#ritsu over time becomes less and less irritated with that fact (he still pretends to hate it tho)

[eshithepetty]

I just think it'd be funny if post canon Ritsu and Reigen develop a brotherly relationship <3 together with the rest of the S&S crew and Shou and Teru they form the most messy found family ever

[ID: uncolored doodles of Reigen and Ritsu from Mob Psycho 100. In the first one, Ritsu is grabbing Reigen's lapels and kicking him, both of them angry, as if they are (play) fighting. In the next 2 doodles, Reigen's got his head in a cupboard, asking, "Who ate my pocky?!", and in the next panel, we see Ritsu sitting on a couch, eating pocky with a smug look on his face, as Reigen off-screen says "I swear to god if it's you Ritsu, again-". The next 2 doodles are of Ritsu laying his head against Reigen's chest, hands curled up, with Reigen looking surprised, and in the next one, he hugs Ritsu close, heaving a sigh and smiling. Inbetween these doodles, there is one of Reigen as a fox and Ritsu as a cat, Ritsu sleeping curled up next to him, and a small doodle of Ritsu smiling and throwing a peace sign, with text below it saying "space filler". End ID.]

[autisticteru]

A Kick in the Teeth is Good for Some - CHAPTER 7

Summary: All Ritsu wants is to move on and be happy with his life. But something keeps growing inside him. From his stomach to his chest to his throat and out his eyes and mouth, until it fully surrounds him making it impossible to ignore. He can cut it down, but it will just grow back. He needs to destroy it, to pull it up from the roots. And he thinks he finally knows how. But there’s only one person who can help with that. Unfortunately, that person is Teruki Hanazawa.

Read on AO3 HERE

Read from the beginning HERE

Individual chapters:

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12

Chapter 7: Equals

“Oh, you’re a bit early,” said Teru as Ritsu approached bus stop bench he was sitting on. “There’s still twenty minutes before the bus arrives.”

“How long have you been waiting here?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Then you’re earlier than me.”

That seemed to shut Teru up, and Ritsu took a great satisfaction in that. But it was no accident that Ritsu showed up early. He was anxious to get started again.

And so, it became a routine. The early run, the training, the spar, and the random tests would soon all become just another part of Ritsu’s day. And as Teru continued in making notes on Ritsu’s improvement, Ritsu had been making some mental notes of his own.

The worst part of the day was always the mornings. Even if Ritsu was always looking forward to the training, no amount of excitement could help him keep his eyes open on the early bus ride. And Ritsu couldn’t tell what was worse; the torture of trying to stay awake on the bus, or having to witness Teru’s awful shit eating grin after getting soaked with water.

The run was no better. Ritsu was absolutely certain that Teru took some sort of sick pleasure at seeing Ritsu struggle to keep up behind him through the mud. Teru insisted that wasn’t the case, but Ritsu could always see a hint of a smirk from the corner of his mouth as he trailed behind.

But after the run was over, the real training would start. And Ritsu certainly enjoyed this part more. Despite how irritating Teru could be, he certainly had a lot of wisdom and talent. He was a complete natural, and one of the strongest espers that Ritsu had ever met. And, as far as Ritsu could tell, Teru had not even reached his limits. There seemed to still be room for him to grow. Ritsu was certain and adult Teru would be a force to be reckoned with.

He was a monster. Ritsu was certain about that. But a monster was exactly what Ritsu needed.

There was so much to learn, and so little time. So Teru worked Ritsu as hard as he could. The first week consisted of mostly fighting techniques that mixed regular fighting and martial arts with psychic abilities to enhance his performance. It was by far the most physically grueling week. Each morning, getting out of bed became harder and harder, and keeping up with Teru’s pace for the morning runs became more and more challenging. By the time Friday came around, Ritsu was certain he had felt less pain when Koyama smashed his face into hard concrete.

And Teru was enjoying every second of it. Ritsu could tell. But for some reason Ritsu would always show up the next morning, tired and in pain. And Teru would always be there at the bus stop, smiling bright at the crack of dawn. He almost never showed any weakness.

Almost.

Ritsu had originally started training with Teru to fix a problem within himself. He believed that beating Shou in a fight would give him the peace he needed. But after the end of the first week, he was getting antsy. There was another thing on his mind, keeping him awake at night.

In an unexpected development, Ritsu had become fixated on Teru. He just couldn’t get the boy off of his mind. As he opened his diary, he found himself unable to write about anything else. It was full of notes on his personality, his habits, his expressions, his emotions…

It wasn’t like Ritsu enjoyed Teru as a person. If anything, Ritsu hated the guy. He really wasn't a good person. Sure, he could pretend to be caring and compassionate with his warm smile and his soft-spoken voice, but after spending enough time with him anyone could see that underneath all that, Teru had a nasty personality. He seemed to be constantly asserting himself as a superior person with his words and actions. But he wasn't just satisfied with being seen as superior. He also had to make others feel inferior. Ritsu noticed this during the spars. There was no way in hell that Teru didn't enjoy humiliating his opponents. Whether it be dangling Ritsu upside-down by his foot with an air whip or bringing him to his knees with nothing but pure psychokinesis, Teru's smile was always brightest when Ritsu's frustration was most apparent.

But then there were moments where he showed weakness. Sometimes, as Teru walked around, he would stop dead in his tracks, stiff and frozen with a thousand yard stare. Other times he would mutter under his breath, moving his lips in a repetitive motion as though reliving a moment in time. Ritsu didn’t mention it, but his curiosity was growing. It was as if Teru were holding something back. It was as though the smile he wore was nothing but a mask; an armor to protect something more fragile and delicate. And there were obvious cracks in it. That was the only explanation Ritsu had for why so much about Teru felt fake. Performative. It was as though he were in front of a crowd, trying to please an audience. And Ritsu was more annoyed by that than anything else. But maybe that was why Teru was so fascinating to him. Ultimately, those moments of tensing and freezing up, those moments of anger and guilt…

They were glimpses of the real Teru. And it was the real Teru that Ritsu wanted to see.

Ritsu leaned over to gaze at his clock. It was two in the morning on a Monday. He couldn’t believe he had stayed awake all night thinking about Teru of all people. And soon he'd be seeing him again after two long days. That thought alone was keeping Ritsu from sleep. He needed to pass the time. Out of habit, he reached over to pick up his phone, and immediately regretted the decision when he saw the bright notification on the lock screen signifying a missed call.

From Suzuki.

Ritsu’s voicemail box was probably getting full by now. But he didn’t have the strength to listen to any of them. He put his phone back on his desk, turned his body face down and sighed into his pillow. He just wasn’t sure anymore. It wasn’t like Shou did anything wrong. He was a good person. A bit blunt and egotistical, but his heart was always in the right place. Ritsu used to always be happier in his company. He could relate to Shou. They were friends. They were equals.

So why did that have to change?

“Ritsu, it’s three in the morning,” said Teru, sitting on the bus stop bench with a half-eaten banana in his hand.

“You’re here too, though."

“I guess I could change the time, but you should really try to get a better sleep. We’ll take the earlier bus this time.”

Ritsu could have commented on the fact that Teru was also sacrificing sleep for this, but he remained silent. It didn’t matter. Despite everything about Teru, Ritsu did feel much more comfortable in his presence. He had no idea if he loved him or hated him, but simply being around him offered Ritsu a moment of relief. Teru had a way of presenting himself that could make anyone else feel inferior. And yet, Ritsu never felt that way around him. Perhaps it was because of his moments of freezing up. Or perhaps it was because he had an ugly personality.

Or maybe they really were equals.