"I'm sorry, explosion?"
"What do you mean, explosion?"
"Yes!" One of the teachers said, standing. "I want to know how much of a threat this boy poses to these students."
Reigen's temper flared, but he kept in check with difficulty, gritting his teeth.
"My student," he said sharply, "Is not a grenade. He would not willingly harm anyone in this room. He is a person, not an object."
His voice was colder than Mob and Ritsu had ever heard.
Ritsu took his side. "Reigen-san is right. Nii-san is not dangerous."
He glared at them, holding out one hand. "I, on the other hand, am not averse to harming people with my psychic powers. Do I make myself clear?"
Mob, sitting down, felt a rush of gratitude towards them. Teru stood and said, "I'll defend Kageyama, too. He doesn't deserve your judgment."
"Guys- That- That's not-"
"Yes, it is," said Reigen, rounding on him. "You're my disciple and I will not allow you to be treated in this way."
Kei, on the side, coughed. "Guys? I'm digging the found family shit and all, but we really need to get back to the show."
She surveyed the crowd harshly. "And I don't want anyone talking shit about Mob, okay? He's never hurt you before, so why would that change? He's always had psychic powers. The only thing that's changed it that you know about them."
She sat down and pressed play before anyone could interject.
Mob went to eat a bite of omelet, but the spoon bent, the food falling off. His mom chastised him. "There you go again, bending spoons. You really need to drop that habit."
His father interjected. "Oh come now, Shigeo's going through puberty! Let him bend a few spoons."
Mob wiped off the table. "Sorry."
"I mean, it was unintentional, right? It's not your fault," said one student awkwardly.
Mob glanced over at the person's direction. "T-Thank you."
"There you go, spoiling him again. You need to learn from Ritsu, Shige. He got another perfect score on his quiz today."
Ritsu took the spoon and fixed it. "Anyone can do that, Mom."
"I can't do that."
"Exactly. That's actually a really harmful thing to tell someone."
"If there's anything bothering you, let me know, Nii-san. I'll be there to listen at any time," he said, offering the spoon.
"Aw, brother fluff. Cute."
A small smile lit on Reigen's face. They had a very good relationship. From what he had seen from his time with them in Claw, it had been that way for a while.
The words "Kageyama Ritsu" appeared on-screen. Mob took the spoon. "Thanks, Ritsu."
"And now you're spoiling him, too, Ritsu!" His mother said, pointing her chopsticks at him. "The next one you bend gets replaced with your allowance, you hear?"
"Huh?"
Someone winced.
"Oh, that's rough."
Ritsu laughed. "Sorry, Nii-san, there's nothing I can do about that."
"Oh, now you're in a real pickle, Shigeo!" Said his father.
The words Seasoning City: Salt Middle School appeared on-screen.
A wave of students leaned forward, eager.
"Are we going to see ourselves?"
"Oh, I hope so!"
"This is going to be cool!"
Mob walked to school, nearing the gate.
"Good morning, Tsubomi!" Said one girl with an eggplant head.
"WHY DO I LOOK LIKE AN EGGPLANT?"
Mob froze up. Oh no.
All three of the girls have heads of vegetables.
Tsubomi grinned, aura pink. "What a beautiful day!"
Mob blushed, staring at her. Tsubomi-chan's as cute as ever today!
"He has a crush on Tsubomi-chan too?!"
Mob's face felt like it was on fire. Reigen stared at him, smirking slightly. So that's the girl...
Tsubomi, near the front, blinked, a little surprised (but not really).
A hand wrote on a chalkboard. "Okay, so that would be the answer here... Let's go with Kageyama."
Mob stood, startled, sweating, a little drool on his face. He looked around, nervous, and stuttered, "I have no idea."
"Same."
The teacher in question grimaced, feeling a little guilty.
"If you can't solve it, it means the only thing you know is addition. You were asleep, weren't you?"
The class laughed at him. "Forget it, sit down."
A ball flew into the air. Mob went after it several times, but failed each time. He ran, gasping and sweaty.
Reigen winced, watching Mob. He looked down at him before Mob looked up and caught his eye.
The scene switches to Mob walking home. He got a call and flipped his phone open.
Reigen Arataka
Mob picked up. "Yes?"
"Ah, Mob. Sorry to call you two days in a row, but can you come to the station right now?"
"The station?"
"Yeah. Today's job is a big one."
Students shifted in their seats, eager for more displays of Mob's psychic powers.
"Oh. All right."
Mob put his phone away and kept walking. The screen froze.
Progress Toward Mob's Explosion: 25%
"Okay," one of the teachers said, standing. "I want to know what that means."
Mob fidgeted. "Um, well, when..." He took a deep breath. "My psychic powers are linked to my emotions. When I get too emotional, they'll kind of just... uh... explode. I more or less l-lose control-" his breath hitched slightly. "And give in to the emotion that came up."
Reigen frowned. Interesting... is it because he's so inexpressive? Will the show explain it?
"I-I'm not dangerous!" Mob said, looking panicked. All the attention was making him extremely nervous.
Reigen's hand fell to his shoulder.
"Of course not, Mob. Now, we should continue on with this show, right?" He directed the last words to Kei.
"Yep," she said, grinning brightly.
"Today's job is from a neighborhood local council," Reigen said as the bus rolled down a winding road. He read off a piece of paper.
"The location is Honeido Tunnel along the old highway. It's a famous haunted place, so it also has some shady stories, and even though it's been closed for years, bad rumors won't go away."
"I had a friend who went on a test of courage there. He never came back," one girl shuddered.
"Ah, really? Sorry, that sounds awful."
"Did you guys exorcise it successfully?"
Reigen nodded. "Yes! There are no more ghosts there."
"Also, a number of college students and bloggers have gone there to do a test of courage and went missing. And this is the winner- a huge group accident. Though it happened thirty years ago, apparently more than twenty people died at once."
The girl from before shuddered. Her friend pressed herself to her side.
"It's scarier knowing they exist for real."
The majority of the students looked incredibly freaked out.
"The hatred of all those people must be swirling around this tunnel." The bus dropped them off by a dilapidated sign.
"Stay on your toes, Mob. There's no telling what might happen."
"Honestly? I think he'll be fine. I'm more worried about the fake."
"I'm not a fake!" Reigen snapped.
"Sir, you look like if 'tax fraud' was a person."
Ritsu didn't even bother stifling his laughter. As he bent his head, he saw a teapot on the coffee table. When did...?
He shrugged and poured himself a cup of hot tea, blowing on it quietly.
"This is it." They stood outside the tunnel.
"Well, let's take a look."
Reigen walked in, fearless.
"Balls of steel right there, I'm terrified just watching this."
"Yep."
Ritsu nodded. For a fraud, he's fearless. He probably knows Nii-san will have his back.
"I, Reigen Arataka, the new star of the paranormal world, shall clean this place up. We're going to exorcise every last one of them, Mob!"
"Okay, I've changed my mind. This guy is badass."
Reigen sat straighter. "Thank you."
He disappeared into the tunnel only to come sprinting back. "HEY, MY STUDENT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MOB? YOU'RE COMING TOO!"
"Never mind."
Mob was watching a line of spiders.
"It'll be bad if the sun goes down. Mob, are you listening? I'm gonna go melt a big one, so follow me, got it?"
"All right," Mob said, standing. "You seemed like you had everything under control, so I didn't think you'd need my help."
One student burst into a bout of raucous laughter, tears streaming down his face.
"HEY!"
"You idiot! Who do you think is going to exorci- ahem." He cut off. "I mean, this is really nothing for me, but follow me so you can learn something."
"You're truly amazing, master."
"Huh?"
"This tunnel seems pretty dangerous." Reigen turned to him.
"I can sense the presence of a very powerful spirit further down. Usually, haunted spots tend to be fake, but this is definitely the real deal."
"Oh boy."
A girl shifted in her seat, leaning forward. Many people around her followed suit. "Here we go," someone breathed, excitement mounting.
"If a normal person managed to anger the spirit here..."
"If they angered it?" Reigen asked, looking at him.
"They probably wouldn't make it out in one piece."
Several people shuddered.
Goosebumps covered Reigen's arms. It was terrifying, knowing he had walked in there unprotected, and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.
Not to himself, at least.
Ritsu noticed his discomfort and hid a smirk behind his tea. No.
"Of course not. That's why we're here to exorcise it."
They walked to the mouth of the tunnel. "All right, here we go. I'll go first."
"Still, he's brave."
"I'm counting on you to support me however you can from behind."
"Right."
They walked through the tunnel together. "It's a bit chilly."
"Yes."
Reigen looked up. "We forgot to bring flashlights."
"Uh oh."
"You're an exorcist! How did you forget to bring a flashlight? That should be a given!"
"I was distracted!" Reigen shot back.
"Master, do you feel something?"
"Hm, well, it is pretty humid in here..."
"I'm talking about auras."
"Oh, right, that. Well, my nose is a bid sduffy doday..."
"Does that have anything to do with this?"
"Even he's calling bullshit."
"I mean, can psychics sense each other? Is that why he doesn't see?"
"Espers can sense one another," said Teru, from his seat by Ritsu. "Like in a crowd of people, an esper could pick out another esper."
"When you get to my level, it does," said Reigen seriously. "Do you feel anything?"
"'Feel' would be an understatement." Mob replied, stopping.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"There are twelve... no, eighteen," Mob said, looking around. "No... Even more right nearby."
One of the girls rubbed the goosebumps on her arm. "I'm getting chills."
"Yeah, me too..."
Someone shifted uncomfortably, imagining being surrounded by unseen hostile beings.
Reigen shivered again, reaching for the kettle of tea.
"Ah," Mob said softly. Reigen jumped. "We've been completely surrounded. They're going to attack us now."
"How can someone be so calm? This is horrible!"
"All right," Reigen said. "I'll leave the small fry to you. Go, Mob!"
"Okay, but he is really brave. Even in that situation with a powerful psychic, being a normal human would still be nerve-wracking."
"Thank you," Reigen said, straightening his tie before sitting back and sipping his drink.
"Even now, he's so calm..." one student whispered, awed.
Mob turned and extended both hands, zapping invisible things as Reigen walked away, then turned, tie flapping, unfazed, and continued on.
At least three teachers and five students (and not necessarily girls) wiped the drool off their chins.
"Damn..."
"Man, that's a lot of noise. They're really strong, huh?"
He walked faster. "Hmm, if we were normal people we might have been in danger."
Reigen speedwalked down the tunnel. "Well, I'm sure that took care of all of them. Another piece of-"
He slammed into a blue figure.
"Spoke too soon..." one of the students moaned.
"He's screwed!"
"Hey, I'm right here!" Reigen snapped.
There's someone right in front of me! Reigen lurched back. "Who are you?!" He shouted, reaching for his phone.
He shone the light in front of him. "An evil spirit?"
"I mean, who else would be there?"
"He's right, you know," Ritsu muttered.
The light illuminated a glowing, muscled figure.
"Oh, it's just a wrestler. Don't scare me like that; I thought you were an evil spirit."
"Yeah, don't let the fact that he's literally glowing blue put you off, he's obviously a normal human."
"Professional exorcist, my ass."
"Hey!"
The man sweatdropped.
"Uh, Shishou," Mob called back. "The boss of sorts is back there, so watch out."
The words Evil Spirit: Boss appeared as the spirit loomed over Reigen.
"You know, this is terrifying and all, but I'm honestly more distracted trying to figure out if he's a blonde or a ginger."
"Right?"
"That's what you're thinking about?!" Reigen muttered.
"Hmph, so you're the boss monkey of the evil spirits. You may have tried to disguise yourself as a wrestler, but you can't fool me!" He shouted, pointing at it.
"..."
"Is- Is he serious? Please tell me he's not serious."
"I think he's serious."
"God help us all."
"Hey..." he muttered.
"No," someone piped up, "With the other boy, Bowl-Cut-"
"Bowl-Cut?" Mob mumbled.
"-we'd totally be safe!"
Mob smiled softly, glancing away. Reigen fought down the urge to affectionately ruffle his hair.
The spirit froze for a moment before he shouted, "I OWN THIS TUNNEL!"
A group of bikers rode down the tunnel. "When me and my biker gang were going down this tunnel, the guy in front happened to slip on a banana peel!"
In the flashback, a banana peel caught under the bike's front tire. The bike crashed and exploded, taking the others with it.
"We all died. I'm their leader!"
"A whole biker gang, taken out by a banana peel... what an epic tale. Absolutely captivating. Golden Globes and Emmys for you," one girl said flatly.
"I don't think that's how Emmys work. Aren't they for music?"
"I don't know and I don't care."
"This tunnel is my turf!" He screamed, flames flaring around him, illuminating him.
Someone shivered. "But, this is scary. Just knowing ghosts like this exist... I'm scared."
His friend nodded. "Rei's right. It's freaky." He glanced over at where Mob sat with Reigen.
"Did you get rid of them?"
"What?" Reigen said, looking at him. "Of course."
Several people let out sighs of relief.
"I'll crush every last intruder. Here we go!"
Mob turned.
"Oh hell yeah!"
"Curse ya," the spirit whispered.
"Um, what?"
"It was a curse," Teru said casually.
A few people paled. "Spirits can curse people?"
"Oh, yeah. Humans, too."
"What?!"
"Mr. Saito, please keep your voice down!"
Kei chuckled, watching the madness, and waited for silence to fall before continuing.
"Cigarette Burn Poltergeist!" He shouted, throwing a ball of flames.
"Oh my god!"
Mob extended two fingers and created a shield around Reigen. Part of the tunnel exploded.
When the smoke cleared, Reigen stood unharmed, arms out in front of him, defensive, purple lightning crackling.
Someone slapped a hand over their mouth to hold in a squeal.
"Wh-What? My ignition attack isn't working!"
Reigen's eyes flashed.
"There's a powerful forcefield? How could this power be coming from someone like him? Crap! I mistook him for a wimp!"
"If you saw who was really doing it, you'd be even more shocked, buddy," a boy remarked.
Ritsu's eyes drilled into the back of his head before he stuttered, "N-No offense! I mean, uh-"
"It's fine," Mob said quietly.
"Nii-san-" Ritsu hissed, but Mob said, "It's all right. He isn't wrong."
Ritsu looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Okay."
"Too late for regrets now!" Reigen barked. "The moment you try to take on genius psychic Reigen Arataka, your fate was sealed!"
He pulled salt out of a handkerchief and screamed, "YOU'RE GOING TO BE EXORCIZED- BANISHING SALT PUNCH!"
One student cheered, glanced around, and then ducked her head, blushing slightly.
This is one of Reigen's special attacks where he punches the enemy with his fist covered in table salt.
The ghost screamed in agony before stopping short. "Wait, that didn't hurt at all."
"Oh, dear."
The smack! of three to four hundred students facepalming in unison echoed around the room.
"So you are a fake." Reigen sweated.
Suddenly, the ghost is zapped.
"AYYYY, THERE'S BEST BOY!"
"You've already dubbed him best boy?"
"Who else would be best boy, Ren?"
The boy, Ren, nodded. "You have a point."
"I'm disappearing!"
Reigen pointed at the shrinking ghost. "Go back to the ozone layer."
"Wait, wait!" The ghost wailed. "We were just being forced to do this!"
He's a blob at this point. Mob walked past him.
"Huh? What are you doing? Hurry up and melt him, Mob."
"Now, now, Shishou. Let's hear him out."
The spirit trembled. "We're nothing compared to the evil spirit down the tunnel!" It pointed shakily. "We're getting orders from him to scare people who come through."
"Oh, no..." one girl whispered, her voice trailing off.
"C'mon, he'll be fine," a boy said uneasily. "He dealt with the wrestler like he was nothing."
"Don't think you can fool Reigen with such lies."
"They aren't lies! It's just that if I disappeared while being falsely accused..."
A photo of the gang appeared on-screen. "I don't think that we, the Death Specters, and our memories could rest in peace."
"This... this is actually kind of sad."
"Yeah, I kinda feel bad for them, actually."
"That's all I wanted to say. You can make me disappear, or melt, or whatever you want." The ghost opened his arms.
"Don't let him fool you, Mob. Those are the typical lies of a con man." Reigen stuck a thumb down. "Melt him."
"You would know, jackass."
"Language!"
"I agree with her. What the heck, man? I'm no con man, but that doesn't seem like lying."
"Before that, I'm going to go have a look," Mob said, walking forward.
He moved by the blue ghost. "I thought it was a little weird that the aura I felt before coming in here hadn't disappeared yet."
"Well, yeah, me too."
"'YeAh, mE tOo' my ass."
"Stop him!" The blue ghost shouted, sweating. "It doesn't matter how strong that kid is, he doesn't stand a chance!"
Ritsu almost laughed. "Nobody's stronger than Nii-san. The only one in danger is the ghost at the end of that tunnel."
His words calmed down the more nervous of the students.
A chilling wind blew through the trees.
"That thing's an evil spirit that's lived on this mountain for hundreds of years. Everyone who's died here was killed by him!" The ghost screamed, sweating more.
Reigen stood frozen in place. "So you guys were also..."
"No, we just happened to slip on a banana peel."
"This is an emotional rollercoaster. One moment I'm scared to death, the next I feel like an idiot."
Mob continued forward, a heavy breeze blowing things back and against the walls. He stopped.
Reigen fell and then got to his feet and held up his hands against the heavy wind.
"You get it now, don't you? If you care for that kid at all, call him back!"
Mob continued forward.
"Hurry!"
Reigen was silent for a moment before shouting, "Hey, Mob, come back! Come back! Mob!"
"At least he cares."
"Of course I care!" Reigen blustered. "He's my student!"
Mob stopped and looked up at a terrifying monster with giant teeth, made of goop.
"Oh my god!"
Stunned into a shocked silence, the students and staff watched in horror.
The monster swallowed him whole.
"OH MY GOD!"
Several people (mostly teachers) glanced over at Mob, despite knowing that he was okay.
The blue ghost had a panic attack while Reigen called, "Mob?"
In blackness, outlined in white, Mob opened his eyes.
The beast froze.
"Oh, this is gonna be epic."
Lightning started to crackle. Mob reached to the sides with both hands.
Something breaks out of the monster. Arms outstretched, it blows the goopy monster to bits. Things float around it as Mob stood unfazed.
Some people actually cheered. "HELL YEAH!"
"Finally, some good fucking food!"
The Body Improvement club shouted, "FIGHT ON!"
Mob bit his lips slightly, hiding a smile.
Everything came crashing to the ground. Mob turned to go, but saw something.
"Ah."
He soon walked back down the tunnel, out of the dark.
"Oh, you're safe."
"Yes. The evil spirit wasn't very powerful."
"B O I."
The blue ghost looked terrified. "Who are you?"
"Ah? I'm nobody."
A gloomy silence fell.
"You idiot!" Reigen snapped suddenly. "You're Mob, student of the new star of the paranormal world, Reigen Arataka."
"Oh, right."
"I thank you," the spirit said, hovering over to him. "Now we can all pass on peacefully."
"Could this be...?" Mob said, holding something out to him.
It's the photograph of the gang.
"Aw, that's... sweet, actually."
"Here we go, boss!"
"Yeah!"
They posed and the camera flashed.
The outro starts to play as the ghost's eyes water. "Thanks."
The students smile. "I'm glad he got to pass on easily," one remarked.
"Yeah."
"Agreed."
Words appear. Self-Proclaimed Psychic Reigen Arataka
And Mob~
The gang appears behind them, backlit. "Thanks, man. Now we can all depart to the afterlife!"
"Full speed ahead to the next world!"
Mob looked up at them, expressionless.
"Mob," Reigen said. "What are you doing? Let's go."
"Right," he said, turning.
"I'm getting emotional over a dead biker gang. This is it. I have officially hit rock bottom and fully expect to punch right through to hell."
Reigen's eye twitched.
"By the way, shishou... how come you didn't take care of the spirit?"
Reigen jumped, sweating. "Ahem- Didn't I tell you right at the start that I'd leave the small fry to you?"
"Oh, right."
"God, I wish I could bullshit my way out of a situation like that."
"Seconded."
They glanced over at Reigen, focused on the screen.
"Do you think he'd teach us?"
A bead of sweat slipped down Reigen's face as he turned away, relieved.
Outside of Seasoning Station, people pass by Mob. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mob," Reigen said quietly. "Shall we?"
"Yes."
"Does ramen work for you?"
"Yes."
They continued to chat as they walked away.
"I wish I had that kind of relationship with my boss."
"You have a job? Like, a real one?"
"Here you go," a voice said, an image of ramen freezing on-screen.
Progress Toward Mob's Explosion: 25%
The numbers ticked up to 27%.