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"Mob."
"Huh?"
It was the third time he called Mob, and the first he responded. If Tome was there, she would have already smacked the boy lightly on the head to grab his attention, but to Mob's luck she had taken most days that week off. Something about rumours of an UFO flying around the nearby woods.
"What's troubling you?"
The kid had been unusually quiet the entire evening, making the office feel ghostly as Serizawa was still in class, leaving only the two of them. His gaze had barely lifted from the floor. It was taking him a while to react when called.
Even more than usual, if that was possible.
"I have math homework due next Monday and I don't like math."
"Well, you have to do it anyways."
Despite himself and knowing there was barely anything he could do for clients with true psychic problems without Mob, the boy looked so troubled (and was so distracted, just that and nothing more), Reigen sighed and spoke.
"Would it help if you leave early today? Only today, don't get used to it," he added in a playful tone.
"Thank you, Shishou, but even if I left early, I don't really understand the topic. There's not much I could do."
"Well, it won't be good for the business if you keep working like that. Part of my job as your master is teaching you when your powers aren't at their optimal shape."
"I can't simply go home and do nothing all evening. And... I can't have another assignment not turned in. At least here I can do something useful"
Reigen wanted to groan in frustration.
He didn't.
"Look Mob, I can tell you are disturbed. Distracted by that. Right now, anything bigger than the most simple of exorcisms could go wrong, as simple as that. Why don't you try starting your homework and see if anything clicks before Serizawa is back?"
He looked over at his desk.
"Here, you can work here while we wait for our next client. More space for a clearer mind, right?"
That had never really worked for him, though. He held hope it would for Mob.
"I'm going to grab a coffee so you can think in silence. The next appointment is in an hour, do you think that will be enough?"
Mob, well. Mob wasn't sure. He limited himself to staring at his master with dark, wide eyes, which Reigen took as a yes.
"I'll be back before, but if you need it I can go for a walk."
"I-it's fine. Thank you, Shishou."
Reigen smiled at him, grabbed his wallet, and left.
While he went down the stairs, the worried look in Mob's face didn't leave his mind once, as if it had been engraved behind his eyelids. He looked so concerned, almost desperate-
Reigen shook it off. The boy could figure it out himself. It wasn't even that he was bothered by the idea of helping, he couldn't want anything more. Mob was strong. He was smart.
Besides, Reigen was pretty sure that there was barely anything he could teach Mob by now.
Math.
It had been literal years since Reigen had done anything more complicated than calculating hourly fees to charge his clients. Calculators were made for something, right? Mob could probably teach himself much more than what he could help him with, and much faster too.
Before he even noticed, he was already ordering a coffee on autopilot, entranced by his thoughts. Half an hour had gone by. Would Mob have made any progress by now?
As he burnt his tongue slightly with the nearly-boiling liquid in the cup he held, he answered himself. Of course Mob would. Why did he even ask for his help? He wasn't a little kid anymore, and he was capable of doing so much he was only starting to realize he could. Math would surely be one of those abilities.
Mob was capable of doing things without him, as simple as that.
He was capable of so much that he couldn't. Without him.
While he dumped the empty cup in the trash, he began to question himself.
Would he even be able to help should Mob need it? Serizawa could probably do a better job at it, since they were reviewing almost at the same pace. Tome would most likely have everything fresher in his memory than Reigen did almost half a decade from high school. Teruki probably knew whatever they were learning like the back of his hand. Mob could ask any of his friends from the Body Improvement Club for help. Hell, maybe even Ritsu would know better, even if he was a year below
He had been able to help with things here and there, some more important than others, but could he be any help with something as simple as a math homework?
Reigen walked the few steps he had left towards the Spirits 'N Such office while trying to shush his questionings.
~(X)~
Mob's racing thoughts went uninterrupted by the jingling of Reigen's keys, the sound of Reigen's steps, and his cheerful greeting.
He was slowly growing more and more frustrated. Besides him, no less than five sheets of paper, covered in attempts at solving the very first exercise in his homework, laid scattered.
Inside, he could feel Shigeo's presence starting to bubble as his hopelessness grew, only adding to it.
Mob didn't show any signs of even remotely acknowledging Reigen's presence until he felt the warm gentleness of a caring hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Mob, what's wrong?" Reigen asked upon being faced with eyes so dry and wide he was sure they would otherwise be flooded, and an increasingly frowning face.
"I've been trying..."
"Okay, you tried. That's good."
"I tried for an hour straight" Mob said, holding the previously scattered sheets with enough strenght for the paper to crumple under his grip. He began blinking rapidly as the energy of his powers began crackling along his fingertips, trying to hold it in a little.
"Do you think any of your friends could help you learn? Or at least let you copy their answers if turning this in is so urgent?"
To be honest, Reigen couldn't say he was exactly opposed to cheating, but he knew for a fact Mob would most likely prefer not sleeping for a week straight trying to understand the topic rather than straight up copying.
"I already asked Hanazawa-kun and Tome-san. Hanazawa-kun is busy until next week and Tome-san confuses me," he replied, not even saying a word about Reigen's suggestion. The man could not say he was truly surprised, but a little part of him hoped it wouldn't come to this. However, the folding metallic ruler near the edge of the desk and the way the ends of Mob's hair were starting to resemble Shigeo's more than his own was making him reconsider his bystander position.
"When did you say this was due?" Reigen asked tentatively.
"Monday," Mob said, as Shigeo whispered inside his brain something along the lines of he should know, you mentioned it already.
Okay, that gave them some time.
Trying to appear as nonchalant as he could while not being able to fully supress the urge to cover part of his face, Reigen spoke.
"Would it help if you had someone to explain it to you?"
Mob appeared puzzled.
"Hanazawa-kun and Tome-san are busy, and it's too late to enroll in any cram schools nearby."
"Would it help or not?"
Reigen felt the unexplainable urge to rip his face off.
"Maybe?"
"Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you. I have an exorcism scheduled for about an hour after you leave school, and since Serizawa has to leave early tomorrow, make sure to come round." Reigen collected Mob's things as he hurried him towards the exit, sneakily keeping his notebook in the process. "You should probably go now so you're not too tired for tomorrow, they said it was a big one. Keep your entire evening clear, okay?"
Mob felt Shigeo struggling to keep the crackling of their powers to a minimum.
"But Shishou-"
"No time for talking if we want those powers powerful and strong, right? Sleep well!"
Reigen closed the door.
Mob stared at it blankly for a few seconds before going down the stairs while whispering to Shigeo.
"Do you think Dimple will bring my notebook if I ask him?"
By the time they got home, most of the streetlights they passed were at least slightly more crooked than what they had been minutes before.
~(X)~
Reigen had not looked at that many numbers in such intricate fashion since he was a teenager.
Consequently, he was also running on about two hours worth of sleep and lots of stress. He had even closed Spirits 'n Such for the day, only accepting a quick massage he had booked a week prior, much to Serizawa and Dimple's amusement. The spirit had arrived early in the morning under Mob's instructions to retrieve the boy's notebook, only for Reigen to stare at him with bloodshot eyes in disbelief and shush him.
"Must. Finish." were his only words every time Serizawa or Dimple tried to speak to him. Except for a fifteen minute long break he took for coffee, during which he only muttered his order and drank in complete silence on his way back.
After hours of non-stop research and a growing stack of papers with notes rewritten over and over again until he found them understandable, it was only half an hour until Mob arrived.
Good. Half an hour to keep the beginning of his lie believable and fix himself until he looked more like a respectable businessman instead of the mess he was.
"I think it's about time you leave for your classes, isn't it, Serizawa?"
"Actually, I have about two hours until-"
"You don't want to get there late, don't you?" he said as he practically dragged the man to the door.
"Can I grab my books first?" Serizawa asked, only for Reigen to take them and put them in his arms in what looked like one swift movement.
"There. Learn a lot, have fun, whatever you say before a class."
Dimple hovered above the doorframe, snickering.
"You. Hush."
It was less than ten minutes of unspoken bickering between he and Dimple and hurried self-care before Mob arrived. As soon as they could hear his footsteps, Dimple hovered outside, mumbling something about not wanting to endure sappiness.
Reigen hurried to open the door before Mob was even able to knock.
"Hey, Mob! The client cancelled, sorry for that. Found out about the scandal I was in and said she preferred someone more qualified or something."
Mob felt Shigeo whisper "or something".
"Anyways, now you're here, you left your notebook yesterday. I couldn't help but notice that your homework is indeed, something I, Reigen Arataka, the former greatest psychic and greatest businessman of the 21st century, happen to excel at!"
In the inner world, Shigeo limited himself to raising an eyebrow.
"Why don't you take a seat and let me help you? Trust me, you will be a master at this in no time."
If I could learn it in a day, he can in a few days, Reigen thought to himself.
"Isn't Tome-san coming?"
"Oh, I had just called her to inform today's appointment was cancelled when you arrived. I don't think she was even going to come in today."
"Okay." Mob resigned himself and complied.
To his surprise, the next hour went by in the light comprehension and knowledge brought. It turned out, one of the perks of Reigen probably being one of the most prolific con artists of the century rather than psychic, was the man's talent with words. Every concept that had once felt cryptic in Mob's teacher's voice, every procedure that felt unexplainably tangled became easily unraveled once Reigen explained it. As the evening's approaching sunset's light began peeking through the window. Mob could have sworn he saw the familiar electric green outline of Dimple, but the spirit was nowhere to be properly seen or perceived, so he figured it must be the mental exhaustion finally catching up to him.
After a few failed attempts at catching Reigen quiet for more than a few seconds at a time, he finally got a chance to speak.
"Shishou, can we take a break?"
Reigen had barely registered how long they had been working for. Now that Mob mentioned it, he could feel the effects of barely getting any sleep catching up to him. It felt as if a bubble he was in had suddenly burst, leaving him to be drenched by the water of the ocean, only that the ocean in question was the desperate need for sleep.
"Sure, why not?"
As soon as Mob got up to stretch, the boy's face gleaming with pride at the strides he had taken in way less time than expected, he took his student's place and gently laid his head on the table. His back would not be happy later, but if it meant getting just a little sleep, closing his eyes for a minute or two, some blissful rest...
"Why are you so tired, Shishou?"
Reigen shot up in his seat.
He had to think for a few moments before speaking, his sleep-deprived brain taking its sweet time to give a proper answer. If his brain could make any noise as he thought, it would be that of rusty engines struggling to work right then.
Barely a year ago, the default answer he would have resorted to would have been something along the lines of See Mob, once you get to my level of power you will find being well-rested and not overusing your powers is essential to keeping them in optimal conditions. Extraordinary ESP requires extraordinary energy, you know.
Right now, though, it would be more accurate to say once you get to my age.
Still not thinking clearly, he resorted to the first idea he got that wasn't a dated lie.
"Well, you should know very well, Guess who I stayed up researching math for?"
The silence that engulfed the office was suffocating.
Mob stared at him with big, wide eyes that blinked rapidly, all traces of a smile vanished from sight.
"Look, Mob, you know I can do many things for you, but this was something extraordinary. I didn't even have to do it! But I did, it took a toll on me, I'm telling you," Reigen said nonchalantly, throwing his arms around as he spoke.
Mob only muttered what seemed to be a feeble "sorry."
The body went limp for a moment while he regained control of it, the feeling of being entirely corporeal not yet something Shigeo was used to.
Right before Reigen could speak, Shigeo raises a hand, instructing silence.
In that moment, Reigen knew he fucked up massively in a matter of two sentences.
"I thought we were done with this."
It is then when Reigen understands the full extent of the impact of his words.
"Mob..."
Shigeo's aura crackled, weakening for a moment.
No matter how many times the switches happened, Mob never got any closer to "used" to them. However, as of lately, he had discovered it became easier to hear his surroundings from the inside.
"I wouldn't, but he's listening."
"Mob, I didn't mean it like that."
Inside, Mob awaited. But Shigeo wasn't really one to keep his opinions to himself.
"Then why even say it?"
"Look, I'm tired. Esper or not, this was exhausting. I'm barely awake right now."
Shigeo raised an eyebrow.
"What would you say if you were taking an evening off work to teach math to a middle schooler?"
If Shigeo could raise his eyebrow even more, he would have done so.
"He didn't even ask for your help in the first place for a reason."
Reigen's heart sank.
It dawned on him there was no shortcut out of this.
Okay, think, Arataka, he muttered to himself.
The worst part, is that he knew exactly what he had to do.
Again.
He kept on making the same mistakes over and over, hurting the same people in the same ways as before.
It was on times like this he didn't know how he lived with himself some days.
Reigen took a deep breath before starting.
"Mob, I- I'm tired..."
Shigeo stood unmoved. He knew for a fact Mob was becoming more receptive of the man's words by the moment, but he wasn't sure how good of an idea it would be to actually let the boy return to the front.
"...but I wanted to help you, even if you did not ask me to, and that's entirely on me. I shouldn't have said that"
"Anything else we want to share?" Shigeo said, slightly more accusingly than Mob would have liked him to.
"I'm tired because I spent the entire night researching how to teach you. Before today, I hadn't studied these topics in over a decade." It was a lie. All a lie. Again.
Shigeo only nodded, and the light in his eyes slowly dimmed.
When their hair went back to Mob's usual bowl shape, Reigen lowered his gaze in shame.
"I'm sorry, Mob. For lying to you again. For what I said."
Mob stared at him with big, wide eyes.
"So you don't know math either?"
Reigen nodded solemnly.
"Everything I taught you today, I learned it between last night and three hours ago."
"But you learned it."
"I guess I did?" Reigen was unsure what the kid was trying to get to.
"And you taught me."
"Yes?"
Mob lit up.
"That means I can actually learn this."
"What do you mean actually? Of course you can!" Reigen stared at the boy, outraged.
"I've been trying, and it never gets easier."
Reigen frowned as he massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Mob, a year ago you wouldn't have even dreamed of lifting something heavier than a school bag without your powers. You're already lifting weights!"
"That's not the same."
"You saved the world a handful of times this year. You can learn math."
As he processed his own words, Reigen rushed to add "NOT THAT IT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT- it's just something else you can do, an achievement, to remind you you can make more?"
He smacked himself in the face.
"The point is, Mob, you can learn math. At a different pace, maybe, or with more help than others, but you can. Just like you have donde so many other things."
Reigen stared fondly at the boy.
"But-"
"No buts. You can do it. You already did it! Look, I know he -Shigeo?- might not be on good terms with me, but know that if cram school can't do it for you, I would review for a week if you needed it again."
"You would be tired, shishou."
"Bah, I've been tired before. Some takoyaki afterwards will always help me recover if I need it. Speaking of which, would you like to get some?"
Mob nodded as a small smile brightened him.