Chapter Text
The rain was not what had ruined Arataka Reigen’s day. After all, rain was inevitable; either it came down or it didn’t and all you could do was curl up indoors with a good book, a hot cup of tea and wait for it to stop. If you let rain ruin your entire day, then you really need to rethink your outlook on life. Besides, it was summer and the rain was actually welcome after the long dry spell that had been plaguing the city. No the rain was not the worst of it.
The car that came out of almost nowhere and struck him at who knows how many miles per hour, skidding and slipping on the rain soaked streets, was not what ruined his day either. That part had been over with rather quickly, not like in the movies at all. Time did not slow down, did not halt or stutter or screech to a stop. There had been the impact, a dull sort of bump against his side, the brief sensation of flying through the air, a second impact, this time as his head hit the pavement while his body followed, and then there was nothing. He was dead (am I?) just like that. There hadn’t been any time to process what had happened, to dwell on his regrets, what he had done or hadn’t done with his life, what he wanted to do, what he had planned, all those things people who die drawn out deaths reflect on. Hell there hadn’t even been enough time to process the pain of being struck by a car. No, his quick death was not the worst of it.
What had truly ruined his day was the part where he briefly woke up afterwards. There was time then, time enough to process the sight of shapes moving frantically in front of his eyes too and fro, obscured by blinding lights shining behind them, the sound of muted voices crying out for (someone? something?), desperate, frightened even. And the feeling. Worst of all the feeling of excruciating pain in his head, the feeling of fear, of not knowing where he was or what was going on or what had happened. And, what was probably the most terrifying, the feeling of something ELSE. Something that had not been there in the first place. Crowding his head, his senses to the point that he didn’t even register prick in his arm or the cold rush that followed before mercifully sliding back into blackness and unconsciousness without those troublesome feelings.
Yes, that was the point where his day had gone to shit.