Live in a Dream - a Nightmare, actually

-Chapter 5-

"I'm 'gonna go straight to the point. The school spoke with your mother and we booked you a psychiatrist appointment this weekend."

Izuku was shocked. He knew he needed help, but he never expected it to ever come. He was supposed to be brave and strong like a hero, yet he was weak enough to have to burden people with his own problems.

Stupid.

The people in his head were more than angry. They were going to leave if the psychiatrist finds out. And boy, was Izuku grateful. It only made the voices more heated.

Izuku's fingers started scratching at his palms, an itching, unpleasant feeling under his skin. Something moving came from his blood, Izuku lifted his hands, maggots falling from the small wound. Shaky hands fell to his side as the boy looked horrified at his teacher.

He had to escape- A cold hand gripped his shoulder, a presence appearing behind him.

Shouta didn't know what happened. As soon as he told his student that he had the appointment, Midoriya entered a state of paranoia. Shouta had to grab his wrists to stop him from scratching at himself. He was whispering incoherent words and phrases, voice increasingly getting higher pitched. He was muttering things like 'he's going to kill me' and, 'i'm being brainwashed he's not even real'.

The hero was shocked to say the least. He had dealt with cases like these a few times, but he never expected one of his students to experience this. Especially not Izuku Midoriya.

His student wouldn't stay still, despite Shouta's efforts to hold the boy back. Why did the kid react this way? Midoriya had lost himself to panic, eyes darting around the room, mouth not staying still. He needed to calm Izuku now before it got out of hand, he wasn't seeming to show any signs of calming down.

"Not good, not good." Shouta grumbled, one arm pulling Izuku in a tight hug, his other arm taking out his phone and looking for Nezu's contact. Once he found it, he quickly called his employer.

"Hello there, Shouta!"

"I need help now, Midoriya is in a panic attack and isn't calming down."

"Hm, I'll be over soon. Can you please send me your location and try keep him somewhat stable till I get there?"

"Yes Nezu I will."

With that Shouta hung up the phone, shoving it into his pocket. The teacher crouched down, pulling the struggling student down with him.

"Hey, hey, kid. Can you hear me?"

Shouta almost missed the tiny nod that came from the boy. He started rubbing small circles into the young boys back, hands softly trailing over the t-shirt. He felt his student start to relax and melt into the touch.

The kid's scarred arms-

(Shouta realised some of the scars weren't from training),

-wrapped around him tightly as if he were the only thing keeping him from slipping out of sanity.

The hero continued rubbing Izuku's back, whispering assuring words to the kid. Small sniffles could be heard as the boy buried his face into Shouta's shirt.

What had happened to his student?

The shadow was jumping around the small, white room, Izuku's wide eyes following it's every movement. He'd rather watch the shadow than the woman in front of him. He knew it was rude to ignore her, but at this point, he honestly couldn't care less.

His heart was racing in his chest, mind fogged. He tried to ignore the screaming in his head, hurtful words burning into his brain, words that only Izuku could hear. It hurt to feel his chest moving inside of him, the organ banging against his ribs in a desperate attempt to escape his body.

(He wondered if that would kill him.)

He froze as a hand slowly grabbed his and gently squized it. He felt somewhat comforted by the gesture, a feeling of warmth spreading through him. A tear trickled down his cheek, as he lifted a hand to swat the droplet away.

It was nearing the end of his appointment and Izuku had yet to utter a single word.

He swallowed dryly, forcing down the sob that shook his body. It was pathetic of him, he knew. He had never felt so weak and idiotic in his whole life, even through the aftermaths of being beaten to a pulp by his classmates.

They were right, he was useless. He was never going to get anywhere. The people in his head would make sure of that.

The hand covering his own was warm, safe. He could trust this person, he felt. He didn't understand why he deemed this true, he had no proof, but it felt right.

Izuku slowly turned towards the one holding his hand, eyes locking with his homeroom teacher's surprisingly soft gaze.

"It's alright problem child, I'm here. Take deep breaths, in, and out." Shouta squeezed the younger boys hand reassuringly.

Izuku followed the older's instructions, taking shaky, but deep breaths, closing eyes as he did so. After a few seconds, he turned back to the woman, and tried to keep eye contact as he finally started answering her questions.

It was quiet in the car drive back to the dorms, the comfortable silence welcoming.

Despite the lack of noise, Shouta's mind was loud, thoughts bouncing around demanding the mans attention. He couldn't help the memory of Izuku's haunted eyes as the boy was trapped in his state of paranoia, eyes glossed over and frozen in horror.

His hands were firmly grasping the steering wheel as he anxiously controlled the vehicle.

The appointment had provided some information as to his students mental health and Shouta fears learning more about his student. It was too early for a proper diagnosis, as it was Midoriya's first appointment, although the signs were obviously pointing towards illnesses like borderline personality disorder, or schizophrenia.

Shouta felt a twinge of disappointment in himself that he hadn't noticed his students behaviour sooner, he was a hero he should have seen something was up way earlier.

At this point, all he could do was hope that it was nothing too serious and that his student would be alright.