Chapter Text
Shou
Suzuki Shou had a hard time believing in ‘love at first sight’, and yet he was scared of it-the same way a child knows a monster is fictional but still fears it might be hiding in their closet.
Neither did he, in any way, consider himself a ‘good’ person. Most things he did (that he had control over) were for amusement or out of spite, or a stubborn mix of the two. So, he wasn’t surprised that when he met Ritsu Kageyama, he treated him like a toy- dragging out their fight when he could easily end it.
He was surprised, however for his motivation for doing so.
. . .
He casually strolled down the long white hallway of the facility of the seventh division. The place smelled like Clorox wipes and lead- disgustingly how he remembered school smelling like. Not that he was at school very long.
He sighed- this division really was as useless as his father had described. Although that technically worked in his favor for his endgame, it still disappointed him-
He paused. He felt his aura before he saw the source. It wasn’t incredibly powerful, but was intriguing. Swiftly- ensuring to conceal his own aura- he dashed to the sudden outburst of energy.
He turned and watched a boy -about his age, maybe older- lift his arm in absolute confidence as a group of grown men and women charged at him. His blue aura snaked around them, gripping their bodies and hitting them against each other and the floor, rendering them unconscious. His aura and persona were cool and calculated, nothing like the blunt and rash feel of his own. He pointed his aura it like one would a dagger- to use it well you must have a little skill. A dull dagger compared to Shou’s, but quite commendable.
“It looks like their espers aren’t that strong,” he stated. His voice was monotone, but velvety and oddly soothing. He wore an all-black school uniform, confirming they were around the same age.
He was surrounded by a small group of other espers attempting escape- abilities so weak he could barely tell- but he barely noticed them.
Feeling tired of staring at the back of his head, Shou decided wanted to see his face. Without thinking, he began to slowly clapping. The boy and the others whipped their heads around in his direction. The action was so impulsive he almost surprised himself.
The boy didn’t seem very powerful- Shou could probably beat him rather easily. He stared into his cool dark eyes and, still clapping, stopped concealing his aura.
Strategic move? Definitely not. But the small emotion the black-haired escapee showed- the widening of his dark eyes and tightening grip of his hand- was reward enough for him.
Ritsu
Ritsu stared in silent awe at the red-haired boy in front of him. He hadn’t noticed his aura before, but had now, meaning it was intentional and likely an intimidation tactic. One which was definitely working.
This boy was obviously on a different level than him- he was much weaker compared to his older brother, but Ritsu had good reason to fear him.
His aura felt like a flame- no, more like a forest fire. Searingly powerful and destructive, but made you stare in a horrified fascination.
His teal blue eyes felt like they were burning a hole through his soul, but Ritsu stood his ground, keeping his head cool. He had a spiky head of bright of red hair to match his aura. He was wearing a worn green vest and jeans.
“Not bad,” he began, still clapping, a smug smile on his face. “It’s true those guys are still useless as soldiers.” Judging by his voice and appearance, Ritsu estimated they were about the same age.
A million thoughts ran through Ritsu’s head. I don’t see a scar like the trainer’s mentioned on him. He’s not a part of the upper echelon.
“Who are you?” Ritsu questioned, keeping his eyes trained on the red-haired boy across the hall.
“Gee, I dunno. Who could I be?” he asked, his cocky expression beginning to annoy Ritsu.
Shou
Even though no expression on the boy’s straight-as-fuck face hinted at it, he felt he struck a nerve, which made him feel very pleased with himself.
“We’re in a bit of a hurry right now. You can quiz us some other time,” he asserted, not backing away. Shou suddenly decided he would try to get him to talk as much as he could so he could keep hearing that voice.
Which was a weird thought, since he only met him 10 seconds ago and didn’t really plan on knowing him for much longer.
Shou smiled as he lifted and slammed his foot on the ground, causing the floor and walls to crack around him. The boy didn’t even flinch.
“Don’t be so mean. I thought we could be friends,” he said sarcastically, his smile shifting from smug into something darker. He watched as the group murmured something.
“All of you, go ahead.”
“Kageyama…!”
So his name is Kageyama.
“I’ll take care of him,” he continued, pacing towards Shou, his blue aura leaking out, indicating he wanted a fight just as much as Shou did. His ‘friends’ tried to briefly talk him out of it, but he didn’t waver. Shou found himself impressed with this silly display of selflessness.
Both he and Shou knew he couldn’t defeat him. They had already sensed each other’s auras- he must have known how strong Shou was. Not only that, Shou sensed he had only just recently tapped into his powers, making him painfully unexperienced.
“You can’t beat me, no matter what you do,” Shou declared.
“I don’t believe that.”
Shou’s smile fell, and he quirked an eyebrow. Either he was really confused or trying to seem confident in front the other escapees. “Why?”
Ritsu only continued to glare at him, his hair raising from his steady flow of energy.
“It’s not like you’re dumb, right?” he continued to ask, yelling.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I know someone stronger than you,” he explained simply.
Intriguing.
Shou found himself utterly blown away- not that he would ever show such a thing on his face. He openly implied that he, himself, wasn’t strong enough, instead referencing someone he knew. And yet he had the guts to fight him. It’s not like that person was there at the moment to even help him. He made no sense. He seemed smart- so why was he doing this?
“I see. So, he must be one of the intruders. Then I guess I’ll have to use you as bait to meet him,” he retorted, feeling his energy course through his veins.
“Run!” commanded Ritsu, throwing his arm to the side, motioning at the other ‘espers’. After a moment’s hesitation, they obeyed. Now it was just the two of them.
Well, he would have to end it with knocking him out, but there was no harm in playing with him for a little while.
He intrigued Shou, and he suddenly became upset with the idea he wouldn’t be able to talk with him if he was knocked out. And despite what he was willing to admit, he began to crave his voice.
“So, how'd you end up here?” asked Shou, sauntering towards him.
I wanna get a closer look at his face…
“Not by choice dumbass,” he grumbled, getting into a slight fighting stance.
Shou leaped in front of him, now in close quarters. Shocked, Ritsu reacted quickly by punching his side, launching to the left wall with his aura. Shou looked at him, unfazed. I guess he was going to have to restrain him to be able to get close to him.
Hopping off the wall, Shou dusted the rubble off his coat. He leapt towards him again, but with more purpose. He used his aura to push him into the back wall, and pinned each wrist against the wall above his head using his just one hand (reinforced with aura so that his grip was tight enough). Their faces were merely inches apart. Ritsu gasped, but recovered quickly, using his feet to swipe at his ankles, and using his aura to push him back.
Catching Shou off guard, he jumped back. I guess I gotta try harder to be able to get a good look at those eyes. I mean they can’t be completely black, right?
He rose in the air and flew at the black-haired boy. Maybe it would be easier if he roughed him up a little first. Ritsu tried to block most of the punches, but wasn’t very good at it.
Shou planted two punches in his side, and using his energy, slammed him into a wall playfully. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying himself.
Ritsu, however, was looking at him like the scum of the earth. And if he said he didn’t like being looked at by this particular boy he’d also be lying.
His gaze was intense and trained on him. “Aww, I’d say it’s almost romantic how you can’t take your eyes off me, Kageyama. Say, what’s your first name? Let’s do introductions!” he said cheerfully, grinning ear to ear, Ritsu still staring daggers into him. Ritsu peeled himself off the wall and coughed a little blood into his elbow.
“I don’t need to tell you shit,” he growled, his voice now rough and gravelly.
“Is that a way to talk to a new friend?” he asked. Ritsu attacked him this time, leaping towards him with a fist of energy. Shou dodged by side hopping, and redirected Ritsu’s punch, pinning him on the ground. He was straddling his waist and holding each of his wrists to the floor.
He leaned in. Now he could really get a good look at him.
The boy’s face was pained, and yet still full of so much fight.
His eyes widened as Shou leaned in, inspecting them. Although they seemed black from a distance, upon closer inspection, they had a few sparks of a fiery brown in them.
“Get. Off. Me.”
Shou chuckled, sounding as insane as he was. He gripped his wrists harder- they were so… fragile. So easily breakable. And even though he held them in his hands (it would be a very effective way of rendering him powerless) he refused to. He felt he owed this boy more than that.
He felt Ritsu’s chest heaving. He was getting pretty frustrated over this- not like he couldn’t already tell that from the expression on his face. He writhed futilely under him.
Shou suddenly craved to be closer to him.
He leaned in to the right of his face, his lips close to his ear- close enough for Ritsu to feel his breath. “So, what’s your name?”
A silence pursued his question. Shou was enjoying this quite a bit.
“You know, it’s odd you refuse to seriously hurt me. Why is that?” the boy under him interrogated.
How is he still this confident in his position?
Shou backed his head to look him in his strangely addictive eyes. His confusion must have been written all over his face, because Ritsu continued with, “you could easily have taken care of me by now. I’m surprised my hands are still intact.”
Shou smirked- genuinely, this time- and let out another insane-sounding laugh. “You’re killing me here, Kageyama. Can’t a guy call his friend by his first name?” he teased, trying to get under his skin.
Ritsu smirked, catching him terribly off guard, and launched both of them up. Quickly, he reached for Shou’s arms, throwing the both of them against a wall, himself behind Shou. He twisted his arms behind his back and pinned Shou to the wall with his chest against and what pathetic amount was left of his energy.
Shou's chest was pinned against the wall and Ritsu's chest was pinned against Shou.
“Why don’t you go first?” he huffed exhaustedly, trying to steady his breathing. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could continue like this.
Like the smug little shit he is, Shou leaned his head back, mischievously resting his head on Ritsu’s shoulder.
“Hmm… you’re stalling…” he responded simply, not even trying to struggle. He liked the position he was in quite a bit- he could escape pretty easily if he wanted to. Ritsu grimaced.
“Why are you here?” Ritsu tried, studying his face expression. Their faces being so close suddenly made Shou feel slightly nervous.
“Hmmm… why do I gotta answer you?” he teased.
“… I’ll tell you my first name if you do.”
Shou contemplated this. “Okay. You first.”
“Ritsu. Now talk.”
“My name is Suzuki Shou.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“It was, you just never specified which question you wanted me to answer.”
Shou suppressed a chuckle as he watched Ritsu shake his head tiredly.
“Now as much as I like the feel of your hands and chest all over me, I’m curious if you’re planning on keeping me here all day,” Shou wondered aloud, his head still leaning back onto Ritsu’s shoulder, his eyes shut.
Shou angled his head towards Ritsu’s, and by scent alone, he could tell they never drugged him when they took him here. They knocked him out entirely by brute force. Shou felt a brief feeling of guilt- a sensation he wasn’t used to.
This boy was different somehow. Something about his cool demeanor and selfless yet stupid choices lit a fire in him. Ritsu was burning with something akin to passion- he could see it in his eyes. Shou feared it was contagious.
Maybe emotion was a sickness worth getting.
Maybe so was love.
He felt a strong urge to let out another giggle- after all I’m pinned to a wall by a cute boy.
He did laugh this time. God, I’m psychopathic.
“… what the hell is wrong with you? And yes, if you couldn’t tell, I am trying to stall you.”
“Oh?” Shou breathed. He was leaning his head back still, rubbing the side of his face against Ritsu’s shoulder and lower neck- something like a nuzzle. It sent shivers down Ritsu’s spine.
He was determined not to let Shou to get under his skin. He didn’t waver.
“Like I said, I know someone stronger than you.”
Ah. Right.
Shou snapped back into reality. He still needed to capture that powerful intruder. He turned his gaze again to Ritsu’s, staring into his deep pupils. He hadn’t noticed before, but they were not only passionate and determined, but fearful. Ritsu feared Shou.
Which seemed it would be obvious. Why wouldn’t he? They were opponents. Shou could beat Ritsu.
And yet it pained him.
I’m sorry.
“Well, Ritsu, as much fun as it was to have you pressed against me for about…” he started, looking up as if he was calculating the time in his mind, “a minute and a half, I still need to use you as bait.”
Ritsu only gritted his teeth. Shou felt he knew what happened next. Lithely slipping out of Ritsu’s grip, he dodged a weak punch thrown in his way. And then another.
Ritsu was exhausted. Maybe on better terms he might have fought better. The fight wasn’t really fair.
But life’s never fair, thought Shou, as he caught his next to fists in his hands. He promptly shot Ritsu at a wall, which sent shockwaves through the whole room and left him in silence. He looked over slowly to investigate the damage.
He looked pretty roughed up and was unconscious, but was still breathing. Shou gently lifted him off the wall, and kneeling down, leaned him against his leg on the floor.
He took his hand cupped his face- the action surprised even himself, but he didn’t stop. He traced along the small thin line of his mouth and caringly swiped some hair that had gotten in his face off his sweaty forehead.
Hair which was surprisingly soft and yet spiky- and Shou barely felt any hair product in it! He smiled to himself. Ritsu was such an odd boy.
Like he had any business talking. Shou knew he was messed up- not that he ever blamed himself, but he never felt good about himself either.
If someone has a asshole father like mine, they are going to be a little bit of an asshole too, he always thought.
Shou looked down at the boy’s face- it was so tranquil.
He was scared of me…
Will he trust me after this?
… will he ever let me touch him again?
Shou feared he might have been infected with the one sickness he spent his life avoiding.
Love.