A light in the void (my hero academia)

Homecoming

Soft hues of light flit through the curtains of Izuku's hospital room. A cacophony of gold, bright red amidst blue and yellow rays. It was nearly six-thirty in the morning and the young hero was finally getting out of there.

Two weeks had passed since he was admitted to the hospital.

The nurse had just finished removing the cast from his arm and the bandages around his scarred shoulder. Apparently, his exposure to a constant flow of electrical current had given him slight cardiac arrhythmia. The doctor cleared him for release on strict instructions to take it easy and avoid any strenuous activities for a while.

He was finally allowed to go back home.

Although, new home would be a better word for it. Aizawa having already explained to him that UA adopted a dorm system. Most likely as a precaution against any future kidnapping mishaps.

He was currently packing the last of his things into his backpack.

Izuku wanted nothing more than to go back to his routine. See his classmates, attend his classes. Just... Just go back to being normal.

He tried to ignore the harsh whisper in his mind.

You'll never be normal again.

That sound is nothing more than a mere hiss in the midst of his thoughts. A small reminder at the core of his mind. However, despite the thought barely flashing in his mind. It still had an impact. Like a pebble being dropped in the water, it generated ripples. Ripples that spread outwards until they enveloped the whole space.

It still made his breath stutter and his heart thunder against his rib-cage.

He couldn't help it though...The anxiety that rose up inside him every time he thought about it. The dread that filled his guts every time he thought about the looks his friends were surely going to give him.

Ever since he was rescued, every single person who visited him had one thing in common. All the nurses, the doctors, even some of his friends. They would all have this special look in their eyes.

They'd even trade these anxious looks when they thought he wasn't looking.

He feared the mere thought of getting these looks from his classmates. People that were supposed to accept him no matter what. He never wanted his friends to direct these looks towards him. Gazes that spoke of pity and sadness. Pity for a boy too broken and too damaged to ever be the same again.

He never wanted anyone to look at him that way.

Never wanted anyone to look at him and see right through the metaphorical duct tape he had wrapped himself in all his life. The invisible barrier he'd put up, the walls he'd built to keep himself safe. To protect his fragile and far too broken heart. To keep himself sane. To survive.

Yet, all it took was to be back with his mother for these walls to shatter. To crumble at his feet like the ashes of a fire. The day he'd been taken, broke whatever shield he's put up against the darkness and the fear in his mind. It destroyed his defenses and let the doubts, the terror slither through the cracks.

He didn't know if he could take seeing these looks from the very people that he'd come to love and trust so much.

"Are you ready?" Aizawa asked softly from his position by the door. The man haven't left his side during his entire stay. A strong, unyielding pillar.

His sheer presence reassured Izuku that he was safe. The boy knew he could always fall back on Shouta. Rely on him to always be there when he needed him. The longest they've been apart consisted of the few times the man had gone home to get cleaned up and maybe bring Izuku a few things he needed.