Addicting Virus - Tododeku

Chapter 4

     "I don't think Kenji intended to upset you. At the very least, that prospect is incredibly unlikely. He was just excited."

      Todoroki's pace slows as Sonic and his support walk past them. It's midday now, and the skies above them are a subdued blue that seem to reflect his latent exasperation. He remembers the irritating question Kenji had asked him, remembers his father and--

      "He should have kept that to himself." Todoroki says shortly, as he and Momo stay behind. She hugs her coat closer to her chest as she sighs.

      "Admittedly, the information at my disposal that concerns your relationship with your father is rather limited. However, I have concerns that in your attempts to distance yourself from him.....you may be giving him more control over your life."  Her words wash through him like ice as he opens his mouth to respond, but fails to. Tangled emotions rise up within him towards her, resentment, anger, and fear . They're disrupted at the sight of her face, eyes abruptly widening as she points above him. He follows her gaze to the sky, once light blue and now entirely consumed in smoke.

      Immediately he creates ice under his feet, reluctantly grateful for the exit from this conversation. He rides it forward, following the smoke trail to the burning building not one block away. "Apologies for falling behind. Where is Sonic?" He says immediately to the remaining Pros, as he takes in the sight ahead of him. A burning building, several ambulances and firetrucks in the area.

      "He ran inside! Kid stay back," A medic tells him as Sonic exits the building with survivors in tow.  He flexes his fingers as Sonic hands the survivors over to the medic. Soon afterwards, the pro is bent over coughing and Todoroki approaches.

      "Is that all of them?" Shouto asks immediately, and Sonic shakes his head.

      "Several more. Don't go inside, I can't afford for you to get hurt on my watch." He says and interrupts himself with another cough.

      "Going inside wouldn't be necessary." Todoroki says as he allows his ice to cover his palm. For a moment, Sonic stares at him as if he's not quite seeing him. Then he nods and Todoroki crosses the distance to the building and places his palm on one hot wall.  It takes mere moments for his ice to spread and completely cover the building. Then he melts it shortly afterwards, and ignores the open mouthed staring that follows his actions. It's normal for people who aren't used to his quirk.

      "Do you know how many survivors there are?" He asks shortly as more police enter the building. "At least twenty-five. Apparently they targeted some of the ambulances as well." Sonic adds as he places a hand on Todoroki's shoulder. "You did good kid." he tells him and Todoroki resists the urge to shake it off. He's not sure how to address the compliment either, so he ignores it.

      "Is there anything that we can do?"

      "It's out of our hands now." Sonic responds dismissively. "We perform rescues, the cops do the rest. Besides, I don't think either of our quirks would be very helpful." He admits as Momo runs to them.

      "Has the situation been resolved sir?" Momo manages to say despite panting. Her face is red as she stiffens in front of Sonic.

      "I apologize for falling behind, sir." She adds, and he smiles without thinking.

      "Maybe not ours, but I think Momo could be very helpful."

      Anxiety hangs over Midoriya's head as he waits in the caves with Bomber. Things are going to be okay. He tells himself as he unsuccessfully tries to calm himself down. Midoriya is nervous because he's part of a squad to kill a pro-hero. Is this the best way. No, he wasn't being honest with himself; on some level he thought that his mentor was wrong. He just wasn't sure what the right answer was either. Still, as the moment of their attack drew closer, his concerns only grew.