Ghoulish Delight

PSA

A few of the students being gone left the class feeling almost empty as you stood in front of it. You had hit them with a quiz and you stared outside, tapping your nails against your cheek. The last quiz was placed on your desk and you stood up, startling the class. "I can't taste anything that I baked yesterday," you started. The class looked at one another in confusion as you dug around in your bag under the desk, pulling out food containers and bags. "So I figured you guys can have it."
"If you can't taste it why'd you cook it," Iida asked slowly.
"I was trying to find something that tasted good for others," you shrugged. Mineta was at the desk in seconds, opening a container and stuffing a brownie into his mouth.
"Mineta," Mina scolded.
"Free food," he held the container up, grinning, "And we can give feedback!"
"You just want it because a girl made it," Kaminari sniffed. They slowly filed forward as you opened the rest of the containers, laughing quietly.
"Don't worry about it," you hummed. "Just eat your fill, all right?" You watched them walk to the front, Bakugo coming up last and grabbing a whole bag of cookies. You chuckled and sat back down, watching them have quiet conversations around the room. "I also wanted to bring up a subject that needs to be brought up."
They looked over and sat down when you stood back up, picking a marker up and writing on the board. "Heroes are there for people, right?"
"Yes," they responded in unison. You nodded a bit.
"Then who is there for the heroes," you asked. They went quiet, looking at one another as you kept writing.
"Doctors," Todoroki replied.
"What are they for," you asked.
"To help us get back on our feet in case of injury," Yaoyorozu replied.
"Yes," you put the marker down and leaned back on the board a bit so they could see. "I don't think this gets covered enough and I've recently run into a few quirks that don't require physical exertion. So what about injuries that aren't physical?" They were silent and you smiled softly. "These numbers on the board? They're help lines."
"None of us are that fucked up," Bakugo snapped.
"Maybe, maybe not," you glanced at him. "What about if you run across someone that is?"
"Then those numbers would be good to hand to them," Mina asked quietly.
"Exactly," you nodded. "I used these numbers at your age. Sometimes, talking about the injuries that don't show helps heal them."
"You call them injuries but how can you be hurt if they can't see it," Iida asked. You nodded and started writing under them. The topic was touchy and when you found that it wasn't hit on, you ran it by Shota. He ended up agreeing with you and even helped you build the lesson up. You were using 1-A as a test bunny. A living body of people to build the lesson on for later.
"Bakugo, come up here," you instructed. The boy hugged and stepped up, crossing his arms and facing the class. "I'm using myself as an example so answer these questions honestly."
"Whatever."
"How many times did I die when we were captured," the class gasped, Bakugo tensing up quickly.
"Three times in the hideout," he muttered.
"Five times in total due to combat before we were captured," you nodded. "What else was at play?"
"They didn't feed you, they didn't hook you up to blood," he started. You started writing the answers he gave on the board, adding a few more.
"Now a few things you wouldn't see," you started, "Emotional torture, guilt tripping, restraint of movement. You can go back to your seat now." He stayed where he was for a second before walking and sitting down. "What are the outcomes?"
"What do you mean," Tohru waved her arm a bit, the shirt the only thing visibly moving. "Like, what could come from that besides starvation for you?"
"Well, let's look at it," you branched off from the answers, combining the ones that were similar. "Physically, I was drained. Fighting against restraints, starvation driving my instincts to the forefront and the conflict I had to have with it." Your hand started to shake and you forced your eyes to stay open. "Dying in itself is scary when you know you'll come back but what normally comes before dying? Pain, fear, anxiety, stress; they all eat at you. It's the kind of animal that doesn't care who you are or how strong you are."
"Ms. (L/n)," you faced the students, rubbing at your cheek when you made eye contact with Todoroki. "If this is some kind of closure thing, that's not fair."
"It's not," you replied. He shut his mouth, his eyes widening. "See, I've died many, many times before the incident. I've already worked my way through it. This is an example for why these numbers are important for you, and every other hero." You could hear a pen drop in the silence in the room.
"I'm leading up to the emotions that follow. The silent killers that lead to people killing themselves," you turned and started writing again, the shaking in your hand gone. "A proper term for this would be PTSD. One of my symptoms is insomnia. I'm scared to close my eyes and be in the dark, to see it all happen again in case I have a dream. The emotional baggage that was tacked on; the stress, the anxiety, the guilt, or the blank slate that can happen. Those can lead to depression and in turn are part of depression.
"How many of you have felt useless? How many of you have sprung back? How many of you can't stop blaming yourselves for what happened even if you didn't have control? How many people have you watched pass away in front of you or gotten hurt and your first reaction is 'what could I have done better'," you asked. "Those are all heavy, deep emotions that will eat a person inside out if dwelled on." You turned around after finishing, finally pointing at the numbers.
"I had many friends in hero work before I became a hero myself. These numbers proved to help when I suggested them before. A hero can save everyone but themselves sometimes. It's okay to reach out," you stated.
"You said it wasn't only for heroes and that we could give the numbers to others if they need them," Jiro leaned forward, pushing a cookie into her mouth. "What signs do we look for in that case?"
"Well, who are you looking at," you asked. "My friend gave it to me because she saw signs of suicidal behavior. I gave it because the people I gave them to weren't behaving like themselves and their humor was getting dark and self demeaning."
"In anyone," Jiro elaborated. You nodded, erasing everything but the numbers and taking a breath.
"Well, lets start with 'know everyone you work with'," you wrote it on the board. "You don't have to know them on a personal level, but you should know them enough to see if they're having a bad day. When they are? Ask them about it. Sometimes just asking can be a preventative measure."
"What if they say they're fine," Ojiro finally spoke up and you glanced over as he moved his tail around. They were more receptive than you initially thought, the questions making you almost happy to answer.
"Then just keep an eye on them. Sometimes someone is just having a bad day," you nodded. "So what if they're not just having a bad day? You shouldn't push for answers, it'll only push them away. Just try and make them understand you're there when they need you. It's a good foundation to have and it lets them know that they aren't alone."
"Oh! Oh," Mina bounced up, smiling, "What about if it's just a rando?"
"A rando," you raised an eyebrow, tilting your head a bit.
"A random person," you hit your fist into your palm.
"That's harder to distinguish. Normally the signs are easy to see in people you know," you nodded. "That's why you network though, even with the people you save. It's one of the fundamentals I'm sure you all learned on your internships." The bell rang and you sighed, looking up at the clock. They were on lunch and you started packing up. You glanced up, the students just watching and not moving. "What is it?"
"The lesson wasn't over," Yaoyorozu stated.
"And it was actually really interesting," Sero nodded. You blinked and slowly took your things back out.
"Why don't you all move closer? I think you'll feel better if this instruction wasn't so," you didn't get to finish, the students all crowding and sitting around the board. It went on like that even a little after the bell rang, the other teacher standing outside in confusion at the huddle of students that hadn't even left for lunch. You walked outside after a few minutes, smiling shyly at Cenentoss. "Sorry it took so long."
"It's all right," he waved his hand in front of you and looked inside, "Would you mind making a generalized lesson for the topic? I think we can use it for the other classes as well."
"Oh! Yeah," you pulled out a copy of the lesson as you had scribbled in the other. He took it, blinking owlishly before smiling and nodding.
"Thank you."

You opened the door as soon as the knock came, blinking before looking down to see Nezu. "Evening," you smiled.
"Good evening to you too, Ms. (L/n)," he chimed. "How are you doing?"
"I'm all right. What can I do for you," Shota peeked over your shoulder, nodding to Nezu as the small mouse man bounced on his toes.
"I got the strangest little rumor on my desk earlier today. It reminded me of your resume," he hummed. "I was wondering if you would go over it with me so we can implement the lesson across the board." Your eyes widened and you looked back at Shota.
He raised his hands and shook his head, "You're the one that came up with it. Don't look at me."
"By all means, if you were just doing a test run that's fine," Nezu chuckled. "You did address a hole in our teaching though and I wanted you to be the forefront of its implication."
"I don't have a problem with it, I just didn't think it'd get to you unless I finalized and put it on your desk myself," you rubbed your cheek as Nezu laughed.
"With everything going on, the mental state of the student body was sadly not considered," Nezu hummed. You moved to the side as Shota sat at the desk and put headphones in. "There was only one little bit that disturbed me that I wanted to understand better." Nezu walked in, climbing onto the couch as you started the kettle.
"What is it," you asked.
"You didn't elaborate when you put 'use example a' in the lesson," he hummed. You dropped a cup and jumped. Shots pulled a headphone out, looking over as you picked up the glass.
"Well, I was using myself," you replied. You laughed nervously, putting the glass in the palm of your hand. Little white paws helped pick the glass up calmly.
"I figured that out but since the numbers aren't ones that report on customers," he sang, "I'm only left to think about why you would know so much about the purpose of those numbers. If you don't want to say anything that's fine, but if that's the case, I'd encourage you to make an anecdote that simply alludes to yourself." Shota looked over, a small frown on his face at the words of our boss.
"I'll work on that," you smiled softly.
"Now, Cementoss said you had copies! I'd love to see one so I can give my input," Nezu sang. You nodded and walked to the desk, pulling open the filing cabinet and digging through it. Your face was a deep red as Shota continued to look at you. He stared back at the computer when you grabbed the paper, patting your lower back. It took two hours of Nezu and you going back and forth over the lesson, Shota eventually joining and sitting next to you while you did.
"Well! I think once you get all those additions in it'll be a good lesson," Nezu smiles. You rubbed your cheek and nodded, staring at the red ink covering the lesson plan. "I especially love how you made it a Socratic seminar though. It's a very effective way to teach such a hard lesson."
"Thank you," you smiled. The mouse man stood and walked for the door, shutting it behind himself and leaving you with Shota who had begun to stare again.
"Am I going to find out why you're the example," he asked.
"I used the Kamino incident, that was all," you sighed.
"I haven't seen you call a single one of those numbers," he stated. You leaned into him, kissing his cheek. His arm snakes around your waist, holding you against him and your eyes closed.
"Maybe when I'm ready," you hummed. "I used it the first time I died but I'm not ready to talk about it."
"Why," he asked.
"Because it was an accident when I was really little," you shrugged. He nodded and put his head on yours.
"How'd the students take it all," he asked.
"You're definitely going to have to teach it to the ones on the work studies," you giggled. He snorted and kissed your forehead, moving down and burying his face in your neck. "I think it's going to get better."
"You think so," he asked.
"Yeah. Things are going smoothly," you nodded.
"We have a meeting with Night Eye's agency tomorrow. Most of the students out are involved," Shota told you. You sighed and groaned quietly.
"And what about the League," you asked. He stiffened slightly and let out a long breath, rubbing his head.
"We send them home," he replied. "They've been in their way too many times and I think there's a target on the class' back now." You nodded slowly.
"We should have seen that coming," you muttered. "They held themselves too well."
"I wouldn't expect any less," Shota chuckled. You stared at him and giggled quietly, his brows furrowing.
"Are you proud of them," you teased. He grunted and got up, grabbing the cups and moving to the sink. "Oh come on, you know I'm right."
"They're still wet behind the ears," he snorted. "They're not ready yet."
"Were you ready," you got up and hugged him slowly, nuzzling your face into his back. "I wasn't."
"You didn't initially want to be a hero," he reached around, pulling you to his side and rubbing your arm. "Well, maybe you did but that's not the path you followed."
"I did become one though," you stated. "I'm not as active because I put this first but I still am one."
"How you do it is questionable," he chuckled. You stuck your tongue out at him and he smirked. "Are you playing right now, kitten? I didn't think you'd have it in you." You stared and turned a bit red, his lips trailing kisses down your neck. "What? Cat got your tongue now?"