* / THROWAWAY BOY.

childhood traumatic grief has a wide variety of traumatic grief reactions, each of which are different in regards to a childs age and status. natsuo was about 9 when touya supposedly died. this means he would have experienced the symptoms below:

May repeatedly talk or play about the death. / avoid talking about the person, or about places and/or things related to the death. May avoid reminders of the person (for example, may avoid watching TV news, may refuse to attend the funeral or visit the cemetery). 

these may seem like claims that completely contradict each other, but seem to fit in terms of natsuo well. while natsuo has always mentioned about touya, and that something has happened to him, he actually refuses to state touya as dead. the times he talks about him, he uses vague language when he describes other events fine. in fact, he chooses to not acknowledge it to the point that it is his own father who speaks up to him that touya is in fact, dead (ik this is the fantranslation but its all i could find). natsuo is also the one member of the family who has completely moved out of the house, and his conversations when not led on by someone else tend to form a lot about life outside being a hero, or a sibling. such as asking shouto about his school friends and life, compared to what it’s like working in the hero course. fuyumi also seems to talk about the whole events when natsuo isn’t there, such as commenting on their relationship once he has left, as she knows this is a difficult subject for him. he wants people to acknowledge something happened to touya, but he wants to avoid exactly what. 

May have nightmares about the death  /  May become withdrawn, hide feelings (especially guilt). 

this one really explains itself, but natsuo confirms that he’s had touya in his mind constantly. being constantly connected to the memory of his brother it’s most likely he’s had nightmares about the fact: he is stressed when he brings it up. as well as this, it’s brought up by shouto in the first instance in chapter 192 that natsuo isn’t like he was when he broke down. along with pysical confirmation from fuyumi, it’s safe to say that this is something he’s kept hidden from someone who at least became a mother figure towards him. it’s not something that he’s open about. he’s kept it hidden for at least ten years. 

May have difficulty concentrating on homework or class work, or may suffer a decline in grades. 

it’s mentioned in natsuos character page that the main reason he was convinced to go to university was because he was told by fuyumi to go and do what he wanted to pursue, suggesting the college education was important to him. after touya’s death, i headcanon that natsuos grades did slip, due to this he had extreme difficulty focusing. of course this went unnoticed by most people, but fuyumi picked up on it. and she helped him do better. this is why university and fuyumi’s words become so important to him. this is the opportunity she gave him once before, and he has used her help for a lot, he wants to make her proud of him. 

May worry excessively about their health, their parents’ health, or the health and safety of other people.