"The world is not the problem;

the problem is unawareness."

-Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Present Day: 1 minute until Present Time

"The fight was temporarily interrupted, and we will now resume it once more. The origin of the panic attack... has been affirmed to be caused by accidental loss of control on account of-... of Allen Bowman. We sincerely apologize for the momentary interruption..."

He felt a brief surge of a surprise that simmered down to an ever-growing pit of cynicism. Well, he supposed that they were still humans before they were heroes. Humans acting on their own self-interests for the determent of others was hardly anything new. It seemed that a part of himself still had a tad bit of that naive, blind idolization of heroes deep down inside.

He would have to locate it later and kill it. It had already been stabbed a few times, so all he had to do was follow the trail.

Shouto was rigid as he rapidly took in information. But, he couldn't figure out what the crowd was whispering about so venomously, or why the pro heroes had chosen to twist the truth. He himself knew deep down that it was because of his own problems. If he was suffering some kind of backlash because of that... Then-

"It's because of my brand that they're acting like that, Shouto-san. Ha, I'll probably get a headline picture and article: 'Exchange Student from America Forces His Competitor into a Panic Attack'. Not exactly the ideal, but I'll take what I can get, I suppose."

If this was his actual self, this kind of setback would be devastating. His brand would be permanently branded with the mark of causing his fellow competitor to fall into a panic attack. It didn't matter that they dressed it up with words like 'accidental'. For a career like a hero that thrived on the media and propaganda, this was a good as a death sentence.

(And wasn't that a sad realization? That the act of saving people could potentially ruin lives. All it took was a single article that may not even be the truth. Many just take what they see right before their own eyes as the absolute truth, without even trying to peel off the layers.)

"I told them that it was his fault..! Even if he is the number 2 hero, that should be enough to have him rotting in jail! Plus, we have All Might on our side. Why, why do they have to be afraid of him?"

He stared at him, not really having expected him to be so open about it. One of the major walls in this type of case was getting recognition from the victim that it was happening in the first place. If they had this information, why did they take Endeavor's side in the first place?

Actually... Why were they so specific? Endeavor had essentially spit all over their faces and insisted on continuing the match far beyond any sense of rationality. They could have just said that Shouto was better and expressed his desire to continue the match. It had the possibility to become detrimental to him, but he was still a teenager. As long as they said that and stuck to it, people would forget in due time.

They didn't have to care too much about whatever fuss Endeavor could try to kick up in the first place; they had All Might. The situation was only that one-sided before because Endeavor was Shouto's father... Or did an exchange student not even mean that much?

But, technically he was from the United States of America... Objectively, a hegemon among the countries of the world? Although they had been lagging behind in recent years, it was still among the top nations in the world.

It made a great deal of sense, really. The British had their turn at the crown, and then the Americans did. History is an unstoppable flow and if someone dares to try and stop it, they'll drown in its bloody waters.

But still...

Was this really worth the possibility (in their minds) that the USA might take offense?

What the hell was going on?

"Ahem, new information has just come to light. Allen's quirk has simply just provided the necessary environment and stimulation for Todoroki. The primary cause being trauma and abuse. Out of respect for Todoroki's wishes, we will not go public with the investigation."

An audible breath resounded across the entire arena.

"We will bring the culprit to justice."

'It looks like Present Mic wasn't informed of what happened last minute in the room. I wondered where Aizawa was, but Nezu must have sent him on Todoroki's tail to question him about what Endeavor did to him. But nobody told Present Mic that the plans changed, so that little broadcast reached everyone's ears. My whimsical stress relief plan inadvertently saved this identity. Huh. Wouldja look at that.'

It was all well and dandy for him, seeing as he'd just been saved a big headache, but the audience was a different story.

They didn't know what to make of it. What to make of any of it.

The whole entire arena just seemed to sit there for a minute, basking in the light of incomprehension. It was a tale so fantastical you would have thought it came from a fairy tale and a sequence of events so weird and unusual that it seemed like it could have only come from the convoluted mind of an author trying to play philosopher.

But the bare bones of the situation were disturbingly recurrent.

Around half of children report being abused at some time in their lives (25% to 50%). Annually, that's about 3 million children a year. Approximately 8 cases are reported each day. The percentage of those sexually abused is even more horrific. But people don't realize these horrors because the victim never tells anyone. Even if they did hear a rare story of someone willing to explore the agony of their suffering, it doesn't hit close to home.

Most simply sigh, maybe offer a token of meaninglessness like, 'The world is such a horrible place, the poor dear,' without realizing that it is only one of many. Or maybe it wouldn't matter what they thought of it at all. It wouldn't ever revoke their memories or stop the nightmares from haunting their souls. Spreading information wouldn't do anything for the victims themselves, no.

But it could help potential ones. You can say no, you are not at fault, there is help that wants to help you, etc. Unfortunately, no matter how much the screen lights up and a story is told, it often isn't enough. Since they're not seeing it, not experiencing someone peering up into their soul and admitting, "Yeah, I (am) was abused."

Or maybe, "Back in 7th grade, remember when I was gone for a couple of days? I... I tried to commit suicide."

It's not real for them.

The distance of flashing images displayed on a smooth, flat piece of metal and glass might as well be the distance of the world itself.

But when the situation is right in front of their eyes, without that buffer, they can't avert their eyes. And perhaps, that was why the crowd reacted as it did. Wide-eyed stares, and dumbfounded, awkward callings of condolences. You can't really say anything in this situation because you will never know the true depth of their suffering. Nor will you be able to magically make it all fly away.

But sometimes...

Sometimes it's the thought that counts.

Todoroki was in the middle of experiencing a feeling he had never quite experienced before. He had never tried to seek pity before, or vocalize it for that matter, but for some reason, the (trying to be) reassuring calls were... pleasant. He felt oddly at peace, with the secret he had guarded so zealously out in the open.

If before, he was fighting a war in a separate dimension where no one ever saw, cared, or knew about the situation in the first place... Now, he was fighting in the same world with an army at his beck and call. It was incredibly liberating. He felt invincible.

"Do both of the contestants still wish to continue fighting?"

"Yes."

Two voices combined into one.

AN: This is going to be a more serious author note, as well as the only 'long' one, considering what the entire chapter was about.

Was I abused: No, I have a nice, loving family.

Were the examples real-life people: Unfortunately, yes. She has a name, a face, and is my friend. We'll call her E in this.

Is she better now: I believe so. I have spammed Safe2Tell many times, and I would like to believe that her situation has gotten better if only a little. She has multiple issues. Vaping, depression, suicidal ideation (I assume), etc. It's a long road ahead.

Do you know any other people that have problems: Yes. One of my other friends, I'll be calling them C, is trans and has a very worrying sense of self-worth, among other things. As far as I am aware, he is not abused by his parents (they're nice people). But... They are convinced that the only way to make themselves appealing to the boys is to offer up their body. Sexually. To people who don't give a shit about him, and hurt him further both mentally and physically.

Did these people show any outward signs: No. I never noticed until they both told me.

So what is the point of this whole author note?

To tell you that no-one will know you're suffering in silence until you stop being silent.

It honestly broke my heart to hear that both C and E were going through such things, but it broke my heart more knowing that they hadn't told me before now. I probably could have helped them, even just a little, from the beginning. So, if any of you people in the comments are contemplating suicide, or have family issues, or something else... Please talk to someone. It doesn't have to be me. That's all I ask.

I personally don't care if your trans, bi, or the whole rainbow. So something to keep in mind.

Hope you have a nice rest of your day!