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Teru sat alone in his tower, gazing out over the forest. All the flowers were brightest this time of year, and the birds and butterflies came out of hiding. He had some flowers planted in the box outside his window--that had taken a lot of begging, and he still couldn’t believe Shimazaki had actually allowed it--but the butterflies still wouldn’t come anywhere near. He couldn’t blame them--if he had a choice, he wouldn’t be anywhere near this foreboding stone tower either.
“Hey, you little bastard boy, let me up,” Shimazaki shouted from the bottom of the tower. Teru sighed, then threaded his long hair through the hook in his windowsill and let it drop all at once. Maybe it’ll fall on top of Shimazaki and crush him, Teru thought. He knew it wouldn’t happen, though. Despite being blind, Shimazaki seemed to always be hyper-aware of his surroundings. It must come with being a witch, he supposed.
Evidently, Shimazaki had not been crushed to death, because Teru soon felt him climbing up. Finally, Shimazaki pulled himself up the rope of blond locks and crawled into the tower.
“What’s up, fucker? Get into trouble while I was gone?”
“Well, there’s not much to do around here, but I did throw all your shit out the tower window. That was a good use of ten minutes.”
Shimazaki rolled his eyes and took a pace forward. “Throwing things out the window, you say?” He grabbed a pile of fabric off of a desk next to the window and dropped it outside without even looking.
“What the fuck!” Teru shrieked, rushing forward and leaning out the window. “I spent all day sewing that!”
Shimazaki shrugged. “Too bad for you, I guess. I just needed to grab a jacket before I meet my partner, but since it’s apparently already outside, I don’t need to be here any longer. Bye.” Shimazaki walked backward and out the window, then proceeded straight down the tower. Teru flipped him off as he went, despite knowing full well that Shimazaki couldn’t see him. Teru had always been aware of Shimazaki’s magic, and the fact that he didn’t really need Teru’s help at all to get into the tower. However, he had learned the hard way not to leave him waiting. If he didn’t have anywhere to be, he’d continue yelling for hours like a cat stuck in a tree. Teru had had several sleepless nights as a result of trying to ignore him. If it was urgent, Shimazaki might board up the window, removing Teru’s only connection to the outside world.
>>>>>
“Mob, my boy!” Reigen called as Mob pushed open the heavy doors to the throne room. Mob walked down the hall, stopping in front of the throne and bowing his head slightly. “Yes, master?”
“There's a terrible funk reported from the forest in the south, and I need you to help me fix it!” Reigen said, hands flapping in gesticulation.
Mob looked up at his master and King Serizawa, Reigen’s husband, who was sitting on his own throne with a worried expression. “You want me to help you, or do you want me to just fix it?” Mob asked, already knowing the answer.
Reigen raised his eyebrows and feigned naivete. “Oh, I suppose if you want to go on your own it would be fine…”
The king, Serizawa, chimed in. “We will pay you greatly!”
“But Lord Serizawa,” Mob said, “I already live here, what more can you do?”
Serizawa paused thoughtfully before Reigen interrupted him. “We’ll get you and your family their very own milking cow!”
>>>>>
Mob walked into the stables and readied his best steed. The horse was quite strange; it was neon green and could speak, often adding in profanities for a little extra spice. Sometimes Mob wondered if he was really a horse or just a spirit in the form of one. Either way, it seemed to move faster than the other horses and was far more interesting to ride with.
“Alright Dimple, we’re heading out,” Mob said, mounting the horse and steering him out of the stable.
“Where to?” the horse whinnied back.
“Master Reigen said something about a presence in the woods. I’ve definitely sensed something south of the castle, so we’ll start there.”
Dimple neighed in recognition. “I think I know what it might be…”
Mob hummed, clearly waiting for an explanation, but Dimple simply picked up the pace and headed straight into the woods.
A few minutes into the woods, Mob noticed a definite aura saturating the woods. It was quite confusing though; the aura primarily gave off a hostile, dark feeling, but there was a slight trace of something much kinder. However, he didn’t have time to puzzle over the intricacies of the aura’s nature; it was getting stronger by the second.
Eventually, a large foreboding tower emerged from the trees. Mob could tell in an instant that this was the source of the aura, as it nearly overpowered him here. At the base of the tower, various clothes and fabrics were strewn across the ground. Surely a malevolent being must live here; who else would make such a mess?
Dimple balked, refusing to get any closer.
“I’m not fucking going over there the vibes are rancid.” He turned his back pointedly, making a spectacle of his disgust.
“It’s fine, you wouldn’t help much anyway,” Mob said, dismounting casually, as if he’d expected this. “I’ll take care of it myself.”
Mob picked his way through the scattered clothes as he made his way to the base of the tower, placing his hand on the cold stone. It didn’t feel like a spirit’s aura, and upon further inspection, it no longer felt like a single aura at all. The kind aura that had been so faint before was now clearly distinguishable as separate from the angry aura present throughout most of the woods.
“Hello?” A voice called from the top of the tower. This must be the body to the kind aura.
“I’m here on behalf of the king. I sensed a strange aura in the woods, and this seems to be the source. Are you being haunted or cursed?” Mob called.
“Oh I’m being cursed alright!” The boy shouted back.
“By an evil spirit?”
“By an evil prick witch.”
Mob contemplated for a moment. “I guess I can probably help with that. How can I get into the tower?”
“Well, if you happen to be able to walk up walls that would work, but if not you could climb up my hair.”
“I could what?” Mob said confusedly
In lieu of an explanation, Teru decided it best to just throw his hair down the tower, narrowly avoiding Mob. He considered, too late, that it may have been better to at least warn him, but since the boy had escaped unharmed he chose to ignore that oversight.
Mob began the feat of climbing up the hair, and by the time he reached the top his arms felt like they were made of gelatin. Teru, seeing Mob’s exhausted state, began to have doubts. Could a boy who had barely managed to climb into the tower stand a chance against Shimazaki?
Teru sat the boy down at a small wooden table at the far side of the room and poured him a glass of tea from the pot Shimazaki had him make every day. Teru associated the taste with Shimazaki so much he could hardly stand to drink it, but did anyway simply out of hospitality to Mob. Mob couldn’t stand the taste either, being used to drinking his tea with milk, but also drank it out of obligation. After a few minutes of this, Mob decided to break the silence.
“So how exactly do you want me to help you?”
“Well, there’s this weird dude who locked me in this tower and makes me do his bidding every single day. He hasn’t done anything too terrible to me, but none the less, I still think that constitutes murder.” Mob nodded slowly, staring into his cup and wondering if he could subtly pour out the tea without Teru noticing.
“I don’t think I can murder anyone for you, but I might at least be able to get you away from here,” Mob started. “I can bring you home with me; I live at--” he broke off suddenly. The aura from before had grown stronger.
Just then a voice yelled from the base of the tower. “Hey, let me up, bitch!”
Teru shot a panicked glance to Mob and pushed him out of view just beside the window, thrusting a large brass candlestick holder into his hands.
“Just a minute!” Then he turned to Mob, whispering urgently, “When he comes in…” He mimed swinging the candlestick holder like a bat.
Teru threw his hair over the ledge and Shimazaki began his summit. As he reached the top, Teru gave Mob a panicked look signaling for him to strike. Mob swung, but Shimazaki smoothly intercepted, grabbing the weapon from Mob’s hand effortlessly. His face took on a smug look.
“Did you really think that would work?” he asked Teru condescendingly. “Getting a little city witch to knock me out with a candlestick? You should know better than that.”
“Fuck, you sensed him didn’t you!”
“Of course I did,” Shimazaki said. The aura coming from the boy was growing stronger; he kept his voice carefully controlled, trying to hide his growing panic. Maybe this stranger was more powerful than he looked.
“You think I have shit for brains? Unlike you, I actually have a basic grasp on my magic.”
Mob’s aura spiked. He was growing angrier by the second.
Shimazaki panicked, stepping backwards out the window. “You know what? Fuck this, actually,” he said, his voice shaking.
In his panic, he failed to move gracefully, and instead fell halfway down the tower. He was never seen again.
“So,” Teru said turning to Mob, “I guess you can go now?”
“Would you like to come back with me? I’m sure Lord Reigen wouldn’t mind…”
After packing up Teru’s things, Mob began to climb down Teru’s hair. Next, Teru tried to follow suit, but lacked the upper body strength to do so due to spending his entire life in a tower. He started falling and braced himself for the worst, but the eventual bone crushing impact never came.
“Huh?” Teru said, looking down at the ground just feet below himself. “I’m floating?”
“You’re a witch?” Mob asked, confused. “Why did you need my help, then?”
Teru shook his head. “I’m not a witch! Or at least, I thought I wasn’t…” He looked at Mob. “I guess that’s why Shimazaki never talked about magic with me? I knew he was a witch, but beyond that…” At that moment, his powers gave out, and he fell the final distance to the ground, landing ungracefully but generally uninjured. Mob, meanwhile, was calling for Dimple, who had strayed a few feet into the woods. Teru stared at the green horse in shock.
“What the fuck is that?” Teru asked.
“My horse, Dimple,” Mob replied.
“What, is your boyfriend here the one we needed to exorcise?” Dimple asked, looking at Mob. Teru did not speak for the rest of the way home.