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Dimple has no sense of smell anymore, but he still imagines the musty scent in the air after yesterday’s rain. Shigeo has told him a few times that it’s one of his favorite smells, oblivious as always to the tactlessness of bragging about an experience Dimple can never have. He spent all day yesterday wandering around the city in his bright yellow raincoat and boots, with a barrier to keep him dry.
“No one else seems to like the rain as much as I do,” he’d said to Dimple. “It’s nice having someone to enjoy it with me…”
Dimple had rolled his eyes, pointedly ignoring the gratitude in Shigeo’s voice. “No one else can make that barrier of yours,” he said. “You probably wouldn’t like the rain so much if you had to deal with it getting in your clothes. I know I wouldn’t.” Shigeo had just smiled at him and brought his foot down in a puddle, splashing rain water all over his jeans.
Today, Shigeo is out again, this time at a little park by the river. Earthworms cover the paved sidewalk adjacent to the grass, and Shigeo is picking them up, one by one, and putting them back into the soil.
“Do you really think you’ll get ‘em all in one afternoon?” Dimple asks. He’s staring into the river, watching little fish swimming with the current.
“Hmm… probably not,” says Shigeo. “This path goes on for miles… I won’t be able to go much further than this.” He scoops up another worm from a puddle.
“And you’re satisfied with that?”
Shigeo doesn’t answer. A loud splash from downstream draws their attention. Dimple sees a figure standing on the bank, presumably throwing things into the river. “Stupid human.” he mutters. “They’ll scare away the fish like that.”
“Do you like fish, Dimple?” asks Shigeo.
Dimple’s eyes track a fish as it jumps out of the water and dives back down to the silty floor. “They’re alright,” he replies. “I can get whole schools of ‘em to follow me around if I show myself… they’re not the best minions, though. Not as good as humans.”
Shigeo suddenly stands up from his crouching position. “That person…” he says. “That’s Ritsu, isn’t it?”
Dimple looks again. Sure enough, he recognizes the figure’s below-average height and unruly hair. “Isn’t he supposed to be studying?” he asks. He thought Ricchan’s days of rebellion were over, but apparently he hasn’t gotten it out of his system after all… or he just isn’t as obsessed with grades as he used to be, which is a good change in Dimple’s opinion.
Shigeo starts jogging towards his brother, Dimple quickly joining him. As they get closer, he can see Ritsu glaring at the ground. It takes him a second to notice Shigeo and Dimple, and when he does, he puts on a very convincing carefree smile. “Brother! Hi!” He puts his hands behind his back like he’s hiding something, even though they all knew he wasn’t holding anything. “Are you and Dimple having a nice day?”
It suddenly registers to Dimple that Ritsu’s hands had been glowing with his aura. He could still see wisps of aura trailing through the air. So that’s what he’s up to…
Shigeo notices at the same time. “Ritsu, are you practicing your powers?” He lights up, seemingly not noticing the look of mild panic on Ritsu’s face. “You’re trying to make a ball of water, aren’t you? Like when we were kids…”
“Um!” Ritsu relaxes slightly, letting his hands fall to his sides. “Yes. I’ve been trying for a while now, but I’m having trouble.” He fidgets with his sweatshirt. “Maybe you could-”
“Yes!” Shigeo grins for a moment, his hair ruffled by a nonexistent wind. He immediately restrains himself, returning to his usual blank expression. Dimple tries not to cringe. Ritsu’s smile gets even more strained. “Sorry, I mean… yes, I can show you. If that’s okay.”
“Of course it is,” Ritsu says quickly. “Please show me, brother. It would help a lot.”
Dimple watches Shigeo demonstrate by levitating a soccer ball sized orb of water from the river. Ritsu asks him about his “technique” and Shigeo says something vague about how “you should pull, not push.” Ritsu’s first few attempts end with tiny blobs of water falling into the river, but after a few minutes, he has a ball of water floating between him and Shigeo, who looks like he just watched his brother summon an angel. “That’s amazing, Ritsu!” he gushes in the most controlled tone he can manage. “You’re so smart… I knew you could figure it out.”
He really shouldn’t interfere. Ruining Shigeo’s happiness at this moment isn’t going to help him recruit Shigeo into his cult efforts. And this is still better than where the brothers’ relationship had been a month ago. But Dimple still finds himself floating up to Ritsu. “What are you playing at?” he says.
Ritsu’s gaze turns hard. The ball of water stops bobbing in the air. “What do you mean?” he says.
Dimple points at the ball, which is starting to turn to ice at the center. “This party trick is one of the first things you learned how to do with psychic powers. You showed it off to me for like an hour when I was training you.” He holds Ritsu’s gaze, ignoring how Shigeo’s face has also turned stony. “Why are you pretending not to know it now? Do you really think playing dumb is going to impress Shigeo?”
A bolt of energy shoots towards Dimple and barely misses, bursting into sparks on the sidewalk. “Shut up,” says Ritsu.
“Hey!! What was that for?” Dimple flies behind Shigeo and pretends to cower. Playing the cowardly asshole comes easily to him as usual. “You got anything to say about this, Shigeo?”
His act works like a charm. Shigeo glares at him and gently bats him away. “That was rude, Dimple,” he says. Then he turns back to Ritsu. “Is that true?”
Ritsu doesn’t answer. His hands are clenched into fists, and he isn’t meeting Shigeo’s eyes. Dimple supposes he’s lucky not to be exorcized right now.
Shigeo plows on. “I’m not upset with you,” he says. “It makes sense that you learned it so early. You can do so much with your powers already… you’re really talent-”
“Stop,” Ritsu snaps.
The floating ball fully solidifies with an audible crack. Ritsu freezes and stares at the ball in awe for a moment, and it melts in his hands before he can grab hold of it. The water is siphoned off into the river by Shigeo’s power, preventing it from splashing onto his and Ritsu’s shoes.
Ritsu somehow looks even more dejected. He takes a deep breath before continuing. “Thank you, brother. But please stop saying that.”
Shigeo looks at him innocently. “Why? It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Because.” Ritsu sighs. “Do you want to know the real reason I came out here? I was trying to turn water to ice. Like how Teru can make fire. I thought maybe I could do the opposite, make things colder.” His aura curls around him defensively, contrasting the flatness of his voice. “It wasn’t working.”
Shigeo actually smiles at that. This kid really can’t get a clue. “But you did it just now.”
“I know.” Ritsu smiles ruefully. “Only because I was angry. When I feel fine, they don’t work, but they work perfectly when I want to use them for something destructive.” The pitch of Ritsu’s voice is increasing. The surface of a nearby puddle starts to waver, as if a gentle wind was blowing. “The whole reason I’m practicing at all is because I thought I could use it as a weapon!” In an instant, the puddle freezes. “How can you say I’m all amazing when all I can do is-” Ritsu’s voice cracks with the ice. He turns sharply and starts to walk away.
Before Dimple can feel embarrassed over how badly his scheme backfired, Shigeo speaks up. “Ritsu. Wait.”
Ritsu stops. He doesn’t turn to face his brother.
“Ritsu… I’m sorry for hurting your feelings. I’ll respect your wishes, if you don’t want me to talk that way.” Shigeo fidgets with the sleeve of his shirt, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. “But what you’re saying… it doesn’t make me admire you less.”
“Why not?” Ritsu’s voice is small, but still audible over the rushing river. “I’m using my powers to hurt people on purpose, how is that admirable?”
Dimple thinks about how Ritsu tried to strangle a high school bully with his own tie. How he beat delinquents into the ground, and didn’t speak to Dimple for hours afterwards, but still smiled for his family and classmates. How he started to eat meals alone in his bedroom, so his family wouldn’t see his spoon twisting around his hand and leaving red marks on his fingers.
He pointedly does not think about the look he saw on Shigeo’s face when he finally broke into the mental world that was trapping him.
When Dimple regains his focus, Shigeo is standing in front of Ritsu, holding his gaze. “Because sometimes, you don’t have a choice.” He clenches his fist. “Some people don’t listen to reason unless you have power over them. And I’d rather you use that power than get hurt.”
Ritsu scoffs, barely loud enough to notice. Dimple doubts that Shigeo noticed. “You really believe that?”
Shigeo nods. “Not standing up to people doesn’t help anyone. You helped me realize that, Ritsu.” He starts fidgeting with his sleeves again. “I’m very grateful that you finally stood up to me. If you hadn’t, it would still be… how it was before.”
Ritsu takes a big, shuddering breath. The puddle at their feet is water again. “Yeah,” he says. “That sucked.”
Shigeo nods again. “It really sucked.” His aura surrounds the puddle. “Um… do you want to try again?”
Ritsu reaches out his aura to scoop up the water. It shies away from Shigeo’s aura and retreats back into Ritsu’s hand. “I think I’m done for today,” he says.
“Okay,” says Shigeo, seemingly unfazed. “Do you want to help me and Dimple? We’re putting worms back into the grass.”
Dimple’s interjection of “Hey, I’m not involved in this!” goes ignored. “Sure,” says Ritsu. His smile is as fixed as always, but he genuinely seems more relaxed.
They work in silence for a few minutes. Dimple watches, occasionally getting distracted by the river or searching for more worms further down the sidewalk. Eventually, Ritsu speaks up. “What made you change your mind? About fighting, I mean.”
Shigeo sets another worm on the grass, looking thoughtful. “I’ve just been thinking about it lately,” he says. “You know, after everything.”
Ritsu flashes a questioning look at Dimple, who shrugs. He turns his focus back to Shigeo. “You mean, after what happened with Claw?”
Shigeo hums. “Yes. And, with those high schoolers the other day.” He stands up, wiping his hands on his hoodie. “I want to stand up to people like that from now on.”
“You don’t have to-”
“I know I can rely on you, Ritsu,” says Shigeo. His expression is serious. “But you won’t always be there. And I want to be a reliable person, too.”
Ritsu’s brow furrows. The wet sidewalk under his feet grows icy, then melts as Ritsu forces himself to relax. “Okay,” he says pleasantly, no hint of frustration in his voice. “But I’m here now, so if you ever need anything…”
“I know.” Shigeo smiles and turns away, reaching for another worm. “Thank you, Ritsu.”
Dimple frowns. Clearly, Shigeo can’t tell that this conversation didn’t go well. He decides he’ll talk to him about it later. Flying over to hover in front of Ritsu, he says, “You know, Ritsu, if you ever wanna learn some new tricks, I could always possess you!”
“No.”
“Hey, don’t say that so hastily!” Dimple turns towards the preoccupied Shigeo. “I know all sorts of defensive moves! Tell him, Shigeo!”
Shigeo doesn’t stop what he’s doing, but he responds, “Dimple’s right, Ritsu. He’s very good at fighting.”
“See!?”
“But,” he interrupts before Dimple can say anything else. “If the two of you train together, I want to be there, too. Maybe I could learn something from the both of you.” He sets his worm down and straightens up. “And if Dimple tries anything weird, I’ll deal with him.”
“Haha, very funny, Shigeo.” Dimple crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. “After all we’ve been through together, you still don’t trust me. What a joke.”
Through his fuming expression, he sees the kids sharing a smirk.
Maybe he didn’t do too badly.