Behind the Smile | TodoBakuDeku | Book 1

Chapter 2

Todoroki's POV

By some uneasy chance of luck, the bridge was only a block away from my father's HQ. With our quirks, speed had rarely ever been an issue. I was able to rapidly propel myself across an icy pathway, while Midoriya maneuvered from building to building, and Bakugo continuously blasted himself forward through the sky. No, getting there was not the problem, it was everything else that followed.

"Hey, wait!" Midoriya shouted at the teens as they teetered on the wrong side of the bridge's railing. "You don't have to do this!"

I wasn't sure if the kids could even hear him. They almost appeared to be in an unbreakable trance, except for the fact that they all had tears streaming down their cheeks. It was as if their eyes reflected a fear that their entire entity refused to acknowledge. The black and purple orb from the pictures continued to circle the suicidal group, but they paid it no mind. At least, that's what it looked like from where we were standing.

Suddenly, the orb split into four separate entities and sped towards each of the victims. "Listen up nerds! There are four of them and four of us including Endeavor. Claim your target and let's move!" Bakugo ordered.

There was no time to waste. As the orbs smashed through the children, they released their grip from the railing and let gravity overtake them.

Endeavor had already started charging for what looked like the oldest of the group, a tall, bulky boy with blue hair and vacant eyes. He probably decided he would go for the hardest to carry. "I got pink hair!" Bakugo added as he rapidly blasted himself towards the little girl with pink pigtails.

Without a word, I dashed for the young boy in a deep maroon sweatshirt with a gray skull cap on. Somehow I knew there was no need for discussion with Midoriya, we were eerily always on the same wavelength during missions. We just somehow knew what the other would do.

As I charged towards my target, Midoriya sped towards his. His arms were outstretched for the final boy no more than 13 years old, with a green shirt and black hair.

Endeavor and Bakugo had already caught and rescued their targets. I created a glacier of ice with a plateau high enough for the boy I was rescuing to land on without injury. Midoriya was within a finger's reach of catching the hand of the boy in the green shirt, when the unthinkable happened.

In an instant, the purple and black orbs merged back together and slammed into Midoriya's chest, throwing him backwards. "No!!" He screamed, as the boy continued to fall. I tried to reach him in time but...

I remained frozen in place, as I looked at the blood stained rocks under the body of the child we were responsible for. His green shirt, now an unrecognizable crimson. I could hear Midoriya screaming, but couldn't make out what he was saying. It was as if I was underwater and running out of oxygen. I began to panic. 'How did this happen? How could we not...? We were so close...I can't breathe. I CAN'T CATCH MY BREATH! What is happening to me??!'

A blood-curdling scream put an instant stop to my panic attack and ripped me back into a dark and unfair reality.

Floating in mid-air, Midoriya was fully engulfed in the now enlarged orb, with his hands and feet outstretched, as if they were tautly bound. His screams were deafening, tearing my heart through the pit of my stomach.

"I'm coming, Midoriya!" Before I could even attempt a rescue, I was pulled back by Endeavor, who was already fighting to hold Bakugo back.

"Let me go you flaming fuck! Do you not hear him?! He needs me!" Bakugo tried blasting to propel his way out of Endeavor's grip, but it was no use.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" I shouted at my father, attempting to free myself from his grip. "He's going to die!"

"We don't know that!" Endeavor let out with a thunderous roar. "But for all we know, just touching that thing could do the same, if not worse to you, too. I will not lose anyone else today!"

Bakugo and I continued to punch at whatever openings we could to weaken Endeavor's hold. I can't speak for Bakugo, but for me, nothing mattered more than saving our friend. I couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

Midoriya let out one more desperate scream before the orb vanished, with his seemingly lifeless body free falling.

"Now!" I ordered as I used everything I had to break free from my father, but within an instant I felt a harsh force to the gut, flying backwards and away from the bridge. Away from our Midoriya. I looked to my right and saw the same had happened to Bakugo. My idiot father must have thought we couldn't handle it and pushed us aside to save Midoriya himself. I could do nothing but watch as Endeavor raced towards him.'You better make it you fucking bastard. You've been a complete disappointment as a father my whole life, but please...just this once..I need you... I need you to save him.'

Careening through the air, Endeavor threw himself off the bridge and forced his way through the sky. Bakugo and I ran back towards the bridge to get a better look.

"Don't you fuckin' die, Deku!" Bakugo wiped away a stray tear and forcefully laced his fingers in mine. He was too terrified to keep his spiteful facade up. I squeezed his grip and folded myself into his chest.

It felt like hours passed, though it was only a matter of seconds before the ground shook slightly. I peeled myself from Bakugo and looked down over the railing to see Endeavor rolling out of his rough landing. He was hunched over, with his back facing us.

"He made it, right? Right?!"