Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If you had asked him: "Hey, have you ever wondered what it would be like to be thrown in prison at the tender age of 14?" Reigen would have thrown salt in your face and run away laughing.

As it was, he wasn't particularly fond of the prison life so far.

"Do you understand!? If you don't want to get hurt, you'll agree to join Claw! Plus, you get to join us in taking over the world, we'll have the whole place for just us!"

The man laughed long and hard, his two buddies chuckling at his side.

"Listen, dude. We just want to go home. Can't you tell that we don't have psychic powers or whatever nonsense you keep spouting?" Reigen picked boredly at something under his nails. "Seriously, what kind of adult still believes in psychic powers?"

"Listen here you little brat," A hand slammed onto the bars, the thinner man stepping forward. The Awakening Lab kids shuffled nervously. Reigen coolly met his angry eyes, refusing to back down. It seemed to piss the guy off more. "You damn kids need to learn some respect for your superiors - "

"That's enough."

"But, sir!"

"Enough."

A new person emerged from the shadows. His eyes bored into them, unblinking. Shimizaki snickered, Shibata and Minegishi frantically shushing him.

"Dude's got a weird-ass face!" He hissed before Minegishi could slap their hand over his mouth.

"Please, mister," Reigen tried for his best scared-kid voice, the one he used on clients when Shishou had accidently made them angry. "We don't know where we are, or why we're here. None of us have psychic powers, so please let us go! We just want to go home, our parents are waiting for us!"

"Reigen Arataka. Age fourteen, psychic ability: undetermined." The weird guy's tone was eerily detatched. "Did you all agree to pretend to not have powers in order to avoid punishment?"

Crap. Reigen really didn't have a response - the guy had hit the nail on the head. He settled for a staring contest, acutely aware of Serizawa's whimper of fear at being caught in the lie.

"So be it. If you will not admit to your lie, than you will be taken one by one for examination."

The cell door swung open with a clang. No one moved.

"You."

The man pointed a long finger at Shimazaki, a twinge of irritation crossing his face. "You will be first."

"No!"

"No, wait - "

"Hang on!"

"Hey, asshole, let go!"

Reigen watched helplessly as the man dragged Shimazaki out by the arm, the skinny kid unable to pull away from his tight grip.

"Let me go!"

One of the henchmen shut the door, Minegishi throwing themselves at it. "Ryou!"

"Toshi!"

The echo of Shimazaki's shouting bounced down the dingy hallway, until it faded into oppressive silence. The henchmen seemed to have lost interest in them, drifting the opposite direction to chat amongst each other.

"Oh god. Oh god." Serizawa curled into himself, pressed into a corner. "They took him. He's gone."

"What are we supposed to do now?" The question came from Shibata, standing protectively by Minegishi. They were still latched onto the bars of the cell, staring down the hall. Their trembling could have been from either fear or barely repressed fury - Reigen had no interest in dying, so he let that question die on his tongue.

"There's nothing we can do." All eyes turned to Hatori, sitting cross-legged on the single cot they'd been given. He met Reigen's eyes, resignation plain to see. "They'll take us, and there's no way to escape. No one knows we're here."

"Shut up, Hatori."

"Minegishi, come on, you know that! Don't be stupid - "

"I'm not being stupid!" They spun around, eyes red. It was the most emotion Reigen had seen from them in the entire time he'd been going to the Awakening Lab. "Ryou will come back, and then we'll get the hell out of here, and go home!"

"Hey, Minegishi. Sit down, okay? Your legs are locked, you'll pass out if you don't sit down." Shibata gently coaxed them into a sitting position, letting them face the outside with no argument.

"Well, I think it's pointless..." Hatori said, mostly to himself. No counter to his statement was proposed. Serizawa stayed in his corner, anxiously twisting his shirt. Hatori fiddled with fraying edges of the cot. Minegishi pointedly ignored everyone except Shibata, who turned to Reigen.

"You've been quiet. After all that big talk to that weird guy, I thought you'd have more to say?"

Oh, Reigen had plenty to say. The problem was that he was in the middle of a whirlwind of ideas and calculations, his mind frantically picking apart the last few hours.

It was a lot.

Getting jumped by these Claw weirdos was not how his Friday was supposed to go. Reigen vowed right then and there that he would never throw himself into another random street fight again, even if it was technically his fault. That wasn't the point.

On top of that, he'd gotten Shishou involved. The guilt from that, from being the direct cause of an explosion - it was shredding him apart from the inside. As if being caught in a fight hadn't been bad enough, it was that self-righteous prick Hanazawa who found him, and of course he'd gone and found Shishou right away.

A cold sort of fear had gripped him, in the last moments before being knocked out. Shishou, normally so quiet and gentle, radiating an aura that Reigen could only describe as rage.

It was terrifying.

He didn't remember anything after that. Being punched in the stomach with enough force to break a rib typically did that to a person.

He'd woken up in a car, surrounded by the Awakened kids, Serizawa shaking his shoulder.

Now, trapped in a cell with kids who could barely control their powers, being held by crazy adult espers, Reigen was left with nothing but his head and his fists.

"I think that we need to lay low. At least for a while." Reigen finally said, addressing their little group. Minegishi spared him a disdainful glance, but otherwise, his declaration was met with silence.

He was searching for something inspiring to say when Serizawa yelped, any calm he'd found completely vanished.

"He's coming," he whispered, voice trembling, "I can feel it." Minegishi leapt to their feet, knuckles white on the bars. A small wave of relief washed over Reigen - Shimazaki would be helpful in the wild escape plan he was making. They could figure this out, as long as everyone was here.

The man stepped into view, and Reigen nearly threw up. It was awful, but he couldn't make himself look away. His whole body was frozen, the shock turning his veins to ice.

Shimazaki was - he was -

"Ryou!" Minegishi choked out, falling to their knees.

A strangled gasp from Serizawa, Hatori blinking rapidly as if it would make it all go away, Shibata shaking like a leaf.

"This," the man spoke, words grating against Reigen's ears, "is what happens when you fail to produce results. Remember well."

Shimazaki was held by the ankle, dragged along the ground like some kind of sack. There was - Reigen swallowed hard, bile rising in his throat.

Blood.

A lot of blood.

From his face, his hands, arms, torn jeans and mangled shirt, pooling red and sticky underneath him. He'd never seen Shimazaki's eyes open, not once, but now it didn't matter, because the gaping holes left behind couldn't have shown him anything.

Breathing - Reigen should be looking for breathing. A rise and fall, a sign of life, anything, but there was nothing.

Nothing at all.

"Join Claw."

Serizawa was sobbing, now. Minegishi had silent tears streaming down their face. Reigen was still paralyzed, eyes locked onto the horrible sight.

"Cooperate, or you will suffer the same fate. Choose wisely."

The man hoisted Shimazaki into the air, walked away without another word.

No one moved.

This....is very, very bad.

Chapter Text

Had you asked him, "Hey, how do you feel about having to fight a grown man with your repressed psychic powers because your accidental disciple picked a fight and attracted the wrong kind of attention?" Shigeo would have given nothing but a blank stare and confused tilt of the of the head.

As it was, his head was currently throbbing with both blunt force trauma and the residual headache of an emotional explosion. That kind of answered the question for him.

"Ah, Kageyama-kun! You're awake!"

Hanazawa's bright grin hovered over him. Shigeo closed his eyes, pain spiking. He focused on breathing slowly, taking inventory of his sore limbs, curled up on what he knew was the tiny couch in Hanazawa's apartment.

"You should take it easy for a bit, Kageyama-kun, those bruises are going to hurt for awhile. Do you need anything?"

"Nngh...." Shigeo groaned, sat up slowly and swung his legs off the arm of the couch. He kept his eyes shut tight, until the dizziness subsided. Apparently, recovery time from injuries only got longer the older he got. "I don't think so...."

"That's good - you were in pretty bad shape when I found you." Hanazawa brushed a light hand across carefully wrapped bandages on his arms, the scrapes still sore underneath. "Do you remember what happened?"

He shook his head. "I don't....the last thing I remember is...."

Hmm.

Well, that was odd. What did he remember? Shigeo hazarded opening his eyes, if only to gauge his surroundings better. If his headache was this bad, he didn't really want to remember the why. Nothing spun, and the lights weren't so bad anymore. That was an improvement.

But Hanazawa was looking at him expectantly, now standing a respectful distance away, holding out an icepack that Shigeo accepted gratefully. Maybe he could try to remember, if only to be polite. The man was letting him recover on his couch, after all. Even if it was an uncomfortable couch.

"The last thing I remember," Shigeo started slowly, "is that I was on a job, near Salt Middle."

"Right." Hanazawa nodded, pulled up a chair and sat down. The change in posture helped Shigeo relax, made the setting less tense, less different and overwhelming.

"It was a woman, she wanted someone to get rid of a spirit in her bedroom closet. There was no spirit, and I tried to explain that to her, but Reigen - "

The realization hit him in a flash, had him stumbling to his feet, a wave of panic levitating several objects in the room.

"Woah, woah! Kageyama-kun, hang on - "

"I need to go. Now."

"But - "

"I have to find Reigen." Shigeo stared down at Hanazawa, who - to his credit - refused to back off, stood as a tiny blonde bundle of impressive psychic energy in his way. "Please move, Hanazawa-kun."

"Absolutely not."

"Reigen was kidnapped, I need to go - "

"Find him, yes, yes, I got that. But how do you plan on finding him?" Hanazawa jabbed a finger in his direction, accusatory. "Where are you going to look? Do you need to contact his parents? Is there anyone else who might know where he is? Did you recognize anyone that was there? How about contacting the police? Would that be the safest solution instead of charging off on your own?"

With each question, Shigeo's panic seemed to both fade away and increase at the same time. Hanazawa had a point, but he had to find his student - the kid attracted so much trouble that Shigeo sometimes wondered if he was actually cursed.

He'd checked several times and found nothing, but that wasn't the point.

Reluctantly, he sat back down, filled with nervous tension. Hanazawa stayed standing. The various floating items settled back into their rightful places.

"Maybe finish telling me what happened before you found Reigen," he suggested, a bit more gently, "and we can work from there?"

Shigeo sighed, trying to recollect his thoughts. "I called Reigen, to help with my client. He has a way of talking to people that I - that I don't. I never have."

"That's very true." Shigeo gave him a blank look. His host simply shrugged. "It's been like that for years, let's be honest. Even when we were kids. Your brother was always better at it."

"Please don't bring Ritsu into this."

"Hm. Fine." Shigeo didn't like the glint in Hanazawa's eyes, but chose to ignore it for the time being. "Carry on, please."

"Reigen didn't answer his phone. He almost always picks up, but I thought he must have been with his friends, or maybe at home. He doesn't answer calls at home."

"Why?"

"His - his mother. She's not very, ah....fond of me. Or my career."

"I understand." It was strange, Hanazawa sounded like he really did understand - his whole body language had changed, enough for even him to have noticed. It occured to Shigeo that he knew next to nothing about Hanazawa, even after knowing him for so long. "So we definitely shouldn't contact Reigen's family."

"As much as I want to - no, probably not." The thought made his stomach sink. Shigeo was very much responsible for Reigen's safety, and that terrified him.

As often as Reigen insisted that he didn't need payment, even outright refused it, Shigeo had stubbornly given it to him. It was his weak attempt at compensation for all the dangerous things that he couldn't stop Reigen from getting involved with. And also for all the help that he'd given Shigeo for free - talking with clients, answering phones, negotiating prices, reminding him to actually accept money from clients, to eat, to sleep, to call his family, talk to his brother - Reigen had done so much for Shigeo.

What had Shigeo ever done for Reigen?

Gotten him kidnapped, for starters.

"That rules out calling the police then, also." Hanazawa continued, looking thoughtful. "What happened after I found you?"

"I went right away, of course." Shigeo frowned. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

"No, no! It's just, I didn't come back until after everything went down, so I wasn't sure how much longer Reigen was by himself! I know you care about him, Kageyama-kun, of course you went right away."

Shigeo took that as an apology and continued. "Reigen was - when I found him, Reigen was surrounded by all these other kids. They looked almost like gang members? But that wasn't - that wasn't the problem."

The scene flashed behind Shigeo's eyes.

A dark alley, children scattered across the ground, injured but not severly so. Reigen, standing battered but firm against a man - not a child, how strange - and yelling something about honor and dignity in a fight. The man - now Shigeo saw the scar, the ugly sneer - raised his arm, Shigeo sensed the energy - coiling and red, dripping with malice, an esper? Why here? - and before he could move, or call out, the man backhanded Reigen into a wall.

He'd bounced off, collapsed onto the ground. Didn't move.

The man stood over him and laughed.

Everything after that was a blur. Seeing Reigen injured - by an adult no less - had shot his internal gauge to near maximum in an instant. They'd fought, he knew that, his body reacting before his mind, but his skills were rusty, and this man's were not.

He needed to protect Reigen, protect these kids, and protect himself all at once.

It had been a very long time since his schoolyard fights with Hanazawa and Ritsu.

Whatever energy coils were wrapped around his enemy's fists shattered Shigeo's barriers like a bat to glass. The bruises on his stomach and ribs attested to that. It hurt, and Shigeo couldn't bring himself to hit back hard enough to stop him, his ever-present fatal flaw.

A solid punch to the side of his head, face meeting the concrete. Blood in his mouth, limbs on fire. He had to get up, but even his powers felt exhausted. It had been so long since he'd needed them in any capacity, they were stretched thin and weak.

"Stop it!"

Reigen.

Throwing his skinny arms around the man's waist, desperately trying to pull him back.

"Leave him alone! You showed up for me, right? So take me, that's what's fair! Stop hurting him!"

"Fair, huh?" The man scoffed, Shigeo lifted his head just in time to see him haul Reigen up by the back of his shirt, like some kind of puppy. "For such a brat, your morals are pretty damn good, kid."

"Let go...." Shigeo rasped, struggling to push himself to his knees.

"Or what? You'll stop me!? Bullshit! Look at you, all grown up and you can't even save one measly little kid. Pathetic." His face twisted into a grin, all teeth and too-bright eyes.

That mental counter was creeping higher. Shigeo's arms shook underneath him, no longer trembling from exhaustion or pain.

Not here. Not now.

"So much potential, wasted! At least those weaklings understand the chain of command now! That Claw - no, I! - am above them!" He threw his free hand out, gesturing to all the kids lying across the ground. Reigen flinched in the man's grip.

As long as Reigen was safe. He could hold it back. Shigeo could stop this, stop before he went too far.

"It's a shame, truly." A mocking pity filled the man's voice, and now he was shaking Reigen, as if he were nothing.

No. No, no, no.

Too high, too much. Reigen was staring at him, fear in his eyes.

"The boss says this one has potential. But he didn't say anything about having to fight anyone but kids. Sakurai says he's got the Awakening Lab brats already. Guess that means I can get rid of you."

Without hesitation, the man delivered a final blow, straight into Reigen's stomach. His student choked out a pained gasp before falling limp.

"That's one distraction gone! Now, for you - "

Shigeo heard a guttural scream before his vision went white.

After that, he remembered nothing.

They sat in silence for several minutes. At some point, Hanazawa had taken to his chair again, chin resting on an open palm.

"I must have arrived just after he left, then." Hanazawa broke the quiet, staring at nothing. "I'm sorry, Kageyama-kun. I came too late."

"It's alright." He pushed down the urge to point out that if Hanazawa had never left, this might not have happened at all. Shigeo had the feeling that - like usual - his rival/acquaintance/friend had been trying to get back in his good graces by keeping an eye on Reigen, and reporting back to him.

It was an utterly pointless game that he'd been playing for years.

"But this Claw business." Suddenly Hanazawa was focused, serious. "They're bad news. If they're out there gathering kids...." He trailed off, looking irritated. "I should've taught those guys a better lesson."

Now Shigeo was confused. "Who? You know that guy?"

"Hell no! But I do recognize the name Claw." Hanazawa said, pressing a hand against his chest. "They used to come by fairly often - to recrute me to their 'organization'. They want espers to band together to take over the world."

"Take over the world?"

"Mhm. They kept getting pushier and pushier, after awhile. Eventually, I had to, ah, convince them that I wasn't interested. You know how it is."

He didn't, but nodded anyway.

"The point is, Kageyama-kun, that your student has attracted the attention of a rather dangerous terrorist group. Odds are, they've taken him to one of their facilities for examination." The word "examination" gave Shigeo images of needles and operating tables. He shuddered. "That's all I know about them. They are ruthless, and more than willing to use anything and everything to their advantage - to kill, even."

"Let's get moving, then."

"So we should - wait, what?"

"I said," Shigeo stood, undeterred by Hanazawa's shocked expression, "let's get moving. Reigen needs me." He took several limping steps before finding his footing, and moved toward the front door. It was always where he found them after waking up here.

"Did you hear anything I just said?!" Hanazawa trailed after him, hovered overhead as Shigeo pulled on his shoes, right where he knew they would be. "They are a group of hundreds of espers, at the least! You can't take them all on by yourself, Kageyama-kun!"

"I will."

"But - "

"Reigen is waiting. I will save him." Shigeo straightened, turned to meet Hanazawa's gaze. There was an unidentifiable emotion in his blue eyes, something heavy and painfully familiar. "Are you coming?"

Hanazawa took a deep breath, ran a hand through his hair. He stared at the door for a long moment, and cracked a grin.

"Of course. Who else is going to drive you? I know you don't have your license."

"I - I was going to take the bus - "

"Don't be ridiculous. Too slow." Hanazawa disappeared back into the apartment, and returned with a blue button-up and his keys. Bright purple keys, Shigeo noted. "Here, the shirt's for you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Have you looked at yourself?" He waved the shirt at him impatiently. "We can't have you walking around like you actually got into a fight, can we?"

Shigeo looked down at himself for the first time since waking up. His white undershirt was indeed shredded, the suit jacket - one of his nicest ones, he mourned silently - having been dropped or completely torn apart in the fight.

"But I did get into a fight...." He mumbled, taking the shirt and shrugging it on. It was a bit tight, but that was fine with him.

"That's not the point!" Hanazawa gave him a critical once-over, nodding in apparent satisfaction. "You look amaz - I mean, acceptable! Acceptable. Yeah." Shigeo tilted his head. Was Hanazawa's face always that red?

"Can we go now?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, let's go!" He pushed them out the door, locked it behind him, and hurried down to the building's garage.

Tucked into the back of the garage was a nice-looking black car, just big enough to seat four. It beeped, unlocked. Shigeo wasn't particularly fond of cars - why put in the extra effort if there were already buses and trains, or his own two feet? That, and the stress of being behind the wheel was rather overwhelming.

He appreciated Hanazawa's car right now, though.

Once they were both settled, Hanazawa started the engine and turned to him.

"Where to?"

"Um...." Shigeo hadn't thought that far ahead. Where would Reigen have been, before the alley?

"Sakurai says he's got the Awakening Lab brats already."

That memory jogged another. "Reigen said he's been going to an Awakening Lab," Shigeo said decisively. "If that's where they - Claw, I mean, went before they found Reigen, we might find something there."

"Alright, Detective Kageyama. Here," he handed Shigeo his phone before starting to back out. "Look up Awakening Labs - see if you can find an address."

It only took a moment. The small charm attached to Hanazawa's phone brushed against his hands as he scrolled through the lab's website. It was polished, obviously well-maintained, if a bit vague and cryptic.

"How do I - ah, wait. Got it." Shigeo managed to plug the address from the website into a GPS, saving him from needing to give directions himself. Maybe he should upgrade his flip phone.

Hanazawa followed the directions from his phone, keeping quiet. Shigeo was grateful for that - he wasn't sure that he could handle any kind of small talk right now.

The drive was maybe ten minutes. They arrived at a rather nondescript apartment building, much like the one they had just left.

The only difference was the blown-out entrance door, swinging precariously from its hinges.

Hanazawa parked on the other side of the street. They stared at the building for a minute or two, waiting for any movement. When nothing stirred, Hanazawa motioned for Shigeo to get out, which he did without argument.

Shigeo felt a soft burst of psychic power after Hanazawa got out of his car, heard the locks click on each door. He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you have keys for that?"

"Yeah. But it's quieter this way." That was true. "Come on - let's go inside and see what this whole place is about."

It was apparent that this was no ordinary apartment building as soon as they walked through the door. The first floor was completely gutted, computer equipment and scientific instruments strewn about everywhere. A handful of people in labcoats were lying prone on the cracked floor.

"Are they alright?!" Shigeo hurried to the closest person - a woman, cracked glasses and short cropped hair - and checked to make sure she was breathing.

"They look like they're all just passed out." Hanazawa inspected a taller man on the other side of the room. He was snoring loudly. "Like something put them to sleep?"

"Why the destroyed equipment, then?"

"I'm not sure. Should we keep going up?"

"Yes. As long as they're just asleep." Shigeo carefully adjusted the woman he was crouching beside to a more comfortable position before following Hanazawa up the stairs.

The second floor was just rows of rooms, each outfitted with different supplies. One was full of plants, another overflowing with spare electronical parts, one larger room held gym equipment and battered training dummies.

"What are these for?" Shigeo murmured, running a hand over a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.

"It's very strange," Hanazawa agreed, pushing forward to the next flight of stairs. "Let's look up here too. It doesn't seem like anything happened here."

"Right."

On the third floor was an ornate office space, lavishly decorated with odd pieces of art and plush carpet. This felt almost like a living space - there were couches, several tvs, even a couple mini-fridges.

Slumped against a far wall was a man in a red striped suit, head hanging down to his chest. He groaned as the two approached, eyes fluttering open.

"No....don't take them...."

"Sir?" Shigeo tried, stopping at a cautious distance. "Are you alright?"

"Nnn...No!" He jumped to his feet, startling Shigeo back a few steps. Hanazawa didn't flinch, just watched the man stagger forward. "Don't take the kids, you can't - !"

"We're not here to take any kids," Hanazawa said, stepping forward to clap a hand on his shoulder. "Actually, there aren't any kids here. Who are you talking about?"

"The kids," he insisted, leaning around Hanazawa to peer at Shigeo, "those - those monsters just showed up and took them! I couldn't - I couldn't do anything to stop them...." His shoulders dropped. "So powerful....I never imagined that there were psychic powers so strong...."

"So you know about psychic powers?" It seemed easier to let Hanazawa direct the conversation, so Shigeo hung back and simply watched.

"Of course!" The man brightened considerably, brushing Hanazawa's hand off his shoulder. "My name is Mitsuura Kenji - the founder and sponsor for Awakening Labs! Our mission is to find a way to awaken psychic abilities in those born without them, by studying those who do."

"Kids, you mean?"

"Ah, yes." Mitsuura's excited air drained away, shame filling his eyes. "It was always with express permission, of course. And I compensated anyone who accepted the offer of money - really, all I want is to acquire psychic powers. I have money, free time, and no responsibilites. This is the most fufilling work I've ever done, and I care about the kids here a lot!"

Hanazawa gave him a reassuring pat on the arm. "We believe you - right, Kageyama-kun?" Shigeo nodded, but Mitsuura frowned.

"Kageyama? No, you can't be him. We have someone here named Kageyama, and he certainly isn't your age." Hanazawa spun to face him, eyebrows raised.

Shigeo was just as confused.

"You don't have another secret brother, do you?"

"No, just Ritsu."

"Any other Kageyamas in your family?"

"None that live in the city, anymore."

"So - wait. Do you think...?"

A rather concerning picture was uncovering itself. Shigeo suppresed a groan.

Reigen, we've talked about lying!

"Yes. He definitely did."

Mitsuura's head bounced between them, clearly growing more confused by the second. "Wait. Who are you people?"

A familiar static-y sensation enveloped Shigeo. He felt himself drift several meters into the air, and stared down through a yellow haze at the two men on the ground.

"Hanazawa-kun, what are you doing?"

Hanazawa grinned, taking in the flabbergasted expression on Mitsuura's face.

"Introducing ourselves."

Mitsuura sat down hard, mouth and eyes wide as Shigeo carefully pushed away Hanazawa's aura to replace it with his own. He let himself hang in the air for a few more seconds before landing safely on the ground again.

"More espers?" He whispered, sounding both terrified and thrilled.

"Ah, yes." Shigeo bowed slightly. "My name is Kageyama Shigeo - and I'm afraid that my student has borrowed my name - "

"Stolen, more like." Hanazawa muttered.

" - and been using your foundation in an attempt to awaken his own psychic powers. His real name is Reigen Arataka. I'm very sorry for any trouble he may have caused." He bowed again, lower this time.

"It's - It's alright, I suppose." Mitsuura waved a hand, still on the ground. "But the list of powers he gave us...?"

"AlI mine," he confirmed, "I use them often in my business as an exorcist."

"I - I see."

"Now!" Hanazawa clapped his hands, cutting off any further questions from Mitsuura. "We should be prepared for Claw to return - they always send a lackey to double check after an attack. I give us ten minutes, at best."

"Right."

"Hold on, what are you going to do about them? What chance do you stand against people like that?!"

"Oh, don't worry, sir." Hanazawa paused, squinted at Mitsuura. "It is 'sir', correct? Anyway, we can handle Claw perfectly well."

"But - "

A boom echoed from the lower floors, the sound of something stomping through the building.

"Hm. That was faster than I expected." Hanazawa met Shigeo's gaze, flashed a smile. "You're ready?"

A shadow appeared at the top of the stairs. Mitsuura inched away from them, ducking behind a table.

Shigeo swallowed, determination settling deep in his bones. This was for Reigen, and now, for the other stolen children.

He would find Claw, and tear them down piece by piece, if he had to.

"Yes."

Chapter Text

Reality was a pretty messed up place.

There was some sense, Reigen supposed, in those people they warn you about, the ones who completely reject the facts placed in front of them, ignore the signs and stand their ground in disbelief.

He should know. He was one of them.

"We should try to escape."

"What?"

Everyone stuck in the cell with him - except Minegishi, still kneeling by the bars - started clamoring all at once.

"Did you see what just happened?!"

"Do you have a plan?"

"They'll kill us, Reigen!"

"Let Minegishi grieve, dude! His best friend just - well, you know...."

"I know that!" Reigen snapped, immediately softening his tone when Serizawa flinched. "But that's why we need to get out right now - while they still think we're freaking out."

A tense silence hung in the air.

"That sounds like a terrible idea." It was Hatori who finally spoke up. "I already said that this was hopeless - why the hell do you think we can get out now?" He fixed Reigen with a suspicious gaze. "Finally plan on showing us your powers, Reigen?"

Oh no.

Serizawa brightened, for the first time since they'd been thrown into the cell. "Yeah! Reigen can get us out that way, of course!"

Shit.

"If that's the case...." Shibata side-eyed him. "I'm game. As long as Minegishi is, of course."

Wait, wait!

"I'm in."

Dammit!

They turned to look at the group, eyes rimmed with red. There was a desperate sort of anger in their voice. "I know Ryou's not dead. We need to find him."

Gotta stall, backtrack, anything!

"How?" Reigen demanded. "Wait - more importantly, how do you know he's not dead?" He really didn't want Shimazaki to be dead - because that would make him a truly terrible person, on top of being a liar - but he was still trying to figure out the logistics of their escape.

Not to mention that he still needed to convince everyone here that he had psychic powers.

Talk about digging your own grave and jumping right in.

"Because I didn't feel any life force off of the thing that that guy brought."

Reigen frowned. "Life force?"

"Everything that's alive has some kind of energy. Kind of like an aura, but not. Like - like plants." They pointed in the direction that the man had disappeared. "When he left, I could feel Ryou's life force. When he came back - well. Even dead things still have something left in them."

"So....what was it, then?" Serizawa piped up. "A zombie?"

"Zombies aren't real, dude."

"I - I know that! But what if - "

"It wasn't a zombie," Minegishi said, exasperated. "It had to be an illusion of some kind. At least, I think it was?" They sounded far less certain now.

"But you don't know for sure?"

"I didn't sense anything...."

"That's because you're not good at that kind of thing, Shibata."

"No need to point it out, jeez!"

"We're positive there's no zombies?"

"Yes! No zombies, Seri, really!"

"It's literally impossible for zombies to exist."

"How would you know that, huh?!"

The bickering only got louder. Reigen could feel the others getting worked up, the air buzzing with both tension and psychic energy. Forget a plan - he needed to give them a clear goal to work towards, right now.

"I sensed it too!" All the arguing slammed to a halt at Reigen's declaration. "Minegishi is right - that guy absolutely used an illusion on us!"

"What makes you so sure?"

Reigen waved off Shibata's concern. "Simple - I see illusions all the time! My master taught me the difference between a spirit and an illusion, since most spirits use them to deceive those that they're haunting. Of course I could tell that that man's Shimazaki was fake!"

"Wow...." Serizawa breathed, eyes wide. "Your master sounds incredible, Reigen."

The surge of pride was soured by a wave of guilt. Shishou would be disappointed if he knew what Reigen had done - maybe even mad. Although he'd only ever seen him mad a few times, it was scarier than any angry client or dangerous spirit.

"He's....yeah, he's great, Serizawa."

"That doesn't change the fact that we don't have a plan." Hatori pointed out again. "How are we planning on escaping, and not getting caught?"

"We need to get out of this cell, first."

Serizawa shifted, eyeing the guards outside. "What about the guards?"

"I think they already know that we're going to try and escape."

"Makes sense," Shibata agreed. "They must have done this to - to other kids, too."

"Probably. So," Reigen leaned in, voice dropping to a hushed whisper. "Here's the plan...."

At first, it was just the scrawny guard who turned to acknowledge the shrieking metal. He elbowed his buddy, who got the third guard's attention.

Reigen kept an eye on them as he guided Shibata and Serizawa in their task.

"Ready....ready......now!"

A flash of brilliant color enveloped the bars that Shibata was slowly prying apart. He'd turned red from the effort - or maybe it was just a side-effect of using his powers. Either way, the combination wrenched a hole just large ebough for all of them to comfortably walk through.

"We did it!" Serizawa said in an awed whisper. His hands were shaking, but that didn't diminish the shocked pride coloring his voice. "We really did it!"

"Yeah we did!" Shibata was less subtle about his excitement, still pink in the cheeks.

Reigen shot them both a grin. "Great job, you two!"

"What a fantastic job, kiddos!"

A slow clap snapped their attention back to the guards, one of whom was slow clapping for them.

The bald guard - the second one - laughed long and hard. "And now what? You plan on escaping? Did you forget we were here?"

"How stupid of you." The third guard sneered. "But sure, go ahead! Try and escape!"

"Reigen...."

The Awakening kids stared at him. Serizawa had taken refuge behind Minegishi, who was glaring daggers into their captors. Hatori was peering out from behind Shibata.

"What now...?"

His heartbeat was loud in his ears. Reigen's gaze slid between the warped bars, the guards, and his companions.

Now or never.

"Don't worry, guys." Reigen nodded toward the gap, letting nonchalance drip from every word. "We don't need to worry about them. They're not worth our time. Let's go."

The guards went still.

"What was that, brat?"

"I said," Reigen stepped easily through the bars, right past the dumbfounded adults. He kept his back to them. Their anger was nearly palpable. "Let's go. These useless guards don't deserve our time."

"I'll ask one more time - "

The perfectly timed spin on his heel. Reigen leveled them with his most self-important stare. "Oh, don't bother! Nobody needs to hear your pointless blabbering. Claw this, Claw that, world domination, oh no, you need to kidnap children for them!"

There was a vein twitching in the scrawny guard's forehead. Reigen smiled.

"What a bunch of pathetic adults you are. Can't even keep a bunch of kids in a cage, can you? Huh? You hear that?"

This is it.

The first guard charged, the other two hot on his heels.

Reigen just kept smiling.

"You."

Come on....

"Are."

Almost there....

"Pathetic."

"Shut up!" That was the third guard. All three of them closed in.

Reigen closed his eyes. Raised an arm.

"Wha - fuck!"

"Shit!"

"Wait - no!"

His eyes were still shut tight, but Reigen heard the flawless execution of his plan. The hallway door - passcode unlocked via Hatori's powers - swung open. A tangle of Minegishi's roots broke through the ground, just enough to trip the anger-blinded guards. They crashed through the doorway, and Serizawa slammed it closed behind them.

He'd chosen the position carefully. This was a blind spot in the security, so, by all auditory and witness accounts, it was Reigen who'd singlehandedly taken down the guards.

"It worked!" Hatori exclaimed. "It really did!"

Reigen cracked one eye open. "No need to sound surprised. Jeeze."

"That's - I didn't mean it that way!"

"Mm. Well, come on. We should get moving before those guys recover.'

"But where? I don't remember the way we took to get in...." Shibata said, helping Serizawa past the bars. "Do you?"

"Unfortunately, no. But there's something we need to do first, before we can leave."

Minegishi pushed their way to the front of the group. "We're finding Ryou. We have to."

"Nobody said we wouldn't, Minegishi."

"But you thought it."

"How would you know that, huh?"

"Saw it in your face."

"Guys, come on!"

"Please don't fight...."

Reigen bit back a frustrated groan. This was the worst possible group he could've been kidnapped with.

Were they all friends? Sure! Was it obvious that they all cared about each other? Of course! Did they show it in any productive way? Absolutely not!

"Listen up!" He raised his voice over Minegishi and Hatori's squabbling. "We need to find Shimazaki. Then, we can get the hell out of this freakshow."

"You have another plan?" Serizawa sounded hopeful. The others rounded on him, bursting with questions.

"I do! But first, you guys need to shut up so I can hear myself think!"

The espers collectively shot him a dirty look, but settled down. If he hadn't been busy fumbling for a new idea, Reigen might've actually taken psychic damage.

"Alright," he said after a minute, "the new plan is this: Minegishi can sense life-force, right? So, they're going to search the building while we protect them. If we come across anybody, we'll take care of them the same way we did these stupid guards. Sound good?"

"That...doesn't sound like much of a plan...."

Regien clapped a hand on Shibata's back. "The best plans are the ones you can improvise when necessary. It's simple, that makes it easy. With less room for error, y'know?"

The silence was heavy. Reigen started to sweat.

I think that's the most bullshit advice I've ever given.

"Well, at least its a plan." Hatori conceeded, although he clearly wasn't happy about it.

Serizawa tapped his fingers together. "And all of Reigen's other plans have worked out so far?"

"Oh, fine. We'll go with Reigen's idea." Minegishi was bouncing on their heels, impatient. "Shibata? We can't leave you here. You coming?"

".....Yeah. Yeah, I'm coming." He pinned Reigen with a somber gaze - entirely too serious to be on a kid's face. "We only have one shot at this. You better use your powers if it comes down to it, Reigen."

Reigen mirrored his expression. "I will. That's a promise."

The words felt like an iron ball in his stomach.

Another lie.

If only I could.

"Then let's go!" Minegishi latched onto Reigen's arm, dragging him down the opposite direction. "Something's this way, I know it."

"Lead the way, Minegishi."