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Reigen was a charming man.
Sure, he was pretty average-looking. Not noticeably beautiful or anything like that. Generally just another face in the crowd. Another fish in the sea.
People didn’t pay him much attention until he started to talk. Words came easy for Reigen, as though speaking one-on-one with people was a role he was born to fill. Comforting someone over any kinds of worries they may have was something like his specialty. Be it at work, or even at that stupid bar he sometimes goes just to feel something, he always left a person happier than they were before having a conversation with him. He was charismatic. He had a way of truly entrancing a person with his speech that no one else in a 50-mile radius could begin to compare.
And yet, this amazing gift came with an unfortunate downside.
Reigen felt confident putting on a show in front of one, maybe two people at a time. Any more than that and their opinions started to vary too much. How could he cater to everyone when all of his audience felt a different way? He often caught himself lying about his personal opinions just to please a customer.
It was getting to a point where he couldn’t even differentiate his feelings from his clients.
Trying to please a larger group was terrifying. Like that time he and Mob were brought to some random abandoned house to exorcize an innocent family of spirits. Between the three shifty college students and Mob himself, Reigen found himself getting overwhelmed when putting on his regular theatrics. Of course, he’d agreed with Mob in the end, as he always would. Mob was his student! His beloved pupil. And if Mob felt wrong doing something, then that meant Reigen would feel wrong about it too.
But being in front of so many people… What if he says one thing to please some of the group, but then the other part of the group starts hating him? Would they try and ruin his business? Expose his personal details? Anything could happen if he were to say just one thing wrong that the entirety of the general public doesn’t agree with!
It was just best for him to stick with his personal consultations. And no one was ever the wiser.
That was, of course, until Mob came into the office, as he usually does, and asked Reigen to give a speech at his school.
“The speech is a sort of pep talk for the students. Encouraging them for their futures. And since you’ve been such an influential person in my life, I asked my teacher if you could do it. He said it would be fine, since no one else has volunteered.”
Now, Reigen, being Reigen, would of course say yes with full confidence. He would even spend 4 hours that night writing an entire speech for a bunch of middle schoolers on how to live their life to the fullest. If anyone asked, Reigen did not stay awake the rest of the night replaying all his potential failures on repeat.
The stage is large.
Is what Reigen’s first impression is. He wasn’t expecting it to be small, per se, but this seemed like overkill for a middle school. There had to be at least 20 feet on either side of the podium in the middle of the stage. Not very easy to run away, then. But of course he would not run. He was confident, charming, and intelligent Reigen Arataka.
There were many teachers lingering around backstage, getting ready for the assembly to begin. It was a sort of farewell for the graduating students, as Reigen had gathered.
Apparently, Reigen had to sit on stage beside the teachers until his turn to speak. The staff and guests all made their way to their seats on stage before the students were escorted into the gym, finding their own seats, facing the stage with all their thousand beady little eyes. No, no. Be kind, Reigen. Those are not terrifying, judgy children with full view of your every thought, these are innocent children! With wide, bright eyes, and a hopeful outlook for the future! And it is your job to give them a meaningful speech on the importance of being confident in their abilities.
Reigen felt his palms start to sweat, so he fidgeted with his pants, rubbing back and forth, and making his hands burn with how hard he was pressing them into the fabric. He tried to focus on the upbeat tone of the principal's words to the students, but he wasn’t able to actually hear the words over the pounding in his ears. When did that start? Was it when he had begun to replay his speech in his head? Insuring that he had actually memorized it, and wasn’t going crazy? Or was it when he noticed that a different guest had already taken their spot at the podium, and the principal had finished talking a while ago?
Either way, Reigen’s turn would be soon. It was getting closer, more soon, more close. To talk. On stage. In front of so many people. Mob included. Oh god. Mob was somewhere in the crowd, probably so excited that his master was about to give a speech at his school. He was down there waiting to hear what his master had to say to all his fellow students. Reigen could not mess this up. There was absolutely no way that he could mess this up. He could not let Mob down like that. No way, no how. He could be brave, confident, charming Reigen Arataka. He would not let a bunch of middle schoolers scare him off the stage! He was the greatest psychic of the 21st century after all! Nothing would stop him from being-!
“And now I would like to welcome Reigen Arataka to the mic. He is an employer of one of our students, and he is here to give a speech to you all, to encourage you on your futures. The mic is yours, Reigen-San.”
Oh. Oh man.
Reigen rose from his spot on his chair. Fully aware that now the entire gymnasium of students was peering at him and only him. He walked to the podium as the previous teacher of whoever the hell it was left. Reigen did NOT trip over who shoes as he walked. Because that would be embarrassing, of course. Ha ha.
He stopped in front of the mic. The school-quality felt cover was mocking him.
‘Speak, Reigen! Don’t be such a fool! Look at all these cute kids. Begging you to speak. Stop standing there like an idiot and speak to me already!’
“Ah-Ahem. Hello-” Kindly, the feedback of the sound system decided to screech and echo throughout the gym. Reigen must have spoken too close. “Heh, sorry about that!”
Reigen shuffled a bit further from the podium and swallowed. ‘Off to a great start, idiot!’ the mic yelled.
“Well, I am, I am here to-. Um, actually, first let me congratulate all the students who are graduating. That's a pretty big step, Middle school to Highschool. So, uh, congrats!”
He clapped to himself, and there was scattered applause across the gym. Of course one of the other teachers must have already done an entire speech for that. Jeez.
Reigen licked his lips and looked down for a moment. “Uh, anyway. You guys are still young. So some of you are still playing in the yard, and some of you are studying, which is great! Yeah, studying and playing is great. But, you know, maybe some of you are anxious, ‘what will I do with my life?’ ‘I need to figure out my whole life plan before I graduate!’ and stuff like that. I’m sure.”
He forgot his script, oh god. Reigen could have sworn what he had written down was better than this, but being put on stage like this and it’s like he forgot everything except for the general gist of what he wanted to say.
“I promise you, that you do not need to figure everything out. Well, I mean thinking about your future is a fine idea, but like, you don’t need to have your plans memorized, or anything! Just be confident.”
‘LIKE THE CONFIDENCE YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW, REIGEN?’
“I-I too started out as just a simple guy, nothing very special about me. And yet look at me now. I run my own business, employ my own employees, and make my own money! And no one ever thought that- that I would be able to do… that! So, you can. Do that. Make a life for yourself.”
‘Don’t get their hopes up, idiot. We all know you are a failure. These kids know just by looking at you that you are the least deserving person to be giving this speech. Quit now, Reigen! WHILE YOU STILL HAVE AN OUNCE OF DIGNITY LEFT-’
“Uhm,” he swallowed, hard. His vision getting spotty with each strained breath between words. “Thank you, for, you know. Having me here, at your school. Good luck everyone.”
And Reigen, very gracefully, speed walks off of the very large, and very hot stage. He nearly trips over his feet, but somehow manages to avoid making an utter fool of himself. At least any more than he already had.
He wanders behind the stage, finding a quiet, dark corner to sit down in and just breathe. He promised Mob a speech. And although he gave one that contained the essence of what he was supposed to say, it was so, so incredibly sub par that he wouldn’t be surprised if Mob never came back to work again.
Reigen rests his face in his hands, sighing. He was a charming man. Average-looking, sure, and easy to blend into the crowd, yes. But people were always drawn to the honey-dipped lies that he fed them like their first meal after years of starvation. Reigen was many things, but after being on that stage, he truly felt like a fraud.