Chapter Text
There were a lot of things Shigeo knew about himself. He was 14 years old, a student at Salt Middle School, and a member of the Body Improvement club. He was a dairy enthusiast. He was generally very easy-going. Not much made him truly annoyed.
Sure, Dimple existed. But (somehow) the booger had wormed his way into Shigeo’s heart. So now, the ghost was more annoying in the way that an uncle can be annoying: always in your business, but he’s family so you love him anyways.
Shigeo knew that he didn’t know how to solve any of the algebraic equations in front of him on the kitchen table. The numbers in front of him made absolutely no sense; he had read and reread them about a dozen times.
He had decided to work on his math homework at the kitchen table instead of at the desk in his bedroom for one simple reason: he could easily refill his glass of milk whenever he became too overwhelmed by his homework.
He was on his third glass of milk when the front door to the home clattered open. He nearly fell off of his chair, just barely saving his milk from shattering on the floor with a quick flash of violet energy. He righted the cup back onto the table, before planting himself securely into his seat.
Shigeo knew a lot of things about himself- namely, that he was a very, very patient person.
So when Suzuki Shou’s arrival to the Kageyama household brought a tidal wave of annoyance crashing over him, Shigeo was caught off guard.
“Ritz!” Suzuki cawed from the entryway. Shigeo felt his neck snap at the centrifugal force that his head used to turn from his homework on the table towards the source of the noise.
“Don’t call me that,” Ritsu sneered.
Suzuki pointedly ignored Ritsu in favor of kicking his shoes off and onto the genkan before bounding inside the house.
As if he hadn’t burned down the place mere months prior.
Not to mention the fact that he apparently wasn’t sorry for the intrusion, if his lack of manners wasn’t already indication enough of that fact. Who forgets to say that at someone else's house?
Shigeo felt his eyes squint.
“How are you doing, Ricchan?!” When Suzuki had finally breached the house’s entrance, he immediately made a point to tackle Ritsu with a hug, “It’s been too long!”
Ritsu hugged back awkwardly, robotically patting Suzuki’s shoulder.
Suzuki didn’t get the hint, and continued to hang from Ritsu’s neck.
Like a chain, Shigeo thought but didn’t say.
“Anyways,” Ritsu huffed, finally dislodging the redhead from around his neck, “what did you want to talk about?”
Suzuki opened his mouth to begin speaking, eyes flitting around the room.
His eyes met Shigeo.
Suzuki’s mouth clamped shut. Shigeo could hear the click of the boy’s jaw setting back into place.
And for a moment, there was complete silence.
Ritsu cleared his throat.
“Shou. The reason you wanted to talk.”
As if Ritsu had unfrozen time, Suzuki turned back to face the younger Kageyama. “Um, would you wanna take a walk and discuss it?”
Even Shigeo, with his social skills that were less than stellar could tell that Suzuki was actively avoiding being in the same space as him.
Well.
That was completely fine. Shigeo would rather not have the intrusive boy in his house anyways.
“Really?” Ritsu groaned, running a hand through his messy hairstyle. Suzuki only answered with a half-hearted shrug. “Ugh, fine. But I’ve gotta change my outfit if we’re going out.”
With that, Ritsu turned and started moving towards the stairs. Like a dog, Suzuki followed him.
“Stay down here!” Ritsu called from the top of the steps, “I’ll only be a second!”
Suzuki looked like he wanted to complain, but ultimately decided to keep his mouth shut. Instead, he opted to worry his bottom lip between his teeth.
Why am I paying attention to this? Shigeo thought, finally turning back to his abandoned math textbook. He let a quiet groan slip through his lips as he focused back in on the number-filled page.
Or, at least, he tried to focus.
A hand rapidly flapped in front of his face, shocking him from his math-based reveries on how many watermelons one person truly needed to buy.
Shigeo flinched, then followed the hand to the wrist to the arm to the devilish face of his brother’s best friend.
Suzuki was glaring at him.
“Hey. What’s your fucking problem?” Suzuki growled. Shigeo’s stomach flipped at the curse, and something painful and murky began to bubble underneath. He opened his mouth to reply, but was met with the feeling of cotton.
He wet his lips and tried again.
“...Nothing?” Suzuki’s frown remained, but it looked as if he was done talking.
Shigeo turned his head back down to his work pages, satisfied that he had ended their conversation quickly and without any issues.
3x=¼y - z… Shigeo stared at the problem, trying to get the problem to answer itself. It obviously didn’t work, so he grabbed his pencil and turned back to the problem.
He looked at the empty table.
There was no problem.
…
Where did his math problem go?
Shigeo looked up from the table, and immediately locked onto Suzuki’s eyes, sawing through his skull with their intensity.
In one of his hands was Shigeo’s math textbook.
Shigeo’s stomach tightened.
“Suzuki. Please give me my textbook back.”
The boy in question responded with a curl of his lip, reminiscent of a Cheshire Cat. A wicked smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“What if I said no?” Suzuki smirked.
Why would Suzuki say no? What does Suzuki have to gain by taking Shigeo’s book?
Shigeo didn’t really care enough to find out.
“Just-” Shigeo couldn’t help his huff of frustration, “Will you just hand it back to me? Please?” Shigeo could feel the beginnings of a headache prickle behind his eyeballs. And he still had at least 3 more assignments to finish off before he could put his homework aside for the day.
Shigeo’s request was met with bared teeth. It looked more like a shark’s jaw than a human mouth from where Shigeo was seated.
“No.”
...No?
“I don’t think I’m going to give it back,” Suzuki finished, unable to keep his smirk from entering his voice.
Shigeo feels his right eye twitch.
Suzuki’s smirk stretches wider at this. Shigeo wonders how many rows of teeth the boy has.
“Why do you want my book, Suzuki-kun?” This can be settled peacefully, then Shigeo can finish up his homework after Ritsu gets Suzuki out of the house, and Shigeo should still have enough time to reach the next battle stage in his new video game before dinner.
Suzuki had a strange glint in his eyes. The nauseous feeling in Shigeo’s stomach stabbed him again as Suzuki pulled a black marker from his back pocket.
“I’m gonna draw dicks on your homework.”
A burst of psychic energy exploded from the kitchen. Ritsu flew down the stairs to look for the source of the furious auras, hoodie half-on and bunched up around his shoulders.
“Shou, Nii-san, what’s wrong?! Is it-”
Shigeo and Suzuki looked guiltily back at Ritsu. Shigeo had Suzuki’s jacket in an iron grip. Suzuki was holding onto a fistful of Shigeo’s hair. Both boys used their other hand to fruitlessly try and push away from one another. Violet and Gold auras fizzled against each other; oil on a heated pan, the sharp acidity of carbonation, firecrackers thrown onto the pavement.
“I- um, guys?” Ritsu stutters nervously.
The oppressive energy in the room simmers before disappearing altogether. Shigeo’s ears pop as he’s finally able to push away from Suzuki.
Suzuki, for his part, doesn’t look too fazed. He simply dusts himself off, and then smiles at Ritsu.
“There you are! Thought you got lost up there! Ready?” Ritsu nods tentatively.
“Well,” he chokes out, “Goodbye, Nii-san. I’ll, uh, get you a snack from the convenience store…” Ritsu trails off, before stopping altogether.
The room is painfully silent as Ritsu finishes pulling on his hoodie. He tightens the hood to his skull, in a way that reminds Shigeo of the way his little brother used to wrap his security blanket around his head as a toddler (which continued longer than Ritsu allowed anyone in their family to admit).
Apparently deciding this was an acceptable end to whatever he had stumbled upon, Ritsu turns on his heels and walks out of the front door. Suzuki, thankfully, trails after him. He doesn’t even take the time to properly put his sneakers back on, letting his heels hang out of the back of the shoes in favor of catching up to Ritsu’s retreating frame.
The door slams shut in finality.
Shigeo gasped out a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. He looked down at the ground where his math textbook had been thrown and grimaced.
He circled the dinner table carefully, cautiously bending down to pick up his book. His heart still thrummed in his chest, a jackhammer against his ribcage.
Shigeo quickly scanned his work pages for signs of anything phallic, sighing in relief when he found nothing of the sort.
Shigeo’s mind couldn’t be as easily soothed, however. He found Suzuki crawling into every crevice of his evening: the rest of his homework was completed at the bare minimum, his spoon was twisted in a tight spiral for the entirety of dinner, and he tossed around in his bed that night in a struggle to fall asleep.
Only one thought was on Shigeo’s mind before he fell into restless dreams:
I really shouldn’t talk to Suzuki again.
The next morning was a lot easier for Shigeo. He actually managed to wake up on time properly, tame his hair, and eat breakfast at the table with his entire family. Even Ritsu was eating beside him, which hadn’t happened much since his entrance into the Student Council.
Although he would always be proud of his little brother, Shigeo thanked whatever God was out there for the beautiful morning routine they had blessed him with that day.
After washing off their plates in the sink, Shigeo and Ritsu wished their parents a good day and began their trek to school.
The walk to school was peaceful: it was a warm spring day, so Shigeo and Ritsu could see flowers sprouting from the neighbor’s window planter. And if one of the peonies bloomed further open as Shigeo walked past it, then so be it.
Shigeo was having a great day. Spending time with Ritsu had always had a calming effect on him, and hearing the younger boy complain about some of his duties as the Student Council Vice President only made Shigeo prouder of Ritsu.
As they got closer to Salt Mid, Shigeo notes the way his face ached slightly. He hadn’t realized that he had been wearing a small smile for the entire walk to school.
Shigeo wished his brother could always be free in the mornings to walk with him to school. He wondered why the student council hadn’t needed him at the meeting today, but wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The brothers walked towards the entrance of the school. Once they were on school grounds, they would have to say goodbye to each other and walk their separate ways, Shigeo to the upperclassmen floor and Ritsu to the first year section of the school.
It was a good thing, Shigeo thought, that he had a Body Improvement club meeting after school today. It would be the perfect way to wrap up this perfect day, and would give him time to catch up with Musashi, Tome and all of the other club members who utilised their clubroom.
Shigeo turned to say goodbye to his younger brother, still smiling softly.
“Ritz!”
.
.
.
No.
Please, anything but this. Anything but HIM.
Ritsu scoffed, turning around to show the other boy the full brunt of his eye roll.
“Do not call me that here, Shou. I don’t wanna hear Kamuro-senpai trying to ~relate~ to me.”
Suzuki snorted, lightly jogging to catch up to Ritsu.
Suddenly, Shigeo was aware of how much sweat had accumulated on his back during the walk to school. He stiffly jerked his head back to find the source of the offensive voice.
Suzuki was wearing a new outfit, far different than anything Shigeo had ever seen him in. It looked familiar. Shigeo felt his mouth dry up.
Of course Suzuki noticed his discomfort.
His lips curled into a malicious snarl.
“Oh, did Ricchan not tell you?”
No.
“I’m a new student here!”
...
Yes, Shigeo knew a lot of things. And this was, by far, the worst thing he had ever learned.