Shigeo Kageyama

"*I don't really get it.*" - Shigeo Kageyama's catchphrase.

Shigeo Kageyama, otherwise known as "Mob", is an Esper and one of the many major protagonists in Neopets Time The Series. His presence has also been recorded in several pieces of media in other worlds, such as Mob Psycho 100. The manga series chronologues the life and hardships of the titular character before the iPhone 2 incident left him estranged from his home.

## HISTORY

As a young child, he was predispositioned with an overwhelming amount of psychic power. These powers are usually triggered through an intense amount of emotion, whether its positive or negative. Through the trauma of an accident that happened while trying to protect his brother, he became fearful of those abilites. He saw fit to look to a psychic medium in guidance for getting rid of it. However, he would soon learn that his powers did not make him inherently worse than anyone else in other qualities. His own self-repression and misjudgment of his good intent would end up causing more pain to himself than he ever did to anyone else. On the other end of things, he also recognizes that his powers do not put himself above others. He firmly believes his powers should not be used to harm others, and takes the idea to heart. However, in cases of emergency and abhorrency, he is willing to put that principle aside.

At his time in Salt Middle School, Shigeo used to have a crush on the school's idol, Takane Tsubomi. He felt strongly about her, as he thought she was one of the only people that was honest with him, not being terrified or giving him special treatment. It motivated him to push hard to achieve an identity outside of this inheritance to gain her affection. However, when he finally confessed to her, he got rejected. It took some time for him to recover, but they were both able to move on in peaceful terms. Shigeo realized the acceptance he wanted was not just exclusive to Tsubomi, but what all his friends wanted for him as well. He begun to appreciate them all a lot more. This especially became the case for Teru. Teru noticed even more about the boy than he probably knew himself, and accepted and adored even the most mundane of his traits. Despite their contrasting personalities and perceptions of themselves, they also mediated eachother well. The blindness Shigeo's first love gave him had led him a bit astray in noticing Teru and his admiration very well, where their interactions were a bit scarce outside of the battles with psychic organizations they'd get into together. Teru would often wonder when they would get to hang out again, asking him about it directly and how he was doing every so often. Eventually, something clicked in Shigeo, and he began to take more initiative this time, beginning to walk home from school together with him and making plans. Over time, this would lead him to feel a new kind of love that felt more homely than before. A love that didn't compare to the previous interests the two went through. Teru and Shigeo would soon realize this for themselves and become a couple. However, something would interrupt their happiness, and that thing would come to be known as an iPhone 2.

In the middle of the night on a Monday, Teru was sleeping over at his house. All of a sudden, ground movements in Seasoning City would start to intensify. The feeling was comparable to an earthquake, and the two started to panic. Shigeo wondered if his own powers were acting up even after keeping a better hold of them for a while now. However, he couldn't read anything from the movements, it felt something beyond mere psychic energy. Him and the residents would soon realize the town was literally being lifted up from its foundation and sucked into some sort of portal. He tried all he could to return the city to ground level, but it was no use. Shigeo, his friends, and his family would get misplaced in the chaos. The overwhelming nature of it all caused him to pass out. When he awoke, wherever he was looked nothing like his home city. It was all dark, with only some sort of task bar being visible. It was waiting for him to press start.

## PERSONALITY

Shigeo is a very compassionate, selfless, and forgiving individual. However, he did seem to have a low opinion of himself at first, feeling as though "he ruins people's fun" and "can't read the room" due to his social awkwardness. He also felt that aside from his psychic powers, he greatly lacks in most other qualities. With repression issues already there in relation to Shigeo's powers, this lead the Esper to be very reserved. Over the course of his life, Shigeo did begin to realize his true worth. As a result, he became more expressive and confident. He faltered less, stood up for himself, and was able to enjoy himself peacefully.

Shigeo doesn't like to hold grudges against people, prefering for things to be talked out if possible, Despite his humbleness, he is also easily flustered by flattery, and sometimes can let praise get to his head a bit. He is prone to getting very sentimental about people, the beauty of the world, and love.

## TRIVIA

* As listed in the manga series, his favorite foods are takoyaki, milk, and ramen. His least favorite foods are cilantro, shiokara, and locusts. Other foods he's grown to like over this time are chocolate chip cookies and shrimp tempura. (The latter reminds Mob of Teru's hairstyle. Despite meaning it as a compliment, Teru is a little embarassed by it.)
* One of Mob's favorite hobbies is to watch the sky. It is possibly why he also enjoys making dogs float over it with his powers. He is a big fan of cute animals in general and taking care of them.
* His favorite movie genre is action. He's found enjoyment in comedy and horror media as well.
* Shigeo enjoys listening to "cheerful sounding" music. What he doesn't tell most people about though is his affinity for heavier, industrial songs too. It's hard to tell which is playing, because he has the same content, calm expression.
* He loves monkeys, dogs, cats, bunnies, bears, and sheep. Don't own him for his ape shirt or you'll get what's coming.
* One of the only video game consoles Shigeo owns is a Playstation 2. He hasn't bothered to upgrade simply for the charm of it. However, scalpers in M.Tech make it difficult for him to access his favorite games now. It's one out of many reasons Shigeo is so strongly against the NEOCORP.
* Ever since the iPhone 2 incident, Shigeo often visits Maruki for counseling and advice. It takes a while before he is able to reunite with his loved ones. Even though he has gained new allies that care about him and are willing to help, he still has trouble coping with the worries that bad things could be happening to the ones he's familiar with. In a way, their interactions feel like exchanges of compassion, too. Even though Maruki doesn't tell him much about his own personal problems, Shigeo can sense a very similar energy of despair and self destruction he once had himself. A desire for a world where they can eliminate the pain they may have caused in some way, and bad things that happens to others in general. Perhaps, it's even something they've failed in before. While being a bit limited in what he can do, Mob tries to offer him a listening ear and companionship as much as possible. He hopes not to appear as just a client that comes in and out, but someone Maruki can trust and confide in too.