This chapter is a very unique take on the situation I feel, too often these stories are written and focused ONLY on the person struggling, I wanted to really capture the ripple effect it has on everyone close to the person struggling as well.

The room was thick with silence, Al

l Might stood frozen, 'did I hear that right?' He thought to himself, his mind was going a mile a minute trying to comprehend what was just said. It was horrific, peterifying, how was he supposed to help this boy fight against something inside his head? He took a breath, knowing in this moment his reaction was everything to Midoriya.

"You're going to be ok...we'll figure this out. But you have to promise me...you have to promise that you are going to stay long enough to see the results."

Deku was mortified, there stood a crying All Might, something he had never seen in his life- and likely, hopefully never would again after this. He was just as lost with words as his favorite hero and mentor. Couldn't comfort him, because even now he was thinking of ways to reopen his stitching.

"So...now that you know...what happens now?" He was scared of the answer to that, surely they would expel him, he would have to pass his powers to someone else because he was incapable, he'd be disowned…

"We get you help..and never give up until this is figured out."

Now it was Izuku's turn to cry, he wiped feverishly at his eyes, trying to stop- after a while he gave in to the sobs. "I don't deserve anyone's help..I-I Did this to myself. I've been so selfish!"

All Might stepped forward, pulling the boy into a strong hug, even in his weakened state he was strong. "You deserve more than we can offer, you are the most selfless person I know, we are going to see this through- you are going to become a hero young Midoriya. Someday this is all going to be a faint memory that you overcame. And-"

"Midoriya?"

There stood a shaking figure in the doorway, Inko Midoriya, her hand over her mouth, eyes already filled with tears as she stared horrifically at the gauze covering Izuku's arms. The stare didn't last long as she rushed over to her son and pulled him into a hug, never letting go. "H-how could this happen? Not my baby...not my little Izuku.." She wiped at her tears as she finally let him go, although she didn't drift too far from him, in fears that if she did she would lose him forever.

All Might stood uncomfortably as she raised her gaze to him, expecting an explanation that he didn't have. She had to get her thoughts off her mind, the whole ride over she had screamed, cried, questioned God- questioned everything. Her whole life was practically dedicated to being the best mom she could be to her only child...and now this? It was unacceptable, and the guilt ate at her. She knew Izuku wasn't ready for the dorms, she knew she should have listened to her gut...but she had been reassured by All Might himself that he would be protected. And yet here they sat in a hospital room, her baby hurting now more than he ever had in his life.

...

When she had gotten the call, it was brief, but detailed. She had picked up the phone in a panic as she saw the caller ID was Izuku's usual hospital when he got hurt and had to go, "H-hello?"

"Hello ma'am, is this Inko Midoryia?"

"Y-yes this is her, is Midoriya ok?!"

Recovery girl was on the other line, already dreading this phone call as she heard the desperate mothers question, "I promise to give you more details once you arrive, for now I think it would be cruel to make you wait to hear his current condition, at least then you can react in your own time."

Inko didn't like the sounds of this, her stomach churned.

"Midoriya collapsed earlier in the day, since then we have tried to get him stabilized and settled the best we could, he has recovered from shock, and had a blood transfusion. As of right now, he is stable and improving."

Inko's stomach dropped, "what happened?!"

A pause. Recovery Girl decided it was for the best to wait on the explanation, "I'll give you more details when you arrive."

"O-Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can!"

Upon arriving at the hospital, she was immediately taken into a comfy side room by a nurse, there she met with Recovery Girl, the talk was brief, as soon as she heard it had been from self harm she wanted to see her boy.

She had so many things she wanted to say, but now, as she looked at how small and pale her son was, she was at a loss for words.

...

"How...why?" Her heart was broken, switching her gaze between the floor and All Might.

Meanwhile the world's greatest hero felt like the worlds biggest failure, here sat a woman he had promised would keep her child safe. What could he possibly say to make this better? How-

"It's my fault mom, please don't blame anyone else.."

Inko looked over at her boy, sobs wracked her body as she hugged him again, "I thought a lot in the little time I have been informed of all this...I-I know there is no one person to blame...and blaming anyone won't help now. I just- I need to know what's going on. I haven't seen or heard from you in weeks...and then I get a call that you are in the hospital for self injury...I-I need an explanation! I want to help the best I can, but you need to let me in Izuku!" She was sobbing once more, devastated that this was even a reality.

"M-mom...It's going to be ok." Both Izuku and All Might felt the lie behind his voice, this would be ok eventually but for a while- it was going to be hell. No one dared say different though. Inko put herself under enough stress as it was, she needed hope more than anything. The two knew that.

Eventually, All Might left as he felt he was intruding, Inko had taken it upon herself to get every detail and emotion she could out of Midoriya. As All Might sat in on some of the questions and answers he felt sick to his stomach, Izuku was completely sugar coating every answer he gave her. He dared not to intervene though- for the sake of Midoriya's mother.

He waved goodbye, promising a speedy return. As soon as he stepped out of the room, his phone rang.

Aizawa.

"I spoke to the principal, he wants to know how quickly you can get back to the school for a staff meeting."

The hero expected that once principal Nezu was informed an emergency staff meeting wasn't far behind. Still...this was pretty sudden, he was thankful, this meant devising a plan. "I am on my way."

Upon entering the board room, he was surprised to find not only Midoriya's general teachers- but every staff member of U.A. as well. Nezu welcomed him warmly, "Please take a seat...Now, first and foremost...how is Midoriya?"

All Might looked down at the table in thought, what a question, he didn't know the answer himself, so he kept it relatively vague, he figured they all knew the situation at this point but he didn't want to say too much. "He is finally stable, Recovery Girl has done so much, his mother is with him now. They were talking as I left...I fear this path will be a long one- but he's going to be ok."

Principal Nezu nodded, "I agree, he will be ok in the end. I also fear he has a long path though, which has raised a new level of concern for the whole student body. How many more have been traumatized and are hiding? How many more students are hurting and on this same path? I believe we have failed as a school to address the mental aspect of the incidents that have taken place these past several months- not to mention the sudden rash changes we have made as well. I never imagined it would cause this much stress, but looking back it truly does make sense. Which is why starting today I will be hiring twenty new staff members."

This statement turned heads. It wasn't everyday UA accepted any new employees. This was big.

"I am going to be hiring the best counselors in the country to aid in providing support for any student struggling. We might have failed Midoriya- but that doesn't mean we can learn from this and improve. It's up to us...to me as a principal, to adapt and move forward with confidence. I am also declaring a new period in the day- a seventh period- it will be a wellness class. To teach students how to manage stress, when to ask for help, give them resources to reach out- I want to make sure an incident like this doesn't happen again."

Once the plans were given in detail for all teachers to hear, the teachers that were not Midoriyas were kindly excused, leaving Aizawa, Cementoss, Present Mic,Midnight, All Might and Ectoplasm. All wearing an uncharacteristic grim expression. Principal Nezu knew each felt a certain amount of guilt, he himself felt just as bad. So he took a breath, clearing his mind of those unuseful emotions. Focusing on the future, "We have only failed Izuku Midoriya if we let or guilt cloud our judgment."

The teachers looked up, a bit surprised, how was it that their leader always knew what to say? Even as pro heroes they looked up to Nezu, he had a certain calm and collected nature to him that put them at ease.

"Where do we go from here? How do we make this better? How ..do we reassure his classmates- not to mention, what do we do when he returns?" Midnight asked, a wave to her voice, she had been the one to punish Deku for being late that fateful morning. She had no doubt she had added extra stress to the poor boy. Why didn't she see the signs? He was never late for class, but she didn't even question it, just punished him.

"All good questions, all that will take time to think over, this meeting is dedicated to just that. The first most important question, how to help Izuku when he returns- and how to answer the classmates' questions about him while he is gone. I don't expect him to return for a while, which gives us a little bit of time to prepare. We can't simply single him out and support him in that way, it would draw too much attention.

What I have thought about is a daily wellness check, we would talk to him before we implemented this but basically while we pass out assignments, we also include a simple mental health questionnaire to Midoriya and whoever else decides to seek out therapy or help. This way we can address the situation while still giving privacy and respect to those in need of it.

On top of that I think providing an on campus group/recreational therapy for after school activities on days where there are no club meetings would also be beneficial. These are just ideas for now, but does anyone else have any ideas?"

They were all semi shocked that Nezu had thought so in depth about the situation given the short amount of time he had been informed of it.

Cementoss spoke up in that moment, "I think a change in scenery during classes would also help. Maybe doing some courses outside on the patio or implementing more hands on activities would be helpful."

Nezu nodded, "a very good suggestion, a change in pace would not be a bad idea given the circumstances."

The rest of the meeting was spent detailing the plans they had made, setting arrangements and supporting each other as the guilt slowly ebbed away, hoping to replace it with progress.

Leave a thought! Until next time, Plus Ultra!