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The morning after Mob defeats Suzuki Touichiro is… interesting. None of them really know what to do now that it’s over. They don’t breach the subject aside from figuring out where they’re going to stay and how they’re going to get out of their battered clothing, and it seems as though they’re determined not to talk about it yet. Even Mob, who would normally be oblivious to moods like these, has his lips tightly sealed, apparently just as loathe to bring it up as the rest.
Reigen brings them back to his apartment and lets them sleep in his living room. He gives away his leftover food, his pillows and spare blankets. Shou comes along, despite having a house to go back to, and no one questions it. Maybe he appreciates his new friends. Maybe he wants to make sure they would be okay. He keeps the mood light with quips and sarcasm and a rambunctiousness that’s somehow endearing instead of annoying, and the others appreciate him for it. It keeps them from focusing too much on the weight of what had just happened.
He’s the first to fall asleep when all is said and done.
Ritsu wakes early the morning after despite not going to sleep until well past three in the morning, uncurling himself from the fetal position he finds himself defaulting to and untucking the blankets from around his shoulders. He shivers as the mild air of Reigen’s apartment tickles his warm shoulders, and debates going back to sleep for a minute before reluctantly slipping off the fold-out futon couch and padding barefoot to the kitchen for a drink.
Mob and Teru are still fast asleep, the blond boy having shown up at some point during the night after Ritsu had passed out. As he reaches for a plastic cup sitting on a shelf, however, he notices that Shou isn’t on the ground where he’d fallen asleep the night before. In fact, he’s not in the living room at all. Ritsu’s brow furrows in confusion as he sips at his water, setting the cup aside on the kitchen counter for the time being.
He can’t have gone far, Ritsu rationalizes, glancing around again to make sure he hasn’t just been moved or something. He wanders the little apartment, peeking around corners and into closets. Where had he gone off to? The bathroom is empty, and everyone else is still sleeping.
Had he left the apartment on his own? If he had, he hadn’t left any sort of note saying where he’d be going. Perhaps he’d wanted to get some fresh air, and figured everyone else would be sleeping in anyway?
Ritsu makes his way back into the kitchen, poking his head into the laundry room. The washer is empty, and the dryer filled with clothes Teru had brought from his wrecked apartment to share with the rest of the group. With a start, Ritsu realizes that he’s still wearing his torn-up jeans and bright yellow hoodie from the day before. There are blood stains and patches of dirt all over it, and one of the sleeves has been ripped off entirely. Apparently whatever magic had healed his wounds hadn’t extended to his favorite sweatshirt. What a shame. He crouches down in front of the dryer and sifts through the pile of clothes, wrinkling his nose at the selections. As expected, Teru’s wardrobe consists of bright, gaudy colors and patterns, all of them far too busy for Ritsu’s liking, but he doesn’t really have another choice. After a moment of deliberation he selects a pair of light gray sweatpants and a red tee-shirt with a more subdued pattern to swap his old clothes out for.
He slips out of his ruined clothes and into Teru’s fresh ones, sighing in relief. He hasn’t showered yet since the ordeal of the day before, but just having clean clothes to wear makes him feel much better already. Maybe he can jump in the shower before Reigen wakes up, and avoid having to ask him for additional favors.
He leaves his old clothes on top of the washer for now, unsure of where else to put them, and walks out of the laundry room. Teru and Mob remain fast asleep, and there’s no noise from Reigen’s bedroom. He wanders back over to the bed, observing his sleeping older brother. Mob looks much better than he had the previous night, the color returning to his face after the stress of using so much power had sapped away his energy, and he’s drooling on Reigen’s pillow. Ritsu suppresses a chuckle, a smirk growing on his face. Well, at least he’s getting plenty of rest, he tells himself.
Movement at the corner of his eye catches Ritsu’s attention, and he turns his gaze to a door he hadn’t noticed before at the back of the small dining area by the kitchen. It’s a sliding glass door, and beyond it he can see the city. A balcony? It seems like a fancy addition to such a small and cramped apartment, but in a big city like Seasoning, he supposes it makes sense.
He approaches the door, lifting a hand to turn the handle and go outside, then pauses. Shou is leaning on the balcony’s iron railing, his bright red hair easy to spot among the city's gray and brown hues, but it’s not his colorful appearance that catches Ritsu’s attention. His expression is soft, a slight frown on his face, and his eyes stare at something far into the distance. Or maybe he’s not looking at anything at all. He doesn’t look sad, exactly, but it’s a far cry from his enthusiasm and cheerfulness from the night before, and Ritsu finds himself experiencing a sort of mental whiplash.
He’s only known Shou for a day, but he’s already seen so many sides of him. His fierce determination, his strong wit and cunning mind, his magnetic charisma and endearing optimism. This Shou, though, the melancholic boy too caught up in his own thoughts to even notice what’s going on right behind him, is unfamiliar. A weight settles in Ritsu’s stomach and stays there as he turns the handle and pushes open the door.
Shou blinks at the gentle noise of the door latch clicking open and turns to see who’s approaching, an easy smile coming to his face when he sees that it’s Ritsu. The smile is only half there, however, lacking its usual confidence and snark. “Ah, Ritsu. You’re up early,” he says, voice still soft from sleep and quiet to match the serenity of the still-sleeping city below.
“You’re one to talk,” Ritsu shoots back without a second thought, crossing the few steps to the railing. He turns around and leans his back against the cold metal, letting his hands hold him up. It’s slightly colder outside than it is inside, and the balcony is damp from rain that must have fallen overnight. The air smells wet and earthy, and the cold ground sucks the warmth out of the soles of Ritsu’s feet. It’s comforting, somehow, like the rain will wash away the damage that’s been done, even though he knows that isn’t how rain works. “Geez, it really is quiet, huh? I guess no one’s gonna be going to work today.” He glances down at the empty streets below. Usually they would be filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic, sleep-deprived commuters honking at each other to speed up as they make their way to work, but instead there’s not a soul to be seen. They’re all too afraid of another catastrophe to risk getting too close to the giant broccoli in the middle of town.
Shou hums noncommittally in reply to Ritsu’s words, an oddly dismissive move from someone as talkative as him.
He falls quiet for a moment, and Ritsu watches him. He gauges his expressions, his movements, whatever he can use to determine what he’s thinking and how to respond. It’s a habit he’s picked up from years of pacifying Mob, trying to keep his stress levels as low as possible to avoid an explosion.
“Are the others still asleep?” Shou asks after a few long moments of quiet, turning his gaze back to Ritsu momentarily.
Ritsu nods his head. “Out like lights. Reigen, too. They’ll probably sleep for a while longer, and I don’t want to wake them. I guess my body’s still on autopilot from school, and it wouldn’t let me sleep in.” He shrugs his shoulders casually. “What about you? Couldn’t sleep?”
“Something like that,” Shou replies with a soft chuckle. He doesn’t elaborate any further, just falls into that melancholic quiet once more.
Ritsu gnaws on his lower lip for a moment. He’s well aware of how all of them had been avoiding talking about what had happened last night, and he doesn’t blame Shou for being tight-lipped around someone he literally only met the day before, but he still finds himself bothered by Shou’s silence, in an inexplicable way. Maybe it’s the obvious way Shou is avoiding talking about what’s on his mind. Maybe it’s the wistful look in his eye, the way he stares into the distance without looking at anything. Or maybe it’s just Ritsu prying into business that isn’t his. He blinks suddenly, a thought coming to mind.
He’s worried about Shou.
“Are you alright?” he murmurs, the question thick on his tongue. It’s a question with a lot of weight, he knows, and while he doesn’t want to overstep his bounds, he can’t deny that he’s genuinely concerned.
Shou doesn’t react to the question in any meaningful way, just shoots him another empty smile. “Yeah, dude. Whatever your brother did with all that energy yesterday, it healed all my wounds. Shame it couldn’t fix up my clothes, though, but I borrowed some of Teru’s.” He tugs on the edge of the bright pink sweater he’d snagged, grinning. “I could go for a shower, and maybe some ramen or something, but, y’know, I’m not dead, so that’s a plus.”
This only serves to make Ritsu’s frown deepen. “You know that’s not what I was asking,” he insists. “I mean, like… how are you feeling? After what happened. You seem… sad.”
Shou’s smile falters, his lips quivering as though he wants to speak but doesn’t have any words. He glances away. “Ah, you got me,” he says with a brief laugh, but there’s little humor in it. “I was thinking about my old man. They’ve already hauled him off to prison for the whole world domination thing. I knew it would probably happen eventually, but I guess I never thought about what comes next.” He sighs softly, crossing his arms and leaning further on the railing in front of him. “He may be a pretty shitty guy, but he’s still my dad, you know?”
Ritsu doesn’t know. His own father has always been a stringent rule-follower, strict but kind, and he knows he would never turn on his own son the way Shou’s father had. He doesn’t answer; the question is rhetorical, anyway. “What’s gonna happen to you now?” he asks instead.
“Dunno, at least not yet,” Shou admits, glancing away. “I can’t exactly go back to my dad’s place now that he’s not there. I’ll probably go try to live with my mom for a while instead. It’s been a long time since we were able to spend more than a few hours together.”
Ritsu nods. It makes sense. “I’m glad you have someone else you can rely on,” he says, turning around so he’s facing the streets like Shou is, instead of staring through the sliding glass door into Reigen’s kitchen.
Shou hums absent-mindedly in reply, but Ritsu can see that the gears in his head are still turning. His brow is furrowed in a thoughtful way, eyes staring at nothing in particular. Ritsu waits, giving him time to collect his thoughts.
“Ritsu, you’re a smart guy, right?” he says eventually, question piercing the silence.
Ritsu turns to him in surprise. He swallows, hand moving to rub the back if his neck in a somewhat embarrassed manner. “Er, yeah, I guess so,” he replies modestly, not so comfortable with the idea of singing his own praises. “Why do you ask?”
“Do you think my dad will ever really change?”
Ritsu feels his breath catch in his throat. His mouth opens, but no words come out. Shou doesn’t look at him, but his voice cracks at the end of his question, and he looks as though he’s barely holding himself together. Ritsu quickly closes his mouth and glances down, staring at the empty sidewalk below.
“I don’t know,” he admits softly, unsure how else to reply. Do people like Touichiro ever truly change? The old Claw thugs seemed to have turned over a new leaf, at least, so maybe there was hope. “Honestly, you’d be better off asking my brother. Shigeo’s the kind of guy to give anyone a second chance. It’s never a lost cause until he says it is.” He cracks a fond smile at this. “He’s been like that since he was a kid. I couldn’t tell you where he got it from, though.” The back of his mind tells him that it’s actually Reigen who taught him the important of being a good person and giving others second chances, but he doesn’t say it aloud. He isn’t exactly inclined to give a scam artist the benefit of the doubt, as much as Mob seems to enjoy hanging around him.
“Ah, I guess you’re right.”
A moment of silence goes by as the two of them stare off the balcony and toward the destroyed city in the distance. Then Shou sniffles, his grip on the railing tightening. Ritsu blinks, confused, and when he turns to look at the boy again, a tear rolls down his cheek. “Shou?” he says, not sure how to respond to this. His hand twitches instinctively, wanting to do something, anything, but he has no idea how to approach comforting someone he’s only just met. It’s been less than twenty-four hours, even if it felt like much longer, and Ritsu never has been good with feelings and emotions.
Shou reaches up to scrub at his eyes with the long sleeve of Teru’s borrowed sweater, and he sniffles again, making a confused noise as it comes away wet. “Ah, now I’ve done it,” he says, and he sounds miserable. He grimaces, shaky and vulnerable, and glances away, hiding his face from Ritsu. He continues to grip the railing tightly, knuckles white, as though it was the only thing keeping him standing. He muffles the sobs that try to escape his mouth.
Ritsu feels the weight in his stomach grow heavier, his chest tightening. In some ways, Shou had taken the heaviest blow of everyone. How long had he lived with a father who only wanted him for his power? How many times had he cried like this in private, with no one he could turn to for comfort? The thoughts make Ritsu feel sick.
He shifts closer to Shou, shoulder-to shoulder, and moves his hand to wrap around the other boy’s back. He rests his hand on Shou’s opposite shoulder, quietly offering some semblance of comfort. He squeezes gently, hearing Shou’s breath hitch at the contact. “It’s alright if you want to cry,” he says softly. “I won’t tell anyone.” He hopes his words come as some comfort to the grieving boy, though he half expects Shou to withdraw immediately. He doesn’t seem like a very emotional kid, and it wasn’t like they were close friends, either. After going through what they had together, however, Ritsu feels as though there are certain thresholds they’ve already long passes despite their short time knowing each other.
To his surprise, Shou doesn’t hesitate, immediately turning and pulling him into a tight hug. Ritsu’s caught off-guard at first; no one has hugged him like this since he was much smaller. Still, he doesn’t pull away, gently laying his hands against Shou’s back to reciprocate.
Shou’s a quiet crier, the only noises escaping him being sharp breaths and hiccups, but he clings to Ritsu like a lifeline, gripping the back of his borrowed shirt as though he’ll fall through the floor if he doesn’t. Ritsu doesn’t know what to say to make him feel better, so he doesn’t say anything, just rubs small circles into his back.
It only takes a few minutes for Shou to calm back down, but even after his tears have stopped and his quivering has gone away, he doesn’t remove himself from Ritsu’s grasp. He leans his forehead against Ritsu’s shoulder, taking a deep breath. “Sorry,” he says, his voice uncharacteristically soft. “I didn’t think I’d be getting emotional about this… not so quickly, anyway.”
“Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault,” Ritsu assures, and Shou finally pulls back, rubbing at his eyes with one hand. He doesn’t meet Ritsu’s gaze, well aware of his red nose and bloodshot eyes. After a beat, Ritsu adds, “Crying always makes me feel better when I’m feeling stressed out, and I think it’s safe to say that we’re all feeling pretty stressed.”
Shou chuckles softly, straightening the edge of his borrowed shirt. “Yeah,” he agrees, and lifts a hand to run his fingers through his slicked-back hair. “Thanks for understanding. You’re a good friend, Ritsu.”
Friend. Ritsu hasn’t really thought of that before, but he supposes they are friends. “Any time,” he replies with a small smile, and he means it. Normally he keeps his friends at somewhat of a distance, even at school. With his classmates, there’s always an unspoken reputation to uphold, but he doesn’t feel that way around Shou or Teru. Even Shigeo has begun bleeding from one category into the other as Ritsu relates more and more to his brother’s struggles with his psychic powers.
He opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can he hears the sound of the sliding glass door cracking open.
“There you are! Sheesh, you two gave me a heart attack, waking up so early and coming out here. I thought you’d left, or been kidnapped or something!”
Reigen is standing in the doorway, still in his pajamas. His hair is sticking up in all directions, uncombed, and there’s short stubble on his face that has grown in overnight. Ritsu tries not to laugh.
“Ah, sorry! We were just getting some fresh air,” Shou says smoothly. His voice is devoid of the shakiness and uncertainty it had held just a few minutes prior, and aside from a slight redness to his face and eyes, it would be impossible to tell he’d just been crying. “Still, you’re up earlier than I thought you’d be. I was sure you’d all be asleep a few hours longer.”
Reigen relaxes at this, though he still looks annoyed at the perceived trouble the two had caused him. “Well, it doesn’t really matter, in any case,” he brushes off. “Come back inside, it’s freezing. I need to go to the store and pick up some more food for the next few days, but for now you can eat whatever’s around. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing. Teru’s already up, too, but Mob’s still sleeping, so keep it down for now, alright?”
“Sure, whatever you say,” Ritsu sighs in a less-than-enthusiastic manner. It’s hardly freezing, he thinks, but doesn’t bother to say it out loud. Reigen doesn’t bother calling him out on his poor attitude as he nods and disappears from the doorway to get cleaned up.
Shou flashes him a grin, his regular confidence and optimism coming back. There’s a softness to it now, though, a quiet acknowledgement that something had changed for the better. “Guess we should go help Hanazawa hunt for breakfast, huh?” he says.
Ritsu nods. “Yeah. If we hurry, we can have it done by the time Shigeo wakes up,” he adds, slipping his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants and stepping back into the apartment. “Guess we’re about to see who’s the best cook out of all of us, huh?”
Shou snorts, clasping his hands behind his head as he follows behind. “I’ll just knock myself out of the ranking right now by saying it’s definitely not me.”
“Good morning!” Teru calls from the kitchen as they come back inside. He’s pulling bowls and cups out of Reigen’s cupboards, and it seems he’s already raided the fridge and pantry, revealing a carton of eggs and some boxed rice. “I’ve already got breakfast going, but I could use your help. Someone come put some water on the stove for me?”
“Now that, I can handle,” Shou says with some confidence, striding over to where Teru’s set aside a pot for the rice. He moves to the sink and begins running the tap, waiting for it to turn hot.
Ritsu watches him as he moves across the kitchen, thoughtful, before finally following him into the kitchen. Teru commands him to start cracking eggs while he measures enough rice for all five of them, and he gets to it with minor grumbling. It’s becoming clear that Teru’s the one with the most cooking experience of all of them, to Ritsu’s chagrin. Well, there was still plenty of time to learn. So he gets to cracking eggs, falling into an easy rhythm with his new friends.
Later, when they’re all crowded around Reigen’s tiny kitchen table eating rice and scrambled eggs out of bowls, the morning is calm again. Once or twice, Ritsu meets Shou’s gaze across the table, and gets a little smile in return. It’s different from the big grins and smirks he typically wears, and Ritsu takes an odd sense of pride in being the one who gets to see them. The little glances and smiles and friendly jabs Shou tosses his way makes him feel light in a way he’s never really felt before, but for the time being he brushes those thoughts away and carries on like nothing’s changed.
There would be plenty of time to think about it later.