As Iida came by, deciding to leave his helmet as well, he had a very loud, one-sided argument with Midoriya about leaving his suit's arm braces.
Considering his friend's self-destructive tendencies when it comes to heroism, Todoroki could completely understand his frustration.
In the next minute or so, Satou and Aoyama had come by, the former taking off his utility belt and the other some of his armor. Other than those two, the only other people to approach the pile were Bakugou and Kaminari, the latter looking at his removed equipment sadly.
"Man, why'd it have to be my stuff? My stun gun is badass." he whined mournfully. Bakugou simply scoffed, tossing his gauntlets down before removing grenades from his belt one by one. Kaminari chuckled. "So, if we all run into each other, you up for some teamwork or nah?"
"Why the hell would I want to work with you fucks?" Bakugou spat back as if it were instinct.
"Oh, cut it out already. You know you love us, Bakubro!" Kaminari laughed as he sprinted away, Bakugou discarding the last of his grenades and taking off after him with a feral roar. Deciding that he'd wasted enough time just standing there, Todoroki made his way towards where everyone else was congregating, completely undeterred by Kaminari's distant laughing turning into tortured screams.
The groups finally began to split up until everyone was alone, surrounding Ground Beta and preparing to rush in and complete their newest assigned task. Todoroki stood stoically, staring out at the vast, destroyed cityscape with a keen eye. From here, he could already see a dummy, situated precariously on the ledge of a decimated rooftop. Looking at the simulated destruction, it was highly likely that some of the civilians would be buried in rubble and out of sight, so he would have to be careful about what areas he ended up freezing over. Even if it was a training exercise, he would prefer not to commit manslaughter, thank you very much.
Todoroki wouldn't be able to explain why for months afterward, but for some reason, his mind suddenly zeroed in on his distant right, where Bakugou was impatiently waiting for the simulation to start. At first glance, he seemed like his normal, angry self, eyebrows furrowed intensely and arms crossed, his teeth bared in a snarl. However, as Todoroki continued to shamelessly stare at him, he noticed constant movement, fingers drumming his arm before his hands uncrossed and landed on his hips, and his foot tapping in a sporadic rhythm.
Todoroki couldn't help but wonder why he was being so antsy. Almost fidgety, even.
Bakugou, as if sensing that he was being watched, suddenly whipped around and locked eyes with him, giving him one of the hardest stares he'd ever seen in his life, as if he were genuinely trying to make him spontaneously combust with his mind. Todoroki simply tilted his head in response, not entirely sure why he was being given such an aggressive response for just looking in his direction (though he honestly shouldn't have excepted any less from the resident beast). This earned him the middle finger and being purposefully ignored for the rest of their wait.
As All Might's booming voice came over the loudspeakers, counting down from ten, Todoroki remained confused. About what, he wasn't entirely sure anymore. Maybe it was a lot of things.
From there, the class seemed to be going smoothly, the young heroes-in-training racing through the cityscape searching for dummies in the rubble of Ground Beta. Todoroki, after grabbing the first one he'd seen, was able to find and relocate at least two more on his own before it became difficult to find them in all the clutter.
Other than a laser beam flying past him at some point and a pair of floating gloves digging around a couple of houses down, it was a while before he actually saw anyone else. Luckily, that person turned out to be Jirou, who'd already found at least six civilians with her quirk. Off in the distance, he could also hear other voices, but he didn't put in the effort to recognize them at that moment.
"How many left?" Jirou asked aloud, partially to herself. "Do you have any idea?"
"Unfortunately, no." Todoroki sighed. "Though I can see why they wouldn't tell us. It's not like we would have the exact numbers in a real crisis."
"Yeah, Yaomomo said the same thing. I guess it makes sense. It's just frustrating is all."
Todoroki nodded in agreement, musing over the implications of what All Might might be trying to get across in this lesson before glancing upwards toward a particular roof ahead of them, where a familiar mess of limbs was staring off in the distance.
"Shouji!" Jirou called out as Todoroki created an ice pathway for them to quickly access the roof. Shouji turned to them, nodding as a greeting, before turning back to what had had his attention. As if sensing their curiosity, Shouji pointed out towards one of the taller, more demolished buildings several streets out.
Even from there, their childish banter and yelling could easily be heard, even by Todoroki, whose hearing was not heightened due to his quirk. Pink, Yellow, and Black could be seen bouncing around as Ashido and Kaminari ran around while Sero stayed nearby, acting as a voice of reason.
"What's that idiot doing now?" Jirou groaned, though there was a sense of fondness in her voice.
Shouji simply sighed and shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure. From the looks of it, he and Ashido are not being all that careful. Hopefully, they don't get themselves hurt."
"They're not that stupid." Jirou scoffed, turning to find more dummies other than the ones shouting about whatever her silly friends like shouting about. "They'll be fine. Just leave them be."
Todoroki suddenly felt odd.
For reasons that he couldn't possibly explain, he was hyper-aware of the structure of the building that the three teens were standing by. It was barely standing, as if it would topple over at any second. As Kaminari and Ashido continued to laugh while Sero chased after them, he could almost hear creaking and groaning in his ears as if it were directly above him. His hands started shaking, frost building on his right and heat in his left. He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, his heart beating faster with no explanation.
He wanted to move. He needed to move. Why the hell was he feeling so fidgety all of a sudden?
"Todoroki?" He heard Jirou speak to him in concern, possibly hearing his heartbeat steadily speed up for reasons still beyond him. "You good?"
"I don't..." He hesitated, brows furrowed in deep confusion and a bead of sweat running down the left side of his face.
Move, move, move!
"Something's wrong." He finally blurted out.
Move, move, move, move!
"No shit." Jirou responded with slight impatience laced with worry. Shouji was standing nearby, peering down at him with a guarded stance. "But are you okay? What's wro-"
Jirou's head suddenly shot up. Todoroki's heart beat faster.
Move, move, move, move!
Jirou's eyes were wide, earphone jacks raising above her head like satellites. Todoroki couldn't help but spin around, eyes locking back onto the building that they were observing before. From the looks of it, they'd found another dummy in there, Sero slowly lowering himself from higher up and carefully handing it over to his teammates. Sparks could be seen, their sources unknown, and acid was littering the area surrounding the building. Todoroki was oddly aware of the sound of Jirou's teeth grinding against each other as she sucked in a breath.
"That wall's getting really unstable."
MOVE!
Before Todoroki could fully register what he was doing, ice was coating the streets, Todoroki taking off towards the building at speeds that he didn't even know he was capable of.
It was almost like slow motion, watching a single piece of rebar fall harmlessly from the side of the building before out of absolute nowhere, the wall suddenly caved. Kaminari let out a startled shout while Sero cursed in stunned surprise, no time to react to the unexpected ton of metal coming down on them. Ashido had the quickest reaction, looking up so quickly that it made Todoroki's neck sore. As if it were instinct, she reached for the person closest to her, that being Kaminari, and tried to run by Sero to grab him as well and run for it, but as Todoroki watched, milliseconds feeling like decades, it was painfully clear that none of them were going to make it out in time.
His classmates were about to be crushed. He didn't act fast enough. He wasn't going to make it-
The explosion was enormous.
Todoroki skidded to a halt so suddenly that ice was shaved off from under his feet, and for the first time since he could possibly remember, he slipped and fell flat on his ass.
The blast was so powerful that the wind suddenly picked up, followed by a wave of heat and the feeling of dust irritating his eyes. Even before the smoke could start clearing, it was apparent that the building wasn't there anymore, debris of all shapes and sizes shooting off hundreds of feet in the air. Coming down from his adrenaline rush, Todoroki quickly picked himself back up and closed the distance.
Ashido had dived on top of Kaminari and thrown them both to the ground, Sero having followed close behind. After a moment of barely any movement, Ashido gingerly pushed herself up, the look on her face an intensified version of what was probably on Todoroki's own. As Kaminari's chest rose and fell rapidly, calming himself down after such an unexpected encounter with death itself, and Sero rolled onto his back and pulled off his helmet to breathe more effectively, Ashido got up to her knees and stared into the smoke cloud surrounding where the remains of a building used to be.
"Hey, Blasty?" she called out. "You there?"
There was a grunt in response as Todoroki made landfall. Looking back, he could make out Shouji gliding towards them with Jirou clinging to his back.
Ashido spoke up again. "You okay? That was a big blast."
He didn't respond that time. Choosing to stay back for the moment, he watched as Ashido stood up and swatted at the smoke, coughing into her arm and reaching out for her friend. She found his arm, it seemed, and she immediately pulled him towards her. Kaminari's and Sero's heads shot up when Ashido's actions caused a pained hiss, Ashido instantly letting go and stepping back.
"Dammit. Should have realized." Sero grumbled, he and Kaminari approaching the two as the smoke finally cleared and Shouji and Jirou reached them.
Bakugou's right shoulder was completely dislocated, his arm twisted at an odd angle and forearm, completely vulnerable due to the distinct lack of a bracer, already turning many different shades of blue and purple. Though his glare seemed as piercing as ever, the slight twinge of pain in his eyes could be seen if observed closely. The trio seemed to blanch at the sight of it all, and apparently, Jirou was cringing so hard that Todoroki could hear it from behind him.
"HEY, LISTENERS!" Present Mic's voice suddenly boomed throughout Ground Beta. "You better get a move on, because you only got ten minutes left! That's right, folks! Just ten minutes!"
The loudspeakers then broadcasted the sounds of a struggle, Present Mic making multiple complaints and sounds of protest as Aizawa sternly told him to shut up before speaking up himself. "Bakugou, Ashido, Kaminari, and Sero, please stay where you are until a faculty member reaches your location. The rest of you, continue the simulation."
The loudspeakers cut off, and Jirou let out a sigh, making eye contact with Kaminari before heading back out, Shouji hesitantly following her. Todoroki, keeping his straight face and deciding that he ultimately wouldn't be needed here, complied as well.
The weird feeling was gone, at least.
It would be at the end of the school day that Todoroki would just so happen to wander by the infirmary and find Kirishima just outside the door.
"Oh, hey." He greeted with a toothy smile. "I was just about to head in."
"So, you wouldn't know how he is at the moment." Todoroki rationalized, deciding not to worry about trying to be subtle about checking up on them.
"Oh, he's fine." Kirishima laughed, seeming to catch on. "It's Bakugou. What do you expect?"
"I suppose you're right."
Peering inside, Todoroki could make out three easily recognizable figures by the bed, Ashido bawling about friendship and heroics and Kaminari laughing about squads and going soft while Bakugou screamed at them from his place on the bed and Sero just laughed. Bakugou's right arm, though reset and partially healed, was still being kept in a cast, probably in hopes of discouraging any reckless behavior before it was fully healed.
To the side, oddly enough, was All Might, in all of his deflated glory. He says something to Bakugou, who responded with a scoff and an eye roll.
"See?" Kirishima reassured. Todoroki nodded as Kirishima stepped past him, waving happily at his oddball group of friends. Sero was the first to respond, giving a giggly salute while Ashido yelled his name and tackle hugged him. Todoroki allowed a small smile to grace his features as he stepped back from the door and out of sight, making his exit and giving them the privacy that they probably wanted right now.
He would have to find out about that strange feeling he had. Perhaps Aizawa or All Might would have an idea about what it was. However, now wasn't the time, as he couldn't help but feel tired from the day's events and craved a nap. As it stood, now was probably the best time, when everything had calmed down and Class 1-A's most reckless band of misfits would most likely tone it down for the rest of the day.
Well, all's well that ends well, he guessed.