"How could you be so stupid Katsuki?"
"You're a Bakugo for fucks sake!"
"We aren't weak. We don't lose."
"You're an embarrassment."
"All Might had to retire because of you!"
"Poor Katsuki couldn't protect himself against a few small time villain's."
"Why do we send you to that damn hero school anyway?"
"Kid?"
His mother was constantly yelling at him.
Constantly telling him that he was a failure, that he wasn't good enough.
He couldn't escape it.
It was too damn loud.
"Bakugo?"
She hated him.
She thought he was useless, a waste of space that consistently let her down.
She always made sure he knew just how disappointed she was. He couldn't get her voice out of his head.
Katsuki!"
The voice that was calling to him kept getting louder and louder but Katsuki still felt far away. He couldn't open his mouth but he could see a hazy figure crouched down in front of him. The person had dark hair, black maybe?
"Breathe with me kid… in for 4…" He could feel a steady heartbeat under his palm but it wasn't his own. The consistent thumping sound brought him back to his senses slowly.
His vision cleared slightly, a gray scarf coming into view along with other distinct details.
Aizawa?
Why was his teacher bent down in his personal space?
His tongue felt heavy in his mouth, he couldn't even force himself to speak. His throat was dry, his limbs unmovable as if they were glued in place. He isn't sure where he is or why he was there in the first place.
"You're safe kid. We are here at UA. Can you hear me?" He thought his teacher wanted a reply but he just stared at him, unable to give the man what he asked for. He attempted to at least nod his head to show that he was present in the moment but he couldn't make his body cooperate.
What the hell was going on with him?
"That's okay Katsuki… don't worry about it. Recovery Girl is on her way to take a look at you. You are safe and I won't let anything happen to you." He could hear everything happening around him. The sound of his mentor's voice. The buzz of the air conditioner. The noise in the hallways. He just couldn't add to it. It's like he was frozen, watching his life happen without the ability to engage at all.
He tried to focus on one thing but the fog in his brain made it difficult.
"Oh dear… it appears that Bakugo is experiencing some sort of intense trauma response… he needs…"
The words were starting to fade out again as he felt himself slip from consciousness. He wanted to fight it but it was just too much for him. His world went black again and he slumped against the wall, the stress of his first therapy session proving to be more than he could handle.
"What happened today that could've caused this type of response?" Aizawa was aware that his charge was dealing with multiple different stressors currently but he was sure something else was at play here.
"It's not unusual for a child to experience anxiety after therapy Mr. Aizawa. Our session was standard for an initial appointment. There was nothing that would give me a reason to be concerned for his mental health. He is overwhelmed and he needs time to adjust." The therapist spoke with confidence and her posture was relaxed as she stood in front of him in the teachers lounge.
Fuyuko was a petite woman with bright orange curls that fell just below her shoulders. Her eyes were the same color but they made him a tad uneasy. As an underground hero he had a tendency to be weary of others but this woman set off too many of his alarm bells.
He wouldn't address his concerns with anyone else until he had more evidence to believe there was legitimately something nefarious at play. Sometimes he was paranoid for the wrong reasons and he didn't want to jump to any hasty conclusions but he would definitely keep her on his radar.
"I understand. I will keep a close eye on him tonight when we go home. Thank you for speaking with me Ms. Fuyuko." It was odd that she didn't use her family name professionally but it wasn't completely unheard of. Yamada was a common name so he was sure that if she wanted to stand out, she would need to be creative.
Once she left, he took a seat next to Katsuki on the couch, waiting for the boy to stir so they could chat about why he reacted so drastically to his first day back at UA.
Maybe it had zero to do with his therapy session? His classmates had a tendency to invade the blonde's personal space so that could've played a role.
He wouldn't know for sure until he spoke to Katsuki directly.
Recovery girl had given him a mild sedative to help bring him back to his baseline but he wasn't sure how long it would take for the kid to wake up.
The hero took the rest of the day off from classes so he could stay with Katsuki. He didn't want him to wake up without support and he also felt on edge after witnessing such an intense panic attack.
"Stop fighting with your mother Katsuki. You know the rules kiddo. They aren't difficult to follow."
"Why do you enjoy antagonizing her? Does it make you happy when she yells at you? Are you trying to make her angry?"
"I can't protect you from her Kat. Just do what she asks and she won't need to punish you. Stop making her hurt you."
"Why can't you just listen Katsuki?!"
"Why are you crying? You knew what would happen if you disobeyed your mother."
"Katsuki! Wake up!"
His eyes snapped open suddenly and before he could register what was going on, Aizawa was ripping the blanket away from him with a terrified look on his face.
"What?" He searched his surroundings for something familiar so he could determine where he was and it landed on the multitude of wooden desks meaning he was most likely still at UA.
"Where am I?" The adult moved closer once more, the look on his face shifting from frightened to relieved.
"You're in the teachers lounge kid. We're still at UA." Katsuki pressed his palms to his eyes as he maneuvered his body to a more upright position.
"What the fuck is going on Sensei?" Aizawa stared at him with an unreadable expression before plopping down on the table adjacent to him.
"You had a panic attack or something similar to one not long after your therapy session ended. I guess you were on your way back to class when it started and I found you in the hallway. You weren't responsive for awhile but I was able to calm you down marginally before Recovery Girl gave you a sedative. You've been sleeping here since. The school day is almost over. That's the short version."
Oh.
Now he remembered.
That damn therapist was trying to send him back to his parents.
"That bitch wants me to go home! She said we have to do family therapy or some shit and I don't want to! Why the fuck would I want to go back there?" He was furious.
This lady was clueless when it came to his family. She was trying to fix them when that wasn't possible anymore. It was too late for them.
"I know that this is court ordered or whatever the fuck but I refuse to sit in a room with either of them. Fuck them and fuck her." That hopefully got his point across.
"I see." That's all his teacher had to say? The man seemed to be holding back but he wasn't sure if Aizawa was angry at him or the other adults in this scenario.
"Situations like this are tricky to navigate but we will be required to do things we don't like. I will discuss the expectations with Ms. Fuyuko and the social worker so that we are all on the same page but kid I need your help here." Katsuki narrowed his eyes, not willing to budge yet because he was still pretty pissed that he wasn't prepared for that woman to bring up family sessions.
Hell he was pissed for many reasons but that was the main one at the moment.
"If we don't do this the right way, we will lose. I am on your side kid but the investigation is still underway so we have to do as the judge says until we know what is going to happen legally with your parents."
Of course. When did he ever get a choice?
Katsuki stayed silent.
"I know this sucks kid but I'm not letting you do this alone. We are in this together." His teacher spoke with conviction but Katsuki needed to see it before he let himself trust another adult. They always had ulterior motives. They never put him first.
"Can we leave?" There was nothing more to talk about.
He had to wait for the adults in his life to take care of things and that wasn't something that made him feel better.
He hoped this time things would work out but the voice in his head was telling him to prepare himself for the worst like he always had.
Izuku:
Kacchan
what happened at school today?
please tell me
Katsuki:
fuck off Deku
It doesn't matter
my parents are gonna win like always
Izuku:
no
I can help
Katsuki:
why
they don't fucking care
They want me to do family therapy or whatever.
her shitty behavior doesn't fucking matter
Izuku:
WHAT
SHE SHOULD BE IN PRISION
sorry
i know u hate it when I use all caps
*I
Katsuki:
The old man sucks too
he's worse than she is
blames me for it
Says I should just fucking do what she says
like that would make her happy any ducking way !
FUCKING*
she's never fucking happy
Izuku:
what if we had that guy from general studies use his quirk on them ?
Shinso? The one from the sports festival
he could make them tell the truth Kacchan
Wait? That wasn't a bad idea but how the hell would that even work? It was probably illegal anyway so it was pretty pointless. Aizawa would know wouldn't he?
Katsuki:
is that even allowed?
We can't use our quirks on civilians nerd.
not the worst fucking idea though
They needed their provisional licenses before they could even dare use their quirks outside of training but this Shinso kid wasn't even in the hero course so they couldn't use him regardless.
Katsuki:
just forget it nerd
I'm used to this shit
my mom always wins
It sucked but it was the truth. His mom always found a way to cheat the system. Aizawa had good intentions but the hero had no idea who he was dealing with.
Shoto wasn't sure what Katsuki was going through but he didn't like the idea of sitting back and doing nothing.
They always had a connection on some level and they never spoke about it explicitly but he could sense that the explosive teen struggled with his relationship with his parental units as well. Not in the same way as Shoto but the bond was still there.
Shoto didn't usually stoop to such invasive measures but he didn't have any other options. The dual-haired boy was aware that this would most likely backfire but he could handle whatever Katsuki threw his way.
Each student had their own room and Shoto never strayed from his own but today was the exception. Katsuki had snuck in well after dinner, avoiding all the members of his usual squad but Shoto decided it was time for him to intervene.
They had just moved into the dorms over the weekend, most choosing to simply drop their things off and stay a final night with their parents before officially moving in.
The girls wanted to check out everyone's room and make it into some sort of contest but Katsuki had refused. Well he didn't really answer his friends when they tried to include him. He had shut himself inside his room which was most likely empty since the blonde was MIA all weekend while everyone else was decorating.
There had been a backpack in Katsuki's hand but where was his bed? Or any other furniture he may need?
He steeled himself, sure there would be some sort of push back from his grumpy classmate when he answered, if he answered.
His knock wasn't too loud, he picked up on the fact that Katsuki wasn't a fan of loud noises so he didn't want to ruin his chances before he even started.
"What the fuck do you want Katy Perry?" Instead of answering, he ducked under Katsuki's arm so he could enter the boy's room.
"Why aren't you hanging out with your friends?" It's not the most important question he wanted to ask but it seemed like the safest one.
"They're too fucking loud and why do you care?" There wasn't much bite to the blonde's words but he still appeared frustrated by the intrusion.
"Are you okay?" Katsuki's eyes didn't hold the same fire that that they usually did and that was concerning to the other teen.
"Fuck off Todoroki." Katsuki plopped down haphazardly, barely landing on the futon but Shoto just followed behind him.
"I don't want the others to see my room either." Shoto didn't mention the use of his family name but took a glance around the room to see that there were a few things inside. A simple desk, an interesting looking wardrobe lined the far wall (it had a variety of cat decals all over it), and a punching bag was off to the side in the corner closest to the door. Their was an (odd?) rug covering the floor that he didn't think was Katsuki's style but maybe he didn't know him as well as he thought.
It was cat shaped…
"I didn't fucking choose this shit. My stuff is still at my parents house because they fucking suck. The damn caterpillar loves cats." The would explain the blankets and plushies piled on top of the futon. Well that would explain everything really.
"This seems excessive." Katsuki snorted but didn't offer any other retort.
"Why are you here?" Neither one of them were the best at communicating their feelings but he needed to try.
"I know something is going on. You don't need to tell me what it is but I figured I could keep you company. I hated being alone at home. I didn't have a choice though."
Something flashed across Katsuki's face but it was gone before he could analyze it.
"Whatever. If you're going to stay then put on a fucking movie or something. I'm not talking to you Katy Perry." Shoto rolled his eyes but fished the laptop out of the bedside table.
He didn't like talking about his issues either but maybe this would be enough for Katsuki. Knowing someone was there for you, even if they were just silently supporting you, was everything Shoto wished he had when he was stuck in the house with Endeavor.
Shota had spent a lot of time working with teenagers.
He was known for expelling entire classes but he always gave his students a fair shot.
The hero was aromantic and he wasn't sure if kids were in his future. He wasn't completely against it.
He had the means to provide a stable home for a child so when the Bakugo case fell into his lap he decided to pursue it with an open mind.
He had a decent relationship with the teen already and he had earned the kid's respect after defending him at both the USJ attack and during the press conference after his capture. So he was fairly confident that this would go smoothly.
That was until he realized just how traumatized the boy was.
He was trauma informed and he had real life experience but he still felt out of his depth. Katsuki had been with him a few days and he was already having significant trauma responses. His lack of knowledge surrounding the teens triggers was astronomical and if his self-awareness didn't improve remarkably over the next few weeks, Katsuki's mental health may suffer greatly.
He was willing to learn so the next step was education. Since Katsuki decided to stay in his own dorm room that evening, he thought it was time for him to do some research.
Thankfully, Hound Dog sent him some scholarly articles about abuse and neglect along with some basic information (i.e. triggers, warning signs, symptoms, and coping skills) on PTSD in adolescent males.
It was the perfect starting place. He would sit down with Katsuki soon but he didn't want to tackle that conversation without at least a fundamental understanding.
Maybe he should buy a parenting for dummies book too.
