Being at the hospital gave Ritsu a lot of time to think. More time than he knew what to do with.
Ritsu held his brother's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Mob didn't squeeze back. His hand was chill and swollen from disuse. Nii-san, you always had poor circulation. Ritsu smiled and watched the unnatural way his brother's chest rose and fell. The machine pumped air down his throat in regular intervals, hissing and cycling mechanically as it did so.
He often cycled between talking to his brother about what was on the TV and sharing memories and stories. Always something he would enjoy- maybe enjoy enough to wake up to hear. When Ritsu got tired of talking he paged through Nii-san's charts filled with information that meant nothing to him, or played games on his phone. Sometimes he'd even fall asleep on the chair and wake up sore a half an hour later. He rubbed the top of Shigeo's hand with his thumb. Nurses would pass through every half hour and check Nii-san's vitals, or check the puncture wound in his neck. During these times Ritsu would be shoo'd from the room and he'd wander to the soda and snack machine. He'd stare at it blankly for a time before buying something and heading back to the room and waiting outside on a chair until they finished. Back inside, Nii-san's hair usually looked more disheveled and Ritsu would brush his hair smooth, just like Nii-san did each morning after he woke up. When he ran out of things to do, he was left to think and review the last few days.
Its was late at night when the call came in. The Kageyamas piled into a car with only what was in their hands and they wore on their backs. The Training Camp was attacked by Villians, the man over the phone said. Shigeo Kageyama was admitted to the hospital but they couldn't tell them more. Not over the phone.
So they drove fast. They drove recklessly. Ritsu's father didn't care that he parked the car so it was taking up two parking spots, not as long as it got them out of the car faster. He didn't care about the parking ticket he'd get that next morning, either. Ritsu could understand why. All the energy they could put into caring about anything was put towards his Nii-san.
The lobby was cordoned off by police and heroes. With great scrutiny, only special personnel or families were let through. The receptionist's face was neutral when she gave them Shigeo's room number in the ICU.
ICU was a scary term to Ritsu. It brought images of bandages so thick and numerous it was hard to tell where the person underneath began and the bandages ended. It brought images of patients twisted and torn who were just recently put back together and only vaguely recognizably human.
He didn't expect to see his brother seemingly unmarred except for a bandage on his neck and IV lines in, and floating around, his arms. His eyes were open, a bright white light shining out of them. Ritsu's heart stopped. It didn't look like how it expected it at all.
His brother, his nii-san, was only half on the bed. An arm floating here, a leg there, his chest lifted off the mattress, floating just below the surface of some ocean drowning. Then his eyes would flicker like light bulbs in a faulty socket and gravity would return, only for other parts of his body would lift instead.
Ritsu watched as the last of the IVs slid out of his brother's arm, reared their heads like cobras and twisted violently around themselves until the lines broke and the bag's contents drip, drip, dripped onto the floor.
"...specialist is being flown in. They are a foremost world expert on quirk based toxins." Ritsu listened in to the Doctor's reassurances, because if he kept looking at his brother his emotions would get so dark and heavy his chest might cave in from the sheer gravitational pull. "Your son is lucky they were in country for a conference. She has delayed her plane home-"
"Is Shigeo going to survive?" Ritsu's mother nearly doubled over as if the pain the question caused her was too much. His father placed a hand on her back and rubbed in slow circles. "Please! My baby boy, is he?"
The doctor had a moment where his face went expressionless and Ritsu's heart fluttered into his throat in an attempt to escape the event horizon at the center of his he said, "Your son has survived this long, despite our prognosises. His quirk has been active since he lost consciousness four hours ago and while none of our instruments can get accurate readings on him, we think this hyper activated state is keeping the toxin out of his brain and killing him. However, I don't think his quirk can filter the toxins out of his body. That is what Dr. Petrov is going to help him with."
It wasn't a yes or a no, but it gave Ritsu something to hope for and he used whatever he could to ease the rising pressure inside him. Ritsu turned back to his brother, half floating above his bed, while his mother sobbed behind him.
A half an hour later Dr. Petrov arrived, her hair messily tied back, in scrubs that were still being tied on by an annoyed nurse. The Kageyamas stood from the chairs they were waiting in outside of Shigeo's room. Dr. Petrov didn't acknowledge any of them but she brought new life into the room. She barked orders while looking at a sample of something. From the information the doctors were yelling at each other, Ritsu gleaned it to be the original toxin used on his brother.
Ritsu bit his lip and shoved down the surge of emotion that elicited. He couldn't distract her now,not when she was going to save Nii-san. Dr. Petrov's finger extended into a sharp needle point as the nurses and doctor explained the situation in terminology that was foregin and incomprehensible. She stabbed her finger into the vial of toxin, draining the contents, and then after a minute of shaking her hand, poked into Shigeo's neck with the same needle-like finger. Then they waited with bated breath till Shigeo's limbs gradually became heavier and came to rest on his bed. His eyes fluttered closed, and the glow faded.
It was still in the room for the first time in a while.
Smiles broke across all the faces of the nurses, techs and doctors. The Kageyamas broke down with relief outside, and they hugged each other.
At least, until one of the Nurses said, "He's stopped breathing."
Ritsu went cold and stiff. The room exploded into action, a team of nurses and techs rushing into the room with equipment. They intebaited his brother in front of him. Teams of nurses attached new IV's, and hooked up the monitors again, which screamed the moment they connected to his brother's body.
It might have only been a few minutes, but it was ages Ritsu stood there, pressed between his mother and father who clung to him like he, too, might slip between their fingers if they weren't careful. Ritsu watched uselessly as his brother skirted the line between life and death.
Eventually, the machines stopped screaming. Eventually, they were let into the room. Eventually, the doctors said, he would wake up.
That was three days ago.
Ritsu watched the UA interview with great disdain for his brother's teachers. They all bowed in their crisp suits, giving empty apologies to the reporters for things they should have been capable of doing. Questions regarding the injured and kidnapped students began to crop up. Reporters barely gave UA a chance to breathe before the next question was asked. Ritsu looked over at his brother, unmoving.
"How can UA reconcile the fact that you let villains take one student and have another who is currently in a coma and might not wake up? What does it say about UA if not one, but two of its students are lost under your care?"
The question ripped Ritsu's attention away from his brother and anger flowed off of him in hot, tense waves. Don't talk about him like he's dead!
Ritsu's dad suddenly stood and turned off the TV with such force he collapsed the wall mount and slammed the TV into the wall. The sound made both Ritsu and his mother flinch back. His father stormed from the room with a clenched jaw.
"Ritsu, please," his mother said with an edge to her voice as she followed after her husband. She didn't look back as she left the room.
Ritsu sucked the anger back into himself. He ought to be more careful.
That was two days ago.
The world outside seemed to be crumbling as quickly as Ritsu's was inside that hospital room. When he woke the next morning, the news was soundlessly playing. His parents were gone, probably picking up something for them to eat at the cafeteria downstairs. Ritsu was alone, stiff and curled awkwardly on the couch to the right of his brother's bed. Ritsu turned up the sound on the TV.
"Kamino Ward was destroyed overnight," said a reporter with a tense smile, "and this morning All might is retiring."
It cut to All Might. He bowed to the world as he made his farewell, encouraging everyone to trust the heroes who remain, for they were in good hands. It was a well meaning speech. All Might's smile was still unfaltering despite his bandaged arm tucked inside his suit jacket, and his skeleton-esque appearance. He didn't change back, or muscle up at the end.
The world watched the symbol of peace pretend not to hobble off the stage. The permanency of it all was earth shattering.
He still had Nii-san. This hospital, this coma, this danger was all temporary, Ritsu told himself. Soon, Nii-san would be back home and this would all fade with time. With his brother, they could adjust to this new reality together.
That was yesterday.
Today, his parents approached him while he held Nii-san's hand and looked out the window at the city. The glare of sunlight off tall, glass sided skyscrapers turned them into glowing pillars. Cars rolled along like toys while people milled around as little dots of color on the sidewalk below. It wasn't quiet, with the mechanical lung working behind him, but it was consistent, and there was a comfort in consistency.
"Ritsu, honey," His mother said quietly. She waited for him to turn and look at eyes were tired and sad. Ritsu could sympathize. "We are going home today."
"When are you coming back?" Ritsu asked, wondering if they could pick him up some new clothes. The hospital was sterile, but Ritsu wasn't, even if the doctors let him use their showers.
"We'll all visit later.," she said hesitantly, "but it's time we go home and let Shige rest. The doctors will call us if anything changes."
Ritsu's eyes widened, but his parents just started packing his things into a plastic bag they got from one of their convenience store runs. There wasn't much, so it didn't take long for them to finish and look at him expectantly.
"It's still summer break. I can stay can't I?" Ritsu looked between them, jumping from one parent's eyes to the wavered.
"We need to let Shige rest in peace," his father said.
But he's been resting this whole time, don't we want to disturb him? Ritsu chewed his tongue, a panic rising in him that made him feel like it was five years old and helpless again. "I don't want to leave yet. What if he wakes up and no one his here?"
A soft smile crossed his mother's face. "Oh Ritsu, we can't stay here forever." It's just until he wakes up, Ritsu thought, but he didn't interrupt. "We can't put our lives on hold, Shige wouldn't want that. You need sleep in a real bed and you need real food. You've been so brave through all this, we need you to be brave for just a little longer."
Brave… Ritsu didn't know how he felt, but brave was a good word to tack on the ambiguous emotions boiling beneath the surface. He could be brave. Someone others could depend on. Someone Nii-san could depend on. "O- okay, but we will still visit right?"
"Yes, of course!" His father placed his hands on Ritsu's shoulders and held him firmly. "This is not us abandoning him, we just have to take care of ourselves, too."
"Of course," Ritsu agreed. They were right. He was fourteen years old, of course he knew they were right. He was starting to look like he'd need a room in the hospital soon. Dark circles, rumpled clothes, and lethargic look in his eyes.
The rooms were cold in the hospital, but outside the August heat brought an immediate sweat to Ritsu's forehead and he squinted under the light of the sun. The car wasn't much better and they rolled the windows before pulling out of the parking ramp. Ritsu opened and closed his hand, the ghost of Shige's hand still palpable. At home, they parted ways and went wordlessly to their rooms. Ritsu changed out of his sweatshirt and smell of hospital disinfectant was overwhelming the room even when he buried them in his hamper. After ten minutes Ritsu couldn't stand it. He took his dirty clothes, threw them in the wash, and ran it. When he returned to his room, the smell was gone.
Many hours later, Ritsu couldn't ignore his hunger anymore. Looking at the clock, he could see why. He'd skipped lunch and was fast approaching an early supper. Ritsu wandered towards the living room but he stalled when he heard the hushed whispering of his parents in the middle of a conversation. Ritsu padded across the floor and stood next to the doorway.
"...gotten hurt before."
"Never like this!"
"A lot of kids get hurt at this school. What about his friend with the green hair? He fights by breaking his limbs and the teachers allow that? This is the best school Japan has?"
"I can't- I can't send him back." his mother lamented. "I can't.."
"We can pull him from the program," his father offered. Ritsu's breath caught in his throat, but his father continued, "but what would Shige say? He has worked so hard to stay in this school."
"We're his parents, there is nothing he can say," his mother said. Judging by the creak of the couch, she'd sat up straighter. "Ritsu, honey, is that you?"
Ritsu flinched and stepped around the corner. "I'm sorry, I just wanted something to eat. I skipped lunch."
His parent's eyes went wide and they both scrambled to their feet and into the kitchen. "We're so sorry, we- we forgot. We should have fed you," his mother apologized.
"No, it's okay, we all forgot." Ritsu threw up his hands and tried to wave it off. "There is just a lot going on today."
It didn't seem to ease the anxious and guilty looks on their faces, but they didn't try to counter his point. They somehow got a basic curry on the table in under 30 minutes. Nothing exceptional, the veggies were a little undercooked, but it was comforting and filling. When they finished, they all sat in silence until his mother sighed and reached for their empty bowls.
"I got it." Ritsu took the bowls off the table to the sink, while his parents muttered a thank you and stared at the wall, their eyes heavy with exhaustion. Their son still wasn't any better and they still had to be adults. Ritsu didn't have any responsibilities while he was on break. He could be strong for them.
Anyway, it was easier to cope while he was moving. When he stopped, Ritsu would sit in his room while his quirk fizzed and popped under his skin, its effects diffused into the air around him. The Kageyama brothers were cursed with quirks that fed off of their emotional state. Mob could at least keep the effects of his power bursts localized to himself by clamping down hard on his emotions.
Nii-san seemed to do it with ease. Meanwhile, Ritsu laughed bitterly as he tried to stop the flow of emotions with the same efficiency of stemming the flow of a river with his bare hands.
Ritsu dressed for bed and he curled on his futon, thankful for the distance from his parents' room. He didn't want his powers to affect them now. Too much emotion one way or the other was dangerous. Nii-san understood that. His brother was so much stronger than him like that. Ritsu wished he knew how he did it. He should ask him when his wakes up.
Two days later, Ritsu decided to go to a preterm student council meeting. He was the president, so of course he pulled himself from bed and dressed himself in something business casual. He'd seen the messages on his phone, letting him know he didn't have to come in. Nothing too important was being decided today that the vice-president couldn't handle. Take care of yourself, they told him.
Ritsu went to the kitchen and reheated leftovers. He sat at the table and saw a note from his parents. They were off to work and left a shopping list for when he returned from his meeting. They ended it with a thank you.
Take care of yourself, huh? Ritsu took a bite. He struggled to swallow, but he did. This is me taking care of myself.
He had fifteen minutes to eat before he left. He spent most of that time staring at his food. When his time was up, he put the bowl with the spoon still inside back into the fridge for later. He'd be hungry when he got back, even if eating now made him nauseasous.
Ritsu pocketed the note and his wallet, then set out for school. It was before nine, but Ritsu could tell it was going to be a hot and muggy day. Seeing people going about their lives was almost surreal to Ritsu. Perhaps the shock of Kamino didn't reach all the way to Seasoning City. Except all their lives did change, irreversibly so. Ritsu observed not one person acting like it.
Along the way, Ritsu passed the old playground he and Nii-san played at. Ritsu's feet dragged as he reviewed memories of them playing with their quirks, back before they knew how dangerous they were. Smiling as Nii-san lifted objects, Ritsu winding them up into laughing fits as his joy overflowed from his little body into his brother's. So many nights they came home jittery like they were at the precipence of the most incredible a sugar high. Nii-san once threw up, he got so overexcited.
Ritsu blinked and looked at his phone. He'd been standing there for over ten minutes! He broke into a run to the school house,feeling stupid that he was going to make himself late because he was daydreaming.
The school was devoid of of the hallways and classrooms were dark and closed off. His shoes squeaked noisily across the linoleum floors that were freshly waxed over the break. He turned the corner and while the student council room door was half closed, there was light and conversation inside. Ritsu slowed to a fixed his hair and tried to steady his breathing, but his skin was still flushed and his breaths heavy when he entered the room. His peers froze when he came in. Some of them, their jaws dropped open ever so slightly.
"Ritsu-san? Did you not see our messages?" a second year asked.
Ritsu, still huffing slightly, nodded. "Yes, I saw them, but I'm the Student Council President and this is the first meeting of the term. Of course I have to be here."
They watched him tensely, waiting for something to happen. A girl glanced around the room like she would see something appear in the air around them.
"What about your brother?" His vice-president asked. "Are you sure you're okay enough to be here?"
You're not going to lose control? The question hung heavy in the air, thick as the humidity. The AC wasn't on in this room, and he could feel sweat beading on the back of his neck. Ritsu swallowed, he could feel that hard, dense bead in his chest thrumming and sucking everything toward it, it made him nauseous. Fortunately he didn't eat much this morning. Despite it all, when Ritsu checked internally, his quirk remained dormant. Ritsu breathed in and sat down at the head of the table.
"Nii-san wouldn't want me to throw away my responsibilities," Ritsu said.
"We just don't want to add more stress," another student said. "I mean, should you be there for your brother-"
Another student, Hideki, smacked the student's shoulder and shook his head. Everyone in the room had a mournful or apologetic look. Why did they look like his brother had died? There was a pinch in Ritsu's chest, but it was only momentary. Ritsu knew Nii-san was going to get better. This was scary, but it was temporary. People wanted to talk about the worst, but how could they not? Everything was great before with All Might at the helm, but the world had changed and no one knew what was going to happen next. Even the most powerful people aren't unshakeable.
Even so, Ritsu could depend on the fact his brother would pull through. Ritsu respected his brother. He was the strongest person he knew.
"This'll help take my mind off things for a while," Ritsu told them. "Can you pass me the notes? ...Thank you."
He read through the was short, and they were right. Nothing of importance was happening this meeting that needed his presence. They laid in the ground work for term two at the start of summer break, before Nii-san's training camp. Ritsu hardly got to see his brother before he left for camp, he was working so hard. It didn't matter then. They were going to have the rest of August anyway.
"Ritsu-san?" Someone asked, concerned.
Ritsu snapped from his thoughts and checked internally. His quirk was still under control, but it was now buzzing under his skin and gave him goosebumps despite the heat. His bottom lip was trembling too, so he pressed his lips together to still the movement.
Then with as much authority as he could muster he said, "Let's start with item one, club paperwork inventory. Any changes to the list of clubs we identified with missing paperwork?"
The meeting lasted an hour. An hour of people tip toeing around him despite having so many questions in their eyes. Ritsu thought it would have calmed him, distracted him, something. Instead he left the room his head feeling fuzzy and overcrowded with thoughts he didn't want to deal with in front of others. Or maybe he was just hungry. He hadn't really eaten yet.
"Hey, Ritsu-san?" his vice president gently grabbed his shoulder, prompting Ritsu to face him, "I really respect what you did today."
"That was?"
"You showed dedication to the first years. A strength of character." He spoke with a kind smile, hinted lightly with sadness. "Just.. just make sure you take care of yourself too."
Ritsu returned the sentiment with a polite smile. "Thank you Ito-san. I am, though. This'll all pass in time."
"You know you don't have to sound all wise, right? We are still middle schoolers." Ito laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll see you at the start of fall term. Let me know if you need anything."
Ritsu nodded and left without saying another word. Trying to sound wise? It was true, wasn't it. This was all temporary. Ritsu closed his eyes. He let his gait wobble, immersed in thought. Did I visit Nii-san yesterday? Ritsu came to a stand still. He hadn't been back to visit Nii-san since he left the hospital two days ago.
A feeling of resolve stuck Ritsu like lightning and he turned off his path home to the nearest train station. He rode two hours to the hospital and was almost turned away at check in until the receptionist scanned his ID. He apologized and let him through, his face was not nearly as neutral as that first receptionist five days ago. Along the way to his brother's room, Ritsu noticed security at every corner that he hadn't noticed before. Ritsu didn't put much more thought into it once he reached Nii-san's room.
He pulled up the desk chair, grabbed his brother's hand and just sat. No thinking. No talking. Just enjoying the comfort of silence in this brother's presence. Around 1 pm a nurse gave him a jello cup with a look of pity on her face. Ritsu counted that as lunch for the day. At 3 pm though, he was kicked out of the room so the nurse could bathe Mob and check the various tubes they had attached to his brother.
Something about the idea of Nii-san still needing something so simple as a bath caused Ritsu's hands to shake and his stomach to turn. He hadn't thought of all the things Nii-san couldn't do while he was like this for so long. Ritsu shoved his hands into his pockets and felt his parents note crumple against his fingers. He complained that it was cold in here and mentioned off handedly that he better get home. The nurse gave him the courtesy of a goodbye, but she was probably just as happy to see him leave as he was happy not to have to watch her work.
After the train ride home and grocery shopping, it was around six in the evening. Ritsu left the store and checked his phone. He locked again, ignoring the 'missed call' notifications on the lockscreen. When Ritsu returned home, his parents were having a hushed conversation at the table. He couldn't make out the he stepped into the room and greeted them, they fell quiet. His dad folded up a letter. It looked like a bill.
From the hospital? Ritsu wondered, but he kept his curiosity from showing.
"Ritsu, where were you?" His dad asked.
"Out." Ritsu said, then added before they could dwell on it, "I got the groceries you asked for."
He began putting them away, feeling the intensity of their stares on his back.
"Why didn't you answer our calls?" His mom asked.
"My phone died," Ritsu lied, the power was low, certainly, but the eight missed phone calls and messages in his voicemail were there unopened.
"Next time, can you please leave a message when you'll be back," his dad said, exhausted. "Or bring a charger."
"Yeah, I'll make sure to do that next time." Ritsu nodded. When curiosity got the better of him, he asked nonchalantly over his shoulder, "What were you guys talking about?"
Surprisingly, they answered. "Some of Shige's teachers are coming tomorrow to talk about his continuation in the program."
Ritsu's fingers dug into the zucchini he just bought. He made his voice as even as possible. "Really? That's… interesting. Are you going to talk with them?"
"We are," His mom answered, but offered no more than that.
Ritsu chewed the inside of his couldn't think of a way to ask for more information without aggravating the bead of pressure within his chest and risking exploding on his parents. He couldn't do that to them.
He acknowledged the answer with a neutral hum and finished putting away the groceries. He took extra care to hide the zucchini with the five suspicious bruises towards the back of the fridge.
"What are we eating tonight?" Ritsu asked as he held the fridge open.
"Left overs,"his mom said apathetically. "I don't have the energy to cook tonight Ritsu. I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Ritsu took out his breakfast, put it back into the microwave and popped the spoon in his mouth. He might as well finish his meal. Ritsu removed the spoon and asked, "Do you need me to make you something?"
They shook their heads 'no,' so he didn't push them. His parents didn't talk anymore about the meeting tomorrow. Instead, when they did talk, it was about bills or about what help extended family had offered to ease their stress. Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents wanted to visit Shigeo but didn't know how. Ritsu didn't understand why they made it harder than it needed to be.
"Don't they just go in and ask for his room?" Ritsu interjected before taking the last bite of his food.
"Well, no," His dad said. "We have to get them cleared by security and on the visitor list, or the security the school hired won't let them pass. Not- not just anyone can go visit your brother."
"Oh..." Ritsu said.
It was all Ritsu wanted to say as he left the table. It was all Ritsu wanted to dwell on as he left the table. His mom reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Thank you, Ritsu." She said with earnest eyes. "This has been hard on your father and I and we appreciate all the work you've been putting in here at home and with school."
Ritsu smiled a small, tired smile. His mom squeezed his arm gently and let him go. Ritsu turned away quickly and cleaned up his dish before his parents could see the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. He didn't want to explain them, because honestly, he didn't know why they were there. His mother's words made him happy, but not that happy.
When he got to his room, his quirk felt like it curled off his skin and into the air like steam. Ritsu resigned himself to distractions until either his quirk came back under control or he fell asleep.
Ritsu fell asleep.
Crunching dirt under rubber tires and the rumble of an engine brought Ritsu's attention from his homework. He had finished it already, but there was nothing else to distract him now that his mother had kicked him out of the downstairs so she could clean. Ritsu had been keeping up with most of the cleaning, but his parents were anxious and it was hard not to synchronize with their nervous energy.
A black car had just pulled up in front of his home. Two men, both in white dress shirts and ties, stepped out faced the front door with determined faces. Ritsu was surprised to see All Might walking alongside a shorter, black haired teacher. Ritsu was certain it was Mob's homeroom teacher Aizawa-sensei. His brother kept the honorific attached to the name, even at home when his teacher wasn't there to hear him speak otherwise.
Ritsu glared down at him now. He was there and my brother got hurt.
Aizawa stopped in his tracks and for a moment, Ritsu wondered if he could feel his animosity from the second floor. But he just turned around and spoke to All Might, who seemed to be taking his time getting something from the back seat. Still, the dark thought clung heavily to his skin as Ritsu went to the stairs. His father was crossing the bottom of the steps heading to the door when he spotted Ritsu. He opened his mouth to say something when the doorbell rang behind him. He stopped to look back at it.
"Are you going to get the door?" His mother said in the living room, the sound of last minute cleaning still audible from the second floor.
"I am!" His Dad called back to her. He looked up at Ritsu. "Your mother and I are going to talk with the teachers alone this time. It'll only be an hour or two."
Ritsu could feel himself bristling and, given the way his father flinched and took in a deep breath, so could he.
"We'll be having lunch with your grandparents, then going to visit your brother afterwards. So use this time to get ready. Shower, relax-" The doorbell rang one more time, and his father started to move towards the door. "It'll be quick. Good morning! Welcome to our home."
Ritsu stayed at the top of the stairs just long enough to see the two men enter. All Might, as gaunt as he was, still struck an imposing figure in such a small space. They met eyes and All Might looked startled to see Ritsu watching. Ritsu could feel his hostility seeping into the air around him and he stepped away from the top of the stairs and out of sight down the hall.
"Who is that?" All Might asked.
"That our other son, Ritsu." His father could be heard softly behind him but whatever he said next was just incoherent, muffled sound to Ritsu.
Ritsu thought about taking his father's advice and waiting in his room. Yet, his curiosity had already gotten the better of him the moment that car rolled up. He gave them a head start and waited till they closed the living room door. It was only fair to say he gave the appearance of giving his father's advice a chance. He was careful not to let a single board creak, or let a gram of his quirk leak from his skin. Ritsu wanted to avoid disturbing the conversation happening one room over. By the time Ritsu was at the bottom step and listening in, they had apparently concluded their introductions.
With courtesy out of the way, Ritsu assumed it was the teacher All Might who spoke got straight to business."Have you had a chance to consider the letter UA has sent regarding our new Boarding Program?"
Boarding? Ritsu's brows knit together.
"We have, and we've talked about it over the last few days." His dad told voice was grave. "We've talked about a lot over the last few days regarding the effect this program has had on the health and well being of our son, but we wanted to hear your thoughts first."
He most likely looked gravely serious, too. His mom said they got their scary faces from their father. His dad said they got them from their mom. Both Nii-san and Ritsu had been on the receiving end of both for lesser things. Ritsu could hear one of the teachers cough awkwardly and Ritsu didn't hold back the smirk that crawled across his face. They couldn't see him, so Ritsu felt free to look as petty as he wanted.
Aizawa spoke next, his tone painfully apologetic as he proceeded to beg his parents. "I would like to ask with the utmost humility whether you would kindly see fit to return your child to UA. I know he was grievously injured under our care and we have taken every opportunity to examine and improve what we can do to ensure the health and safety of the children entrusted to our care. We'll show you without fail what a fine hero we'll raise your son will be if he continues in our program."
There was a pause in the conversation. Perhaps his parents were supposed to say something to this. Ritsu had so many things he wanted to say. You were there! You were there and you couldn't protect him then and you think you'll do better now because you've taken the opportunity to rethink things you should have been doing all along? What kind of heroes teach at this school? Ritsu clamped his hands over his mouth, because at that moment if a single sound slipped through it would not be words that would emerge, but a long, feral scream.
While Ritsu felt the pressure building in his chest, Aizawa softly continued. "Shigeo is a good student. He… He is one of the best I've seen in my time teaching at UA. He comes, not only equipped with but driven by values that I usually have to teach to the hero students in my classes. His presence in the hero course has had positive effects on every hero student that has had the honor of spending time with him. The hero program at UA would be lesser without your son in it. I know we have failed you, but that will not happen again. Again, I humbly ask you return your son, Shigeo Kageyama, to our care and tutelage."
Ritsu was shocked from his anger listening to Aizawa's speech, and so too were his parents as his mother spoke in a soft tone. "I… We didn't know that. Shige doesn't talk much about his time at school. We also…" Did she sigh? Ritsu couldn't quite hear. "If Shige is being targeted still, we cannot protect him, not here. If we did witness protection there is no guarantee someone determined couldn't find Shigeo. That terrifies us."
Ritsu felt the pressure in this chest return.
His dad spoke next, his voice more curt. "Our lives were simple before our son joined your program. He had his club, his friends, and his part time job. He wasn't the brightest student, or the most personable kid but he was happy…. or so we thought. He has changed since going to your school."
"More confident," his mother cut was kindlier, but there was an edge to her voice she seemed to be fighting. "He's grown a lot in the last year, but that doesn't out weight the terror we experienced that night when we got the call to hurry to the hospital because our son might not make it."
Ritsu could hear the creak of the couch as weight was shifted. He so badly wanted to see the teacher's faces as his parents tore into them. They didn't even try to defend themselves.
"We aren't happy with the state your program has left our son but... we know he has a fighting chance in your care. You have our blessing, please take care of our son."
"What?" The teachers asked in unison, aghast.
"What?!" Ritsu yelled through his hands, the room went silent on the other side of the wall but Ritsu didn't care. It wouldn't be for long as he burst through the door causing his parents to jump and the two heroes to tense defensively. "What do you mean they have your blessing?"
"Ritsu!" His mother scolded him but he didn't give her a chance to finish.
"After all you just said, you're going to let him go back to that place?" Ritsu could feel the blood rush into his face, his pulse quickened and that pressure in his chest thrummed in time with his heart. "He hasn't even woken up yet!"
Aizawa stood and faced Ritsu who flinched back. Aizawa's face was stoic. Was he going to remove him from the room? Ritsu wondered. He gritted his teeth trying to hold his fury in.
Aizawa then bowed to Ritsu, "I apologize. I failed-"
"You were there," Ritsu hissed, startling Aizawa into silence with the venom in his voice. "Don't apologize to me when it's my brother you failed. Don't apologize like you have any idea what I am going through."
"Young Kageyama?" All Might stood up as well.
Ritsu felt cornered as the four adult seemed to loom over him. Their faces a mixture of pity, shock and concern.
"My brother is in the hospital, because you-" Ritsu was livid but it started to mutate into something much worse.
Ritsu gasped as he struggled to breathe, everything he has held in for the last week was crushing his lungs. He felt tears pool along his lids and watched as they started to gather in the corners of his parents' eyes and the teachers too. All Might wiped his eyes confused, but Aizawa seemed too shocked and let them flow freely.
"Ritsu, wait." His father stood, wiping his were more panicked than sad.
Ritsu couldn't wait. He couldn't stop.
"He can't- just- I'm- Nii-san..." Ritsu felt like he was going to force inside him was pushing up and out and it was directly preceded by the one thing Ritsu wanted to refuse the most. He dropped his face into his hands and let out a strangled cry. "How can you just stand there? I don't even know if I'll ever get my brother back! I just want my brother back!"
The bead of pressure ruptured within him and burst forth in a thick suffocating wave of emotions Ritsu had been avoiding to address. At the forefront was grief. Ritsu stumbled back into the wall, his mind railing against it all. How could he grieve? His brother was not dead. Yet how could he not lament at his own helplessness?
"Ritsu!" His mother cried out but she was choking on his anguish and fell to her knees.
"What's happening?" Aizawa demanded back at his parents, he was furiously trying to stem the flow of tears from his eyes and catch his breath as his body reacted to an emotion that was not his.
"Eraser, I think- I think it's a quirk." All Might said, he was steadying himself against the couch as if the weight of Ritsu's influence was physically pressing him into the was a growing edge of desperation in his voice, "Can you erase it? I think he's lost control."
"I have to see him to use my quirk!" Aizawa snapped back. He was grasping at the air around his neck and shoulders like something should be there before turning that hand to his eyes and trying to clear away the tears instead. "I can't see through all this water! Damn it!"
Ritsu slumped down to the floor. Over and over, he repeated, "I just want my brother back…"
His quirk lashed out around him, spilling over the room and twisting with the force and violence of a hurricane. The world had changed when Ritsu wasn't looking and he wanted to refuse that reality. His brother was his rock and this wasn't how it was supposed to go. This couldn't be it. Nii-san left to waste away on some hospital bed, alive but dead. How? It didn't make sense to Ritsu and he didn't want it to, because that would make it real, wouldn't it? That would make it a possibility.
Yet, All Might stood before him, gaunt and sickly, and forced to retire prematurely. What world was ever a possibility? Villains attacking and defeating his brother without him even having a chance to fight back? That shouldn't have been possible, either. As he got deeper and deeper into these horrifying realities the room got darker and smaller.
Two hands clasped his shoulders and Ritsu gasped and looked up All Might's sunken blue eyes.
"Young Kageyama," he said with such force and authority that he brought Ritsu's negative spiral to a standstill. "We are not here to say we can understand your grief because it is your own, but you cannot hide from it. You have to face it head on and accept it. I can tell you now that I understand having to put on a brave face for others, but you cannot use it on yourself."
"What?" Ritsu trembled with leftover nervous energy. Maybe what he said didn't fully resonate with him, but All Might's words had enough presence to break the cycle. Once the initial wave was stopped, it quickly lost all momentum and faded to a dull ache. Ritsu was left feeling increasingly hollow and tired. "What do I do if he's gone?"
All Might looked down, a deep sadness in his eyes, but this was his own sadness, not Ritsu's. He met Ritsu eyes again. "You find ways to move on, but isn't that a little premature?"
He added that last part with a smile. It was small, soft, genuine, and understanding. Ritsu couldn't be mad anymore. Even if he still wanted to be.
"I just-" Ritsu started but he couldn't finish as All might pulled him into a hug.
All Might said it so softly Ritsu wondered if it wasn't meant for him: "I want them back too."
All Might didn't linger and he let Ritsu go and offered him a hand up. Ritsu stood without it, still in a daze. Partially from the emotional revelation he just experienced and the overexertion of his quirk both left his mind is a thick haze. Aizawa had his head leaned back and he was rapidly blinking the tears from his eyes and letting them drain down the sides of his face. The skin around his eyes was very red and swollen.
Ritsu couldn't take it in for long before his parents nearly tackled him into the wall crying their apologises for not noticing the pain he was in sooner. Ritsu leaned his head into their shoulders and breathed. His throat and lungs were tender from crying so it was enough to be held and to breathe, even if it was only for a minute.
Ritsu's parents stepped back and turned to Mr. Aizawa and All Might and bowed slightly. Ritsu saw where this was going and with the embarrassment of his outburst catching up to him he dropped into a bow too.
"We apologize for our son's behavior," they said together.
"I'm sorry," Ritsu said quickly after. He didn't want his parents to get in trouble for him using a quirk on heroes. Oh god, I used my quirk to attack two pro heroes, one being All Might.
"It's really-" All Might started to say nervously when Aizawa who just finished blinking the last tear loose cut in.
"You know," Mr. Aizawa said, exhausted, "I kinda deserved that, but don't think that means what you did was right, or legal in anyway."
Ritsu felt a strange buzz in the back of his head, like something was just shorted out. The oddly distinct feeling of touching an electric fence with a blade of grass and feeling a numb sensation pulse in your fingertips. Ritsu glance up to see Mr. Aizawa's eyes glowing. His hair that wasn't tied down was raised up like Nii-san's. When his hair fell back into place and his eyes darkened the feeling went away.
"I won't report this, you were under extraordinary stress. This is also our first meeting of the day and I get the feeling I don't want to add more to my workload if I'm able." Aizawa sighed, then addressed his parents more formally. "Do we still have your permission to teach your son?"
"Yes," His mom and dad stood tall, then glanced at Ritsu, who kept his face downcast. "But only if Shigeo wants to return."
If life was poetic Mob would have awoken when he sensed his brother's distress, but life isn't poetic like that. Much later that night, after family and friends had completed their visits, the night shift nurse found Mob pawing weakly at the tube down his throat. It wouldn't be until that next morning he was allowed to breathe on his own, nor would he be fully coherent until late in the evening that same day.
Three days later, Mob, only back home for less than forty-eight hours, was packing the last of his belongings into a box. Ritsu waited patiently by the door for his brother to finish. He watched him intently, amazed by any movement his brother made.
Mob pulled the packing tape across the seam of the box, and followed with his free hand securing a solid seal. He pushed the box wordlessly toward his brother and picked up the cane at his side to help himself stand.
"Is your voice any better?" Ritsu asked as he picked up the box.
"N..o" Mob intubated for a week and having a tube inserted and inflated in his trachea had greatly aggravated the tissue there. Ritsu could only offer an apologetic look to his brother.
Ritsu readjusted the weight of the box in his arms. "You sure about this?" About going back?
Mob rolled his eyes and frowned as if to say, why do you ask me to defend myself when I can't speak? But he did say, "ye… es."
Even if it sounded like he was gargling gravel while he said it.
"Alright!" Ritsu shrugged, he wouldn't press the issue. "So what are you thoughts on living in a dorm now?"
Mob smacked him in the arm with the cane.
"What? You don't have to be so tight lipped about it? It's a simple question." Ritsu skipped out of the way of Mob's follow up swing and did his best to keep his distance. "Would you prefer top or bottom- Ow! Or bottom bunk?"
Mob "chased" Ritsu out the door. He certainly was much faster than he was yesterday, but not nearly as nimble as Ritsu, who was skipping steps down the stairs to escape Mob's brotherly wrath. Laughing, Ritsu bounded off the last step toward the door and turned back to see Mob wheezing and taking the stairs slowly and laboriously. Ritsu's heart sank under the weight of his guilt and he started to rush forward when Mob held up a hand and shook his head.
"Pain… ful." He mimed toward his throat, before croaking out, "mak- hard… to breath."
"But- Do you need me to get the nebulizer?" Ritsu started when Mob put a hand on his shoulder and smiled, Ritsu sighed, "Okay, do you need help with anything else?"
He shook his head no, winced as he took a breath and then he slipped his shoes on like it was any other day. It wasn't any other day, but Ritsu could learn to live with that. Ritsu would learn to live with that.
"Come on Nii-san," Ritsu held out an elbow and Mob took it. "Let's go see what all the fuss is about with these new dorms."