Work Text:
You hesitate outside the office of Spirits and Such Consultation. This is silly, you think. The looming feeling of dread and sadness that’s hanging over you can’t be supernatural but you’ve tried everything. Positive thinking, therapy, hours poured into cures and the like that promised you would feel better but only left you feeling broken because it didn’t seem to work. If that didn’t fix the problem, what would? Maybe it was a ghost or spirit dragging you down.
At least you could rule that out, if anything.
You knock on the office door after taking a deep breath and open it slightly, afraid to step in unannounced. A voice from within calls out to you.
“Come on in.”
As you step in, you see a blond man in a suit hurriedly putting out a cigarette. He smiles at you, gesturing towards a seat at the desk.
“Reigen Arataka, at your service,” he says. “What can I do for you?”
“Oh, well—I’m not sure if it’s something you can help with but I’ve tried everything.”
“Aha! Whatever it is, it’ll be no match for me!” Somehow, he manages to punctuate each word with a hand gesture. It’s almost endearing. “Go on, tell me what it is.”
He’s leaning forward, elbow on the desk, chin in hand, and you feel bad; he looks so intent and you’re almost certain he won’t be able to help.
“I’m sad. Not just sad, I guess. Sometimes I don’t feel anything, sometimes I feel like everything is about to crash down around me.” You see him frown and your cheeks go red and the words start pouring out faster. “I know how it sounds, but I’ve tried everything. Nothing I do makes it go away, there has to be something wrong, right? A-a curse or evil spirit or something. Anything. I don’t want to be like this forever.”
He’s quiet, finger tapping against his chin. Your eyes have begun to water and you hate how desperate this has made you.
“Hmm. I see.” He stands abruptly, clapping his hands together. “I know just what to do. Don’t worry, I’ll have this taken care of in no time!”
That wasn’t the answer you had been expecting. You stare at him, mouth partly open, and he gives a chuckle.
“Don’t look so surprised, you did come to the world’s greatest psychic, Reigen Arataka, after all!”
You give a wavering smile.
“Right.”
“First, salt from the Himalayan Mountains to banish negativity!”
There’s a moment when you start to protest – you really don’t want some man you just met to grate rock salt over your shoulders, even if you did come to him for help – but you decide to let it go. You want to believe it might help and a little salt never hurt anyone.
“Alright…”
“And now to release the tension you’re carrying in your shoulders! Evil spirits often manifest in the form of muscle tension,” he says as begins to rub your shoulders.
You tense briefly. A massage certainly wasn’t what you were expecting.
“Um, are—”
“Just let the master work!”
It did feel good, you had to admit that. You were always on edge, afraid that someone would look at you and see through the fake smile, see you for what you really were. A person of contradictions, full of sadness and dread and empty all at the same time. But you feel that stiffness melting away, at least for right now.
“Phew! There we go. How does that feel?” he asks, moving around the chair to lean against the desk in front of you.
“It feels better, thank you,” you say. He seems so sure of himself that you can’t bring yourself to say anything else. Your hands twist together in your lap. His smile disappears and he narrows his eyes.
“It looks as if this job is tougher than it seemed.”
“No, you helped. It’s just me. There’s something wrong with me. This is what happens every time. It might help for a bit but then everything comes back, like some dark cloud.”
“So, you’re saying that each time you try to get help, it doesn’t last? Ah, I see what’s going on here.”
He says it with such confidence that you perk up, hopeful.
“You do?”
“Yup! You’re completely normal.”
You blink in confusion and start to ask what he means but he’s still talking.
“See, the problem is you think there’s something wrong with you because nothing makes how you feel go away but even you said that those things help for a little while, right?”
You nod.
“And you keep trying to make it better, right?” Another nod. “Listen, there’s plenty of people who feel sad or lost and they just give up. You think there’s something wrong with you because you keep trying but that’s ridiculous. It doesn’t matter how many times it doesn’t work. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say. You’re doing good because you keep trying.”
“Oh…”
It’s been so long since someone has told you that you’re doing good and you can feel yourself beginning to cry.
“Hey, now, that was supposed to be inspiring and uplifting,” he says.
“It was,” you rush to assure him. “It’s just… Thank you. You helped and I mean it this time.”
“Of course! After all, it’s me we’re talking about.”
You stand.
“Now, if you start feeling depressed or empty or whatever again, just remember that it’s okay and you can keep going, yeah? Return visits get a twenty percent discount!”
“I’ll remember,” you say and then step forward to hug him. You can smell smoke and some sort of incense on his suit. He stiffens in surprise. “Thank you again. You’re—You’re a good person. I’m glad I stopped by.”
“Ah, well…” He laughs, the sound a little awkward, as he returns the hug, squeezing your shoulder. “I’m the best for a reason!”
A beat.
“You’re welcome. Keep up the good work, okay?”
You step back, quickly wiping your face, and smile at him.
“Yeah, I will.”
He pats your shoulder.
“That’ll be three thousand yen.”