Togs for Tots was the worst store in the entire mall.
Ritsu had no idea why mom kept on bringing him here. He wasn't a tot anymore and he had no idea what togs even were. He assumed that togs meant itchy school clothes that nobody wanted to buy. Well…some people wanted to buy…at this stupid sale. Fall preview ale, the signs all said, everything half off. This stuff needed to be half off. He didn't know who would have paid full price for this. He didn't even know why he needed new clothes. Mom could have just cut dad's old clothes short for him or something…or maybe she just could have sent him to the store on his own with money. He didn't know much about buying clothes but he at least knew what he liked.
And he did not like that…whatever it was that mom was pulling off the rack.
"Mom…." Said Ritsu as his mom dug through a rack called 'further discounts'. That was a nice way of saying clearance…which was a nice way of saying that these were the clothes that were especially bad…and also didn't even look like they fit him anymore. It was a bunch of overalls and stuff…and he was eleven. Who still wore overalls?
Well Tsubomi did, sometimes, but she was a girl and girls could wear whatever they wanted.
He wished that he could have been over in the girl's clothes with Tsubomi and her mom. He didn't have any interest in girl's clothes, or any clothes really, but it would have been better than shopping with mom. He was a medium, he liked blue, and he didn't like things with too many buttons. There. She could have come here on her own or ordered something from Amazon or just gotten him clothes from Costco. That was where dad got most of his clothes. It was easier there. They had one kind of pants and two or three kinds of shirts in different colors. You picked up something in your size and then you went home. You didn't even have to try things on.
Like that…like all of that.
"Ritsu, how about this? You haven't worn overalls in years and I have no idea why. You looked so darling in them…and look here, see, there's a robot on the front. You used to love robots." Said Hana as she pulled out another pair of overalls. He had always looked so darling…well he looked darling in everything, he was her little boy, but now he could look extra darling once the fall semester started…and he was not too old to look darling.
Even if he did have that teenage pout down at the tender age of just turned eleven.
"No. I hate that. Put it back." Said Ritsu
"But Ritsu, you used to love these robots…and remember your special overalls? The ones you wouldn't even take off long enough to let me wash?" asked Hana
"Yeah. I couldn't get them undone and then I ended up peeing my pants in kindergarten and everyone laughed at me." Said Ritsu. Those hadn't been good times….not at all. Actually that had been the first time he could ever remember seeing his own aura…and to be fair it had been really bad. Everyone had laughed at him and he had still been young enough to care about that kind of thing. He didn't really care about being laughed at anymore. He had bigger things to care about.
"Well you're eleven now so we don't have to worry about that again. Come on, you love these robots and you look so darling in overalls." Said Hana. She didn't know why Ritsu was fighting her on this. He used to just wear whatever she handed to him. Shopping trips used to be so short. Get in, get out, and then go and get some big pretzels at the food court. That was how it had always been…well that was how it had been when Ritsu had been a little boy.
He wasn't a little boy anymore.
He was eleven years old and going through…a lot. Maybe that was why he wanted to choose his own clothes now. Well it seemed like he wanted to choose his own clothes. He was becoming a teenage boy and…well the pouting was starting. She wouldn't have traded the pouting in for what Kokomi and Tsubomi were going through over in the girl's section….not with Ritsu anyway. Shigeko…well it would have been nice to have been able to go through this with Shigeko…at least once…
She was twelve now.
She had turned twelve already. She would have been the same age as Tsubomi. If she had been there then…well then Hana and Kokomi would have been able to suffer together. She had no idea if Shigeko…well if Shigeko would have had similar…difficulties…to the ones that Tsubomi faced. Not that Hana was going to call that girl fast like most of the neighborhood did. No, she couldn't help being overdeveloped for someone her age. Hana knew how terrible people could be when you got to that age, men and women, and…well she hoped that Shigeko wasn't dealing with the same thing…though she was twelve. She might have been dealing with the opposite problem. Hana knew that, before she had woken up one morning in the body of a woman, she had hated everything about herself. Her breasts, her hips, her legs, the acne on her face and back, even the strangest things like the shape of her fingers and the fact that she had a hammer toe….
Twelve was the worst age.
Hana wondered if Shigeko was out with her…her new mother…right now. This was a good time to get new clothes for the winter and fall. The stores weren't as picked through but plenty of sales were going on. Shigeko's new mother…well Hana…Hana knew that if she wanted that information, who this woman was, then it was hers for the taking. The adoptive parents had signed the papers consenting to an open adoption….but Hana…she was going to let sleeping dogs lie. What could she have gained from knowing the names of the people who adopted Shigeko? Their addresses? Their occupations? None of that information would have told her what she needed to know.
What was it like clothes shopping for Shigeko?
Was she the type to whine and stomp her foot when she didn't get what she wanted? She had always been very opinionated even before she had been able to voice her opinion. Shigeko had never been able to tolerate pants, tights, or leggings. Taking her out in the wintertime had been murder. She wondered if Shigeko still only wore dresses and skirts. Was she the type to roll up her skirt when her mother wasn't looking? Or was she the type to hide under a long one so nobody could see how her body was changing. Hana had swapped between both back when she'd been twelve…God…such a terrible age. Not a girl but not a woman.
She would never see her daughter go from girl to woman.
Not now. This…this always happened. Every time she had to go clothes shopping she got like this. That was why she still took Ritsu. She knew his size and his color preferences but….she still needed him here. To see how the clothes fit…that was her official on the books explanation. She had to make sure that everything fit…especially since every brand had their own idea of what counted as a medium. As far as Ritsu knew that was why he was here….and that all that he could know. She wasn't going to tell her son that she always got wistful when she had to go clothes shopping….that it had been getting harder and harder each year…that was why Kokomi and her daughter were here…though it wasn't helping like she thought that it would have….
Tsubomi was the type to whine and stomp her foot.
She could see over the racks of clothes into the girl's section…and how all of those half shirts could be for girls Tsubomi and Shigeko's age was beyond her. Tsubomi seemed to want one of those half shirts…and even if she hadn't been as developed as she was it still would have been inappropriate. She wondered if Shigeko would have been the type to wear tiny half shirts. Was she even into fashion? Well this was the time for it. Fashion, hair, makeup, boys….she hoped that Shigeko wasn't chasing after boys yet…she was way too young…both of her children were way too young to be chasing after boys…and that was the last that she would be thinking about Ritsu and…things that he could not help about himself…and compared to all of that the battle over overalls seemed like nothing.
And it did look like a battle. She knew that look.
"Mom, first of all I used to Gundam and those are not from Gundam…and second of all I'm eleven. I can't wear overalls. I'll look stupid. Everyone in my class is going to say that I look stupid and I don't want to deal with that." Said Ritsu. He had enough to deal with as it was. Mostly Claw. He'd been out there, to the woods, once after the whole kidnapping and escaping thing. There was a hole in the roof and a lot of people working. He hadn't had time to do much recon since it was getting harder and harder to slip away these days…and also that base was pretty far away…but he knew enough. The people in the red uniforms were mostly gone and so were the weirdly dressed people with scars. He hadn't been stalked in a while either…which was good. Sho, or his sister if he had been telling the truth, had really struck a blow to the organization….
But Ritsu had no idea how long that would last.
Sure they were hurt now but they were still a multinational criminal organization. They had cells and headquarters and operatives all over the world. They had their fingers in the highest echelons of government. Their leader even controlled parliament! Or at least that was what the subreddit said….and the subreddit seemed a lot more trust worthy than those weird blogs…though he wasn't even sure about…information on Claw was hard to verify…but at least it was there…
He had a lot of research to do, and recon, and planning…and that did not leave a lot of room for stupid school stuff with the other kids.
"Well honey, if people are calling you stupid then they aren't your friends." Said Hana
"Yeah, mom, that's the point. I don't want people to be jerks to me. I don't have time to deal with that." Said Ritsu
"It's nice to see you taking your exams so seriously, Ritsu. You know with enough studying I bet you could get into-" said Hana. Ritsu had bounced right back after his little adventure in the woods. That was…good…though the internet had told her that he could have been internalizing things…though he seemed fine to her. He still spent time with Tsubomi, he still studied for his middle school entrance exams, he still went to work for Reigen, and he still spent hours and hours buried in his computer….and not for the reasons Ichimaro thought. Ritsu was a good boy and he didn't even know about those things…though it would have been normal if he did. Aside from one thing, which she accepted about him, he was perfectly normal in every way…even after his little adventure in the woods…
"I'm going to Salt Middle School with Tsubomi." Said Ritsu before mom could start up on her lecture about all the great schools he could test into. He didn't care how well he could do. He didn't care if he could break records. He didn't care that he was a genius. He didn't want to go to some super hard school where he'd have to actually start studying and worrying about his grades. He didn't need to have his time taken up by all of that.
He had to find Sho and stop Claw….and also he had to stick near Tsubomi too since she didn't have anyone else to keep her safe.
She was in love with him, he knew that, and he didn't feel the same way…but he wasn't going to let her do middle school on her own. He knew how middle school guys were. They passed plenty of them on the walk home. He couldn't leave Tsubomi to deal with those creeps on her own. She was going to go to Salt, she said, because it was close to their houses…so he was going to go there too…and like mom said sometimes 'the matter was not up for discussion'.
He'd rather talk about overalls than where he was going to end up going to school.
"Oh…Ritsu. I know you care about her-" said Hana
"She's not my girlfriend. I told you that already. I don't want to talk about that again." Said Ritsu
"I didn't mean it like that….but if she ever was. I mean if you ever…came to a new conclusion about yourself…then your father and I support you one hundred percent. I mean we support you now but if you ever-" said Hana. She loved Ritsu. She would always support Ritsu. He was her son no matter what…and this was a lot of 'what'….but she loved him. She had even gotten one of those rainbow shirts…and she would wear it outside of the house one day. She didn't care what her son was so long as he was happy….so there.
"Mom, stop it. I'm gay, I've always been gay, and I'm always going to be gay and there's no way to change that." Said Ritsu. He didn't care that he was talking too loud. He didn't care that people could hear him. He was gay. He was Kageyama Ritsu, he was gay, and one day he was going to meet up with Sho again and they were going to be together…or whatever…of course they would be. Sho liked him and he liked Sho and he was going to save Sho…and if he was going to save Sho then he couldn't get pissed off every time someone tried to make fun of him for being gay.
He just didn't have that kind of time.
"Ritsu! Not so loud! People might hear you and…and you remember the talk we had about how…sometimes when people see something different they get scared or upset or angry?" asked Hana. Her little boy always thought the best of people…he liked to think that the world was as accepting a place as their household was. It was…a lot more accepting than it had been when she had been a child…but this was still….the world. She hadn't made the world the way it was. The world was the way it was and…and someone else could make it better. Someone else could break through those social barriers. Not her son. No, the first person to break thorough those barriers would get hurt and…and that person was going to have to be someone else's son…not hers.
She had already lost one child, she knew that she wouldn't have been able to survive losing another one.
"Yeah, I remember. I don't care how people feel. I don't have time to care about what other people think of me." Said Ritsu
"It's…not that simple, alright?" asked Hana. She lowered her voice and looked around. Nobody was listening….well it looked like nobody was listening. No, a lot of attention seemed to be on that pregnant woman over there with the two children pulling her in opposite directions…a little boy and a little girl close in age. Kokomi was looking over in that direction and whispering something to Tsubomi…and that direction was the same as hers…but there was no way that Kokomi could have heard her…and…well she had enough to deal with when it came to Tsubomi as it was.
"I know." Said Ritsu
"It's…actually pretty complicated." Said Hana
"I know." Said Ritsu
"So…maybe just…keep some of this to yourself…at least until you're older. Alright?" asked Hana
"You mean don't say that where people you know can here." Said Ritsu. He…well he didn't have time to be upset about stuff like this. Mom and dad were mom and dad. They were old and old people were weird about this stuff. He didn't care. He had more important things to care about.
"Ritsu….I just…think that we should give the world time to…change. Alright? So maybe this should just stay…in the family…until you're older….like high school age really…or when you're in university." Said Hana. She knew what Ritsu meant. He thought that she was ashamed…and she wasn't. She loved him. She was his mother and she loved him no matter what….and this was a lot of what…but there was no amount of 'what' that could ever make her stop loving her son…either of her children.
"Relax. I'm not going to say anything to Tsubomi's mom…she looks mad enough as it is." Said Ritsu. He pointed behind mom towards where Tsubomi's mom was stomping over to them. She seemed mad…and he had no idea why. Girls took clothes shopping way too seriously. He knew that he was supposed to care about clothes and stuff, being gay, but that might have just been a thing that people believed for no reason. These were clothes. You bought things in your size and you wore them….if they didn't look stupid. Simple.
Well for him, anyway.
"Kokomi, hey. Done already?" asked Hana. Ritsu was right. Kokomi looked like she was in one of her moods. Apparently the battle over the half shirt had no winner. In clothes, like in war, sometimes the best way to win was not to play the game.
"Mom-" said Tsubomi as she came to a stop behind her mother. Ritsu flashed her a look of understanding….and she could see why. His mom had a bunch of overalls in her arms…gross. Ritsu…well he looked cute all the time…but nobody looked good in overalls. Mom made her wear them sometimes because they hid her chest…not that it stopped boys from being gross…and she didn't see why it was her job to make boys stop being all gross towards her. She should have been allowed to wear whatever she wanted to wear…and she wanted to wear a crop top like everyone else! She hadn't even picked one out that showed a lot of stomach. Just up over her belly button. They had cool ones that looked like bras but she knew better than to ask mom for that…
Or maybe she should have started with one of those and then negotiated her way downwards.
"Yes. We're done…here, anyway. I think it's about time that I took Tsubomi over to the 'Missus' section of Don Quixote." Said Kokomi with a shake of her head. If that was how Tsubomi was going to be then they were going to go clothes shopping at the same place they got their cookware, all purpose cleaner, and knickknacks.
"Mom! I don't want to wear your clothes! And I don't want clothes from Don Quixote!" said Tsubomi. Her mom glared at her…and she wasn't even being that loud. There was a lady back there chasing a couple little kids through the aisles. Now they were being loud…and they should have been. This place was called Togs for Tots and she was not a tot…and she didn't know what togs were….and she was just…she didn't want to get her clothes here! And she didn't want to get them from the Missus section either! She just…why couldn't mom have taken her to a normal store!
"Costco has nice stuff. My dad gets his clothes from there." said Ritsu mostly because, well, he would rather have gone to Costco and spent all day pushing the heavy cart around than…well…all of this.
"Ritsu…stop helping…" said Tsubomi
"Costco sounds lovely-" said Kokomi
"Mom! Stop it! Fine, I can't wear a crop top…but I don't want to wear Costco clothes! They're ugly and boring…no offense, Kageyama-san." Said Tsubomi
"None taken, Tsubomi, Ichimaro is the one who gets his clothes from there anyway. I sear he's single handedly keeping the clothing section at Costco afloat." Said Hana. She didn't want to get in the middle of this, it was none of her business, but if it had been her business then she would have taken Tsubomi to one of those stores that catered to her age group. Ritsu…well he was a boy and this was well and good for him…but Shigeko, no, Tsubomi was at that age where a girl started to care about looking fashionable…and there were plenty of fashions out there that left more to the imagination than tiny half shirts did.
"Mom, can we please go to a place that doesn't have overalls?" asked Ritsu
"As you can see I've had my own battle over clothing to fight." Said Hana with a laugh that she knew had no hope of reaching her eyes.
"Over overalls? God, Hana, you are so lucky you only have boys…sorry…um…we have to go to a different store. Nothing here fits Tsubomi right anymore. She's got to move up to the Missus section." Said Kokomi. Well she had put her foot in her mouth, hadn't she? Hana…well she looked like someone had just stabbed her through the heart…damn it. It was so hard to forget that she had lost one…well when they were out in the world. When they were in her home, of course, the entire first floor was dominated by that shrine…there had to have been some way to just…correct….from her little social faux pas….
"Mom! I don't want to wear your kind of clothes! I'm twelve!" said Tsubomi. She was whining there…more than she had been before…and she knew that people were looking at her but it was better that people looked at her than at Ritsu's mom. She seemed so sad….Tsubomi could not believe her mother! How could she had said something like that!? Maybe she needed to spend less time thinking about what Tsubomi could wear and more time thinking before she spoke!
"Well these aren't!" said Kokomi as she poked her daughter in the chest…and got her hand slapped for her trouble.
"Mom!? What the-" said Tsubomi
"Don't you finish that sentence, Takane Tsubomi, and don't be like that either. I birthed you, bathed you, clothed you, and changed your diapers." Said Kokomi
"Yeah…when I was a baby!" said Tsubomi as she crossed her arms over her chest. She had just been felt up in the middle of Togs for Tots by her mother…and right in front of Ritsu too….and he was still looking at her….and now a bunch of other people were too….
"Kokomi, how about we look for something for Tsubomi over in the big and tall girl's section…they might have something there for her…and Tsubomi can stay here and help Ritsu find something nice." Said Hana. The old chest poke, a classic, though her mother had been more of a grabber. She had been twelve going on thirteen in the bra section at the old Takamaya Department Store. Mom had told her that, no, she could not have a hot pink lycra exercise bra because she would pop right out of it…and then mom had grabbed her breasts right there in the middle of the store….and to rub salt in the wound mom had only let her get those flesh colored grandma bras with the big straps and cups…and then all the other girls had made fun of her when it came time to change….
She would not have done that to Shigeko.
No. Bra shopping would have been what it was supposed to be. Her helping her daughter through a new and somewhat scary but also very exciting time. All clothes shopping would have been like that…and she never would have grabbed Shigeko like that…even if she was in denial about what sorts of clothes were…best suited…for her body type. Hana would have….well they would have talked and….this was just wistful thinking. Shigeko would probably have gotten as upset as Tsubomi was now and accidentally brought this place down over her head….
But sometimes it was nice to…well to not be entirely realistic….all the time.
"Sounds good mom, come on Tsubomi." Said Ritsu. Well now he could make the whole process go much faster. He had no idea why girls got so upset over clothes. He was a medium, he liked blue, and that was it. He went over to a rack of shirts, took off all the blue medium ones, and then went over to the rack of pants and did the same. Jeans were a little harder, with the numbers and all, but not that hard. There. Plenty of pants and shirts for the school year. It hadn't even taken him five minutes and he hadn't even needed any help.
So, really, Tsubomi could have stopped shadowing him at any time.
"You alright?" asked Ritsu. She was being really quiet and she had her arms crossed over her chest sort of like what she did when guys were creepy towards her….but that hadn't been a guy, that had been her mom…and she had just poked her. His mom was way worse. She sometimes just let herself into his room when he was trying to get dressed…and sometimes she even tried to help him if she thought that he was going too slow…like when he had been a little kid or something. Moms were so weird sometimes.
His mom and Tsubomi's.
"I'm…fine…I guess. Hey Ritsu? Do you remember when we were little and we used to hide in the racks?" asked Tsubomi as she pushed some clothes to the side and made an opening big enough to fit through. They used to climb under the racks, when they'd been really little, but they were too big to go crawling around on the floor. She was too old for that. She was twelve now.
Though she looked older…not that she could help that.
"Not really…but I will if you want to." Said Ritsu. He stepped through the rack and she followed him. He sat down as best as he could. She sat down next to him. There used to be a lot more room…well they had been a lot smaller. They were too big for this, maybe, and he didn't really want to be here but Tsubomi did and she was his friend….just his friend…and he hoped that this wasn't one of those times when Tsubomi tried to kiss him and do other more than friends stuff.
She knew that he was gay.
It had seemed mean, really, to let her go on being in love with him. There wasn't any hope that they could ever be together and it was better to tell her the truth. That way she could fall out of love with him and find a guy that she liked and who liked her best. Then she could kiss and do all of that other stuff. He hoped that she wasn't going to try and kiss him again.
She rested her head on his shoulder.
"My mom felt me up in the middle of Togs for Tots…." Said Tsubomi as she rested her head on Ritsu's shoulder. He always made her feel better…even if he didn't like her how she liked him…well he always made her feel better. He was just…there. She would always have him…she had always had him…and she had almost lost him. She had woken up to a million missed calls and…and Ritsu had been missing…and it had felt like her heart had fallen out of her chest and onto the floor…and someone had stepped on it. She didn't know what she would have done if she had lost Ritsu…her best friend…
Not her boyfriend but…he didn't need to be her boyfriend to be with her…but it would have been pretty great if he had been her boyfriend.
"She just kind of poked you…but that was still embarrassing. I mean it looked embarrassing. I don't know. I'm not a girl. I don't know how girls are with their moms." Said Ritsu. He wondered if it would have been alright to put his arm around her. It always made her feel better…because she liked him…and he didn't want to give her the wrong idea…but he didn't want her to be upset either. She was his friend and she was going to be spending the day with him too…and he didn't want her to be sad for the rest of the day. It would have been bad for Tsubomi and it would have made the day drag on….
And he had work to do.
He could see…there. There was green out of the corner of his eye. He could feel…it was dim but it was there. That aura felt…familiar…but not stalker familiar. He didn't know if it was another esper or just a normal person with an aura. They existed. They had really dim auras…he had read that some people had the potential for powers and needed to be awakened. That was why there was a whole branch of Claw called the Awakened. He had read about what they went through…well what the internet said that they went through….and he wished that he could have saved them...well he tried to warn them when he could…
And it looked like he was going to have to warn someone, maybe, even if it made him look crazy.
"My mom is such a…bitch…sometimes. That's just how she is." Said Tsubomi. She whispered the b-word. Mom…well moms had like a supernatural power to just sense when you cursed…and she didn't want to get into any more trouble with her mom….she was going to get it when she got home.
"Moms can be kind of weird sometimes…but it's ok. I mean nobody was looking anyway." Said Ritsu. He could feel the aura getting closer…and he didn't want it to leave. Even if he looked like a crazy person at least he could have warned someone…at least he could have kept someone from going through what he had gone through.
"You were looking." Said Tsubomi
"Yeah but I don't care. I'm not going to make fun of you. You know that." Said Ritsu
"I know…I know that you're not like that. That's what I like about you…one of the things that I like about you." Said Tsubomi
"Tsubomi, I'm gay." Said Ritsu. She had been talking like she was about to hold his hand and kiss him. He held onto his clothes with both hands. At least now she wouldn't have any free hands to hold.
"I know…I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that….you're always so…you. You don't…react to things…I mean you never make a big deal out of things. Like when I came home and…and I kissed you. You just told me that you were fine, that you missed me, and…the other thing….like it was just…like you were talking about math class or something. Even now me and my mom were fighting in the middle of the store and you're just…calm. Like this. Like it's not a big deal." Said Tsubomi as she played with the cuff of her shorts. She was so close to him…and she could have….well she could have kissed him…and she wanted to kiss him…but she knew better. She knew what he had said…and….and maybe it was better that way. It wasn't that there was something wrong with her, like she was ugly or mean or weird, he just…didn't like girls. This was better than him liking someone else…someone prettier…or smarter or…or just someone who had something that she didn't have…
He liked boys…and they had something that she didn't have…but only that they were boys…so that made it easier.
"It wasn't a big deal. I ran away to the woods and I came home….nothing else happened…and it wasn't like that had been the first time you kissed me." Said Ritsu
"…playing house doesn't count." Said Tsubomi
"Oh. Ok. Well…it's still not a big deal…but don't try and do it again." said Ritsu. He did not have time to tell Tsubomi, again, that he was gay. He had no idea how to tell her so that it stuck. He didn't even know how to tell mom and dad so it stuck and they were his parents. He wished that he could have just worn a sign 'I like guys. If you have a problem with that then fight me. Now leave me alone I have work to do. Beware of Claw.' He wished that he had money to make t-shirts….or fabric paints….maybe he could get some and then turn one of these shirts into that shirt….and then change once he was out of the house. He knew that mom and dad would not have let him out of the house like that. Mom didn't even like to walk past the opened windows wearing her rainbow t-shirt.
"I won't! I mean….I know that you don't like me and….I wouldn't try to-" said Tsubomi. She had been trying to find the words for 'I'm in love with you and you can never love me back and it hurts' but there weren't words for that…well the actual words for it…but she didn't want to talk about that inside of a round clothing rack in the middle of Togs for Tots.
But she wouldn't have to.
There was the sound of clothes moving and then light hit her right in the eyes. For a moment she had been afraid that her mom had found her…she did not want to deal with that. She didn't want to deal with mom's lecture about how she was a young lady now and she had to be careful about how she was with boys and how boys could get the wrong idea and then she could end up being expected to do things that she wasn't supposed to do until she was out of the house. She didn't want to have to explain to mom, again, that Ritsu wasn't that kind of boy…not that she would ever have told mom that Ritsu was gay….just that he was nice and not like those boys who were gross and creepy to her. Mom would have just told her that, as they got older, all boys were like that and it was her job to stay away from them…and then it would have gone back and forth like that all day and all night….
She would much rather have taken a little, probably lost, kid above dealing with her mom any day.
"Hi little girl, are you lost?" asked Tsubomi. There was a little girl in a karate uniform standing in front of her. She had the most beautiful hair that Tsubomi had ever seen. It was this really pretty shade of brown and it was curly…Tsubomi had always wanted curly hair but mom said that she couldn't curl her hair until she was in high school for some reason.
"No, lady, I'm fine. I just came to see him. He's blue." Said Madoka. She pointed at the blue boy…and she had seen him before…but she didn't know where…but that didn't matter. He was there and he was blue, the most blue that she had ever seen in her life, and now maybe mom would believe her about the colors!
"Yes, he does wear a lot of blue. Now come on, how about we find your mom and dad?" asked Tsubomi. She had done enough babysitting in the neighborhood to know that it was best to ignore the weird stuff that little kids said to you. Poor little missing kid…well at least she wasn't crying. Tsubomi hated it when kids cried, it made her want to cry. There was just something about a kid that small being sad that cut right through her.
"I know where my mom is….and no offense but I need to talk to him…but I'm not trying to steal your boyfriend or anything so don't try and fight me…but if you want to I can kick your butt with my eyes closed. I have a yellow belt and I'm not afraid to use it." Said Madoka. Girls with boyfriends were so weird. Like Yue from karate. Ever since she and Yuta started holding hands she'd been so nuts all the time. Obviously Madoka didn't want to hold hands with her boyfriend, holding hands led to babies and there were going to be enough babies in the house once her new brother or sister was born. She didn't want to have to fight this bigger girl…but she could. She had moved onto yellow belt, her fists were deadly weapons now.
"You're too cute. Come on, let's get you to-" said Tsubomi
"I'll take her. Can you give all of this to my mom?" asked Ritsu as he handed Tsubomi all the clothes he'd picked up. He didn't wait to hear her answer. He just got up and offered the little girl his hand like you were supposed to when you walked with little kids.
"I just said that I wasn't going to try and steal you from your girlfriend. Get the wax out of your ears and listen." Said Madoka as she pushed the blue boy's hand away. Really. He had some nerve.
"I didn't think that you were. Anyway…so you can see auras too? Colors, I mean?" asked Ritsu. He asked her quietly so that nobody overheard. She had been the one leading…but then she stopped in the middle of the walkway. He…maybe should have told her to act natural. If anyone was watching…and he couldn't feel….wait…he could. He could feel and see…there. Right there at the edges of his perceptions was an aura…a gold colored aura….he had never seen a gold colored aura before…
Well now he had some investigating to do. His work was never done.
"You can see the colors too?" asked Madoka. Finally…someone who believed her! Mom and dad always just told her that it was good that she had an active imagination…and the other kids at school just told her that she was crazy…but this boy believed her! And not only that but he could see them too!
"Yeah, I'm an esper just like you are." Said Ritsu. He was whispering, now, and he was at her level. He could feel the gold colored aura…and it was getting closer….and he didn't know if the person it was attached to was friendly or not. He could feel his barrier trying to come down…he needed to calm down…it was hard to get rid of it when it came up….and he didn't want to have to explain it all to his mom….
"What's an esper? And why are we whispering?" asked Madoka. He was leaning in close…and if he was one of those kidnappers that mom and dad were always warning her about then she could have put him in the ground with just her fists and her feet. She wasn't scared. Besides, it wasn't like she could get hurt. She always got better really fast when she fell and stuff. She was totally going to win this fight….if it came down to it.
"An esper is…have you ever done something that you couldn't explain? Like moved something without touching it or made an invisible wall or heard someone's thoughts?" asked Ritsu
"No….can you do stuff like that? Can other people? Are you a magical boy? I didn't know that they had magical boys…do you know karate? Because if you knew karate then you could be awesome…and I could be your sidekick…or you could be mine…or we could be partners." Said Madoka
"I…here. Watch this." said Ritsu. He pulled a ten yen coin out of his pocket, held it in the palm of his hand, and made it float for just long enough that she noticed. He closed his fingers and then stuffed it back into his pocket. He looked around….no other auras aside from the gold colored one….and the cameras weren't watching him…at least he didn't think so.
"How did you do that?" whispered Madoka. That must have been a magic trick…like the magician at the library did….and magic wasn't real and…and maybe it was and…and…could she do things like that?! She had colors too and-and-and-and if she could do things like that and she could do karate then she could kick all the butts in Japan! And also Juro would never, ever, ever touch her stuff ever again!
"I'm an esper and…a lot of use can do stuff like that…or other things. You might be too little to have your powers yet…and you might never get them-" said Ritsu
"But I might get them?" asked Madoka
"Yes…and when you do…you have to be careful. There were these people who wear a lot of red, they call themselves Claw, and they're going to try and-"said Ritsu. Little kids…he didn't have a lot of experience with little kids…and he didn't think that he ever would since nobody ever asked him to babysit and mom and dad weren't going to have any more kids…but maybe he should have practiced more.
Since, obviously, he hadn't been making himself clear enough on that.
"Mom! Guess what!? Mom!" shouted Madoka. She could hear mom's shoes, they slapped the ground when she ran, and before she knew it mom was back and she had Juro with her, too. Good. Now he could hear this too…and he would know that there would be some big changes in their house. Like how she was going to get first pick of the bath toys…and she was going to be picking all the shows from now on…and also she would be the one to finish any and all boxes of cereal…yes…this was going to be good…
She liked being an esper…and she had no idea what that boy was telling her to shut up about. This was great!
"Madoka! I've told you not to wander away from me like that!" said Masami. She felt like someone had been hitting her in the stomach with a bowling ball, her feet felt like they were being worn down to nubs, and now Juro was whining again…but she had found her daughter and that was what mattered….and now all she had to find was her husband and the Hirai family would have been complete…Eiji had better not have wandered off to the food court again…..
"You did bad! Punish her, mom, punish!" said Juro as he pointed as hard as he could. She had made him run. She was going to pay!
"Juro, stop it. Madoka, come here. Thank you so much little boy-" said Masami. That boy…looked so much like Shigeko…that must have been why he looked so familiar and…and she had said thank you and now she could go back to finding something that her son could stand to wear. He was worse than Sho when it came to clothes and…and now she was thinking about things that she should not have been thinking about. She just…it was hormones and the stress of Eiji leaving her alone…and now this boy who looked exactly like Shigeko….
This was not her day.
"Mom! I'm an esper! I'm an esper and I'm going to have powers and that boy has powers and he can move things without toughing them and maybe I'll be able to, too, and there's going to be a lot of changes when we get home!" said Madoka. She didn't know why mom was looking at her like she was scared…probably because she thought that the blue boy was a kidnapper. They looked like everyone else, her teacher had said at school, and…well of course mom would have been scared…even though Madoka could have broken any kidnapper in half with her karate and her esper powers.
"Madoka! Don't….don't shout in the store…you can play your…game….later and…and you should be worried about changing into those clothes I picked out for you and…and come along now. We need…we still need to find some new shirts for your brother so…so come on…" said Madoka. She…was handling this well….untitled Hirai family project was kicking her right in the liver it felt like…and her heart was racing…and she felt like that decaf coffee she'd just finished was making it's way through her at warp speed…but she wasn't letting it show. Madoka…was playing…and she didn't know what she was saying and…
And that boy…he wasn't…he just looked like Shigeko…he wasn't like Shigeko and….and she just…she needed….
"It's not a game…ma'am. Your daughter is an esper and you have to be careful. There's this organization called Claw and-" said Ritsu. She was looking at him like he was crazy…most people did….but he had to explain it to her. He had to make sure that she knew that her kids were in danger and that she had to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life because at any minute someone would take them and brainwash them and use them for experiments.
"Thanks so much, little boy, but we have to go now. Lots to buy…now come along you too. Let's…go and find dad…and get some dipping dots…dad's probably there already." Said Madoka. She didn't wait for the boy to say anything more. She took both of her children by their hands and led them right out of the store…and she had some clothes in her arms…well now she was a shoplifter. Better a shoplifter than…than whatever happened to people who ran away from Touichirou.
That boy had known about Claw.
That meant that he was the real deal…another one. There were others and…and she had known that there were others…and she had been found. She had found someone…and been found….and now Madoka knew the truth…she knew that she was an esper and….dipping dots. That overpriced ice cream….that would just…replace her memory of this day. She just….she just had to get these kids to dipping dots….
She was being followed.
"Wait! Wait a second!" said Ritsu. For a pregnant lady she sure moved fast…or maybe she was just fat….he didn't know. It wasn't like he was close enough to ask her. She was running through the crowds….and he was losing her…he hated coming to the mall on the weekends….but at least he knew where she was going. The dipping dots. He was going to get it later for running away, mom might even make him wear the leash again, but it was worth it…if he could save just one person it was worth it.
So he was not going to stop.
Even when he felt another aura pressing against his he did not stop. He could feel the gold colored aura and….and now he had to follow. He followed the green aura…that was a kid. The gold colored aura…that wasn't a kid. Not even Sho's sister had felt like that and she was raised by espers. He followed the green aura to the food court…and then…well he followed it until there was no way he could continue…
Because the mom had gone into the girl's bathroom…and there were some lines that not even Ritsu would cross.
He could hear the kids inside saying that they didn't have to pee…and that they wanted dipping dots. Well he could wait here…even though he looked like a creeper. Another lady waked by and gave him a look as she went into the bathroom. He wasn't a creep! He was doing good work! He was just going to stand outside of this bathroom until the mom came out with her kids and then he was going to tell her about Claw and all the terrible things that it would do to her daughter if she wasn't careful.
And also he would prepare himself, mentally, for the yelling that mom was going to do if she found him.
She was going to be so mad at him…and he knew that she had the wrist leash with her and she wasn't afraid to use it…but it would be worth it. I would have been worth it if he could save one more...and he was going to save hr. H could feel the gold colored aura. He didn't know if the person attached to it was going to hurt him or help him. That didn't feel like a stalker aura, those were all red, but there were all kinds of esper sin Claw…
Even kids.
He turned around. It was close and…and that aura belonged to a kid. That was…a. guy….a blond guy…with really blue eyes. Like Sho colored eyes…but just the colors. His eyes….Sho's eyes…they had been so much….deeper…and more piercing and…and Sho had always felt like he was looking into Ritsu…and he had liked it….this kid was just glaring at him. He may have been cute…really cute…but he was no Sho...
But he might have been friendly.
"Hi, I'm Kageyama Ritsu. I'm an esper…and if you're with Claw then we're going to have a problem….and if you're not with Claw then you're going to have to help me stop them." Said Ritsu. There. The other kid looked at him for a second before putting down his shopping bag. He took a step forward. Ritsu took a step back. That went on until Ritsu's back was to the bathroom door. He was ready for a fight if he needed one…but this kid didn't seem like he wanted to fight.
No, just stand…really close.
"Hello Kagyeama Ritsu, I'm Hanazawa Teruki….and it would be my pleasure to help you take down Claw…and to do something about that outfit. There are other colors besides blue, you know." Said Teru. He sized Ritsu up…powerful. Way more powerful than the guys who usually messed with Teru…but Ritsu wasn't going to mess with him. He had gotten up that morning hoping to find something in this mall worth wearing and he had found it…and also a new ally…or even a friend….or maybe just a project.
If they were going to take down Claw then they might as well have done it in style.
"Clothes aren't important, taking down Claw is…and you're going to help me." Said Ritsu
"Of course. I have my own score to settle with them. They have my girlfriend…well future girlfriend anyway." Said Teru
"They have my boyfriend….well my future boyfriend…and if you have a problem with that then say it now." Said Ritsu. If this guy had a problem with it then they could fight about it. He didn't care. They'd fight about it and then…well then they could take down Claw and go their separate ways. He would put up with some jerk if he had to….anything for Sho. Sho was worth it…he was worth everything. He was Ritsu's everything….and he finally got what it meant when people said that someone was their everything. Sho…Sho had saved his life and…and Ritsu…he had never been in love before but he knew that this was it and…and it had hurt so much knowing that he would never see Sho again…but now….at least now there was hope.
"I don't care about that. We have more important things to worry about…now come on. Come home with me, we can start planning." Said Teru
"I….have to get back to my mom but let's trade numbers…and we can meet up tomorrow if my mom doesn't ground me." Said Ritsu. Teru gave him his phone. This was…going better than anything that Ritsu ever could have imagined. He had someone to help him…someone to believe him…and ok, he had lost the little kid and the kid's mom thought that he was crazy but at least he had a new friend…and an ally…someone to help him fight Claw with. Someone to help him save Sho with. This was a good day.
Even if he had to go back to the worst store in the mall, and get the worst lecture of his life, this had still been one of his top ten best days ever.