i told myself i was going to just post this completely without commentary and let it speak for itself but this whole scene is unbelievable and frankly i dont have that kind of self-restraint, HERE GOES NOTHING:
the unbelievable sub-zero levels of this cold-blooded pragmatism
violence is the first resort because teru considers violence the most effective resort. he needs information and he needs it fast, this is simply the most direct & efficient method of retrieving it.
the fact that teru is exactly as unfazed by this situation as he would be by e.g. going to the convenience store. nothing about this causes him even a moments hesitation. he is just as calm and confident and sure of himself as he would be at literally any other time.
that fact that unlike mob – who seemed vaguely confused about what was going on the last time teru tortured someone in front of him – he knows exactly what hes doing here.
no beating around the bush. no euphemism. no awkward guilty attempts to pretend its anything less than what it is. this is straight-up torture and thats just fine with teru.
there is literally no need whatsoever for him to deliver that horrifying final line instead of just getting straight to business, but teru has priorities and those priorities include indulging his twin passions for ruthless intimidation and maximum drama. AND WHO COULD BLAME HIM?????
just before this theres a moment when all three of the claw guys pop up and surround him unexpectedly, and we get a rare moment of teru reacting with surprise & worry……
……PSYCH, on the next page it turns out that was only a clone and the real teru is watching from a nearby rooftop musing about how good he is at being psychic and how thoroughly hes winning this fight
on one hand: a good classic way to build suspense for the reader
on the other hand: this means teru reacts with surprise & worry for no other reason than because he just really wants to go that extra mile in fucking with his attackers. if he lets them think hes vulnerable for one brief moment now, its going to be just that extra bit more humiliating when he beats them all half a second later.
STILL WRINGING OUT EVERY POSSIBLE DROP OF DRAMATIC POTENTIAL IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIGH-SPEED FIGHT FOR HIS LIFE
SIMILARLY: this whole encounter begins when teru gets ambushed while hes just unsuspectingly taking in his laundry. it looks like a dangerous situation. could this mean………. trouble for teru?????
ABSOLUTELY NOT
the guy says hes startled & horrified by how incredibly ready to fight teru turned out to be, which is frankly embarrassing given that hanazawa teruki is breathtakingly talented at EVERYTHING and that includes being ready to fight, and anyone with any sense really ought to be aware of that already.
just the plain old fact that teru was 100% ready to fight even when ambushed while unsuspectingly taking in his laundry
‘thanks for paying me a visit. how about a cup of tea?’ – teru, for some godforsaken reason, said with a nice friendly smile directly before kicking this guys face in
THAT BOY IS ABSOLUTELY NO-HOLDS-BARRED READY TO GO
he sees the chance for a nice refreshing dose of unrestrained psychic violence & skillful intimidation AND HE JUMPS AT IT.
there is literally no point in this entire fight during which teru doesnt appear to be calm, collected, & fully in control of every single aspect of the situation apart from those times when hes deliberately faking it to fuck with his opponents.
i know this fandom is all about its soft gentle boys being softly gentle and gently soft (etc) BUT IN THE FACE OF THAT I RAISE YOU THIS
SAY OLD MAN HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TORTURED BEFORE???????
