Days in a Crucible [BakuIida]

Chapter 1

Author's Note: (Mild manga spoilers - skip the note if you want to avoid!)   

After finishing this story, I read enough of the manga to pass the anime and realized that some of the dialogue in this first chapter is outdated - particularly the idea that they don't know of a drug that takes Quirks away. I wasn't expecting this to become irrelevant so quickly, but I've decided to leave it as-is, at least for now. Hopefully it's still enjoyable despite contradicting canon.

------------------------------

Iida remembers nothing.

The last thing he can recall is brushing his teeth that morning. No, that's not true; he also remembers getting a call from work. Did he get called in to fight a villain? It would make sense. It's... Tuesday? No, Wednesday. So he would have been on call. That checks out.

But he senses that he is lying on his stomach on a hard floor, eyes shut, and he cannot put together what must have happened in between then and now. He tries to remember that call. It must have been a villain, and he must have suffered an injury that rendered him immobile. He can only lie there and feel the soothing coolness of the floor beneath him.

If he is indeed injured, he should be in a hospital room, in a bed and not face-down on the floor. Iida can infer that something else is going on, something he is not mentally prepared for. He tries to clear his thoughts and turn his attention outward, to his surroundings.

The room is silent. The floor beneath his body is free of vibrations. No matter what else is happening or has already happened, in this moment he is safe; he savors that knowledge, because with each second he grows more awake, he feels fear growing inside him, as the absolute wrongness of the situation fully takes hold. Iida knows he will not feel safe for long.

He hears a groan, feels the vibration of it. Whoever is making that sound is nearby, probably not more than a few feet away from him. Iida wills himself to do something, anything – to make a noise, to move a limb, to open his eyes – but he finds he cannot. He must have either been drugged or gravely injured, or he's under some kind of Quirk.

He hears the person nearby shift. Then he feels a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Iida?" the voice says, low and monotone, and, oh, he knows that voice – it's Todoroki, Iida realizes after a second. He tries to force himself to move, tries so hard that in other circumstances he would have gotten tears in his eyes from the effort, but nothing.

He feels Todoroki taking his vitals. His hands are cool on Iida's neck. Iida finds himself hoping his heart's still beating – maybe it's as immobile as the rest of him – but apparently Todoroki finds what he's looking for, because after a moment Iida hears the telltale sound of him walking away. He doesn't go far, just takes a few steps and stops. He stays there for longer, but after a couple of minutes Iida hears him walk off again. The steps go on for longer, around where Iida is lying. Todoroki must be circling the room.

After what seems like hours, Iida finds himself able to move, although just a little. He can wiggle his fingers, and his voice is beginning to work again as well. He lets out a grunt, the closest thing to words he can manage, and hears the footsteps stop and come towards him.

"Iida," Todoroki says again, and this time Iida can open his eyes. He sees Todoroki, but only vaguely – his vision is blurry, and Iida longs to rub his eyes to clear them, but he can't, he isn't able to move his limbs that far.

"Todoroki," Iida says in response, or tries to; all that comes out is another guttural sound. He sees Todoroki frown in concern and glance at something over his shoulder, then kneel down on the ground next to Iida, looking him over.