T-tring!!!
The bell for fourth period rang. Along with it, ca the migration of the Exhausted masses from class.
"Essays due Monday!" Mrs. Nakamura called. "And Mr. Akutami—" her eyes sharpened onto Yuta, "—report to the Guidance Counsellors office."
Yuta frozen for a mont.
".. Um, what?"
"The school has booked you for mandatory counselling based on your accident."
"But .."
"Counsellor’s office. Now."
The class collectively made an ooooh sound.
"Shut up," Mrs. Nakamura said without looking at them. Then—to Yuta—"The Counsellor is waiting in Counseling Room Three. Don’t keep him."
"Yes mam." Several students snorted. Yuta closed his notebook slowly. Very slowly.
"Yo, Yuta."
Hana appeared at his desk, holding sothing.
His textbook.
"Soone returned this during lunch a few days ago," she said, setting it down. "Hero Course girl. Pink skin, yellow eyes. Said it belonged to a Yuta Akutami."
Kimura leaned on the desk. "We were betting you lost it." Yuta sighed. "Just my luck."
"How did you lose this one?"
"I didn’t lose it. It just... got away from ." He replied, taking the book.
Hana raised an eyebrow. "Textbooks usually don’t run."
"I’m aware."
She smirked but let it go.
"We’re grabbing ran at the station after school," she said. "You coming?"
Kimura nodded.
"Yeah, man. Celebrate you surviving the odds."
Yuta’s face darkened.
"You make it sound like I have a deadly disease."
"It’s not our fault you won’t tell us what happened. We can only speculate."
Truth be told, the boy wasn’t far off on the celebration. Defeating Overhaul truly was a fear worth celebrating.
However,
Yuta sighed. "I can’t. I have to head ho."
"Ooh, because you’re—"
"Grounded," he deadpanned.
Imdiate sympathy.
Tanaka placed a hand over his heart. "We grieve with you."
"Be strong," Hana added.
"Send us a signal if you escape," Kimura nodded solemnly.
Yuta slung his bag over his shoulder. "Rain check."
"Rain check." He walked out of the classroom.
Yuta walked out of the classroom, the door sliding shut behind him with the soft whump of academic doom.
Mandatory counseling.
He exhaled through his nose.
Of course U.A. wouldn’t just let him "walk it off." He did get folded like a human olet and hospitalized for a week. It made sense.
Still...
Did they really have to book it without asking him first?
He adjusted his bag and headed down the hallway.
Counseling Room Three... Counseling Room Three...
As he walked, his brain—traitor that it was—began spiraling.
Counseling.
At U.A.
Which ant...
Midnight.
Because who else, right?
The R-Rated Hero was the wellness teacher, the conflict diator, the staff mber who did ntal health evaluations for hero course students. She’d lectured enough about "emotional vulnerability" in assemblies to make half the first years fear eye contact.
Yuta gulped.
"...Man. How am I supposed to talk about trauma with soone who shows up dressed like that?"
He rubbed his temples.
Hopefully it wouldn’t be too awkward. Hopefully she’d be professional. Hopefully she wouldn’t ask him to "sensually express" his feelings in a journal or sothing—
Yuta approached the frosted glass door marked Counseling Room Three.
’Okay... Midnight. You got this. Just... breathe. Pretend it’s normal. Nothing weird will happen. You are still a minor after all ’
He knocked lightly. A deep, calm voice answered from inside:
"Co in."
Yuta froze. ...Wait, that’s... not Midnight.
He slowly pushed the door open.
Inside, behind a large desk, sat a hulking figure. Broad shoulders, muscular fra, ears perked on top of his head, tail resting lazily. He gave Yuta a asured look.
Yuta stumbled slightly, trying to collect his thoughts.
"...H-hello. I’m... Yuta Akutami?"
The figure smiled faintly, voice calm and steady:
"Yup. That’s you. Have a seat."
Yuta blinked. And blinked again.
This wasn’t midnight. This was ... "Hound Dog? Is the Counsellor?"
’Wasn’t the counsellor supposed to be ..’ He paused as sothing clicked. Earlier, Mrs. Nakamura had ntioned a ’Him’ when referring to the counsellor.
He just didn’t notice at the ti. ’Well, that was unexpected.’
He stepped in cautiously, bag clutched to his chest.
Hound Dog gestured toward the chair across from him.
"Sit down. Don’t worry, I don’t bite—unless you try anything funny."
"...Right. Of course."
Hound Dog leaned back, resting his arms on the desk. "So... you’re here because the school thinks you might have,... trauma issues after your little ’incident.’"
Yuta shifted in his seat, cheeks heating. "Little... incident? That... that’s one way to put it."
"Uh-huh." Hound Dog steepled his fingers. "Tell how you’re feeling. No tricks, no ’I’m fine’ lies. You’re fifteen, You were nearly killed by a villain. Your body was torn apart. That’s a lot to process."
Yuta exhaled slowly, trying to calm the fluttering in his chest. Torn apart?... yep, that’s accurate.
"I an... I’m okay. I guess. I didn’t exactly... die or anything. And people... helped. So..." He trailed off.
Hound Dog gave a low hum. "Helping doesn’t erase the stress. Seeing danger up close, thinking you might not make it... that sticks. Even if no one else saw it."
"...I guess it’s just... weird," he muttered. "Everyone who knows keeps acting like I should be a ss. But I’m not. I don’t know if that makes fine or if it makes broken in a different way."
Hound Dog nodded slowly. "Normal reaction."
"...It is?"
"Yep." He tapped the desk twice. "Trauma isn’t a one-size thing. So kids shut down. So kids cry. So kids joke. So kids feel nothing for a while and then panic later, usually in the shower or while eating cereal. Everyone is different. You can’t expect everyone to act the sa way."
"...That’s oddly specific."
"I’ve worked here a long ti." Hound Dog waved a paw. "Point is—you’re not abnormal for not falling apart imdiately. Shock, adrenaline, and teenage stupidity go a long way."
"...I feel like that was partially an insult."
"It was."
They sat in silence for a mont
Hound Dog leaned forward. "Let ask you sothing. In that situation? How did you feel?"
"Honestly? I would say despair."
"Is that so?"
"Pretty much." He nodded. "Nothing I thought of worked. I wasn’t even trying to fight. I was just trying to escape, yet even that didn’t work out. It was frustrating."
"I can imagine. Though you kept trying."
"Well ... Yeah. There was a kid at stake."
"Good." The pro hero nodded. "That’s a sign your brain was prioritizing. Protecting soone can override fear. Makes you focus on sothing outside yourself. It’s healthy... until it isn’t."
"...Until it isn’t?"
"Let ask you sothing. Do you understand how lucky you are to be alive?"
"...Yeah."
"Do you understand that most people in your situation wouldn’t have survived?"
"Yeah."
"Do you understand that what you did—fighting a villain alone, without backup—could have gotten you killed?"
Yuta’s jaw tightened.
"...Yeah."
Hound Dog nodded slowly.
"Good. Because I need you to understand the consequences of what could have happened."
He picked up her clipboard and flipped a page.
"If you had died, your mother would have lost her son. Your friends would have lost a classmate. And U.A. would have lost a student. While the girl in question would have still been taken away. Nothing would be gained, but your life would be lost."
Silence filled the rock.
"Kid. No one is saying what you did is wrong. It is never the wrong choice to try to save soone’s life. But if you only focus on other people, you forget you’re allowed to be scared too. You nearly died, kid. You don’t have to play tough for . Or your friends. Or your teachers."
Yuta looked down again. The words sat heavier than he expected.
Co to think of it, just what exactly was he supposed to feel? Terror? Fear? That didn’t seem right. Others might not know but he had killed overhaul. Sure it was difficult, and he almost died, but he won. Despite his grievous injuries, quite easily at that.
It would be wrong to fear what he had defeated. Perhaps that reasoning was flawed after discovering his inability to use the Mangekyo again last night, but it is what it is.
But if not fear and terror? Then what? Guilt?
His mind wandered to the terrible things he rembered overhaul doing in the ani ...
’Nope.’ That didn’t seem right either.
"I’m not trying to play tough," he mumbled. "I just... I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel."
Hound Dog’s tone softened.
"You’re supposed to feel whatever you’re feeling. That’s it. No checklist."
Yuta let out a slow breath.
"...So I’m not failing at trauma."
"Congratulations," Hound Dog said dryly. "You’re passing with a solid C-plus."
"...Wow. Thanks."
"Anyti."
Another pause.
Hound Dog checked sothing on the clipboard beside him. "Alright. School policy says I have to ask this next part directly." He cleared his throat. "Do you feel like you’re in danger now? Physically or ntally?"
Yuta blinked. "No?"
"Any panic? Sudden fear? Nightmares? Loss of appetite?"
"No. Just... howork."
"Tragic."
Yuta snorted before he could stop himself.
Hound Dog set the clipboard down. "Good. Then you’re not in the danger zone. You’re in the processing zone. That tends to bring less need for worry."
"...So I’m allowed to go?"
"Couple more questions. Then yes."
Yuta sat up straighter.
Hound Dog raised an eyebrow. "Last one: if sothing like that happened again—if you were facing sothing dangerous—would you freeze up? Or would you still act?"
Yuta didn’t have to think long.
"...I’d still act."
Hound Dog nodded, satisfied.
"Then you’re fine." He stood, stretching his back with a quiet crack. "Well—emotionally fine-ish. Physically? You bounce like wet paper, so work on that."
"...I walked into that one."
"Yep."
Hound Dog reached into a drawer and slid sothing across the desk.
A small card.
Yuta picked it up.
"If you start feeling off," Hound Dog said, "or if sothing hits you out of nowhere—call that number. Or co back here. You don’t deal with this alone. Got it?"
Yuta inspected the card. A phone number. Office hours. A tiny doodle of a dog paw.
"...Did you draw this?"
"No."
Yuta looked at him.
Hound Dog sighed. "...Okay, yes. I was bored during lunch."
Yuta smiled faintly as he put the card away. "Thanks."
"Good. Session over." Hound Dog walked to the door and opened it for him. "That’s all for today. But I want to see you again next week. Sa ti."
"Okay."
Yuta stood and headed for the door.
Then paused.
"...Um. One more thing."
"Hmm?"
"I wanted to know if .." Before he could finish—The door slid open from the outside.
"Hey, Ryo—did you fill out the faculty wellness survey yet? Nezu’s threatening to replace all our chairs with yoga balls again."
Yuta’s brain short-circuited.
Midnight stepped in, clipboard under one arm, heels clicking softly against the floor. Her eyes flicked to Yuta.
"Oh. Student in session?"
"Session’s basically done," Hound Dog grumbled. "And no, I didn’t fill out the survey. Because I’m not doing yoga while grading essays."
He turned back to Yuta. "What was your question?"
"Um ... I wanted to know if there’s... a place I can train? For the Sports Festival, I an."
Hound Dog tilted his head slightly.
"Train?"
"Yeah. Like... gym equipnt. Training grounds. That kind of thing."
There was a pause.
Both pro heroes turned to look at each other for a while before looking back at him.
"You thought you didn’t have access?" Asked Midnight.
Leading Yuta to realise that sothing was wrong.
"...General Studies isn’t Hero Course. I figured most of the equipnt was off-limits."
Midnight stared at him.
Then laughed.
Not a polite chuckle. A full, genuine laugh that made Hound Dog’s ear twitch.
"Oh, sweetie. No. You have full access to any general training facility on campus."
Yuta blinked.
"...I do?"
"Yes," Midnight said, walking over and leaning against the desk. "Weights, treadmills, endurance rooms, open fields—everything not specifically marked for Quirk testing or Hero Course drills."
She crossed her arms, grinning.
"Why did you think it was restricted?"
"I don’t know. Priority? Budget? Space?" Yuta scratched the back of his head.
Hound Dog huffed.
"Kid, U.A. is the biggest hero academy in Japan. We’ve got more gyms than so pro agencies."
Midnight nodded.
"Every student—Hero Course, Support, General Studies, Business—has access. The Sports Festival is designed for all of you."
Yuta stared at them.
"...Oh."
Midnight smirked.
"There are even sign-up sheets if you want reserved ti slots. Check the bulletin board near the cafeteria."
"Oh."
Hound Dog gave him a flat look.
"You really thought we’d lock you out?"
"...I didn’t want to assu."
"Fair," Hound Dog grunted. "But next ti? Just ask."
Midnight pulled a pamphlet from the folder she was holding and handed it to Yuta.
"Here. Training facility guide. Tis, locations, equipnt lists. Read it. Use it."
Yuta took it carefully.
"...Thanks."
Midnight’s expression turned serious.
"But Yuta?"
He looked up.
"Don’t overdo it. You’re still recovering. Push too hard, and you’ll end up right back in the hospital."
"You’ve heard of ?" The lady grinned even wider in response.
"A U.A student getting hospitalised is a rare occurence dear. Especially in a case like yours. Almost all the staff know about it."
"... I ... I’ll be careful."
"Good answer," Hound Dog said. "Now get out. I’ve got paperwork."
Yuta nodded and headed for the door and into the hallway, pamphlet in hand.
’So I can train on campus.’
Relief washed over him.
His mom wouldn’t let him train at ho—not after seeing him nearly dead in a hospital bed.
And he was grounded, so sneaking out wasn’t an option.
But this?
This worked.
He looked down at the pamphlet.
U.A. HIGH SCHOOL – TRAINING FACILITIES GUIDE
Open Hours: 6:00 AM – 9:00 PM (Weekdays)
Available Equipnt: Weights, treadmills, combat dummies, open fields, obstacle courses
Reservation System: Sign-up sheets posted near cafeteria
’Six days until the Sports Festival.’
He exhaled slowly. ’Alright. Let’s make it count.’
___
Enjoying the story? Want to read ahead?
Support the novel and unlock early access to unreleased Chapters by joining my Patreon!
💧 WATER TIER (5$) – Read 3 Chapters ahead of public releases
🌍 EARTH TIER ($7) – Read 5 Chapters ahead, with bonus lore, author notes, and behind-the-scenes content
🔥 FIRE TIER ($10) – Read 8 Chapters ahead, get full access to all extras, and vote in exclusive polls for bonus content
📎 Patreon/Future805
Even a small pledge makes a huge difference — thank you for reading
User Comments
0 comments from readers