Chapter 1: Seasonal Sickness

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

'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?"

Comments

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"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."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

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.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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.

[mp_kageyamabro]

"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?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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.

[mp_kageyamabro]

"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."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"That's what Master said, too."

[mp_kageyamabro]

“Good.”

Another pause.

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

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"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."

[mp_kageyamabro]

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?”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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

[mp_kageyamabro]

Ritsu’s lips turned up as well.

“I’ll be up studying for a bit. Just shout if you need anything.”

Then, he slid the door between them shut.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen wasn’t even wearing his usual suit when Mob walked in—instead, his jacket was exchanged for a faded white smock. Even so, it didn’t make him look any less out of place beside the pile of mismatched furniture that had been gathered in a loose formation in the middle of his office.

“Hey. Mob. Your, uh, club dropped by this morning.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"They did?" Mob had mentioned what had happened to Musashi when he called to apologize for not being able to make yesterday's club meeting, so it would be totally out-of-the-blue for them to stop by the office and get a look at the destruction itself.

Still... Mob looked around the room. This didn't look like destruction anymore. More like disorder.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen turned to sigh heavily and hide his expression. "They were here before I got here." And he had gotten here pretty damn early. "Said they heard that we, ahem, had fallen on hard times with our business and our furnishings so they rallied together to donate and ease our burdens."

Like a legless game chair.

Or a folding mat with faded crayon marks on the bottom.

Or vintage early 20th century rosewood etagere which was...actually pretty cool and he couldn't wait to decorate it with knick-knacks.

But that was all besides the point! Being pitied by a middle schooler was bad enough. Being pitied by a gang of middle schoolers twice your size was so much worse. 'Goddamnit, Mob. You made it sound like we're a charity case over here.'

"Well...I got a job of utmost importance for you, Mob."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob supposed that was one way they could have looked at it. Still, even though everything clashed and some of it was broken, Mob appreciated the sentiment. His club members were always looking out for him and that really made Mob feel happy.

Progress to Mob's Explosion: 25%.

"Oh? What kind of job?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Producing his wallet from behind the smock, Reigen thumbed through a few bills to hand Mob 6000 yen even. "I'm giving you an advance on your pay. Go get some chocolate for your club, courtesy of Spirits and Such."

Well. No use in being ungrateful, right? Especially not as example to Mob. Wait...did guys that ripped even consume carbs at all?

"I'm gonna be here working on the paint jobs for these. You can help mount the electronics when you're back."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob looked down at bills in his hands and then back up at Reigen. He was being pretty generous! "Um, is it okay if it's protein powder instead?" Mob thought they'd appreciate that more.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen never felt more creaky and flabby than he did in that moment.

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever makes 'em happy."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Thanks, master! I'll be back soon to help mount whatever you need!"

With that, Mob made a dash for the door. It'd be good for him to get some running in because of the training he missed yesterday, right?