Just A Myth | Shota Aizawa

Chapter 32

Third person pov

Hizashi and Nemuri are as understanding as Shota knew they'd be. Still, that doesn't mean he wanted to bring them to their special spot.

It feels like it's been months since they've last been to the cove even though it definitely hasn't. It's the exact same as the way they left it, wooden dock still intact and sand still as clear and golden as it always had been. Hitoshi and Atlantis take a running head start, tearing down the wooden walkway with laughter and excitement on their lips. Aizawa watches them both dive through the air, ripping their respective necklaces off midair. Their tails form just in time for them to hit the water, spiraling into a pair of perfect dives that sent water splashing up. Hizashi lets out a gasp of awe, and Nemuri is stunned by the novelty of it all.

They stay there for a long time. Hitoshi speeds around the in water, tail practically glowing beneath the waves. The ocean is happy to see them. Even Aizawa can tell this much as he sits at the end of the dock, legs hanging out and into the cool water. Nemuri and Hizashi join him, much less tolerant of the salty water getting on them, but just a little too stunned to care all that much at the moment. Their eyes track Atlantis and Hitoshi as they dance, spinning around each other and performing complicated leaps out of the water. It's a stunning sight. It's almost enough to make Shota want to cry. He wonders how much of that is Atlantis.

Hitoshi is boundless with energy. Magic pumps through his veins, more potent than he can recall it being. He and Atlantis stop only to drop their necklaces off with Aizawa, not wanting to let go of and lose them by mistake. He takes them carefully and stows them around his own neck for safe keeping. The pearl hanging around his neck hums in greeting to the piece of crystal and coral, and Shota can feel them say their hellos back in their own, odd sort of way. It's comforting, and Shota smiles as Hitoshi tries out every trick he can, wanting to use his tail a much as he can.

"Mermen. They're mermen." Hizashi said for what had to be the millionth time now, shaking his head in continued disbelief as Hitoshi talked animatedly to his cousin and the dolphins who'd joined them. "How do you get into these situations?"

"No idea." Shota snorted, eyes never straying from Atlantis' beaming face. He gazes at Hitoshi with such open love and gratefulness. He had been so worried about his cousin upon hearing his story. Aizawa is glad Hitoshi has his tail back, even if the means through which it returned are odd. "Can't complain, really."

"No shit you can't. You've got a hot husband and now a kid, and both are mythical creatures." Nemuri waved a hand in a way that managed to be both graceful and flippant. She pulled her legs up out of the water, tucking them under her. She doesn't want her toes to prune. "This is a hell of a secret, Sho. What are you going to do if the wrong person finds out?"

"Nezu will help. We will too! It's not like they're animals or anything. We can almost pass it off as a quirk anyway." Hizashi argued, but it was a good question. There had to be people out there who knew of merfolk and would immediately coin Hitoshi and Atlantis' true nature if they heard about half the things they could do.

"I'm not sure, honestly. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that." Aizawa's eyes slid over to his friends. It feels... admittedly nice to talk to them again. It felt like it had been forever, and he hadn't realized just how much he'd missed them until now. He would apologize for worrying them were he a more caring and emotional person. They knew better, however, and so did Shota. This-- him opening up, finally, after all this time-- was enough. Even if it wasn't his choice. Hitoshi ejecting a chunk of coral into his oven and then flopping onto the tile like a dead fish had pretty much been a dead give away. Atlantis bursting excitedly through the door hadn't helped either. Shota wasn't blaming them, of course, but he couldn't come up with a plausible explanation that would've thrown his two friend's off of the truth.