Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Today was another normal day for Reigen Arataka, he thought.

The sky was blue, as usual. The office was bare, safe for him and Serizawa, as usual. No customers came, unfortunately as usual. No incidents occurred, probably as usual.

Probably the only unusual thing that was happening today was his student’s confession to his crush, which he was not a part of.

Well, he could celebrate with Mob if he really managed to get a girlfriend, but if not, it was also his job and responsibility as a mentor to help him get over it.

Easy.

(Reigen wasn’t going to mention that he, himself, had never managed to get a girlfriend though. That would be immensely embarrassing, considering how many times he confessed to a girl.)

All in all, it was quite a boring day. Serizawa hadn’t even asked him about his homework yet, which only served to increase his boredom.

(Not to mention Dimple was usually here to have a chat with him, and though Reigen wasn’t about to admit it out loud, he was beginning to regret ushering the green spirit out when he was being too talkative.)

This probably wasn’t a good sign, Reigen thought, considering how many things had occurred in one single year, and now suddenly things just went…stop.

But it was probably the time he needed to adjust to the norm, right? After all, it was not everyday that a group of violent espers would just pop up and challenge the world for its domination. And maybe the spirits were just close to extinction right now, considering that they had just massacred that Hundred Beasts thingy not too long ago. 

(And when he said ‘they’ he was counting himself too, you know. Even if he knew he didn’t do anything-)

Yeah, it was probably that. Reigen was being too paranoid all of the sudden, which was funny considering how little he thought about the future sometimes.

Stretching, Reigen considered finding something else to do. Maybe having a walk? Reigen was sure Serizawa could watch over Spirit and Such for a while, considering how much he had improved in socializing since the first time he came here.

“Reigen-san? Are you going somewhere?” His employee asked while he was pulling his coat out of the chair he was sitting on. It was a bit scruffy, sitting there all the time, after all.

“Yeah, I was thinking to go for a-“ 

Clang!

Before he could end his sentence, however, a loud noise interrupted him. Apparently the coat he was dragging out of the chair pulled the cup along, which ended up with the cup falling off the desk.

Reigen made a face when he saw that the cup had scattered into pieces. That was Mob’s favorite cup too. He felt a little bad for using it since his own wasn’t washed yet, but now he felt worse.

“Reigen-san? Are you okay?” Serizawa asked in concern as he perked up to see what had happened.

“Nothing, just a little accident. I’ll be cleaning it up now.” He replied immediately, though his heart began to sink further.

The feeling that something bad was happening right now began to settle in his heart. It was something he had been feeling since the start of the day, since he woke up and realized that Mob was confessing soon. He thought it was him being emotional over his student’s growth, or ugly jealousies that he might be left alone when Mob began to spend more time with his girlfriend than him. With his normal life than him.

So, Reigen pushed the feeling aside. After all, he should feel good for Mob, right? He was growing into a grown man, after all this time. And a part of it, even if it was small or big, was because of Reigen. He should feel proud of his student’s accomplishment, right?

Something in him told him that wasn’t the case.

Reigen liked to believe that Serizawa felt it too, the sinking feeling that he felt when he thought of Mob. That’s why he had been so quiet today and barely made any progress on his work at all, despite staring at the same page for more than half an hour.

And now…it was like a bad omen. Despite being a self-proclaimed spiritual expert, Reigen didn’t believe in omens or prophetic signs. It seemed ridiculous, considering how more than half of the reported ‘bad omen’ he received from his clients were them thinking too much, and another part of them being spirits who were too bored and decided to cause some ruckus.

But this…

Ring ring

Not even a moment passed after Reigen stared thoughtfully at the broken cup, his phone began to ring.

With a shared glance with Serizawa, Reigen answered the call while the employee took on the job of the janitor. Someone needed to clean up the mess, after all.

“Yes? This is Reigen Arataka from Spirit and Such, so if you call just to-“

“Reigen-san! Somethin- Something bad happened!” The voice of Kageyama Ritsu cut him off and- yeah, something bad must have happened to make this kid stutter. And Ritsu even called him. Him , Reigen Arataka, was called by Kageyama Ritsu , his number one hater . Yeesh.

“What is it?” For once, Reigen decided not to play around and answered him seriously. The kid sounded awfully out of breath, and shockingly enough, even hyperventing. Whatever it was that was happening, it must be awful . And he could only hope that the awful thing didn’t involve Mob-

“Nii-san- he- he-“  The kid breathed out before beginning to sob. It was like a slap to his face, a painful reminder that despite his psychic power and smartass sass, this kid was fucking thirdteen.

“Nii-san was hit by a car!” 

Kageyama Ritsu choked out the words, as if they were actively killing him from the inside. 

“He- he is in a coma right now!”  

Reigen’s phone dropped the moment the boy finished his sentence.

.

.

.

::

The journey to the room where Kageyama ‘Mob’ Shigeo resided was as painful as it was fifteen minutes ago while they were traveling to the hospital itself. 

Everything felt painfully slow, and his head itself even felt painfully slow.

Everything felt so numb, and he couldn’t quite register anything despite his legs moving so fast that he almost bumped into several nurses and doctors, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t afford to care. His student was in a coma and the only thing he could do was to run-

Serizawa was several paces behind him, and although he looked equally as pale and worried, he was conscious enough to apologize to the staff they passed rather rudely. He had to thank him for that later.

Finally, fucking finally , they arrived at the room labeled as ‘Kageyama Shigeo’. Reigen didn’t even knock before he barged in.

The inside of the room was as depressing as he subconsciously expected. Mister Kageyama was standing behind a devastated Misses Kageyama while having a supporting and grounding hand on her shoulder. Ritsu, looking more calmed down than he was on the phone, was sitting beside his sobbing mother while hugging her, offering her his own support while looking at his brother’s unmoving form with his bloodshot red eyes. He looked like he was crying himself, too.

And Mob- Mob looked awful.

His face was pale, so pale that Reigen feared that he was actually dead. He had a bandage wrapped like a mocking crown on his black charcoal hair. His chest, mercifully enough, was moving up and down. He was breathing- that was all Reigen could have hoped for at the moment.

With his adrenaline running off, his weak knees buckled under his weight. Reigen staggered and fall onto his rear. Mob was breathing, Mob was alive.

“Reigen-san!” Serizawa called in alarm as he catched him before his arms too, giving away their strength. It was then that the family finally noticed him.

“Ah, Reigen-kun…and Serizawa-kun, was it?” Mr.Kageyama acknowledged them, though he looked more tired than Reigen had ever met him. There were dark spots under his eyes, he looked awful. “I’m…glad that you come…Shigeo…he…needs you most in times like these….” He said, though each word was spoken more and more quieter. Eventually, he sighed and moved another hand to place it on his face tiredly. 

“I’m sorry…” The middle aged man said remorsefully. “It has been hard for me…for us. Please, feel free to hang around though.” He gestured around the room, where there was a sofa and a few more chairs sitting around.

Serizawa pulled him up and dragged both of them to the sofa. “What…happened? If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”

Of course Serizawa was curious. After all, Mob was one of the, if not the , strongest esper he had ever known. And that person, someone who had managed to defeat his boss and lifted up buildings as if they were nothing , was now laying on the pristine while sheet of the hospital because he was hit by a fucking car , of all things.

“A kid…was about to be hit. That was what I heard.” Ritsu was the one who answered in a sullen quiet tone. It didn't fit him. “The driver…was sleepy, and he didn't realize that there was a kid crossing the road with his ears plucked…Nii-san saw that, and he-...”

Of course Mob had done that. Of course his fool of a student was selfless enough to get in the harm way for a kid he didn’t know and ended up in a fucking coma . Reigen wanted to yell and praise the kid at the same time, but it was impossible now, since he couldn't hear him. Not with his bedridden form and unconscious mind. 

Mob wasn’t here now, and he couldn't hear Reigen even if he yelled at him beside his ear. He wasn’t here now, but he hoped he would be…no, he will be. Mob was strong. Not because of his power, but because of his kind and determined heart. He will be okay.

“...The doctor said he would be waking up, though. We just…don’t know when.” Ritsu continued, but he sounded like he was telling himself that more than anyone else, let alone Reigen. “But he will be. It might be tomorrow, it might be next week. Hell , it might be next month, but he’ll be okay. Nii-san will be fine. After all, Nii-san is strong!”

Reigen couldn't help but smile at that, despite the situation. After all, he couldn't disagree. 

“Yeah…yeah, I know.” He replied quietly.

They were sitting in silence long after that. There was a few visits from the nurses, but not long after, they were ushered out of the hospital room, the nurse claiming that it had passed the time.

Reigen left. Reluctantly so.

Somehow, the sinking feeling was still there.

Three weeks had passed since Kageyama had been in a coma, and it was starting to kill all of them inside.

The doctor had said with a bewildered, helpless face that Kagayama should have awoken by now, despite his serious injuries.

Teruki himself was informed about Kageyama's condition the day after the accident. Of course he was panicking then. Hell, he even flew here just to arrive as soon as possible, only to find out that he was useless here, somewhere that wasn't a battlefield.

(Kageyama was right all along, Teru was painfully reminded of that once again. Psychic power could help you with nothing in your daily life. Even when your friend was on the verge of dying in front of you, you are useless.)

Days passed. People came and left Kageyama’s patient room. Teru was astounded and impressed when he realized how many friends Kageyama had made in a single year. He even managed to talk with some of them enough to know that they were good people -the interaction with the Body Improvement Club was a bit awkward, but it went smoothly (mostly)- even if that earplug guy was a bit of an asshole. But the guy reminded him a bit of Little Brother-kun when he was pissed -which really wasn't that rare- so he decided not to judge him for it. Teruki himself was, and still is sometimes really, an asshole once too, after all.

But days became weeks and it was beginning to be overwhelmingly painful. School was like a pastime thing that he really didn't pay much attention to. Immediately after the school ended, he would went straight to the hospital and stayed there until he was ushered out of the room along with Reigen and Serizawa while Ritsu and his parents got the privilege of being Kageyama’s family, which wasn't fair in his opinion.

It was like he was in the dark again, Teruki decided. It was painful, being unable to do anything for his friend, his first real friend, like this.

Be an enemy, sure , let them come and Teru could cut them down. Spirits? Sure, easy. Adult espers? No big deal? God? Let them come, and as long as they were tangible, he could harm them in some way shape or form.

(Hell, even if that something wasn't tangible, Teru was sure he could somehow make the attack work.)

But it wasn’t. It wasn’t something he could have just blown away, since the thing harming his friend were his injuries, his own body! How could he-

…wait

Teru paused in his tracks when a thought hit him. He took a glance at Kageyama’s pale, but more healthy face. (At least he didn't look so dead any more.) It was like he was sleeping, and not really in a coma. Even the doctor said so. Kageyama was out of the coma long ago, and now he is quite steady. The only problem was that he just didn't wake up. So if the problem didn't involve his injuries then…

Teru let his aura flared a bit as he observed Kageyama’s own reaction. There was none. None . 

In the room right now, there were only him and Little Brother-kun. How convenient. Little Brother-kun had already perked up with interest, sensing his flaring aura.

“What are you doing, Hanazawa?” Little Brother-kun growled. “I swear, if you do anything funny…”

Teruki almost laughed at his obvious protectiveness for his brother. Honestly, this guy… “I’m not trying anything, Little Brother-kun.” There was a light twitch on his brow when he was called that, as always. “I was just testing something.” The blonde said as he pulled back his power.

Ritsu raised an eyebrow. “Test what?”

Teru smiled, but it was grim and he knew it. “Try extending your aura and watch.”

There was a moment of silence as Ritsu and Teru just stared at each other. In the end, Ritsu gave in and flared his violet-blue aura. It looked like his older brother’s, sans the colors and the power behind it. No wonder the brothers were so close to each other…

A second or two passed before Ritsu pulled back his aura as well with a frown on his face. “There was… nothing.” The boy said slowly. The cogs in his head were turning, and Teru waited patiently. Eventually, his eyes widened. “There was…nothing! How?!” He blurted out incredulously as he flared his aura once again, this time looking much more closely at his brother’s prone form. “There’s no way Nii-san’s aura can just…disappear just like that! It never happened before, not even in his sleep! Maybe it’s because he’s unconscious and not sleeping…?” He sounded unsure.

Teru nodded, glad that he wasn't the only one who noticed the fact. “True. But even when unconscious, there has to be something. It’s almost like…it’s almost like Kageyama-kun is dead- In the psychological sense, of course!” The blonde added hurriedly when the frown on the younger boy’s face turned into a scowl directed towards him. “It’s not like this even with normal people -every living being has their aura, however weak they are- It’s like- something locked his aura away.”

Thankfully enough, the scowl on Ritsu’s face turned into a thoughtful frown once again, and Teru knew he had just survived death itself. “Maybe you’re right…I haven't had this power as long as you do, so I’m trusting you with this.” The younger boy admitted. “But in the end, that was just a theory. How can we confirm that thought?”

Teruki mulled over that for a moment.

“I’m…not really sure myself. Maybe we can ask Serizawa-san? He’s an adult, after all. He might know something more than us.”

Ritsu sighed as if he experienced that answer from him. “Yeah, right.” 

There was a moment of silence before Ritsu spoke up once again.

“...But what do you think about asking a telepath about this?”

Teru blinked.

“What?”

Apparently, the Earplug Guy was a telepath, and Teru didn't even notice it.

“You want me…to look into Kageyama’s mind?” Takenaka Momozo asked incredulously one afternoon after Little Brother-kun personally invited him to Kageyama’s patient room. “For…what again?”

“We think something might be happening with his psyche right now that makes him unable to wake up.” Ritsu explained politely, as he always was with everyone that weren’t Reigen Arataka and Teru himself. And that Suzuki kid. He was as much of a victim as them all. “We want to know the cause of it. Or at least, if that was the case at all.”

Takenaka hummed in response as Ritsu asked. “Do you think you can do that?”

“I might…” The telepath admitted thoughtfully. “Though I might need a lot of control to do this. I don’t usually look into people’s minds anymore, you know. Let alone the unconscious ones.” 

“We will get what we can.” Teru piped in. “Any help right now is appreciated.”

Takenaka looked both of them in the eyes, and Teru felt his shoulders tense. Ritsu was the same. The both of them were subtle to some degree, but Teru doubted that subtlety was in any use in the face of a literal telepath. 

After a moment, the telepath sighed. “Alright, I’m on with this.”

At his agreement, both boys lightened up like a pair of light bulbs, which made Takenaka sighed again. “Don’t be so optimistic. It’s not guaranteed that I’ll be able to find anything at all, let alone cure…whatever is happening to Kageyama right now, so don’t put your hopes up.”

“Of course not.” Teruki promised quickly. “As I said, any help is much appreciated.”

“Right…” Takenaka agreed. “Then clear the room. I need silence.”

To say that the people in the room was surprised by this development was not an overstatement. After all, he and Ritsu told no one about the mind reading plan they had made.

“Oi, kids. Are you sure this is a good idea?” Reigen hissed as they were pulling out of the room. Today, there were only him, Ritsu, Reigen, and Takenaka here. The Kagayama couple had work, as any respectable adults would, while Reigen made Serizawa look over his office to come here. 

Reigen looked awful, to say the least. He looked like he hadn't slept for more than three days straight, and his hair was a mess. Honestly, the only reason that he had eaten at was because Serizawa had been adamant on that fact. The man was probably the only reason Reigen had taken baths and shaved at all. 

“Of course we do.” Ritsu scoffed. “Takenaka-senpai is real. You said it yourself that you had seen what he was capable of. Just think of it as an examination.”

“Sure…” Reigen said, but he still looked doubtful. Teru couldn't blame him for that, he had his doubts somewhere in his heart too. But right now, this was one of the little things he could have done for Kageyama…

To say that this experience would be new for Takenaka was an understatement. Honestly, look into another esper’s unconscious mind? He hadn't even looked into another esper’s mond before!

Sighing, he combed an exasperated hand through his hair. Even though he was starting to regret it now, he already gave his words. Everyone needs a first try, right?

Looking at the sleeping form of Kageyama Shigeo one last time, Takenaka unplugged his ears and extended his hands out. Here it goes…

Blue bubbles that were the manifestation of his power began to surround Kageyama. Takenaka rarely used his power in this form at all, mostly because there was no reason to. The last time he had used it was when they were communicating with the aliens….

The boy closed his eyes, intending to use as much concentration as he could. Honestly, he lied to three people outside of the room. He needed silence, sure, but with the amount of thoughts pouring into his head right now, the three males’ presence wouldn’t make any difference. Except they straight up attacked him while he was concentrating, of course, but Takenaka doubted that would be the case.

The reason he sent all of them off was because he didn’t want any of them to see his failure, just in case. 

As the power surrounding him floated more and more, like bubbles foaming from the bottom of the sea, Takenaka’s mind began to shift.

His mind's eyes began to open, and soon he was in the middle of a deserted land. 

Takenaka looked around the place. The ground of the land was as white as snow, with pale trees and harrowing cliffs decorating it. The sky was that of a mystic dark galaxy.

Takenaka felt himself swallowing a bit. This wasn't something he expected to see in Kageyama’s mindscape. He was expecting… no, he didn't expect anything. Thinking about it, this place was probably fitting for Kageyama. After all, with his immense power and mysterious(?) nature, he couldn't imagine anything too different from a barren yet massive place as this.

But something…something about this place was beyond him. Not even other people’s mindscapes gave him this impression. Just what resided here?

“Me, of course.”

Takenaka jumped before whirling around. Behind him, a pale figure stood. 

You are…Kageyama? He didn't intend for his telepathy voice to come out like a question, but he could do nothing about it now.

“Of course. Who else can be here? I am Kageyama Shigeo.” The figure, ‘Kageyama Shigeo’ replied in a familiar yet foreign monotone voice.

Something wasn't right, Takenaka thought. 

There was no wind between the two of them, yet Kageyama’s white hair rustled like snow, the same color as his dead pale eyes and bleached uniform. That was one. 

And then there was his face- or the lack of one. His whole body was made out of a white line, it seemed. There was no solid form, only a single line curling into the shape of a boy with the face of Kageyama. Takenaka could even look through his face and see the scenery behind him. That was two.

And then, there was the fact that he shouldn’t be here . That was a massive three.

A person shouldn't know what was happening in their mind, let only manifesting in their own mind. That’s against everything Takenaka had known about mind-walking. Was this because Kageyama was a psychic?

“It sure was.” The other boy replied, and to Takenaka’s dismay, surprising him.

That was another thing, the telepath thought. Takenaka was supposed to be the one reading his mind, not the other way around.

“That was because you’re in my mind.” Once again, ‘Kageyama’ answered him before he could actually say anything. “You’re not supposed to be here. You’re an outsider. I’m supposed to be here. It’s as easy as that.”

Takenaka narrowed his eyes. Why are you telling me that? He asked, intentionally this time. You don’t sound like Kageyama, so what are you?

That was the last thing on his long list of bleached-Kageyama’s oddities. The boy looked like and sounded like him at first glance -the nobody appearance and monotonous voice- but if one watched closer into his facial expression and tone, Takenaka could easily tell that this being -entity- was not Kageyama. 

Kageyama was quiet, sure, but he was not empty. Kageyama was good at controlling his expressions, sure, but he was not expressionless. Unlike this thing in front of him right now.

This time, it was the being’s turn to narrow his -its- eyes. “I am Kageyama Shigeo.” It stated firmly. “You’re just blind for not seeing that.”

That is not something Kageyama would say. Takenaka retorted back because, honestly, Kageyama was too polite and naive to even conjure an intentional sarcastic comment like that.

The being gritted its teeth, and Takenaka was mildly surprised by how fast his expression changed. Right now, the empty face morphed into an angry, vengeful face. Sure, it wasn’t that hostile yet, but it was clear that the being wearing Kageyama’s face wasn’t trying to hide his displeasure at all. Another difference to the real Kageyama.

That was probably a wrong thought to have, since the fake-Kageyama’s face turned into an open rage. “Stop calling me a fake! ” It growled. “ He is the fake !”

Before Takenaka could even register what the being had said, the pale boy raised one of his hands and pointed it at him.

“It seems that you’re here for far too long, Takenaka -san .” It spit the honorific on his name like it was a cursed word. 

“Now go back. And don’t return.”

When Takenaka Momozo opened his eyes again, he was in front of Kageyama’s bedridden form once again.

When the patient room was opened, the group of three immediately went over from the respective parts of the wall they were leading on to the telepath coming out of it.

“How was the process, Takenaka-senpai?” Ritsu asked first, because it had been a mildly antagonizing ten minutes, waiting for someone else to return from examining his brother. It reminded him too much of the time they were waiting in front 

of the ICU, waiting for the doctors and nurses- for someone to tell him and his family that his brother was fine and that his brother would be alive. Ritsu hated it.

“Well…” The senior esper frowned, looking like he was asking himself that as well. “I did manage to get inside, and I’m sure there’s something wrong with Kageyama’s mind, but for what… I really don’t know. Sorry about that.”

Teru-san was already shaking his head in understanding. “You don’t have to worry about that. We’ll find our way. But if you mind me asking, what did you see in there…?” 

A valid question in Ritsu’s opinion. Though he knew that it was a bit of an invasion of privacy, he wanted to know exactly how bad it was in his brother’s inner mind.

Takenaka-senpai looked around for a bit, and although there were no people in the hall at all, he still ushered all of them back into the patient room. “I don’t wanna risk it.” He said, and Ritsu could accept that. After all, speaking in the hallway was a bit awkward, after all.

“So…” Ritsu said as soon as all of them were inside again.

“Well…first off, I went into his mindscape -the manifestation of his mind of sorts- and found myself in a deserted place where the sky was a dark galaxy.” When met with their dumbfounded look, Takenaka just shrugged and moved on. “You don’t have to understand that. The thing is I met someone there. Someone…or something, wearing Kageyama’s face.”

Ritsu raised an eyebrow. “Nii-san’s face? Why? And how do you know it’s not him anyway?”

Takenaka-senpai sent him a deadpan look, but Ritsu didn’t faze under his eyes. “Well, first of all he was white. Like, white, white. His eyes were white, his hair was white- hell, his gakuran was white. The only thing that wasn’t white was his skin- it was transparent.” 

Reigen’s eyes twitched. “Transparent skin?” He looked doubtful.

The telepath just shrugged. “It’s hard to explain. People’s minds are just weird sometimes.” He said, before narrowing his eyes in a more serious manner. “But that’s the point. People’s minds are weird, but not this weird. There’s a pattern, you know? And unless it’s because Kageyama’s an esper, there’s not supposed to be him in there at all.” 

Teru-san raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know how espers’ minds work? How?” Ritsu almost facepalmed at the question.

Takenaka-senpai glared at him, unimpressed. “If you’re not counting the fact that I had never met any espers before I met the Kageyama brothers and those twins less than a month ago and I rarely ever go into people’s minds, like, at all, then no. There’s no reason for that question at all.” The telepath replied, and Ritsu had to marvel at how well he kept his tone as mockingly dead as that.

“Ouch, but touché.” The blonde smiled sheepishly, as he should. “Want to continue?”

The telepath just nodded before launching into a summarized version of his weird feelings towards the being and the conversation they had had.

“It’s like the thing really believe it’s Kageyama.” Takenaka said with a frown. “I don’t know much about these spirits or possession stuff, but do you think it’s one?”

Teru-san replied with a thoughtful frown of his own. “I don’t know…that seems weird, even for spirits. Possession just doesn’t work like that. What do you think, Reigen-san?” 

Reigen was already shaking his head. “Nah. Don’t think so either. Usually spirits just harm people from the outside, or outright brainwash them, I think. That time when we encountered possession was with Mogami Teiji, but that was…still different.

Teruki hummed before turning to Ritsu himself, who was still silently thinking. “And you? Little Brother-kun?…Little Brother-kun?”

When he received no reply from Ritsu, Teruki began to worry, which to Ritsu, was entirely unfounded. 

“I was just thinking…” Ritsu started, and hand tapped his chin thoughtfully. “But maybe that being was…”

Ritsu didn’t continue that thought out loud, which bewildered the rest a bit. 

“Forget it.” He said, leaving no room for an argument. “Let’s just find a way to know what exactly does that mean.”

“And how are you going to do that, hm?” Reigen asked, and Ritsu was once again reminded that he existed at all, which was unfortunate. “You don’t know what you’re gonna do next either, no?”

As if sensing Ritsu’s growing irritation towards the man, Teru-san butted in. It was one of these times that Ritsu could actually appreciate the older boy’s presence. “Actually, Reigen-san. We were about to ask Serizawa-san about this too. After all, he worked with other espers before, and he’s older than us, so maybe he knows something about this. Or at least, he might know someone who’s an expert.” 

Reigen hummed in acknowledgement while Takenaka-senpai raised an eyebrow. “Wait, Serizawa? That’s the guy who came with him, right?” He asked, pointing his thumb rather rudely towards Reigen. The man’s eyebrow twitched. “He’s an esper too? …Damn, are you guys surrounded by espers or something?”

“Yeah…probably.” Reigen grumbled. “Even right now, I’m surrounded by espers.

There was a short moment of silence as Takenaka-senpai turned to point questioningly at Teru-san, of which the blonde nodded. 

The deadpan look returned to Takenaka’s face. “Are espers really this common?” He asked no one in particular.

“You are an esper.” Teruki pointed out teasingly.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Takenaka rolled his eyes.

“We better go out now if we want to be at Spirit and Such before the evening.” Ritsu reminded them, glancing at the clock on the far wall. “It’s not that far away, but it’s not close either.” He said, which was agreed by the others.

“Then let’s go.” The telepath said as he began to walk to the door.

“Wait, you’re going too?” Reigen asked, a bit surprised.

Takenaka-senpai scoffed. “Of course I will. I already came this far in, I’m seeing this through.” He said, gesturing for all of them to move out already. “Besides, I’m curious. What exactly is happening to Kageyama’s psyche? I want to know.” He paused, before glancing at each of them, suddenly looking a bit self conscious. “Or is that too much…?” 

Teru-san and Rengen looked at him, and Ritsu had to have an embarrassingly long moment to realize that they were making him the one to answer. 

Ritsu cleared his throat a bit. “Of course, it’s okay. After all, having more brains and hands in this is better than the alternative.”

Takenaka nodded, and they began their walk to Spirit and Such. 

They arrived at the office with no incident, which was fortunate. Ritsu doubted he could handle more stress than he was already feeling.

Serizawa-san was there, sending a client off. The client looked happy and pleased, which means that Serizawa-san was getting a lot better at his job, which was a pleasant and concerning development at the same time. After all, he liked Serizawa well enough, and the last thing Ritsu wanted was another Reigen Arataka.

“Of, Reigen-san, you’re back. And Kageyama-kun and Hanazawa-kun, welcome,” Serizawa greeted them the moment he noticed them, before turning to Takenaka-senpai. “And you…”

The telepath bowed a bit. The movement was a bit awkward, but Ritsu could see the effort to be polite. “My name’s Takenaka Momozo…Nice to meet you?” Somehow, the introduction became a question. Serizawa-san didn’t seem to mind though. He only nodded and bowed a little in response too.

“Serizawa Katsuya, I am..uh..an employee here.” He introduced himself, equally awkward at talking to strangers as the middle schooler was. 

Seeing that no one else was going to talk, Reigen cleared his throat. “Ahem- oh well- Serizawa, we have something to ask you.” The man said as he gestured at the Takenaka-senpai with ridiculously wild hand movements of his. “This boy here is a telepath, and we have something to ask you.

Serizawa blinked, a constantly appearing nervous sweat on his face.

“Yes?”

Explaining things to Serizawa wasn’t as hard as they expected it to be. It seemed that Teruki’s prediction was correct and Serizawa was, indeed, experianced in these kinds of fields.

“I see… so you’re trying to look directly into Kageyama-kun’s mind, right? And the outcome was a bit…”

“Questionable, yeah.” Takenaka admitted.

“Do you know something about this, Serizawa?” Reigen asked hopefully. “Or at least, someone who knows?”

“Well…” The eldest esper in the place tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Mind walking, or telepathy in general, isn’t exactly my field of expertise-” When he saw their disappointed faces, he immediately added. “B-b-but!! I may know someone who can help us with this?”

“You do?” Ritsu found himself becoming hopeful once again.

Serizawa-san nodded. “Yes. But I think that today is a bit too late for us to meet him…” He replied regretfully, looking at the time. “And I have to go to school too. I am actually getting late…”

“I see…” Reigen deflated. “Sorry for holding you back, Serizawa.”

“T-there’s no need for that, Reigen-san!!” The esper told him with flailing hands. “Plus!! This friend of mine actually goes to the same school as me! So I can ask if he can meet us tomorrow, you know?”

“That…actually convenient.” Teruki nodded. “Thank you, Serizawa-san.”

It was convenient. But Ritsu was still unsure.

“Who is this friend of yours, Serizawa-san?” He found himself asking. “Is he an esper too?”

“Y-yeah…something like that.” The man replied as he rubbed the back of head, a nervous thick. “He’s a lot younger than me, but we’ve known each other for a long time now via online communication. That’s how I know he’s trustworthy. He was actually the one who recommended to me the school we’re attending when I asked.”

“I see…” That actually didn't help much, and Ritsu was a bit doubtful when Serizawa said that that guy was ‘trustworthy’. Serizawa-san was a bit…well, pure hearted, after all. But at least Ritsu knew that this stranger was an esper now. He could prepare if something happened…

It was hard trying to sleep lately, Ritsu thought. 

Shigeo had always been here, in their home, while he slept. His brother had never gone over to a friend’s house before, which was kind of sad, but it also cemented the fact that right now, the only time that Shigeo wasn’t home in the evening for the first time, was the time where he was admitted into the hospital. 

Eventually, Ritsu gave up. 

He got out of his bed and headed towards his brother’s room.

It was empty. Deserted. Only a folded futon, a closet, a desk and a chair, as well as a few belongings were in sight. There was no personality, no life in the room. It didn’t look like a teenager’s room at all.

It was sad, just looking at where his brother resided. Both because the one usually occupying the room was not there, and because the atmosphere in the room in general. Shigeo’s room used to be much more lively when they were younger until that…incident happened.

The thought of the incident once again brought a sullen frown to Ritsu’s face. Everything about it brought him bad memories. From what had happened then, what his reaction afterward had been, and what their relationship had become because of said reaction.

At least that last thing was fixed…somewhat. He and Shigeo talked much more now after the incident with the Seventh Division, but still… Ritsu had talked openly about what he felt, and Shigeo did too, but something felt…left out. It was like Shigeo didn't mention one important detail that had affected both of their lives.

This room was probably the obvious evidence concerning that important detail. Ritsu hated it here. It reminds him of the lack of emotion on his brother’s face. It shouldn't be like this. This place looked like a prison. His brother, he…

As Ritsu’s thoughts wandered, he was unintentionally walking around the room aimlessly. His hands reached for some of Shigeo’s belongings. The futon, the unfinished homework, and even opening the closet. He didn’t even know what he was looking for. Something to tell him more about Shigeo? The answer to his questions? 

Ritsu looked up and was surprised to see a scarlet red box sitting innocuously on the shelf in the closet. It looked suspiciously like the box Shigeo had had when they were kids, the one where he used to keep his important items. Like gifts, memorials…

Ritsu thought Shigeo had already got rid of it.

So, slowly, Ritsu used his powers to bring the red box into his hands. It was dusty, so he doubted Shigeo had even touched it in years. And it was light , like it barely contained anything at all. But there was something in there. A single item that Shigeo had kept in the corner of his room.

Curious, Ritsu thought about opening it. But when he was about to reach out and unlock the box, he paused. Should he…? This thing seemed personal…

(Ritsu neglected to consider that having a telepath walking in Shigeo's mind was an invasion of privacy too. This was different, probably.)

Sighing, Ritsu put the box back to where it was. After all, his brother might be mad if he knew that Ritsu secretly looked into his things without asking more than necessary. 

His journey to his brother’s room was probably too much for the day, so Ritsu decided to return to his room. 

After all, tomorrow he had an appointment to be at.

“…Is it really here?” Reigen asked nervously as all of them gathered in front of a brown building they had arrived at.

“Yes, this should be the place.” Serizawa confirmed as he looked at the note in his hand. “I’m sure.”

“But isn't this an animation studio?!” He asked incredulously.

Indeed. The building in front of them was that of the ‘Jones’ studio who had made countless amounts of animations, aka ‘anime’, to the public eyes. That included ‘Your Hero Academia’ as well as ‘Bungo Stray Cats’, all famous stories. Teru had actually watched ‘Full-leather Alchemist’ himself. It was a good series, especially when the protagonist was blonde like himself.

“This isn’t the first time I’m here, Reigen-san. This friend of mine actually asked me to exercise the spirit of a dead otaku who was so mad that ‘Jones’ didn’t continue to animate ‘Broke-ragami’ that he decided to haunted this place. It was…quite an experience, I have to say.” Serizawa said with a nervous laugh, but at least that means they really come to the right place.

“And what should we do next? Waltz in there?” Takenaka-kun asked, a little bit excitedly. Teruki wasn’t quite sure if he should be worried by the fact that the telepath was prepared to unplug his ears at any moment. Teru sweatdropped. The boy wasn’t intending to spoil himself in the latest anime episode, was he?

“Uh- no, no. The building doesn’t allow outsiders to go in, so my friend will be meeting us here.” Serizawa replied apologetically. Takenaka deflated like a balloon and placed his earphones back to where they were. 

“What’s his name? This friend of yours, I mean.” Ritsu asked up.

“Oh…I didn’t tell you yet, did I? Well, his name’s Somen Shirazu. He prefers to be called Shirazu though.”

“Somen…Shirazu…” Somehow, the pictures of small fishes and cold noodles came into his mind, but Teruki immediately shook that thought away. The name was making him hungry, especially when he didn't eat his breakfast before coming here. Somen actually sounded like a good lunch…

“He should be around here now though, but where…” Serizawa looked around for a bit before his eyes landed on a figure not too far away, already walking towards them. “Oh, there!”

Teruki observed the approaching young man with obvious interest. He was around his early twenties, with thick sunglasses and tied shoulder length black hair. He looked casual, with a dark turtleneck top, a pair of jeans, and a bored face. In his mouth was a stick of candy. Huh… 

“Yo, Seri-san!” The man, Somen Shirazu, greeted Serizawa-san casually. “These are the guys you were talking about?” He asked, gesturing at them with a tilt of his head. 

“That’s right, Shirazu-kun.” Serizawa-san replied with a small smile. He looked more relaxed than he was two minutes ago when they just arrived. “I’m glad you can squeeze out some time for us. I know being an animator must be busy.” The elder esper apologized, but Shirazu-san had already waved his hand dismissively.

“No problem. It’s not like the manager can stop me, anyway. I’m too good for that.” The raven haired man said, rather haughtily. “And? Do you have any place in mind where we can talk?”

“No, not really.” It was Reigen who replied. “We don't usually come to this part of the town, you know.”

“Huh, is that so?” Shirazu shrugged. “Well, let’s go somewhere easy then…What do you think about Moonbucks?”

“I…don’t really think that’s a good idea.” Ritsu interjected. “I don’t know how much Serizawa-san told you, but we’re talking about my brother’s psychology here. I’d rather choose somewhere more…private.”

Straight to the point as always.

Shirazu stared at him blankly for a moment before shrugging. “Sure, why not?”

It was short, but it almost felt like they had just…passed a test. 

So this guy was playing a mind game then. A quick glance with Takenaka told him that he wasn't the only one who felt it. He doubted Ritsu wouldn’t notice it at this point. 

“We can go to my home.” Shirazu continued as if nothing just happened -which was probably true for some of them. “It’s private and safe. I can guarantee that. And if you don’t believe me…” He turned to Takenaka, who shifted under his shaded glasses. “Why don’t you read my mind, then?”

The telepath tensed. “How did you know?” He asked quietly. A bit too quietly. Teru wanted to know the answer to that question too.

“One, Seri-san told me about a telepath who was helping with this case.” The man replied, leading forward to whisper into his ears. It was enough to prevent other people around them not to hear their conversation, but Teru was close enough to catch the glimpse of it. “Two, you might be able to hide your powers to ordinary people and other espers, but not other telepaths, kid. You know what I’m talking about.”

It was barely visible, but Takenaka gulped before nodding stiffly. Shirazu took that as a reply and leaned back to where he was and took them to where his home was.

It was an ordinary apartment. It seemed that the animator was the only one who lived there, too. There were pictures and papers loitering around the floor and the shelves. The room was so messy that he could catch Ritsu physically restraining himself not to use his power to rearrange everything. The poor perfectionist must have hated it here.

Eventually, they left the dumpster that was the living room into a much more organized room. It looked like the main bedroom that was reorganized to function as a hobby room with many types of things. And by many things, Teru means various things . There was a lone camera off to the side, a collection of books, fake flowers, mementos, figurines, even instruments. There was no way for him to tell what this room was for, except for a single wall that was suspiciously bare of any type of decorations at all and a sofa placed to look at it. 

“This is…my movie room.” Shirazu announced as soon as all of them piled into the room. “From what Seri-san said, I think that what I do to this room will help with your case.”

Reigen looked around a bit, as the rest of them did. “There’s no projector though. How is this supposed to be a movie room?”

The animator scoffed. “I’m an esper . Not just any type of esper, but I’m a special telepath. Do you really think that I need something like a projector to watch things?”

Ignoring their bewildered looks, Shirazu walked over to a…red rose on a black ribbon?

He picked it up, before channeling some of his aura into it. It was black and white, like a movie tape.

He then returned to the sofa in the middle of the room, where a small table stood. Shirazu placed the item on it before moving away.

The item began to glow and projected something onto the far wall, surprising them. 

Apparently the light was too bright right then, making Shirazu’s eyebrow twitch as he began to command something on the projecting item. “Oi, one of you.” He called. “Close the lights.”

Shrugging, Teruki obeyed the order and used his own power to force the switch to turn off.

As soon as the light was gone, the picture on the wall became clear. It was a picture of…three tanned hands and pink clothes?

Shirazu snapped his fingers, and the picture bagan to move and sounds began to pool into their heads.

It was…a song?

“Dat dat-da dat dat-da~” The sound of the girls and a guy singing went along with the moving fingers before it showed that apparently, the three girls weren’t exactly girls at all…probably. It was hard to tell. But they got mustaches and beards and all…so it was obvious, right?

“Fucking bullshit fucking bullshit. Holy shit, oh fucker,”

Teru stared blankly at the projected wall.

“Fucking bullshit fucking bullshit, goddamn bullshit,”

Ritsu glared at the unfolding scene with disgust.

“Son of a bitch, what the hell?”

Reigen looked like he was about to say something, but it only left his mouth hanging open.

“Oh motherfucker, goddamn bullshit, holy shit,”

Takenaka lost control of himself and began laughing uncontrollably.

“Oh, holy shit, bullshit, goddamn motherfucker,”

“Mother fucker~”

Serizawa just looked confused.

“Oh fucking bastard, goddamn. Fucking shit!”

Shirazu just looked proud of himself.

“Son of a motherfucking bitch,”

“OH SHIT!”

And the clip just ended, just like that.

There was a moment of long silence taking over the room. Except for Takenaka who was still laughing hysterically and Serizawa who whipped his head around, unsure of the reason behind the weird reactions of his companions. (Serizawa was still learning English, after all. Good for him.)

“Uhhhh,” He tried finding an appropriate sentence to say. “That was…a good song?”

Takenaka burst out into another fit of laughter while Reigen appeared to recompose himself. Unfortunately unsuccessfully so.

“Well, let us not…talk about the content of that…song, for now.” He offered as he held back Ritsu from doing something wrathful. Huh. Little Brother-kun could actually kill someone with that look on his face. Or at least, make them ashamed for the rest of their lives. “Could you explain…what had happened just now?

“Oh well,” Shirazu started, his face returning to its controlled state it was before. “That was one of the things I call ‘White Boxes’, ya know. They are memorials from a person, empowered by my aura of course, that showed you the memories of the person in a specific…style.” The young man explained before using his aura to rewind the video. Apparently the story was about two girls following their dreams of musical pursuits. They looked happy and sad throughout the quick rewind. Some of the parts weren’t even realistic. It looked like an…

“An anime?” Teruki pointed out loud. 

Sure enough, Shirazu paused the video. And when it started again, a more…appropriate song was played alongside the two girls from before, both dancing and wandering throughout it all. It was like an anime opening, to say the least.

“Yep.” Shirazu confirmed. “My powers…power…is quite specific . I can only watch people’s memories and problems through the memorials they once held. It’s quite fun. The only thing that wasn’t…well, was probably the process of gaining the White Boxes.” The animator britled. “Those are hard.”

“Wait, that means you can just…watch other people’s memories…just like that?” Takenaka-kun asked, finally snapping out of his laughing fit.

“Well, there are minor details, but yes I can.” Shirazu shrugged. 

“Why exactly are you showing us this, then?” Ritsu asked, politeness laced with steel. “Are you suggesting that we should…watch my brother’s memories?”

“Exactly!” Shirazu snapped his fingers as he said that. 

“But why?”

“Because…” The animator drawled. “To know someone’s problem, you have to know the cause. And to know the cause, you need to know someone's history. And to know someone’s history…you got me.” 

“I don’t know…don’t you think there’s some other way?” Teru asked, rubbing the back of his head a bit. “That seems…intrusive.” Incredibly so. He wouldn't want anyone to see him in the past. Especially that incident… Teruki almost bristled.

Shirazu huffed. “Of course there is. But it’s not like you know it, right?” Silence answered him, and he continued. “Look, whatever you saw was definitely a long term problem. I’ve seen several people’s minds to know that there’s issues there.” The man stressed the word ‘issues’ as if he was talking to a bunch of children, which to be fair, he wasn’t all that wrong. “Besides, it will be fun. I promise.”

“ Fun? ” Ritsu asked dubiously. 

“Yep, fun.” The animator confirmed. “After all, everything will be presented like a high quality anime. And of course, there’s nothing more ‘fun’ than an anime, no?”

“I second that.” Takenaka piped up with a raise of his hand, as if they was in class, which he ended up receiving weird looks for. “What?”

“So what do we need to do?” Reigen-san asked eventually. 

“Reigen-san!” Ritsu protested, and Teru was split between agreeing with Reigen and thinking that he was being ridiculously repulsive right now.

“There’s no other way around this, isn’t it?” The man asked back firmly before staring at Shirazu straight in the eyes. “And you can guarantee that this solution works , right? And when we finish the series, what will we be doing next?”

Shirazu shrugged, but Teru could see that the weight of Reigen’s intense glare and subtle threat didn’t disappear on him. “It kinda worked out a few times when I watched people with complexes, that’s the answer for your first question. For the second one, though, I recommend you find it out yourselves.”

Ritsu didn’t even bother to hide his obvious irradiation anymore. “ What? ”

Teru exchanged a nervous glance with Serizawa and Takenaka as they watched the scene unfold.

“What do you mean ‘find it out yourself’?! That’s bullshit!” The youngest in the room yelled, and honestly he kind of looked like a yowling cat.

“As you heard, kid. Human’s mind isn't as easy as you’d thought. You have to experience the extent of it yourself, and maybe I’ll explain what happened.” The animator replied, and before either Reigen or Ritsu could protest, the man cut them off. “ Not only that. I hold no commitment to any of you. The only reasons I’m telling you and offering you help in the first place was because of Seri-san and my own generosity. Kindly keep that in mind before any of you start giving me death threats. I can just pull back any time I want, and then all of you will have to find your own way up from zero next.”

Fearing that the situation could go south, Serizawa-san stepped in placatingly. “W-w-well, why don’t all of you- uhh calm down for a moment?”

While Reigen and Ritsu backed down calmly and begrudgingly respectively, Shirazu looked relatively surprised by this development. “Seri-san?” He called in astonishment, to which Serisawa replied with a sheepish smile.

“You too, Shirazu-kun. I’m sorry if we’re making you uncomfortable, but we’re just worried about our friend. And in Kageyama-kun’s case, brother. Please understand.”

Shirazu looked between all of them for a moment before sighing. “Fine.” He said, before looking at Reigen. “You asked what you need to do, correct?” He inquired, which the man replied with a nod. “All you need to do is give me a thing that is deeply related to the person you want to watch, and then give it to me. I’ll work on my magic, and you’ll be free to use it on your own.”

“That’s it?” Teru couldn’t help but ask.

“Yep. That’s it.” Shirazu admitted. “It wasn’t this easy for some people because it has to have a person with a considerable amount of power to turn the White Box on, but considering all the psychics in this room…” He glanced between all of them, except probably Reigen. “I think it’ll be good enough.”

“Okay…something that’s deeply connected to Mob, huh?” Reigen-san mused thoughtfully to himself, and Teru did the same. Though he didn’t know Kageyama that long, no more than a year actually, they had made quite a lot of memories together. 

Maybe that monkey shirt could be the one…? No, even though Kageyama-kun seemed to like it, he didn’t have it for that long. It had to be something that Kageyama had had for years, probably since his childhood. And since it had to be from his childhood, the only person in his room who could possibly know about it was…

All eyes were immediately fixed on one Kageyama Ritsu, who soon raised his head slowly in realization.

“Could you think of anything, Kageyama-kun?” Serizawa asked the hopeful-looking Ritsu.

“The box…” The raven haired boy muttered to himself.

“The box?” Takenaka squinted his eyes, as if he wanted to know what Ritsu was talking about, but didn’t want to resort to his powers.

“Yes, the box!” Ritsu exclaimed, excitedly. “There’s a box in Nii-san’s room I found just yesterday! That might be it!”

“Huh…” Before any of them could say anything, Ritsu was gone, already running through the door with a ‘I’ll be back in a few minutes!’

“Well, we can only wait now, can’t we?” Teru said jokingly in the midst of stunned silence.