Idk why, but I keep making Bakugo the chaotic gremlin child every time he's on screen. xP
==============================

][ Previously: Mob gets pranked and has a Chad moment with Izuku. Even MORE broccoli simps are popping up. Only a few normos remain. Reigen hatches a plan to remove the vegetable. The gang go to Mob's hometown. Separate, Aizawa is headed there too, where he meets a Ryo in disguise. ][

     There was something eerie about this place. Everyone stepping off the train could feel it right away.

     "There you are, Kageyama!" Teru stood waiting for them at the train station. He waved at the new arrivals. "And welcome to Seasoning City, those who haven't been here before." He acknowledged Bakugo and Izuku.

     "Hanazawa! It's good to see you again." Mob smiled at him.

     "And it's good to see you back to your old self." He then pointed over his shoulder. "Now follow me! Since you came a little early for the event, we can get you a new outfit if you like!"

     "You'd really be willing to help me out with that?"

     "Of course!"

. . .

     As the bunch wandered away from the train station together, Bakugo stood at the doors, staring up at the massive broccoli towering over each and every building and hill.

     Huh... He thought it'd be bigger.

     "Katsuki, you're going to lose the others if you keep staring." Serizawa passed Bakugo. He wasn't the fastest with that boot on, and he didn't necessarily know where he was supposed to go either.

     Bakugo twisted his body to yell at the man. "How the h### do you know my first name?! And you don't have to hover over me like I'm some useless child!"

     "Oh! Sorry, I thought that was your last name, since your friends call you Bakugo all the time."

     "Those idiots are not my friends!! It's Bakugo to you, d#####!!.. Huh...?" Switching his attention back to where the others were supposed to be, the spiky haired teen squinted angrily to find nothing but a sea of strangers. "..Now where the h###'d they run off to?!" Bakugo sprinted off into the crowd. Serizawa followed after as quickly as he could.

     The two wound up getting lost like that.

----------

     Hanazawa took Mob shopping while Reigen went over the plans in more detail with Izuku. The pairs met up a while later. Reigen made the biggest deal out of seeing the brightly colored shirt, almost losing his cool right there.

     "What's wrong, Reigen?" Mob asked his master with a smile. Teru's hand confidently landed on his friend's shoulder.

     "It's the height of fashion right now."

     "Do you like it?" :>

     Izuku: "I-i-it looks good on you!...eheh.."
Reigen: "Ya-ya- YAH!.. Yep!... What he said."

Both: 'Apparently, fashion means something different where I'm from...'

     "Come on, then! How about we eat before the event begins?" Teru spun himself and Mob around to do just that. Mob slid back on his jacket, since it was still a little chilly.

     "Hold up a second.. What about that Bakugo kid? Isn't he still lost? Midoriya, have you been able to-?"

     "-He's still not responding to my texts.." Izuku sighed, snapping another picture of where they are and sending it to the blond.

     "I-I'm sure he's fine. Haven't seen Serizawa either, so maybe the two of them are together?.. I'll call him to make sure." He did that just that. "Heyyy, Serizawa!.. Does Bakugo happen to be there with you?"

     "Why, yeah, actually!" On the brunette's end, he stood in a very loud and chaotic arcade, Bakugo playing one of the ball tossing games at his left. "He's perfectly fine, too... He says he's stalling me right now.. but I don't really know what he means by that."

     "YYYEEAAHHHH! THAT'S RIGHT I BEAT YOUR #### RECORD! ####### #####-### GAME!"

     "Iiiii'll call you back..!"

     Back on Reigen's end, a single brow rose as he slid away his phone. He turned to the others and relayed the basic info to them. "Bakugo's fine. He's with Serizawa. Sounded like they were in an arcade or something."

     "That's good to hear.." Both Mob and Izuku sighed in relief. Now they could go and eat without having to worry about one of their own so much.

----------

     There was only one thing Ryo hated more than belittlement, and that was pretending to be a helpless blind man, which in a way was sort of the same thing in his eyes. But, it was the only easy way to get in and out of anywhere without bumping into some old "friends."

     Ryo scooted his little stick thing, over the sidewalk in front of him as he slowly but surely made his way to the massive broccoli towering over the small city.

     There was something deeply wrong about this plant. At first, he thought it was just funny. Some massive broccoli to mark the death of his hopes and dreams. So funny. But then it turned into so much more than that.

     It didn't really grab his attention until about a week ago, when slowly but surely, those under him started to make mention of a power above all power. The reincarnation of God himself. This rumor greatly troubled Ryo; that worry grew all the more when members began to insist they pray to the stupid plant and/or switch sides to follow in its will. Sickening. He was losing followers fast to this plant, so he needed to uproot it somehow.

     Ryo at last made his way to the base of the tree. It was an impressive sight! He had to remind himself constantly to make it look like he wasn't actually able to see any of this, ending in him just kind of standing there stupidly.

     "Healing... Healing!" A small band of what appeared to be drunk hippies "danced" by the base of the broccoli. Ryo's skin crawled as the group slowly made their way towards him. "Young man!" An old man with tanned skin, a thick, long white beard, and a bald head placed his hand on Ryo's shoulder. He shrugged it off of him quickly, but the old man continued to berate him obliviously. "You look as though you need healing!.. The Divine Tree can cure your blindness!"

     Ryo grimaced at the man and his followers. "No I don't!.. Sick freaks! I can get around just fine on my own!" He tugged his arm away from the man trying to pull him closer to the tree. The stick fell from his hand... Oops, looks like he'd need to pretend he needed that. Ryo crouched down to pick up the white cane, but then someone else picked it up. ...Ughh... Ryo pretended to feel around helplessly for the dropped tool, knowing it wasn't there. "Where's my cane?" He growled up at those he knew had it.

     "You won't need it now that you're here~ ..The Divine Tree can cure all illnesses!"

     Tfh, then why did this guy have an obviously irregular heart rate, another had a serious skin condition, and that guy-- ..Oh man... He could seriously die from that!

     "All you need to do in return is give your heart and soul to the Divine Tree!" The old man hugged himself like a weirdo.

     "Listen..." Ryo sighed while pushing himself up. "I'm not interested... So just give me the stick, and I'll be on my way." He stretched his hand out, hoping he wouldn't have to fight for such a useless thing.

     "You know what? No!" The fat man holding his cane pulled it closer to himself. Ryo snarled under his breath. "I won't until--"

     "--Alright, that's enough." Aizawa arrived on the scene. He had been watching from afar and could see the situation wasn't dying down on its own, so he had to step in. "And I thought bullying was petty for grade schoolers... Now give the man his cane right now...or we're going to have some trouble on our hands." His intense glare alone was enough to make the tree worshipers think twice about defying him.

     They relented not long after, handing Ryo back his stick and slipping away to go bother somebody else.

     "Didn't expect to see you here." Aizawa approached the blind man. "Need any assistance getting home?"

     Ryo chuckled and flashed a charming smile the other's way. "Hardly.. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was for. Keep hearing crazy talk about this thing being magical or something."

     "Hhh, one could call it that..." The hero turned to stare up at the tree's massive branches and thick stem. "...I'm honestly surprised you haven't been affected by it. You must have a pretty strong will."

     "You have to when you grow up with my condition." The shorter haired man smirked, tapping his head. His strong psychic energy was probably doing most of the work.

     "Mm..." Aizawa had a look around the place, taking notice of the sun that was about ready to set. "...Do you know of any places I can get something to eat? You did offer to help me navigate earlier, right?"

     "O-of course! Just let me get my bearings." Ryo did something with his cane that looked a little like mimicking the needle of a compass. He didn't really know how to use one of these things; how was he supposed to know how they worked?!

     In truth, he was getting a little hungry too, so he may as well look for places to eat. Ryo used his foreseeing abilities -- as if he was about to teleport -- to search beyond his line of sight for somewhere to eat. Ah! An entire street full of markets and little shops!

     "O-over here! I'm sure we can find something edible in the market..." The two men started their walk away from the broccoli side by side, both in their own heads trying to figure out how they might destroy it. "Heh, so are you like my bodyguard then or something?"

     "Hardly."

----------

     "You're here for the tree, aren't you?" Ryo exclaimed before shoving another sushi into his mouth. He sat across the small, two person table from Aizawa. The long haired man was tolerating him decently enough. He ate some soup and bread. Nothing too hard to digest right before a potential fight.

     "Hey, I just asked when that event was going to happen."

     "Mm, an hour I think." Mouth half full. "People should be gathering right about now for the event." Ryo had heard about this event as well. Maybe, with this hero's help, the two could formulate a plan and take down a common enemy~

     But, of course, that would require gaining his trust a little more.

     A passing Bakugo and Serizawa walking along the sidewalk toward the massive broccoli stopped upon seeing the two men seated together in front of the cafe. Ryo's body tightened when he sensed Serizawa's strong aura only meters away.

     "Uhhh, Sensei Aizawa?... Why the h### are you with the guy who kidnapped Mob?" Bakugo spoke so bluntly. Aizawa spat his mouthful of soup onto the table, shocked for several reasons. The biggest being that this man was none other than Ryo. His head whirled around, hair flying over his head in an instant. But the evil Esper vanished only half a second before.

     "####!... Knew there was something off about him..." The teacher growled and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He should have just stuck to himself and not played friendly with anyone. ..At least that demon didn't get any info out of him. Aizawa quickly discarded his soup and stood to join the others. "You're here to deal with that broccoli, right?" Hands in his pockets as he tagged along beside Bakugo.

     "Wait, that's what you're doing here!?" Serizawa betrayed.

     "Shut up, nerd! Of course it's not!" Bakugo shouted at the old man. Then, he turned to the other old man, hoarsely whispering this time. "Be quiet about that! I've been stalling this guy all day so the others can make their plan.."

     "Alright, good to know..." Hhh, guess he'd be teaming up with these guys after all.

     He didn't know their plan, but hopefully, all would go well according to it.

--------------------

     The four walked down the street toward the Divine Tree. You could see it just about anywhere in the city, so it wasn't at all hard to find. "Is it just me or is this town a little too quiet?" Reigen, hands in his pockets, sent squinting glares to the right and left. Whatever strangers he spotted all walked quietly toward the tree same as them.

     "It's been like that all day." Mob commented quietly. "Even with all the people around."

     That's when Izuku spoke. "I thought that was just the culture of this place!.. Kinda peaceful.."

     "More like creepy.." Reigen groaned.

     The sunset cast a beautiful orange tinge over the cityscape.

     "Hey, bro!" Ritsu waved from a parallel road.

     "Ritsu!" Mob chimed. "Where have you been all day??"

     "Helping the others set up of course!" Running toward them excitedly. "Hurry up! Or else you'll be late to your own event!"

     "Wait... So the event's all about...me..?" It took Mob a while to let that sink in. "Wait-wait, why?!"

     "Why not?!" Ritsu laughed. "You're the original Psycho Helmet! The savior of the entire city from Claw! Everyone knows your name now!"

     "...Everyone...?"

     "Yeah!! Now come on!" Ritsu ran ahead of them.

     "Well he's oddly excited." Reigen commented. From what he'd seen of Ritsu at least, the teen was always so serious and gloomy. Like he was going through his edgy teenage phase or something.

     "Guess we better catch up!" Izuku ran after him.

     "Come on, Kageyama!" Hanazawa waved for the fourth to follow. Mob was about to join him when Reigen suddenly grabbed him back by the elbow.

     "Wait!- wait... How can we be sure this isn't some kind of trap?? I- I mean, this is all pretty sketchy to me. What if this is the tree's plan to brainwash all of US too?! Remember, Mob! We're here to destroy the broccoli!.. N-not team up with it!!"

     "Relax, it'll be fine, Reigen." Mob smiled up at him.

     "RELAX?!? How am I supposed to relax?! Everyone's being brainwashed, Mob!! None of this is normal- or natural! Or- or... You know what? Nevermind... If all you want to do is have some fun, and bask in the spotlight," letting go of Mob to cross his arms, "fine by me. But I'm not going near that event; you hear?!" Mob's little smile dropped. He didn't just want to give up on Reigen's plan like that.

     But... His head turned back to the broccoli, the golden sunset behind it, and the alluring aura of peace and beauty... and of recognition.

     Finally, Mob was popular. He'd get that recognition and praise he always wanted.

     A whole party in his name..? Now that sounded fun.

     "Mob..?" Reigen whispered as the teen took a step away from him, followed by a few more. "Wait! So you're actually going?!.. Uugh! I'm not following you, ya know?! You can count on that!... Mob! ...MOB!" Reigen refused to take another step, but he continued to call. "You're making a terrible decision! That is a dangerous CULT we're talking about!!... MOB!!"

     Mob shook his head and ignored his cries of warning. He started up a jog to catch up with the others.

     "...Mob..?" Reigen's hands dropped defeatedly at his sides. "...Crap... Now he's gone too..?" Slowly, his eyes shifted to stare up at the tree. "...What now..?"

----------

     "That's him!! That's the second Psycho Helmet!" One man in the crowd cried as Mob approached from the very back of it.

     "The second founder!!" A woman echoed. Similar shrieks and cries called from the mass, followed by a loud applause. Izuku, a little freaked out by their reaction, hung back. Ritsu and Teru joined up with Mob and together the three stepped into the crowd. The people parted like a sea, continuing to cheer and clap as the boys made their way through. Something was off about this, but Mob pushed those feelings aside for now. The praise was just too loud.

     The parted sea of people led to a stairway helping Mob onto the stage. Ritsu hung back and clapped for his brother proudly. Mob's knees shook when he realized...it was just him.

   "Woo!"
   "Psy-cho-hel-met!"
   "Psy-cho-hel-met!"
   "Psy-cho-hel-met!"
   "SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!"

     Shigeo started to sweat bullets. The last time he tried to give a speech did not go so well. And... Looking over the sea of people... There were clearly hundreds of thousands here. Maybe even over a million! The crowd even spilled into the streets, people sticking their bodies out of windows just to watch. All here for Mob.

     Maybe...this was a little too much praise at once..

     ""Why don't you show off your powers..? Give them a little taste of what Psycho Helmet really is."" A foreign voice entered Mob's thoughts. He turned around but only saw the massive broccoli.

     "Huh? Who is this?" And why did that voice sound so familiar?

     ""I'm the other Psycho Helmet, duh! And I had this whole thing set up just so you could have a little taste of the fun~ So, don't ruin your moment in the spotlight! Give the people a show they'll never forget!"" Oddly enough, the voice didn't sound conniving or deceitful one bit. Mob stepped up to the center stage and the crowd roared. His body hardened and he nearly froze up, but somehow the Psycho Helmet's words of assurance calmed him just enough. He stuck out his hand and the crowd instantly fell silent.

. . .

  Pewww!
    Dash!
       Pewwwww!

     Beams of light, like fireworks, exploded over the sky. A psychic display of Mob's power mesmerized the audience. They wowed and awed at the show, building his courage to do so with less and less hesitation.

     Not one kid said now weird it was. Not one person said he was freaky.

67%

----------

     In the distance though still near the base of the broccoli, Ryo stood watching the display. The distant thudding and cheering. Whatever was going on looked like fun.

     "Alright." The man huffed, craning his neck to glare at the tree. "Now... To take you down..." Maybe this foul beast had something similar to a heart? Maybe it was hollow enough inside for him to find it and destroy it from the inside out... At the very least, he could try to chip away at it piece by piece until the entire thing came crashing down. That would doubtlessly end in the destruction of probably this entire city, but, eh. Not his home town.

     "Thought you'd be here again..." Aizawa growled, standing a dozen feet behind the other. His scarf was looser, strands of it in hech of his hands. The long haired man glared daggers at the other.

     "Tff.." Ryo casually spun around, thumbs in his pockets. "Wow, almost snuck up on me there, Eraserhead. Guess your weak aura serves a purpose after all."

     "Ryo Shimazaki... You're a threat to both the world and my students, so I'll be taking you in.." he growled, stance lowering slightly.

     Ryo's left brow rose slightly. "Oh..? But not a threat to you?.. Heh." Ryo slipped his hands from their pockets, ready to teach this hero a lesson. He shifted to serious real quick, though. "Well it's time to take a NAP, old man!" He sprinted a few steps forward, then vanished. He appeared behind Aizawa, still full speed, and aimed a punch at the back of Eraserhead's neck.

     Aizawa predicted his moves, however. He spun around the moment Ryo vanished and flashed his eyes a bright red the moment the other struck out his fist.

     Ryo lost sight instantly. Everything! He toppled over his own feet and scraped his palms against the pavement. Instantly, his heart rate picked up. No way... Why couldn't he see? WHY COULDN'T HE SEE!?

     A distant swish and crackle and thud in the sky got the crowd to cheer at Ryo's downfall. He gripped his palms. Blood dripped from them, the sting so fresh...like it was real. "WHAT THE!?!" The villain started to hyperventilate. He blinked his eyes open several times but of course that didn't work! "Mind's eye!!" That didn't work either. He could hear his heart beating in his chest. For the first time in decades, he had to rely solely on his hearing to make out where the hero even was.

     Aizawa stepped closer, but not close enough to be swiped at. Hm.. How interesting. So, being able to see was part of this man's quirk? Made for one serious weak point. The hero took notice of this as he unraveled the end of his scarf to be used as hand cuffs.

     Ryo fell back onto his butt when he heard the hero near. "NO-NO-NO-NO-NOO! This is NOT how it's supposed to go!!" All of Ryo's playful attitude melted away. Not a shred of it remained. He was truly terrified, shaking and tripping over himself so badly, he could hardly even stand.

     "Don't be a sore loser. Now stop resisting or you'll have an even tougher sentence than you've already got."

     "NO!!!" He reflexively tried to teleport away, anything! But NOTHING worked! His brain couldn't even process why or how this was going on. It buzzed and spun with a terror filled dread that haunted his every breath. Anything.. he'd do ANYTHING to be free from this!!

     ""You want power? I can give you power... But only if you answer to me from now on."" A voice offered. It didn't sound like it was coming from anywhere either. Was it in his head?? Whatever it was-

     "-YES! Grant me power, please!!" A rush of energy entered into his body. Not quite as much as he was used to, but at last he could see again! It was very faint, though, like when it all first began.

     Good enough. Ryo grinned. He laughed with delight as he started to float into the air. Aizawa took a calculated step back, watching his foe curiously. Impossible. His quirk wasn't working on him!

     "Ohhhh, you're going to taste HELL for that!" The hero's foe smiled sadistically down on him. His eyes were now a bright glowing green instead of an empty black void. "Master Psycho Helmet be praised.."

----------

     The crowd cheered. They loved him. They loved his powers. They didn't fear him, nor did they consider him weird at all!

     Members of the audience who jumped around with their hands raised began to float over the rest. Everyone was in on the fun. It was a celebration the teen hoped would never come to a true end.

     He didn't have to worry about hurting anyone, at last.

     ...There was just one thing missing. One person, that is.

     A man in a gray suit jumped into the stage and grabbed the mic. His pink tie hung loosely, no longer tucked, and his hair was all tangled in a wild mess.

     "Everyone, give it up foorrrr, PSYCHO HELMET!!!" Reigen struck a victorious pose, stealing everyone's attention as he shouted into the mic. The crowd cheered even louder than before. "I'm sorry! I must need hearing aids; I can't hear you!!" He thrust his arm with the mic in hand out to face the crowd. Somehow, the crowd stirred even louder!

   "PSY--CHO--HEL--MET!!"
   "PSY--CHO--HEL--MET!!"
   "PSY--CHO--HEL--MET!!"

     "WHOW!" Reigen did a little dance on stage, then turned to the boy. "You're doing great, Mob!! Everybody loves you!. Hahaa!" The man was sweating already, his shirt already frayed. But, he was just so happy! Mob's grin broadened, wider than he ever remembered it being.

100% happiness.

     His eyes beamed brightly. His whole body produced a soft glow, and his hair floated above his head. What a beautiful feeling this was! Satisfaction. He couldn't think of anything else to wish for.

     But wait... Reigen said he wouldn't come..

99%

     And that he wouldn't fall for the Psycho Helmet religion..

98%

     That meant...

97%

     Reigen was...brainwashed.

83%

     He wanted this. He deserved this. He.. he... What was he doing?

0% happy.

     Mob's hair flopped back down onto his forehead, smile completely fading away. The crowd began to settle down, and Reigen tugged the mic away from himself.

     "You okay, Mob?" Reigen peered over his shoulder at Mob, raising an eyebrow at him though he were the crazy one.

     "No." Mob growled.

12%

     And then he turned around, toward the big stage. The show ceased. All those floating were let back down. All those smiling joyously now stared curiously as the boy marched up the roots of the giant broccoli.

     What a cheap trick it was to try to lure him in like that. Guess it really was a trap. Exactly like Reigen warned.

     Well, he wasn't going to fall for it anymore. Mob was ready to get rid of that broccoli.

21%

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Bonus (I couldn't find space for it):
Katsuki to Katsuya, "Of all the people to get lost with, it just HAD to be the most extra looking extra out there! Now stay close or I'll completely forget about you, alright?! ... UUHHHGGGG, my PHONE just died! Where's thumbs-up when you need him?!"