September: Shouto- 8, Izuku- 8, Katsuki- 8

Shouto had never intended to utilize the private service offered by the therapists. He'd never even seen any of the kid's use it; he had an inkling that it was a feature more meant for older patients, at least those in their teens. He thanked everything for his generally impassive face, because he wasn't sure he'd go through with it if Izukun or Kat started pestering him before he'd even requested a private time.

And that's what he stood before the therapist's door for. During group, the therapist's not leading it were open for private conversation and guidance in adjacent offices. You could reserve an appointment with one, but otherwise, it was a "first-come-first-serve" sort of service. And now, he hesitated just outside one of the doors, fears building despite the conviction All Might had lit inside of him.

"Shoutan?" Izukun questioned, and Shouto barely withheld a jolt in surprise. He turned to look at the confused look the other was giving him, and he pursed his lips. "Why are you waiting? Weren't you just asking Yasui-san something?"

Should he lie? He'd half-lied already, and it Izukun had caught him out in that. He glanced to Kat, curious in how he was managing to not have already blown up in impatience. He still wasn't sure how he was being so patient, Kat's hands were curled into fists and he wasn't looking at the door.

"Just go inside already, we'll follow, fuck's sake," Katsuki muttered. Shouto blinked, surprised at the reassurance he felt in their promised presence. He nodded, then walked forward, knocking lightly then opening the door before he received a real response.

As he walked in, Yasui-san and Temko-san jumped apart, looking slightly guilty, as if he didn't know or cared about their private relationship. If there was one thing he'd learned from years of his (abusive, his mind whispered) family life, it was that private relationships are no one's business.

Though, he supposed he was just about to screw up his own idea.

Temko-san cleared her throat, and he could hear Izukun giggle slightly at the red tinting Yasui cheeks. He never thought much about the relationship between the coordinators, he just knew it was a strange one. Kat had said the most about it between the three of them, which amounted to, "weirdos," but he'd also said the same thing when he'd seen a mother and father who'd dropped off their child kiss, so Shouto feels safe in the knowledge that he just considers all affection as strange.

"What is it, you three? We can't let you borrow the quirk room today, there's a self-defense class going on in there today," Temko-san said, clearly trying to brush off her awkwardness and take back the lead in the conversation, which she usually claimed.

A moment of silence lasted until Kat pointed to Shouto, successfully throwing the conversation in his friend's direction as he said, "This one had something to ask him, he hasn't said what, so don't look at us."

Feeling the eyes of the entire room, he reminded himself that he trusted these people, he's known them for over three months now and that anything said would be sworn to confidentiality either way. Steeling himself with the will he's seen Kat defend a misremembered fact, or Izukun the importance of different heroes involvement in fights, he stepped forward, looking directly to Yasui-san, and said, "Could I speak to you in a private session?"

Yasui-san blinked, taken aback, but recovered themself with the ease of a professional. "Of course, we'll just need to move into this office here," they pointed one of the two rooms that were used for these private discussions.

Shouto nodded, moving over to the room, but stopped as he heard Temko-san say, "Alright, you two, I'm sure Shouto-kun appreciates the escorting, but your job is over now. Shoo, shoo," she said, waving them to the room for group.

"Ah, Temko-san," Izukun said, maneuvering around her to grab onto Shouto's arm. "Can we not go with him?" The warmth of his body pressed against his right side made him sigh. He knew that the more anxious he got, the more his ice powers tended to act up. Likely since his nerves usually only came from Endeavor, and his ice was the only defense he had from him.

Temko-san's lips curled, "Shouto-kun must give permission for you to join, Izuku-kun." She reached down to ruffle his hair, meeting eyes with Yasui-san as she grabbed Kat's and his arms and began to bring them with her to the outside room.

"B-but," Izukun protested, planting his feet a bit firmer, which Kat also did upon noticing, "you haven't asked if he wants us here or not." He bit his lip, looking over his shoulder to Shouto as if to check that protesting was the right course of action.

Shouto shivered, his right side cooling the room to the point that he could see Kat conspicuously rub his hands together, then he walked out the open door to general room. Shouto felt his chest tighten as he watched his disappearing figure, knowing his patience must have run thin. Yasui-san stepped forward, drawing Shouto's attention to them as they asked, "Do you want them to stay with you for the duration? It is entirely up to you."

Shouto curled into himself a touch, wondering if this is how cold he'd made the room and he was used to the feeling of ice coating his body, then how terrible was it to the rest of them? Izukun had begun to shiver now, and for the first time in an extremely long while, he wished he could use his fire abilities properly. Would he freeze them if they came in with him? Wasn't he a danger to Yasui-san like this, whose quirk was dragonfly attributes? Don't they need warmer temperatures? And-

Boom.

The explosion halted his thoughts. Everyone's heads flipped toward the entrance to the room to kat, who held his hands before him, panting as he focused on creating miniature explosions in his palms. He walked around the room, setting off sporadic explosions. He stopped before Shouto, shrugging his shoulders back a bit, "You're lucky I sweat so easily, dipshit. Now," he panted again, clearly out of breath due to… whatever it was he left the room to do, and Shouto could feel his nerves relax slightly as he realized he hadn't truly pissed the boy off, "are we going in there?"

Shouto hesitated for another second, then reached out, grabbing Izukun forearm and dragging him lightly with him. He turned to Yasui-san to say, "They can stay, I don't mind them… knowing," he murmured the final word. In truth, he knew he'd feel more confident with them there. Probably.

~...~...~...~...~...~

The room inside was a mix of neutral and popping colors. The main couch was a jet black, with a cyan recliner beside it, and across from both sat a desk with a hulking desk chair behind it. Shouto squirmed, trying to get settled onto the couch he'd pulled both himself and Izukun onto. He saw Izukun scooch closer to him, patting the spot beside himself for Kat to sit in, but Kat just turned his nose up and sat on the recliner, legs crossed underneath him.

As Yasui grabbed a few sheets of paper from the desk, Shouto took a few moments to admire the pieces of art along the walls, ranging for professional paintings to drawings done by the patients. A particularly colorful wall was covered in drawings of different heroes, though most of the drawings depicted All Might. Seeing the man that had pushed him to do this both tore him up internally, but also gave him reassurance that what he was about to say was true.

"So," Yasui-san started, tapping their pencil obnoxiously against the paper they held before themself. "What is it you wished to discuss, Shouto-kun?"

Shouto felt himself begin to copy the tapping motion, just slightly, with his hand against his thigh. He stared into the distance for a few moments, long enough for Izukun to gain the confidence to reach out so that his hand laid on Shouto's leg where Shouto had previously been tapping. He stopped, then continued again as he spoke, "When All Might visited last week… What he said… It made me realize my dad really isn't a hero - especially not to me."

With that said, he paused, taking a deep breath. He felt a small tug on his fingers, and then Izukun was in his face, trying to see where this conversation was going. Shouto just stared back at him, because how could he explain without explaining it aloud, as he was just about to.

"I see," Yasui-san said, scribbling down a few words to the paper beneath. Looking up, they asked, "Could you explain?"

Nodding, Shouto began to tap again, unthinking of the pattern he was tapping out. He almost wanted to say, 'All Might knew Izuku for two hours and he was already a better father to him than mine's ever been to me,' but figured that wasn't what Yasui-san expected, and likely would cause more questions than it answered. Plus, he'd have to acknowledge that aloud.

"My father has never been concerned with… protecting me, or my family. If anything he tends to… hurt us, more than protect. And when he's working as a hero… he cares much more about the recognition he gains from being a hero then he does about the people." He took a deep breath, trying to reassure himself that this conversation would do nothing but make others aware of the situation.

Yasui-san seemed to think for a moment, before they asked, "By hurt… what do you mean?"

Despite his best efforts, Shouto felt the temperature begin to drop on his right side. There was no answer to this that wouldn't reveal anything, unless he were to lie, but that would defeat the entire purpose of beginning this discussion. At the same time, danger lurked within every corner of the topic.

Suddenly Kat stood, marching over to the right of Shouto. He gestured impatiently at Izukun, who speedily grabbed Shouto's arm and dragged him to the left. Kat plopped down, running his hands through his hair and coming at with tiny bits of sweat in the cool room. He set off more tiny explosions, once again heating up the room to a manageable temperature.

Shouto couldn't help flinching at the noises, the explosions much too close for his comfort. The three were now squashed together on the couch, all bunched up and pressed together. Shouto found himself both relaxing into them, while still feeling uncomfortable with such close contact. Izukun's light pat to his leg and concerned eyes drew his mind back to the question at hand.

"I… he trains me," he began, "and he says that since no villain would ever hold back, that he shouldn't either, which is true, so I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"You are eight years old, Shouto-kun. And you are not making this sound as though it's a recent development. Does he hit you? With how much force?" Yasui-san said, voice firm but expression kind.

"I… yes, of course he does," he mumbled, hands clenching when he heard Izuku gasp slightly. "The first time was when I was 4, not long after my quirk-, no, both of my quirks developed. My mother tried to stop him, but he shoved her away," he said, voice lowering as he mentioned his mother. Funnily enough, it wasn't until she was mentioned that he could feel the water building behind his eyes.

Yasui-san nodded, their face neutral as they listened. "So your mother has tried to stop this before?"

Shouto shuddered, another explosion ringing out as the room started to cool down. He shook his head to clear out the echoing noise within it, and garnered enough of himself to answer, "She used to. She's been in the hospital since," his breathing shook, "since she poured boiled boiling water over my left eye."

He could hear feel Kat's intake of breath, and winced slightly as Izukun's nails dug into the arm he was still holding. He couldn't help the slight amusement and gratitude as he thought about how Izukun was far more affected by his story than he himself was.

Yasui-san spoke then, quieter, "Do you know why she did that?"

Shouto felt something break, just a bit, as he shook his head no, shoulders heaving in the quiet way he tried to hold back his sobs.

Yasui-san nodded, and they reached over to set the paper and clipboard onto the desk."I spoke to your aunt, prior to you ever working with this office. She explained to me, pieces of your history, but not much. She did say, however, that the reason she was acting as your guardian is because your father would never allow you to be here under his watch. I'm sure you know that, but your aunt also spoke of your mother. Your aunt said that your mother, when admitted to the hospital, had begged her to watch over you, and to make sure that your father could not hurt you too badly."

Yasui-san paused, watching as Shouto processed this, his mind overloaded by the most information he's heard about his mother for over three years.

"She said that your mother has been wanting to speak to you since the day she was admitted, but was afraid you'd hate her, rightfully so, for what she'd done."

"Of course not," Shouto whispered, staring at his hands.

He felt Kat shift beside him, and looked up when he was prodded by a finger in his side, "Why not? She hurt you, right?"

Shouto blinked at him, trying to find the words to respond, but Izukun did it for him, "She hadn't meant to hurt him, right?"

Shouto sat, fidgeting under everyone's gaze as he tried to find an answer. "I'm not… sure, she… she never liked my left side… It reminded her of my father, I think."

Yasui-san interrupted them, "You said your father hurt her as well, yes? Do you know how much?"

Shouto shook his head, he had heard their fights, but the only time he'd seen her get hurt was when she defended him.

Yasui-san nodded, "I don't believe she intended to harm you, though I cannot be sure. Have you spoken to her since… this happened?"

"No," he said, staring at the ground before him.

"Would you like to speak to her again?" Yasui-san asked, and Shouto felt his body stiffen dramatically.

"I," he started, feeling adrenaline begin to course through him at just the idea, "Yes, but there's no way for me to, not without father discovering…"

"But… you're here, right?" Izukun asked, turning Shouto's attention to him. "Your father doesn't know you're here… why would the hospital be any different?"

"The hospital tracks who enters and exists, father could learn from that, that I…"

"No he couldn't," Kat scoffed, "Not if you went with an adult, they only mark down the adults who enter. I did it with grandma last year."

"This is true, Shouto-kun," Yasui murmured. "If you were to speak to your aunt, I'm sure you could get in under her name, however, that decision is entirely up to you - and I had another question, if you don't mind."

Shouto's blinked, his world having felt flipped by this point. His mother could be open to seeing him, and he was allowed, and he - he still hadn't given Yasui-san any indication to continue speaking. "Okay."

"Your aunt mentioned that you recently began to have a tendency to only mention and acknowledge one aspect of your abilities. You did it earlier too, even though you corrected yourself. Does this have anything to do with your… family?"

Shouto hadn't been able to stop himself from tensing, and he knew that Yasui-san had noted it, and he had to curse himself for accidentally preventing himself from lying even before he spoke. "I… My parents married due to a quirk marriage. My father wants me to be the perfect, um, tool? For him by having the abilities I do… I can't really leave my father, I need him, but I don't… want to use the quirk that has caused my family so much pain."

Yasui-san nodded, their lips pursed, but they remained silent. Shouto nearly sighed in relief, but then the hand on his leg squeezed a bit, and Izukun spoke, "That's silly, it's your ability, right? It's different from your dad's…"

"It's not silly," Yasui-san cut in, "however, Izuku-kun is right. It is yours to do with as you like. That could include never using it, or having a constant fire burning in your left palm. And what you chose to do should be chosen regardless of your father."

"If you want to be a hero," Kat huffed, "then you can't always be at half-power."

Feeling cornered, Shouto curled his hands up a bit, the cold growing in the room until Kat growled and another miniature explosion lit the air.

"No one is saying you need to, Shouto-kun. But, if it came down to rejecting your father, or saving Izuku-kun and Katsuki-kun's lives, which would you chose?"

Shouto shuddered, trying not to think about a time he would have that much weight put in his hands. He's not sure he'd ever be able to withstand that - then thought about how, if they all became heroes, he'd have to handle that pretty often.

For the first time, he found himself glad for Izukun's quirklessness. That was one less reckless pro-hero to worry about in the future.

"I wouldn't need saving," Kat snarled, to which Izukun giggled, but he soon wilted beneath Kat's glare.

"Or," Yasui-san continued, as if they hadn't heard the side-conversation in any way, "You could use it to do more simple things, like warming up this room. Katsuki-kun is doing a fine job of that right now, but you're not going to be always together, you know."

Shouto winced, but nodded. It's true, he'd had to leave rooms before because of how cold he'd forced the temperature to drop. It wasn't something he did constantly, only when upset, but given the constant unpleasantness of his home, he did it to his room often.

"Now, enough of all this. Is this all you wanted to say, Shouto-kun?" At Shouto's nod, Yasui-san clasped his hands together. "Then do I have your permission to tell the other therapists about this?"

Shouto hesitated, afraid of getting more people involved than needed, but eventually nodded again, keeping his head to face the ground. He heard shuffling, and jolted as a large hand settled on his hair.

"Then, I'll be sure to discuss out possibilities with them. But before that, I would like to ask you: do you plan to go visit your mother? You will be excused from paying for the upcoming Thursday for group if you wish to do so and tell me now." Yasui-san said, a slight smile tilting their cheeks.

He sat in silence for a while, terrified still at the thought that his mother truly didn't want to see him, or that his father could find out and officially ban him from seeing her. Lost in anxiety as he was, he missed the exchange of glances between his friends.

"Um," Izukun began, then paused as he glanced to Kat, trying to read anything besides "indifferent contempt" in his expression. Not getting anything, he just looked shyly to Shouto and asked, "We could come with you?"

Shouto's heart sat in his throat, but he gathered himself enough to quietly say, "Sure," to the bright green eyes of his friend. He felt Kat scoff as another explosion sounded from the right side of the couch.

~...~...~...~...~...~

September: Shouto- 8, Izuku- 8, Katsuki- 8

"Come on," Kasumi-san huffed, pulling the car into a cramped parking spot at an angle that would piss off any people trying to use the neighboring spots. "We're here, all three of you out of the car."

Izuku hurried out, shuffling awkwardly as he waited for Kacchan - who had been forced into the middle, which he'd complained about enough for Shoutan to threaten to freeze his mouth shut - to climb out behind him so he could shut the door. It had been a cramped fit, since none of them had been big enough to ride in the front, but at least the three of them were still small enough to not be squished on top of one another.

"Alright, we'll go to the front desk so I can explain why I have three children with me," she moved to the edge of the pavement. "Hold hands as we cross the street."

Seeing the bristling Kacchan's hair began to do, Izuku slipped closer to Shoutan, grabbing his hand and both of them watching with amusement as Kasumi-san grabbed Kacchan's, despite the sparking going off in his left palm. She then reached over and grabbed Izuku's as well, her hand warmer than Izuku's thought it would be.

The walked inside was filled with mutters from Kacchan as he was dragged by an uncaring Kasumi through the doors. She approached the front desk alone, motioning for the three to wait a little bit off. She spoke quickly to the staff, and soon walked back with three name tags and a pen.

"You can all write the Kanji for your names, yes?" At the answering nods and scoff, she passed out the white sheets and gave the pen to them. After she had Shoutan return, they began their trek up to the fifth floor.

"So, do you want us to wait outside?" Izuku asked, looking to both Shoutan and Kasumi-san, unsure just how welcome Kacchan's and his presence truly was. Generally, only family and friend's visited those in a hospital, not someone's child's friends whom they have likely never heard of before.

Shoutan just shrugged at him, and Izuku honestly couldn't tell if the cold air was normal for the hospital, or if Shotan had unconsciously begun to cool the air again. Either way, Kasumi answered for him.

"I planned to walk in first, tell her other guests were here, have Shouto come in, and after they speak for as long as Shouto wants, he'd walk back out to get you two," she said, glancing to Shoutan, "Is that alright?"

Shoutan continued to walk as if he hadn't heard anything, but eventually, he said a soft, "Yes."

A few minutes later Kasumi stopped outside of a door, gesturing them to stand slightly adjacent to the frame so as not to be seen in the doorway. She pat Shoutan's hair, looking the other two in the eyes, and then opened the door to walk through, leaving it wide open so as to be able to be heard.

"Hello, sis," Kasumi-san said, her heels clacking against the floor for another moment.

"Kasumi!" A new voice piped in, and Izuku watched as Shoutan's composed face crumbled a bit. He reached out, slipping his hand around Shoutan's arm and awkwardly rubbing it. He made a gesture for Kacchan to do the same and sniffed slightly when all the other did was knock onto the side of both Shoutan and Izuku's head none-too-gently.

"How are you? Well, I suppose we just spoke two hours ago. What about the kids? Is Fuyumi eating right, I know you said last time that she'd been trying to lose weight she didn't need to, and I was wondering if-"

Izuku could feel the words begin to swirl around his head, the easy conversation between siblings a completely foreign concept for him. He felt Shoutan tense a bit more, and then a warm hand curled onto his own. Izuku stared at it, feeling a smile tip his lips as he met Shoutan's mismatched, nervous eyes. As the hand holding his arm began to tap, he couldn't help his slight chuckle - and then he froze, reaching up to cover his mouth with his unoccupied hand. He could hear Kacchan mumbling, "idiot," behind him. He didn't want to risk pointing out that Kacchan saying that defeated the point of scolding for not being silent.

Tuning back into the conversation to see if they had heard him, he had to stop himself from sighing in relief when he heard it continuing as normal. "And what about Shouto? Endeavor hasn't been-"

"Ah," Kasumi interrupted, and Izuku wished he could see her face to know how she took that. Instead, he glanced to Shoutan again, examining the twisted expressed on his face, likely from hearing his mother say his name for the first time in years. "Most of why I'm here has to do with Shouto, actually, since-"

"Is he okay?" the voice sounded far more panicked, and Izuku felt the nails from the hand holding his arm dig into it.

"Yes, yes, he's fine. As I've mentioned, the therapy seems to have helped him quite a bit, and… well, I guess you'll see for yourself."

Clearly this was an invitation for Shoutan to walk inside, but a moment of silence passed, followed by another, and eventually, the voice asked, "Huh?"

Meanwhile, Izuku had begun to make frantic hand motions in front of Shoutan's face, seeing that he'd stopped moving entirely. The temperature had dropped dramatically, but Shoutan gave no sign of having recognized this. Another moment passed of this before Kacchan had apparently gotten fed up.

"Oh, just go in there, she's your mother, not your father remember," he said, much louder than the previous mutter, and he reached over and shoved Shoutan towards the door.

Of course, Izuku, who Shoutan still had ahold of and was closer to the door anyway, got tangled up in the shove as well. They crashed down, in full view of through the door, and Izuku felt a new sort of panic as he realized the plan had been entirely destroyed. He rushed to stand, gingerly reaching to Shoutan to help him up. Once the boy was standing, Izuku bowed, fully at the waist, and said, "I'm sorry to intrude, I didn't plan to, but uh, here's your son, he wanted to talk to you and-"

His mumbling was cut off at the sound of a chair screeching. He looked up to see the woman before him standing, her long white hair drifting behind her as she took a few steps closer. "Shouto," she breathed, and Izuku watched as Shoutan hesitantly stepped forward.

"Hello, mother," he said, equal in tone, but still made no move to step any closer. In fact, he stuck himself a bit further into Izuku's space.

Seeming to have only half-recovered herself, Shoutan's mother stopped a few feet away, looking down to the small boy with a curious wonder. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so… It's great to see you," she said, timidly raising her arm. "Is it okay if I…"

Izuku didn't really understand what she meant, but Shoutan seemed to, as he nodded - or maybe he was just too afraid to say no.

Still, he only barely flinched when her hand came up to rest on his face, and she said, "Oh my. You've... You've grown. It's lovely to see your face again," she paused, her lip quivering as she mumbled, "all of your face," her finger lightly traced the coarse scar on the left side of his face, "and hair, and eyes, and…"

Shoutan cracked. He stepped forward, wrapping his right arm, tentatively, around her waist and he buried his face into the crook of it. Izuku had been forced to step forward as well, Shouto having grabbed him prior to stepping forward.

Slowly they detangled, and Shouto's mother motioned them further into the room. She stood by her bed, gesturing for Shouto take it if he wanted. Nodding, he sat down in it. She turned to Izuku, who jolted and gestured wildly to the door, "I'll, um, get Kacchan!"

He barely saw her confused face before he hurried outside, seeing Kacchan leaning against the wall. He moved to stand beside him, feeling flustered and lost. He waited for a few moments, hearing conversation begin to start in the room again, and then Kacchan hand clapped around his hair. "Come on, loser."

Izuku pouted at him, but quickly stiffened when they entered the room again. Kasumi stood by the window, playing onlooker to the mother who sat on the seat, and her son, who sat across from her on the bed. Izuku planted his feet, believing they would stand just inside the room, but Kacchan, the attention whore he is, dragged them further. Still holding onto Izuku's hair, he couldn't help the slight yelp he gave and he was tugged towards the bed and shoved onto it, his face falling into Shoutan's lap.

"Kacchan," he whined, sitting up and rubbing at his hair and glaring at the boy, who calmly took a seat to Shouto's right. He distantly wondered if that would become their new seating arrangement, with Shoutan in the middle instead of him.

"You were watching outside like a creep," Kacchan muttered, and he sat up just in time to catch Shoutan's slight smile.

Shoutan's mother gave a slight huff of confusion, and Izuku bolted upright, twisting so he more properly sat on the bed and looking up at the woman through scared eyes.

The woman smiled warmly, her white hair tilting to the side as she shifted her head to face Izuku, "I'm Michiko. It's good to meet you."

Izuku froze, staring to the woman in bewilderment. Kasumi-san shifted, then began to speak, "These two boys are the kids Shouto has met through therapy that I told you about. I'd allow them to introduce themselves, but I'm not sure which nickname they'd use for that," she grinned, and Izuku felt a slight burn in his cheeks.

"Katsuki Bakugou," Kacchan said, gruffly, without any of the normal formalities. Izuku would have smacked him, but he figured public abuse of his friend was more impolite than what Kacchan hadn't said.

"Izukun - I mean, Izuku Midoriya. It's good to meet you, please treat me kindly," he murmured, feeling the bed shift at the slight chuckle that Shoutan let out when Izuku actually had almost introduced himself with his nickname. "Shoutan," he whined, poking the other lightly on the part between his hair.

Michiko-san giggled, pleased to see her anti-social boy interacting in a friendly way to the other kids. "Shoutan?" she asked, questioning internally if it was still too early to begin with the teasing again already.

Then again, she had waited 3 years. And she had waited 8 to see Shouto make a friend, she figured she had plenty of embarrassing teasing to catch up on.