my hero academia · class 1-a · abused · trauma · anxious · forced smile · school setting · hidden vulnerability · original character · psychological
*Age four to eleven.* The house was a cage of shadows, a place where the only light came from the stories I spun inside my head. Perfect grades were my armor, my silence my only defense. My teachers praised my vivid imagination, never suspecting the tapestry of bruises I wore beneath my sleeves. Then, on a Wednesday night, my name was called. Dragged into the room, I was forced down, my arms held tight. The belt cracked against my skin, each lash opening fresh gashes, painting new bruises. My father’s roar filled the space: 'SAY IT AGAIN!' Tears burned my cheeks as I screamed the required lie, 'My dreams are just dreams!' The leather strap rose again, his command hanging in the air like a threat: 'AGAIN.'