#it’s just that i think shigeo believes that no matter what he won’t be able to avoid hurting ritsu again. that it’s inevitable

[gumy-shark]

thinks abt how in the confession arc again mob spent more time and energy trying not to hurt shou than ritsu. like obviously there’s a variety of reasons for this but it’s still just. ough

[handlewcaare]

Who are you really, Gojo Satoru?

(⚠️⚠️⚠️Jujutsu Kaisen Spoilers ahead⚠️⚠️⚠️)

One of the key elements of mob psycho is that you are not the most important person. With all your special powers, your unique prowess with god and anime on your side, how great is that against learning how to do better in math? What about when you’re trying to woo a crush who’s already seen all your tricks?

That, in on its own, is the question Gojo Satoru has yet to answer for.

I can’t believe I’m doing a character analysis over this dumbass

If you’ve ever wondered a “what if Mob never had Reigen” scenario, Gojo is the closest example. This isn’t just evident in the way that he’s an absolute manchild with his powers because he feels like there will never be consequences to his actions, but the aspect that he cannot perceive his identity beyond “strength.”

The world of Shaman / the Society of Sorcerers all perceive someone by the value of their strength alone. It doesn’t matter if that person is intelligent, has stable moral groundings or is able to overcome the most extensive of trauma. What matters to them, in the end, is how strong you really are. This is what made Gojo valuable because he was born strong. He didn’t eat a wrinkly finger from a dead cursed spirit, nor did he build himself to achieve such strength; he was born with it and was constantly hunted by bounty hunters.

Imagine your parents saying that when you were born

Someone on Twitter did a psychoanalysis of Gojo and I couldn’t agree more that he was probably raised in the way “gifted kids” were; they had to always exceed their conservative / authoritarian parents’ expectations, if not they would be perceived as a disgrace to their family. It also clears up how Gojo turned out to be an absolute pompous brat later on.

Take that phrase: “When Gojo was born, the power of the world was altered” and compare that to someone like Mob, who was raised without a heavy expectation for shifting the entire foundation of ESP:

His father doesn’t do a comparison between espers, but rather how people waste away their lives without self-destructive indulgences like cigarettes.

From the day of his birth, Gojo became a practical poster child for said “limitless” potential. He wasn’t raised like Mob who just happened to have this great power, he was treated as if there was only one of him in the world (and there is!), but it mentally placed a child onto a pedestal and managed to severe his empathy to said “weak” links.

“Protect the weak” what, are we the fucking teen Titans now??

In the eyes of a teenage Satoru, caring for the weak is as annoying as babysitting screaming brats. The only reason as to why he would say that is because he lacked empathy for those who were perceived as weak. The reason as to why he didn’t understand them was that he wasn’t raised around them / raised to understand them. He isn’t going to a normal HS, he’s going to a Curse College Tech where everyone has powers—but none of them as powerful as him.

Mob’s middle school only has three known espers: Mob, Ritsu and Takenaka. Everyone else is either a kid, a member of the body improvement club, or they’re unimpressed with psychic powers.

That eventually leads up to where Gojo learned his valuable lesson from: Getou. The scene in which Getou leaves after he lost purpose in being a Shaman is the closest we’ve got to a question asked in Mp100. There’s many ways to interpret it, but Getou (and even Nanami) always felt like they were consistently shadowed by a man who could do anything—ANYTHING—as long as he gave it his all.

Gojo didn’t just get the Reigen talk that Mob did, he got the Reigen “you’re-an-adult-fighting-misguided-minors-with-superpowers-you’re-a-fucking-joke” talk.

It’s a parallel (not similar) to what we’ve seen in Mp100 where Reigen simply tells Mob to be a good person. Getou doesn’t tell Gojo to be good or terrible to others, he simply tells him that he could easily kill him if he tried. Yet, the question is what makes Gojo hesitate to end him there—as if being the strongest in a world that would sooner get rid of you once you lose your worth to it is meaningless if that is all you are.

Are you strong because you’re Kageyama Shigeo or are you Shigeo Kageyama because you’re strong?

This is what changes Gojo entirely, as he would sooner become a mentor for the next generation than to let his skin blister in the limelight longer than it has. However, the biggest factor that I’ve noticed about Gojo is that he doesn’t run away from the Shaman world afterward.

We don’t see Gojo in a Nanami-esque situation where he works as the wacky History teacher at some tiny highschool with unique powers. We don’t see him settle down with someone and have a family of his own, all while hiding his past to his children so he and his spouse can live comfortably. He, instead, wants to change the sorcery world from the inside-out because he doesn’t want his kids / the generations after him to become no better than the executives.

In a personal opinion, I think he still doesn’t know how to live without being a Shaman. Everything he does, he can do with just the right amount of elbow grease. He can literally become the prime minister, but it won’t give him a natural understanding of those he would mentor / massively shadow.

Watch your fucking profanity

In a twisted way, Gojo is trying to be what Getou would have been if he never defected. The only problem is that he’s not giving the next generation a broader insight of what lies beyond sorcerery. He doesn’t tell them that they have choices in life or informs them that they can astray from the tech. Instead, it’s borderline hypocritical where he expects the new generation to be able to change the world of sorcery without that insight. It only brings me, and even Gege, to ask this character:

How can you expect change if you, yourself, have never experienced it?

[lunar-lair]

Alright, it's the next day, and, as promised, I have a backstory to tell of.

Now...as for the biggest reveals, the ones that really break things open...

Reigen knew a psychic.

A psychic who idolized Mogami. One who followed in his footsteps. Maybe Mogami even contacted him at some point; who knows.

And he knew another psychic;

Serizawa Katsuya himself.

Now, for things to work for me, I had to adjust Serizawa's age back a couple years to be the same as Reigen, but Reigen's literally dead in this AU, so I figured it was fine. And adding more to the story itself, this psychic friend of his was known as Daichi. He started going rotten when they were all in 6th grade, just 12 years old, and he was kinda like Teruki, at first, but a little worse.

He started up a gang, dragging Reigen and a lot of his friensds into it. Serizawa had been a part of their friend group for a while, but he started getting a little...concerned, to say the least, when their friend started using his powers for bad things.

He started fearing his own, if only a little.

And, unsurprisingly, this is part of what leads him to lock himself away.

Through it all, Reigen tried his best to keep Serizawa from fearing his powers; tried to convince him it was ok, told him he didn't have to use his powers the way their friend was.

Serizawa never forgot him.

(Ghosts don't often remember a whole ton of their lives; mostly bits and pieces.

...though, they can be reminded.)

But even after Serizawa relented to his fear, even after Reigen was left with the gang and Daichi and the looming threat of what might happen next, he trudged on. He learned how to fight, got into plenty that he didn't want to be in. He slowly learned what psychics could do, that they're all egotistical, that it was just awful and unfair to use them to use their powers against others.

And yet, he knew Serizawa was a good person. Knew he would never.

He weighed the scales, and found them in the middle.

He realized psychics are just like normal people.

He carried it on til he found Mob.

And...well, I think I'll let my original notes talk from here; I got it down well enough the first time, if you ask me. These are just the raw thoughts from my doc:

'As the years wore on, Reigen grew to hate his friend. He grew depressed, he started losing his faith in the world, he realized hard truths, and he slowly fell apart.

But he stayed in the gang because there were people there who needed help.

He stuck around his friend because he felt like he could stop him, one day, just maybe.

He stuck around because he was able to get people out, teach them morals and help them from the inside.

No matter what, his strict moral code stayed intact.

No matter what, his kindness stayed.

No matter who he fought, he fought fairly and honestly and only if they attacked first. He only beat them down enough to win.

He refused to be overly aggressive, or unjust.

But it was hard, with everything around him.

Everything became hard. Being around people was hard and scary, and he had so many bruises to hide and even more things to hide from his mother and sister. He was quickly becoming more and more depressed, and it was harder to face things every day. He stopped fighting; there was no point in it anyways. It didn't cross his mind to be angry when his friend beat him for it. The cigarettes the highschoolers had looked tempting, but at least he stayed away from them. Anxiety crippled his every movement, unsure of what to do about his predicament. He was lonely, without any real friends or close family.

He was lonely, and sad, and scared, and tired. 

Life was so, so hard.

That psychic friend of his was rapidly becoming a worse person, started cursing people left and right and beat people within an inch of their life.

He believed he was superior. 

He believed they deserved it for not having powers.

He believed that everyone was awful, anyways. (His parents were never the best, and he followed Mogami's teachings so, so well.)

Then, one day, he finally managed to kill someone.

He showed no remorse.

Reigen finally lashed out at him. He finally said 'fuck it' and called him out on his bullshit before leaving.

He finally became a loner; a true one.

But everything in his life was so broken by what he'd been through; he didn't know where to turn, and the thought of never having to deal with it again was tempting.

His only anchor was his sister and mother.

His mom had divorced his dad (a mentally abusive asshole who he never liked anyways) a couple years back and she was still a mess. Reigen's behavior wasn't making things better, either.

One day, she said under her breath that things would be so much easier if she didn't have to deal with him, the same way her parents used to.

(Not to mention all the complaining she does about how awful he is, and how bad it makes him feel that he doesn't know how to change it; especially not the laziness and the lack of interest in anything.)

Then...then, his sister. Wouldn't she be sad if he were gone?

She blamed their dad leaving on him; he was always nice to her, so she didn't get it. She was 17, and she was moody, and she was easily annoyed.

One day, she was angry at him for coming home late again, and said to him, "I swear, things wouldn't be such a mess if you'd just...left or something!" She had said it in a huff.

(Not to mention all the complaining she does, about how annoying he is or how he's in the way, even if he tries to make sure he isn't. 

She just didn't like him, and Reigen couldn't figure why.)

But words are sticks and stones, and Reigen was already beaten down.

That...that. 

That was enough.

Only a few days later, Reigen was staring down the pavement at the bottom of Salt Middle School, perched on the edge of the roof, shoes discarded with a simple letter.

He smiled. 

Finally. He wouldn't have to deal with all of this anymore.

He tipped over the edge,

And at 15 years old, Reigen Arataka was no longer for this world.

(2 weeks before that, a new child had been born.

An esper, who's name was Kageyama Shigeo.)'

And that pretty much does it for Reigen's backstory in this AU. It's a little depressing, but it works to build his morals and the lessons he teaches Mob but still making him a kid, fastfowarding his development with a couple of tragic helpers along the way.

Also fun fact, I *think* if you count the years right, the year Reigen and Mob meet is the same year Serizawa and Touichirou meet, in this AU; there's the 3 years before Reigen commits suicide and then the 12 for Mob to grow up, which ends up being 15; perfect for the two parallels to find each other in the same year.

Also I decided to make Reigen and Serizawa meet when they were younger because like...well, there are plenty of reasons; it's an interesting idea to think that Serizawa has history with him, it gives Reigen the good side of psychics, and in general, it adds to the World Domination arc a little, I guess. Plus it makes up for the bonding we won't get.

And there's not really a significant reason for Reigen dying 2 weeks after Mob was born; I just thought it was an interesting idea. Kind of like...a trade of life? But also they celebrate Mob's birthday and then celebrate Reigen's "death day", in a sense, just a couple weeks later. Just thought that could be a lil funny thing.

[teruteruki]

MP100 Analysis: Teru’s Sexuality

(Honestly, “Teru’s Sexuality” isn’t what I really wanted to title this, but it was the simplest one I could think of. This analysis mostly focus on Teruki’s feelings for Kageyama and his gay coding. So I guess the extended title would be “MP100 Analysis: Teruki’s Romantic Orientation and His Feelings Towards Mob,” but that one doesn’t roll off the tongue as well.)

Okay, well, it took me a week to prepare for this, but here it is! I apologize for the long wait. Here are some ground rules:

1. I will only be using manga pictures. I am aware of the official art and the anime adding extra scenes. However, the canoncity (canonness?) of such material could be debated since it’s not the source material, but instead derived from it. I don’t want to face debates on me using faulty evidence.

2. Since I am using the manga, there will be HEAVY manga spoilers. Not slight such as “oh, Teru oogles Mob during this arc,” but MAJOR things such as screencaps of the last few arcs. If you’re okay with that, then good! But if you haven’t read the manga, I highly suggest you do that first. (AND that you read it from the beginning!)

3. While I am doing this because I personally believe Teru is gay, please do not take this post as fact/canon. I don’t want this to cause any drama in the fandom. It’s all for fun after all! And on that note, I don’t mind seeing everyone else’s takes on this.

4. As I was writing this I realized that I used “Kageyama” instead of “Mob.” So just to specify: “Kageyama” only refers to Shigeo. “Ritsu” is, well, Ritsu.

With that out of the way, the analysis is under the cut!

I’m planning to cover all aspects of why I believe Teru is gay. For that reason, I’ll be splitting things up into sections. (Otherwise, it’d just be one big jumble of words.) First section

Attachment.

After Teru’s first defeat, we can clearly see that he’s fixated on Kageyama. Which...in itself is peculiar. He loses a fight to some amazing psychic, has a fever for 3 days, and yet is immediately able to look past it? Hmm...

He has almost immediately adopted Kageyama’s ideals and is even trying to act on them. As soon as he sees Ritsu, he steps in and tries to change the other’s mindset. Just like Kageyama did for him.

There’s also the image of the shining light in the dark. I believe this is a metaphor for Kageyama. It’s clear that Teruki holds him to higher expectations than, really, anyone else, and would definitely see him as a “light,” so to say. This especially works considering Teruki’s speech about “being the light vs being in the light” from when we first met him.

This is a good display of Teruki is already fixated on Kageyama despite not seeing him again.

Then, there is the Ritsu kidnapping arc.

Teruki tries to come along when Kageyama is planning to save his brother. You could argue that it’s only because Kageyama didn’t have a plan ready, but that begs the question as to why Teru should care so much. He has met Ritsu once and said interaction wasn’t exactly under good intentions. This is simply Teru taking an interest in the things Kageyama cares about.

However, there is also his “explanation” for coming along.

But we all know that Teru doesn’t need Kageyama’s help to defeat a group of Claw members. He did it before when he was younger and less experienced. What would stop him from doing it now?

There is also the fact that after Dimple pointed out that Teruki’s help wasn’t much, Teru then went out of his way to refuse financial support among other things. He wanted to do this with Kageyama alone. That’s something that, easily, could be interpreted as an attempt to impress the other.

Teruki has also gone out of his way to track down/talk to Kageyama several times.

The first time there was a viable excuse - he needed to talk to Kageyama about the “fake White T Poison.” However, the other two times he simply wanted to be around Kageyama.

(During this scene, Kageyama was going out shopping. Nothing exactly was wrong, Teru just decided to talk to him.)

(At this time, Teru seemed to simply pick Kageyama out from a crowd again, and partly because the boy was upset. Which - if not due to Teru’s “need” to be close to Kageyama - is due to another point I have.)

Protectiveness

Teru is needlessly protective of Kageyama. Both physically and emotionally.

When Kageyama was panicking over Ritsu’s kidnapping, Teruki didn’t just let him go. But why? Kageyama is one of the strongest psychics he knows. He could most definitely just take down claw with the amount of power he has. Surely the “structure” doesn’t matter.

He also goes out of his way to stick to what Kageyama wants, and even Dimple says that it’s thoughtful. And as we all know, Teru is great at plans and strategy. If he wanted to, he could devise a plan on his own. The only reasons for him letting Kageyama takeover is to: make him happy, see more of his talent, and to make sure Teru sticks to his ideals. 

 It also speaks to how much Teruki has changed from the beginning. He used to insist that he was the main character, and now here he is, following behind instead of taking the lead. Amazing how just one guy could change him so much.

Teruki continues to take Kageyama’s feelings into account during the entire kidnapping arc. He does it to the point where it slightly inhibits their chances of escape.

Having three psychics to take on the Claw members would help tremendously, but immediately after seeing Kageyama’s worried expression, he backtracks and says they can fight without Ritsu.

And then, after seeing Kageyama unconscious, he starts to panic.

Part of this panic can be explained by Teruki’s shock. He sees Kageyama as some impossible opponent, so the assumption that a Claw member was able to defeat him is possibly earth-shattering. However, that doesn’t exactly explain the clear, genuine relief Teru shows when Kageyama wakes up.

Part of it must be his protectiveness.

Then, during the World Domination arc, Teru actually pleads for Kageyama to turn out alright.

And lastly, during the Final arc, he outright says that he can and will protect Kageyama. (Not to mention that this was after an attempt to comfort Kageyama, because Teru knew something was wrong.)

At the very least, it’s easy to see that Teru cares about Kageyama.

Reactions

A weird subtitle, I know, but I’m referring to how Teruki reacts differently to things concerning Kageyama than to anything else. A good example of this is when Ritsu started to cry. Teru didn’t react at all. He was uninterested, really.

But earlier, when Ritsu and Kageyama were reconciling, he looked blatantly happy.

Same for when Kageyama first woke up. (Posted earlier.)

There was a similar occurrence when they first infiltrated Claw, as well. Teruki was distracted with staring at Kageyama and didn’t notice an enemy until the guy was only a few feet behind him.

And then there’s the time Kageyama mentioned he was getting popular. Teruki’s reaction is vastly different from Ritsu’s.

Ritsu straight up cries tears of joy. He’s happy that his brother is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

But Teruki visibly stops. You could claim it’s because he knows Kageyama isn’t actually popular, but there’s no way to be sure. He hasn’t seen what Kageyama’s school life is like, so he wouldn’t know if girls are actually staring or not. If anything, he believes what Kageyama is saying and seems slighty disappointed.

(He then proceeds to say Kageyama is handsome. Do I even need to touch on that?)

And then we head into the Divine Tree arc. Ironically, I think Teruki’s true feelings shine the most while he’s under hypnosis.

Right off the bat, we know its Teruki’s true feelings because Dimple tells us so. And Dimple has no reason to lie. That’s what this arc is about - 100% truth.

The wording here is something that sticks out. Their relationship, not friendship, not rivalry. In Teru’s eyes, their relationship is either doesn’t fit those labels or is more complicated than that. This makes perfect sense under the premise that Teruki has romantic feelings for Kageyama.

And then, as the arc continues, Teruki keeps putting Kageyama before the Divine Tree.

The focus of the hypnosis is that everyone will put the Divine Tree first. The Tree is supposed to be important enough to them that, apparently, if Kageyama agreed to be the co-founder, it would instantly give him Tsubomi’s love. And yet here we can see that even though Teru is actively fighting over it, the Tree is still an afterthought when he’s talking.

And when Teru is blasted away, we once again see that Kageyama is his priority.

Not even hypnosis could stop his strong feelings.

(And at this time I’d like to say that yes, Dimple said Teru felt respect, but there’s no way to be certain about that. The only one that knows what he felt at that time is himself.)

And finally, the notorious panel set during the epilogue.

Everyone else is seen actively engaging and teasing Kageyama about his crush, but Teruki avoids the conversation. And there is, honestly, no other explanation that makes sense besides Teruki harboring some negative feelings towards the whole Kageyama-Tsubomi circumstance. (We all know it doesn’t take that long to sip some tea.)

Heteronormativity

This section won’t be as screenshot heavy as the other few. That’s partly because this was a section I thought of while writing this post and also because, well, the only screenshots I’d have would be of Teruki before his change in character. (I would also like to give credit to @terumobwiki. His post gave me a good idea of what to write for this section, and without it, I may have left this part out.)

Before meeting Kageyama, Teruki was living the stereotypical “dream life.” He had a girlfriend, was popular in school, great at sports, etc etc. But we clearly see in his flashback (at least, in the manga) that he isn’t actually happy with all this. When he’s being congratulated on his perfect scores, he looks bored or possibly even depressed. A perfect life isn’t what he actually wants. He was just forcing himself to enjoy it.

And then, after Kageyama comes into his life, Teruki isn’t mentioned to have a girlfriend ever again. Which is definitely interesting, considering we blatantly see that he still has fangirls and gets confessions often. It’s clear throughout the show that he still struggles with pride, too, and yet this other key factor of his past self isn’t there. And, unsurprisingly, he seems to be way happier without a girlfriend.

Conclusion: Teruki is gay and has romantic feelings for Kageyama. The evidence is in all the previously mentioned points. And yes, other characters close to Kageyama have some of these traits, but not all four. For example, Ritsu is protective of Kageyama, but he doesn’t go out of his way to stick by his brother, nor does he change his morals to fit the other’s. 

And if you don’t think this is what a crush is like, think back to the last one you had. Did you not wish to spend more time with that person? Did you not want to show off in front of them, or instead, wanted to watch them more closely? Did you not react differently around them than compared to others?

Case in point.

[dragon-zena]

all your troubles in my hair

Fandom: Mob Psycho 100

Relationship: Serizawa Katsuya/Reigen Arataka

Characters: Serizawa Katsuya, Reigen Arataka, Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo, Kageyama Ritsu, Kageyama Siblings’ Parents, Dimple

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, reigen has horrible coping mechanisms: the fic, Spoilers for Chapter 100, OVA spoilers, Anxiety, Depression, Therapy

Summary: Neither of them are naïve enough to believe that love is meant to solve all of their internalized issues.

Read it on AO3!

Neither of them are naïve enough to believe that love is meant to solve all of their internalized issues.

They both have bad days; it's not something that really comes to a surprise to Katsuya, especially after months of being together.

Katsuya has days where he feels like he's been in a loop, a dream that he'll wake up from, still stuck in his childhood bedroom. Sometimes, he smells the trash, the dirty laundry. He sits up in bed, and there's nothing but white noise under his skin, roaring in his ears. Days where he wants to lock himself in the bathroom, hands shaking.

As time goes on, he has less and less of these days, but even still, sometimes he'll be riding the train with Arataka, towards an apartment that they share more often than not, and he'll look out of the window, admiring just how bright the moon is. And then he'll look at Arataka, leaning into his side with an old newspaper, and he'll watch those long eyelashes flutter as he skims each page, right to left, and there is a small flicker of fear within him—the thought that he might lose experiences like these, again, someday.

And while he's honest about his feelings, sometimes—ironically enough—he just wants to lock them up in a room and throw away the key. When the nights are harder to sleep through, nightmares chasing him into wakefulness, Katsuya almost feels frustrated, angry.

Arataka notices (he always notices), and Katsuya can't ever decide if he wants his boyfriend to ask about whether he wants to talk, or if he would rather be left alone. Whatever he chooses always feels like the wrong answer. He doesn't know if there is a right answer, not after days where he lies in bed feeling awful about a comment made with more snark than usual, or days where he can't make himself speak, at all, days where only the wrong things come out of his mouth. Arataka never takes it personally, but it fills Katsuya with inexplicable vitriol.

He's been working on all of it, having found a therapist that actually understands him after years of having to interact with therapists that he felt never gave a shit about him. He's started to categorize his days, coping by journaling his moods and triggers, what makes him feel this way. What makes him feel better, what feels safe for him. It helps.

Arataka doesn’t have a therapist, doesn’t think that he needs one. It’s something that used to bother Katsuya, the thought that maybe Arataka thought that only certain people needed a therapist—that maybe he thought he was too good for one. But the longer that he experiences loving him, the more he realizes that the man is doing his damnedest to just internalize his issues and move on as though they don't exist. Katsuya thinks that maybe Arataka feels as though if he ignores his problems, he’ll be more credible to the people that need his help. If he ignores his problems, he won’t take up space and resources from people that “deserve it” more than he does.

If he ignores his problems, he’ll still be useful to someone, his accomplishments won’t be stripped away by whatever makes him wake up in cold sweats, whatever makes his face twitch minutely out of its normal placid expression, gone so fast that a stranger might think that they imagined it.

Katsuya is no stranger.

He can see it whenever Arataka gets too caught up in his newspaper on the train home, the way that he tenses up when Katsuya stands to get off, expecting him to follow. The way that Arataka suddenly jumps at the movement, quickly snatching one of Katsuya’s sleeves with wide, faraway eyes. The way that he can’t seem to settle when he’s without something to read, nothing to keep his mind off of the rattling of the train, the screech of the vehicle coming to a stop, the train cabin being thrown into darkness as they pass through a tunnel or under a bridge. The way that he’s always the last person to board the train and the first person off. The way he refuses to fall asleep, even when Katsuya offers him his shoulder.

He sees it in the aftermath of Shigeo’s last explosion. The two of them had waited with Shigeo and Dimple until his parents came to get him. Ritsu had reached them first, of course, and was promptly pulled into a hug by his older brother. The two of them let themselves feel for a few minutes, and Dimple hadn’t been too keen on leaving the two of them alone for a while, settling himself on top of Shigeo’s head like a languid cat. He was looking a little worse for wear, himself, small and a paler green than what he was before he disappeared.

Once the Kageyama parents arrived, Arataka had pushed himself up from his haphazard crouch, using Katsuya as a crutch and biting the inside of his cheek to stifle any pained sounds he made. He smiled genuinely, eyes glassy, and conversed quietly and respectfully with Shigeo’s parents, holding their children so closely. Returned their gratitude for the opportunity to know Shigeo when they had thanked him for looking after their son. Dimple had given Katsuya a significant look over Shigeo’s head when Arataka’s voice cracked, and he had nodded, eyebrows knitting together. When Shigeo had pulled Arataka into a hug before leaving, the man looked prepared to cry, again, and when Katsuya had lifted his young friend into a bear hug, telling him that he was so glad that he was safe, that he had come to a conclusion that made him feel at peace with himself, Shigeo had nodded, clutching him tighter, but he, too, had subtly asked Katsuya to look over his shishou. And Katsuya had nodded again, ruffling his hair and watching as he walked away with his parents.

It left Katsuya and Arataka alone. Not that it mattered, because the moment that the Kageyama car disappeared, Arataka had collapsed to his knees, wheezing in pain. Eyes bleary, he managed a raspy “I can’t afford any hospital bills, right now” before passing out, eyes rolling back into his head. Katsuya only panicked a little, hurriedly bundling him up in his arms and beginning to make his way back from whence the two of them came. With Arataka unconscious, buried in Katsuya’s arms, he had been able to start digesting what happened once he had let the other man walk into Shigeo’s tornado. He thought about how dangerous (and brave, but mainly dangerous) the choice Arataka made was, how quickly he had lost sight of him in the cycle of dusty wind and debris. He thought about what Arataka had planned to leave behind.

The suit jacket. The dress shoes.

They never discuss it fully, not for lack of trying. It’s just, well.

Arataka throws himself into his work, deflecting “personal problems” when they’re working, invested strictly into his mask of professionalism, even when there are no clients. The first time Katsuya tried to push him into talking about his emotions, the man began to talk circles around him, so quickly and with so much anxious fervor that Katsuya ended up at a loss of words, mind swimming. It only occurred to him later that Arataka had told him practically nothing, and he tried not to get frustrated about it. Katsuya subtly asks him about getting help and acknowledging his feelings multiple times, but the only other time that he pressed Arataka led to an argument that lasted for at least a week before they apologized to each other, and by then, it seemed as though the man had developed at least five more different coping mechanisms, none of them even remotely helpful. His sleep schedule has become absolutely ridiculous, and sometimes Katsuya sees his hands twitch for the emergency cigarettes that he keeps in the bottom drawer of his desk. He never goes for it, but he lately seems stressed enough to cave more sooner than later.

Sometimes, Arataka just parks himself next to Katsuya, back straight. He’s not close enough to comfortably reach for, but he’s there.

Tonight is one of those nights. It's Friday, and Katsuya can count on his hands the number of hours of sleep that Arataka has gotten throughout the entire week. Not only that, but something must have been happening to make almost every client that entered Spirits & Such unnecessarily hostile. At some point earlier, his boyfriend had attempted to call Shigeo, ask him if he wanted to come with them for "ramen or something, it’s up to you, really, Mob," but Shigeo had already made other plans. Arataka said that he hadn’t minded, and he probably didn’t, committed to the concept of “not distorting” anyone else with his presence. Even still, his smile seemed a little tighter after hanging up, informing Katsuya that it would just be them, tonight.

Arataka sits stiffly on the other side of the couch, and Katsuya acts like he’s not watching him through his peripheral while working on his math homework. He doesn’t know when he’s going to use this. Remembering Arataka’s frequent complaints about math, he opens his mouth to tell this to him, hoping to make the silence a little less unbearable. But the sight before him makes him pause, words caught in his throat.

His boyfriend is crying silent tears, lips pursed, eyebrows furrowed, nose crinkled. He makes no move to wipe his face, and Katsuya doesn’t think that he notices that he’s been caught until he moves a little closer, making him jump, head swiveling to stare at Katsuya. They both grimace at each other, an understanding passing between them, despite Arataka’s clear embarrassment at being caught crying.

“Arataka,” Katsuya breathes out, scooting a little closer to his boyfriend and cupping his face into his hands, thumbs doing their best to wipe away tears that don’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. “What do you need?”

Arataka curls in on himself, averting his eyes away from Katsuya’s worried face. He sniffs as though trying to suck the tears and snot back up, and Katsuya tries not to wince, heart clenching.

Arms wrapped around himself, Arataka admits, voice quavering, “I think I need help.”

It’s quiet, small and brittle, but it’s there. Katsuya pulls his lover into his arms, presses his head gently into the junction of his shoulder and neck, kisses his temple sweetly. “I’ll help you,” he says. “We can help each other.”

Arataka says nothing, but he presses a little harder into Katsuya. It's not long before the man falls asleep, exhausted. Katsuya kisses the crown of his head, buries his nose into coarse brown strands.

Neither of them are naïve enough to believe that love will solve all of their internalized issues, but Katsuya watches Arataka sleep, and he thinks, warmth blooming in his chest, "Thank god we have each other." It doesn’t take long for him to follow Arataka’s lead.

[polar-stars]

ShigeChi ❣️💔💘💗💞🖤 💋💜

❣️ When did your OC first realise they were in love? How did they react to the realisation?

That would include massive spoilers on future arcs, so I can’t get into that ;w;

💔 Has your OC had a bad breakup or nasty ex? If so does this have any affect on their current relationship?

Both of them weren’t in a relationship to begin with

💘 What do they love most about their partner(s)? What do their partner(s) love most about them?

Chieko’s favorite quality of Shigeo’s is his intelligence. We’ll get into this in a bit more detail later on, but part of it is, that Chieko did take a note of the fact that Shigeo is someone she can have an intelligent discussion with from a very early point on. And she just can’t help but feel drawn to that. Shigeo is someone who is actually capable of challenging her in that regard at some times and it does spark great interest and fascination in her. 

Shigeo also greatly appreciates Chieko’s intellect and the fact that she’s someone he can have an actually interesting conversation with. It’s her intelligence paired with her hidden bravery that made her interesting in his eyes from day one on. You see, Shigeo is someone who is dreaded, but then there’s this little girl with not much power backing her up but who’s still unafraid of mouthing off against him…..and….he likes that? Shigeo is used to half of the world following his commands as well as getting whatever he wishes for, so Chieko is a challenge to him. And he enjoys said challenge. At the same time, he genuinely appreciates that she clearly has a spine, even though many refuse to see it, and he actually does want to see her go to greater heights. 

(this was hard to explain, I hope it made sense //lies down)

💗 Describe your OC’s partner(s) from their point of view! What do they really think about them?

omg more POVs

Chieko from Shigeo’s POV

Marui’s brows furrowed, as the green fires in her eyes flared dangerously and warningly up one last time. Then she let out one of her typical huffs and walked past me. I couldn’t help but watch her stomp away, almost like she was some noble lady who felt insulted of being talked to by a guy from the streets. Which in actuality couldn’t be further from the truth. But that was part of what made Marui so, well, interesting. She was smart. Very smart. Much smarter than practically everyone in that idiot-gathering that was my own generation. So many easily-persuaded morons walked the surface of earth nowadays. They were easy to manipulate and of course I took advantage of that. Marui wasn’t one of them. She was someone who was actually capable of disagreeing with me on an argument and laying out the reasons on why I was wrong in her eyes. She wasn’t imitated by my surname or the power in my hand, but would only lift her chin upwards while eying me with those fires in her eyes. She had…so much potential and I couldn’t help but to be intrigued. So little people were as interesting as her and I would love to see her potential in full bloom. And so I only chuckled as she took the turn, her head still high up in the air. I look forward to our next interaction.

Shigeo from Chieko’s POV

I don’t need a diploma to know that Shigeo-senpai was not a good person. “Morals” was not exactly part of his personal dictionary and he took an actual excitement in his evil schemes and strolling through the school with everyone in his radius backing away in fear. He was ruthless, cruel and rude. And this is where the story should be over. But for some reason it wasn’t. I gave my best efforts in attempting to avoid him, but still he managed to find me occasionally and whenever he did, he was always so….smooth, polite and…… gallant. I hated how no matter how hard I tried to suppress it, my legs would occasionally turn to jelly when his sharp eyes fixated me and the blood would occasionally rush into my head when his sweet compliments reached my ears. Focus! He’s a gambler, a dealmaker, a spoiled princeling who was never denied anything in his life. He was capable to tell lies to casually and sweetly, like one would greet their loved one. He was not one to be trusted and I should be smarter than feeling charmed by his sweet nothings. But one part of me just couldn’t help but to be flattered when hearing his praise about things that anyone else in my life fails to notice. It was not fair! Why couldn’t he just be plain terrible? Why did he additionally had to be so eloquent? So witty? So attentive? So clever? So…handsome? Wait what? No I am not attracted to Eizan Shigeo, Head of Totsuki’s little Mini-Mafia and destroyer of dreams and happiness. No way!

💞 What do their respective families think of their relationship?

Oho~ I appreciate this ask, because I don’t think I ever talked about that

Okay so, Nene is actually supportive of this idea. Not instantly, but she will grow  supportive rather quickly. From what she’s seen of Chieko so far, she came across as well-behaved, intelligent and decent, even reminding Nene a little bit of herself in her younger days occasionally with those round glasses of hers, innocence and tendency to hang around with three guys who can be rather idiotic at times. Nene worries about Shigeo a lot (because of BackstoryTM) and she hopes for him to get truly, genuinely happy and she believes that falling in love could help with that. Whenever she saw Shigeo interacting with Chieko, she took note of the fact that Chieko is able to amuse Shigeo in a way that not many can (it’s not some sort off sadistic amusement, it’s a kind of charmed, adoring amusement) and that he genuinely likes her. Etsuya actually got to meet and interact with Chieko a lot more than his wife did. He’s not necessarily enthusiastic about the fact that the girl his son has his eyes on happens to be the daughter of two of the Polar Star Kids, who clearly don’t like him. He’s actually a little bit overwhelmed and confused by this situation time to time (he’s that math meme). However, he does not really dislike Chieko. Additionally, Etsuya also knows about Shigeo’s darker days and he does not in any way want to stand in the way of some happiness for his son. He’s a little annoyed by Shigeo’s constant “It’s business” though (ironically). But yeah, should Shigeo ever start to seriously start pursuing a romantic relationship with Chieko, Etsuya won’t be an obstacle to overcome. 

Now, Yuki and Zenji are a different story. Zenji is generally super overprotective over Chieko and would be wary of any guy making moves on her. But now there’s the fact that it’s Shigeo Eizan who makes moves on her. Who is basically the textbook bad boy and practically has a good bunch of warning signs attached to him. So yeah, Zenji is screeching. He practically considers Shigeo a danger to his daughter and panics when Shigeo is only near Chieko, because he doesn’t fail to notice that Shigeo is perfectly capable of making Chieko blush. Yuki is conflicted. We know how excited she is about everyone else’s love-life after all, so naturally she was also excited about her own daughter’s. She’s the kind off mom who would ask if there’s any hot guys in class when her daughter comes home from her first school day. Yuki was super excited about when Chieko would reach that age where romance would become a topic in her life and she was basically looking forwards to crushes-chats with her daughter. However, the guy that turned out to be her daughter’s crush (Yuki notices, despite Chieko’s denial) is Etsuya Eizan’s son. And Yuki absolutely can’t stand Etsuya Eizan. So yeah, she feels troubled, because she wants to tease her daughter and encourage her onto making moves and all that stuff, but she does not trust Shigeo in the slightest and fears he might be toying with her precious daughter. 

🖤 Have they ever had a really bad argument where they almost broke up?

They will have a rather big argument, but they won’t be a couple at that time. 

💋 Who is the best kisser? (if you’d like write a short smooch scene!)

Shigeo

💜 Give a random fact about their daily life together!

Shigeo tends to gift her macarons, because he picked up that they’re her favorite sweets (next to practically everything with Matcha) but she does not often get to eat them. 

[serenlyss]

Don’t Thank Me Yet Chapter 7

Rating: M (canon typical violence, swearing, blood, murderous intent) Relationships: ritshou, ritsu&shigeo Summary: “Alright then. I’m Shou,” he says, introducing himself more properly this time. “I’m an esper, like you, the first in existence to be forcibly awoken by Claw’s crazy torture machines. They kidnap kids with potential latent psychic powers and break them, over and over, until either their powers emerge or they die. It doesn’t matter either way to them.” His expression hardens as he speaks, clear distaste and outright malice evident in his tone. “I could really use your help here, you know. A partner of sorts, someone to watch my back. What do you say?“ Ritsu hesitates. He isn’t a fighter by any means, and the psychic powers now churning beneath his skin are still very new and frightening. It’s all very overwhelming, but Ritsu can’t help but feel a sort of sickening hope at Shou’s promise for revenge. It did have a sort of dark draw to it. In which Claw is a lot worse than they seem and Shigeo isn’t able to find his brother after he’s kidnapped. Crossposted to AO3: Chapter 7

Chapter 6 // Chapter 8

So uuhhh originally this chapter and the next one was all going to be the same chapter, but 8k words in I realized it was going to end up a lot longer than I anticipated, so surprise! I'm adding another chapter in to fit all the plot points I want to hit! This means that there are going to be two Ritsu pov chapters in a row, even though I've been switching off every other chapter up until now. This chapter is also a bit late (and not beta read, so please forgive any mistakes I may have missed in proofreading) because I fell behind on drafting during finals week and got caught up in other projects. I'm still planning on having the last two chapters up over the next two Wednesdays, though, so be looking out for them! I'm really excited to share this finale with you all!

---

They have to park the car several blocks away from the cultural tower where Touichirou and his goons have set up their base of operations, because everything within a mile radius of the tower has been completely destroyed. Leveled buildings form a ring around the pristine cultural tower, the asphalt of the streets cracked and jutting outward in places. Any buildings that had remained standing have already been ransacked, their windows smashed or their doors forced open. There isn’t a soul to be seen, at least not on this street, their inhabitants having fled long before they arrive.

“This is terrible,” Shigeo murmurs mournfully at Ritsu’s side, dark eyes taking in the destruction with a grieved expression. “I can’t believe so many people would be okay with this kind of destruction.”

Ritsu purses his lips into a tight line, raising one hand to rub his arm. He can feel goosebumps raising along his skin under the sleeves of his sweatshirt, the tension in the air thicker than the silence that pervades it. Despite the emptiness of the streets, he can’t help but feel like someone might jump out at any moment and attack. “Where is everyone?” he murmurs, eyes shifting constantly as he takes in his surroundings.

“Most of Claw’s espers are probably closer to the center of the circle,” Shou replies, scowling up at the cultural tower that stands above the wreckage. “We should keep on our guard, they could come out and attack us anytime. Not to mention, the Ultimate 5 are probably creeping around, too.”

They pick their way down the street quickly and cautiously. Shigeo shifts rubble aside with his telekinesis as easily as he breathes, clearing the way for them as they make their way toward the center of town. In the distance, gunshots ring out, shattering the quiet in the air. “The police are making their move,” Higashio says grimly. “They won’t be able to do much.”

“Then we need to hurry,” Shou says, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket and picking up the pace.

Ritsu quickens his own pace to keep up, swallowing back the nervousness that creeps up his throat and makes his teeth chatter. The closer they get to the tower, the more Ritsu can feel; the psychic energy is overwhelmingly present, threading through every nook and cranny of the center of the city. It feels like an enormous blanket, stifling and heavy, weighing down on his shoulders and making his feet drag. His baser instincts are screaming at him to turn around and go back the way he came, but he forces himself ever onward. He glances sideways at Shigeo, but his brother seems unperturbed by the mass of auras they’re heading straight for. It’s almost infuriating, the way Shigeo can so calmly face this kind of emergency.

Shou seems unnerved, at least, though his expression is more thoughtful and concerned than skittish like Ritsu’s sure his is. Like Ritsu, he’s on constant lookout, his gaze darting between rooftops and down empty alleyways as he walks. “Something’s not right,” he mutters after several minutes of brisk walking. “We keep getting closer to the tower, but it’s like no one’s noticed us. I thought we’d have been intercepted by at least one of the Ultimate 5 by now.” He clicks his tongue, clearly agitated. “What are those clowns up to?”

“Maybe they’re busy doing something else?” Shigeo suggests, his aura enveloping a slab of broken concrete that used to be the ceiling of a parking garage and setting it aside with ease. “There’s only five of them, so they must have a lot of work to do.”

Shou grunts quietly in acknowledgement. “Still, no resistance at all? If it’s just us and the police, there shouldn’t be anything big enough to catch their attention—”

Shou’s voice is cut off abruptly by the noise of an explosion that sends tremors through the ground. Ritsu halts immediately to keep his footing, gaze snapping to the source of the noise, and sees one of the few still-standing buildings a few streets over crumble and collapse.

“Someone’s fighting,” Ootsuki says, “Someone we don’t know.”

“Who is it, and who are they fighting?” Ritsu demands, biting his lip. Needless to say, at least one of them must have the common interest of stopping Claw, and they could use all the allies they could get.

Beside Ritsu, Shou’s gone stock-still, his whole body tensed. “It’s Shimazaki,” he growls, hands clenching into tight fists. “I’d recognize that presence anywhere. I can’t tell who he’s fighting, though.”

Shigeo turns his attention in the direction of the fight as Ritsu fights to stretch his senses far enough to see what everyone else sees. He casts his brother a glance and sees the shocked expression that comes to his face, catching the hitched breath he takes in response to whatever he senses. “Hanazawa?” he murmurs in disbelief. “What’s he doing here?”

Ritsu jerks in surprise, staring at the collapsed building in the distance. “Teru’s here?” he echoes. But if Teru is here, then… “You don’t think—”

“Master Reigen might be with him,” Shigeo finishes Ritsu’s sentence, frowning. “He must have seen the broadcast on TV and come to do what he can. I wouldn’t be surprised if he brought Master or his esper friends from the Awakening Lab with him.”

Now that Teru’s presence has been confirmed, Ritsu can see the way Shigeo’s brow furrows and how he worries his lip between his teeth. “Will he be alright on his own?” he asks his brother, concern of his own creeping up on him. Teru is no pushover, that much is certain, but he’s nowhere near Shou’s level, let alone Shigeo’s. Ritsu doesn’t want to think about what might happen if Teru’s found himself in the middle of a fight against one of the Ultimate 5, who Shou had described as being around his own level in terms of power.

Shigeo doesn’t answer, but his hesitance is answer enough. Ritsu’s heart sink. Isn’t there something we can do?

“You should go help him out,” Shou says. Ritsu starts in surprise, turning to ask Shou what he possibly thought he could do in this situation, and finds that Shou isn’t looking at him at all. He’s looking at Shigeo almost casually, but the look in his eyes is calculating. “You said it yourself, right? That you wanted to offer backup. Your friend is probably going to need it more than us,” he points out, gesturing to the group of them.

Shigeo blinks in surprise, twisting his hands together restlessly. “But I… you all might need my power,” he insists. “I promised to protect everyone.”

Ritsu sees the way Shigeo’s gaze flicks back and forth between them and the plume of dust that’s slowly settling over the space where Hanazawa is fighting. He takes a breath and reaches out, taking Shigeo’s hand in his and giving it a brief squeeze. “We’ll be alright,” he assures, mustering up a reassuring smile. “We’ll wait for you at the base of the tower, okay? Promise. So don’t worry about us. Go help Hanazawa.”

Shigeo’s face falls, his confliction over who to help clear on his face as he meets Ritsu’s gaze. Then he swallows thickly and pulls Ritsu in by their joined hands, giving him a quick hug. “I’ll be fast,” he promises, letting the embrace linger for a few seconds before he pulls away. “Be safe, please. I’ll see you soon.”

Ritsu nods. “I will, see you soon,” he echoes, letting his touch linger for a moment longer before his arms fall to his sides once more. Shou comes to stand beside him as Shigeo turns to break off from the group and head in the direction of the earlier explosion, looking up at Ritsu’s face with thoughtful, calculating eyes.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Ritsu,” he warns quietly.

Ritsu huffs out a breath in response, slipping his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. His shoulders lift just a tad, fending off any attempt Shou might make to reach out to him. “Anyone ever tell you that your perceptiveness can be really annoying?” he retorts, stubbornly refusing to meet Shou’s gaze. He turns and starts to walk purposefully toward the tower, shoulders tense. He knows that he can’t guarantee that he’ll stay safe, and that any promise he makes before this battle is over will ultimately only be empty words, but he feels like it’s necessary this time. “We’re going to be fine, Shou. From the very beginning, it was always going to be us. We can handle ourselves, so if Teru needs help, Shige should help him,” he continues, kicking at a pebble of concrete that had tumbled from the wreckage of a nearby building.

Shou just shrugs the argument off in reply, lips pressed together in a tight frown, and quickens his pace to catch up with Ritsu. Higashio, Fukuda, and Ootsuki keep close on their heels as they continue ever onward. Ritsu’s gaze occasionally flicks up to the cultural tower, looming over them higher and higher the closer he gets, and tries not to let show how much more anxious he gets with every step closer. What would Shou’s father be like, he wonders? Shou had described him as cold, ruthless, the kind of man who doesn’t hesitate to make sacrifices in the name of what he considers the “greater good”. He’s not the kind of man Ritsu wants to associate with, if the destruction of the city is anything to go by.

Ritsu pauses as they clamber over a pile of rubble too big and heavy to move with telekinesis, eyes dropping to the road beyond and laying eyes on a lone man. He seems innocuous enough, though his neatly-parted purple hair definitely catches his eye with its uncommon hue. As the man turns and meets his gaze, the concrete of the road around him rumbles and cracks, giving way under a multitude of writhing vines and deadly-looking plants that curl their way out of the cracks and surround the man protectively. Ritsu feels a shiver run down his spine as the sensation of the man’s aura hits him full-force; he’s powerful, that much is immediately clear. “Shou, we might have a problem,” he says.

Shou clambers up beside him, face already set in grim determination. “So that old bastard sent Minegishi out to watch the perimeter? How efficient,” he scoffs, scowling in clear distaste.

Ritsu clicks his tongue, watching as the man called Minegishi starts to walk toward them, taking an almost leisurely pace. He has a book held open in one hand, which he closes deftly and holds loosely in one hand as he peers up at them.

“So it is you after all, Shou,” the man drawls, sounding almost bored, as though he’s scolding a child for misbehaving. “This rebellious phase of yours has gone on for long enough, don’t you think? Give this up already and come home.” With each step the man takes, flowers and venus flytraps bloom beneath his feet, radiating the same psychic force that the man himself does.

“Rebellious phase?” Shou echoes. He lets out a bitter laugh, shifting his weight casually to one side. Hie hands stay firmly in the pockets of his jacket, as though he can’t be bothered to even prepare for an attack. Ritsu, on the other hand, is tense, fingers twitching in anticipation of the first move of the fight. “You make me sound like a toddler throwing a tantrum. He’s really got you brainwashed, doesn’t he?” Shou continues, putting on an air of brazen confidence.

Minegishi’s eyes narrow slightly, and Ritsu sees the plants around him coil just a bit tighter around their source as though protective. “What a rude boy you’ve become. You shouldn’t talk about your father that way,” he chides. “I suppose I’ll just have to take care of you myself, the President simply doesn’t have the time to deal with your immaturity right now.”

Ritsu bites his tongue to stifle the instinctive retort he wants to spit, aware that goading this man into a fight with him would likely end badly all around. While he’s debating the options he has in this situation, Higashio steps up beside him, looking defiantly stoic despite the situation. “Leader, you go on ahead,” he says, “we can handle this one. Save your energy for the bigger fight.” Ootsuki and Fukuda come up to stand behind him, the latter brandishing a paper fan that Ritsu knows to be more deadly than it appears.

Shou glances their way in surprise, holding Higashio’s gaze for a second before he gives a resolute nod. “Got it, thanks,” he murmurs quickly, and reaches out to tug on Ritsu’s arm. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Ritsu lets himself be pulled, keeping Minegishi in his periphery, but the other man doesn’t seem concerned with him now that he’s been faced with a sure fight. “He doesn’t even see us as a threat,” he mutters disdainfully.

Shou drops his arm as they hurry past the fight and duck into an alley beside the cultural tower. When Ritsu looks up, he can see it looming over them, pristine and untouched amongst the mile-wide circle of crushed buildings that surrounds it. “They’ll be sorry they underestimated us,” Shou replies coldly, pausing just for a moment to look up at the tower himself. The entrance to it looms in front of them, unguarded. “Minegishi’s out of the way and Shimazaki’s going up against your brother. My old man’ll be sure to keep Serizawa and Hatori close by. If we’re lucky, we won’t run into Shibata at all.” He counts off the members of the Ultimate 5 on one hand. “Hatori will be easy, it’s Serizawa we need to worry about. He’s an idiot with no mind of his own, but he’s powerful.”

“Let’s hurry, then, it’ll be best if we catch them off-guard,” Ritsu suggests, moving to approach the front door.

Shou follows, but he looks uneasy. “What about waiting for your brother?” he points out. There’s been no noise from the side of the city where they’d sensed Teru and Shimazaki’s fight earlier, but Shigeo is still nowhere to be seen.

Ritsu sets his jaw firmly and squares his shoulders. “He’s not going to get the chance to fight your dad,” he replies. “If we wait too long, we’ll lose our element of surprise, so let’s just get it over with.”

“Your brother won’t be happy when he shows up and we’re not waiting for him,” Shou points out, but he makes no move to stop Ritsu as they approach the tower’s front doors and crack them open.

Ritsu casts him a glance, defiant and practically radiating misplaced determination, and takes the first step across the tower’s threshold. “I said it earlier, didn’t I? From the beginning, it was always going to be the two of us. My brother may have gotten involved, but he doesn’t need to be a part of this fight.” He takes a few steps into the building, footsteps echoing in the empty space, and Shou follows close behind. “Shou… we’re strong enough to beat your father, right?” he asks, the barest hint of his uncertainty leaking into his voice and becoming audible.

Shou comes up beside him, and they stand facing the stairwell that will lead them to the top of the tower, and, inevitably, to their final confrontation, the last war they’ll ever need to wage. “Of course we are,” he says easily, clapping Ritsu on the shoulder. “This is what we’ve been training for, it’s gonna be a piece of cake.”

Ritsu gives a firm nod. “Okay,” he murmurs, and takes a deep breath to steel his nerves. “We can do this. Let’s go.”

Shou nods in agreement, and they both break out into a run, clambering up the stairs in a rush to complete the task that they’d been working on together for more than four months now.

Ritsu feels the blood in his ears as his heart beats in time with his frantic steps, he and Shou competing for space on the narrow stairwell as they scale flights of stairs on their way to the top of the tower. Shou eventually gains ground on him, leading the way up by a few stairs, but all Ritsu can focus on is the adrenaline in his blood and the sound of his shoes pounding on each step as he runs, sometimes skipping whole stairs as he goes.

Ritsu nearly runs right into Shou when he suddenly stops, and when Ritsu cranes his neck to peer over his shoulder, he sees why; a rather plain-looking, short-haired man is perched on the landing between flights of stairs, his glasses reflecting the fluorescent lights above his head. He smirks as he lays eyes on the two of them, shifting his weight casually to one hip. "I was wondering when you'd show up, Shou," he greets, voice practically dripping condescension. "You've done well to make it this far, but I can't let you-"

Before Ritsu even has a chance to move, Shou surges forward and slams his fist into the man's nose, the force of it so strong it send the man sprawling back into the wall behind his head. His glasses shatter on impact, their lenses exploding into a dozen shards that cut into the skin of Shou's knuckles before clattering harmlessly to the ground. Shou opens and closes his fist, letting out a shaky breath. "Better to get it over with before he has a chance to use his powers," he sighs over his shoulder to Ritsu, who's staring at him in surprise and just a little awe. "Hatori's weak, but his psychic powers are nothing to scoff at. It would have been dangerous to let him do too much.”

Ritsu nods, glancing down at Hatori's unconscious form, slumped against the far wall from where his head had collided with the concrete behind him. "Is your hand okay?" he asks, eyes drifting to the blood that seeps incessantly from the glass cuts on his knuckles.

"It's fine, a few scratches are nothing," he replies flippantly, already moving to scale the next flight of stairs. Ritsu's quick to follow, his thoughts racing as he pushes himself to keep up with Shou's rapid pace. His thoughts race and talk over each other, questions about what Shou's father might be like overlapping worries about how his brother and Hanazawa are doing, if Reigen really did go with them, if they're on their way now. If all goes well, they won't even have time to get involved before he and Shou have finished what they've come to do.

Eventually, the enclosed stairwell they're climbing opens up, and the concrete walls surrounding them are replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the cityscape. From here, Ritsu has a clear view of the destroyed downtown area, not a citizen to be seen amongst the wreckage. He scans it quickly, searching for signs of his brother, of Hanazawa, of Reigen, but he sees no one as he and Shou hastily continue ever upward.

"We haven't run into Serizawa yet," Shou murmurs, eyebrows drawn together sharply. "I bet my old man's keeping him close for protection." He approaches a pair of double doors, pausing outside of them. "This is the top of the tower. Are you ready, Ritsu?"

Ritsu clenches his hands into fists, feeling the anticipation in his bones building and feeding his desire to fight. "I'm ready," he replies, meeting Shou's gaze with fierce determination. He grasps the handle of one of the doors, and Shou grabs the other.

Ritsu watches as Shou takes a deep breath, readying himself, and then he gives a firm nod. Simultaneously, they turn the handles on the doors and push them open soundlessly, their well-oiled hinges not even creaking as they swing silently outward.

Beyond the door lays the tower's lookout, an unbroken ring that runs nearly all the way around the top of the tower and provides an uninterrupted view of the surrounding city. A rail protrudes from the windows and creates a buffer between visitors and the window, preventing them from dirtying the glass, and in front of the floor-to-ceiling window stands a single man.

Suzuki Touichirou stares calmly out the window, his face a picture of practiced calm, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. He looks almost casual, his fitted suit and clean appearance giving the impression of perhaps an important guest come to see the sights, but there is no interest in his eyes, no awe at the sprawling city landscape beyond the chaos he's brought down in his immediate vicinity. His pale blue eyes, the same as Shou's, are cold as ice in the north pole, and they stare unblinkingly at a point on the ground that Ritsu can't pinpoint. He's smaller than Ritsu had imagined him—he's not much taller than Reigen is, in fact—but he comes across as far more imposing that Reigen ever has. Just looking at him gives Ritsu the impression that he isn't someone to be taken lightly, and Ritsu hasn't even seen what kind of power he's capable of yet. Even though they're not entering the room with the aim to surprise him, Ritsu still finds himself treading lightly, almost afraid of what will happen when Touichirou finally notices his presence.

Shou, to his credit, doesn't seem to feel the same apprehension as Ritsu does. He strides forward, undeterred, and his footsteps echo loudly in the empty room. "So you went through with it after all, even after all our hard work?" he calls, startling Ritsu with how near-casual he sounds addressing his father. "I thought for sure that taking down so many Claw bases would at least slow you down, so how'd you do it?"

Touichirou turns to fix his icy blue gaze on them, and Ritsu's heart stutters in his chest as a sudden flash of fear blinds him for a split-second. "Shou," he says, voice as smooth and confident as it had been over the television earlier that day. "I was wondering when you'd come, but I was expecting a bit more than a question like that."

Shou scowls, and Ritsu doesn't miss the way his hand tightens into a fist at his side. "You and your stupid Ultimate 5 aren't enough to take over the world. You're delusional if you think you could ever actually pull it off!" he retorts, pointing an accusatory finger at his father. Ritsu hangs back a pace behind him, biting his lip.

Touichirou looks unimpressed, even as he turns to fully face his son and lets his arms fall from behind his back to hang at his sides. Ritsu's eyes snap to them, but he makes no move to attack. "Don't be foolish," Touichirou says, his voice dripping with the condescension of a father who has never once listened to what his son thinks. "Destroying a handful of my buildings in and around Seasoning City is not enough to make me give up my ambitions. You could destroy as many bases as you like, but as long as I and the Ultimate 5 remain standing, Claw will not be defeated." He stares Shou down unblinkingly, the frost in his gaze enough to glue Ritsu to the ground where he stands.

"You're insane," Shou spits, and Ritsu can see now that his hand is quivering. With rage or fear, it's hard to tell, but Ritsu suspects it to be a mix of both. Shou takes a firm step forward, body tensing in preparation for a fight. "Then I guess I just have to knock you out, right here!" he declares, and before anyone can say another word, he rushes headlong in his father's direction, fist raised.

Ritsu jolts, his frozen feet finally moving from where they've been glued to the ground, and he rushes in alongside Shou. He keeps his guard up, ready to deflect and counter whatever Touichirou might throw his way, but he instead finds himself running headlong into an invisible wall that crackles on impact, jolts of energy shooting like electricity up his arms. It burns like fire, and he finds himself tossed effortlessly to the ground with the force of it. He scrambles to his feet, the feeling disappearing as quickly as it comes, and he sees Shou at his side, still standing but similarly baffled. "What the hell?" he manages as he fights to get air back into his lungs after the impact had knocked it out. "What kind of stupidly strong barrier is that?"

"It activates on its own?" Shou gawks, clenching his teeth tightly together. "In that case, let's—"

"You should never have left home," Touichirou chides, raising a hand from where it had laid dormant at his side. Ritsu flinches and braces himself as Touichirou snaps his fingers, and immediately the space around himself and Shou erupts into a ball of white-hot fire. His barrier clings close to his skin and protects him from being singed, but the heat of it is still palpable in the air around him, warping the metal rail that lines the windows.

Shou dispels the flames with a wave of his hand, his aura a powerful wind that douses them before they can do any damage. "Don't toy with me!" he growls. Ritsu can practically sense the anger and frustration coming off of him in waves; he's losing his cool in the face of his father's unwavering condescension.

"Shou—" Ritsu starts, but his words die in his throat as the temperature around him suddenly drops dramatically, the air in his lungs freezing before he can form words with it. He sucks in a surprised breath, and it leaves his mouth in a cloud of fog. "What's going on?" he manages around chattering teeth, wrapping his arms around himself as though to dull the chill.

Shou clicks his tongue, gaze flicking to Ritsu momentarily with a hint of concern before it returns to his father. "You've picked up some new tricks since you threw me away," he snarks, bitter and hostile.

Touichirou lowers his hand, and the air around them returns to normal. "No, nothing new. I just thought you might appreciate a demonstration of what true psychic power is like," he replies, and if Ritsu hadn't been entirely sure that Touichirou means every word he says, he might have found the statement sarcastic. Rather, Touichirou speaks as though he's stating pure, undeniable facts, and the thought only makes him appear more sinister.

Touichirou hasn't moved a pace from where he's been standing by the railing, overlooking the city, but he takes a step closer to Ritsu and Shou now, and then another. "Shou, my son," he says, his words devoid of any form of affection or fatherly love, "you don't seem to understand the lengths I've gone through to see this plan fulfilled. You act as though I haven't thought things through, as though I haven't replayed exactly this scenario in my head a dozen times already. I've been working on this plan for twenty years, since before you were ever a thought in my mind. I've been to every corner of the world, seen every culture, and not a single person I've ever met has come close to matching the power I have." He lifts a hand, reaching out as though to touch Shou, to lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Ritsu!" Shou yells, taking a step back, and before Touichirou's hand can make contact with him, he vanishes.

Ritsu steels his nerves and quickly summons his own barrier of invisibility around himself, the motion coming easily to him now after many afternoons spent practising and perfecting Shou's technique. By the time Touichirou's hand has found the space Shou used to inhabit, there's nothing but empty air left over.

Touichirou straightens up, and his hand falls to his side again. "You've learned to teleport, have you?" he says to the empty air, the barest hint of surprise in his voice, but it's drowned out by his own amusement, as though this is all just a game to him. "No, not teleportation. You've figured out how to tamper with the refraction of light. That’s a useful trick you’ve learned."

He figured it out so fast, Ritsu curses, tucking himself into a corner that will be safe from Shou's attack and stretching out a hand. He clenches it into a fist, and Touichirou's body goes rigid as Ritsu's aura envelopes him and holds on tightly.

Touichirou appears unfazed at being trapped; he hardly even struggles, just attempts to flex his fingers as though to test the durability of the shield Ritsu's put around him. "It seems your friend is more powerful that I'd initially thought. I'm surprised you managed to find such a strong ally, but what do you plan to do now, I wonder?" he asks.

"I'm going to end this," Shou says, low and determined, as he materializes behind Touichirou. His hand shines brightly in the dimness of the room, lit only by the setting sun outside, a ball of energy surrounding it that shifts and sparks like a miniature sun held right in his palm. "You aren't the only one who's been planning for this day! Take a moment to appreciate this, the energy I've been storing up since I first awakened this powers you passed on to me: This is my last resort, three years' worth of energy! Have a taste!" He thrusts his hand forward, and the miniature sun quivers and explodes outward, a violent rush of pure energy released with the intent to kill.

Ritsu has to shield his eyes from the intense light that Shou's stored-up energy radiates, momentarily blinded. The force of such a massive amount of energy colliding with its target shakes the tower to its foundation, and Ritsu hears the grating sound of every window on the floor shattering at once as it explodes with brilliant force. He conjures a barrier around himself as broken glass and concrete chips from the walls fly at him, bouncing harmlessly off of the shimmering blue-and-purple wall. He drops his arm from his eyes, blinking away the colorful spots burned into his retinas by the flash, and he untucks himself from the corner where he'd stashed himself away. "Did it work?" he calls, squinting in an attempt to see through the thick cloud of dust that had yet to settle.

Behind him, a hand lays itself on his shoulder, and Ritsu starts with a gasp. He spins on his heel and finds himself face-to-face with Touichirou, who looks completely unscathed. The man peers down at him with a calm, curious gaze, his inexpressive face setting Ritsu's nerves to frazzled ends. "Ah, now that I get a good look at you, I know your face," Touichirou muses, his grip firm on Ritsu's shoulder. "You're Kageyama Ritsu, from the 7th division headquarters."

Ritsu hears Shou's frantic yell, screaming at him to get away, but he's frozen in place again, only this time he can definitely see the psychic aura clinging to his skin and holding him firmly in place. It's dark red, and it's leeching off of Shou's father as though he can hardly contain it.

Touichirou continues, "I was wondering when you'd come around again. I should have known that my son would rope you into his immature revenge schemes. You, the only successful case Claw has ever seen."

Ritsu grits his teeth, feeling a rush of anger welling up in him. "Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of lab rat," he manages to spit around a jaw that refuses to move, arms quivering as he attempts to jerk them out of Touichirou's staunch control.

"Let him go!" Shou demands, rushing forward to attack his father, but before he can get close, he's intercepted by a translucent umbrella, which whips into him faster than he can react to and slams right into his chest. The impact of it send Shou sprawling onto his back, and he coughs as the air is forced out of his lungs. He doubles over onto his side, hacking out a few choked sounds as he digs his fingers into the ground. "Serizawa, you bastard!" he curses around pained breaths.

The man—Serizawa, as Shou had called him—stands with the handle of an umbrella clutched in his hands. Ritsu can barely see him, unable to turn his head enough to see if Shou is still alright, but he does catch the way Serizawa winces and recoils in response to his own actions. "Oh dear, I didn't think you'd hit it that hard," he stutters, seemingly dismayed at the possibility that he might have caused Shou harm. Ritsu feels the sudden, unmistakable urge to punch him; Shou had been right about him being an idiot, after all.

"Tell me, how is it that you were able to awaken with such great power when no one else could?" Touichirou asks, entirely dead to the way Serizawa knocks Shou down. He doesn't even spare him a glance, his attention focused entirely on Ritsu. "I've been studying psychic powers and the means to awaken them for more than twenty years, and yet you and Shou were the only true successes among thousands."

Shou pushes himself to his hands and knees, wiping a trail of blood away from his mouth from one hand. "What about all those soldiers you bragged about on TV?" he demands, pushing himself shakily to his feet despite the way Serizawa attempts to get him to stay down and rest.

"I don't know what made me different," Ritsu insists, struggling to move his arms against Touichirou's aura keeping him in place. He knows he'll never tell this man that the source of his power is likely the same as his brother's, that Shigeo's psychic abilities far outmatch his own. He won't dare to make a target out of his own family just to satisfy Touichirou's sick curiosity.

Touichirou stares Ritsu in the eye for a long, quiet moment, and Ritsu feels his heart leap into his throat. He can hear the blood roaring in his ears, limbs screaming at him to move, to fight, to do anything but stand, frozen, but no matter how much he tries, he can't even bend a finger to free himself.

Then, as easily as it had enveloped him, Touichirou's aura retreats back into his body and the hand weighing down his shoulder lifts. Ritsu nearly topples over as his autonomy is returned to him all at once, and he stumbles to regain his footing again. As soon as he can, he jumps backward, past Serizawa, and reaches down to grab Shou by the arm and help him to his feet.

Shou obliges, a little unsteady from Serizawa's surprise attack, but otherwise unharmed. "That was everything I had," he laments with a grimace. "Three years of energy, and it didn't even scratch him. What kind of monster is he?"

"Shou, this is bad," Ritsu replies shakily. His hands haven't stopped quivering since he'd been released with Touichirou's hold, and he can still feel the weight of his aura holding him down, preventing him from making any movement at all.

"You say you'd been saving that energy up for three years?" Touichirou speaks over their muffled whispers, moving to stand in front of Serizawa. "I must say, I'm impressed with you, Shou. You truly are my son. Should I tell you something I've never told anyone else?" He pauses to look down at Shou and Ritsu, huddled against the wall across from the shattered glass windows, and says, "You inherited that ability from me. I, too, can store and release my power at will. I can give it to others, if I so desire, and I can take it from them, too. So, you see, my twenty years of travelling served several purposes."

Ritsu feels his blood run cold, and his grip on Shou's arm falters as the shaking in his arms worsens. "You're kidding," he breathes.

"It's impossible," Shou argues, but Ritsu can see the way his eyes go wide and his lip trembles in disbelief. "Your body would be destroyed! It was all I could do just to keep three years' worth under my control!"

Touichirou smirks, and the sight of it is like a punch in the stomach. "Shall I give you a taste of my twenty years?" he asks, his voice dripping with barely-contained mirth. The power that leaks out from under his skin is so dense Ritsu can't see through it, and it seeps from every orifice of his face, shifting and crackling in the air until the static of it causes the hairs on Ritsu's arms and the back of his neck to stick straight up.

Shou pulls Ritsu against his side with one arm and extends his free hand, throwing up the densest barrier he can muster as Touichirou's power expands and explodes toward them in a rush of blood-red fire.

Shou's barrier withstands for half a second before it's incinerated and the pure, undiluted force of Touichirou's twenty years of stored-up power hits Ritsu square in the chest. It burns, worse than any fire ever has, and tears at his clothes, ripping the fabric of his yellow hoodie and bringing tears to his eyes almost instantly. For a frightening second, the whole world is red, red, red, and in the moment he’s lifted off his feet and thrown backward, everything is dark.

He’s gone before he hits the ground.

[soaringlanddormitory]

☃ Takara/Noboru, ☕ Takashi/Shigeo (I'm all here for the war), ⎚ (Hanako/Kaoru) please ;w;

Yes!!! I love this!! Thank you so much for sending this in!!!

☃: One must begs the other to build a snowman with them - they don’t wanna.

All Noboru wanted to do during the Winter break was to be away from all the stress, and he was pretty successful in doing that… for a while. He was currently sipping coffee, very pleased with the silence. It was one of the rare occasions that he should treasure-

Ding dong.

He placed his mug down and looked at the door cor a couple of seconds. It must have been Ran or any one else from the Elite Ten. He just hoped it wasn’t Hiraku. He sighed softly before walking to the door and he hoped he wouldn’t regret the choice. He twisted the knob and opened the door, and the first thing he spotted was… a fellow First Seat.

“�� Tsukasa.” He mumbled her last name and the girl lit up, a grin on her face. Since he was so up close- he really noticed her fang. Her eyes gleamed in happiness and before he knew it, she began holding his hand and dragging him outside. “What are you doing?!”

Takara decides not to answer, she only begins humming a tune that they were both familiar with. “Do you want to build a snowman?” Great… Just great. A song from Frozen. She was singing a Disney song to try and persuade him to join her. “Come on, let’s go and play!”

Noboru was surprised that she was the first seat when she seemed so chill. He had to deal with his work, and he was constantly stressed with all the work piling up. He sighed and rolled his eye. “We’re not going to play.” With his response, he pulled his hand away and went back to his house. He shut the door at her and he felt the female bump his door. “How dedicated are you?!”

“I never see you anymore-”

“We met last week!”

“Come out the door-”

“No!”

“It’s like you’ve gone away! We use to be best buddies, and now we’re not. I wish you would tell me why!”

Noboru was tired of this, and he knew that if he denied her more, she’d magically end up inside his place… he wouldn’t know how she did- but he knew that she would. He opened the door slightly, slightly twitching.

“Do you want to build a snowman?” Takara almost went out of tune because of laughing. He finally gave in. “It doesn’t have to be a snowman.”

“Let me finish my coffee first.” He told her this, his face looking tired. “Come in. You’re going to freeze outside.”

The girl only entered the room before dusting off the snow particles off her clothes. “Thank you, Noboru!”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…”

☕: One muse spills hot coffee all over the other muse! Ouch!

Seeing people from a different universe was truly something new to everyone! It was nice knowing that people could actually gain friends with other people that they’ve never seen before! But in exchange… there are possibilities of enemies too. This was to be expected since the two bicker a lot with someone similar in their own universe.

Takashi was eating walnuts and drinking a milkshake for a snack. It was break and the cafeteria was pretty empty at the moment! It was one of those times which Takashi surprisingly preferred it to be quiet. He was currently waiting for any news from the Elite Ten for a meeting so he could prepare. 

Without any warning, he bumped into and a very hot liquid poured over him. He yelped and jumped off his seat, trying to shake off the coffee that just spilled on him. “What in underworld’s name is this-!” He shouted at the person who spilled the coffee at him. He would have eased down immediately if it were someone younger than him or a friend- but his anger only strengthened as he saw the person.

He spotted Shigeo, who has his eyes widen but he quickly regained his composure. He didn’t want to apologize to the male he hated most. Definitely not. He shouldn’t back down or else he’d be considered as the “loser” in this situation.

“I didn’t see you there, Kuga. You were much too small.” A snicker came from the Eizan who Suzume hated most. “Maybe if you were a bit taller, I could have avoided this… accident.” He began chuckling at his own joke and the blonde began shaking in anger. First, coffee spilled over him and now… he had to bring up something that would piss him off ten times more?!

For one of the first times in his life, he actually decided not to censor his words with what he came up with. Meat? Medusa? Hah. He had no control as of the moment. “You fucking bitch!” Takashi swore, finally fully snapping at him. “I didn’t do shit this time! And this was one of the days I decide to wear the damn sweater my brother sewed me!” He instantly picked up his milkshake before spilling it over the male’s shirt and pants.

Shigeo stared at his own clothes, his expression darkening. “Wow. What a mature kind of revenge, Kuga.” He got his handkerchief before wiping off some drink off of him. “I never expected to curse like that, but I give you props for looking strong. Maybe small creatures do hold in anger more.”

Takashi began hissing, just getting angrier each second. “Now I know what my dad meant by Eizans are bastards!” He didn’t exactly want to judge them at first, but now he has experience… he does not want to do anything with their bullshit.

⎚: Our muses are separated by a gate/wall that they’re unable to cross.

[I hope you don’t mind that I used the Yakuza AU, Lea!! also *wink wink* This is also lowkey a snippet in away of what happens when the plan gets really ruined!! ALSO I HOPE YOU DON’T MIND THAT I USED A DOOR INSTEAD OF WALL/GATE

Hanako and Rin belong to @polar-stars!!

Emile belongs to @polar-star-dorks!!]

.

Kaoru knew what he needed to do to save the person he loved. He had no other choice. She was a planner, and he had trusted her skills completely. But he knew that the amount of people after them could actually bring them down. Maybe it was his mistake for being such a “hero” in this worlds. Saving others but never himself. 

He pushed her away before shooting the metal door to close completely. He knew that the red lights marked something- and he surely didn’t want the enemies to shoot that first. He breathed out heavily as he reloaded his gun. “Sorry flower, but we’ve broke rule 1 from the start.” He didn’t know if the person behind the other door could hear him. All he heard was her knocking on the door several times.

“Aroon-! You dumbass!” She shouted from the other side, slamming the wall with her hands even if caused some pain to herself. She knew if she continued, it might even cause bruise on her hands. “Why would you do that?!” She began turning on her ear piece, trying to contact him. “Aroon!”

Kaoru couldn’t do anything but listen to her voice. He decided to turn on his so he could speak back. He only let out a chuckle, and it was obvious that everything was connected to the whole alliance. “You should all escape. You all have a total of 5 minutes to escape. Their back-up is coming soon.”

He heard the door get slammed again and he only looked back. He began biting his lips, worried about the female. “You idiot! We’re not leaving you behind! If we leave you inside yourself, you’re doomed! Do you have any idea what they can do to you?!”

“Lotus. Please.” He punched the metal door, and this made her wince a bit. “Just leave. I already know all the consequences…” He mumbled. “But I’m not fucking afraid of dying. Not if it’s for you guys…”

“How do you think we feel about this?! We could have left with you, there would be no problem with that! We could have went with Plan-”

“Hanako. Please.” Kaoru whispered, and even people could hear him- he had to say it. “Leave. Now. If I didn’t do this, they’d chase over us. They’d know our location. Isshiki Satoshi and Kinokuni Nene would have been doomed. It’s fine.” He reassured. “I’ll be okay.”

“You won’t!” It was obvious by her voice that she already began crying. “You won’t be okay…. You won’t!” No matter how many times she hit the door or even pleased- the barrier that separated her from her leader wouldn’t happen. “Kaoru… I… I…” She finally broke down. “You’re not immortal! I know you’re strong, I believe in you… But you won’t come out alive!”

This was the first time everyone heard he break down and it made everyone’s hearts fall into pieces. Emile was currently crying and Rin was trying to calm him down and Masae clenched her fists as tight as she can- it was so tight that her nails began digging  in her skin. Tetsuji felt himself drowning, but he had to act strong to make sure he’d be there for the rest of the group.

Kuga only closed his eyes shut- he was unable to say a word. Eizan couldn’t look back… if he did, he knew he’d be trying to save someone he originally thought he wouldn’t care about. Nene was gripping Eizan, not knowing what to do- but she wanted to think od a way to save him. Isshiki didn’t show his expression to anyone, but he was obviously in pain.

Dai was currently inside a car, his vision getting blurry with the tears piling up. “Cross… Take Lotus away from there.”

Kaoru spotted several people running to him, different guns with them and he was sure he’d be shot dead on the spot. He laughed sadly, saying his last words before turning off the ear piece so they wouldn’t be able to hear the shots.

“I love you guys. Remember that, alright?”

[ruthiswriting]

graduation

mp100 | serirei, AU, 2.8k

another drabble belonging to the series our endless numbered days, this one taking place about five years after the end of holding. wrote this a while ago, but held off on posting it. pre established relationship.

warnings: alcohol, mentioned major character death

-

Whenever Reigen drank, Serizawa resigned himself to getting him home.

It didn’t matter what he drank, how much he drank, or when he drank, but inevitably Serizawa would find himself supporting his weight as they walked the distance back to their apartment. Rather, as Serizawa walked— Reigen generally seemed to lose all capability to move his legs about in a reasonable manner. He simply would sling an arm around Serizawa’s shoulder and keep a running monologue in his ear. His warm breath, strong with the scent of shochu, would always tickle Serizawa’s ear.

Initially, Serizawa had found it charming. Now it was sort of exasperating.

But still charming.

And tonight, he couldn’t really bring himself to be annoyed with Reigen.

“Graduation,” Reigen said, shaping the word with exaggerated slowness. “Can you believe it, Katsu? Seems like yesterday Ritsu was just this moody middle schooler.” Serizawa attempted to straighten the suitjacket Reigen still kept on his shoulders, but then Reigen slumped into him. “Now he’s a moody high school graduate.”

Serizawa heard him chuckle against his chest, and then it turned into a hum. Reigen’s fingers danced lightly along Serizawa’s shirt, and Serizawa, underneath the embarrassing tingle in his stomach, realized they were blocking the door to the bar. He gripped Reigen’s upper arms and pulled him upright, and Reigen sagged comfortably in his grip. It made Serizawa think of one of those cats that went limp when you held it. He pulled him away from the door, tripping over the uneven steps and Reigen’s feet.

“Do you have everything?” Serizawa asked, patting Reigen’s jacket pockets. They were distressingly empty. Serizawa patted them more thoroughly, to no avail. “Did you grab your keys when we left this morning? Your wallet?”

He couldn’t quite make out the intricacies of Reigen’s expression— the streetlight above them shone on Serizawa’s head and cast a shadow over Reigen’s face, but he could see the suggestion of his face moving. Then Reigen settled a hand next to Serizawa’s neck, in a gesture that was probably supposed to be a pat but forgot along the way. “Relax,” he said. “I put ‘em in your pocket.”

Serizawa blinked. He checked his pockets. Both his wallet and keys and Reigen’s were there, forming a comfortable, equal weight on each side of his body. He turned his attention back to Reigen. “Why?”  

Reigen slouched back a little further, and his teeth glinted in the sliver of light they caught. “Oops.”

Serizawa sighed and looped Reigen’s arm around his shoulder. “Okay, Taka. Time to go home now.”

“It’s too bad,” Reigen remarked as Serizawa began walking down the street, “Ritsu’s still not old enough to go have celebratory drinks with us. Maybe that’s bad mentorship on my part, hm. I think we got him covered, anyway.”

“You did,” Serizawa rebuffed easily. “I just wait for you to get drunk and then we go home.”

Reigen laughed, and the noise echoed down the street. “Well, I don’t keep you waiting long.”

“No,” Serizawa agreed, intentionally dropping his voice in hopes that Reigen would match. “You don’t.”

He pressed a light kiss against the side of Reigen’s forehead, where hair lay thick against his temple. In the dark walking home, everything felt like a secret. So did this silent declaration, especially when Reigen tilted conspiratorily towards him and his body caved into Serizawa. Every loud feeling settled right between the space where the crook of Reigen’s side didn’t quite fit into his. Serizawa felt himself smile as Reigen’s head leaned against his shoulder.

Reigen was quiet, which gave Serizawa the time he needed to find the street sign and figure out where they were. He squinted at the tall sign with white characters, barely illuminated in the dark. Just as he was piecing together the solution, Reigen slouched against him again. His voice was soft when he spoke. “He was moody, though. More n’ usual. Right? I’m not crazy?”

Serizawa hesitated. There was something dangerous in the way Reigen’s voice drifted up, hopeful and wistful all at once. “Not crazy,” he agreed, trying not to look at Reigen, “but you know him better than me. You’d be able to tell better.”

But Ritsu had been moody— distant in a concentrated way that Serizawa hadn’t seen for years. He’d smiled, and accepted their warm congratulations on his academic achievements, but it was with the same thin politeness that Ritsu regarded strangers with. Even when Ritsu’s mother hugged him, or his father rustled his hair in a practiced gesture, it was something he endured.

By the time that Serizawa had figured out that Ritsu built walls, Reigen had begun dismantling them. That meant that Serizawa didn’t know how to read what each guarded expression meant, in the same way that came so naturally to Reigen— but no, he’d worked for it. He’d worked hard to understand, to drag Ritsu up out of that mire along with himself. Serizawa wouldn’t discount that.

“Guess it doesn’t matter too much,” Reigen said distantly, drawing Serizawa out of his thoughts. “He won’t be needing me, now.”

A barely held together seam in Serizawa’s chest began to open up, revealing something cavernous below. “Taka,” he said, the word soft.

“It’s true,” Reigen said, and he went to wave a hand. It made a circuitous path through the air, then hung there. “I never expected any of you to hang around. You know? I mean, I wanted… Well, I guess everyone wants dumb, impossible things. Like hopin’ you’ll wake up tomorrow, and your bank account’ll be full, and your knees won’t ache because you’re gettin’ old, and you’ll have some incredible guy who lets you trip all over his feet all the way home…”

Reigen slipped on the pavement, and Serizawa grabbed him. He always grabbed too fast, too hard, and he feared constantly that his hands would squeeze, and then Reigen would break. But Reigen just flopped into his arms. “Well, that one came true,” he said.

“I’m not leaving,” Serizawa told him. “Ritsu’s not either. He won’t work at the office, but he still cares about you. We both do.”

“Mhm,” Reigen murmured in what Serizawa hoped was an agreement. The way it was shaped made him doubt that. Serizawa frowned and felt lines in his face deepen. He continued guiding Reigen down the street.

Eventually, Reigen yawned, then slipped into a sentence. “Well, I did what I could, Katsuya. Hope his parents can tell… Guess they’d know. Well, I think I know, I guess I can’t be certain. Kid’s like a puzzle box, sometimes…”

Serizawa pulled him to a stop next to the curb, bending his head around Reigen to look down the street, then at his face. “Know what? What about Ritsu?”

“He’s thinking about Mob,” Reigen said.

There wasn’t anything amiss on Reigen’s face, even in the sleepy way his lids settled on his eyes. Serizawa still felt his stomach drop out from under him. He stood still for a moment, unable to think of any way to proceed.

Shigeo had died five years and one and a half months ago. Keeping track of days had become a necessary compulsion for Serizawa, so the time measured out clearly in his head. He could probably count the days too, back to when he’d found out why the city had split open, then when he’d had to go to the funeral, and then a million small pointless things until now.

He pulled Reigen closer, arm wrapping tighter around his side as a poor shield. “Come on,” Serizawa said, softly. “Let’s go home.”

“He always… gets like that, around big milestones,” Reigen continued as Serizawa tried to get him walking again. “All moody and withdrawn. Think he feels guilty for growing up, when Mob can’t…” Reigen blew out air. “Dumb kid. Guess I can’t blame him, though.”

His mood didn’t falter, all the rest of the way home. He rambled, on in an endless train that Serizawa couldn’t quite focus on. Somewhere, his philosophizing about Ritsu turned to his philosophizing about Shigeo, and then into long, spooled out anecdotes. Serizawa had heard some of them before. Some of them he’d been there for. Reigen didn’t seem to remind recounting things both of them knew in authorial tones, tugging on Serizawa’s collar to get his attention when he grew too distracted for Reigen’s liking. There was something easy on Reigen’s face as he laughed. They sounded like stories about someone who’d just gone away for a while, and he’d be there at the office tomorrow. Maybe the feeling was created by the alcohol. Maybe he was too drunk to know what he was talking about at all. Serizawa ached.

He’d gone quiet when Serizawa drew them up the stairs to their apartment, and then to the door  where he fumbled over the keys. Serizawa thought maybe he’d fallen asleep, finally, until Reigen nudged his shoulder with the top of his head. “Did I ever tell you,” he said, pressing one finger into Serizawa’s side, “how we met?”

Serizawa stiffened without meaning to. “You might have mentioned it, once,” he said finally. He knew the sketch of the story— some accidental meeting, and then Reigen had declared himself Shigeo’s mentor… There was some confused memory about it, tickling in the back of his head. But if he’d heard it, it would’ve been from before, and things from back then often felt out of focus.

“Well,” Reigen said, voice lifting in the beginning of a story, “It must’ve been about…” He tilted his head back, pretending to try to remember. “Ten or so years ago. God, Katsuya, when’d we get so old?”

The key in Serizawa’s hand clunked against the door, missing the doorknob once more. In a fit of frustration, Serizawa directed a burst of psychic energy at the door. It unlocked and swung open soundlessly, and Serizawa guided Reigen inside. He kicked the door shut behind him, and then they were in the dark. Serizawa slid his shoes off in the doorway and then, after a moment’s deliberation, swung Reigen up into his arms, tucking one comfortably under Reigen’s knees.

Reigen snorted against his shoulder, and Serizawa could imagine his bleary smile as he curled his fingers against the back of Serizawa’s neck. He wanted to kiss Reigen, suddenly, even through his exhaustion and exasperation and the aching pit of his stomach. Serizawa made it as far as pressing his forehead against Reigen’s before he couldn’t continue. He stayed there, listening to his breathing.

Reigen’s head tipped back, and Serizawa couldn’t follow the motion any further down. “He must’ve been about ten, I guess,” Reigen murmured, hand still playing against Serizawa’s neck. “He showed up at the office, back when it was just me, and he said he wanted help controlling his powers. Well, I was so sure it was some prank… Like I was important enough for anyone to go around playing tricks on me, hah. Imagine.”

Serizawa picked his way through their tiny apartment, past the kitchen that needed cleaning, through the living room with their half collapsed couch, and into their pitch dark bedroom. All the while, Reigen continued talking into his ear, low and confidential like someone might hear. “But I guess I felt bad for him, or something, or I couldn’t feel good about turning some kid out… So I gave him some hacked up advice, about how hard it was being a psychic but how it was still possible to be a good person. I don’t even remember what I said.”

He hesitated, here, long enough for Serizawa to doubt, and then launched forward again into the story. “Anyway, then I figured out he really did have powers, and I thought, hey, that’d be useful for the office, even if all really he can do is levitate cups. So I told him to come back, saying I’d help him control his powers, thinking I was smart enough to trick some kid into thinking I had powers. It’d be easy, right? People do it on tv all the time.”

Serizawa settled Reigen on the bed, then caught him before he could fall flat on his back. The words were pouring out of Reigen faster and faster as Serizawa peeled his coat off and began working his tie loose with careful fingers. “I spent years jumping through hoops, trying to impress him, convince him that I was really something. I was pulling my hair out over it, because what if he left? What the hell was I gonna do?” His arms spun briefly wide, hitting Serizawa in the side. “But, Katsu, do you know the best part?”

“No,” Serizawa said, dutifully. He settled Reigen back onto the bed, and it creaked underneath them as Serizawa bent over Reigen’s face. The dim light of the alarm clock was all Serizawa had to go on to see. He pillowed his elbow on a fold in the comforter, and then his chin on his hand. “What’s the best part?”

Reigen smiled. “He knew. The whole time, he knew, and the cheeky kid just let me run around in circles all day long. Isn’t that the funniest thing you’ve ever heard?”

The smile Serizawa made back felt weak and ill. Something was lodging into his heart, keeping it from functioning properly. He swept some of Reigen’s hair back to kiss his forehead. “Good night, Arataka.”

Reigen didn’t answer, and Serizawa sat up again. He lifted Reigen’s feet up from where they dangled and placed them on his knee, pulling the shoelaces loose. When Serizawa shoved Reigen’s shoes off his heel, a green light caught them in midair, and the shoes floated up. Serizawa sent them drifting through the bedroom door, back to the front door. Then, he slid his own jacket off, throwing it across the room at some place he’d trip over himself in the morning trying to find.

It was when Serizawa was pulling his own tie loose that Reigen said, “I really miss that kid. You know? I miss...”

Serizawa just sat there; feeling like a useless statue, a solid stone resting on the end of their bed. But then, Reigen made the smallest, ugliest, noise, and Serizawa turned, falling back next to him. There was something horrible working its way up Reigen’s throat, and Serizawa felt it when he dragged Reigen into his arms. He rubbed Reigen’s back in slow steady circles as a sob made Reigen’s whole body convulse. “It’s okay,” Serizawa whispered, hardly audible to himself under the noise of Reigen’s grief. “Taka, I know, I know…”

“I’m so selfish,” Reigen said, the words coming out as a wail. “I’m so fucking, sselfish, what do you think Ritsu’s feeling right now? God, five whole years of this and what have I done for him?”

“You’ve done a lot,” Serizawa said, raising his voice. “I swear, Taka, you have, you did so much for both of those kids, if you could see—”

Reigen shook his head, and he careened into Serizawa’s neck. His hands were clenching Serizawa’s shirt fabric, tighter and tighter. “I never even told him,” Reigen mumbled. “Mh- Mob. He knew, we both knew, but I was too much of a coward to say—” his voice hitched again. “And then today, I should’ve said something, to Ritsu, I could see, but I just let him walk away, I haven’t learned a thing… Katsuya…”

“He’s still here,” Serizawa whispered. “You haven’t failed, you can say something again, Ritsu’s still here, I’m still here, you’re still here…”

There was something unspoken in the ugly breath Reigen pulled through his body— a necessary absence in what Serizawa said, obvious in the tears slipping down Reigen’s face. Serizawa tried to pull him a little further up the bed so he could lay comfortably on the pillows instead of Serizawa’s chest, but instead Reigen pressed deeper against him. All Serizawa could do was wait until Reigen had given all he could, and his drunken sobs finally ended. Sobs settled out into ragged breaths, and Reigen was asleep.

Tears were still slipping down his face when Serizawa finally settled him into bed, pulling the comforter over him. He brushed a thumb under Reigen’s eye, then wiped the tears collected on the pillowcase by his head. Serizawa waited, as he listened to Reigen’s breathing, for the now cavernous ache in his chest to close so he could sleep. He watched the alarm clock slowly click through numbers in time to Reigen’s breaths.

Reigen’s hands slowly loosened their hold on Serizawa’s shirt, until they merely draped over the curve of his back. The congestion in his chest cleared with each slow breath. Serizawa smoothed a worried wrinkle out of his brow, and breathed in only to hear the congestion in his own throat. A few frustrated, angry tears slid down the bridge of Serizawa’s nose, and he buried his face in Reigen’s hair.

In the end, it wasn’t time slowly slipping by that dragged Serizawa into sleep. It was the sound of Reigen’s steady breathing that eased Serizawa into slumber, dark and dreamless as he wanted.

[eyedelater]

???% hypothesis

what if ???% is the product of the inferiority complex that mob developed after tsubomi rejected his display of psychic powers?

specifically, this incident we learn about in chapter 4:

mob hasn’t always been the type to avoid showing off his psychic powers. he used to use them just because he could, like how inukawa cited various tricks mob had shown him in elementary school. but tsubomi taught mob that some people won’t be impressed by such things, that he can’t use psychic powers to get everything he wants. in fact, because of how highly he valued her opinion, he seems to have learned that his psychic powers are worthless and maybe even repulsive. after tsubomi’s rejection, mob began to feel that using psychic powers in front of people would make him undesirable.

(note that “mob not using his psychic powers in front of people” is not the same as “mob subconsciously repressing his emotions in general.” he’s been doing the latter his whole life just to keep his psychic power under control. this post addresses the former. do keep in mind, though, that psychic powers in the mp100 universe arise directly from emotion.)

the “tsubomi rejects mob’s dog levitation” event seems to have occurred before ???%’s first appearance, which is what led to mob’s first interaction with reigen. that is to say, tsubomi changed mob’s attitude before reigen did. reigen gave mob a context in which he could safely use his powers to help people, but he didn’t solve all of mob’s problems (or really even most of them).

so the hypothesis is: this tsubomi-inspired change in attitude led mob to impose new restrictions on himself, and as a result, a spiritual entity began to develop inside of him, kept hidden in the deepest depths of his “vessel,” without mob himself realizing it. not so much a part of himself that split off, but rather, a mass of suppressed feelings that eventually gained some degree of autonomy, pushed away far enough to become fully isolated from his “self,” but too strong to be erased completely. an entity based on the same idea that once corrupted hanazawa teruki: [“my psychic powers make me extraordinary, and it is my right to use them as i please.”] that would be the base essence of ???%, its true nature. it is a feeling that, i think, would naturally arise in any child with such powers. but mob strongly repressed that sentiment, refusing it (based on what he learned from that experience with tsubomi) and likewise bottling up the self-resentment, the “why shouldn’t i?” feeling that came with that refusal. he probably did this without really thinking about his own feelings, since he was already accustomed to pushing emotions down rather than expressing them.

mob repressed his natural desire to use his powers because his interaction with tsubomi made him believe that doing so would make him undesirable. yet he still naturally has strong psychic powers. does that in itself make him undesirable? will he be undesirable no matter what he does, just because of the psychic power he was born with? is he doomed to either hide his true potential forever or live a life of rejection? such questions probably arose in him and led to strong feelings of self-doubt, self-hatred, resentment, and indignance, which he bottled up and tried to ignore, helping to fuel ???%’s growth. only during occasional brief lapses in emotional self-control do we get a sense of how much mob has internalized these negative ideas about his self-worth. (e.g. “yeah, i’m the worst.”)

???% is only able to manifest under certain circumstances. i imagine mob keeps ???% thoroughly (and subconsciously) shackled at all times. but that internal barrier can be broken when mob is traumatically knocked out (regular sleep doesn’t count because there’s no jolt to disrupt his internal security system) AND/OR when mob gets so freaked out he loses control of himself completely (which is what almost happened when he found the fake corpses of his whole family after the marathon.) ???% was able to manifest in mogami world because mob’s internal security system got... eaten.

TLDR/conclusion: the idea is that ???% is a separate entity of a psychic/spiritual nature that mob accidentally and unwittingly created within his own soul by compressing and trying to ignore negative feelings arising from tsubomi’s rejection of his psychic powers. it is, and has been, locked away as mob strongly resists the urge to run wild using his powers, BUT the metaphorical locks that bind ???% are not invincible. they can be broken by as much force as it takes to knock mob out.

AND, the point i wrote this post in order to make: the connection to tsubomi is why ???% is currently heading toward tsubomi. its goal is not the same as mob’s goal to ask her out. instead, it wants her to acknowledge that mob’s psychic power is something extraordinary after all, because that is the very feeling it is made of. 

though i suppose both mob and ???% are essentially seeking her approval.

--

notes: 

i don’t think of ???% in terms of dissociative identity disorder at all, because i feel like the canon system of emotion-based psychic powers makes for a better explanation as to why ???% has this much autonomy and separation from kageyama shigeo’s true ego. but if you have DID and want to project that onto him, don’t let me stop you...

if my theory is correct, mob is not at fault for this, and neither is tsubomi. it’s nothing but a tragedy. WHICH IS WHY IT HURTS SO MUCH!!!

i don’t know what ???% will do when it reaches tsubomi... but i do know one thing: it won’t keep going. it is making a beeline toward tsubomi. it might be impossible for anyone to stop it on the way, but it will stop on its own once it gets there.

i think ???% has autonomy that is separate from mob, but its sense of self is incomplete and based on mob’s self, because mob is what it has access to and where its origins lie. that’s why ???% uses boku pronouns. however, i don’t think ???% has enough breadth of mind to be considered an entirely new character; it isn’t an entire extra human’s worth of “self.” i think it’s more of a tumor, a shadow of a being, capable of expressing only the emotions that comprise it, pressing itself into a blank template of a “soul” but only filling the mold halfway. or something convoluted like that, y’know. anyway that’s why i refer to ???% with “it” pronouns

the grip mob has on his unconscious psychic restraint of ???% is, in my mind, similar to the conditions required in One Piece for sugar’s devil fruit’s effect to remain in place. that’s why regular sleeping is fine, and if you scared mob so hard that he screamed and passed out, that would probably give ???% a chance to get behind the wheel

still haven’t sorted out how ???%’s goals align with mob’s personal safety as a goal. like, given the way the mogami debacle ended, you’d think that maybe ???% does have mob’s best interests in mind, since it seems to have delivered his soul safely back into his body in ch67.3. but recent events show us quite clearly that it does not care about what mob wants or what mob thinks is best. maybe it knows that it can’t exist without mob, and their goals happen to rarely overlap on the point of self-preservation...

i said “TLDR” but i was being facetious. don’t bother interacting with my posts if you TLDR them

i reserve the right to have my ass proven wrong. by ONE-sensei.

[irl-gengar-13]

Alrighty buckle up let’s do some speculating for the next Mob Psycho 100 Arc - chapter 101 if you would.

tl:dr : The Water Seven Arc from One Piece (Mob is Nico Robin)

LONG ASS POST UNDER THE CUT

So, there’s been rampant destruction, and a lot of people have seen that it was Mob that was causing it all. No denying it here, not ‘it was a sudden series of earthquakes’ no nothing.

People know.

SO! because I am under the opinion that the story is NOT in fact coming to an end - because I don’t think that makes any logical sense from a story telling perspective and it wouldn’t fit with the narrative themes AT ALL -

Let’s talk about what the next part of this Arc might entail shall we?

First of all - I believe that this is the start of the Government Arc that was hinted at may, many, many chapters ago.

So - Mob’s either gonna be stopped by force or ???% is gonna burn out and peace the fuck off back to reassesses of Mob’s mind or wherever the fuck they live idk that’s a different can o’ worms for another post.

Either way Mob’s gonna come back - feel even MORE guilty than he already does and promptly freak the fuck out - I’m picturing a Serizawa like scenario where he locks himself in his room and won’t come out for anyone - Ristu can’t convince him, Hanazawa can’t convince him - hell even REIGEN can’t talk him out. 

Then the Government shows up. They send over their strongest espers who are still probably weaker than Shigeo because come on that the whole POINT. Anyways, they’re there to take Mob to the same facility (read PRISON) as Touichirou cause they know he’s a threat and they gotta look after the rest of the population of Japan/The World. Ristu and Co. probably try to fight them off for a bit - get rekt (cause you gotta show us that these new esper are STRONK) then Mob walks over and just gives himself up to them. 

Look the poor boy was asking for Teru to straight up KILL HIM - you can’t convince me otherwise here - guys been hating himself for yeARS after what happened to Ristu. Mob knows he’s dangerous when he loses control, and this last disaster just made everything even worse because people got hurt - maybe even died and no one was able to stop him. No one. 

So Mob says his goodbye and heads off with the government people. They take him to their TOTALLY SECERT BASE and lock him up or whatever (basically this is the realisation of all those One Punch Man fanfics where Saitama gets locked up voluntarily because’s he just too strong)

anyways the rest of the arc doesn’t feature Mob - just Ristu and the others going about life and realising how much it genuinely SUCKS that Mob’s not their - Reigen’s business still does fine because Seizawa is there - but it’s not the same without his student. Ristu is a fucking mess - forever and always. Teru’s having like six different crises because he’s done so many similar things on PURPOSE and he wasn’t taken away but Mob, kindest person on the planet was. Hell the Body Improvement Club are visibly drooping without their inspirational teammate.

So a decision is reached - They’re gonna get Mob back - Shou comes along as well cause Ristu helped him stop his dad so it’s only fair he helps save Mob.

The gang do some SERIOUS TRAINING - like months and months of planning, research, practising, stopping all the other threats that show up (and since Mob isn’t there to take care of them the other’s level by fighting in his place) Reigen’s office becomes their HQ. Everyone bonds, it’s great. 

They bust their way through the Government’s super secret esper holding facility or whatever - Shou and Serizawa see Touichirou again - it’s kinda awkward but Shou busts his dad out and he joins the fight to break Mob out because he knows what goes on he and he knows’ Mob doesn’t really deserve any of that.

So they finally get to were Mob is - and he’s just chillin reading a book or something - and he’s super confused as to why everyone’s there. Caused he’d convinced himself that they’d all be much better off without him - so Ristu and co have this big emotional speech where they tell Mob how much he means to all of them and no matter how many times he loses control they know it’s not really him doing any of the damage when he’s unconscious - and they manage to convince Mob to let them break him out 

But while making their way back out the Government Espers show up again for a final showdown and Mob get knockout again and ???% shows up. But it’s not attacking anyone - just kinda staring - and the government esper are using it as a reason as to why Mob is obvious this danger to everyone and they should just kill him ect ect ect - and go to attack Mob and stuff but ???% doesn’t do anything - just put up a barrier and waits. 

Then you switch to Mob’s perspective inside his own head and he and ???% are having a conversation - you find out what ???% is and why it’s inside of Mob (personal head cannon is it’s this eldritch entity that latches on to powerful psychics to hide from all the spirits that wanna eat it for it’s power ect - but it actually really likes Mob because who doesn’t like Mob which is why it tries to protect him whenever he goes unconscious). Mob and ???% make a deal and achieve full synchronisation or whatever and become this god like being that fucks EVERYONE’S SHIT UP - it even fully restores the city and wipes the memories of everyone who saw Mob lose it so everything can go back to normal (save for Ristu and Co cause Mob knows now they aren’t scared of him)

Then everyone goes home and has ice cream or something cause dear god they need a fucking break at this point

[shigeokageyaboi]

Coming to Terms

So this is kind of the first fanfiction I’ve ever finished and posted online, and I’m sure there are plenty of things about it that are weird It’s Terumob aka Hanazawa Teruki/Kageyama “Mob” Shigeo. It’s just some fluff, it’s for general audiences and there might be more to come?

Shigeo is coming to terms with the fact that Tsubomi might never have feelings for him, but realizes that with Teruki by his side he doesn’t really mind what Tsubomi thinks

“Have you ever had to force yourself to let go of something despite every part of you feeling desperate to hold onto it?” Mob asks, his voice soft and slow, yet his tone is unsure, as though he is straining to talk.

Teru knows exactly how that feels, he was still coming to terms with letting go of his entire previous life. He still struggled everyday to face the world he thought he was better than, and though he feels like changing is what’s right- he can’t help but wish he could stay living blindly, believing he was more important than the rest. However, he doubts that Mob’s struggle is the same, so he simply nods and looks over at his friend.

“Yes, have you?” Teru asks, prodding to understand Mob’s situation just a little more. Mob leans back against the bench they’re sitting on and observes the sky, as if he were reading the shades of orange and purple that tell them night will be here soon.

“I know that I won’t be with Tsubomi-chan, even though I’m working so hard to be someone that she would love.” He almost flinches, like he’s being assaulted by the words spoken through his own mouth; Teru thinks Mob must must feel that way as well. He almost scoffs in response.

‘Why doesn’t Tsubomi love him the way he is right now?’ He thinks to himself, but aloud he says,

“What makes you say that, Kageyama-kun?”

It's quiet for a moment while Mob fights to speak words he doesn't want to say.

“Tsubomi-chan wants someone full of life, and I am not…” He mutters in response, tearing his gaze from the skies above to the concrete below. He crosses his arms tight along his torso, hugging the jacket in his arms closer to himself.

Whatever gave Mob the idea that he was not full of life clearly hadn’t spent more than a couple of minutes in his presence. Nothing had ever given Teruki more life than the boy he sat next to. Mob’s small, yet powerful smile, his dark eyes that hid behind soft, straight, beautiful hair... the color that filled his cheeks when he caught Teru staring at him… none of those things could be classified as anything less than ‘full of life’. To Teruki, Mob carried everything from night and day; nothing was ever as dark or as bright as him, nothing could be so secretive yet so transparent at the same time, nothing could be as dull or as colorful as Mob could be all at once.

“I don’t feel enough to be considered a human being…” Mob added, breaking Teru out of his thoughts.

That was definitely not true. Mob’s emotions were muted at times, but they weren’t nonexistent. When he lets his true passion shine through it is very clear that he feels everything to its full extent. He feels things at 100%, those feelings are within him and shine through him, even in small doses. That was clear to Teru.

“That’s not true, Kageyama-kun. You’re practically more human than anyone I’ve ever met.” He interjected, persistence in his voice, and eyes locked on Shigeo, who returned his gaze for only a moment before retreating back to the rubble of the concrete.

“But… I wouldn’t be able to laugh with her, or cry with her, or- or anything like that!” He insisted, Dimple’s words revived themselves, and rampaged the streets of Shigeo’s mind. He tried not to let them get to him, but the more he thought about his future with Tsubomi (or lack thereof) he couldn’t help but realize that even though those words were intentional stabs at his confidence they had truth to them.

“You would when it mattered, besides it’s not as though you don’t feel a thing- I’ve spent enough time with you to be able to tell that even though you’re not laughing you’re having fun, or even if you’re not crying you’re upset. You don’t have to be as expressive as everyone else to be readable.” Teru says, placing a hand on the back of Mobs neck, rubbing small circles into the juncture by his shoulder with his thumb. He wasn’t exactly experienced with comforting people, and physical affection towards Mob always had him thinking too much, but he tried not to focus on his mistakes, and instead focus on his friend.

“My bouts of emotion only really happen when something matters to me in particular, what if she’s upset and I’m just not able to feel for her? What if she never understands how I’m feeling if I’m not expressive enough?” His voice was quiet and he bit down on his lip, looking back up at the sky, trying to clear his head. He could feel himself beginning to shake, and held his jacket tighter to his body in an attempt to control his own movements. Teru could feel him breaking down under a single hand, and was tempted to pull the other in for a hug. Instead he sat quietly, growing increasingly more frustrated with Mob’s situation.

“If the way you are now isn’t good enough for her then maybe- well… maybe...” Teru stopped himself. He isn’t sure what would be too harsh to say to Shigeo, what would register as an offence towards this girl he held so dearly in his heart.

‘She isn’t good enough for you.’ is what pushes against Teru’s lips, daring to be said aloud, but they're swallowed away, and he becomes silent. It’s not fair, Teru doesn’t have any room to get frustrated with the girl Shigeo is close to. He’s not better than her, he shouldn’t act as though he knows what is good enough for Mob. However, he does know that Shigeo, his patient and generous friend, does not deserve to be thinking so lowly of himself, especially not because of some girl that doesn’t see how precious and valuable Mob’s affections towards her are.

“Maybe what, Hanazawa-kun?” Mob asks, eyes begging for comfort. Teru could feel his heart break as soon as he met that sad gaze, and nearly forgot he was speaking at all. What was he gonna say now? He couldn’t just badmouth this girl that Shigeo is so attached to, but he so badly wants to get his message across.

“Maybe… she just doesn’t know what she’s missing. You’re wonderful, Kageyama-kun. She must be blind if she doesn’t already see how lucky she is to be noticed by someone as great as you.” Was that better? He can’t tell. He can hardly think with those eyes staring him down, he wonders if it’s obvious how he wishes he could look in those beautiful eyes forever. He wonders if it’s obvious that he’s staring, can eye-contact be considered staring?

‘Stop staring, Hanazawa, you’re being too forward!’ He can feel his face flush, and he turns his gaze to the clouds above the falling sun, painted with a color that was nearly as pink as his cheeks. However, looking away doesn’t stop the heat caused by Shigeo's beaming eyes that peered into the side of him. Teruki’s mind racing with thoughts grabbed hold of one that moved him in particular.

‘Everything Kageyama has done to improve himself was for this girl, and now he’s coming to terms with the fact that she might never appreciate that.’

Maybe their situations weren't too different. Teruki was changing himself to be better, and letting go of his pretentious behavior- leaving behind his previous ideals. Mob was changing himself to be better and struggling to let go of his reserved behavior, but now he may have to leave behind his whole motivation for changing.

Either way they’re both trying become better people for one person's sake…

Themselves.

And neither of them were fully ready for the result of that.

“If someone like you thinks something so nice of me… then maybe what Tsubomi-Chan thinks of me shouldn't matter so much.” Mob says in a quiet voice, turning his head away to watch the clouds with Teru, whose face only grew into a dark shade of red. He wanted to say something to make Shigeo feel less alone, he sat in silence for only a moment before forcing himself to speak- to just make something up,

“I- If Tsubomi-Chan is the kind of person who will only accept you at your best then just know that I'm here for you when you gotta be your worst…” Not bad, but when is Shigeo ever ‘the worst’ to Teruki? He had to keep going…

“O-Or.. even just your mediocre, because even if… um.” Stay charming, Teruki. Stop sputtering. Say something mystical…

“Even if you want to be a star for Tsubomi... you're already a galaxy to me.” Good enough Teru adds, too embarrassed to think through every word, just desperately hoping his message doesn't come off as too strong or confusing or even too embarrassing.

Shigeo just smiles at him in response, small but genuine and sincere, his face dusted with pink. He wishes he could think of something to say to Teru that carried as much meaning as what Teru just said to him, and he shames himself for not being as great with words as his silver-tongued master. Instead he stands, turning to face the blond below him,

“It's getting dark, if I'm not home soon Ritsu might get upset.” he says, reaching his hand out to help Teru up. Not removing his hand from the other when he is successfully pulled from his comfortable position on the park bench. Mob wonders if this is okay, Teru has yet to pull out of his grasp, but neither of them have started moving forward. They just stand in silence, hand in hand.

“Okay, let's get you home then.” Teruki says as he begins to walk, signalling Shigeo to begin as well, who hums in agreement.

They stay intertwined until they reach the step of Shigeo's porch, triggering him to turn around and face the blond who lets go of his hand in surprise.

“Thank you, Hanazawa-Kun. For speaking with me today.” he speaks softly and swallows thickly as he moves towards Teruki, who scratches the back of his neck sheepishly, his eyes unmet with Mob’s and doesn't notice the space between them getting smaller.

“Ah hey, don’t worry about it! I’m always here when you need to talk. You have my number, right? So don't hesitate to--”

He’s cut off by Shigeo's lips, that press against him softly, and far too quick for him to register before the other bolts to the door and says,

“Thanks again, Hanazawa-kun! Bye!” with his face flushed and his voice clearly raised higher than it was used to going, and a single wave goodbye before he scurried behind the door of his home.

Teru brought curled fingers up to his chest and smiled, and he felt as though he were flourishly skipping his way home. Surely his rosy cheeks and wide smile would stand out to those who might pass by him in the near dark of night, and he couldn't help but feel as though he shined bright enough to bring back the day. And as soon as he got home he began to retrace every step of the day in his mind.

[serenlyss]

Don’t Thank Me Yet Chapter 4

Rating: M (blood, guns, murder, torture, ptsd, dissociation) Pairings: ritshou Summary: “Alright then. I’m Shou,” he says, introducing himself more properly this time. “I’m an esper, like you, the first in existence to be forcibly awoken by Claw’s crazy torture machines. They kidnap kids with potential latent psychic powers and break them, over and over, until either their powers emerge or they die. It doesn’t matter either way to them.” His expression hardens as he speaks, clear distaste and outright malice evident in his tone. “I could really use your help here, you know. A partner of sorts, someone to watch my back. What do you say?" Ritsu hesitates. He isn’t a fighter by any means, and the psychic powers now churning beneath his skin are still very new and frightening. It’s all very overwhelming, but Ritsu can’t help but feel a sort of sickening hope at Shou’s promise for revenge. It did have a sort of dark draw to it. In which Claw is a lot worse than they seem and Shigeo isn't able to find his brother after he's kidnapped. Crossposted to AO3: Chapter 4

Chapter 3 // Chapter 5

We've reached the halfway point! This chapter is a bit slower, more set up for the other four chapters. I hope you guys like it!

---

It takes Shou until halfway back home to feel like his breathing has stabilized. His throat still aches terribly, and he’s certain he must look like he’s been through hell twice over, but he can’t bring himself to be too worried about his appearance just yet. He’s still fighting to process the last few hours of his life, head in his hands as Higashio drives them silently back to the house. He lifts his head as they pull into the driveway, sitting up and trying not to wince at the soreness already settling into his tired body.

He casts a glance Ritsu’s way, heart plummeting when he sees the way he stares unflinchingly out the window. He doesn’t even blink, he’s so still, and if it isn’t for the small but constant rise and fall of his chest as he breathes, he might come across lifeless. Swallowing back his apprehension, he reaches out and gives Ritsu’s shoulder a little shake. It seems to draw Ritsu out of himself, just a bit, as he turns and fixes Shou with his foggy gray gaze.

“You with me, dude?” Shou asks, trying to keep his tone light and casual, but his shoulders hunch forward in a distinctly fatigued way, and his movements lack their usual unbridled energy. He can see the dark circles under Ritsu’s eyes that form as a result of their sleepless night and everything it’s entailed, and he’s willing to bet money that he’s got them, too.

Ritsu nods once, and one by one he moves each of his limbs so that he can crack open the car door and step outside. His movements are mechanical and heavy, as though each miniscule movement is an effort in itself. He pauses as he steps out of the car, staring up at the house for a few long, disoriented seconds. “We’re home,” he says finally, words falling from his mouth without forethought.

Shou offers him a small smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes and pats him on the shoulder. “Yeah,” he agrees, giving him a gentle push toward the door. Ritsu complies, walking a pace ahead of Shou as the five of them make their way inside. Ritsu falls quiet again, arms limp at his sides.

Shou pushes open the door to the house. The hinges squeak quietly, but the sound is deafening in the silence of the empty room. He winces at the noise, but says nothing, bending down to instinctively shed his shoes and jacket.

Ritsu moves immediately to go sit on the couch. Shou watches him, noting the angry red burns on his upper arm and his face. He’s certain that Ritsu’s hiding bruises as bad as his, and he swallows, feeling his throat protest at the movement. It still aches from the feeling of the Scar’s fingers digging into it, cutting off his airway, strangling him…

He gives his head a shake, and turns to face the rest of the party. Fukuda is eyeing Ritsu with intense worry, wringing his hands in front of him as his gaze flicks between him and Shou. Ootsuki and Higashio look concerned as well, though to a lesser degree, as they hang their coats and slip off their shoes.

Shou lets out a breath and says, “You all get some rest. I’ll… take care of things out here,” he says, risking a glance at Ritsu as he does. The dark-haired boy has gone stock-still again, hunched over himself with his hands clasped tightly together. Fukuda looks like he wants to protest, but Shou holds up a hand. “It’s fine, we can handle ourselves,” he says again, more firmly, an order rather than a reassurance. He casts the larger man a warning glare, daring him to argue.

After a cautious moment, he nods, and all three of them disperse to separate rooms of the house. Ootsuki lays a hand on Shou’s back as he leaves, a quiet comfort, and he’s thankful for it, as brief as it is. Once he and Ritsu are alone in the main room, he moves to approach his partner. “Hey,” he greets, voice soft and careful. He glances at the blistering burn on Ritsu’s arm, biting his lip. “Does it hurt bad?”

Ritsu shrugs noncommittally, still staring at his hands. His hair is all over the place, sticking straight up in places and covered in dust from the fight, and his face is mottled black and blue where he’d been hit by the Scar’s burning punch. There’s dry blood on his chin and neck, and on the cheek where his skin’s been seared. It looks like it must hurt a lot.

Shou bites his lip, then reaches out and gently separates Ritsu’s hands from each other. They go limp almost immediately in his grip, and he removes the gloves from them with hesitant fingers, uncharacteristically afraid of how Ritsu might react. The problem is, Ritsu doesn’t really react at all, just lets himself be moved around at Shou’s behest and doesn’t say a word. Shou stares down at Ritsu’s exposed palms for a moment, at the thin white lines that cross his palms and fingers, then folds them both into his lap, eyes moving to his ripped up, bloody shirt. “Let’s get that shirt off you, yeah? We need to clean up your burn before it gets infected,” he says.

Ritsu nods, pulling on the hem of the long-sleeved shirt and exposing the white tank top underneath. Halfway up, though, he lets out a pained noise and winces, his injured arm obviously giving him trouble. Shou moves to help him, tugging at his sleeves and doing his best not to chafe his burn, until they finally manage to get the destroyed black shirt off. Shou lets it fall to the ground beside the couch in a heap; it’s not salvageable at this point, and will have to be thrown out later.

“I liked that shirt,” Ritsu says, finally, blessedly. He hasn’t spoken since they got in the car back at Claw’s base.

Shou can’t help the relieved chuckle that bubbles up in his throat. “That’s a shame. I liked it, too,” he says, and finally feels like it’s safe enough that he can go to the shelf and bring down that familiar cardboard box. It’s only been a few hours since they’d last touched it, he realizes; the sun is rising, but neither of them have slept since the previous night. The first aid supplies inside rattle as he walks back over to Ritsu and sets to work on his burns. “What are you thinking about?” he asks, though he’s certain he already knows.

Ritsu’s eyes cast downward and to the side, shame coming to his expression immediately, and keeps his lips tightly sealed.

Shou takes his arm and starts to work cleaning away the blood that’s leaked from his burn, doing his best not to agitate the wound too badly. “Ritsu,” he says firmly, and Ritsu lifts his head to meet his gaze. He continues, “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”

Ritsu opens his mouth, lip quivering, then closers it again. He drops his gaze to his hands once more, unable to speak and look at Shou at the same time. “I killed that man. I didn’t know what to do, so I just… shot him. It was so easy,” he finally confesses, regret creeping into his voice.

“He tried to kill us first,” Shou replies, a weak comfort. He doubts Ritsu takes much reassurance from it at all.

“He was going to kill me,” Ritsu corrects bitterly, “and take you back to your father.”

Shou winces as though he’s been tangibly hit, and his hand stills for a moment as he prods at the burn on Ritsu’s arm. Ritsu’s words are laced with deadly venom, filled with hatred despite the fact that he’s never met Claw’s leader before. “Yeah, he was,” Shou relents after a moment, and presses a sanitary wipe against Ritsu’s burn.

Ritsu hisses and jerks away from Shou’s touch, but he persists, holding Ritsu in place. “Tough it out for a moment, this won’t last long,” he chides.

“I didn’t know what else to do,” Ritsu murmurs, still in pain but trying to cover it with words. “I couldn’t just sit there doing nothing. I-I couldn’t let him keep hurting you. He was strangling you-”

“It’s okay, we’re okay,” Shou sooths, reaching out to cover Ritsu’s unoccupied hand with his. “He can’t hurt us anymore.”

Ritsu takes a shuddering breath. “I’ve never killed anyone before, not intentionally. I can’t… I don’t know what to do now,” he admits.

Shou glances down, chewing on his lower lip. He’s no stranger to killing people, and Ritsu knows this. He’s killed enough on his missions that he’s become desensitized to it, and that’s not even taking into account all the people that surely died when the Claw bases came down around them, destroyed. People who turned a blind eye to torturing kids, to murdering them. People like the ones who had hurt Ritsu only a few months ago, and continued to hurt others every single day their bases continue to stand.

People who probably had families, and home lives, and friends, as much as Shou wants to believe that they’re all soulless, detached beings. “You just have to keep moving,” Shou replies, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “You’re still you, don’t forget that. You can do whatever you want to.”

Ritsu swallows, head lowering, and Shou sees his stiff shoulders drop, just a fraction. He can barely keep his eyes open. Shou offers him what he hopes is a reassuring smile. He cleans the rest of Ritsu’s wounds in silence, then orders him to get some rest. “I can take care of my own injuries for a change,” he insists when Ritsu tries to protest, and he gives up fairly quickly after that, disappearing into his bedroom with freshly bandaged burns and about a dozen new bruises.

Shou’s lucky to be the better one off after a fight like that. Aside from the bruises that now litter his body, there isn’t much for him to do. He carefully cleans a few small cuts and covers them with tan band-aids, then goes to the bathroom to assess the damages.

As soon as he sees his reflection in the mirror, his stomach flips nauseatingly. His arms, exposed by his shirt, are covered in bruises, some of them green and blue and some dark purple or red. He’s developing a pretty nasty-looking black eye, and he’s covered in concrete dust from his hair to his dirty socks. He tilts his chin back and reaches a hand up to brush against the dark bruises ringing his neck, scowling. They’re hand-shaped, dark prints that bring back that fresh feeling of fear, that terror that he’d nearly been shipped back to his father before he’s ready. They’re sore to the touch, so he stops agitating them, just stares at them in the mirror. “How unattractive,” he mumbles to himself, but the sickness persists. He tears his gaze away, swallowing, and leaves the bathroom.

---

Ritsu’s been gone all afternoon.

Normally Shou wouldn’t worry about something like this. Ritsu is a very capable guy, and Shou has no doubt he can defend himself from minor threats if needed, but he’s been acting weird the last few days. Avoiding eye contact, making excuses for staying in his room instead of hanging around the main part of the house like he usually does, and now this.

It’s not like Shou is going to tell him not to leave the house. He’d been careful to establish right off the bat that Ritsu isn’t being kept against his will, and that he’s free to leave anytime. Even if Shou really, really doesn’t want him to leave. Even so, he rarely leaves for long, and he’s always sure to tell Shou where he’s going. He hasn’t even left a note this time.

Shou can’t help but be concerned, even though he knows that Ritsu is most likely fine. It’s been a few days since they’d returned from their… not-so-great mission, and his burns are healing nicely, turning to fresh scars that intersect with older, more faded ones. They haven’t spoken about what happened in the basement prison since Ritsu had gone to sleep the morning after, and Shou’s loathe to bring it up. He really hopes Ritsu isn’t letting it get to him, but he can’t deny the way his friend dances around his attempts to parse the subject and insists everything is fine when it clearly isn’t.

He shakes his head and pushes himself off the couch, desperate to do something productive before he loses his mind in what-ifs and maybes. He drifts to the kitchen sink and runs the tap warm so he can tackle the breakfast dishes still sitting in the sink. He scrubs at them with an old sponge, frowning as he tries to deduce exactly where Ritsu could have gone. His suspicious activity of the last few days has been off-putting, to say the least, and Shou can’t help but worry that he might get himself into trouble.

He’s halfway through the pile of dirty dishes when the door of the house cracks open and Ritsu returns. Shou casts him a brief glance, notes the way he avoids returning his gaze as he slips off his shoes and sets them by the door.

“Hey. You were gone for a while, I was starting to wonder when you were gonna get back,” Shou says casually. It’s not his duty to pry into what Ritsu wants to do in his private time, he tells himself, no matter how much he really wants to be nosy right now. Still, he can’t help but feel just a little left out, thrown off by Ritsu’s odd behavior.

Ritsu moves to the table and pulls out a chair, slipping into it quietly. “Ah, I was just running a few errands. I made sure to keep out of sight, though. It’ll be bad if Claw finds out where we are,” he responds smoothly.

Shou quirks an eyebrow at him, amused. “Errands?” he echoes, but doesn’t press further. “Look at you, being all responsible ‘n shit.”

Ritsu stifles a snort of laughter, attempting to disguise it as a cough. “I’m always responsible,” he insists, leaning his elbows on the table.

Shou glances in his direction, catching the faint, uncertain smile on his face, and doesn’t miss the way Ritsu markedly avoids meeting his gaze. He looks away again. “Something bothering you?” he asks, turning back to the dishes in the sink.

Ritsu doesn’t answer right away. Shou hears him tapping restlessly on the tabletop with his fingers, the sound muffled by the dark gloves that he constantly wears now. For a few seconds, an anticipatory silence hangs in the air, and then Ritsu says, “I left my brother a message.”

Shou freezes, squeezing the green-and-yellow sponge a bit tighter in his hand. He’s halfway through scrubbing a white ceramic plate, but the stutter in his heartbeat at the revelation makes his muscles stall for a split second. He’s quick to recover from his surprise, though, hand moving to clear the last of the leftover food from the plate’s surface. “Ritsu-”

“I didn’t try to talk to him,” Ritsu interrupts before Shou can say another word. “I made sure to be discreet, too, and I didn’t mention you or anyone else in my message. I just wanted him to know that I’m still alive.”

Shou sets aside the clean plate and turned off the tap, drying his hands on a towel at his side. Then he turns and moves to join Ritsu at the table, frowning. “That’s really dangerous, Ritsu,” he says. “Claw might still have eyes on your house. I know it’s been a long time since you were kidnapped, but if there’s a chance of accidentally getting your family involved…” he trails off, fighting back the instinctive flare of anger that tries to worm its way out of him. He quickly stomps it down: now isn’t the time to get angry, and he knows from experience how trying to settle disagreements with hostility tends to end.

“If anything happens, I’ll handle it,” Ritsu says firmly, with a confidence that Shou isn’t really anticipating. It’s simultaneously surprising and infuriating, because both of them know he most certainly can’t keep that promise on his own.

Ritsu knows how to be confident, that much is undeniable, but it’s painfully easy for anyone to see that Ritsu’s brother is his weak point. Get your hands on Shigeo, and Ritsu will bend to whatever you want. It’s part of how he’d been kidnapped in the first place, after all. His affection for Shigeo and desire to protect his family is a bargaining chip for Claw that they don’t even understand, the kind with enough weight to throw the whole operation into the gutter if they figure out about it. Shou really, really doesn’t want to have to see the look on Ritsu’s face if his plan ends up backfiring on him.

Still, he wants to trust Ritsu, wants to believe that nothing bad is going to happen. “Well, it’s already done, I guess. I trust you, Ritsu, and I know you’re only doing what you think is best,” he says, attempting to set aside his doubts for now, but it’s hard to stop himself from listing off all the things that could go wrong.

Ritsu frowns, clasping his hands together on top of the table. “You think it was a bad idea,” he states, like a fact. His eyes bore into Shou’s head and read him like an open book.

Shou bites his lip and glances away. “I’ve always thought it was a bad idea,” he sighs, attempting to deflect, “but it doesn’t really matter what I think. I don’t control you.”

“It does matter,” Ritsu insists. “Aren’t you mad?” He furrows his brow at Shou like he’s expecting a fight, confusion and apprehension in his gaze.

Shou ruffles his hair with one hand, restless. “I’m not mad, just… concerned, I guess? Kinda disappointed, too. I thought that you would have at least told me when you were planning to reach out to your brother. We’re partners, after all…”

Ritsu looks increasingly more agitated as Shou speaks, clearly surprised in a not-so-pleasant way. “Get mad at me,” he demands, and the emotion with which he speaks throws Shou off his guard. “You should be mad, Shou! I went behind your back, I lied to you, I put us all in danger! Get mad at me!”

Shou raises his hands placatingly, leaning away from Ritsu with wide eyes. “Whoa, dude, calm down,” he says, uncertain, “you’re not making any sense.”

Ritsu stands up abruptly, his chair screeching loudly across the kitchen’s wood floor. He slaps both hands on the table’s surface, shaking it. “I don’t understand!” he yells, confused and frustrated. “You’re the leader here, right? Tell me I messed up! Tell me that what I did was stupid and reckless and that I should have waited for a better time! You can’t just-just…” He trails off, effectively speechless.

Shou stands up as well, mind racing as he tries to wrap his head around why Ritsu is so annoyed. He can feel his own overwhelming apprehension and shock feeding his irritation, despite the fact that he really thinks it would be better to handle this calmly. “You want me to, what, scold you? Like a little kid?” he asks, incredulous and somewhat offended. “What, do you think I’m your babysitter or something? It’s not my job to keep tabs on you! You don’t need me to explain what you’ve done wrong, you already know!” He scoffs, taking a step back, away from Ritsu. “Do you really want me to spell it out for you, Ritsu? Fine. What you did was incredibly reckless and dumb and badly thought out and for all we know, you’ve given Claw a straight shot to your brother and this place! Claw could be going after your family right now because you accidentally tipped them off that Shigeo exists and you know who’s going to get the worst of it? You are!” He finally stops to take a breath, panting and red-faced from the sudden outpouring of harsh words he tended to keep just to himself, and finds himself pointing an accusatory finger in Ritsu’s direction.

Ritsu has gone stock-still, staring back at Shou with an expression that’s a mixture of surprised, scolded and vaguely impressed. His hands fall limply to his sides and the tension drains from his shoulders visibly, slouching down into a gentle arc instead of a straight, tense line. Then he raises his hand to his mouth and starts to laugh, attempting to stifle the noise with his palm. His shoulders shake with mirth and he bends over himself, long bangs shielding his face. “Yeah, that’s more like what I thought was going to happen,” he manages after a moment, a bitter grin on his face.

Shou groans softly and sinks back into his seat, letting his head fall into his hands as he threads his fingers into his hair. He hears Ritsu follow suit, the chair legs scraping against the wooden floor in a much more careful way than when he’d stood up before. Shou takes a breath to calm himself before he looks up again, catching Ritsu’s gaze. Despite everything Shou’s just said to him, he looks far more relaxed than before. He even looks kind of amused, to Shou’s chagrin.

“I didn’t think you’d actually rip into me that fast,” Ritsu says with a rare, smug smirk.

Shou lets out another tired sigh. “I was never going to get angry at you,” he says, “I’m not that kind of person. You’re not my subordinate, Ritsu, you’re my partner, and I trust you, more than I’ve ever trusted anyone. I still think it was a terrible idea to clue your brother into this even a little bit, but you’re not stupid. I know you were careful about it.” He sits up straighter in his seat, throwing one arm over the back of the metal kitchen chair. “Besides, there’s nothing we can do about it now, it’s already been done. We’ll just have to be prepared for the aftermath.”

“Right,” Ritsu quietly agrees, and his expression softens to something akin to relief and, Shou notices with a skip of the heartbeat, affection. “I’m sorry I went behind your back. Thank you… for taking me seriously.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Shou replies immediately, taking a phrase from Ritsu’s repertoire that leaves them both grinning.

---

Ritsu stops avoiding him after that, and they fall easily back into their old routine. It’s late in the morning when Ritsu returns to the house, so they eat an early lunch and then Shou drags Ritsu into the yard to spar and practice new techniques.

“C’mon, Ritsu, it’s easy!” Shou calls. His bright orange aura surrounds him like a flame, carrying his weight as he hovers a few feet off the ground. He flips upside-down, as if to illustrate how effortless flying is for him, and he crosses his legs almost casually above his head.

Ritsu’s fidgety, and his furrowed brow and the scowl on his face are a dead giveaway to the frustration he’s feeling. For all of Ritsu’s talent and how quickly he’s able to pick up new techniques, Shou’s found that he’s quite the perfectionist. It doesn’t make a difference when he can pick up the new trick quickly, but in times like these, when he struggles to wrap his brain around how to make Shou’s methods work for himself, he’s quick to get angry and discouraged.

“Ugh, this is pointless!” Ritsu snaps, and for a moment his aura flares. He’s quick to reign it back in again, though, flushing pink in embarrassment. He crosses his arms with a pout, but it only makes Shou grin wider.

“Chill, Ritsu, it’s fine if you don’t get it right away,” Shou says, tone half-teasing as he rights himself in the air. He lets himself drop the few feet back to solid ground, feeling his loose T-shirt settle around his shoulders once more. “Not everything’s gonna come right away, though I’m not sure why this is the thing that’s hard for you. I was able to pick it up really fast.”

Ritsu flashes him a scowl. “No need to rub it in,” he mutters, kicking at the grass with the toe of one shoe.

They’ve been at it for hours, and Ritsu’s really starting to look worn out. By now the sun has reached its peak and started to descend, marking the early evening hours as long shadows stretch along the lawn and the sky begins to tint pink and orange. It’ll be a few more hours still before the sun sets entirely, but it’s just about time they called it a night and headed in. Still, that won’t stop Shou from giving it one last try.

“Come on, one more round before dinner,” he urges. “I have an idea that might just work.” He flashes Ritsu a sly grin.

Ritsu gives him a look, the kind that tells him that he senses Shou’s devious intent, but he just sighs, shoulders slumping. “Fine, one more time,” he relents.

Shou’s grin broadens, and before Ritsu can back out, he crosses the space between them, grabs one of Ritsu’s hands in each of his, and jumps.

He catches Ritsu’s shocked yelp as he wraps himself in his aura and tugs Ritsu off his feet entirely, letting him hang by his hands from his grasp. Ritsu’s legs flail beneath him, searching for ground that is no longer there, his eyes blown wide and mouth hanging open in speechless dread.

Shou laughs, reveling in his friend’s surprise as he rises to the top of a leafy maple tree and sits Ritsu down on a thick, sturdy branch. “Consider this a trial by fire! You should be able to carry yourself enough to at least get down safe, right?” he says with a devilish grin, hovering a few feet away from where he’d deposited him.

As soon as Ritsu’s hands are free, he clings to the tree’s trunk, fingers digging into the bark as he chances a glance down at the ground beneath his hanging feet. He stiffens up, pressing his side into the trunk as much as he can. To Shou, it almost looks like he’s trying to phase inside of it, his body entirely frozen. “Shou, get me down from here right now!” he demands, but there’s a distinct quiver to his voice.

Shou blinks, grin faltering. “What’s the matter, still don’t think you can do it?” he asks, drifting a little closer and tilting his head. Ritsu hugs the tree trunk like he’s afraid of falling, even though the branch he’s sitting on can easily handle his weight and he’s only two stories off the ground. “Wait a minute, are you afraid of heights?”

Ritsu stares resolutely down at the ground, teeth clenched, but he does manage to flash Shou a fierce glare in response to his comments. “Just get me down, Shou, please,” he repeats.

It’s the ‘please’ that throws Shou off more than anything else. Ritsu’s always been one to do everything he can on his own before he dares to ask for help, so the fact that he’s asking for it now when he could just as easily climb down himself is startling, to say the least. Even if, somehow, he did fall, he could easily catch himself with his powers. He’s fully capable of it, Shou knows, he just needs a little push, but apparently the push he’d come up with hadn’t been the right one after all.

He lets out a soft sigh. “Yeah, alright,” he relents, knocked off-guard by Ritsu’s pleas for help, and when he drifts closer and offers his hand Ritsu’s quick to take it. Shou lifts him off the branch with his telekinesis - it isn’t hard, considering how light Ritsu is compared to other objects he’s lifted - and notes the way Ritsu moves his legs as though trying to find purchase on a surface that isn’t there anymore. His free hand reaches out to grab onto something for stability.

Shou can’t help but chuckle at his friend’s flailings, but takes mercy on him this time, nudging him closer with his powers. Ritsu latches onto him immediately, free arm looping around his neck and dragging Shou down a few inches before he can steady himself. Shou snorts out another laugh, catching Ritsu around his waist for support as he gently lowers them back onto the grass below.

Ritsu lets out a baited breath as his feet find solid earth again, though he clings to Shou a few seconds longer than he maybe needs to before he untangles himself from his friend’s grasp. “Thank you,” he sighs, dusting off his pants.

“Never would have guessed you were afraid of heights,” Shou says, a slightly teasing edge to his voice, but he knows better than to make fun of Ritsu’s fears. He starts to head back toward the house; the sun is going down now, and he’s tired after so many hours of training. He’s certain Ritsu must be, too. “You should’ve told me that’s why you can’t fly.”

Ritsu bites his lip and glances away. “Shut up, it’s embarrassing,” he sighs.

“It’s not embarrassing,” Shou assures. “If you’re afraid of heights then you’re afraid of heights. We’re all afraid of something.” He slides open the back door and shuffles inside, and Ritsu follows behind him, closing it shut. “You hungry?” Shou asks to change the subject, moving into the kitchen and rooting around in search of something good to eat.

Ritsu seems glad to be talking about something else, and joins Shou in scavenging for a meal. They manage to scrape together a dinner of rice and leftover takeout from the night before, and then settle back down at the table to eat. By the time they’ve finished their dinner, it’s dark outside. The house is quiet aside from Ritsu and Shou’s quiet conversation, but that quiet is quickly broken when Shou’s phone starts to ring loudly in his pocket.

Shou blinks, surprised, and pulls out his phone, looking down at the screen for a moment. “Huh, it’s Ootsuki. He’s only supposed to use this number for emergencies,” he says, frowning. He answers the call, putting it on speakerphone so Ritsu can hear. “Yo, it’s me. What’s going on? You used the emergency line.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure this constitutes an emergency,” Ootsuki’s voice comes across the speaker, clipped and clearly a little panicked.

“What’s going on?” Ritsu asks, concerned.

The line is quiet for a few seconds, which only serves to make Shou’s apprehension multiply. Then, somberly, Ootsuki says, “The Kageyama house is on fire.”