Third person pov

Lillian, Hitoshi, and Neito all got up that morning like normal. The blonde had insisted on staying the night again, and Mihoko hadn't cared. Hajime cared even less. Lillian finally had proper clothing to train in, and didn't have to roll the hem of her bottoms to keep them from slipping down like she had with Mihoko's. Not that she wasn't grateful, of course! She wasn't sure what she'd do without the Shinso family. Die?

Training returned to normal. Lillian was glad Mr. Aizawa didn't try to make it easier or anything of that sort. She really just... wanted things to be as normal as possible right now, if that made sense. Going back to their usual training routine was an extreme relief. It felt like a weight had been taken off her shoulders, even if her eyes did itch so bad she was ready to claw them out of her eye sockets.

Today she was holding up three basket balls. It was only near the end of their training that a sharp pain exploded in her stomach, causing her to stop running completely and pause. Both her friends had stopped as well, turning to look at her as her expression twisted uncomfortably. They watched her hands come to rest on her stomach, and immediately seemed to become nervous and unsure.

"...I can't tell if it's her quirk or her period." Hitoshi sounded like he himself was in pain as he whispered it. Neito also looked lost, shaking out his hands as Lillian brought a hand up to cover her mouth. She was feeling pretty sick all of a sudden, her eyes shifting back to the suspended basketballs as they began to itch again.

"What's wrong now?" Aizawa sighed heavily as he approached, eyes going to Lillian. The girl squeaked, and the objects she'd been keeping frozen dropped as another jab of pain squeezed at her lungs and made her wheeze. The two boys shared a look, and Aizawa took a deep breath as memories from the USJ flashed back before his very eyes. She was fine. This was just a part of training.

"Seems we've caught your limit." Aizawa noted as the girl rubbed at her eyes, grimacing. Hitoshi passed her a bottle of water silently, letting her pop it open and chug it. Neito muttered something teasing about an 'indirect kiss' that got him an elbow to the gut from his purple haired boy.

"S-Sorry." Lillian frowned, wiping more sweat from her brow.

"Don't apologize for something you can't control." Aizawa said flippantly. "Now, class is going to be starting in twenty minutes. I suggest you two boys go get cleaned up; Lillian, I do need to speak with you."

"Yes, sir." Hitoshi and Neito chorused. Lillian held up a hand and let them slap theirs against it as they passed, offering a shy smile to them as reassurance. Neito seemed hesitant to leave her, but Hitoshi had complete and total faith in Aizawa and trotted off without a care in the world. The blonde stopped only to narrow his eyes at the dark haired man in a silent threat.

Aizawa sighed heavily as they went, his gaze shifting back to the nervous Lillian. "Your eyes are bothering you, aren't they?" He asked. She flinched in surprise, raising her bloodshot eyes to meet his own.

"Y-Yeah... I-I didn't really n-notice during th-the USJ, o-or entrance e-exam. I think... I-I think I was to-too panicked to notice..." She trailed off, her cheeks flaming red as she admitted it. Heroes weren't supposed to let their emotions get the better of them. And they were especially supposed to stay calm during a crisis.

"Don't worry about it. You're here to work on stuff like that, alright, kid?" He waited for her to nod before slipping his arm out of his sling and into his pocket. Fishing out a small bottle of eye drops, he offered it to her. Hesitantly, she took it, her eyes shining with question. "Try those and tell me what you think."

Lillian peered at the bottle before unscrewing it. Aizawa watched her carefully as she tilted her head back, seeming embarrassed as she dropped some of the liquid in her left eye, and then her right. Aizawa watched her blink a few times, her shoulders sagging with relief and her expression brightened considerably.

"Mr. Aizawa!" She blinked at him, smiling brightly. "Wh-What is this stuff?"

Aizawa's eyes narrowed. "It's what I use for my quirk. It causes me to have some serious dry eye." He said carefully.

"I-It doesn't even itch anymore." She awed, staring at the bottle like it was something early. Aizawa's lips curled into grin as some of the redness in the girl's eyes faded away. She looked ecstatic. Her irritation must have been causing her some real grief to elicit that sort of reaction. He felt a little proud of himself, his back straightening as she beamed up at him.

"You can keep that bottle. I'll get more." He assured her, beginning to walk towards the school. "Let me know when your out. It's not an issue for me to get more."

"Th-Thank you, Mr. Aizawa." Lillian scrambled after him, gripping the small bottle tightly. He glanced down at her as she bounced excitedly alongside him, evidently overjoyed by this new discovery. "You're the best!"

He was almost glad he was covered in bandages. He was smiling an awful lot lately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Lillian!" Ochako chirped as the girl bounced to her seat, looking better than she had the past few days. Her eyes were also a whole lot less red, looking more like they had before. Ochako was glad. She and the other girls had been worried, and Lillian hadn't been replying to many of their texts over the weekend. In fact, the replies they did get almost sounded as though they were written by someone else.

"H-Hi, Ochako, Iida." She greeted them both as the boy turned robotically in his seat to engage them in conversation. She hadn't talked to Iida much, but he was nice. He was really responsible and liked following the rules, and she had to admire that. That being said, she'd never been one to go against the word of a higher power to begin with.

"Good morning." Iida said formally. "How are you two?"

"I'm great! What about you, Lillian?" Ochako turned to the girl hopefully. Lillian gave a shy smile.

"I-I'm good. Mr. Aizawa g-gave me some eye drops that w-will help with one of my q-quirk's side effects." Lillian answered brightly. To the left of her, Todoroki shifted, glancing at her with narrowed eyes.

"I'm glad you're both well!" Iida exclaimed as Aizawa entered the room. They continued to chatter as the bandaged man got his papers together, waiting for the bell to ring. Lillian inquired more about Iida's quirk, and the teen was happy to comply by giving more details about it. He even did hand motions to go along with his dramatic presentation. Lillian and Ochako were completely enraptured.

Kaminari burst through the door just as the bell rang, drawing everyone's attention as they fell silent. His blazer wasn't buttoned properly, and his hair was a mess. His eyes landed on Lillian immediately. She blinked innocently at him, tilting her head slightly for the effect and allowing her cheeks to heat with embarrassment from being stared at.

"Mr. Aizawa!" He cried, drawing the man's attention as he wildly pointed at Lillian, eyes wide. "Lillian is Satan!"

Everyone in the room froze, and Lillian did her best to look surprised and horrified by the accusation. Aizawa darkened, eyes flashing red.

"Kaminari, detention."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was the last ten minutes of English, and Lillian was on her phone. Mic had already finished up the lesson and was busy looking through apartment listings online. Sometimes he'd look up and stare at Lillian for a moment before shaking his head and going back to looking. A few people noticed, but nobody said anything. They'd long since learned not to question their eccentric English teacher.

Neito:
Bitch he fr called you Satan???

Hitoshi:
All women are q u e e n s

Lillian:
If she breathes

Lillian:
She a T H O T

Hitoshi:
Literally you complete me

Neito:
Do I complete you too

Hitoshi:
Depends, scrub.

Lillian:
I thought we already established that Neito is the glue that holds us together

Hitoshi:
Touche

Neito:
Than you

Neito:
Thank****

Lillian looked up from her phone as Mirio flipped around to face her, smiling brightly. She immediately gave him her full attention. He was her upperclassman, and it was common courtesy. Lillian was also deathly afraid of them secretly hating her, and didn't want to give them any possible reasons to do so. And so she held her breath and waited, giving a shy smile. Was she being to forward? Was eye contact okay? Maybe dying was a better choice.

"You were a part of the USJ attack, weren't you?" He chirped as though it were no big deal. Lillian immediately tensed, blinking in surprise at the rather sudden question. A shiver ripped down her spine without her meaning it to as memories of what had gone on flashed through her mind. Immediately, she felt the phantom sensation of blood dripping between her fingers. A ghost pain tugged at her lungs.

She gnawed at her lower lip, pressing her hands into her thighs in an attempt to get them to stop shaking. She didn't really like skirts that much, but the feeling of hers under her skin was comforting somehow. She wasn't in her hero costume. This wasn't the USJ. She was okay... she was fine. It was all fine. Right? Then why did her stomach hurt? Why was her throat so tight?

"U-Uh, yeah." She blinked rapidly to try and dispel the odd phenomenon that took her over, squirming uncomfortably as memories of her teacher's bleeding face flashed in her mind. His arms, mangled and twisted in ways no arms should twist. She could still see the bones under his skin, cracked so unnaturally and in so many places. They stretched at his skin, and the pain in his eyes as he shifted. Desperate to save them, to get them away-

"Man, that must have been so rough. I can't imagine..." Nejire trailed off, snapping Lillian from her train of thoughts. The freckled girl's vision blurred for a moment, and she blinked as her heart rate began its steady increase. Panic began to well inside her. But why? She was safe... wasn't she safe? "That means you saw the Nomu, right?"

The Nomu. It was almost taller than All Might, with an exposed brain and bulging eyes. Its beak was long and terrifying, but it still had teeth. Its tongue snaked out as it let out a roar that was in no way human. Black skin stretched across lengths of unnatural muscle. It looked humanoid, but it wasn't. It couldn't be. It didn't feel, and it didn't talk. It didn't react. It just stood. It just did whatever the man with the blue hair said.

Lillian's breath hitched in her throat, her eyes going wide and her mind blanking at the question as memories of the grotesque creature filled her mind. Something echoed in her ears distantly, and she strained to hear it. It sounded like... choking? It sounded like choking. Was someone choking? Like Mr... Aizawa had been? She felt herself begin to sweat, and her eyes burned as she stared down at her desk. Why was there a desk? There were no desks at the USJ. Her stomach hurt. She could taste blood in her mouth, so why wasn't it coming out? She couldn't breathe. 

This wasn't the USJ... but why could she hear choking? She could hear choking, she swore she could. She could hear the wheeze of air escaping but failing to enter. The gurgle of blood climbing up Mr. Aizawa's throat as he stared at her with terror-filled eyes, willing her to run. Worrying for her. Her fingers curled into fists, and she blinked rapidly. She was crying... of course she was crying. Her teacher was choking, so why wouldn't she be? She could hear him choking. The Nomu... it hurt him. She'd seen it hurt him. She remembered it.

"That thing was crazy strong from what I heard." Mirio's voice sounded far away. Lillian felt her body shake, and bile rise in her throat. Her chest hurt. Of course it hurt. She had to keep Mr. Aizawa frozen... but where was he? She had to freeze him. He was going to die. He was going to choke and die, and she had to stop it. She was the only one who could. She brought a hand up to her forehead. She felt dizzy. Where was Mr. Aizawa? She could hear him choking and wheezing. His blood was on her hands. It was right there, so where was he?

"Look what you did." Amajiki's voice floated past her ears. "She's panicking."

"Should we go get Mr. Aizawa? She keeps saying his name." Nejire's voice drifted by. Lillian's fingers curled into her hair, tangling as her breathing picked up. Or had it always been that fast? What was going on? She was in the classroom, right? No, what about the USJ? Mr. Aizawa was hurt. He was hurt and she needed to freeze him, didn't she? That's right. It hurt, though. It all hurt. And there was so much blood.... why was there so much blood?

Mic waved people out the door as the bell rang. Nejire, Amajiki, and Mirio all lingered back with concern. Mirio felt extremely guilty. Lillian was only a first year, after all. She hadn't even experienced the sports festival yet, and he'd been dealing with Amajiki long enough to know the dos and don'ts. This wasn't something he should have mentioned without getting to know her better. 

Mic had sent the fastest student in class the second he heard it. It was a small cry, barely noticeable in the loud classroom. He almost hadn't caught it through all the chatter, but he was glad he had. Lillian had squeaked out a weak "Mr... Aizawa?" from her seat, and he had immediately noticed Mirio and Nejire looking at her with clear concern plastered across their features. That's when he knew something was wrong.

Lillian sunk into her panic quickly. She'd had a long week, so it was understandable. One of his students must have brought it up. It wasn't there fault. Most Third Years had already seen their fair share of villain battles, so he understood and wasn't mad. That didn't change the fact that his dear little listener was now panicking, however.

She seemed to be in a dilemma, not quite understanding where she was. She murmured things about the USJ, and about how there was too much blood. She asked so many questions in the five minutes it took for Aizawa to get there. She asked where Mr. Aizawa was, and she asked if Shigaraki had gotten to Tsuyu. She muttered about Midoriya and the Nomu, and about Aizawa's arms and eyes. She clutched her stomach and cried, lowering her head as she devolved more and more into her confused state.

The sudden question about the Nomu had startled her. School was supposed to be a safe place, and people had been hesitant to bring up the attack. Mic knew from what Aizawa said that Class 1-A really wasn't talking about all that had happened. At the time he thought that had been a good thing, but now he could see that Lillian had never dealt with the trauma that the USJ had brought upon her. Of course she hadn't! She hadn't let it all out, and now that underlying turmoil within her had been triggered and was bursting out. Like a growing hole in an old dam.

Mic tried to softly bright her out of it. He hesitantly shook her shoulder, but she seemed to have sunk too deep into her own thoughts. It was around that time that Aizawa appeared. He looked confused and irritated as he entered, but a look of understanding and horror fell upon his bandaged face when he spotted Lillian curled up in her seat. 

"Fuck, what did you do?" Aizawa cursed, rushing over. 

"It's my fault, sir. I brought up the USJ. I... I should have known it was inappropriate to bring up with a first year." Mirio frowned. Lillian was just so good at English, it was hard to remember she hadn't seen all the things he had. He shivered a little as Lillian stared with wide unseeing eyes at her hands. She looked so confused, and he realized she must be looking at something they couldn't see.

"Dammit." Aizawa crouched down in front of her desk. "Kid, hey. Kid." 

"Wow, great tactic." Mic crouched down next to him as well. Aizawa glared.

"Lillian, can you hear me? It's Mr. Aizawa. Your homeroom teacher?" He tried, deciding being softer was probably a good option. Lillian didn't even look his way. Fuck, this wasn't good. They should have put her in counseling. She'd been through something highly traumatic, after all. All his students should probably talk to someone, now that he thought about it. Like hell he wasn't going to Hound Dog right after this.

"Lillian, we brought Mr. Aizawa. He's right here." Mic said softly, reaching out and softly nudging her arm. Lillian was too busy hyperventilating to really notice. Of course she was hyperventilating. I mean, she was clearly having some sort of traumatic flashback. Those tended to mess people just a little. Even Aizawa had them sometimes, and he always felt like shit afterwards.

"Can we do anything?" Nejire asked hesitantly. Aizawa shook his head, raking his brain for something he could use. Maybe he should go find Shinso and Monoma? They were probably on their way anyway, so trying to go to the lunch room to find them most likely wouldn't yield any results. He went over all he knew about Lillian as she began to wipe her hands shakily on her blazer.

He remembered something. She'd run past him on the track with her two friends... right, right.

"Ah, fuck, what was that... It's free real estate?" Aizawa muttered, feeling like a fucking idiot. What else was he supposed to do? Wait for her to snap out of it? Mic raised a brow as Aizawa looked up, tapping his foot against one of the desk's legs to draw her gaze in his direction. She blinked rapidly at him, brows furrowing. "Lillian, it's free real estate."

Lillian paused for a moment, looking at him. Actually looking at him. Aizawa held his breath and looked through his memory for something else that might work. He recalled a moment when she'd come to ask him to train her and her friends for the sports festival. Her nerves had melted away, and she was staring at him now. He had her attention.

"Kid, my brother pushed me, so I'm starting a fundraiser to put him down." Aizawa refused to make eye contact with Mic. He wasn't embarrassed. If this was what it took to snap her out of her panic, then so be it. Everyone had their thing. For him, cats snapped him out of it. Lillian's was... whatever the hell this was. 

Lillian rubbed her eyes, gazing at her teacher. Mr. Aizawa... he was here, but in bandages. He hadn't had bandages at the USJ. No, that was... he'd gotten those after the USJ...

"The benefits of putting him down would be that I got pushed way less." Aizawa said slowly as Lillian rubbed at her eyes, looking disoriented. Her eyes shifted from Aizawa, to her hands, and then to Mic. They landed on the Big Three lingering nervously behind the three teachers, concern and guilt etched across their faces. Save for Amajiki. He was looking up at the ceiling.

"I-I..." Lillian's eyes went wide, and she looked down. She was in her desk, at school. In English class. Oh my god, she was in English class! Of course she wasn't at the USJ! What was she, some sort of idiot? That had happened ages ago. It was over! How could she ever think... it was English class. She wasn't even outside, or in her gym uniform. Oh my god, she was in English class. This was her English class. There wasn't blood, and Mr. Aizawa wasn't choking.

Today had been going so well, so why'd she have to go and mess it up? Oh... oh god, she'd really messed up. It had been a simple question! They had a right to talk about it, so why'd she have to interrupt their conversation? It was over. It wasn't a big deal, and everyone was okay. It was all fine, and she'd still freaked out!

"Lillian, are you in he-" Hitoshi paused when he saw her tear stained face and messed up hair. Neito peeked past the taller boy, eyebrows shooting up. Lillian stared back like a deer caught in headlights, looking reasonably mortified. 

"Damn, Daniel." Neito whistled. Hitoshi turned around to slap at him as Lillian bolted up and to her feet, looking absolutely horrified. Mic and Aizawa winced as she stumbled back, brows furrowing and mouth opening to say something. Her cheeks flared with immense embarrassment. Aizawa and Mic stood up slowly from their crouched positions.

"I-I-I-" Lillian sputtered, gazing at her dark-haired teacher with wide eyes. "I-I'm so- I-I-I thought I h-heard you, a-and you were ch-choking again, a-a-and-" 

"Hey, hey, it's okay Little Listener. Stuff like this happens all the time here. Aizawa and I are going to set you up with Hound Dog later, okay? He's the school counselor." Mic gave a bright smile. Lillian blinked at him as he took full charge of the situation, giving her little room to panic and deny. "Why don't you go to lunch with your two friends? You can stop at Recovery Girl's office on the way if you feel like it."

Lillian looked a little stunned. Aizawa felt relief fill him. Alright, so Lillian was fine. And when did Mic get so good with kids, anyway? Or perhaps Lillian was just too surprised and taken aback by the whole situation to know what to say, thus making Mic look like a child-whisperer. 

"I-I'm sorry." Lillian blurted out again, looking at her hands again. She flipped them over. "I-I'm really sorry. I-"

"Kid, it's okay.  We shouldn't have let you keep all that pent up inside you. You shouldn't have to feel afraid of talking about it, and we should have given you that option from the beginning." Aizawa quickly cut in before she could escalate. "Now go with those two idiots."

"Whoa, I'm right here." Neito said. 

At the same time, Hitoshi said, "I can't argue with that."

Lillian nodded, ducking her head. Aizawa and Mic both traded concerned glances as she fumbled with her bag, pulling it over her shoulder and moving forward. She kept looking at her hands, stopping to look up at Aizawa next. Mic waved the Big Three off as the freckled girl stared at him, and the trio of teenagers all winced and began to sulk for the door. Mic just didn't think them trying to apologize to Lillian would really help the situation right now. 

Lillian felt incredibly embarrassed. How could she have lost her grip on reality so easily? Was she going crazy? She hadn't been having that many nightmares about the USJ lately, so why did them asking spook her so much? Sure, it had come as a surprise, but... the attack had long since ended. The Nomu was all the way across Japan now, and Mr. Aizawa would have his bandages off in a few weeks. Thirteen was already perfectly fine, too! She just... felt so dumb. But...

"M-Mr. Aizawa?" She asked quietly, wiping at her teary eyes again. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment.

"Yeah?" He asked carefully.

"C-Can I see y-your arm?" Her voice nearly reached a whisper, and he barely heard her. Without question or argument, he slipped one of his arms from his sling and let her stare at it. She tentatively reached out and prodded at it. Aizawa felt a horrified shiver run down his spine when he realized she was carefully brushing across all the places the major breaks had been. As in she remembered, vividly, the state he'd been in. What about his other students? Had they... were they okay, or were they suffering in silence like Lillian? Lying in wait like landmines waiting to be triggered?

"I-I'm sorry." Lillian shook her head, her voice shaking. "I-I'm sorry you had to come down here. I-I-"

"Don't apologize." Hitoshi piped up as he approached. Mic had gone off to email Hound Dog immediately, steam practically blowing out of his ears as his concern for his favorite little listener revved up. She was technically under his and Aizawa's care now! They could get her a psychologist if they wanted to. Or, or, they could get her a medication if she needed it, for her anxiety! 

"Panicking is never your fault, Lillian. Did you blame me when I broke down at the corner store debating over conditioners?" Neito asked. Hesitantly, Lillian shook her head. "This is no different!" 

Lillian stared at him. She could see where he was going, but-

"Yeah, and you're not bothering anyone. It's Mr. Aizawa's off period. And he's your legal guardian now. He's your teacher and he totally cares." Hitoshi assured, patting her shoulder. Aizawa decided they weren't as dumb as he thought.

"O-Okay..." Lillian whispered, lowering her gaze. He could tell she was incredibly embarrassed. He sighed heavily. Kids were so complicated, but he didn't want Lillian to feel like shit. He brought his hand up and set it on her head, ruffling her hair a little. She watched his arm move carefully, as though searching for any sign of a jutting out bone. She looked at her hands again. 

"You're alright, kid. Go eat with your friends." He removed his hand. Neito snatched her backpack, and Hitoshi kept a hand on her shoulder, beckoning her towards the door lightly. Lillian reluctantly went along, still looking a little disoriented. Aizawa felt concern gnaw away at him. Should he stop her? Send her straight to Hound Dog or Recovery Girl? She seemed okay now, but that panic attack had been pretty serious.

"M-Mr. Aizawa?" Lillian asked, drawing his attention and Mic's. The blonde voice hero was oddly quiet, but was clicking away rapidly at his PC. 

"What's up, kid?" He asked, replacing his arm in his sling. Lillian took a small step towards him, gripping the straps of her backpack nervously as she gazed up at him. She was a mess, her eyes bloodshot, and her cheeks sticky with tears. Her hair was also a mess from her tugging at it, and the bags under her eyes seemed darker somehow. Was it just the lighting, or had the stress gotten worse?

"Thank y-you." She smiled a small smile. Aizawa felt his heart clench. Damn, he needed to get that checked out. Was it cancer? It probably was.

"I'm your teacher. It's not an issue. These things happen." He assured firmly, but not harshly.

"N-Not just for that." Lillian said quietly, lowering her gaze. "N-Nobody is talking a-about it, and I d-don't blame them. B-But... y-you saved us, Mr. Aizawa. Y-You almost died, and it was to protect u-us. We would be dead without y-you and... a-and we owe you a lot. Y-You're a really great teacher. W-We'd be nowhere w-without you. I'm... I-I'm really glad you're m-my homeroom t-teacher. Y-You've done so much for us th-this year... y-you're just really a-amazing, th-that's all..." 

Aizawa felt his heart thrum in his ears as Lillian gave one last apology before rushing out the door with her friends, clearly embarrassed by her spew of heartfelt praise. He briefly heard Neito begin to rant about one of his classmates in 1-B as the three disappeared out the door. He looked down at the ground and shook his head a little, ignoring the way Mic grinned wildly at him. Seriously, what was wrong with Aizawa these days? He was smiling an awful lot these for someone who apparently only cared "a little bit", as he'd said several times.

"Hey, joint-custody partner, get over here." Mic urged, relief filling his chest. Lillian seemed okay. He hoped she'd stop my Recovery Girl's office if she needed to, but he knew, personally, that relief came after panic attacks at times. It depended on the person, but there was a chance she felt more relieved than upset after letting all that out. "I think I just found Lillian a therapist."

Aizawa stared at him for a moment. A therapist... for Lillian? "...Have you even called yet? Vetted them? What's their name? Do they have a background? Any reviews?"

Mic looked severely taken aback. "Well-"

"Then no." 

Yeah... he only cared a little bit.

~~~~~

Wow I hated this chapter. It's like 4974 words though so I don't have the willpower to rewrite it. How is that I have panic attacks constantly but can't write one for the fucking life of me? Like what was that cringe fest? I want to burn my eyes out. Like I'm so sorry idk what the hell that was but it was horrible and I wanna cry.