Chapter 5: Cutting Algae Part Two

[mp_simplyacommoner]

It was 7:50PM. Teru had gotten bored of studying and broke it up with his nightly stretches—he had decided it was going to be an early night to bed. He had already decided he was going to sign up for the next basketball roster and it was offseason practice time.

As it turned out, he couldn’t tolerate a lack of things to do after school for long.

Cooling down from his trunk rotations with some Kamizawa Water, he checked his phone and paused mid-sip. There were a few notifications from Mob that he opened right away. There were a few pictures of what was undoubtedly the long-awaited kaiseki meal…though they were a bit blurry. Oh, one was actually decent in quality. There was also a blurred person in the background of one without much food—even with the lack of clarity it looked like they weren’t expecting to be caught on camera. Had he meant to send that one, let alone take it? Oh well, didn’t matter.

that mukōzuke Send.

( ੭ ˘ ³˘)੭‎°｡⋆♡‧₊˚ Send.

divine looking Send.

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[mp_npc]

"We could find a place to lay down, if it's easier. Your room, or mine?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen was cornered. Soon he'd be eaten--if there was anything of him left after dissolving. He'd have to be slurped up through a straw.

"Fresh air is good for the body." He carefully swept her hair to the side until he could see the skin of her neck. He put his hands on her shoulders and did everything he could to focus on the act itself. But this wasn't a physical act he was doing to someone. This wasn't self-indulgent. He was assisting her with her mind-body-soul connection. He was a tool. Asa was a client in need. He was Reigen Arataka, the premier psychic of the 21st century. He...

He had a half-finished certificate in massage. It could be a full certificate if you counted years in the field. That's who he was.

He was someone who helped people. He was dissolving the knots of tension in her neck and her shoulders and her back.

"Tell me if it hurts..."

[mp_npc]

It didn't hurt. Even when it felt like it should, it didn't. It was as if Reigen's psychic abilities had somehow given him the power to know where his hands should go and when and how much pressure he should apply and where.

She felt better. And she realized in that moment, that she hadn't felt good in a long time.

"You might make a better masseuse than a psychic," she teased in reply.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Yeah.

Who was he kidding.

‘She’s got you pegged.’

He was even less of a romantic than he was a psychic.

He knew what needed to be done, and he needed to do it. Gently.

“Asa-san…what’s your ideal man?”

[mp_npc]

Asa paused to give it some thought.

"Someone gentle, honest, and reliable, but... also someone who doesn't let me get away with things," she answered, finally. "What about you, Arataka-san?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"...I'd have the say the same things. Exactly." And it was a bit heart-breaking.

Reigen took his hands away and gently turned her back to face him. "But to be honest, Asa-san...even if someone like that confessed to me, I wouldn't be capable of accepting."

[mp_npc]

Asa swallowed, then grasped Reigen's hands with her own. "That's why we need to leave together. We're the only people who will understand one another."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"You don't want this." It wasn't a warning so much as a statement. Even if he was spending all his precious clarity, he'd do it to say the truth.

[mp_npc]

Tears poured down Asa's face, cascading down her cheeks one after another until they're pouring off her chin.

"I'm not fit to live here," she said, throwing herself against him. She clutched at the fabric of his shirt as if her very life depended upon it. "But if you fulfilled your promise... I'd still have reason to live. It doesn't matter who you are or what you are... I would accept you, I would love you! All you would need to do is the same!"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

This was the worst Reigen Arataka had ever felt. Even if his mind was distorted, being overtaken by memories and thoughts he didn't recognize, he couldn't think of a time he had ever felt worse.

Even so.

He took her by the shoulders and gently backed her up by a step.

"I'm sorry."

[mp_npc]

"I'm sorry." Asa's voice was trembling almost as much as she was. She was mortified. What had come over her? Why was she acting like this? Why --

"I should go."

Before Reigen could protest, she spun around and ran.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen opened his mouth to shout after her but a sudden numb sense of utter futility choked him.

'Yeah, that's who you are.'

'You distort people.'

'You're better off just--'

Suddenly, Reigen yelped in pain. The pain had spread from his face and sent shockwaves down his spine. He had slammed his palms into his own cheeks. It sucked. It really hurt. But it grounded him.

"Now's not the goddamn time..." He told himself. He wasn't a walking void of self-pity. He was Reigen Arataka and he was on a goddamn job.

~~

"Mob!" Reigen thrust the doors to Mob's room open. "Get your coat on!"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Huh?" Mob sat up abruptly, but his eyes weren't nearly as responsive to Reigen's shout as his body was. A blurry figure came into view in front of Mob -- a tall man with dark hair and glasses. He rubbed his eyes and his vision stabilized. A shorter man with brighter hair stood before him where only moments before another man stood.

"Master, what's going on?" Even as he asked the question, he pushed off his futon and groggily pulled himself to his feet.

[mp_npc]

"K-Kageyama-sama! Arataka-sama!" Misaki flew in, utterly out of breath. Her next sentence kept stopping and starting from her stuttering. "A-A-Asa! K-K-Kona-Zanshō...! I saw--!" She gestured upwards, her hands flailing into a gesture to signify the curiously-shaped observation deck that mirrored the castle's own.

There were many things that Reigen had thought, heard, or said that night. They had been fragments just floating free in the mess that was his head--until right then when they suddenly clicked into place.

"I'll be right back--Mob, get your flashlight. There's gonna be another storm tonight."

Misaki watched Reigen hurry out and looked to Mob, and then the window where the heavy drops hitting the glass grew even heavier. Everything was moving so fast. She buried her face, her body trembling with a harsh sob.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob wasn't really good at comforting others, but he didn't feel comfortable himself leaving Misaki here crying, either.

"We won't let anything happen to your big sister," he said firmly. That's what he'd want to hear if he was in Misaki's position, wouldn't he?

But he should do something else, right? The words alone didn't quite feel right. But even then, Mob wasn't exactly sure what he should do.

So he patted her head awkwardly. "We'll have her back by morning."

[mp_npc]

Mob's unexpected gesture seemed to break Misaki's state. She peered up at him through her hands, rubbing her reddened nose. "Kageyama-sama..."

"Mob, let's go." Reigen was already dressed and in the doorway, flashlight and a bag in hand.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Right," Mob said, snatching his flashlight from his bag. And without saying anything else, he followed after his Master, quickly glancing over at Misaki as he passed through the doorway behind him.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

As soon as Reigen stepped outside he got battered by rain and wind. Even with the crazy start they'd gotten to monsoon season, he couldn't help but feel like this was karma. He stayed close to Mob, pulling his hood tighter.

"I think I get it."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob blinked. "What do you get?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"The spirits here...they're trapped in cycles. They're cycles of pain and regret...strong enough to ensnare the living." That's what was happening to Asa. To him.

Reigen was undaunted by the harsh weather, even as he was nearly shoved off the path into the waves hitting sharp rock. He clutched his tag tight, single-minded in finding the young woman. "Once we get to the tea house, I'm going to go in alone."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mob was troubled. He was sure that Reigen was normal now, but he didn't exactly go into many situations without backup. Maybe he should have more faith in his master, but... right now, Mob was struggling.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"I'm sure."

In spite of the treachery of the storm and the restless spirits, they reached the tea house without incident. When Reigen was close to the door, Mob had stopped just feet away. His student's discomfort was still clear.

"This should be enough cover," Reigen said, gesturing at the generous overhang. Cursed fortitude or no, it was doing its job in keeping them dry. "Wait out here, alright?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob wanted to offer some further protest, but he couldn't.

"Okay," he said, finally, accepting that he would be waiting outside.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"...Before morning, right? That's what you said." Reigen reached out to give Mob's head a firm rub. "It's a promise."

Then, Reigen disappeared behind the door.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob watched as the door closed behind Reigen. He told his Master that he would wait and he intended to keep his word. But if things went bad... he wasn't sure he'd be able to stop himself from intervening. Not if something had triggered him the way Teruki had back at Black Vinegar Middle School.

That scared him more than anything.

Mob sat down on the porch and stared out; he wrapped his arms around his legs, which he folded in front of him.

Before morning, he told himself. He wouldn't have to wait much longer.