It was weird not having Ritsu around.
Not that Teru didn't have other friends, of course he did, Ritsu was just the friend that took up the most of his time. Normally they would have been hanging out at Ritsu's house right now planning out how they were going to take down Claw. So far they just had a whole lot of nothing. Plans included recruiting new espers, easier said than done, or building bombs and taking Claw down that way. He and Ritsu had no idea where they would ever get their hands on explosives and what they would even blow up so that idea was on the shelf too. There was always the Seventh Division but, and Ritsu had a point about this, they would need to hit hard and fast if they had any hope of taking down Claw…so really they had no hope…or at least it sounded like that.
There had to be some kind of hope.
If there wasn't any hope then Teru had wasted hours, days, weeks, of his life. Not to mention the moving and learning to live on his own thing. No, there had to be hope…Teru just wasn't sure how they were going to find it. Maybe Ritsu would come up with something when he got back. His parents had taken him to the country to see his grandma. Teru had been invited too but he didn't want to go. He had….things to do….like play tennis with Tsubomi.
If he didn't hang out with her then who would?
"Thirty-love." Said Teru before he served. Tsubomi didn't even reach out for it. She just let it hit the outer square on the left. Teru knew better than to congratulate himself for that. He'd fucked up, again. Why didn't she like football….well it was soccer here. Why didn't she like soccer? Everyone liked soccer. It was a hell of a lot easier than this….
"What did I do now?" asked Teru
"You went out of bounds again." said Tsubomi. She put her hands on her hips and sighed. Ritsu was better at this than he was and Ritsu didn't even like tennis. He would have at least tried…but she was happy to hang out with Teru. He was nice too. Even if he wasn't good at tennis…and even if he was Ritsu's boyfriend.
That was never going to stop being weird.
Not that it was weird! She was happy that Ritsu had someone who he loved and who loved him. It was just weird that she had spent so long in love with him and now he was in love with another boy. Not that Teru wasn't great! He was cute and he actually knew about clothes, Ritsu got everything he wore from Costco of all places, and he…well he was a really nice guy. Ritsu was lucky and Teru was lucky to have Ritsu and Tsubomi was happy for her best friend.
Really, she was!
"What do you mean? I was inside the lines." Said Teru
"We're playing singles, not doubles. We can't go past that line…and also you said the score wrong. It's love thirty because you're still at love." Said Tsubomi
"Well pass the ball back and I'll make it one-thirty." Said Teru. He liked how you didn't say zero in this game. That way he could pretend that she wasn't kicking his ass without even trying. She passed him back the ball and he caught it…with a little help from his powers. He could have used his powers to beat her but that was just bad form. He could have made it closer…and maybe he should have…he would have looked better then. She would have thought more of him. Girls liked guys who were good at this sort of thing…not that he wanted her or anything like that.
Sure she was cute but….
He was proud of himself. He hadn't made a single move, not one, on Tsubomi. Even though she was his type. She was pretty, she was popular, and she had really big….he was going to serve the goddamned ball now. He couldn't flirt with her and he certainly couldn't stare at her. He was supposed to be Ritsu's boyfriend and him trying something with Tsubomi would blow their whole cover. There really wasn't any other reason why two guys would spend as much time together as they did, why they were always trying to be alone together, all of it. If people got suspicious and the truth came out then either everyone would think that they were crazy or everyone he knew would be in danger and then he'd have to leave again and he had no idea where he'd end up this time and-
-and he served the ball. It hit the net.
"It's still love-thirty." Said Tsubomi. She put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. Teru was so ridiculous sometimes. She could see him trying not to get worked up. It was just a game. It wasn't like they were actually competing. Boys. They could be so weird sometimes….sometimes in a cute way. Sometimes in a weird way…but at least the boys that she was friends with were nice.
The boys that she was friends with also didn't like girls so that was probably it.
She felt Teru's eyes on her as she ran over to get the ball…well she thought that she did. Obviously she was just being paranoid. She was so used to guys being weird that she expected it even from her best friend's boyfriend. She tossed Teru. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking…past her? Tsubomi turned around, prepared for the worst. That guy who jogged around the park and always slowed down to stare at her, those high school boys who said the worst things every time she so much as glanced in their direction, maybe even that mean old lady who always told her that she should have been ashamed of herself and that she needed to put a sweater on. She held her breath and turned her head to see…
Nothing?
"What are we looking at?" asked Tsubomi. There was a Dalmatian over there….but that dog was always around. The people who owned that dog were nice. She didn't have to worry about them…but maybe she did…or maybe Ritsu was rubbing off on her. He'd been so paranoid ever since he got lost in the woods…not that she could blame him. He had almost died of course….and she hadn't been there to help him….
She looked behind herself once more.
"I don't see anything." Said Tsubomi
"What?" asked Teru. He'd felt…there had been a shift in the energy around him. Like it had all rushed outwards from…that way? He didn't have the best range. Ritsu was better…but Ritsu wasn't home…so then why could he feel an esper in that direction? That was Ritsu's house and…and he wasn't even in the city. He was out in the country visiting his grandma. Teru felt for his phone…that wouldn't have been any good. His mom and dad had taken his phone away so they could all have family time…so this was up to Teru…
Teru alone.
"What are we looking at?" asked Tsubomi
"Nothing…I just remembered that I have something to do. How about I walk you home and then we pick this back up later?" said Teru. He smiled as best as he could given the circumstances….which wasn't; very god. He reminded himself that he didn't want her to like him like that so it was ok if he hadn't looked his best. He was sweaty from playing, well trying to play, tennis with Tsubomi…which he may have done for the last time…
That was a big aura.
The closer he got to it the worse it got. The bigger it got. He could barely hold up conversation with Tsubomi as he walked her home. He knew that he should have taken her somewhere else but he had nowhere else to take her. She didn't know the truth, she couldn't know the truth. If she knew the truth then she would tell people and then the whole operation would be blown. It would have been so much easier if she could just keep it to herself but this wasn't the kind of thing that people could keep to themselves. Evil organizations trying to take over the world…the whole thing sounded crazy. The last thing that Teru needed was for people to think that he was crazy.
Well…that and getting kidnapped again.
He knew that Shigeko wouldn't have been there to save him. He'd gotten lucky the first time…and the second time…but there wouldn't be a third time. He was never going to see her again, not unless she escaped, but she wouldn't be able to escape. She was the vice president of Claw and she couldn't just escape from that but…but he knew that she would have if she could.
She obviously didn't want to be a part of it…not really.
It must have been like Stockholm Syndrome or something. That was it. He knew her….he knew what she was like. She wasn't that kind of girl. She was a good person. She had saved him after. She must have just felt trapped, that was it, because she was trapped. She was trapped and she didn't have anywhere to go…well she could have been with him. It would have been like in this one movie he saw where this cop guy saved this yakuza princess from her family and then they moved out into the country and got married and stuff. Also there was a katana fight….but for him it would have been a powers fight…he would have fought for her. He would have fought through all the lackeys and bosses and minibosses if it meant that he could save her from Claw….from her life….poor Shigeko…well poor Shigeko and poor everyone else in Claw he supposed…
But mostly poor Shigeko.
"….Salt Mid. Which I don't know if I want to go. They have a good tennis team and they're close to the house but Ritsu's probably going end up going to a nice school like Pasta Soup Mid and I don't know if-hey, isn't that Ritsu's friend?" asked Tsubomi. Teru had been really quiet on the walk home. That wasn't like him at all. He usually did most of the talking. She'd barely been able to get a word from him…but it might have been because his parents had missed their weekly phone call. That must have been it. Teru got kind of quiet and sad whenever his parents missed their call. She didn't know what she could do about this. Ritsu was the one who normally cheered him up but Ritsu wasn't around…but his friend was for some reason.
The redheaded kid.
She didn't know him that well, or at all, but she did know that he was friends with Ritsu. She thought, but never would have said, that Ritsu had a thing for foreign boys. Those were the only ones he hung out with….and now that she knew what to look for they were the ones he stared at when they were at school or the park or whatever. She couldn't believe that she had ever thought that Ritsu would have been into her….that he would have felt the same…
But she didn't mind…she really didn't. Not one bit.
"He's…someone Ritsu knows." Said Teru. Sho…Suzuki fucking Sho. Teru knew that his aura was showing. That guy…that stupid guy…Ritsu was such an idiot when it came to guys. He was always talking about how Teru was weird when it came to girls, that they were his weakness or whatever, but Ritsu was the one sleeping with the enemy…or at least making out with him. Now he was right there and…and it could have been bad…or it could have been good. Maybe the President of Claw died or something and now it was being disbanded. That…well it robbed Teru of the glory of taking down Claw…but it was better for the rest of the world…
It probably wasn't like that.
Claw was probably making a move. The hole in the roof of the Seventh Division had been patched over so that must have meant that it was almost done…maybe they wanted vengeance. Maybe they knew that he was here. Maybe he was going to have to run again….he was so sick of running…and he was so sick of Claw. Teru wasn't a little kid anymore, he was twelve not nine, and he wasn't going to just run and hide and…and get kidnapped and brainwashed and…and tortured…..that wasn't going to happen to him!
He wouldn't let it.
"Oh…right! Anyway I think my mom's calling me. See you later!" said Tsubomi as she over to her house. She was going to have to call Ritsu about this and she wasn't going to stop until his mom gave him his phone. This was big. Teru had been jealous, she could tell. He had been jealous of that redheaded boy like…like it was a love triangle or something….poor Ritsu…and poor Teru….and poor redheaded kid too. She knew his name…she got the feeling that she should have….well Ritsu would know…that was if she could get a hold of him, of course.
"See you later! Always a pleasure!" said Teru. He watched her go into her house. Then he moved. Suzuki had noticed him. That was his name. Suzuki Sho. Teru knew his name and not much else that was useful. He was telekinetic, he liked to draw, and he had twenty something hamsters. That was all that Ritsu told him. Nothing useful…like what Claw was up to now…what they were planning. Ritsu really needed to get his priorities in order.
Teru could help him with that.
"Hey! Ritsu's friend! Where's Ritsu!?" said Sho. He had felt Ritsu's friend, the blond guy who loved to complain, before he saw him. Ritsu's friend was around but not Ritsu. He wasn't around. He wasn't anywhere in the city…anywhere in Sho's range. That was….well the house wasn't all smashed up like there had been a struggle…and Sho would have heard if they found another kid esper. Most people didn't realize that they were espers until high school age or adult age. Sho would have heard if Ritsu had been captured…
And he would have saved him!
He would have saved Ritsu no matter what Division he was being held in! He would have put his life right there on the line or…or whatever line there was! He was going to find Ritsu, he was going to save him! And he was going to save Ritsu from….from whatever the hell that he had to save Ritsu from! He didn't even know…but his friend might have known….
And if he didn't want to talk then Sho…then Sho was going to get it out of him no matter what!
"Well 'hello' to you too." Said Teru as he got into close enough range that he could grab Sho with his telekinesis. He was strong, compared to the espers Claw had around Teru was pretty damn strong, but Sho was strong too. He was a natural esper. Most of the espers in Claw, the ones with the red auras, were artificial espers….Claw knew how to make artificial espers…
Claw knew how to do a lot of things…things that Teru couldn't even imagine…things that he would beat out of Sho if he had to.
"Really? This is how you want to do this?" asked Sho as he pushed his way through Teru's telekinetic hold. He was strong, Sho would give him that, but Sho was stronger. He might not have been born with his powers like dad and big sis but that didn't mean that he was weak. He was strong enough to kick this guy's ass! Not too hard, though, since this was Ritsu's friend and stuff….
"I don't want to do this at all. Fighting in public is so classless, don't you think? How about you just answer a few questions and go back to wherever it is you came from? How does that sound?" asked Teru. He was that strong…no matter, no matter. Teru wasn't going to give in. He wasn't going to give up this fight before it even started….it didn't need to start. There were houses all around him…windows….people that lived in those houses and could look through those windows….
He needed to move this fight.
"How about you shut the fuck up and tell me where Ritsu is!?" said Sho. He was about to knock this guy clear through a wall…but not one of Ritsu's. He lived here and his parents were normal people and normal people didn't have more than one house.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?!" laughed Teru
"You-you-you just tell me where he is! It's not complicated!" said Sho
"How am I supposed to tell you where he is if you want me to shut the fuck up?" asked Teru. He put a hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow. He wasn't scared. He wasn't scared at all. He was…he had complete and total control over this situation.
"Just-just-just-shut up and tell me where Ritsu is you…you dick hole!" said Sho
"I'm a what?" laughed Teru He laughed because this was fucking hilarious. This was…this had to be hilarious. What else could it be? What else could he let it be?
"You're a dick hole! You're a dick hole's dick hole!" said Sho
"I'm a what?" laughed Teru
"You're a dick hole's dick hole you-you-you just tell me where Ritsu is!" said Sho
"If you want to fight then we can't do it here." Said Teru
"…can't fight you. You're Ritsu's friend." Said Sho. He knew that he could have fucked this guy up in like then ways before he even realized what was happening to him. He was strong enough to fight him, to beat him, and he did want to. Hitting someone…something….a person…even a wall would have been good. It would have made him feel less like he was about to cry and yell and…and both….
"Don't let that stop you. I know that you're in Claw-" said Teru
"Fuck Claw! This isn't about that! I just want to see Ritsu!" said Sho. He was tired of Claw stuff and…and he was just tired! He was even too tied to fight! He was tired from being up all day and he was tired from….just from being alive it felt like. He wanted to see Ritsu, he needed to see Ritsu, and he didn't care if he had to walk around the whole world. He was going to see his boyfriend again!
"I know that this is a trick. If you were really defecting then you wouldn't have come here. You wouldn't have dragged Ritsu into this." said Teru
"I'm not defecting…and I'm not dragging Ritsu into anything. I just want to see him because…because I love him…and you wouldn't get it! If you are who I think you are then I know you wouldn't get it." Said Sho
"Who I think I am….? What?" asked Teru
"If you're really the guy who kissed my sister and then left her then you don't know about love or…or anything! So fuck off if you're not going to tell me where Ritsu is!" said Sho
"Your sister…Shigeko? Do you mean-" said Teru
"Yeah! My sister! That's her and…and she's going to come for me and I need to see Ritsu when she does." Said Sho
"She's coming? Here?" asked Teru. This was….this was amazing…Shigeko…he had never thought that he would ever see her again…but now she was coming here….for this guy. She had said that she had a little brother…but this kid couldn't have been him. Shigeko didn't have red hair or blue eyes…their faces didn't match either. Their hair types were different. Shigeko's hair was long and silky smooth, she actually over conditioned it. Her brother, on the other hand, looked like he had never even seen a bottle of conditioner in his life let alone a good hair masque and oil regimen. This might not have been her little brother…but then again it might have been…
He could see Shigeko again.
He had thought…he had assumed that she was gone from his life forever. But she was….well she was alive and…and Teru was going to take a chance. He was going to take the stupidest chance that he had ever taken in his life. He was the main character here, he reminded himself, and this would work out. He was going to beat the evil organization and save the girl. Then he was going to live happily ever after or whatever. That was it. That was how these things always ended.
He was the protagonist in this story.
"Yeah! I mean probably….I told her to cover for me but I know that she won't. She's going to come and find me and-" said Sho. It all just sort of came out. He….he had maybe fucked up. She was coming. She wouldn't just let him leave like that. She was going to try and protect him, that was her job, to protect him…even when he didn't need protecting. He needed to get away from her and from everyone!
He needed to be with…the person who he loved…and who loved him right back.
Love made people do dumb stuff. That was what he was going to tell her. She wouldn't have been mad at him, she was never really mad, she would have just been scared and stuff. She was scared of dad…everyone was scared of dad…everyone but Ritsu. Even Shimazaki was scared of dad….and Shimazaki was the bravest person that Sho had ever met. Well he had been. Ritsu was the bravest person in the world. He wasn't scared of dad or Claw or…or anything.
Ritsu was brave enough for the two of them.
"Shigeko is coming…here?" asked Teru. His heart stopped…and then started…and then stopped again. Shigeko….he could see her again. He could see her…what would he say? What would he do? He needed…he needed to change…and take a shower…and clean up….fix his hair….just….so…much!
"Yes! Learn to listen, dumbass! That's why I have to see Ritsu! I know that he wants to see me, too. If you're really his friend then…then you'll get it…and if you're not then fuck off!" said Sho
"Ritsu went somewhere with his family…." Said Teru. He could have….he could have told Sho that Ritsu was going to be gone for a while. That he was off to the middle of the country with nothing to do but get his cheeks pinched by his grandma and get volleyballs thrown at him by his crazy cousin. He should have told Sho to come back later, or better yet never, because his being there was a threat. His aura was bright and someone was bound to notice him. Someone from Claw maybe…and then everyone would have been in danger. He should have told Ritsu, when he got a hold of him, that he needed to do something about his boyfriend….and also that they were all in danger…
He should have done a lot of things.
"But if you want you can wait for him at my place." Said Teru. He had to see Shigeko. He had to see her and he had to save her…and if saving her took bringing the enemy into his own home then so be it. She had risked her life for him so he was going to risk it for her. He could run away with her…or…or hide with her or…or something. Something that he would figure out when he actually had her with him. She was coming….Shigeko was coming….
Maybe it was for the best, then, that Ritsu wasn't around. Teru didn't need someone to point out how much of a hypocrite he could be sometimes.