[Dinner was overwhelming. With a total of nine, including Shigaraki and Eri, he was hard pressed to be left alone like he wanted to be. He waited for the others to sit down, clustered around Eri as he tried to sit by himself in the corner. No such luck since a few of the teachers, including the principal were waiting for Shigaraki to sit down. It was understandable, from a teacher's perspective anyways, because they didn't want Shigaraki feeling like he was unwanted or become jealous of Eri's attention.
Shigaraki hated it though. It felt like he'd been cornered. At least the principal understood what he must have been feeling because they didn't force the ex-villain into every conversation. Only the occasional "and what about you?" to make sure to give the other some room to participate. Simple answers and head nods were how Shigaraki chose to participate.
After dinner was, of course, the discussion with the principal. It was serious, addressing the issues that Shigaraki would have to overcome and the understanding that it would take time to change. For everyone. But it was also positive, with plenty of support and hope coming from Nezu.
The first week crawled by miserably for Shigaraki. After therapy, he'd always excuse himself to his room and stay there for the remainder of the day. Usually sleeping or scratching irritably at his skin. He caught on to the cameras in his room pretty early on, or at least suspected that there were cameras because he'd made it a habit to scratch underneath his blanket or with the closet door opened. He also had a hard time sleeping. Laying awake in his bed or pacing around the room out of boredom.
By the second week he was handling the changes a little bit better. With a note from his therapist stating he wasn't allowed to lock himself in his room after therapy. He could go to his room still but he had to leave the door open. Only with permission from Aizawa or the therapist could he close his door after therapy.
The scratching stopped for a while with this rule. It was also good for Shigaraki's benefit because it forced him to see what was going on beyond his room. A few teachers had even caught him curiously peaking out into the hall way to see what the commotion was. He didn't leave his room willingly though. Most of the time he sat at his desk by the door, scribbling in his journal and watching the people pass by.
Improvement was slow but it was gradual. There was still a laundry list of things to fix; the scratching hadn't stopped entirely, his journal entries were fruitless, and he was still anti-social.
And then a curious thing happened by the start of the third week. About an hour before dinner, Shigaraki was working on his journal in bed. He was lost in frustration and didn't hear the surprise visitor that wandered into his room. Only Eri's small weight dipping into the bed alerted Shigaraki of her presence.
At first he stared at her in fear. Worried he'd get in trouble. But then he noticed she had her own journal, a coloring book probably, and she was scribbling like he'd been doing. She didn't say anything, too shy probably because her face was fully focused on the coloring book. But that was alright. Shigaraki didn't want to say anything either and turned his attention to his own journal. Until the dinner crowd started showing up, Shigaraki and Eri sat in silence and worked on their respective journals.
The next day Shigaraki walked out to the lounge, journal in his hand, asking Aizawa;]
Can I... sit out here?
[It's the first time he'd come out of his room that wasn't for therapy or food.]
no subject
Shigaraki hated it though. It felt like he'd been cornered. At least the principal understood what he must have been feeling because they didn't force the ex-villain into every conversation. Only the occasional "and what about you?" to make sure to give the other some room to participate. Simple answers and head nods were how Shigaraki chose to participate.
After dinner was, of course, the discussion with the principal. It was serious, addressing the issues that Shigaraki would have to overcome and the understanding that it would take time to change. For everyone. But it was also positive, with plenty of support and hope coming from Nezu.
The first week crawled by miserably for Shigaraki. After therapy, he'd always excuse himself to his room and stay there for the remainder of the day. Usually sleeping or scratching irritably at his skin. He caught on to the cameras in his room pretty early on, or at least suspected that there were cameras because he'd made it a habit to scratch underneath his blanket or with the closet door opened. He also had a hard time sleeping. Laying awake in his bed or pacing around the room out of boredom.
By the second week he was handling the changes a little bit better. With a note from his therapist stating he wasn't allowed to lock himself in his room after therapy. He could go to his room still but he had to leave the door open. Only with permission from Aizawa or the therapist could he close his door after therapy.
The scratching stopped for a while with this rule. It was also good for Shigaraki's benefit because it forced him to see what was going on beyond his room. A few teachers had even caught him curiously peaking out into the hall way to see what the commotion was. He didn't leave his room willingly though. Most of the time he sat at his desk by the door, scribbling in his journal and watching the people pass by.
Improvement was slow but it was gradual. There was still a laundry list of things to fix; the scratching hadn't stopped entirely, his journal entries were fruitless, and he was still anti-social.
And then a curious thing happened by the start of the third week. About an hour before dinner, Shigaraki was working on his journal in bed. He was lost in frustration and didn't hear the surprise visitor that wandered into his room. Only Eri's small weight dipping into the bed alerted Shigaraki of her presence.
At first he stared at her in fear. Worried he'd get in trouble. But then he noticed she had her own journal, a coloring book probably, and she was scribbling like he'd been doing. She didn't say anything, too shy probably because her face was fully focused on the coloring book. But that was alright. Shigaraki didn't want to say anything either and turned his attention to his own journal. Until the dinner crowd started showing up, Shigaraki and Eri sat in silence and worked on their respective journals.
The next day Shigaraki walked out to the lounge, journal in his hand, asking Aizawa;]
Can I... sit out here?
[It's the first time he'd come out of his room that wasn't for therapy or food.]