The Mob (System)

Chapter 11 - Alters: 100% Positive

"I'm so glad you are here!" Shigeo heard, looking around the hallway as he searched for a hanger or anything similar. Teru was standing next to him, taking off his scarf and smiling gently, like he usually was. "Such a shame we don't get to hang out more often!" The ginger haired said, laughing slightly and offering his friends a helpful hand with hanging their jackets. They were in his apartment, after all.

"Well, it's your birthday, Shou" Teru said. He undressed himself and was now looking at Shigeo, giving him the comforting stares. He knew parties weren't really his partner's things, so he assumed it wouldn't surprise him if the system switched during their stay at the younger Kageyama's apartment. Nonetheless, they both decided to visit the couple – it was just around time, because due to the overwhelming amount of work to do and therapy to overcome, they didn't manage to hang out with Ritsu and Shou as often as they would like to. They found it difficult, mainly because the days were short, the Mob System was living from a therapy session to a therapy session (what had got recently quite intense owing to the fact that ???% had been fairly active these days) and Teruki tried to always be there for Shigeo, whenever he needed him.

For all those reasons, it came to be that the last time Teru and Shigeo met Ritsu and/or Shou was approximately two weeks prior to the birthday party Suzuki organised.

"You wouldn't ever forgive us, if we missed the party, would ya?" Teru asked teasingly, poking fun and laughing at the same time. Shou smirked at that, having taken Shigeo's jacket and put it in the wardrobe.

"You already know the answer" He joked in response. The two started laughing loudly then, with Shigeo standing next to them and awkwardly looking at this scene. He took a deep breath and allowed a small smile to climb onto his face as well.

Ritsu stepped in the room. He approached his brother and looked him in the eyes, as if he was trying to find out who was fronting, just by this look. It seemed to work, because just after that he hugged the Mob System's body and, with warm words coming out of his mouth, invited both of the guests to enter the living room of his and Shou's house.

Their apartment was bigger than the one Shigeo and Teru lived in. The living room had a way to the kitchen, with a partition that didn't reach the ceiling between the two rooms. The walls were painted in the light blue colour that Shou loved. There was a big table next to the divining wall, now full of snacks and drinks that someone (most likely Ritsu) prepared for the party. The house was decorated with balloons and streamers what wasn't weird, for it was Shou's party. Ritsu had always complained, light-heartedly, on how childish his husband was from time to time.

The living room was filled with people – some of whom Shigeo had never met before. He assumed they were Shou's friends that he never had got to see. Shou was a talkative and a lively person. Surely an extravert, who cared little about people's boundaries but was still a good person, in spite of this particular drawback he had. He was Ritsu's opposite, so when they started being a couple, Shigeo wasn't sure if their relationship would work out. But he obviously supported them and hoped for their best. When two years ago they informed Kageyama's family and the rest of the clique that they were getting married, Shigeo was the first person to congratulate them.

And for these reasons the host didn't think the strangers in his brother's apartment were someone else than Shou's friends. They seemed quite wild – at least to Shigeo – giving the same impression Shou made on him at the beginning. It wasn't the most comfortable environment for Shigeo, but he hoped to get a grip and go through the party safely. He was still content to see the rest of the people.

Tome was standing next to the table, being loud as always. She had one of her arm around Ichi's shoulder and was discussing something with Shou, who came up to her and started a conversation. With Ritsu and Teru by his side, Shigeo came closer to them and smiled slightly. He didn't see Ichi and Tome in quite some time now. They were both still at the university – Ichi constantly busy with her passionate journalism and Tome preparing for the exams that she had to take before writing the final assignment. Ritsu was also still studying, but he never procrastinated so he didn't have to worry as much about his grades. Kurata, however, being the master of laziness, used to always do everything just before the deadline.