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1.
Reigen did not consider himself a man of much dignity.
Which didn't mean that he would stoop to any lows to achieve his goals. One could not make it far in life without even a modicum of standards. And Reigen Arataka might not have liked playing by other people's rules, he was quite proficient at inventing his own – better ones he dared say. He did his best to instill those valuable lessons onto Mob, because it appeared like he might need them and also because Reigen knew he was a good kid misdirected by the circumstances of his powers.
Reigen knew a thing or two about aimlessness.
Mob was the perfect student as well, so the pride Reigen felt towards him only grew over time. The fact that their acquaintanceship often ended up furthering his own business prospects could be considered either a lucky coincidence or an intended consequence, but regardless of that Reigen was truly happy to have him around.
And now he was even happier than usual.
"Thanks, Mob." It was hard to speak the words through his crushed windpipe without coughing, and he brought one hand up to where the bruises were already forming on his throat. The pressure of ghostly fingers wrapped around lingered painfully, but it was a lot better now that he could breathe again. "That was a real pinch."
Mob stared at him without showing any concern for the predicament he had barely managed to get out of, but tilted his head sideways slightly at his words. "It wasn't a very strong spirit."
"Right!" Reigen tried to swallow but even that had become difficult. "I could tell that, but I meant a pinch for you. I was about to help you out, and then this would not have been such a great teaching moment."
With a nod, Mob faced forward again. To Reigen's eyes, it looked like not a trace of the spirit remained, but he could tell something must be left behind by the way Mob scrutinized the air in front of them. "It's coming," he said calmly.
Reigen took a small step back. "Take care of it quickly then, Mob?"
Thankfully, the spirit had indeed been a rather weak one and was dealt with by Mob immediately after, meaning it only had managed to get the jump on them by using the element of surprise.
On that day Reigen was very glad to make it home with not much more than a wounded ego and some faint marks that disappeared over time. And if he happened to buy Mob an extra bowl of ramen that night, surely that was a coincidence too.
2.
Ritsu did not like him.
Normally that should not bother Reigen the way it did, but maybe he was simply not used to people not liking him in general. Charisma was his best skill and it had carried him far in life, much further than his studies or work ethic ever could - much to the chagrin of his parents. People were easily swayed by his words and Reigen did try to help his clients out in any way he could. So most of the time people liked him.
Ritsu did not. He was the start, the inciting incident he might say, but ever since meeting Mob, Reigen had started meeting more and more people who didn't like him. So he was starting to see a pattern.
Maybe that was why it surprised him so much to see Ritsu protect him, the expression on his face drawn into a tight frown. Ritsu and Mob resembled each other in outward appearance, they were brothers. For some reason though, Reigen could not think of them as further apart. Polar opposites almost, or magnets always drawn to each other while at the same time pushed away.
But when Ritsu jumped in front of him, arms outstretched to either side and the air fizzling around him fiercely with latent psychic power dispersed in an instant, Reigen thought they looked exactly the same.
He sighed with a deep exhale he hadn't noticed he was holding inside his lungs until he felt the vague burn of it contained in his chest. Reigen's ears were ringing – explosions and rubble – and dust clouded the air so heavily it coated his suit. But he could clearly see Ritsu straighten his back, turn toward him with that frown, a smear of plaster against his cheek.
Then he scoffed. "Be more careful, will you?"
"I don't remember asking you to help me," Reigen shot back, though the relief on his face probably undercut the sentiment somewhat.
"Yeah, well..." Ritsu grinned at him with the impudent childishness of a middle schooler who finally got the higher ground over an adult, and he didn't look like Mob at all anymore. "My brother would hate for you to die."
Reigen laughed, brushed pieces of debris from his hair. "I would hate for me die too. So thanks, I guess."
They did not bring it up anymore after that.
3.
He groaned, staring up at a canvas of perfect blue sky and fluffy white clouds drifting out of view. Reigen blinked, tried to get up, and winced when the mere movement sent a sharp stab of pain all down his side. Contemplatively, he shrugged the shoulder he had landed on as best he could in his current position to assure himself it had not popped out of the socket.
Through blurred vision, he could see the shape above him extend a hand to help him up. Once on his feet, Reigen blinked to clear his hazy sight and looked the shape up and down. It was another middle schooler. "Aren't you... Mob's friend?"
"Teruki Hanazawa," the kid said, shaking Reigen's hand with the same one he used to get him on his feet. There was a confidence in his voice far overshooting his age. "But you can call me Teru, Reigen-sensei."
"You've heard about me?" Reigen concluded from the formal use of a title. Teru was wearing a uniform from a school he vaguely recognized but couldn't place.
Ever since meeting Mob, Reigen had started meeting more and more middle schoolers too. Another pattern.
"Shigeo talks about you a lot," Teru answered lightly. Reigen wanted to respond to that – wanted to express gratitude for having his skin saved yet again too – but before he could even get the words out Teru was gone, a blink-and-you-miss-it moment. Back into the fray.
Reigen shook his head, looking around to see where his wayward apprentice had gone, and promised himself to thank Teru at some later time.
4.
"Didn't you use to be on their side?"
It was not the ideal time for questions, Reigen was painfully aware of that. Mostly because he had to lean against the side of one of the concrete pillars to avoid toppling over, heaving through labored breaths. He had a severe headache coming on, and it was only Shou's intervention that had kept him from being crushed by the ceiling collapsing in one rapid torrent.
Shou did not grimace at the accusation, but used his free hand to straighten his jacket. "I changed my mind."
"Good for you."
Where it any other situation he'd probably have a lot more eloquent words to say, but Reigen could hardly think through the pounding going on inside his skull. It took to a rhythm in tune with his heartbeat, which was much too fast for comfort. With one hand he rubbed his eyelids. Shou cocked his head while looking at him.
"You gonna be okay, old man?"
Reigen bit his tongue to keep from hurling, or maybe keep some sarcastic response from slipping out. Perhaps he had forgotten what it was like to be a teenager, but he had never been that cheeky growing up. "I'm fine," he said instead. "Thanks to you."
Shou gave him a two-fingered salute. "Don't mention it."
Leaning his head back, feeling the cold of the concrete against his exposed neck, Reigen swallowed through the pain still thrumming away inside his mind. "I wasn't planning to," he joked, but Shou had already left.
5.
The air smelled like sulfur, a disgusting blend of burnt metal and scorched copper. What had occurred seemed to Reigen like it happened in slow motion – like maybe all the tall tales were true and everything slowed down when you saw death approaching you.
Reigen did not see his life flash before his eyes though. All he saw was Mob on the floor, motionless, prone, and the panic that had caused inside him, burning just as bright as the fire had. He had covered it up well, but in the end, even that had been useless.
He had closed his eyes automatically, bracing for an impact that never came. The roaring sound of the explosion was overwhelming, reverberated painfully in his ears. Heat engulfed the air around him, scorching hot enough Reigen was sure he was half an eyebrow short after. But there was no excruciating end to his existence.
He opened his eyes again.
The man who stood in front of him was the same guy Reigen had seen on the staircase. He seemed to recall his name in a distant manner – Serizawa - as if he had heard it once or twice but had not bothered to remember before now. Between them and Toichiro was a perfectly pristine white umbrella, as if the fire had not so much as touched it.
Serizawa was talking but Reigen did not comprehend the words through what was either shock or his eardrums being punctured. He moved his foot, heard the crunching of glass shards underneath, and at least that meant he wasn't deaf. With rapid blinking, he tried to dispel the lightheadedness making everything unreal and sharp.
Out of all the trouble he had been in, this was the closest Reigen had ever been to death. Though soon after, dying would be the least of his problems.
+1.
Around him, the entire world was fracturing.
Reigen walked forward, and with every step he took there were new wounds, cuts littering his body and ruining his dress shirt from the rocks and scraps hurling at him. Blood was streaming down the side of his face, wet and warm and still Reigen just kept pushing.
The thought that all this destructive power was coming from Mob was downright frightening.
It had been inside him from the start, but never before had it been laid so bare before him, had it been so evident why everything they did mattered. Reigen walked, and then closed his hand around Mob's wrist. The entire area was crackling like electricity.
"Mob, you need to stop."
He did not know if his words could reach Mob right now, let alone be heard over the tremendous sound of the end coming to a head. If he did nothing, the earth itself might split in half.
"Please," Reigen said, his own voice a stranger to his ears. Somebody else talking, but Mob turned towards him with empty eyes made of nothing – void given shape. Reigen had never been scared of Mob. He was still not scared of Mob. Just desperate. "Please, come home."
And just like that, the universe silenced.
It all fell down on them then, raining debris like a flood and the ground beneath their feet gave one more crack as if it had to resign to not breaking with this final act of rebellion. The blood on the side of Reigen's face was patchy and half-dry, clinging to his hair uncomfortably. Mob stood before him with tears in his eyes.
Reigen encircled his arms around him, felt Mob's chest heave against his own with barely suppressed sobs refusing to be kept in any longer. He kneeled down, allowed Mob to burry his head into his shoulder, and stroked his hair.
"I'm sorry," Mob managed between low sniffles and the odd hiccup. "I'm sorry, Shishou."
"Don't apologize." Reigen grabbed his shoulders, pushed Mob back just enough to be able to see his face. "You didn't do anything wrong, Mob. Don't apologize."
"I hurt people, I – I hurt you."
And it broke Reigen's heart to see the guilt on Mob's face. "You didn't do it on purpose, did you?" he asked. Mob shook his head. The tears made pale tracks in the grime covering his cheeks. Reigen smiled at him. "If you didn't do it on purpose then you didn't do anything wrong."
Mob stared at him before nodding slowly, though Reigen knew it would probably be a while before Mob could truly believe him. The guilt had taken home somewhere deep – had sown its seeds before Reigen had even met Mob – and after this, it might take months or years for it to be rooted back out again.
But Reigen didn't care how long it would take. He was just grateful he would be around to do so.