Author's Notes:

Alright, this chapter is so far my longest: 3,677 words... Lot's of Reigen and Ritsu.. Take a deep breathe. Go..

Guilty Atonement

There wasn't much time he could argue. Things were just happening so fast- his legs sort of moved on his own, seizing the moment as much as possible because his gut was screaming at him that something terrible was going to happen otherwise. Now leaving Mob behind wasn't the plan. No, that wasn't his choice at all and he hates himself for going through with it. Being an adult is hard and making the right choices is even harder. Reigen knows that. He also knows that last look Mob had gave him was desperate, pleading, burdening.

Mob trusted him.

It was that same trust that worried Reigen, added guilt to his shoulders, made him question himself if this was still alright. Made him wonder whether Mob's undying loyalty to him could still be considered a good thing. It wasn't. He's known this for quite some time but it became much clearer after that incident with the possessed girl and that evil spirit. That's when it finally hit him. How far Mob would go, the risk that boy would take just believing his master would be there to have his back unconditionally.

Reigen also wanted to believe this. He'd never want to betray his student- not ever. Which is why this whole ordeal was so messed up because time was against him and it interfered with his ability to make rash decisions. Otherwise, he wouldn't have left Mob back there in the midst of the confusion and fear that was heavy in the air.

Reigen struggled down the stairs with Ritsu fighting in his arms. The kid was hysterical and who wouldn't, Mob's brother had every right to be upset with him. In the end he would be seen as the bad guy for all this. It was a notion Reigen wasn't so used to because on normal circumstances he'd be praised for helping others. But this was different, this was bigger.

This was about Mob. Someone close to him, someone he actually knows couldn't be solved with cheap antics he'd used to satisfy his clients.

Reigen had finally made it outside. They must have lost Dimple along the way because he was nowhere to be seen. He ran another four or five blocks from the house before his knees collapsed to the floor as he took a moment to catch his breath. He still felt groggy from that blow he got from Mob's barrier, especially his back, all his bones felt achy. Definitely getting too old for this, he thought. When will he get a break? He had his work cut out for him didn't he?

Ritsu was also on his knees next to him, silent but that didn't last long which wasn't surprising. The boy was trembling but stable enough to stand straight up and latch his hands unto the collar of Reigen's suit. This was expected. The wrathful words he spat next held no remorse, equally threatening and accusing. They were salt to the wound, exploiting every insult to the fullest. Reigen just kept his usual calm and collected persona, taking the slander head on. It was only right to let the kid vent out his emotions.

Now this was something Reigen was used to.

"HOW DARE YOU! How DARE you just leave my brother behind like that!? He trusted you! I trusted you! I knew I was a fool to believe that you might have been anything other than the pathetic man you really are."

Reigen didn't say a word. He swallowed every harsh criticism Ritsu lashed at him.

"I finally see you for who you are- a coward! A two faced scum who just leads people on with his lies and scams!" He went on, his grip tightening more and more until his fingers went numb from the pressure. "Aren't you going to say something?!" His hard stare challenging Reigen's surprisingly serious demeanor, practically provoking Reigen to speak up so he had a reason to rip that look off his face because there was no way this man was going to really think that what he did was right. No way!

Reigen said nothing.

"Whatever!" releasing his hold, Ritsu shoved Reigen back to the ground. "I'm done with you, you're just wasting my time." Ritsu looked back at the house. "Shige…" he said softly now. "Shige is still in there and he needs me. I...I need to go back…" Ritsu said with a huff of his breath. He quickly turned on his heels heading back in the direction of the house.

Reigen frantically crawled back up on his knees stretching his hand to grab Ritsu's arm. "Stop."

"LET GO OF ME." Ritsu warned as he tried pulling his arm away.

"No, you can't go back there. Mob wouldn't-"

Ritsu growled through his teeth, "I said let go Mr. Reigen!"

Reigen stood his ground. "I can't let you, Mob entrusted me to protect you. You're just being reckless."

"Shut your mouth! You have no right to talk about my brother like he's still your friend. Not after you left him like some trash on the street!" Ritsu barked back enough to cause Reigen face to change into something close to anguish as he avoided looking the kid straight in the eyes.

"That's... not what I… I didn't..." Reigen tried but he couldn't think of a way to justify what he did, Ritsu had him there and he felt small, ashamed compared to Ritsu like a parent scolding a child- no, much worse- definitely much worse than that.

"Now don't make me say it again, I've been holding back Mr. Reigen- for my brother's sake I haven't used my psychic powers on you but you're going to leave me no choice. I won't hesitate any longer."

Sweat rolled down Reigen's brow as he let out a long sigh. He really didn't want to let Ritsu go if it meant that he'd just be running recklessly into peril but testing the angered boy wouldn't be wise either, so with that threat in mind he finally released Ritsu's arm.

The boy yanked away from him. Ritsu was triumphant and it pleased him to know that Reigen knew the clear difference in power and authority between them. "Now don't get in my way." he said before continuing on his way to the house.

Reigen followed of course.

"What do you even think you can do when you get there? Mob is too powerful. You might get hurt or worst!" Riegen tried coaxing as he ran not so far behind from Ritsu.

"I don't care. I just can't leave him there to hurt himself. Like you did." Ritsu said scornfully, provoking a wince like frown from Reigen. "If something happens to him… I won't be able to forgive myself if I was just sitting in the sidelines doing nothing."

"Okay, okay- I get that, I do but do you even have some kind of plan?" Reigen was trying his best to level with him.

Ritsu was quiet because he didn't have a plan. Heck, he didn't even know what to expect out of all this. Yes he was scared but that didn't matter to him anymore. His brother needs his help and that's all there was to it.

"Don't worry, I'll figure something out."

"No I'm worrying, alright!"

As they got closer they could see the storm clouds twisting around above the house. Shredded wood and debris flew in the air. The house was still standing though, that was good considering the huge hole on the rooftop where Ritsu's room once was. Shigeo was in the midst of it all, eyes glowing, hair flying up. He was truly intimidating.

"Oh man...Mob how has it come to this? You poor kid…" Reigen was so fixated on Mob that he didn't see the incoming projectiles of broken objects heading his way.

"Hey watch out!"

Riegen watched what seemed to be a broken bookshelf propelling his way- and fast. Realizing his reaction had been too late, he swung his arms over his head bracing himself for the hard collision but to his surprise Ritsu intervene, using his telekinesis to blast the furniture the opposite direction. He then placed a barrier around them, wind and objects could be seen bouncing off of it as it shimmered bright colors before turning transparent.

Reigen was shook for a moment, "T-Thanks…I-I thought I was a goner."

Ritsu only stared at him, his look was firm and unkind but it was less threatening than his previous attitude towards him. Then with a sigh, Ritsu dropped his shoulders. "Why are you even still here?" He asked half-heartedly.

"Because…" Reigen hesitated. "Because...you and Mob were my responsibility." He said with a drop of his head finally, one hand rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "And I… I screwed up, okay? I blew it."

Ritsu crosses his arms. "Is that all you have to say for yourself? You think that just because you admitted you were wrong that suddenly everything will be all fine and dandy between us?" Ritsu said with a slight raise of his voice.

"No. No I didn't." Reigen answer pitifully.

"No is exactly right! My brother was sick and you offered your hand- for that I am grateful but as soon as shit hit the fan you want to turn tail and run! My brother was sick... and you left him!" His voice was shaky this time, in the mix of many strong emotions that was ready to give out at any moment, Ritsu held them back.

"I know- I know...I dont know why- or what I was even thinking. Everything was just so…" Reigen sighed much harder and full of frustration as he rubbed his face from his forehead to his temple. "Look…" He continued.

Ritsu turned his head away stubbornly, avoiding to look Reigen in the eyes, the same deceitful eyes that betrayed him once already with false admiration and trust. He wiped his own foggy irises, left still wet by his eyelashes.

"I know that you'll probably never trust me after this- you have every right to but even so…" Reigen sighed again, dropping his arm and daring to look up at Ritsu once more. "I've come this far, I'm not letting you do this alone."

Ritsu sunk his eyes even lower, moving his gaze to the floor as if he was pondering his statement with uncertainty. He was tired, exhausted from all the anger and stress he had poured out, that was clear to see and Reigen felt pretty much the same which gave him more reason why he couldn't let a kid do this on his own.

Ritsu then shot his eyes back up to Reigen, with a new and calmer demeanor. "You should have stayed behind, you'll only be in the way."

Reigen thought it best not to say anything, not that Ritsu given him a chance to, the kid was quick on his feet as he continued on further ahead of him.

The house was a few dozen feet away and it was getting harder to stay to the ground as they got closer, wind was blowing in all directions and Reigen wondered how the neighbors didn't question the strange events, to their luck no one was outside. They'd probably write this off as some bizarre storm that had hit the district suddenly. It be that easy to lie and cover something up like this, he thought to himself. People would believe anything, Reigen knows this first hand and he shook his head at the sad reality of it all.

Ritsu stopped suddenly, almost having Reigen bump into him from behind. They've reached the outside entrance of the house. Ritsu stared up into the eye of the storm that was whirling above them like a raging vortex. It was eerie, endless and captivating. His eyes followed the spiral until it was set on a single figure at the very top.

Shigeo didn't look like himself anymore. Light consumed the white of his eyes making him seem empty… and lifeless. Ritsu clenched his fist, a meager attempt to stop the shaking of his hands. He had only ever seen his seen his brother this way once in his life and it worried him if there was any consciousness left to even get through to him.

"I need to try." Ritsu said to himself. He covered his body with his aura, holding steady, concentrated, and then with a small motion he gently levitated his feet from the floor. This was a first, he had never used his telekinesis to make himself fly before so he was a little unbalanced. Reigen watched intently from the side and Ritsu could already tell he wanted to say something. "What? I'll be alright. I'm going to get Shige back."

Reigen shuffled in his feet. "Just… be careful."

Ritsu nodded. "Thanks but I think you should be more worried about yourself."

"Very well said." Another voice cut in. "Although, I'm afraid Shigeo won't be joining you."

Ritsu froze with high caution as he just realized a man about the same height as Reigen was standing just a few feet behind him. "When did he…?" This man had bypassed his barrier unnoticed. Ritsu swallowed, startled as he dropped back down on flat ground and examined the infiltrator. The man was dressed in a black hoodie, dark hair and grayish green cargo pants. He wore a hard black mask that covered the bottom half of his face up to his nose, only revealing his aqua green eyes.

"You look confused," he said as he approached Ritsu, each step confident.

Ritsu held his ground, trying to look unfazed by the man's unhindered stare that seemed to push him further back on his feet. The closer he got, the more Ritsu's façade crumbled. There was something that told him this man was not to be taken likely.

It didn't take much for Reigen to read the atmosphere so he took this time to step forward, filling the gap between Ritsu and the stranger in front of him. The man stopped, and without turning his head he moved his unblinking eyes to the left where Reigen was, who in return gave the man the best poker face he could muster up and still being the most reasonable adult around, Reigen just had to ask, "Who are you and what do you want with Mob?"

The man was silent, studying Reigen as if reading through his character. Then, like the soft wind, he spoke, "Names aren't important. Just call me...Justice." His voice sounded young yet mature but obviously over legal age. He then moved his attention back to Ritsu. "And as for Shigeo, I assume that's who you were referring to- I will be the one deciding...his fate."

"Like hell you are!" Ritsu challenged viciously. "Over my dead body!"

"Oh- I'd be happy to accommodate you with that if you wish to be the one to end your life first." Justice wittily responded, raising one hand slightly from his side.

Reigen quickly held out his arm to prevent the teen from lunging forward. "Wait, calm down Ritsu! We don't know anything about this man!"

"He just threatened my Brother! That's unforgivable!"

"He's right you know, only a coward would hold back." Justice provoked.

"No your wrong. Fighting doesn't make everything right, it only worsens a situation." Reigen argued, emphasizing his last statement to persuade Ritsu mostly. "I don't know why you're after Mob but I must let you know, whatever reasons you may think you have, I know 100% sure my student didn't do anything to deserve this."

"Oh, is that so?" Justice said sarcastically. "And what if I told you that your student is indeed guilty? Would you still believe he doesn't deserve a punishment for his actions?"

"Lies! You know nothing about my Brother, bastard!" Ritsu clenched his teeth, his rage could be seen through his fiery eyes. Reigen had been holding him back but he knew if he allowed this to last any longer, Ritsu would surely lose it.

"No, I don't." Reigen answered, keeping his voice calm even though his stomach kept turning inside out from how nervous he was. "Well... not any cruel kind of punishment for the most part." He specified further just to be sure he was saying it clearly. "In any case, I know Mob hasn't done anything wrong. Besides, an adult that's out for a child's life is even worse than a coward."

It was sickening to Reigen that there were people who would actually be serious about harming a kid. He didn't care what Justice said Mob had done, there was no way he'd stand here and allow this man to hurt him. Now the question whether Reigen had the power to stop him might be a whole matter altogether. Still it was two on one and he told himself that it didn't matter how he intended to protect Mob, he would do so with his life.

Justice did not take his eyes off Reigen, again it was as if he was probing him, looking through him and it gave Reigen the chills. Even with the mask on, he could tell his expression was cold and forbidding.

"That's a shame," Justice said shaking his head with a sigh and placing both hands on his hip. "I was hoping we would come to an understanding but I see now that it's pointless. A person that can make such a weak argument has a sad perspective of how this world works." He then raised his right hand, holding two of his fingers together like some kind of signal. "But enough of this. I've grown bored of you." And finally he waved his two fingers with a two tapped motion.

Movement was caught at the corner of Reigen's eye, catching a quick glimpse of a person to Ritsu's right hand side behind them. The concealed silhouette raised its hands up and Reigen reacted out of pure instinct, instantly pushing Ritsu out of the way. "K-Kid look out!"

There was a quick crack in the air and Ritsu's barrier bursted. An invisible pressure expanded like a wave, hitting Reigen dead-on, sending him flying a few dozen feet the opposite direction. The blast had missed Ritsu and he watched wide-eyed, almost in slow motion as Reigen skid and flopped over the concrete sidewalk like a pebble skipping over the surface of water, then laid still where he had landed.

Ritsu's face dropped into something of shock as he stood in silence, his breath picking up pace, eyes fixated on Reigen's motionless body, desperately trying to pick up any kind of movement or breathing- or something that indicated his brother's master was still alive.

Move, move, please move, please… please…

"Reigen!"

.

.

.

.

It's cold…

The air was dense and heavy and it weighed down on Shigeo's shoulders, each breath he took was shaky and hollow, like an extension of his soul it left his body in the form of soft cloudy wisps, then vanished into the atmosphere. There was a pain in his head and it screeched like metal against a chalkboard, it made him weak and dizzy as if the spiralling atmosphere around him wasn't nauseating enough. It almost didn't feel real, like a daydream. Maybe part of that reason was due to how out of place everything felt, like his mind was present but his body felt far and distance.

Out of body experience?

Yeah, that sounded about right. It had to be. Otherwise what would explain the chilling scene in front of him as he watched himself once more, coiled up, trembling in the vast storm. He looked so sad, so empty, so lost… Shigeo then place his own fingertips to his face now, wondering if that's the expression he'd been wearing this entire time.

It's cold again…

Shigeo shivered from the icy feeling that grabbed ahold of his body but this was no ordinary chill. He knew that somehow. He knew that he'd eventually have to return to his body, that there was a time limit to this sort of thing. The thought was ominous and he wasn't sure if he was ready just yet. Going back meant it would hurt all over again, that he'd have to face all of his emotions.

He looked back at his other self, eyes bright like the moon and aura as fierce as the wind. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, trying not to dwell too hard on the idea of going back. He opened his eyes again, this time glancing down. It was terrible down there, destruction was everywhere. What about his younger brother- and Master Reigen- were they there too? He couldn't tell, it was much too high but he could definitely feel his Brother's power somewhere below and also…a new aura.

There was someone else, two more people. A presence he couldn't recognized. It was odd because one of them felt shrouded and blurry. Shigeo shook his head, concentrating on it made him lightheaded. Whatever it was, that person is down there with his brother. Sudden worry clouded his thoughts about what could be going on during his absence.

Another breathtaking chill casted itself around him and he felt his spirit slowly being pulled with needed urgency. Shigeo didn't resist, it was time to head back now. He closed his eyes anticipating each minute, each second, embedding the moment into his head until he started counting down the numbers aloud.

"Nine...Eight…"

He was nervous, unsure of the vague future ahead of him but he knew he had been gone for far too long. He needed to get over this fear. This fear of himself that seemed to hold him down like chains...

"Six...Five…"

While on the other hand his little brother was down there with that weird ambience of a person he had never felt before. If anything that should be his motivation to rejoin his body.

"Three...Two…"

That's right. He has people waiting for him.

"One."

And that alone is enough.

Author's Notes:

Okay, these characters were introduced much earlier than I had originally intended.. So I might of changed the pace of my entire plot. Oh well... I'll work my way around the idea as it comes to me. Not sure how you feel about my original character, he's pretty generic. I did a drawing of him, just follow the link. I hope adding a made up character doesn't make this story less interesting.

As you can tell I really enjoy writing Ritsu and Reigen's interactions with each other, there's just so much emotion within this boy towards him and I tend to exploit the idea. I had actually intended on not leaving a cliffhanger but the chapter was getting too long. Also Mob's small part was also added last minute because I felt like it'd be a good change in atmosphere to end it with his current situation. Anyway, Tell me your thoughts and thanks for reading!

www . clori-eden . deviantart art/ Justice-OC-669786010