Barriers Down: Todoroki x OC

Forget Me Not

Chapter 6

respect

ri-spekt

noun

esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability.

Todoroki watches, his breath caught in his throat as pieces from the ceiling above rain down upon his classmates. He himself is safe, standing on the far side of the room where there is no damage.

His competitor, on the other hand, has just been knocked into the impact zone.

Time seems to slow down dramatically as a large fragment of concrete hurtles down from above, landing right below Rose's ribs. The blow knocks her head into the ground, the sound afterward one that makes Todoroki's stomach twist into knots.

Rose lays unmoving on the ground.. As soon as there's no more debris, Todoroki rushes over to her and lifts the fallen ceiling off of her, Rose's chest filling with relief as soon as the weight is gone.

All Todoroki can do is look at her, the girl whose hair has turned a light-blue color, the color of his ice. She looks almost peaceful with her eyes closed to the world, chest rising and falling in even beats.

The boy clenches his fists together, trying to make the pain move from his chest to his hands, trying to distract himself from the guilt he feels whenever he looks at her.

If I hadn't knocked her down with my ice, she wouldn't have gotten hurt...

That one thought plays repeatedly in his brain, consuming his thinking so much that he hardly notices Rose and Midoriya being carted away on stretchers to the school nurse.

No sounds exit the heterochromic-eyed boy as he follows the others out of the building. Bakugou, Uraraka, and Iida lead as they head back toward the viewing room from which they came.

As soon as they enter, All Might begins a long-winded discussion about their battle, although Todoroki cannot seem to focus. His mind wanders, playing that moment in slow motion for what feels like hours. He makes eye-contact with the floor, never even looking up to watch the other battles.

All he can think about is the girl with light-blue hair he watched get carted away.

Eventually, all the other students reenter the classroom to attend their afternoon lectures. Midoriya returns to class at the end of the day sporting a sling around his arm, but Rose is nowhere to be seen.

The day ends, Todoroki's mind never straying from his perplexing classmate.

And as though his body is on autopilot, he finds himself walking toward Recovery Girl's office instead of toward the campus exit.

As he nears the hospital-like room, Todoroki finds that his heart is racing. He isn't sure why. A part of him doesn't want to enter the room, seemingly afraid of what could be on the other side of the door. A glimpse through the window gives him a view of the only thing on his mind.

Rose.

She is still unconscious, the only addition to her earlier state a large bandage that wraps along her torso from her ribs to her stomach. An IV sits next to her bedside, dripping solution into a vein in her arm.

As Todoroki takes in the startling view, the door swings open to reveal Recovery Girl herself. After opening the door, she goes back to her desk and begins writing on one of the many charts that litter it.

"She's doing well, all things considered. I did have a word with All Might, however. He shouldn't be pushing you kids so hard, and on the second day, too...