CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
"I'm home!" Rio called out as he stepped into the house. He didn't expect anyone to reply; it was one of the downsides of living in a mansion. It was so big that it might as well have been empty.
Rio made his way down the hallway, still preoccupied with his thoughts. The earlier discussion he had with Momo had been… fruitful? He wasn't sure. After all, the younger girl had kicked him out after their little discussion. She seemed distressed—whether she doubted his words or feared her own potential, he didn't know. Nonetheless, it didn't matter. Her quirk was fascinating. It would be a shame if she never did reach her full potential.
So lost in his thoughts was Rio that he didn't even notice the maid he bumped into. The young woman, startled, lost her balance as she gripped the floor, her hands recoiling in pain at the broken ceramic that pierced her.
Rio bowed in apology as he knelt down to help the maid. He noticed that she was cleaning up the broken pieces of a vase. It was a shame—that piece was one of Grandma's favorites. It seemed this lady would be losing her job tonight.
The maid, as if startled, shook her head furiously at Rio's bow of apology as she quickly packed up the broken pieces and swept them away into a dustpan, speeding off in terror.
Rio just gave a wry smile at her reaction. He wondered if he was that scary to elicit such a response.
He made his way down the hallway and straight for the stairs. Rio would need to freshen up and pull out the drawing board. He was feeling pretty inspired right now—so much so that he could barely contain his growing excitement.
He climbed the stairs and ended up on the first floor. Rio made his way past the endless rows of guest rooms that never housed anyone, heading straight for his.
He stopped suddenly at one door that was slightly ajar—his brother's room. It was usually locked when he wasn't in. Well, it was also locked when he was in, but still, it meant his brother was back from his exams.
Rio pushed open the door and watched his brother's seated silhouette in confusion. He sat on his bed, arms leaning on his thighs as he stared blankly at the ground, questioningly, as if asking for an answer.
"Yo, Nii-san, you good?" He didn't look so good, but that was beside the point.
Takeru stared at the floor listlessly. If he had heard Rio or not was a mystery; he just sat there, content with silence.
"Yo, Earth to Take, can I come in?" Rio asked with some more concern and stepped into the room. Regardless of what his brother had to say about the intrusion, now wasn't the time to worry about that.
"Oh hey Rio, didn't see you there. How was your trip?" Takeru said, turning to his brother with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Those same eyes, covered in dark circles and… were those tear streaks?
"You don't look so good, are you okay?" That was the face of a man so caught up in despair that he couldn't see the world around him. It was never a good sign.
"Oh me? I've never been better. After all, I found out today that I'm nothing special… I'm not the exception," Takeru spat out self-deprecatingly, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
Rio stood in front of his brother, then nudged him to the side so he could make space for himself to sit. It was a big bed; his fat ass was just taking up all the space.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Rio asked as he adjusted until he was more comfortable on the bed.
"I've never thought of it before today, but was I wrong in being born? Is being me such a great sin?" Takeru said as he plopped onto the bed, staring straight at the ceiling.
Rio shot him a look of growing concern. Takeru smiled as he continued his rant. "Just listen to me for a bit. I may be rambling, but I think I need someone who can just listen."
Rio may not have been one to do that in his first life, but he had changed. He didn't pry anymore; he wasn't so self-absorbed. He could listen.
"You know, I never wanted to be a hero. I didn't see the need for it, at least not until that evening." Yeah, that evening changed a lot. Takeru lost his father and Rio became superhuman. A lot had changed since then.
"I was the one that called the cops that day." If Rio was taken aback by that notion, he didn't show it, content to listen to his brother speaking.
"I saw them coming into the store, guns in hand. I made sure to call the police, to describe the location. We all know how that ended up." The robbers had been panicked at the sounds of the sirens and made stupid decisions. They were serving time now, at least twenty years. Still, it didn't take away from the fact that they had ripped a husband from his wife, a father from his boys that day.
"There was no hero to save the day. The police arrived late to the scene, like they always do. The only pro hero there, 'Wash,' managed to subdue the prisoners, but that gives me no joy." Takeru sighed, still staring up at the ceiling.
"That day changed everything for me. Anger, disgust, self-loathing—all of that and more. Those were the only emotions going through my head."
"Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized—or at least tried to rationalize it. Maybe Dad died because of me. Maybe if I hadn't called the cops, the robbers would have just taken the money and gone. That maybe Dad wouldn't have had to lose his—"
"You didn't do anything wrong," Rio cut in as he regarded his brother solemnly. "Those men came in with guns. There was every intent to harm someone—maybe not Dad, but someone. Don't let your guilt blind you from seeing those robbers for what they are."
"Monsters."
Takeru just chuckled at that. "Maybe you're right. Still, since then, that was a big wake-up call for me. I wanted to help in the little ways only I could. I wanted to be a hero," Takeru voiced out these thoughts for the very first time.
"It was absurd. Me, quirkless Takeru, a hero? Nevertheless, I believed I could do it. Some part of me understood deep down that I may never become a hero that stands at the frontline, facing down foes." Takeru gave a wistful smile as if reminiscing on those times. "Still, I thought that I could aid the effort. Build the gear that would support the heroes who did. Help them get to the scene of the crime faster, help them survive longer."
"To think even that would get ripped away from me."
Rio suddenly understood what this was all about. His brother had gone for the Shiketsu entrance exams. It seemed he hadn't made the cut.
"The results don't come out immediately though. Whatever you may be thinking now, it's not final," Rio said, trying to console his brother, knowing fully well that may not be true. Refusing to confront the reality that he—that they'd all been expecting.
"You don't have to coddle me, Rio. I already know the answer. Why delay the inevitable?" Takeru said mockingly.
"After all, the second exam was a quirk evaluation test. I failed immediately. A quirkless brat like me shouldn't be tainting the sacred halls of Shiketsu."
Rio had no words to say to that. Any words of comfort he could offer would only sound shallow. After all, he had never experienced it—being rejected for something you are helpless to change.
"The instructor said they were looking for quirks with synergistic potential or whatever the fuck that means," Takeru said as he got up from his bed and then stared down at the walls of his room like they were his greatest enemy.
"FUUUUUCCCK," Takeru screamed in raw, primal fury as his fist met the wall in a resounding thud. He continued to pound his fists against the wall until his skin cracked, until his fingers bled.
Rio just watched this all in detached silence. He still did not know what to say. For now, he would just sit here in silence. He would give his brother an ear to vent to.
His voice broke completely. He grabbed Rio by the front of his shirt, desperate and shaking. "Do you know what it's like? Struggling every day against a world that constantly tries to suffocate you? I study, I train, I work hard for hours on end just to match people who could easily exceed me if they put in the slightest effort. Their quirks made them smarter or stronger. I keep playing catch-up. Do you know how exhausting that is?"
"MY TEACHERS, MY CLASSMATES, THE PEOPLE AT THE COMPANY. FUUCK! THEY ALL LOOK DOWN ON ME." His eyes were now red. "They look at me like I'm disabled, like I'm lesser," he croaked out, his voice raw from all the shouting.
"A goddamn monkey!"
What was Rio supposed to say? Sorry? Sorry for never asking what Takeru was going through? Sorry for assuming he'd be fine, just because he always smiled and got good grades? Sorry for not knowing he was the one who called the cops that night?
He started slow. "You're wrong. No one's looking down on you. At least not the ones that matter." Mum wasn't looking down on him. Grandma Yuki adored him. To say that everyone was looking down on him was just plain ignorant.
Takeru's laugh was hollow. "You think I'm wrong?"
Rio gave no answer to that, but his deadpan stare was answer enough. "I think you're capable. More than most could ever hope to be."
Takeru's smile vanished. He stared him dead in the eye. "Do you think I, someone without a quirk, could ever hope to achieve the same things you can?"
Rio hesitated.
That one pause was all it took.
Takeru scoffed, his lip curling in a triumphant smile. "Exactly." He may have smiled, but there was no victory in that smile, only desolation.
Rio looked away, jaw clenched. "People are just… hateful. They always find someone to step on to feel better about themselves."
Takeru didn't respond.
"Some justify it by saying the quirkless oppressed them first. That it's just retribution. That the old world treated powered people like monsters."
Rio sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "And some are just assholes. Bitter people who want to feel superior to someone, anyone. The worst kind are the ones who lash out when that superiority gets challenged."
Takeru looked up at him. "So what? The government doesn't care? There's no one to fight for people like me?"
Rio's voice dropped. "I'm not the biggest fan of the government. But… give them some credit. Things only really settled forty years ago, after All Might came around. That's not a lot of time to fix hundreds of years of discrimination."
"It's not progressing fast enough."
Rio nodded, slowly. "Yeah. I know."
"It's not even on their radar, is it?" Takeru asked, staring at his brother. What was he searching for?
"Maybe not. Less than twenty percent of the population is quirkless. And it keeps shrinking with each generation. In two more, there probably won't be enough quirkless people to even count."
That last sentence hung in the air too long.
Takeru said nothing. He just stared down at his lap, hands limp.
Rio realized what he said too late. "Takeru—"
"I need to think," his brother muttered. "Can you leave for now?"
Rio had a lot to say, but he dropped it. For now—his last sentence had been too insensitive.
Rio stood and paused at the door. "You know you can talk to me, right? About anything?"
"Yeah," Takeru said—barely. If not for Rio's enhanced senses, he would have missed it.
Later that night, the house was quiet again. But this time, something felt wrong.
The staff were confused. Takeru's room was spotless. Clothes all in place. Nothing missing.
Except him.
Only an envelope rested on his desk.
It was addressed to his family.
Takeru ran away from home that night.
Author's note: It's funny that I had written this chapter and the next three chapters since monday but by God I read a fanfic today that absolutely blew my mind. So If you're wondering why the chapter came late there's your answer.