Chapter Text
When Mob walked into Spirits and Such on a rainy Wednesday evening, he half-expected his Master to spontaneously combust in anger at the sight of his presence.
Yesterday afternoon, he had made the admittedly stupid decision to show up to work after training with the Body Improvement Club. He had made it halfway through the exorcism before he had to raise his arms over his head and toppled like a sack of bricks. When he came to, Master Reigen had been, as Dimple vividly described it, mother henning him. Now, he was stuck with the terrible concept of Personal Time Off for the next couple days.
He climbed the steps with a newfound determination.
Master will be mad, but it’s okay. He’s not ever really mad.
He needed to talk to him about something, anyways. If he had to do an exorcism first, that was fine, but he had to talk to Reigen.
It was important.
Dimple floated over his shoulder in lazy circles. “You’re the only kid I know that goes to work on a day off, you know that?”
“But Dimple,” Mob countered calmly. “You don’t know that many kids.”
“Bullshit,” Dimple huffed. Mob fumbled with the doorknob. “I know you, that orange one, that—”
He pushed open the door before he could hear the entire roster of children Dimple was aware of and was immediately greeted with the scent of green tea. He inhaled, shoulders slumping. Reigen was at his desk, the light streaming in from behind him outlining his shoulders in a way that made him seem larger than life. Mob wondered sometimes if that was why his desk was crammed against the window like that.
“Mob!” he said warmly. Mob blinked. “Just the kid I wanted to see.”
Mob ventured a little farther into the office. He was thrown at the fact he hadn’t been yelled at yet. The two reasons for it came into view quickly; Teru, winking at him, and Ritsu, who was vibrating like a cellphone on silent at the sound of Reigen’s voice. Mob wondered absently if he was constipated.
“Hanazawa. Ritsu.” His lips quirked up into a little smile.
“Hey, Kageyama!” Teru said, jumping forward with his typical exuberance and slinging a heavy arm around his shoulders. The hard edges of Ritsu’s glare softened in his direction.
“Why are you guys here?” He asked them, settling down on the couch.
“Oh, Mob, we’re going on a field trip!” Reigen chirped, his eyes gleaming. “Man, I was just about to call you—hey, why are you here? Don’t tell me you were trying to work.”
Mob froze up as Reigen’s gaze turned piercing. A couple years ago, he would have attributed the pinned feeling he experienced every time Reigen looked at him this way to his Master’s magnanimous psychic powers, but he knew now that it was Reigen’s Signature Stare that always seemed to get the truth out of him. He shifted from side to side, looking at his feet.
“I, uh, I texted him!” Teru butted in, flashing Mob a look. Mob hesitated. He was pretty sure Teruki hadn’t texted him. He went to check his phone.
“He’s covering for you, idiot,” Dimple hissed into his ear. Mob straightened, his cheeks reddening.
“R-Right.”
“Riiiiight,” Reigen repeated, ramping up the Stare. “So, where are we going?”
“Uh…”
“How long are we going for?”
“Um…”
“Why are your friends here?”
He knew that one. “A field trip?” he answered hesitantly.
“Nice try, kids. Never try to con the con—-uh, the Greatest Psychic of the 21st Century.”
Teru’s eyes widened into saucers in awe. Reigen clapped a firm hand on his shoulder and steered him towards the chair, sliding tea towards him. Ritsu glowered at them.
“Reigen wants to take us all to UA,” he said bluntly, crossing his arms. “They’re having some spirit problems, apparently. We’re going to teach a class.”
Reigen frowned. “Hey, Mob’s little brother, I was gonna tell him.”
“Sucks to be you. Anyways, they said they’ll be allowing us on campus for a week, getting a free tour, all that.”
“Ritsu, that’s great,” Mob said, smiling at him. “You’ve always wanted to go to UA.”
Ritsu flushed and Reigen grinned. “Exactly why I invited him! As part of the Such in Spirits and Such, I graciously extended an invitation to your friends, to get some networking in!”
Mob tried to hide his amusement at the disgruntled look on Ritsu’s face. He remembered something suddenly.
“Master, is Ochako-san going to be there? Is that why we’re going?”
“Ochako?” Teru asked, brow furrowing. Reigen waved his hands in front of his face.
“My niece,” he explained, his eyes crinkling the way he always did when he mentioned her. Mob had seen a couple pictures of her that she had sent to Reigen; she was older than him by two or three years, and a student at UA. Reigen and her weren’t close, but Reigen had called her the best product of their family. That meant she was important.
“Well, the spirit problem is happening at the UA dorms,” Reigen explained to all of them, flopping back into his office chair. “Ochako referred us and the principal liked what he saw!”
His hands helicoptered in the air before he pointed two thumbs at himself.
“So I, Reigen Arataka, will be teaching these non-espers just what we can do! Come on, Mob, Ritsu packed for you already.”
Mob nodded. He looked at his feet awkwardly.
Reigen’s bravado deflated slightly.
“Mob?”
Mob looked up, biting his lip. “I…I don’t know if I can, Master.”
“Huh?” Dimple said, floating in front of his face. Reigen made an equally perturbed expression.
“I came because I wanted to talk to you,” Mob said a little louder.
Reigen blinked. “Well…alright, Mob. We can talk now if you want.”
“Uh…” He glanced at Teruki and Ritsu before freezing. Ritsu looked…disappointed. It flickered over his face for a moment before disappearing into his usually calm demeanor. Ritsu glared at Reigen.
“He obviously doesn’t want to go, Reigen. We’ve all got better things to do than pack up for a week and head off on a road trip.”
“But you said his week was free—uh, excuse me,” Reigen cut himself off with a cough. “Well, Mob, if you don’t want to go, that’s fine. But your parents said yes. In case you wanted to. But it’s fine if you don’t.”
Dimple prodded his side a little forcefully. Mob was getting the idea that perhaps it wasn’t fine if he didn’t want to go. Ritsu looked unusually nervous.
“No, I want to go,” he clarified hesitantly. Ritsu’s shoulders slumped in relief and Mob smiled a little. He had gotten it right. “I just wanted to talk first.”
His confirmation was a new wind under Reigen’s wings. He burst to his feet.
“Alright! Dimple, call Mob’s parents and let them know. Go wait by the car. I’ll be there in ten.”
He waved them all off, practically shoving them all out the door (even Dimple, still grumbling about how he wasn’t an errand boy and also didn’t have a phone). He slammed the door shut behind them dramatically and closed the blinds. Mob waited in the middle of the room patiently. Reigen dropped into his chair and Mob neared the other one, taking a seat. Reigen pushed his tea towards him and Mob grasped it out of obligation.
“Well?” Reigen asked. “What’s up, kid?”
Mob swirled the tea in the glass around with a small tendril of power. He stuck a hand out and caught Reigen’s glass when he choked on the tea as expected, settling it down carefully.
“I have a problem, Master,” he said dismally.
“A…problem?” Reigen’s voice grew more serious. “What’s going on?”
He met Reigen’s gaze and tried to communicate every last ounce of his desperation. Reigen leaned forward, hands splaying on the table.
“You can tell me anything, Mob,” he said quietly. “I’m here for you.”
Mob took a deep breath.
“I know I promised I’d make that artwork for the office, but I’m not done yet. I need more time.”
Reigen’s eyes widened and Mob held his breath.
“That’s it?”
Reigen put a hand over his mouth. His face was growing red and it looked like he was about to cry. His shoulders were shaking.
“Master?” Mob said, concern bleeding into his voice. Reigen scooted away from him and almost crashed onto the floor. A laugh escaped the corner of his mouth and Mob froze. Reigen was laughing at him. It felt…bad.
“I’m not laughing at you,” Reigen said as he laughed, voice muffled from the desperate hand clamped over his mouth. “It’s just…Mob, that’s fine. The artwork was supposed to be fun. For you.”
Some of the pressure in Mob’s chest eased. “Oh.”
“You’ve got time,” Reigen said, more seriously, even though his ears still glowed pink. “You’ll get it done by the time we’re back, and it’s like you didn’t even miss the deadline. I’ll bet my psychic powers on it.”
That didn’t make him feel much better. Reigen ruffled his hair indulgently and got to his feet, putting a hand on Mob’s back to guide them out. He could hear Ritsu and Dimple arguing down below. Teruki’s laugh bubbled up in spouts. He smiled despite himself.
“In no time, Mob,” Reigen promised. “I’m sure the students at UA will help you out.”
“If you say so, Master,” Mob said.
“And while you’re there, I bet you can show Ochako that wonderful one you made of me as a wolf!”
Mob’s face heated. “Please, Master, it was three years ago—”
“And what a beautiful drawing it was,” Reigen snickered.
──────────────────
“Hey, asshole, you better be listening.”
Todoroki hummed noncommittally, his voice muffled by the pillow his cheek was smushed into. His grip loosened around the pen he was holding. Izuku held back a laugh.
“Wake. Up.” Kacchan prodded his side forcefully. “I’ll kill you!”
“Please don’t kill him, Kacchan,” Izuku said remorsefully by his side. He felt tired, abnormally so, especially pressed against Todoroki’s warm side. “Then we’ll have nobody to deal with the ghost.”
At the mention of the ghost, Kacchan made a strangled sound and squeezed his pencil in his fist. It had been only two days since Kaminari had run from his room screaming bloody murder about a ghost in his sheets. They hadn’t believed him at first, partially because it seemed like something Kaminari would make up to scare them, but when it had “appeared” in Iida’s room and scared the living daylights out of their normally stoic class president, they all took the threat more seriously. It had worsened when the building had exhibited other symptoms: the lights in the bathroom flickering, knives being gone from the drawer, even long scratches down Tsuyu’s arm that she had woken up with. The last one had gotten Aizawa involved.
“Can it, Deku! If we’re being forced to have a fucking sleepover before exams, I’m going to study!” Kacchan growled after a moment, still a little paler than usual.
Mina sighed dramatically. Whether on purpose or on accident, they had all drifted quietly to the common room over the past few days and had begun sleeping in a massive pile of blankets and pillows to avoid being hunted by the ghost. Mina had dragged the couches over and they were all sprawled in their own makeshift beds and over the couches, all lazing around during their day off. Izuku and Momo were pressed to Todoroki’s warm and cold side respectively. Izuku wondered if Todoroki had ever considered a side hustle as an AC unit. Jirou and some of the others were quietly listening to music as they studied or slept. Mina’s gang were all cuddled up on the couch and watching a horror flick. Izuku wasn’t convinced of the merits of the group sleepover strategy(or the merits of the ghost’s existence) but it was pretty fun. It gave him a good chance to try to find more about the ghost.
Iida pushed up his glasses. “Bakugou is right…although, language. I believe we should all put in an effort, especially during this difficult time to come together and do well on our upcoming exams. It’s important as upcoming heroes to—-”
“Yada yada yada,” Kacchan grumbled. “We get it, Four Eyes.”
Todoroki cocked his head in Bakugo’s direction. While all of them had been shaken by the incident, Kacchan’s new behavior was by far the most unsettling. He had gone from raging and exploding to quietly seething, which was ten times more terrifying. Kaminari hadn’t prodded him once the entire night. He hadn’t even snapped once at Izuku, which was more concerning than anything.
“Okay,” Momo sighed, brushing a hand through her hair and tucking it behind her ear. “Ishima Meguro. Quirk: Death Drop.”
“Makes any quirkless fuckers sleep forever and scales in power to people’s quirks,” Kacchan answered first. “Fuse Kano.”
“Oh, that’s the guy that grows dandelions from people’s ears!” Kirishima chimed in.
“Soooo manly,” Sero snickered. “Tomi Sakamoto.”
“Her nails grow really fast,” Mina cut in, glancing away from her popcorn. “So cool.”
“I wonder if in fights, she could use it as raw material,” Izuku hummed. Or maybe she could use them as a capture weapon? Or is keratin too strong of a material for that? Maybe if she changes her diet? Would that change the material of her nails in any meaningful fashion? And how fast do they grow? Could she replace parts of the keratin industry?
“Deku, what the fuck are you doing! Fucking listen when I’m talking to you!”
Izuku looked up. Oh.
Uraraka spoke.
“All these guys don’t seem that powerful. No offense.”
“We’re still required to know all the active threats to us right now,” Iida reminded her. “The heroes aren’t taking any chances after…”
They all shivered at the mention of Kamino. Izuku tracked Kacchan’s blank expression.
“Well, hopefully this ghost business makes Aizawa give us an extension on our exams,” Kirishima cut in quickly, glancing nervously at him. “I mean, no way I’ll have this shit memorized in three days.”
The distraction seemed to work. Kacchan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, cause you’re all dumbasses.”
Kaminari frowned. “Hey, positive encouragement.”
“I’m going to encourage you to explode!”
Kaminari giggled as Kacchan lunged for him, fire crackling around his fingertips before it fizzled out abruptly. He looked down at his fingers. “Heh?”
“No fighting,” Aizawa’s red eyes faded into sight, and they all straightened at the sight of him. His hair was wet from the rain outside and stuck to his face stubbornly, even as he attempted to push it away. He closed the door gingerly behind them and turned. Izuku saw a dash of a smile.
“You’re making a mess of the dorms.”
“Any progress on the ghost?” Kacchan said, his voice so serious Todoroki had to hold back a snicker. Aizawa raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I let Principal Nezu know about the situation,” he drawled. “Thankfully, he’s got a solution.”
Uraraka made a pleased sound and they turned to look at her. A couple things had started floating around her feet. Aizawa’s eyes tracked the movement.
“The usefulness of this…solution is to be debated. But I want you to know that for the next week, you will all be taking a class focusing on espers. Try to learn something about it.”
They all waited with bated breath.
“And, of course, that means the exam will be pushed,” Aizawa finished, crossing his arms. They all burst into cheers.
“You’re the best, Sensei!” Mina glowed, grinning at her position on the floor.
Aizawa made a face. “Unfortunately, that means you have class today.”
“Ughhhh,” half of them said in unison. Sero slumped pathetically to the floor. Izuku tried to hide his excitement, but he knew it was a lost cause.
Aizawa finally blinked and Kacchan sighed, his powers sparking back to life. Aizawa regarded them all with warmth.
“You’ll have a few new guests at the dorms, so try not to make life difficult for them while they deal with this ‘ghost’. You’ll meet your new ‘teacher’ in ten. Please be ready by then,” Aizawa said mildly. Izuku frowned at his phrasing. He guessed Aizawa wasn’t the type to believe in ghosts. That didn’t seem like him, though, to question Nezu’s decisions in front of them. At least, that seemed to be what he was doing. Maybe…
“Hey, wake the fuck up,” Kacchan growled, flicking him in the forehead. “Cheeks, stop making him float.”
“Ah! Sorry, Izuku!” Uraraka yelped. Izuku realized he was hovering three inches above his blanket a second before he crashed to the ground. He squeaked.
“What’s got you so excited?” Mina said slyly, poking Uraraka’s side. She hid her smile.
“Well, I think my uncle’s the one that’s coming,” she said quietly, glancing around. Izuku tilted his head. Uraraka had mentioned her uncle once, but he couldn’t quite remember his name, much less his quirk.
“He’s pretty famous,” she said, pulling out her pink phone and searching something up.
“Here…”
She turned the phone around and Izuku gasped. It was a beautifully decorated webpage, with bright graphics and readable font. On the front was a familiar face. A face Izuku had looked up to for years.
“His name is Reigen Arataka,” she said brightly. “He’s the greatest Psychic of the 21st Century.”
──────────────────
“Hey, Dimple, search up how much the Pro Hero autographs go for,” Reigen ordered.
“Again, am I your servant?” Dimple groaned, flipping around in the air. “Also, I don’t have a phone.”
“I can do it, Master,” Mob offered, his voice muffled by the MobDonalds burger in his mouth.
“Don’t talk while chewing, Mob,” Reigen chastised through a mouthful of fries. One of his hands was on the wheel and the other was rifling around in the massive bag they had gotten. He made an “aha!” sound when he found what he was looking for and tossed it over his shoulder into the two backseats. Ritsu spluttered as he was showered in chicken nuggets.
“And Teruki, your MobFlurry,” Reigen said, tossing it in a similar fashion. Teruki squeaked and a yellow glow surrounded the liquid a second before it spilled all over him, depositing the ice cream back into the cup with precision.
“Oooh, this song is really good,” Reigen grinned, brushing some of the crumbs off his mouth. “Dimple, you down for some Katy Perry?”
“Katy…uh, yeah, sure, I’m down. Shigeo, let me possess you.”
“I’m alright,” Mob responded.
“Hey, let him possess you Mob, everyone deserves to hear Last Friday Night.”
Mob blinked at Reigen. Reigen shook his head a couple times.
“Ah, Dimple, almost got me there! You’re like, three hundred years old, right? No way you know Katy Perry.”
Dimple crossed his arms over each other and huffed, his aura growing slightly.
“Wait, Ritsu!” Reigen said brightly, as if remembering something.
“No.”
“Didn’t you love that one song?”
“No, Reigen.”
“What was it? Oh!”
“Reigen, I swear—“
Reigen’s hands whirled around the dashboard, clicking and smashing buttons until the blaring notes of California Girls burst to life. Dimple paused in astonished silence. Ritsu’s cheeks went bright red. He scrambled forward for Reigen’s neck and Teruki just barely managed to keep him in his seat.
“Woah, little brother—”
“California Girls, we’re unforgettable!” Reigen sang, smirking as Ritsu screeched in rage.
"I like this song,” Mob said simply, ignoring Ritsu’s frantic grabs at Reigen’s seatbelt. At his inability to reach, he began hurling gummy worms. Dimple nodded along with the beat. Mob smiled out the window, enjoying the scenery. UA was pretty.
“Bikinis on top—Mob, don’t take that literally, this is a little sexist—” Reigen cut in, putting both his hands in the air.
The car slowly went off course.
"Master.”
“Back in my day…”
“Master!”
Mob crashed into the side window and Ritsu and Teruki squished against each other as Dimple went flying through the air. Reigen yelped and grabbed the steering wheel with more force than necessary, turning them back into their lane.
“Oops,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He chewed absently on a gummy worm that had landed in his mouth.
Nobody said anything for the rest of the car ride.
Thankfully, it was only ten more minutes before Reigen finally parked them in front of UA. Ritsu scrambled out of the car first, collapsing onto solid ground like he had never felt it before. Teruki stumbled in dizzying circles. Even Dimple seemed off-kilter, swirling around Mob’s head like a gaseous halo of snot. Mob looked through the green haze up at the massive school.
Sakura petals spiraled from the massive ornamental trees that lined the pathway to the large buildings. In the fading afternoon sun, the reflective windows gleamed with kaleidoscopes of orange and yellow, reflecting onto the beige walls outside. The thick arches that swanned the entryway blocked streams of sunlight in patches, dappling the blocky pavement with streaks of shadow. The fluttering red banners on both towers announced their presence.
He felt swallowed up in front of it. He knit his hands together. Reigen’s hand landed on his shoulder. The other one was on Ritsu’s. Instead of complaining, Ritsu’s mouth had fallen open. His eyes sparkled with awe.
A petal of warmth bloomed in Mob’s chest. He sidled closer to Ritsu’s side.
“Well, I didn’t bring you here to stand and gawk,” Reigen chastised, pushing them gently towards the entrance. Mob found his footing and walked forward. “Come on. We got to meet some guy named Present Mic. Weird name.”
“Present Mic,” Teruki repeated in disbelief, glancing up at Reigen. “He’s a hero! He’s soooo cool.”
“How cool?” Reigen asked. Mob could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes.
“Way cooler than anyone else I know,” Teruki sighed dreamily.
Reigen looked miffed, most likely conflicted by his desire for money and his desire to be admired. The latter half seemed to win out.
“First lesson, kid. The adults you think are cool are typically not that cool.”
Mob decided not to acknowledge what that advice said about Reigen. Reigen also looked unusually happy, but the autograph paper and the camera in his hand seemed to provide a reason for that. Dimple and him were arguing about the merch.
“Come on, Dimple, just scare them a bit! A little psychic power here and there, some encouragement for some free waivers, food, merch…come on, you’re literally an evil spirit!”
“But I want to inconvenience you,” Dimple replied.
Ritsu reached out a hand and Mob felt his aura grow. The petals swooped towards them in a line of pink, spiraling and velvet. Mob stretched out his own aura and brought some of them towards him, watching them dance through the air like pixies.
“Not too much with the powers,” Reigen huffed, walking faster. “People will get ideas.”
Teruki reached out a hand. The tree on their left became encased in a yellow glow before the petals on the floor rose off all in unison. Teruki’s face was twisted in concentration as the petals slowly settled into Mob’s hair.
Mob blinked, a small smile growing on his face.
“Well, you make a very nice bush,” Reigen said mildly, his eyes softening.
Mob picked them up in his hands as they walked, tuning out the voices of the others. The petals were very soft and small things. Very precious and very fleeting. They were cold with morning dew in his warm palms from the car. Mob wondered what would happen to them.
“Brother?”
Mob looked up to see a tall man above them. He had a shock of hair in a dramatic crescent swoop, dyed an obnoxious blonde. Ritsu had drifted towards his side, eyes on him. He was buzzing again, his aura twisting in a way Mob recognized as excitement tinged with concern.
“Ah,” he said dumbly, glancing up at the man. “Hello, mister.”
“Hello!” the man said brightly. “Are these your assistants, Mr. Reigen?”
"Mr. Reigen,” Reigen repeated to himself. “Yes, yes they are. Say hello, assistants!”
Teruki waved. Mob stared blankly. Ritsu crossed his arms.
Reigen chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Beginner nerves, you know. It’s not every day they get to see somewhere as grand as UA. Speaking of UA, and heroes, really…”
Reigen outpaced them quickly and they followed him as he chatted with Present Mic. Sometime during their conversation, he had managed to get the pen into Present Mic’s hand and was having him sign as many things as possible.
Master truly is incredible.
Present Mic escorted them to the large buildings and to the dorms where they would be staying. Reigen, apparently, would be staying with the teachers and the other adults while the three of them would be accommodated in the dorms. Mob shivered a little at the thought of being with so many other students with quirks. He hadn’t seen many people with quirks significant enough to match his powers as an esper. He wondered if he’d find someone here that understood power.
But these people use their powers against people. He glanced up at Reigen’s back. I wonder what Master thinks about that.
“Alright, here we are,” Mic announced, his blue eyes glinting with excitement. “Espers. You guys are so cool.”
Teru practically glowed under the praise. Reigen patted his wig affectionately.
“You’ll meet Eraser in a second,” Present Mic said, stepping past Reigen and away from them. “Thank you for coming in!”
“No problem,” Reigen said with a grin, stuffing Present Mic’s various autographed items into his suit. “It’s an honor to be here under the principal’s request. We at Spirits and Such will ensure you are 99% spirit free!”
“99%?” the man questioned, but Reigen ignored him and pushed the door open.
“Good afternoon, students. My name is—-”
Reigen went quiet.
Mob twisted around to look at him.
The teacher of the class and him seemed to be in some weird staring contest. The other man looked older and more grumpy, but his red eyes were wide at the sight of Reigen. Reigen himself was stockstill. A myriad of emotions flickered over his face before it went unsettlingly blank.
“Master?” he whispered. There were around twenty students in the class, all staring at them like they were specimens. Even Ritsu looked embarrassed, if the dark flush working up his ears was any indication. Mob tugged on Reigen’s sleeve.
Reigen shook his head, as if dislodging water from his ears. After a pause, he stuck out his hand with a grin. The man didn’t take it.
“Taka?” the man said quietly.
Reigen raised an eyebrow.
“Uh, Arataka. Reigen Arataka,” the man stuttered awkwardly. “Kids, this is your guest teacher.”
Reigen smiled as if divulging an inside secret. “Pleasure to meet you, Eraser.”
The man named Eraser took Reigen’s hand gingerly like it was poisonous. Reigen shook it with his usual unflappable gusto and Mob felt his soul return to his body bit by bit.
“My name is Reigen Arataka, the Greatest Psychic of the 21st Century," Reigen said, lifting his chin. His hand fell on Mob’s shoulders. “Welcome to Spirits 101.”