Shouta Aizawa

On one hand, Aizawa thought after hearing Todoroki inquire as to what information Bakugou had disclosed, he has the right to know. On the other, would that be fair to Bakugou?

"He told me the poem belonged to you," Aizawa remarked, keeping his eyes on Todoroki. "That was all."

Then, the searing sensation of ice on teeth cut through Aizawa when Todoroki presented a lackadaisical smile. "Really? Bakugou said you discussed quite a bit more about me."

Aizawa withdrew from the burning clash between his eyes and Todoroki's eyes. His behavior is abnormal. Previously, I'm certain he would've accepted my answer, whether or not he knew I was lying. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. I need to leave shortly to meet with Endeavor.

"I did mention I was concerned about your well-being to him." Aizawa nodded, observing as Todoroki's smile wilted into a cold, neutral expression. "He said that I was right to be concerned, but he didn't elaborate further." He noted how Todoroki's eyes squinted ever so slightly.

"So there's something to be lost by saying the truth, or there's something to be gained by hiding it?" Todoroki murmured.

I see.

Aizawa tilted his head. "If you already asked Bakugou about this, you know the answer." His gaze did not stray from Todoroki's thin, looming figure.

Todoroki provided a slight head tilt. "So it's acceptable when you ask for confirmation on something you already know, and you expect to receive an answer, but when the roles are reversed, it isn't?" Like bullets, his eyes possessed a lethal gleam.

"The difference is that I had a reason to suspect that you were a danger to yourself. Regardless, is there anything urgent you want to discuss? I have a meeting to attend."

Todoroki shook his head, and with that, the two parted ways. Aizawa promptly made his way to the Todoroki household, and after knocking on the front door to the traditional, Japanese-style house, he was greeted by Endeavor. Although Aizawa had spoken with Endeavor a few times in the past, their conversations never pertained to Todoroki's behavior in class.

After replacing his shoes with a pair of slippers, Aizawa was welcomed into the kitchen. He sat at the kitchen table while Endeavor began to boil a pot of tea.

So far, nothing has looked concerning, Aizawa thought as his eyes wandered around the kitchen. However, he was aware I would be coming.

"Has Shouto been respectful?" Endeavor inquired, but Aizawa's eyes were met with Endeavor's back.

"Yes. He's a bright student committed to his studies." Aizawa closed his burning eyes, and immediately, a heavy weight tugged at his consciousness.

Endeavor's crimson hair tilted ever so slightly. "Then what part of his behavior is unacceptable?" He turned to face Aizawa with fierce, turquoise eyes.

"I suppose it's more his actions and his current state over his behavior, but Todoroki is alarmingly malnourished."

Narrowing his eyes, Endeavor crossed his arms. "I've told that boy countless times that he needs to eat more. I've asked him why he's lost so much weight, and he says he's not hungry. I ask if he wants to lose weight, and he says he doesn't. I tell him he needs help, and he says he's working on it. I don't understand him."

That's far from the response I was expecting. It could be an act, though.

"Do you still train him in his current state?" Aizawa's voice remained neutral, but it had attained a softened undertone.

Endeavor lowered his head and let out a sigh. "I don't know why he insists on training so often. I've warned him against it, but that boy is still in his rebellious phase. Each time, he gets weaker and weaker, and I remind him he is the only one who can regain his strength." He furrowed his brows. "And those injuries he walks back with every time… What kind of training are you using to have my son look like he does?" His eyes possessed the might of the ocean.

What? Aizawa's core was squeezed with hot iron. He seems genuine. It could still be a facade, but I do have proof that Todoroki frequently lies. Who's lying? Endeavor, or Todoroki?

Aizawa straightened his posture. "Prior to the housing arrangements they currently have, our students faced the staff and each other in mock battles. They were employed in their Hero agencies as well. Currently, each student is responsible for their own independent—"

"Independent, you say?" spat Endeavor, who curled his hand into a fist. "Who is he staying with?" The flames flaking from above his lips flared up.

I highly doubt Bakugou would be the cause of Todoroki's injuries. The more I investigate, the more complex and confusing this becomes.

Nodding, Aizawa replied, "Bakugou."

As the boiling pot behind Endeavor began to shriek through its hissing, Endeavor's expression contorted into a burning scowl. "Impossible. Shouto has been so much happier ever since he got into a relationship with Bakugou."

"Do you think he's happy?"

"I've never seen him happier." Endeavor began to pour out two cups of tea. "Yet, he looks like that. So, he must be training with someone."

"I'm going to ask something personal to the both of you," Aizawa sighed as a white mug was placed before him, "but before that, would you mind showing me when exactly Todoroki requested to train with you? He's made claims I'd like to verify." He raised the steaming mug to his lips, watching as Endeavor sat opposite him.

Endeavor extracted his phone from his pocket and began to tap at the screen. "Here." He slid the phone over to Aizawa, revealing the most recent conversation over text between Endeavor and his son:

Shouto
i want to train tonight

Endeavor
Show me proof you gained weight first.

An image of a scale displaying 44.3 kilograms was sent by Todoroki.

Endeavor
You need to gain more than that.

Shouto
you didn't specify. i'll be there for dinner

Endeavor
All those godawful injuries you get from whatever they're doing to you at school would heal much faster if you bulked up.

Shouto
you're telling me that when you used to train me until i threw up and couldn't eat anything for the rest of the day? when i used to go to school and people would think i was abused because of all the bruises and injuries you gave me from training? when you used to beat mom in front of me after physically tormenting me for hours, and then lie about what you did to your other "failures" when they could hear it all no matter where they were?

Endeavor
I was a fool, Shouto, and I never thought about what it was truly doing to you or the rest of the family. You all have every right to hate me for what I did.

Shouto
have you told them that?

Endeavor
No, but I now recognize that that is a responsibility I have.

Shouto
good. for the record, you've changed a lot, and i'm proud of you for that, father

The conversation was from a few days prior.

So, if Endeavor is telling the truth… Aizawa handed the phone back to Endeavor as the tail of something hot and slippery writhed inside of him. Where is Todoroki getting his injuries from? Is he causing his own injuries? Is someone else abusing him? A student at this school? A villain? Has he told Higoro anything?

"So, what is it you want to ask?"

Aizawa set the hot mug on the table and locked eyes with Endeavor. "Are you aware that Todoroki seems to have attempted suicide, and that he's more than likely cutting himself?"

Endeavor's eyes widened, and then, he grit his teeth and scrunched his eyes closed. "Is that why he wants to train when he's like that? Shouto…" He shook his head and swiped his phone from the table. "Why was I not informed of this sooner?"

"We've only recently found out enough information to determine this," uttered Aizawa. "Todoroki currently has a feeding tube, and he's been given resources like the suicide hotline, but I would like to request that he's seen by a professional. This is something he wrote." He unfolded the poem he'd discovered in his classroom prior to the implementation of the new course module at U.A.

After frantically bashing his thumbs against the screen of his phone, Endeavor exhaled sharply and pressed his hand to his wrinkled, glistening forehead. "He always told me he was happy. This whole time, he's been suicidal?" His knuckles burned white against the brown table. "He is absolutely getting help. This is…" He closed his eyes, and once the crescents of turquoise from his eyes were revealed again, he splayed his fingers against the table. "Is it my fault for putting him through what I did? For brushing off the red flags? For allowing him to sway me out of forcing therapy onto him?

"If I'd been focused on being his father over his mentor, would he have meant it when he told me he was happy? A part of me is grateful to be able to look at my past and feel remorse for all the things I did, but it won't change what's already been done." Endeavor tapped the screen of his phone, but from what Aizawa could see, only the time was displayed. "I was so caught up in my own desires that I couldn't see how much I was damaging my own family. I've been trying to make amends and set things right, but nothing can forgive what I chose to do to them all."

Assuming he isn't prevaricating, I can understand how difficult this would be to take in, Aizawa thought to himself while Endeavor's eyes slowly read each line on the paper. The very idea that you as a parent could be the reason why your child ended their life is beyond dark. But…

"You'll have to speak with Todoroki before assuming you were the cause," Aizawa said with rounded, glass words. "Whether you are or aren't, what matters most is him as we speak. I don't know how he's receiving his injuries, but it seems like someone is behind it. However, I don't think it would be absurd to think Todoroki is intentionally setting it up to appear as such. Do you have any clues he's given you?"

Endeavor nodded, glancing up from the poem in his large, trembling hands. "I will be discussing this with him later. He's claimed all his injuries are from school, with the exception of a few. He said some were from tripping." His eyes fell to the poem again. "A few months ago, he mentioned that he had a new friend he'd be visiting every so often. I asked for the name, but he didn't tell me. A few weeks later, and I could see he lost a lot of weight. He came home with a limp as well. He said it was from school."

That aligns roughly with when Todoroki and Higoro announced their relationship, Aizawa realized. I could ask if Bakugou knows, and if not, to ask if Todoroki made any new friends within the past few months. He might be more willing to tell Bakugou the name.

After sending Bakugou an email that debriefed the situation and included his request, Aizawa scrutinized how Endeavor's eyes were squinted, how his lips were pulled to the side, and how his brows flickered with the flames licking his cheeks. He'd never seen Endeavor in such a conflicted state. Yet, Aizawa still couldn't help but question the veracity of Endeavor's claims.

"Did Shouto say anything about why he's like this?" Endeavor's voice was like a river beginning to flow underneath its frozen shackles.

Aizawa shook his head. "Bakugou mentioned that Todoroki is cutting himself to feel something. From what I've heard, Todoroki has struggled with self-harm for quite some time." He took a sip from his warm tea.

Endeavor's jaw shifted. "I'll be thoroughly checking his room after this. I will not allow this to continue." He handed the poem back to Aizawa. "Is he eating at all?"

Aizawa nodded. "Sometimes. It seems like he's uncomfortable with eating. He doesn't appear to be trying to reach a weight goal. Rather, it seems to me like he's trying to slowly kill himself." He abruptly recalled one of Todoroki's habits. "Does he request to leave the doors open if the two of you are alone?"

"I'm inclined to agree with you," murmured Endeavor. "He's never cared about his weight. But he used to ask to keep the door open when we would train. He started asking a few months ago, around when he mentioned his friend he wouldn't say the name of. But he stopped after a month or so." A long sigh fell from his lips. "Does he realize how depressed he is? I'm still baffled by this."

Todoroki doesn't seem to be as uncomfortable around me as he was previously, but I can tell there's still something eating away at him. I suspect his 'friend' isn't a friend. Who would want to hurt him? Although Bakugou is the first person to come to mind, I don't believe it's him. Why did Todoroki cheat on Bakugou? I don't see Todoroki as the type.

Aizawa espied the ripples in his lukewarm green tea. "Has he ever seemed insistent on not allowing something to occur? Or, does it seem like he was trying to divert your attention from anything?" He drank down the bitter, pungent tea that reflected him in a distorted smear of green. "But whether or not he's aware he seems to have an underlying condition is uncertain."

And then there's Bakugou, who's an entirely different story, Aizawa sighed to himself. Todoroki won't say much that can draw a direct conclusion or answer about him. Without Bakugou, I would not have known about most of my concerns regarding Todoroki. So, what else could Bakugou be hiding?

Endeavor checked his phone again; his left eye twitched when only the time stared back at him. "I don't know…" he sighed, but his eyes shot open when his phone vibrated not once, but in a continual hum. "Shouto?!"