Chapter Text
“Shigeo! Don’t float your baby brother! We’ve been through this before, this is dangerous!” Hana scolded her second eldest son, catching Tobio in her arms.
“But Tobio likes it, see?” Letting Tobio go, the infant giggled with his thumb in his mouth.
Hana sighed as she carried Tobio and blinked. “Wait, where is Ritsu?”
“Oh, he’s up there.” Shigeo pointed up to the ceiling to his toddler younger brother.
“Hi, mom!” Ritsu waved as he floated aimlessly.
“Shigeo! Put your brother down, this instant!”
The bowl-cut boy levitated his brother gently down to the ground and Ritsu stood next to Shigeo.
“Please don’t do that, Shigeo. Where is Saitama?”
“Oh, he’s outside.”
“Ouch.” Saitama felt his ear twist as his mother squeezed it tightly between her fingers.
“Saitama, I told you to look after your brothers! You’re the eldest, you should be an example for them. I knew I shouldn’t have bought you that PSP if all you’re going to do is forget about your brothers.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, let go ma!”
Hana released his ear and placed her hand on her hip while the other arm carried little Tobio. “Shigeo is only five. Ritsu is four. Tobio is two. You’re seventeen.” She cocked her brow. “Why have you decided to play with your PSP when you were supposed to be looking after them while we were gone?”
Saitama shrugged. He kicked the imaginary dust and looked away. “Got bored.”
“At least be in the same room as them. Just so you can monitor them. That’s all I’m asking for.”
Saitama propped his elbow on his knee, his chin leaning on his fist as his eyes followed Ritsu trying to catch their baby brother that was floating from wall to wall due to Shigeo using his powers.
It was entertaining to watch at first but seeing it happen over and over again does get a bit boring.
When the door opened, Hana, their mother, had an irked expression and she glared at Saitama.
“Saitama! I told you to watch over them!”
“But that’s what I’m doing!”
“That also means to not let Shigeo use your baby brother as a ball bouncing between the walls! Shigeo! Put Tobio down!”
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“Please, Ritsu-niisan!” Tobio held the ball near his chin as his blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Ritsu, now thirteen, placed his mechanical pencil down and stared at his little brother. He looked out the window. It was still bright outside.
“Okay, okay. I’ll be right out.”
“Yosh!” Tobio scurried out of Ritsu's room to the backyard.
By this time, Saitama, now twenty-six, has moved out of his parents house in Seasoning City and settled to stay in Z-City. Shigeo has acquired a job, Ritsu has become student council secretary, and Tobio is on the elementary volleyball team.
Ritsu would always play a few volleyball matches with Tobio until he tuckers out.
Although, from what Ritsu noted, Tobio takes a while to get exhausted. So, Ritsu would only play for a bit then tell Tobio that he needs to go do his homework. If Ritsu didn’t know any better, Tobio purposely or unintentionally plays the puppy dog eyes on him. Unlike Shigeo, who was always soft and kind to Tobio letting him do whatever he wanted, Ritsu had to be the older brother that needed to put his foot down. Their elder brother, Saitama, didn’t really care what they did, as long it wasn’t super dangerous. So, he was no help at all.
After the third match, Tobio was still high on energy. The sun had overlooked the houses and the sky had become orange.
“Tobio, I have to go back and do my homework now.” Ritsu wiped the sweat from his temple and massaged his forearm.
“Ritsu-nii! One more!” The younger Kageyama shouted.
“Don’t you have homework to do?”
When Tobio went quiet and looked away, Ritsu hummed. “Did you do your homework, Tobio?”
It looks like Tobio is sweating bullets.
“If you need my help, you could’ve just asked. Waiting for the last minute and panicking isn’t going to solve anything, otouto.”
The Kageyama brothers were in the dining room, Ritsu already finished with his homework and helping Tobio with his. He was patient with him as Tobio tried his best to solve each portion of the homework.
“Why do I need to learn English? I’m Japanese, I have no use for it!” Tobio gripped the fringe of his hair and growled.
“It’s not that hard.”
“Easy for you to say! You’re smart! Like, really, really, smart!”
“Well, that’s cause I studied. Do you study?”
Tobio grumbled and leaned his head on his brother’s shoulder. “I don’t get it. It’s hard to stay up in class and listen to the teacher. I don’t know how you do it…”
Ritsu thought for a moment. “It’s cause I like it. If you like something, or enjoy it, you pay attention and start to memorize things that you want to learn. Like how you are with volleyball. For your age, you’re really great at it. You work hard to win, to learn. Maybe, if you tried to see your subjects as something you want to win at, maybe you’ll be good at it.”
Tobio blinked and sat straight. He picked up the pencil and stared at the sentence. He stared at it for a while and filled in the blank. Sliding the paper over to his older brother, Ritsu proofread the sentence and smiled.
“It’s correct.”
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Tobio, as an eleven-year-old, is pretty impressionable.
He believed what his older brothers told him. Everything, anything. They were his family and they only wanted him to be careful and also watch out for them too as they also looked out for his well being. So when Shigeo says that spirits are real, he believes him. When Saitama says be careful because there are monsters, Tobio listens.
And when Ritsu says that Shigeo’s Shishou is nothing but a greedy con artist, Tobio will agree.
Out of curiosity, Tobio tagged along with Shigeo to go to his work. It’s his first time seeing Shigeo’s Shishou so he only has one mindset.
That he is a greedy, bad person.
Cause that’s what con artists are.
Greedy, bad people.
“Mob, who’s the kid?” The man with the pink tie asked.
“Shishou, this is my younger brother, Tobio. I spoke to you about him before.” Shigeo introduces Tobio to him and the younger Kageyama bows.
“This job is not for kids, Mob. Listen, Mob’s little brother, you should go home. Don’t you have better things to do?”
Tobio stared.
Reigen raised a brow.
“Tobio wanted to come because he wanted to see what I do at my job.”
It was a normal day at the office. For Shigeo, that is. He would keep track of the receipts and check in the customers that would come in now and then. Tobio would stare in wonder as Reigen works his ways to the customer.
Reigen pulled Mob aside and whispered, “Mob, is your brother just going to glare at me the entire time?”
“Glaring?” Shigeo peaked behind him and it was just Tobio fixated on Reigen. “Tobio’s not glaring. That’s just his face.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m pretty sure.”
Reigen phone started to ring. Picking it up, he had a small conversation, and from what Mob picked up, they had a case. Clasping his hands, he looked to Tobio, “Well, kid. Mob and I better get going. We have a case and this isn’t for children. Go home.” The man waved his hand.
Tobio hopped down to the floor and clung to Shigeo’s side. “I’m not leaving Shigeo-nii.”
“Kid, jobs like these aren’t suitable for kids.”
“Wasn’t he my age when you offered him this job?”
“I was actually younger.” Shigeo piped in.
‘You’re not helping, Mob…' Reigen sweatdropped. He sighed and ruffled his hair. “Listen, if you can see ghosts and exorcise them, I’ll let you join us. But what from Mob told me, you can’t. Go home.”
Tobio lowered his head and gripped tight on Shigeo’s gakuren. “But I want to be with Nii-san. I don’t want Nii-san to be alone…”
“I’m not alone, Tobio. I have Shishou-”
“That’s different! I want to stay with Nii-san! Can I please go with you?” Tobio pouted. His brow furrowed and jutted his lower lip, his eyes shining.
“Okay. But when I’m going to exorcise them, stay with Shishou.”
Tobio smiled widely.
“Wait, wait, wait! Mob, you can’t just make that decision alone!”
“But Tobio will just stay by your side. He won’t be a hindrance, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Shigeo placed his hand on Tobio’s hair and ruffled it.
Reigen massaged his temples. “Okay, fine. But you can’t leave our sight okay?”
Tobio nodded vigorously.
‘Who thought I would be babysitting?’
Tobio clung to Shigeo’s side, slightly jumping at the creaky sound. According to Reigen, their case was located in a construction site. They met the customer outside and after Reigen talked with him, the three were left to their own devices. Walking around the building, they’ve been walking deeper and deeper into the dark, Shigeo saying that the more they walk east, he feels the spirit grow stronger.
“Are we there yet?” Tobio asked.
“Almost.” Shigeo replied.
The younger boy looked up and he almost stopped walking because of how pretty the night sky was.
“Kid, keep walking, don’t get distracted.”
Tobio looked at Reigen and nodded, trekking behind his older brother. “Do you usually go to places like these?”
“Sometimes. Shishou and I go to normal places or abandoned places. Spirits can be anywhere, especially in the place they died. But this is my first time going into an active construction site. Ah, we’re here.”
A sudden chill went down Tobio’s back. He quickly held onto the sleeve of Shigeo’s uniform.
“Are you scared, Tobio?”
“N-No! I’m cold!”
Shigeo turned around and felt the gush of wind flow through his hair. “I found the spirit.”
“Do your thing, Mob.”
Shigeo raised his hand and the spirit disappeared. There was a creaking sound and the three looked up. Part of the structure was beginning to fall onto Shigeo, so the middle-schooler pushed his younger brother to Reigen and just as he was about to stop the falling concrete, he was pushed harshly onto the wall.
A large pile of rubble separated Shigeo with his boss and his little brother.
“Shigeo-nii!” “-Mob!”
“I’m fine! There’s more than one spirit. I’ll take care of it.”
Tobio wrung his shirt, his brow furrowed as he stared at the fallen concrete.
“Don’t worry. Mob is strong.”
“I know. I know that.”
“Then why are you worried?”
Tobio shrugged. “This is my first time seeing Shigeo-niisan at work. I can’t not be worried. He’s my brother.”
“Mob’s been doing this for years. He’s mastered exorcising. Just stay close to me, alright? I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
Tobio stared up at him and looked down. There was a big clatter and the younger boy jolted, clutching the arm of Reigen’s sleeve.
“Mob, you doing alright there?” Reigen shouted out from behind the cluttered wall. "Mob?”
The fallen concrete started to levitate. Shigeo’s hand was slightly raised as it directed the rubble to the side of the wall, another heap forming.
“What’d I tell you, kid? Mob’s got this-”
“Shishou, Tobio! Get down!”
Without hesitation, Reigen dropped to his knees, bringing Tobio down with him and protecting his skull with his hand.
Shigeo’s powers quickly impaled the large behemoth, his aura encircling the large ghost and squeezing it until it popped like a balloon.
“You’re safe now.” Shigeo assured, pulling his little brother up and dusting off his shoulder.
There was a twinkle in Tobio’s eyes. “I don’t know what happened, but you’re so cool, Nii-san!”
There was a slight blush on Shigeo’s cheeks and he scratched his face, chuckling lightly. “Eheh, thanks.”
“Now that’s over and done with, you guys can pick what you want to eat. My treat.”
Shigeo and Tobio arrived at home now. After being served ramen, Tobio made a conclusion. From his bed, he thought out loud, “Reigen-san is not so bad, after all.”
When Shigeo came home late that day, Ritsu thought nothing of it. But when he turned on the T.V, aimlessly flipping through channels, his eyes widened when he passed a channel, quickly flipping back.
It was a new channel.
Part of a school had been destroyed and was being torn apart, part of the building flying into the sky.
Ritsu gripped the remote tightly in his hand, slightly shaking and a bead of sweat forming at his temple.
He knew Shigeo did this.
Someone has messed with his brother and brought out that thing .
All that damage.
Because of that thing.
Tobio was pretty dumb about a some things. His focus was mostly on volleyball and that’s what mostly ran through his head. His academics could be better, if he would just pay attention and not sleep in class. He had a few select group of friends, which were mostly those in the volleyball club. If anything, the things that he excelled at was volleyball and math. With his brother, Ritsu, helping him, he can catch up to his school work and he made things easier for Tobio to understand. Math was alright. Ritsu helped Tobio make him like math. He said that volleyball can be like math. You have to measure the distance to who you’re setting at and it made Tobio think that it’s pretty useful to know that.
Another thing that Tobio has been trying to be good at, was reading his brothers. From what he can remember when he was a child, was that his eldest brother was apathetic and lazy. He wore a blank-face. But that didn’t mean he didn’t care for his family. From the stories that Ritsu and Shigeo told him, Saitama would crack jokes and ruffle their hair when they did something good or when he felt like it. When Ritsu would ask for food, Saitama would make a dish for him. Since Saitama was older than Tobio, Tobio didn’t really have much of a chance to build a relationship with him. But Saitama would send a cat meme sometimes, maybe even ‘How are you?’ just to catch up with Tobio.
Shigeo also wore a blank face. From time to time, when he saw something he really liked, his eyes would slightly widen in fondness and admiration and he would wear a small smile. But Tobio kind of understood why Shigeo had to wear a blank-face. Since his emotion linked with his powers, who knows what would happen if it were extreme. So he keeps his emotions inside and bottles them up then it builds until he has to release it in some way. Tobio was unsure if that was a good thing or not, but he isn’t really good at emotions either so he couldn’t really call his older brother out on it. But when Shigeo did show his emotion, it was always in words. He was always genuine and sincere and even though he can’t ever read the atmosphere, he does really try his best to understand what is happening.
Ritsu was also pretty neutral with emotions. But among the Kageyama scale, he would be considered pretty emotional. In their home, he would smile, laugh, be upset, or somber. Tobio thinks Ritsu has a switch when it comes to each brother. Ritsu was close with Saitama, they would share the laughs and the jokes, the strong emotions and such. From this day, when Tobio would take a peak at Ritsu’s phone, Saitama texted him and Tobio thinks they text often. He can tell, during a study session with Ritsu, Ritsu would show Tobio a meme that Saitama sent and he would burst out laughing.
When Ritsu’s with Tobio, he was willing to always play volleyball with him until night falls, even when Ritsu is exhausted from school he was still up for a match. At the dinner table, when Tobio is still hungry, Ritsu would share his portion with him, no hesitation. If Tobio is struggling with school, Ritsu would offer and be ever so patient with him and give him helpful tips to make the subject easier. Ritsu would talk to Tobio about anything, if something is on his mind, or if he needs another opinion or something. They don’t usually have serious conversations, maybe it’s reserved between Saitama and Ritsu. Tobio doesn’t really mind.
He’s not that good at serious stuff.
From what Tobio can recall as an early toddler, he felt the bond between Shigeo and Ritsu. It was strong. The sense of admiration between each other and the respect they held was unbreakable. Tobio knew that Ritsu was his favorite brother, he didn’t really seem to mind. Ritsu was his favorite brother too. But something happened. Tobio briefly knows and he can tell the relationship between the brothers was strained. The admiration was one-sided. Something, akin to obsession, has developed. Fear had replaced respect. Nothing but eggshells and glass when it came to Shigeo. Tobio would watch the lightest flinch on Ritsu if Shigeo was to be angry. Tobio didn’t understand what the big deal was. Shigeo would never hurt his brothers. He loved us too much.
“Something’s on your mind, Ritsu-nii.” Tobio stated, his eyes still on his homework as he tried to solve the english sentence. “I’m not good at many things. If you want to talk, I can always listen. I’m good at listening.” Tobio offered, setting his pencil down and looking straight at his brother.
Tobio thinks Ritsu probably talked about his problems with Saitama. It didn’t hurt to try talking about serious stuff, even if Tobio isn’t good at that.
He’ll try his hardest, for his brother.
“I won’t pry, but I’m here for you.” Tobio assured.
Ritsu blinked, glancing to the window. “I shouldn’t trouble you with my problems. You don’t need that, it can distract you.”
"It wouldn’t bother me at all. If I have to take a guess, is this about Shigeo-nii?”
Ritsu didn’t move.
Bullseye.
“I’m pretty dumb. But I’ve noticed some things. You...You walk as if there is broken glass around Shigeo-nii. I don’t know what happened when we were kids, but I knew something changed when you got out of the hospital. I never pushed mom or dad or Shigeo or you to tell me. I just thought it wasn’t my business. So, I never pried.”
Tobio took Ritsu’s silence to continue.
“Even as a kid, I always thought you and Shigeo had this unbreakable bond. Then the hospital thing happened. And now you’re trying to keep this strained pleasantry with Shigeo-nii. As much as I want to know what happened, I know you won’t tell me cause you don’t want to. Or you do, you just don’t know when’s the right time. It’s whatever.” Tobio closed his book and stared at his brother.
Tobio glanced down at Ritsu’s fist that was laid on the desk. It had tightened to hard that his knuckles were a pale color.
“If you don’t want to talk to me, that’s fine too. I’m just next door. I’ll see you at dinner, Ritsu-nii.” He collected his belongings and got up, walking out the door and into his room.
When Tobio dropped his stuff in his room, he decided to visit Shigeo.
Tobio knocked on Shigeo’s door and he heard nothing.
“I’m coming in.” Tobio announced.
Shigeo was sitting on his futon, no shirt on but pajama pants on. There was a first aid kit and dark bruises on his arms, side, and back. When Tobio looked at his neck, he closed the door and sat next to his older brother.
He grabbed the bandages and gingerly held Shigeo’s forearm, wrapping around and making sure it’s not too tight. He grabbed the small medical tape and began to wrap the bandages on his fingers. They were all cut up and bruised, luckily, nothing was or felt broken.
Just as Tobio wrapped the gauzes on Shigeo’s back and sides, he spoke up.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“It wasn’t that bad.” Shigeo replied.
“It’s not some gang, is it?”
“Uhm...It was at first, but then it wasn’t.”
“Do you want to tell me?” Tobio emphasized.
“I shouldn’t bother you with my problems, otouto.”
Tobio’s lips pressed into a thin line and finished tying the gauzes together.
“Then can I ask how you got those bruises on your neck? It looks like someone choked you.”
Shigeo stayed quiet.
Tobio sighed. “If you want to vent, I can listen. I stayed up during a health class and they said that venting can help with your emotions. I’m not an expert on it, but I know it does work. But that’s only if you want to tell me. My door is always open...Do you want me to cover the...the bruises on your neck too? I know mom and Ritsu will freak out if they saw it.”
“Thank you.” Shigeo muttered.
When Tobio was done, he stood up and Shigeo put on his hoodie. “I’ll be going, Shigeo-nii. I’ll see you at dinner.”
After dinner rolled around, normal as it was, a bit tense, yes, but Ritsu did talk to Shigeo about school. Mom asked about the bandages and Shigeo replied that he got that during a training session with the Body Improvement Club.
Tobio tossed the ball to himself, again and again as he thought.
Tobio usually thinks about volleyball. He always thinks about volleyball. He lives it, breathes it. Now, he’s thinking of his older brothers. Why do they hide so much from him? He doesn’t understand why. It won’t hurt him, Tobio’s got thick skin. He just wants to help Ritsu and Shigeo to rekindle their relationship again, the way it used to be.
Not knowing what to do, he turns to his elder.
Calling his eldest brother, it took a few rings and he picked up.
“What’s up, little brother?”
Being straightforward as he always was, Tobio asked, “Do you remember when Ritsu-nii went to the hospital?”
There was a hum at the other line and Saitama answered, “A little bit. Why?”
“Can you tell me what happened? How did he end up in the hospital?”
“I think Ritsu was six? And Shigeo was seven? They were walking around the neighborhood and some highschool delinquents wanted their money. I know the bullies were unconscious and Ritsu ended up having a scar on the side of his forehead. I’m not sure how he ended up there, but I know it had something to do with Shigeo’s powers.”
“Did Shigeo-nii...hurt Ritsu-nii?”
“Not intentionally. You know Shigeo loves his family more than anything. He wouldn’t hurt anyone on purpose. He probably just lost control and was high on adrenaline that he couldn’t think straight.”
“So that’s why Ritsu-nii is scared of Shigeo-nii...” Tobio muttered.
“What’d you say? Ritsu scared of Shigeo?”
“Yeah.”
“Ritsu just has trauma that needs time to heal over. Those two are inseparable. Did something happen over there, little brother?” Saitama wondered, crunching on something. Probably chips.
“Uhm, well, I think something happened to Shigeo-nii today and Ritsu-nii started spacing out when he was trying to help me with my homework. I don’t know what exactly happened, but Shigeo-nii was hurt a lot. I think Ritsu-nii noticed the bandages but he just doesn’t believe what Shigeo-nii told us.”
“That was?”
“He got hurt when training with the Body Improvement Club.”
“How bad were these injuries?”
“There was bruising on his arms and sides. Even cuts on his fingers, hands, and knees. The worst one was that there was a hard bruising on his neck. Like someone choked him. When I asked, Shigeo-nii didn’t say anything back. So it must be true.”
“I’ll check out if there was any news on Seasoning City online.”
“Saitama-nii…”
“Yeah?”
“Does Ritsu-nii pretend to like Shigeo-nii?”
“What? No, no. Listen to me, Tobio. Ritsu does love Shigeo. He loves all of us. He just needs time to heal over what happened. Do you want me to talk to him?” \
“Yeah. But-But don’t say you wanted to talk to him because of me. I think he’ll get mad at me for being nosy.”
“Tobio, there’s nothing wrong with caring. Though, if that’s what you want, I won’t say a thing about you mentioning it. Get some sleep, okay? I heard you do volleyball, and that takes a lot of energy.”
“Okay, Sai-nii.” Tobio yawned and rubbed his eyes. Glancing at his digital clock, it was nine o’clock sharp.
“Bye, little brother.”
“Bye.”
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