Chapter Text
Kageyama Tobio has always been a weird kid.
He’s blunt, brash, sports a scowl more often than a smile, and has the tendency to somehow manage to unnerve people just by looking at them a certain way. All this when he isn’t seemingly off staring into space or (according to some accounts) talking to himself. On a good day, he’s cold and aloof. On others, he’s painfully awkward and clearly wants nothing to do with the social niceties that everyone else just seems to get.
So, yeah. Tobio is a weird kid and just about everyone knows and agrees.
If only things could be that simple and his strangeness could end there. But, nooo, he just had to be able to see the fucking spirits.
They call it being spirit-touched.
Tobio calls it a pain in the ass.
It had been clear what he was from the moment he opened his eyes as a newborn. The distinctive blue only appeared in his family when one had been blessed with Sight, and despite his parents’ hope that his eyes would darken over time as some babies’ did, Tobio’s eyes retained their striking colour and the power to See that came with it.
Of course, his grandmother had been supremely pleased. She’d been worried that her family’s legacy as Bridges between the mortal and spirit worlds would die out before she had the chance to pass it on, but Tobio’s birth had finally put her at ease.
She would watch him track the flickering lights of the spirits who came to play with the new Bridge, instinctively reaching out to tweak at the ones that got too close, and she’d smile to herself– pleased, because if he was interacting with the spirits physically at this age, he had been born with powerful magic.
For all that Tobio would much rather spend all his time honing his skills as a setter, he doesn’t really mind lessons with his grandmother quite so much. Nara-obaasan is strict and she demands his best effort, but she’s also the only person Tobio knows who understands what it means to live between two worlds and be unable to share it with the people around you.
She is old and he knows she’s tired and gets ill often, but she always stands tall like she is an unyielding oak tree and nothing could ever knock her down. She is the head of Tobio’s mother’s side of the family, a beloved Bridge to the spirit world and a powerful mage in her own right. Her hands are firm but gentle as they guide Tobio’s, and they never shake.
Nara-obaasan lives and loves fiercely, and Tobio loves her for it.
Then he’s ten-years-old and Nara-obaasan is dead.
He’s cleaning out an old shrine on the edge of the woods that grow throughout Miyagi, giving his best stink-eye to the pair of kitsune he’s doing this for as a favour . They grin back at him, all sharp canines and zero repentance, inclining their heads at an angle in unison.
The uncanniness might have served to intimidate him if he hadn’t been so utterly unimpressed.
They’re probably super old by human standards, but for kitsune, Tobio can tell they’re still young. Barely old enough to not be considered kits. They still have only one tail each which means that they don’t really have all that much magic to spare.
So, really, if he wanted to, he could cause a lot more trouble for them than they even realise, but he only rolls his eyes and lets them be. They claim to be new to the area, so he has no doubt that, sooner or later, they’ll learn more about him.
Spirits have a tendency to gossip after all. And they happen to find Bridges fascinating from what Nara-obaasan used to tell him.
“I can’t believe you followed me all the way to school just for this,” he grumbles under his breath, shaking his head.
Akane yelps in protest. “But it’s important , Kage-chan,” she insists.
When Tobio continues to look unconvinced, her younger brother jumps in to back her up.
“We couldn’t stay here if it looked like a dump!” Akira agrees loudly, sniffing pointedly.
“And you couldn’t have found anywhere else?” Tobio asks reproachfully, even though he knows it’s pointless. Spirits are already beyond his understanding more often than not, and kitsune tend to be in a league of their own.
“But this place is perfect,” the siblings chime in unison.
“I thought you said it was a dump.”
Akira huffs, sharing a commiserating look with his sister that had Tobio bristling. “Oh, Kage-chan. You wouldn’t understand.”
Tobio snorts at that but gives it up as a bad job and focuses on finishing the last of his sweeping. He won’t admit it to them, but the fox siblings have managed to find quite the new home for themselves. It’s a larger shrine than most would expect of spirits with their power, there’s plenty for them to hunt and a stream close enough that he can hear the sound of rushing water from here.
He isn’t sure they’ll be able to keep the shrine as their territory if some more powerful spirit comes by and decides they fancy the place, but he doesn’t point this out. Nor does he offer his services as a magician by volunteering to place a few charms and talismans around the shrine that will give the siblings a better chance at defending their home.
Those aren’t the terms they agreed to and he knows to mind his business when it comes to spirits. If given the chance, most of them will trick favours out of him and not repay in kind.
Kitsune, in particular, are notorious for their trickery. Tobio isn’t about to take any chances.
“Hey,” he calls out before the pair can get too distracted with trying to eat a butterfly. “If you need a favour, don’t show up to my school again, okay?”
Akane does what is the fox equivalent of frowning. “But how else are we supposed to get your attention?” she asks, whining, trotting over to curl around his leg and blink large amber eyes at him.
Unfortunately for her, he isn’t swayed.
“If you ask the other spirits, they’ll show you to my home,” he tells her, neatly side stepping when she looks like she’s going to attempt to scamper up his leg to his shoulders. “But if you show up at my school again, I’ll set up a ward here and lock you outside your own home. Got it?”
Akira whines, fruitlessly pawing at him. “That’s mean, Kage-chan!”
“Mortals are cruel, cruel creatures, otouto,” Akane tells him sagely.
The low sound of someone’s laugh echoes in the clearing and all three of them freeze in unison, exchanging startled looks before turning as one to look at the intruder.
Standing in the shade of a nearby tree is a man, and when they blink blankly at him, he raises his eyebrows and smiles in amusement at them.
“He isn’t quite mortal, though, is he, kitsune-chan?” the man says, strolling over to them leisurely.
Tobio double checks to make sure the man isn’t actually floating, pausing only to frown down at the kitsune siblings when they immediately duck to hide behind him.
“You’re a mage, yes?” the man says, coming to a stop before Tobio. He leans closer, humming thoughtfully as he studies the boy, light glinting off his wire-framed glasses.
Tobio edges away, wondering if he ought to wait or just try a banishing spell on the man now and make a run for it. He doesn’t like the idea of being on tomorrow morning’s news for being lured away by some foxes and a strange dude in the woods.
The man grins like he knows exactly what he’s thinking, straightening in a fluid motion that is almost definitely inhuman in its careless grace. “A mage, indeed,” he confirms by himself, absently running a hand through his dark hair. “From the Kageyama clan at that. You do have such lovely eyes.” Clapping his hands together and managing to startle his three companions, the man regards Tobio with knowing eyes. “You are the one Nara-sama mentioned.”
At this, Tobio blinks hard. “You knew my grandmother,” he says, not all that surprised because Nara-obaasan did seem to have plenty of connections he never got to learn about by the time she passed away.
“Yes, I did,” the man agrees, nodding. “You can call me Watanuki.”
Ah, Tobio thinks. Right.
The first thing he ever learned about the world of spirits and magic is that names have power. Mortals have forgotten and do not have the power to utilise one’s name to its full extent, but when dealing with the likes of yokai and even other mages, the name must remain closely guarded.
Instead, you give a moniker that holds enough meaning and power to bind with you as an aspect of your identity without becoming it entirely.
The name 'Watanuki' doesn’t in any way sound real enough for it to truly belong to the man. He’s never heard of anyone whose name means April 1st of all things, but when Tobio rolls it around on his tongue, he can taste ozone and feel the sting of old magic paying attention.
So, clearly, Watanuki is someone of importance if just his alias carries this much weight.
Tobio instantly wants to forget about ever meeting him and just go home to see if he can bully Miwa into tossing a volleyball with him in their garden.
“I’ve been going by Kage,” he grumbles instead, shoulders slumping in defeat as he resists the urge to kick the rock by his shoe out of frustration.
“Kage-kun, then,” Watanuki says, smiling agreeably. “I’ll admit, I’m not one to leave my shop usually, but I suppose this warrants some personal effort. When he peers down at Tobio, his eyes glint unnaturally– one blue and one golden. “I do not leave my debts unpaid.”
The way he says it immediately has Tobio on high alert. Debts are an important concept in their world; especially magical ones.
Eyes narrowing, he repeats, “A debt.”
Humming, Watanuki raises one eyebrow at the kitsune siblings and promptly sends them scrambling into their shrine. Tobio tries not to miss their warmth.
“To your grandmother,” the man explains, tucking his hands into the sleeves of his expensive looking kimono. “She did me a favour once, and a few months before her passing, she came to me to finally collect her dues.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
Watanuki’s smile is too sharp to be nice even if it is on his handsome face. Tobio’s already dreading whatever the man’s going to say.
“Why, Kage-kun, it has everything to do with you. You see, Nara-sama requested that, upon her passing, I find someone to teach you your way around magic. Since I'm such a generous man, I have decided to take this responsibility upon myself.”
A sense of foreboding comes over Tobio. He peers up at Watanuki suspiciously. “What’s the catch?” he asks, because there has to be one. There always is.
If anything, Watanuki looks pleased to be asked.
“A favour should typically be repaid in kind, but I happen to be offering a tad much. To even it out, all I ask is that you help out at my shop until the debt is repaid. Part-time, of course.”
Tobio isn’t comforted much despite the assuring tone Watanuki speaks in. “How long do you expect me to work for you?"
He may not be the smartest kid, and he's only ten so he doesn’t have any experience dealing with other mages either, but even Tobio isn't that stupid. If he doesn't ask all the right questions and needle all the details out of this man, he could get conned into eternal servitude or something.
It'd be easier if he could just say no and be on his way home, but Tobio does need a teacher. Sure, he has his foundation but he knows his own strength and potential, and he knows that he'll be better off exploring and developing both those things with guidance lest he accidentally blow up his house or start a forest fire.
Besides, Tobio needs to be able to take care of himself around spirits. He can't change the fact that he’s a Bridge– he can only prepare for it. He may want to leave the world of magic and yokai behind, but he will not be given this choice so he's better off arming himself with as much knowledge and skill as he can possibly find access to.
It’s very likely that if he doesn’t, sooner or later, some spirit will come to toy with him for fun and he could wind up grievously injured or unduly taken advantage of.
If this man– and he's obviously a powerful sorcerer just by the way he's making the air around them buzz with latent magic– is offering to teach Tobio and is someone his grandmother trusted enough to ask this sort of favour from, then he's likely his best bet.
Watanuki only continues looking vaguely amused. "How fast of a learner are you?"
Tobio groans. Great, he really is going to be stuck in eternal servitude then.
Tobio should've just taken his chances and ran for it when he could. Instead, he spends his evenings on the weekend dusting magical items of varying power, running errands for Watanuki, and dodging the twin spirits-– Maru and Moro, who are bound to the wish granting shop and cannot leave it– when they want to play while he does his chores.
Basically, it's unpaid labour.
He doesn't mind so much, though. Watanuki is all sorts of weird, but he has a way of teaching Tobio without them ever actually doing formal lessons, so he can't complain too much. If asked, he'd be unable to explain why or how he knows what he knows, but as long as he knows it, Tobio doesn't care enough to look the gift horse in its mouth.
Watanuki thinks it's amusing. But then he thinks everything Tobio does is amusing. The cryptic bastard makes him feel like a pet hamster and his twin companions only add to it with the way they try to hang off Tobio like he's a walking jungle gym.
Tobio is more fond of them than he cares to admit but they seem to know it anyways. They welcome him so he fits right in with the rest of the oddities of Watanuki's wish granting shop and Tobio lets them pull him into the fold.
It helps that when he's not lounging about and smoking away on his pipe, Watanuki is formidably gifted with how he wields his magic. He's powerful and practised to the point where it's as easy as breathing and basically an art.
In fact, he has a bit of a reputation and some of it rubs off on Tobio when the spirits start whispering about him being the 'Shopkeeper's Disciple'.
They think he's going to inherit the shop one day. Tobio scoffs and sets them straight by educating them on the wonders of pro volleyball.
At first, he thinks that's why some of them are gathered around the gym at Kitagawa Daiichi today. Maybe he's ranted enough at them that they're curious about this mortal activity. A lot of them still don't understand that being a Bridge doesn't mean that Tobio is a yokai even if his magic makes him feel unlike a mortal to their senses. Understandably, his daily activities are a novelty to them.
But then he hears them whispering about 'The Shopkeeper' again and he rolls his eyes so hard that his vision temporarily blackens and he almost misses a receive.
Oikawa-san notices, of course, because he only deigns to look at Tobio when it is most inconvenient for the latter, but Tobio shrugs off his ribbing easily.
It's hard to take seriously the fragile intricacies of middle school dynamics when Tobio deals with some malevolent spirit trying to eat his soul every other weekend while he practices his exorcising.
Still, he wishes he could get along with Oikawa-san. The older boy is the best setter Tobio knows and he really wants to learn from him but Oikawa-san seems to find something about Tobio physically repulsive.
Tobio has considered offering him a purification ritual on more than one occasion because Oikawa-san seems like he could do with a spiritual cleansing, but somehow, he thinks it won't go over quite so well with his senior.
At least he got to see Kunimi snort out water through his nose when Tobio happened to off-handedly remark that Oikawa-san could probably use an exorcism or two.
Nonetheless, the spirits meander about the gym and not only does that make it incredibly challenging for Tobio to play as he normally would, it also distracts the other players because they keep feeling like something is off even if they can't see it.
All in all, by the end of it, Tobio is reasonably upset by how fruitless the day has been, and he thinks he knows who's to blame as well.
He'd normally go up to Oikawa-san now and see if maybe today he got hit in the head hard enough to accidentally say something helpful when Tobio asks him for pointers, but he decides to forgo it. He has bigger fish to fry today it seems.
Not that Oikawa-san knows this. He's visibly gearing up to drop whatever clever taunt he spent last night working on (and Tobio knows he works on them– it's painfully obvious) when Tobio walks past him with little more than a shallow bow. The older boy is left floundering for a second, and Iwaizumi-senpai actually pauses where he's rolling up the net to laugh at him.
“Tobio-chan!” Oikawa-san calls after him, whirling around with hands on his hips and his best glare ready to go. At this point, Tobio has been exposed enough to be completely immune to its effects. “Where do you think you’re going? You’re supposed to help with cleaning up!”
Tobio doesn’t think he can really explain it, so he doesn’t try. It’s easier to ignore Oikawa-san and just slide open the doors of the gym instead, and sure enough, Watanuki is standing there—just as Tobio suspected.
He’s had the presence of mind to not show up in one of his eye-catching kimonos, which is good because he’s drawing enough stares as it is. There’s something inherently strange about the stillness around Watanuki and the eerie grace he holds himself with. Not that Watanuki seems fazed by the stares in the slightest. He just smiles down at Tobio and raises a hand in greeting like nothing is wrong and he isn’t making Tobio’s life harder on purpose for his own entertainment.
“Hello, Kage-kun.”
Tobio frowns. “If you don’t have a good reason for why you’re here, I’ll help Maru and Moro hide all your sake and you’ll never find any of it ever again.”
For exactly a second, Watanuki looks appropriately horrified and Tobio savours it smugly.
Then Oikawa-san is sidling up to the door with all the subtlety of a drunk hippopotamus as he regards Tobio and his teacher with narrow-eyed suspicion.
“You look like Tobio-chan,” he declares easily, like that makes any sense at all.
Sure, they both have dark hair, light eyes, angular features and similarly tall, lean builds but it’s not like that means anything.
But Watanuki doesn’t look surprised by this observation in the slightest and something about that sets Tobio on high alert. He may not have been told directly but he can sense the old magic that hangs around Watanuki like destiny and Tobio knows that his teacher is meant for great, important things somewhere, somewhen.
Ideally, Tobio would like to have no hand in this greatness. He doesn’t need any of that fated bullshit getting on him— he has enough on his plate with trying to improve his serve as it is.
He opens his mouth to deny any coincidental similarity between them vehemently when Watanuki interrupts him before he can even start.
“I’m his cousin,” he claims like he isn’t lying right through his perfect teeth, smiling as though Tobio isn’t gaping at the man’s sheer audacity.
“Oh?” Oikawa-san raises an eyebrow, looking between Tobio and Watanuki.
Tobio swallows his protests and forces himself to think. If Watanuki has bothered to leave his shop to come all the way to Kitagawa, then it must be something important, and Tobio probably won’t be allowed to leave with some random guy that isn’t a relative.
So, he inches closer to Watanuki as if to say ‘we are in fact a believable family’ and nods. “Cousin, yes.”
Oikawa-san peers at them, and Tobio is already despairing because the older boy has a spotless record of only being observant of Tobio when it’s most troublesome, but then he senses a ripple of magic in the air that lazily wafts its way over to Oikawa and settles around them like a heavy blanket of drowsiness.
Blinking under the effect of what Tobio identifies as a susceptibility spell, Oikawa-san nods to himself. “Sure. Nice to meet you, Tobio-chan’s cousin.” And then he’s meandering back into the gym and calling everyone to attention again so they can finish the cleaning and go home.
“Perceptive, that one,” Watanuki notes, drumming his fingers against his trousers.
“Oikawa-san has his moments,” Tobio acknowledges, shrugging. “So, why are you here?”
Watanuki straightens, clapping his hands. “Right! There’s a spirit feast in the woods today and you’ll be attending in my stead.”
For a long moment, Tobio tries to digest this. Ultimately, he fails and decides it’s better for his own sanity if he just lets Watanuki do as he pleases. He’ll simply have to get his revenge later, because Oikawa-san may have been manipulated into leaving for now but he’s a busybody through and through, and Tobio doesn’t have any talent for divination, but he can already sense the older boy’s pestering questions in his near future and it’s all Watanuki’s fault.
“This better count as working hours,” he glowers, turning to stalk back into the gym. “Wait for me while I change.”
Watanuki, the annoying bastard, just laughs.
Tobio spends almost the entirety of his spring break after the end of middle school working extra shifts at the wish granting shop.
At first, Watanuki lets him, peering at Tobio from over his spectacles with knowing eyes that make him grit his teeth just to keep his mouth shut. But the elder sorcerer doesn’t say anything even though he knows why Tobio is suddenly demanding overtime work, and Tobio is quietly grateful to him.
He runs all his errands, travelling everywhere as asked to trade magical artefacts and ingredients, visiting Watanuki’s and some of his grandmother’s old contacts, and meeting with old spirit friends who are happy to see him in ways that, apparently, his mortal friends never were.
Volleyball has always been his escape from the strangeness in his life. For the first time, however, Tobio runs from the sport in the wake of his final match and dives headfirst into all the weirdness of being a Bridge.
His own cowardice irks him, but he can’t bring himself to confront his failures just yet, and it makes him snappish and more aggravated than usual.
Moro and Maru start to watch what they say around him, giving him side-long stares and keeping quiet. He hates that things are so tense, so he just throws himself into working, cooking and cleaning excessively even when he doesn’t have to.
When Watanuki catches him bringing out old records to start on bookkeeping, he declares that he’s had enough and promptly kicks Tobio out, calling it a paid leave.
“Go make some friends your age and quit bothering me,” he says, easily hauling Tobio up and away by the collar like he’s a misbehaving kitten. “If you want, you can cry about it.”
Behind him, holding hands in the entryway, Maru and Moro wave at him cheerfully. “Bye-bye!”
And then he’s being deposited on the street corner the shop usually occupies for those who can find it, all 180.4cm of teenage angst, belongings and all. Watanuki thoughtfully chucks an envelope of cash at him as well, which most would call a generous allowance, but Tobio knows the asshole will just make him work it off later when he isn’t worried that Tobio will brood himself into oblivion.
Tobio turns to yell in indignation and demand to be let back in, but by the time he gets to doing so, the shop has disappeared from behind him. All that is there is an old ramen joint, a second-hand bookstore and stairs leading up to a tattoo parlour.
Groaning, he turns back away. If Watanuki has decided he wants to hide the shop from Tobio, then that’s that really. He isn’t anywhere near skilled enough with dimensional magic to even begin to touch the sort of mastery that’s been put into how the wish shop works, and if Watanuki is meddling personally, then Tobio may as well call it quits and save his breath.
Go make some friends your age, he said. Like it’s easy .
Tobio takes a moment to tug at the roots of hair in frustration before exhaling harshly and climbing to his feet. “Whatever,” he mutters under his breath, dusting himself off. He should probably resume the training he’s been neglecting anyways. Just because he’s marinating in self pity now doesn’t mean he can allow himself to get rusty.
He doesn’t care what his old teammates had to say. Tobio knows what he wants out of the rest of his life and he’s just getting started. If they don’t like it, then he’ll just have to find new teammates.
“Got kicked out, Kage-chan?”
Used to being addressed like this out of the blue, Tobio doesn’t startle. He only dips his head respectfully in greeting. “Hello, Kaori-san.”
She smiles at him in return, perfectly painted lips parting to reveal canines that are only slightly sharper than normal. For a disguise, her form only has this flaw. To just about everyone else, Kaori-san appears to be an exquisitely beautiful woman, with her long-slender limbs and delicate features.
It must be easy for her to lure unsuspecting prey when she so desires. With her beauty alone, if not also the fluid way she carries herself and the finery she’s draped in. She looks like she’s just stepped off the set of a romantic period drama.
Tobio, of course, knows better. All yokai in disguise have flaws in their form if one knows how to look. Besides, there’s always something unnatural about them– they don’t quite get mortals, and it shows in the tiniest details that seem off even if one can’t understand why.
Kaori-san herself happens to be a jorogumo and Tobio has had the distinct pleasure of seeing her when she’s in her true form-– pincers, eight legs, more eyes than anyone really needs, the full nine yards. You don't ever really go back from something like that.
“You never come visit, Kage-chan,” she complains, gliding over to take his arm. “And after you made me promise to behave, too. It’s been terribly boring without you.”
“I’m sorry,” he apologises automatically. “I’ve just been…busy, I guess.”
She hums, sandals clacking on the pavement as they walk. “The Shopkeeper works you hard, I’ve heard.”
Tobio makes a noncommittal noise. “And school has been kind of tough,” he admits, shrugging. “Have the spirits been gossiping about me again?”
At this, Kaori-san looks amused. “Why, my child, we never stopped!” Her laugh isn’t a pleasant thing– it grates on his ears and sends shivers down his spine, but he likes it anyway. “Most spirits are fond of you, after all. Even if you neglect us once you’ve gotten what you wanted.”
He’s mostly immune to the charms of yokai in beautiful forms, but when she pouts and bats her eyelashes at him, he can’t help the way he flushes.
“It’s not like I mean to, Kaori-san,” he mumbles, ducking his head. “Thanks for not eating any more humans, though.”
She waves a hand dismissively. “We had an agreement.”
Shrugging, he nods. “Yeah, but it’s still hard to go against your nature.”
Kaori-san pauses, giving him an inscrutable look before grinning wide. He can tell she’s happy because her disguise slips for just a second and there’s definitely too many teeth in her mouth. “Well, if you’re grateful, come visit me again, okay? And bring that manju you brought with you last time. Now, tell me about this ‘school’ of yours.”
“I’ll be starting high school in April.”
“This is a…good thing?” she ventures hesitantly, peering at him uncertainly.
“Yes.” He frowns. “Well, I’m not going where I thought I would.” Running a hand over his face, he sighs, the familiar stress of having to pick school weighing on him again. “I’m not sure where I’m going actually.”
Tilting her head at an angle that is odd even if Tobio can’t place why, Kaori-san frowns. “Why is that? You seemed certain when we last spoke.”
He shoots her a dry look. “That was like a year ago, Kaori-san. Things change.”
“Well, whose fault is it that I’m not caught up, hmm?” she huffs at him.
Tobio cringes, looking away. “It’s my fault, to be honest. You know that sport I play? Well, we were in the middle of a match and I set the ball and–” He pauses, shaking his head. He hates even thinking about it. “No one was there. They didn’t want to play with me anymore. I think they hate me now. Maybe they never liked me to begin with.”
Kaori-san gasps. “Oh, child,” she coos. “I can smell the hurt off you. It’s a wonder you haven’t attracted an ayakashi yet.”
“I’ve been hiding away at the shop while I can,” he admits miserably. At this rate, he’s going to get eaten and then he’ll never play volleyball again.
“Poor spiderling,” she croons, gentle hands sweeping his hair out of his eyes, taking care to not hurt him with too-sharp nails. “Do you want me to eat the foolish children who made you smell this sad?” she demands.
Sighing, he slumps. “I think they’ll just hate me more for that,” he says. “What if one of them turns into an onryo and tries to kill me?” If he had to be stuck with Kunimi’s ghost judging his life choices forever, Tobio thinks he’d go insane. “Thanks for the offer though, Kaori-san.”
She makes a clicking sound that isn’t quite human but is comforting all the same. “Of course, Kage-chan. Are you old enough for sake yet? That always cheers me up.”
He smiles wryly. “Not quite, Kaori-san. Oh, that reminds me– Watanuki knows a tanuki who gets his sake from a mountain river spirit and, apparently, it’s nice or something. Would you like me to bring you some next time I go there?”
Kaori-san has a look on her face that is all business. Such seriousness is only reserved for alcohol it seems. She nods firmly. “I’ll offer you some of my own silk in exchange.”
Tobio jumps on it before she can change her mind. “Deal.”
Because he failed to do as instructed when Watanuki demanded he make friends his age, Tobio’s punishment is handling all the exorcism and purification requests that come their way until school starts again.
He thinks his teacher just wants an excuse to lounge about and drink all day on the engawa instead of having to actually leave and interact with scared or sceptical mortals who never seem to understand magic even when the rituals are explained to them.
Still, Tobio supposes it could’ve been worse. He could’ve been banned from the shop until further notice. As much as he complains about Watanuki and his bum habits, he can’t deny that he cares about his mentor and actually quite enjoys helping in the cases they pick up.
The housekeeping can be a drag though. Especially because Watanuki is actually a way better cook than Tobio but he still makes him do it.
And he could also do without the whole cryptic shtick Watanuki insists on keeping up. He drops his weird prophetic nonsense like it’s going out of style, but Tobio swears it’s because he gets a kick out of watching Tobio silently fret over his words.
Just the other day the man had stared at him thoughtfully over a cup of tea before commenting, unprompted, “I think you look like a crow.”
What the fuck does that even mean?
Tobio didn’t know and he’d been a little afraid to ask at that point. You can never know with Watanuki.
To be safe, he skirts away when he catches sight of a sculpted raven sitting on one of the shelves in the store room he’s dusting. It isn’t a crow, but he isn’t about to take any chances.
He’s contemplating whether it’ll be missed if he decides to chuck it out the window when he feels someone pass through the wards and enter the shop.
He wonders what they’ll come across this time. Really, they’ve had all sorts pass through, looking for something or the other.
Standing in the entryway, looking thoroughly bewildered and more than a little petrified by Maru and Moro’s chimed greeting is a long-haired young man. For his build and frankly intimidating appearance, he seems to be pretty timid just judging by how he’s trying to inch back out the way he came, visibly sweating.
Maru and Moro look equal parts enamoured and devious, and Tobio decides he should step in before they can cause the poor guy any more distress by trying to hang off him or something.
“Welcome,” he says, nodding in greeting. “Are you here to make a wish?”
The customer jumps at his appearance even though Tobio wasn’t trying to hide in the first place. “Wha—a wish? I, ah, no. I don’t—sorry.”
Tobio blinks, unsure of what to do when it seems like he’s going to spook this guy if he so much as breathes wrong. “Well,” he starts hesitantly, “if you’re here, then you must have something you want. You wouldn’t have found this shop in the first place if you didn’t.”
Long-hair Guy bites his lip, looking supremely uncertain. “I don’t really know. I’m sorry. My grandfather heard about you and sent me.”
“What for?”
“This is going to sound crazy,” Long-hair Guy warns, “but we—uh, we think our new house is haunted?”
“Ah.” Tobio nods. “Okay. Come in. I’ll make you some tea.”
Long-hair Guy has a name and it is Azumane Asahi. He’s also only seventeen even if he doesn’t look like it, what with the hair and the beard, but Tobio chooses not to examine that.
After all, he spends all day hanging out with a probably-immortal sorcerer who looks like he’s just out of his teens even if he’s like a hundred years old. Although Tobio isn’t sure just how that works since the shop technically exists in a dimensional pocket of its own where the passage of time is a moot point.
Age is just a number. Time is a construct. Physics is broken. Tobio really can’t be bothered to give himself an existential crisis over all the weirdness he deals with on the daily.
What matters is that they agree to help the Azumane family which is why Tobio is now dutifully walking with Asahi to his house.
“How, uh—how old are you exactly, Kage-kun?” Asahi asks after an impressive amount of silent agonising while trying to subtly glance at Tobio and fidgeting every few seconds.
Not that he’s surprised. Tobio gets this often.
“I’m fifteen.”
“What?!”
Tobio blinks back, nonplussed. “Fifteen. I just graduated from middle school.”
Asahi looks like he’s a few short steps away from a stroke, and unfortunately, Tobio isn’t really equipped to deal with that, so he’s really hoping it doesn’t happen.
“You’re not even in high school yet,” Asahi says—whimpers, really. “And you’re supposed to be, what—exorcising whatever demon is possessing my house?”
Tobio shrugs. “Sure, if it comes to that.”
If anything, his nonchalance only seems to cause Asahi more distress.
“How long have you been doing this?”
“I performed my first exorcism when I was nine, although my grandmother supervised, so I’m not sure if it counts.” He furrows his brows at the way Asahi blanches. “I have more than enough experience. There’s no need to worry.”
Asahi shakes his head frantically. “It’s not that at all! I’m sorry for offending you. I just—how long have you been at that shop?”
“I’ve been apprenticing with Watanuki since I was ten.”
Asahi’s eyes are sad. “That young?”
It irks Tobio. He’ll be the first to rant about how inconvenient having the Sight and being a Bridge can be sometimes, but he doesn’t need pity. He’s more than strong enough to handle it and he’s been trained to take care of himself.
He’s a Kageyama. He has the bluest eyes and strongest magic his family has seen in generations. He was quite literally born for this.
“Magic isn’t about age, Asahi-san,” Tobio says shortly, eyes narrow. “That doesn’t mean much in our world. What matters is power and how much control you have over it,” he lectures. “If you don’t learn and practice, you could get hurt. Spirits are attracted to magic-users and some of them will seek to harm you. Your own magic can lash out and cause harm if not used regularly in a controlled manner.”
Asahi blinks, soaking in his rant while Tobio snaps his mouth shut and flushes at his own outburst.
“I’m sorry,” he offers, looking away.
Chuckling awkwardly, Asahi waves it away. “No, it’s on me. I guess I shouldn’t have acted like you were tied down by our rules. My bad. I didn’t even know spirits and stuff could actually exist till last week.”
“What convinced you?” Tobio asks curiously, eager to move past the awkwardness of their mutual social missteps.
“I saw my alarm clock get thrown into a wall by nothing but empty air,” Asahi says dryly. He sighs. “So much for sleeping in.”
Tobio snorts. “That would do it.”
Asahi’s grandfather—Takao-san, is a mortal through and through, but as is common among old people, he’s heard and seen enough to recognise that there is a world beyond what he can perceive and there are people who can handle things from that world better than he can.
When Tobio introduces himself, the man doesn’t bat an eye at his age even as Asahi’s parents baulk and protest.
Used to it, Tobio pays them no mind and lets the old man handle his son (Kenji) and daughter-in-law (Mina). Instead, he chooses to extend his senses over the house and that which lingers within it.
He hums, letting his gaze sweep over the traditional Japanese structure and furniture, lingering in the minute cracks and crevices people don’t usually care about.
“Has anyone been injured so far?” he asks.
Behind him, the hushed conversation between the Azumane family falls silent.
“No. No one yet,” Kenji-san admits.
“Mostly things like doors being slammed shut, the appliances turning off by themselves and a few things getting thrown around,” Mina-san adds.
Tobio hums again. “Which appliances?”
She looks bewildered. “I—”
Asahi-san cuts in. “The TV and microwave. My laptop slammed shut by itself. Ojiisan’s radio got chucked out the window. You already know about the alarm clock.”
He nods. “I don’t sense any malicious presence in the house,” Tobio tells them. “Whatever is living here with you could probably be convinced to leave on its own, so you likely won’t need an exorcism.”
Kenji looks unconvinced. “Will that really be enough?” he questions. “I mean, this thing’s going around throwing our belongings and slamming our doors in the middle of the night. What if it’s just waiting to get stronger and cause harm?”
Inclining his head, Tobio considers him for a moment. “Do you snore, Azumane-san?”
Mina coughs and looks away while Kenji flushes.
“I–” the man splutters, floundering. “Sometimes, yes. When I’m tired.”
Judging by the look his wife is giving him, Tobio thinks Kenji is lying, but it isn’t really any of his business.
“And none of you have felt physically weaker since you moved in?” he asks. “No lethargy, inexplicable nausea or dizziness?”
They all confirm their health, shaking their heads.
Tobio nods decisively. “It’s nothing malicious,” he says again. “If it wanted to get stronger, it would’ve fed on your spirits and you would’ve noticed. Moreover, if a yokai of that nature resided here, I would’ve felt it. Ayakashi and mononoke tend to have really strong intentions and they’re not the best at hiding from those who are magically sensitive. Of course, if it’d make you feel better, I can do a standard purification of the house later.”
“Whatever you think is best, Kage-kun,” Takao murmurs, watching Tobio keenly.
“So, what is it exactly?” Asahi cuts in, shifting nervously.
“Probably a hitotsume-kozo,” Tobio responds promptly, “They’re known for disliking noise, which is why it’s been slamming your doors shut and messing with gadgets. They tend to be mischievous and they do like startling mortals, but they don’t cause harm intentionally.” Shrugging, he adds, “If you get used to them, they can even bring you luck.”
The family pauses at this, exchanging bewildered looks. They’d likely been anticipating something out of a horror movie that would scar them forever and try to eat their heart or something.
Instead, they get a little one-eyed bald dude that just really likes its peace and quiet. Apparently, it can even be lucky.
Kenji furrows his brows. “Well, how do you get rid of it?”
Tobio scratches his cheek. “I’ll probably just ask it to leave,” he admits. “They tend to only come out at night, so with your permission, I can come back after the sun sets. I do recommend you hang a basket in your doorways for a while afterwards, just in case it tries to come back, but that should really be it.”
“Why a basket?” Mina ventures, looking unsure about if she actually wants to know or not.
“Hitotsume-kozo only have one eye,” he explains. “They think the holes in baskets are a bunch of eyes, so they get jealous and leave.”
Apparently, the family doesn’t know what to make of this, but it’s not like Tobio ever claimed that spirits make any sense. He confirms that he’ll return in a few hours, tells them payment will only be accepted after, and then promptly takes his leave.
“Ah, wait!” Asahi calls after him, stumbling out the door with his shoes barely on his feet. “I’ll walk you.”
Eyeing him uncertainly, Tobio shakes his head. “You don’t have to.”
If it isn’t in a professional capacity, he still isn’t the best at dealing with people– especially those his age. Middle school has taught him that clearly he’s a bigger social catastrophe than he even realises, and Tobio isn’t in the mood of having that rubbed in his face right now.
Asahi smiles kindly at him. “I want to, though,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve never exactly met a sorcerer before. It’s kind of exciting.”
Curiosity. Tobio exhales and nods slowly. Well, that he can deal with.
“So,” Asahi starts conversationally, “what high school are you going to join?”
Nevermind, he can’t deal with this.
Tobio bites his lip, throwing the elder a sidelong glance. “I’m still undecided, to be honest,” he admits. “I thought I’d go to Aoba Johsai.”
“Seijoh.” Asahi blinks. “That’s a good school. They have a really strong volleyball team.”
Gaping, Tobio turns to his companion with wide eyes. “You like volleyball, Asahi-san?”
Sheepishly, Asahi admits, “I’m on the Karasuno volleyball team.”
Tobio pauses at that. “Karasuno,” he murmurs thoughtfully. “Coach Ukai’s old team.”
“A volleyball fan, huh?” Asahi looks at him knowingly. “Yeah. He actually trained us for a bit last year. It was super rough.”
This is news to Tobio. He raises an eyebrow in interest. “Really? Do you think he’ll come back.”
Asahi shrugs. “Who knows. Maybe. It’d be a huge help if he did.”
Tobio hums. “Karasuno,” he repeats. “Karasu.”
“I think you look like a crow,” Watanuki had said.
Now there’s a thought.