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Triggers are strange. And by strange, Aizawa means: totally confusing and incredibly difficult to understand. Like many pro heroes, he has been through trauma and so has a few anxiety triggers of his own.
However, the students of Class 1-A aren’t pro heroes. And as he teaches them, he realises that he knows nothing about their pasts. Which means he doesn’t know if any of the students have trauma and triggers, making it difficult to know if any of them will react badly to things he gets them to do in lessons. So he is always slightly concerned that something will give someone a panic attack.
Not that he isn’t used to dealing with panic attacks.
Such as the way Hizashi acts when he sees bugs and insects. He has an extreme phobia, and is known to panicking so badly he faints. And of course he has had his own panic attacks, triggered whenever someone grabs the back of his head, terrified that they are going to slam his face into solid concrete…
But it is still difficult knowing that anything might trigger one of his students. Especially when it happens one day with little warning, just as he always feared.
He is sat at his desk in homeroom, half asleep (and wishing he hadn’t forgotten his sleeping bag this morning) as Iida rambles on about something to do with his duties as class rep. everything seems normal, the students bored and passing notes (whilst Shouta almost laughs, wondering how they think he can’t see what they’re doing). At least, until something changes.
Bakugou screws up a ball of paper, sets it on fire and lobs it towards Todoroki. He misses, but it flies right past Todoroki’s face, and Shouta sees it. The panic.
“Bakugou!” he calls, reprimanding the student. “Don’t do that!”
But as he tells Bakugou off and Bakugou scowls and folds his arms across his chest, his real focus is on Todoroki. The boy has hunched forwards in his seat, fingers digging into his hair and eyes wide with terror. His breathing gets faster and faster until Shouta isn’t the only one who has noticed.
“Hey, Todoroki?” Midoriya says. “Are you okay?”
But Todoroki doesn’t respond, eyes wider, breathing quicker and frost beginning to cover his visible skin.
“Todoroki?” Asui adds. “Is something the matter?”
“What’d you do to him, Katsuki?” Kirishima says, glancing at Bakugou.
Bakugou glares at him. “Nothing. It didn’t even hit him.”
“I think he’s having a panic attack,” Iida says.
“Yes, he is,” Shouta says. “So everyone shut up and leave the room.” When his students hesitate, he adds, “Now!”
And they all walk out of the classroom (several of them giving Todoroki worried looks), leaving Shouta alone with his student.
Slowly, he approaches the boy, watching him hyperventilate and slowly become covered in frost.
“Todoroki?” he says, keeping his voice as soft as he can manage. “Try to calm down. Focus on my voice. Wherever you think you are, it isn’t real. You are in Class 1-A’s classroom, with me stood next to you.”
Todoroki shifts his position slightly, and he looks at Shouta’s face. He doesn’t seem totally there, though, clearly lost in his fear.
“Focus on me. Try to slow your breathing. Breathe in as slow as you can, hold it for five seconds, and exhale slowly.”
In an awkwardly stilted way, Todoroki’s grip on his head relaxes and he tries to follow Shouta’s instructions. His breathing judders, he holds his breathe as his wide eyes flicker with fear, and he lets out a shaky, sighing breath.
"That’s it,” Shouta says. “Keep breathing. Breathe in, hold for one… two… three… four… five… and breathe out. You’re doing well, Todoroki.”
It takes over ten minutes, but, finally, Todoroki starts to calm down. He shifts in his seat and blows out a long breath, and looks at Shouta. He trembles, the frost starting to melt, and he still looks scared. But he’s back with him. He isn’t panicking any more.
“Sensei?” he whispers, his voice weak. “What… what happened?”
“You had a panic attack,” Shouta says. “I believe it happened after Bakugou threw that flaming paper at you. You started hyperventilating and I sent the others out of the room to help you calm down.”
Todoroki stares down at his desk. “Sorry. But it was just… seeing the fire flying past my face… it brought back memories of my… father.”
Todoroki says nothing more, but he doesn’t need to. Shouta understands. Ever since Todoroki and Midoriya told the authorities about the abuse Todoroki, his mother and his siblings faced at the hands of Endeavour, the truth about the ‘hero’ was revealed to the world and he was arrested. So Shouta knows all about the abuse the boy suffered… but it never occurred to him what sort of triggers he would have. But it makes perfect sense to have triggers related to fire when your father as a fire Quirk.
“I understand, Todoroki, I understand. And you don’t need to apologise. The only one who needs to apologise is Bakugou, even though he didn’t mean to trigger you.”
Todoroki smiles weakly. “Thank you, Sensei.”
Shouta smiles too. “Don’t mention it.”