Chapter Text
The air was warm, the wind blew hard against the leaves of the trees. Laughter filled the air as children played at the park, bandages covering their hands and knees as they ran around. Shigeo’s eyes followed them, he was waiting for his brother to return, unsure of what to do with himself until then.
“Shige! There you are, Mom said it's time to go home.” Ritsu called to him, running to his side. Oh. Shigeo allows himself to be pulled by the hand as the brothers begin their route home. It wouldn’t take long, it shouldn’t take too long. Shigeo began to bite his thumb as they walked, the route was different from the one they usually take. What was Ritsu doing?
Words never came though, Shigeo found himself unable to speak. He trusted his brother though, they would be home soon.
“Hey! You kids!” Loud voices roared behind them, Ritsu was the first to turn his head. A group of teenagers stood a few feet away, faces dark and clouded aside from wide, dangerous grins. Shigeo followed his brother's gaze, fear running down his spine as he noticed. They were getting closer.
“What do you want?” Ritsu asked, voice confident but Shigeo could feel his hand tremble. He wanted to tell Ritsu to run, they were almost home, right? Just RUN.
But he couldn’t, his eyes stuck on the teenagers as they surrounded them, their laughter sharp in his ears. His mouth was agape, unable to make a sound. Everything became a blur, he could hear Ritsu’s voice but could not make out what he was saying. He feels pain, awful and sharp, creeping from the back of his head. His vision blurred before going blank.
When he opened them again, the sight before him wasn’t something he could ever prepare himself for. The teenagers were unconscious, blood splattered. Even worse, Ritsu, his brother, laid in a puddle red as rose petals. He could hear groans of pain coming from him, he tried to speak. To ask if he was okay. Nothing.
Suddenly, Ritsu stood. His gaze was harsh as he stared at Shigeo. “Brother,” Ritsu began, his voice heavy with…fear? Shigeo was lost. “Itsallyourfault.”
“What?” He finally spoke, his voice foreign to him.
“It’s,” Ritsus's voice grew louder, “all your FAULT.”
Shigeo awoke, his breath heavy as he blinked at his ceiling. That dream again . He thought to himself as he attempted to steady his breath. Not much of a dream, though. His subconscious voiced, replaying the scene again. Shigeo squeezed his eyes shut, unshed tears falling down his cheeks as he did. His breathing began to worsen, his hands clutched at his shirt as he tried to focus. Mornings like this were always hard. However, every morning seemed to be like this. He couldn’t remember a day when he didn’t wake up crying and heaving air.
Opening his eyes, he stared at his ceiling, trying to memorize each bump of the popcorned texture. Although muffled, he could hear his alarm go off. He worked today, he reminded himself, still trying to even out his breath. He noticed items floating, softly bumping into the ceiling. He couldn't focus enough to stop them, blinking blearily as his chest heaved.
Turning on his side, he reached for his alarm clock and pressed the button. Curling into himself, caging his chest with his arms, he closed his eyes and tried once more to calm himself. In, then out. In, then out. In…
Eventually, he calmed himself down enough so he could stand, though his legs trembled. He heard things hit the ground as he stretched, though he could not be bothered to clean them up. He made his way to his bathroom, flicking on the light. He caught sight of himself in the mirror, it’s the only one that hasn’t been broken, whether by his fist or his powers. He noted the bags under his eyes before grabbing his toothbrush. Today was going to be a long day.
Soon enough, he was ready. Though he basically wore the same thing every day - a turtleneck and a heavy coat, the effort was still there. He could recall his mother's words when she noticed his choice of clothing.
Oh Shige, She’d say, her voice filled with sadness. He hated hearing her sound like that. You look lovely, but are you sure you want to continue wearing this stuff? It was summertime when she told him that, he understood her concern but he despised the way his neck looked. Jagged scars covered the sides, each one an ugly pink-purple color.
He shook his head, grabbed his phone and keys, and headed out. It was cold, he noted as he locked his door. Not enough to need gloves, but to the point, it’d make you shudder with each gust of wind.
He flipped open his phone and checked the time, the small font on his flip phone showed 7:34 am. He has enough time to get to work, thankfully. He also saw he had some messages from his coworkers, his parents, and, surprisingly, from Ritsu. He closed his phone, unable to bring himself to open the message. It was most likely something their parents forced him to send or work-related.
Though it was hard, he tried not to think about his relationship with Ritsu. Ritsu hated him, and Shigeo hadn't come to terms with that yet. He understood, sort of, why. His mind wandered to when he was younger, his mother attempting to explain to him his brothers’ animosity as softly as she could as he was sobbing into her sweater.
She explained it, even though she didn’t quite understand herself. He would hear her talking with Ritsu sometime after he had calmed down, his brother's voice loud and harsh, even when speaking with their mother. He always wished that, maybe, Ritsu would be better off as an only child.
Even to this day, the thought sat at the back of his mind as each conversation with Ritsu became shorter and harsher than the last.
A honk pulled him out of his thoughts, he blinked around, he was about 7 minutes away from his office when a silver sedan slowly pulled beside him. He stopped as soon as the car did, watching as the window rolled down.
“Gooood Morning, Detective.” Momozou Takenaka greeted as he leaned out the window.
“Need a ride?”
Shigeo offered a small smile to the other Detective, stepping closer to the car.
“I’m okay, Takenaka. Why are you driving though, the office is only 15 minutes away. You don’t live too much further from me.” Shigeo asked, leaning down to look the Detective in the eyes. Takenaka laughs, slapping the car door lightly as he calms.
“Well, that’s kind of creepy of you, Kageyama. Knowing where I live.” He joked, watching the other Detective’s face grow red. “Kidding, I decided to drive because I have plans out of town after work.”
“Oh, that makes sense. I thought you were being lazy.” Shigeo pipped in, smiling to himself as Takenaka sputtered.
“Anyways, hop in! We’re going to be late at this rate, and you know how Kurata is.” Takenaka leaned away from the window, a light blush dusting his cheeks. Shigeo sighed softly before rounding the car and getting in. He has a point.
Despite not being a Detective for long, Shigeo had been quickly promoted to Lead Detective due to his case closure rate. He didn’t understand it but, allowed himself to get an earful from Tome when she found out. She was looking forward to the promotion because she had been in the field much longer than him. When she was done, she made him promise one thing; to be on time and to be the best lead she had ever seen. It was two things, but he didn’t have the heart to mention it.
The drive, though short, is filled with the quiet hum of the radio. Takenaka doesn’t like to have it up too loud, being he’s a telepath and the frequencies kill his ears, but some noise helped. Shigeo didn’t mind, watching buildings blur as they drove past them.
“So, Kageyama, any plans for this weekend?” Takenaka asked, clearing his throat as he turned onto a main road. “You know, since your birthday’s coming up?”
Oh, it was, wasn’t it? He had forgotten.
“Uhm, not really. Might see my parents.” Shigeo admitted, cringing at how sad that sounded. He was turning what, 29? He was kind of pathetic.
“Oh, that sounds fun!” Takenaka tried, glancing over to Shigeo briefly as he pulled into their building's parking lot. “Any other plans?”
“Uh, no.”
“Oh, cool, cool,” Takanaka said as he pulled into a parking space. “Any chance you’d be interested in hanging out? Like me and you? Maybe Kurata if she wants.” He turned to Shigeo with a soft expression.
Shigeo hummed as he thought, his expression painfully blank as Takenaka tried to get a good read on it. Even as a telepath, Takenaka could never understand what the other detective was thinking. It didn’t help that Shigeo was also an esper and always had a barrier blocking his thoughts. It shouldn’t bother him as much as it did.
“I suppose that wouldn’t be too bad, did you have something in mind?” Shigeo then asked, breaking Takenaka out of his thoughts.
“Maybe we could go get something to eat? O-Or we could go out for drinks?” Takenaka questioned, becoming flustered for some reason. Was he hoping I’d say no? Shigeo thought as they finally got out of the car and walked to their office. “Though, no offense Kageyama- you don’t seem like someone who’d be down for that.”
“I suppose you’re right, I’ve never been to a bar before though,” Shigeo admitted as they made it to the door, he rested a hand on the handle as he watched Takenaka laugh. “You’re acting awfully strange today, Takenaka. I hope this won’t affect your work.”
Takenaka coughed, not expecting the change in subject. He caught Shigeo’s stare - though usually unreadable, he could see confusion in his eyes.
“Right, right, I’m okay, Kageyama. No need to worry about anything!” He stated, voice growing louder with each word. Shigeo blinked at him; sort of frog-eyed, before opening the door and walking in. Takanaka followed after him, nearly tripping.
“There you two are! How could you arrive after me!” Tome all but screamed as she caught sight of them.
“And you’re late! Kageyama, how could you!” As dramatic as she was, Shigeo knew she was lying. He made his way to his desk and noticed his chair was turned to face the wall.
“Did someone move my chair?” He asks, hearing stifled giggling coming from his chair. “I could’ve sworn I pushed it in before I left yesterday.” He looked over to Tome, who seemed to be trying to render Takenaka unconscious as she shook his shoulders. He walked around his desk, leaning down to peek behind the chair.
“GOT YOU, MASTER!!” He was greeted with a shout as the prankster spun to face him. Shigeo placed his hands on his chest in fake dismay, a look of surprise on his face.
“Oh my, Arataka. You really got me there.” Shigeo gasped, watching the 14-year-old pump his fists in the air with this newfound accomplishment. “Can I have my seat back?”
“Only if you promise to stop calling me that, my name is Reigen!” Shigeo only tilted his head at him. “You know! I’m going to be famous one day and everyone is going to know who I am!”
“So you’ve told me, Mr. Greatest Detective of the 21st century. Remind me to get an autograph before you do.” Shigeo mocked, watching Reigen finally stand and walk to an open seat by the wall. “Does your sister know you’re here?”
“Of course, she dropped me off,” Reigen said with a sigh, arms crossed. “Any cool cases today?” He then asked, arms dropping to his sides. He glanced over to Shigeo with a look of giddy hope.
“Nothing that you can join in on, kiddo.” Takenaka butted in, walking over to Shigeo with a cup of coffee in his hand. Reigen huffed, once again crossing his arms. He handed the cup to Shigeo, who took it with a soft smile.
“You guys are no fuuunnn .” Reigen groaned, throwing his head back. He ended up hitting it on the wall, which caught everyone's attention. He groaned once more as he rubbed the back of his head.
“Are you okay, Reigen?” Shigeo asked; voice tinged with worry. Setting the cup of coffee down, he stood and made his way over to Reigen. “Do you need an ice pack?” He questioned as he kneeled beside Reigen.
“I’m fine, master! Just go sit down!” Reigen snaped, clearly still in pain. Shigeo flinched; though so subtly you could barely catch it. With a slight nod, he stood up, though he didn’t return to his seat, instead, he grabbed an ice pack and softly slapped it on the back of Reigen’s head.
“Ow! What was that for?!” He gawked but was met with silence as he watched Shigeo sit down and pull out some files. Reigen huffed, louder than last time, and adjusted the ice pack. Comfortable silence then filled the office as everyone started their work. Reigen kicked his feet.
Soon enough, there’s a knock at the door. However, it sounded more like someone was trying to beat up the door. Shigeo stumbled to his feet and walked over to the door, giving everyone else a soft nod. Upon opening, Shigeo sucked in his breath as he was stared down by none other than Ritsu Kageyama.
The grip he had on the doorknob tightened as he found himself unable to open it any more than he already had. Ritsu didn’t say anything but instead stared down at Shigeo with a bored look.
“R-Ritsu? What brings you here?” Shigeo questioned, a tremble in his voice as he finally spoke. Finding himself, he stepped back; letting go of the door and allowing his brother room to come in. The door nearly slammed against the wall as Ritsu stepped inside, his hand pressing against it for a moment.
“Did you not get my text.” Ritsu’s voice boomed throughout the office, he continued to stare Shigeo down. Shigeo felt his body freeze as his brother spoke, his mind racing as he registered the words.
Shigeo’s eyes widened for a moment before he pulled out his phone, and opened the text. It had been work-related after all.
“I didn’t have a chance to look at it, sorry,” Shigeo admitted, putting his phone back into his pocket. “Did you need help with it now?”
Ritsu shook his head and handed Shigeo a folder full of papers.
“Just take a look over this, let me know if it’s something you or one of your other detectives can get on.” He bit, no longer looking at his brother. He scanned the room, his eyes eventually landing on Reigen. His eyes squint as he glared at the young boy.
Reigen gasped, breaking eye contact and walking over to the area where the magazines were kept.
“Why do you keep that boy around, it’s not good for business,” Ritsu asked though it didn’t come off as a question. He turned back to his brother, who was silently sifting through the folder. Shigeo stopped at Ritsu’s words, hesitantly meeting his eyes.
“Reigen isn’t what you come over here about, so why don’t we focus on the case,” He stated, handing the folder to Tome to look through. “Tell me about it.”
“You just looked at it.” Ritsu glared. “Are you telling me you didn’t read it?”
“I- I did. I wanted to see if there was more intel, that you had maybe.” Shigeo fidgeted, subconsciously wringing his hands. Ritsu sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch his nose.
“Everything you need to know is in the folder. It’s not even a complicated case.” He explained, a frustrated look present on his face. “Unfortunately, it’s Esper-related, so I have to bring it to you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered.” Ouch .
Shigeo gulped, a pinching feeling growing at the base of his neck. He nodded, avoiding eye contact as he made his way back to his desk.
“If that’s all then, shouldn’t you be on your way, then?” Shigeo forced out, hiding himself behind his computer monitor. He didn’t see Ritsu’s reaction, if he had one, and waited until he heard the door slam shut. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and straightened his posture. He caught Takenaka’s stare, a look of worry clouding his features.
“Kageya-” “You know what guys! We should go out tonight, my treat.” Shigeo exclaimed as he stood. This was quite out-of-character for him, as he never initiated a hang out. Or anything for that matter.
“What!?” An echo of shouts reverberated through the office. Tome looked at him incredulously.
“Did you really just ask that?” She gawked, eyes wide.
“Yes! Please don’t make me change my mind.” He sweated, nerves creeping up his spine. He turned to Takenaka. “Do you want to come with?”
“I, uh, I have plans tonight already.” Tome nudged him roughly. “Ough- well, I can see if I can move them. A night out would be fun!”
Shigeo offered the two a sheepish, and rare, smile before turning to Reigen, who was pretending to look through the magazines.
“Reigen?” No response. “Hmm. I believe I’m looking for Mr. Greatest Detective of the 21st Century, has anyone seen him?” He looked around the room, hands on his hips.
“LOOK NO FURTHER!” Reigen then jumped up, thumb raised high as he stood on the table. Magazines were pushed to the ground.
“I am Reigen Arataka! Mr. Greatest Detective of the 21st Century, at your service.” He smiled wide, crossing his arms as Shigeo gasped and clapped his hands.
“Mr. Arataka.” “NO! It’s still Reigen.”
“Okay, Mr. Reigen, can you help me? I have this situation-”
Their conversion filled the office, creating an oddly comforting feeling as the Detectives returned to their work.
Tome spared Takenaka a glance.
“Soo, did you actually have plans tonight?” She asked, watching the telepath sigh.
“Ugh- No .” He answered, annoyed.
“For a telepath, you’re rather easy to read.”
"Shut up."