Figuring It All Out

Worth It

A/N: Hi, but why am I already having ideas for a sequel? And sequel to that sequel? Idk how long this story's gonna be, but I'm breaking it down into little arcs, each arc being kinda short (just a few chapters). Like the first arc was them actually getting together, and this one is about Hanta's PTSD. Next one is probably gonna be focused on Mina. I really hope that anyone reading is enjoying this story! Hope it doesn't all feel... rushed? Anyways hope you enjoy the chapter!

"You sure this is a reliable place, Tenya?" Mina said before they walked into the tattoo parlor. 

"Yeah," Tenya said confidently. "I did some research when I initially wanted to get my eyebrow pierced. I came here and went a couple of different places. They were actually working on a septum piercing when I came in. The lady had gotten multiple piercings done here, and she said she highly recommended it. They take walk-ins as long as it doesn't interfere with an appointment. Since we're all sixteen and have a form of ID, we can legally get a piercing here, as long as it's not a body piercing, oral piercing, or dimple piercings."

"Let's do this then," Hanta said as they walked into the shop. A relatively short man with canine bites and some big ass gauges, as well as several tattoos was scrolling through his phone at a front desk while a woman with a shaved head and several piercings and tattoos was drawing an intricate design on a guy who looked like he was getting his first tattoo. 

"Hey, what can I do ya for?" the man at the counter asked in an accent that Hanta couldn't quite place. Realization seemed to strike his face. "You're the kid that wanted an eyebrow piercing, aren'cha?" he said, addressing Tenya. "Finally come to get it done?"

"Yes, sir," Tenya said, sounding a little more nervous. "These two are wanting to get piercings done, too."

"Cool, guys," the man said, grinning. "My name's Ryuji. Lady over there's Takane, my little sister, although she's kinda busy right now. Our little brother Tetsuya is in the back working on a more personal piercing at this very moment. What do y'all want done? I'll tell you if you're a dumbass for wanting it or not." The guy was blunt, but approachable and kind. It was also really cool that it was a family owned place.

"I was wanting some snakebites," Hanta said, a little uneasy. "Specifically, I want some labret studs."

"Dude, that'll look so sick on you," Ryuji said excitedly. "And you, miss?"

"I wanna get a septum piercing and a vertical labret, but like both of them closed rings?" Mina said excitedly. "I've been wanting to get both since I was, like, eleven and realized that piercings are cool as shit."

"Those'll both look really good on you," the guy said. "You pay half now, and half when you leave, just in case you run after you get your jewelry in and I lose money, or in case you're unsatisfied with the job I did."

"Great, so how much will it be?" Tenya asked, pulling out his wallet.

Before he knew it, Hanta was in a chair with Ryuji sterilizing the site of his first piercing. Neither of the other two wanted to go first, so Hanta had been elected to go first. The black labret that was going to be put it was short enough that one of the studs would be hidden in his mouth, just like he wanted. The one on the other side would obviously be identical.

"Alright, let's do this," Ryuji said, rolling up his sleeves to reveal a trans pride flag on one arm and an incredible image of a dragon and it's egg on the other. "I'm gonna pierce it on the count of five." He had clamped Hanta's lip, pulling the skin tight and away from his face a little. "Ready?" Hanta nodded a little. "One, two, three--" Hanta felt a small prick, but thought it was just his imagination-- "Four, five." When another prick didn't come, he looked at Ryuji inquisitively, who just grinned back. "It always hurts less when I do it on a number you don't expect," he explained, holding the needle in place as he grabbed the labret from his little tray of equipment. He chased the needle out of the hole in Hanta's lip with the labret and screwed a second stud onto it to make sure the jewelry wouldn't fall out. "Still up to do the second one today?" Hanta nodded eagerly. "Alrighty," Ryuji said with a grin while throwing away the used needle and taking a new one out of a sealed plastic bag. Before Hanta knew it, he had a second labret in his lip and was admiring his new piercings in the mirror. "And since you said someone with a healing quirk would fix you up, just be real careful until they do. You don't wanna fuck it up. Not when you look that good with it."