Technical Support

Chapter 39

"This is all my fault..." Junk Master mumbled to nobody in particular. Perhaps it was more for himself than anything.

They were in a monitor room, several of the computer screens displaying different angles of Ayano in solitary confinement. For now, she was completely docile in the straitjacket. If people didn't know any better, she would've seemed perfectly fine and the straitjacket would be considered excessive.

Junk Master garnered looks of sympathy from several of the teachers. Midnight placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "This isn't your fault, Junk. We all saw her at some point after the invasion and during her recovery. None of us could have anticipated that she would break. Especially not after she passed all of the psychological tests."

The man just shook his head repeatedly, his fists shaking. "No...It is my fault. I'm her homeroom teacher, damn it! The signs...they were all there! I should've noticed sooner!!" He shut his eyes, ruminating about everything that had happened.

"This is the least I could do. This cannot compare to the trouble and pain I have caused to others due to my foolishness. The pain that I caused to their families...because of the support items—weapons—that I made."

"...Still, the root of many of these problems stems from my shortcomings..."

"I have worried my parents far enough. Whatever decision they settled on would be the one that I follow." She looked down. "Although...it may not even matter in the end."

Junk Master bit his lip in frustration. The rest of the teachers looked on in concern.

Principal Nezu walked up to the man and pat his leg. He offered some tea. "Midnight is right. We should have been more thorough with the testing and overseeing her recovery. Please, do not put the blame on yourself." Junk Master remained quiet, but accepted the tea.

Snipe sighed. "To think that she would be having PTSD...It's a little strange, don't you think? She fought those villains tooth and nail. She didn't even bat an eye when telling the police what happened to her. She was recalling those memories perfectly fine."

Several of the teachers nodded, thinking about his words. "That's right. Tsukauchi told me she didn't even flinch when they asked about her captivity. In fact, she apparently told them all about it in...excruciating detail." All Might added, his face darkening upon thinking about the villains' forms of torture.

"All the signs and symptoms are clearly those of PTSD. If not that, then what could it possibly be?" Midnight questioned.

"It's a different kind of PTSD than what you all are thinking." Recovery Girl stated as she walked in.

At the questioning looks of her fellow staff, Recovery Girl explained. "Just like they said, Sasaki Ayano couldn't care less that she was kidnapped or tortured. She has no lingering fear about that because she fully believes she can protect herself. That's why she passed all of the psychological tests. We failed to properly diagnose her because we focused too much on her kidnapping."

"The problem wasn't that she was kidnapped or beaten. The problem was that the villains used her support items against her. Against the people she loved. Against innocent people. Her support items were used for evil."

Some of the teachers furrowed their brows in confusion. Snipe was the first to speak up. "So you're saying that she just feels...guilty?"

The nurse nodded. "In essence, yes. Obviously, it's not just some basic 'I cheated on my exam' type of guilt or anything like that. In fact, I'm not entirely sure you could properly diagnose this as PTSD but she certainly exhibits similar signs and symptoms."