Just a little story, hope you enjoy. :)

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Bold- Author's note

Italic- Thoughts/emphasis

*~/0\~* - Time skip

*~/0\~*

It had been a cold winter's night when Midoriya noticed that Todoroki Shoto had never come home that night. The lack of the half and half boy left an even colder feeling through him that only Shoto could thaw.

"Has anyone seen Shoto?" Midoriya asked entering the dorm's common room, the room went silent and all attention turned to him.

"Worried about your boyfriend? Join the club.." Kirishima snickered lounged over the sofa.

"Yes I am, he's not here, he never came back after school," He wrung his hands nervously.

The room shared looks with each other. Todoroki was a mysterious figure that not many knew much about. Midoriya was the one to draw him out of his shell and the pair had fallen helplessly in love. It was clear there was something regarding Todoroki they kept between them, a sensitive issue that would have Midoriya muttering softly to him sometimes to comfort the other.

Iida broke the silence, "You sure he hasn't just gone home for the night to see his family? He has a few siblings, doesn't he? He might be just homesick."

He shook his head, "He wouldn't go back without telling me.. I think something's wrong."

"Stupid Deku-" Bakugou muttered under his breath before being cut off.

"Perhaps go and see Aizawa if you're worried, but I'm sure he's fine bro," Kirishima smiled softly pulling his partner close.

"Yeah.. I'm sure I'm overreacting. Thank you, I'll go see him," Midoriya headed off again out the dorms.

"This is quite unlike Todoroki to disappear," Iida commented and everyone silently agreed.

*~/0\~*

A hesitant knock rang out in the silence of Aizawa's room bringing his attention away from the computer lighting up the dark space. An exasperated sigh passed his lips and he opened the door to see the shorter boy quite clearly overcome with anxiety. "What is it trouble child?"

"I haven't seen Shoto since school," Midoriya kept his eyes trained on his shoes fidgeting nervously.

"So you think he's gone missing because you haven't seen him in a few hours?" Aizawa raised his eyebrow with slight scepticism lacing the teacher's tone.

"I've tried contacting him to no reply. Trust me Sensei, I know Shoto well enough to realise this is odd."

Worry seemed to enter Aizawa's face and add a few years to his appearance. He massaged his face. "I'll have the police head to his house and report him as missing if he doesn't return by the end of the night."

"Thank you Aizawa-sensei-"

"And don't leave this building tonight, none of you kids."

"..Understood."

Aizawa waved off the young hero back to the dorms, grabbed his phone and had the police visit the Todoroki household.

That day was the last day anyone saw of Todoroki Shoto.

*~/0\~*

Nothing was ever quite right after that night. The common room always gave the lingering feeling of someone missing, the class never felt complete- his empty desk becoming a painful sight for all. It had been a month. There was not a word, not a trace, nothing. Out of them all Midoriya had been the hardest hit by his disappearance. He wandered the halls of UA like a ghost and only took part in activities when prompted to.

"Midoriya seems quieter than usual," Iida frowned looking ahead at their friend walking numbly through the halls.

Uraraka watched after him sadly, "It's been a month today.."

"Ah, I see," The two went quiet and entered the classroom to take their seats. A few minutes later the bell rang signifying the start of class and Aizawa stood at the front of the room.

"Has there been any news yet?" Kaminari was the one to ask today, that same fateful question that had been asked every day for the past month. The thought weighed heavily on their shoulders on this day in particular, the anniversary laying an unsettling silence over class 1-A.

The stress had also clearly taken its toll on Aizawa, he had prominent dark bags hanging under his eyes, sluggish movements and a weary look about him. "There's still been no word," The words choked out. "As it's now been a month the agencies have decided to stop their active searching-" Immediately the class began to rise up and protest and Aizawa cut back in. "They decided they must focus on more recent matters but will keep an eye out when searching."

"That's not good enough! How they just abandon someone like this?" Kirishima banged his hardened fists down on his table.

"The agencies don't have the funding for the constant searches so have decided to pull out. As of this day, Todoroki has been announced missing and presumed dead."

The ruckus died down upon hearing those words. The thought was already on all of their minds but hearing them just made the reality hit home hard. Midoriya looked on, life drained from his face, not having the strength to utter a word.

"Trust me, not all of us are giving up. Most of the teachers here- me, Present Mic and All Might especially- are still looking. His father is still out and funding his sidekicks too. So don't look at me like that.." Aizawa sat down at his desk and rubbed an exhausted hand down his face. "Finish off the work we started yesterday."

Everyone reluctantly got out their work from yesterday and attempted to finish it off. Unfortunately, no one's mind was in the right place for it so it was to no avail.

A sharp scrap of a chair stole everyone's attention as Midoriya rose from his seat, head hung low. He mumbled a broken apology before rushing out of the classroom. No one moved to stop him, it wasn't the first time.

This was going to be a long day.

*~/0\~*

The day did indeed drag on. After dinner, Midoriya had decided to take a walk to be alone in his plaguing thoughts. He was just arriving back at the dorms when he saw it. The dimly lit courtyard had cast a dark shadow over a collapsed silhouette propped up against the stairs.

"Hello? Who is that?" Midoriya cautiously navigated the poorly lit courtyard and approached the figure which didn't budge or respond to him. Upon no indication of consciousness from the shadowed body, he reached out and tugged the cold lifeless arm aside which rolled the body onto its back.

"Oh my god.." Midoriya's knees gave way and he slid down to the floor. "No, this isn't happening," He bundled the boy before him into his arms and brushed the grubby red and white locks out of his face. "Shoto..? Shou, can you hear me?" The unresponsive boy's head lolled to the side and Midoriya's fingers fumbled around to feel his pulse. "No no no, come on Shou, please come on, you're fine! You'll be fine!" The panic only seemed to skyrocket as his fumbling fingers couldn't land on a pulse wherever he seemed to check. "Come on-!" His voice broke and the tears came flooding in as racking sobs as he crumbled over the lifeless body in his arms. Reluctantly placing Todoroki down onto the floor, Midoriya started clumsy chest compressions in a desperate attempt to bring him back.

"Come on! Stop messing around! Baby, please... Please don't leave me" Trembling hands cupped the half and half's cheek as he held him close as tears slid down his cheeks, giving him a final kiss.

The heart-wrenching sobs seemed to stir everyone in the near vicinity out into the courtyard, Aizawa- being the first to reach the pair- quickly ordered the teachers to make sure not one student left the dormitories before slowly approaching Midoriya, as one would a startled animal. Getting closer he realised his worse fears had come to be a reality yet, he knew he had to be strong for his students. Swallowing down a large lump in his throat he gently touched Midoriya's shoulder. His cries only became more anguished as he clutched the limp body close to his chest. The teacher's barrier seemed to buckle and tears slipped down his cheeks.

"Midoriya.. please," He moved a hand to try and coax the body from him but he recoiled back, clinging to him like a lifeline.

"Get away!" He screamed out.

"Izuku-"

"Don't touch him! Don't take him from me again!"

Noticing Midnight approaching in the corner of his eye, Aizawa sighed in relief. He signalled for the R-rated hero to sedate the boy- it was his only option as of now. "I'm so sorry, this is my fault I should have protected him better," Aizawa held Midoriya close to his chest while keeping his scarf covering his airways. Tears slipped down the underground hero's cheeks as Midoriya's thrashing died down and he went slack in his arms. Aizawa kept his head tilted to the night sky as Midnight came to take Midoriya off him and away from the area.

"I'm so sorry. I failed you."

*~/0\~*

It only got harder from then on. You'd think it'd get easier knowing where he is, but it wasn't. At least before you could hold onto the shread of hope that he might still be alive. Now the harsh truth was blazing in your face, Todoroki Shoto was dead. Your last hope shattered to pieces with an open casket housing a boy too young to be there, too full of life and passion. While a quiet boy a determined one. Even with his awful upbringing, he still managed to get up every day and train to be a hero to save people. That was his passion. Yet his life was cut short by the people he wanted to protect the powerless against.

The death hit hard on everyone. A time most often thought of as 'the best and happiest days of your life' were filled with mourning and gloom. This was the startling truth of becoming a hero. You would get hurt, you would lose people. So long as they're villains the world will never be safe.

Class 1-A didn't get over it quickly, some never fully came to terms with it, some- Midoriya- were never the same again. Nevertheless, the incident fuelled each and every one of them with a roaring fire. They would become stronger and protect their friends- nothing like this would ever happen again. They'd do this for Todoroki and themselves.

Two months on the class found themselves caught up in a commotion downtown. They had been out on a trip to talk to the community when a group of villains had decided to attack the shopping district. Everyone broke off into small teams to work on exacuating the citizens caught up in the ruckus while the pros dealt with the major problem- being the villains.

Midoriya had broken off with Iida and Uraraka and was making his way towards a small boy trapped under some rubble.

"Don't worry little guy I've got you, keep talking to me alright? That way I know you're okay," Midoriya smiled reassuringly to the boy and started shifting the rubble off of him, being extra careful when getting closer to his body. The boy whimpered in pain but didn't have the energy to speak.

Midoriya moved along quicker and moved the lasts bits off gently and scanned him over. "Where does it hurt?"

The boy mutely gestured to his right leg and hips.

"Uraraka! Iida! Over here!" He called over his shoulder before using some debris and rope to secure to the boy's leg. The two came running down the road.

"We'll take over from here, nice one Deku," Uraraka patted his shoulder and helped the boy get comfy on a stretcher. Midoriya didn't register the comment with his attention elsewhere, being drawn to a scuffle down the alley they were at the mouth of.

"I think there's someone else stuck down there," Without waiting for an answer he took off in a run towards the noise. "Hello? Is there someone down here?"

The source of the noise stumbled out around the corner and staggered towards him, leaning heavily on the wall. "Izu..ku..?"

The whole world seemed to shift on its axis and the noise around them fizzled out into a low pitch tone. Todoroki, the boy found dead, stood there before Midoriya, a mess, but there. Weeks of neglect meant his matted hair brushed his shoulders and the clothes he went missing in two months ago hung loosely on his skinny frame. He was filthy and wounded but a relieved smile touched his lips and his eyes glowed in the burning embers from the destroyed area.

Midoriya's face fell and his legs went numb. "Shou?" He willed his legs to move from their stiff position and his knees trembled as he broke into a run.

A weight seemed to shift off Todoroki's shoulders as his whole body went slack and pitched forward into oblivion. Midoriya fell to his knees and hurried to lift him into his lap.

"Warm.. you're warm," Fingers moved to grasp his wrist and he felt the weak thrum of a heartbeat beneath them. "You're alive, you're alive! Holy shit," A grin spread across his lips as he burst into tears, laughing in disbelief. He held his lost partner to his chest and clutched him tightly afraid he'd disappear again. "You're here.." Laughing turned to sobs. "I thought I'd lost you, I had lost you," Kissing him repeatedly he shakily got to his feet and made his way back out of the alley, all the while calling to anyone who could hear.

The pros had finished up already and the police were left to cart of the incapacitated villains. Iida, Uraraka and Aizawa waited at the end of the alley upon hearing Midoriya's cries.

"Is everything alright Midoriya? Ah there you are," Aizawa rubbed his head tiredly as the boy came into sight. "That another victim? First aid area is down the road-"

"Sensei," Midoriya cut him off as he pointed down away from there. Aizawa took in his state and his eyes travelled down to the teen he carried closely.

"Is that.."

"You can see him too?" He cried happily.

"That can't be right, I buried him," Aizawa numbly moved the hair away from Todoroki's face. "I buried him,"

"He's here Sensei," Midoriya seemed to be the first to come around. "He needs medical attention straight away."

Aizawa shook away his daze, still not quite with the situation and ran off down the street with the kids in tow.

*~/0\~*

"He seems to be extremely malnourished and dehydrated. Alongside that, we have an extensive array of half-healed broken bones, lacerations, burns and bruising- among other things if we're just generalising. We have placed him under an induced coma for now as it seemed the best precaution." The nurse reported to both Aizawa and Enji Todoroki.

"Thank you, that'll be all," Endeavour waved the woman off preoccupied with his own thoughts.

The nurse hastily bowed and hurried off to continue her duties. Aizawa didn't wait to send a message to Present Mic regarding the situation for him to tell the students before heading into the room.

Upon first glance, Todoroki seemed to blend into the white sheets around him- if it wasn't for the startlingly red hair contrasting against the covers it'd be hard to see him. The big bed made seem much smaller and frailer, his sheet-white skin stretching tightly over his bones and being wrapped up in bandages and casts in varying places.

"You poor lad," Aizawa seated himself beside the head of the bed and kept watch over him protectively. He wouldn't fail one of his students again, this was way too close a call.

TBC