Medica Materia A Mob Psycho 100 Fantasy AU

Chapter 11

The gate opened to reveal a village in disrepair. Some of the shops and houses had been rebuilt, but many were still in the state left by invaders over a year ago. In front of the rubble stood the redhaired boy, fists on his hips. He was in the finest garb that most of the villagers had ever seen. He cut an odd figure in the wreckage. "Welcome to Resistance Headquarters!" he announced.

"Resistance Headquarters?" Reigen repeated. Seasoning had never been a military installation and the jumbled fence just made the village look ridiculous.

"Yes, we are organizing an army to fight the tyranny of—" Shou's voice trailed off as he saw more and more people crowd the gate. They all hovered as if awaiting permission, a wave of humanity held back only by social convention. The redhaired boy looked nervous. "Um, how many of you are there?"

"The whole village, kid," Reigen said.

Shou clicked his tongue, calculating in his head. "I need a second." The boy appeared to vanish, he moved so quickly.

"What do you think this is about?" the village elder asked.

"We spooked him," Reigen said. "I don't think he realized how many people are in an entire village."

Shou returned, followed by a small group of adults, all Mages and many of whom had scarred faces. Their presence made the boy seem far more formidable. "We're going to have you guys wait outside while we figure this out," Shou said. "We only have a few—"

"Master Reigen?" a feminine voice asked.

Reigen looked startled at being addressed in such a way. "Wait, who?"

"It is you!" A woman with bell-shaped hair and muscles to challenge the staunchest soldier barreled out of Shou's entourage. She grasped Reigen around the waist and hauled him into a mighty squeeze. "Praise be! Master Reigen has joined us!"

"Hi, Tsuchiya was it?" Reigen wiggled in the woman's embrace, hinting that he wanted to be let down. She set him on his feet, a large smile on her face.

"You remembered," Tsuchiya sounded pleased.

"Yes," Reigen said. It was hard to forget a woman with fantastic muscles who had to be berated into not murdering a fourteen-year old boy. His gaze roamed over the other members of Shou's entourage, he recognized most of them as former opponents turned allies. It was a curious group. "Why are you all here?"

A serious-looking mage with glasses and a scar near his mouth spoke. "When we heard that Prince Shou started a rebellion we decided to join him." His name was Sakurai if Reigen recalled, and his specialty had been cursed objects. He was one of the first Mages that Reigen and Mob had turned against the King. "And now with you and your Apprentice we know we can succeed."

Sweat broke out on Reigen's brow. "I'm sorry but we have an entire village of refugees to house," he said, "can we discuss overthrowing a despot later? We've been traveling for a week and--"

"Why is the gate open?" a boyish voice shouted. The Mages turned to stare at the intruder, a teenage boy with thick black hair and a somber face. He was in garments similar to Shou's but they hung on him as if they were second-hand. "Shou, I told you time and time again, we can't just open the gate for anybody! This is supposed to be a secret base." The boy's gaze fell on Reigen and the wagon. His eyes widened in shock. "Reigen?" he whispered. "Then my brother—"

Before the boy could speak further, he was enveloped in Mob's arm. "Ritsu, you're okay. You're here!" The boy's hands hovered in the air, as if uncertain that what he was experiencing was real. After a brief moment, his eyes teared up, his hands grasping at his brother's shoulders.