Chapter Text
The call had ended and Inukawa had been instilled with a wave of confidence. If Mob said it would be okay, then it probably would be. He trusted Kageyama to have good ideas. The boy wondered if he should bring anything. He wanted to make a good impression, but at the same time, he had already met Master Reigen on a number of occasions, so why should this time be any different?
He looked in the mirror and fixed his hair, making his middle part clean and neat, as well as putting off leaving for the consultation office. He bent down to pet Keiko, who seemed happy to just be there with him. Dogs were such great companions.
“You have no idea what’s going on, do ya?” Mameta cooed in that voice that people used when speaking to pets and small children.
Keiko yipped in reply, licking Inukawa’s nose.
“Aw, come on!” He laughed and wiped it away with the back of his arm. “I wish my telepathy worked with you, girl.” He scratched behind her soft ears before standing up. “Okay. Wish me luck, Keiko.”
The Mameshiba Inu yipped once more, as if she really was sending him well wishes. Inukawa smiled and slipped his phone into his pocket, making his way out of his bedroom and out of the house. He made sure to lock the door behind him and began his trip to the “Spirits and Such Consultation Office”. He had been there before a couple of times to meet up with Mob or Tome for some reason or another, but now he was making probably the most important trip of his life! Okay, that was an exaggeration. He had literally been on an alien planet. But, still! This was big.
Inukawa found himself getting lost. He knew it was due to his nerves, but he made an embarrassing amount of wrong turns for someone who had lived in Seasoning City his whole life. In his defense, he had been trying to figure out what he was going to say.
Finally, he saw the office building with the sign on the side. He pushed past the unreasonable fears in his head and powered through, walking inside and making his way up the stairs. He stopped midway through to take a deep breath. As he got near the office door, he could sense the excited thought patterns of the people inside.
That’s right. They were playing a video game. Everyone inside that room liked video games. He liked video games. So, he would be able to relate to this guy, right?
Inukawa took a deep breath and turned the door knob, allowing him entry inside the small office. He was greeted by the sight of Mob and Tome sitting on the floor in front of the office TV, playing a familiar fighting game. The esper had probably been coerced into doing so. He wasn’t doing too bad, although Tome clearly had the upper hand. The other employee of Master Reigen’s, who Inukawa was pretty sure was named Serizawa, was crouched down next to Mob, trying to help him.
Master Reigen was sitting on the sofa. Seeing the man in person with the new knowledge that this guy was Mameta’s mother’s younger brother made Inukawa feel almost stupid for not realizing it before.
“Oh, uh, hey!” Inukawa spoke up, being a little louder than he intended.
Serizawa stood up (oh wow, he was tall, Mameta thought) and turned to Inukawa. “Hello! How can we help you?”
Master Reigen, too, stood up to face Inukawa, before realizing it was just one of Mob and Tome’s friends.
His two friends at the TV didn’t even pause the game, but they both called out a hello in the midst of their duel.
“It’s okay, I’m not here for business or anything!” Inukawa told the tall psychic.
“I assume you’re here for them?” Master Reigen pointed with his thumb behind him to his employees.
“Uhm. N-no, actually.” Mameta shoved his hands in his pockets. “I actually wanna speak to you, uh, Master Reigen.”
“Really? Alright.” The blonde shrugged.
“It’s kind of noisy in here…is there somewhere else we could go?” The boy seemed nervous to Reigen. It reminded him a little of when he first met Mob. There was something on this kid’s mind that was clearly bothering him.
“Sure.” Reigen nodded. “There’s the hallway outside if it’s gonna be a short conversation, but there’s also the cafe upstairs if it’s gonna be longer.”
“Cafe.” Mameta nodded. “It’s important, but might take a while.”
Reigen furrowed his brow a little as he tried to figure out what it could be. Was it related to the alien thing that happened to the kid? “Yeah, alright.” Reigen turned to his employees. “Mob, you’re in charge.” He told the esper boy, right as Mob lost.
“Yes, sir.” Mob looked behind him to his boss before glancing at Inukawa and giving him a thumbs-up.
Reigen nodded. “K. Follow me, kid.” The businessman motioned for Inukawa as he led the way. The boy was silent as he trailed behind the man. He noticed the guy humming to himself, a habit that it seemed Reigen shared with Mameta’s mother.
As Reigen brought the middle schooler upstairs to the cafe, he glanced back at him, noticing the look of anticipation on his face. He got a table and motioned for the boy to take a seat, to which Inukawa did.
“So, what’s on your mind?” Reigen asked, neatly clasping his hands together on the table, although anyone who ever met the man would know that his hands would not be still for long.
“...Do you have a sister?” Inukawa needed to get that question out of the way first. If Master Reigen didn’t have one, then this could be just one big coincidence and misunderstanding, but if he did-
“...Yeah.” Reigen’s expression became a little more concerned. His brow was furrowed and his mouth was in a slight frown. “Why?”
“Uh, have you spoken to her at all recently?” Inukawa fidgeted with a sugar packet from the little dish on the cafe table, unable to make eye contact with the man across from him.
“No. What’s this about?” Reigen crossed his arms.
“Well, uh…oh man. Uhm.” Mameta felt like he already messed up. Reigen could see that the kid was panicking, so he reached over and set a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“Hey. It’s okay, kid. Inukawa, was it?”
Inukawa nodded. “Mameta’s my given name.”
“Do you prefer to be called Inukawa or Mameta?” Reigen asked.
“Huh? Oh, uh, I don’t care honestly.” It seemed like a weird question, but then again, Master Reigen seemed like a weird guy.
“Inukawa it is, then. Y’know, Inu means dog.” The blonde man motioned with his hand in a general informative gesture as he took it off of the kid’s shoulder.
“Yeah.” Mameta nodded. “I know.” He pointed at the little embroidered dog on his button-up shirt’s pocket.
“I take it you’re a fan of them, then?” Reigen was trying to ease the kid’s nerves with small talk.
“I love dogs.” Inukawa nodded again. “I have a Mameshiba Inu, actually.”
“Hey, I love dogs too.” Reigen grinned. “Although I don’t have one. My apartment building doesn’t allow them.” He sighed, gesturing with his hands like he usually did.
It was silent for a few moments before a waitress came over to their table, and Reigen ordered melon sodas for both of them. The waitress took the order and left them alone again.
“Hey, so is your sister’s name Aneko?” Inukawa blurted out, unable to stand the quiet. The question caused the man to pause and look directly at Mameta.
“...Yeah?” Reigen seemed concerned again.
“Oh, well, uh, cool! Yeah! So, uhm…that’s my mom!” Inukawa laughed nervously, finding himself looking everywhere but at Master Reigen.
“Huh?” Reigen sat up a little straighter. “Your mom’s name is Aneko ?”
“Yeah! You’re, uh, Reigen Arataka, right?” Dang it, Inukawa! Dumb question. Of course he’s Reigen Arataka!
“Yeah.” The man was no longer moving his hands.
“Well, my mom’s name, or well, uh, her name before she got married , was Reigen Aneko-”
“No kidding, huh?” Reigen cut him off, an amused expression on his face, until the guy seemed to finally connect the dots. “Wait…wait, wait hold on. My sister is your mom?”
Inukawa watched, still fiddling with the sugar packet. “Y-yeah. You’re my uncle.”
Reigen sat back, his eyes wide as he looked out in the distance at nothing. “...My sister has a kid.” He muttered, seemingly in shock. “...a 15 year old kid…that I never knew about.”
“Wait, you didn’t know?” Inukawa sat up.
“I had no clue.” Reigen admitted. “...Oh my god, I have a nephew!” He couldn’t stop the smile that grew on his face.
“Yeah! We’re related!” Inukawa felt relief upon seeing his grin.
Reigen looked at the boy and he saw the similarities now. It was mainly in his hair, as Reigen remembered his own mother styling his hair that way for picture days. He also noticed again that Inukawa had those silly rounded eyebrows, which brought the man back to that photo in his parents’ house. His sister’s wedding photo, which included a man, presumably her husband, with those same eyebrows. The kid’s striking blue eyes did seem a little out of place, but something about his expression felt familiar to Reigen.
“Wait, so have you known? Or…”
Mameta shook his head. “My mom kinda refused to speak about you. I had to ask my grandma today to see if she’d give me your name.”
“...Huh, my mom really told you?” Reigen seemed a little surprised.
Inukawa honestly had forgotten that his grandmother was also Master Reigen’s mother. “Yeah. It was kinda weird, actually. I didn’t think she’d be so willing.”
Reigen sighed. “Tch, knowing my mom, it’s probably her way of trying to tell me something.” He rolled his eyes, but then looked back at Inukawa. “So…your mom doesn’t talk about me?” The man asked softly.
“...Do you want the truth?” Inukawa bounced his leg anxiously under the table.
“Do I?” Reigen seemed just as anxious about this, although he was much better at hiding it. “...Yeah, I already know she hates me. Lay it on me, kid.”
This got Inukawa’s attention. He looked up at his uncle. “Wait, she really does hate you?”
“That’s the impression I got from her the last time we spoke a few years ago, yeah.” The man tried to hide that it bothered him, but Inukawa could sense his thoughts loud and clear in a way that he hadn’t been able to do with anybody yet. Reigen was sad about this. He genuinely didn’t want to be hated, and yet he was. Sure, nobody wants to be hated, but it was deeper than that.
“...I asked my mom when I was little if she had any siblings.” Inukawa resumed the fiddling of the sugar packet. “She said she had a brother…but that he was a bad guy and that the family didn’t talk to him.”
Reigen groaned. “Of course she would say that.” He expressed annoyance, but his thoughts were that same deeper sadness. He was silent for a few moments. “Hey, you didn’t tell her about the whole space thing, did you?”
“Oh man, of course not! She’d think I’ve gone crazy! And besides…I think the aliens wiped her and my dad’s memory? So that I wouldn’t get in trouble?”
“Wait, so they don’t even know you were gone for, like, over a week?” Reigen leaned forwards as the waitress came by with their drinks, setting one down in front of each of them. Reigen gave her his signature charismatic smile and a pleasant thanks before opening his straw and taking a sip.
Inukawa did the same, letting the sweet soda sit on his tongue for a moment before speaking. “Nope. To be honest, I wouldn’t even have believed it if not for that journal I kept…” He took another sip. “And the fact that I have telepathy now.” He muttered.
“Wait, what?” Reigen stopped playing with the straw wrapper.
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I guess I got powers or something while on that alien planet? Or maybe they were always there within me or something? I think they might be genetic, actually, because both Mob and his brother are psychic?” Inukawa then had a light bulb go off in his head. “Oh! Wait, hold on! You have crazy powers too, yeah? And I’m your nephew! So maybe that’s how I have them!”
Reigen’s face fell a little. “...You’re telepathic, right?” He asked in a weirdly soft tone.
“...Yeah?...I’m not super good at it yet or anything, but Takenaka’s helping me and-”
“Can you read my thoughts?”
Inukawa paused to look at his uncle’s face. “Y’know, you’re actually the first person I’ve been able to clearly read the thoughts of. Usually I just get a…a vibe.”
Reigen looked down at his drink. “So you must know the truth then.”
Mameta tilted his head like a confused dog. “The truth? I don’t-” He stopped talking as he suddenly knew what it was the man in front of him was referring to.
This guy didn’t have any powers. All those news stories were technically true.
Inukawa sat back, blinking. “...Oh. Huh.” He didn’t really know what to say.
“Yeah.” Reigen muttered in reply. “Look, I understand if you want nothing to do with me now.”
“Hold on.” Inukawa sat back up. “Why wouldn’t I want anything to do with you?”
“Because you know the truth.”
“So? Honestly, I never really thought about your powers much. They were always more of an afterthought.” Inukawa shrugged. “And like, you’re not hurting people, right?”
“Oh god, no. I, uh, actually try to help.” The blonde man swirled his straw around the fizzy drink.
“Wait, do your employees know?” The boy took another sip.
“Only Mob…and only recently.” Reigen’s usual in-your-face facade was gone and before Inukawa sat a much more authentic version of the man.
“How recently?”
“A few months ago. But…y’know everything’s better now.” Reigen looked down at the ice in his cup.
“What about President Kurata?”
“Huh? Tome?...Nah, she doesn’t know. I was gonna tell her next, actually. She’s like me, y’know? No powers, but she wants to help.”
“And that other guy? Serizawa, I think his name is?”
Reigen looked to the side, and Inukawa got the impression from his uncle’s thoughts that this guy was important to him.
“Ohhhh…” Inukawa nodded. “I see.”
“C’mon! Reading people’s minds isn’t nice, kid.” Reigen frowned, a light blush dusting his cheeks.
“Hey! I can’t control it!”
The man sighed. “I know…”
“So Serizawa doesn’t know then?” Mameta asked gently.
“Not yet. Someday though.” He looked up at this kid he barely knew, yet felt like he knew all too well. This unknown nephew of his reminded him so much of himself, as well as his sister Aneko. At least, the Aneko that he knew when he was little.
“...My mom’s wrong about you.” Inukawa spoke up. “You’re a good guy, Master Reigen…er, uh…Uncle…Arataka?”
Reigen looked a little confused. “Why Arataka?”
“That’s…that’s your name, yeah?”
“Yeah, but nobody actually calls me that.” He laughed.
“What about your family?”
Reigen shrugged. “Sure, but I don’t talk to them much, now do I? Everyone just kinda calls me Reigen now.”
“Is that why you asked if I preferred Inukawa or Mameta better? Because you prefer to be called Reigen over Arataka?”
The man chuckled. “Perceptive, aren’t ya? I guess so…eh, yeah, I suppose you could call me Uncle Arataka.”
“Well, if you’d rather not be Arataka, it’s okay.” Mameta finished his soda. “I can call you Uncle Reigen.”
The fake psychic sat up. “Huh…Uncle Reigen.” He smiled softly. “...Y’know, it feels like I’ve spent my whole life with a family who tries their best to run away from me. This is the first time someone I’m related to has willingly sought me out.”
“I’m sorry my mom’s a jerk to you.” Inukawa found himself fiddling with his straw the same way his uncle had been.
“Don’t apologize on her behalf. If she was mature like she likes to claim, she’d do it herself.” Reigen scoffed and downed the rest of his own soda. “...Does she know you’re here doing this?”
“Nope.” Inukawa confirmed.
“Ah, sneaky! A kid after my own heart.” Reigen grinned and got up, leaving payment in cash. Mameta stood up as well, following his uncle to the hallway outside.
Reigen stopped walking to turn and look down at this boy. His nephew.
Inukawa could immediately sense the joy behind the man’s eyes. “I’m happy too, Uncle Reigen.”
“Hey! Stop doing that!” He complained about the mind reading. Inukawa laughed.
“Sorry!” He looked up at his uncle’s eyes and realized they were the same colour that his own had once been. “...Yeah, so my time with the aliens also gave me their weird blue eyes, y’know? Mine used to be the same colour as yours.”
“I was wondering how that happened. It did feel out of place. How did your mom react?”
“She seemed oddly accepting of the random change, but now I suspect it’s because with my normal eyes, I probably looked…too much like you or something.” Inukawa was putting the pieces together.
“Too much like me , huh? Well, makes sense. Aneko and I look a lot alike.” Reigen shrugged and looked down at Inukawa. “Hmm…does your mother make you style your hair like that?”
“Huh?” Inukawa’s hand went up to his parted hair. “This is just how it’s been since I was little.”
“Can I do something?”
Inukawa tilted his head. “Uh, sure?”
With that permission, Reigen then ruffled his nephew’s hair, messing up the middle part and destroying the neatness of the look. He fixed it up a little so it wasn’t crazy , but he smiled when he saw the result of his action.
“Hey, man! What was that for?” Mameta pulled out his smartphone and opened the front camera to see the damage. “...Oh.” He saw why the guy had done what he had done. Now he looked like Reigen. His uncle took the phone out of his hand and held it out to take a picture of the two of them before handing the device back.
“Here.” Reigen smiled. “I think I know why your mom makes you do that with your hair.” He began to walk down the hall to the stairs.
“...Huh.” Inukawa thought to himself for a moment. “...Do you think my mom resents me or something because I look like you?”
Reigen stopped in his tracks. “...Look, kiddo. I may not have known you existed — as my nephew anyway — until today, and I may not have spoken to my sister in years, but there’s no way in hell she would hate her own kid.” He walked back over to Inukawa. “Do you get the impression that she hates you?”
“No, actually.” Mameta felt some relief. “...Actually her thoughts are kind of strange. I can’t really make them out, but the whole reason I went to look for you was because the only word I could hear clearly from her head was ‘brother’ and…and y’know it was always negative.”
Reigen frowned. “Why would she be thinking about me?”
“I don’t know! I mean, you’ve been in the news a few times.”
“Yeah, but not recently .” Reigen shoved his hands in his pockets. “...You ever gonna tell her that you know me now?”
“Maybe.” Inukawa bit his thumbnail. “But I’m not really sure how to go about doin’ that.”
“Yeahhh. I get it. Aneko can be a bit…stubborn in her ways.”
“It’d probably be hard to reason with her from where you stand since she seems deadset on you being a bad person.”
Reigen sighed. “She’s not really wrong in a way. There’s…a part of me that I think she sees as the whole me. I’ve been working on getting rid of it entirely, and I’ve made a lot of progress in the last half a year or so…but I doubt she’ll listen to me.”
“...I’m getting the sense that this is making you sad.” Inukawa shoved his hands in his pockets, mirroring his uncle. “Why don’t we go back to your office and play games with the others?”
Reigen chuckled softly. “I like the way you think, kid. Kind of ironic how my sister’s kid seems to be more like me than like her.”
“Y’know, my dad’s nothing like my mom either. He’s really fun and goofy, actually.” Inukawa trailed after his uncle like Keiko would do with him as the man began to walk down the hallway again.
“Really? What’s he do?”
“He’s a firefighter.” Mameta answered.
“I saw their wedding photo as a kid.” Reigen mentioned. “I remember thinking: ‘Oh wow, that guy’s got dog eyebrows.’”
Inukawa laughed. “Yeah, that’s my dad!” He followed Reigen down the stairs. “Wait, you saw their wedding photo ? Not their wedding?”
“Nah. I, uh, wasn’t invited.” He chuckled, once again sounding unaffected, but of course, Inukawa could sense that this fact bothered him.
“How old were you?”
“12, I think.”
“Oh.”
“It’s not like it matters anymore.” His uncle sighed as they reached the office door. “Not really anything I can do about it, so why care?” He started to laugh a little when suddenly he felt arms around him. It took Reigen a second to register that the kid was hugging him. He wasn’t against the contact, just a little surprised.
Because it took Reigen a moment too long to do anything, Inukawa quickly let go. “Ah, sorry, man. I didn’t really think to ask if that was okay. I just thought, y’know, because we’re related and-” He stopped talking as his uncle put a hand on his shoulder.
“Hey. You just caught me by surprise.” Reigen smiled and leaned down to hug Inukawa, relishing in the fact that this kid was his family. He had family who actually wanted to be his family. This boy went out of his way to find him.
Inukawa hugged back happily, the two in a familial embrace for a few moments before Mameta let go. Reigen seemed to have been lost in that comforting feeling, but he quickly came back to reality, a goofy grin on his face.
“You’re cool, Uncle Reigen.” Inukawa mirrored the goofy grin and pushed open the door. The words caused pride to swell within the businessman’s heart as he followed his nephew inside.
The trio in the office turned to look at Inukawa and Reigen as they entered. Tome raised an eyebrow at her friend now sporting the same hair as her boss.
“Everything okay, sir?” Serizawa held his controller tightly.
“Yeah! Everything’s great, actually!” Reigen grinned. “Oh, wait, am I allowed to tell them?” He muttered down towards his nephew.
“I don’t see why not.” Mameta shrugged. “Mob already knows.”
“Tell us what?” Tome crossed her arms.
“I’m this kid’s uncle!” Reigen looked genuinely happy. “His mom’s my sister!”
Tome squinted at the two of them, as if comparing their features. “Oh. You know, that actually makes a lot of sense.” She nodded.
Inukawa looked at Mob, returning the thumb-up that the esper had given him before he had left. Kageyama smiled happily in response. He was happy for his friends.
Serizawa seemed way more surprised than even Reigen had been, as the tall esper gasped. “No way!” He stared at his boss and the kid with his wide eyes. “That’s crazy!”
“Get with the program, Serizawa! It’s actually super understandable!” Reigen waved his hand around like usual.
“Oh! Uh! Yes, sir!” He stood up straighter, seemingly a little intimidated by his boss, even though he was shorter than he was.
Inukawa smiled. His family wasn’t just his serious mom, his fun dad, and his cute dog. It was also this. His goofy uncle and his friends.
He couldn’t tell his mother that he had met Reigen. That would cause issues, but…maybe he could help them fix their siblinghood. Wouldn’t that be nice? Uncle Reigen could come over for family dinners and they could all be happy!
However…based on his mother’s thoughts...that task definitely seems easier said than done. Maybe even just easier thought than said.