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Arataka fiddled with the pain stimulation toy that Teru-san had gotten for him. It was easy enough to hid in his hand or his backpack, or his schoolbag. Something that he could grab and hold so that it reminded him what was reality and what wasn’t. The pain wasn’t bad, in fact all it did was prick at his skin and press into his palm. He could even run it across his arm and provide other stimulation.
Kageyama-otouto had raised an eyebrow at it, his spiky blue-pink aura holding sunset-red-thoughtfulness and the slightest tinge of green-apple-worry. Also that same Carbon-gray-calculation that Kageyama-otouto didn’t seem to ever be without nowadays. Why the man had it in his aura, and what on earth he was trying to calculate all the time, Arataka did and did not want to know in equal measures. Maybe Kageyama-otouto finally sharing would get that carbon-gray-calculation out of his aura.
And also the man was starting to show hints of familial strawberry-pink-love too. Arataka really wanted to sink in his seat and just disappear from the world for a little bit. It was close to his body, so he likely wasn’t feeling it to the extent that say, Mob-boss was. Mob-boss’ familial strawberry-pink-love nearly encompassed his entire aura at times. Arataka didn’t know what to do about it. He couldn’t call the men out on it, stuff like that was incredibly, it felt really personal. Personal like thoughts, but since Arataka had apparently flipped some sort of switch and was now able to hear thoughts, thoughts weren’t as personal anymore.
Well, they were personal whenever he could maintain his internal barrier. He had found out that if he focused on his aura and created a sort of bubble in his head, specifically around his ears, then he could block out the thoughts of other people. It only worked when he was concentrating on it, but lately he’s noticed that he didn’t have to concentrate on it as much. Maybe it was like a muscle? He would have to keep it up, but maybe the need for concentration would lower over time. That would be nice.
For now, Emi-san was in the office and was currently teasing Teru-san. Arataka was watching them, watching how Boss’ aura was reacting. It seemed to be going through some sort of cycle of saffron-yellow-infatuation, cranberry-red-embarrassment, navy-blue-awkwardness, and cerulean-blue-confliction. All without his face changing in the slightest of ways. Looks like he hadn’t decided what to do about his crush on Emi-san, and Teru-san’s crush on him.
It was fascinating to watch, and Arataka’s pencils were flying across the page as he was capturing the scene of Emi-san reaching over and poking Teru-san. Teru-san, whose electric yellow-teal-orange aura suddenly lit up with a color that Arataka hadn’t seen in a long time. He stared, not understanding for a few seconds. His hands stopped moving across the page as he just stared at that color.
Plum-purple-longing. It had been there for a mere second before disappearing. And it had been in Teru-san’s aura.
“What is it?” Shimazaki-senpai tilted his head back. “You stopped drawing.”
“I,” Arataka was really doubting his own ability to see emotions right now. Because what the hell did he just see? Could people have crushes on someone else while also being in love with someone else? Was that something that was possible? Arataka didn’t know, but he did know that Teru-san was utterly infatuated with Boss, and wanted their relationship to become something more. That was clear by the saffron-yellow-infatuation and royal-purple-earnestness in his aura at times. Usually when he was around Boss. But that plum-purple-longing. . . .
“I don’t really know.” He muttered keeping his voice down and dropped his head.
“What did you see? What did you hear?” Shimazaki-senpai leaned back on his seat, his seat now only stabilized on the back two legs. If he didn’t know how incredible his friend was, he would be worried for Shimazaki-senpai’s head. “Did you hear something juicy from Teru-shishou? I’ll share some things that I know if you share what you just overheard.”
Arataka laughed lightly, shaking his head. “No, it wasn’t something I heard.”
His eyes flicked back to the auras. Emi-san was now up and over at Mob-boss’ desk and teasing him. Sunset-yellow-playfulness curled around in her smoky cream and white aura now. Teru-san was watching the both of them, and more of that plum-purple-longing was there. Close to Teru-san’s body, like it was leaking out.
How long has Teru-san been feeling this way?
Arataka frowned down at his paper, before sighing and putting it in one of his drawers. He would decide on what to do with it later. He would decide what to do about what he saw later. He couldn’t decide what to do about it now. There was no way that he was sticking his nose in that in entire mess.
“Oi, what is it?” Shimazaki-senpai poked him with a pencil. “What did you see? Did you need a break? We could head to the park.”
“No, I’m fine.” Arataka focused on his writing assignment, his watch on his left wrist flashing as it caught the light. “And as for what I saw. . . . that’s not for me to say.”
“Awwww c’mon.” Shimazaki-senpai wheedled, and Arataka laughed. He didn’t know how exactly Kageyama-otouto thought that his silly senpai had a crush on him when he was clearly only interested in being friends with him for the gossip that he could get from what he saw. Arataka was joking. For some reason. Shimazaki-senpai always had bubblegum-pink-amusement and yellow-sunshiney-happiness in his fiery red-purple aura.
“Okay, tomorrow at lunch. I’ll tell you and Serizawa-senpai.” Arataka promised. Shimazaki-senpai pouted.
“I don’t get special privileges? I knew you first.” Shimazaki-senpai huffed. Arataka raised a singular eyebrow at him, radiating lemon-yellow-exasperation.
“Okay fine. I guess he gets to learn since he hasn’t hurt you.” Shimazaki-senpai grumbled. Instead of bubblegum-pink-amusement and yellow-sunshiney-happiness coloring his aura now, it was purple-heather-regret and auburn-bitterness that permeated it. Come to think of it, Shimazaki-senpai had come to rescue him with the adults. And from what Arataka learned from Dimple, in Dimple’s own words, “the kid’s scarily big range helped us get to you a lot quicker than any old car would have.”
So it was because of Shimazaki-senpai that Boss and Kageyama-otouto and Teru-san had even been able to get to Arataka as easily as they had a few weeks ago.
Arataka stared down at his writing assignment, before sighing and standing. He packed it away, ignoring the pink-peony-curiosity from Kageyama-otouto and the steel-gray-protectiveness from Mob-boss. He then reached forward and grabbed Shimazaki-senpai’s wrist. He very pointedly ignored the raspberry-pink-smugness from Kageyama-otouto, no, just because Shimazaki-senpai was blushing in surprise, that didn’t mean he had a crush on Arataka. That was a silly joke that he had played on Arataka. Meanwhile, Mob-boss’ steel-gray-protectiveness got darker.
“Shimazaki-senpai and I are gonna go to the park.” Arataka said, and Shimazaki-senpai quickly scrambled to get his schoolwork together with one hand. “The office is very stuffy.”
He eyed Teru-san, who immediately looked like he had been shocked, and lime-green-fear, navy-blue-awkwardness, and cranberry-red-embarrassment nearly blotted out his entire aura.
“Do you two need a chaperone?” Kageyama-otouto drawled, eyes focused back on his laptop. Likely he was doing some sort of photoshop for a client who saw their dead family member in the background. Man why was photoshop so picky about what he erased, he really did want to join the kids, if only to pick on Reigen–
Arataka swiftly shook his head. Both to tell the man no and to shake the thoughts that weren’t his from his head. He reinforced the barrier in his head, thankfully it worked on Shimazaki-senpai.
“No, we’ll be fine.” Arataka said. “Shimazaki-senpai can just Step us away to here if something wrong happens.”
Shimazaki-senpai’s aura spiked, and when Arataka turned to look at, he just shook his head at Arataka. Alrighty then. Arataka could only see baby-blue-surprise and green-sea-wonder in his aura. Those colors stood out against the red-purple of his fiery aura. Whatever, if Shimazaki-senpai didn’t want to talk about it, then Arataka wouldn’t play therapist.
“Yup! I’ll just take us away from the threat and right back to here!” Shimazaki-senpai threw his backpack on and threw a peace sign up. “With three of the strongest people in the room, there’s no way the threat would follow us.”
“Oh wow, actually acknowledging that you need help from adults? That adults are more powerful than you?” Kageyama-otouto asked.
Arataka couldn’t help himself. “I think he was actually talking about Teru-shishou, Emi-san, and Mob-boss.”
“Okay listen here you little brat–”
Shimazaki-senpai cackled and twisted his hand so it was also grabbing onto Arataka’s wrist.
“Ja ne!” He called, and then they were gone. Well, at least gone from the offices. Arataka didn’t even stumble this time! He was getting better at readjusting after a Step.
“You called it Stepping.” Shimazaki-senpai said quietly. His hand was still holding tight on Arataka’s wrist, like it was some sort of lifeline. His aura was still full of that green-sea-wonder, but now it was joined by peacock-contentedness.
“Huh?” Arataka asked as he scanned the park for a place for them to set their schoolwork down, and where it wouldn’t get blown away in the wind. Because make no mistake, their schoolwork would absolutely get ignored the second that Arataka spilled what exactly had caught his eye in the offices. Oh that knoll looked like a good spot. Shaded, and they could lay down some papers and schoolbooks while they gossiped about their respective adults. It also wasn’t occupied too, so that was good. The perfect little spot for them.
“You called my teleportation Stepping.” Shimazaki-senpai said as Arataka started to lead them to the knoll. It wasn’t too hot yet, but it would be April soon, and soon Shimazaki-senpai would be graduating and leaving both Arataka and Serizawa-senpai behind. That thought sobered up Arataka’s giddier thoughts, and he withheld a sigh. All the better that he did this, and spent more time with Shimazaki-senpai before he inevitably left Arataka too and was spending all the time with his high school friends.
“Well that’s what you call it, don’tcha?” Arataka asked as they got to the knoll. He let go of Shimazaki-senpai’s wrist, the older boy still holding onto his. “You call it Stepping. Only makes sense for me to call it that too.”
Shimazaki-senpai’s hand tightened on his wrist, before slowly letting go.
“Yeah. It’s just, no one else ever calls it that. They just call it teleportation.” Shimazaki-senpai muttered. He sounded almost sullen, but Arataka knew it wasn’t that. Whenever Shimazaki-senpai got sullen, he crossed his arms and threw a fit in his own way. No, this was just Shimazaki-senpai going quiet. That was odd, Shimazaki-senpai was loud and brazen, he didn’t often go quiet.
“Well you prefer calling it Stepping, right?” Arataka asked as he plopped onto the ground and started pulling out his school stuff.
“. . . . .Yes.” Shimazaki-senpai said, sitting beside him and pulling out his own school stuff. “I do. It’s just, it really is like stepping to me. So I just call it like that.”
“Makes sense.” Arataka nodded as he pulled out the writing assignment again. It was going to get abandoned immediately once Shimazaki-senpai asked what he saw in the offices, but he could pretend to at least do it before Friday, when it was due. “Do you mind me using it then?”
“No.” Shimazaki-senpai answered immediately as he pulled out his schoolbook for his assigned reading. It looked like science. That would be a fun class to take when you could literally ignore some rules of science and Step wherever you wanted to be. Shimazaki-senpai must have a hard time keeping his smugness to himself in that class. “No, I like when you use my name for it.”
“Cool.” Arataka said.
They sat in silence for a bit, and Arataka actually got a little more down for his writing assignment. Arataka was practically vibrating inside as he waited for the other boy to ask. He knew he wouldn’t have to wait for long, but his insides definitely felt a little like a milkshake by the time the silence was broken by the excitement that was vibrating inside him.
“Okay, what the hell did you see?” Shimazaki-senpai asked after a few minutes.
“You know the barest basics of my abilities, right?” Arataka asked, putting his writing assignment down immediately. He was practically vibrating in place to say this, he realized that he couldn’t keep this to himself.
“Hard to be your best friend and not know.” Shimazaki-senpai said in a deadpan, and it completely blindsided Arataka.
He had never had a friend before, and then he had two. And now one of them was claiming to be his best friend. He was so oddly touched and he would start crying if he started thinking about it. So he wouldn’t, and would just talk about what he had seen.
“Right so, emotions. My powers aren’t like, foolproof.” Arataka started to move his hands around as he explained. “You could definitely hide emotions from me if you really wanted to. But that brings us to what I just saw from Teru-san.”
“From Teru-shishou?” Shimazaki-senpai tilted his head like he was a puppy and presented with some new sort of stimulus. “What on earth did you see from him? Can I use it as blackmail? Tell me I can use it as blackmail.”
“Maybe not.” Arataka hesitated. “You know about his crush on Mob-boss.”
“Who doesn’t?” Shimazaki-senpai snorted.
“Boss didn’t until like, this past weekend.”
“How?”
“He’s used to liking people and them not liking him back, and therefore doesn’t see the signs when someone else likes him. ANYWAYS, what I saw from Teru-san was longing.”
“Yeah makes sense.” Shimazaki-senpai leaned his cheek on his fist, which was propped up on his knee. “Only that wouldn’t explain why you were so shocked.”
“Because it wasn’t longing that was directed at Mob-boss!” Arataka crowed triumphantly.
“Wait huh?” Shimazaki-senpai leaned back, ice-cold-blue-shock radiating from his aura like a cold starry glow. “What do you mean it wasn’t directed at Kageyama-boss? Teru-shishou has a crush on him. Who else could it be directed at?” Purple-black-horror started to color his aura then, as well as firetruck-red-alarm.
“Please tell me it’s not Kageyama-san. Please Reigen-kun, tell me it’s not Kageyama Ritsu-san.”
“What? Ew, no.” Arataka waved that thought away immediately. “No, definitely not. I could never see that guy ever having a romantic connection.”
“Oh thank goodness.” Shimazaki-senpai breathed out a sigh, azure-blue-relief dancing in his aura. A stark contrast to the pink-peony-curiosity. “Wait, if it wasn’t Kageyama-san, and it’s definitely not Dimple, and it’s not Kageyama-boss. . . . .”
Ice-cold-blue-shock was back. Shimzaki-senpai’s jaw dropped.
“You can’t be serious!?”
Arataka nodded fervently, a grin breaking out over his face.
“Yes! Teru-san was looking at Emi-san with longing!”
“Is that allowed?” Shimazaki-senpai cupped his chin in thought. “Emi-san is just so, amazing. And Teru-shishou is just. . . . .”
“Yeah I know right?” Arataka griped, leaning back on his hands and weaving his fingers through the grass. “But it makes sense that he would be in love with her in some form or fashion. She’s just so cool and awesome.”
Shimazaki-senpai nodded in earnest. “She always makes sure that Teru-shishou takes care of himself, even when he doesn’t want to. And he keeps Teru-shishou in line, even when we both want to keep sparring. She’s so awesome and amazing and, she’s just so cool.”
Shimazaki-senpai trailed off, tapping a finger on his chin in thought.
“Does he love the both of them?”
Arataka blinked.
“Is that allowed?”
Shimazaki-senpai shrugged. “I dunno. But my foster parents, they were talking in hushed whispers the other night. Something about bringing someone else in? I thought maybe it was another kid, despite the fact that we have so many kids already, but could it be about someone else they want to love?”
The two of them pondered over this, mirroring each other as they cupped their chins and tilted their heads to the side.
“Maybe people can be in love with multiple people at the same time?” Arataka offered. “I mean, the longing was definitely love related, so maybe Teru-san is in love with both Boss and Emi-san at the same time, because they’re both just so cool.”
Shimazaki-senpai nodded.
Arataka thumped his fist into the palm of his other hand.
“You know what this means, right Senpai?”
Shimazaki-senpai’s grin was absolutely wicked. “We gotta get all three of them together.”
Vigorous nodding from Arataka as he started to think about a plan for how to get the three of them together. Who could they ask for help? Surely Kageyama-otouto wouldn’t help them, because Kageyama-otouto wouldn’t let anyone date his older brother. But maybe he could ask Haruto-san and Yuka-san? They definitely would like someone dating Mob-boss, and maybe they would like two someones dating their son!
Oh!
“Maybe we could ask that hairstylist?” Arataka scrambled to get his schoolwork together. They could head there, and then Step back to the office, and the adults would be none the wiser.
“The hairstylist? Oh, you mean Kurata-san’s salon.” Shimazaki-senpai put his own schoolwork away. “Yeah, we can have her talk to Teru-shishou! And maybe Emi-san when she goes there!”
Arataka nodded as they started walking towards the hair salon that he remembered. Maybe he should tell Mom about it, since she needed a haircut too. But with some prices, she may never step into another salon. That was due to him though.
He swallowed down his guilt which rose up to clog his throat. If he hadn’t gone with his deadbeat that day, if he had listened to Dimple and let the spirit possess his deadbeat. . . .
Well. Arataka may not be here if he let that happen. A rueful smile twisted his lips, and he was glad that Shimazaki-senpai couldn’t see it. Dimple might have accidentally killed the deadbeat and himself that day. While Arataka was kinda ambivalent to his own death, he didn’t want his deadbeat’s death on his hands. And it would be on his hands, because Dimple was waiting on his say-so to possess his deadbeat. And because Arataka didn’t say yes to that, the whole thing with Claw happened.
Boss exploded, his mind was going crazy and sometimes Arataka couldn’t tell if he was actually here, Kageyama-otouto watched him like a hawk and made sure that he was comfortable, Shimazaki-senpai’s awareness was on him constantly whenever they were at school, and Teru-san was now aware of his less than nice tendencies to ground himself. Maybe it would have been better if Boss and Kageyama-otouto and Shimazaki-senpai and Teru-san didn’t come to save him. But did he want to be stripped of everything that made him, him?
Everything that made Reigen Arataka himself was the emotions and the knowledge of those emotions. Mogami wasn’t exactly wrong when he said what made Arataka special was his powers, but he was also very, very wrong. Mogami was wrong in the most incredible way, but he was also kinda right, and it was messing with Arataka’s head.
Mogami was right in the fact that what made Arataka special was emotions and his understanding of those emotions. Emotions were what Arataka was good at, what he was incredible at. He could manipulate an entire conversation if he wanted to, simply based on aura color and how intense those colors were. Arataka could spin a web of lies and if he pushed out a trustworthy enough aura, someone could buy it easily. Arataka could be someone that sold lies like yen-candy pieces and didn’t care about what happened. Arataka could do that. Arataka could be that.
But Mogami was wrong in the thought that it was his esper power that gave him that ability with emotions. And that’s where Mogami was wrong. He was wrong in thinking that his esper power made him special. Esper powers didn’t make people, in fact, in Arataka’s limited experience, esper powers only enhanced ones abilities that were already there.
Sure his empathy helped. It helped a lot. Arataka would have to put in more work to understand everyone’s emotions when he met them, but he would also know them instinctively. It was just how he was, even before his powers had awakened. Emotions were just easy to him. They came easy to him. It was something that he knew.
Mogami was also right in the fact that his esper power was what got Arataka his connections right now. If he didn’t have his empathy, would he have sought out Mob-boss in that crowd? Maybe, maybe not. No telling what could have been changed if he did have this power or didn’t.
“–en listening to me? Oi, Reigen-kun!”
Shimazaki-senpai’s voice broke him out of his thoughts, out of his head, and Arataka turned to look at him. His senpai was frowning, and now had his hand on Arataka’s wrist.
“Reigen-kun, are you alright?” [I mean obviously he’s not alright. He’s not been alright for a while, like two weeks. Not since he was kidnapped. But usually he doesn’t go space cadet like that–]
Arataka pulled his wrist away, shaking his head and reinforcing the barrier in his head. He needed to get better on the skin-on-skin contact and telepathy. He could stop it on command, but not start it. Maybe he should talk to Takenaka-san about it? But no, he was still mad at the man for hinting that Boss and Kageyama-otouto were bad people! But he was also the only other telepath in the entire city of Seasonings City. Aaarrgghhh.
“I’m fine.” Arataka smiled at Shimazaki-senpai. “Just thinking about how to get Boss and Emi-san and Teru-san together. D’you think if we left them in the park together, they would actually talk?”
A beat. Two. Three.
“Nah.” Both boys said at the same time.
“Why’s this gotta be so haaaardd?” Arataka whined as he pushed the door open to the hair salon that he got a free haircut at. He hoped Kurata-san was in, they hadn’t really been planning for her not to be in. Maybe he could leave their phone numbers behind for her to call? Surely if they explained she would help, right? “Why can’t adults actually talk things out?”
“Because then they would actually be competent.” Kurata-san said, walking towards them. “Why are you two rugrats here, and why should I care?”
Arataka grinned and clapped his hands together.
“Kurata-san, do you think you can help us get my boss, Teru-san, and Emi-san together?”
Kurata-san blinked slowly at him. She then looked over at Shimazaki-senpai, who was pushing out royal-purple-earnestness while also having a pleading face on. Arataka kept himself to bouncing up and down on his toes, waiting and watching her aura. She had a rather interesting one, it swirled around her like the space theme of her hair salon, like a nebula.
The nebula-like haze swirled around the woman, her pink-orange-white base almost looking like the stars that she seemed to love. Right now, that base was also colored with deep-gray-confusion, bubblegum-pink-amusement, and red-hot-triumph. Finally, she sighed and motioned to the both of them, hooking a thumb over her shoulder.
“We’ll talk in the back, okay? You can spill the details there.”
“Yup.” Arataka grinned as he followed, Shimazaki-senpai grinning bright as well. Shimazaki-senpai probably realized that the woman also wanted to get the three adults together and to stop being idiots. Walking to the back, Arataka looked around more at the salon, avoiding looking at the people who were getting their hair washed or cut. The privacy screens helped, but walking past them made it awkward.
Once they walked into what looked like an employee lounge of some sort, Kurata-san pointed to the comfy chairs that were against the wall.
“Sit. And explain, because what the hell do you mean by that crazy sentence?”
Arataka bounced over and sat down on one of the chairs, slinging his schoolbag down and Shimazaki-senpai sat in the chair next to him. Kurata-san crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, clearly waiting. Arataka and Shimazaki-senpai exchanged looks, trying to decide who was going to go first.
“Okay, so you haven’t met my Boss.” Arataka decided to take the plunge. “And you’ve only met me the once, but you’ve met Teru-san before, right? Does that mean you’re aware of the existence of espers?”
“Of course I am kid, I went to school with like, at least three.” The woman scoffed.
“Huh.” Arataka blinked. “Do you know Kageyama Shigeo?”
Kurata-san squinted. “Name sounds familiar, he’s probably one of the three I went to school with. What do psychics have to do with trying to help you set three people up to date?”
“Kageyama Shigeo is my boss.” Arataka swung his feet back and forth. “And he’s a really powerful esper. Not important, but I’m also an esper. I can see emotions, which is what brings us all together for this.”
“Hold the phone, what?” Kurata-san looked at Arataka with deep-gray-confusion and firetruck-red-alarm. “You can’t just drop that bomb kid, you can see emotions?”
“Yeah, not important but kinda important.” Arataka waved it off. He could see Shimazaki-senpai shaking his head out of the corner of his eye. “So the important thing is that all three are interested in each other. I’m pretty sure. I think. Boss just found out about Teru-san’s crush on him this past weekend, but he wasn’t like, against it? Even though he has a crush on Emi-san too. And Emi-san teases both Boss and Teru-san. And Teru-san really really likes the both of them. So Shimazaki-senpai and I need help getting the three of them together!”
Kurata-san slowly blinked at him.
Cerulean-blue-confliction swirled around her aura before it disappeared and cherry-blossom-pink-acceptance rippled through her nebulous aura.
“You’re not going to stop meddling, are you?” She sighed. She had a smile on her face, and actually, sunset-yellow-playfulness was starting to peek in like a rising sun. Arataka shook his head, a grin on his own face, and Shimazaki-senpai had silver-white-joy and peach-soft-fondness in his own fiery red-purple aura as he shook his head.
“Alright, alright.” Kurata-san sighed, but she was grinning brightly.
“Let’s get these idiots together.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Katsuya was quietly happy with the fact that the school was starting to get the message. They were backing off of Reigen-kun and starting to understand that they shouldn’t have picked on him in the first place. And they were starting to understand that how they were treating Reigen-kun wasn’t right, and while it was slow going, it was better than nothing. So Katsuya was happy that the school was starting to get it. Sure, Shimazaki-senpai would graduate this coming month, leaving just Reigen-kun and Katsuya, but he was sure that they could handle everything.
Reigen-kun seemed both happy, and withdrawn as time went on and the graduation creeped up on them. Katsuya sort of got it. He would be graduating to the third year, and Reigen-kun to the second year. And Shimazaki-senpai would be leaving them to go to high school, but it would be fine.
They could handle it.
No, something else was weighing on Reigen-kun’s mind, and Katsuya could see it.
It was in the quiet moments, when his eyes would focus in the distance and the cherry trees that were starting to bloom. The quiet moments where Reigen-kun seemed to be thinking about something that was occurring to him and pondering it. Katsuya would ask, and Reigen-kun would just shake his head. He didn’t seem to want to share just yet, but that was fine. Maybe he would understand that Katsuya wouldn’t share secrets that weren’t his own one day.
Like how the reason that Shimazaki-senpai was getting more upset as the days go by is because he would be leaving Salt middle school. And would be leaving Reigen-kun by default. Oh yes, Katsuya was quite sure that the reason for Shimazaki-senpai’s mood was because he wouldn’t be near Reigen-kun all day, five days a week now.
Katsuya hid a smile behind his drink as he watched Shimazaki-senpai suddenly launch himself at Reigen-kun’s back and pull him close. He didn’t know how the hell Reigen-kun hadn’t clocked the fact that Shimazaki-senpai liked him yet, maybe he was just that deep in denial, but it would be fine right? Shimazaki-senpai would still be their friend, even when he went onto high school in the future and even when Katsuya went onto high school, he would stay friends with these two idiots.
They were his now.
But Shimazaki-senpai had run out of his beloved strawberry milk, so he had gone to go get some, pouting the entire walk to the stairs. Reigen-kun was always so stern about the three of them using their esper powers at school, especially after that little stunt with Shimazaki-senpai and the knives. But Reigen-kun also had a new hoodie that looked a little thicker than was normal and someone had definitely twisted the arm of the faculty for Reigen-kun to be able to wear it during classes under his gakuran. Katsuya was betting it was that Teru-san that he was hearing about, or maybe the Kageyama-otouto.
It wasn’t the Mob-boss guy. If the Mob-boss guy had shown up here, then the school really wouldn’t be left standing.
“So what are you thinking about that has you down in the dumps sometimes?” Katsuya asked as he sipped his water. With Reigen-kun, it was best to ask straightforward answers. Sure, he might try to lie his way out of it, but Katsuya was sure of his best friend’s tells by now. He would at least be able to spot a few lies.
Reigen-kun sighed and he looked out to the sky again.
“I’m. . . . I guess I’m contemplating things right now.”
No tells, no lie. Interesting. Just what had Katsuya stumbled on here?
“Whatcha contemplating? The state of life in Seasonings City?” Katsuya asked. “‘Cause, that’s the only thing that I can think of that has you so pensive about.”
“No.” Reigen-kun shook his head. “No, I’m contemplating some things my therapist told me.”
Oooooohhh.
Right, Reigen-kun was in therapy now for something. Shimazaki-senpai and Reigen-kun had been frustratingly tight-lipped about it, so Katsuya could only try and imagine. It probably had to do with that stupid deadbeat of Reigen-kun’s. Katsuya wondered if he could find the deadbeat and get some of his own licks in. The man deserved it, and Katsuya didn’t know how an angel like Reigen Yoshiko-san had fallen for a man like that.
“You wanna tell me about it?” Katsuya offered. “I know you don’t want to around Shimazaki-senpai, because he’s so protective over you. But there’s only so much time before he comes back, and we could always just, you know, spend time in my cousin’s shop and talk about it if you don’t want to talk about it now.”
Reigen-kun studied him, his eyes darting around him. Probably to study the emotions that Katsuya was feeling, but all Katsuya was feeling was concern for his friend and the want to help. He really just wanted to be a good friend to someone he considered his best friend.
The younger boy licked his lips and looked back to the stairs. Was he checking for Shimazaki-senpai? Could he do that? What was the extent of Reigen-kun’s powers? Well, Katsuya had a pretty good idea, but he would need confirmation.
“Serizawa-senpai, d’you think that some people can be,” Reigen-kun was clearly struggling for words. His face screwed up in consternation and concentration. “I, do you think that some people can be a little, much?”
Katsuya blinked.
“Much?”
“Yeah, do you think some people can just be a little, too much?” Reigen-kun asked again. It was clear that he wanted to say more, but he didn’t know how to put it into words.
“Well, some people are just like that.” Katsuya said, and then remembered how he felt when he first met Shou-san and Toichiro-san, just how overwhelming they could be. “But you should probably tell that person that they’re being too much. That’s what I had to do with Shou-san.”
Reigen-kun’s lips twisted like he had eaten a lemon. Well he shouldn’t be eating lemons anyways, his friend was allergic to them. But that was the face that he was making and Katsuya didn’t know what was wrong. He didn’t know how to help his friend.
“Do you want to,” Katsuya offered quickly, and his words got stuck in his throat before he soldiered on. “Do you want to sleepover? Would that help? Getting away from, everything?”
Awkwardness settled over the two of them like a blanket after his throat finally strangled his voice out. Katsuya sipped on his water, trying not to make it seem like he was taking anything back. He wouldn’t take it back, offering an out for his friend was something that he would never take back. But he definitely felt awkward for how he offered it.
“Maybe one day.” Reigen-kun whispered. “I would, I’d really appreciate that, when it becomes too much. Thank you, Serizawa-senpai.”
Happiness bloomed inside him as he nodded.
At that point, the door banged open and Shimazaki-senpai dragged himself back onto the roof.
“Whhhhhyy did you make me run up and down the stairs Reigen-kun?” Shimazaki-senpai whined as he flopped down beside the two of them. “Why can’t I just Step there and Step back here? It would be so much easier to do that, so many teachers wanted to talk to be me about ‘my future and you should really think about where you apply for high school Shimazaki-kun!’”
Katsuya and Reigen-kun laughed at their friend’s expense as he whined in a high falsetto. Katsuya offered a water bottle to his other best friend, who took it and chugged half the contents before he was done with it.
“Reigen-kun just hates me.” Shimazaki-senpai huffed once he was done with his water.
“Aww, I don’t hate you Shimazaki-senpai.” Reigen-kun poked their friend in the cheek, and Katsuya sat back and watched this happen. It was a normal play for the two of them, Shimazaki-senpai claiming that Reigen-kun didn’t like him or that Reigen-kun hated him, and Reigen-kun would tease him until he had sufficiently proven his friendship.
Katsuya wondered when exactly Reigen-kun would realize that Shimazaki-senpai would do this because he wanted to hear Reigen-kun say that he liked Shimazaki-senpai. Probably never. Reigen-kun refused to acknowledge it for some reason, even though Reigen-kun could literally see emotions and filter them.
Maybe Reigen-kun couldn’t understand why someone would like him? But that was silly, because Reigen-kun was really cool and powerful. And it was natural for someone like Shimazaki-senpai to like someone like Reigen-kun. Reigen-kun was cute, even if he was being unintentionally so. Maybe Shimazaki-senpai should just come out and say his feelings instead of hinting to them. Maybe that would just make everything a little less awkward.
At least less awkward for Katsuya watching the two of them. Maybe it would be awkward for the both of them to sort out whatever the hell they were, but it would be better for all of them if they just talked it out. Katsuya could help when that happened, if it came down to it. Katsuya could talk to the two of them and play messenger bird between the two while they were awkward. Just please let it happen before Shimazaki-senpai left, because then it would be extra awkward.
Hmmm….
Maybe they would finally start talking when they were in high school. That would put them on equal footing, but also Shimazaki-senpai would still be a senpai. Maybe they would finally start talking about it in university? That would be hilarious and sad. Katsuya wasn’t sure that he could stand waiting that long, maybe he should intervene on his own behalf.
“Serizawa-senpai?” Reigen-kun asked, eyeing him with a near fearful look on his face.
“Yeah?”
“What on earth are you thinking about? You definitely have a calculating aura around you, and a determined aura.” Reigen-kun relayed, eyes darting around Katsuya like ocean waves. Huh, what did that look like? That would be cool to see, maybe Katsuya would see it one day.
“Just thinking about my self-assigned work.” Katsuya dismissed, and Shimazaki-senpai sat up at that, pulling off of Reigen-kun’s back.
“Have you finally figured it out?” Shimazaki-senpai asked, suspicious. They had planned the retaliation efforts together after all, so for Katsuya to not explain what he was doing that was “self-assigned” for so long was probably eating away at Shimazaki-senpai’s curiosity.
“Maybe.” Katsuya acknowledged, and he reached up and tugged at a few curls in his hair. “I think I may have to do some work to get it completed though.”
Shimazaki-senpai made a face at that. He clearly wanted in on whatever Katsuya was thinking about and whatever Katsuya was planning, but ha! Not this time, because Katsuya was planning on getting these two numbskulls together. Or maybe at least getting them to talk about their feelings. Because Katsuya was like, ninety-five percent sure that Reigen-kun liked Shimazaki-senpai back. Well, not ninety-five percent. Maybe eighty-five percent? That was a more plausible number.
“Why don’t you tell us what that work is?” Reigen-kun narrowed his eyes at him, and uh oh. Was Reigen-kun suspecting him? Katsuya hoped that wasn’t the case, he really wanted to pounce on this topic when Reigen-kun was ready, when Shimazaki-senpai was still here. Maybe that would happen, but maybe it would also happen during the summer. It would be fine if it happened during the summer, because that way Reigen-kun couldn’t run away to classes.
“Because it’s a secret.” Katsuya brought a finger to his lips as he smiled.
“Serizawa-senpai! C’mon~!” Reigen-kun whined, and Katsuya laughed as the bell rang. The three of them paused. They didn’t want to part ways, but it was time.
Shimazaki-senpai got up first, his brow furrowed as he stared down at Reigen-kun. He clearly didn’t want to part ways. Still so protective since the last weekend when something happened. Katsuya needed to know what had happened, but he would find out later. Right now, it would be fine. Reigen-kun had his new hoodie, he had a new stim toy that would keep him grounded, but Katsuya and Shimzaki-senpai would keep an eye on Reigen-kun.
“You’ll be okay?” Shimzaki-senpai asked. He clearly didn’t want to leave just yet, and was probably just going to teleport right into his classroom. Show-off.
“I’ll be fine. Geez, what’s with the lot of you acting like I’m made of glass?” Reigen-kun sighed as he got to his feet.
“We know you’re not made of glass, Reigen-kun.” Katsuya sighed as he got to his own feet. He just wanted to be back home. “We just want you to be safe, and yet you seem to be quite the trouble magnet, despite you two not telling me what happened a few weekends ago?”
He gave the two of them a stink-eye, and Reigen-kun looked away, and Shimazaki-senpai looked at him dead-on, not even hiding the fact that he was unrepentant on the fact that they weren’t telling him what happened.
Reigen-kun groaned theatrically as they started walking down the stairs, trash in hands as they descended.
“Look, it’s not that we don’t trust you, Serizawa-senpai. I just. . . . .”
“You guys don’t want me involved.” Katsuya said grumpily. He wanted to help his friends, not be stuck to the sidelines. That wasn’t a bad thing, right? To want to help out his friends with stuff that they were going through?
“We do!” Reigen-kun tripped over himself to try and assuage Katsuya. “We do want you involved. But we also don’t want you to get in a fight you’re not ready for.” He gave Katsuya a watery smile. “You’re a bit of a scaredy-cat, senpai.”
“Wha– I am not!”
Katsuya wasn’t a scaredy-cat! He was anxious yeah, but not a scaredy-cat! How dare!
“You jump at your own shadow sometimes.” Shimazaki-senpai laughed.
“You can’t even see shadows!” Katsuya turned to point at the older boy. “You can’t claim that!”
“Oh yes I can–”
The warning bell sounded.
Katsuya narrowed his eyes at Shimzaki-senpai, who stuck his tongue out at Katsuya. Oh it was on. There was going to be a prank war happening in the school, and only between Shimzaki-senpai and Katsuya. And Katsuya was going to win this prank war that he himself was starting.
“Why are you both like this?” Reigen-kun groaned as they parted ways, and Katsuya ignored the smugness that burned in his chest at the lightheartedness of it all.
He had friends. Friends. Actual, real life friends. He didn’t have to rely on people online anymore or just family members anymore. He had actual friends now.
And then his good mood plummeted as he walked into his classroom.
Shibata was in his class.
Dammit.
Maybe he could feign illness? Stomach issues? He just ate lunch, something could have not agreed with him and he could go home. Shou-san would understand and probably let him play hooky in the store until Toichiro-san came out and demanded that he do some work or try to work on his esper capabilities.
Shibata had been following him around like a little puppy dog after the entire affair that had happened with Roshuto and the scissors incident that got the boy suspended for a few weeks. Asagiri and Roshuto’s influence was starting to waver over Shibata, and that in turn made Shibata look for another leader. Apparently he found that leader in Katsuya.
How, Katsuya didn’t know.
Katsuya wasn’t a leader. He definitely wasn’t a leader. Katsuya was always more of a follower than a leader, he couldn’t lead people. Sure he was a strong esper, but he wasn’t like, good at making decisions for other people. He was good at making decisions for himself, he was a coward like that. But he wasn’t good at leading people.
Shibata didn’t seem to understand that, and stuck to Katsuya like glue in school during class times.
Thankfully he didn’t follow Katsuya during lunch hour. If he followed Katsuya around during lunch hour, he wouldn’t be able to stand it if the other boy tried to follow him to his sacred lunch hour with his best friends. It’s not that Katsuya didn’t like the other boy. Okay he kinda didn’t, since he had been such a big bully to Reigen-kun.
But he wasn’t opposed to making new friends. New connections, as Toichiro-san said. And Shibata could be a new friend, a new connection. But Katsuya didn’t like him. And maybe it was petty, and maybe it was silly. Maybe it was childish and maybe it was ridiculous. But if Katsuya didn’t like someone, then trying to be friends with them and making connections got infinitely harder.
And it didn’t help that Shibata was really like a puppy. He brightened up at the sight of Katsuya and if he focused, then Katsuya was certain that he would see a tail wagging behind the guy and ears perking up. It was endearing, Katsuya supposed. But that was only if Katsuya liked the guy, and Katsuya did not, in fact, like the guy. He didn’t hate him, but he didn’t like him either. He just existed in Katsuya’s vicinity and that was fine with everyone because there weren’t any more fights breaking out in the classroom.
No more levitating objects and no more auras flowing around the room like a static pulse that threatened to burn some words that weren’t allowed into the walls.
But that also meant that Katsuya had to deal with Shibata trying to become like a henchman to him when he didn’t want a henchman in any sort of way. Shou-san on the other hand? Oh Shou-san would absolutely love a henchman. He would love to have someone in the shop helping, but that wouldn’t be happening.
Or maybe. . . . .
Katsuya quickly took his seat as he thought things through.
Maybe he could pawn Shibata off on Toichiro-san and Shou-san? That would be fine, right? Shou-san would get his employee that he was always moaning about, although it wasn’t the one that he wanted, and Toichiro-san could have someone to help train in the way of “incredible esper powers.”
Toichiro-san was weird, but that was fine. Shibata was weird, so maybe the two of them would get along like that. Toichiro-san and Shibata would be weird together, and then Shou-san and Katsuya would just be themselves and talk about things that they liked. Like food and, and other things.
Katsuya blinked down at his notebook as he wrote what was on the whiteboard.
He, he knew that he and Shou-san had talked about things before. Bonded over things before. He knew that. Why couldn’t he remember it?
Maybe it was the stress getting to him. Yeah, that was probably it. He and Shou-san could talk later today and everything would be fine. He could talk to Shou-san about Reigen-kun staying over for a night! It would be the first time he’s ever had a sleepover, that would be so cool to experience one firsthand.
Katsuya nodded to himself as he finally decided on a course of action. He would bring Shibata over to Shou-san’s bookstore so he could be introduced to Toichiro-san, and then Katsuya and Shou-san could just exist and be happy later. But Toichiro-san and Shibata would probably be talking for a long while before he could talk to Shou-san.
Which meant that Katsuya would have to deal with being on his phone all afternoon until Toichiro-san sent Shibata away, or he would be playing bookstore clerk until Shou-san came out after Shibata was sent away. Shou-san didn’t like existing in the same space as Toichiro-san, so they tried to avoid each other. But that meant that the bookstore was going to fall onto Katsuya, and he wasn’t really good with customers.
Uuuuugghh. He didn’t want to deal with customers. He would prefer playing on his phone, but that wouldn’t be a viable option if Toichiro-san insisted that he stay while talking with Shibata. Toichiro-san was always so huffy about the “youth these days and their cell phones.” As if Toichiro-san didn’t use it as much as Katsuya and then some. Although he claimed it was for connections and not for anything else. Yeah right, Katsuya was sure that Toichiro-san has at least a few friends.
Maybe.
Hopefully.
It was good for people to have friends, right? That was why Mom had been so insistent on him moving in with Shou-san so he could finally meet someone that didn’t have a preconceived notion about him. No preconceived notions about his powers. Totally not because Mom just wanted him out of the house and so she could finally breathe. No, Katsuya knew that she was just worried for him and that she needed some breathing room after the last school incident involving him, so they both made the decision to send him here.
He wasn’t still upset about it.
Katsuya made an angry scribble in his notebook, somewhat resembling the kanji on the whiteboard, and breathed out an angry breath.
Okay, maybe he was still a little angry. He was a lot angry. He was a very angry kid, despite still being really anxious. The two weren’t like, mutually exclusive. In fact, the two seemed to feed into each other sometimes. Especially when the whole bullying Reigen-kun stuff came up. Katsuya was anxious about it but he was also really angry about how the school was dealing with everything. Everything Reigen-kun related anyways, everything else Salt middle school seemed to deal with relatively well.
Why they felt the need to ignore the blatant bullying that was going on, he didn’t know. Katsuya would like for others to know, maybe some adults. Although he was glad that the Teru-san was finally letting others know. And other adults had to know too, because Reigen-kun got that haircut. That was like, a blaring sign that something was wrong, because Reigen-kun liked his longer hair.
Katsuya twirled his pencil around as he just stared at the whiteboard and just watched the teachers switch places as they tone rang and time continued to pass on. He should probably approach Shibata about coming with him to the bookstore. And he should probably tell Shimazaki-senpai about not walking with him and Reigen-kun. Because he was considerate like that and didn’t want Reigen-kun to see a bully. Er, ex-bully? Because Shibata wasn’t really bullying Reigen-kun anymore, but Katsuya didn’t like the guy regardless.
Next class for Reigen-kun would be home ec, which would have Shimazaki-senpai on high alert anyways from what happened. So Katsuya decided to pull out his phone and text the group chat that the youngest of them had created the first day because he was chaotic like that. It sent a pang in Katsuya, knowing that Reigen-kun hadn’t been that carefree in a while. He only had a few minutes to do this though, so he couldn’t waste time on feelings.
[Ichi, Ni, and San]
[Ni]: Won’t be walking out with you two today, sorry
Replies were immediate from Reigen-kun, and almost as quick from Shimazaki-senpai. Katsuya did need to figure out what text-to-speech he used that read his texts so fast.
[Ichi]: Whaaaat
[Ichi]: senpai do u have a gf???
[San]: ???
[San]: Any particular reason why?
Katsuya tilted his head enough to look at Shibata, who was trying not to look like a kicked puppy.
[Ni]: Taking up one of my cousins reccs and making connxs
Once classes were over for the day, Katsuya put everything in his schoolbag and swung it up and over his shoulder, before approaching Shibata. Shibata, who perked up like he was a puppy that was finally being rewarded for all its patience and care to not fall all over itself in its enthusiasm. Maybe Katsuya should stop making dog metaphors for Shibata, or else he might actually start to like the guy, simply because his mind was associating him with puppies.
“Shibata-kun, do you know many other espers?” Katsuya asked as they started to walk out the door of their classroom. He knew that Shibata didn’t, he looked so hurt when Roshuto had claimed that espers were freaks. No one who knew other espers or who were confident in their abilities would have such a look on their face.
“Uh, no. You, Shimazaki-senpai, and Reigen. You guys are the only ones that I know that are espers like me.” Shibata answered, and he looked a little shy while doing so, but also he was standing strong. That was good. He had to be strong, otherwise Toichiro-san would eat him alive.
Katsuya nodded like he had expected that answer. And he had.
“Would you like to meet another esper?”
~~~~~~~~~~
Shigeo, was admittedly rather blindsided when his beloved little brother had revealed the fact that Teru-kun had a crush on him. Or liked him. Or was infatuated with him, as Arataka-kun said.
He wasn’t well-versed with emotions. His own? Oh yes, he was rather in touch with, rather capable of keeping them under lock and key. Except for maybe three times in his entire life after Tsubomi-chan started to lose interest in him, he had only lost control of his emotions those three times.
The first time, when he had first started keeping them under lock and key. It was normal for him to lose control then, because of course it was. He was only just starting to utilize the technique, it was no wonder that he wasn’t any good at it at first. And where did that get him? Ritsu hurt and three bullies in the hospital, but Shigeo himself untouched. Not something he liked, because his brother had been hurt.
He had sworn to himself that day that whenever his emotions were unlocked again, they would only be used in the most dire of circumstances. There was a reason they had to reach one hundred percent before Shigeo made his move. He was a pacifist at heart, but when Ritsu had approached him with the idea of using their powers (after Ritsu’s had awakened) to create an office to help people, then maybe, maybe he could use these powers for something good.
And those powers had led Arataka-kun to him. The boy had told Shigeo the reason that he knew Shigeo wasn’t like the rest of the people in that room was because of his powers, his aura. So his powers were good for something at least.
The second time, only when Arataka-kun had started to come around and poke and prod at those locks that were on the emotions. It wasn’t something that Shigeo was really protesting, Arataka-kun was good at emotions, it was his latent psychic ability after all. He was pretty damn proud of it too, from the looks of it, even if he only used it passively before meeting Shigeo and Ritsu. The first fight with Teru-san could have, admittedly, gone a lot better. But he hadn’t lost control fully, because Arataka-kun had somehow, miraculously talked him down from it.
Shigeo still wasn’t sure how he did it. Maybe he just recognized Arataka-kun as someone who could be trusted? It wasn’t important anyways, what was important was that no one was seriously injured during that fight. The chains on the emotions weakened a little, but it was fine. Shigeo was still in control, he was more than in control. He knew where he started and his emotions ended.
And then that disastrous third time that he lost control.
Now granted, Shigeo didn’t see it as a disaster. They had Arataka-kun back after he had been kidnapped for like, three or four hours, and Shigeo felt like he was totally within his rights to listen to the voice in his head that, ah how did Dimple put it, go batshit insane? Shigeo didn’t see anything wrong with losing control with these people, this Claw organization, after they had gotten Arataka-kun out.
They had come after what was Shigeo’s. They deserved to know the price to pay for trying to lay a claim on something that wasn’t theirs.
No, the disaster came after they had rescued Arataka-kun.
Arataka-kun’s powers had evolved, much like psychic powers were wont to do as people got older, especially in the timeframe that Arataka-kun was in. The boy just simply, had a kickstart it seemed, with whoever it was in that room trying to brainwash Arataka-kun of all things. There certainly wasn’t a psychic power like that, but Shigeo was on edge afterwards, watching Arataka-kun to make sure that it was the only lasting effect of being in close proximity of that guy. He knew firsthand of what sort of things the man could pull after all, he had gone unconscious thanks to this guy.
But Arataka-kun seemed to be settling back into the rhythm of normal life, if only distracted by the fact that he could hear people’s thoughts now, and according to Takenaka-kun, was working on sending them too. He got a dazed look on his face sometimes, but it got better after Teru-san got him some sort of toy to play with. Shigeo didn’t understand what the hell it was, but it seemed to help pull Arataka-kun out of wherever the hell he went in his head, so Shigeo took it as a win.
And that brought him right back around to the problem right in front of him.
The crush, or infatuation, or whatever it was, that Teru-san had on Shigeo, and Shigeo had no idea for months.
Now, Shigeo could understand Arataka-kun not telling him. Arataka-kun was a sweet boy and he clearly didn’t want to upset Shigeo, especially after what just happened with the kidnapping incident. And before they were aware of the existence of Claw, they weren’t truly that close, despite Shigeo’s want to be. Well, not as close as Shigeo would like.
No, the blame here solely fell on Shigeo’s beloved younger brother, who he was currently staring daggers into from across the office. The beloved younger brother who had gotten used to Shigeo’s stares, so he never reacted to them anymore unless Arataka-kun was here and needling him too. Really, those two. They acted like brothers sometimes, it was cute. Like a middle brother and younger brother.
Back to the task on hand!
Shigeo continued staring at his brother, and seeing as his brand of subtilty wasn’t working, and hadn’t worked for the last fifteen minutes, and they only had five more minutes before Arataka-kun came in from school, and no doubt with Arataka-kun would come Shimazaki-kun, he decided to finally ask.
“Why exactly are you angling for me to date Emi-san when you’ve known about Teru-san’s feelings since the beginning?”
Ritsu didn’t even look up from his paperwork. Dimply just cackled in the corner, muttering to himself about “youth these days and not looking into anything adventurous.” Shigeo wasn’t even going to unpack that with a fifty-foot pole.
“Because she’s the sane one?” Ritsu offered.
“Ritsu, she works with Teru-san. Willingly.”
“Okay true. But she also has an in with you that Hanazawa didn’t. So I prefer her to him, because she sees you as you and not as just a psychic.” Ritsu looked up, and Shigeo was surprised to see his little brother looking just the slightest bit embarrassed. “I know I’m practically hopeless in the romance department, it’s never been my thing, but you’ve always been interested in it. And you love it when people look past your powers and see you. Hanazawa came here looking for a powerful psychic, but Fukami came here looking for you.”
Shigeo blinked.
He and his brother never really talked stuff like this out. Yes, Shigeo was of course, a hopeless romantic. He had always held a candle for Tsubomi-chan before she moved away and had daydreams about walking into the sunset and holding hands. Ritsu never really understood stuff like that, and it was just an unspoken agreement between the two of them that they wouldn’t talk about it.
He shouldn’t have underestimated his little brother. Of course his smart little brother knew what sort of person he liked. Someone who saw Shigeo for himself was definitely an ideal that he wanted. But. . . .
“But Teru-san also takes good care of Arataka-kun. Which I also like.” Shigeo said in a monotone, and relished in the twist of his brother’s mouth. It looked like he had swallowed a particularly nasty sour candy.
“I suppose he takes care of the brat.” Ritsu muttered. “And he did get us some information on Claw, which will protect Goldilocks more.”
Something deep in Shigeo seemed to perk up at the mention of Arataka-kun and Claw in the same sentence. Butting its head up against the chains that Shigeo had wrapped around it like an embrace.
MINE?
Shigeo swatted it down. No, he told it firmly. It really wanted out more often, but he couldn’t afford that. Arataka-kun isn’t here.
It sulked in his ribcage, hiding in his heart, beneath his stomach.
Mine. It muttered sullenly.
He shushed it.
Ours.
The twisting knot of emotions in his gut subsided a little bit.
The door to the offices opened.
“We’re here!” Arataka-kun greeted, throwing his schoolbag over to his desk before bounding up to Shigeo and peering over his shoulder at his laptop. The boy’s hands were positioned in such a way that if he wanted to, the kid could wrap his arms around Shigeo’s neck and initiate a hug. Shigeo would like that. A hug from Arataka-kun would be very nice.
“Brat one and brat two.” Ritsu sighed, although they all knew it was all jest and façade. “What are we, a daycare now?”
“Don’t be silly Kageyama-otouto!” Arataka-kun said brightly, his arms actually sliding around Shigeo’s neck and initiating a hug. Shigeo didn’t think he could stop the burst of happiness in his chest like a small sun or the smugness in his throat, even if he tried. “You would need at least three kids to make this a daycare, and Teru-san isn’t here!”
Ritsu threw his head back and laughed while Shimazaki-kun immediately tried to defend his “Teru-shishou’s” honor, even though they all knew it was a lost cause.
ours
Shigeo closed his eyes as the thought infiltrated and sighed, leaning back into the hug. Arataka-kun made a noise, which had him tilting his head to try and see him.
“What is it?”
“Mm, nothing. I thought I saw, ah, probably a trick of the light.” Arataka-kun dismissed. He looked like he was deep in thought however, and Shigeo debated whether he should press. If he was allowed to press, because he wasn’t Arataka-kun’s father, there was no reason for Arataka-kun to tell Shigeo all his secrets, but Shigeo would like to keep Arataka-kun safe, so maybe he should press?
As he was about to come to a conclusion, weighing the pros and cons against each other and pros of pressing Arataka-kun for an answer was starting to look like the better option, Arataka-kun spoke up.
“Ne, Mob-boss?”
Shigeo hummed. Was Arataka-kun going to tell Shigeo on his own? That would be a step in their relationship.
“Why don’t you date both Emi-san and Teru-san?”
Shigeo was so glad that he wasn’t drinking anything like Ritsu had been. As it was, he needed to pull up a barrier to make sure that stray drops of coffee didn’t hit them. Even that was an afterthought.
Because there were only two thoughts running around in Shigeo’s head currently.
One was: what the hell, who suggests something like that?
The answer to that was of course, Reigen Arataka-kun. Damn cheeky brat.
The second thought was: wait that would actually solve a lot of problems with my love life.
Ritsu was still spluttering, and Shimazaki-kun, finally over the brief bout of hysteria that had taken him, went over to poke at Ritsu. Dimple was currently still floating in midair, laughing riotously and it didn’t seem like he would stop anytime soon. Shigeo was so glad the spirit could find some sort of mirth in whatever was going on. Really, so glad.
“Why are you like this?” Shigeo got out, his voice incredibly strangled.
Arataka-kun laughed brightly in his ear. “Because I can see you guys dancing around each other and I’m booooorreeedd. Boss! Entertain me!”
“I’ll entertain you, where the hell did you get an idea like that!?” Ritsu finally rebooted and vaulted over his desk towards the two of them. Arataka-kun squeaked, letting go of Shigeo at last, and raced through the office, Ritsu hot on his heels. Shigeo allowed himself to feel unhappy about losing the hug for a few seconds before watching the two of them run around the offices, and no doubt causing a bunch of noise complaints for the neighbors.
This place felt like home. Warm and happy, even with the looming danger of Claw on the horizon. Here in the offices, everyone was safe and content, Ritsu finally grabbing Arataka-kun and holding him upside down by the ankles while Shimazaki-kun couldn’t seem to stay standing due to his laughter.
Shigeo shook his head and with a flick of his fingers, his kid was floating back towards him.
“I’m not done with him!” Ritsu protested, looking positively thunderous.
“I think it’s a fine idea.” Shigeo shrugged, if only to watch Ritsu shut down again.
“You’re worse than me, and I don’t think anyone would believe me.” Arataka-kun grinned up at him.
“I am serious.” Shigeo shrugged. “Maybe the three of us could give us a try. It couldn’t hurt.”
“Yay!” Arataka-kun threw his hands up in the air and floated lazily. “Shimazaki-senpai and I have been trying to matchmake you guys for aaaageeeesss.”
“A week.” Shimazaki-kun said, tone fond.
“Ages!”
Home was here, and it was warm.
Ours. He whispered back inside him, and it soothed the monster. Just a little.