Summary: If there was any word that could describe the situation Ritsu had got himself into, it would be something close to hopeless.
The Dream Demon; Hopeless Encounter
Justice entered the boys' house. It was empty and silent, the place looked oddly too normal for a house that was once burned to the ground. Clearly the work of a talented esper. There were some boxes lying around, Justice assumed they were probably in the middle of cleaning up the aftermath Claw had caused them. He walked up the staircase, observing the hanging frames on the wall of family portraits, pictures of younger Shigeo and his brother with their parents. At first glance these photographs seem to show a simple and normal family
However, Justice wasn't convinced.
"What a shame." He thought aloud, wondering why he had decided to come here in the first place. Maybe seeing a glimpse of what their lives were would make him reconsider his decision. Perhaps he could find some shred of sympathy and forgiveness.
He didn't though. It was far too late to be feeling pity for this boy, not after all that he's committed.
Justice climbed up to the second floor. This is where things started to look less like a house and more like a war zone. Broken floor and wood fragments were spread out all over the hallway, the walls were cracked with huge fissures and dents the size of large rounded tables. Walking down the hallway he could feel a huge draft coming from one of the rooms. When he entered, his eyes were focused upward to the ceiling; or what used to be one. Now there was a huge gaping hole in its place. Exactly what he had expected, this place had seen disaster.
"I know you're still here Somni, reveal yourself."
The air pressure shifted slightly and as if to test Justice's patience, everything remained quiet. Then suddenly, the lingering shadows within the house slowly bent, taking the form of a creature about the size of a small dog. Its body was distorted with unequal proportions, having one arm to its right and two to the left, followed by a long lizard-like tail that coiled up at the end. Its skin was a ghostly transparent yellow and a face covered with multiple red eyes. Only two were significantly bigger than the rest, they all stared up in unison at Justice.
"You called?" the demon hummed with a voice so dark and scratchy it was enough to make your hair stand on end. Justice couldn't help but notice its size, recalling it had been a lot smaller than the time they last met.
"Explain what happened here. The boy's sudden outburst was not part of the plan," barked Justice, getting straight to the point.
"Ah yes, a miscalculation on your part," Somni sneered. It wasn't the answer Justice was looking for and the spirit knew this very well. Still he couldn't resist provoking the man.
"I'm already aware of that," Justice hissed. "However, I can't help but feel like you knew this would be the outcome. I hope you haven't forgotten our contract, otherwise I would consider this a treacherous act."
"Relax yourself there buddy," The spirit responded calm and unaffected by the sudden hostility in the air. "I may be the demon of dreams but that doesn't give me the ability to see the future. Besides, what would I have gained from betraying you?"
It was very doubtful that a spirit would ignore the chance to receive a body of a young and powerful esper. Justice knew very well how it was to be captivated by such magnificent beings. Individuals with abilities that go beyond normal human potential, something that you would only hear about in fictional stories. Some might choose to stay hidden, while others use their existence to take advantage of others. Then in some rare cases, there are those whose powers are so tremendous that it can even will itself and manifest into existence. Whether its intentions are for good or evil, the outcome still stays the same; it would only hurt all those who surround it, leaving nothing but pain and suffering in the end.
Having already experienced this first hand, Justice knows without a doubt that Shigeo was indeed the living example of this rare case. The man fixed his eyes back at the demon with unshaking superiority. "Don't take me as a fool, demon! When I first made this deal, I could tell the mention of this boy's power had peaked your interest. You'd really have me believe you didn't have an ulterior motive?"
Somni mimicked the man's intensely callous face, a challenge that crumbled almost immediately as he failed to hold its urge to snicker.
"Hahaa— fine, fine. Guilty! I'm guilty! That's what you want to hear, right? I confess, I can't deny it anymore with a straight face," Somni admitted, his uncanny laughter echoed in the room. "It was just as you said, the human child had an undoubtedly huge amount of spiritual energy, more than I had anticipated— I couldn't resist taking it a bit further with my dream possession."
This was no surprise to Justice, he was dealing with a demon after all. Somni feeds off negative energy produced from his nightmares. The more a human suffers, the worse the dream becomes and stronger it grows. This was not the average spirit you'll find wandering around the earth realm. These sort of beings aren't to be taken likely and they would take advantage of any human incapable of controlling them.
"Somni the dream demon, huh?" Justice mused, folding his arms across this chest. "You live up to your name but if you're not careful enough, your greed for power will be your shortcoming."
"Oh? Is that supposed to be some kind of threat? I'm flattered," the demon smiled revealing his sharp teeth. He floated closer, approaching Justice boldly without fear. "I like the hostility."
"Don't get your hopes up, it was just some mutual advice." Justice said honestly, walking past the spirit. He would be more than happy to eradicate this demon now, but nothing would be gained from it. Somni could still prove to be useful to him. "All things aside, the plan failed. I had asked you to immobilize Shigeo. Provoking him has only done the opposite."
"You can be such a killjoy sometimes. It's no fun chasing a prey that is already down for the count, don't you agree?"
"Nothing about this is fun. It's reckless."
"Oh, how could I forget— 'Shigeo is a threat to humanity.'— isn't that right?" Somni quoted with his fingers sarcastically. "Or… was it something like, 'His power is too massive and unstable.' " It continued its ridicule with a low and inaccurate impersonation of the man in front of him.
Justice however, didn't react to the demon's mockery in the slightest. Instead, he began walking away, completely done hearing the unnecessary ramblings of the foul creature.
He had forgotten how talkative Somni could be, it only made this conversation long and irritating to deal with.
"That's why you feel so threatened by the boy's existence. It's only natural to fear things out of your control," the demon persisted, as he trailed behind his partner. "But then again, you would know all about that, wouldn't you? After all, you were the only one that survi—"
A surge of immense crimson aura rapidly expanded around Justice, nearly striking Somni who was inches away from its perimeter.
"—Yikes!" shrieked the dream demon, curling its tail against it's belly. "Well that was careless of me. I assume you're still not over that, huh?" Somni said apathetically, folding it's first pair of uneven arms. It closely examined the angered man who was currently closing his eyes as he sighed, trying to regain his composure. Somni shook his head, "You humans sure have a weird attachment to misery."
"You're one to talk." Justice opened his eyes, taking one last controlled breath, his aura waning with every second until it disappeared completely. "Coming from a demon who practically relishes from it like some sort of sick bastard."
"Hey, I never said I was complaining. This is my nature, it's all beneficial for my survival. Humans on the other hand have nothing to gain from it. I find it quite amusing." The demon snickered as it licked it's lips unpleasantly.
" Repulsive. "
There was a loud bang outside, causing the two to avert their attention to the broken window. Across the street he could see his nephew, making quite a racket with the younger Kageyama brother. Justice couldn't understand why his nephew always liked to drag things instead of quickly finishing the job. Another bolt of lightning flashed in the sky and Justice glanced up at the storm. He had spent too much time here, every single minute that passed was a risk.
Justice made his way to the center of the room, and stared up past the hole at the dark vast sky filled with heavy grey clouds. With one single psychic powered jump, Justice sprung up a few feet, landing smoothly on the roof of the house. He followed the spiraling clouds with his eyes until he laid his sights on one particular little esper in the center of it all: Shigeo Kageyama.
His target.
With haste, Justice lifted himself from the house, proceeding to fly upward into the storm but then suddenly stopped. He looked back down at the demon who waited there patiently for his command. It seems that the contract between them was still active.
"Come Somni, we still have work to do."
The Demon smiled, "Lead the way, partner."
If there was any word that could describe the situation Ritsu had got himself into, it would be something close to hopeless.
Ritsu laid flat on the cold ground, catching his breath. This whole time he's been fighting with Aki, he's had little to no progress in gaining any significant advantage that would turn this fight around. With one of his arms rendered useless, and his strength running close to empty, there was no way he could possibly win this. Really, what hope could he possibly have at this point?
It's been ten minutes since they began fighting again, and in that time Aki had landed one punch to his face and flung him onto his back about three times already. One of those times having landed on his bad arm— yeah that sure wasn't fun , thought Ritsu with a grimace. The exhausted esper stared up at the dark grey sky, trying to zone everything out. Even if it was only for a moment, he just wanted a small break from all these terrible happenings. However, even that proved to be impossible, not when his opponent was constantly running his mouth.
"Like I said, no contest," huffed Aki. He pressed the back of his hand on his bloody lip, swollen from a lucky hit Ritsu got on his jaw moments ago. "You were better off fleeing like a coward, crazy brat."
He had a point. Had Ritsu ran sooner, had he taken that last desperate chance to escape, then maybe he could have avoided this very bleak position he cornered himself in. However, doing so would have cost him something much worse than his own life, his brother. That meant he'd be abandoning Shigeo to deal with these lunatics alone. So, in spite of his fears and weakness, he had somehow found the spirit go through with this to the end, no matter what the outcome.
Maybe he was crazy, afterall?
Ritsu weakly turned on his stomach, finally finding some strength to move again, he took his time getting up. Aki watched him, slightly annoyed.
"Back up on your feet, are we? When are you going to realize you have no chance getting through me," Aki scoffed. "Just look at you, what could you possibly do to me? You've been nothing more than a warm up."
Oh brother...
"Are you done talking?" Ritsu spat back, so finished with his tough guy act, he held nothing back. "Yeah, you're clearly much better than me at this— Whoopty-doo . Does that make you feel better? Are you done? Did you want some kind of clarification, is that what this is?"
"What was that, you little shit!" You could practically see the anger present in Aki's face as he growled at Ritsu, too infuriated to think of a good comeback.
Ritsu wasn't done talking though, his rising annoyance pushed to the limit. He knew full well Aki was just as spent as he was, so his threats were becoming less intimidating and more of a joke to the younger teen. "You've been going on and on about how you were going to finish me all this time and yet, I'm still here. "
Ritsu wasn't the only one in a foul mood, Aki had also been irate for quite some time now. He did not expect all this to be dragged too far and he knew if his Uncle were here he would be chewing out his throat right about now. Just thinking about it made him curse aloud in utter aggravation. Aki started to walk toward Ritsu, eyeing how quickly the other boy tensed as he kept his distance, nearly stumbling on the cracked sidewalk.
"It's no surprise that your uncle seems so annoyed by you," Ritsu provoked, unaware his words had struck a chord much more sensitive within Aki. "This is a disappointment."
That was all it took to make Aki snap.
The younger esper didn't expect Aki to lunge toward him so suddenly, trying to grab at his neck. Ritsu instinctively leaned back, turning his neck as far back as he could from his grasp. The motion had them both fumbling backwards, Ritsu was the first to hit the ground, his back slamming hard on the concrete with the weight of the other boy over him.
Exhausted to the bone, none of them had an ounce of strength left anymore to use their psychic powers. They both struggled with each other, rolling on the hard pavement, arms and knees drawing some blood as they scraped against the grainy surface. With Ritsu still at a disadvantage, his bad arm having pressure applied to it was not at all pleasant. In the midst of it all, Aki managed to get Ritsu in a chokehold. That was all he needed to end this game.
"It's lights out, for good!"
"Ngh…" Ritsu's neck was trapped. He pulled and scratched at Aki's arm, trying to break free from his hold but the teenager did not budge. "Get off me you bastard!" Ritsu's feet that were frantically kicking in the air started to slow down as his body lost strength. "N-No..."
"H-Hey!" called a panicked voice from behind. "Hey! Hey, s-stop! What do you think you're doing, let go of him!"
"Wha—" Aki felt the hood of his sweater getting pulled from behind now, nearly strangling him. Then came a foot, wedged right at the back of his head. The Nerve of this guy! Aki in all annoyance couldn't believe his eyes. "There is no WAY a weakling like you should be moving right now!"
"R-Reigen!" Ritsu squeaked, equally as surprised.
Yes, the kid wasn't wrong. Given the circumstances any ordinary person hit by a strong wavelength of psychic energy would have been hospitalized in a similar way any person surviving a car crash would be. Except the boy didn't put into account that this wasn't Reigen's first time dealing with espers and oddly enough he was starting to get used to being thrashed around. That, and his overwhelmingly high adrenaline along with the stupid amount of pure luck he has on his side! He'll have you know he is sure to be down to his last nine lives at this point. To be perfectly honest he doesn't know how he is standing right now, let alone charging towards a dangerous teenage esper just to stop a potential homicide. So yes, the kid isn't wrong for thinking this, heck, he was still leaning towards the hope that this is all just a very bad dream he hasn't woken up from yet.
That being said, he wasn't taking any chances either. Reigen was desperately trying to pull Aki off Mob's brother but the boy wouldn't budge.
"Kid, LET GO!"
"Never!" scowled the esper, tightening his hold around the younger teens neck for emphasis. There was no way he was letting this non-esper bend him to his will. He failed to kill Riegen, he will not make the same mistake twice. "Once I'm done with this brat, your next old man!"
Riegen sweat ran cold at the vicious threat.
"B-Bastard…" Ritsu choked, this vision nearly fading as he watched his world start to go black.
Reigen took notice, watching Ritsu's struggling body slack and the boy becoming alarmingly silent. No, no no no no no, not good! He has to do more than this! Why was this so hard? He's had no problem getting violent with previous espers, so why can't he lay this kid out already? Well, it was exactly that, Aki was very much still a kid . Under Riegen's moral standing, adults shouldn't beat little kids, it was just wrong and darn right incriminating. Still, was it right to stand by one moral at the cost of another?
"Damn it! How could I be so stupid? Letting this drag for this long, hang on Ritsu!" He had to make an exception. "Sorry about this," Reigen apologized to the teen as he made his decision, but as soon as he let go of Aki's sweater to get into full Riegen assault mode, the teen suddenly released Ritsu.
"Oi." Another voice sternly interrupted, and Reigen could admit he physically jumped when realizing this blonde-haired individual was a lot closer than he expected him to be.
Seriously, when did he get here?
"Arghh…w-why you—" Aki's arms unnaturally swung to his sides as his body lifted up slightly from the ground. Reigen was at a loss for words as he watched the scene.
"He said to let go."
Ritsu slumped down under the teen, completely void of energy and Reigen was quick to come to his aid. The young esper coughed harshly, wheezing and rasping for any amount of air he could muster into his lungs.
"That's it, you got this, champ," Reigen soothed as he rubbed comforting circles on Ritsu's back. He then lifted his head back up at the blonde esper standing a mere arm's length away from them. Reigen recognized this kid, although he did not remember his name, he did know he was one of Mob's friends.
"Teru..." wheezed Ritsu.
Right, Teruki Hanazawa was his name.
Reigen looked back down at the pale boy, who was trying to stand up now, with no luck. In his defeat, he decided to remain sitting on the ground. Reigen is pretty sure that was for the best.
"Save it, you can thank us later," Teruki answers almost too quickly. He finally looks back at the two with a smile. A shining radiance in comparison to the darker look he had shadowing over his face seconds ago.
God these kids are scary, thankfully he is on our side , Reigen thought nervously to himself. Yet, on that same thought he couldn't help but finally relax. He dropped his shoulders down with a sigh.
"Us? " Ritsu cocked his eyebrows, looking more and more like himself.
"Didn't we have this conversation before, forget about me already?" It was Dimple that answered this time, catching both Reigen and Ritsu off guard seeing the green spirit appear before them once again.
However, their reaction afterwards lacked any kind of relief or gratitude, as they both shifted their heads looking to the side. They had thought Dimple fled to save himself. Although they were clearly wrong, the two still couldn't shake that feeling of abandonment, even if it was to get more help. Especially since things went really south right afterwards.
"Still angry at me, I see..." The spirit sulked with his lips. "Well get over it! We aren't done here yet."
"He's right. I've seen this once before. Your brother is the cause of all this destruction, right? We need to stop him before things get—"
"You got it wrong, Shige didn't do this!" Ritsu blurted suddenly, taking Teruki by surprise from the younger brother's distraught tone. "Well... at least not purposely. A-Anyway, this wasn't an accident, this was deliberate!"
"Wait little bro, slow down. You're not making sense. What do you mean deliberate, was it an accident or not?"
"No-No! The espers! He didn't come alone. There was another one, an adult esper! He said my brother was his— " Ritsu stops mid-sentence, as if remembering while he speaks, he tries to stand. He does so just a bit too hasty, the nerves of his crippled arm sparks on fire. He jerks his head back hissing from the pain, nearly passing out on the spot.
"Hey!" Both Reigen and Dimple shout in alarm, Reigen then rushes to grab the falling boy but Teruki is faster.
"Whoa! Relax there!" Teruki easily stabilizes him with his telekinesis, the younger esper dangles like a rag doll in the air barely holding on to consciousness. This gives the blonde esper the chance to actually scan through his wounds. Teruki makes a face, he doesn't need to be a doctor to tell he was in bad shape. "These injuries… he's not looking too good guys."
There is a strained laugh that breaks the critical silence and Reigen's stomach instantly churns. He had almost forgotten that the psycho teenager was being held up in the air all this time. There is a change in mood from Teruki too, his blue eyes as sharp as cold steel. He glares at the other esper, a look that can even make a grown man like Reigen feel very uneasy.
"What's so funny?" Reigen asked with slight agitation in his voice. He also wished he hadn't, there was something menacing about that boy, especially when all of Aki's attention aimed right back at Reigen.
"The little brat can barely keep it together and he thinks he could still win against my partner? It's laughable, none of you stand a chance!" Aki smile twisted with an ugly expression, this kid must be sick in the head. "I hope you can hear me Ritsu, your brother is getting everything he DESERVES! Shigeo will di—"
"Quiet," Teruki warned with a low growl. It's not like he gave the other kid much of a choice, silencing Aki with just the grip of his telekinesis. Scary. Teruki wasn't going to stand here and hear his nonsense, especially if it involved bad mouthing Kageyama. He wasn't in the mood, not when his friend was in danger. "You'll only speak when I allow you to speak, and that is only when you are answering my questions, Got it? Now, who is this partner of yours?"
"Go to hell!" The other spat.
Teruki sighed, turning back to his group.
"Hey Mr. Reigen," he started, completely oblivious to the way the man jumped slightly at the call of his name. "Take Ritsu, I'm going to need all of my focus on this one. Dimple, where did I put that bucket again?"
"Oh, sure..." Reigen's response was a bit delayed, kinda feeling out of it. He carried Ritsu in his arms before finally setting him gently on the ground so he could rest. Poor kid had been through enough for one day. Reigen leaned back with his head against a flat wall, probably a piece of Mob house that was flung a few kilometers. His head still had a dull ache and he thinks it may be finally catching up to him. Reigen stares up at the dark grey sky.
"Mob, please be okay."
And with that, Reigen allowed his heavy eyelids to fall.
Authors Note:
Whoever's is still out there following this ...I'm so so sorry. This was long overdue. T^T
This chapter was a combination of two, which is why this was longer than usual. I really struggled with the second half of this chapter, I had forgotten my original plans with how Reigen reacts and the actions he takes trying to save Ritsu, along with Teru as well. So I would say the writing in this chapter felt not as strong as what my writing used to be when I was a lot more dedicated. I'm just so glad to finally get past these parts, it felt like a thorn in my side leaving the fanfic stop where it did. Anyway, Yay! Teru finally joins the fray. 3
Art for this chapter: (Just delete the spaces)
www . deviantart clori-eden / art / Let-Go-862195684
www . deviantart . com / clori-eden / art / Somni-The-Dream-Demon-773962132
sta . sh / 01tsw6sri90j