Chapter Text
Ring!
Shou slammed his palm on the alarm clock. Too early, way too early.
Ring!
Oh come on, can a man not get some sleep?
Ring!
He sighs, lifting his head from his pillow to shut off his alarm clock. It read 8:32.
Alright, time to deal with another day. Shou got up, as he does every morning. He got dressed, made his bed, brushed his teeth and went to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee. His new living arrangement is still unfamiliar to him, but he doesn't see it as necessarily… bad? Just different.
His new home was clean, but not to perfection. Unlike his father's house, it had blemishes, and frankly, Shou preferred it that way. Even if there were crayon marks on the wall by the doorway. His mother had yet to repaint it, repeating that his sister will cover the walls with even more color if she tries. She just needs to 'outgrow it.'
He scoffs a bit at the thought, imagining his father allowing such a clear image of inadequacy in his residence. He can basically hear him scolding Shou for dare thinking about touching a crayon in his presence.
"Hey honey," he hears his mother say to him as he dragged himself up to the coffee machine. He gives her a little wave and starts the machine. He still wasn't fully used to the idea of being called 'honey'. Or really anything affectionate. He spent years thinking his mom was the devil for leaving his father. Honestly, its a miracle she even let him back into her life.
"Sup," he says, his voice raspy and clearly not fully functional yet. Too early.
His mother approaches him, placing a hand on his shoulder, causing Shou to flinch instantly, before even recognizing the touch. He hasn't specified to his mom to not touch him (touch reminds him of Dad. Dad reminds him of the tower. Dad reminds him of almost dying at his own blood's hands.)
"Sorry, I forgot you-" she pauses, not finishing her sentence ultimately. She got the vague details of what her ex-husband did. She admitted she was contemplating testifying against him to punish him further. Shou begged her not to. Why is he still such an apologist to that disgusting excuse of a father?
"It's fine, Mom, don't worry about it!" he says, trying to put a beat to his voice, and giving a fake smile to her.
She frowns, the guilt written all over her face. She really needed to stop blaming herself, Shou decided. It was stupid and unproductive.
"Hey, Shou? I was thinking Chiyo could stay with Ma for the afternoon, and you and I could go out and do something? Maybe go to an amusement park? It could be fun!" She says, clearly desperate to bond with him. He's only lived with her for about a month and a half, and it's been difficult on both of them.
"Why doesn't Chiyo come?" Shou asks, his words cautious. A part of him whispered that she hated his sister, she'll abandon her like he was. But he quickly corrected that voice, reminding himself that it was his father who ruined his family, not Mom.
"I thought it might be good for Chiyo to spend some time with Ma, plus I wanted to see you! You're always out doing stuff or studying!" She looks at him, her hands making a sandwich to add to Chiyo's lunch.
Studying was also funny, he only ever successfully studied with Ritsu, mainly because that guy's entire life was academics. That or creating a game out of it, trying to win as many points as he can over Ritsu or over his own highest score before.
The techniques to overcome ADHD, he supposed.
Either way, he needed to give Mom an answer, so he nods, grabbing his mug and beginning to drink his black coffee.
"Alright, sounds good."
The way his mother lit up, as though she was afraid of his rejection, made his chest hurt.
"Okay! Sounds like a plan! Also, you should put some milk in that, or creamer at least!"
Shou chuckles, "nah, only cowards put shit in their coffee!"
"Language, Shou!" she remarked, and he smiled back at her, with a coy look in his eyes.
It was nice, even if feeling temporary.
Teru was debating if asking out Kageyama was a good idea.
Okay, well, obviously not, it was an abysmal idea in fact. He would ruin their friendship forever, especially given he had very little clue if he even likes guys.
Not everyone wears their attraction on their colorful sleeves after all.
And that's how he finds himself sitting across the most pathetically single man he has ever known. He also happens to be the only guy who he talks to who is older than 17.
Said man was currently shoving shitty french fries into his mouth. Goodness, what the hell is Teru doing here?
"So, you wanna ask out a girl?" Reigen asks in between his fries, dipping the next one into the ketchup blob on his tray.
Teru thinks for a moment, debating if this was an appropriate place to come out. Oh who is he kidding? He's a walking stereotype.
He shakes his head, "nope, guy," he says quickly, looking down at his spicy chicken sandwich. If you just looked at the meal, you'd think they were in America, not a decent city in Japan.
Reigen pierces holes through Teru, raising his eyebrow, "okay, fine, I kind of figured, honestly," he admits, waving his hand around. Sometimes Teru wondered if his arm hurt from being constantly active.
"You did?" he asks, his voice a bit meeker than he'd like. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous, who cares! It's Reigen, a random conman who works at a scam business and eats at Mcdonalds too much.
He nods back at Teru, flashing him a smile, "of course I did! Look at how you look at Mob! I have eyes, you know," he winks. Teru however, winces. So he did figure out his crush.
"And you won't kill me with those psychic powers of yours?" He asks, a bit cheekily. Of course Reigen wouldn't. He definitely had no actual esper ability, just the ability to lie and manipulate.
And yet, Reigen was the most stable adult in Teruki's life.
"Look, I want to give you an option, an offer if you will!" He grins at him, "I want to be your wing man! You're clearly a great guy for Mob, and I think you'd treat him well!"
A not-so-subtle threat if he didn't treat Kageyama well was not lost on him.
He bites his lip, before shrugging, trying to play himself off as cool, "sure, sounds good."
Reigen chuckles a bit, "eat your chicken, kid, I didn't buy it for the trash bugs."
Teru smiles gratefully, biting into his sandwich, trying to ignore the little voice in the back of his mind begging him to throw it up later.
He is not indulging those urges ever again.
That evening, Reigen walked him back to his lonely apartment. As he came up to the building, he once again thanked Reigen for the meal and offer of support, and bid him a good night.
As Reigen left, he did notice something strange. A girl, a few doors down, was shouting at a flock of birds. Alright, she's crazy, Teru thought.
Until he heard what she shouted.
"Get the hell away you stupid spirit! Leave me the hell alone!"
Spirit? Shit, that does sound serious. Wait, spirit? Does that mean she's an esper? Or just another one of Reigen's many scam victims?
He against all of his usual judgment, decides to walk over to her. The sun was starting to set, but it was irrelevant to Teru, he was used to late night walks. Not like his Mama cared. Not since—
"Hey, are you okay?" He asks, looking at her waving her bag at the crows.
"Fine, fantastic, absolutely incredible!" she snaps meanly at him, turning her attention back to the crows quickly after.
"Do you need help? I can exorcise spirits," he notes, ignoring her sharp sarcasm.
She freezes, stopping flapping her back around. Her eyes shift to the ground, her smile ridden with pain and somberness.
"You can't exorcise him. Not even Kageyama can."
She knows him?
"You know Kageyama Ritsu?" He says, choosing to mention Shigeo's brother instead, just in case she didn't know him. He thought he was familiar with Kageyama's friends, and he doesn't remember any purple haired girls with round glasses.
She falters for a second, clearly trying to think of something, before replying, "no, I never knew his brother, no. Shigeo."
Who is this girl?
"How did you know him? Do you go to Salt Middle School?" Teru asks, starting to get defensive. Relax, he tells himself. Who cares if a really pretty girl that he's never heard mentioned knows Kageyama. It does not mean she is his—
She chuckles, "no no, I go to Miso," she quickly answers, "he saved my life."
Ah, she met him on one of Reigen's many dangerous jobs. Okay. Thats fine. He instantly felt his shoulders relax.
"Oh, okay, but who's this spirit haunting you?"
The girl looks all around the surrounding block, at every house and bush. The sun was barely in view now, the sky filled with purple, pink and orange colors.
"I can't tell you, sorry."
He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms, "how come?"
She looks him dead in the eyes, and he finally could get a good look into them. They were tired, with bags under them, she looked like Ritsu did when he didn't sleep for three days prepping for an exam. Was she too, a perfectionist kid? Was this her way of lashing out? Or is she genuinely haunted by a spirit so awful that not even Kageyama Shigeo could exorcise it?
"Because he will try to kill me again if I try."
Her dark manner of speaking and haunted look tells him she's being genuine. What the hell did Kageyama get himself into with this girl?
"Well, I might be able to help! Want me to walk you home?" He offers, reaching out his hand to shake hers.
She awkwardly shrugs, "I'm kind of avoiding going home. Papa's going to be mad again," her voice is lighter, and somehow it sounds even more strained.
"Oh, okay, uh, want to come home with me for the evening? So the spirit can't hurt you? I have space in the living room. No pressure," Teru says quickly, wanting to help her.
She places his finger to her chin, clearly thinking through the offer before reaching her conclusion, "sure! I'm Asagiri. Minori Asagiri, technically."
He nods, "Nice to meet you Minori! I'm Teruki Hanazawa!" She shakes his hand.
As he walks her up to his apartment, they're quiet. Eventually she chirps up, "so you know him? Kageyama?"
Know him? He is the reason Teru is still alive and not selling himself short at any and every oppurtunity. To make himself feel like he's worth a dime.
He nods, "yeah, he's my best friend!"
She lets an awkward squeak, as though she was disappointed. Or maybe jealous?
Maybe she is his ex actually. Maybe she has more of a chance than you ever will.
He wants to slam that thought into the wall.
"I see, that's so cool, I'm really glad he has friends," something in her tone was familiar. It almost sounded ashamed, guilty even.
As he unlocks his apartment door, he looks at her for the first time since they began walking back to his home. "What do you mean by that? Why wouldn't he?" As far as he knew, Kageyama always had friends. Everyone knew he was different, on the spectrum, had dyscalculia, and other difficulties. But never has he seen anyone treat his friend as anything less than the amazing kind person that he is.
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it, Hanazawa-san, I promise!" she quickly backtracks.
Minori did seem quite strange.
They walk into the studio, Teru going to the kitchen instantly. As she looks around, she remarks, "your parents are decently off huh?"
He rolls his eyes, great, was she a rich kid trying to make a move on him now? He didn't trust her one bit. "Sort of, they pay for me to live here, while they're off doing G-d knows what in France," he did not mean for his words to come out so bitterly.
She walked up to the counter, leaning against it, "sorry," she says quietly. It sounded genuine enough.
"It's fine, either you're really rich or impoverished I assume then?" Too can play that game, Minori.
She rubs the back of her neck, "my dad is a CEO of a large AI company."
Ah, so she is in fact a spoiled rich kid. A guilty rich kid too, even better.
"So your dad pollutes the planet and steals people's water? Neat," he jokes, though he wishes he didn't say it as soon as the words left his mouth. Her face contorts into something resembling guilt, as though it was her fault he was like this.
"Yeah, something like that…"
Shit, he was being a jerk. And why was he? Its not like he was dirt poor himself, he had no right to be angry about that!
(He knew why he was angry. He was jealous of this mystery Minori who seemingly knows Kageyama so well.)
"Hey, enough of that, want some tea? Or coffee, though it may taste like shit, I don't ever drink coffee, can coffee even go bad?" He rambles, trying to fix the conversation. She flips her phone on, her fingers quickly tapping the screen.
"Your dad won't be mad that you're staying the night right?" He asks, not wanting to hurt her.
"No, he really doesn't care. He doesn't really care for half of what I do. As long as I'm not slamming my head into the wall, he does not give a fuck."
He blinks. What? Was this girl describing an autistic meltdown? Was that why she seemed so startled at Kageyama having friends? Was she autistic and struggled connecting with people too?
"Just make sure he knows you're with a friend!" He chirps in, brewing himself some water for instant tea.
She rolls her eyes, "that requires having friends, Hanazawa-san."
Oh. He might have been right.
"Well, you have one now!" He exclaims, pushing a slice of watermelon her way.
She looks at him, her face unamused, "yeah, until you decide I'm too psychotic for you, sure."
What is this girl's deal? Can she be nice for five seconds?
"Do you want to watch a movie tonight? I was going to watch 'French Kiss', it's one of my favorites. Want to join me?"
"An American chick flick from the 90's?" She sighs, "sure sign me up!"
He turns the movie on, and going to pop some popcorn in the microwave.
"Damn Kline is attractive, isn't he? Oh wait, nevermind—" she starts, and Teru hears a glass in the cabinet shatter. Shit, he's getting too frustrated, he's losing control.
"Yeah, he's hot, and?" He replies, trying to hide his anger. She doesn't know. She's a regular straight girl. He's a flaming closeted gay kid with a crush on his straight best friend. Who he's starting to think dated her.
"Jeez, sorry, are you gay or something?"
He swears half his glass cabinet either is about to or has already shattered.
"No, and hasn't your corporate rich daddy taught you that assuming someone's sexuality is rude?" His voice was snarling, cruel, mocking. He hit her where it hurts. Right where it hurts. Serves this bitch right—
"I- I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she covers her ears for a second.
Teruki is brought back to reality. He instantly cringes at his own voice. He forgot he still had that much disgust and horribleness in him.
Not even Kageyama can save all of him.
He walks over to her, "Hey, hey, can I touch you? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," he says, trying to be gentle.
Minori nods, and grabs onto his arm.
"Its okay, its okay," he soothes, as he places his hand on her shoulder, "you're safe. I'm so sorry."
She nods, pulling herself back together, "I'm sorry, Hanazawa-san, I didn't mean to offend," Minori admits.
He frowns. He really did scare her.
"Hey, Teru is fine, you make me sound way," he drags out the last word, "too prim and proper."
She nods once more, "okay, okay. That's okay, Teru-san."
"Hey, want popcorn? I made some, it's kettle corn flavored!" He says, trying to cheer her up.
"Sure, that's fine, that sounds nice." She admits, taking the remote and rewinding to the beginning of the movie.
He goes to grab their popcorn, and then sitting next to her. They watch two films that night, and he can't stop thinking to himself, as much as he tries.
She really is perfect for him. She understands him in a way Teru cannot.
As they watch the film, a little stinkbug looks up at them from the window. Staring and smiling.