Flashback

It was the next day. Estelle awoke slightly from the couch to the face of Mineta. Taking a few moments to understand where she was, she recalled Bakugo chasing her and violently throwing her onto the couch. It was at that moment where Estelle felt her exhaustion hit her like a brick wall. It was only seconds after; she fell asleep on the comfortable furniture to the racket of Bakugo yells coming to an abrupt stop.

A hand squeezing her breast caused her eyes to snap open. Estelle immediately launched from the blanket over her onto the tiny male with an immediate growl. Mineta's eyes widened at her enraged face before he was struck across the room and into the wall with a girly screech. Estelle took no note that it was early morning before she stomped over to the whining male. Estelle's eyes were slightly wild; all she could see was red. She grabbed the boy's throat from inside the wall. Estelle forced him out of the concrete before bashing him into it once again.

And again

And again.

And again.

"Estelle! Stop!"

Ripping him out of the wall again, Shoto and Bakugo held Estelle's arm back. Her eyes landed on them, causing them to shiver at the murderous look on her face internally.

"Let me go. I'll kill the bastard!" Estelle snarled out menacingly, her body shaking to her core. Shocked by her change of demeanour, the two boys let her go for a moment before they grabbed on immediately once again when she attempted to bash Mineta frantically into the wall to continue his torture.

Realising Bakugo and Todoroki were having trouble holding back her brute and inhuman like strength. Izuku, Iida and Tsu joined into the fray to help the duo. Tsu's tongue was the final straw that managed to pull Estelle onto the floor.

It took about a minute for Estelle to stop struggling under the group that practically laid on top of her to obstruct her movements.

"What is going on here?!" Mr Aizawa cut in with a roar. Stepping into the room, he eyed a shaking Estelle under a group of students and a beaten Mineta with a glare. He was still in his nightclothes from the early awakening, and he was displeased that he was interrupted from his sleep.

The group slowly lifted themselves off Estelle, who lay defeated on the ground, looking up at the ceiling. She was still trembling as she attempted to pull herself up from the spot. Midoriya surged to provide her support but was stopped.

"Don't touch me", Estelle hissed back, forcibly pushing herself up from the ground. Midoriya hurried back, hurt from her response but respected her decision and kept away.

"Explain," Mr Aizawa demanded to his students. Since Estelle was pulling herself together and Mineta was too beaten to answer, he asked the others for help.

"We aren't sure. We woke up to Mineta screaming and rushed down. Estelle was beating him up at that point," Shoto answered candidly.

"We can only assume the little runt did something", Bakugo interjected with a scowl.

Estelle shaking had been brought down slightly, causing Mr Aizawa to turn to her and ask, "Estelle?"

"I woke up. To. Mineta. Touching me. Sir." Estelle replied brokenly. Her mind was still trying to connect to the present as she spoke. Bakugo once again was the only one to recognise the look. It became clearer for him to differentiate between the authentic Estelle and the one she became when something triggered her.

The class felt a wave of rage towards the beaten and bloody male on the floor. The girls that were previously holding him up from the mess immediately let go of him, causing him to smack onto the floor with a cry. Mr Aizawa was the same; they all felt an unspoken agreement that the idiot laying in front of them deserved what he got.

"Everyone apart for Estelle and Mineta, go outside." Mr Aizawa ordered. Most of the class clambered out of the room and closed the door without a word. When they were on the other end of the exit, the students promptly gazed towards Shoji and Jiro for their abilities. Aware of what they were asking, they put their quirks to use. They ignored Iida's scolding whilst they did so.

Meanwhile, on Estelle's side of the room, Mr Aizawa took a seat next to the shaken female. He already held suspicions about her mental state when the sports festival and the practical exam rolled around. He had gotten nowhere due to Estelle's love of keeping things private. He could only hope she would answer the questions he had now.

Whilst he allowed a few minutes of silence to enable Estelle to come back to herself, he thought about the best way of getting the most out of Estelle so he could help her. When she had finally stopped shuddering, he spoke up.

"How are you feeling now? Do you need a glass of water?" He asked, first of all. Estelle just swayed her head in answer.

"We can do this however you want me to. I can get Mineta suspended or expelled for this. Just say the word."

"No. It's okay. I overreacted."

"No, you were triggered. There's a difference. Plus, Mineta's actions were disgusting and should not have happened under the watch of UA," Mr Aizawa pointed out. Estelle snapped her head up in shock to hear the term she read online so long ago that she had almost forgotten.

"How did you know that?"

"I have seen and met enough people to know what a PTSD episode looks like, Estelle. I knew it from the moment you fought Bakugo at the sports festival. It was solidified at the practical exam."

"Oh."

"Hey, it doesn't change anything. Just like it didn't matter when I realised. We can help you with it, you know? To help you manage them."

"I appreciate the sentiment Mr Aizawa, but what's the point?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why bother getting help when I'm going to leave? It only started happening when I got here, ill be fine when I get back. Besides, I am alive and well. That's all that matters."

Estelle never really saw the point of getting support. When Nona had initially directed Estelle to the internet, she was blown away by the stuff she had read. That stuff didn't exist back home, and if she were fine there, she sure as hell would be fine here. You dealt with things alone; that's how it always was.

"I won't force you, but I would really recommend it. It may give you the tools to minimise its impact on you even if you go back home and it continues. Sometimes, even just talking about it helps. The class and I are always welcome to lend you our ears."

"Thank you, I'll think about it", Estelle begrudgingly offered.

"I appreciate you trying to keep an open mind. Now, what do you want to do?"

"I think this will be enough to scare him from me for life, but detentions wouldn't hurt."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, he just brought up some unwelcome memories."

"Okay. I trust you."

The class stared wide-eyed at Shoji as he replicated the conversation with two tentacle mouths and with the rest of his arms faced towards the doors in the shape of ears.

'PTSD?' the class questioned once the room inside had silenced.

"Oh, and another thing", Shoji whispered, still mimicking their words. "I managed to get in touch with the commission; they are apologetic that they gave out incomplete orders. They have sent out another notice for heroes only to contact you when they see a spirit. Not just when they are suspicious that one is involved. You'll be bothered less, thankfully. "

The class sighed in relief since it answered their questions on why she was so busy the last few days; Heroes were calling her a lot, it seemed.

"Tell me about it; they called me over a hundred times for basic cases. As if mindless beasts would actually spend time robbing old ladies. Heroes can be idiots," Shoji spoke from his other tentacle, copying Estelle's words. The class chuckled at her annoyance.

"They were just worried", Shoji retorted from the first month, showing that it was Mr Aizawa speaking.

"More like lazy", The second one responded, Estelle.

Aware that the duo's conversation was coming to its end. The students collectively went into the dining room to ensure that they wouldn't be caught eavesdropping. Sitting down, Kirishima whipped out his phone and immediately started searching.

"What is PTSD?" He said out loud as he typed in the question.

"What does it say?" Tsu asked after a few moments of silence.

"PTSD is a disorder that stems from traumatic events such as severe neglect, abuse or violence. And can be from stressful events like an accident, war, or natural disaster. They often relive these events through nightmares and flashbacks and may experience anger, isolation, guilt and irritability. There's a lot more, but I think that's enough, " Kirishima read quietly before finishing in his own words.

The class were stunned by the revelation, the word that jumped out to them the most was war. Estelle stated to all of them that she had partaken and won in one, but she had never divulged any further. They had never been informed that there could be repercussions of that. Clearly, they weren't fully educated on the topic, but it makes sense. The anger that she had shown today seemed unlike her, but they could understand why if it was an episode triggered by Mineta.

The class sat in silence whilst they thought about the girl in the other room. There were still many questions surrounding Estelle, but they had started to understand her the more they stayed at the dorms. It was strange to think that if they hadn't moved in, Estelle would've been a bigger enigma than she already was. They were happy to have the opportunity to get closer to her. She worked a lot; it seemed like that never changed. She wasn't an evil person; she was just someone who had been through a lot.

At that thought, Mr Aizawa entered the dining room with his usual sleepy face. Gazing at the rest of his classmates, he shook his head at the expression on all their faces.

"You were all listening in, weren't you?' He asked rhetorically. He knew.

"Not at all, Mr Aizawa", The class responded nervously. The teacher just shook his head, unimpressed, but continued regardless.

"Don't lie. Mineta is with the recovery girl. Estelle has gone back to her dorm. Get ready for the day; class starts in an hour."

"Yes, sir!"

Estelle avoided the class for the rest of the day by hunting but made it back for dinner. The words of Bakugo rung out in her mind from the previous night, and Estelle felt conflicted.

She understood that there was some form of care there, and Estelle didn't want to ignite the flames within everyone's hearts. She just wasn't sure what the correct answer was. Should Estelle avoid them like always and let them worry over her? Or should she suck it up and accept that this was her life now? Estelle was just going to have to follow her gut as she did with most of her life.

Gosh, she was getting a headache just thinking about it. The only solution she could come up with was limiting it as much as possible. The energy she spent hunting made her social energy completely drained. It was troublesome for her to do both.

Strolling to the dorms, Estelle ignored the class's eyes as she headed upstairs to her dorm to get changed and update her map. Making her way into the kitchen, Estelle strolled to the counter to find her meal missing.

Looking at the class sitting around in question, Shoto was the one to answer, "Bakugo made dinner late; he should be done soon."

Sighing, Estelle nodded and took a seat by the couch to wait for the delicious meal. The class around her didn't really know how to act with the revelation they had overheard with Mr Aizawa. It was starting to make a lot of sense to them.

They probably shouldn't have, but they all secretly researched the illness online. The class hoped it would gain more answers to how Estelle worked. How they could help her. To their dismay, they found answers and more questions.

Estelle's life didn't seem easy. Not by a long shot. The fact she suffered from PTSD only solidified that fact. Estelle was irritable, isolated and tense. She checked the exits of every room she walked into. Estelle patrolled UA before going to bed. She hated talking about anything personal. It all checked off like a list on the websites.

They collectively held heavy hearts at the thought of the pain she had to endure. War was never pretty, and it seemed like Estelle had struggled through it more than most.

"Hey, Estelle. Any progress on the bridge?"

Estelle slumped slightly against the chair, still tired from the morning's events. "No. I have a lead though, I just need to wait on the new gear getting back."

"That's great!"

"Come get your dinner, nerds!"

Estelle and the rest of her class collectively sat down at the dining table for their meals. Before Estelle dug in, she had a compelling thought in her mind. "I uh, just wanted to apologise about my outburst this morning. I should not have reacted that way and woken you all up. It was my mistake."

Izuku stood up at that. "No way! Mineta shouldn't have done that! There's no reason for you to apologise."

"Thank you, Izuku."

"It's fine!"

Estelle felt a little relief that it was out of the way and started eating. The class around her was silent as they ate. Estelle recognised that it was strange. They were usually loud and energetic when they were together, it was odd for them all to be looking at their plates guiltily.

Guiltily.

Hmmm.

Before the pieces could click together, Kirishima stood up in outburst and moved into a bow towards Estelle. The class watched on with various looks of guilt, horror and embarrassment.

"We should be the one's apologising! We overheard your conversation with Mr Aizawa." Kirishima stuttered, his head down, which covered the weight showing on his face.

Estelle looked up from her plate in shock and scanned the rest of the class. They all looked the same, but they also looked apologetic. The chopsticks in Estelle's hand snapped in half from the pressure. She had no idea what she was feeling, but it wasn't good. Slowly standing from her chair, Estelle placed her broken chopsticks to the side of the table. "Please, give me a moment."

Wide-eyed, the class watched Estelle as she slowly walked out of Height's Alliance. They waited for her to return. They marinated in the silence for a long time and assumed she had left. The regret had started to sink in; they really should have left the conversation private.

She didn't return that night.