Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Just imagine a wonderful land…

Of candy…

And jam…

And ice cream…

—

Riri was there. She knew she was there.

She couldn’t hear anything or see anything just…void for miles.

She smelled acrid and damp and iron.

Oh, never mind. She could make out distant and haunted screams glitching in and out.

And a consistent beat she couldn’t help but breathe in and out to.

It glitched again.

—

Mob felt something…absent but couldn’t recall what it was.

Of course his brother Ritsu protected him from bullies usually because he wouldn’t dare use his powers to hurt anyone regardless of strength or perceived ability but he couldn’t help but fight back anyway as he was pushed to his breaking point. 

One too many times and he would get called out for that, too-instigating fights while seemingly ‘possessed.’

They called him possessed, which didn’t seem completely right, nor completely wrong either.

He attended the Telepathy Club because they begged and begged for him to be in it and he just couldn’t say no to them.

He contemplated joining the Body Improvement Club too but shied away because he didn’t think it would do any good. And Telepathy took most of his time anyway.

Despite many attempts from people to get him to use his power for their own benefits, he only did it for the Telepathy Club because he actually kind of had grown to enjoy their company 

“Mob?”

He blinked. 

“Yeah?”

“You zoned out again. You ok?”

It depended on what exactly was meant by ‘ok’ in that case. 

But he would never admit he wasn’t so that was close enough he supposed.

He ran his fingers through his hair, already smelling rank from the milk that had been spilled in it (he didn’t know if he could even process his favorite drink for another week because of the sensory experience of it being spilled so maliciously…)

“Yeah.”

—

Serizawa was cold. Cold, empty, exhausted to the highest degree.

He sat, alone, in his room, completely alone.

No one else but maybe his mother, maybe-

No, he hadn’t seen them since it seemed like forever ago but he couldn’t quite-

No, that wasn’t right, what was he doing?

—

“So it’s a similar effect to-“

“Yeah, to number 2. Not like it had to be, but it was easier to do it like this.”

Akane winced. Too much power always made him nauseous.

“Just…why are we here then?”

“Breathe. We anticipated this, Present.”

They always planned far ahead. They were the types. 

“But…”

This didn’t mean it wasn’t a risk and one most he knew would criticize them for. Himself included. This was not good.

He sucked in a breath and narrowed his spectacle-less eyes.

Someone had taken his-

Had someone stolen his glasses?

—

Chapter Text

Oh god what was that…

Riri woke with a yelp and a ‘fuck me’ as she made her way to a sitting position.

This wasn’t the Basement like she had thought but she wasn’t sure if the alternative was any better.

She toggled her watch and watched as it broke under her hand, falling down into the abyss.

At least it didn’t smell rank but it felt cold and dark and she wasn’t sure she liked it.

She wasn’t sure that she liked what conclusions she had came to in her dreams either but she supposed she’d have to deal-wasn’t like she hadn’t been there at all. Just not in that moment.

Then she heard a voice. It wasn’t Silv’s and it sounded too steady for what it said.

—

“Are you ok?”

“Very ok.  Can you at least listen to what I have to say before whatever happens happens?”

“I don’t-I-Riri is expecting you to barge in there and ruin whatever trust she has left so I expect you to realize I’ll never become you no matter what happens, bitch.”

“You’re not listening.”

Silv sighed.

“You’re not listening and it’s getting on my nerves.”

He pulled off his hood.

“Best to do that before anything else falls apart.

You see without me, everything will, I swear it.”*

“Am I really that full of myself?”

“If you’ve never been-you’ve repressed whatever the heck I went through in exchange for what? Normalcy?-anyway, if you don’t…”

Silv rolled his eyes.

“They want you not to go through that portal. I won’t let them.”

Silv plead until his glasses were also completely off of his face and he tossed them to Mitsuba with a ‘ping’ sound.

“And they will do anything to make sure the others don’t go through there first, but mark my words once they learn you went through as well they’ll come for me too.”

—

*He was partially right.

Chapter Text

“I don’t care to…preserve whatever you are, you know. You’re stupid, and I hate you, and you give off this…yeauch vibe, y’know?”

“Yeauch vibe? What the heck does that mean?”

“Like you’re not supposed to exist.”

“I’m not. But that doesn't mean I don’t. That’s the problem.”

—

Where were they? The girl tossed a dice towards the other.

Ehheheh a one, of course it was.

“You rolled a one!”

“Yeah I rolled a one!”

“Don’t be so excited about that.”

The boy turned towards the two and sent them a blank look.

“We should really be concerned.”

“About the dice?”

“That too, but I’m not sure where we are and I got a feeling neither of you are aware of where we are either.”

“We aren’t.”

“Good, I was right. But bad we’re still somewhere where we need to keep an eye out. Anyone else here?”

“Anyone else here?”

“I am aware that this is probably a ridiculous plan. What I am not aware of is where we are.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It’s not that bad wherever it is. We have to stay calm. It’s what I would do normally.”

— —-

Riri had almost run out of breath when she found someone else in the dark too.

“I don’t think we know where we are.”

The boy and the two others were surprisingly easy to see in the dark. 

But even if Riri couldn’t see them she could hear them fairly well, and recognized their voices.

“Well now that’s established I suppose we can all just sit in the dark and figure out where the heck we are until we can leave or until something bad happens.”

She grinned.

“At least, to be a bit optimistic, you seem to be, uh, is glowing the right term? So you can lead us through here, Doumeki.”

“How do you know my name?”

Riri took a careful step back.

“So I was right.”

—

Chapter Text

They hadn’t felt like this in years. They didn’t even know they could.

Why were they here? Were they always here? Was this their-

Did they not have-

It seemed like it. It seemed like their souls were somehow here and they were also somehow there. With Doumeki.

But the old kind of Doumeki.

But also not with Doumeki and with the shop and with- with-R- Watanu-pril fool-

And Riri, who they were not supposed to know the name of but who they did happen to know because of business.

Maru dropped the die again and heard it clatter through the floor as she did. 

They were solid enough to do that but then again they kind of figured.

Two-four?-no, two places at once.

A one again. Snake eye.

Not good.

—

Chapter Text

Mitsuba (no, this was Silv, damn it) felt the wind in his hair and sighed. 

He was at least not erased or worse,

He could and would still return. Why he was here and not worse off even was not his concern 

Why he existed at all was.

Did they not fix it. Did they not fix the lingering issues with the-

Oh. It wasn’t that simple, was it?

He still had a title. 

But then why wasn’t he-

Oh, right. He had already solved that problem too, and it seemed that so had Number 7. 

—

Mitsuba fiddled with his hair absentmindedly and sucked in air as he made his way down the hall to Tsukasa’s radio room.

It being tucked away as it was, it was a generous walk and experience in general to get through. But he still did it. 

Did he like going there? Hell no but that’s where his friends were so that is where he would go (although he supposed he had no friends so why he’d call them that was a mystery to him.) 

The wall next to the door was brick paved, painted in off-white.

He entered.

He shoved the glasses further in his pocket.

—

…

“One step closer to how it was before when Hanako had only messed it up enough to alter the timeline half the times as he has now.”

“And-“

“I can’t find our dear friend. He wouldn’t disappear. Even if we made him, that bastard would never disappear. If we’re here, however, then that means that he could be here too, even if he isn’t a-“

The other hummed.

“I’d’ve thought that too but seems Mitsuba is somewhere…else so maybe somehow they got switched. 

We wanted to get rid of him too, but the legality was all messed. 

It would have to be a result of some real power.

Whatever it was.”

—

“We aren’t supposed to be here-we are not allowed to be here. We can’t move. We can’t-“

Deep breath.

“We couldn’t leave before. We are bound to the-“

“Yeah I know I know. Maybe something changed?”

“Well, yeahhhhh something did change all right.”

“I’ll bet.”

Doumeki looked around at the emptiness.

“Perhaps it has something to do with the” gestures around the room “emptiness.”

He sighed.

“Perhaps if this place is nowhere then these two being here will mean they are not in fact here.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Or maybe whatever they are here is something separate from the entities of Maro and Moru.” 

“Two perfectly good guesses!”

He adjusted again to the darkness.

“Now the last thing for us to speculate on is how to get out of here. If there is a here. Which it seems there is one. All in?”

—

Reigen didn’t mind playing with sand but he hated the texture of it as it got in his shoes.

He had the very particular curse of getting sand in newer shoes and breaking them in completely wrong because of this-with rock pockmarks (rockmarks?) poking out of weird places.

Older and more versatile (useful) shoes were usually better and he didn’t have to deal with the pain of tapping the toe repeatedly to get the sand out. 

But here…

He had to maneuver around the pesky sand in his shoe as he got more in it. He supposed it was his fault as he did decide to take them off to check for quicksand or monsters in the sand as well (ever since he fell sick he cared less about if he lost a foot.)

His grandma (it still felt weird to talk to her as if she was his elder for some reason) walked to the small crowd with him in tow (were there actually more people here? Great! He loved people and they loved him!) and just… started yelling. 

He supposed he knew now where his conversation skills might have came from-she was very good at talking back. 

It was a bloodbath but one he couldn’t completely hear. It seemed in an ancient sort of language that he didn’t recognize. 

Wait, was he supposed to know it? He could pick out pieces but if he wanted to he probably couldn’t reliably pretend to actually know more than a few garbled phrases. Although it was a miracle he even knew anything as he didn’t consciously recognize anything with it. Maybe he knew it from his Latin phase or something? Must have been. 

“Uh, Nan?”

She turned back with the force of a full breeze behind her.

“Yeah Ari?”

He sent her a look.

“Ehheheh yes, sorry…”

With an awkward grin she gestured to the grumbling ensemble in front of her.

“They’re…family friends.”

Chapter Text

For someone who usually noticed when something was off, Dimple was very resisting this time around. But he did sort of feel it. The only reason he didn’t act in it sooner was he was comfortable. 

Why would he jeopardize his position in LOL for something stupid like a feeling? Although he did keep an eye out and had to clear the nauseous feeling he had multiple days in a row in that week.

He was a ghost, he shouldn’t have self preservation, but he did happen to have that in droves. 

If something felt off, something probably was and he didn’t know what to think about that. 

Should he? 

He felt the urge to puke again but couldn’t-he wouldn’t want to burden his host with sick either.

But never mind.

Anyway, something caused him to speed up his thinking on the matter when someone…special that he thought he recognized came to the LOL building after the meeting had ended. 

And the niggling at the back of his spectral head continued as he saw the boy, too. It got worse, in fact.

He had kind of fallen into a bad habit of getting used to it which if he was smart he would never do because this was serious but-

It was a young kid (probably middle school aged), and it seemed to be made of pure energy. Energy he wanted to take but even for him it would have been too much in one sitting.

At first he was confused why the kid was even there if not to gain some happiness or kind of pleasure within his life that wasn’t there before but that could be brought from the surface rather easily like everyone else but then he remembered something that seemed to click into reasonable and not ‘off’ deja vu. This had happened here, in the right order, and with the right ways. He had met this boy. Yes, he had. Yes he had.

Hmm, let’s see.

Someone had brought him in about a year ago, he thinks, but he can’t remember much else of the incident. Oh wait, he did actually remember something now. It wasn’t pretty but he could probably be a dangerous opponent if he tried-he was the only one who had beaten him like he had, only to let him off with a stern warning. 

Commanding an army was easy for him, trivially so even, and he had worked so hard to get where he was even then. 

He shouldn’t have been surprised by the kid breaking his focus-Dimple seemed to recall the kid had done it with flying colors the first time before he was able to wrangle the brat.

This time was different. 

The kid wasn’t really…the person talking to him seemed familiar, was familiar, too, but wasn’t dumb. This was someone deeper.

The deeper entity had waited until LOL had exited for the day and entered almost immediately after, almost out of politeness.

“I am sorry, are you Dimple?”’it said, looking pointedly at him. 

Warped as it was it shot daggers through his (borrowed, he would return it) body one after the other, chills that shouldn’t have been there, they weren’t supposed to exist.

There was no guilt, for everyone was fake. 

“Didn’t I tell you not to continue pushing happiness to vulnerable people? 

I know what that can do to a person. That’s why I took the offer for a club that I never would otherwise-to make others happy.

But that's just it. That part’s genuine. 

I wanted to help the Telepathy Club. You don’t want to help LOL at all, you want to hurt them-make them dependent on you, 

Well, I won’t have it any longer. You’re lucky Mob was as courteous as he was for I won’t be much friendlier with you than I have to be.”

The echo coming off the walls permeated them, almost cracking.

“I’ve been putting it off. But I started crossing it out and erasing it even though ‘pester Dimple into not taking advantage of people’ was not yet done as I kept getting looks from my folks and Ritsu.”

An energetic grin that seemed to not match the exterior energy shadow the psychic was putting off yet Dimple had to say he still quite liked it popped up on the face of the (surprisingly quite talkative) energy field.

It didn’t seem like he was moving his lips as he talked but Dimple still understood every word. 

Even as he was caught off guard enough to be punched square in the jaw and knocked straight out of the poor, poor man who had to host him he pondered a short list of questions to ask as to why he chose to break his poker face if he wanted to gain the upper hand and knew Dimple’s advantage.

Wait. Though he didn’t realize it before he was beginning to notice something. 

As he got punched (the technique could be better really) his ears would have likely rang if he had any. 

Well he supposed his host’s ears would at least. 

He had just enough energy to pull a manifestation of the same guy and just..ignore the man who was unconscious below him as he floated in his walking illusion further towards…them…blinked and then held his head as pain started cycling through it. Bright colors aside, the flashes were quick and electric. 

Could spirits even have memories? He supposed he did but it was a special case (he had more than the usuals). Then again, however, how were these his?

Wait-

Something had happened, he knew it now.

That little-

He found himself melting into familiarity at the kid (if that shadow blob could even be classified as a ‘kid,’ anyway) and started trying to pinch himself, forgetting that it wouldn’t do much if he did. He was right as the ectoplasmic goo stuck to his equally ectoplasmic fingers when he did.

Was he out-manipulated by a kid? He hadn’t felt this feeling like this since him.

And the kid had no right.

But somehow the literal ball of wasted potential and energy was someone he…recognized and, as everything started to fade back in from his fade-to-black stereotypical remembrance moment he realized with even more clarity as to why.

The kid was powerful. Even more so with clearer  honed potential and power, better objectives, which he recalled was sort of like how his Mob had done things and thus improved.

‘His’ Mob? As if this universe had never been a possible one either and as if he wasn’t also technically from here even if he remembered someone else’s live existence (which was frighteningly similar to his own)? Mob wasn’t someone to take to add to his collection (unless he wanted, he wouldn’t say no) but a trusted friend. 

But this Mob wasn’t Old Mob. 

Or new Mob? Damn he didn’t know this would be such a headache! For more people than himself just now…

He was still getting over that one. 

Ok, new plan.

Dimple was going to try to convince Mob that something was wrong and, if he responded affirmative (which he most likely would do) then they would be unstoppable! 

*evil laugh*

Unstoppable!

??? just rolled his nonexistent pupils and sighed.

“You know I can hear you, right?”

Oh damn did he do that out loud or something?

Chapter Text

Mitsuba was at the radio room again. He frowned as he moved closer and closer to the center of it all to find Tsukasa, Sakura and Natsuhiko there to help him again.

Or at least, given they were the only lifeline he had he would be ok heading straight there he supposed.

He had a new set of photos to develop! Sure he couldn’t exactly see Tsukasa’s target through the door (or if he did he didn’t want to admit it-yep that one) and he wasn’t there long but he did end up taking a picture of what was there, and a few of him and his…his…, although he wouldn’t be sharing those.

“Tsukasa?”

The ghost only smirked.

“Yeah? You got my photos?”

“Yes I do! Most from the location you sent but I also got some from the-“

Tsukasa gained a dark look on his face as if he had realized something.

“He’s back.”

“Wha-“

“He’s back. Those photos won’t develop like you think they will. You shouldn’t even be here, how are you-“

He got cut off again by something unseen and started falling, glitching, cracking…

A residue fell from his spectral form as he did. 

It was purplish, slimy, and Mitsuba could have sworn it was uncannily familiar.

Then only darkness.

—

“They are, uh, fun.”

“Hmmm?”

“Your friends.”

“Oh, yeahhhh! Yeah they are fun.”

She pawed at a locket in her hand, tossing it from hand to hand. A strand of…something was in it. It seemed thicker than what usually was in a necklace (it wasn’t hair, closer to yarn or lint). The outer was carved to support stuff stuck to it and what was currently stuck was a glowing mix of what looked like scales and dried flowers. 

A figure from the crowd stepped forward.

“Careful with that.”

Nene? nodded.

“I will.”

Reigen narrowed his eyes and looked straight at the necklace. From the right angle it looked to be glowing. 

Who was this? Was this really his grandma? Where was he? 

“Toss me that” he said with a conviction he hadn’t used in years.

She looked him in the eye as she responded.

“I don’t trust you with my life enough to give you it.”

That was…

He looked once again at the locket then at her than at himself. 

He nodded. It clicked. 

—

There was a light at the end of the tunnel. 

It seemed to be that wherever it was it led to was their only option.

Riri, Doumeki, Maro and Moro were all headed directly towards it, weapons fully brandished just in case (because of course they had backups.)

As they walked towards it they…was that tile?

“Hello. Welcome.”

A bored looking woman stood at the other side and pulled them up one by one. She rolled her eyes.

“Your friend is already here. Sit down.”

Their…what…

“Lower your weapons. This place is safe. You can keep them on you if you want but to be honest I think you need training first if you’re gonna attempt to keep void monsters in check so...”

She looked pointedly at them.

“Mitsuba is annoying but at least he knows combat.”

Void monsters? Combat? Mitsuba?

“Your friend? Sousuke’s your friend, right?”

Uhhhh…

“Welcome to the void. You can call me Bea if you want-I don’t like to give my name to people. I definitely used to but a name is an easy way to get ahold of someone’s trust and use it against them. 

Plus there’s some questionable memories attached.”

She frowned.

“I don’t know how many of us there are (last time I counted there were quite a bit who made it here, many more made it to the void itself before being consumed) but this is a safe space for us. And if you want to mess with this particular system we’ll kick you out.”

Laugh.

“It took me a while to get used to it too. I used to hate the system. Guess being stuck in a void for god knows how many years gives someone a new lease on life or something.”

She brushed her hair with her hand.

“Oh, and one more thing.  I heard from Sousuke that you’re from 20xx Japan. 

Being that this place is outside of time, there are people here from both the apparent past and future.

Multiple parallel universes too. 

Don’t alienate them, please? It took too much precious time to even get to this point. And they have different standards and priorities than you might have. 

In fact…

I’m from 32xx America. I just happen to be fluent in Japanese.”

She started leaving the room.

“I’ll give you time to process. I need to head to help teach some kids combat skills.”

—

Chapter Text

Mob stood there staring at Dimple after a long cooling session.

“Oh gosh are you the-are you that one guy who ruined milk for me for a week?”

Dimple hummed affirmatively but a bit apprehensive.

He was still recovering from whatever that was.

He had suddenly…regained? the full set of memories of someone…blond? Who usually traveled with the black haired kid Mob? Or right now whatever that energy thing was? 

Then again did he really ever lose them or were they just out of the way so far he didn’t happen to care? 

Because either way he felt the off-ness coming from this…man.

Or more accurately this manchild.

He called himself a psychic but he most certainly wasn’t one-and Dimple would know what was one very well, in fact his whole family were!

No wonder he traveled with Mob so much. That man pulled himself along by Mob’s strings more than he should have.

But there was still something there. A grin here, a convincing word there…that felt like it had some sort of power behind it.

He held what was left of his head again-why the heck could a literal ghost have memory problems? 

—

“Ok, so I am going to have to give you a routine look-over and checkup. And I would give you important shots and things too but the chemicals to get them are out of reach and finite.”

Doumeki gave a stare at Bea, choosing to leave it alone and respond in his own deadpan.

“If it’s no trouble you should help us get out. We’re definitely not supposed to be here. It’s physically impossible. Well, I could, but them?”

Bea looked bored like she had heard this all before. 

“Well, you say that but I find that almost nothing prevents us from being here. Time, space, licensing laws… I can’t usually find the door and that would be where all of the resources would be from.

I don’t want to count on us not dying or anything due to bad medical health but I have been here what seems like years and not done so or even looked the least bit different from when I came. 

Escape is futile and I hate that so much but at least it’s better than dealing with my world right now, jeez.”

Mitsuba was the one who sent a look her way this time, as he left the meetup.

“Yeah, weapons are one of the most common things here. Oh, hey. You’re back.”

“Yep!”

He looked nervously over at Bea.

“Are those really your-“

“Not friends. Never friends. Take my advice and don’t get too attached. My friends are-“

“Well what about Mini Aoi? And…uh… mini-Aoi?”

“Who is Aoi? And Aoi? I assume you’re talking about different people.”

“You wouldn’t get it but Blondie scientist and dark haired loud type-both kinda ugly because I’m the cute one.”

She pursed her lips.

“Broad descriptions but I think I catch your drift. They…uh… stowed away.”

“To nonexistence?”

“Yeah. And they aren’t my friends”

“Well good because I may have stabbed one in the arm.”

“What-oh never mind they can probably handle it.”

Chapter Text

Reigen needed out. He was bored of ‘here.’ Wherever here was.

And he was creeped out by his grandma still being the age she was as a kid with whatever that was around her neck.

And of his own. Because of course things couldn’t be that simple.

He had found…something in his pocket. It smelt foul (of sour milk and cigarettes) so he didn’t know why he was unaware of its existence before but it and the glowing object next to it (seriously why didn’t he know before this was so obvious) were certainly not very fun discoveries now were they.

He was surprised that neither got washed or thrown out but they persisted, the latter’s glow growing more intense, the orange-pink light reaching blinding levels.

The former seemed dead weight but it hadn’t been knocked off his person before-it was then he discovered why. One of his rings was missing a stone and the size of the acrid thing seemed to fit exactly although why he hadn’t just refit the thing was beyond him.

It seemed made of paper and lacquer and hair and shavings of…something.

It looked and smelt disgusting (he was trying to quit smoking) but familiar.

He couldn’t recall ever having a ring indent on his finger but it seemed he always had it.

He couldn’t set it there, now could he-oh no he definitely could.

It fell right back in. He shook it and it stuck.

He took the glowing object from his pocket too-he tossed it in the air, it reformed as a marble. 

It cracked.

“Fuck.”

He winced and felt the deepest and most sincere pain he’d ever felt.

— _

“Ari? What’s up with the swearing?”

Oh, right. He forgot about…luckily he was farther away from that particular crowd when he-

Her eyes lowered onto the marble. She cringed.

“Oh my-“

“What is it?”

“Give me that a sec.”

“Only if you give me your locket.”

“Still no.”

“Then no.”

Enna seemed like she knew something. But what the heck it is he wasn’t sure by slip-up alone.

Chapter Text

He was glowing.

Everyone was staring, he was staring at his arm, pure pinkish orange like the rest of him must’ve been.

He couldn’t quite see his reflection but from the narrowed eyes around he could tell something was off which to be honest even if they didn’t tell him all he needed to know through their expressions he’d still feel like that.

It didn’t matter that he felt better than he had in years. It didn’t matter that whatever it was flickered and glitched between his fingers and felt…right.

It didn’t matter that he knew something was wrong despite this.

Because something always was wrong. That was just how things worked with him.

Oh fuck he was zoning.

Oh boy he had every right to zone he knew being and processing being a literal ball of sunshine which was ironic given that he wasn’t all that good or nice of a person so the term probably wouldn’t normally apply but didn’t mean he wasn’t all too cautious of it.

The glass of the marble didn’t feel sharp in the same way-it felt to almost be the texture of ivory.

The shards seemed to crumble away too.

“Explanation. Now. C’mon. Explanation now.”

—

Chapter Text

“Uh-“

The look on her face said all he needed to know.

The look on everyone else’s seemed to check out with hers in a suspicious sort of way that he couldn’t help but shudder at.

“I’m…”

“I swear if I am correct about this…”

He’d never use power like that on anyone even if it benefited him unless it was an active threat and even then he usually preferred bluffs and sleight of hand, but he was getting heated for something that was becoming less of a supposition and more of a fact every second.

His grandma had completely blanched.

“So you know what this is? How was I supposed to live without this?”

He knew exactly how and wouldn’t actually have liked to know what it was earlier or even used it as such-in fact he would never had phrased it like that unless he had a good reason. Ever. But he questioned it as a health risk and not a personal blow. 

There was a chance that it hadn’t been her who did it but-

“Yugishiro. Hey?”

He…hadn’t been referred to with that name for a while.

It seemed to come from one of the other people on the sand. Wait he was back on the beach-he blinked slightly. 

Ahhaha he was here! Small comfort that he had actually remembered where he was.

But why had he thought-

“Yeah, what’s it to you?”

The kid ruffled his own red hair and stepped closer.

“Don’t assume. She’s caused trouble but she’d never do something like that.”

Then someone pulled them back.

“I’m just saying it’s…”

They suck in air as they wince.

“Trust me there’s better ways. And she’s the type to not…y’know…”

Wait a minute.

Wait a fucking minute. If that was the case then-

Oh my god he was a hypocrite wasn’t he? He felt soft tears trailing down his cheeks and tried his best to admit they were there.

He knew his face would be irritated later. If he even still had a face. He wasn’t sure. 

Something clicked right then and he stood there. But the Something Different intensified. The crackling increased too as he stared everyone down.

“I am s-sorry, then.”

Oh damn it all. 

His pupils were white and his energy swirled intensely as he-no, it wasn’t, but same difference-readied his most interesting and judgemental glare.

In fact, hypocrite aside he had to put it to both them and his counter softly enough that they would care for once. 

“But YOU should be sorry too. You didn’t defend yourself. Why didn’t you do that. You’re still hiding something.”

“I-“

“Oh, you’re Taka’s Nan. Huh. Tell me, Taka’s Nan, what the heck is going on, and perhaps then I will go lighter on you.”

A bluff. Huh. Classic ‘him.’

No strain on his vocal chords either. It seemed that he could project what he meant and getting it was just a matter of principle. 

Good-he hated the hint of the stutter. Nice to know it was psychological for now that he was actually free to do what he wanted all he really wanted to do was enjoy it and crying wasn’t enjoying it.

Chapter Text

Ritsu was an overachiever and a prick, and he knew that very well.

Of course he hadn’t actually had to face that head on at all in the mornings but that didn’t mean that he didn’t sit in bed at late hours staring at the ceiling after half to all- nighters feeling guilty about too much.

Did he really say that? Threaten that? Imply that?

Did he really do that in order to keep his perfectly kept moral image in check? 

He kept his memories close like old enemies.

He yelled at them on the regular but all that would come out was shock waves. Regrets sure did like to pile.

Until one night he suddenly noticed something different than his usual anxieties.

He had something fuzzy in his head. If it was a trauma response he might not know but it felt different.

It was like the uncomfortable feeling had reached before the tip of his tongue but not gotten all the way on his palate and it buzzed enough times that he almost wondered if he had a missed message that he would have to respond to (would it be another negotiation with a troublemaker? Another 5?) as it was just as loud.

He scratched lightly at his head and scrunched up his hair, piece after piece.

He let out a sigh and headed to the bathroom for pain meds, grabbing a few before checking his phone.

STUCO1

New mark. Meet at xxxxxxx. Bring paper and pen. A knife, too, if you feel you might need it.

Greattt, that kind of troublemaker. 

Well not like he had much else-Mob was never home anymore, he was always at Telepathy.

And StuCo took time too but it also took much needed bonding and friendship time.

Because ‘Stuco1’ was a colleague, an acquaintance at best, and that showed in the fact that Ritsu had let him have dibs on the name even though he didn’t normally refer to him as his first one. 

First name basis was not something they had-purely business.

He contemplated even heading out but he was already out the door as fast as his legs could take him by the time he had re-questioned the idea.

Maybe he’d get some coffee on the way over or something.

And if he held his head a few too many times running over he wouldn’t tell anyone.

He wouldn’t tell anyone about his sleepless nights either. Except maybe his therapist.

——

Bianca needed an energy drink. 

She was kind of into the idea now (even with Sarah pestering her to drink all the new ones) as they meant she would get energy at a relatively safe level of risk. And not like a brainwash sort of type.

She was already dead inside and already probably actually dead as well if what she thought the void’s best case was was true.

So something to make her less..well *that,* no matter what it was, it was welcome.

But it seemed that no groceries ever touched the void, just construction materials (no, actually, someone had brought that. Someones. She didn’t ask.)

It didn’t matter because they apparently didn’t need food and weren’t rotting from it either. Must be a time thing-interesting.

So she had no energy drink, no coffee, no tea, no-

Wait, the Doctor always had useful stuff on his person and she was almost positive running out would not be an option even though she had gotten to that point before a billion times.

She’d borrow his coffee ration again and then feel a little better afterwards.

She always did.

She picked up her weapons and headed towards hand to hand combat and away from the waiting room, where the two twin looking types and Mr. Tall and Ominous were sitting.

She’d win that coffee if she had to pull it from Allbright’s cold dead-

She winced. Too far even for her. No, he was…too close to her for her to even think about that. She wouldn’t tell him she felt at all like this but would it even matter?

He was more her dad than her actual one had been. And she had a shadow in her memory that was shaped like him when she was really young (couldn’t quite make it out) so he could very well be a godparent or something.

He didn’t seem that old but she had a terrible memory and so it could have been as late as probably 12 years.

She could use anything she could get, however, and so she might have to exploit the opening and get the coffee that w-

No, Bianca.

—

I've tried you at levels of moisture

From desert to mud

I've given you grow-lights

And mineral supplements

What do you want from me, blood?

Anzu was watching a movie for once. 

It was a classic American one, based on a musical based on a movie.

Convoluted.

Her parents weren’t home yet but this was their favorite.

She missed them so this was her favorite too.

Old monster movies had nothing on talking plants.

Same thing though.

Then something crossed her mind as she finished another cup of hot cocoa and popcorn.

Would it be too late to meet up this time?

Would they be eaten by the plant or would it be the revised ending?

She tried not to think of that. Wait she could check. 

She could memorize most things by heart so she took a pen and jotted down what she could remember of the phone numbers. 

She left the movie paused and took a contemplative walk around the suite.

She brushed her teeth as she landed her way straight in the bathroom, leaning towards the mirror and feeling something push at her brain multiple times in all the right places. 

It didn’t feel dark or malevolent-in fact it felt familiar, but desperate.

—

Guys? Guys?

Riri peered through the void again,

Lost them. Not good. 

She almost felt like breaking down.

But wait-

She held her hand out a second and waited.

This was a shot in the dark (ha!) but maybe she could…

Maybe she could channel without a wand if Silv was out of the picture.

Maybe just maybe.

She felt a rush as she tried, lips tilting into a grin. 

“Hoshino Anzuuuuuu…”

She pictured herself poking at Anzu like she always does, maybe with a bit of extra poking at her brain in case she lost any memories, although she highly doubted that. 

She wouldn’t allow Anzu to forget so she could have natural-magicked it so she literally couldn’t but that gave her pause anyway to think about because having two sets of anything that important would-

Ah. There. 

—

Chapter Text

The void should carry nothing as it was a void and voids were usually null) but this particular one didn’t follow that particular pattern.

For you see, Riri had somehow started receiving packages.

Stuff she had lost a while back appeared in neat cardboard boxes as if she’d never left it, each labeled carefully with stamps (she could feel the embossing.

Old embarrassing photos, a flip phone from ages ago, several feet of chewing gum, a set of AirPods that she was positive were destroyed but here they were, a whole file cabinet worth of files, her old stuffie Mr. Buttons, a flashlight…

Wait a flashlight? It was a long shot since the AirPods seemed to be dead but she pressed the button on the thing and suddenly everything illuminated in bright light. 

And she could see a building in the distance even as she felt the damp. There were lights in there somehow but it was insulated, it seemed, so something couldn’t get in.

Heels clacked along the floor from something inhuman, its eyes blank, its face monstrous and white and flat and skeletal at the same time.

The skeleton was wiry, tall and wiry, and its shadow glitchy and smoke-bent.

The eyes were like static, the grey kind on old TVs. 

It was…tall even without the heels that it somehow had-made it worse to think about. Since Riri guessed they were closer to human now than ever, they could tell who other humans were and that thing must’ve been one at some point.

It had…fragments taken out, replaced with void, too.

Void.

Void.

It was clearly part of said void and it wasn’t letting up. 

A tremble flew up their  spine as they felt something brush against their temple, its long fingers whispering a breath. 

They ran, their breath getting more ragged by the second. They had forgot they even had lungs but this? This was pain they couldn’t usually feel without influence. It almost felt exhilarating which was one of two default trauma responses they usually had. They supposed. This one felt actually natural for once.

Then…tile.

The boxes fell on their back as they fell down into a

what reminded them of a waiting room-they definitely wouldn’t miss anime physicssssss, oh nah.

They should have lost track of the creature…

—

Chapter Text

Serizawa pulled out his game controller and started to rapidly press Y (gah why did he still fall? He was maintaining jump command) when one of his acquaintances/teammates started laughing hysterically.

A: Ahhaha this is hard to watch.

S: Excuse me, CatWizard15, if that even is your name-

A:I’ll have you know that it certainly is, Brella_Psi_97. So, what were you saying? 

S: It’s not my fault that the button’s laggy.

A: Oh, that’s why. No, stupid. The button isn’t-what do you-

S: As your elder I get final say and I say the button’s laggy.

A: That’s no fun. Also you’re not my elder, or it would be super creepy.

S: Nah I definitely am. I can just kinda tell. And it’s not creepy.

A: You’re right, it’s more funny-because if you have more time playing than me you should fall less.

S: I suppose so. 

—

“Am I-am I too late?”

Riri gasped as they held desperately on to the tile, ragged breaths overtaking them.

“Am I-has that thing gotten me?”

Normally they’d be more confident-normally they’d use their power. 

But that thing…

Their teeth chattered.

It really was as if they’d seen a ghost. They were cold and drained and…

Someone held out a hand. And a blanket from inside…their own box? 

Their old security blanket. But bigger?

Oh-they did actually remember modifying the thing, then losing it a week later. Huh. Hopefully it’d be heavy enough. 

They took the hand and pulled themself up.

They blinked at the pink haired person with the barrettes who looked boredly at them.

“Another? So soon? Oh joy.”

Chapter Text

“So, are you just going to sit there and prod at me until I give you an explanation and make sure I am fully exorcised?”

“Well you never know, but I suppose…that void demon was especially a bitch.”

“That he was.”

“And more consistent with sticking.”

“True.”

The pink haired girl rooted through the boxes.

Her eyes got wider and wider as she rooted. A blanket, another flashlight, a tiny terrarium, six cracked discs, a few tiny hard drives, stuffies, and a ton of vials. 

“This-this is-why would you have thi-“

“Stop the questions…”

“These are rare. In order for someone to have these and lose them one has to be rich, careless, contracted, or all three.”

She blinked as she pulled something else out too-it was in a glass box and it seemed… alive.

Still blank faced, she sighed.

“This is yours, right?”

Chapter Text

Mob woke up in a room full of chairs stacked against walls, a stage clearly at the front of the room, with an unconscious body of some weird guy next to a moving version who seemed to have a faint green outline and an uncanny valley type feeling about him. 

He hadn’t realized he’d passed out but he had but wait-did he know whoever this was? Oh wait yeah he did. This was LOL.

How he’d gotten there again was quite a mystery to him but seemed less so to the man onstage who stared with a blank expression at him, clearly trying to form words.

“Y-“

He started, catching himself.

“You.”

Chapter Text

Mob woke up in a room full of chairs stacked against walls, a stage clearly at the front of the room, with an unconscious body of some weird guy next to a moving version who seemed to have a faint green outline and an uncanny valley type feeling about him. 

He hadn’t realized he’d passed out but he had but wait-did he know whoever this was? Oh wait yeah he did. This was LOL.

How he’d gotten there again was quite a mystery to him but seemed less so to the man onstage who stared with a blank expression at him, clearly trying to form words.

“Y-“

He started, catching himself.

“You.”

—

  Maro was reading a book next to her sister, calmly, which was odd seeing as they weren’t the most calm of…beings, maybe. Yeah, beings would work.

  April Fool was there, making some food for himself with a distant look in his eye as if he was going to do something he’d regret.

   Moru was next to Maro, keeping an eye on young R-Wata-April Fool and smelling food as he cooked it.

Perhaps it was the loss of Doumeki. But he was right there, why couldn’t he see him-oh right. He couldn’t be in two places at once.

“April Fool!”

The other echoed.

“April Fool April Fool!”

“We know something you don’t know! And you need to.”

Watanuki turned sharply.

“What is it.”

“We know where Doumeki is.”

He froze.

—

“So, are you just going to sit there and prod at me until I give you an explanation and make sure I am fully exorcised?”

“Well you never know, but I suppose…that void demon was especially a bitch.”

“That he was.”

“And more consistent with sticking.”

“True.”

The pink haired girl rooted through the boxes.

Her eyes got wider and wider as she rooted. A blanket, another flashlight, a tiny terrarium, six cracked discs, a few tiny hard drives, stuffies, and a ton of vials. 

“This-this is-why would you have thi-“

“Stop the questions…”

“These are rare. In order for someone to have these and lose them one has to be rich, careless, contracted, or all three.”

She blinked as she pulled something else out too-it was in a glass box and it seemed… alive.

Still blank faced, she sighed.

“This is yours, right?”

-

-

-

“Kiss me or something. I can’t wait any longer, Mo.”

“It’s perfectly all right, Char. If you really want to, we can lock the door. We’re roommates, right?”

“Not like that. And it would be a stupid idea anyway-wouldn’t chaste kisses in an alleyway or something be nicer?”

“Not that.”

“It’s a safety thing-“

“No.”

“You sure change your mind quick.”

“Thin walls.”

“Ah.”

—

“You were lucky the monster didn’t end up sticking that I could tell. Although you do have a layer of a different being beneath your eyes. And you don’t look quite human either.”

Riri was still keeping ‘calm.’ It didn’t work. 

They froze and their eyes refocused on the box. It was…pulsing.

—

Chapter Text

Reigen wanted to talk to the council (he shouldn’t really have wanted to give them that title but he supposed he needed shorthand and that group seemed to be very close knit). 

He asked his grandma if it was advisable to talk to the cluster, and all Nan (Nene?)  could say was  that she knew and trusted most of them. 

Most being the key word. Then again he didn’t exactly trust Nan either, to be honest. She was still withholding information he needed to know. Like why would he have a form similar to Mob’s?

You’re right, but have another drink. The lemon sour is in your jacket pocket still-might be a little flat. 

Thanks.

Wait- 

Did he have that in his pocket too along with the-

He supposed he did.

And was this that form or something more sinister?

C’mon Ari. I swear. I am really you. A suppressed part of you since forever, but a you nonetheless.”

He took a swig of alcohol. Then another.

Good man. 

“Good…what do I call you?”

‘Query’ works or possibly Taka but that’s a special name for you so I don’t think so on that one. Query is like a question, and since I am sure you have many, and Mob’s form goes by ??? as it’s him at ???%, call me Query. It makes me sound smarter too which is a major bonus.

Chapter Text

Hey all,

I will not be posting a teaser today since my doc crashed and I had to switch to a new one now.

The next chapter will be very long, so if I just give notes in the comments here in the next few days as to my progress that is why; because it’s not done yet and probably won’t be for the next few days, same as the final chapter, because I am actually devoting time to concluding this.

Also sorry if I sound loopy. It’s late and I like to write stuff before I sleep for ze creative juices but there’s still caffeine in my system so I’m currently running on fumes. 

If you like my art I might draw more of the cast of this fic too. Also finally put together family trees. 

I also have college to worry about. So there’s that.

Don’t miss me too much.

Koda

Chapter Text

Reigen wanted to talk to the council (he shouldn’t really have wanted to give them that title but he supposed he needed shorthand and that group seemed to be very close knit). 

He asked his grandma if it was advisable to talk to the cluster, and all Nan (Nene?)  could say was  that she knew and trusted most of them. 

Most being the key word. Then again he didn’t exactly trust Nan either, to be honest. She was still withholding information he needed to know. Like why would he have a form similar to Mob’s?

You’re right, but have another drink. The lemon sour is in your jacket pocket still-might be a little flat. 

Thanks.

Wait- 

Did he have that in his pocket too along with the-

He supposed he did.

And was this that form or something more sinister?

C’mon Ari. I swear. I am really you. A suppressed part of you since forever, but a you nonetheless.”

He took a swig of alcohol. Then another.

Good man. 

“Good…what do I call you?”

‘Query’ works or possibly Taka but that’s a special name for you so I don’t think so on that one. Query is like a question, and since I am sure you have many, and Mob’s form goes by ??? as it’s him at ???%, call me Query. It makes me sound smarter too which is a major bonus.

—

?

“So, Bianca, right?”

Bianca stink-eyed.

“You’ve no room to talk. That’s your heart right there. What the heck.”

Riri chuckled.

“I lost it at a young age-although it should really be back where it’s supposed to be now given the circumstances-but I suppose this place is out of time enough that I doubt it cares.”

Bianca continued the stink eye as she angled her eyes towards the box. 

“You want to test it?”

Riri put two fingers against her wrist. Thump thump thump ba dump ba dump ba dump.

“Heartbeat. But…that’s still mine. Gosh that is so weird.”

Bianca then gave a dangerous look at Riri as her eyes and mouth widened.  

“Interesting.”

Riri winced. Her aura became dark as she kept their eyes on the wall and not on her conversation partner.

“I have a feeling the…culprit is here if you want to talk to him about it.”

“I’d love to but first how do you know?”

“His hair is distinctive-but he didn’t do it in this timeline so I have no clue.”

“Oh.”

Riri sighed.

“Use it if you want. I know what you wanted to ask; I know that look in your eyes.”

Bianca tapped her arm against her pant leg repeatedly.

“Well, better do something with it before it gets taken by somebody worse. 

If I’m right there’s something to it that I’d rather not get in the wrong hands.”

Riri tried to keep her breathing consistent.

“If you’re thinking what I am thinking then yes.”

Bianca sucked in a breath. 

“That’s rough.”

“You don’t know anything.”

“I know enough.”

—

Mitsuba sat in the common room, arms aching from hand to hand combat led by a glasses wearing man who seemed to have bleached hair with dark auburn roots.

He sat next to the party that came with him, and laughed that their paperwork hadn’t been processed yet (and wasn’t that fun because his certainly had been, or at least that was what he was pretending.) 

One of the people he had likened to the Aois (which was weird since he didn’t really know them and he always believed he was above them before so why specifically did this man remind him so heavily of-never mind.)

His combat partners included Other Aoi-ish person (this time the girl type), someone else with blond hair but with blue eyes and a dangerous kind of look on his face (and were those cat ears, those had to be cat ears), a blue haired kid who couldn’t have been older than 17, a woman with a headband and a long neck, a black haired boy with a soft eye roll, a green haired girl with a sharp grin, a pink haired boy, a…

His eyes zoned as he attempted to focus on his surroundings for a split second.

His vision was overtook with black as something on his jacket (a gooey type of ink) absorbed through his brain (no it wasn’t gone, was it.)

He felt nauseous when he woke. He woke to a brown haired obscenely tall man in a shirt holding out his hand-yes this was someone he was familiar with. A member of his group, maybe. 

No, he wasn’t, actually, but he had gotten stuck around the same time, hadn’t he.

“I took it” the man said. 

“Took a while but I took it. Had to quarantine you as well but luckily Bea had lost a vial back at her place.”

Bea? Vial? Lost?

“Slow your pace, long-ass. What do ya mean?”

“I mean…”

He pulled a vial from his pocket.

It was filled with a rather…special ink.

“There’s more. I can feel it. But the seal won’t break on this one.”

“Good to know.”

He somehow didn’t seem relieved by this. Should he have been?

He heard a familiar heartbeat from the other room which was hard to believe given the void-house was not that big so how many rooms did it have anyway?

He wanted it.

Eww no, why would he-

He found himself glitching, now, almost blacking out again, but this time, remembering.

He held his head.

That was why?

He held his pulse.

Oh.

Oh fuck.

—

Aren’t you a fun one, Ari. 

It’s Reigen.

Oh so formal for someone who’s literally you.

Yeah I know but my mom called me Ari. 

Right. And Serizawa called you-

Taka, right.

Char, then?

Fine. I haven’t gone by my middle in years but I suppose it’ll do because you are me.

Then, Char. How to get out of here. 

I’ll ask my grandma. She owes me for withholding information.

I’ll help dispose of the bodyyyyy~

No, you can’t get power drunk. That’s not the right thing to do right now.

Ah c’mon.

I get to veto that.

C’mon.

She’s still my grandma.

—

Serizawa had someone come by earlier.

They heard a pulse from next to the door, and a redhead opened it.

Unfamiliar was an understatement but they barged in as if not of their own volition, tearing the hinges.

They seemed pained and focused in on Serizawa with a look that seemed blank and passionate at once.

On a separate note, his gaming partner had stopped responding from the other side. As offline as they were they were never off completely, same as him, so where were they-

As he focused on the redhead and back at himself he took a deep breath.

And tried not to think of his employer redhead.

And only about this one who-

Something clicked.

Wait-

Was this…

His gaming partner?

But why were they here?

Why did they look like a marionette?

And what was that pulse that seemed consistent off of them?

—

Riri winced.

I’m sorry, Anzu, but this is the only way.

At least you still know the guy. I only recognize him because of Uncle, but it was easier now that you were already talking. 

You can help get us back.

They pulled a hand back in the tiled void, focused.

—

Teru was alone.

Teru was alone in his lab, with absolutely nothing left. Tiara was being babysat and ever since he had gotten Kou back the kid had wanted nothing to do with him. Apparently since Nene wasn’t yet back, and Mitsuba had permanently…relocated. Same as Hanako.

No friends certainly might knock some sense into him but he didn’t want to hope or deflect and project too much. (Sycophants didn’t count as friends so he was in a similar boat.) 

And as for Akane and Hanako, they were gone which was good riddance, but the guilt still made his hair stand on end. 

They were out of his control.

—

Mob and Dimple ran, fast but calculated.

They had quickly put aside their differences when they had regained their memories, and to what they were running towards they didn’t know.

But what they did know was they had to move fast.

And fast they did. 

Dimple was reluctant in removing his influence so he chose not to bring up the room’s many elephants and just pretended like he had given up. It was…important to him to do this.

It wasn’t dismantled now.

He could save it.

If only just to have Reigen tear it all down. 

To let him do it.

The man in his memories reminded him of himself-if he had psychic power he would practically be a mini him.

Much as he’d hate to admit it.

He wouldn’t say he was protective of this myth of a man but he totally was.

More so then he had been in decades. 

Which was yeah, dramatic, but the more he remembered, the more he realized about himself too. 

Fun.

—

Chapter Text

Serizawa had someone come by earlier.

They heard a pulse from next to the door, and a redhead opened it.

Unfamiliar was an understatement but they barged in as if not of their own volition, tearing the hinges.

They seemed pained and focused in on Serizawa with a look that seemed blank and passionate at once.

On a separate note, his gaming partner had stopped responding from the other side. As offline as they were they were never off completely, same as him, so where were they-

As he focused on the redhead and back at himself he took a deep breath.

And tried not to think of his employer redhead.

And only about this one who-

Something clicked.

Wait-

Was this…

His gaming partner?

But why were they here?

Why did they look like a marionette?

And what was that pulse that seemed consistent off of them?

—

Riri winced.

I’m sorry, Anzu, but this is the only way.

At least you still know the guy. I only recognize him because of Uncle, but it was easier now that you were already talking. 

You can help get us back.

They pulled a hand back in the tiled void, focused.

—

Teru was alone.

Teru was alone in his lab, with absolutely nothing left. Tiara was being babysat and ever since he had gotten Kou back the kid had wanted nothing to do with him. Apparently since Nene wasn’t yet back, and Mitsuba had permanently…relocated. Same as Hanako.

No friends certainly might knock some sense into him but he didn’t want to hope or deflect and project too much. (Sycophants didn’t count as friends so he was in a similar boat.) 

And as for Akane and Hanako, they were gone which was good riddance, but the guilt still made his hair stand on end. 

They were out of his control.

—

Mob and Dimple ran, fast but calculated.

They had quickly put aside their differences when they had regained their memories, and to what they were running towards they didn’t know.

But what they did know was they had to move fast.

And fast they did. 

Dimple was reluctant in removing his influence so he chose not to bring up the room’s many elephants and just pretended like he had given up. It was…important to him to do this.

It wasn’t dismantled now.

He could save it.

If only just to have Reigen tear it all down. 

To let him do it.

The man in his memories reminded him of himself-if he had psychic power he would practically be a mini him.

Much as he’d hate to admit it.

He wouldn’t say he was protective of this myth of a man but he totally was.

More so then he had been in decades. 

Which was yeah, dramatic, but the more he remembered, the more he realized about himself too. 

Fun.

—

There was a wall of vials now. It was as if a magnet had touched it when Mitsuba held the vial. 

He tried to resist its pull and succeeded just enough but the magnetic pulse also attracted the creatures outside, and as they powdered and dripped his (toomanytoomanytoomany) eyes opened and they were dripping black ink too and he held his head as if something would be there. 

He blinked and let it overtake him. He’d worry about the consequences later-he somehow knew this was…needed.

He was cute! He was the fun one! He was better than most ever were. 

He was flamboyant, and purposeful, and nostalgic. He had been lonely a while and now he was again but not really but really. 

But as he felt that…thing intersect again he realized exactly why he was dull, and drawling, and wholly imperfect as Silv.

And he screamed. Like a little girl. He screamed like a little girl and he almost laughed as he did.

He shouldn’t exist here, now, but since it was the void of no existence he supposed it didn’t matter too much if he still existed as he did in it.

—-

Reigen felt the beach shake just a little bit and stared at the council who were…he wouldn’t say frozen in time…except they were. And they had been for a while and he just hadn’t noticed, had he?

Nan moved towards him (she wasn’t frozen) with an empty look.

“You have a…you can’t be-you can’t be dead. If you have one of those you have to be dead.”

She held her head and looked around.

Akane looked judgmentally at them and rolled his eyes.

“Hurry it up. I can’t hold this much longer. Yes you made those for him, you did it in a different timeline, and yes he is very powerful and I hate that I don’t actually want to get rid of him because you still made an unforgivable mistake (mistakes) and now all I have left instead of Aoi is you, guilt, and Minamoto and yes I could have actually made you disappear into the void, but-“

Reigen blinked.

“Wait a sec, hold up, back up a little. You did what and what and what? And what’s this about ‘respect,’ I doubt I’ve earned it.”

—

His gaming partner shambled closer and closer as they were moving, articulated piece by piece in an endless cycle. Controlled, clearly, by someone who was a coward for not showing his face-wait, he was one of those. And he had a redhead puppeteer too. 

Funny how patterns work. 

As he ambled forward to punch her in order to snap her out of it, she started to speak. 

“I am sorry if you don’t trust me, Anzuuuu is the most lovable face-but I currently don’t exist and I need to exist and do you know about temporal paradoxes and rips or was this whole thing for nothing?”

Soft giggle.

“This wasn’t a choice I made lightly, and Anzu will hate me for it but if you can somehow find a way to keep the timeline intact while taking us out of this crazy black void where nothing exists then I will give you six boxes of chocolates, a new gaming console, and a kitten. That should work. At least it would work for Anzuuuu but I don’t know if it would for you would it??”

They brushed their hair out of their face. 

“Someone you know was lost too. You had a very…meaningful connection and it’s gone until something happens to fix it or fuck it up more. Ewww that sounded weird in Anzu’s voice-like I know she swears on the regular but it’s like me swearing as her? No matter. If Reigen, I, Sil-Mitsuba, Doumeki, and whoever else was affected goes back to normal without disappearing then everything will be a-ok!”

Reigen. Now where did he know that name?

—

Bea raised an eyebrow.

“That’s creepy and fucked up and wrong on so many levels but I know why you’re doing it. So continue and maybe you put your trust where your mouth is.”

Ri nodded.

“It’s gonna be worth it.”

—

Dimple stared down Mob and hugged him tightly, as he knew they shared the same loss and the same drive to return the cryptid and his family home safe. 

Mushy didn’t suit him but in the moment all he wanted to do was cry after a man who didn’t exist.

Whoever that was (could be Mob or the other one) hugged him like his life depended on it as well as Reigen’s and something pulled free from his head. A black…inky…substance…

He flinched, causing his green body to fall across the room as he assumed a fighting stance, 

“Not. you…”

Fortunately it seemed prone to some sort of vacuum but he couldn’t see the source so it could be an unfortunately too.

No, that was suspicious and it called to him too but it was falling down, down, down where he couldn’t follow it.

Whatever was left of…Mogami. And some other traits and souls too that he didn’t recognize.

He stumbled back.

And then suddenly he knew.

Why hadn’t he seen that Reigen was related to Mogami, too?

All the most reason to combine and create something to bring them back.

—

Ẃ̶̭̲̳̯̬̞̬̤̝̦͉͖͉̾̾͋͛̊̔̑͂̀̿h̶̢̭̩̞̟͕̖̪̭̠̓͊̒̔͌̽̆͋́̇͂̂́͜͝͝å̷̢̛͉̪̎̈́̍̔͐͗̓͘t̷̢̧̛͚͍̠̼͙̻̗̗̭̘̟̾̋͋̉ͅ ̴̘͉̝̝̝̬̥̘̾̉̓͂̒̍̔̂͘ͅi̴̡͎͈̹̙͙̹̳̣͙̹̹͈̰̺̭̐̓̐̀͗͠ͅs̴̨̝̥̝̼̥̥̀̽̑̾̚͝ ̷̨̡̛̛̮̣̪̤̥̭̼͈̙̲̮̲̄̊́̎̈́̅̑͋́̐̓̔̈́̅͠ͅi̴̢̲̫̲͈̩̬̠̲͔͇̠͈̹͑͒̄̃̎̏t̶̺̰́̚ ̴̧̥͔̪̙̤̲̈́̋̎̃̃͂̏̉̾̀̂͝͝ţ̸̱̦̥̼̪͗̒̽̈́̅̃̔́̀̈͋͗͝h̷͙̭͎͕̮̦̓͋̀̋͠a̴̛̰͇͋̌̍̄̍͗̾̈̋̿t̴̛̞̱̣̻̹̭͚͓͉̣̜͈̭̱̫̏͛͂̔̌̉ ̴̧̱̈́̌̆y̷̱͎̌͝ö̷͖̪́̿̐́̄̍̄͂̇͐̔͆ǔ̴̼̭̼͖͉̏ ̸̧̪͕̳͔͍̥͓̈̏̋ͅẁ̸̧̧̛͚̤̙̟̰̯̪̟̉̏͊͐̌̋͗̎̔͗̏͂͘͝͝ì̶̥̯̭̑̄̄̀̾͘͘͠͠ͅş̴̢̼̳̞̘̯̘̠̖̣̘͈͖̽͘͜ͅh̷̝͑̑͒́̓̊̕.̶̧͉̳̲̎́̈́̎̽͒͑͗̀̑̒̃̀͝͝

Mitsuba sighed and took it.

It wasn’t exactly a hand that he took the aid from, it was an inky drip that took over his eyes then his eyes then his-what was left of his brain. 

Ẃ̶̭̲̳̯̬̞̬̤̝̦͉͖͉̾̾͋͛̊̔̑͂̀̿h̶̢̭̩̞̟͕̖̪̭̠̓͊̒̔͌̽̆͋́̇͂̂́͜͝͝å̷̢̛͉̪̎̈́̍̔͐͗̓͘t̷̢̧̛͚͍̠̼͙̻̗̗̭̘̟̾̋͋̉ͅ ̴̘͉̝̝̝̬̥̘̾̉̓͂̒̍̔̂͘ͅi̴̡͎͈̹̙͙̹̳̣͙̹̹͈̰̺̭̐̓̐̀͗͠ͅs̴̨̝̥̝̼̥̥̀̽̑̾̚͝ ̷̨̡̛̛̮̣̪̤̥̭̼͈̙̲̮̲̄̊́̎̈́̅̑͋́̐̓̔̈́̅͠ͅi̴̢̲̫̲͈̩̬̠̲͔͇̠͈̹͑͒̄̃̎̏t̶̺̰́̚ ̴̧̥͔̪̙̤̲̈́̋̎̃̃͂̏̉̾̀̂͝͝ţ̸̱̦̥̼̪͗̒̽̈́̅̃̔́̀̈͋͗͝h̷͙̭͎͕̮̦̓͋̀̋͠a̴̛̰͇͋̌̍̄̍͗̾̈̋̿t̴̛̞̱̣̻̹̭͚͓͉̣̜͈̭̱̫̏͛͂̔̌̉ ̴̧̱̈́̌̆y̷̱͎̌͝ö̷͖̪́̿̐́̄̍̄͂̇͐̔͆ǔ̴̼̭̼͖͉̏ ̸̧̪͕̳͔͍̥͓̈̏̋ͅẁ̸̧̧̛͚̤̙̟̰̯̪̟̉̏͊͐̌̋͗̎̔͗̏͂͘͝͝ì̶̥̯̭̑̄̄̀̾͘͘͠͠ͅş̴̢̼̳̞̘̯̘̠̖̣̘͈͖̽͘͜ͅh̷̝͑̑͒́̓̊̕.̶̧͉̳̲̎́̈́̎̽͒͑͗̀̑̒̃̀͝͝

It came again. 

“I’d like there to be a way for everyone to exist without breaking everything. I’d gladly do anything in return I swear.”

A̵̢͔̪̻͌̃̉̿͋́͋̽́ͅņ̵̨̘̝̗͚̙̞̼̝̠̣̳̹̜͈̓͌́͜ẙ̶̧̧̮̙̮͕̬̼́̃̔̑̃̄̅͗́͂̄t̷̡̮̭̫̲͎̪͛̍̄̾͂͑͑͑̏̋̍͐̅͛̓͝h̵͇̖̤̱͔̽̇͒͒̏͐̍̈̆̈̚͘̕ȋ̸̼̩̣͕̗͙̞̠͇̏n̸̨̥̝͖̯͇̺͖̣͝ͅĝ̶͔̀̔?̸̨̛͎̠̞̳̻̦̜̰͛̓̑̀̽͛̾̄͛͊͋̊̕͝

It raised a nonexistent eyebrow at him.

I̸͓͉͓͖̭̲̰͍̮̤̝̳̬̩̺̣͗́f̷̠͎̹̟͈̈́̓͐̉̂̅̐̑̀̔̿̍̚͠ ̸̢̢̙͇͍̯̦̟̙̤͙̬̻̜̗̩́͐͌͋̇̋̂̎͘y̵̡̡̤̮̥̞̱͕͙͍͚̤̙̋̆̈͜ò̴̢̡̬̂͒̄͋̍̌̀̈́͗̕̕͝͠ų̶̝̜̞̪͉̜̳͚͚͔͍̪̯̾͊͆̒̊̒̑̄̋̿ͅ ̴̘̪͓̣̞̹͓̙̀͐̀̐̓̉̆̆̑͜ŕ̸̡̹̤̣͎̳͈̫̼͖̣̫͖͖͒̄͒̐̊͜ͅḛ̵̲̞̬͔̠͓̞̼͙̠͕̦͖̊̌͌̆̄͘̕͝m̷̡̧̢̻̟̤̪͈̫͎̦̦͖͎͚̯̝͒̆́̔̇̕e̸̦̦̰͓̘͍͖̪͔̤̣͔̝̻̮̬͜͝m̷̢̧̛̤̖͕̬̪̝̦̟̪͈̝͍͗͒͒͋̔̃̍͗̚̕͘b̷̢̧̛̺̣̩̯͕̤͎̜̯̟̙͎̂͒͋̉̉̔̉͌͐̀e̶͎̰͚͖͍̍̆͊̔́̀̉͋͐̏̈́̊̔̒͘͝r̵̡̡̧̛͎͉̞̻̥̠̼̣̝͎͓̟̾̅̈́̃̿̄̐͜͝ͅȩ̴̮͙̝̖̻̗̺̰͈̬͈̝̹̍͂̉͊̓̌̎͑̔͊d̴̩̅͑͒́̉͂̃̾̀͗̉͘͝ ̶̛̛̘̤̭̙̣̫̟̺̮͚̭͙̠͍͙̦̈́̓̈́̇̐̇́̀͂̔̑͜͝a̴̢̯͕͆͌͝ǹ̸̥̯͕̪̝͑́̔͆͋͒̔̽͒̚ỳ̴̲͈̟͓̯̻̿̌̒̍̈́̉̃͒̈́͂̊̋̑͋͝t̷̛͔͇̙̮̦̗͙͓̠̭̬̼͎̪̯̬̿̏̊́̌h̵̲̩̖̲͓͎̊̽̋̚i̸̢̢̡̠̲̙̘̘̤͖͎̳̖͌̆͆̈́̈́̎̑̒̓̋̾̂͘͜͝͝ͅn̴̢͖̬͎̞̗͇̲̬͇̖͔̻̄̔̔̆̽͝g̶̛̛̖̟̪͈̟̀͌̿͊͗͛͑̎̄̕̚ ̸̢̡͖̬̪̰̘̼̲̮̇̓į̸͇̙͍̹͂͆̿͐̽̏͑̃͒̂̌͑͐͝n̵̹̦͎̻̟͈̱̭̞̩̮̮̙̖͖͈̘̽̍̓̀̔̓̅͗̽͘ ̸̡̛̖̦͇̺̬͓̞̲̤̲̿͑̋̓́̇̊́̓͜͝t̷̲̞͔̦̬̮̪́̃͆h̸̝͙͎̼͍̲̠̰̖̯͇̗̦̻̓͒̎̃̏͗́͌͊͋̃͋̀̿͘͝͠ͅá̵͕͂͋́̓̆̈́̈́̋͝t̶̨͚̪͔̥̣̠̬͗ ̴̢̞̟͔̮̖̰͕̲̣̟̝̣̭͛h̴̛̯̝̣͔͚̙͓̞̜͍͎̺̳̦̋͑̉͂͐̿̏̀̑̎̎͝e̵̠̳͒͆͗̊a̵̧̟̖̦̒̄̽̐d̶̨̩͐ ̴͇̭͔̬͎͚͇͆̓̓́̀͑̄́͆̔̈̋̂̚͠o̷̭̙̽̅̄͊f̸̨̛̳̦͍͙̜͚̟̦̪̩̣̰̤̼̳̀̋͘ ̸̝̫̝̖̼̗̤̩̦̣̳̗́̈̃͐͛͛̈́̄͆̉̈͋̃͠͝y̶̫͂̍͐̀o̸̼̪̒̀͑̾̇̃͊͊͑̀̒̐̓̈́͝͠͠ų̸̧̛̝͓͖̬͚̫͕͍̟̤̋̓̊̌̓̚ȓ̴̢̗͇̮͔̕s̶̡̟̬̞̞̙̦̮̉̊͌̑͐̓̉̓͊̓͋̾͗͘̚͝…̸̨͎̘́̆̽́̎̈́͘

Mitsuba interjected then. 

“But I do.”

He looked down.

I know what I’m risking.

V̷̧̨̨̠̫̺̬͔̫̯͓̲̞͒̇̇͑̾̂̓̀͛̂̆̈́͐̇̕͝ę̸̧̨̨̺̺̜̖̟̪͇͍̥̞͙̀̌̆̂̊̇͋̀̅̔̓r̶̢̟̮̝̯̳̬̲̝͚̲̝͎̪̪̃̿́̐̔͗̐̑ͅỷ̴̧̡̯̬̟̹̝̱̰̝͉͎̟̰̑̋̿̐̂̂͐ͅ ̴̧͓̼͉̝̬̹̳̀̈́̈́͗̇͗̋̏̊͗͋̀̊̄̚͠ͅw̶̛̠̳͐́̇̔͛̽́̎̀̑̕ę̴͇̣̝̲̈́̓͊̋̂̃̾͆͒̈́̓̋̅̔̄́l̵̨̺̬̖̞̗̖̹̟̫̼̳͈͕̍̐̄́̄̑l̶̰̟̪̼̾͒.̴̧̠͍͇̝̹̖͚̼̲̺̣̥̲̦͒͗̑̈͑͂̊͊̓

—

“Chug! Chug! Chug!”

The slightly glowing sleaze had just finished another lemon sour at the bar, flanked by (his childhood friend) Serizawa. Can you believe it? His friend. His associate. His redeemed secretary. His assistant. 

Someone who accepted his gender presentation and gave him a gaming invite and is fun loving but closed off and he’ll regain Serizawa’s self soon enough as something had broken him but he wouldn’t push. He even took him out to drinks with…uncle Dimple.

Who was usually the responsible one so why was he the one yelling ‘chug’ at the top of his lungs?

Not like he was complaining.

—

—

Anzu sat in her apartment with her…close friends. Queerplatonic, maybe? 

She hadn’t meant to get that close but she did get that close and she could practically hear Ri being like ‘see I told you so’ but that was the thing.

She loved Ri in a different way. She had gotten attached and it never ended well to be attached to someone who was a chronic extroverted salesman who probably wasn’t fully human but she supposed that was the bed she made to include them in it.

She had been pissed at Ri for a while for taking her and pulling at her strings but she knew it was a matter of time before Ri would control anyway her and, although she hated Ri for doing it, it was something they would do. 

And it was for a good cause! 

(A little voice in her head wondered what a good cause was worth.)

She was glad she saved Kasa, glad she got to spend more time with Junta, glad she could see Hijiri and that he actually had a house because she couldn’t handle three boys in the apartment and it was bad enough with two. 

She played video games with Serizawa a bit more regularly now that she knew who he was in person due to Ri’s uncle Reigen and the whole timeline debacle, and was currently trying to win an unbeaten streak from him on his side of the computer (they lived in different districts, it was still hard to meet up in person and besides, even being a family friend, she felt it unnecessary.)

Ri was coming over for tea later and she would admit everything then, this time she swore it. 

She would admit to actually wanting a date this time. 

—

Teru knew this was a long shot but…something had stopped the incoming convergence and pulled it back so the butterfly effect worked in their favor and it all felt fake but even if it was manufactured he had his brother back and his brother had Yashiro back and everything was back to how it was with everything that was supposed to be wrong up to that point.

He didn’t know how everything was fixed but he could ask Akane.

He could ask Hanako too if he could flag him down again but that guy seemed to be back to hanging with Yashiro (good riddance, she actually would be doing great with keeping him in check like she used to before everything crumbled.)

“Akane?”

The man in question blinked.

“You never call me by that. You usually use my Wonder name or my last name or a nickname or something brief and indirect and painful…”

He pursed his lips.

“Akane, I know you did something during the debacle. I want you to know if you choose to forgive people related to Nene, none of it’s because you forgive her for the loss of your…crush.”

At this, Akane grew redder and covered his face with his hands, hissing as he touched the glasses.

“Hearing that in your voice is so…”

“Weird?”

“Well, that and…something else. Something indescribable.”

He’d cross that bridge later.

—

Maru and Moro were whole again.

Doumeki saw their glowing lockets, echoing the one he himself sported and knew that everyone affected by this paradox curse would also be wearing similar.

He knew also that Watanuki had one more thing to yell at Yuuko about when she finally came back but this time he didn’t care since the heartless mindless  servants that were once The Twins were now semi tolerable and didn’t tease quite as much.

And if he had found himself leaning into Watanuki’s shoulder later at night, indulging in a cup or two of tea that he knew would wreck his sleep schedule just to have an excuse to spend time listening to him ramble and warm up not from the tea but from the shoulder thing?

Well that was his secret.

—

Mitsuba felt something in his head. 

He usually did, being a reflection without a full body, with the lingering bit of control left from Tsukasa he always felt dissociated and disoriented. 

But this was different.

The new…entity called itself Silv.

It used his voice. It sounded like him but dragged through molasses several times over. 

It didn’t sound like him but yet it did, and it said Mitsuba owed him something but he wasn’t quite sure what it was.

It must’ve been big, whatever it was.

—

Yashiro was-

Was she ever back to normal? No, not with the knowledge of a clone walking around doing who knows what. 

And a Hanako clone too, who called himself Amane, and seemed too…human. 

They were together, which made her blush, and they had kids, it seemed?

It had been awkward to both gain new memories and know that someone else had them too.

Hanako wasn’t her type but the thought still made her all tingly.

And it seemed Minamoto also had a clone too? But when it was brought up he decided not to mention what he may or might not have done as the clone. 

It was apparently a very sore subject. 

So she wouldn’t push.

But oh did she want to! 

First she should maybe commit to talking to Hanako about this. Maybe they had more common ground to relate with now!

Thatwouldbegreat!

Perfection! 

And maybe she should meet with her? extended family more. 

Well that was easy enough if she was meeting up with Hanako.

A good start was always needed, after all. 

—

Mob cut a slice of cake, trying to not get frosting on his hands. 

He ate it in relative silence next to his brother.

“Ritsu, why were you frantically checking your phone earlier?”

“I didn’t want to get frosting and sugar on my phone.”

He sucked in a breath. 

“I was…canceling an engagement.”

He winced and turned his head away.

“It was one of those. I thought I was done when…he…was called away to juvy but apparently that control freak got ahold of a phone.”

Mob held his arms out and was careful not to get any frosting on his brother as they hugged. 

“Don’t worry I don’t do that anymore. You know me.”

“I know.”

—

Tsuchi closed the blue book and turned away from it half imagining it to blow up after he did so.

Instead it was quiet. But it glowed in an ethereal sort of light and he could almost swear he heard rustling of the pages.

Something had changed about the book once again. He didn’t have had to worry about this when he first started teaching-but looks like he was stuck with whatever bull happened to the thing. And he could somewhat feel the changes inherently in himself.

Now he felt a sort of…loose patch of duct tape holding everything together. Which was good everything was held together. But it was still a quick fix that might be destroyed at any second if he wasn’t cautious. 

He’d do anything to keep that patch in place because that would mean the blue book and all the rest of his books too (a few had grown in size with split off of new lives but he didn’t mind that part as he had gotten used to it now even with how annoying it was) would be safe for good. 

Now he had to check on 7 one more time. 

Something he didn’t expect but somehow fully Knew was to see Hanako talking with an older ghost who seemed to be a copy of him and giving him pointers?

Something about ‘admit it already? It took time travel to admit it the first few times, just do it again because you know it will be worth it?’

Was this…

Oh yes it was about Yashiro.

How fun.