Chapter Text
Reigen had always been sort of curious when it came to the supernatural, but he had never put much stock in it. His interest came and went with ghost stories he heard, or tales of strange cryptids appearing across different cities. It wasn’t a big part of his life until he began to hear about strange events more and more. Every day seemed to be a new haunting, a new ghost in somebody's bathroom. Of course the students in his middle school could have just been making things up to get attention, but at least some of them had to be true, right? Or at least that’s what he thought.
It was only a week ago that he began “ghost-hunting.” Out on the prowl for more stories, for more information on these spirits he keeps hearing about. He figured that there had to be something of substance in his local area but so far it had only been encounters of domestic fighting, a kid getting bullied, and his favorite: a dog with a sheet over it.
Reigen was far from giving up, but he was slightly discouraged about the whole thing. He didn’t even know what he wanted to find in the first place. Maybe it was the urge to find something to make his life more interesting, anything to fill his time in the “going-home club.”
His investigation had led him to old woman Yoji’s yard. He had gotten a tip from one of the students in his school, apparently the woman was being haunted by her late husband.
‘What an interesting concept. Let’s see if it pays off.’ He thought, brushing the hair out of his eyes before knocking on the womans door. There were a few moments of brief silence before the wood creaked open, revealing a woman in her late 80’s.
“Oooh… are you the exorcist?” She asked feebly, moving the door more to get a good look at Reigen. He blinked and answered automatically, not giving it a second thought.
“Why yes I am! I’ve come to help you out. Can you tell me about what’s been going on ma’am?” He straightened his posture and swallowed deeply, not sure why he said yes. It wasn’t like he knew what an exorcist was anyway, aside from what movies portrayed.
“Yes, yes of course…” The elderly woman fixed the sweater loosely draped around her shoulders, “I explained on the phone how I’ve been being haunted for the past month. At first it was these strange whispering noises at night while I tried to sleep, but it escalated and just last night I got pushed down in the kitchen.” The way she explained it made it seem like she was truly getting the bad end. Really though, what kind of ghost pushes down old ladies?
The woman swallowed as a breeze passed by them. It rustled the leaves of her fruit trees, and she seemed to wait for the moment to pass. Reigen took this opportunity to speak.
“...From what you described, it sounds like you’ve got a pretty nasty ghost. Good thing I showed up.” The blonde boy rummaged around in his school bag to look for a small digital camera, one his mother had given him for his birthday last year. “May I ask ho...w……”
Reigens words trailed off and his eyes widened as he looked past the womans shoulders. A dark mass had gathered right behind her, staring him straight in the eyes. His pulse quickened and ripples of small shivers ran down his shaking legs.
“......burn….it…” A hoarse voice called out just above a whisper. The black figure began to reach out for the middle schooler, and Reigen’s heart stopped. ‘ Fuck. ’ His hands were frozen in place, camera shaking slightly.
Just as he thought he was in deep shit, the spirit's eye sockets began to light up and a mouth was soon discovered as a bright light tore its way through the black mass from the inside out. Different colors danced around in a gathering of spiral light and a shrill scream reverberated in the young boys ears, it was clear that he was suffering.
The screaming stopped as soon as it started and any remaining blackness was gone, along with the mesmerizing colors. Reigen could hear his heart pounding in his ears, the camera still in place. Whatever he just witnessed he wish he took a picture of.
“Ah, excuse me.”
Reigen blinked and tried to catch his breath, hoping to god that the voice he heard wasnt the spirit. He turned his body to the side to see a tall man with black hair. He wore a suit and a dull expression, and what was up with the bowl haircut?
He sighed in relief but stayed quiet. Obviously this man was here for a reason. He stepped forwards and walked past Reigen without a second glance, approaching the woman.
“Hello ma’am, my name is Kageyama Shigeo, we spoke on the phone yesterday evening.” He held out his hand for her to shake. She took it.
“The spirit bothering you appeared to be someone with malevolent intent. Maybe they had some loose ends that never got tied up, or lost themselves some way.” He wrote something down on a small paper and handed it to her. “This was their name.”
The old woman was confused about everything that had happened up until now, but luckily she didn’t mind picking up and continuing. Her wrinkled hand gently took the paper, and her expression changed instantly.
“Thank you.” She said in a small voice, wiping something from her eyes. “Is he at peace now?”
Now that was a loaded question. Reigen flipped his eyes back up to the man, wondering how he’d respond. That spirit didn’t exactly seem to “pass on,” it was more like he got erased from existence.
The man seemed to give it some thought too, as there was a brief pause. “....Yes. He is.” He said finally, although it didn’t sound too convincing.
Reigen used this moment to slip back out of her front yard, and watched from a distance and she paid him. He bowed in appreciation before turning around to walk back, and once he was out of the front yard, Reigen made eye contact with him. He knew that there was some sort of unspoken conversation going on, but once the tall man started to walk away Reigen was surprised to find that he didn’t follow him. He just sort of continued to stare until the exorcist was out of sight.