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The tension in the air could have been sliced with a knife. Y/N's heart pounded in her chest as she stood between Bakugo and Todoroki, each of them on opposite sides of the room. The atmosphere had shifted in an instant, the fragile peace that had hung between them shattered by the appearance of both of them in the same space. Y/N didn't know if it was the explosion, the mission, or something else entirely, but this moment felt like everything had come to a head all at once.
Bakugo's fiery gaze locked onto Todoroki, his body tense with barely contained aggression. Y/N could feel the weight of his presence like a storm gathering on the horizon. He wasn't angry in the way he usually was—his rage was focused, restrained, like a coiled spring about to snap. The way his fists clenched and his shoulders tensed made it clear that he had no intention of backing down.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Bakugo repeated, his voice sharp and cutting.
Todoroki didn't flinch. He simply stood there, eyes cold as always but carrying a certain intensity that Y/N hadn't expected. His gaze flickered between Bakugo and Y/N, his expression unreadable. There was no sign of the warmth he usually reserved for those close to him, no hint of the camaraderie they had once shared. It was as though he had turned into something else entirely—something more distant, more professional, as though they were nothing more than two people he was trying to manage.
"I'm here because she's been involved in the mission," Todoroki said, his voice even, almost clinical. "I need to make sure she's all right."
Y/N's stomach twisted at the words. She had been hoping that Todoroki would come in and act like the mentor he once was—the man who had cared for her, the man she had once trusted with everything. But this... this wasn't it. This was someone who saw her as a pawn, someone who only valued her for her usefulness.
Bakugo let out a harsh laugh, the sound of it almost cruel. "You think you're the only one looking out for her? You're the last person she needs right now."
Todoroki's eyes flickered to him, the intensity of the moment not lost on him. The two of them had never been the best of friends, but Y/N had never seen them so openly at odds. It was like watching two forces of nature clash—Bakugo's fire and Todoroki's ice, both too proud to bend, too stubborn to back down.
