Sayonara || Abused!Todoroki ✔

Chapter 4: Realization

It had been minutes until Aizawa broke open the door to see his temporary child on the floor, surrounded by a pool of his own blood with a pair of scissors beside him.

"Todoroki!" he called, quickly pushing two fingers against his neck for a pulse. Luckily, there was a faint palpitation, relieving Aizawa from a slight bit of his worry.

Shinso had run over to Aizawa after hearing his yell only to cover his mouth from the sight before him. He had never seen such a horrid sight in the house, let alone being Todoroki. No words could express his mixed feelings.

"Call an ambulance!" Aizawa ordered Shinso, who nodded and ran into the kitchen for the phone, quickly dialing 9-1-1 and assisting emergency help.

Aizawa picked up the student, leaning him back on the teacher's chest while trying to stop the bleeding with the scarf around Todoroki's neck. The white was immediately overtaken by the red, soaking in what could be a liter of blood.

"The ambulance is on there way!" Shinso exclaimed, kneeling down so he could witness what Todoroki had done. There were large gashes on his left arm as though someone sliced him countless times. Shinso had no idea what to do until help arrived. He did, however, notice Aizawa had used his scarf to stop the bleeding. Shinso had always liked the white of the scarf, but since it was stained almost completely red, it didn't seem as likable.

After about ten minutes, the door was swung open as two paramedics rushed in. Aizawa took ahold of Shinso's hand, dragging him out of the paramedics' way so they could help. Todoroki was lifted gently into the hands of the paramedics, who had a stretcher laid out for him to gently be placed on. Once done, Todoroki was carried out to the ambulance before two men shut the doors.

One paramedic consulted Aizawa and Shinso, "How did this happen?"

It wasn't clear to the raven-haired adult, but he predicted as much with the scissors sprawled on the ground, "I had not seen it myself, nor did my son, but it seems as though Todoroki had...cut himself with a pair of scissors."

The paramedic nodded then pat the shaken child next to Aizawa, "It's alright, kid. He'll live. I know it."

Shinso knew Todoroki would survive. What he was shaken about what that Todoroki attempted to kill himself. But why? What could have happened that moved the kid to hurt himself to the point of passing out?

"We'll inform you of his condition once he's settled in the hospital. For now, I'd like you two to rid this house of possible items for self-harm, such as scissors, knives, glass, etcetera. It would be helpful if he came home without having to go back to the hospital for the same reason." The paramedic smiled before heading out the door, closing it after him as he, too, hopped into the ambulance before driving off with their sirens blaring.

Aizawa stood in place, staring at the door where he last saw Todoroki. What an idiot Aizawa was! He should've known Todoroki would do something like this, yet the teacher just acted as though it was an unnecessary thought! What kind of father would ignore their new child's suffering?

"...We should start cleaning," Shinso suggested, already heading into the bathroom to clean up the blood and take the scissors.

The sleep-deprived child was right, Aizawa needed to clean to get these regretful thoughts out of his chamber.

Starting with the kitchen, Aizawa began with getting a plastic bag before stuffing it with knives, forks, and other sharp objects. He felt guilty, as though it was his fault Todoroki was in the sanitarium. Aizawa couldn't help it—he felt responsible.

Looks like I need to help the kid even more than I already have been.

***

Around five hours approximate, Todoroki was allowed to have visitors. Aizawa and Shinso quickly gathered their things and headed to the hospital, acquiring the child's room number from the receptionist.

Inside the small room, Todoroki sat up in his bed, gazing outside the window like his mother. His left arm was bandaged from the elbow to the wrist as it rested in Todoroki's lap.

Shinso knocked on the door before opening it, letting Aizawa through before closing the door with his heel.

Todoroki turned his head to see his foster father, who had such a worried expression, with—Todoroki swore—was a tear falling from his eye.

"Todoroki..." Aizawa called, running over and gently embracing his foster son. "Please, don't ever do something like this again, you hear me? Never again..." Aizawa buried Todoroki's head into his chest, the scarf now around the teacher's neck. The student cried into his chest, sobbing quietly while Shinso took selfies with his phone on ChatSnap.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry—I-I..." Todoroki slipped on his words, his whole body shaking as Aizawa rubbed his back in a circular motion.

"Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." The raven-haired adult felt a little remorse for his student. He could have done something, yet he didn't. "Tell me, why did you do it? Is it because of your father's abuse?"

Todoroki shrugged his shoulders, "P-Partially. There are voices i-in my head that tell me I'm w-worthless. They were the ones who t-told me to c-cut."

Should've known, Aizawa notioned, stroking Todoroki's hair gently. Being abused for so long is bound to give the kid mental problems.

"Hey, Aizawa," Shinso called, shutting off his phone and stuffing it in his pocket before sauntering over to his foster father. "I got a message from Monoma that Endeavor came to the school in search of Todoroki. He asked around for his whereabouts but no one would inform him."

Aizawa felt Todoroki visibly tense as he nuzzled his head farther into the teacher's chest.

The adult continued to stroke Todoroki's hair before answering Shinso, "Thanks for telling me. Message Midoriya or someone from 1-A to stall him until I get Todoroki to a safe place."

Shinso nodded and fished out his phone, quickly typing away in the corner of the room where there was the least amount of light.

Meanwhile, Todoroki fell asleep before their conversation, so thankfully he wasn't panicking about his father finding him. However, Aizawa would have to tell him eventually since hiding him without giving a reason would be arduous.

Aizawa laid his student on the bed, covering him with the blanket before sitting at a chair adjacent to the bed. Shinso pocketed his phone and sat next to Aizawa, resting his head on the male's scarf before dozing off.

The raven-haired teacher stared at Todoroki's peaceful face one last time before nodding off as well.

Just wait. There will be plenty of opportunities to strike. I will not hesitate to take advantage of that.

Wait for me, Shoto. Your older brother will come back and protect you from him.

Let's fluctuate our differences. After all, one patch scar isn't nearly as much as mine...