Bruised And Broken

Temporary Guardians

~Todoroki's POV~

Snippets of the events that led me here slowly came back, one by one and I felt my hands tighten under the blanket. Endeavor was crazy... I sighed and tried to avert my mind. I remember Aizawa... he came...he held my hand... he- he cared for me.

My thoughts were interrupted by Aizawa returning, this time accompanied by Present Mic, who was grinning happily. I fumbled with my hands slightly, not looking them in the eyes. I was weak. I got myself landed in hospital. An embarrassment-

"-roki? Todoroki look at me." Once again Aizawa dragged me out of my thought. I turned my head and faced him but refused to meet his eyes through shame. He perched on the edge of my bed, Present Mic mirroring him on the other side.

"We have something to tell you." Aizawa began softly and slowly. 

"WE'RE GONNA ADOPT YOU!" Present Mic yelled. I flinched at the loud noise and returned to Aizawa's deep eyes.

"Well, let's not get too ahead  of ourselves. Todoroki, you'll be staying with us until further notice." Aizawa said gently.

"R-really? I don't want to impose on-" I stammered.

"You're not." Aizawa send firmly, but gently.

~Aizawa's POV~ A few minutes prior

Child protective services agreed to Hizashi and I becoming Todoroki's temporary guardians, luckily, but they said there were a few things we needed to look out for.

"Shoto is most likely traumatised." The lady began, inspecting us over her thin glasses. "You'll need to avoid leaving him alone in any dark places, raising hands quickly, shouting and sudden physical contact."

Hizashi nodded whilst I scribbled notes down, making sure we would remember this. 

"He might have panic attacks, nightmares and depression." She listed, eyes flooded with sympathy for the boy. "In other words, it's almost certain he has, or will develop PTSD." She said gravely and Hizashi looked down. 

"Right, we'll look out for this." I confirmed. 

"And-" She said. "He find it incredibly difficult to learn he won't get hit for making a mistake."

"Okay." I nodded gratefully, and Hizashi flashed her a strained smile. With that, we gave our goodbyes and left to see Todoroki. Hizashi was bubbling with excitement.

"Wow, Shouta!" He began. "We're gonna have such a strong cool kid!"

"Just because he appears strong, doesn't mean he needs any less support." I muttered. He slung his arms around my shoulders.

"This will be difficult." He said, quieter and lower than usual. "We'll get him through this. Together." I allowed a small smile to tug at my lips as we approached Todoroki's room.