Chapter Text
He was right there.
As soon as he heard Izuku scream, he whirled around, his heart leaping into his chest. It took him a moment to realize that the reason his friend was slowly rising into the air was because something had gotten ahold of him. No, not just something.
A nomu.
Flashes of the USJ attack played in his mind. The sick, forced grin of the monster, the blood pouring down their beloved teacher’s broken form, the way it had taken All Might, the number one hero, nearly everything he had to get a couple of good hits on the thing. If the same was true for this monster, Midoriya didn’t stand a chance now. Not without help.
Katsuki was too far back, struggling on what was most likely a broken leg. Occhako was even behind him, but Tenya- he was only a few feet behind Todoroki. Maybe he could-
Before he knew what he was doing, before he could even think, he was running forwards, his legs carrying him towards his friend and the monster. “Iida!” He screamed, “If I make a path of ice, use your engines to get up and grab Midoriya!!”
“I can’t,” He shouted back, “My engines are still stalled from my recipro burst!” He was running too, but for once, it wasn’t fast enough.
“Let go-“ He heard Midoriya shout as he struggled against the monster’s grip, “-of me!”
Maybe, Todoroki thought, throwing out his left arm, If I can hit the nomu with my fire, it’ll drop Midoriya before it gets too far up into the air. But I’ll have to be careful not to hit-
Suddenly, Midoriya and the nomu both screamed in pain, only dropping a couple of feet. Yanking his arm away from the nomu, he pulled it close into his chest. “Careful, Todoroki!”
Eyes widening, Shoto drew his left hand back, suddenly feeling a little sick. He shook his head. He couldn’t think about that now, he’d apologize later. The nomu was getting higher with every second, and if he didn’t do something soon-
Using all of his strength, Shoto threw out his right arm, and ice flooded his path, shooting upward to where the Nomu was rising. He had maybe five seconds to get to them before Izuku would be unreachable.
He was running, sprinting as fast as his legs could go. The usually familiar ice betrayed him, it was slowing him, he was slipping-
His lungs burned in his chest, begging him to stop, but he kept going. Three seconds.
Izuku stretched out his arm that had escaped the nomu’s grasp, pure desperation on his face.
“TODOROKI!”
Two seconds.
He was so close. Lunging forward, Shoto leaped off the end of the ice, frantically trying to reach Midoriya’s hand with his own.
One second-
It happened in slow motion. For a brief, hopeful moment, Shoto thought he had reached him. Then, he suddenly realized that their hands were just inches away. Not close enough.
Just out of reach.
*********
Gasping, Shouto shot bolt upright in his bed, grasping at the sheets around him. His arm lay outstretched into the dark, reaching for someone who was no longer there.
Dark. Why was it so dark? And where was-?
No. He wasn’t there anymore. The horrible training camp was over now. He was in his room, back at the new dorms. Shakily, he forced himself to take a few deep breaths.
Slowly, his mind came back into reality, as he breathed heavily. Drawing his hand back, he placed it on his chest and felt his heart pounding. This was the third time this week he’d had that stupid dream, and it was only Thursday. Looking to his right, small red lights blared through the dark room from the digital clock on his bedside table. 4:02 in the morning. Great.
Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, He sighed. There was no point in trying to get back to sleep, he knew that. Quietly, he slipped on his house shoes and tried to shake the horrible memory from his brain. Again.
This was only his second day waking up in the dorms. Two days since all of his class had piled into the same building. Three days since the teachers had scrambled around, asking parents to agree to the new “Dormitory safety plan” that was supposed to keep them from any further disaster. Five days since the disaster itself, since Midoriya had been captured by the League of Villains.
Walking out of his room, he made his way down the hall and into the elevator. He pressed the button for the common floor, yawning and leaning his head on the elevator wall.
His phone pinged a notification, and he pulled it out of his pocket. The news apps he’d been checking constantly since the attack were reporting another press conference some of his teachers had done the night before. He swiped it to the side, deleting it. The news outlets were eating this up, but he didn’t care about any of that. He only wanted to know if they found him.
When the elevator door opened into the commons, Shoto was almost taken aback at how empty it was. He didn’t usually stay in the common room long, but the past few days, there had been so much commotion and bustle with everyone trying to get settled, it had been hard to even think straight when. Now, the place was so desolate that it was almost scary. It was completely different during the day, constantly filled with the loud chatter of his classmates. Now, it was almost like a different world, with moonlight streaming through the big windows, casting eerie early morning shadows on the floor below.
Running his hands through his hair, he made his way to the kitchen, pulling out a coffee mug from the cupboard. It still felt strange, moving around the new dorms as if it was his house, but there was no way he was getting through today without coffee.
Suddenly, there was a shuffling behind him. Jumping, the coffee mug slipped from his hands and went sailing towards the floor. Shoto braced himself for the crashing noise, but nothing came. When he looked up, Occhako was standing there, only a foot away. Her arm was outstretched, the tips of her fingers just barely saving Shoto’s coffee mug from meeting a horrible fate.
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh. Hello, Occhako. You startled me.”
“Sorry.” She said, dropping the mug into her hands and handing it back to him. Like Shoto, she was also dressed in her pajamas, some pink sweatpants and an old, faded T-Shirt for some construction company. He tried not to notice the bags under her eyes, or the way her hair stuck out in nearly seven different directions, a sign she’d been tossing and turning.
Reluctantly, he took it. “It’s, uh, fine. Thank you for catching my mug.”
She cocked her head to the side, yawning slightly. “What are you doing up so early, Todoroki-kun?”
Turning on the faucet, he placed his mug under the running water, trying not to move as sluggish as he felt. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“I couldn’t sleep.” She admitted, pulling out a stood next to the counter that divided the kitchen from the common room and plopping herself down, “It’s been…really hard to sleep these days.”
Todoroki turned off the faucet. “Yes, I know the feeling. But I’m sure we’ll get used to the new dorm situation soon.”
Her eyes fell to the counter. He knew that wasn’t what she’d meant, but….
“I hope we’ll get to go back to class soon.” He said, trying to make some sort of polite conversation. Oh, how desperately he wished some other classmate were here to talk to her instead. It wasn’t that he disliked Occhako by any means, or didn’t want to be talking to her. On the contrary, he was glad they were friends. But…he wasn’t good at things like this. Talking to other people. Comforting other people.
She didn’t take the bait. He could feel her eyes on him as if she were examining him, looking for something. It always suited him better to be the third wheel of a conversation, that way, he didn’t have to actively participate in the talking part, he could just listen in. But it was only the two of them.
He didn’t return the glance, pretending not to notice.
“Todoroki-kun?”
He didn’t even turn around. “Hm?”
“Do you…do you think Deku’s going to be alright?”
His heart seized in his chest as he froze. Gulping, he put his mug down on the counter. He didn’t dare turn to face her.
“I don’t know.” He admitted.
The words settled in the morning air, hanging between them. He didn’t want to think about Midoriya, surrounded by villains, helpless and trapped. What if they had him locked up? What if they were torturing him? Surely, he’d be scared. Surely, he’d be-
“We can’t underestimate him.”
He turned around to find her staring, a new look on her face prevalent as she gripped the edge of the counter. There was something almost stubborn in her eyes, something he hadn’t seen since she’d come back from her internship.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
“We can’t underestimate him.” She said again, her voice quivering ever-so slightly, “H-He has more strength and endurance than anyone we know. Even though it’s scary, and we’re worried if he’s okay, we have to remember that he won’t give up.”
Her eyes looked up to meet his, and though they were still hesitant, they shone with something he couldn’t quite recognize. Even though she sounded like she was trying to convince herself, something in his chest shifted.
Slowly, he nodded. “Y-you’re right.” Midoriya may have cried a lot, and been a dorky fanboy, but nobody could deny his determination. The villains wouldn’t be able to break him easily.
“We must trust him.” He said, “Wherever he is, whatever they may be doing to him…he’ll be okay.”
She looked up then, her mouth trying to curve into what could only be a reassuring smile.
He felt himself, despite everything, trying to do the same.
“You’re right. Midoriya won’t let those villains get to him. It’s going to be fine.”
“Exactly.” She said, almost too quickly. “We just need to keep hoping, and…”
“Just keep going on like we’re supposed to. That’s what Midoriya would want us to do.” He assured. “Right?”
She nodded quickly, her hesitant smile growing bigger. “Yes, exactly!” She paused for a second, then looked back up at him, “You should probably try to get some rest, though, if you can. You can’t rely on coffee to keep you awake forever.”
He let out a breath. “Yes, I will.” He paused awkwardly for a moment, then added, “You too.”
She gave him something akin to a smile. Sometimes, her expressions were hard to read. “I try my best.” She assured him, turning to leave. But just before she left the kitchen, she turned her head back around.
“Everything’s going to be fine.” She said again. He wasn’t sure which one of them she was reminding.
He looked up at her once more, nodding anyway. “Right. I’ll see you later then.”
With that, she headed to the common room. That aching feeling that gnawed at his chest still remained, but he noticed that it had lessened, just a little.
Maybe things would be okay after all.
****
For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt like he could move again. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness for the past few days, unable to stay awake for more than a minute. Not long enough to get his bearings. Every time he tried to move, his arms would scream in pain, and he’d pass out again.
Still, they were sore, but at least he could move slightly. As soon as he did, though, he found out that he couldn’t get very far. Cold metal restrained his arms against the splintering wood chair he was stuck in, as well as two on his legs and one on his neck.
His heart hammered in his chest, panic filling him. His eyes scanned the darkness looking for any sign of his friends. To his horror and yet somewhat relief, there was nobody around. Maybe the villains hadn’t captured them, too. Good.
“H- Help…!” He tried. Immediately, he regretted it, fire rising in his vocal chords where the sound had come from. He sounded like a dying animal.
“Oh well, would you look at that?” A voice in front of him said. Eyes widening, he glanced around, scanning the area for the speaker, but it was too dark to see anything at all. “Our little patient is awake. How are you feeling, little rabbit?”
He gulped, trying to swallow some of the fear that was starting to build in his chest. It felt like fire going down his throat. “Wh-who are you?” He asked. He was ready to fight this mystery man, to give one hundred percent just to get out of this place. “L-let me go!”
“Oh, you don’t want me do that.” The voice said ominously, “You’re still healing.”
He breathed heavily, his heart starting to beat faster. His brain was swimming, trying to put the pieces together. They just wouldn’t click. “H-healing? Why would be healing me?”
He swore he heard the voice “Tsk” from the darkness. “Well, you’re our new pet. And we can’t play with a pet if it’s broken.”
“I am not your pet.” He spat, trying to sound as intimidating as he could. Trying to be like Kacchan. It wasn’t working. “Wh-who are you working for? Shigaraki?”
The voice chuckled. “Me? Work for Shigaraki? I don’t think so.” Even though he couldn’t see the man speaking, he could tell he was smiling, “I do try to help him as often as I can, though. He is very dear to me.”
So he’s connected to Shigaraki somehow, He thought, his head still swimming, that would explain his vague answers and constant monologuing.
“But you know, Izuku Midoriya,” The man said his name, a chill ran down his spine. “Even though we are on opposing sides, I am so glad you’ve healed. That makes this so much easier on me.”
Suddenly, a figure came into his view. He was tall, with broad shoulders, wearing black clothes. Before he even saw the man’s face, he could feel his breath becoming shorter. Slowly, the man leaned down, his head falling right in front of Izuku’s. His heart seized in his chest
The man had no eyes. Or any facial features, really. He didn’t want to believe it, but something about the man seemed distantly familiar. He knew he’d never seen him before, but something tugged at his chest when he stared at the man. Could this have been the villain All Might had described? All for One?
Suddenly, the man drew a hand up and placed it on Midoriya’s face. The boy struggled, tried to turn away, but with the neck restraints, it was no use.
“Now,” The man said, “Shall we get started?”