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“DO YOU TRUST ME?!” Jouno hollered with his hands cupped around his mouth.
Tecchou looked down from where he was hanging with hands at the edge of the “cliff.” He struggled for an answer, trying to find a better grip from where he was hanging, but nooooo Teruko’s boot just had to be keeping him still.
“Um.” He cleared his throat, “NOT REALLY.”
“FUCK YOU!”
“Okay, okay!” Tecchou shouted, giving in as his arms began to get wobbly. “I will…” he gritted his teeth, rolling his eyes, “..jump down. You better catch me..” he wheezed, “p- partner.”
Jouno opened his arms in victory, a smile on his lips.
Teruko lifted her foot, with an expectant raise to her eyebrows.
Tecchou dropped, closing his eyes.
And then his back met the matted floor.
And then his back met the ma--
Jouno had sidestepped and crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently, his face unreadable as he ‘stared’ down at Tecchou.
And maybe, just maybe, if Jouno were a better person, Tecchou would’ve warned him about the incoming meteor that was coming down--
“Ow!” Jouno shrieked because Teruko had just launched herself down and was currently standing with a foot on the small of his back and one between his shoulder blades.
Teruko pressed the heel of her boot deeper, face dark as she stared down. “With your partner,” she emphasized, “you must be working together. Respectfully. You must trust. Each. Other. ”
“Yeah..” repeated Tecchou, as he gets up, working his shoulder. “Be nice, Jouno.” He got up, making sure to steer clear of the lion.
Jouno probably would’ve flipped him off if he wasn’t currently shoving his face deeper into the mat.
He exits the gym and sees that Teruko had gotten off Jouno and based on their stances, were preparing for a practice fight.
----
Later, Jouno had taken one (1) noodle from Tachihara’s spicy noodles, at the boy’s request. He patted Tachihara’s shoulder and turned to Tecchou who was rummaging through the cupboards for something to make. “You know…” he started and Tecchou had the sudden urge to punt the man through the roof. “These noodles have more pizazz than you.”
Tecchou wasn’t even fazed at the jab as he grabbed the Extra-Normal, Original Flavor Chips from where it was hiding in the corner of the cabinet . He pops the bag open with a squeeze of his fist, and he puts one slowly in his mouth. “These chips have more ‘pizzazz’ than you.”
Tachihara stirred the noodles as he felt electricity crackling when silence settled over the kitchen between the two of them. He cleared his throat with the simple request of: “please don’t blow up the kitchen.”
Violently chewing on a chip, Tecchou nodded.
Jouno only snapped his fingers and left the kitchen in a flurry of indignant red sparkles.
----
It started like any day.
But now Jouno was nursing a bruised cheek and Tecchou had a black eye.
The two of them were huffing as they faced the wall when Teruko had, quite literally, yanked them apart and stuffed them into different corners.
They didn’t even remember what they were fighting about.
Tecchou vaguely recalls telling Jouno to shut up and then punching him in the face. And then Jouno had punched him back.
And now, Fukuchi entered the room, his heavy steps announcing his presence. Tecchou saw a white shirt in Fukuchi’s grip and his heart sank when he realized what it was.
“Boys!” Fukuchi boomed. “I have no idea why you two cannot simply get along, so! you will be wearing this shirt.” He paused to unravel it, allowing Tecchou to see the words etched in permanent black marker in all its glory, and then he read it out loud. “‘This is our get-along shirt.’”
Jouno’s head slammed against the wall, dropping a painting.
Tecchou doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, as a punched laugh comes out as his body goes through shock, cold sweat dripping down his spine and he feels his soul leave his body.
Teruko stepped forward, clearing her throat, and it was so obvious that this was planned. “Naturally, you two won’t fit into this shirt as you are. Which means…” She raised her hand and that was more than enough to tell what was going to happen.
Jouno was still hunched over, head resting against the mint-green paint of the wall, arms wrapped around his legs. Teruko only rested a hand on his head and then with a soft yellow flash, Jouno had shrunken nearly half his former height.
His cheeks were drooping down in a pout, red dusted over them. Tiny fists were clenched angrily by his side as (metaphorical) steam was shooting out of his ears. Teruko’s ability expanded to clothes, so now they had a small Jouno who looked ready to scream his head off.
She walked towards Tecchou who only stared up, resigned to his fate of having to become a seven-year-old for the next few days.
He closed his eyes as Teruko’s ability, a glow that was so warm it seeped through him, and then he’s standing, a couple inches shorter than Teruko in her child form.
----
Fukuchi approached solemnly, as he grabbed the scuff of Jouno and Tecchou’s collar, making them stand side by side, and when their hands brushed together, Jouno yanked it away with a huff. He slipped the white shirt over the two of them, large enough that their heads were able to be yanked through with little yowling and scratching.
“Now!” Fukuchi stood back up, wiping his hands and running a hand through his voluminous hair, “you two are going with Tachihara to get some groceries.”
Jouno rolled his eyes and Tecchou glared up at the roof.
Tachihara was scratching his cheek, as Teruko handed him a grocery list and an envelope with bills.
“Um,” Tachihara stared down at the two human beings that barely reached his waist. The two of them look up at him expectantly, and he wonders what his brother would’ve done, but he shoves that thought away. He looked at Teruko, “What do I do…?”
“Let your older brother instincts shine through,” Teruko said with an easy shrug. “You’ll need it in the future,” she finished enigmatically with a wink that left Tachihara scratching his head on what kind of mission that would have him taking care of kids.
Jouno decided to take pity as he moved his small legs in front of him, and Tecchou fell onto his bum as the sudden movement took him by surprise. With Tecchou sitting down in the middle of the hall like a dead log and Jouno trying to move, the shirt stretched comically between them before it pulled Jouno back with a thump.
Tachihara dragged a tired hand down his face. He does not get paid enough for this.
“Do you want to hold my hand…?” He proposed this cautiously.
Tecchou quickly sticks his arm out of the arm-hole.
“Why don’t I just take us all there?” Jouno asked, arms crossed over his chest. “It’ll be quicker,” he adds.
“Vice-commander said we had to walk to the store,” Tachihara said.
“Party pooper,” Jouno mumbled and rolls his eyes and makes a point to ensure he steps on the backs of Tecchou’s shoes as they walk into the bustling street.
Entering the shop, they got strange looks. The three of them were so wildly different from each other: a teenager who had bleached hair and was holding the hand of a child with three marks that looked like petals on his face and golden eyes that seemed too smart and sharp for a child his size. And then there was Jouno. His whole aura was different from other kids, different from other adults, at that. Certainly didn’t help that his ‘flight’ response was in full gear and that meant he would start flickering wilder than a radio trying to find connection during a thunderstorm, and going through the colors of the rainbow.
Good thing for the shirt, as it hid most of their bodies, Tecchou thinks as Tachihara lifts the two of them into the cart-seat.
The teen picks curiously at the seat-belt, as if debating whether to strap the two of them in. Jouno must’ve known what he was thinking because his foot shot out. Tachihara dropped the seat-belt, and pushed the cart through the store.
He stops and looks at the carrots and tomatoes, referring to the notes before selecting a few and dropping them into the cart.
Tachihara sneaks some ramen packs into the cart with furtive looks at the two kids, who were swaying their feet boredly.
He disappears again, leaving the two of them in a corner of the market that wasn’t so crowded.
An old lady, with a hunched back, walked by them with a smile and Tecchou dips his head in respect and smiles back. She moves towards them and looks over the steaming, hot tofu that was freshly packaged. She stops her examining, scrunching her nose, and then--
“Achoo!”
Turns out, she had wanted to avoid sneezing over the tofu and turned in the opposite direction. But, the opposite direction was Tecchou’s face.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, little one,” she said loudly, rummaging through her pockets for a tissue as she dabs at his face gently. And Tecchou is thinking of his grandma’s cool hands and warm heart.
“It’s fine, grandma, it’s okay,” he said, but obediently holds still, nonetheless, and she walks away with tofu clasped in her hands.
Jouno scoots towards the edge of the seat, not really far, since it’s only two feet wide as he offhandedly said, “Hope you don’t get sick.”
“Gee, thanks,” Tecchou replied, turning to look at the very interesting floor. Wow, that gum looks squished. And that tile is scratched. Like. Scratched.
Tachihara comes back carrying a couple cans of chicken broth and noodles. He drops them into the cart, checking off the list with a pencil. “You two want something?” He asked Jouno and Tecchou, as he directed them to the check-out.
“Coffee,” the two say simultaneously.
“No.”
“...”
At the checkout, Jouno’s chin was nodding against his chest and was overall very quiet during the transaction. Tecchou paid no mind, the cart-handle digging into his stomach as he swung his arms over the edge.
“Okay, let’s get you two out,” said Tachihara, pushing the cart away. Tecchou made no assistance to help Tachihara, and Jouno was most likely asleep, so after a bit of wiggling and pulling, the three of them stumbled outside, conscious, alive, and on their feet.
Tachihara made the two of them walk in front, so he could keep an eye on him, as both his hands were carrying bags.
A couple days later, after the shirt was ripped taken off, the two of them collapsed onto their beds face-first and stayed like that for the rest of the day.
Tecchou woke up to feeling his head was clogged and a bright room. He squeezed his eyes to try and disperse the arcade carpet that was swimming in his vision and opened them.
Wow. That made it worse.
Hey, internet, is it possible to close your curtains closer?
He sneezed…. five seconds passed, and he was shoving his face into a pillow and coughing his guts up.
“Are you sick?” Jouno’s voice called through the wall.
“No,” he croaked back.
“Well then, stop coughing,” replied the other man before quiet static fell through the room.
“…”
He woke up later to knocking at his door, and he opened it, fingers fumbling with the doorknob. “What.”
“You sure are friendly today,” Jouno drawls, and he shoves a tray into Tecchou’s arms. “Here. Food.”
“You cooked this?” He looked at the food that was edible.
Jouno huffed, “Goodness, no. Tachihara did. Group effort.” He pointed at the tray, “I made the tea, though. Well? Have at it, I guess.” He went back into the hall, “...Don’t throw up.”
Tecchou drops the tray that had one bowl of mildly-warm chicken porridge and the mug of tea. They’re the same color, thinks Tecchou, swirling the porridge and trying his best to smell the tea.
He raised his voice, loud enough to get through the wall, “That… was the most complicated ‘get better soon’ message I’ve ever got.” He picks at his food for a few more seconds, shrugs, and pours the tea into the porridge.
Because.
Efficiency.
:)
----
DO YOU TRUST ME?!” Jouno hollered, and a wave of déjà washed over him. Except this time, there’s a sky above them, and Tecchou is stuck up nearly ten floors above ground, entrances and exits blown up, and is currently staring down from a balcony.
They weren’t allowed to use their abilities, and with only the help of one basic surgery, they were tossed into a ‘real-life’ scenario. “For practice,” the higher-ups had said.
“Test subjects,” Jouno thought.
The first time Jouno had asked that question, he got a ‘no’ and it.. well.. to be honest. It kind of hurt. He knew he was a little too selfish for his own good and he probably would’ve ditched his partner to continue with the mission, and he shouldn’t have expected something different, but here he was--
“Um,” Tecchou twiddled his fingers, trying to find another way out. “I GUESS!” He shouted, before continuing, “YOU WOULD PROBABLY LET ME BREAK A BONE, BUT I SUPPOSE YOU WOULDN’T LET ME DIE!” He yelled downward, hoping it would reach Jouno.
-- waiting to catch his partner, who maybe - kinda - hopefully? trusted him.
“Well then, idiot! Get on with it!” He opened his arms, and maybe his heart, and waits for Tecchou to fall.
“I’m alive,” Tecchou said in awe, patting Jouno, as if making sure this wasn’t a dream. “You caught me.”
“Stop making it seem like I’m an emotionless bastard! I have feelings, ya’know? You trusted me and I caught you. Jeez!” Jouno opened his arms, letting Tecchou collapse in a heap onto the gravel. “Now! If you don’t mind, I’ll be going on ahead and reaping the praise.” He finished, running on ahead.
Tecchou thrust out his sword and tripped Jouno, “We’re supposed to be working together.”
Jouno grumbled and mumbled, got up and shoved Tecchou off, wiped the dust off his body, relenting as he said, “Fine.”