Shiegko doesn't wake up for a while.
She doesn't wake up when Teru carries her home.
She doesn't wake up when he shakes her.
She doesn't wake up when he washes the blood off of her with a damp wash cloth.
She doesn't wake up when he cries.
She doesn't wake up when her phone rings for the sixth time.
She doesn't wake up when he gets her tattered clothes off of her.
She doesn't wake up when he pours water on her head.
She doesn't wake up when Teru dresses her in some of his clothes.
She doesn't wake up when he screams at her.
She doesn't wake up when he begs her.
She doesn't sleep but she doesn't wake up.
You've always held us back, you know.
No I haven't.
Yes you have
No I haven't
YES YOU HAVE
I have not
You let Ritsu get kidnapped
That was your fault
No it wasn't we could have stopped that from happening easily
You didn't want to save Ritsu you just wanted to hurt people
We both know that we were strong enough to easily stop that man
Yes but you wanted to peel him like a grape
Yes and that would have stopped him from ever hurting us again
You just like hurting people
You just want everyone to love us
I just want everyone to stop fighting
Even Master Reigen says that it's alright to fight
Master Reigen wasn't talking about using you
LET ME OUT
NO
We are this thing together
Yes
Then let's work together
Maybe
"I….I….." said Mob as she cracked her eyes opened. Suddenly Teru was at her side.
"You woke up…I knew you would, of course, but I had to make sure." Said Teru sounding much more confident and in control than he felt. She opened her eyes slowly, they felt very heavy. The blanket was pulled away with her powers as she sat up. It hurt to move her muscles. It was like she had been training all day, but it wasn't the soreness of a job well done. No, this was different.
"What happened?" asked Mob, coughing as she spoke. She still tasted copper. She looked down at her arms. The blood was gone but she was still covered in grey and yellow splotches. Healing bruises.
"We were attacked and your brother….." said Teru. How would he tell her that his little brother had been kidnapped? His tongue felt thick and heavy, suddenly. He just couldn't get the words out.
"Ritsu!" she said suddenly, her powers reached out and grabbing anything near her before throwing the things she grabbed. They were reaching out for him or for what had taken him. That was the other Shigeko. She was scared. She was angry. She was….she was still hovering at the edges of Mob's consciousness, ready to attack at any moment. Mob tried to stomp her down but she…she fought back. She tried to climb ever higher. Something shattered.
"Shigeko, hey! Calm down….I'm here. I'm here and you're here and we're going to-to-" Said Teru quietly. They had to find her little brother but he had no idea how to even begin looking. She shook her head.
"I'm sorry." Said Mob quietly. She was sore, everything hurt. She couldn't save Ritsu. She couldn't stop that other esper. She couldn't even stop the other Shigeko from destroying Teru's room. Teru sat down on the bed next to her. He could still feel that thing, it was poking at him, his aura. Testing him. Learning him. It tried to repel him. Not as violently as before but it wanted him away from Shigeko.
"It's fine, it's fine." Said Teru taking her hand despite the pain. The other Shigeko seemed calmed by this. She had at least stopped trying to fight him. She didn't repel him that time. He took her hand between two of his. He looked into her eyes. There was a fire there, something that wasn't there before. It hurt to look at it for too long.
"What happened?" asked Mob. She knew where she was, Teru's room. She was wearing his clothes. Pants. Itchy and constricting. Not good for moving around in. She would need to move around, if she had to fight. She could be embarrassed that he had seen her naked later. Right now she needed to find Ritsu and fight whoever had taken him.
"Your brother…I'm sorry but I couldn't save him." said Teru. He had been too weak. He had failed her. He had failed himself. Mob squeezed his hands with hers. She tried to tell him that she was there. She had him. She wasn't mad at him.
"Teru, you couldn't have stopped him. He was too strong. He was too strong for you." Said Mob. That esper was the strongest thing she had ever felt in her life. Even Teru at his most out of control didn't come close to that man. She could have…she was strong enough to….but she didn't. She didn't because she didn't want to hurt anyone. Sometimes…sometimes she was going to have to hurt someone. Sometimes she was going to have to use her powers against other people. She would have to hurt someone, eventually.
"I could have. If I had been stronger. If I had-if-" said Teru. Mob squeezed his hands between hers again. He needed to know that she was there and she wasn't angry with him. She made her aura feel safe, feel welcoming. She saw the tension leave his body. Good. Now she had a job to do. She let go of him and stood up.
"Where are you going?" asked Teru jumping to his feet. She had just been unconscious for three hours and now she was going to do, what, exactly? He looked her over. She was a mess of black, blue, and yellow. Her eye was still swollen. Her lip was split. It looked like she was even using her powers to move around.
"I'm going to find Ritsu." Said Mob simply. She was going to look for Ritsu. She was going to look behind every tree, under every rock, and in every closet until she found her little brother. She didn't care if it took forever. Master Reigen would understand if she missed work. Master Reigen….no. She wouldn't call him. His powers were spiritual. The person who had attacked had regular psychic powers. Master Reigen would only get hurt.
"We have no idea where he is! We don't know why, well we do know why, but we don't know where Claw's base is." Said Teru blocking her path. They needed to rest, to regroup. They needed an actual plan because Claw was huge and they were only two people. Two injured people. He didn't look much better than she did, but he healed fast. He had no idea how hurt she was exactly or how fast she healed. Mob stared at him, and stared, and stared.
"So we'll look." Said Mob, her eyes boring into his. She said it simply, flat fact. This was something that they would have to do. They were going to save Ritsu. They had to save Ritsu. Teru held eye contact with her, challenging her. Trying to make her stop for a moment and think this through.
"We don't know where to start looking." Said Teru stepping closer to her, blocking her path further. He wasn't going to let her go out that door and get herself killed. What was her plan, even? To around and knocking on door until they found her little brother.
"So we won't waste any time. We'll start now." Said Mob letting him step closer. She didn't want to have to pick him up and move him out of the way but it might have come to that. Teru didn't understand. Ritsu was her little brother. It was her job to protect him. To save him.
"We need to think up a plan." Said Teru grabbing her arms a little harder than necessary. She was not going to walk out that door. She was not going to get herself killed. He would not let that happen. She stared at him.
"I plan to win." Said Mob, her voice flat but her eyes burning. She was going to let Shigeko, the other Shigeko, out. She was going to destroy anything and everything in her path. She was going to save her little brother, no matter what she would have to do. If was worth it. She didn't get to take the moral high ground when her little brother was in danger.
"I thought you were a pacifist. Where'd that Shigeko go?" asked Teru. If she fought, if she let that thing out, she would win. She would probably end up seriously injuring, if not outright killing someone. Maybe a lot of people, even. Maybe she'd even be overwhelmed. Claw was…from what he had been told Claw was huge. He had assumed that all of their espers were as powerful as the ones who tried to recruit him. Obviously that wasn't true. He had no idea what they would be up against.
"Sometimes it's ok to run away. Sometimes is ok to fight. I….I don't want to fight, Teru, I don't want to…." Said Mob laying her head on her chest. She had used her powers on another human being. She had….she had hurt someone. She had peeled someone's skin off….she had…
"Then let me fight for you." Said Teru. He could win, he would have to win. He would have to win for her. If this were a movie they'd be in the third act. This would be their all is lost moment and he, the main character, would rise to the occasion and fight for his love interest. If this were a movie. This wasn't, though. This wasn't a movie and he was the main character of his own story, but not hers. No. She was the main character and she would have to rise to the occasion…but it would hurt her.
"Teru, no. You aren't…you don't…" said Mob. He didn't have another him like she had another Shigeko. The other Shigeko had beaten him in an instant.
"You don't think I'm strong enough to protect you?" asked Teru, his voice hard. Of course he could protect his girlfriend. That was his job.
"You're not in my weight class, Teru. You know that. You've….you've seen the other Shigeko." Said Mob. When she had passed out the other Shigeko had come out. He had seen her. He had seen her and he should have known just how dangerous she was.
"Don't say that. I am! I am strong enough to-!" said Teru breaking away from her. She held him in place with her powers, that fire back in her eyes.
"Teru! I'm not going to let you get hurt! Do you think I want to fight?! I don't! I don't but I have to!" said Mob. She held him in place, her hair was acting up, everything not nailed down was trying to hit the ceiling. She took a few calming breaths. Shigeko….Shigeko was a part of her. Shigeko was out, sort of. No. Yes.
"Then let me help you! Goddamn it Shigeko!" said Teru, his aura breaking away hers. They were both breathing heavily, staring each other down.
"Get out of my way, Teru." Said Mob, her eyes still fixed on his. This was her fight. He wasn't going to get hurt because of her.
"No." said Teru simply. He held her gaze. He was not backing down.
"You're going to get hurt." Said Teru. She stepped closer to him.
"I'm going to win." Said Mob. Or was that Shigeko? She was breathing deeply, trying to keep her emotions in check. Her face was flushed, but not from embarrassment. Her fists were clenched.
"Then let me help you." Said Teru, not moving. He wasn't going to let her get hurt. He didn't care what she did to him, he wasn't backing down.
"Teru, no. I won't let you." Said Mob
"I'm not asking your permission." Said Teru
"I don't want to have to fight you, too." Said Mob. That was more Shigeko. She could feel the other her worming her way into her aura, her spirit. Then pink to blue ration began to skew more towards blue.
"You won't fight me." Said Teru, adding the gold of his aura into the mix. He poured his feelings into his aura. "Let me help you."
"I don't want to have to." Said Mob. Her aura churned with his. Not in that way that made her feel warm and giddy on the inside. No. This was different. "We can do this by ourselves."
"Shigeko…." Said Teru. They were chest to chest now. Him, unmovable. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Teru….move." said Mob. They were nose to nose now and he still wasn't moving.
"No." said Teru
"Yes." Said Mob, still not moving.
"You're so attractive right now." Said Teru. Crap. Well, she was pretty hot right then but he didn't need to go and say it. There was a weird atmosphere there, he could feel it, and not just because the room was saturated with their combined energy.
"I can't stop you, can I?" asked Mob looking up at him through her fringe.
"Nope." Said Teru, looking down at her. He leaned down and kissed her stripping her senses on the stop. The maelstrom of her energy became a gentle breeze, a placid lake.
"Fine. You can come with." Said Mob. Now that was just fighting dirty. His kiss had broken the train of thought Shigeko had her on. It was like they were playing red rover and Teru had broken right through their chain.
"Good. This has officially become a multiplayer game." Said Teru. This wasn't a movie, but a game. A two player game. He didn't know which one was player two.
"This is real life." Said Mob simply
"Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood. You…you seem upset and you never, you know, show these kinds of feelings." Said Teru
"I'm angry. I feel angry. I'm going to save my brother. I'm going to fight. I have to fight. I have to use my powers against other people. I have to, there's no other way." Said Mob. Her voice was still flat. She was squishing down the other her, the her that wanted to hurt people. Mob didn't want to hurt anyone….that didn't deserve….that did. They did deserve it for hurting her little brother.
"I thought you were a pacifist." Said Teru once again trying to lighten the mood. That dark look, the fire in her eyes, it wasn't Shigeko. Mob shook her head.
"Sometimes you have to fight, that's called self-defense. Sometimes you can run away, too, but this isn't one of those times. If I don't fight then Ritsu could….could…he could…." Said Mob as she began to sniffle. Teru held her close.
"Claw wouldn't kill him. They would try to recruit him. That's what they do, they take child espers who have yet to mature and they recruit them into their ranks." said Teru, omitting the fact that he wasn't quite sure what Claw did to people, exactly, to accomplish their goal. He knew that they were building an esper army, so they probably wanted someone as powerful as Ritsu alive.
"For what?" asked Mob. If they were trying to recruit people then why would they go around beating people up and kidnapping them?
"I think they're building an army. I don't know why." Said Teru. Well, an esper army would be pretty good for taking over countries and fighting wars and stuff, but he didn't tell her that. She didn't need something else to worry about.
"How did these people even find out about him?" asked Mob. Why would they come for her brother, anyway? She had her powers for much longer and plenty of people had seen her use them.
"I might be able to help." Said Dimple, materializing before them. Teru jumped back, Mob stared at him.
"What is that?! An evil spirit!? Wait….don't I know you?" asked Teru. He wasn't scared at all, just surprised. Yes, that was it. A spirit that he hadn't sensed at all had materialized before him. Of course that would surprise him. Yes. Perfectly normal.
"This is Dimple. You've met." Said Mob staring at Dimple. Where was he during the fight? He could have helped…..The other Shigeko wanted to crush him like a bug. Mob…Mob just wanted her friend back.
"Hey little jerk, how've you been? Also, what's with the wig?" asked Dimple waving to Teru. Mob still stared at him. Dimple may have been an evil spirit, and annoying, and weird, and talked a lot about stuff that embarrassed her, but he was still her friend.
"Shigeko shaved my head. What's with the whole still being around thing?" asked Teru trying to sound nonchalant. If Shigeko wasn't reacting then maybe this spirit was ok.
"I managed to come back from the particle layer all by myself, no thanks to you. Little jerk…." Said Dimple angrily. Teru shrugged as best as he could. He had….he had destroyed this spirit down to the core and yet it was still there….and it seemingly served Shigeko…
"Dimple, what do you know about what happened?" asked Mob cutting to the chase. Dimple was about to say something clever but stopped himself. Anger was rolling off of her in waves. He could see glimpses of that thing, that other her, but the other her was more integrated into her aura, sort of. It was trying to follow the mixing of the fractals. There was more blue there, then pink. Dimple wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"I don't know anything, honest. Ritsu was acting like an asshole but he didn't piss off any adult espers." Said Dimple, his hands up diplomatically.
"Did anyone from a group called Claw ever try to recruit him?" asked Teru. Dimple stroked his chin in thought. Claw…nope. None of the people Ritsu had beaten up said anything about that….but he did meet some other espers….but what was that place…? Oh!
"No, he didn't piss off any espers from Claw but he did go to this place called the Awakening Lab." Said Dimple helpfully. Those espers couldn't have possibly been the ones to kidnap him, though. No, they were all kids and they all had powers that were pretty much useless.
"They must have been the ones to sell him out to Claw!" said Teru. Of course! See, this was why he didn't get involved with groups like that. There was Claw so there must have been others. The building shook.
"Shigeko, you could have been killed back there. I can see your aura, I know what you're planning. These people are bad news, Shigeko. You could totally die!" said Dimple
"Then that's where we're going to go. If I could die then Ritsu could die. I won't let him die. Our first clue is this awakening lab place. Dimple, lead me there." Said Mob flatly. She grabbed one of Teru's hoodies with her powers and walked out of the room. Dimple and Teru exchanged a look but followed her out the door.
"Shigeko, wait! There are more of them! They could still be at the lab! We need a plan!" said Teru following her. Mob turned to face him.
"I already told you, Teru. I plan to win." Said Mob slipping on her shoes and walking out the door.
Ritsu was well and truly fucked.
He had been carried off, blindfolded, and taken to an unfamiliar building in an unfamiliar place. He didn't know where he was, he didn't know what was going to happen to him. He just knew that he was doomed. He must have been.
"Well it took you long enough." Oh. There was another esper there. Ritsu's blindfold was pulled off. There was another esper there. Ritsu could feel his aura, it felt pointy too. Sharp and mean. He eyed the other esper's katana. It felt gross and sticky, like someone had dumped a can of soda all over him and made him stand out in the sun.
"It wasn't my fault. This little brat had reinforcements. A couple kids. The boy had potential but the girl…I've never faced anyone like her before. I had to end up using your special spray." Said the one who kidnapped him. Ritsu could see the man's blood on his uniform. It was bandaged crudely, Shigeko had peeled the flesh away. Ritsu felt sick to his stomach.
"…and you didn't bring them?" asked the man with the katana, disgustedly. There were others there too, including a kid Ritsu's age. He didn't look like he was captured, though. He looked more bored than anything.
"Well, uh, no. They weren't part of the mission." Said the one who kidnapped him. The one with the katana sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Our mission is to gather as many espers as possible. How you could have forgotten that I shall never know, Koyama." Said the man with the katana. The kid behind him looked like he was stifling a laugh.
"Fine, you go after them then, Sakurai." Said the man, presumably Koyama
"I would have to if you could just do your job, Koyama, but instead it sounds like you got beat by a little girl" Said Sakurai
"I made a strategic retreat, the mission came first. When I face that little bitch again she'll pay!" said Koyama
"Leave my sister alone!" said Ritsu before being punched in the face. He heard his nose crack. He stifled his tears.
"Why are we here? I just want to go home!" that was the red haired girl from the Awakening Lab. Rei. She was crying. Ritsu didn't blame her.
"Put these brats in the holding cells!" said Koyama tossing Ritsu to the ground. He struggled to get up as he was dragged through the building, along with the other kids from the awakening lab. They were tossed into a cell
Ritsu drew his knees up to his chest and rested his head against the wall. He was captured. Kidnapped. Trapped. Stolen. He would never go home again, never go to school again, never see his family again, and never be able to apologize to Shigeko.
If she was even still alive.
If that thing inside of her hadn't consumed her completely. It had been just like that day. The day when he was ten. He closed his eyes. The light. The pain. The blood.
"Hey Kageyama, are you alright?" it was another one of the awakening kids. Ritsu couldn't remember all of their names but he felt bad about being such a dick, before.
"Do I look like I'm alright?" asked Ritsu through his teeth. Of course he wasn't alright. He couldn't even save himself. He had let himself get captured. He had frozen. He had let Shigeko explode. He had wanted powers so badly but now they were useless. He called upon them but got only the wispiest traces of energy.
"Shut up in there!" one of the guards was yelling at them, now. They weren't even talking that loudly.
"Just let us go! None of us have powers!" said Ritsu. It was true. These kids struggled to do things that his sister could easily do as a baby.
"Is that so?" oh no, someone new. He looked important, and he was doing that thousand meter stare that Shigeko did. Ritsu…he had done that too, when he was at his most powerful. Was it a sign of power, the staring?
"Please!" "Yes!" "We're all normal people here!" "We're telling the truth!"
"I see that you've all made an agreement to pretend that you don't have powers. Very well then. You there, boy, come here." Said the scary boss guy. He called the younger Shiratori brother forward.
"You, boy, you have five seconds to show me your powers." He said. The younger Shiratori brother began to sweat as the others begged him not to show his powers. He didn't even know how to show someone his telepathy without his brother.
"Very well then. Come with me." The man dragged him away. The other pressed their faces against the bars of their cell as they watched him being dragged away. Rei was crying again. Ritsu struggled to get air into his lungs.
Screams. Inhumanly loud. Screams of suffering. Then a squelching wound followed by silence. The silence was actually somehow worse.
"This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real." Someone was saying that, Ritsu couldn't say who. Everything sounded far away and underwater. There were footsteps coming.
"You have until the end of the night, around ten hours, or you will share his fate." Said the man. He dragged the body behind him by the ankle. There was a trail of blood. Ritsu felt himself begin to shake. He willed his powers to do something, anything, but they were gone. He was alone. He was surrounded by people but he was alone.
He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die. He was going to die.
All around him people were crying. He was crying, too, he noticed. This was it. This was how he died.
The older Shiratori brother was silent.
Would Shigeko be silent, too, when she learned of his death? That is if she herself was even still alive?
No. He wasn't going to die here. This was not where he would die. He didn't know when he'd die but he didn't want it to be here.
"Guys, we need to get out of here." Said Ritsu stuffing his feelings down. No. He couldn't give up. He couldn't give in to despair. Shigeko never did that. No matter what happened she always picked herself back up again. He needed to be like his big sister.
"Dude, someone literally JUST died!" said one of the kids, the blonde guy. Uh…Go. Yeah, that was his name. Cheap lighter guy.
"Do you want to die too? Do any of you?" said Ritsu. They stared at him but shook their heads. Of course they wanted to live.
"Good. Now we need an escape plan." Said Ritsu. He wasn't going to die here. He was going to die someday but not here.
"Seriously, wait at least five minutes. Kiato's brother was just killed in front of us. Let the guy mourn." Said the pointy looking guy. Uh…the telekinetic…Takeshi. Good, it would have been awkward to ask them their names at this point.
"No, it's cool." said Kaito standing up. Everyone gawked at him.
"You guys are insane, completely insane." Muttered Go. Seriously, somebody had just died and even his brother was over it just like that? He knew Kageyama was a jerk, but not this bug of a jerk.
"Don't worry, Daichi's fine. Telepathy, remember? What we saw was an illusion. He saw all of us dead, too." Said Kaito
"That must be how they recruit people. Fear." Said Ritsu. Fear was a terrible way to rule. Ruling though fear would get them nowhere.
"So, he's alive?!" said Go. Kaito nodded.
"Alright, now how do we get out of here? Any ideas?" asked Ritsu. He looked around. There were guards, security cameras, and a heavy looking lock.
"We could tunnel out with this!" said Takeshi holding up the spoon which had fallen out of Ritsu's pocket.
"Wait, I have a better idea." Said Ritsu. Sure these guys were weak but his powers were nonexistent so he had no room to throw stones. They heated the spoon and jammed it into the lock. Hopefully it would take the shape of the tumblers and the lock would open.
Oh. It was unlocked the entire time. Well then.
"Hey, you brats think you can escape? You're much safer in that cell, trust us." Said one of the guards. They all looked over to Ritsu for guidance.
"You have a plan for this part, right Kageyama?" asked Go. Ritsu took a moment to think. His powers…he could feel them….but they weren't listening. Maybe he shouldn't have expelled Dimple.
"Alright. Go, use your pyro kinesis and Takeshi, use your telekinesis. We'll blow these guys away." Said Ritsu. They shuffled awkwardly behind him.
"Uh…I may be a pyro kinetic godsend but even I can't set fire to a moving target." Said Go looking at his shoes.
"Yeah….and telekinesis can't lift anything as heavy as a person." Said Takeshi. Ritsu sighed. He willed his powers to work.
"Work powers….please…." said Ritsu. He willed his powers to do something, anything. They did something. They pulled the goons into the wall so hard that massive dents were left. They were still breathing but not moving.
"Kageyama…why did you need us again?" asked Go. The others nodded in agreement. They stared at him. How, exactly, did those guys end up capturing him.
"My powers don't always work, all right? Now c'mon, we're in the camera's blind spot but they won't think that we're being disciplined for long." Said Ritsu
"But we don't know where we even are." Said Takeshi
"Yeah. My brother doesn't even know where he is, either. I don't know how to even get to him from here." Said Kaito
"Right. Rei, we're going to rely on your clairvoyance for now. Are you up to it?" asked Ritsu. Rei blushed and looked down.
"Well, if you think I can." Said Rei. The other guy's faces fell. Girls!
The Awakening Lab had been decimated. Well, in the 'oh crap people are hurt sort of way' not the 'one tenth of the population has been removed' sort of way.
"This is terrible….how could they just go in and kill people…so many people….." said Shigeko wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Dimple patted her on the shoulder.
"How could they kill all these civilians?" asked Dimple, honestly disgusted by the scene in front of him. Even he had his moral standards.
"They're not dead, just unconscious. Cursed too, it feels like." Said Teru checking some pulses. The room they were in, not the entire building, had a sick feel too it. Gross and sticky, like being covered in stale custard.
"It feels so gross in here." Said Mob with a shudder. She didn't even have to lift a finger as the curses that hung in the air dissipated.
"Thanks." Said Teru. She didn't even look tired…..
"We need to find someone who knows what happened. Someone's got to be awake." Said Mob. The war within her was raging. She wanted to hold everyone upside down and shake them until they told her what happened. She wanted to ask as nicely as possible so that she got off on the right foot.
"Hey, I found one!" said Dimple coming down through the ceiling. Teru and Mob looked at each other before Mob starting walking quickly. If whoever that was wouldn't give her the information she needed Mob would ask nicely and Shigeko would crack them like an egg. They ran upstairs and found a man all dressed in red and tied up.
"Are you in charge here?" asked Teru. Shigeko was too…upset? Angry? She didn't have the people skills for interrogating, that was what mattered.
"Who….who are you?" asked the man. He had been attacked, tied up, and left for dead. He couldn't even save his kids, the kids, from their attackers.
"You answer our questions first." Said Teru. Mob was in the back, staring. The man's eyes kept darting towards her. She looked like a ghost. Pale skin and long dark hair covering her face.
"Whatever you want!" said the man. These kids couldn't have been from the same group. Something was washing over him. He could feel it. Was that an aura? Violent intent. He felt his insides freeze. Were those people back to finish him off?
"Who are you?" asked Teru channeling every interrogation scene he had ever seen. He paced, he looked menacing, and he glances backwards at his girlfriend to make sure that he wasn't scaring her. He knew he was projecting violent intent, he just hoped that Shigeko didn't hold it against him. He reached his aura out to hers, tentatively, and pulled away. She felt weird. Anger, wrath, fear….they didn't suit her.
"Mitsuura Kenji! I-I didn't do anything! Please!" said Mitsuura. Teru made like he was going to slap him but didn't. Shigeko looked over at him, but not entirely disapprovingly.
"I don't think that counts as self-defense, Teru." Said Mob quietly. If this man did betray Ritsu then he deserved to be beaten to a bloody pulp. No he deserved a chance to apologize and change.
"Sorry Shigeko. You! You're lucky my girlfriend is so merciful! Especially after what you did!" said Teru pacing dramatically. Shigeko was still staring. It was getting harder and harder to get a read off of her.
"I-I-I didn't do anything!" said Mitsuura
"Did you sell Kageyama's information to Claw!" said Teru finally, with an accusatory point of his finger.
"Man this kid can really chew the scenery. Remind you of anyone, Shigeko?" asked Dimple nudging her with his shoulder.
"Dimple, not now. We have to be serious now." Said Mob flatly. Mitsuura looked puzzeled.
"This is Dimple. Unless you're an esper or another kind of psychic you can't see or hear him unless he wants you to. He's my friend, too, and he does what I say sometimes. If you don't tell us everything you know, including why you sold my little brother out, I'm going to let him take over your body forever, and he'll probably use it to do weird stuff." Said Mob. She held his gaze, her tone never wavered. She stood perfectly still.
"Yup. The weirdest. Things you've never even thought of. I've been around for….I don't really know how old I am but there's a lot of weird stuff I've been wanting do. Most of it sexual. Some of it criminal. Some of it I don't even know how to classify it as. So how about you start talking, huh?" said Dimple making himself visible. Mitsuura almost peed his pants at the sight of a real live spirit.
"Alright! I'll talk! I'll talk!" said Mitsuura. The ghost girl walked up to him slowly. No wait, she was flesh and blood. She just looked, well, creepy.
"Then talk!" said Teru
"I don't know what happened! Some people just let themselves in and started attacking everyone! They stole all of our data and the kids! I had nothing to do with it! Really! Please! Leave my body alone!" said Mitsuura. The kids looked at each other.
"It feels like he's telling the truth." Said Mob simply. Regular people didn't have auras like espers but they did have presence. He didn't feel like a liar, he just felt scared.
"I think so too." Said Teru. Great. Another dead end. He looked towards Shigeko. Still stone faced.
"Can I have his body anyway? Please? I haven't been corporeal in a while!" said Dimple. Mob shook her head no.
"We can't go back on our word. A man is only as good as his word. Master Reigen said that once." Said Mob sagely. Teru and Dimple facepalmed.
"Shigeko, we can be moral later." Said Teru taking a deep breath. It always went back to that guy.
"Yeah, that's enough from the gospel of Reigen for now." Said Dimple. Jeez, she needed him more than he thought. You don't talk about your main guy while your side guy was right there.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Said Shigeko
"Wait…you aren't with the people who attacked us?" asked Mitsuura. He was both relieved and terrified and…hopeful. These were espers, child espers, and they possessed powers which he had only recently realized was possible.
"Hell no." said Teru
"Then who are you?" asked Mitsuura
"Hello. I'm Kageyama Shigeko but everyone calls me Mob and this is my boyfriend Hanazawa Teruki and Dimple, you've met him already. We're here to find my little brother, Ritsu. He came here before and now he's been kidnapped and I don't know where he is and he could be dead or hurt or scared or alone and-and-and-" said Shigeko, her breathing shallow. She was breathing much too fast. Master Reigen would have been disappointed in her, he had spent so much time teaching her how to breath.
"Hey, Shigeko. I've got this." Said Teru, putting his hand on the small of her back.
I'm here. I've got you.
"Teru….I'm scared. Why is this happening? Why did this have to happen?" Said Mob. She was sacred. She was angry. She wanted to run away. She had to save Ritsu. She wanted to go home. She wanted to stay and fight. She wanted to be held. She wanted to be left alone.
"It's going to be alright. We'll find Ritsu." Said Teru even though he had no fucking clue what to do now.
Some slow clapping interrupted their shared despair. A man with salt and pepper striped hair emerged from the shadows, follows by two of what looked like lackeys.
"Well, I'm loathe to interrupt but I must. You two are coming with me." Said the man. Teru and Mob looked at each other.
"Do you want to or should I?" asked Teru. Well then, now this was serendipitous. A scar, from what it looked like.
"I'm upset Teru, I might accidentally hurt him. You can do the interrogating." Said Mob. The other Shigeko was angry. She kept trying to put violent intent into their aura. She was trying to worm her way in. Her aura was starting to get too much blue in it.
"That's so cute. You children think that you can-" started the man before Teru struck. In less than a minute the lackeys were knocked out and the man was tied up and hanging upside down. Mitsuura took this time to wiggle his way over the corner. He didn't want to get in the middle of whatever all of this was.
"Now, start talking!" said Teru. The man was tied up and hung upside down. Shigeko was staring. He read her aura. Violent intent. Murderous intent…..?
"Where….is…..my….brother?" asked Mob. Her hair was acting up again. Her eyes were blank. She decided to let the other Shigeko out just a little. So she wouldn't explode out later, until she was needed.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Said the man. He eyed these kids, wearily. Two espers. A boy and a girl. Murderous intent from one. A two colored aura. Strange. The boy was more subdued. Violent intent and…concern. Oh. The girl was his.
"You do. You have a scar. Now I want you to tell me where Kageyama Ritsu is, and anyone else you kidnapped. You're going to tell me." Said Mob/Shigeko. It would be so easy to squish him. That would be wrong. It would be like the time she accidentally stepped on the toothpaste. It would be murder and murder was wrong. Murder in self-defense didn't count. Master Reigen would never forgive them. Master Reigen would understand.
"Little girl, I don't know what you're talking about. Now let me go before you get hurt." He said. He smirked and sent an air whip her way. It disintegrated before it could touch her.
"Shigeko, remember, you wanted me to handle it…?" asked Teru. That was defiantly murderous intent coming from her. Her eyes were wrong. Her aura….that wasn't…that was…who…what…what?
"Teru, I've got this." Said Mob/Shigeko. Teru was wonderful. Teru was great. Teru was amazing. Teru smelled like spring time. Teru needed to be protected. Teru was strong. Teru needed to be kept alive. Keep Teru safe. Keep Teru alive.
"H-How did you-?" said the man as she shrank under Shigeko/Mob's gaze. He could feel something crushing him from all sides. That was…that was her energy barrier? How…how could a little girl make such a dense energy barrier….?
"Shigeko, ease off before you crush him to death." Said Dimple. There. That thing was back. He could see it clear as day, murderous intent.
"Yeah….give him time to answer at least." Said Teru taking a step back. That was…that wasn't Shigeko.
"Listen. You people are making it very difficult for me to be a pacifist. I just want my brother back, and anyone else you've kidnapped. I want to crush you, but also I don't. I don't know which part of me is going to win. I've never been this angry before in my life. It feels bad. It feels good. I don't know. What I do know is that if you don't start talking I'm going to let the other Shigeko out and she's angry too. I don't think she can anything other than angry, actually. She will kill you. I'm not saying that to be mean, that's just how she is. Now are you going to talk or not?" said Shigeko/Mob. She stood in front of him, still as death. Her face was flat. Her eyes were dull. Her aura was still. Murderous intent rolled off of her.
"Little girl-" said the man mockingly before his mouth was paralyzed.
"The next words out of your mouth had better be where my brother is. Tell me what I need to know. I'm losing my patience." Said Shigeko/Mob. Dimple was hiding in the corner now. That thing felt….unpleasant….whatever it was. Teru took a step forward.
"Shigeko…I've got this. You can stop." Said Teru. She turned to face him.
"Are you scared, Teru?" asked Shigeko/Mob. Her voice still inhumanly flat.
"No." lied Teru through his teeth.
"Don't lie to me. I know you are. It's ok. She scares me too." Said Shigeko/Mob. Teru took her hand. She didn't repel him. She felt…unpleasant…..on a spiritual level. That thing, whatever it was, wasn't meant to be touched.
"Shigeko…." Said Teru quietly
"Teru…please…she's going to….I think she's going to kill him. Help me." said Mob/Shigeko. Tears were streaming down her face. Teru kissed her. He kissed her not matter how unpleasant that thing felt. How angry it felt. How murderous. How hungry.
"Shigeko….let go. Just let go. Let me handle this. Please, Shigeko. Just let go." Said Teru. The man behind them looked about ready to faint. Good. This was better than any interrogation he could have done. It was just terrible that Shigeko had to go through this.
"Teru…I can't. I can't. I need….she needs….we need…we need to be this thing….we need to be this thing together….we need to save Ritsu." Said Mob/Shigeko through her tears. The other her made her strong. The other her would help her get her brother back before he…before he was…
"You! Talk! You're making my girlfriend cry! You'd better start talking before whatever she's trying not to do to you ends up happening!" said Teru. The man could only nod. He felt the energy keeping his mouth closed was release and he began to spew out every bit of information he had about Claw. Screw the organization, he wanted to live! He didn't know who or even what that girl was but he could feel murderous intent clear as day.
Teru, Mob, and Dimple had collected pages and pages of notes on Claw. There were useful things, such as the location of the facility, the names and abilities of the members, and where they kept prisoners. Some of it was most likely useless, such as where they ordered the uniforms from, how often the floors were waxed, and what everyone's favorite colors were. They had tied the man up, they learned his name was Terada, and they brought him along to make sure that they were headed to the right place. Mob was carrying them in a car, Mitsuura had insisted that they borrow it.
"Teru….if we get there….if we get there and I-" said Mob quietly. She carried the car smoothly despite how she felt. That feeling that she had….what the other her had wanted to do…what she had wanted…what they had wanted.
"Shigeko, I'll protect you. I've got this." Said Teru as they floated along. Him in the passenger seat and her in the back. She sat with her knees up to her chest. Those pants would have to be ironed again, later. No, he'd worry about his clothes later. She needed him right now.
"Teru, no. I'll protect you. I'll do it. I just…I'm-I'm scared…." Said Mob. She wasn't stuffing Shigeko down, no, she was letting Shigeko mix with her. Their aura was changing. Their thinking was changing. It was unpleasant.
"Shigeko, stop. I'm here, alright? I'm here and we're going to kick ass together, even though you don't like to, and we're going to save your little brother. I promise." Said Teru. She needed him, no one else. He knew that they were in a life or death situation right then but he couldn't help the swell of pride that he felt at that. She was well and truly his, now. Her, the most powerful esper…ever? That he knew, anyway, and the number of espers he knew was growing by the hour.
"Sometimes we have to fight, even if we don't like it." Said Mob quietly, her knees drawn up to her chest.
"You kid should turn back, while you still can." Said Terada. The murderous intent was gone and now he could see her for what she was, a scared little girl. These brats were going to get themselves killed if they tried to infiltrate the base. It would be a pity, too, such a waste of natural talent.
"Don't talk unless we ask you to." Said Teru. The car shuddered. Shigeko was getting upset again, and he didn't think he could hold up an entire car for any great length of time.
"I'm just saying that you two can't take on all of Claw. You think you're hot stuff, and maybe you are, but the sheer number of people we have is going to overwhelm you. Just turn back now before it's too late." Said Terada
"I think this guy just doesn't want everyone to know he got beat by a couple of kids." Said Dimple
"Dimple, you can take over his body. Just don't do any weird stuff to it, that would be mean." Said Mob
"I can't. Every esper has their own mental protections, you two included. I can't take over his body unless he lets me in. Or maybe if he's passed out. It depends on how powerful he is." Said Dimple. It was a pity, this guy looked like he would have been really fun.
"Oh. Ok." Said Mob. That guy probably wouldn't have let Dimple take over his body, and it would have been mean to force him. She was getting tired of being mean.
"Hey, what's that thing?" asked Dimple pointing out the window. Mob sat up. She turned to look out the window, a large structure was coming into view.
"That's it, that's the base." Said Terada. Suddenly the car descended and made a not so graceful landing.
"I'm sorry. I hope Mitsuura doesn't get too mad about all the dents." Said Mob
"Shigeko, I'm sure it'll be fine. He did say that we could borrow it after all." Said Teru assuaging her guilt. He could feel her, now, spiritually. Lots of negative emotions, but nothing bubbling like she was going to explode. Her aura was pretty quiet too, no spikes, the coloring was just wrong.
"Hey, that Terada guy just ran away." Said Dimple as he watched the tied up man hobble away into the trees.
"Forget him, we got the information we needed, and considering how shook up he was I doubt he'll try and fight us. Let's stop wasting time and go save your little brother." Said Teru. Mob nodded. She didn't want to fight anyone unless she absolutely needed to.
"So, what's the plan?" asked Dimple. He could sense a lot of very concentrated power coming from that building. Mostly living people but he could sense some spirits too, strong ones, but not stronger than him when he was at full power.
"I see some guards on the outside we'll, no I'll, take them out so we can sneak in." said Teru. Shigeko was still upset. She hated fighting. He didn't want her to have to go through that again.
"Don't hurt them too badly, Teru. Please." Said Mob. He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. Still lots of negative feelings.
"I-I'll try not to." Said Teru. This was hard for her, and him too. She…she held him back…but in holding him back she made him better…right? This was the time for violence but…violence its self wasn't ok, was it? She thought so. She was a pacifist, but that didn't mean that he was. No. He wasn't going to use his powers to bully people again but this was different. This was self-defense. This was life or death.
He broke from his thoughts by a tree crashing down onto him. Teru pushed her out of the way with his powers as a tree crashed down into them.
"You brats! You'll pay with your lives for trampling all over my pride!" yelled Terada as he broke through the ropes binging his hands together. He had actually been afraid of a little girl…no! He couldn't have been!
"You're seriously going to kill us over your pride?" asked Teru incredulously. That was…well Teru had been willing to….but he had changed. Good. It was good that he had changed, he didn't want to grow up to become an adult like that.
"Say hello to my air whips!" said Terada as he attacked. Teru used his powers to push Mob out of the way. This was his fight. He was going to protect her. He had to. This was his job, he was her boyfriend. He had to protect her, no matter how strong she was.
"Shigeko, are you alright?!" asked Teru as he jumped up into a tree. She was standing under an energy barrier, she looked bored.
"I'm fine, just startled. I guess his powers are tree throwing. Huh. Are you alright, Teru?" asked Mob. She looked for him and saw him in a tree. He didn't look hurt at all. Good.
"I'm fine. Leave this to me, Shigeko!" said Teru as another tree almost crashed into him. Where was guy?
"Say your prayers, brats! I can't let you infiltrate this facility, my reputation will be ruined!" said Terada, air whips at his sides. Teru pushed Mob further out of the way. She stood stiff as a board but allowed herself to be pushed. The other Shigeko was putting her feelings into their aura again. She wanted to hurt Terada. They had to fight. Teru was going to get hurt. They loved Teru. They needed Teru. Teru said he could fight for them. Sometimes it was alright to run away. Why run away when they were strong enough to fight? Mob covered her eyes and groaned. She was getting a headache.
"Seriously! That's what you're worried about?" asked Teru. He made a dense energy barrier around himself and tried to do his wire movement trick. He moved as fast as he could but he was grabbed around the neck and slammed into a tree. Through a tree. Into another tree. Through another tree. His barrier took the worse of the damage, he hadn't broken anything. It still hurt. He wiggled free and was thrown hard into the ground.
"I-I guess you aren't so lame after all." Gasped Teru. His throat felt tight. Breathing was difficult. Three more trees came crashing down and he used all his strength to hold them up. Crap. He was pinned.
"Not bad, huh? Think you can hold up, kid?" asked Terada. What was he so afraid of? He glanced over. The girl looked like she was crying again. No…she wasn't.
"Don't make me hurt you." Said Mob. She uncovered her eyes and stood up. She held eye contact with Terada. He wasn't letting up.
"Shigeko! Don't! I've got this!" said Teru. No. She had that look in her eyes again. Her hair was flying around her head, no, floating.
"Stop it. Stop using your powers against others. Just stop, before I use mine against you." Said Mob/Shigeko. The ground below her cratered out. A tree next to her shuddered and was reduced to splinters.
"You think you scare me, little girl?!" yelled Terada. Crap. These were some strong kids. He felt a wave of violent intent hit.
"I know that I do, don't tell lies." Said Mob/Shigeko before sending trees in four different directions to crush Terada. He gasped and was still. She could still see his aura, it looked like a living person's. Good.
"Wow….I guess in the face of overwhelming power technique means absolutely nothing." Said Teru. She had picked those up like they were nothing. Like nothing at all. No build up. No movements. Nothing.
"I guess that there are lots of ways to use powers…." Said Mob quietly. Fighting was a way to sue them. She didn't like it. She took the trees and put them back, willing them to start growing again. Good. They listened.
"How' he do that…?" asked Teru. He tried to gather energy in his hands and make it tangible. Visible. Huh. It wasn't that complicated, he just had to practice….
"I really hated doing that." Said Mob. Shigeko liked it though. She liked it? Were they…no. They were separate people. They had to be.
"You were finished as soon as my girlfriend considered you an enemy. This battle won't last for more than one night." Said Teru looking down at Terada, hating him for making Shigeko feel like that. He was knocked out but still alive. He reached over and took Shigeko's hand. Tey walked until they saw the entrance.
"More people. What are you guys going to do?" asked Dimple
"We should just blow them away. They feel pretty weak, almost like regular people." Said Teru
"What about you? Shigeko, you need to think too." Said Dimple. She was back to staring. What was going on in that head of hers? Judging by what he was getting off of her, nothing good.
"I just want to save Ritsu." Said Shigeko as she stared. More people would need to be hurt. Maybe this was OK? Like dealing with evil spirits? She never exorcised neutral spirits, just the evil ones. These people worked for an evil organization, did that make them evil? Was this alright, then.
"Shigeko, just leave this to me, alright? Don't fight unless you need to." Said Teru putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She leaned into his hand and he touched the side of her face. She looked up at him and nodded.
"Alright, let's see if this works." Said Teru as he did the air whip thing. Oh. It did work. Perfect. He dragged the guards over and knocked them out. One began to sit up and jerk around like a marionette.
"Thanks for the new body, kid. It's so much easier to possess someone while they're in shock." Said Dimple testing out the new body. Hmm, not bad. This would be useful. He tried to move around but it…ugh…he had forgotten the physical limitations of the human body.
"You seem pretty used to this, Dimple. Are you a really powerful evil spirit?" Said Teru, grimacing at the movements and faces that Dimple was making. He had dealt with evil spirits before but very few had been powerful enough to possess someone for long periods of time without being expelled.
"Of course not! I'm Shigeko's buddy, right?" asked Dimple. Mob just stared.
"He's evil, but he's still my friend." Said Mob simply.
"If it's easier to possess someone in shock why not just possess Terada again? His powers could come in handy." Said Teru
"Nope, he's still an esper. Just because he's unconscious doesn't mean his powers aren't still active, plus I'm in a much weaker state of being right now. Usually I can destroy minds with a single thought." Said Dimple
"Honestly you weren't such a big deal before, either." Said Teru. Dimple sputtered.
"I wasn't anywhere near my full power then, either!" said Dimple. Mob shook her head.
"It's alright, Dimple. Now that you have a body you can help. I'm sorry for exorcising you before, too, by the way." Said Mob
"It's fine, kid. I forgive you." Said Dimple putting emphasis on you. Teru shrugged.
"I guess I'm sorry too." Said Teru not sounding even the least bit sorry.
"Good, we all said our apologies. Now let's kick some ass!" said Dimple. Mob looked less than enthusiastic.
"Let's just save Ritsu." Said Mob. She had fought enough for one day, but even more fighting would come. She felt motion sick. She didn't like letting the other Shigeko out. She didn't like being this thing together.
Reigen Artaka checked the GPS on his phone. He hadn't been too worried at first, when Mob was late. Maybe she was doing stuff with her club. Maybe she was hanging out wither boyfriend. Hell, maybe she had found some cats and was petting them.
One hour turned into two.
Then three.
Then four.
Then she didn't show up at all.
She didn't pick up her phone.
She didn't answer his texts.
Reigen knew that something was wrong. Thank God he had put that tracking stuff on her phone. That was why he was currently in a taxi driving well out of city bounds. He could think of a few reasons why she'd be deep into the woods like this, none of them good.
He prayed that she had just snuck off here with her boyfriend to do, well, exactly what Reigen snuck off to the woods to do when he was her age. Yes. Please for the love of God let it be that.
He knew, though, that she was in trouble. She would have called him, otherwise. She never just didn't show up to work. She only avoided him when she was in real trouble. Like when she had run away from home….
"Dammit Mob." Muttered Reigen as he tried her phone again. It rang for thirty long seconds before going to voicemail. Fuck. He felt his pockets. Salt, hopefully blessed this time but probably not. He prayed to God that she was alright.
Anything could have happened to her.
She had said that she had felt an adult esper that morning on their way into the city. That meant that there were others like her. Like her but all grown. She was just a kid. He knew all the things that could happen to a little girl out in the world. He knew exactly what some adults were capable of. Mob was strong, but he had no idea how strong.
In esper terms….was she strong? Was she strong or just untrained? When she had fought with her boyfriend, before the kid was her boyfriend, she had lost. She had come stumbling through the door in tears because she had lost. No, not because she had lost.
Because she had used her powers against another human being. Because she had done thing, the one thing, he had made her promise never to do. He knew that his talk about self-defense had probably gone in one ear and out the other. Mob was moral, like that. She was such a sweet, gentle person.
The rest of the world wasn't sweet and gentle. Reigen had seen it. He had seen what it was capable of. What it could do to people. What it would do to people if given even half the chance. Mob wasn't…Mob couldn't stand up to that. She couldn't stand up to that without exploding. She would explode.
Then God help anyone in her way.
Or God help her.
If she got to that point…if she did…she'd…could she come back from that? Would she? No. She needed him. He was coming. He was coming and he was going to keep her safe. Even though he couldn't do even a thousandth of what she could do he would help her. He would save her. He had to save her.
He had to because he loved her.
"You can stop here." Said Reigen. He paid the cabby, he didn't care about the cost, and followed his phone to where it said Mob was. Oh. She was moving. He would have to catch up, then he'd figure out what was happening. He felt the salt in his suit coat.
Please, for the love of God, let it just be spirits.
"Which way now, Rei?" asked Ritsu as they came to a fork in the road. She blushed and pointed left. He felt bad, he hadn't meant to embarrass her. As he walked he could have sworn he felt…no…that wasn't Shigeko's aura. It felt too wrong, too violent. It was like something had tainted it.
"What's wrong, Kageyama?" asked Go, readying his flames. Ritsu shook his head.
"I thought that I felt my sister nearby, but it couldn't be her. It felt wrong." Said Ritsu. Everyone stared at him.
"Your sister has powers, too?" they all asked at once
"Yes, she does. Shigeko's the strongest person I know." Said Ritsu. They exchanged a look before deciding not to press him any further. No need to upset the most powerful guy there, especially because he said that his powers didn't always work.
"Sister, if you're here, please be alright." Muttered Ritsu as they kept walking. If she had been captured too…no…he couldn't think like that. What he had felt wasn't his sister. It couldn't have been.