The following day, Dad said I were able to go back to class, and then after class would be dismissed, we would go in for a meeting with Hound Dog. He apparently had some options to help deal with my trauma now that it was resurfacing, and Dad wanted me to get help as soon as possible.

Which was understandable. I wanted that too.

I was sitting in class earlier than normal, while my dad was filing away some papers in his desk/podium thing.

I tried to keep myself uplifted, and, to be honest, I was failing. I didn't really want to be around people, and I kept flinching whenever someone moved too fast. I hated my body, how I looked, how I felt…

I was still on my period too. I was extremely emotional, and started crying yesterday evening for literally no reason at all.

Dad finally left, and didn't kiss my head, because he wasn't sure how I would react to physical contact yet, so he left me be. To my own thoughts. My own book.

Great.

When Todoroki walked in, about five minutes later, I nodded and forced a tight smile in greeting.

"Good Morning, Sami-Chan."

"Morning."

When he sat down, I put down my book, looking and seeing that no one else was arriving.

"How was the rest of your internship?" I inquired.

"Uneventful," he sighed. "How was your….break?" he asked.

I went quiet for a moment longer than I probably should have.

"I wish I could say the same."

He tilted his head. "Did something bad happen? Was it your father's intern?"

"Yes. And no." I answered both of his questions. "My dad didn't let his intern live with us, just as a precaution on my account." Now that I thought about it, it wasn't that we didn't trust Shinsou, but perhaps it was better that he didn't stay with us. It would have been so embarrassing to endure both my 'coming of age' and panic attack if he were present.

"...Would you like to talk about it?" he asked.

Both him and Midoriya. It seems like one or the other had been rubbing off on each other. I smiled lightly. "Not particularly," I said. "Thank you for caring besides."

"No trouble at all. You are my friend, why wouldn't I care?"

I was surprised to hear him say that…perhaps his experience with Iida-San adn Midoriya-San changed him. The look on my face must have said so, because he looked at me strangely as well.

"...We are friends…right?"

I smiled, and nodded. "I think we are."

When he smiled in return, my heart leapt.

"I'm glad," he said.

I looked back down at my book, a lot happier than I was five seconds ago.

"What's the book about?" He asked next.

"The bride of a wealthy man in the Middle East was murdered at the wedding reception," I said. "I think I figured out who did it, but this series has a lot of plot twists, and I can't really read the minds of characters on paper to figure it out."

"Interesting…Do you think we'd be able to trade sometime? Trade books?"

I looked at him skeptically.

He explained. "You could give me your book for a week or so, and I could give you some of my manga for you to read at the same time."

"Oh," I said. "That makes sense."

"Is that a yes?"

I thought about it for a few moments. "Sure, why not?"

He nodded. "I'll bring some of my mangas tomorrow and give them to you then."

"And I'll give you my favorite mystery novel," I said, almost devilishly.

"Deal."

The class started to fill in by that time, and Midoriya waved at me, then went to stand with Iida-San and Todoroki in the back. It seems I was right. Their bond seems to have gotten stronger since Stain. Not that I was upset-No, I found it to be smart for heroes to make bonds in school.

I wasn't paying attention to the ruckus around me.

That is, until I heard a hand slam down on my desk.

I jolted, and noticed that my thermos did too. I lost my place in my book and gasped loudly.

I looked at the face smiling down at me-ah. The one that flirted with me on day one. Kaminari-San.

"Morning, Sami-Chan!" he said. "I didn't mean to scare you like that." He reached over the desk where I was sitting, and to my horror, he patted my shoulder.

I pushed my chair back as far as I could, after flinching harder than I'd ever flinched from someone in my life, and put my hands up defensively on either side of my face.

"Don't," I said loudly, trying to maintain control. "Touch me. Please…"

"W-woah," he said, "Hey, I didn't mean anything-I'm sorry man-"

"I know," I said quickly, trying to get my breathing under control. "I know, just don't…..don't."

"Okay, man. I'm really sorry," he said.

I only nodded, turning away, facing the wall. The class was quiet, too quiet.

I straightened up and kept my eyes closed, my chair still backed up to the wall.

I clenched and relaxed my fists to calm myself, then did three rounds of the breathing Aila taught me.

Kaminari isn't the one who did it. He didn't do anything wrong. He isn't them. It's not his fault.

I was able to mostly contain myself before the bell rang and Dad walked in.

"Class started. Sit down, shut up," I heard him say. I kept breathing slow and quiet, scooted close to the wall and away from everyone. I ignored their eyes all on me.

He didn't seem to notice, but I knew that he knew that I was sort of going through something. He just didn't say something right at that minute.

I managed to calm down enough to sit back up straight, and I wheeled my chair back up to my desk, still breathing slowly, but I returned to my book.

And, surprisingly, I was able to focus on it for the most part.

My phone buzzed in my pocket while my Dad took a nap. I glanced at him, then pulled it out.

Compound (8:46 AM):

U ok?

I looked up at Midoriya, who glanced at me from one of his worksheets.

I pursed my lips and responded.

Me (8:46 AM):

No

Compound (8:46 AM):

Anything I can do?

Me (8:46 AM):

I don thtink so

Thanks tho

Compound (8:46 AM):

Im here if you need

Me (8:46 AM):

:) ik thank you

My dads having me go in for therapy, so I hope it helps..

Compound (8:46 AM):

That's great! I'm glad

Me (8:46 AM):

Yeah

Now work my dad's gonna catch on any second

Compound (8:46 AM):

Kk ^^

I was glad that I had Midoriya and Todoroki. Even if they were men. They would never let me get hurt, let alone hurt me themselves. I saw it in their eyes, in their minds. They'd endured things that…something like what I endured was….abhorrent to them. I was safe with them, and I knew that.

I overstepped boundaries. I keep doing it with my quirk. I keep thinking I know my limits with it when I don't. When I should. It keeps hurting me.

It–

A knock on the door startled me, and I turned to face it.

"Enter," Dad mumbled.

Aila walked in, wearing her hero costume. I hadn't seen her in it since I was little. She…she looked so good in it. The vibrant greens and minty swirls down her legs and on her torso accentuated her small waist, the white contrasted her olive skin.

Her headpiece cradled her jaw nicely, her hair tugged up into a messy bun at the top of her head. She shuffled through some papers with her nimble, uncovered fingers, handing them to my dad, who didn't budge, except to grab the papers.

"Ah," he said. "Class, this is our newest employee, Noraki Aila. Treat her with respect."

She waved at the class and winked at me. "I'll be seeing you all soon," she said, a tune in her tone as she walked out.

I ignored the fuss the students made at her entry and exit. The gossip, the comments, the drama around her.

I focused on my book, trying to melt into my chair and become one with its memory foam-filled essence.

.o0o.

I think I fell asleep, since when I came to, the class was empty. Dad was in his sleeping bag in the corner.

"Where–" I cleared my throat, "Where is everyone?"

"Lunch," he mumbled, not bothering to move. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really," I confessed, leaning over the arm of the chair like a cat. "I just wanna go home."

"You know I can't let you do that," he said.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I know."

"Do you want to sit in the staff room? It's quiet and Aila should be there soon to keep you company."

"Maybe," I nodded. It wasn't anyone's fault I was going through what I was going through, but being around people seemed to trigger bad thoughts more and more. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

"Okay," he grunted as he sat up and unzipped his sleeping bag, stepping out of it. He reached out for my hand, and I took it hesitantly. I was worried that his touch would negatively affect me like Kaminari's did, but no, it soothed me.

He led me out of the schoolroom, hand in hand. Neither of us were big on public displays of affection, but it seemed like we both understood that it fit for now. He didn't let go of my hand. Not the entire way.

I didn't let go of him either.

.o0o.

Since it was lunch, most of the staff was in the staff room, doing various tasks, printing papers or filing reports to be prepared to finish off the day. Afterwards, I was left alone.

Aila would pop in and out sometimes, and when she did, she'd grab something off the printer then leave. Thankfully, a lot of the teachers let me be, with a simple greeting when they'd notice me.

Except for one.

I'd go from reading to homework my dad assigned, back to reading, then watching MooTube, then homework for another five seconds before attempting to control my emotions again.

"Young Aizawa?"

I tried so hard not to start crying out of sheer frustration right then and there.

"What are you doing here?" All Might asked me.

I looked at him in his hero form, at his grinning face, looked at myself in the chair all curled up nicely, then back at him.

"Sitting," I said plainly. "Reading. What are you doing?"

He gave a small chuckle, and I thanked every God who would listen that he didn't do his traditional laugh. "I'm just concerned for you. Normally, you are in Class 1-A, with your father! It's a bit odd, in my opinion, to be away from him! How long have you been here?"

I looked at the clock. "Maybe an hour. The kids were just…" I shook my head. "A bit loud for me today."

"I see," he said, much mellower.

"I like you a lot better the other way," I decided aloud. "You're much more relaxed."

That startled him. I tried not to smile at his expression. He deflated.

"Better," I almost scoffed at the fact he actually deflated when I said that.

"Has someone been bothering you recently?" He asked quietly.

I blinked. "No," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"Your father told me why you weren't here yesterday," he confessed quietly. I clenched my jaw. "If there is anything I can do, I want to make it easier for you as you get the help you need."

I swallowed. I ignored the lump on my throat.

I nodded. "Thank you. But no. There's no one."

He nodded. "Alright," he said gently. "If you do need anything, I hope you know where to find me."

I nodded again. "Yeah."

The door opened and he looked up. I turned around to see my dad in the doorway, eyeballing the circumstance suspiciously.

I acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, because nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Hi, Dad," I said as he closed the door.

"Is everything okay, here?" He inquired.

"Mhm," I spoke before All Might did. "Everything's good."

"Okay," Dad relented. "Let's go, Sami. Hound Dog is ready for us."

"'Kay," I stood up with a small grunt, stretching my legs that have been cramping because of how I was sitting, among other reasons. "This a family counseling thing?"

"As of now, it's just seeing where we're at," he wrapped his hand around my shoulder gently.

I looked back and nodded at All Might.

"Thanks for the company," I said casually.

"No trouble!" He said enthusiastically.

The door closed behind us.

The halls were empty as empty could be, which almost scared me.

"May I ask you something?"

No. "Sure."

"Why was he talking to you?"

"Just making sure I'm doing okay," I then eyeballed him. What was his problem? "He asked if anyone was bothering me."

"Was he bothering you?" Dad asked.

"No." I almost laughed. "If he was bothering me, I would have told him, then immediately told you. You know that."

"Fair enough. Is anyone else bothering you?"

"No, not really."

"Explain."

"Father, please," I laugh-cried-begged.

"Sami, if anything is bothering you, you need to tell me. I'm the only person that can functionally help you."

I rolled my eyes. "This morning there was an incident where Kaminari-San slammed his hand on my desk, which startled me, and then patted my shoulder without permission. He didn't mean anything by it and I told him not to do it again!" I quickly explained. "I don't think he has any intention of doing it again in the future."

"Good," Dad said. "If it happens again, or something similar, tell me right away."

Sometimes, I thought my dad was a bit obsessive about my safety and wellbeing.

Then I remembered why.

I sighed. "I will."

He nodded and took a hold of my hand again, squeezing it.

"We're gonna figure this out, okay?" He said. "We'll figure it out."

I nodded. "Yeah."

Dad knocked on Hound Dog's office door, and it opened after a few seconds.

"Aizawa-Kun, Samiko-Chan, come in," he gestured inside the door. "I wish we could be here on better circumstances."

I took a seat next to my dad on the sofa. "We all do."

Hound Dog settled, then pulled out his clipboard. "How do you feel, Samiko?"

I shrugged again. "So-so."

He nodded . "Normally, I'd ask more questions to get you both more comfortable, but in this case, I'm going to cut to the chase, " he said. "I'm going to need you to tell me what happened to start all this, or as much as you can."

My heart sank fatter than the Titanic.

"Oh, boy."

.o0o.