Chapter 3:Medium vs delinquents
Reigen's face was filled with despair.
He'd been waiting for almost two hours, sitting in the same place like a beggar, his sign reading: "Medium: Spirits and Such" had attracted a few curious onlookers, but most had just laughed at him.
"Are you sure you have all your wits about you?"
"You dammed conman!"
"No one believes in ghosts anymore!"
"Are you seriously telling me that you claim to be a psychic?"
"You're weird..."
"Thief!"
All morning, Reigen had heard nothing but such remarks.
Over and over again.
So the fact that there were kids capable of superpowers was accepted by everyone here, but apparently the very idea that spirits could exist seemed impossible... talk about double standards!
Reigen had had enough.
"Why don't we call it a day?" Dimple asked, his mind as bored as Reigen's, but at least he didn't have to endure the disapproving glances and insulting comments of passers-by.
Reigen sighed.
"Usually there is at least two or three interested persons...What a disappointments!"
Reigen wondered if there weren't any haunted places in this town at all, but that seemed impossible to him; there had to be at least a few urban legends or other paranormal phenomena that could be affiliated to spirits, right?
In fact, according to a quick search on the net, the medium had not yet found any trace of it.
It was really strange that there were no spirits wandering around the city.
The self-proclaimed Medium had to admit that his method of attracting customers was going nowhere at the moment... He agreed with the spirit. He was wasting his time here.
Reigen got up and decided to move on, heading for a large park.
He walked for a few minutes, Smile floating behind him. Reigen was amazed at the level of security systems in the city, everywhere he went he could see high-quality surveillance cameras.
There was a kind of omnipresent tension due to the large number of surveillance systems in the city, a reminder that it was highly secure and that they were constantly being watched.
After all, this city created espers...
Opposite the medium, a young woman seemed to be looking for something, she was getting worked up looking at some kind of map, a visitor?
She seemed reassured to see someone coming in her direction.
" Hey! I'm kinda lost looking for District 10, and I can't seem to find any buses that go there. Any help?" She asked familiarly, Reigen was surprised how casually she was talking to him.
In addition to her familiar way of speaking, her voice was soft and warm...
However, the young woman appearance was unconventional to say the least.
A silver ring pierced her lower lip, several piercings pierced her ears and nose, giving her a slightly punkish air, her short black hair was arranged asymmetrically, one side almost shaved and the other much longer, she appeared to be extremely well-built, muscular and lean, wearing only an open hooded sweater over a sporty top revealing her well-sculpted abs: all this gave her a rebellious, tomboyish style. She looked a bit like a boxing or MMA champion , an appearance that contrasted sharply with her soft and very feminine voice, which clashed with her rather menacing visual vibe.
She was staring intently at Reigen, for some reason he couldn't understand , which confused the medium for a moment; her attitude was disconcerting.
The young woman's brown eyes seemed to look over his right shoulder for a brief moment.
Overlooking her atypical appearance and behavior, Reigen immediately sought to help her.
He'd only arrived in the city a short time ago, but had already scoured the area for paranormal phenomena, without success.
He had also studied the bus routes to make it easier to get around, should he need to travel far to exorcise a spirit.
District 10? I don't think there are many buses going there...But if you take a left on this street, you'll find a stop in a few hundred meters. Bus number 42 should take you to the beginning of District 10." He explained to the young woman, pointing with his finger to the direction on her map.
She expressed her gratitude with a smile and headed off in the direction indicated.
"What a strange girl... "Murmured the medium to his ethereal companion, once she had left their field of vision.
District 10 was reputed to be a notoriously bad place, full of delinquents and other small-time crooks. However, given her looks and build, this girl certainly wasn't going to be bothered.
Reigen was expecting a comment from Dimple, but the latter remained as mute as a grave, as he usually seems to be more talkative.
"What's the matter, Dimple? You seem absent..." Reigen interjected to the mind that was frozen.
"That girl... she looked like she could see me..."
"What are you talking about? If she had seen you, don't you think she would have reacted?"
It was true that she had seemed to stare at Dimple, even if she hadn't said anything, could it be that she had perceived the spirit, which was normally only visible to psychics, and to Reigen, who had obtained this ability following a transfer of Mob's ephemeral psychic energy.
Reigen still wondered if any of the city's espers could see spirits, for the moment none seemed to have reacted to Dimple's presence.
"I don't know... I felt significant psychic energy emanating from her!"
Reigen was stunned, another psychic? In the city?
This confirmed his doubts.
What was a psychic doing in The Academic City?
Maybe she was like Mob, starting classes here?
However, she looked a little old to be a high school student, perhaps a university student?
Strange...
Reigen and Smile remained disturbed by this encounter for a moment, before continuing on their way and arriving at the entrance to the large park.
A series of rectangular robots passed by Reigen, organized into a disciplined cohort.
This city was truly full of surprises: hyper-advanced machines, weather blimp and the city seemed to run entirely on green energy, as evidenced by the large number of wind turbines everywhere in The Academic City, their broad silhouettes giving an even more high-tech feel to the urban landscape.
The large park was quiet, with a few students and businessmen passing through, stopping from time to time to buy drinks from a vending machine or rest on a bench.
It was quite large and spacious, like a little piece of greenery lost in the sea of cement.
"It's really impressive this city, all high-level technology." Smile commented, his green spirit continuing to follow Reigen.
"They even have robots! These people are really rich," replied Reigen.
"I wonder where they got all that money." Dimple continued.
"No ideas! But this whole thing is really fishy..."
The two partners were busy moving on when Reigen spotted a scene he would have preferred not seeing.
A gang of boys, dressed like thugs, laughing and talking loudly, they seemed to be blocking someone: a girl, who looked to be Mob's age.
She was clearly not at all comfortable and tried her best to leave, but the delinquents were blocking her way.
"Don't you want to come and have some fun with us?" One of the thugs asked in a predatory tone, implying that she didn't really have a choice.
"We promise it'll be fun..." said another.
It was clear that their intentions weren't the most innocent, and the girl they were trying to pick up seemed frightened.
"Really Shabby..." Dimple commented, the scene seemed to revolt him as much as Reigen, despite his nature as an evil spirit, Smile didn't seem to enjoy seeing the strong exploit the weak, especially a young girl.
The gang of thugs had positioned themselves in the corner of a building, in the blind spot of several cameras, making sure they wouldn't be caught red-handed.
"Let me go!" she challenged bravely, clearly annoyed and frightened.
Reigen sighed, seeing that all the other passers-by seemed to be ignoring the scene, out of fear or lack of compassion, he didn't know, but it didn't please him at all as a spectacle.
The alleged psychic had no intention of standing idly by.
Reigen took a confident step towards the gang of scoundrels.
"Damn it... where the hell are you Uiharu?"
Saten Ruiko was in trouble.
While she was busy waiting for her friend, an older gang of boys had approached her, blocking the girl who had her back pressed up against the wall of a building, trying to protect herself as best she could from the thugs.
They were looking for she didn't know what, but she wasn't comfortable.
The offenders didn't seem to want to listen to her protests and continued to harass her.
At first, she thought they'd soon tire of her if she didn't show them any interest.
But the more she tried to push them away, the more insistent and aggressive they became.
Frustration and anger gradually gave way to fear as she realized they had no intention of letting go.
Hoping to enlist the help of passers-by, Saten tried to catch the eye of a witness, but everyone looked away, unwilling to intervene ,they were afraid!
These thugs were part of a gang of known delinquents active in the Academic City, and trying to help Saten meant alienating the whole gang, a risk no one was willing to take.
They were a Level 0 Skillout group: pathetic rebels seeking revenge for their weaknesses by forming a group and causing various problems in the city.
How ironic that the girl they were pestering was also level 0. If they were so serious about fighting espers, they wouldn't have targeted a girl in the same situation as themselves.
But of course it wasn't a question of power and esper, it was all a question of strength, the weak were exploited by the strong, Saten knew that this law of the strongest reigned almost without impunity over the whole Academic City.
These scum took as much advantage of other people's weaknesses as the powerful espers, they were all the same!
Saten struggled to keep her composure, her heart beating faster and faster, she was cornered.
She thought that maybe when Uiharu arrived she'd be able to get them to leave, thanks to her status as a member of Judgment, but nothing was less certain.
"Come on! Let's have some fun..." one of the thugs became more insistent, approaching the schoolgirl, he was now almost glued to her, his comrades forming a sort of wall behind him and blocking any escape.
"Stop it! Let me go!" the girl's protests fell on deaf ears.
"Huh? Are you stupid? We're not going to let you off that easy!" One of the thugs gave a cruel little laugh.
"If you don't want us to get upset, follow us without making a fuss!" The leader of the gang commanded, his voice more stern and serious than the others.
She didn't know what they wanted from her, but she knew it was nothing good.
Skillout was known for using hostages to commit their crimes more easily, was this what was in store for her? Used as a pawn in their schemes?
Or maybe worse?
Saten was now tetanized.
The gang seemed to grow more aggressive by the second, in the face of the girl's resistance.
"Someone...Anyone...I beg you!" Saten began to implore the universe to help her.
"Excuse me!"
A voice rose above the gang's cruel laughter like a thunderclap.
Saten glanced around: standing opposite the gang of 5 delinquents was a man in a suit and tie, his gaze fixed on the thug in front of Saten.
There was a burning intensity in his eyes, like a fierce determination not to back down even though he was alone against 5 opponents.
The young girl felt relieved.
Someone had come!
She could hardly believe it.
The thugs changed their attitude, now turning to face the intruder, their menacing gaze sending a clear threat to the man.
"You can see she's not thrilled with the idea of following you... you could use your discernment and leave her alone, couldn't you?" Asked the man in the suit, his purple tie fluttering in the wind.
There was a moment's of silence as the band gauged the stranger, who didn't look like an esper.
The duel of glances lasted a few seconds, but for Saten it seemed to last an eternity. She didn't want to see this good Samaritan beaten up, part of her wanted to shout at him not to intervene, but the assurance and confidence radiating from the stranger seemed so strong that she was convinced he knew what he was doing.
The gang leader grimaced.
The thugs didn't seem to want to listen to the stranger.
"Who the fuck are you? Looking for trouble?" Asked one of the delinquents aggressively.
The man in the suit smirked.
He pulled something out of his pocket, dramatically holding up a business card.
"I'm Reigen Arakata! Best psychic in all of Japan!" he exclaimed enthusiastically. "You can check me out on Google!" he added confidently. "And I'd like you to leave this girl alone!"
Saten was completely surprised by this answer: psychic? What was this guy talking about? Part of her found it hard to believe that this man had just told delinquents to look up his name on the Internet.
Who was that guy?
The thugs were as surprised as she was. For a moment, they wondered what they should do. This guy must have seemed a complete lunatic to them, and what was that business card? For an exorcism service...
Their anger faded a little and they laughed, mocking Reigen.
"Psychic? Dude…Are you sure everything's okay in your head?" Their laughter was extremely irritating.
Saten wondered if this guy really knew what he was doing after all...
But Reigen didn't seem in the least perturbed, his expression remaining serious and professional.
"I'm used to this kind of reaction! Everyone's happy to laugh until they need me to exorcise an evil spirit."
This made the gang laugh even harder.
"Is this guy serious?" A thug exclaimed, laughing.
The leader of the gang wasn't laughing, however, and approached Reigen with a menacing air.
"And so, Mr. Psychic... what are you going to do to us if we refuse to let this girl go? Put a curse on us?"
Reigen frowned.
"You should stop bothering people... do you really have nothing better to do than annoy a scared kid?"
Saten felt a little insulted to be referred to as a child.
The thugs didn't seem to want to let her go, and every time Reigen tried to teach them a lesson, Saten could feel the tension rising.
The chief stepped forward.
"Hey! I'm giving you one last warning! Get out of here now or we'll make you wish you'd never been born!"
Saten began to have a very bad feeling: this story was going to end badly!
But what could she do? She had no power, she could neither defend herself nor help the so-called medium.
She was powerless...
The girl was being tortured, as if icy stakes were being driven into her back, slowly and one by one, there was nothing she could do, but she didn't want to see an innocent person beaten up!
It was unbearable!
She cursed her weakness, again and again, if only she had power...
Reigen tried to calm things down before they got out of hand.
He seemed to realize that his opponents were not reasonable people, but power-hungry kids too proud to back down.
"Oh! Quiet! No need to go that far..." He searched his words for a moment. "This whole thing isn't worth it... you're wasting your time trying to take this young girl in, surely you're better than that aren't you? Can't you just let her go and forget the whole thing?" He tried again to ask them to let Saten go, but his requests were completely ignored.
"In your dreams!"
The chief motioned to one of his men, who stepped forward menacingly, ready to come to blows.
"Stop! ! Leave him alone!" Saten shouted, trying in vain to stop the thug.
But that just seemed to make them laugh.
Reigen didn't seem worried, and she was surprised to see that he didn't move an inch.
"I see...I don't like using my powers but I guess I have no choice!"
The thug advancing towards Reigen seemed unimpressed.
"There's no way you have any power! You're a charlatan!" he shouted.
The so-called medium took an object out of his pocket, a sort of coin with a hole in it, attached to a wire.
"Huh? What's that thing? A hypnosis thingy?" Asked the thug sarcastically, as Reigen now took his turn to walk towards him, waltzing the object back and forth.
"This is my special technique, using only this coin I'm going to put you into a deep hypnotic sleep."
The crook gave a cruel little laugh.
"Are you serious? No way that's going to have any effect on me idiot! You really are stupid!"
Reigen moved forward more and more, the crook staring at his waltzing piece, amused that it didn't seem to affect him in the slightest, he stared at it waltzing again and again without it seeming to make him sleepy or even tired.
But Reigen didn't give him time to react, and having crossed the distance separating him from his target, he sent his right point straight at him with surprising force.
"HYPNOTIC LEGITIMATE DEFENSE PUNCH!" shouted Reigen, sending the thug tumbling through the air and crashing to the ground.
Everyone seemed speechless.
None of the gang members, nor Saten, would have guessed that Reigen would be the first to launch the attack.
"You bastard!" Growl the leader, who dashed towards Reigen, determined to make him pay for his affront, his comrades, except for the one blocking Saten, followed him.
Reigen realized that the situation was about to get even more out of hand.
The thug he'd sent tumbling to the ground stood up angrily and threw himself behind his boss.
The boss was almost on top of him, when suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks, which also stopped the other three behind him.
"Chief?" One of the thugs asked.
Reigen seemed just as surprised as they were; the leader of the gang had stopped suddenly and was perfectly silent.
Then he began to undress, ending up in his briefs, then began to do a ridiculous dance imitating animal noises.
It was both embarrassing and completely unpredictable.
What was happening?
It's as if...he's possessed!
Reigen seemed to realize something and came to his senses, smiling contentedly.
The other thugs were completely confused and frightened, and in front of them stood their leader who seemed to have completely lost his mind!
The strange sight of the chef dancing in his underwear attracted the attention of stunned onlookers, some of whom began filming.
It was humiliating!
The chef finally stopped and fell to the ground, tetanized and perplexed, he seemed to have recovered his senses.
"What the..." He was completely lost, his anger had been replaced by fear and confusion.
Reigen stepped forward, glaring at the gang of thugs with a stern, menacing expression.
"You doubted my powers, didn't you? Well, if you want to end up like your boss, be my guest... Keep trying to annoy that kid!" He paused. "If you don't leave this girl alone I'm going to put you through far worse humiliations than the one you've just seen, I'm going to put you to shame!"
The thugs were horrified, unable to believe what had just happened.
"This is not good! This guy really has powers!"
Panic spread rapidly through the group, and without asking for help the four Skillout members ran for their lives.
Only the boss remained on the floor in a daze.
"Hey! Come back here! ! Don't leave me alone!" he implored his men.
Reigen stepped towards him.
"Haven't you had enough?"
The leader got up in a panic and followed his group at full speed, in his underpants.
"You'll pay for this! I swear I'll get even!" he shouted as he fled.
The psychic didn't seem particularly worried by his threat, perhaps because it came from a thug in his underwear speeding away.
They had all fled.
Reigen waited a moment until they were well on their way, then sighed heavily, as if all the pressure in his body were suddenly released.
Saten was speechless; she'd never seen anyone use such powers!
She felt relieved that no one had been hurt.
Well... except for the one who got punched in the face...
And the pride of the band leader who had been trampled on...
Saten stepped towards Reigen and bowed exaggeratedly low.
"Thank you very much!" she challenged formally. "If you hadn't intervened, I don't know what would have happened. Thank you!" The girl's voice trembled with emotion.
Reigen looked embarrassed.
"No need to thank me... I couldn't stand by and do nothing." Reigen took something out of his pocket. "If you ever need my help in the future," Reigen said, offering the girl his business card with a benevolent air.
Saten wasn't sure how to react.
She took the card politely and glanced at it.
"Offices of spirits and other supernatural things..." She read out loud. "Are you really a psychic?" She asked curiously.
Reigen smiled at her.
"Of course! But I can offer other services: advice on social relations, sentimental help, anything that falls within my abilities: I'm willing to do it. And I can also help someone in need if I can."
Saten was surprised.
This guy was really special; she'd never met anyone like him.
Only the city's espers could possess powers, thanks to the unscrupulous methods used by the various laboratories whose aim was to transform children with potential into powerful espers.
But Reigen didn't seem to be familiar with the city, so he must have come from outside.
And if there'd been a psychic here, Saten would have found him long ago, his passion being the paranormal.
So how had he managed to mind-control one of the thugs if he wasn't an espers?
This shouldn't be possible...
Yet she had seen it with her own eyes: Reigen had used some kind of mental manipulation... did he really have powers, or had he used some other method?
Impossible to know...
"I see...Thank you!" she replied with a smile.
The presence of a so-called medium in the city made her curious: perhaps she'd finally found someone as passionate as she was about urban legends and other strange phenomena...
"Good! I won't bother you any longer. If you're ever in trouble again don't hesitate to make a phone call, I'll help however I can!" Reigen announced as he prepared to leave.
The girl still wanted to thank him for his help.
"Thank you! And... I won't hesitate to stop by. But mister Reigen?" Saten asked hesitantly.
Reigen turned around.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I'm still sorry you almost got beaten up because of me...If only I were stronger..." Saten lamented sadly.
Reigen seemed taken aback by her remark.
"What are you talking about? You're not weak! Far from it... you kept your cool in the face of five dangerous gang members, I find that admirable!"
"But...I'm completely powerless! If I weren't Level 0...If I ever had at least one power..." Saten replied, still sad about her assessment earlier that day, her system scan having once again categorized the girl as powerless.
Reigen sighed.
"Listen... contrary to what this town is trying to make you believe... having powers doesn't necessarily make someone strong! Or particularly special!"
She remained silent, letting Reigen continue his explanation, intrigued.
"I'll let you in on a little secret..."
Saten hung on Reigen's every word, eagerly awaiting his explanation.
"In this world, there will always be people better than others in one field or another, people who are more athletic, more dexterous, more gifted in art, more intelligent, funnier... having powers doesn't allow someone to be above others. Don't try to become what society imposes on you! Become what you want to be!" declared Reigen.
She didn't seem to know how to take his comment.
"But I'd so much like to be something other than a level 0..."
"The leaders of this city will have you believe anything! If you don't have any powers, that just means you're better at something else, and there must be something only you can do!"
" ... "
She was silent, she knew deep down that this desire to have powers didn't come entirely from her... but partly from the city that drove her to seek to claw at the ladder to obtain a fragment of the power of high-level espers, but for level 0s as she was almost impossible to even become level 1 or 2, she and so many others like Saten were trapped at the bottom of the hole trying in vain to climb a slippery cliff.
It was a twisted and cruel system.
She knew it.
And yet she had continued to strive for power, even though it was impossible to obtain.
But did she really need it?
"Look at me! I'm just a regular guy! Yet I didn't let others dictate my way of being! I made my own choices without worrying about society's opinion and became a renowned medium!"
"But you have powers..."
"So what? Being an esper doesn't make someone better! I don't need to have powers to do what I want to do!" Reigen paused. "So stop worrying about your level and do what only you can do, become the person you want to be, without worrying about other people's opinions!"
These words resonated with Saten; she'd spent her years here wondering why she wasn't a cabal for being an esper. Always being told that her potential was nil by scientists and teachers obsessed with obtaining powers. But did she really have to let these people dictate what she was? Should she bow to their expectations and judgments... no! Reigen was right...
But accepting it was difficult, after all she'd spent all those years trying to obtain a supernatural ability.
Troubled by what Reigen had told her, she couldn't completely give up her quest to obtain powers.
"I think I've talked too much...don't forget you can always contact me if you have any troubles!"
She nodded, a little absently.
He set off.
Saten watched him go, not really knowing what to say.
As the medium walked away, she swore she saw something strange hovering over his right shoulder.
A kind of green energy ball that seemed to follow Reigen.
"What's that?" she whispered
It wasn't long before a familiar voice sounded behind her.
"Sorry for the delay Saten." Apologized Uiharu, who had just arrived and had no idea what had just happened.