"It's also good to meet you, Dr. Tokoyami" Rei said, as she made a slight bow to her. "Our Quirk doctor has told us great things about you."
"Oh, I just do what I can to help people" Tamashi said. "Please, sit."
They went to sit, with Tamashi sitting behind her desk and Rei and Izuku sitting on the chairs in front of the desk.
"So, what brought you here?" Tamashi asked.
"Well… Izuku has been having troubles with his Quirk" Rei told. "He can't or won't activate it at will and when he does activate it is only under great emotional pressure and loses control over it. Our doctor said there's nothing wrong with his Quirk and that the problem may be psychological. He told us that you have had great success in cases like this one."
"Yes, I did have some good results" Tamashi replied. "Not all of them were that good… Psychology is not an exact science… But I did help people to get over some emotional strains. However, in order for me to help Izuku I will need to know what is causing this… Quirk block."
"My husband and I have been wondering about that and we think it may have something to do with the trauma Izuku endured" Rei told, as Tamashi turned her attention to the young boy. "Our nephew went through a great ordeal and we fear that may have caused him to fear his own Quirk."
"I see…" Tamashi said. "Indeed, a big trauma may be the cause…"
There was a pause as Tamashi observed Izuku for a moment, noticing how he was looking away and feeling uncomfortable. She could sense how he was trying to hide something. However, Tamashi knew exactly how to make him open up.
"But I think we can discover what is upsetting your nephew, Mrs. Todoroki, and help him overcome this Quirk block" Tamashi said. "Could you give me just a few moments with him? That way, I could try to observe the true extend of the cause."
Rei traded a look with her nephew and gave him an encouraging look, before saying to him:
"I'll be outside if you need me, okay, sweetie?"
Izuku nodded to her and then Rei got up and exited the room. After that, there was a pause where Tamashi observed Izuku for a few moments before saying:
"So… how are you, Izuku?"
But Izuku was a little shy around Tamashi and just shrugged his shoulders. But she just kept her tender smile. She could feel his nervousness, especially after Rei left. It was obvious he felt much more comfortable with her. But Tamashi knew the perfect way to make him feel more at ease.
"You don't need to feel so nervous around me. I just want to be friends with you and help you overcome this… Quirk block you're having. Tell you what, I will tell you something about me. That way, you can tell me something about you. What about it?"
Izuku thought for a moment, but then he nodded with his head.
"Okay… How about this? A part of my Quirk allows me to feel other peoples' emotions. That means I can feel what you're feeling."
That revelation caused Izuku's nervousness to start to dissipate and be replaced by surprise and then fascination.
"Really?" he asked, as Tamashi nodded. "That's so cool!"
"I know" Tamashi replied. "That's actually the secret why I am so good in my job. By knowing what other people need, I can find the best way to help them. That also means… I can really help you with your problem."
Hearing that caused Izuku to be invaded by a feeling of discomfort again. But Tamashi could feel that discomfort was towards his problem and not towards her.
"I won't lie… for me to help you, you will need to relive all those nasty feelings. But I want you to know I will help you through them. Actually, that's the reason why I asked your aunt to wait outside. I could feel that she was a shield to you, that you feel yourself protected with her beside you. But her presence was also preventing you from opening up to me."
Tamashi made a pause to let Izuku assimilate what she had just said. After she felt his emotions simmer down, she continued:
"You don't need to use words, if you don't want to. I can feel what you are feeling and understand it. But talk really helps, it makes you feel much lighter. Don't be afraid to use the wrong words, because I will always see the truth in them."
Izuku thought about what Tamashi said and then decided to give it a try. He nodded to her and Tamashi said:
"Good… why don't you sit on a much comfortable chair?"
She made a gesture to a comfortable armchair that was nearby. Izuku went there and sit on it, leaning his back on the back of the chair, as Tamashi placed herself nearby on her usual chair.
"So… your aunt mentioned that you went through a very bad moment. Tell me about it."
"Well… it's my mom… she died in a fire that… my dad started" Izuku told.
Tamashi was able to sense Izuku's grief, with it being very profound. It was obvious that the loss of his mother really upset him very much.
"Where were you when that happened?" she asked.
"In my room… I heard my mommy and dad arguing…" Izuku told. "He was upset with her… because of me… Then I all I could hear were screams and then the fire started…"
The grief Izuku was feeling was soon replaced by a paralyzing terror. It was almost like Tamashi was able to feel herself in Izuku's place in his room, surrounded by flames.
"I lost control of my fire… it engulfed my room in an instant… I felt so… trapped… and alone…"
The terror started to become suffocating and Tamashi noted a small trail of smoke coming from one of Izuku's locks of hair. It was a clear sign his Quirk was trying to get out of him… She needed to make him feel more relaxed.
"How did you get out?" she asked. "Tell me, how did you escape the room on fire?"
As soon she asked that, she could feel Izuku's fear to calm down, as a sense of safety started to appear. The boy answered:
"My uncle Enji… He saved me… He's the Flame Hero, Endeavor. Did you know that?"
"Now I know" Tamashi replied, as she felt the admiration in Izuku's words when he talked about his uncle. "You like Endeavor, don't you?"
"He's my favorite hero" Izuku replied. "He always was. My uncle has the same Quirk as me and he made me always feel proud of my fire."
Tamashi smiled, as she felt Izuku's respect for his uncle. She knew that could be the key to solve his block, but it still didn't explain it.
"What do you remember more about the fire?" she asked.
"Not much…" Izuku replied. "The next thing I remember after my uncle came to rescue me was being at the hospital. Later on, he came to tell me about my mom…"
Hearing that, Tamashi could see that the fire probably was not at the origin of the block. If Izuku didn't see his mother die because of the fire and Endeavor was someone that made him feel connected to his Quirk, then there was no reason for it. She needed to dig deeper. It was then that she found another approach…
"What were your dad and mom arguing about?" she asked.
A somber lighting invaded Izuku's face, while a sense of guilt started to manifest in him.
"My dad didn't like that my mommy bought me an Endeavor doll" Izuku told. "He always hated my uncle and hated our fire Quirk. He always told me to never show it to anyone… That it was something to be ashamed off. But my mommy always said that I should never be ashamed of it and always supported me."
Hearing that, Tamashi was able to connect a few more dots. His father telling him to never use his Quirk and be ashamed of it was most obviously the origin of the block, but, just because it was the origin, it didn't mean it was the all thing. Besides, even if his father forced him to contain his Quirk, he still had others motivating him. Not just that, but Tamashi could feel Izuku was hiding something else from her.
"Tell me, Izuku, did you do what your dad told you to do?" she asked. "Did you really hide your Quirk from others? What about your friends? Normally, children like to show their Quirks to each other. Didn't you do it?"
As soon she asked that, she noticed the sudden appearance of a mix of intense emotions, as Izuku struggled to answer. It was fear, combined with humiliation and frustration and also a tinge of betrayal. There were also other emotions, but Tamashi didn't do an effort to explore them, as she was quick to calm Izuku down, saying:
"It's okay… It's okay… You don't have to answer that. Why don't we talk about something happy. Tell me about how it is to live with you uncle and aunt. And I believe you also have cousins, right?"
That made Izuku to become much calmer and make a smile.
Outside, Rei was waiting patiently for Tamashi to be done talking with Izuku. She knew that was something that needed to be done so Tamashi could get a full perspective of Izuku's problems, but even so Rei couldn't help but feel nervous about it. It was then that she saw the door to the office open and Tamashi appeared with Izuku, telling him:
"You can go play, while I talk with your aunt for a moment."
Izuku nodded, as he went to give a hug to Rei, before going to play with the children that were there. Rei then went with Tamashi inside the latter's office. After they sat down, Tamashi said:
"I was able to talk with Izuku and I managed to study more the cause of this block of his."
"Were you able to figure what is causing it?" Rei asked.
"I believe so" Tamashi replied. "This trauma you talked earlier was about Izuku's mother's death, right? Well, I don't think it has something to do with it. Izuku was not present at the moment the fire that killed his mother started. It scared him, yes, and the knowledge of his mother's death was devastating… but, for what I could get, your husband shielded him from the worst part of it."
Rei nodded to that and told:
"He wanted to make sure that Izuku didn't see his mother's body, so he made sure that he took him out of the fire as quickly as possible."
"Yes, and that's why I think that moment didn't contribute that much to the block" Tamashi continued. "It is to my understanding it has a much deeper cause whose origin goes as far as the first moment your nephew manifested his Quirk at first place. According to Izuku, his father would tell him to never use his Quirk."
"My brother-in-law was abusive on the little one" Rei told. "That's what my husband told me. That he would make Izuku feel…"
"Ashamed?" Tamashi asked. "Yeah, Izuku told me about it. But his father's abuse alone was not enough. Even with him telling Izuku to not use his Quirk, the incentive of his mother and his admiration for Endeavor made him to love it. However, even if he loves his Quirk, he was still afraid of his father and he would do exactly what he told him to do. And that is what caused the block."
"What do you mean?" Rei asked.
"If Izuku didn't use the Quirk, he would appear Quirkless to those who didn't know him" Tamashi said. "Now try to imagine what that could have caused to his social life."
"Dr. Tokoyami, are you saying that Izuku was… bullied by other children?" Rei asked.
"I can only say what I sensed" she replied. "I felt a lot of negative emotions from him when I brought the subject of his friends. I didn't pressure him to talk about it. But the innocence of a child is a double-edge sword: it gives them the ability to be kind and honest, but also gives them the ability be very cruel. Most likely the mistreatment and rejection he endured by his peers snowballed and ended manifesting in this block."
Rei took a few moments to think about it and then asked:
"What can we do to help Izuku?"
"I think you're already doing it" Tamashi replied. "When he talked to me about your family, I could sense how much love he was getting. He really feels comfortable with you and that's by itself a great help. I dare to say that he has never felt safer. But I think what you can do in addition is to build his confidence regarding his Quirk. You can start by something small, something that can motivate him to use his Quirk more often and consciously."
"My husband had already considered the idea of training Izuku to help him own his Quirk" Rei said.
"Perhaps Izuku is not ready for something intense…" Tamashi said. "But being trained by his favorite hero may be a great motivation. But even the rest of the family can help him with small things as well."
"We sure will try our best to help him" Rei replied, as she went to do a bow to Tamashi. "Thank you very much for all of your help, Dr. Tokoyami."
"The pleasure was all mine" Tamashi told, as she and Rei got up and the former brought the latter to the exit of her office. "I was so glad to meet such bright child as Izuku and help him. I would very much like to accompany him during this hard phase of him, if you don't mind."
"After you helped us finally understand what is bothering Izuku so much and give us great advice, I think we will need your guidance in the future, Dr. Tokoyami."
Having said that, Rei bowed as she said goodbye, what Tamashi replied to, and then exited. Tamashi closed the door and returned to her chair, where she took a deep breath, with a smile appearing on her face. She then looked to a framed picture she took to observe, with it being a picture of her family: it was her, sitting on an armchair with her son, Fumikage, along with Dark Shadow (the shadowy being manifested by his Quirk), on her lap, both with great smiles, and her husband, Kurokage, standing on his feet beside her. Kurokage was an average-sized man with a strong build that, much like their son, had a crow-like head but with sky blue eyes (with the difference that the black hair on his head also covered his neck, shoulders and arms until the wrists).
"It would appear that I still have another chance to keep repaying my debt" she said. "It's thanks to Kosuke Todoroki that I have my family. It's only fitting that I help his in any way possible…"
Author's Note: With this chapter, we finally learn the true motive behind Izuku's Quirk block. It's not hard to think how much the poor boy has suffered, right? But, with this chapter, I also wanted to put some spotlight on Tamashi, because she is basically the reason why Endeavor became a better person in my story. Her Quirk is quite complex, so I decided to just give a taste of it. But one thing I can tell you: her Quirk is the reason why Dark Shadow is a sentient Quirk.