He didn't really know Shouto very well. He read people well enough, with all the studying and muttering he'd done for years about heroes and villains, but his recommended classmate was something of an enigma. They were friends, he could say that with confidence, but he was still learning how to decipher his varying degrees of ill-mannered. One thing he could say, though, was he very rarely saw the other teen rattled. He was always stoic, always hiding behind a practiced neutral expression.

It drove Izuku nuts, if he were being honest.

Any reason as to why he was heading down to the common room was forgotten the moment he heard hurried shuffling in the next flight of stairs-- he noticed how people walked, too, the specific gait and footfalls of particular students, and it took him a moment to decipher the subtly mismatched sound of Shouto Todoroki, in part because he usually moved just quickly enough to not be slow but with no real haste to his pace. He was listening too hard to realize consciously when the sound had reached the landing as he did, but he sprang sideways without thinking to avoid colliding with him, his mind having registered who he was hearing approach just before he put eyes on the bi-colored prodigy.

He didn't really mean to gasp, but the stricken look on his friends face made his breath catch.

"No problem-- are you okay?" He was already reaching for him, but stopped short of actually coming into contact.