Secrets [Todoroki]

*Chapter Sixty-One*

'Beat the words into her?' Todoroki asked himself, watching Bakugo and Miri fight.

The words didn't sit right with him. Bakugo has many, many, many flaws, but Todoroki could acknowledge that his heart was in the right place. It's just...

Something didn't seem right.

He sighed to himself. 'I tried to solve it through words like Midoriya. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Let's try the Bakugo way and use actions instead!' Ice came from the bottoms of his feet as he slid forward, charging straight towards Miri and Bakugo.

Kirishima growled. "'Beating the words into her'? That just...that will never work!"

Kaminari shuffled his feet. "I don't think we have any other options. At least like this, we can stall her until Aizawa arrives or one of us thinks of a legitimate plan. Just standing around yelling at her...it wasn't working."

Growling to himself, Kirishima activated his quirk again. "I guess you're right. Let's not let the others do it alone."

"Right." Kaminari and Kirishima charged forward.

Bakugo was initially thrilled to fight Miri, but it wasn't the same. There were no snarky comments. There weren't any of her monologues about wanting to be a hero or any self-motivational speeches. It was cold. A constant cold that seemed to fill him with dread. The shadow monster before him wasn't Miri, and fighting it brought him no enjoyment.

He roared, sending another explosion into the shadow monster. "Frost Bitch! You're better than this!"

There was a demonic roar as it slammed its foot into Bakugo's torso, flinging him back several feet.

Todoroki stopped short, staring at the shadow beast before him.

'I know it's not Miri...but hurting it knowing she's inside...I don't think I can bring myself to do it.'

"Out of the way, Icy-Hot!" Bakugo blew past Todoroki. "If you won't fight her, I will! We don't have time for your internal lover debate."

"That's not what it is!" His left side ignited. A ring of fire surrounded them. The shadow creature shied away from the flames. "I just don't think it's right. Miri isn't in control of herself and hurting her like this won't solve anything!"

Bakugo growled. "What are you, an idiot? Are you so blinded by love," He mocked the word. "That you can't see the bigger picture here?" Bakugo sent an uppercut into the shadow beast. Miri's serene, and partially conscious, face was visible beneath the darkness. The shadows converged over her face, swallowing her up once more. "Since you want to be a damn hero so badly, there's something you need to learn! You don't always have a choice on how you solve problems. Miri is a danger to all the idiots here. We have to take her down because if we don't, both she, the school, and whoever else is in-danger! So who gives a crap if you think it's not right? That's not your decision to make."

Todoroki grit his teeth. 'Bakugo is right, but my heart is telling me he's wrong.' He shook his head. 'Stop thinking. Just do.'

He slashed his left arm out, an arc of fire trailing towards the shadow beast. The moment it connected, the shadows burned away from Miri's face. Her half-lidded eyes connected with Todoroki's. He felt the breath catch in his throat.

"Please...help me." She whispered. The shadows engulfed her once more with a sickening screech.

Kaminari came flying, landing on the creature's back. "I'm really sorry, Miri." He muttered. His hands latched on to its shoulders as his knees pressed into its torso. "1.3 MILLION VOLTS!"