At the same time all this is happening, Midoriya heads to his first therapy session. He's still riding the confident high of his hero training class with his two talented partners, but now some apprehension starts to seep in. He wants to believe that if Bakugo and Todoroki can get through their training and even learn to get along a little better, then he can definitely get therapy right.

But as he knocks on the door and enters when he hears Dr. Shinbyou's voice, the old woman immediately says, "You seem to be in a good mood. Have you been getting stronger?"

Which reminds Midoriya that no, he hasn't been getting physically stronger. Despite his training every night when he's alone, it's been much harder to build muscle as a girl than it was when he was a boy. Immediately, his mood sinks.

"Ah. My Apologies," she says sincerely, realizing what she's done. Although she didn't exactly enjoy it, this is a normal first step for her, stepping on people's landmines and prompting them to air their personal thoughts about whatever problems her patients wanted to address. But first she has to make them comfortable. "Come sit. Can I ask why you were in such a good mood?"

Obeying, he sits in the lone chair in front of the doctor and soon nestles into the cozy atmosphere she seems to effortlessly exude, briefly noticing the small trashcan to his right. He starts, "Ah, well, in class today, we got a new partner for hero training. We're doing sort of a long assignment where we started off in pairs and then move on to trios. One of my friends got grouped with me and Kacchan, and he's really strong. Together, I just know we're going to make a really amazing move for our assignment!"

The doctor smiles at his childlike excitement. This is good. She's found something that he values for himself and not just for others. "And I take it things with Bakugo-kun have been going well?"

He nods. "Mhm! Much better! He's really changed a lot. It's amazing…" he trails off as his gaze drifts down.

She feels a complicated knot of emotions from him now, ranging from bitter jealousy to… "You're more fond of him than I expected."

"Eh?"

"I understand you're working hard to forgive him for what he's done to you in the past." Before Rose Omoda was suspended, she was of course forced to return the memories she stole, so now the doctor remembers everything. She even got All Might to cave and admit that the boy used to be quirkless until he gave the kid his own quirk. He refused to elaborate further, but she didn't need to ask for any more. All she needed to know was that Izuku Midoriya was quirkless for most of his life and that Katsuki Bakugo treated him badly in part because of that. "But it seems you want this to be something more than just forgiveness. Do correct me if I'm wrong." She smiles playfully.

It's only now that Midoriya gets the feeling that even though she's blind, she seems to be staring into him, seeing things he'd rather keep covered up. He avoids her eyes and squirms a bit uncomfortably, thinking carefully before answering. "I… well… I do… want to be friends. I've… always wanted to be friends with him, even when we were kids."

"I see. Why's that?"

"…I know it's probably weird to want to be friends with someone who bullied you but… he's just always been so amazing… everything I've always wanted to be, minus the attitude, I mean."

"Really. What do you find amazing about him? Can you paint me a picture of how you see him?"

Again, he thinks is ironic considering she wouldn't be able to see a picture even if he painted one.

"I realize the irony, but do go on."

He flinches. "Y-Yes, ma'am… Um… He's always been…" He struggles to figure out what to say first out of the many things about Bakugo that impress him. "…cool. Everything about him is just really cool. He's strong and smart and confident and super talented. It's like he can do anything if he tries. He's always learned things way faster than me." And then made fun of me for it. But he pushes aside that thought. "He learns way faster than anyone else I've ever met. It's like, the only thing he couldn't figure out was how to just be nice to people, but now he's starting to get that too. It's…"

It's too much, he thinks before he realizes it. I can't keep up. He feels that bitter sting of jealousy and hopelessness again, but he tries to shove it away and tell himself that this is for the best. Kacchan needed his help, and Midoriya was able to be there for him and help him. That's something to be proud of, even if it means Kacchan pulls ahead of him… getting further and further away… while Midoriya…

"Are you worried?" the doctor asks.

He snaps out of his thoughts. "What?"

"Are you worried that you won't be able to measure up to him?"

He stares at her in shock.

She "stares" back in silence.

He blinks a bit as he recovers and replies, "Is… Is it that obvious?"

"…Not at all." She smiles reassuringly. She's actually thrilled to see that he's so willing to get to the heart of the issue with her, since not all of her patients are so honest or self-aware. "Tell me more. Have you always felt this way? Or is it more recent?"

"Ah… I guess I always felt that way as a kid, but… after I got my quirk finally, I thought I could finally catch up to him. I started to think maybe I could finally beat him at something. All I ever wanted was to be a hero, the greatest hero, and if I could beat him at that, then…"

She feels an excitement in him similar to earlier. Interesting. So this is another thing he values for himself and not just for others. While being a hero means by definition that you work to help others, there's something about it that holds personal value to him, and that's why he can't help comparing himself to someone he sees as a better hero.

But then she senses his excitement die back down. "But lately…" he continues, "Ever since I got turned into… this…" He looks at his hands, and also at his breasts which always seem to inconveniently obstruct his vision whenever he looks down, and she feels a somber helplessness wash over him. "I feel like I'm back to square one. I… I worked so hard, and… just like that, it's all gone… And I might be like this for the rest of my life." That thought alone stirs so much fear in him that the doctor could probably still feel it from outside the room. "All Might… My mentor, he says that it's okay if I'm a girl, that it shouldn't get in my way, but…" It already has. He remembers everything he's been through so far as a girl, how all of it is so vastly different from being a boy, how much harder it is for her to get stronger, or for anyone to take her as seriously anymore. She can't help it if she feels like this, if she feels so…

"I see. I understand. Midoriya-kun… I want you to know that your feelings are completely valid." She smiles with gentle understanding. "What you're going through is almost unheard of. It's not strange at all to feel alone or helpless. And I'm sure your mentor means well and only wants the best for you, but even if you realize that he doesn't totally understand what you're going through, it doesn't make your feelings any less real. And if it makes you feel better, I've spoken with him, and I'm certain he wants you to handle things at your own pace. To him, the worst thing that could happen is that this incident damages you beyond repair."

Midoriya hangs on her every, seemingly hypnotic, word, drinking them in like a healing elixir. And as much as he wants to deny her words, to believe that she's just being nice, that all of that can't possibly be totally true, his eyes start to water, against his will. But… But All Might… He worked so hard to train me! I can't let him down! I can't let something like this hold me back! No matter how much it hurts! I have to keep going. I have to keep working hard. I just know that's what he would want. That's what he would do in my shoes. And no matter what, I want to be an amazing hero like him, so… I….

She finishes, "To him, you are more than just a vessel to carry the torch."

He bursts into tears.

The doctor continues to smile with relief at him as she stands, reaches across her desk to the very front of it and lifts a box of tissues, extending them to her patient. Midoriya just barely notices through his tears and takes the box, sobbing and sniffling into tissue after tissue. It's then he briefly realizes why the trashcan is there right next to his chair.

As he cries, he blurts out things that he wishes he could've kept hidden forever. "I… I just… I hate this stupid body! It can't… do anything! I can't even defend myself anymore! Everything I ever wanted… It's gone now because of this stupid thing! I hate it! …I just… want to go back! It was my body! I want it back!"

The doctor yearns to grant his wish. But all she can do is listen. Saying what she did was a shot in the dark, an approximate guess as to why the former #1 hero would give his quirk to this strong-willed child. But from his reaction, now she knows. All Might chose this child to carry on his legacy.

"All Might… Kacchan… Everyone… I let them down… I wish I hadn't gone out that day! I just… I'm sorry. I know I should just be grateful it wasn't something worse, but…"

"No one is allowed to tell you how you should feel. This is a safe space. You can feel however you like."

He lets out another wrenching sob. "Don't! That's not…! I can't! Please… Don't tell me it's okay… I'm… I'm supposed to pull it together. I'm supposed to be stronger than this! All Might… Kacchan… I'm supposed to… I haven't… done anything yet. I haven't… done anything to deserve anybody's forgiveness…"

The doctor pauses. "Then let's start there."

He sniffles a bit more. "Eh?"

"You want them to forgive you? Not for free, but rather in exchange for something you've done?"

He's starting to calm down as he thinks about his answer. "I… Yes… I'm already doing everything I can… Kacchan told me… that I'm not useless… And if that's true then…" He looks up at her with resolution in his eyes. "Then there must be something I can do."

"…You're sure that's what you want?" she asks in a mysterious tone.

He pauses, noticing the change. "Of… Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

She contemplates the best way to say this. "Hmm, well… I did talk to them personally, All Might and Bakugo-kun. They came to me when you were on the verge of disrepair, and even in this safe space, where they're allowed to feel however they like… No… Where I pressured them to tell me the truth… neither of them even once mentioned any promise you might've made to them. I wasn't aware you had such an obligation until you told me."

Midoriya stares at her, his jaw dropping just a little. At first, as he looks down at his lap, he wants to deny it, to say that maybe they were just being nice or maybe that they even forgot their real priority in the heat of the moment, but slowly, he starts to realize what might really be the truth. "Then… Then maybe… It's just something… I want." His voice shrinks.

Once again, she's relieved to see him realize it on his own.

"But… But that's not wrong, right? It can't be."

"There is no right or wrong here either, only what you feel. If you truly believe doing something for them will make you happy, then I encourage you to do so. But I'll be… clear." She realizes the humor of saying her own name, smirking to herself a little, and continues, "I am here to help you. Not All Might. Not Bakugo-kun. You, Midoriya-kun." His eyes widen a bit at her. "I'm here to help you realize what truly brings you happiness and peace of mind. For as long as you're my patient, that is my duty… And that is what brings me happiness." A long grin crinkles her complexion, and somehow he can feel her warmth and joy from that expression alone as her sightless old eyes give a childlike twinkle.

And in that moment, he feels something in him finally relax, feeling safe, as if he were talking to his own mother.

The doctor senses this and continues. "If you're sure this is what you want to do right now, then I think this is a fine place to wrap up today. We got much further than I expected."

"O-Ohh…" He sags a bit, still wiping the tearstains off of his face as best he can.

She smiles again. "Well… unless you'd like to stay. We still have some time left."

He looks hopeful again, but upon seeing her knowing grin, he catches himself and looks back down, blushing a bit. Giving a shy, tiny little smile, he replies, "Yes, please."