You Belong To Me

Slowly but surely, Hizashi started getting his old life back. At least, as close as it could be with so many things changed, so many people gone… He tried not to think about that. Nemuri and his remaining friends at UA kept him going and tried to make things the best it could be for him. He appreciated the sensitivity, but there were still moments that he felt he didn’t deserve all of the care and time they spent on him. He was used to being the center of attention but… not like this.

His fans were there, too. Every step of the way, he had people there with him. Koude reached out too, once he’d spoken out about his experience on his radio show after he rebooted it and got it all started up again. He was as honest as he could be, recalling every experience he could, forcing himself to be open about everything. People deserved to know, and he needed it off his chest. 

The addictions were still a struggle for him, but Nemuri was very active at helping him wean off. He was down to one smaller drink a day and less than half a pack of cigarettes a week. No ketamine, ever again. Nemuri wouldn’t allow it, and he was far too scared of losing any more of his life.

At least it was only a psychological withdrawal, unlike heroin, which was that plus physical. It was still horribly shitty, but he could do it. He’d gotten clean from so much worse. 

His life was coming back more and more by the day, with color returning to his hair, skin and eyes as he got strong again. He was finally able to start teaching and hero work again, going into that the second he was physically able to. At least he wasn’t ever much of a fighter, even in his prime. 

There was never any judgment or disgust directed at him, although that’d been one of his main worries. The concept that nobody would ever see him as a hero if they knew his history still stuck with him. Everybody knew now. Any questions, he answered honestly. That’s how he was before, and he would always stick to that.

And even if they didn’t ask, it was still clear as day on the skin that his costume didn’t cover, anyway. Nemuri had always been there when he broke down over it. She kept telling him that he was still beautiful, and everybody saw him as the same person he was before. But he could tell she was losing patience. Not with him, but the effect that it still had. That he’d have to live with that forever.

Hizashi leaned over his desk and gave a dramatic sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. He still wasn’t used to the weight of his speaker or the mass amounts of gel he had to put into his much longer hair, but he was getting there.

“Oh Zashiii” Nemuri said in a singsong voice as she entered the room. “I have a surprise for you!”

He raised an eyebrow with a soft smile, stretching out his legs under the desk as while leaning back into his chair, reclining as far as it would allow. 

“I’m scared of what that implies,” he chuckled, reminding himself that Nemuri wouldn’t ‘surprise’ him the same way that Shouta used to. 

“Oh, hush. Come on~ we can’t be laaate!”

“Alright, alright!” He put his hands up submissively and followed her out, the pace quick so they could get out before the students started to dismiss for the day. She led him to her car, which still gave him a gut-deep anxiety any time he went near it, despite the fact that she’d driven him back and forth to places every single day almost. 

“Take that damn speaker off, Zashi. You look like you’re about to pass out.” She said in a joking manner, clicking it off of his neck and putting it in the backseat. She refused to tell him what they were doing, even as they walked out slowly towards a building. She kept her hands over his eyes and gave him verbal directions on when to turn, if there was a step up or down, and finally stopped him once he sat in a chair. 

“Sooo, me and a few other heroes have been saving up a pretty good amount of money to surprise you with this, so you’d better be grateful!”

“I’m even more scared now.”

“Zashi!”

He burst out laughing, staring at the room that he was in as she lifted her hands, still unsure about what this even was. 

“We found a cosmetic surgeon that specializes in making scars as small and low-key as possible. So we can get your skin back to how you loved it. How it should be.”

Hizashi looked at her in complete shock, then felt a huge, dumb smile plaster itself all over his face as he stood up and hugged her, his expression seemingly feeling the whole room with sunshine. He made happy little squeak noises for the first time in literal years. He couldn’t hold in the happiness and relief that this had brought him almost instantly. 

“...Thank you, Nem.”

“Of course, Songbird. Now go, they’re ready for you.”

Hizashi took one last look back at her before floowing a nurse down the hall to a room. He was getting the last of his real self back.

All of this was over, and it'd be in the past for good. And Hizashi was happier than ever.