Coming Undone: Seeing Through the Hate

Disclaimer: Mob Psycho 100 and its characters belong to ONE. I just imagined a situation using those characters.

AN: This was written after 'The Subtle Understanding of Oblivious' but chronologically, it happened before that one. This is the story that was hinted/foreshadowed(?) in TSUoO on how Ritsu accepted Reigen.

Barely edited and not beta-read, so I'm sorry for grammar and spelling mistakes! As always, comments and constructive critics are highly appreciated! Thank you!

Since the moment Ritsu met Reigen, he was convinced that the man was a fraud and about to harm his brother.

He might not have been able to differentiate psychics and ordinary human, but he was pretty sure Reigen was not a psychic because he felt so weak—so different and so human compared to his brother (not that a lot of psychics can be compared with Mob's power, though, but Ritsu didn't know that). Ritsu was certain that his brother was being deceived by the human scum, that Reigen would eventually hurt Mob, and he felt so powerless and upset that his brother was so convinced that Reigen was the best person he ever met—Ritsu's warnings fallen on deaf ears.

Mob called him 'Shishou', and Ritsu hated that honorary title. Not to mention that their parents accepted Reigen readily as if they've been waiting for a savior like him to help guide their unique, if somewhat problematic, child. Ritsu wanted to puke at their eagerness. 'How could they all have been so blind?'

But Ritsu was raised with good manner. Although he couldn't hold back his glares sometimes, he'd like to think that he acted civilly towards the conman. That was more than he deserved, anyway.

The man also never stopped trying to charm Ritsu, 'how sickening.' But Ritsu promised himself not to be swayed by that fake psychic and it was easy enough since his eyes saw the man as an egotistical failure of a conman. Once, though, he almost believed Reigen was a real psychic when the man saved them from Claw's 7th Division, showing up so heroically that he even suspected the man's real intention of appearing in front of them. Even though Ritsu couldn't come up with an explanation of that massive power (he was suspicious it was from his brother, but the look of pure awe on his face deterred his notion), he was still certain that the man was a liar and a fake.

Ritsu wondered if his brother ever realized just how pretentious his master was. He once told his brother again—hoping he would trust his words more now that they were in middle school—that Reigen Arataka, the self-proclaimed psychic, was a fraud and a trickster.

"No, Shishou is a good person, Ritsu," his brother had replied with a languid smile on his face. It annoyed Ritsu. He ended up not talking about that topic ever again.

When Ritsu struggled to control his weak and unstable psychic power, his brother had told him to go to that fraudster. Ritsu scoffed, "What good can that fraud do?"

"He knew a lot more than both of us, Ritsu. He had helped me a lot with my problems more times than I can count."

And Ritsu felt like he was bent out of shape, like his spoons. A spark of anger was ignited inside of him—he had constantly told his brother that he was willing to listen to anything troubling him, but Mob chose to pour his heart out to some twenty-something old man?!

'I was such a fool,' he concluded. He felt like he was losing his brother and he just realized that he had lost him to Reigen since the man entered his brother's life. Ritsu avoided Reigen out of spite then, though, with how involved the man was in his brother's life, that didn't last long.

Ritsu now entering his third year at middle school and he had retired his position as the president of the student council. Mob, on the other hand, had already continued his study in Salt High School, which, fortunately, still located in the same school district. Whenever they have some free time, the two of them would meet up at the near park and then went home together. Mob looked almost the same, with the standard black gakuran uniform and his lean (albeit toned now from all his training) body, Ritsu barely remembered his brother was in high school if it not for his height. When he took his entrance exam, Mob's height had shot up and passed Ritsu's, towering over him for a good fifteen centimeters.

Ritsu reveled on the look of utter disbelief on Reigen's face when he saw Mob had now reached his eyes. It made up for the detour he took to accompany his brother to the consulting office.

A lot of things had happened since Ritsu awakened to his psychic power. Mob gave him some helpful advice on his power (Ritsu, though, didn't realize that his brother's words were in actuality Reigen's wisdom) and the two of them often practiced together to stabilize their power. The both of them now have more control and Ritsu even managed to strengthen his power, bit by bit through some rough experiences. They even often met with Teru and the Awakening Lab kids to train. And sometimes, Ritsu begrudgingly followed along when the kids visit Reigen in the office for a gathering, as long as Mob was also there.

Today was a nice day and somehow Ritsu found it such a waste to go home alone. He strayed from his usual path, deciding that he'd rather wait his brother finished his job rather than keep walking home alone. He saw the sign of Spirits and Such Consultation Office and entered the building, ascending the stairs and knocked once on the door before he turned the knob.

"Welcome to the—Ah, little brother, what are you doing here?" Reigen was about to put on his salesman smile when he saw that it was Ritsu. Curiosity sparked in him since Ritsu rarely came willingly, especially alone.

Ritsu's head turned around, looking for his brother before he said anything. "Where's Nii-san? I thought he's working today?"

"Oh, Mob called me and said that he'd be late because he was covering for someone else's cleaning duty." Reigen took a seat, "Why don't you wait here a bit? I'm sure he'd be here in no time," Reigen's eyes already went back to read the article on the computer.

There was a moment of silence but Reigen noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Ritsu took a hesitant seat on the sofa. The silence wasn't maddening, it was not as if they often talk together, but Reigen was not a quiet person—especially when there was someone else with him in a room.

He hadn't realized that Ritsu was staring at him the whole time. When he looked up, about to start a conversation with the middle schooler, his eyes met with Ritsu's dark glare. Reigen held his stare, sweat accumulating on his forehead. The kid could be pretty intimidating when he wanted to be.

"Why do you keep lying to my brother?" Reigen barely noticed that Ritsu had spoken. Once he processed it, though, he sweated again and let out a nervous laugh.

"Wh-what are you saying, little brother? I'm not lying to your brother,"

Ritsu deadpanned, "We both know you're not a psychic." Ritsu looked around the room and Reigen felt like his judgment on the office would somehow affect his judgment on Reigen. "My brother is naïve and oblivious but he always says good things about you," Reigen caught the annoyance on Ritsu's face, "I don't get it how you can keep lying to such a pure person."

Reigen paused, unsure on how to answer the kid since this was the first time Ritsu pressed the matter. Ritsu, on the other hand, had gone back to sitting still, waiting for his brother, not expecting an answer from the older man. 'He really loves Mob, huh,' Reigen thought fleetingly. He opened his mouth and smiled at the kid with spiky hair,

"Your brother's not stupid, Ritsu, he knows I'm not a psychic. He knows for quite some time now, I think."

Ritsu blinked. "What…?"

"I don't know when he realized that I'm not a psychic, but he's not as oblivious on some things as he appeared to be." Reigen stood up from his seat, approaching the kid, "I think Mob knows a lot of things but prefer to keep his mouth shut." Reigen stopped not near enough to aggravate the kid, but close enough to see his mind reeled.

"What…?" Ritsu repeated more to himself. Mob knowing that Reigen was not a psychic changed things. 'Did he knew all this time? Did Nii-san tell me to learn to control my power with Reigen even when he knew that the man is not psychic? So he still trusts and respects this fraud even after knowing the truth?' Ritsu's head was suddenly filled with questions that he didn't dare to ask his sweet brother.

Reigen could see the wheels turning in Ritsu's mind and opted to shut his mouth. In the silence, the door opened and revealed an old man, about forty or so, with casual clothes and a gray cabbie hat.

'Ack! The next client!' Reigen forgot that he had an appointment with a new client at three thirty in the afternoon. He quickly schooled his face and let out a business smile.

"Hello, welcome! Tanaka-san, I presume?"

"Yes, I am." The man answered with a deep voice and a smile. "Are you Reigen Arataka, the psychic?"

Suddenly, Reigen's breath hitched. Sick, suffocating, ominous feelings enveloped him as soon as the man smiled. His voice raised goosebumps on Reigen's whole body and dread was choking him, he could sense the blood-thirst in the air. The animosity the old man held wasn't masked, he very well intended to let Reigen know that he didn't come to the office for a consultation.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Reigen felt that there was no need for pretense. He moved and shielded Ritsu from the stranger's sight, his voice was hostile.

Ritsu, unaware of the menacing aura coming from the stranger, questioned the hostility in Reigen's. 'Is this how he treat his client?' he asked himself, bewildered. 'Also, why is he blocking me?!'

The man who called himself Tanaka only smiled. He cocked his head to the side, trying to take a peek to the boy on the sofa, but Reigen moved his body and kept Ritsu hidden.

"Who is that boy? Is he a psychic, too?" he asked a little too cheerfully. Reigen winced and Ritsu finally noticed how tense his brother's master was. The stranger kept asking about psychic and Ritsu was getting irritated. The older man looked normal, but now that Ritsu had felt him more with his psychic energy rather than his normal senses, he could understand Reigen's aggression. 'That man is definitely not normal with that weird aura,' he inferred.

"Nobody—He is nobody. Just a neighboring kid." Reigen quickly spat. "You need to leave, sir," he continued, his face hardened and cold. Ritsu noted that his hands were trembling and he actually felt bad for the guy. 'What the hell is going on in here?'

But the stranger didn't leave, if anything, he smiled even wider. He leered at Reigen, eyes crinkling maliciously.

"So, you're a liar, huh? I heard that Reigen Arataka is a powerful psychic, but from what I see, you barely even have any power?" he smirked as he lifted his left arm, "Or, maybe you're that powerful that you're able to conceal them?" Reigen's face fell as he realized that the man might've been a real psychic, "Maybe you need to show me your power if you're going to protect that little boy."

And with a whoosh, a ball of psychic energy was hurled at them.

"Ritsu!" Reigen turned around and pulled the kid down with him, barely missing the projectile energy. The sofa took the brunt of it and there was a burn mark surrounding the hole where the energy came through. 'That was so close!' Reigen frantically thought when he saw the damage. "You're okay?" he whispered to the kid under him, his face was frozen in shock, but Ritsu nodded.

"You're a quick one, I give you that," Tanaka's smile was ever present, "but that's not going to be enough to—"

"KNEE STRIKE!" Reigen yelled unceremoniously as he swiftly grabbed Tanaka's head and smashed it against his knee. Tanaka staggered back, holding his busted nose and coughing as he took a shuddering breath. During the commotion, Reigen quickly pulled Ritsu towards the door but stopped short when the door won't open, held back by an unseen force.

"My, my. It'll take more than that to finish me, Reigen. Are you underestimating me?" Tanaka said with blood smearing his face. Reigen gaped, finding it absurd that the strange person acted like he didn't just have his nose broken by a knee. 'It must've hurt like hell, at the very least!' his brain added. But Tanaka, still with that unrelenting fake smile of his, couldn't care less about the blood that kept pouring out and staining his clothes. The blood kept dripping and Tanaka raised his hand again. "Show me your power, Reigen, or you'll get seriously hurt."

Tanaka threw another energy again, much faster this time. 'Dammit, dammit, dammit!' Reigen cursed internally as he spun again, shielding Ritsu with his own limbs.

Thankfully, just before it hit them, Ritsu managed to erect a barrier around them. The energy dissipated, leaving a ripple on Ritsu's barrier before it broke apart.

"That man is powerful," Ritsu said above a whisper, voice muffled against Reigen's tie. "And you need to let me go," he slightly pushed the older man away, irritated.

Reigen dismissed Ritsu's usual resentment but loosened his hold just a bit. "Listen, Ritsu, you need to get out of here. He's targeting psychic so you need to get away as far as possible from him,"

"What are you—watch out!"

Another energy was thrown at them and Reigen managed to tackle down Ritsu again, it only scratched his upper arm.

"Don't forget about me," Tanaka simply huffed. "It won't do you any good if you're not seriously fighting me, Reigen. Come, show me your true self or that kid will get hurt."

Reigen wanted to punch down that fake smile of his.

"You! Don't underestimate me!" Ritsu sent his own energy at Tanaka but, sadly, it was blocked easily. Angered, he opted to rain Tanaka down with more of his energy, but still, they barely made a dent on the stranger's defense.

"You're no match for me, kid, you're too weak." Tanaka grinned while Ritsu ground his teeth. "Reigen is right, I am searching for psychics, but as long as they don't present themselves as a threat, I won't hurt you." He turned towards Reigen and he narrowed his eyes, "but you are a different case. According to what I found, you possess the power to be a threat, thus, I need to eliminate you."

Reigen's face paled even whiter, he quickly caught on what the stranger had been babbling about. The man mistook Mob's power as Reigen's.

"Ritsu, I need you to run," before Ritsu started to protest, he explained in a hushed voice, "You need to get Mob away from him, okay? He's targeting your brother, but luckily he mistook him for me." Ritsu's dark orbs widen, figuring out just what the older man in front of him was about to do.

"Don't—No, Reigen-san! Are you stupid? He'll kill you!" Ritsu half-yelled to the man, grabbing his collar to pull him close so that the stranger didn't hear them. Tanaka let them talk peacefully, waiting for his chance to defeat Reigen with a fervor. "I'm not gonna tell my brother that you sacrifice yourself for him! Do you have any idea what he'll do?!" He angrily spat.

"But you don't want your brother hurt, right? As long as Tanaka believed I'm a powerful psychic, he'll leave your brother alone." His voice softened and somehow Ritsu had the urge to punch that adult face of his and his readiness to lay his mediocre life for Mob. 'How dare he do this to my brother?!' "Ritsu, listen to me, you need—have to do this. None of you should get hurt because of this madman."

And there was something in Reigen's voice that broke down Ritsu's defenses on the older man. He was so sincere, so willing to sacrifice himself for Ritsu and Mob that Ritsu felt oddly sorry for the man.

"You can't…" Ritsu blurted out, his mouth moved on his own. "Please, don't do this…"

Reigen was taken aback at Ritsu's pleading. "Rits—" and then a psychic blast went past the two of them, hitting the wall.

"You're taking an annoyingly long time, Reigen," Tanaka spoke when Reigen looked at him, face contorted with anger, "You're not forgetting me, are you?"

Reigen moved in front of Ritsu, "I'm painfully aware of you, Tanaka-san," Reigen said through gritted teeth.

"I'm flattered," Tanaka smiled and then raised his arm again. Ritsu lifted his own, too, and shot psychic powers towards the old man. Reigen, on the other hand, grabbed whatever stuff was around and hurled it at the energy that left Tanaka's arm. It was a book and it was torn apart as soon as it came in contact with the attack.

"You really need to stop relying on that kid or anything else, Reigen." Tanaka was starting to get annoyed at Ritsu's continuous weak attack and Reigen noticed that. 'I need to get him away from here,' he thought as he stole a glance at the middle schooler who glared daggers at the stranger. "Maybe I should just get rid of him first?"

The uncaring remark made Reigen turned his head so fast that he barely felt his joint cracked. He saw Tanaka had already sent a powerful attack directed at Ritsu and Reigen knew the kid's barrier wouldn't hold against that.

'SHIT!' "RITSU!"

The energy mini-exploded as it came in contact with Reigen's back, hitting it cleanly, as Reigen pushed Ritsu out of harm's way. He doubled over, face scrunched up in pain as beads of sweat covered his face and slowly falling to the floor. The young teenager that he protected looked horrified as he saw the patch of red that was blossoming on Reigen's suit.

"Reigen-san!" Ritsu quickly crawled to the man, hands hovering over the wound and Ritsu didn't know what to do. He was supposed to be the genius kid, the smartest one in his school, but his mind went blank and all he could think was 'bloodbloodblood—there's blood and he got hurt—is he dead?'

"Oh, why did you do such a stupid thing?" Tanaka shook his head, about to step up but an energy ball was shot near his foot and it cracked the floor.

"Don't. Fucking. Come. Any. Closer." Ritsu spat with such venom it surprised Tanaka. He missed noticing that Reigen had moved and had actually thrown a tea glass at him. It hit his head nicely.

"Ritsu—you need to leave! Now!" Reigen panted heavily as he tried to stand up. Ritsu held him, supporting Reigen.

"No way! I'm not leaving you, Reigen-san!" He shook his head.

"Why do you keep using such cheap trick, huh? Show me your power!" Tanaka bellowed angrily. In a blur of motion, Reigen was yanked away from Ritsu's hold and crashed (more like thrown) against the wall, knocking his breath away.

"REIGEN-SAN!" Ritsu shouted and he turned towards Tanaka to deliver more attacks. This time, filled with anger and desperation, the energy he sent had done some damage to Tanaka's barrier, but it was still not enough.

Tanaka, aggravated, threw Ritsu to another side of the room, away from Reigen. It took a moment for Ritsu to gather his bearing and calm his swirling head. He paled as he saw Tanaka choking Reigen and lifting him up, babbling something.

"Why do you keep refusing to use your psychic power?! Are you even a real psychic?" Tanaka growled as his hand tightened and Reigen was desperately clawing at the man's forearms for air. "Everything points to you, Reigen, every psychic phenomenon point to you. Is there someone else besides you and that little kid? Do you know any other psychic, perhaps?"

The terror Reigen felt was for a lot of thing—for his life, for Ritsu, for Mob, and for the other psychic kids he had come to know. He couldn't and wouldn't let this man know anything, even with the impending death.

In a moment of rebellion, Reigen, blinded by fear, grabbed the salt in the breast pocket and threw it at the older man who hissed as soon as the salt landed on his eyes. He let go of Reigen and quickly held his burning eyes. "You son of a bitch!"

Reigen desperately stood up and limped towards Ritsu who were sprawled on the broken bookcase. "Wait! No!" Ritsu shouted and before Reigen could understand it, Tanaka had grabbed the back of his neck and shoved him hard against the wall, and in a swift movement, he put his hand back on Reigen's neck.

"You are so troublesome," his red eyes glared down at Reigen. The pressure was cutting off the air and Reigen gagged. "A psychic or not, I think you should just die."

Ritsu struggled to stand up, his legs were wobbly and he hated the sound of choking and gagging as Reigen struggled to breathe. "Reigen-san..." Ritsu faintly called to the man, looking dejectedly into the man's eyes, as his sore body wouldn't listen to his internal plea.

Reigen looked back at Ritsu, glad that the kid was still able to move. He then glared fiercely at Tanaka and it just pissed him off more. He tightened his grip again, arms scratched up by Reigen's, and he watched in satisfaction as the man's eyes started to roll back.

"REIGEN-SAN!"

"SHISHOU!"

Tanaka heard shouts and a powerful blast hit him, getting through his barrier like a hot knife through butter, and all of the sudden he had been thrown into the back room.

"Shishou! Shishou, wake up!" Mob carefully touched Reigen's still body, his eyes were watery as he saw the damages on his master. "Ritsu, are you okay? What happened?" Mob asked his little brother who finally came up to them, massaging his temple a little bit.

"Nii-san... Let me see him, first, okay?" Ritsu checked on Reigen, turning him on his back and rest his head on his lap, mindful of the wounds. He searched for a pulse on Reigen's neck and breathed out a sigh of relief when he found it weakly thrumming against his skin. "He's alive, but I don't think he'll last long," Ritsu said as he grabbed his phone, undamaged, and dialed the emergency service.

"I felt... the power from across the street. I ran as fast as I could. What happened here?" The tears threatened to fall, but Mob held it.

Ritsu felt a pang inside, but before he answered, Dimple suddenly appeared among them, "Shigeo, he's coming back," he pointed the door.

Mob stood up and turned around, ready to wreak havoc on the man that dared touch his master. Tanaka walked in, a little rumpled, but with that everlasting smile back on his face.

"Ah, you must be the great psychic that hides behind Reigen, huh? That's smart, actually, if anyone ever comes after you, they'll get Reigen, pleased that they could easily get him, and you can come out unscathed. Brilliant." Tanaka applauded in the middle of the wrecked room, "Thankfully, I always ask for evidence to avoid that kind of misunderstanding."

Mob was taken aback, aghast. He turned his head, seeing his master lying there on the floor and then he looked at Ritsu searching for an answer, but his brother only turned his head, eyes avoiding him. He couldn't look at Mob's eyes, he was afraid that it would convey the truth that Reigen was indeed prepared to sacrifice himself in Mob's name.

Mob's mind raced, 'Shishou was hurt because of me?'

"Oi! Shigeo! Focus! You need to defeat him first! He's quite troublesome!" Dimple tapped his cheek, gaining the boy and the stranger's attention.

"Oh? A spirit?" Tanaka reacted by sending an attack at Dimple. It was stopped by Mob's barrier.

"Hey, you're also a spirit! You might possess a human and pretended to be a psychic, but I know another spirit when I'm near one!" Dimple ranted, pointing at the man whose smile faltered.

"He's possessed? So we've been fighting a ghost?" Ritsu blurted out, surprised.

The smile on Tanaka's face was completely gone now. "Even if I am, you're not going to get rid of me so easily. I like to be standing on the top of these pitiful humans..." he sneered at the unconscious Reigen, "If anything threatens my existence as the king, I'm going to get rid of it."

Dimple sweatdropped, 'he is like who I was... except I didn't make the mistake of angering Shigeo by hurting Reigen.'

"You—!" Ritsu was about to shut profanities but stopped when he involuntarily shivered from the oppressive power he felt coming out of his brother. "Nii-san..."

"How dare you hurt Shishou...just for that kind of reasoning..." Mob's rage and frustration build up, his body tingled from the rush of power, voice dangerously low. "Thank god you're an evil spirit. If you were human... I might not be able to hold myself from killing you."

His brother's words sent trembles down his spine and he lost any feelings in his extremities. He barely felt that he was holding on to Reigen's jacket so hard that his knuckles turned white and his hand became cold, entirely fixated on the seriousness behind his brother's statement. Truth be told, Ritsu was scared shitless of Mob right now because even he wasn't sure that his sweet, naive, peaceful brother would even want to hold himself back if the spirit had turned out to be human. And this wasn't even the other (darker, stronger, fiercer) version of Mob.

Mob's hair floated up messily and Ritsu could feel the suffocating force of his murderous intent. In an instant, Tanaka moved forward to attack Mob.

The bowl-cut-haired kid thwarted it with a barrier and also clenched his fist, sending out a punch so hard that the two of them went through the wall, continuing their fight in the dark alley beside the office, clashes of two enormous energies going back and forth.

"Cr-crazy... Is he actually on par with Nii-san...?" Ritsu unconsciously muttered out loud as he fleetingly saw them fighting through the holes in the office, he didn't dare to move in case he jostled the injured man.

"He's powerful enough," Dimple watched intently at the fight the two of them had, "but I doubt he'll last long fighting against an enraged Shigeo." He chuckled condescendingly.

'Good,' the word filled Ritsu's mind as his hatred burnt for Tanaka. He felt a swell of sadistic pleasure in knowing that the spirit would be gone in no time—he couldn't care less about the possessed man, not when Ritsu couldn't disassociate the body with his actions.

As Dimple said, the fight only took a couple more minutes before it ended. Of course, Mob came out as the victor as he finally managed to pull the spirit from the stranger and quickly exorcised him without mercy, Ritsu was sure of that when he heard Tanaka howled 'No!' 'How could this be?!' and all the other threat stuff before a loud boom could be heard. Faintly, Ritsu could also hear the ambulance siren.

"How is Shishou?" Mob came into the office, nothing was out of place except for a bit ruffled hair.

"Still unconscious," Ritsu looked up at his brother who crouched down in front of him, a hand hesitating before finally touched Reigen's cheek.

"Shishou... wake up," he croaked, "He should be getting up, right? Is he okay?"

"I can't say for sure, Nii-san, but at least he's breathing."

Mob nodded, eyes focused on his master's face, willing him to open his eyes. When they didn't, his eyes roamed down towards the reddish bruise on Reigen's neck. It reminded Mob of his first encounter with Teru, the feeling of suffocation. The memories of him seeing his master pushed against a wall, shirt stained with red, neck choked and feet above ground—appeared in his mind. Mob bit his lips, quivering.

"I'm so sorry, Shishou..."

Reigen wasn't aware of his surrounding, but he faintly remembered that he had been choked before he blacked out. He wondered if this was what an afterlife felt like. It felt shitty.

"..shou..."

"...gen-sh..."

The blond man faintly heard someone calling his name, but he wasn't quite sure. Then, he felt a touch on his hand and his eyes fluttered open. Mob's impassive face appeared in front of him, looking closely, Reigen noticed the dilated pupil, the raised eyebrows hidden by the bangs, and the trembling lips on his student as the teenager called his name again.

"Shishou...? Are you awake?"

Reigen only grunted as he tried to sit up. Mob held him steady and instead adjusted the bed with his power.

"How's Ritsu? Is he okay?" Reigen asked as he rubbed his neck that was sore and uncomfortable.

"I'm fine. Thanks to you," Ritsu softly answered.

Reigen was mildly surprised that he didn't see the figure across the room. Ritsu stood there, eyeing Reigen carefully.

"Good. Good..." He mumbled, feeling his trachea when he noticed that Mob also eyed him carefully—specifically on what he was doing. "Ah? Oh, it looks bad, huh? Don't worry, Mob, it doesn't hurt at all," Reigen quickly stopped touching it and put his hands down, trying to reassure the boy with a smile.

"...are you sure?"

Reigen softened his smile, "Yes, Mob. I'm fine." 'I'm just dreading the hospital bill,' Reigen sighed internally, the heavy bandaged on his back reminded him of the brunt of the attack he got from Tanaka. 'Can't be a simple wound...'

"How about Tanaka? How did you..." Reigen didn't finish his words.

"He's a spirit, actually, possessing that man and pretended to be a psychic." Ritsu explained, standing at the foot of the bed, "Nii-san exorcised him. The man was fine." If Reigen weren't so disoriented, he'd swear he heard a hint of scorn in his tone. Reigen dismissed it as Ritsu being the usual salty Ritsu.

"Oh... Thank you, Mob," Reigen ruffled the kid's hair who sat on his side, "You did great."

Mob bashfully bowed his head, a faint smile appeared on his face. But then he remembered what the evil spirit had said to him while Reigen passed out.

"But Shishou," he looked up at Reigen, then avoided his eyes, "You're hurt because of me."

His tongue stuck, unmoving as he stared at Mob who refused to meet his eyes—Mob's own filled with tears. Panicked, Reigen moved his eyes to stare at Ritsu, he himself was not sure what he expected from the younger brother.

"He accused Nii-san of using you. Basically told him everything."

Understanding dawned on Reigen. He grabbed Mob's hand, pulling it closer and rubbing circles on his palm, and Mob finally looked up to see his master.

"I'm sorry I've made you worry, Mob..." Reigen muttered, "But I'm not going to let him hurt anyone, especially my student and all his friends, am I? I made a calculated choice and if I can keep you away from that kind of person—or spirit—I'll do anything. I'm not going to let someone judge you just because of your power. I'd still make the same choices even if you were there, Mob, so I'm sorry but let me be the adult, hmm?"

Reigen wiped some tears on Mob's cheeks with his thumb, the tears kept running freely and it started to make Reigen's heart ached.

"But Shishou...I don't want to lose you... Please rely on me, too. I might be clueless, but even I want to protect everyone who's important to me," Mob hiccupped, hand clenching his master's, "Please understand Shishou, you're very important to me..."

Reigen felt like he was drowning, he was choking with all the sentimental emotions that filled him to the brim. Memories of his biggest blunder in life years ago resurfaced, how alone and insignificant he was without Mob and how painful it was seeing Mob with his friends while his world fell apart as soon as Mob left him.

But he got past that and Reigen let out a sob mixed with a chuckle, "You're very important to me, too, Mob."

"Shishou..." Mob hugged him, carefully, and rested his head on his master's shoulder. The fact that he had almost lost Reigen, if he was late coming into the office, scared him beyond belief. His body trembled, but with Reigen's arms on his back, Mob felt that everything would be all right. His master was amazing, indeed.

"Until when are the two of you going to stay like that? Nii-san, you're putting unnecessary strain on him," Ritsu pointed out, still standing at the foot of the bed, even if his eyes were somewhat red despite being dry.

"Ah, yes, sorry Shishou," Mob started as he pulled back, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"Why are you ruining a tender moment, little brother? Jealous?" Reigen laughed and he discreetly wiped his tears, "Maybe you want a hug, too?" Reigen opened his arms, face plastered with a teasing smile.

Unexpectedly, Ritsu planted himself to the opened arms and hugged Reigen for a few moments. Reigen froze, arms spread open and unmoving as his jaw fell. Mob only smiled when he saw his usually reluctant brother took an initiative with Reigen.

"Thank you, Reigen-san," Ritsu whispered before he let go of the hug. Reigen, still bewildered from the hug, saw Ritsu's red face as the young boy tried to hide his embarrassment nonchalantly. It took him a moment before Reigen finally laughing and smiling, ruffling Ritsu's hair,

"You're welcome, Ritsu."

Ashamed, especially since his brother only grinned idiotically at them, Ritsu left the room, yelling, "I'm going to the vending machine!"

Ritsu finally calmed down when he downed the cold canned coffee. He had harbored a deep-seated hatred towards Reigen, laced (unconsciously) with a dash of jealousy because Reigen had always been there for his brother, always been the number one. He had been the person his brother had turned to in every situation—sad, happy, or life threatening. He had taught his brother how to live as a human being, how to accept himself, and how to ease his brother's insecurities. He had become the most important person in his brother's life, and Ritsu finally understood why. Reigen cared for his brother, so much that he even dared to sacrifice himself for Mob, ready to keep Ritsu out of harm's way, and carelessly put the burden of everything on himself.

Ritsu had utterly lost to Reigen, no chance of going against the man.

Upon opening the door, Reigen and Mob greeted Ritsu with warm smiles. The edges of Ritsu's lips turned up a bit,

'Nii-san was right, maybe he is a good person.'

And since then, Ritsu started to open up to Reigen and made an effort to not judge Reigen as harshly as he did before.

(...and slowly opened his heart to the adorable old man...) kidding... ^^;