Chapter Text
“Master Reigen, we've returned.” Mob said as he opened the door to the Spirits and Such Consultation Office.
“Oh, good,” Reigen replied. “How did the exorcism go?”
“Good. Turns out the client really was haunted this time. It was the long-necked spirit of a person who died after getting his head stuck in a taffy machine.”
“Alright. Tome, did you get the client’s payment?”
“Sure did!” Tome chimed as she followed Mob through the door.
It had been about nine months since Tome had started working for the Spirits and Such Consultation Office as Reigen’s secretary. Even after achieving her dreams of making contact with aliens, her fascination with the occult never diminished. Her interest instead shifted to spirits and the paranormal, and after speaking to Mob she eventually came to work under Reigen. She had already met Reigen before when he took her, Mob, and her fellow Telepathy Club members to the top of Mt. Mudboat to summon a UFO, but didn’t know much more about him outside of that. While they definitely didn’t see eye to eye at first, Tome knew Reigen was a good person and eventually came to respect him despite his lack of psychic powers. While the majority of her job was boring busy work such as making tea or answering Reigen’s phone while he was out, it was definitely worth it to her to be working with real paranormal experts, especially since she (eventually) got paid. She got to see Serizawa and Mob exorcize a few ghosts in person, and even got to talk to a spirit named Dimple who, admittedly, didn’t seem too fond of her.
Shigeo, on the other hand, had been living almost completely differently than he had a year ago. His life now mostly revolved around his education, such as choosing which high school he wanted to go to and studying for entrance exams. He also had his duties as vice captain of the Body Improvement Club, and spent most of his free time hanging out with his brother Ritsu, or one of his friends such as Hanazawa or Mezato. He also liked to call Tsubomi from time to time, even though he now only saw her as a friend. However, although he was busy most of the time, Mob still took jobs from Reigen every week or so (provided he was called in advance). Not only was it a good opportunity to see Reigen, Serizawa, and Dimple, but a chance to catch up with Tome too, since they now went to different schools. Whenever Mob took on an exorcism, Reigen would send always Tome along with him since it both gave them time to talk and satisfied Tome’s interest in the paranormal. During the exorcisms, they would usually get so wrapped up in their conversations that they’d become more interesting than the exorcisms themselves. This usually resulted in complaints from customers and a scolding from Reigen, though they’d still get the job done well so it didn’t really matter. Eventually they started getting ramen together after each job. It was something Mob always looked forward to.
“So Mob,” Reigen said. “Haven’t caught up in a while. How’s school going?”
“It’s been good. There are a couple of people that struggle to keep up with me and the others during the Body Improvement Club’s running sessions, but I encourage them to just try their hardest. They remind me of myself when I first started, but I’ve gotten a lot better now! I even got eighth overall in this year’s school marathon.”
“Well that’s good to hear. Have you had any tests lately?”
“Yeah actually, I just had an exam and I think I did pretty well! Cram school’s really paying off.”
“Oh really? Congratulations! Say what, how about I take you all out for soba tonight to celebrate, my treat!”
“Thanks master, but Tome and I got some ramen on the way back, so I’ll have to pass.”
At this Reigen paused, before a small smirk crept onto his face. “Wow Mob, I didn’t know you’d become such a ladies man, but here you’ve been going on dates right under my nose! Nice work.”
At this, Mob realized the implications of getting dinner alone with a girl and his face quickly reddened. “Wait I-”
“Hold on a minute just wait he never said anything like that!” Tome interrupted, waving her hands frantically. “We just wanted to chat more so we decided to get some food, there’s nothing wrong with that!”
“Hahaha!” Reigen laughed, “Don’t worry, I’m just messing with you two. It’s good to know you’re getting along, though I didn’t expect to get such a big reaction from you two!”
“Oh, ha ha…” Mob responded quietly. The room broke into awkward silence for a couple of seconds.
“Well anyway,” Reigen said, “I just remembered, unfortunately we’ve gotta wrap things up early tonight. I’ve got a client tomorrow who says she’s haunted by a spirit that only shows up at 4:32 in the morning so Serizawa and I are gonna hit the hay early.”
“Oh, okay then, I guess I’ll be going.” Mob said as he and Tome got up and headed towards the door.
“See you soon Mob, see you tomorrow Tome!”
“Actually, tomorrow’s Saturday.” Tome replied.
“Oh right, you don’t work weekends. In that case, see you next week!” Reigen said as Mob and Tome walked outside and closed the door behind them.
“Well, I guess that’s it for tonight.” Mob said as he and Tome stepped onto the sidewalk. “I should be getting home about now, so see you soon.”
However, as Mob turned around, he felt Tome’s hand grab his shoulder.
“Um, Shigeo…” She said, “Actually, would you mind waiting for my bus with me tonight?”
“Oh, sure thing.” It’s not like he was in a hurry to get home or anything, so he had time to wait. The two of them started walking down the street towards the bus stop.
“So Shigeo, um, how’s cram school?” Tome asked.
“It’s fine. I took a test recently, though I told you and Reigen pretty much everything inside.”
“Tome’s face sure is a lot redder than usual, and she’s acting kinda timid too. Is she alright?” Mob thought to himself.
“O-oh, well in that case how are Inukawa and Saruta doing? Do they still hang out in the club room?” Tome asked.
“Yeah, usually they just play games and eat snacks like before you left. Sometimes they go on jogs with the Body Improvement Club, but they’re still not really used to it.”
“She’s sweating a lot too. Should I ask if she’s okay?” Mob thought again.
“Oh alright, kinda surprised to hear they tried running. Umm… doing well in cram school?”
“You already asked me that.”
“O-oh right, my bad.”
Neither spoke for a couple of seconds, until Mob asked:
“Tome, are you feeling alright? You’re acting kinda weird, are you sick or something?”
“Oh, don’t worry I’m just fine!” Tome replied. “I’m just um... nervous about something.”
“Really?” Mob replied. It wasn’t really in Tome’s nature to be nervous. “What about?”
“Oh don’t worry, it’s nothing you need to worry about.” Tome said hastily.
“Alright, if you’re sure.”
Awkward silence broke out between the two again “I’ve never seen Tome act like this before,” Mob thought. “I mean, she was a little nervous when she met those aliens and during some exorcisms, but I’ve never seen her like this.” As they arrived at the bus stop, Mob noticed they were almost right on time, the bus was scheduled to arrive in two minutes.
“Hey Mob,” Tome said, breaking the silence. “Th-there’s this movie that came out recently called The Abductor 2, it’s this big sci-fi thriller about aliens and they’re showing it at the Thyme Theater tomorrow night at 8:00. I wanted to ask… do you want to come see it with me?”
“Oh sure thing!” Mob replied. Although he had a busy schedule, he usually left Saturdays open so he could spend time with friends. “Who else is going?”
“Actually, I was kinda thinking it’d just be you and me. Is that okay?”
“Of course!” Mob said. He and Tome were good friends, so he didn’t mind spending time with just her.
As he said that, Tome’s bus pulled up to the station and opened its door.
“Okay! Sounds great!” Tome said, her face visibly lighting up. She quickly ran towards the door and boarded the bus, then turned around to face Shigeo.
“See you tomorrow at eight! Shigeo shouted to Tome as the bus door started to close.
“Yeah! See you tomorrow!” Tome shouted back.
The two smiled as they waved goodbye to each other. Right as the door was about to close, Tome shouted one last thing to Shigeo.
“It’s a date!”
"..."
"..."
“Huh?”