Chapter Text
There was a tense atmosphere at the long dinner table. On one side, Kong and Kontaibo, on the other, Maya and Xiao Qin. Tatsuo had announced they should eat dinner together, a thinly veiled meeting regarding the events from earlier. There was no way in hell this would go well, of course. Kontaibo had brought his kendo sword, and kept a strong grip on it. Skullman's powers were no joke, that was for certain. They'd gotten tangled up in something they shouldn't have. Maya looked to Xiao Qin, whose gaze was cast downward, hands gripping anxiously at the fabric of her dress. Maya reached over and gently put her hand over Xiao Qin's, who looked up, a bit startled. Maya nodded to her, a wordless and knowing interaction. Xiao Qin felt just a little safer after that.
The door burst violently open, slamming into the wall as Tatsuo came in, wearing his full Skullman costume and helmet, followed shortly behind by Garo. "Hi everybodyyy!" he announced, grinning far too widely. He dragged his stiff, aching body to the chair at the head of the table, giggling and smiling all the meanwhile. The faint scent of burning hair and flesh clung to him. Kontaibo openly gagged. "How is everyone?!"
No reply. Tatsuo waited patiently.
"Well! I'm doing great, personally, just great. How about you, Maya? Oh, sorry, I forgot you don't talk ever!"
Maya flinched, and found herself holding back tears. Her brother had never made fun of her for her nonverbal tendencies. It stung.
"What about you, Kontaibo? You must be feeling spry, given how fast you ran away when we finally had Kotaro in the open."
He sneered with contempt. "Not that you've given a shit about us up 'till now. We're just accessories for Saburo."
"Saburo?" Tatsuo cocked his head. "Saburooo? Saburo the bastard traitor? That Saburo?" He giggled, then started full on laughing, before lifting the huge, grand dining table, throwing it over Maya and Xiao Qin's heads. It crashed violently into the wall, making Xiao Qin shriek. "SABUROOOO!" The room shuddered and trembled as Tatsuo struggled to find an outlet for his rage through his powers. His attention swung back to Kontaibo, who started to raise his sword defensively, but it wasn't enough when Tatsuo used his powers to shove the chair his was in, along with Kontaibo, violently into the wall, breaking the drywall. He was luckily stopped by a beam in the wall.
Kontaibo found himself in a battle of wills, trembling as he tried to move his sword, but no match for the power of Skullman. "You... bastard...!"
Alarmed, Kong stood up, about to tackle Tatsuo, but with a flick of his hand, Tatsuo slammed him into the high ceiling, and let gravity claim him once more. He didn't get back up. Maya took a deep breath, knowing this couldn't end well. "Tatsuo, please..."
Tatsuo turned to face her, slowly walking up. She didn't move, showed no signs of fear. "I AM NOT TATSUO!" He screeched at her. Pounding a fist against his own chest, a wall of fire forming behing him, he screamed, "I AM THE SKULLMAN!!!"
Maya sighed, hands in her lap. She wanted to reach over to give Xiao Qin a bit more comfort through this, but didn't want to attract his attention to her in case she became a target. "Tatsuo, this is not how you'll achieve your goals. If I need to..."
"What? What are YOU going to do, huh?"
"... I'll send you back to hell myself."
The flames behind him subsided a bit, exposing his fear. "... Fine. Alright. We'll regroup and discuss later. Garo, if you could please, let's go."
Abandoning the chaos he himself was responsible for, Tatsuo and Garo left for Tatsuo's room. Garo had followed Tatsuo into death, and had come back alongside him once more. It pained him to see someone so close to him struggling in the way he did. Breathing heavily, Tatsuo sat on the side of his bed, putting his head down and his hands at the back of his helmet. He screamed in frustration. Garo sat beside him, an arm around the smaller, shaking man. He gently tried to remove the helmet, but Tatsuo stopped him. "No, no, no, no, I'm Skullman, I'm not Tatsuo anymore, I'm not Tatsuo, I'm Skullman, let me be Skullman..."
Garo knelt in front of the crying Skullman. He knew, this was a man struggling alone, taking the burden of humanity's sins on top of his own, trying to find atonement through the violence he had always lived. He knew no words could communicate what he needed, so he did the only thing he could, and gently kissed him. Tatsuo was shocked, and Garo took the moment once more to take off his helmet. Tatsuo sniffled, face red and tear streaked, before holding onto Garo, sobbing into his shoulder. Garo held onto him. No matter what, he knew he would do anything for Tatsuo, no matter the consequences.