Chapter Text
The summer weather was oppressive, especially in the quiet little suburb of Seasoning City. The weather was unbearably humid, and one Shou Suzuki was really suffering. You see, the redhead was, for all intents and purposes, homeless. He had really fucked up with this one. Sure, he had achieved his goal, his dad and his stupid organization had been taken down, but he hadn’t really thought of what would happen afterwards. He had parted ways with his subordinates, he owed them that much, they had stuck with him for the whole ordeal, but that left him, a thirteen year old, with nowhere to go. The authorities were out of the question, he’s be locked up, or worse, put in foster care. His father was an even worse option, hell, he didn’t even know where the old bastard was, and his mother… well, he wasn’t quite ready to face that bombshell yet. Sure, he had Ritsu, but, well, he had just burnt Ritsu’s house down not even two weeks ago. He wasn’t sure he would be that well received.
For now he was stuck living in an old, cheap, run down apartment, not what he would have chosen, but there were worse places to be. Plus, well, he already knew how to live on his own, he had practically raised himself, after all. So, he was alright, spending his days making a living and avoiding truancy officers, not that he had a school to go to. He managed to deflect uncomfortable questions, and was doing quite fine on his own thank you very much. And this was how he found himself, working part time at a flower shop. It was nothing major, just cleaning up around the shop, and the pay wasn’t even that good, but he’d take what he could get. He was currently sweeping in front of the shop, when he looked up to wipe the sweat out of his eyes, and saw a familiar face walking on the opposite side of the street. It was Serizawa, far more clean-shaven than Shou had ever seen him. He raised his hand and was about to shout a greeting, when he stopped himself. Serizawa looked… happy, for once. Hell, he had never even seen him smile, much less laugh like he was now. Who was he to interrupt Serizawa, him, a walking fucking reminder of Pops’ existence.
But… well, Shou couldn’t help but be curious. Bite him, he was thirteen-fucking-years old. So, with a hurried shout to his supervisor for this shift, he put the broom back where he got it and began to follow Serizawa, which was easy, considering, you know, he could turn invisible. Serizawa didn’t do anything particularly out of the ordinary, stopped to pet a dog once, but that was it. Overall, the walk was peaceful. Well, as normal as a walk could be when you’re practically stalking a former coworker/your dad’s bodyguard. But, while the walk wasn’t out of the ordinary, the destination sure was. Shou could only stand, eyes wide as he read the sign over the door. “Spirits and Such Consultations”. The image was burned into his mind, the image of that very same sign lit with orange light, coming from a fire that Shou himself had set. Well, today was about to be a lot more… interesting than he had originally anticipated.
The inside of the building was no different than when he had come here before. Unsurprising, seeing as how he had made sure the fire would only burn the office. As he ascended the steps, his mind was racing. What would happen when he got to the top? When he actually entered the office? Would Serizawa even give him a chance to speak? He knew the man was powerful, would he just throw Shou out a window as soon as he entered? He didn’t have time to pursue that line of thought, as, before he knew it, he was standing in front of a door with a small white placard marking it as his destination. With a shaking hand, he raised his hand, twisted the doorknob, and pushed it open.
“Spirits and Such Consultation office how can I help- oh, it’s another kid” Shou’s entrance was met with a tired, somewhat familiar voice. Shou had only heard Reigen speak once before, when he had punched his Pops in the face (which was, Shou had to admit, pretty fucking metal). Shou closed the door behind him, nervously turning to face the two adults. Serizawa turned to see who it was, and froze. “Are you one of Mob’s friends?” Reigen asked. Mob, that name sounded familiar. Wasn’t that Ritsu’s brother’s name? So, Ritsu’s brother worked here. Interesting. “Oh, nah, I’m not.” Shou said, putting his hands in his pockets. It was then that Serizawa piped up. “Sh-Shou-kun, is that really you?” He asked, looking about as nervous as Shou felt. “In the flesh.” Shou said, grinning. Reigen scratched his head. “Come to think of it, you look pretty familiar, kid. Gimme a second… oh, you were at that jackass boss of Claw’s office, weren’t you?”
Shou couldn’t help it. Hearing Pops’ spoken of with such an irreverent tone made him double over with laughter. Reigen looked confused and mildly alarmed, and Serizawa let out a choked laugh as well. “Sorry, sorry.” Shou said, straightening up, smile a bit more genuine. “Yeah, that was me.” Reigen’s eyes widened at that. “Kid, you got- geez, the last time I saw you, you were semi-unconscious, are you sure you should be-” He waved his hands around in SHou’s direction. Shou rolled his eyes. “Don’t treat me like some dumb kid.” Reigen shrugged. “Sorry to break it to you, kid, but that’s exactly what you are.” Shou huffed, crossing his arms. He pointed a thumb at Serizawa. “Whatever, I’m just here cause I saw him walk in here, I’ll just”. He started towards the door.
“Shou-kun, do you… have a place to stay?” At the sound of Serizawa’s voice, asking a simple, seemingly harmless voice, Shou froze. After a while, he responded. “...Yeah.” He said in a defeated tone. He could practically hear Reigen’s brow furrowing across the room. He turned back to face the two men, a haunted look in his eyes. “Hey, kid…”, Reigen started, “Are you any good at exorcising spirits?”