Chapter Text
“So Midoriya, tell me, how’s it been going with you now that we’ve switched to weekly appointments.”
Izuku looks up at his therapist. He’d only just sat down in ‘his’ chair when the words reached his ears. It feels a little bit weird picking up their conversation when he hasn’t been here in a week. He can barely remember what exactly they were even talking about last time.
“I’m doing well, I think? I’ve been getting really good at sign language and we’re looking into hearing aids as well. Also, Kacchan’s been coming over daily to hang out and it’s been getting less awkward every time. Yesterday he even asked for me to start teaching him some sign language. He wanted to start with curses and insults though.”
“I’m glad to hear that the both of you are getting along again. What about what has been going on with the case against your school? Any news to share?”
Izuku stays silent for a second. “I-I don’t know… It feels weird to think about it. I know that some of my old teachers have had their licenses revoked but the detectives are only sharing what has been finalized with me. They don’t want to end up giving me false information or false hope.”
“What about the media attention it has been getting? How have you been dealing with that?”
He knows that the therapist is watching intently as he wrings his hands together.
“It’s okay if you haven’t been great with it Midoriya. It’s only been about 4 months, it’s okay if you’re not okay yet, you know. But if you’re willing to talk about how it makes you feel, I’m very much open to that conversation. In fact, I think It’s something we will have to talk about sometime.”
“Stupid fucking media and their stupid fucking stats!”
Katsuki clenched his fists, shooting up from his seat as he glared at the man in front of him. Goddamnit that man is good at asking annoying questions. Knows just what buttons to push to piss him off.
“They’ve been talking about quirkless kids and suicide stats like they’re talking about a cooking recipe. Even worse they’ve been discussing whether it’s a good idea to even have quirkless kids in normal schools, like separating them is gonna make the situation any better?”
The man in front of Katsuki is annoyingly calm at his outburst and it reminds him that he should probably calm down a little as well, he’d rather not have to fix that chair by hand, it looks complicated and expensive. Trust him, he knows.
“Explain to me why you disagree, if you please, mr. Bakugou.”
“It’s a stupid idea. Separating them even more from society is just going to make them stand out more. It’s gonna put bigger targets on them. And while I ended up bullying Izuku because of, what was it you said, my superiority complex that I got from people always praising me for little shit, and me blaming Izuku for how I always had to be the strong one, a lot of the others did so just because Izuku was different.”
“So you think that separating them is going to make them more different.”
“fuck yes. The whole idea is just stupid. If they’d just treated me and Izuku the same when we got our quirks none of this shit would’ve happened.”
“so, you’ve been avoiding the news and media surrounding your case?”
A small nod. Izuku would actually prefer it if they didn’t have to talk about this, but as his therapist just stated; it’s important they do before what’s going on causes Izuku to go back into a downward spiral.
After all, the things he did see were not kind to people like him.
Kacchan had seemed to be at least as pissed off at that article as he felt hurt by it though, so that was a silver lining.
That was probably when Izuku, for the first time since he got Kacchan’s letter, felt like it was more than an empty promise. Kacchan really was working on his prejudices and his behavior. He’s genuinely trying to become a better person and didn’t just say so because suddenly there were consequences to his words.
Consequences that could cost him his dreams of being a hero. Let alone the number one hero.
“Izuku.”
The boy in question snaps out of his thoughts with a guilty little smile.
“It’s just. The one time I watched it they were not only trying to figure out who I am, but they were discussing if I was worth all the commotion because of my quirkless status… I Haven’t turned on the tv or any social media since then.”
“Which is really understandable. Luckily it seems that more and more people are starting to speak out about life without a quirk. I’m sure you’ve heard people mention the protests. And here’s a fact that I know you will enjoy. All Might has been an avid spokesperson for quirkless people these last few weeks.”
Izuku’s eyes widen in interest. “He has?”
After that the conversation somehow turns into more talk about heroes speaking out. Izuku leaves the office feeling a lot lighter than he did when he went in.
Katsuki’s therapy session on the other hand didn’t end on such a happy note. After the whole discussion about the media attention the ‘Aldera case’ has been getting, his therapist had quite suddenly flipped the script and moved the discussion to how he apparently has developed a habit of hurting himself to calm his emotions.
Apparently, that wasn’t a good way to keep yourself grounded. Well fuck that because right now that was the only thing that worked for him.
That sentiment had gotten him some new homework though, by next week he had to look up ways to ground yourself and they were going to talk them over to hopefully find one that works better for him.
At least he’d gotten a compliment on not having used his quirk, not even once, during the whole session.
In the next coming weeks the situation with the media finally starts cooling off as more and more of his tea- ex teachers have their trials and guilty sentences. The protests start calming down and things seem to be getting back to normal as far as possible. There’s still some talk about implementing new laws, either for or against quirkless people, but it’s pretty much only the most vocal people left.
Which, surprisingly includes both All Might and Kacchan, the second of which has gotten into the habit of dropping by every day. Even when all they really do is end up studying together. Izuku for his exam by commission so he can still graduate at the end of the school year, and Kacchan for his entrance exam into UA in two months.
Something which he’s been bothering Izuku about, not in the least by giving Izuku a whole folder containing information both on getting into the Hero program, as well as several pages of information on all of the departments UA offers.
Which, to be honest, did actually work in getting him interested into applying for the general educations department. Not in the least because they offer in depth quirk analyses lessons and even after all that has happened Izuku still has an unhealthy amount of interest in the subject.
So he’s been, although secretly, preparing for the entrance exam as well. Even if he’s not sure he’s actually going to end up applying at all. He’s feeling quite hopeful for the future after all, better to nourish that feeling and prepare just in case, than regret not doing so.
It’s done. After today bakugou is never going to have to set foot in aldera again. At least the school he was leaving behind was a lot better than it was when he started the school year here.
The principal in prison, most of the old teachers never allowed to teach again.
And in a few weeks, he’s going to be starting at UA’s Hero course, along with Izuku. He still can’t believe it. That sneaky little fucker had kept it a secret from him that he’d applied to GE, AND that he’d gotten in, until Katsuki had gone over with his acceptance letter to celebrate. At which point he’d just casually mentioned ‘oh, me too.”
So, as he leaves the school grounds and walks up to Izuku, who’s outside waiting for him, he knows that the future is going to be a lot brighter. They’re both going to make sure of it.
Little did they know that the next year was going to be just as chaotic, if not more so.