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It's been... odd. Having his dad home, that is.
A few weeks ago, his dad got released from that esper-containment place that he'd been put into after the whole 'I'm going to kidnap the president of Japan and take over the entire world' plan. Though he's still being forced to go do some special government missions occasionally, which makes sense considering how strong his old man is. Stronger than the espers they already have, if Joseph from the government is anything to go by.
But still, even if he's out of the house doing secret government business or whatever sometimes, he's still in the house more often than out.
Why is this an issue? Well, Shou has been looking after himself for quite a while now, his mother having moved abroad and his dad off taking over the world and such. Sure, he's been living with his lackeys since running away, but he generally would still take care of himself- bedtimes, meals, cleaning, etcetera. He's always been pretty responsible, and he can care for himself, he doesn't need a parent. And it's not just himself he can look after! After Claw, he's also been making sure to look after his new hamsters, Nade and Tsuntsu. (He loves to feed them pumpkin seeds, they always fill their cheeks up instead of eating, then their faces are really fat.)
And he's never had to worry about free time, he used to always be out running errands for Claw, and outside of that he'd be running around trying to take them down and figuring out how to stop his good-for-nothing dad. Then if he had time, he'd go to school (Teleportation really saves on travelling times! One moment you can be having a meeting on how to take down a dangerous esper terrorist organisation, the next you can be at the school gates!), or there was the few phonecalls that he got from his Mum every so often, which usually ended up being awkward conversations about his father. The calls usually didn't last longer than 30 minutes. There was also always sleeping and eating, those are pretty important.
But, since the ass-kicking and total annihilation of Claw, he's had more free time. He's been able to spend time practicing wrestling moves, listening to music, and he's gotten into playing games! And maybe bothering Ritsu. Or even doing both! He's just skilled like that. Hearing Ritsu's infuriated sighs as he's forced to listen to Sho (only half-exaggeratedly) scream down the mic about cheaters and sweats and whatever terms he learns from gaming streamers online is probably one of Sho's favourite activities. Although it's even better when he can convince Ritsu to come over and play, when he's not busy with overachieving like the loser he is, anyway. Which isn't often. Personally, Shou doesn't get it, it's not like grades can help you get stronger.
Anyway, the point is, he's been doing great! He can look after himself, and he has been! For years, even! But now, with his dad back, his routine has been stuffed into a blender which has then been set on fire, thrown out a window into a tornado, flung into the sky, spat into the ocean, and then eaten by a shark. Basically it's been totally fucked.
It's really strange having another person in the house, telling him when to go to bed, making food and forcing mealtimes, doing chores, reminding him to wash (he's perfectly capable of deciding when to wash himself, thank you!), someone forcing structure on him after years after deciding everything for himself. Sho's been getting more and more frustrated as the days go by, and he doesn't know what to do about it. He doesn't know how to fix this, because technically this is what a parent is supposed to do. Can he really complain when he comes into the house after school to find dinner on the table? That's supposed to be normal. The ingredients for spicy pork curry in his shopping bag can be used another day. He can get over the sudden empty place in his schedule where 'making dinner' was supposed to be. He can get over having to sit at the table, opposite his dad, silent. He can get over all these new rules, 'no music blasting in the house', 'lights off at ten pm', 'no leaving the house randomly'. He knows that this is meant to be normal. But every time a new rule is placed, his self control slips further and further out of his reach, and when the final wisps of it tumble out from the gaps in his fingers, he's going to end up doing something stupid like punching his dad in the face and running away to go live with Ritsu or something.
He grips the controller in his hands, eye twitching as the 'dead' screen appears, bell toll ringing in his ears. "Damnit!" He yells, slamming the controller on the table, leaning forwards and dragging his hands up to grab the back of his head. He sighs, tugging the headphones off after a few seconds of sitting folded in on himself. He sits up, yanking his phone out of his back pocket and glancing at the time.
"Half one already..? Wow, I was playing for longer than I thought..." He sighs again, and decides he should probably head to bed soon. He might feed Nade some pumpkin seeds. Tsuntsu is usually asleep at this time, sleeping schedule often contradicting Nade's.
He puts his phone back, and goes to stand up when the door suddenly slams open, and he whips around, aura flaring slightly, though he dampens it down quickly afterwards. No powers.
"Shou, there is no need to be yelling at this time of night. Regardless, I told you it was time to go to sleep hours ago. It is disrespectful to ignore your father." His dad speaks flatly, though with a little annoyance in his voice, as he stands in the doorway of the room, his face hard to see with the backlighting of the hall and the darkness of Shou's room, the only source of light being the screen of his TV. He wonders if he was keeping his dad up with his yelling, and it feels like a victory, oddly.
He doesn't care if he's bothering his dad. Hell, it's payback for everything his dad's done to him! Besides, his schedule has been decided by him for years now, so really his dad should be conforming to Shou's rules, not the other way around! Of course, his dad thinks he has the right to boss him around! But it's not like Shou has to work for him anymore, and his dad's never been his parent in any way that matters, so Shou doesn't feel like he has to respect anything he says. His dad's words and all of his actions these past few weeks, years, his whole life, has familiar anger boiling up and hands balling up into fists, shaking with the strength of his grip. His dad continues to stare at him, not looking pleased. He realises his face is probably reflecting exacly how he feels.
He snaps. "As if I'm gonna respect that! I've managed with my own bedtimes for years just fine, and it's not like you've been enough of a dad to tell me what to do anyway!" He spits out, turning back to his console. He was gonna go to bed, but now he has to stay up out of spite. He has to get back at him someway, and he's been trying to avoid violence, but he's this close to just-
"Shou, you will listen to me. I am the adult here, and I have ordered you to go to bed. Get off of the console, now." He steps forward, door creaking open further, light squeezing in around his dad's silhouette, creating odd shadows that reach out into the room.
Shou's heart starts beating a bit faster, and a grin stretches further across his face, wobbling at the edge. His body tenses slightly, and he turns back around to face his Dad.
"You sure don't act like much of an adult, throwing a hissy fit because some middle schooler beat your ass! Which he only had to do to stop your childish world domination plot! Plus, you're not my, or anyone's, boss anymore, so don't go prattling on about 'ordering' me to do anything! Now go away, I'm busy!" It felt nice, in a vindictive, angry way, to say those last words back to his dad. How many times has he been 'too busy' to see his son? Heh, now it looks like he wants something from Shou, and he's not gonna get it! He turns to his TV and puts his hands around the controller.
There's a crack, and he blinks in shock, hands loosening their grip, and he turns around carefully. There's splinters falling from the door where his father's hand is, grip so tight against the wood that it shattered beneath his hand.
Shou feels sweat drop down the back of his neck. His dad's aura seems to creep closer, and it seethes out into the room, searing his eyes. He can hear a high-pitched crackling sound, and he doesn't think it's his tinnitus. He clutches the sofa with one hand, trying to feign nonchalance, but he can't tell if he's fooling his dad.
This is fine! He's stronger than his dad! He can protect himself! His hands still shake despite that obvious fact.
"Shou." He shuffles backwards, a pit in his stomach making him nauseous, and his legs feel weak, even while he's sat down. If he needed to get up and fight would they hold him? He's braced, as much as he can without using a barrier. He can't seem to breathe right. He's okay, his dad can't even do anything without the government carting him back off to special esper jail! He's in control here. He can beat his dad. He's stronger now!
"Don't- don't act like you can order me around, old man! I don't care, now go away, I'm going back on my game, I'll go to bed when I want to!" He hopes his voice doesn't sound as shaky as he feels. He doesn't want to be near his dad. He doesn't want to see his face, he doesn't want to be scared- he isn't scared! He's sure he can beat his dad, he can.
It feels risky, but he wants to show that he's in control of this conversation, not him, so he turns back around, leans forward to grab his controller again, when-
'CRUNCH'
-A flare of aura and a destroyed controller below his open hands. His mouth drops open, and he's unsure if it was him that destroyed it, but the aura is still stretching across the room, and it's not his. His dad walks closer, each step rattling the room. He can hear the thudding of his heart in his ears outpacing the thumping of the footsteps, and his head whips around and his eyes snap to his dad, the threat, and the hand reaches out to him, and he's way too close and he's gotta put up a barrier now or he's going to get thrown into the wall and the hand is getting way too close to him-
He yelps, throwing himself back with a barrier around him, his power strike forgotten when faced with the beating he was about to endure, his arms crossed over his face and legs planted on the floor, trying to keep balance, reinforcing his barrier against- against... Nothing? Why hasn't the attack come yet? He realises his eyes were shut, stupid move, he can't see the attack then, but...
Opening his eyes, he can see there's no attack coming his way. His dad's aura is once again safely retreated, and there's no more rage that was stifling the room. Just his dad, stood there, hand still reached out, and eyes wide. Shocked.
Shou's trembling. It's stupid. Nothing's happened yet. This is only meant to happen after, and nothing's happened yet.
His voice isn't shaking when he speaks. "W-what? Scared I'll beat you? Who knows, I am fourteen now! You've already gotten beat by a fourteen-year-old once before, wanna make it twice?"
His dad still just stands there, shocked. What's up with him?
"Huh, thought you'd be jumping at the chance to whale on a kid again. They've sure been depriving you in jail, am I right? Ha..." He needs his dad to fight him or leave already, his knees are really starting to get weak, he feels like he might throw up. It doesn't have anything to do with this weird new expression on his dad's face. If this was anyone else, he'd be tempted to say it was guilty.
"Shou..." He takes a step forward. Sho jumps, strengthening his barrier, going to take a step back but hitting the wall. At this, his dad takes a step back, hand falling back by his side.
"I see... I'm truly sorry. I was being irrational. Of course you've learned to make your own decisions regarding matters such as these... I suppose you've had to parent yourself, haven't you? I apologise."
Sho's jaw must be on the floor. Did he get hit his head too hard and this is his weird coma dream? What the fuck?? He's so shocked he can't even find anything to say to that. Is this a trick to get his guard down? What??
"You may stay up if you wish. I'll order a new controller for you in the morning. Goodnight, son." He rushes out, leaving the room, door not quite shutting due to the mangled wood, bouncing open slightly, leaving a sliver of light.
What. The. Hell.
Shou slides to the floor, barrier phasing out, and all of his remaining energy sapping away. He stares at the floor.
His dad. Apologising. To Shou. And he didn't even hit him first? Not even a tap! He lets out a wheezing laugh, getting louder and louder until he's practically cackling. Oh, he's allowed to stay up now. Well that's great! Ha! Wow! Oh, man! He's pretty sure he's crying now. Talk about unexpected, though! His good-for-nothing dad sure had him going there! He really thought he was about to get it, but nope!
Okay. This is okay. He's still smiling, tears dripping into his mouth, salty and not helping with the nausea. Well, now he doesn't want to stay up. I mean, not like he could go on his game anyway. Controller's bust.
He staggers up, and spots the hamster cage but no hamsters. He rushes over and looks inside. In one of the little tubes he spots Nade and Tsunstu hiding, and making tiny, unhappy noises. Poor guys.
He grabs the small bag of pumpkin seeds and shakily pours some into his hands, ignoring the ones falling on the floor. He tips the ones that managed to land in his hand into the cage, then closes it up again. They probably won't come out of where they're hiding for a little bit,so he'll leave them some food as an apology offering. When they're ready to come out tomorrow he'll give them some extra love and care.
He flops onto his bed, fully clothed and unbothered by that fact. Getting changed now would mean seeing the scars on his body. He'd normally be proud of them, showing them off and letting everyone know how tough he is, but right now he really doesn't want to have to think about any of the reasons he has them.
There's a buzz from his phone, and he debates wether he wants to try to sleep (which seems quite easy right now with how drained he is) or if he wants the distraction. He decides on distraction, pulling the device out lethargically. Opening it, he can see the notification- it's a message from Ritsu, a rare occurrence.
-Ritsu🔥🥄-
[01:42] { I saw a really ugly jacket today. Reminded me of you. Your style is really shitty.)
[01:43] { *image of a black leather jacket with a bright fire design on the back and sleeves* )
Ritsu's right. He does love that jacket.
-You-
[01:43] { i do live fhat jaacket )
Hopefully Ritsu doesn't question the typos, his hands are making messaging quite hard. Though he's glad he checked the message! Ritsu hardly ever messages him first.
He thinks about it, then types out another message. He doesn't want the conversation to end.
[01:43] { we should totrally go dhopping rgere togetheer soon )
01:44] { ill gwt you some actually inteeersting clothes loll )
01:44] { dww ily even if yiur fashion sense is kind of boring )
Now there's plans to discuss! As well as the option for Ritsu to get annoyed about the jab at his clothes.
A couple minutes pass and Shou starts to get worried. He doesn't want to think about tonight right now, he wants to talk to Ritsu. He was online a moment ago, where's he now?
He's never been so relieved to get a message.
-Ritsu🔥🥄-
[01:47] { Just because I like clothes that aren't a hazard to anyone's eyes doesn't mean my clothes are boring. Anyway, shopping sounds alright. I need to buy a new shirt anyway. May as well do it with you so I know what clothes to avoid. )
Yes! His plan worked. His lips tug into a smile as he responds.
-You-
[01:47] { or so you knoww what shirts you absolutely have to buy!! (｡•̀ᴗ-)👍 )
-Ritsu🔥🥄-
[01:48] { I think I'd rather get kidnapped again. )
Ah. He'd almost forgotten about that. When Claw kidnapped Ritsu. And he'd knocked him out as bait for his brother. And then told his dad about it. The distraction isn't working as well now. His plan has backfired. He probably should've slept. Even if he'd wake up soon after.
-You-
[01:49] { aww tahts mean :(( )
-Ritsu🔥🥄-
01:49] { I'm joking)
He knows that. But the mention of Claw still has his mind flashing back to the past hour.
-You-
[01:49] { yaa obvioulsy!! )
-Ritsu🔥🥄-
01:49] { I've got to sleep now. I've got an exam tomorrow. )
Oh. Alright then.
-You-
[01:49] { gn!! )
-Ritsu🔥🥄-
01:49] { Goodnight. Sleep well. )
*Offline*
He stares at the screen for a while, letting it turn off. He does feel mostly better after talking to Ritsu. But the silence of the house is ringing in his ears now and the light creeping out from behind the busted door is stressing him out, and with no games and no Ritsu and no hamsters he doesn't know what to do.
He's exhausted. He'll go to sleep then. Hopefully he'll stay asleep for a while. And hey, maybe his dad will be out doing government stuff tomorrow? And Shou can go back to normal for a bit.
(He wishes he could go back to when his normal was having two parents who cared for him
and looked after him. He hopes that the adjustment from no parents to one parent will be shorter than adjusting from two to none.)