Mizu: Hey look! I managed to update when I said I would! I don't have much to say up here because I really want to let you guys get to the story so I'll just remind everyone that this story deals with suicidal thoughts and self-harm.

Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia. All rights to the characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi.

Chapter 2.

It took about another hour before Toshinori felt that Midoriya was calm enough to talk about what had happened.

"Young Midoriya," Toshinori started. This time, he pulled the teen away just enough to look him in the eye, "How long you have you been-"

"H-Had..." Izuku mumbled, "I-I don't think about it anymore...I-I never want to again."

'As much as I pray that you never do, you're smart enough to know that you probably will,' Toshinori thought sadly.

"Even so, how long?"

"...I-It started when I was twelve..."

God, he was so young! At twelve years old, he should have only been worried about what to wear and hanging out with his friends. Not thinking about ending his life.

"I...I shouldn't complain. O-Others out there have it much worse than me..."

"Stop that," Toshinori scolded, looking the boy dead in his eyes, "Whatever others have gone through, that does not make your experiences less valid. Something that you went through left a scar on your heart. That isn't something that you or anyone can deny."

Tears welled in the boy's eyes again but did not fall yet.

Toshinori wiped one of his freckled cheeks, "I am sorry that I didn't notice this sooner. If I had, maybe I could have been of some comfort."

"N-No! You have nothing to apologize for!" Izuku exclaimed before nervously fiddling with his fingers, "I-I...I don't like to think where I would be if I h-hadn't met you that day."

'Nor do I...'

"Even so," Toshinori smiled, "Please let me or one of the other teachers if you need any help. You are not alone, my boy. Let us help you."

He watched the boy's lip tremble between a pout and a smile.

"...please do not take this the wrong way, but did the news of that child's plight trigger this?" the teacher asked after a moment.

A single nod was his answer, "I-I'm sorry. I know that I shouldn't let these thoughts bother me anymore. I-I have a Quirk. I'm not..."

"Like I said, it is a scar. Some days it will feel as if nothing ever happened, like you can go on through life thinking that the worst is over. But other days, it'll feel as if it is happening all over again. The pain will be so real that all you can do is pray for it to end. There is no shame in that. Just room to heal so that the bad days get further and further apart," the ex-hero whispered calmly, "Your medicine is also nothing to feel shame for. It is no different than me taking the pain meds and the numerous other medicines that I must take for my injuries. Do not be angry for needing them."

"But I-"

"You do need them," Toshinori interrupted, "You might not always need them but for the time being, they help you keep those thoughts at bay. They help you create a life for yourself that you can be happy with. They help you take a step at a time until you can stand in the light without them. They do not cure you. They do not make you weak. They help you stay strong so that you can face your demons."

"...thank you," his successor hiccupped, wiping at his eyes.

"Of course," Toshinori smiled, "Want to talk about it now?"

A sniffle then, "N-No but I-I still need to let it out. N-Normally I tell my mom but sh-she's so worried about me now that I have a Quirk, I don't want her to know."

"Like I said, I am here," the blond offered.

Midoriya shot him a shaky but grateful smile before taking a deep breath, "O-Okay. Let's see...I had just come in f-from my evening jog wh-when I heard the news. A-All I could think of was what everyone would th-think if they found out that I had been..."

Toshinori frowned. He could see where that would be a terrifying train of thought.

"I-I got so scared th-that the friends that I had finally made w-would hate me like everyone did before I came to U.A." Izuku continued, "I-I don't want to lose them...but at the same time, I can't stop thinking about it."

Toshinori rubbed gentle circles on his back.

"I-I don't want to know or t-to ask them but at the same time, not knowing is a-almost just as terrifying," the boy finished.

"...are these your first friends?" Toshinori hesitantly asked.

"Wh-When we were r-really little, I had Kacchan and a couple others. B-But then I never developed my...a-and they b-became my bullies..."

"Bullies?" Toshinori's frown deepened.

Midoriya sadly smiled, "Kacchan really is a good person. But back then, everyone would only ever tell him how great he was and how he was going to be the best. I think he developed a superiority complex at a young age. I-I became the outlet that he needed for his stress because I made myself an easy target. I-I stuck my nose into things and th-the fact that I kept trying to become a hero even though I was so inferior made him question things. I was the only one so I had to be wrong, or at least that's what I think he thought back then. Now, he's changed. Realized that he isn't the only one meant to be great. That being great isn't the only thing out there to be."

"Doesn't excuse what he did," he pointed out.

Midoriya shook his head but the smile stayed in place, "No but that doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy to see my friend changing for the better. I know a lot of people would think of Kacchan as a future villain but that couldn't be further from the truth. He has a lot of rough edges, sure, but deep down he cares a lot."

Toshinori didn't say anything to that. He agreed with the boy but at the same time, the explosive teen had caused his friend so much pain that he had thought of ending it all. If he had, he would have been responsible for it. The teacher knew he was going to have to address this with Bakugou. He would also need to see how the rest of the students were handling the shocking news. But first, he needed to help the boy in his arms.

"...Young Midoriya, why don't you show me your hero notes?" Toshinori said quietly after a long moment of silence.

"Huh?" emerald eyes blinked, some of their familiar light coming back.

"You've never properly shown me the notes you took on me," Toshinori grinned.

"O-Oh...um, sure!" Izuku nodded, crawling onto his hands and knees. He slipped under his bed and pulled out a green tote that was filled with notebooks. Toshinori smiled as he watched the teen debate which one to pull out. At least he wasn't shaking anymore.

"Why don't you just start with the first one?"

It took a moment for the flustered boy to gather himself enough to hesitantly pull out the very first notebook. The edges were well worn and the handwriting that covered the childish hillscape was large and unsure. He had known that the boy had been working on his notebooks for years but this one looked like the boy had just started to learn how to write. It was touching really. Midoriya really was his and many other heroes' biggest fan. They sat together for a long time, flipping through page after page. They managed to get through three of the notebooks, with All Might taking the most space in the first two and only ten pages in the third, when a loud yawn came from the freckle faced teen.

"Getting tired?" Toshinori teased, ruffling the boy's hair.

He whined, rubbing at his eyes, "maybe."

"Then you should sleep."

"Don' wanna," Izuku yawned again.

"You're about to fall asleep anyway," Toshinori smiled, grunting as he stood up, "Get some rest. We can talk more in the morning."

"Yes sir," Izuku grumbled, not bothering to stand, favoring instead to drag himself up into his bed. He plopped heavily into his pillow. Toshinori frowned at how the boy's fingers dug into the bedding. He moved to comfort the boy once more when he heard the boy's voice squeak out.

"...All Might?"

"Yes, my boy?"

"...can I ask a favor?"

"How is he?" Aizawa asked as Toshinori entered the teacher's lounge back in the U.A. main building.

"Asleep," the blond sighed, collapsing into a chair, "I had no idea it had been so bad."

Aizawa shifted from his seat, dry eyes taking in the exhaustion of the skeletal man before him, "Exactly how bad?"

"..." Toshinori ran his hands over his face, "...suicidal bad."

The underground hero couldn't help sucking in a breath.

"...there is something that Midoriya has not told many people," he chewed on his lip for a moment before continuing, "He was quirkless until something triggered his quirk to manifest during the entrance exam."

Aizawa wasn't sure if his eyes could go any wider.

"Because of that, his life was made quite difficult by his peers," he continued, "I suppose hearing about how another was faced with a similar life threw him back into that world."

Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose, "So when he first started here, he really was just a kid that's quirk had just manifested. Why weren't we told?"

"It was his request as he was hoping for a clean slate where he was treated the same as everyone else," Toshinori leaned back in his seat.

"..." Aizawa mimicked the other teacher.

"...we need to do something about all of this," Toshinori whispered, "This issue needs to be addressed with all the students."

"You have something in mind?"

"...yes..."

"Young Midoriya!" Toshinori called out the next morning as the students of class 1-A started to file in.

"A-All Might!" Izuku jumped.

The blond gestured for the boy to follow him, "Come with me for a moment. I'd like to speak with you."

The flustered boy looked back between Iida and Uraraka, both who had noticed how jumpy their friend was this morning and were visibly concerned, and his mentor. After a nervous pause, he trotted over to the blond. Toshinori gave a reassuring smile to the two left behind before guiding Izuku down the hallway. He could feel the uneasy aura that the boy was giving off as they came up to the lounge. Couldn't say that he blamed the boy. Having anyone see your greatest moment of weakness was traumatizing. Sliding the door open, he gently pushed the teen in by his shoulders.

"Good Morning, Midoriya!" principal Nezu greeted from his spot next to Aizawa on the couch.

"A-Ah! P-Principal! Mr. Aizawa! G-Good morning!" Izuku quickly bowed.

"Midoriya, Toshinori told us about your panic attack last night," Aizawa stated, rare concern working into his voice.

The boy visibly paled. Toshinori placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You did nothing wrong. Remember that," Toshinori stated, pushing the boy onto the opposite couch, "But we have all agreed that this is something that we need to address with the rest of the students."

"But-!"

Toshinori held up his hand, "We brought you here so that you would not have to sit through the class should you choose not to."

"Wha...?"

"Midoriya-kun, we are training you all to be fine heroes, correct?" Nedzu sipped his tea, "The quirkless have all the same rights as the rest of us. But as you know, people can be cruel. To be able to help them, your classmates first need to understand where they have been and what struggles they have had to face. That way maybe you all might be able to help prevent someone facing that cliff of despair alone."

"I-I..." Izuku's hands clenched the fabric of his pants legs.

"It is not going to just be 1-A. All teachers in the school have instructed to change their lesson plans to broach this topic today," Aizawa stated, "As such, if you would rather, you are free to take today off and return to the dorms."

Scarred knuckles turned white, "...n-no..."

"Hm?" the teachers sounded.

"I-I..." Izuku swallowed before looking at the teachers, eyes shimmering with unshed tears, "I-I want to be there too!"

The teachers sat in silence before Toshinori shook his head with a smile, "Well, it's not like we didn't figure that you would say something like that."

"Eh?"

Aizawa scratched his head, "This isn't a life or death situation that you have to force yourself to fight through. No one will think any worse of you if you took the day off."

"I...I think that I need to be there," Izuku stammered, fidgeting with his hands, "M-More for myself than anything else. Maybe that's selfish of me, but I don't think I could sit b-back in my room wondering what everyone is th-thinking."

"Fair enough," Aizawa sighed, pushing off the couch. He gestured for the boy to follow him, "Let's hurry up and get this over with then."

"Good morning, Mr. Aizawa! All Might!" the class chanted at the three walked in.

Izuku spared the two an uneasy glance before scurrying to his seat. The teachers could feel the unspoken question on the minds of all the students. They looked at each other before Toshinori nodded. This was going to be a long day.

"Today is going to be different than what we are used to," Aizawa started. The class tensed up, "As I am sure you have all heard, a student at a nearby school committed suicide recently. It is believed that it was due to his treatment as someone without a quirk."

"Because of this tragedy, the principal has asked all the teachers to hold a class regarding this issue," Toshinori picked up, "To start off with, we would like each of you to tell us what your personal views on the topic of the quirkless and what we as a society should be doing to help them. Please. We want you to give us your actual beliefs on this matter."

"Stand up when I call your name and give us your answer," Aizawa glanced at the trembling Izuku, "...Aoyama."

The blond boy jumped, looked around before standing up. He flicked his hair back, "I believe that they are still sparkling souls even if they can never shine brighter than me."

'Conceited much?'

"Young Ashido," Toshinori called off.

The pink girl jumped up from her seat. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she said, "Never really thought about it. There was a kid at my school that I never met but I never really talked to them. But they seemed happy even if they were quirkless."

Aizawa nodded, indicating for the girl to sit down, "Asui."

With a ribbit, Tsuyu stood as Mina sat down, "I feel like people should follow their dreams but sometimes that may not be possible. They probably should stick to safer paths."

Toshinori and Aizawa fought not to visibly wince at her wording as they saw the slight flinch of Izuku's shoulders from the corner of their eyes.

"Young Iida," Toshinori continued.

"They shouldn't be treated any differently!" Iida proclaimed, hand chopping the air with his usual enthusiasm, "If someone with a quirk and someone without a quirk are in need of rescue, I will rescue both of them."

"...Uraraka."

"I feel like they should be able to live as happily as they can," the brunette nervously said, fiddling with her fingers.

"Young Satou."

"Um, I know that they can have a hard time finding jobs but they can still find some ways to be happy right?"

"Kouda."

"They may not be able to be heroes but they can still life their lives."

"Young Kirishima."

The red-haired teen rubbed the back of his neck as he stood up, "I mean, it's our duty to help those that can't help themselves, right?"

A few of the students blinked. Something seemed strange.

"Kaminari."

"Pretty much the same as Kirishima," the electric teen shrugged.

"Young Ojiro."

The teen stared at his fists for a moment before speaking, "What I have at my disposal is a tool to help everyone."

"Shouji."

"I will always do everything in my power to help those in need, even those without quirks to help themselves."

"Young Jirou."

The punk girl rolled her head side to side before speaking her own mind, "I mean, they would have a hard time trying to be a hero. I'm not sure anyone would accept them into a hero program without a quirk. But there's still a lot that they can do out there."

"Sero."

"They can't help themselves so we help them."

The trembling of the poor boy by the window was getting hard to ignore. Several of the students were starting to worry.

"Young Tokoyami."

"It doesn't matter if they can't stand with us. It is our duty to help them at least stand to face the day."

"Todoroki."

The half-and-half teen stared at the shaking teen to his left but decided against bringing verbal attention to him. Instead, he spoke his mind, "The quirkless should stick to "safe" jobs."

The way that Izuku's head fell into his hands was not something the rest of the class could not ignore. However, the teachers pressed on.

"Young Yaoyorozu."

Momo stared at Izuku, worry gnawing at her before clearing her throat to speak, "Well according to the statistics, the quirkless are good at being successful business owners. Most appear to live to be quite happy with the lot they were given."

"Mineta."

The small boy shrugged, "Not sure why we're taking a class to go over this but they can't be heroes. They should probably stick to safer jobs."

"Young Hagakure."

The class blinked. Why did they suddenly skip two of them? So far, the teachers had been taking turns to call out each of the students by going up and down the rows.

The invisible girl slowly stood up, "I guess I kind of just agree with what everyone else has said."

Aizawa nodded before looking directly at the irritated blond behind her, "Bakagou."

"Tch," the boy loudly pushed his chair back as he stood, hands shoved in his pockets, "The quirkless need to stay out of the way."

With that, he plopped back down. Behind him, Izuku looked like he was about to pull his green curls from his head.

"Alright," Aizawa sighed, looking over all the students, "So what you are all telling me is that you all view them as people that have to be protected. That they can't do that for themselves?"

Confusion washed over their faces. True, that was pretty much what they had said but wasn't there still one of them that needed to answer?

Toshinori sighed, pointing at the students, "What would you all say if there was someone without a quirk that wanted to be a hero? That was the only thing that they wanted in their life."

The students looked between each other. Some lingered over the shaking form of Izuku. What was going on?

"Um...I guess it wouldn't be any different than someone with a weak quirk? It would be incredibly tough but I guess it wouldn't be impossible? But it would be really unlikely and they would have to probably stick to just patrols or recon. They probably wouldn't be able to really fight anyone," Mina rambled.

"I see," Aizawa rubbed his head.

"What the hell is with this questioning?" Bakagou growled. He hated this whole class period but he really hated that he could feel Izuku practically vibrating behind him. The damn nerd was starting to piss him off.

"We told you at the beginning. This is because-"

"Because of some no name kid that none of us have ever met," Bakagou interrupted, "Why are we talking about it?"

Several of the students winced. They couldn't deny that they too had been thinking something similar. The teachers frowned at the explosive teen. They opened their mouths to say something but were interrupted when Izuku flew to his feet. Everyone stared in shock at the freckle faced boy. He gripped the desk as if it was the only thing that kept him standing. His heavy breathing was audible to all in the room as they watched his chest heave up and down. The visible quaking of his body terrified the students. What was going on?

"Midoriya, what's wro-"

"I-I...C-Can I say something!?" Izuku yelled, eyes wide and face pale.

Aizawa and Toshinori looked at each other before nodding.

"Of course, my boy. But you don't look so well. Would you prefer to sit?" Toshinori reasoned.

'Do not push yourself."

Izuku shook his head hard as if to convince himself. He took several deep breaths before pushing away from the desk. Several shaky steps later and the small teen was standing before his entire class. His shaking hadn't stopped.

"Young Midoriya, do you-"

Izuku merely nodded, hand reaching into his pocket and pulling out one of the pills from the night before. He hesitated for a moment. Did he really want to do this? Just showing the pill in front of the class was admitting to a weakness that he hated. Even if he sat back down now, his friends would eventually corner him and ask him about it. But at the same time, what he was about to talk about was something that he knew was going to wreck his emotional state. It had been a spur of the moment decision to bring some of his pills with him to class. He had hoped that he wouldn't have needed it but he was feeling both emotionally and mentally unstable when he awoke and hadn't wanted to risk having another break down in the middle of class. Seeing the pill, Aizawa handed his student his juice packet. Normally, this would be a questionable thing to do but the relieved look upon the boy's face erased any unease the teacher had upon the action. Quickly swallowing the pill, Izuku looked over his class. Hopefully the medicine would enter his system quickly. He was going to need all the help he could get.

"I...I-I think that the quirkless can do just as much as everyone of us sitting in this room," Izuku announced, hands fiddling wildly, "B-But I am biased in that opinion. B-Because until recently, I-I..." the One for All user took a shaky breath, "I-I was Q-Quirkless."

Mizu: Cliffhanger~! Anyway, before signing off this week, I want to talk about the one part of this story that made me hesitant to post it. The fact that I have Izuku taking medication. Based off of my own experiences, I know there are some out there that think that medication for anxiety or depression doesn't work or that it can be cured by nature or that people just need to stop being so down. But that's not true at all. Sometimes, you can do everything "right". Sometimes, you can be as "happy" and as "positive" as you can be, try to "fix" yourself by yourself all you want, and it just isn't enough. And that is okay. I struggled a long time coming to terms about needing medication for my own mental health. I grew up in an area where the idea of taking medication for anything that wasn't "life threatening" was looked down upon and treated just as badly as if you were to go up to your D.A.R.E. officer with a bad of weed. It took way longer than it should have for me to reach out for help. Even longer to get good at taking my medication. I felt that by taking the medication that I was "less human" because "normal" people didn't need to take pills to stop their own brain from destroying them.

But I'm not. I have come to accept that I need my medication and I probably will never be able to not take something for my mental health for the rest of my life. The medicine doesn't define me and if you are like me and need it to help you get through the days, it doesn't define you. It isn't a cure. It isn't going to magically make all of your problems disappear. It is a treatment. A tool that makes it easier to get through the days. Easier to ignore the voices, fight through the random times of the day that your anxiety spikes up and you are left in the dark as to why. It just makes it so that you are able to start to break the cycles of self doubt and hate going through your mind.

On top of the medication, I've been in therapy for years. I've had to unlearn so many things that my brain automatically did in response to my own traumas in life. I've had to learn how to break through the cycle of thoughts and redirect my brain onto things that don't cause me to panic. But I can't do it on my own. I've tried, oh believe me I've tried. But with how my brain is wired, I can't do it by myself. My medication helps me by blocking some of the voices. Making it easier for me to reroute my thoughts from whatever is triggering me to something that won't. Because as much as I hated to admit that I needed my medicine, I hate feeling as if everything is breaking down around me and inside me constantly. For the first time in my life, my fight or flight instinct isn't constantly running. I still over think things and can't read social clues well. I still have panic attacks and I still struggle. But for the first time in my life, I'm the one in control. Not my anxiety and depression.

tl;dr If you are struggling with any sort of mental health problem, it's okay to admit you need help. If that help is in the form of medication, that's okay. You're okay. So long as you are doing what you need to do to get through your days, it's okay. Because you are worth it. You deserve to be happy. Don't let anyone, even yourself, tell you otherwise.

Okay, went off on a long tangent. Next update will be next Friday. Ciao for now!