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Chapter Text

Six-year-old Yoichi Shigaraki woke up to the sound of shouting. His parents’ raised voices drifted up from downstairs. This was not an unusual occurrence. He rolled over and stuck his pillow over his head.

Glass shattered against a wall below. Yoichi winced. He coughed into his hand. A few specks of blood hit his palm.

When his bedroom door opened, letting in a crack of light, Yoichi flinched and looked around for a place to hide.

“It’s just me.” His older brother’s voice was soft. Hisashi stepped into the room and closed the door. “It sounds messy down there. I came here to protect you.” His voice took on a bossy note. “Help me barricade the door.”

Under normal circumstances, Yoichi disliked being ordered around by his nine-years-old-but-pretends-to-be-much-older brother, but he knew better than to argue in such a dire situation. He leapt to his feet and helped his big brother prop a baseball bat under the doorknob. The door had no lock. The barrier wouldn’t stop a truly determined adult, but it might deter a drunk staggering around trying doorknobs.

The screaming rose in volume as both his mother and his father cursed each other.

“Don’t listen,” Hisashi said, putting his hands over his younger brother’s ears.

Yoichi rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard it all before.” He didn’t know what the words meant, but the hatred behind them, he understood quite clearly.

Hisashi sat down on the bed, patting the space next to him. “Lie down. I’ll hold you so you won’t be too scared to sleep.”

In fact, Yoichi slept better alone. He frequently found his brother’s grip overly hot and smothering. But Hisashi liked to sleep together, especially when he was upset. He was just too proud to admit it. Yet even as he framed this as a generous offer, he couldn’t keep a note of hopefulness from his voice.

Yoichi’s beloved big brother always looked after him, ensuring that he ate meals and took his medicine. Hisashi helped him with his homework when their parents couldn’t be bothered. As their father’s drinking and their mother’s moods had grown worse, Hisashi had started selling items around the house to create a hidden fund of money. It had turned Hisashi prematurely old and serious. Yoichi often wished he could do more to help his older brother instead of just being a burden. If that meant going along with his brother’s deception and pretending to be weak, it was the least he could do.

“Thank you, big brother.” Yoichi squirmed under the covers and nestled his head against his brother’s collarbone. “I always feel so much more rested when you sleep with me.”

“That’s right. I’m here to keep you safe.” Hisashi’s hand played with his hair.

Yoichi squirmed until he got comfortable. The sounds downstairs had subsided to low sobbing.

Hisashi’s grip around his brother tightened to the point of suffocating. He clung on as if to a piece of a driftwood in a typhoon. His breathing sounded hot and heavy in Yoichi’s ear.

“Everything will be okay,” Hisashi whispered over the sounds downstairs. “I’ll protect you. Even if I have to change the whole world, I’ll make it safe for you.”

“I know you will,” Yoichi said, because he knew that was what his brother wanted to hear. In reality, he didn’t need the whole world—he just wanted his brother to stay by his side. “You’re the best big brother ever. You can do anything.”

Hisashi sighed in contentment and drifted off to sleep. Even unconscious, he clung to his brother all the more tightly.

THE FIRST DEATH:

Yoichi walked out of Tokyo University’s science building to find two muscular men wearing black suits waiting for him. He took a step backward, wondering if he could pretend he didn’t know them. Alas, they were already making a beeline for him.

“I’m here to escort you home, Young Lord,” the man on the left said. The energetic bodyguard had introduced himself as “Machia” that morning. He had spiky brown hair, a large chin, and bulging muscles.

“Please, call me Yoichi.”

Machia looked scandalized. “I couldn’t possibly, Young Lord.”

Yoichi sighed. “Or at least ‘sir’? Especially when other people are around? It’s embarrassing.”

The bodyguard on the right took Yoichi’s backpack without asking. He had long hair in a ponytail and a lean face. He’d yet to give his name or speak a single word.

Around them, students poured out of the building and walked down the sidewalk. They pointed at the men and whispered.

Yoichi winced. It was his first day at college. Already, he was standing out. Not in a good way, either. He hissed, “I told you two to wait for me off-campus.”

“Sorry, Young Lord. The Lord ordered us to walk you to and from all your classes.” Machia spoke of Hisashi in a tone of reverence reserved for a deity.

Sometimes his brother’s fanatical followers gave Yoichi the chills. Hisashi didn’t need anyone puffing up his overgrown ego even more. Yoichi would always remember his big brother as the little hellion who used to flick boogers at him and wanted to be a supervillain when he grew up. Yet also the one who’d protected him from their parents’ abuse and kept him alive after they’d been orphaned.

Of course Yoichi admired his brother for graduating from college early, starting his own successful business, and founding a movement for metahuman rights. Yoichi was also grateful to his brother for paying for his college tuition. But the money came with so many strings attached. He had to live at home, even though he’d wanted to try the dorms. He had to go everywhere escorted by bodyguards. He had to eat dinner with his brother every evening, no exceptions for outings with friends. He had a curfew.

Free college was still free college, and Yoichi knew he was thinking like an ungrateful brat. He tried not to let the stares bother him. “Before I head home, I wanted to attend a reception for new students to meet older ones.”

“There’s still time before your curfew. I’ll text the Lord to confirm that you have permission,” Machia said. The bodyguard on the right remained a silent statue wearing sunglasses.

Yoichi hadn’t asked for permission. He clenched his teeth and started walking, forcing them to follow him.

The older students hosted their informal meet-and-greet in a large barn converted into a party room. Clubs had set up booths to advertise along the walls. Most of the students milled about in a huge crowd on the floor. Some were swaying in time with the loud music. The voices mingled together formed an incoherent buzz.

Yoichi never knew how to act at large parties. He’d spent too much of his childhood sick at home. Various…family difficulties had also prevented him from going out and making friends.

Now he stood with his hands hanging limply at his sides, unsure where to begin. Should he go and talk to someone? But who? There were so many people and they all seemed already engaged in conversation.

Having the bodyguards looming behind him just made it even harder to approach any of his peers. He felt a flash of anger toward his brother for forcing him into his position.

Hisashi claimed that the bodyguards were necessary because of his involvement in the metahumans rights movement. His only family member might become a target, either from the government, prejudiced civilians, or violent metahuman vigilantes who wanted less peaceful change. Although Hisashi also refused to share many details with Yoichi about exactly what he did for a living. Yoichi wasn’t sure if his brother was exaggerating the danger due to his usual overprotectiveness or trying to cover up that he was involved in something shady. Or quite possibly both.

“Shall I acquire people for you to converse with, Young Lord?” Machia asked. “I can drag them over here.”

Yoichi burned with embarrassment. “No need.” He strode over to the booths advertising clubs like he knew what he was doing.

Fortunately all the clubs had picked their nicest and most talkative members. Yoichi learned about everything from crocheting to fortune telling. He got in a long conversation with the president of the Ultimate Frisbee club. It sounded both fun and easy to learn. Yoichi decided to at least give it a try. He took a flyer and signed up for their mailing list.

It wasn’t quite dinnertime yet, but he was starting to feel hungry. Yoichi drifted toward the snack table. There wasn’t that much—chips, pretzels, and cans of beer.

Under the stern eye of his older brother, Yoichi had yet to taste a sip of alcohol. He picked up a can.

Machia cleared his throat. “You’re underage, Young Lord.”

“Come on! No one cares about that.” Yoichi gestured at the students. Freshman to seniors alike were all drinking. “What if I only try a sip? One little taste?”

“I have strict orders, Young Lord.” Machia’s stare was implacable. “Lord has entrusted me with your safety, and I won’t fail him.”

Yoichi wondered if the bodyguard would wrench the can out of his hand if he tried to drink from it. Knowing his older brother, probably yes. He didn’t want to make a scene by testing his luck.

“Hey, cutie.”

Yoichi startled at the loud voice in his ear. Surely that comment couldn’t be directed at him.

A girl with pink highlights waved at him. “Yes, you! I love how you’ve dyed your hair.”

“Why, thank you,” Yoichi stammered, even though the white color was natural.

“Would you like to dance?” She beamed, flashing dimples.

Machia cleared his throat. “I have also been ordered to protect you from any ‘harlots or worthless punks’ who might take advantage of your naivety and innocence, Young Lord.” He sounded dreadfully enthusiastic about the task, too.

Yoichi hissed, “Hey, I know I told you not to call me that in front of other people!”

“Who are these men?” the girl asked.

Yoichi wanted to sink into the floor and vanish. “These are my bodyguards. I know, they’re a bit much.”

“You have bodyguards? Why?”

“An overprotective older brother,” Yoichi said glumly.

“Is he someone famous?” At least the girl sounded curious rather than turned off. It was a miracle she hadn’t run away yet.

“Ordinary people may not know of the Lord’s true identity,” Machia said before Yoichi could answer.

The girl looked between them. “Whoa. Are they for real or is this a joke?”

Machia reached into his pocket and pulled out some notes. Checking them, he recited, “Dancing is only permitted if your skin doesn’t touch.”

“That’s rough,” the girl whispered out of the side of her mouth. “Maybe if I give you my number, you can ditch them and find me later?”

“I will collect all phone numbers.” Machia stepped between them. “The Lord must investigate your background before deciding if he should pass along your contact information. No one unworthy will be permitted contact with his younger brother.”

Yoichi was legitimately about to die of humiliation.

Needless to say, the girl declined to give her number to a bodyguard and left.

Yoichi glared at both men.

One of them remained a statue. Machia had the courtesy to look sheepish. “The Lord said that a spy or assassin might approach you under the guise of a romantic encounter. He only seeks to protect you.”

Yoichi growled, “No, he’s just an overly controlling creep who infantilizes me.”

Machia looked scandalized. “You can’t say that about the Lord!”

“You just watch me.” Yoichi stalked out of the barn. He had plenty more to say to his brother.

The Shigaraki mansion was surrounded by high walls with barbed wire on top. Armed men patrolled the grounds. At least the security meant that Yoichi could ditch his bodyguards once inside. The autumn leaves were brightly colored, chrysanthemums bloomed in the gardens, and Yoichi stormed past without seeing any of it.

Hisashi greeted Yoichi on the doorstep with a brilliant smile. “How was your first day at college?”

His older brother’s sincerity took the edge off Yoichi’s anger. He said, “All my classes were interesting and we have a great cafeteria. But.” He bit his lip. “I need to talk to you about my bodyguards.”

Hisashi said, “First, give your big brother a hug.” He glomped onto Yoichi.

At first, Yoichi tolerated the suffocating hug, but after several minutes passed, he started to squirm. “Big brother, I was trying to talk to you about something important.” Hisashi didn’t let go, not until Yoichi shoved him away. “Please, listen to me for once.”

“Aw, are you feeling shy today?” Hisashi ruffled his brother’s hair. “I have something important to tell you, too. I got you a present. I’m so proud of you for getting into Tokyo University, baby brother.” He tossed a car key.

Yoichi caught it by reflex. It took him a moment to process. “You mean…”

“Didn’t you even notice?” Hisashi pointed at the new black Toyota Prius in the driveway. “All yours, my adorable little brother.”

“Oh, whoa. You didn’t have to—I don’t know what to say—”

“Surely such a generous gift is worth a hug?” Without waiting for an answer, Hisashi immediately hugged him again.

This time, Yoichi tolerated it, because he felt like he had no other choice. Of course anyone would be happy to trade a hug for a new car. It would be so ridiculously ungrateful to complain. Did his big brother have to be so constantly touchy-feely though? They weren’t little kids any longer. It had gotten embarrassing.

“I even got you a driver.” Hisashi petted his brother’s hair.

The joy deflated out of Yoichi. He jerked away. “Can I pass on the extra nanny?”

Hisashi frowned. “With your illness, it’s not safe for you to drive.”

“That’s not true. I don’t have seizures.”

“You have coughing fits.”

“I know when I’m feeling poorly, and I can use your driver then. On good days, I’d like to drive myself.” Yoichi smiled, trying to show that he was compromising. (As he was always forced to do with his brother. Even when it came to decisions about his own life.)

Hisashi said, “I suppose that’s acceptable, as long as you have a guard with you whenever you go out.”

“Speaking of acceptable…” Yoichi gritted his teeth and forced his tone to become calm and reasonable. “I can understand the prohibition on drinking. The curfew is strict but tolerable. But you can’t forbid me from dating.”

“My dear little brother.” Hisashi’s voice contained a note of patronization. “You’re a teenager. You should be focusing on your studies.”

“I’m eighteen, a legal adult,” Yoichi countered. “Other students seem perfectly capable of studying and forming romantic relationships at the same time.”

“You could ruin your entire future with an accidental pregnancy, an STD, a gold-digger, or even worse, an assassin!”

“You’re just getting paranoid with that last one.” Yoichi sighed. “Don’t you trust me to be responsible?”

“It’s not a matter of trusting you. The world is a cold and dangerous place. My job is to look after you. The way I have been ever since our parents failed in that task.”

Yoichi winced. His older brother had been forced to grow up far too fast, even before their parents had died. After they’d ended up on the streets, they’d both only survived because of Hisashi’s cleverness and metahuman ability. Yoichi knew he owed his brother a great debt. His hand touched the scar on his left eye in memory. Whenever Hisashi brought those times up, he always felt pressured to do whatever his brother wanted.

This time, he knew the manipulation was intentional. Yoichi straightened. “You don’t need to protect me from dancing at a party, big brother. Answer my question. Do you trust me to behave responsibly or not?”

Hisashi wouldn’t meet his eyes. But his tone remained haughty. “I don’t have to allow you to attend parties at all. Especially not if you’re going make foolish choices. You know your health is too poor for you to play sports.”

“Sports? What are you talking about? Wait, do you mean Ultimate Frisbee? That’s barely a sport!” Yoichi’s eyes narrowed. “How do you even know about that? Are my bodyguards reporting everything I do back to you?” Even worse, they must be delivering these reports more or less in real time for Hisashi to know so quickly. “Big brother!”

Without any trace of shame, Hisashi said, “I hired them to look after you and report any possible dangers to your health.”

“Like a flyer for an Ultimate Frisbee club? What a grave menace!”

“Stop yelling, little brother. There’s no need to get so emotional. How about this? I’ll ask for a doctor’s opinion on if you’re well enough to play frisbee.”

“That doesn’t seem necessary.”

“You can at least listen to what the doctor says before deciding anything. Let’s move onto brighter topics.” Hisashi pulled out a paper. “I’ve worked out a schedule for you to do your homework based on your current class load. I’ve already ordered your textbooks so you can get a head start on your reading.”

“Big brother!” Yoichi glared. “I could have done that myself. You don’t need to give me a homework schedule. I’m not a child any longer.”

“But you certainly do sound like one.” Hisashi’s gaze made Yoichi feel several inches shorter. “I’m offering to help you, and you’re pitching a fit.”

His older brother had a knack for making Yoichi feel immature and ungrateful during their arguments, but when Yoichi didn’t argue with all his might, he got railroaded following all of Hisashi’s overly controlling orders. There was no winning.

“You’re not my father,” Yoichi said, knowing how childish he sounded. “You’re only three years older. Stop lording it over me. I’m an adult, now.”

“Then prove it by acting like one,” Hisashi said. “If you obey my rules without protest, then I’ll consider loosening the restrictions after you graduate from college.”

This was supposed to continue even after he graduated from college? Yoichi froze in horror.

Hisashi mistook this for assent. “Now, let’s go over your homework schedule.”

What had happened? Yoichi had intended to fight for his freedom but somehow left with even more restrictions. No, he couldn’t let it end like this. “I’m not finished, big brother. You don’t have the right to forbid me from dating. If they keep interfering, I won’t let your bodyguards follow me around.”

Hisashi played his trump card. “As long as you’re living under my roof and I’m paying for your college tuition, I make the rules. Either you accept the bodyguards, or I’ll call the financial office to cancel my payment.”

Yoichi flinched. “Why do you have to keep holding that over my head?” he whispered.

“I’m only imposing a few reasonable rules in order to protect my precious little brother.” From Hisashi’s smile, he believed he’d won.

Yoichi let his older brother keep talking while his mind twisted and turned.

It was a beautiful car, black and gleaming, with a fancy computer in the front and a minifridge in the back. Hisashi had even stocked the glove compartment with medicine and snacks.

Yoichi researched tracking devices on his phone. Then he inspected his new car. He found the bug implanted under the bumper.

Looking at the small, round device, Yoichi knew he had to make a choice.

“But I don’t understand.” Hisashi gaped as Yoichi dragged his suitcase down the front steps. “Little brother, there’s no need to be rash. I never would have actually canceled your college tuition payment.”

The suitcase stuffed with comic books weighed so much Yoichi could barely carry it. The handle dug into his palm. Stopping to rest, he met his brother’s eyes. “You don’t have to. I already called the registrar and canceled the payment myself. I took out loans. Luckily, another student dropped out and left a dorm room free.” He’d been careful not to let his brother know about any of his plans until he was already packed up and ready to leave.

“Why would you possibly go into debt when I can afford to pay for your schooling?” Hisashi swelled up with rage. “You’re even wasting your money on dorms when I have a house so near campus? Making foolish financial decisions only shows how irresponsible you are! You’re behaving like a child throwing a fit!”

“Because as long as I’m taking your money, there will always be strings attached.” Strings that had Yoichi dancing like a puppet, until he’d come to resent his older brother, though he wasn’t cruel enough to say so out loud.

There was nothing vindictive about this. Yoichi hated having to hurt his brother. But he’d realized that if he wanted adulthood, then he would have to seize it with his own two hands.

Hisashi said, “You don’t understand how dangerous my work is. Someone could seize you as a hostage or even simply kill you to get at me. It would destroy me if anything happened to you.”

His pain and concern sounded real. Yoichi felt a flicker of guilt.

Then of course Hisashi added, “You’re too weak to defend yourself. That’s why I worry so much.”

Yoichi growled, “You could give me a metahuman ability.”

“I’ve explained to you a million times, little brother, your body is too fragile to handle even the feeblest of powers.” Hisashi heaved a sigh. “Why won’t you believe me? I’m only trying to protect you.”

It was an old argument. Yoichi had longed for a superpower since early childhood. It hurt his feelings that his brother hadn’t immediately offered him one as soon as he’d developed his ability. As Yoichi’s body had grown healthier, his older brother’s excuse had worn thinner. Yoichi mumbled, “Forget it. It would only come with a cost, like everything else with you.”

“Excuse me? I’ve never asked you to pay me back for any of my gifts!” Hisashi’s sincere confusion made it obvious that he just plain didn’t get it.

Time to end this. Yoichi said, “If you truly think it’s so important, then I’ll allow your bodyguards to continue watching me. I’ll even tolerate their inevitable reports to you. But the instant they try to stop me from living my life as I please, they’re gone.” He fixed his brother with an unyielding glare. “If you’re telling the truth about the danger to me, then you’ll accept my terms.”

“You’d go into college loan debt just so you can drink underage and grind against strangers at parties?” Hisashi threw up his hands. “How could you be so foolish? Do you know how privileged you are to have your tuition and expenses paid for?”

Of course Yoichi understood what a rare gift his brother had given him. After all, he still remembered living on the streets and begging for food. A part of him did wonder if he was making a mistake by throwing away so much money. But no money was worth his freedom.

This was also about saving his relationship with his brother. Yoichi could survive four years of college living under a strict brotherly eye, but he’d hate Hisashi by the end of it. He didn’t want that to happen. Hopefully without the power imbalance between them, they could stop fighting and return to their usual closeness.

“This argument is over,” Yoichi said, his tone merciless. “I’ve made up my mind.”

Hisashi whispered, “But I did this all for you. I made money so you could have the luxuries you deserve. I obtained power so I could protect you. Without you, there’s no point to it all.” His hands clenched and unclenched. He looked so lost and sad.

Yoichi’s heart wavered. He remembered all the times his brother had protected him: chasing off bullies, letting him eat the last bit of food when both of their stomachs growled, and lying on top of him to block the rain as they slept in an alleyway. For a moment, Yoichi wondered if he should just give in so he wouldn’t hurt his beloved older brother.

But if he folded now, this same fight would just repeat itself later. Yoichi wasn’t a child any longer, and his brother would have to come to terms with that. He needed to harden his heart.

Yoichi threw the tracking device at his brother. “I found this on the car you gave me. If it’s a condition of the gift, then I must politely decline. If you still want me to have the car, you can have it delivered to my dorm. But if you send it with another bug, then I’m sending it back to you.”

As Yoichi dragged his suitcase away, he could feel his brother’s stunned gaze on his back.

Chapter Text

THE SECOND DEATH:

When Hisashi invited him home over his mid-semester break, Yoichi agreed without hesitation. He hoped this would be his chance to repair his stilted relationship with his older brother.

Yoichi knew that Hisashi was still upset about him moving out. Machia had told him all about how the Lord was gloomy and picking at his food. For such a muscular man, his bodyguard had potent puppy eyes. Yoichi sourly wondered if his older brother had put Machia up to the guilt trip. Maybe, maybe not. Big brother always had inspired an extreme degree of loyalty in his followers.

Yoichi’s guilt only worsened because he’d been thriving at college. He’d made friends with all the students in his dorm. He loved Ultimate Frisbee. Even his new restaurant job, though often difficult, had been a fascinating way to meet new people. The bodyguards following him around were certainly conversation starters. He’d never realized before how much of his free time had been monopolized by his older brother. Hisashi’s pointed lack of phone calls had no doubt been intended as a punishment, but Yoichi had enjoyed the break.

Still, Yoichi definitely didn’t want to remain estranged from his only family member forever. He gladly accepted the invitation and resolved not to argue with his brother no matter how he was provoked.

Hisashi greeted him at the door with a big smile. “Yoichi, I’m so happy to see you. How has college been?”

“I aced all my midsemester exams. It’s a relief to have them over.” Yoichi braced himself for his brother to say something sarcastic about how he’d have more time to study if he didn’t have to work.

Instead, Hisashi said, “So I heard. As a reward, I had your car washed and cleaned.” He pointed at the Prius sitting in the driveway. “Cleaned of any bugs as well, if you’ll take it back.” His smile was a tad rueful.

This was the closest Yoichi could ever imagine getting to an apology from his brother. His spirits soared. “Thank you so much, big brother!”

Wonder of wonders, Hisashi’s amiable mood continued for the rest of the vacation. He didn’t hover too much or ask nosy questions. He didn’t even try to hug Yoichi against his will, settling for the occasional head pat. It was a miracle.

On the last Saturday before Yoichi had to return to school, Hisashi prepared an enormous feast of all his favorite foods.

“Thank you so much,” Yoichi said, taking a katsudon, several fried shrimp, and a heaping of gyudon. There was so much food, he didn’t even know where to start.

“I wanted to give you a proper sendoff, though I can’t say I feel like celebrating you leaving.” Hisashi sighed.

Yoichi felt uncomfortable. He tried to laugh it off. “Ha-ha, I have mixed feelings about returning to homework and exams too. But at least all my classes have been interesting.”

“Which one is your favorite?” Hisashi asked.

“Introduction to Political Science, by a long shot. Our professor has been bringing in current event articles for us to discuss at the start of every class. It’s depressing how many students argue in favor of restrictions on ‘dangerous’ metahumans. But I’ve debated several of them into changing their minds.”

“Charismatic, just like your older brother.” Hisashi smiled.

“Your recent demonstrations went so peacefully and smoothly, nearly my entire class spoke positively of them.” Yoichi knew his older brother liked compliments, and sure enough, Hisashi basked. “A lot of my fellow students also are fans of the metahuman vigilantes.”

Hisashi’s eyes narrowed. “Those troublemakers are just making it worse for people with metapowers who want to live peaceful lives. They’re an excuse for the government to place more restrictions on us.”

“Really? They sounded cool,” Yoichi said. “A friend told me that a bunch of vigilantes have banded together into an organization that’s helped pacify several riots. They have a website where people can place requests for help. His grandmother had several important family heirlooms stolen from her home by a thief who could walk through walls. She asked the vigilantes for help, and they returned her belongings within a week.”

“Of course you think vigilantes are cool, with your love of comic book heroes.” Hisashi snorted. “Reality isn’t so pretty. Several of my businesses have been attacked by so-called vigilantes.”

“Surely they’re not all like that—”

“And the same vigilante organization you speak of was responsible. They’re nothing but frauds pretending to be heroes. Sure, they’ll do a few charitable deeds to maintain a good image so people won’t notice when they harass law-abiding businessmen. If they actually wanted to make the world better, they’d join my political movement instead of working against me.”

“I’m sorry, big brother. I had no idea.” Yoichi’s shoulders sagged with disappointment. He’d been so enthralled by the notion of real-life heroes. This came as a huge letdown. “If they’re your enemies, of course they’re my enemies, too.”

“That’s right. Make sure you tell your friends that those vigilantes are just making it worse for other metahumans.” Hisashi held up a bowl. “Would you like some more calamari?”

It looked delicious, but Yoichi was already full. “I shouldn’t.”

“This is your end-of-the-vacation celebration. You should enjoy yourself.”

“Maybe just a few more bites.” Yoichi let himself be persuaded.

“Make sure you save some room for the cake for dessert.”

“You should have told me that earlier!” Yoichi glared in mock-anger.

Hisashi grinned. “You’re too skinny. It’s my duty as your older brother to fatten you up a little.”

After eating until he was stuffed, Yoichi turned into bed for the night.

He woke up the next morning with a dreadful headache. At first, he thought he’d overeaten. Then he coughed up enough blood to ruin his sheets.

Hisashi ran into his room at the sounds of distress. He placed a hand on his younger brother’s forehead. “I’ll have my personal doctor here at once.”

Yoichi had been doing so well lately. He’d started to get used to being able to breathe. He sagged back against the pillows, groaning.

“It’s okay.” Hisashi stroked his hair. “I’ll take good care of you. I promise.”

The tone soothed Yoichi. He remembered those same words from a million times during his childhood. Even during the worst days, such as when they’d become caught in a riot while homeless, Hisashi had always looked out for him. The promise coaxed him into a slumber.

Throughout the day, Yoichi tossed and turned with feverish dreams. His brother stayed at his bedside the entire time, occasionally handing him a glass of water or changing the wet cloth on his forehead.

By nightfall, Yoichi felt well enough to get up and get dressed.

Hisashi watched him as he packed the last of his belongings into his suitcase. “Shouldn’t you stay at home for a few extra days at least? I worry so much about you. Your health has always been so fragile.”

Yoichi seriously considered it. He knew that getting sick would have been even more unpleasant had he been on his own. What if he had another relapse? But he also knew his older brother well enough to guess that Hisashi would try to turn a few days into forever. Then Hisashi would only be more disappointed again after Yoichi inevitably left. It would be cruel to get his brother’s hopes up. Better to stand firm so they both could get used to this natural separation. “I’d better get back to school. I’m feeling perfectly fine now.” That was not completely true. “It’s all thanks to your good caretaking.” He softened his rejection with a compliment.

After a cafeteria dinner and a good night’s sleep in his dorm room, Yoichi completely recovered from his bout of illness. He did not think anything of it at the time.

THE THIRD DEATH:

One moment, Yoichi was walking to his car after a late night shift the restaurant. The next, he felt pain in his side. He looked down to see blood.

But it doesn’t hurt, he thought, then the pain hit. White-hot agony lanced his side. Through blurry eyes, he saw his two bodyguards leap into motion.

“How dare you harm Young Lord?” Howling in rage, Machia lunged after his attacker. The other guard threw up a glowing shield around him, a metahuman power. Dropping to his knees, he pressed his hands over Yoichi’s bleeding side.

The always-silent bodyguard’s sunglasses had slipped down, revealing wide, frightened grey eyes. This look of terror failed to reassure Yoichi. The bodyguard cried, “Please hold on, sir!”

Yoichi tried, but he still slipped away into blackness.

Yoichi woke up to smothering heat pressed against his back. He squirmed and groaned. His head hurt more than he would have thought possible without his skull cracking open, his stomach felt like it had been squeezed and twisted inside-out, and his throat ached with dryness. The weight leaning against him wasn’t helping. He groaned in protest.

“It’s okay. I’ll keep you safe,” his brother’s voice murmured. A big hand caressed his head.

Yoichi cracked an eye open. “Big brother? What are you doing here?”

In a lofty tone, Hisashi said, “You sounded like you were having a nightmare, so I came to comfort you.”

A likely story. Hisashi never could admit that he was the one who had trouble sleeping alone when he was anxious. “You’re squashing me, big brother.”

Obligingly, Hisashi got up, although not without one last head pat. “How are you feeling?”

Yoichi tried to answer, but only a cough emerged.

Hisashi handed him a cup from the nightstand. His older brother’s eyes had large bags around them. His hair looked mussed. This was the first time in years Yoichi had seen his brother wearing sweatpants. The nervous energy coming off Hisashi made Yoichi wonder just how close to death he’d come while also bracing himself for some serious smothering.

“Thanks.” Yoichi took a long sip of water. He was back in his old bedroom in his brother’s mansion. It looked unchanged since he’d moved out. His same art class drawings hung on the walls. The open closet door revealed the clothes he hadn’t been able to fit into his suitcase. His white desk looked neat and empty. Most of his comic books were still on the shelves.

Touching the bandage on his side, Yoichi asked, “What happened?”

“A sniper shot you from a distance. Fortunately, the blow didn’t hit any internal organs and the shield stopped the second bullet. You could have died if not for my bodyguards,” Hisashi said in a tone demanding gratitude.

Yoichi wanted to point out that he probably wouldn’t have been in danger to begin with if not for his older brother, but that seemed petty, especially when he agreed with and admired Hisashi’s metahuman rights movement. It was so easy to make his big brother happy with a little praise and admiration. Why be stingy toward his only relative? “Thank you, big brother.”

Hisashi beamed. “Aren’t you glad that I insisted you keep them around after you foolishly left my protection?”

Clearly his brother had no qualms about being petty. Yoichi still felt sick and achy all over. He wasn’t interested in starting an argument with his brother, so he avoided the question. “Do you know why I was attacked?”

Hisashi hesitated. “I’m still investigating. Unfortunately, I have entirely too many enemies. The major organizations probably would have tried to take you hostage. A lone gunman out to kill you was almost certainly either someone who wanted personal revenge against me or an anti-metahuman fanatic. I’ll find them soon enough. I’ve called in favors across the city.”

Something in that ice-cold tone worried Yoichi. He frowned. “Then you’ll turn the culprit over to the police.”

“Of course,” Hisashi said.

Yoichi narrowed his eyes. “Liar.”

Hisashi gaped slightly. He threw up his hands. “How do you always know when I’m lying? Do I have a liar’s tell? Please, little brother, it could be important for me to know. I rely heavily on my skill with words in my business.”

“You mean you rely on your skills in deception.” Yoichi snorted. “There’s no tell. I just know.”

“There must be some reason! You can’t be so good if you’re just guessing! No one else can see through me the way you can.”

They’d had this conversation before, and Hisashi hadn’t believed Yoichi in the past either. But it was the truth. The older Shigaraki brother was the perfect liar. He had not a single twitch of his nose or catch in his tone to give him away. But Yoichi knew his older brother the way only two people who’d grown up together could. He knew that Hisashi would want to take personal revenge on anyone who’d tried to kill his younger brother. Therefore, he’d known that Hisashi was lying.

Yoichi pointed at himself. “Big brother, I’m the one who got shot. I should be the one who decides on the proper punishment. And I want the shooter to stand and face trial.”

“Oh, very well,” Hisashi grumbled. “I’ll try.”

“I expect someone of your skill and resources to do more than try. Surely a powerful and important man like you can successfully deliver a criminal to the police and form a case against him in a legitimate fashion.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Hisashi waved a hand. “I’ll send him to jail if it makes you happy.”

His brother wasn’t lying that time. Yoichi could tell. He smiled. “Thank you, big brother.”

“For a while, I thought I’d lost you,” Hisashi whispered. Shadows filled his eyes. His hands clenched and unclenched.

“It’s okay. I’m here.” Yoichi pulled his older brother into a hug. He pretended not to notice how Hisashi trembled as he hugged back.

Hisashi remained a constant presence while Yoichi was recovering from his gunshot wound. He provided nourishing soups, he fussed over antibiotics being taken on schedule, and he helped his little brother change his bandages. He must be taking time off work.

Yoichi wanted to protest that none of this was necessary and his brother’s time was too valuable, but Hisashi got such a kick out of caretaking that it would have been like denying him a treat. If anything, that was one of Hisashi’s relatively better qualities, so Yoichi let him fuss.

Hisashi wasn’t even as bad as Yoichi had feared. He was genuinely solicitous and hopped to get his little brother anything he asked for. Maybe he felt guilty about the attack even if he wouldn’t admit it.

After Yoichi started to walk longer distances, Hisashi hired a masseuse and a physical therapist. Yoichi did not like to think about how much money this must be costing. He was in no position to turn it down. He’d been unable to get a work study job on campus since he’d changed his mind about accepting his brother’s money last minute. Instead, he’d ended up working in fast food. It went without saying that he had no benefits and he’d lost his job the first time he’d been unable to report for work.

One morning, Yoichi got up, went through his usual routine of exercises, and knocked on the door to his brother’s office. “Hisashi?” He did not try to enter—his big brother was extremely strict about the privacy of that particular room. Hypocritically so, given the number of times he’d invaded his younger brother’s bedroom without knocking. But Yoichi understood since Hisashi kept important business and political information in his study.

“Just a moment,” Hisashi called. Papers rustled in the room. Hisashi stepped into the hallway, taking care to lock the office door behind him. “What is it?”

Yoichi said, “I think it’s time for me to return to school.”

Hisashi examined him. “There’s no need to push yourself. I can hire private tutors to keep you caught up on your classes. A donation to the school should also ensure you have no difficulty taking your exams late.”

Yoichi took a deep breath. “I’d also like to return to my dorm room.”

Hisashi’s face turned serious. “Is that wise? What if you’re attacked again?”

“The man who shot me is rotting in jail—thank you for that—and I could still be shot walking around outside whether I live at home or not. Besides, that was a freak incident.” The shooter had been ranting and raving at his trial. No one had been able to get a coherent motive out of him.

Hisashi met his younger brother’s eyes. “Yoichi, I’ve been thinking a lot about what went wrong when you first started college. I was too overbearing. You’re my only relative and my precious little brother. It’s hard for me to see you as an adult. As a result, I tried too hard to control you. If you come back home, then this time I promise to cover your college tuition without any unnecessary rules. We can go back to how things used to be.”

Yoichi bit his lip. This time, he couldn’t tell if his older brother was lying or not. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Hisashi seemed like he believed what he was saying, but Yoichi was skeptical that he’d be able to keep his word. Hisashi generally got worse the more power he had over his little brother.

“We’ve been getting along much better lately, big brother.” As his brother started to smile, Yoichi continued, “I think that’s partly because I stopped living at home. A little distance was better for both of us.” Cynically, Yoichi suspected that when his brother knew that he could stop coming over for dinner if faced with excessive smothering, it forced Hisashi to behave.

Hisashi scowled. “I’ve already agreed to give you what you wanted. You won. Why would you still continue to be stubborn? Can you not find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“No, no, it’s not like that!” Yoichi waved his hands. He suspected emotional manipulation, but it was still working. He couldn’t bear to be at odds with his beloved brother. “I’m not angry at you. I was never that angry to begin with—or at least, that wasn’t the reason I had to leave.”

Hisashi adopted the smooth tone that had made him the leader of a political movement. “If you no longer needed to work, then you could help me organize my current campaign against anti-metahuman laws. Perhaps you could even join the next protest.”

The bait was tempting indeed. Yoichi had wanted to help his brother’s cause for years, but he’d always been told it was too dangerous and he needed to focus on his schooling. Hisashi had once gone as far as to cancel a march on the capital because Yoichi had tried to join it. To make such an offer, perhaps his brother really had changed.

Eventually, Yoichi said, “I need some time to think about it. First, I should at least check up on my dorm room.”

Hisashi nodded. “Take your time.” There was a dark confidence in his voice.

Minutes later, Yoichi stared at the yellow tape around his dorm building. A pipe had exploded. He counted himself lucky his brother had already moved out his personal possessions weeks ago. The furniture had all belonged to the college.

With a resigned huff, Yoichi reached for his phone to tell Hisashi that he’d be moving back home after all.

Did my brother cause the pipe to break so I’d have to return home?

Yoichi shook off the strange thought. No matter how convenient this timing might be, the idea was ridiculous. Hisashi wasn’t a criminal. Well, sometimes his metahuman rights work put him on the wrong side of the law, but in that case the law itself was wrong. Yoichi knew that his brother grifted and found loopholes in rules, but he wouldn’t outright sabotage a building. Constantly dealing with his brother’s gilded tongue must have made Yoichi paranoid.

Perhaps things would be better this time. Hisashi had seemed to learn a lesson.

Yet Yoichi couldn’t shake the unpleasant feeling that he’d ended up back where he’d started.

OMAKE TIME!

Hisashi: It’s been two whole days since I last called my younger brother. He must miss me so much. This will teach him a lesson.

Yoichi: It’s been two whole days since I last heard my brother’s obnoxious voice. Sweet, sweet freedom! Time to go out and party!

Hisashi: Three days now. Surely that’s long enough. I’ll give him a call…HE DIDN’T PICK UP HIS PHONE! HE LEFT ALL MY TEXTS ON READ!

#This was the precise moment when Hisashi realized he needed to put on a nice façade when Yoichi came home from college #And, you know, poison him

Chapter Text

THE FOURTH DEATH:

As Yoichi headed out the door, toward his black Prius, a very familiar bodyguard stepped in front of him. “I’m sorry, Young Lord. I have been ordered to keep you safely at home. Lord called it a lockdown.”

Yoichi blinked. “What on earth is wrong?”

Machia’s face was uncharacteristically grim. “The Lord is away fending off a major attack. Oh! If only I could be by his side! But of course protecting you is more important, Young Lord. I’m honored to have been granted such a prestigious task.” Actual tears filled his eyes.

“An…attack? As in violence? From the government? Or did the yakuza come after his business?” Yoichi knew his brother had been threatened by organized crime in the past.

“I’m sorry, Young Lord. I can’t reveal any details. But it’s been deemed too dangerous to let you go outside.” Out of the side of his mouth, Machia added, “I don’t completely understand what’s going on either, but the Lord always knows best.”

Yoichi’s eye twitched. His risk assessment probably wouldn’t be the same as his paranoid older brother’s. “For how long?”

“I don’t know, Young Lord. Until the Lord has handled the situation. I’m confident that his majestic might will defeat all his enemies within a few days.”

Yoichi stared. “I can’t leave? For days?”

“Please, Young Lord, I couldn’t bear if anything happened to you on my watch again. Please.” Machia looked misty-eyed. After the shooting incident, Yoichi had spent weeks consoling his bodyguard and telling him that he hadn’t failed in his duty.

Yoichi was always weak to a heartfelt plea. “Uh. I suppose my brother must have important reasons. I can miss a day or two of class.”

“Thank you, Young Lord! I’ve been instructed to bring you anything you need from outside. I’ll keep you safe and happy.” Machia’s chest puffed out with pride.

Two days turned into three days. Then four days. Then five days.

Yoichi was about to go out of his mind. No one would tell him why he had to stay inside the mansion walls or how long this would last. The household staff brought him his schoolwork and manga books and anything else he requested. It wasn’t a hardship to stay here. But that wasn’t the point. No one had asked him to stay. They’d simply barred the gate. Security guards with metahuman powers patrolled the wall at all times. A nagging voice in the back of his mind whispered, I’m a prisoner here.

The notion was ridiculous. This wasn’t a jail. This was his brother’s house. He wasn’t a prisoner. Except for the part where he couldn’t leave.

Machia was useless. He just kept repeating the same promises to keep him safe.

Not for the first time, Yoichi cornered a staff member and asked, “Where is my brother?”

The maid looked ready to sink into the floor. “I don’t know. That’s classified information.”

“He hasn’t answered any of my calls. Can you please give me another number where I can reach him?”

“I’ve passed along your message to my superiors, sir. I promise. That’s all I can do.” She sounded so scared that Yoichi declined to bother her any further.

If only Yoichi could talk to his brother, he knew that Hisashi’s smooth tongue would convince him to stay inside. Then once he’d agreed to stay, he’d no longer be technically a prisoner. Why was that technicality so important to him? He wasn’t sure himself.

But it bothered him very much that no one had ever given him a choice.

Sitting alone on his bed, Yoichi contemplated escaping out the window, then trying to scale the wall. Or perhaps sneaking out hiding in one of the vehicles delivering supplies. That gave him an even better idea. Hisashi owned an extremely rare and difficult to keep alive albino bonsai tree that he doted on so much that he paid Japan’s most renowned bonsai artist to come and give it the plant equivalent of a doctor’s checkup once a month. The elderly lady was the only person allowed into the mansion who had no idea Hisashi was anything except an enthusiastic amateur gardener, so her truck was never searched because that would seem too strange. She was due for a visit tomorrow. If he wanted to escape, he’d pick that moment.

Yoichi slapped his own cheeks again to stop this train of thought. No, no, he was being foolish. He could almost hear his brother’s voice telling him that he was overreacting. What if once outside, he got shot again? Hisashi wasn’t lying about the danger; past experience proved that much. If he got injured or kidnapped, his big brother would never let him live it down. It would forever be held over his head as proof of his childishness and immaturity.

More importantly, if he tried to escape and failed, then he’d truly become a prisoner. And Yoichi wasn’t yet willing to face the reality that he might already be one.

On the seventh day, Hisashi finally returned to the mansion. By then, Yoichi was a bundle of nerves and rage.

Hisashi entered his bedroom holding a stack of new comic books. He smiled and opened his mouth.

But Yoichi was in no mood to be appeased by gifts. He leapt to his feet. “Where have you been? Why couldn’t you answer my calls?”

“Little brother, I was in the middle of a life or death battle.” Sighing, Hisashi set down the comics on the desk. “I’m sorry I worried you.” He spoke in the tone of an adult coaxing a child.

Yoichi demanded, “Who were you fighting? Why?”

“There are certain aspects of my business that are confidential.”

“If I’m going to be imprisoned because of your shady business, then you at least owe me an answer about why!”

Hisashi laughed. “Imprisoned? Don’t you think you’re being melodramatic?”

Yoichi’s righteous anger faltered. He wanted to believe that he was being melodramatic. The alternative terrified him. He coughed. More coughs wracked his body.

Hisashi put an arm around him and guided him to sit on his bed. “There, there. Sit here and I’ll fetch you your medicine. No wonder you’re so easily upset today. You must be cranky because you’re ill.”

Yoichi’s mind went white with fury. All color drained from his face. “How dare you. You don’t have the right to force me to stay home at your whim, and you don’t have the right to dismiss my perfectly normal concerns afterward! I’m not a child and you’re not my parent!”

“If you’re not a child, then stopped acting like one.” The patronization in Hisashi’s voice set Yoichi’s teeth on edge. “An adult would understand reasonable safety precautions.”

“How can I understand when you won’t explain to me what’s going on? If you haven’t done anything to be ashamed of, then you wouldn’t be trying to keep it secret.” Shaking off his brother’s hand, Yoichi leapt to his feet and grabbed a newspaper off his desk. “I found several articles about a recent gang war. Three criminal groups faced off while an organization of metahuman vigilantes desperately tried to protect civilians from getting caught up. Is this your so-called important business?”

“Of course not! You know that my business is perfectly legitimate. Even though the government sometimes tries to come after us for petty reasons simply because I’m a metahuman.” Hisashi scowled, the picture of indignation.

Yoichi inhaled through his teeth. He would have tried to believe mostly legitimate, but there was no way in hell that Hisashi was running a perfectly legitimate business. Big brother was lying, but to what extent? That was harder to tell.

Watching his brother carefully, Yoichi said, “The article mentioned a metahuman leader named All for One. Have you ever heard of him?”

“I’ve heard the name. He’s an urban legend. I’m surprised that rumor made its way into a respected news source.” From Hisashi’s tone, he was none too happy about it, either.

“Maybe you could ask your underworld contacts for more information about this mysterious figure.” Yoichi’s voice took on a sickly sweet note. “The ones who arranged for the man who shot me to fall down a flight of stairs in prison and break his neck.”

Hisashi looked harried. “I keep telling you that I had nothing to do with that! Prison is a dangerous place. Why won’t you believe me?”

Yoichi had no proof. But he just knew. They’d already had several arguments about that, with Hisashi denying responsibility to the bitter end. The experience had taught Yoichi a valuable lesson about being specific about the promises he extracted from his brother. Hisashi had promised to put the man in jail—he’d made no promises about what would happen afterward.

It was too late to do anything about that death, no matter how it weighed on him. Yoichi took a deep breath. “I think I should move out again.”

All color drained from Hisashi’s face. “This is the worst possible time! I wasn’t lying to you about the danger you’re in, I swear. The government knows that I have a younger brother, and they’ve already marked your identity for investigation. Word has largely leaked among my business associates as well, thanks to the holes in the government’s shoddy security. You could be taken hostage or murdered by another lone gunman with a grudge. You’re always so good at telling when I’m lying. Can’t you see that I’m telling the truth right now?”

This sounded true, but Yoichi also felt fairly certain that Hisashi wasn’t telling him everything. It got harder for Yoichi to use his brotherly instincts when Hisashi skirted the edges of the truth.

“I can’t live my entire life restricted.” Yoichi glared. “Why did my last eight dates ghost me?”

“I’m not sure why you’re changing the subject.”

“This is very relevant to the current topic. You promised not to interfere in my social life when I agreed to accept bodyguards.”

“Ghosting is common in modern dating.”

“Eight times in a row seems a little ridiculous.”

“Why are you so paranoid? You always blame me for everything.”

“Because I’m usually right, big brother.”

“Even you have to admit that you need the bodyguards, after the shooting incident.” A bit of smugness leaked into Hisashi’s tone. “You can’t get rid of them.”

“I’ve been considering transferring to a university in America.”

“America?” Hisashi shrieked. “That’s too far away. I have no contacts or allies there. I can’t possibly protect you in America.”

“Ideally, you wouldn’t need to protect me because I’d be far away from your enemies.”

“Wouldn’t you miss me?” The hurt in Hisashi’s voice was sincere. “We’re the only family each other has in the whole world. We’ve never been apart for so long. It’s always been the two of us against the world, just like when we were children, remember?”

Yoichi hardened his heart against the nostalgia attack. “Maybe if I was in a foreign country instead of stuck under your thumb, you’d return my calls in a timely fashion, big brother.”

Hisashi threw up his hands. “That’s what this is about? Just because I had a brief, one-time period where I was too busy to immediately speak to you, you’re going to punish me for it? You’ve always been childish, but this is a new depth of pettiness!”

“It’s not like that.” Yoichi worked hard to keep his tone calm and even, hoping his brother would listen to him if he retained his cool. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past seven days. This isn’t sustainable over the long run. Your ‘business’ already cost me my first job. No job would ever tolerate me vanishing without warning for a week. If you tell me that it’s not safe for me to go outside, and I believe you, then my only choice is to go somewhere far away from your enemies.”

Hisashi said, “I can get you a job with one of my companies.”

“I’m not interested in working for a shell company carrying out illegal business you won’t tell me about.”

“You’d abandon me, your only family member, over a blind commitment to the laws that oppress metahumans?”

“Now who’s being melodramatic? It’s perfectly normal for college students to study abroad. We can still visit on a regular basis. I don’t agree with the current government in the slightest, but don’t pretend to be a noble freedom fighter in front of me. I’m not one of your mindless sycophants. I see through your bullshit. You didn’t gather metahuman criminals under your banner and start a gang war so you could fight for rights! You did it to obtain power! Is that the real reason you’ve been attacked by vigilantes?”

“I keep telling you that I had nothing to do that incident.” Hisashi gestured at the newspaper. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because I’m not stupid?” Yoichi glared. “You even took your name from the Three Musketeers! We used to argue about whether All for One or One for All would be a cooler superhero name when we were children.” He’d asked as a test, and Hisashi had thoroughly failed.

“That’s circumstantial evidence.” Hisashi crossed his arms.

“I don’t want to believe it.” Yoichi hated how his voice shook. Part of the reason he wanted to run away to America was so that he didn’t have to face what his brother might or might not be doing.

Hisashi sighed. “Be honest. You’re behaving like this because you’re jealous. We both wanted metahuman powers as children, but only I got one. The strongest ability, too. It’s not my fault your body was too weak to handle a power, or else I would have given you one.”

“I don’t want a metapower from you any longer.” Yoichi fought back tears. He didn’t entirely mean it—letting go of his superhero dream was hard. “Not if the price would be helping you commit crimes.” That much was true.

“You’re acting like you’re too good to work for my business because you envy my wealth and power. Even though I’ve never done anything except protect you and provide for you, you despise always being the weaker brother. You’ve been a burden on me for years, but you’re petty enough to resent me for it.”

Yoichi flinched. It came close enough to the truth to cut him to the bone. His older brother had hurt him, and he knew exactly how to return the favor. “I’d be embarrassed to associate with your cult. It’s pathetic how you surround yourself with people who worship you and puff up your ego. Does getting sycophants to sing your praises all day fill the void left because Mommy never loved you?”

Hisashi’s eyes widened. Yoichi had crossed a line with that last remark, and they both knew it.

But Yoichi was sick and tired of being called childish and weak by his brother without ever returning fire. He didn’t take back his cruel words. Instead, he goaded, “What’s wrong? You can dish it out, but you can’t take it? I had a lousy childhood too, but you don’t see me forming a personality cult to compensate!” He shouted the last words defensively.

Hisashi growled, “You always put on the pretense of being the morally upright one. But you rely on me to get my hands dirty to protect us both. When have you ever actually done anything to uphold your supposedly noble ideals? You don’t have the power to do so—or maybe that’s just your convenient excuse. You tend to your pure conscience the same way you spend hours every morning primping over your hair—both equally vain and pointless.”

“I’m vain? Who searched around the city for a hair growth ability as soon as he started finding extra hairs in his comb? Did you think that your cultists would stop singing your praises if you developed premature baldness?”

“How’d you even find out about—you’re one to talk, I could adopt my own pet tiger with what you spend on haircare products!” Hisashi’s voice rose. “I’ve given you everything and you aren’t even grateful for it.”

They were both hitting each other’s sore spots in the way only brothers could. Yoichi knew he ought to deescalate this, but he was too angry. “My deranged brother locked me up in his house! I should have expressed my gratitude by calling the police.”

“You think this beautiful mansion where you live rent free is anything like a prison? You’re so spoiled!” Hisashi ground his teeth, visibly trying to regain control of himself. “Go ahead and try to transfer to America. Try to apply for loans. If you can’t obtain any money, you won’t be able to go anywhere.”

Hisashi left the room while Yoichi was still wondering what exactly that meant. It sure had sounded like his older brother had threatened to sabotage his college loan applications, but he couldn’t do that…right?

No matter, because Yoichi was no longer comfortable fleeing to America to avoid his brother’s illegal activities. He needed to do more. His brother’s accusation had pricked his conscience.

Yoichi needed to know the truth about All for One. If he didn’t investigate, if he kept turning a blind eye, then he’d be every bit the hypocrite that Hisashi had accused him of being. Time to break into his older brother’s office.

THE FIFTH DEATH:

Yoichi got into the back of his car with a flash drive full of stolen data in his pocket.

The driver asked, “Are you feeling ill, sir?” Worried eyes peered up at his rear view mirror.

“Young Lord is ill?” Machia bellowed from the front seat. “We must return home at once! I will summon a doctor!” He reached out as if intending to carry Yoichi.

“I’m fine,” Yoichi said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I’ve been cooped up inside too long. I could use some fresh air.” He forced a laugh. It sounded like the dying gasp of a hyena.

Fortunately, the driver didn’t question him any further. Yoichi’s heart hammered inside his ribcage as the mansion gate opened.

He never could have imagined what he’d found in his brother’s office. He’d expected that Hisashi’s business would turn out to be involved in borderline illegal activities, probably money laundering for organized crime. He’d never dreamed that his older brother was the single largest crimelord in Japan.

All for One was a legendary boogeyman. He’d stolen countless abilities and then forced them on other people. Yoichi had seen pictures of victims turned into drooling coma patients after having too many metapowers stuffed inside them. Hisashi had taken chillingly detached research notes. He’d also been experimenting with exerting a subtle mental control over people who’d received abilities from him. Yoichi could only breathe a sigh of relief that his brother had always refused to give him a power.

Yoichi had believed his brother when he’d claimed to only take abilities from people who gave them willingly. For once, his lie-detecting abilities had completely failed him. Or perhaps he hadn’t wanted to see. Hisashi’s private records revealed that the man who’d shot Yoichi had been taking revenge after Hisashi had stolen his metahuman power. (At least Hisashi hadn’t arranged the shooting—Yoichi had very nearly started to wonder about that. But he’d drugged the culprit to stop him from speaking about his motive during the trial.)

Furthermore, Hisashi had secretly forced abilities on the children of powerful people in order to obtain allies for his movement. One of them had died due to inability to control his new power. Another child had been murdered by her own bigoted parents—and Hisashi’s response had been to blackmail them about it.

It had hurt most of all to realize that Hisashi’s metahuman rights movement fronted as part source of stolen abilities, part whitewashing criminal funds, and part publicity stunt. Yoichi had known that Hisashi wasn’t an idealist. But he’d believed his older brother was still doing good for his own selfish reasons. Instead, Hisashi had starkly laid out plans to further inflame the conflict between metahumans and the government so he could use the chaos to seize power.

Yet all of that paled in comparison to the long-term plans for a coup d’état. Hisashi seriously intended to conquer Japan over the next decade and rule it as a military dictatorship.

This was too far. Yoichi had originally intended to take whatever he found to his older brother and try to persuade him to go straight. But with Hisashi planning crimes of this magnitude, Yoichi couldn’t take that chance. Too many people would get hurt if his brother didn’t listen to him. Having crossed so many lines already, it seemed unlikely Hisashi would stop because his naïve little brother tossed off a few platitudes. If only Yoichi had found out sooner…was he kidding himself to believe he might have been able to make a difference?

What would happen to his brother if he turned this information over to the government? Realistically, Hisashi had probably grown too strong for them to do anything except indirectly contain him. Yoichi desperately wanted to believe that. Selfishly, he still didn’t want his big brother to get hurt.

Regardless, Hisashi would never forgive Yoichi for this betrayal.

Why did you have to actually become a supervillain, big brother? It was a cute and funny dream when we were children but you’re rather too old to act like a Demon King. To think you accused me of confusing fantasy with reality. Tears filled Yoichi’s eyes. He rubbed them away before anyone could notice.

Machia escorted Yoichi to a restaurant where he’d claimed to be meeting with a friend. As usual, the bodyguard drew back to allow him private conversation. Yoichi went to the bathroom and escaped out the window.

Knowing how sad Machia would be about losing his charge, Yoichi felt terrible. He felt even more guilty about betraying his brother. Everything about this situation made him sick to the stomach.

He checked into a hotel using only cash. Sitting on a narrow bed, he pondered his options. He decided to email one pdf page of his stolen documents to a government tip hotline. Just enough to prove he had real, valuable information. Then he would bargain to turn over the rest.

Ideally, he would like to cut a deal to help the peaceful metahuman rights movement in exchange for his highly valuable information. The trick would be figuring out how to force the other side to keep their end of the deal. He intended to go through all the documents and delete what was too damaging to the metahuman rights movement. He would also delete anything concerning his brother’s civilian identity and home address, though he had more qualms about that, because he couldn’t risk the information being used to assassinate Hisashi.

Yoichi supposed he’d need to bargain to enter the witness protection program. He might never see his older brother again.

Grief overwhelmed him. He wept as he looked through the files, stopping occasionally to mop tears off his face.

Yoichi barely slept. He’d received a reply from a government agent by the time he woke up. He arranged a meeting in a public place. He was nervous, because they’d agree to all his terms too easily. Either he’d set his price far too low or they didn’t intend to keep their end of the deal. But if he didn’t obtain government protection quickly then his brother would find him. He had no choice but to take a risk.

At the end of the day, he was desperate. He believed that turning this information over was more important than his own safety. Even if someone put a bullet in the back of his head afterward, hopefully they’d still use what he’d found to stop his brother before he turned Japan into a battlefield.

Yoichi wished he’d left a last message for Hisashi. At the time, he’d deemed it too risky, since it could have revealed his intentions to escape early.

Before leaving, he used the hotel iron on the clothes he’d slept in and blow-dried his hair straight. A neat appearance gave him more confidence.

The restaurant door jangled as he pushed it open. He looked around for his contact, a man supposed to be carrying a red handkerchief.

Hisashi stood in front of the restaurant bar, his hands in his pockets. He wore a black pinstripe suit and no tie. Glancing over the crowd of people chattering and eating, he met Yoichi’s eyes and smiled in a way that contained no warmth.

Yoichi tried to run. But his feet were frozen to the floor. A green glow leaked up from around his sneakers. A metahuman ability.

Ironically, he remembered that the ability Hisashi had stolen from the man who’d shot Yoichi had been a power to freeze the victim’s legs to the floor with a glance.

Hisashi walked forward at slow pace. He said, “I’ve taken control of the government tip hotline already. This isn’t the first time my agents there have come in handy—although I would say it’s the most important one. Your message never got past my spy. I contacted you to set up this meeting.”

“That explains it,” Yoichi said, impressed at the calmness of his own voice.

Hisashi stopped in front of him. He reached up with the palms of his hands glowing red. Yoichi flinched away. But Hisashi only tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear. “Time to go home, little brother.”

The patronization in those words. The arrogance. The dismissal. Yoichi raised his voice and shouted, “Someone call the police! I’m being kidnapped!”

Not a single person in the restaurant looked up. The bartender deliberately polished a glass as he avoided looking at Yoichi.

Hisashi said, “Everyone in this building works for me.”

Yoichi swallowed. He’d been the one to pick this location. For Hisashi to take control of a public place within the hour bespoke a terrifying level of influence.

His brother’s plans had included conquering Japan. Yoichi had convinced himself that this must be a sign of madness. That perhaps he was even doing his brother a favor by turning him in before he got himself killed. Now he understood that Hisashi might very well be mad, but he had the power to turn his delusions into reality. Yoichi was terrified. Not just for himself, but for the world.

Hisashi picked him up. His touch held a paralyzing property. Yoichi found he could no longer move even his mouth. Hisashi flung his younger brother over his shoulder and walked onto the street with absolutely no fear he’d be challenged.

Machia opened the car door. “I’m glad to see everything went smoothly, Lord.” There was a note of reproach in his eyes as he stared at Yoichi.

Yoichi squirmed inside and simultaneously resented that he could be made to feel guilty. He wasn’t the one in the wrong here.

Hisashi barely spoke during the drive. The silence intimidated Yoichi because it was so unlike his brother not to gloat or persuade. Hisashi did not let his little brother out of his arms for the entire trip, nor when they arrived back at the mansion. He carried Yoichi upstairs.

Numerous items had been removed from his bedroom, though Yoichi couldn’t move his head to make a proper catalogue. His desk had been cleared of anything sharp. The table lamp was gone and the windows had been barred.

Hisashi took off his shoes and tucked him into bed before departing.

When the bedroom door locked behind Hisashi, Yoichi thought bitterly that at least his brother wasn’t pretending any longer.

OMAKE TIME!

Hisashi: Now you understand what it feels like when someone ignores your calls, baby brother.

Yoichi: The circumstances this chapter and last chapter are completely different! You called every day to prevent me from having a social life and I wanted to know why I’d been placed under house arrest!

Later, more projection from Hisashi:

Hisashi: You’re such a hypocrite—you keep spouting about your morals but you never act on them.

Yoichi: Okay, I’m going to investigate your wrongdoings instead of turning a blind eye.

Hisashi: Wait, no, I didn’t mean it like that! Blindness is great. I’ll happily help you stay blind for the rest of your life.

Chapter Text

THE SIXTH DEATH:

The mansion had two dining rooms: a casual one and a fancy one for entertaining guests and special occasions. It very much bothered Yoichi that he’d been escorted to the more extravagant room, because he doubted his older brother wanted to celebrate his escape attempt. What was Hisashi up to? Yoichi squirmed in the blue cushioned chair.

The oak walls had woodwork imitating pillars and floor-to-ceiling windows. Landscapes in Ukiyo-e style hung on the wall. The chandelier was shaped like an octopus with electric candles poking out of glass tentacles pointing in all directions. The tarnished gold frame made the chandelier look like an antique, but Yoichi knew full well his big brother had commissioned it. Hisashi had added the black sunglasses as a tribute to Doc Ock, one of his favorite supervillains.

A bonsai tree sat on top of the marble fireplace. The albino redwood was one of Hisashi’s most prized possessions, so he never missed a chance to show it off. Only a foot tall, its trunk curved around a supporting rock and the branches sprouted white needles. The total lack of color made it plain why they were called ghost trees. Yoichi suspected that Hisashi liked the bonsai tree so much because it was white like his hair. Big brother was vain enough. Albino redwoods couldn’t photosynthesize, so they had to be fed nutrients and constantly monitored by a careful gardener. Actually, Yoichi had gotten his brother the original sprout as a birthday present after Hisashi had spoken a tad too wistfully about the good old days looking after his younger brother when he’d been sick. The memory gave Yoichi an uneasy feeling. He jerked his eyes away from the miniature tree.

The long chestnut table could seat a dozen people and it currently held enough food for all of them, too. The traditional Japanese feast contained pork cutlets, tempura, yakitori, and miso soup. It smelled delicious, but Yoichi’s stomach had worked itself into too many knots for him to have an appetite. The paralyzation had worn off long ago. This was the first time he’d been allowed out of his room. He couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at the door. But even leaving aside the men stationed outside, he’d never get past his superpowered brother.

“Eat up while it’s still hot.” Hisashi gestured at the katsudon.

Steam rose off the pork cutlet. Breakfast had been delivered to his bedroom, but Yoichi had felt too anxious to eat. Now his stomach growled. But he was suspicious that his brother would prepare his favorite food after what he’d done. He glanced up. Hisashi’s face looked calm and impassive. Big brother hadn’t seemed angry earlier, either. It was hard to believe.

Looking at his empty plate, Yoichi whispered, “What are you going to do to me?”

“That depends on whether we can reach an agreement.” Hisashi placed a cutlet on Yoichi’s plate. “Calm down. I would never hurt you. Even though you apparently can’t say the same in return.”

Yoichi glanced up. “I wouldn’t have told them anything they could use to assassinate you. But your plans had to be stopped.” He couldn’t keep a wobble from his voice. His brother’s disapproval and disappointment still had the power to hurt him.

“With my ability, the government would never have seen me as anything except a villain no matter what I did. Just how naïve are you? How could you do this to me, after everything I’ve done to protect you?”

“You’re trying to overthrow the legitimate government of Japan. I don’t think your metahuman power is the reason they think you’re a villain.” A bit of defiance leaked into Yoichi’s voice. He recognized the theatrics lurking in his brother’s guilt trip. “I’ll accept your anger as deserved, but spare me the fake surprise. You knew full well I’d react like this. That’s why you kept your criminal empire a secret.”

“I’d noticed you getting more rebellious and reckless.” Hisashi steepled his fingers. “I knew I couldn’t trust you to be sensible about this.”

“Be sensible?” A hysterical giggle escaped Yoichi’s lips. “You’re planning to conquer Japan like some sort of demon king from a comic book, but you think I’m not being sensible.”

Hisashi leaned forward. His eyes blazed. “The Japanese government will inevitably fall. They don’t have the power to stop the rising number of metahumans. It’s just a matter of who will rule. Wouldn’t it be better if it’s someone smart and competent? The only way I can keep both of us safe is to make sure I come out on top in the coming chaos.”

Yoichi didn’t even know where to begin. He took a bite of food. His usual favorite tasted like ashes in his mouth. “You’re not going to persuade me that you need to conquer Japan out of self-defense, big brother. You could never persuade me to accept such a thing at all. It’s too insane.”

“I’m willing to compromise. I’d only ever make such an offer to you, my dear little brother. I can guarantee that non-metahumans will retain full citizenship.”

“Removing our human rights was on the table?” Yoichi whispered.

“Not to you, of course.” Hisashi tried to rapidly backpedal. “That’s what would happen if someone else took over. There are numerous metahuman superiority groups on the rise. Imagine what they’d do if one of them wins. I’ve brought them under my control in order to protect people.”

“Stop lying to me. I saw your files. You’ve already hurt so many people. Those whose powers you stole. Those who you forced powers upon. People who you used and then discarded. Crimes you instigated. All I want is for you to stop hurting people!”

“I don’t even have to compromise with you at all, yet I’m still trying to be reasonable.” Hisashi sighed.

Belatedly, Yoichi realized that he would have been smarter to pretend compliance and try to obtain more freedom. But that probably wouldn’t have worked. His big brother had always been good at telling when he was lying, just like the other way around. Hisashi knew Yoichi too well to believe he’d give up his moral principles under threat.

Fine, then, he’d try reason. “Big brother, have you truly thought about what it means to destroy Japan’s government? Your organization may be large, but you don’t have the infrastructure to replace the entire police force and bureaucracy. That means a long period of chaos. Haven’t you read history articles about what happens in failed states? Japan is an island: refugees will drown by the thousands trying to escape. Innocents who never persecuted anyone and people with weak metapowers will be caught in the crossfire.”

Hisashi said, “And then they’ll turn to the only strong leader available—me. The brief period of chaos is a necessary evil, little brother, before I create a better society.”

Yoichi gaped at his older brother, who had in the space of a day warped into a complete stranger. His brother bullshit detector had revealed an unfortunate truth: Hisashi didn’t particular care about creating a better world, just one where he came out on top. He’d deliberately cause the deaths of innocents to further his plans.

When had Hisashi changed so much? He’d never been perfect, but he hadn’t been this awful. Surely Yoichi would have noticed. Or had he refused to see? For how long had he existed in a state of denial? He’d read about horrors in his brother’s files, but he hadn’t been able to make himself completely believe it until he’d heard it from Hisashi’s own lips.

How could Yoichi possibly reason with Hisashi if their basic frame of reference was so different? What Yoichi considered all-important didn’t matter to Hisashi at all, and as a prisoner Yoichi had no ability to make his older brother care. This conversation had been futile from the very beginning.

Yoichi asked harshly, “What do you plan to do with me?”

“Japan is about to get increasingly turbulent—”

“Because of you,” Yoichi muttered.

“It’s no longer safe for you to attend school. I need you to stay inside. I’ll apply for a leave of absence from Tokyo University on your behalf.”

“In other words, just like before.” Yoichi stabbed his katsudon with extra emphasis.

“Yes, exactly. See? I’m not punishing you.” From Hisashi’s smile, he’d completely missed the point.

Yoichi shrieked, “It hardly comforts me that my regular life is sufficiently close to house arrest as to be indistinguishable—”

The rest of the lunch dissolved into a shouting match.

After lunch, Yoichi collapsed sideways onto his bed, coughing and wheezing. Just the distance to the bathroom to get a drink of water felt unbearably far. His pride wouldn’t allow him to call to the guards outside his room for help.

Red spots danced behind his eyes. His throat burned. Chills shook his body.

Hisashi rushed into the room. “Little brother, I’m here.” He held up a cup of water to his lips.

Yoichi drank gratefully. His limbs felt numb. Hisashi placed a cold cloth over his forehead, then wrapped him up in blankets. “There, there,” Hisashi murmured, wiping sweaty hair off his forehead.

Sleep beckoned. But Yoichi cracked an eye open. “How did you know I was sick?”

“I heard you coughing from the hallway, of course.”

This sounded plausible. His brother was definitely creepy enough to be lurking around outside his bedroom. But the timing of this relapse was too coincidental. He’d been waiting all day for a punishment, and here it came. “Did you poison my lunch?”

“What? Of course not! Your stress must have brought back your illness. Is this the fever talking? Are you delirious?” Hisashi held out a thermometer. “Say ‘ahhh.’”

The world spun and blurred. Yoichi could no longer hold onto consciousness. But his last thought was, Liar.

For several days, Hisashi remained close by Yoichi’s side, pouring liquids and medicine down his throat, reading to him, even sometimes singing a lullaby. Every night, Hisashi lay down on the same bed to sleep holding him.

Yoichi endured. He acted even weaker than he felt in reality. At one point, Yoichi snapped and screamed at his brother to stop touching him, but Hisashi only took this as the fever talking. Afterward, Yoichi tried even harder to seem meek and grateful.

When several days of compliance had passed, Hisashi finally started leaving Yoichi alone for long periods. His work must be calling him back.

After dinner, Yoichi looked around and listened at his door for any noise. Then he staggered the toilet and stuck a finger down his throat, forcing himself to throw up.

His symptoms improved within the hour. By morning, he felt significantly better. Of course, he kept pretending to be too ill to even leave his bed.

This new truth might be the cruelest one of all. Because now he had to wonder precisely how long his brother had been poisoning him to make him sicker.

THE SEVENTH DEATH:

Yoichi ran down the dark street. His empty stomach felt like it was eating a hole through his spine. Nearly two weeks of pretending to be sicker than he actually was and secretly throwing up his food had finally paid off. He’d successfully coaxed his brother to let him take short walks outside. The first couple times, he’d played weak and passive. He’d waited for his ever-busy brother to inevitably receive an important phone call during one of their walks and return to the mansion. Then he’d beaten two guards unconscious with his cane and made his escape.

The guards clearly had been ordered not to bruise him, and he’d taken shameless advantage of that. Maybe he ought to feel guilty for attacking one from behind and smacking the other across the skull while the man had been trying to reason with him, but he felt more annoyed at being so badly underestimated.

A wave of dizziness swamped Yoichi. He grabbed a sidewalk bench before he fell down. He hadn’t been able to purge all the drugs from his system.

Where to go? After last time he’d tried the authorities, Yoichi was afraid to risk the police station. Hisashi’s corrupt minions had infiltrated too deeply. His college friends were all ordinary people, so he would never put them in danger.

He saw two paths before him: try contact a higher-level politician or try to escape Japan.

Leaning on the bench, Yoichi hesitated. For his own safety, it would be better to get as far away from Hisashi as possible. But he still wanted to stop his brother. He remembered at least the rough outline of All for One’s plans. He couldn’t just run away when he might be able to make a difference.

Perhaps a homeless shelter first. If he could only obtain internet access long enough to look up the location of a political rival to his brother—

“You shouldn’t be running around, in your condition.”

Yoichi whirled around. His brother sauntered down the sidewalk toward him.

“How?” One syllable was all he could manage.

Hisashi smiled. “I have many means of tracking your location.”

Yoichi’s stomach plummeted. He might be able to do something about a bug, but if his brother had a metahuman ability that could be used to find him, then he had no idea how to counter that. Tears blurred his vision, but he was determined not to cry. He wanted to say something snarky or defiant, but only a cough emerged.

Hisashi leapt forward to grab him as he swayed. “Sit down. I’ll bring a car around. Does it hurt? Try to breathe deeply.”

“Stop!” Yoichi yanked his arm free. “Stop sounding so concerned! I know you did this to me! You made me sick!”

“This again?” Hisashi frowned. “You’ve always been sick, ever since childhood—”

“I’m perfectly healthy when I’m not living with you! Stop treating me like I’m stupid! You enjoy it, looking after me, but not because you care. You like to feel superior to me. You want to force me to depend on you.”

“Of all the ingratitude—”

“Who the hell would be grateful to you for locking me up and poisoning me? I hate you!”

The words echoed down the darkened, deserted street. Yoichi panted. Hisashi looked stunned. Yoichi had never gone so far before, not even after he’d found out about his brother’s identity as All for One. But he meant the words. He loved his big brother, but he also hated him. When had this dark feeling started? He didn’t know. He hadn’t even realized it until he’d spoken it out loud. The sincerity of his fury had shocked both of them.

“Shut up!” Hisashi lunged forward, a snarl twisting his face. He grabbed his little brother’s head in an iron grip.

For the first time in his life, Yoichi feared his brother would beat him. Instead, a metahuman power forced him into unconsciousness.

Yoichi woke up resting on a hard surface. It was too small and narrow to be his usual bed. He sat up. He’d been lying on a mattress on the floor. Three walls and the ceiling were made of concrete. The room had a desk, a bookshelf, a television, and a curtain likely hiding a toilet. The front wall was made of silver bars.

For a moment, Yoichi believed he was in a prison cell, and he felt relieved, because his brother wouldn’t be able to get to him there.

But then he recognized the back of a man guarding the barred door as a member of Hisashi’s security team. He even recognized the picture hanging on the hallway beyond. This was the mansion’s basement.

He squeezed his eyes shut. But this time, he couldn’t stop himself from crying.

THE EIGHTH DEATH:

The cell door opened with a rattle.

Yoichi lifted his head just enough to see that Hisashi had entered the basement room. Then he let his hair fall back over his face and lay still. There was no point in moving. He had no illusions that he could beat his big brother in a fight.

The guards remained standing rigidly in front of the cell with their backs turned. They weren’t allowed to speak to him. It had been weeks since he’d been permitted conversation with anyone except his older brother. Machia never came down here, probably because no amount of orders would be able to stop the gregarious bodyguard from talking.

Hisashi’s black dress shoes clacked as he walked across the tiles. Over the last two weeks, the cell had been stripped of everything except the mattress and the toilet.

The television had been removed after he’d broken off a piece of glass and used it to stab the guard bringing him food. He’d gotten out the mansion that time and even partway climbed the wall. That had been the closest he’d gotten to escaping. Afterward, the number of guards had tripled, and they’d started carrying nets and tasers instead of guns they weren’t allowed to use on him.

The desk had vanished after he’d broken off the leg to club a guard unconscious, then reached through the bars to steal his keys. The curtain had been stripped from the toilet after he’d looped it through the bars and strangled a guard. During that incident, he’d found out the guards no longer carried keys when they went near him and his brother didn’t care enough for them to have value as hostages. That showed how much All for One valued his people. Yoichi felt sorry for traumatizing the man even though he’d been bluffing about killing him.

Sheets and blankets had been stripped from his bed after similar attempts to use them as noose weapons. The books had been taken from his room as punishment after his fifth escape attempt. The bookshelf had quickly followed, after he’d dismantled it late at night and used a screw as a lockpick.

Ten escape attempts so far, and to his profound frustration, he’d yet to get as close as the first time. He’d replayed that first attempt in his mind a million times, thinking about what he could have done differently while security had been lighter.

He’d left scratches on the cement wall to record each day. Since that fateful lunch in the guest dining room, he’d been imprisoned for a month. Longer if he counted when the so-called lockdown had first started—and he ought to count that, given what he knew now.

Over the last week, he’d heard the sound of construction in the basement. He’d seen metal carried down the stairs. He feared if he didn’t escape soon, he would end up in an even worse prison.

The door creaked open. Hisashi crouched down next to the mattress. He held a bowl of miso soup. His voice was gentle. “You have to eat something. You’ve gotten so skinny.” He waved the bowl, scattering a tantalizing scent.

Yoichi’s stomach growled. He placed a hand over his nose to muffle the smell. He’d become so hungry that he could barely think. His head spun and his stomach cramped. Whenever he tried to plan an escape, his thoughts kept drifting back to visions of katsudons and cakes. His whole body trembled with longing. The miso scent leaked through his fingers, reigniting his hunger. But he knew that all the food was drugged. It would steal the strength from his limbs and the thoughts from his mind. If he was to have any hope of escape, he had to maintain his resolve.

As he did every time his brother visited, Yoichi tried yet again. “Please listen to me, Hisashi. There has to be a way for you to get the power you think you need to protect yourself without hurting—”

Hisashi shoved a spoon at his mouth.

Yoichi slammed his lips closed in time. The spoon bounced off, sloshing soup down his chin. They’d played this game enough times that he’d been ready. Fury and frustration twisted in his gut. He didn’t know why he kept trying when he’d concluded on the very first day that he couldn’t reason with his brother. Masochism, probably.

Today in particular, he couldn’t afford to swallow any tainted food. He had a plan. Based on the count he’d laboriously recorded on his wall, tomorrow Japan’s greatest master bonsai artist would visit the mansion to checkup on Hisashi’s prized albino tree. The elderly gardener was the only person who didn’t get searched when she left the mansion, because she knew nothing about All for One and she was too famous to be under his thumb. The guards even kept their weapons out of sight around her.

Yoichi had stolen a pen and two paperclips during his last escape attempt and hidden them inside his flat pillow. Late at night, he’d worked them into a homemade lockpick. Despite a desperate need to run itching under his skin, he’d bided his time. He refused to be drugged now, on the day he planned to escape.

Hisashi pushed Yoichi’s bangs off his sweaty forehead. He held up a spoon. “I’ll feed you. All you have to do is open your mouth.” Desperation filled his voice. His eyes ran over Yoichi’s emaciated form and sunken cheeks.

At least his older brother wasn’t enjoying the caretaking game any longer. It gave Yoichi a small measure of spiteful satisfaction. He pressed his lips tightly together.

Hisashi pinched his nose shut.

Yoichi held on as long as he could, until his body screamed for oxygen and his mouth snapped open. Then he braced himself to resist the tempting soup and spit it back into his brother’s face. They’d done this before, too. Last time, Yoichi had barely swallowed anything despite his older brother’s repeated efforts. He took great pride in how he’d left Hisashi’s expensive silk suit covered in spilled soup.

But this time, Hisashi forced a tube down his throat.

It hurt. And that was before Hisashi poured the soup down the funnel. The liquid felt hot and slimy. Yoichi gagged so hard he couldn’t breathe. Spots danced across his vision. He strained his muscles, but once again, he’d been frozen by a metahuman ability. He couldn’t hit or punch his tormentor. His throat muscles could barely swallow. Yet swallow they did, against his will, driven by primal instinct not to suffocate.

Yoichi was choking. His body kept trying to be sick, but the tube down his throat wouldn’t let him. Tears formed around the corners of his eyes.

Hisashi stroked his hair. He said something. It might have been “I’m sorry.”

The drugs hit Yoichi’s empty stomach and he passed out immediately.

When Yoichi woke up, he felt stuffed and warm, wrapped up in a cocoon of blankets.

Only flashes of the previous day remained with him. Maybe it had all been a fever dream. Hisashi apologizing? That part definitely couldn’t have been real.

His throat hurt. But he couldn’t remember why.

He almost closed his eyes and went back to sleep. But a voice in the back of his head screamed at him. Something is wrong.

A motor roared in the distance. Something…something about that sound was important. He’d been counting days for…some reason. His gaze fastened on the tally marks on the bottom of the wall. Then his heavy lids slid shut.

Yoichi bit his lip and dug his nails until his own wrist until he bled. The pain snapped him back to awareness.

He was locked in a cell in the basement. His brother had broken his hunger strike. Already, a fog covered his mind. His limbs felt heavy. He strained to remember through his drugged haze.

The famous bonsai artist. Her monthly visit. His plan came rushing back to him. How much of the day had passed? He couldn’t see sunlight in here, so for all he knew it might already be too late.

Yoichi reached for the hole in his pillow hiding his latest handmade lockpick. He found nothing. This pillow was much plusher than his last one. It had been changed along with his new bedsheets.

Oh, the bitter irony of it. His plan hadn’t even been uncovered, yet his lockpick was still gone, taken the day of his long-awaited escape by total coincidence.

It wasn’t fair. A strange thing for a prisoner stuffed into a hole underground to think: nothing about this situation was fair. A hysterical giggle bubbled up in his throat. It was all over.

No. He couldn’t give up on his big once-a-month chance. Especially when he doubted he’d still be able to walk after another month of starvation. But if he consumed too much more drugged food, he’d completely lose both the will and the physical capacity to fight back. He needed to escape, right here and right now, or all hope would be lost.

Yoichi’s eyes scanned his empty cell. A mattress had little value as a weapon, and he’d already tried to break the toilet. Even his new blankets had been staked to the floor, and he couldn’t tear off a piece without the guard noticing. He had no resources left but his brain.

A single guard with a crewcut and a black suit stood with his back facing Yoichi. The keys hung on the other wall, out of reach. No matter what, he had to make this man open the door.

Ironically, what finally came to mind was an old trick he’d used as a child whenever Hisashi proved particularly annoying.

Yoichi started singing, “One hundred and one bottles of beer on the wall.”

The first dozen repetitions of the song remained the same, in order to establish a pattern. The guard was already started to twitch in annoyance at the repetitive, obnoxious tune. Yet he remained professional, keeping his back turned from the prisoner he’d been ordered to give an illusion of privacy.

Then Yoichi started changing up his singing. He would stretch out his words longer, then skip part of the song. This technique forced the listener to wait and wait for the predicable next part of the verse, only to be jolted when it never came. By using a commonly known song but deviating from the expected pattern, he made his horrible music impossible to tune out or ignore.

Yoichi was a naturally talented singer. He’d been soloist at the school choir throughout high school. Now he turned his skill to deliberately singing in the perfect opposite of the correct pitch. The most unholy possible anti-key screeched through the air like the unified scream of a thousand damned souls falling into Hell.

The guard was covering his ears now. Yoichi sang even louder. His throat hurt. He’d continued this torturous singing for two straight hours without once pausing for a break.

It was a battle of wills. The guard broke first. He fled down the hallway.

Yoichi stopped singing. He waited and prayed.

As he’d hoped, the senior guard standing at the stairwell shouted, “What do you mean, the prisoner is singing annoying songs at you? Are you a professional or a child? Get back to your post!”

The guard slunk back, his eyes downcast. He returned to blessed silence. His spine straightened and his face perked up.

Yoichi started singing again.

With an insane growl, the guard grabbed the keys and opened the door. His eyes held nothing but madness. He hissed, “Shut up or I’ll make you—”

Yoichi lunged. He was a starving, sickly youth with no weapon or combat training. All that sustained him was his fury and desperation.

The guard finally understood the seriousness of his situation as Yoichi grabbed his shoulders. The man punched, but he didn’t have the leverage to hit hard enough. Yoichi used all his body weight to slam the guard into the wall. His skull cracked.

Yoichi slammed the guard’s head into the wall again. The man slumped down, unconscious.

He could hear the other guards coming down the stairs. He grabbed the taser off the limp body. His heart hammered and his head spun.

Unfortunately, the guards could kick his ass, and he had the bruises to prove it. Time to use his brain again. A woman’s voice came from among the three approaching, and there were few enough female guards for him to know her identity—and her metapower. That gave him a plan.

Yoichi dropped face-first to the floor and lay still. He kept even his breathing small and motionless.

Above him, a male voice said, “How did he possibly get out of his cell again—oh, no.”

“Is he dead?” an even more panicky man asked. “Oh, god, he looks like a corpse. We’re all going to die!”

“Stop panicking,” the lone woman snapped. “But, uh, maybe don’t call in the escape attempt until I’ve checked for a pulse.”

They hadn’t yet sounded the alarm? This was even better than Yoichi had hoped for. How nice of his brother to have terrorized his minions into stupidity.

The woman leaned down and grabbed Yoichi’s wrist.

In a flash, he leapt to his feet and fastened his other hand on top of hers. He timed it perfectly, waiting until her cheeks puffed up, then spinning her to face her two comrades.

A pinkish poison gas emerged from her mouth, sending the other two guards unconscious to the floor.

“Thank you,” Yoichi whispered before he pressed the taser into her side. She collapsed to the ground.

A feral grin peeled back Yoichi’s lips as he skipped up the stairs. In his darkest hour, his little brother skills at annoyance and faking injuries hadn’t failed him. Yoichi had a good feeling that today would be a victory for younger siblings.

Yoichi crouched under a tarp covering the back of a small green truck. Gardening equipment pressed close and dug into his hip. He curled up his body to be not-person-shaped.

It only took minutes for the front gate to open, but it felt like hours. Even after the truck turned right at the end of the driveway onto the road, he couldn’t relax. He had no idea how long it would take before the guards’ unconscious bodies would be found. Carefully, he counted off five minutes, then peered out from under the tarp. The mansion was no longer in eyesight.

The truck had no roof. Yoichi squirmed over the back and landed in the passenger seat.

Japan’s greatest bonsai artist screamed and slammed the brakes. “A ghost!” Whoa, just how terrible did he look? She closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and recited a prayer.

Yoichi could never bring himself to attack an elderly woman. He’d planned to beg for a ride, but for her sake, it would be better if Hisashi didn’t blame her for helping him. Yoichi leaned over to open the truck door, then he picked up the chanting old lady and gently placed her on the ground.

When he’d been healthier—before his brother had poisoned him—this wouldn’t have been too hard. But right now, he probably weighed even less than her. His head spun. Pain pierced between his temples. Red stars danced behind his vision, and he nearly passed out.

The truck started to roll off the road. Yoichi barely got his foot on the brakes in time. Then he closed the door and slammed on the gas.

As he drove off, the old lady shouted, “That’s right, you’d better run away, ghost! I have more sutras!”

He felt horribly guilty about stealing her truck, but he told himself it would only be temporary. He would need to ditch this vehicle soon, because Hisashi’s people would shortly be looking for it. For now, he focused on putting distance between himself and his brother’s mansion as fast as possible.

The roofless truck roared down the road. The sunlight beating down on Yoichi nearly blinded him. It had been so long since he’d been outside. The drugs made his head spin and his arms wobble. Dots and squiggly lines filled his vision.

Legally, he shouldn’t be driving in this state. He ran a real risk of nodding off at the wheel and killing himself, or worse, some innocent bystander. He needed a destination and a plan.

Who could he go to? The government had been infiltrated by All for One. He had little faith in them regardless, after their treatment of metahumans.

He thought of the metahuman vigilantes. Based on his brother’s words, he’d scorned them as a bunch of reckless lawbreakers. He’d never given them enough regard to understand their goals and methods. But from the information he’d stolen from his brother, he remembered that their group had been the biggest thorn in All for One’s side. The only metahumans he’d never been able to turn to his side or even infiltrate with spies.

The enemy of his enemy was his friend, any port in a storm, and all that jazz. Yoichi was desperate.

He drove to the public library. Trying to look normal and sane, he staggered to a computer.

Yoichi found the webpage where the vigilantes advertised their services. They had a form where people could submit requests for help. He gave them as much as he could remember about his older brother’s plans, including All for One’s civilian identity and home address.

Funny how much he’d changed from when he’d tried to censor his information to protect his brother. Or rather, not funny at all. His head hurt so much that he knew he was leaving out important details. He did not admit the source of his information. He doubted being All for One’s younger brother would help his case.

Now all he could do was pray they wouldn’t simply ignore an anonymous message.

Looking up, Yoichi spotted a librarian talking into the phone. Her eyes widened at his gaze, and she lowered her head guiltily.

His brother had even corrupted little old ladies to his service? Yoichi wanted to laugh hysterically. Giving up all subtlety, he tossed her the truck keys. “Tell him to make sure the rightful owner gets her vehicle back.” Then he ran for the door.

A group of metahumans fell upon him in the parking lot. He didn’t even manage to use his taser. His body had completely shut down. He barely struggled as they bustled him into their vehicle. The drive passed in a blur.

The minions threw him at his brother’s feet.

Hisashi wasn’t as angry as Yoichi had expected. Instead, he seemed smug and triumphant. Yoichi had a bad feeling that his brother had realized the same thing as him—that this would probably be the last escape. A steady supply of drugs would ensure it. Yoichi had hit his limits physically and mentally.

Two unfamiliar men came forward. Hisashi switched a metahuman power from one man to the other and they fell all over themselves thanking him and promising to serve him.

Yoichi knew this was wrong. It was a trick, a trap. His brother would leverage this debt to entangle these two men who only wanted to live peaceful lives into his national domination plans. Based on the records of his experiments, Hisashi might even be able to influence the thoughts of the man with the new power. Yoichi tried to warn them, but the drugs fogged his mind and nothing coherent came out of his mouth. Sweat dripped down his face. When he lunged forward to stop his brother, he fell over coughing up blood.

Hisashi spoke, at his most persuasive as he spun lies and justifications. Yoichi argued against him, but he kept tripping over his numb tongue. His thoughts refused to articulate themselves. He was lowered to shouting insults at his older brother.

An unfamiliar man claiming to be Hisashi’s bodyguard knocked him to the ground and chastised him for insulting “the great All for One.”

Hisashi told his minion to be careful with his fragile younger brother, and Yoichi clearly heard both the mockery and the victory in his voice. When his older brother claimed to love him, Yoichi wanted to curse him. But his world faded into blackness first.

It all felt like a fever dream. When he returned to consciousness, he lay inside a metal box. It was completely dark. He tried not to feel afraid, all alone in a small space and unable to see.

The air hummed. Feeling around, Yoichi found a ventilator on the wall. Panic started to set in. Exactly what sort of prison doesn’t even let air escape?

The walls felt tighter around him. He forced himself to breathe steadily. Continuing his search, he found nothing else in the room but a portable toilet. The door had no knob.

Yoichi recoiled in horror from the touch of cold steel. He was locked inside a bank vault.

Even using his greatest skill and cleverness, he could never escape this place. And he finally despaired.

THE FINAL DEATH:

Hisashi hummed as he pushed open the metal door. Yoichi, huddled on the floor, didn’t even move as a sliver of light fell across him. The poor thing must be utterly exhausted by his pointless struggles. As Hisashi knelt down and picked Yoichi up, he barely even stirred from his drug-induced slumber.

What a relief, to finally have his younger brother back in his arms. Yoichi felt too light and bony, but at least that made him easier to carry. It felt immensely emotionally satisfying to have his little brother limp like this, no longer able to shout hurtful words or offer futile resistance, entirely under his control.

After several days locked in the vault, Yoichi had picked up an unpleasant sweaty smell. He still refused to eat. It had taken the feeding tube again to put him to sleep so Hisashi could give him a bath.

A guard had already carried in a tub. Hisashi tested the water’s temperature, finding it warm. Then he stripped off Yoichi’s clothes.

Hisashi lifted his younger brother up and placed him in the bathtub. Yoichi mumbled upon being submerged, but his limbs remained limp and helpless. Steam rose off the water. Hisashi scrubbed off the dirt with a sponge, then washed the greasy hair. The scent of lavender shampoo drifted upward as he massaged the suds into his little brother’s scalp. When he worked out a knot on the skull with his fingers, he got a contented moan in response. Hisashi was careful not to not to tug too hard or let any shampoo get into Yoichi’s eyes. His little brother looked so small and breakable. Hisashi felt proud of himself for his gentleness.

He could have ordered a minion to handle this menial task. But he didn’t like the idea of someone else touching his brother like this. It wasn’t any trouble to do it himself. In fact, he enjoyed reliving the old days when he’d given his infant brother baths because no one else in the household could remember to do so on a regular basis. Their father had been often absent, and their mother had dark moods where she forgot her children even existed. So Hisashi had stepped up to make sure feeding and other caretaking happened. Yoichi had been even tinier back then. Even more helpless. A dark longing twisted inside Hisashi’s chest.

Yoichi would never have permitted this if he’d been awake. He’d stopped all shared baths the instant he’d been old enough to clean himself. He’d always been squirrely and squirmy about touching. Since his early teenage years, he’d completely rejected cuddling, to Hisashi’s frustration. For a long time, he hadn’t been able to get anything except quick hugs and head pats.

Now Yoichi had no control in the matter. It brought Hisashi an inordinate amount of satisfaction.

Not that he was doing this for self-gratification. No, it was all part of the plan. Step one: strip Yoichi of all control over his body.

Hisashi had done extensive research into brainwashing. He’d even hired an expert consultant from North Korea. He needed to get this right. After all, his only family member was the most important treasure in the world to him. When he was done, Yoichi would finally join him willingly.

Isolation sped up the conditioning. Hisashi had removed everything from the room and left his younger brother in darkness in order to soften him up. The force-feeding and bathing would create a sense of dependency. Yoichi hadn’t been sleeping well on the hard floor, and Hisashi made a point to stop by and wake him up whenever he did doze off. The sleep deprivation would also make his younger brother more susceptible to influence. Hisashi used his visits to berate and criticize his brother, the next step in the brainwashing. His demonstration with the two men had been staged for the same purpose.

Hisashi didn’t enjoy causing his brother pain. He felt guilty every time he opened the vault door to find Yoichi curled up in a bundle of thin limbs. But the two of them couldn’t continue like this, with Yoichi constantly hurting himself trying to escape. Hisashi would do whatever he had to do in order to protect his baby brother from himself.

Torture was an ugly word. Hisashi’s mind shied away from it. He hadn’t laid a finger on Yoichi. It didn’t count.

The third stage would begin after Yoichi had collapsed into a state of adequate compliance: the love bombing. Hisashi very much looked forward to that step, when he’d be able to shower his little brother with affection and attention.

The bathwater had started to chill by the time Yoichi was clean and scrubbed to shininess. Hisashi lifted his little brother out and dressed him in a fresh set of clothes: fuzzy light blue cotton pajamas. He’d like to put his brother in a nice silk suit, but the floor was too dirty.

Water dripped between Hisashi’s fingers as he combed his brother’s shoulder-length hair. He gently worked out each knot. It would be faster if he’d cut Yoichi’s hair short, but he knew his little brother preferred long hair, so he’d left it. That just went to prove what a generous older brother he was.

Yoichi shivered in his sleep as Hisashi set him down on the hard floor. The room was kept constantly a little too cold. Part of the softening up process.

At this point, Hisashi ought to leave and start the isolation again. But he couldn’t quite bring himself to walk away from the small, fragile bundle lying on the floor.

Probably it wouldn’t hurt to start the positive reinforcement stage a little early. Yoichi wouldn’t even remember this. But he always slept so much better when his older brother held him. Hisashi’s heart panged with longing as he remembered all the times during their childhood when he’d graciously slept together with his little brother so Yoichi wouldn’t have nightmares.

Nostalgia made Hisashi sit down, his back leaning against the wall, and tug Yoichi’s head into his lap. “I’m here to keep you safe,” he whispered as he smoothed his brother’s damp hair. “Everything will be okay. I’ll protect you. Even if I have to rewrite reality, I’ll keep you by my side.”

Hisashi pulled Yoichi even closer, nestling his brother’s head against his chest. This felt just right, cushioning Yoichi from the metal floor and using his body heat to ward off the chill of the room. It was his role as older brother to look after the younger one. Hisashi hummed an old childhood lullaby as he hugged his little brother.

The only shadow over his happiness was Yoichi’s thinness and pallor. Dark bags made his eyes look like a raccoon’s. In his unconsciousness, he barely moved, disturbingly close to a corpse. Perhaps he should adjust the drugs. Hisashi preferred Yoichi weak enough to stay out of trouble, but no permanent damage.

The two of them would eventually get past this rough patch. After all, they were each other’s only family. At the end of the day, Yoichi didn’t have anyone except his older brother (Hisashi had made certain of that), and Hisashi would always be there for him.

OMAKE TIME!

Hisashi: I miss looking after my brother when he’s sick. I’m going to poison him.

Yoichi: Have you considered babying a high-maintenance bonsai tree instead?

Hisashi: The tree won’t thank me.

Yoichi: Neither will I.

Chapter Text

TRYING TO RESURRECT THE CORPSE:

Yoichi woke up to discover one of his arms had fallen asleep. He groaned and shifted, wincing at the pins and needles.

A weight lying over his body stopped him from sitting up. He shoved it off. An arm.

Hisashi was sleeping curled up against him. Yoichi screamed. He threw himself to the other side of the vault and plastered his back against the wall, willing the steel to break and let him run away.

Oh, god, his hair felt wet. These pajamas were a different shade of blue than when he’d gone to sleep. Someone had given him a bath while he’d been drugged unconscious. He shivered.

Hisashi sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Argh, my ears. You’re even more piercing than my alarm clock.” His gaze turned rueful as it fell on Yoichi. “I meant to be gone before you woke up.”

Yoichi’s skin crawled. What did that mean? Could Hisashi have done this before? Given the frequency of drugs in his food, he probably wouldn’t have even noticed if his brother had been secretly sleep-cuddling him.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.” Hisashi sounded disturbingly normal about this, as if he believed they were still children sneaking into each other’s bed at night when scared. “You always sleep better when I’m with you.”

“No, I don’t!” Yoichi screamed. “You liked sleeping together! Probably because you were a possessive lunatic even when we were children! I tolerated it!”

“Now you’re trying to rewrite history.” Hisashi clucked his tongue. “I remember all those times you begged me to sleep in your bed to chase your nightmares away.”

“You hogged the covers even back when you were nine, you asshole!”

“Yeah, well, you snored.”

“This isn’t a joke!” Yoichi cried. “You drugged me again! You gave me a bath while I was asleep!”

“Is that what has you so upset? Don’t worry, it was just me. I wouldn’t let anyone else see you like that. I’m your older brother, I’ve given you hundreds of baths. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine! None of this is fine! We’ll never be fine again!” Yoichi’s throat hurt from screaming but he still hadn’t gotten through in the slightest to this madman. “Never do that again! Any permission you had to touch me is revoked!”

Hisashi moved in a flash, wrapping him in a hug. “Calm down. You’re hysterical.”

“Stop. Touching. Me.” Yoichi thrashed and struggled.

His much stronger brother easily pinned his arms to his side and trapped him against the wall. “Hush. You can’t stop me. The sooner you realize that, the easier this will be.”

Yoichi didn’t like the implications of that. He bit his brother’s ear, hard enough to draw blood.

Hisashi yelped and shoved him off, finally releasing him from the smothering grip. Clutching his bleeding ear, Hisashi’s eyes darkened. “Very well, then. We’ll see how long it takes before you’re begging me to come back.”

“Never! I’ll never forgive you!” Yoichi screamed.

Picking up the only lantern, Hisashi glanced over his shoulder. “As soon as you say that you want me to come back, I will. I’ll be listening for those words. Remember that.”

As the vault door closed, leaving him in total darkness, terror formed a pit in Yoichi’s stomach.

The first few days in the vault had been difficult. The days without the lantern were agonizing.

There was nothing in here. No light. No furniture. Nothing to break up the monotony except the guard who delivered meals three times a day and never spoke. Food delivery should have been his chance at escape, but the guard who regularly came had a power that paralyzed him with a single look. He always wasted that precious moment when the door opened lying on the floor, unable to even look at the painful yet beautiful bit of light leaking in.

After a week, Yoichi gave up on the hunger strike. There was no point in avoiding the drugged food if he had no ability to escape. Ironically, he was fairly certain the drugs in his meals had been lightened for the exact same reason. His limbs still felt heavy and his head muzzy, but he wasn’t sleeping as much. Extra time awake inside the vault was an agony.

Hundreds of times, Yoichi almost broke and begged his brother to let him out. Lying staring at the dark ceiling, he told himself that he should pretend to be compliant as a trick, then escape as soon as these metal walls no longer restrained him.

But his brother would know he was lying. He’d never lighten his security no matter what Yoichi pretended. This was Hisashi’s plan to brainwash him. Yoichi had read about cults and interrogation techniques in college. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe himself to be immune. If he played his brother’s game from his current powerless position, then he’d lose.

Let Hisashi be the one to break first. He’d get lonely and come back the way he’d always crept into Yoichi’s bedroom as children. Then…

Then Yoichi didn’t know what would happen. He had no plan. Just spite, endless reserves of stubbornness, and a desperate desire not to let his big brother win.

At least as long as Yoichi was inside the vault, neither of them was getting what they wanted. Yoichi would destroy himself if only he could take Hisashi down with him.

One week blurred into two. Then Yoichi lost count.

Sometimes his mind faded in and out. He lay on his back as a flash of light came from the door. He no longer tried to escape when the door opened. He’d given up.

When he heard the tray clatter on the floor, he expected the light and the guard to quickly vanish.

Instead, footsteps walked over.

Yoichi sat up, a desperate hope filling him as light fell across his face. But no, the light came from a lantern held by the guard. The vault door was closed. No way out. No hope. He fell back down against the metal floor.

“Do you remember me?” the guard demanded. “You got me in so much trouble!”

Ah, yes, this was the same guard he’d gotten to open his cell door by humming obnoxiously. One of his prouder moments.

“Hey! Are you listening to me?” The guard kicked him in the chest.

The piercing pain came as a surprise. Yoichi’s mouth opened. Another kick winded him before any sound could come out.

His mind screamed at him to grab that leg before it could attack again. To fight back since he had nowhere to flee.

But then he had a thought: Will this man kill me?

The notion brought a euphoric relief. He could die. All of this would be over.

Yoichi lay flat on his back as another kick connected with his ribs. It urged an involuntary moan from his lips.

“Say something already.” The guard planted a boot on his chest and ground down.

Bile came up his throat, along with a hideous, wracking cough. You need to press a bit harder if you want to kill me. He tried to say it, but couldn’t speak through his coughs. He couldn’t breathe. The angry face looming over him warped in and out of focus. It hurt so much. How long could a human go without oxygen? Surely no longer than minutes. It felt like an hour. He gurgled, choking on his blood. Why wasn’t he dead yet?

The pressure stopped. The guard was walking away. Apparently the man didn’t plan to kill him.

Yoichi screamed in frustrated rage. He tried to keep screaming so that he wouldn’t inhale, so that air would continue to be denied to his aching lungs, so that he could die already.

Stars danced before his eyes and he passed out.

Yoichi woke up to softness under his body and all around him. So many layers of blankets and pillows surrounded his body, it took him a moment to realize that the particularly heavy weight pressed against his side was a person.

With a furious growl, Yoichi leapt up. The blankets tangled around his legs. He fell out of the bed, hitting the floor with an impact that left bruises on top of his existing bruises.

There had been an IV in his arm, and he’d yanked it out. With that additional pain came a streak of blood down his new, white pajamas. They matched the windowless white bedroom containing a giant bed, a small wicker table with two chairs, and nothing else. Nothing except his delusional older brother still presuming to think that he had any right to go near him, much less crawl into bed with him.

Leaning over the bed, Hisashi reached for him. “Calm down. You’ll hurt yourself.”

Calm down? Yoichi was very much tired of being told to calm down. He slapped away the offered hand. “This was your plan, huh? I refused to break and beg you to let me out, so you sent in a brute to beat me up so that you could pretend to ‘rescue’ me.” He hurt so much, he could barely speak. Bandages covered his ribs.

“No!” Hisashi’s voice filled with hurt. “How could you ever imagine I would ever do such a thing? That guard acted on his own.”

Yoichi sneered. “How could I ever imagine you’d do such a thing?” he repeated in a mocking tone. “You locked me up in a bank vault—spare me the self-righteousness!”

“I killed the man who hurt you with my own two hands. I even killed the supervisor who thought him suitable for the task of feeding you after the usual guard called in sick. I can show you their corpses.”

“As if that would prove anything? You’re enough of a bastard to murder your men for following your own orders.” Yoichi’s laugh sounded hysterical. “This is the same trick you always pull! Like how you’ve been drugging me for years!”

“I most certainly have not. Your illness has gotten worse, probably because you’ve been running around too much. I know that sometimes the medicine has side-effects—”

“You’re still lying about that? What’s even the point?” Yoichi stared at his older brother with wild eyes. “Do you think I don’t know what you’re doing? It’s all about control with you! You insisted I take guards with me everywhere, knowing full well that would only attract attention to me and force you to keep me at home for ‘my own good.’”

“Now you’re just being paranoid.”

“You used the bodyguards to isolate me from my classmates, and you poisoned me when I tried to leave home. You’re not even satisfied with physical control any longer. Now you want my mind. You can never have that! I’ll never let you win! I’ll make you kill me first!”

Hisashi batted away his thrashing arms and picked Yoichi up. Laying him back down on the bed, Hisashi wrapped him in a constraining hug. “You’re overwhelmed and not thinking straight. Try to rest.”

“You patronizing jackass!” Yoichi fought with all his might, but his might was nonexistent. His body had little strength—he’d definitely been drugged again through his IV. He recognized the mental haze by now.

A tear slipped down his cheek. Hisashi brushed it away. “It’s okay. I’m here. I’ll look after you. I’ll never stop looking after you.”

Yoichi clamped down hard on his tears. He refused to cry in front of his brother. The condescending attempt at comfort infuriated and humiliated him.

He squirmed and bit his brother’s arm.

Hisashi yelped. Yoichi clung on grimly, determined to sever a bite of flesh in repayment for his own suffering.

“You’re injured, please!” Hisashi cried. “I don’t want to hurt you! Don’t make me fight you!”

Yoichi ignored all his big brother’s pleas and single-mindedly focused on biting with all his strength. Even Hisashi’s gentle attempts to free himself jostled his injured ribs, but he didn’t care. He’d have his pound of flesh or he’d force his brother to give up on pretending to be unwilling to hurt him.

When Hisashi finally knocked him over the head, all Yoichi felt was relief. An honest bruise was better than the bastard’s fake love.

The scent of katsudon returned Yoichi to consciousness. Hisashi sat by his bed, holding a plate. “I made your favorite—”

Yoichi snatched the plate from his hand and smashed the meal into his brother’s nice suit.

“Little brother!” Hisashi cried, having the nerve to sound surprised and disappointed, as if still acting the part of legal guardian to his disobedient orphaned sibling.

Yoichi sat up in bed and ripped the bandages off his ribs. He flung those at his brother, too. “I don’t want your food! I don’t want your care! Stay away from me!”

“Stop!” Hisashi cried, grabbing his wrists. “You’re hurting yourself!”

“What, are you angry that I’m stealing your job?” Yoichi sneered. “Is it less fun for you when I inflict my own injuries?” He tried to headbutt.

Hisashi grabbed his forehead. “How could you say that?”

“Spare me the fake hurt! You stuck me in that vault to break me! It didn’t work. I never gave in. Go ahead, put me back in there! No matter how long it takes, I’ll never break!”

Deep down, Yoichi was terrified of going back into the vault. Therewithin lay the cleverness of his older brother’s plan. If Yoichi let himself grow accustomed to this gentle treatment, then he’d become more and more scared of going back to that dark hellhole, until he could no longer defy his brother. In order to not fall for the brainwashing, he had to resist everything his brother tried to give him.

Yoichi kept battering his body against his brother, each hit hurting his ribs. He knew he was doing more damage to himself than Hisashi, but he didn’t care. He kept going until his brother knocked him out again.

Every time Yoichi woke up, he repeated the same pattern. He attacked his brother on sight. If alone, he ripped the room to shreds, destroying anything he could get his hands on. He refused to eat. Hisashi force-fed him a few times. The burning agony lingered in his throat for days afterward.

But by then, every part of his body already hurt. He’d bruised himself all over bashing against the door. An insane exhilaration had consumed him. Nothing mattered to him any longer except destroying anything he could get his hands on, including himself.

For a full day, Hisashi didn’t show his face. Yoichi took this as a triumph. He’d finally driven the bastard away.

When Hisashi entered his room late at night, Yoichi sat up immediately. He couldn’t sleep these days due to the bruises all over his body. His legs would barely work, but he launched himself at his brother.

Hisashi caught him in a bearhug. His voice was grim. “I’ve had enough of your tantrum. If you can’t be trusted to look after your body, then I’ll take control of it away from you.”

Like you haven’t done that already? Yoichi was too busy biting his brother’s shoulder, or he’d curse him out.

An orangish light came from Hisashi’s hands. Yoichi’s entire body went limp. He could feel everything—including the bruises on his side and the thread of wool between his teeth—but he couldn’t so much as twitch.

Hisashi picked Yoichi up and set him back down on the bed. His tone turned gentle. “I’ll look after you from now on.” He started smoothing out the tangles in Yoichi’s hair.

“This feels different from the last time you paralyzed me.” The metapower allowed Yoichi to speak this time. Only his face could move. His neck was frozen.

“You can’t fight me this way.” Hisashi tapped his brother’s knee. It jumped. “Good, your reflexes remained. That’s what the previous ability owner claimed. Your throat should swallow anything I put into it.” A dark triumph lurked behind his voice. He pulled his little brother into a hug. One Yoichi could no longer fight.

Into his brother’s hair, Hisashi whispered, “My, isn’t this nice? Perhaps I should leave you like this forever. I can hire caretakers for when I’m gone.” He booped Yoichi’s nose. “Consider this next week a test of your obedience. If you ever want to be able to move again, you’d better convince me that you can be trusted to use that power responsibly.”

Yoichi despaired. A choked sob escaped his lips. He’d lost even his meager ability to physically fight back. He had his doubts that he would win the mental battle, either. The vault had definitely broken him, even if it might not have broken him in precisely the way that his brother had desired. If given all the time in the world, then Hisashi would keep on breaking him down.

Even if Yoichi somehow escaped this hellhole, then what? His brother controlled large swaths of Japan and he had no means to fight back or hide. He’d always been easily recaptured in the past. When he’d successfully sent what information he knew to that vigilante organization, he’d fulfilled his last wish. Now he had nothing left.

Nothing but a bitter, spiteful desire to deny his brother what he wanted.

Let All for One take all of Japan or even the world. Let him control Yoichi’s body, since he couldn’t stop that. But Yoichi would never let his brother have his true self. He’d take that part far away.

Inhaling deeply, Hisashi enjoyed his first bite-free hug with his little brother in a long time.

He’d agonized over this decision, but it would be for the best. He had to stop Yoichi’s constant struggles, or his bruised ribs would never heal. This measure was stringent, but definitely for his little brother’s own good.

In Hisashi’s mind, his plan had been working. The vault had ended Yoichi’s hunger strikes and escape attempts. Surely it had only been a matter of time before Yoichi would have broken and begged for his big brother to come back to him. Then they could have started the caretaking phase.

Instead, the guard had beaten Yoichi and ruined all his progress, bringing back his little brother’s irrational rage and self-destructive violence. Hisashi wished he’d killed the man more slowly.

Where had his little brother gotten the ridiculous notion that Hisashi would ever order a guard to hurt him? True, Hisashi had been planning on drugging Yoichi’s food more heavily and using that as an excuse to start the caretaking stage if Yoichi had gone much longer without giving in and asking to be let out. But he’d never, ever beat his precious little brother! Why didn’t Yoichi understand that?

Hisashi tucked his younger brother’s head under his chin and held on tighter, determined to comfort the other. This next part would be much more pleasant. He’d get a chance to spoil his little brother and show him the benefits of staying by his side. Equally importantly, he’d no longer be denied hearing Yoichi’s voice or hugging him. The separation period had been hard on them both.

Even after being let out of the vault, Yoichi had denied Hisashi any contact without turning it into a fight, but Hisashi suspected his little brother was resisting so hard because he knew full well that kindness had the power to break him. So he’d taken away any choice.

When Yoichi had nearly broken down crying, Hisashi’s suspicions had been confirmed. He was on the cusp of victory.

Hisashi had taken a vacation off work to ensure that he’d be able to spend the next week entirely looking after Yoichi. And this time, Yoichi wouldn’t be able to resist him.

While his little brother lay on the bed, still paralyzed, Hisashi laid out a spread for lunch. Chicken quesadillas with a side of nachos and lime soda.

He returned to the bed and picked up his brother. “Yoichi? It’s time to eat.”

Yoichi’s eyes opened. But he didn’t speak. Still sulking, perhaps? He’d lost and he didn’t want to admit it. How like him.

Enjoying the rare chance to carry his little brother without a fight, Hisashi placed him down in the chair, with a blanket still wrapped around him.

Yoichi stared at the food on the table as if not seeing it.

“I guess you need me to feed you,” Hisashi spoke teasingly, expecting an explosive reaction.

Yoichi said nothing.

Hisashi picked up a quesadilla and said, “Open up.”

To his surprise, Yoichi opened his mouth and took a bite.

Hisashi jerked his hand back, afraid his little brother might be trying to bite off his finger. He’d allowed Yoichi control of his mouth because he wanted to hear his brother’s voice, but he could take that away too if need be.

But no attack manifested. Yoichi only stared off at nothing as he chewed.

This was a nice change of pace. He’d been hoping the paralyzation would make Yoichi more compliant. His plan was working.

Yoichi didn’t fight or protest in the slightest as Hisashi fed him lunch, then wiped his face with a napkin. Hisashi said, “You’re doing so well. I’m proud of you.” Frequent compliments were an important part of the love-bombing stage.

Yoichi might have twitched in response, or he might have only imagined that.

Hisashi asked, “What would you like for dessert? I have ice cream, cookies, or pudding.”

At this point, the lack of reply didn’t surprise him. Hisashi laughed. “Then do you want all three? How gluttonous! Today is a special occasion, so I’ll let you try a bit of all of them.”

Yoichi ate what was placed in his mouth with no sign of enjoyment. It was a bit disappointing. Hisashi had gotten his brother’s favorite pecan ice cream, a selection of gourmet cookies, and a Mexican rice pudding that neither of them had tried before.

Licking a grain off his own lip, Hisashi said, “The pudding wasn’t bad, but I still preferred the cookies or ice cream. I bet you did, too. You always had a sweet tooth.”

Yoichi seemed to stare straight through him.

Walking over to the chair, Hisashi picked his brother up again. “Do you want to watch a movie? Silence means yes!”

Sitting down on the bed facing the TV screen, Hisashi put an arm around Yoichi and drew him close.

There was no fight, no resistance. That was nice, but…it was like hugging a sack of flour. Yoichi’s arms hung completely limp.

Of course, that was a side-effect of the paralyzation. It couldn’t be helped. Certainly this was better than getting bitten or scratched every time he tried to hug his little brother. But the paralyzation didn’t completely explain the lack of reaction on Yoichi’s face. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to his big brother at all. Even though Hisashi was so carefully taking care of him, Yoichi barely seemed aware of his presence.

Wasn’t this compliance supposed to be what he wanted? Hisashi wondered why he felt so irritated.

It had been three days since Hisashi had last heard the sound of his brother’s voice. Hadn’t he left his brother’s ability to talk for a reason? Didn’t Yoichi appreciate this mercy?

He’d filled the bedroom with comic books and movies. Yoichi would watch whatever he placed on the screen and listen while he read out loud, but he never once reacted. Where was Hisashi’s rightful gratitude for all his gifts?

Hisashi had tried to provoke a reaction by letting his brother’s food get cold. Yoichi ate it all without complaint.

Next, Hisashi had drawn on all his annoying brother tactics from their childhood: name-calling, waking Yoichi up early in the morning, and spoiling every movie partway through watching. He’d yet to make his little brother change his blank expression.

He’d turned down the temperature of the room to nearly freezing at night, his cruelest tactic yet. Depressingly, even this didn’t make his little brother call for him to come.

After consulting with a doctor under his employ, Hisashi had slipped some antidepressants into Yoichi’s food. But he would swear his little brother only got more lethargic. He’d experimented with a several mixes of drugs before the doctor had expressed concern about side-effects, and since this was the man who’d signed off on the force-feeding without hesitation, Hisashi reluctantly took the warning seriously. Even though he’d been convinced the right combination of chemicals would surely fix his little brother.

Finally, he’d offered to remove the paralyzation if Yoichi would ask for it, convinced that would surely work. But Yoichi still didn’t speak a word.

While they’d been separated by steel walls, Hisashi had longed for his brother’s company. Now he felt like the brother in front of him could be replaced by a life-sized dummy with no particular difference.

This was starting to get worrying. Hisashi had wanted Yoichi to be more compliant, yes, but he couldn’t mold the opinions of someone who wouldn’t communicate with him. And he’d never wanted to turn his little brother cationic.

Waving two movies before Yoichi, Hisashi asked, “Which would you like to see?” Despite his efforts to stay positive (one of the brainwashing tips) irritation had slipped into his voice. “If you don’t pick, then I’ll make you watch a documentary on coin collectors.”

Yoichi didn’t twitch a muscle on his face. He stared at a point just above Hisashi’s shoulder.

“Stop ignoring me!” Hisashi threw the movies on the ground. “Are you still sulking, you baby?” As soon as he spoke, he regretted the words. He was supposed to be in the love-bombing stage, when he stayed encouraging as long as Yoichi wasn’t fighting against him.

Triumph flashed across Yoichi’s face. Just a brief moment, then it was gone. But Hisashi knew what he’d seen.

He grabbed his little brother’s collar and dragged him closer. “You’re doing this on-purpose, aren’t you?”

Yoichi closed his eyes and pretended he couldn’t hear.

“You’re the one who forced me to do this to you,” Hisashi growled. “I repeatedly tried to compromise with you. You wouldn’t even listen to me. While I’m attempting to build a better long-term future for both of us, you’re playing petty games to annoy me. I feel like I’m the only one trying to fix our relationship.”

Yoichi’s gaze was blank, as if unaware. But Hisashi wasn’t falling for his act any longer.

“You always did have a knack for driving your big brother insane, you little brat.” Hisashi released his brother. “Fine, then. I’ll leave you to sit in here by yourself. But I’m taking all the comic books and movies with me. You won’t be able to do anything except lie there and stare at the ceiling. We’ll see if you don’t appreciate me a bit more then.”

Hisashi stomped out of the room, trying not to feel like he’d been defeated.

To be honest, Hisashi had no excuse at all for the mistake he made next.

He’d known about the time limit when paralyzation wore off. He’d even glanced at the clock as it had passed. But he’d consciously made the decision not to go back to his brother’s room.

Partly, Hisashi didn’t want to see Yoichi at the moment. Partly, he wanted to see what Yoichi would do when given freedom of movement back. Even having meals thrown at his expensive suits might be better than this passiveness.

Hisashi was sitting at his desk catching up on work when his phone alarm sounded. A code red. He kept cameras on his brother’s room at all times. Cameras the guard who’d attacked Yoichi hadn’t known about. Since that attack, he’d also ensured the cameras were watched by someone trustworthy at all times. He didn’t know what had triggered this alarm, but it must be a serious threat to Yoichi’s health. He leapt to his feet and ran.

Instead of bothering with the lock, Hisashi burned off the doorknob and flung open the door.

Yoichi hung from the ceiling fan, dangling from a noose made of blankets.

OMAKE TIME!

Yoichi: Since I know full well that my brother arranges accidents to befall me so he can “look after me,” from now on I’m going to assume whenever something bad happens to me, it’s his fault.

Hisashi: That’s extremely unfair! It’s only me maybe half the time! The other times it’s my disobedient minions or my enemies.

#Yoichi is starting to get paranoid this chapter #Which is 100% Hisashi’s fault for arranging for accidents to befall his little brother and then lying about it

Chapter Text

At the sight of his baby brother’s body swinging from a handmade noose, Hisashi’s heart stopped. His entire world destroyed itself. Then Yoichi gave a tiny twitch, and Hisashi sprang into motion.

His fury activated several of his abilities at once, ripping the room to shreds. The back wall blew out, scattering wood across the lawn. A whirlwind of furniture and cloth poured through the hole. Hisashi moved untouched by the chaos, grabbing his brother and ripping the makeshift rope off his throat.

The skin underneath looked raw and bruised. Hisashi cradled the frail form tightly, hearing a tickle of breath by his ear. He had no healing power—they were too rare—but he activated an ability that served like a shot of adrenaline.

Yoichi jolted. He coughed. It was the most beautiful sound Hisashi had ever heard.

A guard poked his head through the door, a late responder to the alarm. “Doctor, now,” Hisashi snarled.

His fear and terror had rapidly warped into fury. How could Yoichi do this? How could he?

Hisashi could forgive his little brother almost any betrayal. Giving information to his enemies. Running away. Those hateful words. But not this. Never this. Yoichi could do nothing to hurt Hisashi more than by dying.

To his profound regret, Yoichi woke up.

Yoichi returned to awareness yet again in his brother’s arms. He was torn between going limp and biting. Then he realized they were moving. Walking down a familiar set of stairs to the basement. Where the vault was.

A small whimper escaped Yoichi’s lips.

Hisashi’s grip tightened. He hissed, “How could you? How could you, how could you, HOW COULD YOU?”

Spitefully, Yoichi returned to the silent treatment.

“You wanted to hurt me, didn’t you? It worked. Some time in here will let you think about what you did. There won’t be any means for you to harm yourself, either. If you can’t be trusted with a bed or sheets, then you don’t get them.”

A sliver of fear wormed into Yoichi’s heart as the vault door opened. His will to keep silent broke. “I know you’re trying to brainwash me, so it won’t work,” Yoichi snarled. “It only works on cult members because they don’t know what’s happening. I’ll never give in to you!”

Hisashi tossed him onto the metal floor with a bit too much force. “Then you’ll never leave this place.”

That was a bluff. It had to be. Yoichi no longer doubted the depths of his brother’s cruelty, but Hisashi was far too possessive to stay away forever.

Yet a part of Yoichi wondered: if he pushed his brother far enough, just maybe Hisashi might leave him alone in the darkness forever. That frightened part wanted to beg and plead, to promise anything if only he didn’t have to go back into the vault.

He only stopped himself by summoning all his rage. “You’re no brother of mine! I hate you! I’ll never forgive you! Just kill me already! Kill me because I’ll make you regret it if you don’t!”

The vault door closed, leaving him in total darkness. Yoichi flinched.

He told himself that his plan to take revenge on his brother had worked. He had to keep going. No surrender or compromise. I’m winning. I’m winning. I’m winning. I’m winning. (I want to die). I’m winning.

Yoichi broke down sobbing. He hated himself for it. Knowing full well there were cameras everywhere, he’d resolved to never let his brother see him cry. To see him broken.

But what did it matter? He was broken. He hated himself almost as much as Hisashi. He hated himself for being alive, for being weak, for failing to stop his brother, for suffering so much.

Despair washed over him like a wave and dragged him under. More sobs wracked his shoulders. He couldn’t stop them. Once again, he was no longer in control of his body, and this time he had no one to blame but himself.

He hated his worthless body that tormented him with pain and failed to work when he needed it to. If his body would just die already, then he wouldn’t have to suffer.

When the first meal arrived, Yoichi threw it against the wall.

Shortly after leaving the basement, Hisashi’s anger started to fade, replaced by horror. His precious little brother had tried to commit suicide. This was not going according to plan. To have reached this point…had he made a mistake? Had his brainwashing tactics been too harsh?

What else could he have done? These constant escape attempts were untenable and put Yoichi in danger. To have any hope of restoring the good old days between them, he needed to change Yoichi’s mind. But whereas Hisashi normally excelled at manipulating people, Yoichi had met him with a complete unwillingness to cooperate. Now, Yoichi had raised the stakes further. He’d put his own life on the line.

The thought made Hisashi angry at his brother again, for committing an unforgivable act.

Then he checked the camera feed and saw Yoichi crying, and his opinion flipped. Yoichi had always been proud. Even though he’d cry easily as a child, he’d never let anyone see him completely break down. He’d tried to hide it when he got bullied at school. Even when he’d broken an arm on the playground, he’d protested being taken away in an ambulance. After their parents had died, he’d cried very late at night, trying to hide his tears from even his older brother.

For Yoichi to have collapsed where the cameras could see, he must be truly in a state of despair. Hisashi’s finger traced the image on the screen as if he could wipe the tears from his brother’s face. Although he longed to rush to his brother’s side, he couldn’t delude himself quite badly enough to think that Yoichi would want to see him right now. Yoichi wouldn’t want anyone to see this. He would have to delete the camera footage later.

If only he hadn’t left Yoichi alone in his room. Hisashi loathed himself for that inexcusable moment of carelessness.

The suicide attempt hadn’t been calculated after all. His younger brother had truly wanted to die. The memory of Yoichi pale and hanging from the noose made him shudder. That poor child. His frail little brother, his treasure to protect.

How had it come to this point? What should he have done differently? Should he have coddled Yoichi more? Tried harder to keep him ignorant? Did Yoichi need more freedom to be happy or should Hisashi have imposed more control starting from a younger age?

He had no idea how to fix this, and it terrified him.

The antidepressants had been supposed to prevent this. The drugs ought to have fixed whatever had gone wrong with Yoichi’s mind to cause him to act out. After researching the topic, Hisashi learned that antidepressants could have very bad side-effects if given to someone who hadn’t been depressed to begin with, so he murdered the doctor who hadn’t adequately warned him. Although punishing the culprit made him feel slightly better, it failed to solve his problem. With Yoichi so uncooperative and uncommunicative, Hisashi couldn’t figure out what cocktail of drugs would set him back to normal and didn’t dare experiment more.

When Hisashi received word that Yoichi had stopped eating entirely, his fear turned to panic. Before, Yoichi had eaten sparingly. Now he refused water as well as food. He seemed deadly in earnest about his desire to die.

If the alternative was his brother’s death, would Hisashi let Yoichi go?

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it. Yoichi was too powerless and frail to survive on his own and his foolish ideals would immediately get him killed. Besides, Hisashi had no intention of losing. Not this clash of wills, and certainly not his brother.

So what if his first attempt had failed? He’d keep trying as many times as it took, for his little brother’s sake. Hisashi had power, patience, and time.

He closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and tried to think. Physical control wasn’t working—Yoichi would find a way to dash his brains out against the bars of any cage. The paralyzation had been enjoyable at first, but Hisashi had to admit he preferred his little brother with a little spirit in him. Then he needed to find a way to give his brother a bit more freedom while still keeping him within the safety of his grasp. Ideally, he’d like to persuade Yoichi to completely join his side.

What if he gave Yoichi a metahuman ability? In the past, Hisashi had found that any ability he took contained a bit of the original holder—and in turn, when he gave away abilities, he gave away a tiny bit of his own will. Something he could use to influence the person who held it. It wasn’t as convenient as mind-control, but it left people more susceptible to his suggestions and seeing matters from his point of view.

Before, Hisashi had never wanted Yoichi to have a power. His little brother couldn’t handle it: neither his weak body nor his weak mind. Yoichi would no doubt seek to use such a power for foolish, dangerous resistance. But what if Hisashi found a metahuman ability weak enough that Yoichi couldn’t use it against him, then used that as his lever into his brother’s mind?

Hisashi knew just the right power. A weak stockpiling ability he’d passed up on claiming earlier because he had no use for it. Why, he could even tell Yoichi that the purpose of the power was to strengthen his frail body. It would make the perfect gift to demonstrate his generous side and show his little brother that he still loved him.

It would be a risk. But something had to be done.

Having made up his mind, Hisashi stood up and left his office.

Yoichi had finally reached the state of hunger where he didn’t constantly think about food. A gnawing emptiness filled him. The lancing pain in his head made it hard to think. But he could hate. Oh yes, he hated. He loathed this stupid body so much. It did nothing but give him endless pain. At least he got a certain spiteful satisfaction from hurting his body back by denying it food.

He drifted in and out of consciousness. In his dream, rain hit the window of his childhood bedroom and there was shouting downstairs and his big brother crawled into bed with him. Usually, his brother’s presence made him feel safer when their parents fought, but this time, he shivered and moaned, tossing on the hard floor and clutching his pajamas tighter. His brother’s face warped into a dark, faceless void reaching out to swallow him. He tried to scream, “You’re not my brother!”

The grinding of a heavy metal door woke him up.

Hisashi stepped through the door. “Still refusing to eat? You’ve gotten so thin, little brother.”

Yoichi would swear he detected a mocking note in those words. Or perhaps a triumphant one. Hisashi was probably happy he’d gotten thinner and weaker. His suffering didn’t matter to his big brother in the slightest. In the past, Hisashi had been happy enough to poison him personally. He’s not my brother. He’s a monster.

“I refuse to be manipulated by you.” Yoichi coughed. Boycotting the drugged food should have made that go away, but his nose and throat had gotten even more stuffy. Maybe he’d gotten sick for real this time. Wouldn’t that be ironic?

“Isn’t it about time you gave up?” Hisashi launched into yet another speech. He loved those. This time, he was bragging about his followers eliminating a rival group without him even needing to give orders. What was the point of this? Was he trying to convince Yoichi that there was no escape?

Yoichi nearly snorted. He knew that already. There was no way out of this metal box. No one outside cared about him—he’d had friends, classmates, and coworkers, but no one close enough to him to even investigate super-carefully into his disappearance, much less take on a criminal empire for his sake. Even in comic books, he wondered if there had ever been any hero foolish enough to want to save the villain’s brother. He doubted it.

Nevertheless, he spat out his last defiance at his brother. “The villain always loses in the end!” It wasn’t his strongest comeback, but anything to interrupt that insipid speech.

Hisashi’s hand shot out and grabbed his face. “Fantasy has become reality, and in reality things don’t go like they do in stories. Now, I’ll rewrite the reality where you refused to yield to me! Because you’re so dear to me, I found a meta ability that even someone frail and starving like you can handle. Walk this path with me!”

“Stop it!” Yoichi screamed as the forced power drilled its way into his head. But he’d never been able to stop his brother.

It felt as if his brother’s fingers were penetrating through his skull. Pain, yes, but also a sense of violation, as if his brother was feeling around his mind.

What have you done, Hisashi? he thought as he fell over sideways.

Hisashi caught Yoichi before he hit the ground. He’d tried to transfer the power as quickly as possible, and despite his brother’s struggles, he’d succeeded. It would have been over faster and without pain if Yoichi hadn’t kept trying to fight him. That was just like his foolish little brother, making everything more difficult, and he’d probably blame Hisashi for his unnecessary suffering, too.

Yet Hisashi remained in a good mood. He’d been cheerful from the moment he’d entered the vault, pleased to have figured out a solution to his younger brother’s stubbornness. He’d never enjoyed seeing Yoichi suffer in this unpleasant steel prison, despite the necessity. His little brother’s self-destructive behavior gravely concerned him, and he had to admit that he might bear part of the blame. Fortunately, he should be able to use the metapower he’d implanted to guide Yoichi’s mind in a healthier direction.

He’d bragged about his loyal followers just to prove that he didn’t need his little brother on his side—if anything, Yoichi ought to be grateful for the offer. His growing influence should also show his brother the benefits he’d receive if he joined his side. He felt like Yoichi had listened to his arguments for once. Even disagreement was preferable to the silent treatment.

It gave Hisashi pleasure to carry Yoichi upstairs and place him down in his repaired bedroom. This time, everything would go as he’d planned. They’d put the past behind them and move toward a brighter future, together.

When Yoichi returned to consciousness, it came as no surprise to find his brother cuddling him on the bed again. Would he ever stop trying to act like they were still children? Yoichi clicked his tongue in disgust, remembering his last nightmare. Now he couldn’t even escape the suffocation when unconscious. He went limp, returning to his latest spiteful tactic to deny his brother to what meager extent he could.

“I felt that. You’re awake. How do you feel?”

Yoichi hated that part-amused, part-gentle tone. Mockery again, he just knew it.

“Has the stockpiling ability restored a little of your strength?” Hands caressed his hair and ran down his side. “I can feel it’s settled well. I’m glad I found an ability you’re compatible with.”

A gasp escaped Yoichi’s lips. A violation of his vow to remain silent, but he couldn’t help it. He felt Hisashi’s touch inside his head.

Yoichi remembered the records in Hisashi’s office about how the people who he gifted powers to could be controlled by him. He didn’t understand how it worked, but he felt afraid.

Hisashi whispered into his ear, “I’m not asking for anything difficult, little brother. I love you. All I ask is that you don’t try to harm yourself and don’t try to escape.”

Yoichi tried to fight back against the command. But unfortunately, he wasn’t just fighting his brother. He was fighting the weeks of starvation and the exhaustion filling his body and soul. Whether he cared to admit it or not, he was tired of fighting.

Warmth covered his mind like a foggy haze. A feeling of love and affection washed over him. It felt so pleasant, he had to remind himself why he was supposed to fight off that insidious feeling.

Hisashi pulled him into a sitting position. “I brought soup and crackers.” He gestured at the pot sitting on a warming pad on the table. “We’re going to start with something light that your stomach can digest.”

When Hisashi tugged him toward the table, Yoichi’s feet followed. He didn’t know any more if this was his plan of passive-aggressive compliance or the influence in his head forcing him into obedience.

Hisashi held up a spoon of soup. “Open up.”

Yoichi’s mouth shot open without thought. He swallowed the tomato soup down.

A moan escaped his lips. He wanted the food so badly. He needed it. And the pressure Hisashi had exerted inside his head had ripped his willpower to shreds. Don’t try to harm yourself. Between trying to fight the command and trying to fight his own body, it was too much. His mind vanished. He’d eaten an entire bowl of soup before he returned to awareness.

Hisashi dipped a saltine cracker into the soup, pressing it with the spoon until it turned into mush. “You don’t even need to chew. Do you think you can swallow this?”

More like Yoichi couldn’t stop himself.

A full belly for the first time in ages made his body feel heavy. His eyes drifted shut. The lids overflowed with liquid. Was he crying? From despair, perhaps. He’d tried so hard to maintain his hunger strike, only to have his resolve destroyed by the force-feeding. When he’d lost all control over his body, he’d clung to his mind until the bitter end. But now his brother’s grasping fingers snuck even into there. Truly, everything was hopeless.

“There, there.” Hisashi stepped around the table and knelt down next to him. “I know you’ve been through a lot.”

His big brother didn’t understand anything in the slightest. If he could comprehend even a fraction of what Yoichi felt, then he’d be forced to acknowledge himself as a monster.

Hisashi hugged Yoichi.

This time, Yoichi melted into the embrace. He couldn’t help it. Don’t try to harm yourself. A part of him needed human touch after spending so long in isolation. Therefore, he’d lost all ability to reject it. No matter how badly the conscious part of his mind screamed in fury and horror, his own arms hugged his brother back.

Hisashi made a soft sound of pleasure. “I’m so glad you’re doing better.”

Yoichi wished that he’d tried harder to hang himself with the blankets. He’d half-assed it, wanting to give his brother a scare but not yet entirely determined to die. He should have weighed down his body with books to try to snap his neck.

He had a feeling that he’d wasted his last opportunity to die.

When Yoichi woke up, Hisashi was gone. His thoughts were torn between Probably off killing more people and Thank god. If only Yoichi could have a few minutes alone without being glomped and with a semblance of privacy (no doubt there were still cameras). A breather would let him push past his exhaustion and try to think. He had a new metapower. There must be a way he could use that to get out. Whether to escape this house or escape into death—the two had started to feel like one and the same.

What did the ability do? Hisashi had called it weak but told him nothing else. Yoichi sat up and raised his hand over his head. He concentrated, trying to summon…something. He didn’t know what. Just power. He desperately needed power. And while he was dreaming, he’d also like some freedom and bodily autonomy.

Tingles ran up and down Yoichi’s wrist. Then a sharp pain, like an electric shock. He winced but kept pushing—

As quickly as it had come, the power vanished. A hazy outline flashed before his eyes. It looked like his older brother, wrapped in shadows. Hisashi’s voice whispered, Don’t try to harm yourself and don’t try to escape.

Yoichi shot backward so fast that the back of his skull nearly slammed into the wall. But he didn’t hit his head, because his body stopped in time. Independent of any thought from his brain.

Hisashi was still here. Still enforcing his commands. Yoichi looked around for some metapower-created ghost, but deep down he knew better. This was coming from the ability that had been forced inside of him. Hisashi had stamped his ownership across Yoichi’s mind.

The commands would still linger even when Hisashi was gone. Yoichi couldn’t even try to use his new ability, because it might harm his body (because he was weak just like his brother had always said.) There was absolutely no escaping Hisashi now. Yoichi would always carry a part of his big brother around inside of him.

A sound emerged from Yoichi’s lips. At first, he thought it was a sob, but it turned into a giggle. He laughed hysterically until tears streamed down his cheeks.

He’d never imagined that he could actually come to miss any part of the vault, much less its horrible isolation.

But now? He was never, ever going to be alone again.

Hisashi hadn’t been in such a good mood since his brother’s very first escape attempt. Over the next week, he threw himself into his business with new vigor, obtaining new territory instead of merely defending it. He hummed as he walked down the hallway. Work felt so much more pleasant when he had someone to come home to.

Throwing open the bedroom door, Hisashi said, “I’m home.”

Sitting in an armchair, Yoichi looked up from his comic book. “Mmm. What’s for dinner?”

Hisashi’s heart sang. This new responsiveness proved that his plan had worked perfectly. As he’d hoped, he’d been able to soothe away the suicidal tendencies by using his brother’s new meta ability to lightly influence his mind. If only he’d done this sooner. Back in the old days, he hadn’t wanted to treat his little brother like another minion to be controlled—but this wasn’t about control, it was about properly protecting his brother from everything, including himself.

“What would you like to eat?” Hisashi asked.

Yoichi looked down, his hair falling over his face. After a moment, he mumbled, “Katsudon?”

“Of course, I’ll order the chef to start immediately.” Hisashi would have offered his little brother the sun and stars as long as he kept behaving this obediently.

Yoichi still often seemed shy, but Hisashi didn’t mind. It was a welcome change of pace compared to the constant arguing and complaining before. Hisashi expected that once Yoichi’s body had recovered a bit more, he’d get some of his old spirit back.

For this reason, Hisashi had even stopped drugging Yoichi’s meals. At the moment, he’d prefer to build up his little brother’s health instead. After frequent bouts of hunger-striking, Yoichi was still significantly underweight. His collar bones jutted from his shoulders, his skin had a yellow sheen, and calluses covered his knuckles from forcing himself to throw up too many times. Even now, Yoichi still picked at his food and needed to be coaxed to finish the whole meal, but at least he was eating. Hisashi had him on a high calorie diet. The last thing he wanted was to make his little brother mistrust his food again.

But Hisashi would be sad if he never got to look after Yoichi when he was sick. Someday Yoichi would recover enough to be drugged again. Just a little, of course.

“Have you tested your new ability at all?” Hisashi touched Yoichi’s wrist. This allowed him to feel the power surging within his brother and check for any side-effects. “It’s proven stable. I think it’s helping you retain energy. You don’t look quite as pale.” His fingers brushed his brother’s cheeks, which finally had a hint of rosiness.

“I haven’t tried anything.” Yoichi half-shrugged.

That surprised Hisashi. His little brother had always been such a superhero fanatic, it would have been more like him to explore the ability for every possible use. But he supposed the weak stockpiling power probably couldn’t do anything besides inertly gathering strength. It wasn’t a particularly useful ability, so better if he didn’t rub that in his brother’s face. “Don’t let it concern you. Want me to tell you about some of the more interesting powers I’ve seen lately?” His brother always liked hearing about meta abilities.

Yoichi said, “I’d rather analyze some comic book hero powers.”

A wave of relief washed over Hisashi. It was so good to see his brother finally expressing opinions and desires. (As long as they weren’t desires to leave, of course.) This proved that Yoichi was getting back to normal. Perhaps metahuman powers were still a bit of a sore spot. Hisashi was happy to keep to safer topics. “Of course, baby brother.” He tousled his brother’s hair. The once-lustrous locks felt thin and patchy. They’d have to work on that.

Yoichi rolled his eyes. “If you love touching my hair so much, then I’ll get you some straightener to use on your curls so you can muss up your own hair.”

Even a joke? Hisashi’s heart soared. Spontaneously, he pulled his little brother into a hug. “Nonsense, curly hair looks better on me. I just like to see how you react.”

“Somehow, I’d guessed that.” Yoichi sighed.

Hisashi felt confident that Yoichi had given in to him. Not that he’d force his little brother to admit it. He could be charitable now that he’d won. Unpleasant topics were best avoided.

His mind turned, forming plans. Perhaps it would soon be possible to take Yoichi on short walks outside. Then maybe dinner at restaurants he controlled. He’d been looking into buying a hot springs, which would be a great place to recuperate. He might be able to bring Machia back as his brother’s bodyguard. He’d kept the two of them apart, fully aware that Machia, although totally loyal, would be easily tricked into helping Yoichi escape. Before the bad days, the two of them had gotten along so well.

Someday he might even be able to involve his brother in his business, perhaps in some nice, safe role like auditing his budget. Not that Hisashi wouldn’t be happy to keep financially supporting his only family member, but he knew that Yoichi preferred to feel useful (and might get himself into trouble if not kept busy.) Ah, he had a better idea! He’d let Yoichi work on some of his charitable projects, which he used to build his community image and sometimes launder criminal funds. Nothing made Yoichi more fulfilled than helping people.

A beautiful future spread before Hisashi, and he had his most important person in his arms. He couldn’t be happier.

Yoichi poked at his katsudon. It didn’t make him happy. Nothing made him happy, these days. He had trouble feeling any strong emotions. He floated along in a hazy state. Having accepted that he had no way out, not even by dying, he had nothing left to fight for. Sometimes he felt guilty about eating food that had been probably purchased through criminal funds. Other times he glanced at the dinner knife and wondered if it would be sharp enough to cut into his wrist. But these brief impulses faded before they could overcome his inertia.

Hisashi was talking about comic books. This was an easy topic. Yoichi could respond without even thinking.

Most of the time, Yoichi saw a hazy monster with an indistinguishable face sitting across the table at him. Today, as Hisashi became increasingly animated on the subject of the strongest Marvel villain, he smiled broadly. In that moment, Yoichi saw his brother again. His heart clenched with sadness. He missed his brother. That might seem like a strange thing to say, with Hisashi sitting across the table from him. But it wasn’t the same. It would never be the same again. All for One had swallowed up his beloved brother and left him alone with a monster.

After dinner, Hisashi asked, “Would you like me to read you a bedtime story?”

“Sure,” Yoichi said. It was easier to agree to anything. Besides, when All for One did the same things as the old days back when they were children, he could pretend that this thing was still his brother.

He barely listened to the story. He just closed his eyes and let his brother’s voice wash over him. Afterward, Hisashi tucked him under the covers. As his hand brushed Yoichi’s arm, he touched the stockpiling power, once again whispering the same command. Don’t try to hurt yourself and don’t try to escape.

The same old routine. There was no point in resisting.

But this time, Yoichi felt a strange pressure well up under his chest. As if two pieces of a puzzle had clicked together. His meta ability felt different, somehow. Stronger. Suddenly, he believed he could push out his brother’s intrusion if he tried. It caught him completely off-guard. Before he could decide what to do, Hisashi left, closing the door behind him.

The door locked with a click. It was always locked. Hisashi didn’t trust his control quite so much as to give him free reign of the house.

Yoichi stood up. His bare feet felt cold on the wooden floor. He walked over to the window and raised his fist.

The glass was thick and bulletproof. He summoned his meta ability. Small green sparks danced down his arm as the power converged in his hand.

Normally, Yoichi hated the ability. It felt like some foreign thing his brother had grafted onto his skin. Worse, he knew he was carrying around a part of All for One inside of him. He didn’t even like to think about it. He tried to pretend it wasn’t there.

But this time, the power felt completely under his control, as much a part of him as his hand.

The command laid on him should have stopped him before he even got to this point. At the very least, there should have been some resistance. But Yoichi knew he could punch straight through the window if he tried. The energy built up in his hand. It started to itch, on the verge of painful.

Just before his fist impacted with the glass, Yoichi stopped himself. Little tingles ran up his arm as the lightning dissipated.

What was the point? Even if he broke the window, he’d never escape the many guards around the mansion or the monstrous All for One. Even if he somehow got over the wall, he’d only be recaptured like he had been so many times before. Then he’d end up back in the vault. He’d rather die than go back in the vault.

It wasn’t as if he had any reason to escape. Nothing mattered to him anymore. He felt so tired.

That stupid power had hurt his hand. He’d never wanted it. He refused to use it. If he’d tried to activate the ability, it probably would have broken his bones.

Yoichi went back to bed and tried not to think about anything at all.

Late that night, Yoichi felt strong arms scoop him out of bed. “What the hell,” he groaned, upset at having his warm blankets jerked away.

Hisashi tossed his little brother over his shoulder as he ran out the room. “The mansion is under attack. I need to take you to a safer place until it’s over.”

As Hisashi opened the door to the basement stairway, Yoichi’s heart stopped. He pleaded, “No. Not there. Please, don’t put me down there again.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to keep you away from the fighting. The vigilantes have penetrated the mansion. I don’t know how they found this place or why they seem to know so much about my security system.”

Yoichi had some idea, but it would hardly help his case to admit he’d sent that information to the vigilante organization during his final successful escape. “I won’t try to run away again. I won’t get in your way. I’ll do anything. Please.”

“It’s the most secure location in my possession. You’ll only have to stay in there a short time.”

As Hisashi opened the vault door, Yoichi kicked and pummeled his brother’s back. His long imprisonment had left him too weak to put up more than a token fight. “Please don’t do this to me! I was good! I didn’t try to escape! I did whatever you wanted! You can’t lock me up in the darkness again!” He broke down sobbing. “What more do you want from me? Please! I’ll do anything!”

Hisashi dropped Yoichi down on the metal floor. “I’ll come back for you soon, I promise. This is the only way I can keep you safe. I love you more than anything, baby brother.”

“Please, big brother!” Yoichi screamed. But the vault door closed, plunging him into darkness.

Yoichi curled up into a ball and sobbed. He’d given in to his brother. Yet it still hadn’t been enough. Even after he’d lowered himself to begging, he’d still ended up back here again. Hisashi hadn’t even left him with a light. Perhaps that had been an inadvertent oversight this time rather than a deliberate punishment, but that only added insult to injury. Big brother’s so-called protectiveness had never extended to pausing a moment before hurting him.

The walls seemed to constrict around him. He couldn’t breathe. Sweat dripped down his neck and soaked his hair. It felt like he was choking, almost like the feeding tube again. Chills shook his body. He clutched at his pounding chest.

If only he’d broken that window last night, then used the glass to slit his wrists. He wanted to die. He wanted to kill All for One. Maybe they could both die together. That would be the perfect ending to this sordid tragedy.

Yoichi didn’t know how long he lay on the floor, trying to fight off the sensation of the darkness burying him alive.

A sharp bang made him sit up. Someone had kicked the door in. Two strangers appeared in the vault doorway, one with a ponytail and the other with short, spikey hair. They wore combat clothes, but not the uniform of his brother’s men. These must be the vigilantes.

Perhaps Yoichi should tell them that he’d been their informant or beg for rescue. But he no longer had enough hope left in his heart to try.

The spikey haired man pointed the gun barrel strapped to his arm at Yoichi. Fury and hatred burned in his eyes.

Was this stranger about to kill him? It would be a mercy. Yoichi stared back, pleading for death with his gaze.

To his surprise, the man’s expression softened. He lowered his weapon. Then he extended his hand.

Sheer surprise penetrated Yoichi’s apathetic haze. A little voice in his head screamed that escape was hopeless and trying only brought more pain. But even so, the kindness in the man’s gaze made him want to believe in heroes one more time. Yoichi found the strength to grab that hand and let it lift him to his feet.

Hisashi stalked back into his mansion covered in blood—none of it his own. The foolish vigilantes who’d dared invade his home had fled from their failed raid. They’d never gotten near his office or the information they’d likely wanted to steal. But they’d caused far more important damage. They’d disrupted his little brother’s recovery.

Yoichi’s cries still rang in his ears. Because of those insects, his precious baby brother had been hurt. For that crime, he should have killed them slowly.

 Now that his initial panic had worn off, he wondered if he’d been a bit too hasty with the vault. But no, nothing mattered more than keeping his little brother safe. Hisashi would do whatever it took to soothe Yoichi. He’d take another break from work to stay by his side all day and sleep together at night. It always made his little brother feel better when Hisashi held him while he slept.

Hisashi’s musings were interrupted by the sight of a smoking basement door and two dead guards.

His heart did a somersault. When had this happened? The vault had been secure when he’d left to chase after the fleeing vigilantes. He’d checked! Unfortunately, he must have missed a few rats hiding in the mansion.

Hisashi took the stairs two at a time, his pulse galloping, praying like he’d never prayed before that the vault door had held firm.

At the bottom of the stairs, he found a sight he’d be seeing in his nightmares for the rest of his life.

The vault door hung open. His treasure was gone.

Hisashi screamed. Power exploded off him, blowing out the back wall of the mansion and ripping the ceiling to shreds. The wreckage swirled around him like a tornado. Still, he screamed and screamed. He howled a denial of this cruel reality as if he could rip down the heavens with the force of his pain and rage.

Everything had been going so perfectly. Hisashi had finally succeeded in restoring Yoichi’s rightful love and adoration and brought his little brother over to his side. He’d gotten everything he wanted. That only made this sudden twist even more cruel. Despite devoting all his power to keeping his adorable little brother safe, he’d still lost him. It felt like a Greek tragedy where he’d been destined to fail from the beginning.

His beloved baby brother had been kidnapped by his enemies. What if they took Yoichi hostage or tortured him to death for revenge? Visions of his brother’s maimed corpse danced before his eyes. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

NO. If this was destiny, then Hisashi would overturn his fate. He straightened. His eyes and palms glowed red. His panic was replaced by a murderous resolve.

Even if he had to burn Japan to ashes, Hisashi would get his little brother back. Then he’d never let Yoichi leave his side ever again.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: If Yoichi’s Spirit Had More Time to Recover

Vestige All for One in Yoichi’s Head: You love your big brother and you want to do everything he tells you.

Yoichi: One hundred and one bottles of beer on the wall…

Vestige All for One: Stop that infernal noise!

Yoichi: (Still singing off-key) This is the song that never ends. It just goes on and on my friend.

Vestige All for One: You can’t get rid of me! You’re stuck with me!

Yoichi: And you’re stuck in here with me.

#

Omake: None So Blind as Those Who Will Not See

All for One: Everything is going wonderfully! I’ve finally repaired my relationship with my brother.

Yoichi: I want to die.

All for One: Forcing a quirk on my brother was the best idea ever. This will in no way, shape or form ever backfire on me.

Second: Hi! My yet-to-be-revealed-in-canon name is Freedom.

Yoichi: New plan, I’ll kill my brother instead.

Later:

All for One: I don’t understand why my little brother showed up on the other side of the battlefield against me. Did my enemies brainwash him? Hey! I’m the only one allowed to do that!

Yoichi: I’m going to start a lineage of heroes dedicated to killing my brother.

All for One: It’s the brainwashing talking. This is tragic. I knew he was too mentally frail to be allowed out of my sight.