This is a world in which Mob and Reigen's paths have never crossed, in which 10-year-old Mob found psychic guidance in the form of the aging, retired tv personality Keiji Mogami, in which Reigen followed through on his plans to close the Spirits and Such Agency, in which a cruel twist of Mob's powers forces him to confront how dangerous he really is.
10 year old Shigeo Kageyama has vanished, his trail instantly cold, and his case gathers dust in police archives as a kidnapping never solved. Four years pass before a chain of events causes his path to cross with that of the despondent, unfulfilled fake-psychic-turned-fake-investigator, Arataka Reigen. Reigen finds himself in over his head caring for an escaped victim of abuse who, for reasons unfathomable, has been taught to believe his very existence is a horrifically dangerous thing…
— The fic's summary.
A Mob Psycho 100 Alternate Universe Fic by phantomrose96
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It features Mob and Reigen under drastically changed circumstances - Mob never came to Reigen for advice that fateful day. Instead, he's the victim of a four-year-long kidnapping and Reigen has become a private investigator for hire well on his way to becoming jaded with his line of work. That is, until a client walks in, asking him to tail her husband for fear of an affair...
It can be read here.
This fic provides examples of:
- After-Action Patch-Up: A non-romantic version between Ritsu and Teruki makes up the entirety of chapter 17, though it's less about fixing the injuries and more about covering them.
- Bare-Handed Blade Block: In an attempt to stop Mogami from cutting Tetsuo's throat, Reigen grabs hold of the blade. While he succeeds, it does give him some nasty cuts on his fingers and palm as a result.
- Big Brother Worship: As with canon, Ritsu looks up to Mob, despite not having seen him in four years. He explicitly refers to Mob as 'the strongest esper', not that he knows many for comparisonnote .
- Break the Cutie: Essentially the basis of the entire fic — Mob goes from a cute and cheerful ten-year-old to a broken fourteen-year-old who's terrified to get close to anyone for fear of hurting or killing them by accident.
- Bullying a Dragon: Attempted by Ichi Mezato, who harasses Ritsu after overhearing something they shouldn't have. This leads to Ritsu having her possessed in order to eliminate her as a threat.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: Teruki keeps this up through the entire fight with Ritsu. For example...Teruki: [having just slammed Ritsu into the goalpost of a soccer goal from across the length of the field] That's a shame. I usually score with those shots.
- Continuity Cameo: Tsubomi makes a silent cameo at the market when Reigen asks her mom for advice on hair management.
- Cop Killer: Mogami becomes one in chapter 35 by killing Haruki.
- Creepy Basement: Mob's kept in the basement of Mogami's house, which qualifies as this because of the whole 'basement of a condemned house with a 25-years-dead corpse strung up in one of the rooms' thing.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Teruki vs. Ritsu very rapidly turns into something between this and No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, with Ritsu inflicting only minor injuries on Teruki while ending up with a whole laundry list of his own injuries due to lacking a barrier or any real experience with using his powers for combat.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Teruki's Start of Darkness is revealed in Chapter 32: When he was ten years old, agents from Claw had his teacher and parents possessed in order to isolate and drive him into the organization. While this failed, the feelings of utter hatred the spirits forcibly instilled in their victims remained.
- Demonic Possession: More like Evil Spirit Possession, but Mogami's possession of Tetsuo counts. He's doing it to buy food and other supplies for Mob.
- Dramatic Dislocation: Ritsu dislocates his shoulder partway through the fight with Teruki as a result of accidentally grabbing his tie. Teruki pops it back into place for him after the fight using his psychic powers.
- Dramatic Irony: Mob tells Reigen his apartment is much better than his 'Shishou's' house, and Reigen thinks of Mogami's house as a comparison - without realizing that that's exactly the place Mob is referring to.
- From chapter 10, this is generally present with Ritsu putting his life at risk to rescue Mob, not knowing that Mob has already been rescued at this point.
- The spirit in the hoodie that Ritsu fights in chapter 27 talked to Mob at the mall earlier in the day. Ritsu, with Gimcrack's help, ended up destroying his first solid lead without even realizing it as he never stopped to talk to the spirit.
- Ear Notch: Ritsu gains one after his (first) fight with Teru.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Mob, as a result of four years in the basement where the only window's a slit high up on the wall. Might even classify as Looks Like Cesare.
- Evil Mentor: Mogami. He convinces Mob that he's dangerous and preys on his trust (you could even say he breaches it) to lock him in his basement... could you really call him anything else?
- Fairy Tale Motifs: The first Act of Mob being kidnapped by an abusive caregiver who forces him to stay in the house while having him grow out his hair is fairly similar to Rapunzel.
- Fingore: Reigen ends up cutting the fingers and palm of his right hand open while trying to keep Mogami from cutting Tetsuo's throat.
- Exaggerated at the end of chapter 33 when his entire hand hits Mob's barrier
- He Knows Too Much: Mogami kills Haruki when he figures out that Mogami is possessing Tetsuo. Notably the fic's first (human) Character Death.
- Hope Spot: Chapter 5 ends with Reigen hearing noises from the basement... and doing nothing about them, as he has other things to deal with. Had he investigated the noises, he'd have found Mob a lot sooner.
- "Instant Death" Radius: Mob's barrier functions this way, shredding any and all organic matter that tries to pass through it.
- Mogami has a more potent one surrounding his corpse in the attic.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Ritsu attempts to pull this during his fight with Teruki, only for the literal sucker punch to fail miserably.
- Important Haircut: In Chapter 26, Mob allows Reigen to cut his hair, trading his very long hair for a long-ish bob as Mob isn't able to handle a full return to the trademark bowl cut, but is still a major step in his healing process.
- Jerkass: Teru, full stop. He's only hanging around Ritsu because he's the first teen esper Teru's ever met and he's getting enjoyment out of Ritsu's attempts to find Mob, who he believes is likely dead. Much of his dialogue is making snappy insults at Ritsu and he's left him in dangerous situations multiple times.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Chapter 25 has Teruki coldly questioning Ritsu if his plan of having the spirits send him to places with more dangerous spirits will get him anywhere close to finding his lost brother.
- Messy Hair: As a result of barrier-related trauma, Mob hasn't intentionally cut his hair in years. It's described in-story as being just below shoulder-length, though in fanart it can be wildly exaggerated until it more closely resembles Rapunzel's. It's messy enough that Mob can't get it properly clean, even once he has access to shampoo to use on it. Later chapters resolve this as Mob becomes more comfortable enough around scissors to have his hair cut.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Jun initially hires Reigen to investigate Tetsuo, her husband, for fear that he's cheating on her as his behaviour's taken a turn for the worse. It turns out he was 'just' possessed, as opposed to sleeping with another woman.
- Happens again in chapter 33, this time to Mezato, Teru, and Mei when the latter assumes that Mezato's strange behavior coupled with Teru spending a night at her house is this. The truth is that Mezato had been recently freed from long term possession and Teru was keeping guard, but Mei wasn't likely to believe that, which Teru lampshades
- Mood Whiplash: Most of Chapter 23 focuses on Reigen celebrating his birthday with Mob as they go out for delicious ramen and even agree to reopen the Spirits and Such business as a master and psy-kick duo. But when Reigen is preparing the cake to end such a fun night, Mob ends up revealing that Mogami was his shishou, leading Reigen to feel guilty over unintentionally leaving Mob in the Mogami house twice.
- Later chapters have this in spades, as they often consist of two scenes: One of Mob and Reigen prepping to re-open Spirits and Such and generally making slow progress on healing while the other follows Ritsu and Teru's attempts to find Mob and Ritsu's continued mental spiral and general propensity for danger. It's quite a feeling to go from "Mob and Reigen pet a kitten at a pet store" to Ritsu having suffered severe injuries in a fight against a spirit.
- Must Have Caffeine: To avoid having to sleep — which reminds him too much of when Mogami was in control — Tetsuo turns to a constant supply of coffee to try and keep himself awake.
- Original Character: Jun and Tetsuo Isari and Officer Isa Maki, as well as the background police officers and Dr. Wong. Additionally, there's the spirit hoard that Ritsu uses to find Mob, with Gimcrack being the most prominent member.
- Out of Focus: Isa Maki, who plays a supporting role in Act 1, has not had a point-of-view section since early Act 2. She returns in Act 3's chapters 23 and 26.
- Tetsuo and Jun have now fallen into this as well, with their last appearances being chapter's 23 and 15, respectively. Tetsuo returns in chapter 31
- Poor Communication Kills: Much of the tension of the plot arises from the fact that Tetsuo has no idea Reigen's currently pseudo-adopted the very same boy that's the subject of his own case. Additionally, Reigen has no idea that Mob's "Shishou" was actually Mogami and that Mob's barrier isn't a delusion. Further, Mob thinks Mogami and Reigen were friends, due to hearing Reigen's voice through the basement door, as is worried about how Reigen will react to learning Mob "killed" him... Not knowing that Reigen is actually the reason Mogami disappeared.
- Power Incontinence: To an even more severe degree than in canon - Mob's barrier is uncontrollable and shreds anything living that tries to pass through it. He can't consciously turn it off, and it's unclear what actually deactivates it.
- Private Detective: After an incident involving a possessed client with a knife, Reigen closes Spirits and Such and re-opens it as a private detective agency, following through on plans mentioned - but not ultimately followed - in canon.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: Ritsu Kageyama's ultimate plotline
- Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic: Reigen in particular is prone to interrupting himself, backpedaling, and going off on slight tangents, especially when caught off-guard.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In Chapter 41, after dealing with the stress of trying to find Mob and fielding Ritsu's difficult attitude for quite a while, Reigen explodes at Ritsu after Ritsu blames him for everything, viciously tearing into Ritsu for his tendency to blame others for their failings but never taking responsibility for his own mistakes. Deconstructed in that Reigen isn't off-base with his criticisms, he is still an adult taking out his stress on a young and traumatized teenager, and is immediately appalled and disgusted with himself afterwards.
- Redemption Equals Death: Downplayed example but Gimcrack in chapter 34 is exorcised by Ritsu shortly after establishing that he actually cared somewhat for Ritsu
- Rugged Scar: Reigen has one on his cheek, as a result of a confrontation with a possessed, knife-wielding client. He closed Spirits and Such the day after.
- Strict Parents Make Sneaky Kids: After losing their son, Mr. and Mrs. Kageyama are stricter with letting Ritsu do anything outside of the house in fear of losing him. But once he awakens his psychic powers, he begins to sneak out and create elaborate lies in order to use his powers, and supernatural allies, to look for Shigeo.
- Take Me Instead: In an attempt to make Mogami stop possessing Tetsuo, Reigen offers himself as an alternative on the condition that Reigen gets to make one last attempt at attacking him. Luckily for him, that attack succeeds.
- Took a Level in Cynic: After closing the Spirits and Such business and running a PI service for the last four years, Reigen has become more bitter and depressed with the dull, repetitive and bleak cases he takes on.
- Trauma Button:
- For Mob, anything with a sharp edge, such as scissors or a knife, as they remind him of his barrier, and being in close contact with other living beings.
- For Ritsu, anything about Mob, but especially implying or stating that Mob may be dead.
- For Teruki, anything to do with possession.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Ritsu's psychic powers awaken shortly after Mob is kidnapped.
- Waking Up Elsewhere: Waking up after his first night at Reigen's place leaves Mob bewildered by the softness of his bedding before he realises where he is.
- Wham Episode:
- Chapter 9, where Mob escapes Mogami's house and runs into Reigen.
- Chapter 12, which starts Ritsu's plot line with the spirit hoard.
- Chapters 14-16 introduces Teru and has him and Ritsu get into a long, ugly fight.
- Chapter 23, where Reigen learns that Mob had been trapped in the Mogami house meaning Reigen left the house twice without rescuing Mob both times.
- Chapter 25 is the first after the hiatus ends and it's a doozy: Reigen goes to the Mogami house fresh with the knowledge that Mob was there the whole time and Reigen left twice without him, gets his feelings out, then returns to his apartment to inform Mob that he was the one who killed Shishou, not Mob, and that Mob should call him "Shishou" now. Meanwhile, Ritsu gets caught breaking into an office building to search for Mob by Isa Maki which leads to...
- Chapter 26 Isa has Ritsu meet her at a cafe to discuss his delinquent behavior and Ritsu, angry at her over his perception that she and the other police officers gave up on Mob, ends up revealing himself as a psychic to Isa and reveals his deals with spirits to find his brother plan to her. Isa then has to deal with her own guilt at letting Mob's case grow cold and how it pushed Ritsu down his current path.
- Chapters 28 and 29 reveal that
Ichi Mezato was also present in the cafe during the events of chapter 26 and now also know about Ritsu's powers and general bad decisions. She confronts Ritsu and attempts to blackmail him into telling her more, but the confrontation ends in a draw after Teru intervenes and deletes her blackmail pictures. After she threatens to confront Ritsu again without Teru present, Ritsu has her possessed by a member of his spirit hoard. And because Mob and Reigen are also at the mall the previous scene takes place in, the spirit possessed Ichi spots Mob as the two of them leave. - Chapter 31 ends with two: First, Teru learns that Ritsu had Mezato possessed which is implied to be a Trauma Button for him. The scene ends before Teru's full reaction to this can be seen. Then Tetsuo has his first POV in 8 chapters only to learn that he lost a day, heavily implying he was possessed again without realizing it or anyone noticing.
- Chapter 32 has a doozy: Slipshod confronts Reigen while inside Mezato's body and reveals what Ritsu's been doing... and that his spirits already know where Shigeo is and have deliberately kept that information from Ritsu. Followed shortly by Teruki bursting in, collecting her unconscious body, and informing Reigen that he's going to destroy Kageyama.
- Willing Channeler: Ritsu, after he allows Gimcrack to possess him to avoid dying to either the spirit or the projector crushing him at the movie theater, starts doing this regularly with Gimcrack as a way to train his powers. This gets taken further in chapter 33 where, in his second fight with Teru, he allows every spirit in his hoard to possess him to increase his strength.
- Your Mind Makes It Real: It's heavily implied that Mob's barrier is only the "Instant Death" Radius it is because Mogami told him it would be. Mogami also uses this to check whether or not Reigen's bluffing about being a psychic, by telling him his own powers will burn him when Mogami approaches.Mogami: Psychics are impressionable. Psychics will manifest the powers they’re led to believe they have. All I had to do was tell you that your powers would burn you, and if you believed me, you would burn.
