Chapter 7: Serenade for Strings

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mysterious flickering lights, circuit breakers tripping, and outages were all affecting the Seasoning City metro line for weeks. The trains weren't on time and neither were the people of Seasoning City. Timely bosses who usually chided their salarymen underlings for their tardiness were huffing and puffing as they raced from the subway in a desperate attempt to make it to their desks before the clock ticked down to 8 AM.

They weren't the only ones huffing and puffing, though; Mob and Reigen had chased their target down and cornered him before he could make his way to another train line and the two were exhausted. It was nothing short of a miracle that the two of them had managed to make it to the last train of the night before the doors closed behind them.

Mob collapsed one of the train's empty seats, his damp palms pressed down atop the poly-cotton blend of his gakuran slacks. It was only by sheer miracle that they weren't soaked through. Sweat seemed to be pouring from every pore on Mob's body.

"Sorry," Mob said apologetically. "If I had been faster, we wouldn't have had to do so much running."

Comments

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"No, he lives by himself." Mob hoped he hadn't betrayed Teru's trust by saying that.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen looked at Mob with naked surprise. If it were anyone else he would have been waiting for the punchline.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"What's wrong?" Reigen wasn't often at a loss for words. It made Mob feel a little unnerved.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"Mob...do you remember the times we've talked about bringing up important things sooner?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Is this important?" Mob was sincerely confused.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

They began walking again.

"It is." Not that such a thing was unheard of, but...a middle schooler? That just didn't sit comfortably with him.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Oh." Mob probably should have gotten that. "Now that you know, what are you going to do?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"What do you mean? Same thing I was gonna do anyway. Teach you how to make your friend a delicious meal."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob blinked. "You made it sound really serious."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen made a face. "I think it's odd. At your age you really should have steady supervision, but... seem rather easy-going about it. If there was anything worrying going on, you'd tell me. You bothered to ask me for this much, after all."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I think it's pretty strange, too," Mob said, a contemplative expression drawing itself across his pale features. "But Teru acts so normal about it that I think I'm judging because it's not how I live."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"But worried enough to intervene about his eating?" Reigen laughed and nudged Mob with his elbow. "Seriously, when did you become so motherly?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I want to be a good friend," Mob said firmly.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"That so..." Reigen trailed off. It was odd to see Mob so intent on someone else like this. "Well. If you ask me, making someone food is one of the highest forms of love you can express."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Hmmm." Love. "You don't really cook that often," he observed.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Urk. He had better sense than to contest that, but the truth about the last time he was in the habit of cooking for anyone...well...

"Don't lose faith in me, Mob. I'm pretty adept at this!"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I haven't lost faith in you," Mob said, trying to reassure him. "I was pointing it out."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"I even know a thing or two about wine pairings! ...And, uh, I'll tell you when you're older." As he said that, they had arrived at the neighborhood market. Reigen hadn't stepped foot in it nearly as much as his favorite konbini, but he was confident they'd find what they needed. it was easier to justify the cost of fresh ingredients when he had someone else to make sure it got eaten.

...

Reigen cupped his chin as he lingered outside the entrance. He found himself oddly intimidated.

"So. You said he likes meat. What else?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Um, I don't know." Maybe Mob should have pried a little bit more before making this decision. "I've seen him eating rice before, so maybe... gyudon?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"Gyudon, huh?" Well. They were middle schoolers. "Fine thinking, Mob. But I'm gonna add a few more things to your repertoire while I'm at it."

When they entered, Reigen gestured for Mob to grab the hand basket.

"Alright. First thing's first...your produce. We'll start with the onion." Reigen took a firm yellow one in his hands. "You don't want to have dark spots, so it's really important to feel--" And so, like he was oft to do, he indulgently chattered at length about the subject at hand. He said it was just being thorough. When they moved onto the potatoes, he did the same thing.

10 minutes later they had successfully procured two ingredients for the dishes they'd be making.

When they finally got the green onion, they moved onto the the condiments. Reigen knew he had most of the stuff at home, but he was missing the hondashi. It wasn't hard to find, but he paused when he brushed hands with a man who was going for it at the same time.

"Oh, my! If it isn't Arataka-chan!" The man exclaimed a put a hand to his face. He was just a bit older than Reigen. He had hair parted straight down the middle and a pronounced chin, but a rather delicate and lilting voice.

"Ah! Fancy running into you during the day." Reigen greeted him with a gesture and a cock of the hip.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Arataka-chan?

Mob was pretty sure that he had never heard anyone call Reigen that his entire job working as his apprentice. Maybe it was because Reigen never really opened up to him about his personal life, but it felt inappropriate for him to intrude by just existing there.

Mob allowed himself to fade himself into the background, trying to focus on the food on the shelves so he didn't look like he was butting in. Mob took a can off one of the shelves and examined the label.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"Well, there's not much day left! You're gonna come keep me company tonight, right?"

"Ah, not tonight. I'm going over some cooking basics with my student."

"Your student? Ah!" The man honed in on Mob, closing the distance with a delighted smile. "You must be Shigeo-kun!"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob was intently staring at the can hoping he wouldn't be acknowledged until he was actually acknowledged. It would probably be impolite to continue looking at a label, so he turned to face Reigen's friend.

"Yes, that's me."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"Ah, Mob. This is Kashu-san. He bartends at a place I frequent."

"Well, aren't you just an adorable young thing. Arataka-chan--ah, I should say Reigen-sensei here--he's said quite a bit about you."

Reigen's smile froze. 'What?' When he searched his memories, sure, he remembered mentioning he had a student, but...

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob wordlessly looked up at Reigen, surprised, but not quite showing it. He never imagined that Reigen might be talking about him to his friends. Especially since Mob wasn't sure that he had any.

"Oh," Mob said in reply.