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He stood in front of the car, scratching his head in mild frustration before looking quick at his watch, reminding him that, yes, he was absolutely beyond late for the ceremony. There goes his chance at proving his worth as a former teacher to Mob. Then again, is this really all that unusual?
Glancing upward at the light blue sky, Arataka couldn’t help but think back at all the times he’d been a poor teacher. From manipulating Mob to work as a small child, to his most recent stunt of “misplacing” his former student’s documents, it felt like there was no redemption in sight. Heavily, he sighed, the weight of his mistakes physically tasking.
Other memories started to floating by, Arataka greedily reaching for those to reminisce on like a man lost in the desert finding water. Protecting his student from harm again and again, proving Mob advice and guidance that helped him grow as a person and an esper, and even some of his mild manipulating stuns ending for the better.
Time and time again, Mob would forgive him, allow him to make mistakes and learn from them, never repeating the same move twice. Despite being older than him, Mob taught Arataka some hidden lessons that perhaps he’d never find alone.
He looked back down at the open car, seeing nothing out of place but knowing that there was something missing, something that needed to be fixed, just unsure what or where or how. The mysterious workings of a car outside of his immediate knowledge.
A car pulled up to Arataka, startling the older man out of his revelry. A mop of black hair caught is attention, laughter bubbling up without his permission.
“Oi, Mob, great timing. How much do you know about cars?” He leaned over, checking to see if there was another passenger in the car, not surprised to find Teruki peeking around Mob. Arataka waved at the two of them, Teruki responding with a small nod and smile at the man, Mob shaking his head gently at his former master’s ill luck.
“Not much, but if it’s something small I might be able to fix it.” Mob pulled off the road, checking both ways before exiting and approaching the vehicle in question. The surprise never wore off, seeing his young student grow into such a well-rounded adult. The surprise at looking up at Mob also never seemed to wear off. The soft baby face he held onto for years is finally melting away, jaw growing more defined and stubble starting to grow in. The hard work he put in over his middle and high school years at the body improvement club paid off, work he still continues when he can. The bowl cut long gone, replaced instead by a stylish undercut, giving off a mature look to the young adult.
Of course, his looks were not the only thing that changed about his former student. A confidence he didn’t have growing up finally started peeking through, the sureness of his movements and steadiness a comforting sight to see, along with the smile that seemed to never fall away. Arataka watched as his former students leaned towards the engine, eyes grazing over the various parts carefully, as if looking to select only the best fruit at the store. His eyes are sharp, sharper than Arataka’s now both physically and in a general sense. There was no hiding anything from Mob, one look enough to break even the most private of person.
“Can you explain what happened,” Mob inquired, fingers reaching out and hovering above various spots, not quite touching anything yet.
“I tried to start the car, but nothing came on when I put the key in. Turning it did nothing.” Mob turned towards Arataka, reaching his hands out palm up towards him and tilting his head slightly. Arataka dug out the keys in his pocket and place them in the outstretched hands, watching as Mob walked to the driver side and attempt to start the car. Again, nothing happened.
“I think you need to jump start the car, do you have any jumper cables in the back?”
Arataka scrunched up his face in thought, trying to recall what jumper cables looked like. Despite being a driver for so long, he’s never had to deal with a dead battery. His thoughts wandered a bit, trying to recall if he had left headlights on or kept the car on without the engine going. Nothing sprung to mind, but sometimes, there isn’t an obvious reason for something to break down. He’s never changed the battery in his car, so it probably was just at the end of it’s lifespan.
He shook his head, walking towards Mob standing by the car door, mumbling a sorry Mob couldn’t hear. The young man looked away from Arataka and the car, watching birds in the distance flutter around in dance, catching the wind and going with the pull of it. After watching them dip and rise a couple times, his eyes looked at Teruki, still sitting in the car, on his phone.
“Hey, Teru, you can use electricity right? Can you come help?” Mob said loudly. Teruki popped out of the car and trotted over mindlessly questioning what Mob had in mind. Teruki also grew, but rather from a seed into a tree, it felt more like a dead rose bush being brought back to life. His younger years seemed plagued by thorns, a defense that nothing could break. After his first interaction with Mob (they had mentioned this meeting many times, omitting all details for those around them), it seemed that Mob helped to cut back those thorns, instead urging Teruki to be kinder, sincere, and honest.
As they grew older together, Teruki seemed like a whole new kid, from his ugly cackling laughter to the small silent gestures he’d sprinkle in conversation and actions, he blossomed into a kid that Arataka was proud to know, happy to watch, a reminder that people can change.
The two of them made their way to the engine again, Mob picking up the car they drove in with his esper powers and placing it gently near Arataka’s car, Teruki in the middle. Confusion surrounding their actions was replaced with clarity once Arataka saw Teruki’s esper powers reach out towards the two batteries. An esper jumper cable if you will.
It almost made Arataka want to laugh at how absurd it seemed, but considering the circumstances, not an unusual turn of events.
“Master! Try turning the key now,” Mob yelled, gesturing to the open driver side door. Arataka hesitated, wondering if starting the car would send a shock through Teruki, before he brushed those concerns aside, instead trusting the two to know what they were doing. He was done pretending he was an esper and knew those answers.
The battery sprung to life, engine roaring in celebration. Despite it being dead, it’s still able to work, if only with a little help from others.