less commentary in this one. the aura's pretty tense, also i'm off my game lmao

Claw – 7th Division.

"Looks like we ran into more trouble than expected."

"You mean you did."

The room was tense and quiet, the aura of fury speaking volumes. The teachers themselves looked enraged, a few of them with papers crumpled and clenched tightly in their fists.

Mob's eyes were on the floor. Ritsu leaned against him, head resting on his shoulder, face pained.

Teru's teeth were gritted despite his full knowledge of the outcome of the fight.

Reigen was silent. Completely silent, his legs crossed, fingers steepled before his shadowed face. His jaw was clenched tight, and behind the shadows, his brown eyes were frigid.

Two men led Ritsu and the Awakening Lab group into the shady building, arguing with each other.

"You idiot! You only had wimpy-looking ones to deal with."

There were glares on every face in the room. Hands shook, legs bounced, people twitched with nerves and stress.

They walked through lit up white hallways.

"But I'm amazed that you actually managed to hurt Koyama," the one with the glasses- Sakurai- said, looking at Ritsu. "You might get special treatment."

"No, it wasn't him. Another guy got in my way, and he was really strong," the man from before told him.

"What? Another esper?"

"Yeah." He held up his hands in incredulity. "He was insanely strong for a kid. I couldn't match him in power, so I used your spray on him."

"And where is that kid?" Sakurai asked. Ritsu watched them carefully.

Ritsu's memories of that time- that short period of time where he had been in captivity- were all unpleasant. Surrounded by nervous, practically helpless children, locked away in that cold cell, a faint dripping coming from somewhere far off.

His arm tightened around Mob.

"I already had too much on my plate, so I left him."

Sakurai stopped walking and looked up at Koyama. "This is exactly why I didn't want to pair up with you."

"Huh?" Koyama rounded on him, barking, "What do you mean?!"

"We had orders to make abducting kids with the strongest psychic powers our top priority! If the division leader found out that you messed up like this…"

An ugly laugh sounded from the other side of the hallway.

Several people grimaced at the noise, expressions stormy.

"This all sounds very interesting," said a man with black-and-white-streaked hair, trudging over to them, a hand stuck lazily in his pocket. "Let me in on it."

"Claw" Upper Echelon: Terada.

"I'll make sure the division leader doesn't find out."

Sakurai fixed his glasses. And the worst possible person just overheard us.

"Claw" ~7th Division~

A white car sped on the road.

"Terada-san, wouldn't it be better to bring the other Scars here?"

Terada sat at the back of the car. "No, I'm all that's needed from the upper echelon."

A rough painting of a furious Koyama was displayed on screen.

"Oh. Fun."

"Koyama's an idiot, but his abilities are the real deal. If that kid is an enemy, he'll be a real handful…"

"Please. He's like ten handfuls." The joke didn't land.

A shadow appeared behind Koyama in the picture, with two spots unpainted for eyes.

"...and if he joins us, he'll probably surpass me, which also isn't good." Terada put his chin on the back of his hands, his face dark. "So this isn't a mission. We're just going to nip some trouble in the bud."

"He's a CHILD. LITERALLY A CHILD. WHAT THE FUCK."

Streetlights blurred past the windows of the car.

"Oh, by the way, this is a secret. Let's just say we're going to capture him, kthx."

"Understood."

"What do you want to do, Kageyama-kun?" Teru asked, standing in front of Mob who was sitting on a couch beside Mitsuura. "We're dealing with a huge organization with a lot of members. I think you're going to need someone on your side." He brushed his hair stylishly.

"On my side?"

"Someone who's strong and extremely smart. You know, like someone right under your nose…"

Mob perked up, "The Body Improvement Club!"

"WOW. Shot down. Rest in peace."

"I'm flattered, Mob-kun, but I don't think even we could do anything."

"Hey, you don't need to play the fool here." Teru gestured to himself. "Who else but me? I'll help you out."

"Huh?" Mob blinked. "You will, Hanazawa-kun?"

Dimple floated to his side. "What brought this on?"

Teru shrugged, "I'm going to end up clashing with Claw again someday. So I thought I might as well do it now while I still have a fighting chance."

Present-time Teru nodded seriously.

Mitsuura looked up at him.

"And by fighting chance," Teru pointed at Mob intently, "I mean you. If you actually get serious about this, there's no way we'd lose."

This prompted many mumbled agreements.

Mob stared at him with wide eyes as Dimple crossed his arms, "And yet we have absolutely no clues."

"I'll help, too!" Mitsuura sprung up from his seat, hands clenched up in earnest, "If there's anything you need, let me know!"

Teru held up his hand, "No, that won't be necessary."

"Ah?.."

"Because the next attacker should be showing up any second now."

Mitsuura gasped, "That's not good! You should hurry and–"

The door burst open.

Teru raised his eyebrows. "Well, that was quicker than I thought."

Terada stood at the door with a pair of lackeys behind him.

"Kageyama-kun…" He sang, putting his hand above his eyes as he stared right at them. "Which one of you is the naughty little boy?"

"That's a no from me, chief."

Dimple and Teru gazed back at him darkly. "Why don't we ask him a few questions?"

Mob stood up as well, demeanor the same if not more intense than the two.

"Okay."

"Do you think Terada can win against that kid?"

"I'm stronger than Terada," Koyama began.

"I don't care about that," Sakurai cut him off. "I'm asking you if he can win."

Koyama took a gulp of his canned drink and mused, "He's a really cautious guy."

The scene where the delinquents were shaking Mob by the collar was shown.

"As strong as that kid was, he was still only a kid."

Then there were clips of their fight in the alley.

"If I hadn't let my guard down, I could've easily squashed him right at the get-go."

"Mmmnope. I actually think not, also go fuck yourself."

Back at the present, an elevator's light blinked. "Terada will probably be fully prepared. So that kid's probably going to go through some harsh torture." They walked into the elevator.

The water in the bucket bubbled before Terada's head was lifted out of it, red-faced and gasping.

"Hurry up and spit it out." Teru glared at him.

"Ha! Suck it, BITCH."

I let my guard down!

Mob watched them, "He seems out of breath. Why don't you take a break and let him have a sip of water?"

Teru looked back at him, "You don't realize how cruel that suggestion is, do you?"

Someone snorted.

The lackeys laid on the ground, naked and defeated.

"You don't have to be nice to scum like these."

He stood up, looking down at the now blue-faced Terada, "Still, he really won't talk… I guess the Scars, Claw's upper echelon, live up to their name."

A dark, monochrome sketch of the members of Claw was displayed, their scars illuminated with a faint red.

"Despite going up against the boss and ending up with a scar, their abilities were acknowledged, and they became part of the upper echelon."

"That's actually pretty cool. I mean, I hate them. But it's cool."

Terada's head was shoved back into the bucket, where he thrashed. "And then you, Terada, heard about the kid who gave Koyama, another Scar, some trouble and showed up. Yet you yourself ended up being captured and tortured. If you feel you're in trouble, you should tell us everything you know, quickly." And then he was lifted up again.

"I did! I did!" He shouted hysterically, "Everything you just said is information that I gave you!"

Someone actually, genuinely laughed at that.

"That's funny," their classmate admitted.

"Yeah," Mob said, a notepad and pencil in his hand, "We found out where their hideout is, the names and abilities of the members, and various other things."

"How did you get that much out of them?" Reigen said, breaking his silence. While his expression had softened, his eyes were still hard and cold.

Teru put a hand on his chin. "Nah… I can't believe he'd tell us everything so easily."

What am I supposed to do? Terada thought helplessly.

Claw's symbol glowed on the screen.

"We're not starting yet?" Koyama spoke up, "It's past the time for our regular upper echelon meeting and yet only seven out of the eleven are even here. I've got to wonder about Claw's management system."

A group of people sat at a large table, four chairs unoccupied among them.

Reigen's lips pressed to a thin, bloodless line, staring at the amount of chairs.

(A part of him still wishes he had done better for the kids.)

"Terada went off somewhere, so he should be fired," he complained.

"Claw" Upper Echelon: Muraki.

"You two also just showed up."

"Claw" Upper Echelon: Mukai.

"Yeah, and you were thirty minutes late."

"Claw" Upper Echelon: Takeuchi.

"We're a gathering of people who never worked well with others. As long as we do what we need to do when we need to do it, it's fine."

"Claw" Upper Echelon: Miyagawa.

"Cool, new people to hate."

"Then I guess you're out, Koyama! I heard you lost to a middle schooler!"

Koyama put his head against Miyagawa's. "I didn't lose, and I did my job."

"You lost," one teacher said flatly. "You got your ass kicked. By a fourteen-year-old, for the record."

"Claw" Upper Echelon: Tsuchiya.

"You really are a simpleton. You really need to stop playing around–"

He turned to her, "Shut it, fugly!"

"Hah? I'll kill you, you pierced chicken."

"Get his ass, Tsuchiya," someone muttered.

"You what?"

"Sit down, Koyama," Sakurai said, "The division leader is here."

A short figure with black boots, a cloak, and a gas mask walked to the very end of the table. "Did you wait long?"

"Claw" 7th Division Leader: Ishiguro.

"I just got a message from the boss. Said he's coming back to Japan next month. Seems he's going to pick a couple of you to be the upper echelon back at HQ."

"And this isn't HQ-? Actually, you know what, it's not obviously a villain hideout, so clearly it's not the main base of operations. My bad, everyone."

Koyama sprung up from his seat, "What? Are you serious?"

"Yes, but it looks rather doubtful that he'd pick you, considering how badly you messed up today," Ishiguro replied.

Koyama grit his teeth.

"That's right! Basically, our goal is world domination," a lackey explained enthusiastically. "They say a skilled hawk hides its claws, but we're not like that. We'll be hawks who don't hide our claws. We'll steal everything we can, stand at the top of the world, and lead humanity into its rightful future!"

Ritsu and the others listened to him, sweat dripping from the sides of their faces.

"Classic villain blunder, revealing the secret plan in front of the good guys."

"Are any of you going to join us?" Another lackey asked.

"How stupid," Ritsu muttered.

He was dealt a punch to his face.

Mob's eyes flared with an anger so deep that the three sitting by him felt it, his percentage ramping up by at least five. After the tumulous last few episodes and this new scene, it now rested solidly at 38%, almost forty; almost halfway, he worried.

The lackeys looked upon them, cracking their knuckles and crossing their arms. "Hey, you Natural brats…"

"Don't underestimate your trainers."

"You noobs haven't even been acknowledged as members yet!"

Ritsu looked up, noticing a lanky, pale figure standing in the shadows.

"Are you in charge here?" he addressed it, "We don't have psychic powers. This is some kind of misunderstanding, so please let us go home."

"Smart, but I doubt it worked?" Reigen asked.

"Of course it didn't work," Ritsu muttered, slightly embarrassed at his failure.

"Claw" Upper Echelon: Muto.

"Did you all secretly agree to act like you don't have psychic powers so you'd be freed?" Muto accused lowly.

Ritsu frowned, having his bluff blown off.

"Very well." Muto gazed at them with unblinking eyes. "You, come out here," he pointed to Kaito, who flinched.

"The younger Shiratori brother," Asashi breathed out.

And just like that, the room was tense again.

"Fuck, if he hurts the kid-"

"Shhh-"

"But-!"

Kaito reluctantly walked out of the cell.

"You have ten seconds," Muto put his hand on his head, "Show me your powers. Be quick."

Kaito kept still, and Daichi watched tensely.

Don't do it, Ritsu said in his mind.

After a moment, Muto removed his hand. "All right, I understand."

Kaito let out a sigh of relief. But suddenly, he was picked up by his collar.

Cries of dismay. The teacher's faces sank.

"I'll show you just what you get if you look down on me," Muto began to walk off with him.

"K-Kaito!" Daichi called after them in worry and dread.

"They're going to try to brainwash us one by one," Ritsu speculated.

"Why is this happening?" Kurosaki cried, "I'm done with this…"

A shrill scream came from the end of the hallway. Daichi clung onto the bars.

"Daichi-oniichan! Help!"

A slash, a choking sound, and then there was silence.

The teachers' line of chalk-white faces stared at the screen. Reigen felt sick to his stomach, gritting his teeth.

Asashi gasped.

"Huh? What was that?" Kurosaki asked in horror.

"Th-That was Kaito…" Daichi stuttered. "My younger brother's voice…"

A metal door closed, startling them. Footsteps emerged from the shadows in the hallway. Muto walked out, a bloody knife in one hand while with the other, he dragged a bloody body.

Kaito's corpse was thrown in front of the kids, red leaking from his stomach under his sweater, nose and mouth.

Several people had started to cry. Ritsu's lip wobbled as he ducked his head.

It didn't matter that he wasn't actually dead. They had failed him. He could have died. He could have been killed for real.

He had been the most powerful among them. Why? Why hadn't he done better? He should have protected him. Should have... Should have...

I have no excuse now, he thought, horror closing its cold fingers around his throat, making it tight, his breath coming in short gasps. I have powers. I have intelligence. I can fight. I can't excuse my lack of action anymore.

Someone close to him cursed. Said his name. His vision was wobbly and blurred. Tears. Fuck, he was crying again. Pathetic. Pathetic. Pathetic.

They gasped, unable to take their wide eyes off of him.

"H-He's dead…"

"This is going to happen to you, too," Muto drawled, "Take the night to consider your attitudes… If you don't want to die, that is."

Daichi and Kurosaki sank onto the ground, followed by Takechi and Asashi as Ritsu stayed standing, all of them breathless, their eyes wide, their very pupils shaking.

He felt his brother's arm around him again. It offered comfort, but not enough to calm him properly. Reigen was talking to him- he could hear his voice- everyone was so loud, the room buzzing with talking, the screen's speakers loud enough so everyone could hear.

And, among the chaos, them. Mob's calming, if awkward, touch, Reigen's smooth, relaxing voice. Teru, from his seat on the floor, was looking away, not wanting to shoehorn himself into the situation.

Ritsu sucked in a breath, his throat seeming to open up slightly, feeling the cool air on his tear-streaked face.

The white car sailed through the sky, illuminated by the moonlight and a supernatural blue glow. It neared the Claw's base.

"You know what? There are multiple references I could make right now, but I don't think they'd fly."

"Shut the fuck up."

"I see it. It's that building, right?" Teru asked.

"Y-Yeah…" Terada glanced at the backseat, where Mob was sitting. These powers can't be coming from a child…

Teru gestured to Mob, before the blue glow left the car and they crashed into the forest. The airbags puffed up and trapped Terada in his seat.

"Okay. Let's walk from here."

Mob, Teru and Dimple had made their way towards the path leading to Claw when Terada managed to throw himself out and run into the trees. Teru looked back, "Ah. Terada ran away."

There were several dismayed cries and one loud curse at this.

"Yeah, run like a bitch," one teacher said under her breath.

"Should we go after him?" Dimple asked.

Teru hummed thoughtfully. "Considering how badly we beat him, I'm sure he won't try to defy us again. It'd be just a waste of time, so let's just save your little brother." They turned back on the road.

Terada hid behind a tree, a red-pink energy surrounding him. "You stupid brats… You'll pay with your lives for trampling all over my pride!" He ripped off the ropes tying his wrists.

"Telekinetic control."

The energy stretched out of his hands, forming wavy, pointed whips.

Ritsu sniffled, wiping the last of his tears away.

Stupid. Stop crying!

Air Whips! With a maximum range of sixty meters, my powers will display their true potential in this environment!

A horde of crows flew out of the woods, and wind blew behind the three. A pair of trees shot towards them and clashed above their heads. Terada swung his arms, making the trees come down on them and breaking the ground.

Fearful gasps, now, worried cries, stiffened bodies. Even the lesser fight scenes still managed to cause stress.

Teru used his powers to fly up and save himself. "Kageyama-kun, you alive?"

As smoke around him cleared up, Mob called back, "Yeah, but that startled me." He put down his hand. "Why did trees fall from the sky?"

"It's that guy." Teru landed beside him. "He said he used telekinetic powers in the shape of whips."

"Say your prayers, brats," Terada mocked, approaching them.

"Terada!"

"If I let you infiltrate the facility like this, my reputation will be ruined!"

He sent his whips at Teru, who dodged them as he ran at him. One of them wrapped around his neck before he could reach.

"Got you!" Terada swung him in a half-circle, throwing him to smash through trees and hit the ground.

Teru propped himself up by his arms, "Well, I guess you aren't so lame after–" Shadows fell on him, and he looked up to find a bunch of uprooted trees falling on him.

"Duck- oh shit-"

"Do your parents know that you're a psychic?" Mob asked quietly.

Teru shook his head. "Nah. They're away enough of the time that I don't even have to lie to them about it."

Crap!

He quickly stood up, raised his hands and clashed his powers against Terada's, suspending the trees in the air.

"Not bad, huh? Think you can hold up?" Terada taunted.

"K-Kageyama-kun," Teru sweated under the pressure, "while I'm concentrating on the whip, do something!"

Mob walked to them and looked up. "I guess there are a lot of ways to use powers." He raised a hand, two fingers sticking out. It glowed for a brief moment, then he shifted them back and into a fist.

The trees that Terada was using struck him from both sides. He fell down with them, unconscious.

Someone whistled. "Okay, damn."

"Ah- that's so cool!"

Teru sighed, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Apparently technique means nothing before absolute power… You were finished as soon as Kageyama-kun considered you an enemy." He looked back at Mob.

"This battle will only last a night."

so i know i was gone for a while, a while being several months. i'll be updating more frequently now (probably). i'm so sorry it took so long. i'm not super passionate about mob psycho 100 as i was, but i won't be stopping any time soon.

now, the real reason i'm addressing you all like this is because, if you're not aware, there's currently a countdown on MP100's twitter, possibly confirming the release of season three. confession time- i actually haven't finished season two. i need to, but i haven't yet.

now, i plan on doing season two after this, but when that will happen, i don't know. i don't know if i'll do season three, either, if that's actually what's happening. i haven't checked yet. thought i'd give y'all double the good news today if it does :)