"This is all my fault…" Junk Master mumbled to nobody in particular. Perhaps it was more for himself than anything.
They were in a monitor room, several of the computer screens displaying different angles of Ayano in solitary confinement. For now, she was completely docile in the straitjacket. If people didn't know any better, she would've seemed perfectly fine and the straitjacket would be considered excessive.
Junk Master garnered looks of sympathy from several of the teachers. Midnight placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "This isn't your fault, Junk. We all saw her at some point after the invasion and during her recovery. None of us could have anticipated that she would break. Especially not after she passed all of the psychological tests."
The man just shook his head repeatedly, his fists shaking. "No…It is my fault. I'm her homeroom teacher, damn it! The signs…they were all there! I should've noticed sooner!" He shut his eyes, ruminating about everything that had happened.
"This is the least I could do. This cannot compare to the trouble and pain I have caused to others due to my foolishness. The pain that I caused to their families…because of the support items—weapons—that I made."
"…Still, the root of many of these problems stems from my shortcomings…"
"I have worried my parents far enough. Whatever decision they settled on would be the one that I follow." She looked down. "Although…it may not even matter in the end."
Junk Master bit his lip in frustration. The rest of the teachers looked on in concern.
Principal Nezu walked up to the man and pat his leg. He offered some tea. "Midnight is right. We should have been more thorough with the testing and overseeing her recovery. Please, do not put the blame on yourself." Junk Master remained quiet, but accepted the tea.
Snipe sighed. "To think that she would be having PTSD…It's a little strange, don't you think? She fought those villains tooth and nail. She didn't even bat an eye when telling the police what happened to her. She was recalling those memories perfectly fine."
Several of the teachers nodded, thinking about his words. "That's right. Tsukauchi told me she didn't even flinch when they asked about her captivity. In fact, she apparently told them all about it in…excruciating detail." All Might added, his face darkening upon thinking about the villains' forms of torture.
"All the signs and symptoms are clearly those of PTSD. If not that, then what could it possibly be?" Midnight questioned.
"It's a different kind of PTSD than what you all are thinking." Recovery Girl stated as she walked in.
At the questioning looks of her fellow staff, Recovery Girl explained. "Just like they said, Sasaki Ayano couldn't care less that she was kidnapped or tortured. She has no lingering fear about that because she fully believes she can protect herself. That's why she passed all of the psychological tests. We failed to properly diagnose her because we focused too much on her kidnapping."
"The problem wasn't that she was kidnapped or beaten. The problem was that the villains used her support items against her. Against the people she loved. Against innocent people. Her support items were used for evil."
Some of the teachers furrowed their brows in confusion. Snipe was the first to speak up. "So you're saying that she just feels…guilty?"
The nurse nodded. "In essence, yes. Obviously, it's not just some basic 'I cheated on my exam' type of guilt or anything like that. In fact, I'm not entirely sure you could properly diagnose this as PTSD but she certainly exhibits similar signs and symptoms."
Junk Master stared at Ayano through the computer screens. "She's so laden with guilt that she can't bear to make, or even look at her own support items?" He asked hesitantly.
Recovery Girl sighed. "I'd imagine she thinks everything that transpired is her fault."
Present Mic spoke out. "That doesn't make any sense though! With how logical she is, shouldn't she have realized that all of this couldn't possibly be her fault!? She's clearly the victim here!"
"It's precisely because she's so rational that she refuses to believe otherwise." Aizawa surmised. "The fact remains that her support items and designs were used by the villains, and that led to major injuries of her peers and innocent civilians. She's so fixated on 'Point A' and 'Point B' that she refuses to acknowledge any outside factors."
"Imagine your whole life thinking of one thing, and suddenly that one thing you based all of your beliefs on, is wrong." He explained further. "She lived her entire life thinking that her support items would help people—save people. Then this happens, and they're used for the exact opposite of their purpose. Of course she's going to blame herself."
"In her head, the bottom line is that people were hurt because of the support items she made. Other things that led up to that outcome don't matter to her."
"Is there no way for us to snap her out of that mindset?!" Mic asked, his hope diminishing by the second. Midnight jumped in. "Well if this is all true, she can definitely still listen to some reason, can't she? After all, there seemed like there was a…method to her madness. Everything she did looked like it was calculated—systematic, even."
Aizawa agreed. "She had no intention of hurting me. Only fending me off enough for her to continue destroying her support items. She was also only touching her own creations. Leading me to believe that she truly blames herself and not just support items in general."
"There's also the letter I found in her bag." Power Loader added, raising his hand with the letter sealed inside of an envelope. On the front were the words 'Letter of Withdrawal.' He handed the parcel to Principal Nezu.
"Letter of withdrawal?! She plans on dropping out of the school?" Junk Master bellowed.
Principal Nezu hummed in thought as he read through the letter. "Not quite. She mentions that she believes she no longer has the right to be in the Support Department, but given the circumstances, understands that she can't just drop out due to safety reasons. She is requesting to be placed into the General Studies Department or even the Business and Management Department. She certainly seems much more sound of mind than the average PTSD patient."
"So, she's completely given up on continuing her support career…" A dark cloud fell over Junk Master. He couldn't stand it anymore. He had completely failed his student.
Nezu comfortingly pat the man's leg again. "Now, now. We just said that she can still listen to reason, correct? Her actions may seem crazed, but they are indeed filled with logic. We just need to allow her mind to think about this more broadly and not just focusing on what her role was in everything that happened."
Midnight released an exasperated sigh. "If only it were that easy. Hound Dog and I were just in there for half an hour, but she's so adamant about everything! She wouldn't budge about a single thing."
"Perhaps we need to take a more personal approach then. Maybe she needs to talk to somebody who was more, say, involved with the incident." He turned to Junk Master, Aizawa, and All Might, referring to them respectively. "As her homeroom teacher and as people who were there during the invasion, maybe the three of you could help her shed some light on the situation."
Aizawa shook his head. "I already told her everything I needed to at the hospital. Her support items definitely helped to prevent more serious injuries from happening to the students. There's not much more I could say to her to make her believe me."
Junk Master was about to reply when somebody was attempting to blast open the door to the monitoring room.
It was Bakugou.
"OPEN THE DAMN DOOR! I KNOW SHE'S IN THERE!" The boy screamed, his voice and ensuing explosions muffled by the thick metal of the door.
"That idiot." Aizawa clicked his tongue in annoyance. He was about to go and take care of his troublesome student when All Might tugged on his arm to stop him. "Wait! Young Bakugou could be just what she needs."
Nezu rubbed his chin. "Hmm, you could be on to something. They were both taken by the villains and they are childhood friends. Maybe letting him talk to her would be a good idea."
Aizawa sighed, but moved to open the door regardless. When he opened it, Bakugou had his arms raised. He was fully prepared to use his quirk at maximum power, but he stopped himself just before firing a blast that would have been right at his teacher's face.
"Try anything stupid and I won't hesitate to throw you out." The man gruffly said before abruptly turning back around.
"I'm glad you could join us, Bakugou! We would like your assistance in this matter." Nezu said amiably.
"Why is she here?" The blond demanded, ignoring Nezu's words. He looked at the various screens displaying different angles of Ayano sitting with her back against the wall. "Why is she in a straitjacket!? What the fuck is going on here?"
"Calm down, Bakugou. Everything is fine. We put her in the straitjacket for her own safety. It's to prevent her from resorting to self-harm." Midnight tried explaining.
"Safety, my ass! If everything is fine, why the fuck do you have her locked up like a prisoner in a nuthouse!?" His palms were emitting small pops of explosions. His anger getting the best of him and his quirk slipping out.
He sensed the familiar feeling of his quirk forcefully stopping. He turned towards his homeroom teacher to see his black hair raised, fully revealing the redness in his dry eyes. "Try anything stupid…" Aizawa repeated, not even bothering to finish. Bakugou already knew the threat was present.
All Might walked up to the boy, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "Young Bakugou, will you help us convince Young Sasaki that she is not at fault for what happened?"
Bakugou roughly shrugged his hands off. "I'll do what I want. I'll knock some sense into her." He declared, walking through the doors to the solitary room with a fire in his eyes.