Timeloop Trouble

Chapter 18 - Emotional Vision

"Wait, you broke up?!" Ochako yelled. Izuku flinched, instinctively glancing at his bedroom door as if that would tell him whether his mom had heard or not. He was on call with his friends, telling them that he had a...talk with Kacchan and that they were going their separate ways for now. Apparently it wasn't as easy as he thought it would've been.

"We're on a break," Izuku corrected her. "It's not the same."

"Oh, please do tell, what's the difference?" she asked, giving him the most deadpan look she could muster, Izuku was sure.

"It's not the same!" Izuku repeated, trying to defend his own choices. "We just...need some distance from each other, you know? I mean, Kacchan put a tracker on me. Who does that?"

"I didn't think you were above using tracking devices on your favorite heroes," Shoto stated. Izuku thought it was a joke, but he wasn't sure. The fact Shoto could join their call at all was already a miracle of its own. Well, not really, not now that Endeavor had his memories back.

"This is a serious matter, Shoto-kun," Tsuyu said. "I think it's good you two have agreed to take time to work through your problems. Very mature and responsible."

"Thank you," Izuku smiled. At least someone was on his side.

"What distance? You two are classmates," Ochako snorted, leaning back in her chair. "You go to the same middle school, remember?"

"We can still see each other at school, we just can't be as clingy as we were before," Izuku pointed out. "Like I said, it's a break, not a breakup."

"Just know what you're getting into," Ochako sighed, already mentally preparing herself to deal with this mess in the following months. There was no way Izuku wasn't going to whine about this to her and honestly? She didn't want to watch her best friend hopelessly pinning over his own boyfriend again, thank you very much. The first time Izuku came to her with his unrequited crush was more than enough.

"I agree," Tenya said. "I understand why you want to do this, Izuku, but are you sure you're prepared to go through with it until things are resolved?"

"We need to do this in order to heal," Izuku sighed. "We have to do this, whether we want to or not."

"...Look, I know you and Momo agreed to put this to a vote, but I'm gonna throw it out there anyway," Shoto said, but Izuku had no idea who he was speaking to. "You need Shiemi. Both of you."

"Shiemi isn't a therapist right now, though. And she couldn't possibly know about-" Tusyu said, trying to be the voice of reason.

"They want to bring her memories back," Tenya stated, obviously not pleased with the topic of conversation. "Shoto, Momo and I briefly talked about this before. I don't think we should involve an outsider, let alone a civilian, into this conflict. But it is true that you need professional help, Izuku. You and Katsuki both."

Izuku couldn't deny any of that. Having his therapist back would be a great improvement for his mental health, he was sure. But Tenya was right, she was a civilian, an innocent bystander. Izuku didn't want to pull her into this mess just because he had some bad memories and negative thoughts. He wouldn't bring her back just to trauma dump on the poor woman. Then again, Kacchan really needed professional help, too...

"Bringing Shiemi back is a great idea!" Ochako smiled. "Why is this the first we've heard about this?"

"Like I said, Momo wanted to put it up for a vote once all alliance members have regained their memories," Shoto said. "But I don't think we should wait that long."

"You're right, we need to intervene as soon as possible," Ochako said. "Let's post a poll in the group chat and get everyone's opinion right away!"

Izuku saw the notification pop up in the corner of his eye, his phone screen lighting up by the side of his computer. He didn't react to it, but didn't bother listening to Tenya's lecture, either. Instead he watched the messages pour in without ever unlocking his phone, thinking about the possibilities. Having Shiemi here would be...okay. It would be weird, sure, but Izuku knew he needed to work through his problem and she was the most qualified to help him with that. Besides, she could help Kacchan, too. Yeah, it wouldn't be all that bad.