Chapter Text
The screen read:
Enji Todoroki / #1 Pro Hero Endeavor #301468
…what?
“I’m sorry sensei, Bakugou admitted he wasn’t paying attention.” Shouto flexed his fingers over Aizawa's palm. The hot weather outside encouraged sweat to form between the minute contact, sweat mixing with blood.
“Bakugou never pays attention to his surroundings; you should know this by now and adapt accordingly when training around him.” Above his lashes, Aizawa saw Todoroki stiffen and his head duck. Was he too rough? Or… had his words caused the reaction?
Maybe he should add some… encouragement: “But, you dodged the unexpected attack quite well for your age. At least the brunt of it.” To his relief, Todoroki’s shoulders dropped ever-so-slightly, and he nodded his head.
“Thank you, sensei.” And for a few minutes, Aizawa worked in silence between them. Settled on the ground right beside the metal bench in the back of the P.E training grounds. The older nurses the youngers hand gently as he worked to clean the blood away. A bucket of warm water lay beside both their knees as he worked. Dipping it back in and wringing it routinely, then carefully wiping again.
Why is Todoroki Shouto’s entire left arm completely covered and dripping in blood? Great question, the answer is- well, it’s an answer that when Aizawa came back from his—literally under three-minute—bathroom break, he didn’t lift a brow and say: "Well, that’s unexpected.”
No, it was very extraordinary.
See, his class consisted of all problem children, but the list went:
#Midoriya Izuku (honorary mention to the number one hero, All Might)
#2 Todoroki Shouto
#2 ½ Bakugou Katsuki
#3 Tenya Iida (who might not necessarily be often in trouble, but he was a 24/7 flight risk after what he did in Hosu)
And with that, Todoroki and Bakugou have lately been haunting his class-related nightmares that happen four times a week. So he didn’t not expect it. It’s an often-occurring occurrence, Bakugou and Todoroki getting into it and hurting one another. The two were attached at the hip, though, so it’s not like they genuinely hate each other and want to rip their respective enemies' heads off, but they did get into it often.
No, Aizawa had walked back out, adjusting his scarf to allow his neck some more air. And seen Todoroki’s fucking body splayed near the treeline like he’d been flung over there. So he’d rushed over, yelling for someone to get a med-kit.
Bakugou appeared a few seconds later and, with shaky hands, gave him the kit and then stood there like he’d see a dead body.
And actually, now that he thinks back on all the events, it could have gone that way. But that’s how they got here. He’d honestly forgotten that Bakugou was still standing to their side.
“I-I-” Bakugou cleared his throat, still not looking at Todoroki. He was clearly guilty, and Aizawa hoped that motivated him to be more careful about knowing his surroundings. He got too close to where Shouto was training his dual quirk control.
A method of training for Todorki that didn’t require him to have a lot of space. So not only had Bakugou gone outside the large rectangle lines that each pair of trainees was assigned when sparring. But he’d flown far into Todorokis and still let off a lightning-fast blow and done substantial damage to Todoroki's arm.
“…Fucking sorry, Icy-hot.” He sounded nervous. Aizawa couldn’t tell if it was a fear of being punished or a fear of seeing the pale and vacant look on Todoroki’s face. Specks of blood were still scattered over his cheeks.
“It’s a learning opportunity, Katsuki.” Todoroki shrugged - seemingly forgetting where he was, and hissed rather loudly in pain.
“Careful.” Both students' heads snapped to him, almost as if they forgot he was present and currently trying to wipe all the blood off, which is only the first step. Then he had to actually treat the injuries. Clean the scrapes and bleeding wounds, bandage them, as is normally done.
“Recovery Girl is responding to an emergency, otherwise I’d bring you to her.” Todoroki nods, allowing Aizawa to softly turn his arm over and reach farther up. His own gray eyes narrow at the array of injuries and bruises. Hm.
“Sleep through them tonight, and tomorrow I’ll send her to your father's agency.” It was Friday.
Todoroki nodded stiffly. “Thank you, sensei.” Aizawa could hear the but, coming, and lo and behold: “-But I can wait till Sunday night.” Yes, the break was only over the weekend, but still, Aizawa didn’t want one of his students suffering such harsh injuries for such a long period of time.
“If you’d rather come visit the school, she’ll be here.” Again, Todoroki shook his head. Aizawa noted that Bakugou crossed his arms.
And for a second, Aizawa just stopped to think. He shouldn’t push; if Todoroki doesn’t want Shuzenji’s healing process, then there has to be a reason. Todoroki’s never been like Denki Kaminari, where his injuries are from stupid things, and he keeps them so he can ‘look cool’, no, Todoroki is one of his top students.
The kid didn’t want to come on campus to get healed, and he didn’t want him to send Recovery Girl to his father's agency. There are some times in life, and his teaching career, where he overrules what the students want with what the students need.
Is this one of those times? Or is it okay for Todoroki to wait till Sunday when they return to campus? Is this a tactic of self-harm? Or are there deeper reasons why? Aizawa glances subtly at Bakugou, who hasn’t moved from his crossed-arm, looking-away stance. His brows are furrowed, and his red eyes are narrowed, but Aizawa can’t tell if that’s from the guilt/nerves or from the conversation that they are having.
The same goes with Todoroki. He’s stiff under his hands and refuses to take his eyes off of Aizawa. Given his award-worthy poker face—though he’s nowhere close to taking the top spot from Shouta—is plastered on dishonest.
He has two options: 1) let his student suffer over the weekend because that’s what he asked for, or 2) go against what his student is asking for and send Shuzenji anyway.
“Just hurry up old man.” Bakugou’s gruff growl seemed to break the two from their shared difficult moment. Todoroki looked over at his friend and sent him a closed-eyed smile, realer than anything Aizawa had ever seen on him. It would definitely be unnerving to be the recipient, and his deduction is proven correct by the look of pink on Bakugou’s face and the sputtering mess it leaves him in.
“And don’t call me by my first name, Icy-hot!!”
So Aizawa resumes his work. And by the time he’s done patching his student up he’s in desperate need to wash his hands; he can feel the kid's blood under his fingernails. He sends Todorki and Bakugou to the dorms together, as they often do anyway, and returns to the teachers' lounge.
Unfortunately for him he’s called out for the same emergency as Shuzenji and doesn’t get the opportunity. Not till the next morning, after the mission. And it’s then when he figures something out that will change his life forever.