spirits_and_such_offices | Chapter 1: Seasonal Sickness

Chapter 1: Seasonal Sickness

'For the site of such a big job, it's surprisingly accessible.' That was what Reigen Arataka thought as he reviewed the map at the train station and he couldn't help but thank his good fortune. It was just a half hour away by bullet train with a straightforward 15 minutes walk through the woods. The more infamous places were usually at least an hour or two away even by train; the mysterious abandoned cabin deep in the forest, the cursed shrine up on the mountain, or what have you.

What was this job? Why, it was big of course--that's what he'd tell anyone who asked. The Shichi-mi Hotel. Of course everyone had heard of it. Hell, even his disciple who was pathologically out of touch knew the name... even he had only heard of it through the grapevine of his occult-obsessed classmates. Mysterious disappearances. Bodies never found. Yep. This one had everything. It still came up as a topic on the supernatural-focused image boards...and all the other completely valid insider's metrics for assessing these things.

His clients were a pair of high schoolers. Girls in their 12th year. They were pretty and well-to-do so it was that much more of a shock when they practically shambled into his office. They'd lost a bet to some of their classmates and that's how they ended up taking the last train to the abandoned Shichi-mi Hotel to stay the night. 'Christ, high schoolers are ruthless,' was Reigen's first thought. Usually this kind of hazing was reserved for your first year of college--girls needing to offload the stress of entrance exams, maybe? Whatever the case was he could tell right away they were sincere in their fear over whatever they went through.

And what was that? What did the stipulations of a high-school bet demand? That was the money-maker.

A single cursed elevator that takes you to another world.

So, that was his job today. Investigate the elevator and purge whatever horror it bore.

Well. His and his disciple's--his disciple who was taking his sweet time getting there.

Reigen pulled out his phone and his quick fingers went to well-worn speed dial button automatically. A few rings and he was patched through. "Hey, Mob, we're about to miss the train. Are you almost here?"

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Reigen sighed dramatically and swayed for effect to mask the faint trembling in his arms. It may have been from the adrenaline or fact he had hoofed it through the dark going up carrying his weight and Mob's...or both. He carried on at a more reasonable pace back to the outside world with his pupil in tow.

"I am taking us back to the station and you will be going home to rest." 'Wait...did I leave my wallet in the briefcase back there!?' Reigen gulped in panic and shimmied his legs--feeling the weight of it still in his pocket. 'Thank God.' "Of course, I'll have to tell our clients we couldn't complete the site visit..."

Oh, no. He wasn't disappointing them, was he?

"I can do it tomorrow," Mob said quickly before Reigen could finish his line. "I'll stay home and get lots of rest so we can complete the job."

"Oh, no. You're taking the day," Reigen replied in a way that brooked no argument. "That's an order from your Master. You can't rush recovery--in mind, body, or spirit."

He wasn't one to spoil Mob by not even letting him walk or letting him off the hook without more rebuke on compromising a job, but...'I really should have noticed sooner.' Yeah. This was on him. It wasn't just Mob pushing himself too hard working out or sweating a job. The kid was sick and he didn't notice until they were too far in. Luckily, the trek back to the station went a lot faster than the way there.

"We'll go back to the office first. I'll make you some tea to keep your fever low. Special concoction invented by yours truly."

Mob liked Reigen's tea.

The first time he had met Reigen, Master-to-Be had very nearly spilled it on him when he took a sip before it had the opportunity to cool down. Reigen hadn't changed much since then. He still drank his tea straight from the kettle and he burned the roof of his mouth whenever they had pizza. But Mob could appreciate the consistency, especially since it seemed like everything around him was changing too fast for him to keep up.

Despite the promise of tea, Mob's anxiety was rising. Because with every moment he waited for the water to heat up, he felt the urge to sneeze rising. Mob played with his fingers, trying as best as he could to distract himself from the tickle in his nose, but no amount of fidgeting could serve as a suitable distraction.

"Mas--," he started to call out, but before he could finish, a sneeze exploded from his mouth, sending the room shaking. Reigen's bookshelf fell atop his desk. The added weight caused one of the legs to splinter and the desk collapsed on one side. Mob raised a hand, prepared to return the bookshelf and its books to its proper place when his mouth betrayed him and he let out another sneeze.

With Mob's latest sneeze the light fixture right above Reigen's desk shattered and fell onto his computer with a gutting CRACK. The desk's other leg finally gave out and it sagged pitifully in utter defeat. A dog starting howling somewhere.

Somehow, the two cups of tea on the small tray Reigen had prepared were fully intact when he walked through the doorway. His expression, on the other hand...

"I-I'm sorry," Mob stammered out in apology. He was trying really hard not to sneeze any more than he had, but he'd already created a mess. And even though he helped Master Reigen keep the place clean, dust that had collected on the books filled the air, sending Mob's nose into a twitch.

Why hadn't he dusted the books the last time he had done the cleaning?

Mob let out another sneeze.

Progress to Mob's Explosion: 22%.

Reigen's television was the next casualty and he could only watch as the screen shattered and burst. The bits of shrapnel flew at him and narrowly avoided his handsome face to get stuck in the laminate somewhere.

"Mmm...mhm...hum...Om Mani Padme Hum..." He approached the couch and offered the tea to his pupil like he hadn't just lost hundreds of thousands of yen in property damage. "It'll clear your sinuses right up. Right up."

Mob wanted to believe that Master Reigen could help with this... but he couldn't trust himself to not make things even worse, even with his support.

Mob pinched his nose. "I should go," he said, heading as quickly as his drained body could manage. But Reigen's powers and his pinching were nothing against the onslaught of another sneeze.

Mob attempted to keep his mouth clamped close when he felt it, but its power was too much. The sneeze erupted from his lips.

AA-CHOO!

"Mob--" The building rumbled and Reigen braced the two mugs of tea. Some of the books from his fallen shelf were jostled out of their position and tumbled to the floor.

Reigen waited until the rumbling before rising to approach his student's back. He gave the tense muscles of Mob's upper back a small and trained rub.

'Mob hasn't looked this small in awhile.'

"Hey. Look at me. It's stuff. All that stuff on the ground--none of that has an aching body or mucus running everywhere. It can be repaired or replaced. Just come drink the tea I made for you. I promise you'll feel better after."

Edited 2023-08-21 06:27 (UTC)

Mob looked up at Reigen uncertainly, but somehow managed a nod.

He headed for the couch and sat down, then reached up for the mug of tea when it was offered. He wanted to say I'm sorry again, but found himself saying "Thank you" instead.

Taking a seat beside him, Reigen sipped at his own mug in silence - wincing slightly at the heat. The break in the talking or the sneezing was only punctuated with more noises of books shifting and falling and the faint sound of cracking wires in the broken appliances.

“Hey, Mob…you’re doing fine.”

Mob turned to look at Reigen, confused by the abruptness of his master's statement. "What do you mean?"

"That's it." Another sip--it was less hot this time. "It's not about being sick...you hit a setback, that's all, and you're allowed to feel bad about it. But don't let it define you. That's when you give it more power than it deserves."

Mob's grip on his cup tightened slightly at Reigen's words. Master Reigen really was a wise person.

"Yes," Mob said, feeling encouraged. "I won't let this bother me."

A fluorescent light that had been dangling precariously from the lighting fixture overhead suddenly gave way to its weight and crashed to the ground.

Letting out a shuddering laugh-cry, Reigen filled his mouth with more of the tea. It burned all the way down. "So...let's just sit here and let ourselves feel lousy for a bit while we drink. Then I'll walk you home, you rest, and come back and work some extra jobs so we can fund the repairs. Deal?"

Yeah. It was a deal. At least Mob was able to walk without Reigen needing to carry him...he was sure he didn't have the strength left, anyway.

When Mob returned home, his mom knew immediately what was up. Mob wondered sometimes if maybe his mom had ESP powers because she could always tell when he wasn't feeling well or hurt himself. But maybe that was a power all moms had.

She ushered him to his bedroom and had him change into his pajamas while she prepared a warm compress. By the time she returned, he was already laying on his futon.

She set the compress on his head and promised to return later with some okayu for him to eat later. Mob pulled his comforter up to his nose. When there was a knock at the door, Mob's "come in" was muffled by it.

Mob changed into his pajamas shortly after he got home. When he told his mom he wasn't feeling great, she fretted over him a bit before sending him to his room and promising that she'd bring him some soup later.

"Hey. Bro." Ritsu poked his head in the door. Even if the sight of Mob lying pitifully in his futon was familiar...

...

"Did you get caught in the rain at your job or something?"

Mob pulled back the comforter from his face. "No, but I did yesterday. Get caught in the rain, I mean." He wasn't coming back from work then.

"Oh." Ritsu paused and didn't even realize he wasn't saying anything until it had just gone on for a few beats too long. "Well...just stay home tomorrow, alright? I'm sure your boss can handle things on his own for a day or two."

"That's what Master said, too."

“Good.”

Another pause.

“Hey, so…you haven’t been up to anything dangerous, right?”

"Um. Sort of." By most people's standards, a lot of his days were dangerous, Mob wagered. But things weren't dangerous for him the way it might be for a non-ESPer. So he'd better assure Ritsu that things were okay before he drew any big conclusions.

"But I promise, it's nothing to worry about."

Everything about Ritsu tightened and froze, even if only for a nanosecond.

‘I saw him walking you home.’ Mr. Reigen never did that. ‘Did he tell you to say that?’

“You know…I oveheard mom doing your laundry. She says how much your clothes are getting ruined lately.” He swallowed. “She’s getting really worried. Just…take it easy, okay?”

"I will." The ends of Mob's lips rose ever-so-slightly in what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Thanks, Ritsu."

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mp_kageyamabro - 2023-08-22 20:09 (UTC) - Expand

As promised, Mob took the next day off. And by the day afterwards, he was feeling well enough to return back to the Spirits and Such Office after school.

But when Mon stepped inside, he couldn't believe what he saw in front of him.

"Master... What happened?"