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“Please Ma’am, I can explain-“
“Oh I’m sure you can.” Ninetails mused as she flicked through several pictures of Bakugo during the Sports Festival.
“Look, I know Kacchan comes off as a bit harsh-“
“He assaulted another student on live TV because he lost.”
“B-but I assure you he wants to be a Hero-“
Well he sure as shit doesn’t behave like one. Even Endeavor reigns himself in when he’s in public.”
“He’ll be a great Hero-“
“How so? Because he has a decent Quirk? Because he ‘Has the drive to become a Hero?’”
“I-“
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed those burn scars on your body. The ones you try to cover up? They aren’t regular burns. They look like they were made by a small explosion. And I couldn’t help but notice a very volatile brat with an explosion Quirk participating in the Sports Festival.”
“I-it’s my fault! I’m the one who made him think I was looking down on him!”
“And how exactly were you ‘looking down on him’?”
“I tried helping him up when he fell into a creek as a kid! I should have know better!”
Ona stared at him for a long, tense moment of silence, as if she was trying to confirm whether he had really said that.
Then she pulled out her phone.
“Uh… What are you doing?”
“Signing you up for therapy.”
“Hu-Wah!?”
“It’s become clear that you have the mentality of an abuse victim. You’ve been conditioned to accept that Bakugo is in the right no matter what he does or says. I would say that you should have gotten this earlier, but we both know Japan’s mental healthcare is a joke. Ah! There’s an opening for next weekend!”
“I… I don’t-“
“And just so we’re clear, you are going to attend, else I’ll have to assume you’re emotionally and mentally compromised. In which case I’ll have no choice but to pull you out of that school and ship you back to Japan where you’ll live out the rest of your days in a crappy apartment working a dead end job at the nearest convenience store and taking the graveyard shifts where you’ll constantly be on edge about whether or not the next person who walks in is going to stab you or buy a bag of chips. Okay? Okay. Your appointment’s set up.”
“…”
X
And so, it was the very next weekend that Izuku found himself sitting awkwardly in a waiting room. As much as he wanted to protest being here, Ninetails’ oddly specific threat had pretty much shut down all of his protests.
He just didn’t underst why she was so insistent that Kacchan was a bad person. Yes, he could get a little out of control, but-
His thoughts were cut off as the door opened, and a girl walked out of the therapist’s office. She looked about twelve or so, with pale skin, purple eyes, and short, chin length white hair with blood red tips.
Izuku noticed a few things off about her. First, her right arm and hand were bandaged up and looking a bit stiff. Second, the temperature in the room dropped when she entered. As in, literally dropped at least thirty degrees. Probably something to do with her Quirk.
Third was that she looked oddly familiar for some reason.
The girl paid him no mind, dull eyes simply staring ahead as she left. White dress fluttering, almost ghost-like.
“Midoriya.” A voice called from in the office. Izuku jumped up and walked in. The office was even colder, with a space heater sitting nearby at full blast.
“Sorry about the chill. My last patient can’t turn off that aspect of her Quirk.” The green haired woman explained in a soft, gentle voice that immediately put Izuku at ease. “I’m Dr. Ceres Fauna, it’s nice to meet you Izuku.”
“N-nice to meet you too ma’am.” Izuku said as he sat down. Fauna gave him a warm smile. “I… I’ll be honest, I really don’t think I need therapy…”
“Lots of people are of the same mindset.” Fauna replied sadly. “They don’t want to admit they’re hurting, and that just makes it worse in the end. I can’t help people if they won’t let me help them. Will you let me help you Izuku?”
“I… I suppose so…”
“Now, Ms. Ayumi mentioned that a lot of your hurting seems to originate from someone named Bakugo. Would you like to talk about it?”
“Um…”
“It’s okay. Take all the time you need. Things like healing needn’t be rushed.”
Just like that, Izuku found himself spilling his entire history with Bakugo to the woman. He didn’t know why, but she gave off a comforting, motherly aura that told Izuku he could trust her.
“Uuuuu.”
“M-Ms. Fauna?”
“Nothing. Nothing.” Fauna replied as she composed herself. “Izuku, please tell me, why is it that you seem to put Bakugo on a pedestal when l, from what you’ve described, he has nothing but contempt and vitriol for your mere existence?”
“I-I… We’ve been friends since childhood. I’ve always admired his strength and determination. I think he’ll be an amazing Hero!”
“Izuku.” Fauna spoke gently. “Why do you think Bakugo will be a good Hero? Is it because you honestly think that, or is it because that’s what you’ve been told your entire life?”
Izuku froze, unable to come up with a reply as the question hit him with the force of a train. “I…”
Fauna waited a few moments to see whether or not Izuku would actually say something before she spoke up. “Are you honestly sure Bakugo is your friend? Friends aren’t supposed to hurt each other because of one of them simply assumes the other is looking down on them.”
“…” Izuku couldn’t respond.
“Healing takes time Izuku. I’m not expecting you to figure out the answer right away. I’m here to help guide you on the path to healing.” Fauna gently assured. “I think… In order to start the road to healing, we have to stop using that nickname you’ve given Bakugo.”
“Y-you want me to stop calling him Kacchan?”
“I think that by clinging to that name, you’re clinging to the idea that he’s your friend. In order to let go of Bakugo, you have to let go of Kacchan. Does that make sense?”
“I…I’ll try, but…”
“It’s okay, I don’t expect you to drop it right off the bat. Old habits are hard to break. All I ask is that you try.”
“O-okay Ms. Fauna…”
Fsuna gave him a warm smile.
Soon, the appointment was over, and as Izuku left the office to schedule the next one, he felt… Lighter than he had in years for some reason.