Chapter Text
Autumn leaves blew past the grocery store Teru always visited, as he regarded his choices. Go for the regular kabocha squash, or the limited edition Halloween pumpkin? The former fit into his budget better, but he also felt it was better to go with the purchase in spirit with the season.
Halloween usually meant nothing for Teruki Hanazawa, aside from an opportunity to dress up and show off his costume. He’d considered the holiday “childish” otherwise, in an attempt to consider himself “mature” and “not like the other kids” who were increasingly fascinated by this foreign version of O-bon. But this year would be different.
This year, Teru decided to have a horror movie marathon at home. He’d invited the Kageyama brothers, and felt happy when they said yes. So it was imperative that he help set the mood properly. No half-assing things!
He also considered inviting the Awakening Lab kids too, but then remembered that his apartment was too tiny to gather that many people for a party. The neighbor below him would definitely complain about the noise, especially if Asahi and Hoshino-san both got too boisterous in their enthusiasm. Besides which, Kurosaki had stated that she had made plans already, having been invited to a Halloween party with friends, and he didn’t want to stand in the way of her stepping outside her comfort zone. As for the Shiratori brothers, they had family matters to attend to, but wouldn’t elaborate further.
Setting the already-diced Halloween pumpkin into his basket, he turned to gather some other staples...and found Reigen there, looking through the cabbage stand.
“Ah, Reigen-san!”
A wave, and Reigen looked up from observing a large green cabbage, his serious expression softening slightly at Teru.
“Yo, Teru. You shop here too?”
“Yeah, it’s best place for good deals in this area. Hey, don’t you usually shop at Tony Market’s? What brings you here?”
“Oh, you know me. I’m here on business. A client told me about a cursed cabbage stand, where if you stand here long enough, you might meet the evil spirit of a wanted criminal.”
“Really? I’ve been coming here for years, and never sensed anything.”
“Ah, is that so. How about now?”
Teru concentrated a bit. “Nope, nothing. It’s just the same as always.”
A slight pause, and then the man shrugged. “Eh, well, you get dud clients sometimes. Happens when not everyone can properly sense spirits. Oh well, I’ll just scatter some salt just in case.” With that, he took out his salt packet and turned away to conduct his usual business. Teru wondered, Is it me, or did Reigan-san look annoyed?
Oh well. Still unable to sense anything, he turned towards the green onions he needed. Half-price too, so he had to grab them quick.
The ring of the cash register sounded, signaling a purchase made, and Teru’s turn next.
“Thank you for shopping at Paprika Mart! Come again!” The bright young cashier bowed politely as the customer exited the store. “Up next...oh wow, that’s a lot of food!”
Teru just smiled. “Heh, sorry. I’m having a marathon tonight. It was sort of last minute too.” He wouldn’t normally buy so much junk food and candy, but it was a special occasion.
“Not a problem! I’ll ring you up this instant!” A speedy scan of items flew by. “Okay, the total brings you to 5000 yen! Cash or card?”
“Card. I never carry cash.”
“Ah, okay young man! Please insert your card into the machine and enter your number!”
Teru inwardly chuckled. This cashier was new and obviously went by the script too much. He inserted his card, punched in the PIN, and the result...came back rejected. Huh?
“Ah! Was there an error? Don’t worry, just try again!”
And Teru did. Again, it was rejected.
He tried again. Rejected.
How was this happening? Surely he didn’t splurge that much, did he?
In the end, Reigen had ended up footing the bill. Turns out he’d just so happened to be next in line, and witnessed everything. It was awfully nice of him, and Teru was grateful for saving him from that mess.
But he didn’t need to go so far as to claim he’s Teru’s guardian, watching him while his parents were off celebrating their anniversary. Nor did he have to walk Teru to his place before leaving. That last one alone felt like rubbing it in.
Back home, Teru wasted no time putting the groceries away. He then pulled out his smartphone, double -checking to make sure its security was up to date, and logged into his bank account--
50 yen?!!!
Hold on, that shouldn’t be possible. Just yesterday, his dad was supposed to deposit his monthly budget. Did it not go through yet?
Unfortunately, calling his dad sent him straight to voice mail. Shit, of all the bad timing! I have rent to pay!
Fortunately, he was able to get in contact with his mother. She answered straight away.
Unfortunately, she would not have good news for him.
“Teru-chan? Is that you?”
“Yes mother, I’m very sorry but I need to get in touch with father, and he’s not answering the phone. Is he with you?”
“Ah, yes, but...Teru-chan, we need to talk.”
There would be no Halloween marathon in his future, because what his mother told Teru scared him more than any movie would.