Chapter Text
To put it simply, Reigen was not having a good morning. His brain was still foggy from the previous evening staring at the ceiling instead of sleeping. A poor attempt to avoid the next day and its responsibilities.
Much to his dismay, the new day had begun. At least it can’t get any worse. That’s what he hoped anyway.
Things proceeded to get incredibly worse.
It began with him running late to work followed by a twinge of guilt after being caught staring too long (while trying to find the right words to say to his coworker) and finally a ‘simple’ job that wasn’t going to plan.
The client claimed there was a spirit haunting the forest by their house. An initial interview led Reigen to believe the issue was simply a normal cat creating the disturbance. Simple. All he had to do was scoop the culprit up, throw some salt about and rehome the thing.
Life isn’t that simple though is it? Instead Reigen was met with an actual spirit sporting a sour attitude. Luckily he wasn’t alone, as despite his insistence of doing the job himself, Serizawa was right by his side. It’s not that he didn’t want the man to accompany him, he deeply enjoyed his company.
He just felt like he needed a moment where his act was only aimed at a paying customer and not the man he’d dare call a friend. It’s tiring staying on all the time afterall. He needed a break. Simply a moment where he didn’t have to put any effort in to make a good impression. Sadly that moment wasn’t now, they had a spirit to exorcize and persona to keep up. Perfect .
Reigen couldn’t help to stare at the blue spirit looming over a small orange cat it peeled itself from. If he was wrong about there actually being a spirit at least he was right about a cat’s involvement in this.
A small victory - sadly short lived- as there was still the matter of the spirit.
With its newfound freedom the cat made a hasty escape past Reigen, through Serizawa’s legs then finally into the woods out of sight.
The spirit didn’t seem to appreciate the new company much, evident by the scowl and sudden wave of debris aimed at the pair.
Not even a hello? That’s a tad rude. No time to question etiquette when you’re under attack.
Sticks, rocks and mud crashed into them with various degrees of pain. Reigen took on the majority of it as Serizawa could only catch so much debris with his powers. He was also working under the assumption Reigen would use his own powers to protect himself.
That assumption would be logical given Reigen was actually psychic. However unbeknownst to Serizawa, Reigen’s only powers were the ability to lie and dodge.
His dodging skills were a tad rusty from lack of use so he preferred his other ability.
“Hey I’d deal with this myself but… class it as a teaching moment Serizawa, you know what to do!” He yelled while gesturing towards the spirit mid dodge.
“I need to get closer, it’s too far, you may have to get this one. S-sorry…” .
“I’ll see what I can do until you get close enough”.
There was nothing he could actually do except stall for time. That was good enough for now. Can’t have his subordinate know he’s incapable of something that comes so easily to some. It wouldn’t match his carefully crafted persona.
I’ll just throw some salt at it. That’s what a great psychic would do right?
Reigen dug into his pocket and hurled a fistful of salt toward the spirit. He missed by a good few metres, not even close . The distance mocked him. At that moment a stone made contact with his forehead sending him back a couple feet. Ouch .
Any attempt to look in control was completely out the window now. He had to recover from this blow to his image, not for his pride but for Serizawa’s impression of him.
Definitely not his wounded pride. That would be silly. He’s a professional here.
“Ha! You think a simple stone can stop me-” before he could finish he felt another collision, it was different than before somehow. Colder. More… malleable ? The spirit was nowhere to be seen, no matter how fast Reigen scanned the area.
“Shi-”
It broke through.
The spirit had wormed its way in. Just another thing to add to Reigen’s list of problems for today. He was doing great, totally fine in fact, perfect even.
A total delusion.
At least his lying was better than his dodging. If he can lie to himself he can lie to anyone. Way to go champ.
Reigen’s mind raced to make sense of what he was feeling. A chill filled its way through himself stopping at his ever tightening skull.
“Oh no…” he mumbled as his heart rate roared and vision started fading. He quickly tried to support himself on a nearby tree but ended up tumbling straight into it. His shoulder ached from the impact. Maybe the floor would have been softer. Probably not, but one can dream.
This wasn’t the best look for Reigen. His legs trembled as he looked over at Serizawa hoping he’d do something. Not that the greatest psychic needed help or anything but some assistance would be nice.
Serizawa’s face was washed with concern, he was shaking back and forth as he fought with himself on his next move. A world of possibilities stopped by his own inaction. This wouldn’t be the first time…or the last.
A hiss cut through Reigen’s teeth, “Stop resisting-”. Those weren’t his words. Far from it. Despite its origin, the sudden sound from Reigen jostled Serizawa into action. He yelled as he made his way towards Reigen, his hand outstretched preparing energy to shoot at the other.
In that moment, glimpses of Serizawa’s face morphed through the array of light heading towards Reigen. He braced himself for impact, there was a chance this was going to hurt.
It most definitely Hurt. The pain was electric with a hint of care and regret weaved through. A minor side effect to the emotions bubbling in Serizawa at that moment. With the feelings towards the man who helped him become human again and a lifetime of regret spilling over.
His regret always stemmed around his inability to act, nothing new, he’s felt it many times. If only I had acted differently. A common thought.
Now the care ? That was new.
That was something he wasn’t quite ready to acknowledge. The time will come for that revelation later, maybe as the topic of a therapy session but for now this wasn’t the place.
On top of the pain mixed with Serizawa’s emotions, Reigen felt his vision grow darker while his consciousness blurred. He felt himself slipping. Time didn’t feel real anymore. Not the first time he’s felt this way, days of the same routine will do that to a person but this distortion was more forced .
His eyes narrowed, still fixated on the mass of colour he recognised as Serizawa moving towards him. Time to use what little energy he had left to rebuild Serizawa’s impression of him. Reigen began plotting all the ways he can get out of this .
Until all thoughts halted as a force surrounded tight around Reigen. A gentle warmth. Reigen instinctively tensed up, he couldn’t remember his last embrace. Not that he needed one , he’s independent, no need for that. However he couldn’t help but enjoy it.
It almost made the pain of being zapped wash away. Almost .
Reigen’s mind seemed to stretch further away than it should. Less than ideal but he was convinced everything would be alright, even if just for a moment in the arms of another. He relaxed.
Maybe excuses can come later.
Another small victory. Very small since Serizawa let go of Reigen as if remembering himself moments after.
Maybe excuses can come now after all. Cool.
Serizawa was noticeably worried, his hands left to fidget with themselves while hovering over his boss.
Words seemed to fail Reigen as he slipped further, nothing passed his lips. With the remainder of his strength he placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder in hopes he’d get the message.
I’m fine, you did good, now please take me to a hospital for a possible concussion.
Reigen proceeded to drift unconscious. Not great. However Serizawa understood most of Reigen’s unspoken message.
He let out a sigh of relief knowing Reigen was fine and thought he did well. A light smile brushed his face as he felt the warmth on his shoulder. Unfortunately Serizawa didn’t quite catch the part about taking Reigen to a doctor but that was hard to interpret from a grab of the shoulder. However, Serizawa planned the next best thing, taking Reigen back to keep an eye on him.
He may not have medical knowledge but his heart was in the right place and WebMD was a click away.