#i would die for shigeo and so would everyone else

[izanogi]

so i've been watching mob psycho

#i would die for shigeo and so would everyone else #but also shigeo WILL kill for you so watch out #my art #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #shigeo kageyama #oh yeah the skrunkly pen was amazing for the vibe i wanted so props to the creator #i need to link their shit #mp100 fanart

[candyskiez]

Thinking about ???%/Shigeo as a character today and losing my mind. Like he's so funny to joke about but also he's SUCH an interesting character (especially from a plural angle, ESPECIALLY when you're a system yourself) and he makes me want to explode. Imagine forming to protect a little kid and deciding you love him so so much and you'll always be there for him, and you love his little brother, and you love his best friend, even though the world doesn't love you very much. But you take it anyway because you have those three and your little family so you're happy. And you have powers and they're a part of you and the other kid and it's fine until it very suddenly Isn't, and nobody's explaining why, just that you need to Stop Having Them. And the kid just decides, okay, I'm sorry, I'll be normal. And you get no explanation. You just have to be suppressed that little bit more. You form because he can't handle being suppressed yet he suppresses you. And then one day it all blows up and you make a mistake trying to protect your little brother and suddenly everyone hates you. Everyone thinks every little thing you've ever done is proof you're a monster and you always would've turned out like this, and you have no idea what they're talking about. You made a mistake trying to save your brother. But because you look scary and act different, even though you've always been there suddenly you existing is dangerous. Because you made a mistake, you are now Irredeemable.

That would fuck ANY kid up. But like, think about it. Shigeo had no one except Tsumobi and Mob and Mob's family. And suddenly he has no one. Mob represses him so deeply. He makes one mistake and suddenly he's not allowed to talk to anyone, suddenly he's completely alone and isolated. He has to share a brain with someone who despises him. He has the trauma of the accident AND the trauma of suddenly losing everyone he loves on top of it. He literally had no one for years. No wonder he's so fucking cynical. All of the shit about "I don't trust anyone" in the manga? Yeah, of course he doesn't. The rug was pulled out from under him so fast. In his eyes everyone just hated him for no reason, because he existed, and everyone would hurt him for existing, so he could only trust himself. Yeah, no wonder he's so selfish, he has no one else there at ALL. It's just...holyyyy hell.

And the thing is if you actually look the little things point to him yearning for connection so desperately. He's still so aggressively protective of his family (even though he lost them a long time ago, they're Mob's now, they don't even know he's there. Don't get me started on that from a plural view. I won't shut up and will probably pour my heart out.), and just ...world domination arc. When he's so upset about losing his family. We know he doesn't trust Reigen. Yet he's running to Reigen for some sort of comfort because he's scared and doesn't want his family to die and wants someone to tell him everything's fine. And Reigen DOES and he believes him. He believes him and immediately passes out. The guy who doesn't trust anyone wants to be loved so so bad and wants to believe Reigen more than anything. He really clearly WANTS to be able to trust Reigen. But he can't. More on this later.

And also thinking about why the build up in confession arc broke him like that is just fucking sad, man. Everyone was telling them to change. Shigeo's been told to change and it meant "be normal". Mob isn't even the one who actually likes Tsumobi like that. Shigeo's being completely repressed and Mob wants to live without him completely. Everyone wants to live without him now that they've used his powers to get this nice perfect life (in his eyes, at least.) Everyone's just trying to forget he ever existed so they can be happy without him, when Shigeo never GOT to heal. He never got to move on. He never got to process any of the god awful shit that happened to him. Everyone's telling him, change. Be normal. Be normal so Tsumobi will like you. And Shigeo's so fucking stressed out of his mind because lying about who he is didn't even help Mob make friends, it didn't make him popular, it didn't make anyone like him, it just made them both miserable. He doesn't want to be stuck like this. Of course he's freaking out. We see in his encounter with the body improvement club that being told to go back to normal sets him off HARD. It's clearly a sensitive subject. "Normal" means "Don't exist" to Shigeo. Do you see why this fucked me up as a system yet. Oh my god.

And his breakdown is just...painfully understandable. Like, actually think about it for a second. Shigeo has never been shown forgiveness or compassion or any amount of understanding for his mistakes. He never was taught to mature or see any nuance. He fucked up, so he doesn't deserve any second chance. Nobody ever taught him compassion. He has such a completely black and white view of the world. If someone did something bad once, they are forever The Bad Thing. If someone was kind to him once, they are forever Good and Perfect. Teru was a threat once, so he is now Always A Threat. Reigen was a liar before so he is Always A Liar. Ritsu was sweet and kind as a kid so he is always His Innocent Little Brother. And Tsumobi accepted him as a kid, so now she's the only person who could ever possibly accept him. Teru sees Shigeo at his most terrifying, when he's actively hunting him down, and in the manga looks at him with fucking hearts in his eyes. Ritsu might not be all perfect, but he's trying so hard and understanding no, Shigeo isn't just a scary part of Mob. Shigeo isn't Evil. But because neither of their acceptance is perfect, and because they aren't from Tsumobi, he can't see it's even there. And also, another thing, his response to people acting outside of his perception of him is to get them away. It scares him. Teru isn't acting how he expected? Attack maim. Ritsu isn't afraid of him anymore? Teleport him away so he doesn't have to confront the change. Reigen acts different? Throw shit at him until he hates him.

It's just so...fuck man. Of course he's like that. He's immature and selfish because nobody taught him not to be. Nobody helped this kid when he needed it and this is the result. He thinks he's an irredeemable monster so he acts like one when he's told to just be himself. He doesn't see change as being realistic. He's been treated the same no matter what he does so he assumes this is how the world naturally is. He's just a bitter mentally ill kid who nobody gave any reason to believe that maybe the world is nice sometimes.

Another thing: I think he really really wants Reigen to care about him. Him going "I can't listen to him" is so intense with the context of the fact he immediately passes out to rest and let Mob take care of it once Reigen says his parents are safe. Reigen can convince him like nobody else can. He cares about him and wants to believe him and that's terrifying! He hates him and resents him and wants him to be proud of him and wants nothing to do with him and it's confusing and he just wants something that is (supposedly) guaranteed. He wants Reigen to care so badly and it feels impossible. Why would he ever care? He just wants to use him. The only way to bring Shigeo back from his breakdown was to show him that people can be kind without wanting something back in return. Reigen saying "you don't need me anymore" was the only real way to help him, to show him that he's not doing this for himself, but because he cares about his student(s). Because he cares about BOTH of them. He cares about every version he's seen and interacted with, not because of his powers but because they were them. He had to let go of them to truly help them here, so Shigeo wouldn't have any lingering fear. What helps Shigeo is the display of kindness with nothing to be gained and Mob finally realizing that Shigeo's just...flawed. They both realize that sometimes people are just flawed and fucked up and make bad decisions and just straight up hurt people. And they'll still love you. They'll still be worth saving. But you can't deny their flaws, for Mob, and you don't need to seek the perfect relationship to have someone there, for Shigeo. It just. Agh! God! I am always losing my mind over this story. Fuck. This SHOW .

#mp100 spoilers #mp100 #unknown percentage mp100 #shigeo kageyama #kageyama shigeo #also like. the thing of “hey man you dont need a romantic relationship to be happy” is everything to me“ too #“its fine to not have a romantic relationship. its not the end all be all” is gery appreciated #the whole system loves shigeo. this show genuinely helped us so mucj and.helped me understand myself #and thinking about the finale makes me cry #like i was tearing up so many times writing this post. help. #plural mob

[etherealhoneybee777]

Teru Appreciation Post

I can’t stop thinking about Teru fighting ???%.

He’s so smart. He instantly picks up on the fact that Mob’s been through some kind of trauma and doesn’t judge him, but instead reaches out to him as a friend. Mob easily overpowers Teru, but Teru keeps trying to get through to Mob, staying on the defense so he doesn’t hurt his friend.

He’s so tenacious. He continues trying to get through to Mob even when he knows that it’s futile—he continues after being thrown into buildings, after his head is shaved once again, after he’s been beaten and bruised. And then, right before he passes out, Teru uses his final burst of power to save every last civilian who could be hurt by ???%

It’s impressive behavior from anyone, but let’s remember that Teru has received very little genuine love and compassion throughout his life. The fanbook reveals that Teru’s parents abandoned him when he was a kid—not because of Claw, but because they were “too busy.” Teru was then left in the care of a household babysitting service. When he entered middle school, he started living alone. He became a menace. Because of course he would.

One encounter with Mob brought back Teru’s kindness and humility. One instance of genuine compassion was all it took for Teru to completely change his ways.

Teru takes that compassion that Mob gave him and multiplies it tenfold in Episode 10. He is quite literally willing to die for Shigeo and almost does.

When Teru says “I’ve won,” in episode 10, he doesn’t mean he won the fight. Shigeo obviously overpowered him. Teru means he has finally won the ability to repay Shigeo’s kindness and to be the person he promised that he would become.

Look at him! He’s so tenacious. He’s been given so little. But, despite this, he gives everyone else so much.

Teru’s name is “brilliance,” and I think this suits him. His life is surrounded by darkness and yet he shines so brightly! I love him so much!! He deserves the world :)

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

#teruki hanazawa #mp100 hanazawa #hanazawa teruki #mp100 #mob psycho 100 #mp100 spoilers

[dykejet]

some other fandom (not atla / lok) for the questions, maybe some anime? idk

honestly I haven’t watched a lot of anime in a while so . I’ll do Mob Psycho 100 !! My fave anime of all time prob<3 if u haven’t seen it You Should

1. The first character I first fell in love with: shigeo ofc <3333 my angel my heart my light ... he🥺

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Musashi<3 earnest buff characters... everything to me

3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t: shimazaki ig??? I don’t Dislike him I just don’t vibe w him often he’s neat tho

4. The character I love that everyone else hates: uhh I don’t think ppl hate her she’s just never talked ab😔 tsuchiya is the loml

5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer: none tbh my opinions have stayed p consistent

6. The character I would totally smooch: TSUCHIYA🥰🥰🥰 maybe.. reig— [dies]

7. The character I’d want to be like: ugh if I was like shigeo itd be Over for u all. & tome:)

8. The character I’d slap: fuck toichiro lives ‼️‼️& I love him but reigen maybe. As a treat.

9. A pairing that I love: idrc abt mp100 pairings .... serirei does make me go crazy bonkers occasionally ig

10. A pairing that I despise: again the standard GrossTM stuff ie rei///mobs Die

Name a fandom you know I know and I'll tell you the following

#all my other interests r on innuendomp3 btw hehe #answer #anon

[gottagobuycheese]

tagged by @fremulon EVEN LONGER ago to list 10 favorite characters from 10 different fandoms (which shall henceforth be defined as any media consumed to completion and enjoyed), so here is an extremely overdue non-exhaustive list IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER: 

Han Yeo-jin – Stranger/Secret Forest 

What can I say, it was love at first awful doodle

Shoji Yuko – Unnatural 

To this day I still think about that legendary line with which she justified leaving work early and it still makes me cackle; I STRIVE to one day use it in real live, or at least witness it 

Calvin – Calvin and Hobbes 

The original agent of chaos and imagination, and an inspiration to generations of mini arsonists-in-the-making 

Chidi Anagonye – The Good Place 

 As a fellow indecisive wreck of a person, there was some real resonance here 

Maya Fey – Ace Attorney 

NEVER ENOUGH MAYA SHE DESERVES ALL THE BEST THINGS 

(But also an honorary shoutout to all the extras in the live action movie, they are collectively another favorite character and I would die for every single one of them) 

Toph Beifong – Avatar: the Last Airbender 

Need I explain this beyond LEGENDARY 

Kageyama Shigeo/“Mob” – Mob Psycho 100 

Everyone who’s met him has flipped or wanted to flip their life around to become a better person and honestly same 

Midna – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 

Someday the ending won’t wreck me but today is not that day

Kobuchizawa Shirase – A Place Farther Than the Universe 

If I ever do end up pursuing expedition medicine and actually applying for a job at one of the Antarctic stations it will be pretty much single-handedly because of her  

Gooigi – Luigi’s Mansion 3 

SOMEONE HAS TO SAY IT! GOOIGI! RIGHTS!! STOP REQUIRING PLAYER ONE TO DISSOLVE ME!!! AUTONOMY NOW! AUTONOMY NOW! 

Okay I still have to make lunch and pack my bags so I apologize if you’ve already been tagged @pachelbelsheadcanon, @averybritishbumblebee, @yeswevegotavideo, @internetkatze and anyone else who wants to!! I would tag more but the bus comes in like 40 minutes and if I miss that I miss the last train lol

#captain's log #tag thingy #ask meme #10 favorite characters #there are many other fandoms I would've liked to choose from but I couldn't narrow down their character lists even remotely #SUNNY I APOLOGIZE IF YOU NEED TO CATCH PUBLIC TRANSIT THIS WEEK #BUT I NEED THE GODS' FAVOR #EDIT: why is the formatting so gross I need to fix this #EDIT 2: running out of time so I'll figure it out later sorry

[shprka]

Kirishima stans, we’re about to have some words. Words!

So I’m obsessed, I freely admit, with japanese voice actors. I love seeing them in different roles and still recognizing them even without checking first. There are some more popular ones that I love (Miyano Mamoru the king) and some that I would die for (Fukuyama Jun, Sugita Tomokazu, Romi Paku, Okamoto Nobuhiko).

BUT I recently started watching Boku no hero academia and I fell in love with Kirishima aling with his voice actor. And it got me thinking... where did I hear that voice before?

Hitorijime my Hero is the answer!

See that blond guy? That’s Kiri! Or rather Setagawa, voiced by this georgous man:

Buckle up because I’m gonna convince you to watch it right now, because the main character is literally Kirishima in other life (maybe minus the manliness thing).

It’s Boy’s Love, so that’s a warning first! Though the story is cool and gives you all the fuzzy feelings (and some angst at times, yikes).

So that first picture was the cover of the manga. SEE HOW CUTE THE STYLE IS!

So there are two couples in this story. The few first episodes revolve around the first couple but you have to watch it to understand everything. If you want I can talk more about them later. But now we focus onto our Toshiki Masuda voiced protagonist - Setagawa.

See this boy? Pure sunshine. See his weird eyes? Here’s the author tells us he isn’t very good looking, but do you see this sunshine boy? I would kill for him.

His home life is a wreck, we meet him when he’s 15 and hangs around a small local gang and he’s basically their errand boy. He doesn’t like being bad and doing bad things but it all he knows and they’re his only friend, the closest people to him, so he keeps going.

Satagawa’s dad is not in the picture and his mom always comes home with a different guy or doesn’t come home at all, is generally not a very bad mother, neglects him a lot. And despite Stagawa having to fend for himself, cook and work and clean up after his mother, he still loves her very much! He wants to protect her and be a good son and a person.

That’s the similiarties with Kirishima - he’s very earnest, and I mean very. Very truthful, can’t lie well, doesn’t want to. He just wants somewhere to belong. He wants to be a person to be proud of. He also dies his hair, so that’s a nice Kiri thing righ there. And additionally - he can cook! Because he had ro learn to make meals for himself and sometimes his mother, he cooks for his friends a lot. He likes to be useful and make his friends happy. And he loves animals! I love seeing a man so openly enjoying cute things and being so enmored with animals as him. He’s like a balm for my heart

One day a few things that I won’t spoil happen and the turn point of his life is meeting Kensuke, who is the same age as him and they take care of a kitten that’s almost on her deathbed. After that Setagawa starts to become a permanent fixture in the Ooshiba household. We have Ken who turns out to be Setagawa’s best friend, they go to the sama high school and spend a lot of time together. Ken is the first one has a love story in the first episodes - a boy he knew as a kid.

Then we have Setagawa’s romance that involved Kousuke, Ken’s older brother.

Kousuke is 28, to Setagawa’s 17/18 (so that can be yikes). They knew each other for a while and became close friends. But then Kousuke accept the position to be a math teacher in Setagawa and Ken’s high school (which can be another yikes) which creates all sorts of problems for their relationship.

And as much as that kind of unequal relationship can be sometimes, here I found it wasn’t the case. As much as yaoi mangas/anime can go this one feels natural and the teacher/student thing isn’t the focus or a forbidden fantasy - it’s a real problem that prevents them from going out as a normal couple. It’s adressed quite heavily and they had to learn to be aware of the consequences of that. Their interactions are cute, they fit each other well (and in the manga there are some sex scenes, but the anime is free of them). I just liked watching them unlike some other romance/shouno manga couples (wether gay or straight) (Junjo Romantica, Sekaiichi Hatsukoi and Wolf Girl and Black Prince scarred me for life).

All in all I do recomnend watching it. More than anything the story deals with friendship, family and the aftermath of a parent neglect and the joy in finding a new family - along with friends and a new love.

The Ooshiba brothers and their mother created an incedibly warm steady family environment for Setagawa that he’s never known before. He cooks for them a lot saying he can’t just bum around their house and be useless, but they always tell him he doesn’t have to. That he’s as part of their family as any of them. He still feels like he doesn’t quite fit but he tries and he really wants to make them his family.

So yeah, Kirishima and kiribaku stans - come listen some gay in love Kirishima with me and watch the georgeus art style.

And there’s a cat and a dog! (Both loved very much by Setagawa and everyone else)

Here’s Sasa!

And Shigeo!

No to be confused with Shige!!!

#hitorijime my hero #kirishima #kiribaku #bnha #boku no hero academia #toshiki masuda #masuda toshiki

[polar-stars]

3rd out of an 5 part ask of @smokeprincess24 (sorry that it took a bit)

👹 How does you OC act around different people and how does their personality change to match the environment they’re in? How do they act with: friends, family, strangers, children or their lover(s)?

For the most part, Yasu is just more open and comfortable around people he's close to. He's friendly and polite to strangers, but also rather closeted and he won't expose all too much of himself. Around his friends and family he's just a bit more prone to be more talkative, even joke here and there and just generally be more laid-back so to speak. 

🍅 How easily is your OC embarassed? What subjects make them flush and why? What event has made your OC the most embarassed they’ve ever been?

Yasu is not all too easily embarrassed and when he is, he's still rather good at hiding it actually. He blushes mainly at sexual things being openly discussed because he thinks that's inappropriate. 

He's usually good enough at reading people and a situation to know what to say…So when someone gives him the impression he said the wrong thing, that certainly embarrasses him as well. 

💥 Are there any emotions your OC doesn’t know how to deal with, doesn’t understand or hates having to feel? Any reason behind this?

Answered already.

🏀 Does your OC have any skills that people wouldn’t expect them to have? Do they have a hobby or pass time that others would consider strange or weird? How did they learn this particular skill or pick up this hobby?

The fact that Yasu can dance as well as he can is much of a surprise to quite a few people and not many find out, since he does not often dance anyway and rather sits somewhere at the sides of parties. 

He also has aa hidden poetic side to him and writes poems and song texts in secret at times. He himself doesn't consider them good enough though to show them to anyone. 

⭐ Does your OC like to sleep alone or do they enjoy sharing their bed? Have they been to any sleepovers? Have they ever been camping? What did they think of the experiences if so?

As I've said already, he did share a bed at times with Chieko when they were really small smols and he never really minded it. It was fun listening to her discussing various theories and stuff she had thought over throughout the day and he liked it. 

He does not have all too much experience beyond that, except for having to share a bed with his sister Kasumi at times (which was also not much bother to him since Kasumi is rather peaceful) and he does not think off it as anything special.

🍏 When your OC says “I had a bad day” what does that tend to mean? Is it really as bad as they’re saying or are they being a bit dramatic?

When Yasu speaks about a bad day it's most likely truly, truly bad. He's not really one to over exaggerate and he's also not one to speak up a lot over being upset or something in the first place. So when he actually opens his mouth and says he's having it rough this day? That definitely means that it's serious. 

At the same time he doesn't really use this phrase as a way to say "please comfort me" but it's more of a way of telling whoever he's talking to that he's most likely not going to be as polite and friendly as usual….it's an advanced apology in a sense should he maybe snap. In order to avoid such he quickly retreats in his room anyway. 

Again…Yasu pushes people away when upset. 

🐉 How religious is your OC? Do they pray to any god(s) or do they not believe in that kind of stuff? What is their view of religion in general? Where do they believe people go when they die? If your OC is not religious why not and what do they believe in otherwise?

Yasu was raised to be a Buddhist by Ryoko and does hold on to the religion all his life. But at the same time his beliefs do not really affect his daily life all too immensely. 

To him it does still have something comforting though in a sense. 

💧 What is something from your OC’s past they’re the most ashamed of and why? What is something they’re really proud of? And lastly what is something in their past that could make them shake with dread?

What Yasu is truly going to be massively ashamed off is yet to come in the future, 

Other than that, Yasu is very skilled off avoiding blunders and while of course he was embarrassed here and there there's no real major event so far that truly stands out to him as the most embarrassing thing that ever happened. 

🐟 What was your OC like as a baby? What were they like as a child? A teenager? An adult? How do you think they’ll develop ten years into their future? Twenty years? Will they live to old age?

As a baby, Yasu was already more calm than other babies and didn't make all too much tumult; which Ryoko interpreted as a sign for having chosen the right name for him ("Yasu" means "peace, quiet"). He showed an affinity for nature early on and would show himself incredibly happy when Ryoko or Shun would take him outside into their garden or a park or something and set him down in the grass.

As a child he was not really the most social kid around but thanks to his mother he had learned enough polite phrases to get on everyone's good terms. While he did not make all too many friends, he was always pretty well-liked and in the end he always had Chieko as a friend. He ultimately spent most of his time with his parents however (Chieko in the end still lives in Tokyo, while he grew up outside of town and as I said he didn't spent all too much time with his peers in the small town he lives in) and helped them out a lot. His favorite hobby as a child was most definitely the exploration of the forest that's close to the family's house. 

As a teen he'd grew into a very friendly and calm young man who does usually not have all too much problems to get on people's good sides. While he's still much of an introvert, he's more sociable and open than he was as child thanks to Polar Star's influence mainly. He also came to idolize his parents however and carries an everlasting fear of disappointing them. 

Yasu won't change all too much as an adult, given that he was already rather mature for his age when he was a teen. He will have learned some of the errors in his ways however (like his overexaggerated protectiveness over Chieko) and also his worries regarding his parents will have been eased. I see him getting married rather late in his 20s honestly. 

🍇 Does your OC have any bad habits? Does your OC have any addictions like smoking or drinking? How did they fall into these habits and why? 

Yasu's major bad habit is definitely trying to gulp down all of his negative emotions because he feels he would be a bother if he were to vent and just let them out. He looks out for other people a good bunch of times but when it comes to his own emotions he likes to ignore them until he's alone with them at night creating the perfect conditions to overthink everything (which does not help…ever). 

He also drinks on Polar Star Parties but he can hold his liquor. No one ever saw Yasu drunk. 

🔮What does your OC think is their best trait. What is actually their best trait? What about their flaws? Are they one to admit these flaws or do they like to pretend they’re perfect?

Yasu thinks his best trait is his politeness but I'd say his best trait is his care.

A flaw of his is that his own worries, anxieties or envy can cloud his view and his judgement immensely at times. 

🌸 What’s a sentence that would make your OC’s day better? One that would make them laugh? One that would make their day worse? Why? What words would you have to say to them to completely ruin their day?

A sentence that can always make his day better is certainly "Can I use your [insert fermentation product here]?" He really wants to support his mother's business on Totsuki and advertises it whenever he cans. It really makes him happy when his efforts pay off. 

A sentence that can ruin his day is any sentence that has both "Chieko Marui" and "Shigeo Eizan" in it. 

🌷 How much effort does your OC put into their looks? Do they care much about how they’re dressed or what their hair looks like or are they not bothered? Could they be considered a snob or a slob?

Yasu's pretty casual in his fashion choice and is mainly concerned over wether the clothes are comfortable and loose than anything else. 

He takes rather good care of his hair though but there's not much else that concerns him a lot. 

❤️ What inspired you to make this OC? How long have you had them? How have they changed in the time you’ve been developing them?

Shun/Ryoko was one of my first ships…of course I wanted to give them a child. Yasu is one of my first Fanchild OCs and was created alongside Kimiko, Mika and Hiroshi. He was really tough to design as I had a lot of trouble mixing Shun's and Ryoko's designs. Eventually I came up with the idea to give him Shun's blinding bangs and Ryoko's silkiness but…how exactly that would look changed multiple times throughout the years ahdhd He truly took long to be finalized in that area. 

Character-Wise, I decided very quickly that he'd be Chieko's best friend. Because of course he would. It also didn't took me long to characterize him as peaceful, calm and such…given that I had literally named him that. 

Over the years he hasn't changed all too much personality-wise. But I went through a lot, a lot of story-ideas with him…many of them very angst.

🧡 What traits of your own do you see in this OC? Are they a little bit self-inserty? Don’t be shy, we all put parts of ourselves into the creations we love!

I do always try my best to be polite, especially in Real Life. I don't think I excel at this as good as Yasu does because I do tend to be inattentive to my surroundings at times but well….It's still something?

I do ultimately prefer the ocean but I also like the forest as well. Also we have a bit of the same view on religion, although we're not part of the same religion ahdhd

What I majorly can relate to in Yasu though is his tendency to always attempt to shut down all negative feelings because I do as well like to pretend that sadness and anger do not exist. 

💚 Are you writing anything with this OC or planning on writing anything for them? Do you rp with them or are they just for fun to mess around with?

You gave me asks for them but I'm still into figuring out how exactly to write them ; 7 ;

💗 Ramble a bit about this character!

Yasu can be greatly used for angst but in the end I do want to know him happy. He deserves it. 

He'll makes some mistakes here and there but in the end, he's always trying his best. I really don't know how to construct his future really…ovo;; But I hope I'll eventually figure it out. 

#Gofer answering to stuffz #Yasu Ibusaki #Shokugeki no Kimiko Stuffz

[gamerfansims389]

Characters I Think Can (and possibly can't) defeat Alastor

You know. Different characters in Hazbin going up against Alastor one day in a full on power battle with him would be interesting. But what about other characters from other fandoms?

Disclaimer: Some characters from some fandoms, I haven't seen all of (like movies, shows and anime). So please keep that in mind.

I will also categorize characters in the following: High Chance, Medium Chance, Low Chance

High Chance meaning they could most definatley defeat him easily without any injuries or within the blink of an eye, Medium Chance, they could defeat him but it would take a while to, may take some injuries, Low Chance, will most definatley end up with injuries, maybe even come close to dying.

Please note: I don't hate Alastor. He's a really interesting character in my book. This idea has just been in my head for a while. And I wanna see if other people will agree and or disagree. You are also free to reblog this and add onto the list if you want to. This is an open topic to discuss. As long as it remains peaceful and civil. If it gets out of hand, I will delete this post.

This post may also contain spoilers from other shows, anime, cartoons, and movies. I'm leaving game characters out of this because I haven't played a lot of games in order to put those characters on this list. But you are free to add game characters if you wish. You have been warned of possible spoilers!

Anyways. On with the list. This also will be in no particular order power wise so yeah.

High Chance:

1. Mob/Shigeo Kageyama (Mob Psycho 100) (As of this post, I have 2 more episodes left remaining in Season 2. Do not spoil for me and for others please!)

Okay. Maybe not when he's at normal power (0%). But when he's at 100%, that boy is an explosive depending on what emotion he's feeling at the time of a situation. Yes, he has his rule of not using his psychic powers against others. But when the people he holds dearly are in danger of possibly dying or not, he is not a force to be messed with.

(An example of when he's at 100%)

2. Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls) (Spoiler warning!)

We all know of how powerful Bill is. He caused a Weirdmaggedon on Gravity Falls in the Season 2 finale. He froze time, he can grow, he can change his form, and he's been around since the beginning of time itself. Sure, he was defeated by Mabel and Dipper themselves a few times already. But as a whole, this triangle demon is pretty much an unstoppable force to deal with if you really look at it.

He also has a lot of similar qualities to that of Alastor. He likes to make deals, he likes to cause trouble, a lot of the citizens fear him, etc.

3. Kurumi (Date a Live) (Spoiler warning!)

It's been a long time since I last watched Date a Live. But from what I remember, this girl is pretty powerful. If my memory serves me correctly, she can freeze time, she can make duplicates of herself, she weilds a shotgun, she's quite a handful power wise. I haven't seen all of Date a Live. Just the 1st Season. So idk if other seasons/spin offs/OVA's/movies explore more on her powers or not (please don't spoil if it does).

4. Gon (Hunter x Hunter 2011) (Spoiler warning!)

I honestly do think that Gon has a high chance of defeating Alastor. We saw him duke it out with Neferpitou and he won for the sake of a friend. Just like Mob, he may not seem strong appearance wise but this boy has taken on some people much powerful than he is and won. Sure, his battle with the Chimera Ants almost left him for dead but he still made it out alive in the end thanks to Killua's help.

5. Elsa (Frozen, Frozen 2) (Please note I have not seen anything else Frozen related such as shorts. So I'm basing all of this based on what I have seen from Frozen. Any Frozen shorts that may have development on Elsa's powers! I have now seen Frozen 2 on YouTube due to a link but that doesn't mean you can spoil it for others!)

As rediculous as this may sound to some, she probably does have a high chance of defeating Alastor. We saw this girl make an entire ice castle just from her powers alone in Frozen within the course of a 2-3 minute song that everyone has embedded in their heads at this point in time. She can also change her outfits via her powers as well and make animate snow/ice creatures with her powers as well. Heck, we saw her freeze an entire kingdom which was the plot starter for Frozen! Again. Others may have other opinions. But this is what I think.

Medium Chance:

1. Celty Sturloson (Durarara!) (Spoiler warning!)

Like Date a Live, it's been quite a while since I last seen the entirety of Durarara so just bare with me on this. For those that don't know, Celty is a Dullahan, a creature from Irish folklore which is basically like their version of the Grim Reaper. Dullahans supposedly carry their heads around in their arms after they die. But in Celty's case, she lost her head and she kind of gave up on searching for it towards the end of the series. She can make a black ball out of an inescapable substance from her powers, she can make web-like structures with them as well, and she also does weild a scythe. Her motorcycle can also transform into different vehicles such as a horse (which is default), a bike, a carriage, etc.

2. Lelouch Lamporouge (Code Geass) (Please note that I have never completed this anime. I had like 9 episodes remaining in Season 1. So please don't spoil anything in regards to Lelouch's power development!)

I kind of have my doubts with Lelouch on this one since his powers require him to look at someone directly in the eye in order to possess them so he can command them to do something against their own will. But if he plays his cards right (which he's pretty good at doing), he could have a chance of defeating Alastor. Like I previously mentioned, I haven't completed all of Code Geass so I don't know the full extent of Lelouch's powers outside of Season 1. I already also mentioned Lelouch's powers previously, too so yeah lol. But yeah. I kind of have my doubts when it comes to him.

3. Yuu Otosaka (Charlotte) (Spoiler warning!)

Yuu would most likely have a medium chance of defeating Alastor because of his ability to harness other's powers. Keep in mind. It's also been a while since I've last seen Charlotte so bare with me on this one as well. I do think he would come out with some injuries because of the fact that he doesn't know the extent of other's powers that he has harnessed from them, he only knows about his own powers very well. If he's not careful, he could end up injured.

4. Albedo (Overlord) (Please note that I've only seen Season 1 so don't spoil anything that's important to Albedo's power development!)

I personally don't think Einz himself would go out to try to fight someone that's as powerful as he is unless it posed as a threat to his life and or his kingdom. So, I would think that he'd send his servants to survey the area of any potential threats and to get rid of them immediatley before they become a big threat. He probably wouldn't send Albedo out first but maybe she could be his 2nd to last resort before going to investigate himself. Either that or she'd automatically volunteer herself out of the sake of her love for Einz. Which, he'd probably agree with once the begging gets annoying.

5. Chrollo Lucilfer (Hunter x Hunter 2011) (Spoiler warning!)

This would be before he got his powers taken away and restricted into a state of Zetsu by Kurapika. He has shown to be pretty powerful. He made it out alive when fighting against two members of the Zoldyck family. But I think the only disadvantage to this would be the fact that he needs his Nen book in order to use other's powers. Without his Nen book, he's basically powerless.

Low Chance:

1. Ganta (Deadman Wonderland) (Spoiler warning!)

It's been quite a while since I've seen Deadman Wonderland. Bare with me here. So much like Gon, Ganta has taken on some pretty powerful Deadmen while serving his time in Deadman Wonderland after being accused of a crime he was blackmailed against for. I don't exactly remember his Deadman ability since it's been so long. But I do think he'd come out with quite a lot of injuries after challenging Alastor to a fight.

2. Decim (Death Parade) (Spoiler warning!)

The only thing I'm aware of power wise for Decim is that he can use web-like strings to hold people down after they've realized they're dead. I've heard quite a bit saying that he's based on the Greek god, Decima. Idk if that's true or not tho. But the extent of his powers is unknown and I highly doubt Death Parade will continue as an anime series. So I would think he has a low chance at defeating Alastor with all that we currently know on his powers.

3. Sebastian Micaelis (Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji) (Spoiler warning!)

A lot of fangirls will probably hate me for this. Lol. But I kind of doubt Sebastian could defeat Alastor without getting injured. We don't know the full extent of his powers yet despite also coming from Hell in that universe. So, that's the reason to my doubts.

4. Magica De Spell (DuckTales 2017) (Spoiler warning!)

This would be before the Shadow War! I'm also not going to discuss the 1987 show or the original comics since I've never completed the 1987 show nor have I read any of the original comics yet. So I'm only relying on what we've seen so far in the reboot. Like Bill, she was able to start this apocalypse by taking everyone's shadows from them. She trapped Scrooge in his own lucky dime in order to execute her plans. But I doubt she'd be able to defeat Alastor in all honesty.

5. Lena De Spell (DuckTales 2017) (Spoiler warning!)

Lena De Spell is the niece of Magica De Spell. She was created as a shadow with the appearance of the real girl in order to unwillingly help Magica with her plans to take over Duckburg in the exchange for her freedom. After Magica is defeated and powerless, Lena now currently possesses Magica's powers via her amulet. So she undoubtingly has some of the same powers that Magica had. But since she hasn't really had much character development/power development as of this post, I kind of doubt she could defeat Alastor without being injured.

Aand that's all. If you want to add to this post, reblogs are appriciated. Thank you!

[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.

#mob psycho 100 #mp100 #ritshou #kageyama ritsu #suzuki shou #serendipitousfics #mp100 fanfic #fanfiction #blood #violence #guns #murder #attempted murder #ptsd

[soaringlanddormitory]

📣 Takashi/Ichiro, 🎉 Emile/Kaoru, 🎃 Yoko/Killian, 💢 Tori/Naoki :3

Thank you for sending these in!! I love it all omg

📣 - yell at my muse.

Yesterday, Manami came in to Takashi’s room and talked to him about how she was able to be “friends” with another Eizan and her brother felt conflicted on how to respond to this. He always warned her about them, but she’d always tell him that they were only misunderstood and she never followed what he said. She may have been one of the nicest people in the planet- but this made it an easier target for the Eizans if they were planning something.

Takashi didn’t feel like meeting any of them so he decided to avoid them at all cost. He didn’t go inside the Elite Ten room even once today, and he didn’t even bother in going to places where he believed Shigeo would be. He was too busy thinking about his sister and the chances of her being mistreated by an Eizan- and he didn’t want to see them at the moment.

However, he forgot that one of them always did whatever he wanted as he was a delinquent. It was the end of school and he spotted a male with glasses on the streets, screaming at some students he recognized. Takashi mentally slapped himself. “Alright Takashi, this isn’t your problem… wHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU’RE THEIR UPPERCLASSMEN! YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING!”

He snapped out of his thoughts and walked over to the group. “Hey Volcano-Head, are you erupting again for the dumbest reason called nothing again?” Takashi playfully asked, even having a little smirk on his face. If it was his time to bring out insults- he always acted calm. He gestured for his underclassmen to leave the place and they began running away.

Ichiro began to twitch. “What the fuck did you just call me, runt?!” He yelled at the blonde, angered at the fact he decided to insult him the moment he spoke. “I can punch your face right now so I can make you shut the fuck up!” He hissed at the male and Takashi moved backwards, raising his hands in the air.

“Oh we have a badbutt over here.” He said these words in a very mocking way. “I swear to Zeus and to all the divine beings above- do you actually think a punch will scare me, Volcano head?!” He scream back, a bit irritated by the nicknames he was given. Seriously, should it always be about his height?! “ven my neighbor’s Pomeranian can scare me more!”

“Of course you’ll be scared of that dog, it’s probably because that dog matches your height, you bitch!” He threw another insult at Takashi and Takashi began clenching his fists in anger. “That dog probably thinks you’re a match to it because of you’re as tiny as it!”

“Well, if you met that dog, it’ll probably think you’re one of its kind because you’re a pancake bitch!” Takashi countered. “Oh wait. Oops. You know, gotta make the pun because female dog but… I meant you’re a pancake Medusa!” He went back to insulting and Ichiro’s face began getting red.

“You fucker-!”

There were a couple of people seen watching the two fight, and one of them was Takashi’s brother who was already going to the place to pull his brother back.

🎉 - celebrate with my muse.

No person who was surprised the moment someone knocked the door three times then opened it. A male who held his guitar with a bright smile on his face came in, looking excited. “Hello! I brought my guitar for the celebration!” He said excitedly, and a person pushed the person out of the way to see Emile.

“Hey there, Guitar Hero! I’m glad you came!” It was no other than Kaoru, a person who considered the visitor as one of his closest friends. “Here to celebrate with us?” He grinned, showing the same amount of excitement as the person who just came. The person who was pushed grumbled before slapping the back of Kaoru harshly. “Ow! Oh right, sorry Tatsuya-senpai!”

“Yeah. Whatever.”

Emile began laughing slightly, already used to the fun interaction between the dorm mates. “Of course I’d come! I can’t miss a celebration with mi amigo!” He was walking inside and he began closing the door behind him. “I also want to know the details... What is the celebration?” Even if he was invited, he was never informed on why they were celebrating.

“It’s a small celebration because one of my lovely dorm mates got to pass her exams so she won’t get expelled.” He informed him. “I wanted to ask if you could play your guitar as I sing so we could make the day brighter! Because, y’know- A great guitarist and a pretty good singer always makes a day better.”

“I’m so down to do that!” He responded and he went to the usual place he sat on. “Just name the song and I’ll happily play it!” Even if he wasn’t part of the dorm- he always felt a part of them because of how they acted around him. It was as if he was one of the people who actually stayed there and he felt so happy. It was even better that they acted like an audience to a musician.

“Thanks a lot, Guitar Hero! Can’t make the day as special without you!” The male from the dorm grinned and sat beside Emile. “Even your personality makes the day better, damn! You’re so amazing that you’re able to do so much things by your presence alone!”

The person who was deemed as a “Guitar Hero” by Kaoru felt his heart warm up and he couldn’t control the smile that was forming on his lips. “Thank you so much-! I really appreciate all your words, mi amigo!” He thanked the male and be started to strum his guitar. “So... what is the perfect song to start this celebration?”

🎃 - attempt to scare my muse.

The whole house was dark and this really confused the ginger haired male. Was the power out? He decided to try and look for the generator to see if there was a problem with it. The problem was... he couldn’t really see a thing. It felt like he was in a horror movie... Maybe it was one of those days where he loved his interest in the horror genre- at least he would know what to do when the worst things happen.

He was moving around the house aimlessly, but he was able to memorize the area of the house by now. He felt so relieved that he was able to remember where the flashlight was located or else he’d be doomed in a situation like this. He got the flashlight from the drawer and pulled it out of the drawer. “There we go.” He says this to himself before he turns it on.

If he had one wish right now, it would be that there was no serial killer in his house. He’d rather meet a ghost then a man with a knife. It wasn’t because he couldn’t defend himself- trust me, he could. But it was because if anyone were to die from them inside the house- the owner of the house might be scarred for life and he didn’t want that.

He continued to search for the generation but he felt something moving on the ground and he ended up flashing the light on the direction where he heard the crawling. “In times like this, you shouldn’t panic or else you’d be dead.” He mumbled and before he continued to walk- he felt his heart stop the moment someone grabbed him from behind as red orbs sparked from the dark.

“Do you want to play~?” The voice was high in pitch, and it sounded much too happy to feel comfortable. A giggle came from the person behind him and Killian only paused for a minute before he turned off the flashlight. Even if he had to experience such a scary encounter, he was still clever.

“Yoko. Did you actually get a voice changer?” That was the only thing he says before he held the arms wrapping around him. “And attempt to scare me with it?” He asked once again and she only released him so he could turn on the generator. Once the lights was on, he saw the female pouting slightly.

“Hm. I actually thought that would get you.” Yoko opened her eyes before grinning. “But I guess you’re too smart to be scared~!” She walked to him before poking his cheek. “Your heart stopped for a moment, but after a few seconds, you were hardly even scared.”

Killian sighed out of relief. “I’m just happy that it’s just you... However, if it weren’t me and you did this- I do think they’d be terrified out of their lives.” He explains and Yoko laughs happily.

“Will they? Now I have new idea for my next CreepyPasta story!”

“Did... Did you make me a test subject to know if your idea is believable?”

“That and I wanted to see if I could actually scare you!”

“Well... At least I helped you in some way.”

💢 - snarl/growl at my muse.

It wasn’t the perfect day to meet Tori. She was in a bad mood because this morning, Daiki decided to annoy her to death. When she finally arrived in school, she had to meet Ichiro who never gave her a break from being angry. The day was horrible and no one could blame her for her bad mood. She didn’t want to see any nuisance for the rest of the day...

But maybe fate didn’t allow this to happen. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Naoki in the opposite direction, looking at her with a smirk on his face. God, what did she do to deserve this? “Tori Isshiki. A pleasant seeing you here.” Naoki was a bit tolerable to her- until he speaks more than just those lines. “I didn’t expect to see you here, are you not trying to improve your skills and decided to roam around instead?”

Tori immediately growled at his comment. Did he actually think it was the words she was looking for now? Did he think that she wanted to hear those words from someone like him?! He was wrong. “What was that, Eizan? I couldn’t hear your bullshittery.” She wasn’t having any of this. Not today. Not ever.

Naoki’s evil smirk remained on his face and he only ended up chuckling. “Maybe you just couldn’t hear the truth.” He stated this before he continued to talk. “I would have expected you to be back in your dorm or cooking elsewhere so you could prove to everyone that you’re better than any of the Eizans.”

Tori didn’t hold back any of her anger, tired of all his insults. “Of course I’m better than any of you! A lot of you are just pieces of shit who can’t do anything but talk about nonsense!” She snapped at him and Naoki began glaring. “Thinking about insults and doing all the barks so everyone could hear- all of you are no bite at all! It’s fucking annoying!”

The two were now having a dark aura and their death glares were aimed at each other. “How rude. Actually thinking that of us. Miss Isshiki, I hope you know well that we could do much more things than you actually imagine. You just never get to see that because you’re too much of a coward to actually risk something.”

She had enough of this and she only walked pass him, even shoving him away from her. “Die.” She mumbles, even looking behind her for a moment. “And if you do think I’m a coward I want to tell you I’m not. I’m ready to face you in a shkugeki any day.” With this, she walked away while ignoring everything the male added to their conversation.

#ask #writing #takashi #kaoru atitarn #killian #naoki #other people's ocs #ichiro #emile #yoko #tori

[thekillerkiwi]

#15 with shuuneki please!!!!

Thanks for prompting me!!

“Dude, I think your ‘I’ m Steve and I eat people’ thing is getting pretty old.”

When Kaneki Ken enrolled as a Literature Major, he expected snobbery. He expected expensive wine, long boring seminars about the classic period, and the 13 reasons plus young adult novels were “zombiefying” the industry. He can’t say he was disappointed.

What he did not expect was everything else that made up his five year program. No sleep, writing three very different and complex essays at the same time for the same professor for the three different classes he gave, writing half of it drunk the other half on a prayer, because none of it is science, and Tsukiyama Shuu.

Tsukiyama was a man of contradiction, at least. At most it was the man he wanted to marry.

In the middle of his third year he still didn’t know the best of Tsukiyama. Frankly, no one did. There were only stories.

“Did you hear? About the rich grad student in old Shima’s Mimesis Seminar?”

“He can out drink Shigeo from Psychology–”

“Nana told me he never wears the same shoes!! And she actually, like, talks to him.”

“Who cares about shoes? I heard he has a Ferrari.”

“Oh my god, no, no, not that, we all know he’s rich.”

“Then what? We already discussed his intriguing theory in that Kobe research he’s doing–”

“We talk about him a lot now that I think about it, but he’s dreamy. And kinda scary. Almost, kinky, mm…”

“Tsukiyama Shuu is a ghoul! He said so himself.”

Although Hide, Kaneki’s best friend, was very interested in ghouls, Kaneki did his best to not even touch that subject with a large stick. It was scary and after the thing with Rize, he didn’t want to become involved at all. How he survived that is another story. What matters is that he was able to run away and he has been in self defense programs ever since. In a way they were good for him; he didn’t feel defenseless and it helped him punch away his frustrations. Back to the story.

Kaneki had only ever heard of Tsukiyama through gossip. He didn’t take any classes with him and he didn’t go to parties. Or didn’t until the Humanities Christmas Party of his third year’s. Someone always volunteers their house and it always gets trashed. Everyone who’s ever gone says the mood the next day while everybody cleans up is “worth it”.

Kaneki got burnt out that end of semester and with some pressure from. His classmates and Hide, he ends up going. Might as well drink accompanied and relaxed than under pressure and lonely. Or with Hide. That never ends well. Just like he though this party was going to be.

Wrong. This is the night Kaneki meets Tsukiyama.

Kaneki is just doing his thing, drinking and hearing some classmates talk while trying to be unobtrusive on the wall they’re all leaning on, when from the other side of the living room they were in people start huddling around a shockingly purple head. So it was purple. Kaneki smiles to himself, it was a pretty color and for once the rumors were true. He was too amused by his own thoughts and his face was titled forward as he absent-minded looked into his beer, that he didn’t notice someone standing right before him.

Well, not until he opened his mouth.

“Hey, I don’t think we’ve met before.”

Kaneki startles and looks up. Lilac irises are more like sharp blades even when their owner is smiling handsomely.

“I’m Tsukiyama Shuu and I eat people.”

Kaneki almost drops his beer. Tsukiyama is everything the rumors say. Handsome, obviously rich, dangerous. Looking. Kaneki can’t help but laugh.

That startles Tsukiyama a bit. Kaneki looks up at him now, straight back, and says,“ Do you seriously use that line on everyone you meet?”

Tsukiyama smiles with mirth and responds, “Only the ones I want to eat.”

Kaneki rolls his eyes and says, “Oh, don’t let me stop you then. I really want to miss Dr. Kanda’s seminar on Monday.”

“You’re in literature? How come I haven’t seen you before? What’s your name?”

Tsukiyama seems very interested in talking to him, who knows why, but right before he can finish speaking he’s whisked away almost instantly by a beautiful stranger.

“Kaneki Ken,” he mutters to the nothingness of the party. He sighs.

The last Kaneki sees of Tsukiyama is his regretful pout as he is pulled away. Kaneki shrugs and thinks, ‘Hide will die when I tell him.’

Kaneki doesn’t see Tsukiyama again for a while until the next party this time they don’t talk. Tsukiyama doesn’t even seem to recognize him. Then again, a bit has happened and Kaneki’s hair is white. He’s not really into it but it’s a precaution. He’s about to leave the party when he hears Tsukiyama give the exact same line he gave him a few months ago to someone else. People around him laugh. Kaneki leaves.

Then it’s almost a year later, Kaneki has half a mind to let some random car run him over because professors are secret sadists. Hide told him to meet him by the cafeteria for some chill time. He arrives early. He looks for a bench to sit down and he’s about to open a book when someone sits beside him.

Kaneki blinks several times, confused. This person is clearly a foreigner or uneducated, his personal space is sacred, who does he think he is–

It was Tsukiyama Shuu.

He had unceremoniously dumped himself beside him, shoulder to shoulder, and then promptly went to sleep.

Kaneki had a sleeping six foot maybe piece of human probably ghoul on his shoulder. And they barely even knew each other. Kaneki wants to face palm.

“You don’t even know my name, sheesh,” he says under his breath after a while of letting him sleep.

Half an hour later, Hide sees his best friend being snuggled by the campus celebrity while he reads with his unhindered hand. Hes not sure if this a good development. On one hand, Kaneki had been pining for the guy currently sleeping on him, for a while. Plus, in his opinion, Kaneki was at a moment in his life where he needed to realize he had more friends and people he could count on than only himself. On the other hand, Hide was 95% sure Tsukiyama was an actual ghoul. Him, his whole family and his organization.

Hide could see, too, that he was definitely not asleep.

And yet, after meeting Kaneki, Tsukiyama never even went close to him. Unlike many others who he had “courted” and disappeared. Not all of them, of course, Tsukiyama was smart, but Hide was too. And yet…

Lately, Hide had seen the ghoul underground a bit frisky. The CCG was making some rather brash moves and everyone was on edge. Well, everyone who knew about it. The general public was ignorant of it, as always.

Hide sighs. He’d have to wing it. He approaches Kaneki with a smile and greets him.

“Yo, what’s up? I’m not late, right?”

Kaneki startles and he’s about to shush his best friend when beside him he feels Tsukiyama slowly come to. Or that’s how Kaneki perceived it, Hide knew otherwise. Hide grins and Kaneki groans. Tsukiyama sets himself straight beside him, sleepily.

“This is not what it seems,” the white haired man says while he massages the bridge of his nose. Hide’s grin grows wider.

“Oh, but I didn’t think anything, what could his possibly be except for my best friend ditching me for a hot date?”

Kaneki’s cheeks flare up in embarrassment and annoyance. Once he got his hands on him..

Tsukiyama on the other hand is just watching with amusement. He interrupts them by saying, “If you think this is what my definition of a hot date is, you are definitely not in tune with campus gossip.”

Hide chuckles and raises his hands saying, “In my defense, this is my friend’s hottest date ever since freshmen year. And he almost got killed that time.”

Kaneki crushes his face against both his palms and groans, “Hide!”

Tsukiyama beside him gasps dramatically and says, “What travesty is this? Being so young and so bored?”

Kaneki looks up immediately, cheeks still burning, “I’m not boring!”

Hide and Tsukiyama look at each other simultaneously.

“He didn’t say you were.”

“I would never say that about you, Kaneki.”

Both spoke right after the other. Kaneki is starting to have a headache. Hide smiles at Tsukiyama now and says, “Well, that was smooth.”

The purple haired man looks a little miffed.

“I have my moments.”

Kaneki rolls his eyes and says, “Sure, says the man who introduces himself as ‘Hi, I’m Tsukiyama Shuu and I eat people’.”

Hide starts laughing out of control. Tsukiyama actually pouts.

“I think it’s ironic.”

Hide almost chokes, but Kaneki, ever ignorant of important facts, only says in a deadpan, “Dude, it’s getting old.”

Tsukiyama stares at Kaneki with shock for a second then, slowly, a sincere smiles grows on his thin lips.

“I guess it’s time for a change of pace, huh?”

Kaneki looks away, slightly embarrassed. He really was very handsome. He replies,

“I guess.”

Hide is still laughing in the background.

-

Omg I’ve never had this much trouble with Tumblr holy crap.

[garden-ghoul]

two blogs, part 8

“feeling pleased with myself because I own multiple vegetables AND a jam right now”

Just like me, the hobbits are thinking of their next meal:

OF HERBS AND STEWED RABBIT

I’m jazzed because I think my boy Faramir is gonna be in this one. The Shigeo to Boromir’s Ritsu. Anyway, there is supposed to be food and water for the scavenging in the place where our heroes are going! They have to go through Ithilien to get to Cirith Ungol, which we all must agree has a much more pleasant and scavenge-able sound than blasted hell-plains of ultra-despair. So they set off on their way! It says "a single red light burned high up in the Towers of the Teeth,” which is kind of ominous considering I don’t remember those being mentioned, ever. Maybe it’s because I was practically asleep last chapter.

Our heroes find their hearts much lightened to see trees again, and they realize that they’ve come so far south that it’s already spring here. Mm I want to figure out what the actual latitude difference is between the Shire and Cirith Ungol. Hold on a sec. It’s a north-south distance of about 800 miles (nice going guys!!), which is about the same as Boston to Charleston, SC, or from London to Madrid. In ANY case, it’s spring in Ithilien, and “Ithilien, the garden of Gondor now desolate kept still a dishevelled dryad loveliness.” What a great phrase!  really good aesthetic. Tolkien goes in an amazing amount of detail about exactly which kinds of plants there are--one assumes this is Sam POV again, because Frodo probably knows the names of about 12 kinds of plants. Gollum breathes in the strong perfume of the flowers and chokes, which is another relateable Gollum feeling. 

We also observe that even in this beautiful land there are signs of the Enemy; apparently orcs just go around carving random shit on trees, which is kinda endearing. The text describes it as “evil runes,” but come on it’s probably mostly “Yalbakh is a wanker.” “7th company rulez.”

Sam had been giving earnest thought to food as they marched. Now that the despair of the impassable Gate was behind him, he did not feel so inclined as his master to take no thought for their livelihood beyond the end of their errand; and anyway it seemed wiser to him to save the waybread of the Elves for worse times ahead.

My logistics son. He asks Gollum very politely to catch something hobbits can eat; while Gollum is out hunting, Sam just stares at Frodo’s Beautiful Chiselled Sleeping Face and mutters “I love him.” Gaaaaayyyy. Then he starts thinking of how to cook the rabbits Gollum has brought back. Hobbits learn to cook before they learn to read! This delights me greatly. I want to live in a culture that prioritizes having everyone able to cook! Gollum comes back with water and realizes Sam is going to cook the rabbits. Horror of horrors!! This is one of the cute... ish.... Sam and Smeagol interactions, because there’s barely any threats of maiming at all! Just good old fashioned cultural misunderstandings. Sam tries to get Smeagol to find him some herbs or root vegetables, by which Smeagol is Bewildered. What the fuck is taters, precious?? He huffs himself away into the forest somewhere, indignant.

Sam and his master sat just within the fern-brake and ate their stew from the pans, sharing the old fork and spoon. They allowed themselves half a piece of the Elvish waybread each. It seemed a feast.

::3

A little later Sam realizes his fire is smoking, and that someone in the forest is sloppily imitating bird calls. He hurries to Frodo’s side, and they hear some people who sound like they’re discussing Gollum. You’d think Gollum would be the stealthiest, the least likely to be spotted, but I’m guessing the Gondorians (Gondorrim?) have seen him before.

‘Nay! Not Elves,' said the fourth, the tallest, and as it appeared the chief among them. 'Elves do not walk in Ithilien in these days. And Elves are wondrous fair to look upon, or so 'tis said.'

'Meaning we're not, I take you,' said Sam. 'Thank you kindly. And when you've finished discussing us, perhaps you'll say who you are, and why you can't let two tired travellers rest.'

At least we still have Sam to be passive-aggressive to gently bewildered humans who may or may not be about to kill him. But Captain Faramir has no choice to believe that they’re from his brother’s company when they share his own prophetic dream with him. Faramir goes, I guess, somewhere, leaving two men to guard the hobbits. The guards turn out to know some kind of elven language! How exciting! Frodo realizes they must be Dunedain. Awww haha and one of them is named Mablung. Faramir’s men are here to harass a company of Haradrim who apparently serve Sauron. It’s a good thing Faramir is captain, Mablung intimates; he leads a charmed life! Nothing unlucky can possibly happen to him! ...well, depending on whether you count his brother dying unlucky. But I guess Frodo and Sam don’t actually know Boromir is dead. Faramir... might, actually? Just now, Faramir is coming back in pursuit of some guy, and--yep--he’s shot him dead full of arrows.

It was Sam's first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace.

::( Same. Nobody wonders whether orcs are really evil at heart, though. Wonder, damn you! The battle ends and Sam goes to sleep immediately. Okay.

THE WINDOW ON THE WEST

When Sam wakes up, everyone is sitting in a circle for story time, I mean, watching Faramir interrogate Frodo. Faramir is like, trying to trick Frodo into... admitting he killed Boromir? Maybe? Frodo is just shocked to find out that Boromir is dead, but Sam is having none of this rudeness.

'See here, Captain! ' He planted himself squarely in front of Faramir his hands on his hips, and a look on his face as if he was addressing a young hobbit who had offered him what he called ‘sauce' when questioned about visits to the orchard.

SAUCE. FARAMIR, YOUNG HOBBIT. No I’ll bet Sam is actually a good bit older than Faramir. Also Faramir’s men are kind of delighted to see him being told off by this 3-foot-tall super indignant guy. But Faramir tells Sam off right back and then goes right on, though he’s marginally more polite to Frodo. He tells about finding Boromir’s body in the funeral boat. Frodo fears that this means everyone else is dead too ::( ::( “Will you not put aside your doubt of me and let me go?” says Frodo. “I am weary, and full of grief, and afraid. But I have a deed to do, or to attempt, before I too am slain.” TFW honestly. Our heroes walk with Faramir to a safehouse nearby (actually ten miles away, a long distance for short legs!) and he makes an incredibly good guess at why it sounds like Frodo and Boromir weren’t BFFs. He totally understands that Frodo can’t say any more:

'Alas! it is a crooked fate that seals your lips who saw him last, and holds from me that which I long to know: what was in his heart and thought in his latest hours.’

I love that thing where... there is something someone Absolutely Cannot Say, and everyone knows they’re talking in code and they’re in trouble over that thing. It’s not that common? Right now I can only remember it happening in Full Metal “hostage situations everywhere” Alchemist. Anyway it’s my jam. Faramir talks wistfully about how warlike Boromir always was, and how Faramir just wants to see the White Tree bloom and to see Minas Tirith at peace. I am just CONSTANTLY thinking to myself “Faramir is going to die!” and then I remember he actually survives and is happy and I’m just, utterly astonished. This happens like 3 times a minute. It’s incredibly stupid.

They get to the safehouse, which is Very Beautiful. Faramir’s men prepare some food. “Sam, not used to being waited on, looked with some surprise at the tall man who bowed, holding a basin of water before him.” [begins chanting] Wait on Sam! Wait on Sam! After eating Faramir comes to question Frodo some more, but, like, friendly. Frodo wants to please him so he talks about how Valiant Boromir was. For some reason this is kind of heartbreaking to me. That feel when you are trying hard to remind yourself that you are not safe and never will be again, that you cannot trust anyone... Also when Faramir is talking there’s this sense that Gondor is slowly dying. Maybe that’s why I absolutely can’t believe Faramir survives this trilogy. Rohan is still young and strong though, so that’s good! Gondor’s history is just too long. It’s tired. The civilization is too old and is overdue to crumble. 

‘As the Rohirrim do, we now love war and valour as things good in themselves, both a sport and an end; and though we still hold that a warrior should have more skills and knowledge than only the craft of weapons and slaying, we esteem a warrior, nonetheless, above men of other crafts.’

Faramir does not love war, and he doesn’t want to be a warrior. He’s a good man and I like him. These harsh days make everyone wary and sharp. Sam accidentally gets going on the subject of Galadriel and reveals that Isildur’s Bane is the Ring, and Faramir gets a Weird Look on his face. “A chance for Faramir, Captain of Gondor, to show his quality! Ha!” But don’t worry, my dears, he’s only quoting some nasty thing his father said to him, I think. He doesn’t want to even see the Ring. He’s a stronger man than his brother. Go to sleep, my good friends, and have no fear he’ll try to take it from you. Frodo suddenly blurts out exactly what their errand is... and then faints. Faramir carries him gently to bed.

#hey gogol I wrote approximately 16 entire lines in cantos 2-4 today #I'm Winning #the game of... attempt to do something #blog of the rings

[polar-stars]

6, 7, 22, 25, 26 for Shigeo?

Of course! Thanks for asking ! I always love talking about my evil snake-son !

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate?

Shigeo is a fairly intelligent kid and it does show in his grades for the most part. Putting all of Totsuki’s Cooking-Classes aside for a sec, he actually does have the best grades out of his brothers and also out of Suzume, Akio and Hiraku. He will reach his graduation and he will go onto studying business (like moi) abroad (unlike moi).  

He’s not all too excited about school but does not necessarily hate either. There are quite some things he considers a waste of his valuable time, but there’s also stuff he does kind off actually enjoy. 

His favorite subjects are math and chemistry, because this is were he has to try the least in a sense. He’s a logical dude and understands math fairly well and has also been making use of much, much math throughout consulting. Concerning chemistry, given that Shigeo’s cooking style relies heavily on knowing the chemistry of his ingredients, this is also just a piece of cake for him. He also finds enjoyment in politics and history. 

Least favorite subjects would be philosophy and anything artsy. He’s actually good at philosophy but just because philosophy, at least what you get taught in school, is not insanely hard. (Maybe that’s just me though, but I always thought of philosophy as a fairly easy subject ovo;;) But he finds everything discussed in this subject so insanely boring and a waste of time (and sometimes even downright moronic). I mean you really think Shigeo Eizan wants to learn about what Old Greeks considered to be moral? Artsy subjects are also considered a waste of time for him and he sees no point in them (also he’s not good at most of them, except for....theatrics maybe because he’s a great actor actually)

7. Did they have lots of friends as a child? Did they keep any of their childhood friends into adulthood? 

No.

At a earlier, happier stage of his life he would occasionally chat and maybe play a little with other rich kids he’d met at parties but there was never much grand contact there afterwards meep. He was always kind off much of a Lonely Rich Kid TM. Though he did have Masashi, and later also Kei of course, around and they found plenty of things to do and to entertain each other. 

Over time, he got rather incapable of making friends actually. 

His first, true friend was Moe who he also remains best friends with to this day as we know. He was also able to befriend Kiyoko and Yoshiko, though this is pretty much were it ends. 

22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back?

Ohoho~ An excellent question ! Gosh, were to even begin...

Overall and generally speaking, his main favorite way to go is attacking other people’s intellect. You see, Shigeo is smart and knows that he is. And he’s absolutely obnoxious about it. Shigeo is basically the TV-Trope “Insufferable Genius” and more than often makes himself out to be the most intellectual in a bunch, which in his mind gives him the right to dub everyone else surrounding him stupid. He therefore uses words like “moron”, “idiot”, “fool”, “nitwit” and such a lot. As well as describing people as “senseless”, “mindless” and “asinine” and such.

Shigeo also has to make sure that everyone knows that he feels threatened by no one. No matter how heart-wrenching your speech to challenge him was, he won’t blink an eye. You do not matter for him. Therefore, he also makes usage of words like “pathetic” or “ludicrous” or “ridiculous” or, when feeling exceptionally devilish, “pitiful”. 

Given that he also views himself as very fashionable, Shigeo insulting other male people’s looks can happen as well but not that much. 

Further than that, Shigeo is one to pick up people’s insecurities and what upsets them the most and such. And he will keep it in mind. He does often attack people through things he knows they’re sensitive about. Examples would be his constant commentary on Takayuki’s height (in form of “midget”, “shrimp or “runt”) or Hiraku’s commoner-background. 

He’s also pretty sarcastic and I don’t know if that truly counts but he’s also very known for a blunt “Die” or alternatives to such (like “Choke”) and sometimes even more brutal editions of such. 

And welp, he’s most defiantly able to confront and insult people directly. In fact, he lives for it. 

25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves?

Suffering. 

He does take actual entertainment of watching people desperately trying to wriggle themselves out of a hopeless situation he drove them into. But also just smaller things, like Akio being exhausted from a day full of maniacal Hiraku-antics. Shigeo is the worst. 

As you can maybe see, Shigeo’s overall sense of humor is pitch-black-dark. And when he does truly attempt to be funny, his jokes never land because everyone hates them ahsdhd. I think unintentionally he can say a few funny things though time to time.

For one possibly a bit more nicer thing, he finds Chieko greatly amusing sometimes. Though not in a bad way at all but in a charmed, pretty much adoring way. 

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions? 

When just content how one of his plan’s went or so, he usually becomes evermore cockier and smug for the time being and also brags a ton more. Maybe he will even begin to hum. 

True, wholesome happiness is something he wouldn’t want anyone on Totsuki to see on his face and so this is something he rather attempts to hide unless he’s with people he trusts (which would be his family or the Saitos). 

#Gofer answering to stuffz #Shigeo Eizan

[serenlyss]

Don’t Thank Me Yet Chapter 1

Rating: M (blood, guns, casual murder, torture, electrocution, trauma, ptsd) 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 1

Chapter 2

Me, writing another Ritshou fic? It's more likely than it seems.

So this is chapter one of an 8-chapter AU I've been developing for a while now. It's a lot darker and grittier than anything I've written in a while, but I have big plans for it in the future! I hope you guys like it! It does contain some heavy subject material, though, so please read the tags if you're worried about violence/injury/torture/etc. I didn't include anything horribly graphic bc I'm just not willing to write it, but I don't want anyone to have a bad experience because of it either.

On an unrelated note, I recently opened up an MP100 writing server on discord dedicated to workshopping, editing, brainstorming, and all other writing-related topics! It's open to anyone who's interested, just shoot me a message here to get a link. It's been a lot of fun so far and the people there are super friendly and fun to talk to! @soapipiadraws helped me with beta reading, thanks a bunch for all your help!

Everything hurts.

Ritsu suppresses a scream, his palms pushing with all his might against the locked door of the pod in front of him. Electricity courses through his body, sending it into frightful spasms as he fights to maintain his footing. His fingers curl against his will, scraping loudly against the thick glass facade, and he feels a few of his fingernails bend and crack under the strain of it. His legs buckle beneath him and he barely manages to keep his footing, feeling hot blood trickle out of his nose. I’m going to die here, he thinks in a panic. His back arches as another jolt of electricity runs through him, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his nails pierce his skin and draw blood from his palms. He feels as though every nerve in his body is on fire, but the blaze is contained beneath his skin where he can’t see it, can only feel it disintegrating his bones and melting his brain until the only urge he feels is to curl up on the floor and cry. His muscles won’t let him, though, the lightning in his body making him tense up into unnatural positions and vibrate painfully.

Outside the pod, two white-clad scientists observe him, scratching notes onto clipboards. Their faces are completely devoid of emotion, uncaring if Ritsu lives or dies. One of them peers over to a screen on the front of the pod, frowning disapprovingly. “No positive readings yet. Maybe our intel was wrong, and he’s not an esper after all,” she says.

Their apathetic stares stir up an anger in Ritsu that he’s felt many times since coming to this terrible place, harsh and defiant, and he forces himself back onto his feet despite the way his muscles scream at him to stop. “Open the door, you bastards!” he shrieks, pounding at the glass with his fist. Pain shoots up his arm, and his hand cramps painfully, but the adrenaline in his blood numbs it. He can feel something pooling in the pit of his stomach, wild and pleading to be released, but he doesn’t know what. He doesn’t even care, if it can help him escape. Let me out, let me out, let me out, his mind chants over and over, his usually careful thoughts turned feral and instinctive in his obsession.

One of the scientists hums thoughtfully and reaches out to press a button beside the door of the pod. Pain rips through Ritsu’s body once more, a pain even worse than before. It steals the air from his lungs so that he can’t even scream anymore, forcing him down onto all fours. His knees crack against the hard floor of the pod, hands leaving trails of bright red blood on the inside of the glass from where he’s punctured himself. His vision goes black, eyes rolling back in his head.

I’m going to die.

His back curls until he’s hunched over himself with his forehead against the ground, tearing at his hair with his hands.

I’m going to die.

He lets loose a scream at last, long and hoarse, feels the inside of his throat tearing from the force and volume of it.

I don’t want to die!

The coiling ball of tension in his stomach snaps suddenly and then explodes. A wave of raw power surges outward, filling the pod like water until there’s nowhere else for it to go but out. The thick glass barrier keeping him contained shatters into a hundred knives, shooting away from him with deadly force. He faintly registers the screams of the scientists who had been watching him up until now, but his ears are ringing too loudly to process them. There’s blood in his mouth, metallic and sour. A wind of his own creation whips around him, tugging on the blood-stained jacket of his school uniform and ripping his bangs from his sweat-slicked forehead.

Ritsu sucks in a wet, gasping breath, a raging headache hitting him with full force. He braces himself on his hands and knees, taking choking breaths and twitching uncontrollably. The power within him continues to overflow, crashing against the walls like the waves of the ocean on a rocky shore. He digs his fingers into the cold floor of the shattered pod until he can feel his arms again, then reaches up, grasping the edge of the pod and heaving himself to his feet. Shards of glass that that cling stubbornly to it cut into his palms, but he hardly feels it, the signals not quite reaching his brain. His vision is filled with blue and purple and green, shifting hues that crackle with uncontained energy. All he can feel is anger, all he can hear is the painfully loud alarms above his head, all he can think is that he wants out, now. Above his head, the lights shatter, plunging the room into near-darkness, and the alarm nearest him cuts out entirely. Glass flies at him, ricocheting harmlessly off of his body as though he’s made of concrete instead off flesh and bone. When he can finally fill his lungs with air again, he steps out of the pod and begins to walk.

A single-minded rage fills him, emanating outward in a destructive force that blows out the windows and causes the ground beneath him to shatter with every step. His bare feet, torn to shreds from walking on broken glass, leave bloody prints behind him on the too-clean floor. He barely even notices as he walks, calmly, into a thick concrete wall.

It explodes around him, shards of it raining down upon everyone in his vicinity. He pays no mind to the people in his way, who are either frozen in place or run, screaming, from his path. Those who refuse to move are quickly disposed of, tossed away with an instinctual flick of his hand. He doesn’t even wait to see if any of them are espers, too desperate to be anywhere but here, and he doesn't look to see if they ever stand up again.

He goes through two more walls and a ten-foot chain-link fence before he finally finds himself outside of the prison he’s been held in, and even then he doesn’t stop walking until he can no longer hear the sirens and can no longer see the gray concrete building looming in the distance.

He crests the top of a hill, and only then does his brain slow down enough for him to feel the screaming pain in his injured feet and the sticky sensation of blood running down his arms. He stops, feeling his vision fuzz out temporarily as he suddenly loses the ability to take another step. Exhaustion lays on his shoulders like a tangible weight, and his mind begs for rest. His newfound powers absolutely radiate from him in a blue and purple flame, seeping from the bottoms of his feet and the tips of his fingers, but they’re weakening quickly the farther from danger he strays. Eventually they retreat back into his body, a faint glow all that remains. He teeters on his feet, his balance failing. For a scary moment he’s sure he’s going to faint, but then he hears a voice call out to him.

“Hey, you! Don’t you go dying on me!”

Ritsu’s head snaps up, a flash of fear startling him back to his senses and giving him something to focus on as he spots another boy approaching him. He catches the red of the boy’s hair and the pistol in his hand and panics, raising a hand in his direction almost on instinct. He feels his power lash out like a whip and knock the approaching boy back a few steps, though he’s quick to regain his footing. It’s such a weak attack compared to what he’d managed before, but Ritsu still finds himself drained, the well of power within him nearly dried up.

The boy raises his hands in surrender, and Ritsu notices that he keeps the gun pointed away from him. It’s slightly reassuring, but doesn’t do much overall to endear Ritsu to whatever he’s scheming.

“Whoa, tiger, no need to get violent. I’m not gonna hurt you,” the boy says, and his voice carries a tone that’s confident bordering on cocky, with an underlying layer of genuine concern. “You broke yourself out of the labs? That’s impressive, I didn’t think any of Claw’s experiments would ever actually succeed. They must have done terrible things to you, to make you like this.” His voice is laced with thinly-veiled contempt as he takes a step forward, then another, testing his boundaries.

Ritsu hesitates to lash out again, because the way he’s talking makes it sound as though he’s not affiliated with the people who had kidnapped him, and Ritsu really doesn’t want to accidentally kill someone harmless with powers he can hardly grasp. He doesn’t even know if he can manage another attack like before, anyway; his legs are shaking, begging for rest, and he can’t seem to breathe quickly or deeply enough to satisfy his burning lungs.

He swallows thickly, unsure. “Who are you?” he demands, hand still extended in case the boy decides to make a move to attack.

The boy grins at him, confident but honest. “I’m Shou. Don’t worry, I’m not with them.” He nods his head toward the concrete building in the distance. “In fact, I came here to kill them all and blow this place into the stratosphere, but it looks like you may have beaten me to it. What’s your name?”

Ritsu bites his lip, still distrusting, but he can’t sense any ill intentions from Shou, and he’s the first kid he’s met since coming to the lab who hasn’t also been kidnapped by Claw. “Ritsu,” he says after a long moment of quiet, making an ill-informed decision to at least hear the boy out. His hand falls to his side as he finds himself struggling to keep it raised.

Shou’s grin turns into a more sincere smile at hearing Ritsu’s name, his features softening some. “Well, Ritsu, you’re lucky I found you out here. You look like shit, no offence, and I’m sure you don’t want to be stuck out here wandering in the forest until you bleed out, so why don’t you come with me? I have a friend with a car who-” He cuts himself off abruptly, eyes going wide, and shouts, “Look out!”

Ritsu gasps and turns on his heel, catching sight of two white-clad Claw scientists cresting the hill behind him. He feels a surge of panic; they were going to take him back, torture him further, make him into their lab rat. I won’t go back, he thinks to himself, raising a hand. He can’t muster the power to fight back, though, and with a flash of horror he feels his knees buckle underneath him, giving way under his jerky movements. Dark spots dance at the corners of his eyes, vision turning to static as he keels backward.

He never hits the ground, though. A strong arm catches him around his shoulders before he can, and as he regains control of his vision he sees that it’s Shou. He’s rushed to Ritsu’s aid, teeth clenched in determination, and Ritsu sees him quickly lift the pistol and fire off a quick volley of shots even as Ritsu’s weight drags him down to his knees.

The scientists crumple immediately under Shou’s fire and don’t get up again.

“You alright, man?” Shou asks, helping him into a kneeling position and steadying him with a hand on his back. He slips the gun into a holster at his hip.

Ritsu shivers, despite the clear sky and mild temperatures, and feels his teeth begin to chatter. His heart is racing and his head is pounding, a potent fear sinking into his stomach and churning restlessly there. He can’t look away from the two unmoving bodies across the clearing from them. “You killed them,” he manages, breathless.

Shou puts himself between Ritsu and the toppled scientists, a stern expression on his face, but there’s concern in his eyes. He holds no visible remorse for the people he’s just shot to death. “They were gonna kill you first, you know!” he retorts, his words painfully blunt. “Calm down a bit, okay? I told you already that I’m not gonna kill you.” His gaze flicks over Ritsu’s shaking form and his distrustful gaze, and then he sighs. “Look, you’re going to be fine, okay? I can take you somewhere safe and explain what’s going on, but I need you to trust me, alright? Is that okay?”

Ritsu swallows, feeling tears sting the corner of his eyes. Everything about this situation makes him uneasy, and he knows that, logically, it would be incredibly stupid of him to agree. He knows he should refuse, should get himself far away from here. “Okay,” he whispers instead, because he doesn’t know where else he can go, has no clue where he is or how to get home, and Shou is the first person to show him even a sliver of kindness in… he doesn’t even know how long. Days, probably.

Shou grabs Ritsu by the hand and tugs his arm around his shoulders, hefting the both of them up with some difficulty. Ritsu stumbles to get his feet underneath him, and Shou must pick up on this, because he says, “Tell me if you feel like you’re going to faint, okay? I can carry you partway to the car pretty easily.”

Without thinking, Ritsu retorts, “You’re even smaller than I am.” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, he regrets them, certain that Shou is going to get annoyed and leave him behind to die after all.

Instead, Shou laughs, loud and boisterous, and tightens his grip on Ritsu’s arm. “Not with my hands, with my powers,” he reiterates in amusement, then blinks. “Ah, I guess I never used them in front of you, did I? Can you sense my aura?”

Ritsu lifts his head and squints at Shou, searching. He doesn’t know if it's because his powers are new, or because he’s exhausted beyond anything he’s ever experienced before, but he can’t feel a lick of power coming from Shou anymore. He shakes his head no.

Shou just chuckles. “That’s disappointing, but I guess it can’t be helped. Well, there’ll be time for that later,” he says.

They don’t have to walk very far before they reach the car Shou mentioned. He doesn’t have any free hands open, one of them holding tight to Ritsu’s wrist while the other supports his waist, but the door opens itself anyway, and Ritsu spots a flicker of red-orange light through his black-tinged vision. He doesn’t even have the energy to ask as Shou helps him into the back seat of the car and climbs in beside him.

“Higashio, change of plans. I’ve stumbled on quite the discovery, so we’re gonna have to book it back to HQ,” Shou commands. He uses his hand to close the door behind him, Ritsu notes.

The man called Higashio sighs loudly from the front seat, glancing up from his cell phone. He looks like he wants to argue, but he chokes on his words when he sees the injured and near-unconscious middle schooler in his back seat. He stares, wide-eyed, for a second, then swiftly turns and starts the car up. “Geez, you really do wander into the strangest situations, don’t you?” he accuses, but doesn’t hesitate to pull the car away from where he’s parked and start the drive back to their headquarters.

Ritsu feels his body thrust back and forth as they drive on what is most likely not a real road, struggling to keep his balance just sitting up. He feels like it’s been ages since he’s seen so many trees. “What day is it?” he asks suddenly.

“It’s Wednesday,” Shou replies. “They kidnapped you, right? When did you go missing?”

Ritsu’s brow furrows in thought, and after a moment he replies, “It was a Monday, after school. They attacked me on my way home from my student council meeting.” He lets his face drop into his hands, exhausted and overwhelmed. “My brother’s probably going crazy looking for me.” If his brother is even alive. If his brother hasn’t been kidnapped as well and taken somewhere else. That isn’t even taking his parents into account.

Shou reaches out and lays a hand on Ritsu’s shoulder awkwardly, clearly wanting to offer some kind of comfort despite not being very inclined toward it. “Hey, calm down, it’s gonna be okay,” he says, frowning in concern. “You should try to get some rest, alright? You’ll feel better if you do.”

Defeated and emotionally drained, Ritsu can only nod in response. He moves his head to rest against the car window, staring outside as the trees fly by in a blur. His eyes fall closed almost immediately, and he welcomes the unconsciousness that falls over him with open arms.

---

When Ritsu opens his eyes next, it’s to a dimly lit, surprisingly homey room. For a disoriented moment, he thinks that maybe he’s home, safe in his bed, that everything that had happened had just been some weird, unprecedented nightmare, but the walls are the wrong color, and it isn’t his bed he’s laying in.

“Oh, you’re awake!”

Ritsu turns his head, eyes landing on a brightly-grinning Shou. The redhead has hold of one of Ritsu’s hands and is wrapping a white bandage around his palm and between his fingers. Instinctively, Ritsu moves to jerk his hand back, but Shou keeps a steady hold of it.

“Hey, be careful, you’re gonna mess up my hard work,” Shou accuses, turning his hand this way and that as he secures and double-checks the bandages. “You were in really bad shape, you know, especially your hands. What happened?”

Ritsu reluctantly stills, resigning himself to letting Shou move him around how he pleases. “They liked hurting my hands,” he replies softly, turning his head to look at the opposite wall so Shou can’t see his face. He doesn’t want to remember the way they’d cut his skin with knives, trying to force his latent psychic powers to emerge. Some of the wounds are days old and have never been properly checked, dried blood surrounding crude scabs. “The bleeding ones were from myself, though,” he adds as an afterthought, remembering how he’d punctured his own palms in his desire to escape the pain of electrocution.

Shou hums thoughtfully, moving his attention from his hand to the scratches and wounds that cross his arm. Ritsu realizes belatedly that his other arm is already tightly wrapped in clean white bandages, as are both of his feet.

“Sick freaks, it was probably some weird obsession,” Shou scoffs. “How do you feel? You slept all the way back and didn’t wake up when I moved you, so I thought you’d sleep for the rest of the night at least.”

Ritsu doesn’t answer, just continues to stare resolutely at the wall, feeling a sudden protectiveness well within him, a desire to preserve himself. Shou chuckles. “Tough nut, huh? Well, can’t say I blame you. You’re not dead, though, so I guess that’s good enough for me. If you don’t wanna talk, then I guess I can tell you about me. It’s only fair, right?”

Ritsu relaxes some as Shou changes the topic, grateful that he’s not being made to spill his life’s story to a near-stranger. He turns to meet Shou’s gaze at last, feeling curious. His eyes are blue, of all colors, and abnormally light for someone who’s clearly grown up in Japan. Foreign blood, perhaps? “Yeah, that would be fair,” he agrees, if only because he’s dying to know why a boy who can’t be older than himself is capable of the damage he’s caused.

Shou cracks a smile at this, nodding. “Alright then. I’m Shou, in case you forgot, and I guess you could call me the leader around here,” he says, reintroducing himself more properly this time. There’s clear pride in his voice as he speaks, an air of cockiness and showmanship that come across to Ritsu as braggy, maybe even juvenile. As he speaks, he cleans away the dried blood on Ritsu’s arm with a wet cloth. “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. “They awakened me three years ago in hopes that I would become their poster boy, but they never could get a very tight grip on me. I ran away the first chance I got and never looked back. Now, I’m going door to door and blowing up as many Claw bases as I can get my hands on. Maybe if I do it enough their leader will finally acknowledge how badly he’s fucking up and call the whole thing off.” He shakes his head, sighing out, “Stupid father.”

Ritsu blinks in surprise, barely catching Shou’s last words as he spits them under his breath. He isn’t sure if they’re meant for him to hear or not, but the impact is the same nonetheless. Shou’s words say a lot more about his past than Ritsu thinks he probably wanted to divulge, too. If he’d also been awakened to his psychic powers by Claw, then he and Ritsu were the same, both victims. He looks up at the ceiling, swallowing. Those guys are really dangerous, then… he thinks to himself in alarm. The one who took me even managed to defeat my brother-

He lets out a gasp, eyes widening. “Shige! Ugh, how could I forget?” he exclaims, sitting up so fast that Shou lets out a startled yelp. “They were after my brother, not me! They mistook me for him, he might still be in danger, he-”

“Whoa, whoa, Ritsu, slow down,” Shou interrupts, standing up and gripping him by both his shoulders. “Your brother is fine. I sent a guy to stake out your house. He made it home alright after whatever fight went down on Monday and he’s not hurt. You’re parents are okay, too.” He pauses, glancing away, and Ritsu is surprised to see his expression turn remorseful. “He tried to find you, but you disappeared without a trace, at least from his side. As far as Claw knows, they succeeded in their mission in kidnapping Kageyama Shigeo and, as long as they don’t find out they got the wrong guy, they won’t go after him anymore.”

Ritsu’s expression breaks, and he lets his face drop into his hands. He doesn't even care how Shou managed to get the information on him and his family so quickly, just relieved that his brother is alright. The relief is quickly overtaken by despair, though, as he thinks of his brother frantically trying to find him and being forced to return home empty-handed to his distraught parents. “This is a nightmare,” he groans miserably. “He must be so worried… I’ve been gone for two days now.”

Shou swallows, chuckling nervously. “Well, it’s past midnight, so, uh, it’s actually more like three now,” he admits, then quickly shakes his head, grimacing. “But that’s not important. Yeah, things aren’t ideal, but everyone’s alive and mostly intact and the Claw base you came out of is smoldering ashes now so, hey, at least we have that going for us.”

Ritsu uncovers his face to fix Shou with a biting glare, annoyed. “I need to get home, I need my family to know that I’m okay,” he insists, but he can only stay angry for so long before it devolves into desperate pleading. “Please, Shou, I need to talk to them!” He reaches out and grasps Shou by both arms, desperate.

Shou sighs, releasing his grip on Ritsu and tugging himself out of his grasp. He moves back to the chair he’d set up by the bed, sitting down and leaning his elbows in his thighs. “You never slow down, do you?” he asks, raising a brow in an unimpressed manner. “Look, I know that you miss your family and that you’re worried about them, but it’s not so simple. You’re an escapee now, a fugitive. Claw won’t let you go so easily, especially now that they know you’re a successful experiment. They know where you live and where you go to school, and they can easily track you down again if you aren’t careful.” He pauses, expression softening some. “I want to take you back to your home, I really do, but it’s just not safe for you there anymore, especially if you want to protect your family, too.”

“What are you talking about?” Ritsu demands, feeling fear and confusion pooling in his stomach. “You said my family was safe!”

“And they are, at least for now,” Shou says quickly, “but that will change if Claw finds out you’ve been home, even just for a little while. If there’s any chance of your family knowing where you are, they’ll use them to find you again. It’s how they work, the bastards.” He grits his teeth in repulsion, shaking his head. “In any case, the most we can do for them for now is keep an eye on them from afar. If Claw makes a move on them, we’ll be the first ones to find out.”

Ritsu takes a shaky breath, falling silent as he processes this information. “What am I supposed to do, then? If I can’t go home, or back to school, or anywhere else until all this is solved, where am I gonna go?” he asks, quiet and broken. He misses his family already.

“Well…” Shou says, clasping his hands on his knees and leaning forward a bit. “I was hoping you might, you know, stick around for a while. It’s safe here, so you can recover from your injuries and get back on your feet. Then, I was hoping you might want to help me on my mission.” His expression goes from slightly nervous and guilty to starkly determined, obviously quite serious about the offer he’s making. “I’ll just cut to the chase, Ritsu. You’re strong, really strong. Strong enough to take out a whole Claw base by yourself, once you get some practice in. What I told you about your family and about needing to lay low is all true, but if you help me take down Claw, you can make sure for yourself that they never come after you again, you or your brother. Plus, it’ll give you plenty of chances to get your revenge.” He sits up in his seat, offering Ritsu a sly grin. “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. Revenge on the people who’ve targeted his brother, revenge on the scientists who had stared at him with those apathetic eyes while they tortured him. It did have a sort of dark draw to it. “So, if I do agree to this, I’ll have to drop my whole life indefinitely? No going home, no school, nothing?”

“That’s right,” Shou says with a nod. “I’m really sorry it’s come down to this, believe me. If I could send you home right now in clear conscious, I would. I still will, if that’s what you want, but I could really use your help here, too. A partner of sorts, someone to watch my back.” He offers Ritsu a smile, small but hopeful. “I’ll watch yours too, of course. Safety in numbers and all that. Basically, I’m offering you a place to stay for the time being, a chance to get back at the people who hurt you, and a way to protect your family. I’ll even throw in some lessons to help you control your powers better. It’ll make you a more useful ally, plus it’s fun.” He grins at this, his snarky cheerfulness back in full force. “You won’t get to be as strong as me, of course, but with enough practice-”

“I’ll do it,” Ritsu interrupts, cutting Shou off mid-sentence. “I’ll join you, at least for now. The faster Claw is destroyed, the sooner I can put all this behind me.” He fixes Shou with a surprisingly fierce expression, strong and determined and angry. “I’ll make them regret ever targeting me and my family.”

Shou blinks, momentarily shocked speechless, as though he isn’t expecting such a fast and passionate response. Then he breaks out into another grin, pleased and impressed. “Alright, then. From now on, we’re partners,” he says, and extends a hand to Ritsu.

Ritsu smiles, the first smile he’s managed since he’d been kidnapped three days ago, and meets Shou for a handshake with one bandaged hand. “Yeah. Partners.”

#mob psycho 100 #mp100 #ritshou #kageyama ritsu #suzuki shou #fanfiction #fanfic #mp100 fanfic #blood #torture #casual murder #ptsd #trauma #electrocution #ask to tag #serendipitousfics

[serenlyss]

Don’t Thank Me Yet Chapter 5

Rating: M (violence, blood, guns, murder, torture, PTSD, trauma) 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 5

Chapter 4 // Chapter 6

We've finally made it to my favorite chapter. I'm really excited for you all yo read this at last, I put a lot of work into making sure it had the biggest and best impact it can. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter and the rest of what I have in store. If you all want to ask me questions or anything you can send me an ask or a message here or leave a comment on my ao3! I love hearing from you guys!

---

Ritsu’s mind goes blank.

The words sink in slowly, painfully, pressing down on his shoulders and squeezing his heart and lungs until he can’t tell if he’s breathing anymore. His fingers dig into the wood of the table until his knuckles turn white, arms quivering. He feels like he might vomit.

“What do you mean it’s on fire?” Shou yells, a bit quicker to process the news than Ritsu is. “They can’t have gotten there already, it hasn’t even been a day!” He stands up in a hurry, face contorted in a rage Ritsu’s rarely seen. He clenches his teeth tightly together, his whole body shaking in unbridled anger.

“It’s as I said. I was doing my rounds and noticed the smoke on my way back.” Ootsuki’s voice comes over the speaker with practiced calm, though there’s a sense of urgency in it as well. “I didn’t see anyone go in or come out, and the crowd around the house is way too thick to see if any of the Kageyamas made it outside. I only got a quick look, but one of the first-floor windows had been shattered. There was no glass on the outside.”

Shou slams a fist on the table, startling Ritsu. His glare is near-murderous as he hangs up the call and shoves his phone into his pocket. “Damn it! Someone must have broken in. How did they get a team out so fast?” he curses. He’s already rushing around the room, scooping up his backpack and tugging on his shoes. As he’s zipping up his jacket, he turns and fixes Ritsu with his intense gaze. “Let’s go, we’re taking the car.”

Ritsu’s tongue feels thick in his mouth, and he barely manages to choke out, “What?”, before Shou is hauling him up by his elbow and shoving him toward the door, snagging the car keys from a hook on the wall.

“Hurry up, you heard what Ootsuki said! We’ve gotta run if we’re gonna save your family!” Shou snaps, throwing open the house’s front door so fast that the doorknob leaves a dent in the wall.

Shou’s words break the spell Ritsu’s under, and he hurriedly steps into his shoes, not even bothering to tie them as he chases Shou out the front door. “Do you even know how to drive?” Ritsu sputters without thinking.

“Of course not, but that’s not really important right now, is it?” Shou replies over his shoulder haughtily, but that doesn’t stop him from sliding into the front seat of the car and shoving the keys into the ignition.

Ritsu barely has time to get himself into the passenger’s seat and close the door before Shou’s pulling the car jerkily away from the curb. He hits the gas far too hard, sending the car lurching forward at a nauseating velocity. Ritsu’s hand snaps up to cling to the handle affixed to the car’s ceiling, feeling his heart plummet into his stomach. “This is a terrible idea!” he cries.

Shou takes a sharp turn, barely hitting the brake at all as he does. “Got a better one? Please do tell!” he snaps back in irritation, swerving back and forth to avoid parked cars and other would-be deterrents as he heads for Ritsu’s house. “You can’t fly, unless you’ve been practicing behind my back, and I sure as hell can’t carry four people once we finally get everyone out. Five, if you count Ootsuki!”

Ritsu has no better ideas, so he falls quiet. It’s only once they’re on the wide-open main road that he finally feels like he can loosen his iron grip on the handle, but now his hands shake against his will and his chest tightens in a familiar way as the situation truly sinks in. With it comes world-crushing dread and guilt, filling him up in a second and overflowing in the form of tears that streak down his face. “This is all my fault,” he groans, burying his face in his hands.

Shou sighs softly. “Come on, dude, it’s too early to break down. At least wait until we get to the house and figure out what happened to your family,” he chastises, gaze fixed firmly on the road in front of them. His hands are hot-glued to the wheel as he does his best not to hit anyone else.

“What if they’re gone?” Ritsu asks, ashamed at the way his voice cracks. “What if they’re hurt? Shou, what if they’re dead?”

He glances up at Shou, searching for something, anything. He feels stressed and lost and so, so scared, like he’s a kid again, running to his mother after a bad day and crying into her arms. He searches for that warmth now, that familiar comfort that feels so out of reach, and instead finds himself cold.

“We won’t know until we get there,” Shou murmurs, and the realism of it just knocks Ritsu deeper into his worries. He wants Shou to tell him that everything’s going to be fine, that it’ll all work out in the end, even though he knows that neither of them have any way of knowing how things will turn out.

Ritsu spends the rest of the drive struggling to pull himself together, reaching for his rampant emotions with outstretched hands and shoving them back into his skin where they belong. He dries his tears on the sleeve of his jacket as Shou zig-zags down the familiar streets of his hometown and wonders if this is how Shigeo always feels, the weight of too many complicated emotions strangling his heart. He can see the plume of smoke rising before they even turn onto his street, staining the blue sky a dark, murky gray.

When he finally lays eyes on his childhood home, Ritsu momentarily forgets how to breathe. The left side of the house is engulfed in flames already, the blaze creeping its way slowly along the roof and the wall where Ritsu can see his old bedroom’s balcony. The living room window has been completely shattered, as Ootsuki had relayed over the phone, and flames pour out of it like water from a tap, angrily singeing the tulips in his mother’s flowerbed. He scrambles out of the passenger-side door as Shou pulls to the car to a halt across the street, ears filled with the crackle of fire and the anxious murmurs of the crowd gathered outside the front gate. Distantly, he hears the sirens of fire trucks being deployed.

Shou moves before Ritsu has a chance to, shoving his way into the crowd and vaulting the gate without even pausing to open it. Ritsu’s quick to scramble after him, ignoring the shocked cries and warnings thrown his way by the crowd of bystanders. He doesn’t even look to see if anyone he recognizes is here; it doesn’t matter, because an aura is radiating from the house like a beacon, even brighter than the fires that threaten to bring the house down around it, and even though Ritsu’s never sensed it before, he knows it can only belong to one person.

Ritsu doesn’t give himself the time to process that his brother is still here, still alive, as he lifts one foot and kicks the door in without a second thought. The burned door gives way too easily under his weight, the lock protesting in a loud screech of metal on metal before falling apart entirely. He sprints down the hall and forces open the door that leads into the combined family room and kitchen, and hears Shou right on his heels, already breathing hard from the smoke that’s filled the entryway.

Ritsu recoils, raising his arms to shield his face as a rush of hot air nearly blows him off his feet. He feels his unbuttoned jacket being ripped back by the psychic wind that whips through the whole room, stronger than any summer storm. He takes a step over the threshold, then another, eyes darting around as he takes in the scene before him.

The entire room is on fire, hungry tongues of it lapping at the carpet and gnawing on the wooden beams that hide behind the drywall. The ceiling is entirely obscured by the thick cloud of smoke that hovers there, like an ominous, poisonous fog. Shattered glass covers the floor from the blown-in window, and the television lays in pieces at the far end of the room. The dining room table has been cracked down its middle, splinters of it covering the kitchen floor as the fire reaches greedily for them. There are dents in the walls and in the kitchen cabinets, and the ceiling fan hangs at a diagonal angle, as if barely holding onto its place.

There, in the middle of the blaze and shattered glass, stands Shigeo, surrounded in a bright blue aura that drips from him like water. Despite the house’s state of disrepair, he looks almost calm, his feet firmly planted on the ruined carpet and one hand held out in front of him. The wind in the room whips off of him in frighteningly strong gusts, lifting the hem of his shirt and causing his hair to stand straight up. His brow is furrowed in fierce determination, fiery red eyes fixed on a pair of nasty-looking espers. Ritsu’s quick to pick them out as Scars, the angry red marks on their faces a dead giveaway that it had indeed been Claw who had attacked this place. One of them is down on one knee and looks rather battered, as though he’s already put up as much of a fight as he could, and the other doesn’t look much better, blood dripping from a wound on his head. Their parents are nowhere to be seen.

“Shige!” Ritsu cries, fighting to be heard above the noise of the tiny storm Shigeo has managed to conjure within the house’s walls. He doesn’t even care about the Scars at this point, doesn’t care if he’s giving away the element of surprise or whatever other advantage he may have. He just wants his brother.

Three pairs of eyes turn to look at him immediately, but Ritsu can only stare as Shigeo’s head snaps around and he finally, finally meets Ritsu’s gaze. His eyes go wide, and he stumbles back a step as though he’s been pushed. The storm around him ceases instantly, shards of glass and splinters of wood clattering harmlessly to the ground around him. His mouth falls open, lips forming Ritsu’s name, and then suddenly he’s gone.

One of the Scars moves with a speed Ritsu isn’t accounting for, and his fist sinks into Shigeo’s cheek with an audible crack that sends him careening back into the fireplace. The brick structure collapses on top of him, throwing up a thick cloud of dust and ash leftover from cold winter nights that were never swept away.

Before Ritsu can even understand what’s come over him, he sees red. He hears himself scream, aura bursting from under his skin as he grabs the Scar tightly with his telekinesis and pins him up against the far wall by his throat. His blood roars in his ears, the noise of it drowning out everything else. He clenches his hand into a tight fist and takes a sick sense of pride in the way the Scar fights to breathe and reaches for hands that aren’t there. His mind goes blank, his aura overflowing and filling the room in a way he’s only felt once before, on the night he’d first awakened his powers.

At his side, Shou reaches for the other Scar and lifts him up with his aura without hesitation. He grits his teeth and pushes, hard, and the Scar flies into the house’s wall and then breaks through it, hitting the ground somewhere outside with a crash.

Ritsu clenches his teeth and tightens his grip even further until the Scar can’t even gasp anymore, his face turned purple and red. He feels a maniacal grin pull at the corners of his mouth, a sick satisfaction filling him as the Scar stops struggling and his arms fall limp at his sides.

A hand grabs him by the shoulder and whirls him around. “Ritsu! Drop him, he’ll die!” Shou yells, knocking away his outstretched hand with a loud, backhanded slap. Ritsu loses his grip, and the Scar falls to the ground in a heap, unconscious. Shou grabs his face with both hands, staring up at him with wide eyes filled with worry and desperation and fear. “Let’s get out of here,” he pleads. His hands tremble slightly against Ritsu’s skin, too warm in the overheated room, and his breathing comes quick and raspy from smoke inhalation. The air is thin and filling with more smoke by the second, turning their surroundings hazy and monochromatic.

“You’re not a killer,” he whispers.

Ritsu gasps, feeling the murderous intent drain from him in a flash. He blinks, as though waking up, his whole body going stiff and motionless as he fights to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He swallows, holding Shou’s gaze for a moment before he whips around toward the fireplace, tearing his face out of Shou’s grasp. “Shige!” he calls, stumbling to the pile of bricks and falling to his knees next to it. He pushes them away with his hands, desperate to unbury his brother before the Scars come back to their senses.

Shigeo groans and sits up in the wreckage, rubbing the back of his head, and meets Ritsu’s gaze once more. His eyes no longer glow that intense, angry red, back to their usual dark shade of gray, and his hair lays against his forehead once more. For a moment, he just stares, shaking hands reaching out as if to touch but retreating before they can, and his lower lip wobbles as he searches for words to speak with. “Ritsu?” he whispers like a prayer, quiet and vulnerable.

Ritsu’s never been happier to hear someone say his name. He throws himself into his brother’s arms, squeezing him tightly, and Shigeo doesn’t hesitate to hold him back. He forgets that Shigeo is still half-buried in bricks and ash, forgets that the house is still very much on fire around them. He’s too relieved and overwhelmed to care about anything other than the fact that Shigeo is here, Shigeo is alive, Shigeo is real and solid and just as gentle as he remembers. He buries his face into his brother’s neck, not even bothering to hold back the tears that come this time. Shigeo has seen him cry too many times for him to start feeling ashamed of it now.

Shigeo doesn’t say a word as Ritsu clings to him, just settles his hands against his back and pulls him closer, but Ritsu can tell he’s crying too from the way he shakes in his arms.

Ritsu only pulls away when he hears the sound of voices nearby, drawing him out of the relieved trance he’d fallen into. When he extracts himself from Shigeo’s grip and looks over, he sees that it’s Ootsuki, speaking with Shou, and the reality of the situation comes flooding back to him. He glances at the Scar he’d choked, sees that he’s still unconscious on the ground, and then he stands, pulling Shigeo with him by the hand. “We should go,” he says, casting a glance at Shou and wiping at his eyes with his free hand. “Shige, where are Mom and Dad?”

Shigeo lets himself be pulled, bricks clattering to the ground around him as he finally frees his legs from them. He’s covered head to toe in soot and dust, and he coughs into his hand, wincing. Ritsu can feel the smoke burning his lungs, too. “They’re not here. It’s their anniversary this weekend, so they went away on a trip and left me at home, just for a little while,” he manages, voice hoarse. “They won’t be home for a few more days.”

Ritsu can’t help but be surprised that his strict parents were willing to leave Shigeo home alone for such a long period of time. “They didn’t take you with them?”

Shigeo shakes his head. “I told them not to. It took quite a bit of convincing, but I wanted them to have a nice vacation without having to worry about me… I guess that ended up being a bad idea, huh?” he glances regretfully around the ruined house as he and Ritsu head for the door.

“Enough chatter, let’s get out of here,” Shou says sternly, giving Ritsu’s shoulder a little shove as he crowds them out of the burning building. He tosses the car keys to Ootsuki, who catches them deftly. “You drive, I’m underage.”

Ritsu bites back the urge to point out that it’d been Shou who had driven them here in the first place, letting him hustle them out the back door.

Shou breaks away from them as they reach the door, casting Ritsu a glance and nodding at him, then reaches up and takes Ootsuki by his forearm. Immediately, the two of them blink out of sight, surrounded by Shou’s light-reflecting barrier.

Oh, Ritsu thinks, I guess we can’t let ourselves be caught by the police, they’ll ask too many questions. He follows Shou’s lead, flashing Shigeo a small smile as he throws up a field of invisibility of his own.

“You have psychic powers!” Shigeo gasps in shock, and the awe in his voice is enough to make Ritsu laugh out loud. He’d really, really missed his brother.

He holds a finger to his lips with a sly smile. “Quiet, we’ve gotta be sneaky now,” he whispers, grabbing Shigeo by the hand and tugging him around the house and toward where the car is parked. He feels like a giddy little kid playing hide and seek, crouched under the kitchen table while his mother pretends not to know where he is. Just for a bit, it’s like the mission doesn’t have life-or-death consequences. He slips into the back seat of the car with Shigeo while Shou takes up the shotgun seat, and the car rumbles to life.

Fire trucks are parked in front of the house now, and Ritsu can hear police sirens close behind, but by the time anyone’s noticed that the car has started, they’re leaving the curb and speeding back to their headquarters.

For a few minutes, all four of them sit in silence, and the giddiness and excitement Ritsu felt at finally reuniting with his brother fades, replaced with the apprehension and anticipation that comes with knowing that he has a lot to explain. He can practically hear Shigeo’s thoughts racing despite the impassive expression he wears, and Ritsu doesn’t feel much better, his own mind scrambling to figure out exactly how he’s going to explain his four months of absence to his brother.

Ritsu swallows, and decides to break the silence first. “Ah, I should probably introduce you, right?” he says, his voice coming out painfully awkward. “Shige, these are my friends, Shou and Ootsuki. I’ve… been staying with them for a few months now.”

Shou flashes Shigeo a grin, turning around in the front seat and propping his elbow up on the back of it. “Nice to meet’cha, Ritsu’s brother. Sorry to keep you in the dark for so long,” he says, his words painfully casual in contrast to the tense atmosphere.

Shigeo manages a smile. “Oh, um, it’s nice to meet you too. You can just call me Shigeo,” he murmurs in response. His gaze flickers to Ritsu momentarily, questioning.

“I promise, I’ll explain everything, I just… give me a little bit of time to get my thoughts together,” Ritsu says, hearing Shigeo’s unspoken question as though he’d said it aloud. It’s a small, but very real, reassurance that they can still understand each other despite their time apart.

Shigeo offers him a closed smile and nods. “It’s okay, take your time,” he says, and Ritsu knows he’s going to be eternally grateful for his brother’s understanding nature.

“Thank you,” he says, turning to look down at his knees. Shigeo’s leg and shoulder press softly against him, unconsciously gravitating towards him despite the fact that there’s plenty of room for them both to stretch out in the car’s back seat. Ritsu takes comfort from it, relishes in the fact that they can finally be together again after so many months of being unable to see each other. He imagines Shigeo must have had an even harder time than him, having no idea where Ritsu had disappeared to or where he’d been. He wonders how often Shigeo had thought about him, how many times he’d considered the possibility that he might have been dead the whole time.

“I’m really glad you’re okay.” Shigeo breaks the silence this time, drawing Ritsu out of his thoughts. He turns to him and offers him a small, kind smile, but there’s sadness behind it, too. “Hanazawa and I tried to find you after you disappeared, but it was really hard just to find the place they took you to. By the time we managed to track it down, it’d been abandoned and demolished. We kept trying for a while afterward, but eventually… we had to give up.” He speaks softly, defeat in his gaze as he stares down at his hands. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I was born with incredibly strong psychic powers, but when it came down to it, I couldn’t even protect one person.” Ritsu sees the way his expression hardens regretfully and his hands clench into fists. “I’m sorry,” he says again.

Why is he apologizing? Ritsu wonders, finding himself speechless in the face of Shigeo’s regret. He almost feels like laughing; of course Shigeo would blame himself for what went down. “It’s not your fault, it’s… it’s no one’s fault,” he says, even if he feels like he should be shouldering at least some of the blame for not going home when he could have. “It was a tough situation. We all did what we thought was right.”

Shigeo reaches over and pats Ritsu on his knee in reply. They don’t speak again until Ootsuki pulls into the driveway of the old house Ritsu’s called his home for the past four months.

Shigeo’s head had fallen to Ritsu’s shoulder somewhere along the drive home, and as Ootsuki shuts off the car, Ritsu reaches over and gives him a little shake. “Wake up, we’re here,” he whispers. The sun has long since gone down, a few stars visible through the bright, iridescent street lights. “Are you tired?”

Shigeo lifts his head with a sleepy hum. “I’m fine,” he assures, but he has to hide a yawn behind his hand. “I can stay up a bit longer. We have a lot to talk about, after all.”

Ritsu swallows; he knows that Shigeo doesn’t mean it in a threatening way by any means, but he can’t help but feel chastised anyway. “Yeah,” he agrees quietly, pushing open the car door and sliding out of the seat. Shigeo follows behind him, stretching his arms over his head as they walk up to the front door and step inside.

Ootsuki’s quick to excuse himself, saying something to Shou about how Fukuda and Higashio had returned while they were out, which leaves the three younger boys to themselves in the house’s main room.

“Are you guys hurt at all?” Shou asks, gaze flicking to Ritsu with thinly-veiled concern. He hangs his jacket on the coat rack, exposing his arms.

Ritsu shakes his head. “I’m fine, just dusty,” he replies, and turns to look at Shigeo. His brother has his eyes fixed on the many scars that litter Shou’s arms, snaking up and under the sleeve of his T-shirt.

“I think I’m okay, for the most part,” Shigeo says after a moment, tearing his gaze away from Shou and giving himself a quick once-over. There’s a scrape on his cheek from when he’d been thrown into the fireplace, Ritsu notes, but aside from that he looks unharmed.

A smile tugs at Ritsu’s lips; it’s likely the only hit the Scars had gotten on him during the entire fight.

Shou nods, shuffling on his feet with an uncharacteristic awkwardness. “Well, uh, if you two don’t need anything-”

“Could we have a minute to talk?” Ritsu asks. “I know that this changes, uh, everything, I guess, but it’s late and I just…” He pauses, taking a breath before he rambles too much. “I need to talk to my brother for a while, alone.”

Shou nods, offering Ritsu a rare, understanding smile. “Yeah, of course. I’ll be in my room, just holler if you need anything,” he says, and disappears down the hall.

Shigeo turns to face Ritsu as Shou leaves. “Do you need more time?” he asks.

Ritsu smiles; it never ceases to amaze him how considerate Shigeo can be. “No, that’s alright, I think I’m ready,” he replies, then pauses, a thought coming to his mind. “Actually, there’s something I want to grab from my room before we start. Uh, I’ll be right back.” He turns and heads to his own room, catching Shigeo’s murmured “Alright,” as he does.

He slips inside and heads to the little shelf in the corner of the mostly-bare room, crouching down to the very bottom shelf and picking up a bag. It’s plain-looking, with a zipper on top, the kind that had probably, at one point, been marketed as a bag for keeping makeup in. In Ritsu’s possession, though, it holds something with a bit of a deeper meaning to it.

Bag in hand, Ritsu makes his way back to the main room. Shigeo has taken a seat on one of the two couches in the house’s common area, and he looks up as Ritsu returns. “What’s that?” he asks, eyes drifting down to the makeup bag in curiosity.

Ritsu sits down on the floor instead of the couch and waves for Shigeo to join him. He unzips the bag and upends it on the floor, revealing a handful of colorful bottles of fingernail polish. “I’ve been collecting these over the last couple of months,” he explains. “Sometimes I paint my own nails, but I haven’t done it much since I… went away.” He decides to sugarcoat for the time being, knowing he’ll be explaining the whole situation soon anyway. “We used to do this all the time whenever we had to have serious talks.”

Shigeo looks surprised at first, leaning over to pick up one of the bottles and turn it over in his hands as he sits down cross-legged with Ritsu. “I’d forgotten,” he admits, a smile coming to his face. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a talk like that.” He scoops the pile to the side and sifts through them for a minute before picking out a pastel green bottle and setting it aside for himself. Then he picks out another, a midnight blue. Ritsu resists the urge to laugh at the fact that Shigeo had intentionally gone for his favorite color. It’s nice to know that he still remembers.

“I’ll do yours first,” Shigeo offers, and reaches out expectantly for Ritsu’s hand. Ritsu moves to give it to him, then freezes when he realizes he’s still wearing his gloves. He draws his hand back, hesitating for a moment, and Shigeo frowns, head tilting ever-so-slightly as if to ask what’s wrong.

Ritsu bites his lip. He can’t hide his hands from Shigeo forever, he knows, even if he really wants to. He undoes the adjustable velcro straps keeping the gloves in place and slides them off, then holds his hand out to Shigeo once more, palm skyward.

Shigeo takes it in his own, gaze flicking down to stare at it, and Ritsu hears the way his breathing hitches in his throat when he lays eyes on the myriad of scars that cover his palm and fingers. Many of them have faded somewhat after four months of healing, but none of them have disappeared, and Ritsu doubts they ever will. They’re bright white and obvious in the dimly lit room, laid atop one another with no obvious pattern. Some of them are long, spanning the length of his palm, while others are shorter, like he’d been stabbed rather than slashed. “What happened?” Shigeo asks softly, cradling his palm with one hand and reaching out with the other to gingerly trace the lines with his fingertips.

Ritsu tells him. He doesn’t get into the details, still unwilling to reveal the full extent of his kidnapping and torture with anyone, but he doesn’t leave things out for Shigeo’s sake, either. He describes the dark cell he’d slept in for only a single night, how the cold had crept through his skin and settled into his bones until he ached. He tells Shigeo about how he hadn’t been able to sleep for that night because the wounds on his hands and arms had hurt too badly to let him. He talks about the threats to his life, the other kids he’d seen leave and never return, the ever-present anxiety and fear that the next test would be the one that would kill him. He describes the way his powers had exploded in his moment of greatest need, how he’d been so drunk on it that he hadn’t even realized what had happened until he’d lost the strength to move properly anymore.

He talks about Shou, appearing out of nowhere and giving him somewhere safe to fall back to, recounts how he’d tended to his days-old wounds with a touch that was confident but gentle and spoke of the number of times he’d done the same to himself. He tells Shigeo about the meals they’d eat together, and about the nights when he and Shou would fall asleep on the floor of Ritsu’s bedroom, nights where they’d stay up talking about nothing and everything at the same time, both of them too comfortable and content to bother going to their own beds. He describes the long nights spent staking out Claw bases, huddled together in the bushes, always on edge but just a little less scared than they would be separate, and as he does his shoulders lose some of their tense squareness and the crease in his brow smooths over.

He talks and talks and lets his thoughts fall from his mouth without much consideration, and part way through Shigeo finishes the first coat of polish and just holds Ritsu’s hand lightly in his. His hand is soft and smooth where Ritsu’s is rough and calloused, a reminder of the very different paths they’d taken.

Shigeo listens in silence as he finally says the things that he’s so far shared only with Shou, and all the while his brother stares down at the scars on his palms and runs his fingers over them. They don’t hurt, not anymore, and they haven’t for a long time, but he can’t help but feel the need to pull away. Ritsu isn’t used to the way it feels for someone to touch his scars like this. No one’s touched his bare hands since he’d left the Claw base, and that isn’t a sensation he’s willing to relive.

Then, quietly, Shigeo turns his hand back over and reaches for the nail polish once more. His lips are tightly pursed, and Ritsu doesn’t miss the way the hand holding his shakes and tightens its grip ever-so-slightly. His anger is not so intense that Ritsu worries he might explode, but it’s still there, simmering dangerously beneath the surface. “It sounds like you’ve had a really hard time,” he says, his voice carefully calm and expressionless. If Ritsu hadn’t known his brother as well as he does, he probably wouldn’t have noticed the little angry tells at all.

Ritsu just shrugs as Shigeo moves to apply the second coat of paint to his thumb, some of his apprehension melting away now that Shigeo isn’t focused on his scars anymore. “Yeah,” he agrees quietly, “but it hasn’t been all bad. There’s good things, here and there, like meeting Shou.”

“You care about him a lot,” Shigeo says. It’s not a question, but a statement that he says like he’s listing a fact.

“He’s my partner, my best friend,” Ritsu replies immediately, nearly startling himself with how quickly and earnestly he says it. “I mean, is it really so surprising? We’ve been working together for these last four months, basically around the clock. He knows me better than pretty much anyone, and he understands what I’ve gone through more than anyone else ever could…” he trails off, glancing down in embarrassment at his rambling.

Shigeo just chuckles softly. “I understand,” he assures, fixing Ritsu with a knowing look.

Ritsu rolls his eyes, feeling a blush creep up his neck, but it’s hard to fight the smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth. “I missed you a lot,” he admits after a brief moment of quiet, voice dropping in volume as though he’s telling his brother a secret. “Mom and Dad, too. I wanted to go home as soon as possible, but with Claw still looking for me, I couldn’t risk it. I didn’t want you to end up involved, too. Guess that didn’t work out so well, huh?” His voice takes on a bitter edge as he speaks, shoulders slumping.

Shigeo drops Ritsu’s hand, nail polish now long dried, and presses the pastel green bottle into his palm in replacement. “It’s not your fault, Ritsu, you did what you thought was best,” he assures, and Ritsu can hear the emphasis he puts behind his words, how much Shigeo really wants him to believe what he’s hearing.

“I got your note,” Shigeo continues, reaching into his pocket and drawing out a folded piece of paper. “It was so vague, it took me a few minutes to realize it was even from you in the first place.” He smiles fondly down at it, then holds it out for Ritsu to take.

Ritsu does, turning it over in his hand a few times before he opens it up. He clearly remembers writing this note just that morning, hours before his house had been attacked. It’s scrawled on a piece of lined notebook paper in black pen, everything Shigeo needed to know packed into a few words.

“See you soon,” the note reads, in Ritsu’s careful, neat handwriting. Beside the meager message, he’d doodled a few seemingly random pictures: the model airplane Shigeo had levitated when they were kids, the spoon Ritsu had kept on his person all through middle school, and the student council armband he’d lost in the fight the day he’d been kidnapped. It had been his way of signing the note without using his name, just in case someone other than Shigeo had managed to get their hands on it.

Ritsu chuckles softly, folding the note back up and passing it back to Shigeo, but there’s a bitter edge to it. “It was just meant to let you know that I was alive, and that I’d be coming home eventually, but all it really did was tip off Claw that you were there. They must have finally realized that they’d mixed us up, and that’s when they decided to attack our house,” he says, then moves to unscrew the cap of the little green bottle of nail polish. He takes Shigeo’s hand in his and gets to work. “I’m sorry it took me so long to reach out, and that I got you involved in our fight. I know this… isn’t the ideal way for us to reunite.”

Shigeo just smiles that soft and calming smile and says, “It’s okay, Ritsu, I forgive you. It might not be the best outcome, but we’ll figure it out. I’m just glad that we’re together again.”

A weight lifts off of Ritsu’s shoulders, his brother’s words comforting in a way they wouldn’t have been coming from anyone else. “Yeah, me too,” he replies earnestly, feeling his chest warm contentedly.

That night, they fall asleep on the floor of Ritsu’s room with painted nails and clearer consciences, huddled under the same blanket the way they used to do when they were only half as tall and half as old as they are now, and for a single night, everything is calm.

#mob psycho 100 #mp100 #ritshou #kageyama ritsu #suzuki shou #This made my day tbh #fanfiction #fanfic #mp100 fanfic #violence #Blood #guns #murder #torture #ptsd #trauma #hurt/comfort #eventual happy ending #serendipitousfics