Shouta Aizawa
All Aizawa could do was set his phone down and mull over his next course of action. He'd contacted the police and child protection services in an endeavor to investigate Todoroki's situation and see to it that the suspected abuse was resolved. However, neither service accepted Aizawa's request; both determined that Aizawa was mistaking abuse for Endeavor's intensive training.
If Bakugou is concerned that it's abuse, I'm inclined to believe that it is, thought Aizawa as he ejected a boiling breath from his lips and opened up his laptop. Bakugou knows far more about Todoroki's personal life, and he had no reason to bring this up to me before. His fingers clicked against the keyboard as he began his new search. To think that the authorities refuse to take up this case under the assumption that any injuries Todoroki sustains from Endeavor can be justified by 'training.' What if Todoroki were gravely injured by Endeavor? What would they say? I'm certain they would attempt to throw the case under the rug.
Rui Higoro… Scrolling through the social media posts that Higoro publicly posted, Aizawa sighed once more. It seems like they have a good relationship. Does Todoroki have any visible injuries in these pictures? Not as far as I can tell, but what does concern me is his appearance in general. He sieved the first post Higoro had with Todoroki—when their relationship was announced—and compared that to the most recent post, which was from that day. At the start of their relationship, Todoroki looked to be at the weight I knew for the longest. As the posts continue… There are comments about that as well, and none have been replied to by either Higoro or Todoroki.
What exactly is Higoro like? 'If the way Shouto looks at me doesn't say he loves me, what does?' Interesting. Most of his posts explicitly mention Todoroki loving him. I don't know what the teens are into these days, but to me, Higoro seems like he's trying to prove that Todoroki loves him. 'See, look at how much this adorable one loves me.' 'I wasn't kidding when I said Shouto loves me.' What was Higoro posting about before this? It seems like it's mainly about not being able to find a partner. Or, more accurately, that no one wants to be his partner. Although he's a bit eccentric, I don't see much that's inherently odd about their relationship.
Shaking his head, Aizawa closed his laptop and trudged towards his designated students' apartment. His eyelids were curved bricks, but he had a lecture to present to Todoroki and Bakugou.
Once Aizawa entered the apartment with the aid of Bakugou, the latter sighed, "Icyhot's asleep. Don't feel like waking him up." He plopped onto the couch in the living room.
"Would he want to miss the lesson?" queried Aizawa, who set his textbook atop the coffee table.
Bakugou rolled his eyes to the left. "His choice to sleep." He crossed his arms.
"Bakugou."
"Tch. Fine." With that, Bakugou approached Todoroki's room and invited himself inside; his words were muffled greatly. "...get up? Oi. All right? Need? 'Kay." Returning from beyond the bend of Aizawa's eyesight with the click of the door, Bakugou was accompanied by only his shadow. "Said he didn't want to."
That's unusual for Todoroki. "Is he all right?" Aizawa asked with furrowed brows.
Bakugou glanced at the floor and inhaled deeply. "Oi… Can we talk?"
Aizawa nodded, and thus, the two returned to the bench outside where Bakugou stated that Todoroki had attempted suicide in the past. Although his mien remained monotonous, Aizawa's chest burned with consternation.
Lifting his shoulders, Bakugou murmured, "He's out because he's not eating. I tried to get him to, but this… This stubborn asshole just wouldn't. I feel like he's gonna fucking die suddenly because of it."
"I'll get Recovery Girl to check up on him and monitor his well-being today. His current condition is highly concerning. Do you know what his reason is for not eating?"
Bakugou shook his head. "I don't think it's 'cuz he thinks he's fat or anything, but what the hell do I know anymore?" He closed his eyes. "He used to be a bottomless pit for cold soba. I don't know what happened. Probably Endeavor again."
"I see. It's going to be difficult to get to the bottom of this, but the truth may come out with time. And regarding the abuse you mentioned… I can't reason with the authorities. They—"
"Goddammit…" snarled Bakugou.
"They won't be of assistance because Endeavor is the supposed abuser." Draining his lungs of the remainder of his breath, Aizawa recalled the poem Todoroki wrote. "I want you to keep a close eye on Todoroki. The next time he leaves, ask him why. If it's to see someone, regardless of who it is, ask if he can prove that." He observed as Bakugou vacantly nodded. "I have another question: do you know if Todoroki is harming himself?" His onyx-colored eyes strayed not from Bakugou.
Squinting his eyes and cracking his knuckles, Bakugou replied, "I'm assuming you already asked him?" He rolled his eyes once Aizawa affirmed his query. "Tch. Feels shitty to say, but yeah, he is. God, I hate that I have to say this shit for him. He won't tell a soul about any hint of a minute fucking problem he has. I don't wanna have to relay his personal, sensitive information, but I'd never forgive myself if he died because I didn't say anything." The pigment in his knuckles was sapped to a lifeless white.
The fear of someone you see every day suddenly dying… thought Aizawa, whose stomach tightened at his discovery. I can picture that contributing both to him taking his anger out on Todoroki and to his overall anxiety. He sighed faintly. But Todoroki is harming himself? I suspected as much, but having that confirmation is disheartening nonetheless. Based on his poem, he's likely cutting himself. It truly is astounding how much appearances and reputations can disguise one's mental state.
Aizawa cleared his throat, cracking the silence on the wind. "Do you know why he's doing it?"
"Said it makes him feel something."
"I see. Has he ever seen a professional?"
"Yeah. He… I watched him get better, and then…I watched as he fell apart like a fucking house of cards. I know what he did to me. I know. And I also know I had no right to try and use that to justify what I did to him after that." Bakugou grit his teeth. "I know… He's practically sitting at Death's doorstep, and I…" He shifted his position as his expression contorted into a grimace. "I put him there…"