Ritsu really hated volleyball.
He loved, or at least liked, spending Christmas with grandma but he hated the part where he had to play with Cousin Tobio. All he ever wanted to do was play volleyball and all he ever wanted to talk about was volleyball and all he ever wanted to watch on TV was volleyball. He even talked about volleyball in his sleep. Ritsu wished that he could have stayed home. Mom and dad said that he was never going to be old enough to stay home on his own and he wasn't allowed to stay with Teru, either, because he didn't live with his parents. So this was where Ritsu was, at grandma's house, serving volleyballs to his cousin in the dark.
Great.
"You call that a serve! What the hell is wrong with you?!" asked Tobio as the ball stopped short and fell to the ground in front of him. Ritsu shrugged.
"I'm sick and tired of throwing volleyballs at you. It's cold and dark and this is boring." Said Ritsu. Mom and dad had told him to play with Tobio. Maybe this had been enough. He didn't know. He would rather have been sitting inside with the adults watching them drink sake. He didn't know why he couldn't just be inside with them. He knew that adults drank. It wasn't some big secret.
"Fine, then I'll serve to you." Said Tobio as he picked up the ball. Ritsu shook his head.
"We did that already." Said Ritsu. He'd spent the entire day serving and hitting and catching. He never wanted to see another volleyball again. This was the worst sport. And he'd thought that tennis was boring. At least you could play tennis with two people….and one of those people wasn't his crazy cousin.
"Fine! Then just-" said Tobio as he threw the ball at Ritsu. He stepped to the side and let it fly past him. Tobio was such a baby sometimes. He didn't get why everyone liked him so much. Ritsu may not have been the nicest person, he knew he wasn't, but at least he didn't go around throwing volleyballs at people.
"I'm going inside. Play by yourself." Said Ritsu. He knew what mom and dad would say, they'd tell him to play with Tobio. Well Tobio wasn't fun. He was older then Ritsu but he acted like he was much younger. Ritsu hoped that he didn't end up like Tobio when he got to middle school. Older kids were so weird. Even Teru. He couldn't get his priorities straight. All he ever thought about was girls and being popular and making friends and stuff like that. They had bigger things to worry about!
Much bigger things.
Ritsu had bigger things to worry about than playing volleyball with Tobio. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked away. He needed his phone. Mom kept on saying that he would get his home back later. Later never came. Mom and dad thought that he spent too much time messing with his phone. They didn't know that he wasn't messing around, that he was working. They couldn't know. They couldn't know what he and Teru were doing…how they were going to take Claw down.
They couldn't handle the truth.
There was no way in hell that mom and dad could handle the truth…and that was even if they believed him in the first place. He was never telling them, ever, even if it meant that he had to go the entire holiday break without his phone. Teru could do his research for him. He could look after Tsubomi, too, and make sure she was safe. He trusted Teru…mostly. He could be kind of dumb about some stuff but he knew that this was serious. Ritsu had every faith in him…mostly. Most of the faith in him. He just had to check in on him….just for a second….
Just long enough to make sure that he was still alive.
"I'm inside now!" shouted Ritsu as he slid the door opened. He slipped off his shoes in the genkan. Mom and dad were still drinking with Aunt Rara and Uncle Nao. Maybe they were drunk enough that they would give him his phone back, even for a little bit. Just to make sure that Teru hadn't been kidnapped or killed. Or maybe he would just have to steal it out of mom's bag while she slept…he'd get in trouble if he got caught…or if Tobio told on him. He had always been a tattletale like that, him and cousin Miwa. Good thing she had work and couldn't come…
Teru was so lucky, he didn't have any cousins to deal with.
Or any parents. It wasn't like he was an orphan or anything so it was ok for Ritsu to feel that way. He loved his parents, of course, but if he lived alone like Teru did then he could have gotten a lot more done. He could have stayed up all night researching. He could have skipped school if he needed to do some daytime stakeouts. He could have moved in with Teru, too, so they could keep each other safe. They could have slept in shifts and watched the house…or maybe a fort would have been better…or maybe even life on the run. They could live in a car and always move so they couldn't be caught. Mom and dad wouldn't have been in danger, either, if Ritsu lived alone
But that wasn't going to happen.
"…out there for a while." Said Mom. Ritsu could hear everyone's voices carrying through the house. Grandma had an old fashioned one with paper walls. He walked quietly and kept low to the ground so nobody saw him.
"…cousins. Let 'em play." Said Uncle Nao. Ritsu pressed his ear to the door. It was easy to hear what was going on, the walls were made of paper here. He kept low to the ground so he wasn't spotted. He just needed to hear if the adults were fighting again. Dad didn't really get along with uncle Nao. That was just how brothers were, dad had said, and that it was nothing to worry about. Ritsu didn't know if that was true. He didn't have any brothers…or a sister.
Shigeko had a shrine here, too.
He could feel her watching him from the genkan. That was where her shrine was. She had her own away from the family shrine because grandma missed her the most. Even more than her own parents. Ritsu wished that he could have missed her too. Then he would at least have known how everyone else felt. He didn't even have any memories of her. She had died when he was a baby. People had memories of him and her together. She loved him a lot, they'd said, she used talk to him for hours and hours. She loved him a lot and he had loved her too….but that was then. He didn't even remember her at all.
She was just a picture now…one that was watching him.
"Stop it." Said Ritsu. He could feel Shigeko's eyes on him. She was doing that thing big sisters did, that thing where they were all 'don't do that, it's wrong'. That was how Miwa and Tobio were. She used to always boss him around, and Ritsu too, when they had been little. He didn't know if Shigeko would have been like that…so this was the best that he had to go on.
Maybe she would have been like him.
Maybe she would have had powers too. Maybe she would have helped him take down Claw…or maybe she would have protected him. Maybe she would have kept him from getting kidnapped. Or maybe she would have been a normal person and Ritsu would have been more alone than ever. He would have had someone new to protect…but she would have been alive at least. He would at least have known her…had some kind of memory of her….
Something other than pictures and shrines.
He pressed his ear to the wall. No fighting, just talking. Good. There was no talking to dad if he and uncle Nao had been fighting. Mom got upset too and when mom was upset she said no to everything. Ritsu needed her and dad to say yes. He just…he needed to hear from Teru…that was all. He just needed to make sure that Teru was ok. Because they were friends, not for the reason he knew mom and dad thought. They could think whatever they wanted, though, just so long as he got his phone back.
He slid the door opened and stepped inside quietly.
"Rii-chan, you look half frozen. Get in here." Said Grandma as she pulled him through the door. Ritsu let himself get dragged inside.
"Yes grandma." Said Ritsu as he let himself be led inside. The adults were all sitting around the table drinking just like he figured they'd be. He'd never understand adults for as long as he lived. Reigen said that drinking made you dumb. You said stupid things and did stupid things. Ritsu didn't know why someone would want to drink something that made you stupid.
He needed to be sharp. All the time.
"Ritsu my boy, what brings you in here? Had enough of Cousin Tobio for one day?" laughed dad
"There's nothing wrong with my boy. He just has a lot of passion, that's all." said Uncle Nao
"There's nothing wrong with any of the kids." Said Mom
"There's something wrong with all of the kids. Kids today." Said Aunt Rara
"I can't understand a single thing you say." Said grandma as she put a hot cup of tea into Ritsu's hand.
"Why can't they be like our kids, perfect in every way?" said Uncle Nao. Ritsu didn't think that Tobio and Miwa were perfect, they were pretty far from it, but he didn't say anything. That would have just started a fight and gotten him sent to his and cousin Tobio's room for the rest of the night. With his luck Cousin Tobio would have probably set up the indoor volleyball net by the time he got there.
"Ritsu is perfect just as he is, aren't you honey?" said Mom
"I don't know. Maybe. Can I have my phone back now? Just for a minute? I want to talk to Teru." Said Ritsu. Mom and dad both got really pale when he mentioned Teru. Whatever. He wasn't actually going out with Teru but he wasn't going to lie about who he was. He was Ritsu, he was eleven, and he was gay. If someone had a problem with that, even family, then they could tell him to his face and he could set them straight. Sometimes people were gay and he just happened to be one of them. Mom and dad had told him about a thousand times on the ride up here not to mention Teru. They said that not everyone in the world was as accepting of things as they were.
Ritsu didn't care about that. He didn't see the point in hiding who he was. Who had time for that?
"His friend." Said Mom quickly.
"My boy-" said Ritsu
"Here you go!" said dad. He passed mom's bag to him. Ritsu took his phone out and put it down on the table. Mom and dad looked like he had just said that he was planning on killing everyone and cooking them like in that stupid movie Teru insisted that he watch. He could feel mom and dad's eyes on his back as he walked out of the room.
They didn't need to be so dramatic.
He wondered what they would be like when he took Claw down and told them the truth. That he wasn't Teru's boyfriend, he was Sho's, and that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Sho. Maybe they could even move to one of those countries where they were allowed to get married. The thought of it made Ritsu's heart do flips. Just being able to be with Sho…to see him whenever he wanted to…to be able to kiss him and hold him and…and all of that other stuff….
That was just a thought.
He didn't have time for thoughts. He knew mom and dad would be pissed at him later for bringing up the big secret, the great big secret that nobody could ever know about or else. Adults were so weird about things. Whatever. This wouldn't take very long. Teru wasn't Sho. Ritsu didn't want to spend hours and hours on the phone with him just talking about whatever came up. Not that he and Sho had ever done that….not that they'd ever had the chance…
When all of this stuff with Claw was over then they'd be able to spend time together…all time in the world.
But not now. Now he had to…what? Ok…that was a lot of missed calls. Tsubomi…a lot of calls and texts from Tsubomi…and from Teru. Oh no. This was bad. There was no way in hell that this wasn't a bad thing. Tsubomi called him a lot because she liked him but Teru…if Teru had been trying to get ahold of him then….then something serious had happened.
He called Teru back.
"Ritsu!" shouted Teru. It had only rang once, just once. Teru must have been waiting by the phone…ok. That was bad. Teru never picked up so fast, not this late at night. He either had a date or was doing some weird Teru thing, usually some kind of weird bath thing or hair thing. He was busy at night…this was…Ritsu kept calm.
He couldn't lose control, not now.
"What happened?" asked Ritsu quietly. He prepared himself for the worst. Death. Kidnapping. World domination plots. Fires. Earthquakes. War. He could handle anythi-
"I had sex!" said Teru. Ritsu pulled his phone away from his ear and checked it. Yes, this was Teru…of course it was Teru. Who else would have been telling him about…he didn't want to know about this! Why in hell would he have wanted to know about this?
"Ok, congratulations on cheating on me. I have to go." Said Ritsu. That was IT? Teru…wait. Tsubomi had called him…Teru had better not have. Guys were always bothering her about that…fucking Teru…if he'd messed with Tsubomi and she didn't want him to then Ritsu was going to have to kill him. He was going to have to kill him and bury his body in the woods. He didn't have any parents, none that were around, so it wasn't like anyone would notice if he didn't come home one day…
"Wait!" said Teru
"I don't want to hear about this…unless you did it with Tsubomi and she didn't want you to. In that case I'll have to kill you." Said Ritsu
"No, not with Tsubomi! With Shigeko! Sho's big sister!" said Teru. Ritsu caught his phone on the first bounce. It didn't break….he kind of wished that it had. If his screen shattered then he would have had the perfect excuse to hang up…not forever just until this trip was over…just until mom and dad could get it fixed. He didn't want…he couldn't deal with this right now.
Teru had slept with the enemy.
That…that….fuck him! Where in the hell did he…how many times had he….Teru had been bothering him about Sho since…since there had ever been a Sho! Sleeping with the enemy. Those had been Teru's exact words. Sleeping with the enemy…Ritsu hadn't actually slept with the enemy. He was in love with the enemy, he'd made out with the enemy, but they hadn't done it! And-and-and Sho wasn't even the enemy! Sho wanted to defect, he wanted to take his dad and the rest of Claw down. His sister was the vice president! Sho had made it perfectly clear that she WASN'T on their side and-and-and-
What was WRONG with Teru!?
"What is the matter with you?! You're going to sit there and tell me off for sleeping with the enemy when you ACTUALLY slept with the enemy!?" said Ritsu
"I know! I know I fucked up! I know that we're compromised now!" said Teru
"We…you compromised us! Why did you-" said Ritsu
"Because I love….I loved her and she was here and she wanted to do it! She asked me if we could do all the things and no girl has EVER asked me that before and then she took off her clothes and it was so good-" said Teru
"I don't want details." Groaned Ritsu
"I'm not giving you details. I just said that it was good. She was really warm and-" said Teru
"I don't care about that. Where is she now? What's happening? Did Claw come for you yet?" asked Ritsu. He sighed. He sighed again. He didn't know what he was trying to do. Calm down? But how in the hell could he calm down? Teru had compromised him just because some girl had taken her clothes off. If he wanted to see a naked girl he could have just gone on the internet or-or found one of those girls who took off her clothes if you paid her. How could Teru have been so stupid…how could….Ritsu had trusted him! He had trusted Teru and now this was what he got? Compromised? Teru…he should have known better. He should have…he should have…
Ritsu could see his own aura.
"She went home and…and she said that she would make sure nobody came for us-" said Teru
"And you believed her?!" asked Ritsu
"Well…yeah. I know her and she wouldn't lie-" said Teru
"You don't know her! You don't know anything about her! She could…she could be getting ready to betray us! She could be getting everyone she knows to-" said Ritsu
"She's not like that! You don't know her!" said Teru
"Neither do you!" Ritsu
"I know her! I know-" said Teru
"You know what it's like to do it with her. You…what in the hell were you THINKING? How could…how could you be so-" said Ritsu
"I love her…at least I thought I did…and anyway I know her better than you know Sho! He may have saved you but you don't know him. Hell, I think that I've spent more time with him at this point than you have." Said Teru
"…what…." Said Ritsu
"He spent the whole day with me-" said Teru
"What the fuck?!" said Ritsu. He looked around…nobody was coming. No wall slid opened. Nobody came out to tell him to stop cursing…that was good…that was pretty much the only good thing that was happening right now. That was…he couldn't…he just…ok. He had to plan…he had to stop this and come up with a plan. He needed…he had to control his powers and he had to THINK. He had to think about…something other than Sho and…and how he'd been alone with Teru all day…how he could have seen Sho….how….
Calm. Down.
"We just hung out! Don't freak out!" said Teru
"You spent the whole day with my-my boyfriend and I'm not supposed to freak out? You literally slept with the enemy and you want me not to freak out? You compromised everything and you don't want me to freak out?" asked Ritsu
"Just…stop it. Stop it and…and let me think. Nobody came for me next and I trust her-don't freak out! I think she was telling the truth and-" said Teru
"Are you home right now?" asked Ritsu. He closed his eyes. Teru had better have been smart enough to run…he had better have been smart enough to know that he'd messed up and now he had to live the rest of his life on the run…they both did…..thanks to Teru!
"Yeah, of course I am." Said Teru. What in the hell….what was wrong with him!? What did he think…did he even think? Did he even understand what thinking was? Obviously not. Obviously he hadn't ever have a single thought in his head. Ever.
"Then get out! Go…go somewhere else and…and I don't know! Hide and just…let me figure it out!" said Ritsu
"I can figure it-" said Teru. If he said that he could figure it out Ritsu was going to reach through the phone and kill him.
"No, you can't! You don't think so how in the hell are you going to think your way out of this?" asked Ritsu. He'd done enough! He'd done more than enough….what was the matter with him!? Why did he just…why did he want to…what was so special about that girl? The one with the same name as his sister? What was so special about her that Teru…that he just threw everything that he and Ritsu had done away?
"I-I fuck you!" said Teru
"Fuck you!" said Ritsu. He went to hang up on Teru but Teru hung up on him first. Fine then. More time for him to figure out what he was supposed to do. The talking, the voices, had all gone quiet. Ritsu held his phone to his chest. He needed to calm down. He needed to think. He needed to figure out what he was supposed to do. He had to…he was here, he was far away.
Good.
For now he was safe. He had to…he wasn't giving this phone back. He wasn't going to stop until he figured out what he was going to do now. Maybe he just….maybe he needed to stay here forever. Grandma would have let him. He needed…he was safe here…but he needed to go. He needed to figure out where he could even go. He held his phone close. He wasn't giving it back until he figured out everything, every single thing, that Claw was up to. People talked about it a lot, what Claw was up to, and maybe someone would say something useful…he didn't know. He had no idea…he had no clue….he just…he just…this sucked! This….this didn't have to happen. Teru…how could he have been such an idiot?! How could….this was…this was the worst thing….the very worst thing…..
This was even worse than volleyball.