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UA cared about its image. A lot.
When their first years got attacked at the USJ, they had to do damage control.
When one of their top students got kidnapped, they had to do damage control.
Every time a mild inconvenience happened that made the media even look in the direction of UA, they had to do damage control.
Damage control.
Damage control.
Damage control.
They were always so caught up in their public image, that it was sometimes far too easy to forget that they weren’t just a public entity, but above all, a learning institution.
So when UA had successfully begun looking neutral in the media, realizing that their efforts weren’t for not, they took a breather and shifted their priority to the students.
And boy, they should have done it a lot sooner.
Students who were directly involved in the first-year villain encounters were advised to take up UA’s free counseling services, but at the end of the day it was optional, and at the time the first years wanted to focus on their sports festival preparations.
And after the summer camp incident, students involved were, once again, advised to take up counseling with little to no enforcement from the staff.
When situations happened, they were always told to go to the school guidance counselor, Hound Dog, but the councilor himself said that the students that did show up rarely scheduled follow up appointments, and many students decided to get therapy and counseling from outside sources, so they could focus more class time on their studies.
While dealing with traumatic events was a part of the job, the heroics students clearly were carrying more of an emotional burden than their school should have allowed.
And it’s not just their heroics students. From general studies students to the reclusive business course students, everyone seemed to be on edge. While no one was directly saying it, it was clear everyone was terrified of another attack.
So UA decided to change up their methods.
They started implementing monthly psyche evaluations for their heroics students as well as evaluations for all other students every three months. They created quiet places for students to study and relax as well as allowing students to take mental health days, granted they had proof they saw hound dog on their days off.
And it was clear that what they were doing was working.
Student’s grades began going up, Hound Dog had a hand full of new cases that were all being handled healthily, and the overall unspoken tension seemed to slowly dissipate from the area.
However, with all the new methods implemented, it began becoming glaringly obvious that some students had underlying issues that couldn’t be resolved by just talking it out.
Issues mainly dealing with anxiety.
Now, many students were anxious, with the school they were at it was a given. But now with the ability to take a break every once in a while, coupled with the new feeling of security the school had begun gathering, it became clear that some student’s anxieties went deeper than just school troubles.
This became clear with a handful of students, mainly Izuku Midoriya.
During their evaluations, they showed anxious tendencies as well as very obsessive personality traits. They were advised to get an anxiety screening from Hound Dog at a date different than their evaluations, but most students just ignored their follow up appointments, deciding to focus more on school.
A real issue began to shine through when one student, Izuku, took three mental health days, all sanctioned by Hound dog. Izuku. The student who would show up to class with broken bones and hide sprained ankles just to train more was essentially bedridden for three days.
Hound Dog couldn’t say anything because of patient confidentiality, but Izuku did say something. Something quite concerning.
When asked why he stayed home, he simply said, “It felt like my brain was collapsing on itself.”
When asked to elaborate more, he said that he had noticed that he had forgotten to do a homework assignment and freaked out, and while rushing to do the assignment he noticed it was past his self-imposed bedtime, which he was essentially religious about, and freaked out. He wasn’t done with his paper, it was too late at night, and he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t really describe what happened afterward, but everyone said he looked awful the next morning and urged him to go to Recovery Girl who, after hearing the story, sent him to Hound Dog.
Izuku never knew that those ‘episodes’ were not normal. He always thought that everyone had to deal with the weight of the world on their shoulders.
That seemed to spur UA to make another decision. During the upcoming holiday break, students who suffered from anxiety and anxious tendencies were to go on a mental health retreat in the woods.
The list was long, around thirty students who were all told that their attendance at this camp was mandatory.
On this list was Izuku Midoriya and Tamaki Amajiki.
This is where the story begins.
___
“Izuku, did you pack shampoo?”
Izuku sighed from his spot in his room. “Yeah mom, I did.”
He had finished packing hours ago, but he wasn’t due for school for a while. The school didn’t hide the fact that this was a retreat for anxious students or that it was mandatory. Izuku felt solely responsible for this event. He just had to explain his ‘episodes’ to Recovery Girl. He knew that it was irrational, that not everything was revolved around him, and he knew it was selfish to assume so. But in his mind, he had already decided that this was all his fault, and now his fellow anxious students were losing a week of their break.
“Good, you have your face wash as well right?”
“Packed away.”
Inko moved from the kitchen to the open door of his room. “Well, then it seems you’re all ready.” She smiled towards her son, only to find it half reciprocated. She frowned. “Izuku, I know that this is new and scary, but try and have a good time okay?” She had leaned down to her son’s level.
He knew that she just wanted the best for him.
She had gotten him medication for his condition for a while, though he didn’t really know of his condition or what he was taking, but it made him feel better so he didn’t care. They ran out and just forgot to fill the prescription and never got around to it. Inko thought he aged out of his anxiety.
Then she got a call from the school stating that he had had some sort of anxiety attack and was now going to go to an anxiety retreat in the woods for five days.
“I know mom, and I will try my hardest.” He smiled and she smiled back.
She stood up. “Good!” She moved towards the door to head back to the kitchen. “Remember to try and make friends!”
“Okay, mom.”
___
The bus had assigned seats, which may have been for the best. The idea of having to pick who to sit next to made Izuku feel jittery.
He had gotten there as the bus pulled up to the school. “Pup? What are you doing here to early?” Hound dog had just arrived, surprised to see Izuku already standing by the bus that he just pulled around.
“Oh, um, I finished packing, so I asked my mom to take me early. Is that okay?”
Hound dog nodded furiously. “Yes, of course, your only a little early ruff!” Okay, that was a bold-faced lie. Izuku was forty-five minutes early. But Hound Dog was not going to get upset at a kid who was just a little more eager than his peers! After all, this was a camp about reducing anxiety and stress, not increasing it!
Izuku let out a small breath. “Alright, sorry for being so early!” The kid let out a small smile that made Hound Dog smile as well.
“No problem pup, though it may be a while before other kids show up so,” He grabbed something out of his bag. “Do you want to play some UNO?”
___
How? How on earth is this kid so good at UNO?
For around fifteen minutes, Izuku kicked Hound Dog’s ass in a game that Hound Dog had foolishly assumed was luck. At that point, a few other students had trickled in, all feeling obligated to play, but Izuku still won.
He was honestly ecstatic when the last kid showed up, because it meant he no longer had to endure the abuse. Everyone showed up early to some degree, and they were able to leave early.
One of the issues that made Izuku sweat was the idea of sitting by someone he didn’t know.
Luckily he didn’t.
Izuku knew that no one in his class had been ‘invited’ to the camp, so he felt a little lost. His friends were the people he felt comfortable around, and the idea of having to navigate the camp by himself was killing him inside.
Then he spotted Tamaki sitting in the seat next to him.
And he smiled a little. He got to sit by someone, who, although they weren’t close, he was friendly with.
“Hi, Amajiki!” The boy in question froze up and slowly turn his head to Midoriya.
The boy looked mortified, it was obvious that he was surprised to see the boy. “M-Midoriya!” He clutched his bag closer to his chest and looked down. “W-why are you here?”
Izuku chuckled nervously and moved to sit in the aisle seat next to Tamaki. “Same reason as you I guess?” He asked it as a question.
Tamaki moved his bag down. “Oh.” It was silent for a moment, the whole bus quiet was really. The bus began to move, and they were informed that they would be at the cabins in an hour.
Tamaki looked over at Izuku, the boy was jumping his legs up and down blankly staring at the head of the seat in front of him. “So-” Izuku snapped his head quickly to Tamaki, causing the boy to close in on himself slightly. “Y-ou also have anxiety?”
Izuku nodded. “Yeah, i-its not very fun, now is it?” He chuckled awkwardly, an action that was met with a small, pitiful huff from Tamaki.
Then they lapsed back into silence.
And they stayed like that until the bus reached the destination.
___
“Alright, everyone! The papers you received have your group numbers and meeting locations for tomorrow! Until then eat up and get some rest with your cabin mates!”
Izuku didn’t know whose bright idea it was to allow Present Mike to help run the UA anxiety and stress retreat, but whoever it was may not have had the right idea. While Izuku loved the loud personality of Present Mike, it was clear that some other students were a little on edge by the loud noises, and Izuku, as much as he hated to admit it, was starting to feel drained from being around the high energy man.
They had already seen the cabins they would be staying in. Izuku’s cabin was small, with only a room with two beds, and a bathroom. It was just enough room for two people, but no more than that. Their suitcases had already been taken into the rooms, Izuku’s bright green suitcase next to a similarly sized navy one.
Izuku had made a few friends who were in his group, group 3, and they decided to eat with each other, Tamaki tagging along because he knew he was going to be nagged by the councilors if he sat alone. While Izuku spoke happily about anything and everything, one of his nervous habits, Tamaki sat quietly and moved his food around his plate. Izuku frowned at the sight.
Maybe it was being around people? When it was just them two, he at least said a few words. Maybe he’d find out that night, as all bus pairs were cabin mates after all.
And his question was semi answered when they had gotten ready for bed that night.
“Do you really have anxiety?” His words were quiet and low, but they stopped Izuku in his tracks.
“What do you mean?” Izuku fidgeted with the blanket he was about to put on his bed.
Tamaki looked away at the wall. “Y-you are just so sociable. I can’t imagine trying to talk to all those people. His body began to shake a little, but it didn’t seem like he was crying.
“Well, um, I had to get diagnosed after an, um, incident that I had, but I usually let my anxiety build-up, and then it would all just explode in one big burst, ya know?” Izuku went back to what he was doing.
“Oh.”
And just like that, they fell back into silence.
And it stayed like that till morning.
___
The days after that passed quickly. Despite the fact they were bunkmates, Izuku never really saw Tamaki because he was in a different group, and each group had different schedules.
The group activities consisted of group trust activities, arts and crafts, group therapy (boy was that hard), and general classes that taught how to reduce anxiety. And it was working, Izuku supposed.
He had learned about journaling as a way to destress and he immediately began doing it all the time everywhere. Sorting out his thoughts calmed him down far more then he thought it ever would, he even found himself shyly asking his mother if he could purchase some when he got home, to which she agreed quickly.
Group therapy was tiring and always the last part of the day. Even just through three days, he had found himself learning more about the kids around him, as well as finding himself sharing similar feelings and experiences with them. And they talked about their issues a lot, and Izuku meant a lot.
He always found himself crashing as soon as he made it back into the cabin, usually asleep before Tamaki even stepped through the door.
Though on the last night of camp, he wasn’t in the cabin before Tamaki. He and a few of his group members had decided to get some dessert from the dining hall, meaning that for the first time since the first day, Izuku and Tamaki crossed paths at night.
And Tamaki looked like shit.
As soon as Izuku entered the room he knew something was wrong.
The lights were off in the room, the clothes in a navy blue suitcase were spewed all over the floor. Beyond the mess on the floor, Tamaki’s eyes were puffy, and in the low light, it was obvious that he had been crying, which was concerning.
Izuku was a crier. He was an anxious crier, a happy crier, he was an any emotion crier, it really didn’t take all that much to get him going. But Tamaki…
Izuku never saw Tamaki cry, then again, Izuku and Tamaki had never been all that close. Tamaki just seemed like the type who never cried, prompting to bottle everything up not to bother others, but, then again, it was just an assumption that Izuku had.
Then again, when it rains, it pours.
Tamaki was sitting down on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor. It looked like he was completely consumed by his thoughts.
Izuku entered cautiously, making his presence known. “Amajiki?” The boy didn’t lift his head, so Izuku stepped forward. “Are you okay?”
Izuku reached out, but Tamaki just shifted away. “Go … away.”
“Amajiki…” Izuku let out a sigh and sat down on the opposite side of the bed, turned away from Tamaki. “You know I can’t do that.”
Tamaki let out a grunt and tried to close in on himself.
He just wanted to disappear.
He stayed quiet, and Izuku didn’t press him to talk.
Something bad must have happened in group therapy.
It was silent for a few moments, no talking from either side. Izuku sighed.
“Amajiki?”
No response.
“Hey, Amajiki?
No response.
“Tamaki?” That got the boy’s attention.
He turned his head, hanging it low. His eyes met Izukus, water glistening on his cheeks.
“C-can I hug you?”
That made Tamaki freeze. The question seemed to catch the boy off guard, though, he didn’t say no.
So Izuku leaned forward and hugged him.
It was only a simple hug, no more and no less, but it seemed to do something to Tamaki.
He cried.
He balled and cried in the arms of the first year, digging his head into his chest. Whatever had been building up all week broke free in an explosion.
He didn’t say a word, even when the tears dried up, leaving only sniffles behind, he kept quiet, though Izuku didn’t make him speak up.
And he didn’t let go.
He clung tightly to Izuku, the boy becoming his weighted blanket.
And they fell asleep like that, entangled in each other’s arms.
___
Hound dog was quite proud of himself, to say the least.
For one thing, Izuku was the only person who could consistently beat him in UNO, which surely fueled his self-esteem to be sure.
But he was also proud because the retreat was a success. Sure, no one left the camp feeling completely free from anxiety and stress, but it seemed that many people left feeling more relaxed and more assured in themselves.
He looked back a few seats at the campers he was the proudest of.
Izuku Midoriya and Tamaki Amajiki.
On the ride there, Hound Dog noticed that the two of them didn’t talk at all. The reason he put them together in the first place was that they had a few mutual friends to his knowledge, though he didn’t expect them to go completely silent on each other as they did.
But right now, as they headed home, It was clear something had changed.
Izuku was leaning over Tamaki’s shoulder to show him something on his phone. Whatever it was must have been funny, because Izuku and Tamaki chuckled along to it. Tamaki was smiling, and Izuku was beaming.
There was no tension between them, they seemed completely at ease with each other and it brought a smile to Hound Dog’s face.
The whole bus was a lot louder on the trip back home.