Chapter 4: Cutting Algae Part One

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Texting was a pretty neat function. It was widely adopted by every teenager except the one he, Reigen, had so generously gifted a phone to do it with. Mob was diligent to a fault about picking up his calls, but texting? Still a work in progress. Mob was getting better, though. After all, how else was Reigen supposed to give him a heads up about big jobs before the end of the school day? Excepting the occasional friendly lunch break chat.

That was of course assuming the phone was still intact. After their chat last night, Reigen wasn't so sure. It wasn't like Mob made a habit of texting him first.

Reigen squinted at the clock on his second-hand laptop he'd just replaced the shattered one with. 12:05PM. He had found a decent deal on one in a flea market but there was something off about the graphics. Parts of the screen were always slightly out of frame and most of his day had been spent trying to uselessly dink with the display options until it was righted, but instead he just ended up with a resolution that was too small.

'Ugh. New laptop, and if we're really unlucky, a new phone? I'll just garnish it...' Reigen pulled out his phone and fired off a text to his pupil. You didn't get washed away, did you? Your phone's still working, right?

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[mp_npc]

~~

The gardens unfolded before Mob when he emerged from the sliding glass door. The sun was high in the sky but the tall bamboo still cast some dappled shade onto the mossy ground as it swayed in the breeze. To his left, a small teahouse was nestled beneath the shade of a cherry tree, accented by the perfumed scent of the emerging blossoms.

"Myaaaaaaaaaan." A tortoiseshell stretched out it's paw to give a curious bat at Mob's head from where it laid on one of the hanging flower pots.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Oh, hi." Mob peered up at the cat. It was pretty cute. Mob really liked cats. "Is it okay if I pet you?" he asked her, holding a hovering hand a few inches away while he waited for the cat's approval.

[mp_npc]

The cat trilled curiously, eyeing Mob with her bright green eyes. She poked out her chin over the pot curiously in invitation.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Good. Mob scritched the cat. All thoughts of meeting Misaki were completely vacated from his head. All that existed in that moment was him and the cat.

"Are you out here all by yourself?" he asked it, knowing she couldn't respond. "Maybe you just wanted some peace and quiet away from everyone." If that was the case, Mob hoped he wasn't disturbing her. But he could definitely understand how the cat felt if it were true. Mob was getting better at dealing with people, but sometimes it really felt like too much for him to handle.

[mp_npc]

"Hey! Suitopiiii!" The clack, clack, clack of zori against the wooden planks of the veranda sounded from behind Mob. "What did I tell you about settling in the flower pots? This is the third time I've had to reinforce them!"

"Myaaaaaaaan." Suitopi meowed back in a mimicry of her drawn out call of her name.

"Aw, don't say that. You know how cute you are..." The girl sighed and folded her arms, the wide sleeves of her blossom-patterned kimono fluttering dramatically. She collected herself and finally realized that there was a human right in front of her. "...Oh! You must be..."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob was completely caught off-guard by Misaki's sudden appearance. Before he can manage to push out a greeting, she's already chiding the cat and talking to him.

She sure had a lot of energy.

"Shigeo Kageyama," Mob supplied, giving Suitopi a final scritch before directing his full attention over to Misaki. "I'm with Spirts and Such."

What else should he say? He was sure Reigen would be giving him a nudge or a look right now.

Mob bowed before he could give it another thought. "Thank you so much for your hospitality while we're here. We'll be sure to take care of the job as soon as possible."

[mp_npc]

Misaki made an 'o' with her mouth, awed. She bowed back at once and her long braids bounced as she did. "Misaki Sumitada! I attend the gardens here at my family's ryokan diligently. I'm in my last year of elementary. The kanji in my name means beautiful and blossom. Let's see...what else...ah! My favorite food is udon, but not with aburaage." She stood back up straight with her hands folded in front of her as she looked Mob up and down.

"Kageyamyamya-sama...ah, sorry, Kageyama-sama! You're a powerful psychic aren't you?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

She really had a lot of energy. It intimidated Mob a little.

"Well, I think I'm pretty good at it, but I'm still training."

[mp_npc]

"I can tell these things. Well, that's not true. I shouldn't lie. My friends here can." Misaki gestured around them. There were suddenly small glimmering lights of eyes everywhere. From the trees. From the rafters. From the shadows of the meticulously trimmed bonsai plants. Eyes of cats staring right at Mob. "You've really gotten their attention!"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob gaped at the sheer mob of cats surrounding them that he failed to notice before. They were really good at hiding. Mob really wasn't good at that kind of thing at all. He was always the first person his schoolmates found when he played hide and seek back in elementary school.

"Cats can really sense that kind of thing?"

[mp_npc]

"Of course. They can also sense who's good and who's bad. Especially Suitopi." Misaki smiled as Suitopi reached out a paw for Mob's attention. "Of course, even if you weren't all that good I'd still be obliged to provide excellent hospitality...ah! Sorry, I shouldn't say so much. Hey!" She clapped. "Alright, everyone stop staring so much! Kageyamya-sama is still a guest, so let's treat him like one, okay?"

Eventually the cats dispersed. Suitopi yawned and settled back into the flower pot. Misaki sighed and re-focused her attention back on her guest. Her talent, it seemed, was quickly moving on. "You're here investigating Kona-Zanshō Castle, so, it would be my honor to give you a tour of the gardens and answer any questions you have. I don't mean to be haughty but when it comes to knowledge on all the local legends I can't be beat."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"That's what your parents said, too." Mob wondered what his parents said about him when he wasn't around. Maybe it was better that he didn't know.

"Um, do you mind if I ask a sensitive question?" Mob might be socially oblivious at times, but even he knew that this might come across as impolite.

[mp_npc]

“Oh? Is there something you need? Please don’t be afraid to ask!”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Um. Have the cats been acting strangely around your sister lately?"

[mp_npc]

Misaki’s mouth fell open in a silent ‘ah.’ “I suppose you could say it’s the other way around.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"What do you mean?"

[mp_npc]

The girl gestured for Mob to follow her deeper into the gardens. It felt unnatural to talk while standing still with a guest.

"I'm very sorry if my sister seemed cold. She's a really great person, I promise. She loves us and our ryokan. She's so smart, she's had so many good ideas, and our parents always listen..." Misaki stopped by a stone lantern. Water droplets were still clinging to it from last night's downpour. She hoped the weather would be kind for their guests. "She came back from college around Christmas. She's taking a break from her studies right now, but...she hasn't really been the same since she got back. She doesn't do a lot of the things she used to do, like playing with the cats."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob followed a step behind her, listening carefully to Misaki's words.

"I kind of get what you mean," Mob said. Maybe it wasn't exactly 1:1 the same, but... "My little brother's been acting strangely recently, too."

But unlike with Asa, he didn't think there was anything supernatural involved, like a spirit.

[mp_npc]

"Oh?" Misaki looked back at him, her fingers folded behind her now. Her zori clacked as she walked over the wooden bridge arching neatly over a small stream. Mob's shoes were comparatively silent. "So you're the older brother, huh. What's your brother usually like?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Well, he's really smart and really athletic and really reliable and really popular..." Mob trailed off before he could list any more of his brother's qualities. "He's still all of these things, but it has been harder to talk to him lately. It feels like he's distracted by something."

[mp_npc]

Misaki sighed in complete empathy. "Has he told you anything?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"No, not really. So I guess in that way, our situations aren't entirely different."

[mp_npc]

"It sounds like he's the one trying not to worry you." That was a role taken up by the elder, wasn't it? They came upon a koi pond that shimmered with fish of all different colors and patterns. She was thankful they had weathered the storms well enough. "Every day that goes by it gets a little bit worse. My parents think it's due to the curse from the castle. I'm not so sure. Either way...if it keeps up like this, something terrible is going to happen. That's what I think."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob hadn't really considered that before. If so, why...? Mob was at work, though, so he filed that away for thinking about later.

"Your sister... did she go to the castle once she came back here?"

[mp_npc]

"Yeah. She has. Even if she won't admit it."