Helping Aya-chan With Her PTSD

{Sekai’s POV}

After seeing Recovery Girl, Edgeshot made me go to the dorms to finish recovering. I need to wear a splint for a few days per Recovery Girl’s orders, even though it feels tons better from her treatment. Aya-chan is usually back by now, and I am worried. Mr. Aizawa arrives at the dorms with a solemn expression and summons me. I am confused, and he says, “I have some bad news, Mochizuki. Kubo was deeply wounded today and is currently unconscious at the hospital, recovering. I would offer to drive you, but I figured you would probably want -” Before he can finish talking, I pop a jawbreaker and rush to the Musutafu general hospital in a panic as Mr. Aizawa sighs and nonverbally says with no audience, ‘that’, in referring to my teleport.

When I arrive, she is still unconscious, and I see her hero costume was ripped to shreds and is currently in an evidence bag. Mom and Dad are here, sitting together at her bedside, holding one of her hands. I see a police officer here, along with one of Selkie’s sidekicks, who seems to have a broken leg and is using crutches, and Gang Orca. The sidekick sees me and has a flicker of recognition. Recovery Girl pulls me to the side and says, “She lost her arm, a leg, and a chunk of her side today in a brutal attack. I was able to use my quirk to speed up her natural regeneration, but the recovery took a toll on her, so she will need to take it easy. She will need to come back tomorrow so I can heal her leg if she is feeling up to it.” Selkie’s sidekick says to me, wearing a solemn expression, “She was sexually assaulted today as well, so please keep that in mind when she wakes up.”

I start crying and sit on the bed, and gently stroke her hair with my left hand that isn’t in the sling. I look down and see that it was her left arm taken from the pokéball I see on the back of her right hand. If she took her phone with her, then she probably lost it again, which is the least of my worries right now. She begins to stir, and she screams in terror and tries to sit up quickly while breaking out in a cold sweat.

I hug her gently with my left arm and grip the grey sweats that the hospital staff put her in since she was without any other options and say, “You are safe now, Aya-chan. I am here. Shhhhh.” She starts crying and holds me tight. Sir Floof comes out sensing a discord in our emotions, and he places a ribbon on both of us. After several moments of me holding her, she jolts in realization, and she says in a slight panic, “Make room. Garlic needs healing, too.”

The others in the room back up, and she summons Garlic, and he is still bleeding pretty badly. Recovery Girl kisses him with her quirk and heals him fully, leaving a bite mark scar on his flesh. Aya-chan sighs in relief, and Garlic whines as he rubs Aya-chan affectionately with a vine as he goes back into his pokéball since it is cramped in here with him out of his ball. The police officer asks Recovery Girl, “Is it alright if I ask her some questions about what happened today?” She nods and says, “As long as you keep it brief, officer.” He nods, and I hold her hand while he keeps a respectful distance and asks, “Can you tell me what happened when you were separated from the heroes during the sting operation on your work-study?”

Aya-chan clutches her chest and becomes pale, and her breathing becomes slightly shaky. Mom is crying and has her hand on Aya-chan’s shoulder as she gently rubs it. She tells her version of events in a shaky manner, and I start fuming in rage when she is done. Gang Orca apologizes to Aya-chan, “I am sorry this happened to you on my watch.” Aya-chan shakes her head as tears continue to fall from her eyes, “It wasn’t your fault, Gang Orca. He killed many heroes in the process as well because he was so strong. You couldn’t have predicted that.” He says, wearing a solemn expression, “If we had taught Selkie and his sidekicks haki before the raid, then it would have turned out differently. We pros let you down from our lack of preparedness.”

Even though Sir Floof’s ribbon is on me, I am fuming with rage, and I yell at the police officer as tears stream down my face, “Where is Leviathan being held?! I am going to kill him!” Sir Floof is working overtime on us because of our intense emotions, and he whines softly. The sidekick whose leg was broken is also crying as well and strokes my back, and she says in a breaking yet soothing voice, “Shhhh. He is in custody and will be tried in court for his long list of crimes. He won’t be seeing the light of day as a free man ever again.”

I reply back with my voice also breaking, “That isn’t good enough.He needs to die.” Both Mom and Dad are crying over what Aya-chan went through, and they obviously feel mixed feelings about what I said. Mom would have scolded me if I were wrong; however, she said nothing. Dad grips the hospital blanket hard enough to turn his knuckles white and says through his tears, “I wish I could be the one to carry out that death sentence, but I don’t have a strong quirk.” He pauses, and his voice breaks, “He hurt my baby girl.”

The police officer grabs the evidence bag and turns to leave. Gang Orca, Recovery Girl, and Selkie’s sidekick all join him, understanding why we feel this way, judging by their expressions as they shut the door to her hospital room to give us privacy. Mom asks Aya-chan as her tears continue to fall while she still has her hand gently on her shoulder, “Ayaka, do you have to become a hero? I don’t want to see my baby girl like this again.” Aya-chan responds while crying tears of her own, “But it is my dream to make a world where women and children can feel safe from attacks like what I just went through.” Mom sniffles, and Aya-chan goes to reach for a tissue tattoo that doesn’t exist anymore from habit.

There is a box of tissues in here, so I grab it and hold it towards Mom, who blows her nose. She tosses the used tissue in the small trash bin by the hospital bed, and she says, “Can’t you use your alternate personas to do that instead? I know they have been working, and I have personally seen a small flicker of change among the boys and men who want to be more like you. You don’t need to be a hero to make your dream come true.”

I see Aya-chan thinking about it and truly contemplating Mom’s words, and she says, “I think it would benefit Kai-chan more if I stay in the hero course. The more I learn, the better I can protect her from All for One.” I squeeze her hand gently and say, “I don’t want you to be thinking of me during this decision, Aya-chan. What do you want to do? I will support whatever you decide.” Aya-chan says, tears still trickling down her face, “I said what I said, and it doesn’t change.” I nod, accepting her words, and then I respond while still crying with my voice breaking again, “Then, I will be the best sidekick ever and protect you no matter what.”

Dad asks, still crying, “Can I be selfish and ask to drive my kids back to school?” Mom chimes in assertively through her own tears, “Yes. Recovery Girl said for them to take it easy, and that is exactly what we will do.” We put Aya-chan in a wheelchair since she is still missing a leg and pushed her out of the room. I think that Selkie's sidekick heard us (since her quirk is Good Ear… I think. I am not the nerd and don’t write everything down) from her slightly confused facial expression as we passed her. They had also arranged a police escort back to UA, due to the circumstances of our attacks today.

As we drive, Aya-chan asks, “So, what happened to your arm? We were so busy talking about me that I didn’t get around to asking about it.” I responded while not moving my head from her shoulder, “A thug that works for All for One came after me while I was on work study, and they stabbed me with a sharp vine while trying to kidnap me, but Recovery Girl fixed me up. She just wanted me to stabilize it for a few days to be safe. This is nothing in comparison to what you went through today.”

She strokes my hair and says, “Please don’t belittle your pain for my sake.” I sit up and look at her with tears in my eyes, “I should be saying the same thing. I was just physically hurt today, but you went through something way more traumatic and even saw people killed in front of your eyes in a gruesome way. Don’t belittle your trauma for my sake.” Her eyes start to water a bit with tears not yet fallen, and she lifts my chin slightly to give me a brief kiss.

When we got to the gates of UA, Mom and Dad gave us a hug, making me squat a little since Aya-chan is in a wheelchair. They hold us tightly yet gently. That seems like a weird combination, but they managed it. Dad says, “Please don’t forget to call us for periodic check-ins. We love you two so much.” Aya-chan responds with her watery eyes in a breaking voice, “I won’t.” Mom breaks away enough to kiss us both on the forehead and says, “I love you. Don’t forget to take it easy, as Recovery Girl said.” We sigh at the repeated reminders and say in unison, ““We won’t.””

We wave goodbye as they drive away, and I use my quirk to teleport us quickly back to the dorms while holding Aya-chan’s wheelchair using my hops. We got to the dorms, and Principal Nezu was sitting on the front porch like he was waiting for our return. He pulls on Aya-chan’s sweatpants adorably on her right side as she sits in her wheelchair and says, “Selkie, Gang Orca, and Sirius apprised me of your recent ordeal, and I would like to make a request that you keep your word to Recovery Girl and take it easy at least for tonight. Do you understand my meaning?”

We nod and sigh, understanding that he means that he doesn’t want us to combine our quirks to return to the apartment tonight. Principal Nezu says, “I know it won’t erase the day that you had, but I recommend a nice hot bath followed by a cup of tea.” Aya-chan smirks briefly and sniffles with watery eyes and leans down and attempts to hug him, but the principal climbs up her wheelchair to make it easier for her. They hug, and she is stealing pets as usual. Principal Nezu doesn’t seem slightly exasperated, as he normally does when she pets him like this, and he accepts the pets, knowing that his fur is healing (not in the literal sense, obviously). Jewel comes out and bonks Aya-chan on her leg, and she switches targets and pets her, too, while the principal keeps hugging her.

After a touching moment, they separate from their hug, and Jewel lowers herself slightly so Principal Nezu can get on her back, and he says as he hops directly (and adorably) on her back from the wheelchair, “Oh, I almost forgot to mention the most important thing. I talked with Edgeshot and Gang Orca, and we are calling your work studies over for now because of these targeted incidents for your safety. You will obviously get full credit, so you won’t have to worry about that. Rest easy, and good night, children.” I give him a silent thumbs up with my left hand, and Jewel turns and starts walking him away from the dorms.

Every time I see him riding Jewel, it feels like it heals my soul because of how cute it is. Aya-chan chuckles as the water in her eyes sparkles while looking at me, and she says in a breaking voice, “Your adorable face is doing the most healing for me.” I blush, and stammer flustered, “H-h-hearing t-that m-makes me happy.” She smirks as the water dribbles out as a single tear, and she says, “Let’s go take a hot bath and get tea like Principal Nezu suggested.”

I use my quirk and teleport us up the steps, and I awkwardly hold the door to wheel Aya-chan in. Toru and Tsu jump up and run to us. Toru says with worry on her face, “Nobody is telling us anything about what happened. They just said that you were attacked.” Our other classmates also approach from behind them, and Aya-chan turns pale upon seeing everyone. Our classmates gasp when they see Aya-chan’s sweatpants leg resting under her, showing that she is missing it.

I can only imagine that she isn’t ready to tell everyone what happened. I tell them, “She will tell you when she is ready.” I use the jaw breaker in my mouth to teleport us away, and as we teleport up the stairs, she starts crying and says, “Thanks, Kai-chan. I started panicking. I don’t know if I want everyone to know what happened to me.” I simply nod since I know precisely where she is coming from, and she gently squeezes my hand. We quickly get to our dorm, and we grab a clean pair of underwear, our pajamas, our towels, and our hygiene bag to head to the bath.

I help Aya-chan shower and sit in the bath, then I shower myself. It was a little awkward for me since I was told to take it easy with my right arm. It is now that I realize how much I rely on my right arm for little things. After my shower, I join Aya-chan in the bath, and I moan as the heat soothes my sore body. I look around here and say, “This bath is actually really nice.” Aya-chan smirks and says, “Yeah, I can’t believe this is our first time using it.” She closes her eyes to absorb the warmth of the bath and accidentally falls asleep. To keep her from falling, I gently rest her head on my shoulder as she sleeps.

Toru and Tsu come in and silently shower after seeing that she fell asleep. They quietly slide in, and Tsu asks in a whisper, “What happened to you today, Sekai? Ribbit?” I whisper back and give them the brief synopsis of what happened to me, and they look so worried. I finish by telling them, “I went through a cake walk in comparison to what she went through today.” I start crying, and Toru asks, “So, what happened to her?” I shake my head, “It isn’t my story to tell.” I sniffle from crying, which wakes Aya-chan up; she jolts and starts screaming.

I immediately hug her, and Sir Floof comes out, causing a small splash from falling in the bath, and places his ribbons on both of us. A few of the other girls came rushing in, and Tsu and Toru shook their heads and waved for them to go outside the baths as they also got out of the tub to give us privacy as we cried into each other. As they open the door to leave the baths, I tell her in a barely audible whisper as tears flowed down my face, “If I ever see that villain on the street, I will kill him without a second thought.” She squeezes me as she cries into me. I start to calm down with Sir Floof’s ribbons, and I whisper to Aya-chan, “We probably should get you out of this tub since you have been in here a while. Let’s get some tea.”

I help her dry off, apply lotion, put on her pajamas, and get her back into her wheelchair. I had to dry Sir Floof, too, since he got wet. I push Aya-chan out of the bath area, and after Sir Floof shakes the excess water we missed elegantly, I ask him, “Can you go upstairs and grab a fuzzy blanket for Aya-chan?” He shakes his head and taps his pokéball on the back of my wrist, and he grabs one of his own and brings it out. I thank him as I wrap it around her as she sits in her wheelchair, and then transfer her from her wheelchair onto a soft chair in the community area while I prepare chamomile tea.

While the teapot is coming to a boil, I go over to the sofa she is sitting on, and I lay my head on her shoulder and sit in silence until the teapot screams. I get up, prepare the tea for both of us, and take them to where Aya-chan is sitting. I smell chocolate. I hear Sato’s footsteps, and it appears that he made brownies. I have had enough sweets and tea to know at this point that brownies don’t go with chamomile, courtesy of Principal Nezu. I can just hear him now, “Chamomile blends are best paired with light sweets or cheese.”

Sato places the baking dish of brownies on one of those oven pad things to protect the community coffee table and says, “I made some brownies in hopes it would make you feel better.” Aya-chan sheds a few slow tears as she sips her tea and says, “I’m not hungry.”  I was reaching for one myself, even though I knew it wasn’t a good pair, but stopped after hearing her words. Aya-chan turns to me, having seen me retract my hand, and says, “Don’t let me stop you, Kai-chan.” I shake my head as tears start to fall from my right eye, “How can I enjoy them if you aren’t enjoying them with me?”

She reaches over, places her left hand on my right thigh, and squeezes it gently. Sato picks up the dish and shakes his head while looking over us, as if others are back there. I turn to see our classmates worried, and he places the dish in the kitchen and carves out servings for them, so at least someone could enjoy his baking. We continue to sip our tea in silence as Squash, Sir Floof, and Garlic come out and whine while rubbing Aya-chan affectionately in an attempt to make her feel better.

When we finished drinking our tea, she transferred to her wheelchair and rolled over to hug Garlic with care and said, “Thank you so much for trying to save me today. I love you so much, Garlic, and I will see you tomorrow.” He whines as he strokes her affectionately with his vines as he disappears into his ball. Aya-chan pushes the wheels on her wheelchair back in my direction, and she pauses and holds her head as if she feels faint. I use the remnants of pleasure from the tea to teleport to her side. I pop a jawbreaker as Sir Floof and Squash temporarily go in their balls, and I teleport us to our dorm room. We will be alright skipping brushing our teeth for one night.

Squash came out again when we got to the room, since she is also worried about Aya-chan and fell asleep in a beanbag chair, so I covered her up so she could stay there. Sir Floof also came out again and joined us in the bed. The moment Aya-chan’s head hit the pillow, her eyes closed, and she said, “Thank you for being you, Kai-chan. I love you.” I respond while leaning over Sir Floof to kiss her on the forehead, “I love you, too, Aya-chan.” I would tell her to sleep well, but I know firsthand that she won’t. I don’t want to speak false platitudes that aren’t going to help one bit. She falls asleep almost immediately from her extreme exhaustion, and I fall asleep behind her.

Aya-chan wakes me up in the middle of the night, screaming, and wakes up Sir Floof and Squash as well. Her screaming triggered Squash's headache, and for the first time, she lost control of her quirk. Squash threw our desk out the window and slammed it against a nearby tree as if it weighed nothing, and infused it with haki. The attack was so powerful that it snapped the tree in half at the point of impact. By this point, Aya-chan has returned to her senses and realized what happened. Squash lifted our bed with her quirk and was about to throw us out the window as well (also infused with haki) when our classmates rushed over, and Tsu and Toru hugged Squash and begged her to stop. Squash stopped using her quirk as our bed crashed down into the floor indelicately, causing the frame to break, and Squash stumbled while holding her head in confusion.

Tsu and Toru put Squash back in the beanbag chair, and Aya-chan got up and hopped over to Squash and hugged her and said while crying, “I am so sorry, Squash. I didn’t mean to hurt you with my screaming.” Squash was thoroughly confused, having no recollection of recent events. I get up and pet her for a bit before putting her back in her pokéball to prevent any more accidents.

By this point, the boys have also come to our floor, worried about the very loud noises. Bakugo grumbles, “What the fuck is the matter with you extras?” I glare at him, and he smacks his teeth while stuffing his hands in his pajama pockets, “Tsk.” Yaomomo bonks him, and he sighs as he goes back to his dorm. The rest of our classmates slowly start heading back to their dorms as well, looking worried.