Chapter Text
Reigen was at his desk, fingers clumsily drumming off-beat rhythms on his armrest. He lazily clicked around on his computer, pretending to update his website.
There hadn’t been a single walk-in all day. That morning he’d had a couple massage appointments, but after that it had been quiet. Days like this he wished he could go take a smoke break– but he had quit a few months ago, when Mob had voiced his concerns to Reigen.
“We learned about the dangers of smoking in health class today,” he had stated, his tone flat. “And I thought of you.”
Reigen was startled at that. He didn’t want the kid wasting his time worrying about him. He already put him through enough trouble with work– all the dangerous messes he had gotten the kid into…
Mob went on about lung cancer, heart disease, and Reigen-doesn’t-remember-what-else for a few minutes, all very matter-of-factly, until Reigen had given in and promised him he’d quit. And he really did. He had to– ever since confessing his lack of psychic powers to Mob, he had vowed to himself to stop lying to him.
Well he was kicking himself for it now, as he sat in the stuffy office, clicking the “refresh” button on his inbox over and over. On days like these, he used to wish he could just go home, but now he had company during the day before Mob arrived after school.
Serizawa. He had been working for Reigen full time for almost two years now. Reigen had watched him grow, slowly but surely, from an anxious wreck to a much more functional and confident person. He hadn’t said it to Serizawa, but he was quite proud of him.
And the pair had certainly gotten comfortable with one another. They had a nice rhythm in the office together– Serizawa would come in early, make tea for the two of them and any clients they had that day, answer emails, book appointments. He had also become rather skilled at keeping things organized in the office. Which Reigen was grateful for, as cleanliness and organization were definitely not on his list of attributes. And of course, Serizawa was able to take care of any actual exorcisms that were needed. And Reigen took care of the massages, phone calls– and pretty much all of the talking when a client walked through the door.
Every once and a while, though, something tugged at Reigen– a guilt that subtly bubbled under his skin. Serizawa had finished his night classes and graduated at the end of last year. Yet he was still here , working for Reigen. Reigen had assumed Serizawa would move on after a year or two, but he had never even once brought up leaving. He had to want something more , Reigen had thought– but he had never worked up the nerve to bridge the question.
Reigen glanced over at him. He looks just as bored as me , he thought. Bored, yet, something on his computer had his attention for the moment because he didn’t notice Reigen staring. Serizawa’s eyes were soft, his breath steady. Reigen took the opportunity to admire the haircut he had given him earlier that week.
Reigen never intended to become the man’s barber, but after he had cut his hair the first time, Serizawa just kept asking him to do it. He would fake some annoyance at the question, then always happily oblige. Eventually it just became a part of their routine. Reigen had even started inviting Serizawa to his place to do it, to avoid making a mess of the office bathroom.
It really does suit him , Reigen thought. His eyes traveled down to Serizawa’s hands, one in his lap and one clicking lazily on the keypad. They were muscular and calloused, yet they had lost their shaky nature that Reigen used to know well, and now remained steady most days.
Reigen looked up towards the man’s collar, a red tie around his neck, slightly loosened, the one Reigen had gotten him as a welcome present. Then up towards his jaw, freshly shaven and occasionally clenching and unclenching. He watched a small bead of sweat trail down his neck.
At least I’m not the only one who thinks it’s hot in here.
Reigen looked up to study Serizawa’s face next, just to find Serizawa’s eyes staring right back at him.
He nearly jumped out of his seat.
“Oh! I– uh, sorry…” he blurted out. Shit. Say something Reigen. “I-”
There’s a soft knock at the door as it opens.
“Hello Master, Hello Mr. Serizawa.”
Thank GOD.
“Mob!” Reigen exclaimed, relieved and still shaking off being caught staring at his employee. “How was your day at school?”
“Good,” he said. “I have a lot of homework though.”
“Well, feel free to work on it here. We don’t have any appointments this afternoon, just waiting on a walk-in.” He gave his student a bright smile.
“Thank you, Master.”
“You got it. And let me know if you need any help with it.”
Serizawa lets out a laugh. “As if you’d be any help,” he said, looking at Reigen with a sly smile on his face. Normally a comment like that would have Reigen all pissy and defensive, but coming from Serizawa it was almost endearing. It had taken him a long time to open up to the point of cracking jokes at his boss.
“Well– let me know and I’ll ask Serizawa to help you.”
Serizawa's lips curled into a gentle smile.
~~~
Reigen was half asleep while Serizawa was helping Mob with a math problem, when there was a sudden knock on the door. Reigen looked up in surprise and Serizawa jumped up to open it.
All three of them stared with wide eyes at the sight of two middle school boys on the other side of the door. They looked to be about Mob’s age.
“Uh- hello there, boys,” Reigen said as he stood up from his desk. “What can we do for–?”
His mouth hung open. Upon closer inspection Reigen realized the boys looked pretty roughed up, like they had just been in a fight. Not only that, but they looked– shaken up. Scared. Their clothes were slightly torn and they had bandages over various spots on their arms and legs. The boy on the right had his arm in a sling.
“Woah– are you boys okay?”
The one on the left spoke up. “Yes, um– we just came from the hospital. We- we’d like to report some paranormal activity?”
“Of course,” Reigen said, still concerned. “Come on in.”
They sat down on the couch. Serizawa skipped the tea, eager to listen in and equally concerned. He took a seat next to Reigen.
“My name’s Haruto, and this is my brother Kenji. We’re from the next neighborhood over. Our school had a half day today and we– decided to wander around. We went a little too far into the woods and got sort of lost. We were about to call for help, knowing we had gone so far away, when we came across this huge old building. We realized it was… abandoned. We went in to– I dunno– check it out? We thought it would be fun to explore it and see if it’s… haunted or something.” He looked nervously at his brother before continuing. His brother stared at the floor.
“We started calling out for a spirit, yelling for a ghost to present itself. It’s stupid really…” He trailed off.
“But then, we both felt an energy surrounding us. We– we couldn’t move. Then, we both… flew through the air. Something threw us. I wasn’t thrown that far, but Kenji– he was pushed against the wall and, when he fell down, it broke his arm.
We told the people at the hospital we got in a fight. We didn’t think the police would believe us, so we searched up for psychics and found you. We just– needed to tell someone. Someone who could maybe do something. In case anyone else decides to go in there…”
“You boys did the right thing,” Reigen said, giving them an exuberant thumbs up and a cheeky smile. “I’m truly glad you are both okay. Depending on the strength of the spirit it could’ve been much worse… make sure you both stay away from abandoned or sketchy places in the future.”
“Yes sir,” the boys said in unison, heads hung low.
“Hey, no need to look so down though,” Reigen continued. “I, Reigen Arataka, greatest psychic of the 21st century– with the help of my colleagues here– will make sure that the spirit is exorcized in no time.”
Reigen pulled up a map on his computer and had the boys show him where this building was. He thanked them for coming in and reminded them to stay safe.
When the door had shut behind them, Reigen turned to his student.
“What do you think, Mob? Sounds like something we can handle, right?”
But Reigen knew his own question was rhetorical. There was no spirit, no matter how strong, that could cause Mob much trouble. Unlike Reigen, Mob could handle himself.
“Yeah,” said Mob. Reigen noticed his student’s gaze lingering on his schoolbooks.
“Oh! Sorry Mob– you have homework. You should go home and study,” he offered.
“No. It’s okay, I got enough of it done. Besides, it’ll be nice to have a break.”
Reigen chuckled as he thought about that– how Mob preferred exorcizing evil spirits over math equations. The remark reminded him just how powerful the kid is, how this stuff doesn’t phase him anymore. Feeling reassured, he nodded, and the three of them were off.