It was tiring; lying, hiding, pretending that everything was okay at the end of the day when the fact of the matter was, he was betraying everything and everyone he'd ever held close to him. To them, he had died in a fire so he couldn't just... couldn't just reappear in their lives,
could he?
At the end of the day, it didn't matter anymore. Whether it would ruin his life or not, whether they thought he was a demon or not, he wanted to go back home. He didn't have to tell them. He didn't need to let anyone know that he was Yokai, that he had selfishly tried to steal his brother's invention. He only needed to go home.
Barely even a glance at the tracker he'd put into Hiro's hoodies told him that he wasn't home, and it was far too late for the cafe to be open. Aunt Cass was probably dead asleep by now, snoring up a storm like she did. So he went home. He tried to not let himself second guess but he did it plenty anyway, considering turning around many times on the journey but never doing so.
He snuck in through the front door, creeping up the steps to get into he and Hiro's room, something they'd shared since his birth. bad idea, bad idea, bad idea. you're going to mess him up so bad, what kind of brother are you? once dead, stay dead, tadashi. But he didn't let himself move from that spot, he just
waited.