Chapter Text
Armies of oddly colored women with...gems...sticking out of their body raced across a battlefield on a war torn Earth. Leading the smaller group was a tall woman with long pink hair with a shield held in front of her. There was something...strong emanating from her body which seemed to draw the attention to her. She began battling and...poofing(?) other gem women that she was fighting while her companions did the same. The scene continued until the larger army finally began to retreat as they realized that their numbers were falling way too quickly.
The smaller group celebrated their victory while the leader watched with an amused smile before pausing. Suddenly, she turned around and looked up at the sky. She narrowed her eyes as a suspicious glint seemed to manifest for a brief moment before it was replaced by a comforting smile.
Mob's Room
Shigeo, otherwise known as Mob, gasped as he shot up in his bed. Memories of the dream ran through his mind before he quickly shook them out. Looking down at his lap with a blank face, his body began to tremble slightly before he finally let out a large yawn while stretching his arms out.
"Finally awake Shigeo?" a voice asked him from the side. Mob glanced over and saw the green spirit known as Dimple floating in his room. Blinking for a few moments, he finally stood up and headed towards the bathroom while remaining silent which seemed to tic the spirit off.
"Oi! Shigeo! Why aren't you speaking to me?!" Dimple questioned the kid as he sped after him only for Mob to glance back at him. While Mob's face remained blank, it still made Dimple freeze as a bead of sweat appeared on his face. Obviously, Mob did not want to speak at the moment. Sighing, Dimple decided to go check on Mob's brother, Ritsu, to see if he wanted to talk. As soon as Dimple flew off, Mob let out another yawn and grabbed his toothbrush.
Looking in the mirror, he spread the toothpaste on his toothbrush before sticking it in his mouth and brushing. As he brushed, the dream played through his mind again. It was odd. Usually, Mob had dreams about drinking gallons of milk, going on exorcisms with Reigen, or finally confessing to his crush, Tsubomi. This dream was different though. Plus it seemed...foreboding in a way. Like it was going to affect him in a way, but it did not make any sense for Mob. He didn't know any gem women.
"...Oh...I forgot. Goda-taicho wanted the club to go for a run before school...I better hurry," Mob muttered as the memory of the dream vanished from his mind while he focused on quickly finishing his morning routine so he could meet up with the Body Improvement Club.
As he threw on his school uniform, he grabbed his bag and headed towards the front door of his family's house. Sitting down to put on his shoes, he heard Dimple speaking to Ritsu in his room, but he couldn't hear exactly what the two were speaking about so he decided to ignore it. Standing up, he told his parents bye before leaving the house and heading towards Salt Middle School.
As he walked down the sidewalk, he heard his phone ring causing him to pause for a moment before pulling it out of his pocket and looking at the number. Seeing the number, he immediately answered it.
"...Yes master?" Mob answered as he resumed his trek to school.
"Mob! We have a client who needs a quick exorcism. Do you mind meeting me at a local building in about five minutes? We should be able to finish before school starts." Reigen's voice sounded out through Mob's phone.
"I'm suppose to do a morning run with my club before school," Mob replied as he continued walking to school. He knew that he could probably ask Goda if he could miss today's exercise, but he wanted to exercise. He wanted muscles...
Reigen was quiet for a moment which caused Mob to picture him sitting in his office while thinking rather hard. He didn't like letting Reigen down, but exercising was important to him. It was going to help him gain Tsubomi's attention. He wanted to confess to her so much, but he knows that he probably doesn't have a chance right now. He knows how much she likes athletic guys.
"Oi, Mob. When does the run start?" Reigen suddenly asked over the phone. Mob glanced up as he began thinking. What time did Goda say again.
He continued walking silently while pondering over the time. After two minutes of silence, Reigen finally spoke again, "Mob, you still there?"
"...I think I'm late," Mob finally spoke as he noticed the time on his phone. Right after his answer, he could have sworn he heard something fall and hit the floor over the phone.
"If you already missed it, then can you come and help with the exorcism!!! If it makes you feel better, you can run to the location!" Reigen yelled through the phone call causing Mob to lightly gasp and wince from the volume. Thankfully Reigen seemed to hear this as he quickly said, "Sorry for yelling...so can you meet me, Mob?"
Mob looked down for a second before sighing and nodding. "...Okay master. Just please, no more calling me on short notice," Mob spoke which earned him a quick 'Ok!' and the location of the place that needed the exorcism.
Saying bye, Mob hung up his phone and sighed before deciding to try Reigen's suggestion as he began to jog towards the location. In just two minutes, he was already breathing hard and panting while his body trembled. Realizing that he should probably stop since no one was around to help him if he passed out, he slowed to a stop and walked the rest of the way. As he continued his walk, he passed by the alleyway that only a couple of days earlier, he fought Koyama in.
Feeling something in his stomach unsettle him, he stopped thinking about the event and remembered that Ritsu was now back home, safe and sound.
Looking at a nearby pole, he spotted another flyer for the Psycho Helmet Cult. Stopping for a second, he stared at the picture for a good long minute before continuing to walk. "I hope they find who they're looking for."
A building came into view, and immediately Mob could feel something...unnatural about it. An aura was surrounding it, but it was not the type of energy that spirits, evil or good, produced. And the energy was not from an esper either. It seemed odd like it was fighting against the world itself. Before he could ponder over it even more, he spotted Reigen waving him down. Looking back at the building, Mob finally decided to make his way over to Reigen.
"Hey-o Mob! This is the place. The client has already paid for the exorcism. Apparently, they were too terrified to actually come back here so...Anyway! Lets head on in so we can get this over with, and you can head on to school!" Reigen proclaimed as he spun on his heel and headed to the entrance. Mob looked back up at the building and felt a tremor travel through his body. He shook his head though and followed Reigen inside.
As they entered, the two looked back and forth at the lobby of the building. It looked like it was a hotel at some point. Walking around, Reigen bent down and picked up a name plate. Brushing the dust off, he realized that the name plate did not actually have a name on it. "Weird. So Mob, do you feel anything?" Reigen questioned his part-timer only to look at him in confusion as he realized that Mob was staring straight ahead while frozen in place.
Walking forward, he patted Mob's back while looking down at him in concern. "Are you okay? Do you feel something?" Reigen questioned Mob who didn't respond beyond barely nodding. Reigen looked down at him again before looking at the doorway that Mob was staring at.
Gently biting the inside of his cheek, he decided to go and check the room out. As he walked towards the room, Mob seemed to break out of the trance he was in and quickly moved after Reigen. This place was not safe. There was something very off about this place.
"A-ah, master wait...!" Mob quietly yelled as he entered the room and saw Reigen examining a wall. The moment he entered though, Mob's eyes widened as he realized that this was not the best thing to do. Reaching out, Mob activated his powers and pulled Reigen towards him which threw Reigen offguard.
"M-Mob! What are you-?!" Reigen was cut off as a bright light flashed from the spot he was just standing at. Mob felt his teeth begin to chatter as his nerves shot up to ten.
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"Wha-what the heck is that?! Mob! Lets move!" Reigen yelled in surprise before turning to run out with Mob only to notice that Mob wasn't moving. Actually, he couldn't move. "Mob!" Reigen shouted as he quickly turned to grab Mob only to find that something was keeping him from entering the room again. "Nani?!"
Mob looked around in shock as he felt sweat began to travel down his face. Looking forward again, he noticed that the bright light that had began to illuminate the room was blocking the view of something. Looking closer, Mob gasped as he realized that the thing in the light looking like some kind of...portal? At least, it resembled the portals that he has seen in the cartoons that he and Ritsu used to watch when they were younger.
"Shigeo Kageyama," a voice cut through the room that only Mob could hear. Eyes widening, he looked at the portal and could have sworn he saw someone in it. "I need your assistance. Well to be more accurate, my universe needs your assistance. There is a problem and only you can fix it. I hate having to do it like this, but I cannot take no as an answer. The lives of many depend on you."
Before Mob could react, he felt a force...sucking him towards the portal. Gasping, he turned around to Reigen and began to try and reach out to him for help.
"M-master!" Mob got out as his lips began to tremble in fear while he kept trying to reach Reigen who growled in anger and tried to break through the barrier keeping him out of the room.
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"Mob! Damn it! Let me in! You are not taking my student away from me! Mob use your powers and try to break free!" Reigen shouted out to Mob who quickly responded by activing his psychic powers as he tried to break free, but it was useless. Gasping, he looked back and realized how close he was to the portal.
Looking back at Reigen, he opened his mouth and quickly said, "Tell Ritsu, I'm so-" only to be cut off as he was engulfed and the portal closed behind him. Almost immediately, the aura of the building disappeared and the barrier preventing Reigen from entering crumbled away allowing him to run in.
"Mob! Mob! Please don't do this to me Mob!...Shigeo!" Reigen shouted in fear as he looked around frantically. Running to the wall, he began to check it for any tricks or switches that could be hiding Mob, but he unfortunately couldn't find any. Collapsing to his knees, he brought his hand to his face and stared at the ground in shock. "Wha...what do I do? What have I done? I-I lost Mob!"
Just hearing the sound of himself saying caused Reigen's head to drop in defeat. Sitting down, he kept his head down as he silently wept.
Elsewhere
Mob gasped for air as he opened his eyes and realized that he was underwater. Quickly swimming, he broke the surface and began to inhale as much water as he can. Looking around, he immediately noticed that he was nowhere near Seasoning City. Swimming towards the shore, he quickly climbed out and crawled forward on the sand before collapsing onto his back.
"Am I...really gone? Wha-what do I do now?" Mob questioned as he stared at the sky. Memories of his family, his friends, his master, began to flow through his mind before the memory of the dream that he had that morning resurfaced. "Did that dream have anything to do with this?" Mob wondered while he continued to stare forward.
After a good twenty minutes, Mob finally rose to his feet and shook the sand off his school uniform. Looking around, he noticed a sign that...was not written in kanji. Raising his eyebrow, he was shocked to realize that he could still read it though. "Did that voice do this?" Mob questioned before walking towards the sign so he could read the entire thing.
"Welcome...to Beach City?" Mob read a loud before hearing an explosion coming from further down the beach. Turning to the side, he saw three people fighting some kind of creature. Looking at it, he realized that it wasn't an evil spirit which surprised him, but he decided to ignore it and head into town. It seemed like they had it under control.
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