Chapter 1: Seasonal Sickness

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'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

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Um," Mob said. "Well, Dimple's gone."

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"Ah. I see." Reigen paused. "Well, I've got a little bit of vertigo right now, so...jog my memory."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Oh no. Had Master Reigen been hurt more than he thought? Mob tried to swallow back his worry and answer honestly.

"The spirit from that religious cult. I asked you whether or not I should exorcise him. Do you remember?"

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Reigen affected a curious look. He barely remembered Mob asking, but he did remember the boy tangling with a cult. There was milk involved...or something. He mostly remembered it being way too hot that day and trying to find the best way to stack coupons for fans.

His keychain light flickered and he gave it a little shake to keep it going.

"And you didn't exorcise him in the end...so, what happened?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Well," Mob started. It felt like something was lodged in his throat. Was that because he wasn't feeling well, or...? "There was this kid at another school who exorcised him."

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'Another ESPer?' Was there going around in the water during the generation of Mob's parents? "So...it was during that."

Yeah, that. The case of the middle school that miraculously shred apart and rebuilt itself. They hadn't talked about it yet, but Reigen shouldn't have been shocked it involved Mob in the end.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Yeah."

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A number of things became apparent to Reigen in that moment, but before he could open his mouth again the elevator suddenly rumbled and moaned around them.

Shit. Looks like the damage to the floor was more than this thing could take. He pointed his small keychain light and pointed it at the doors to see--

Triple shit.

"Hey...Mob. Lay down for me. On your back."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob shot Reigen a questioning look, but still did what his Master asked.

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"Close your eyes for me, too. I'm going to perform a ritual and it's a little too intense for someone with a compromised aura to take in fully. Just listen to my voice, okay?"

When Reigen was sure his student was complying, he carefully moved to dig his briefcase out of the rubble (thank God that got dragged in with them.) Out of everything he packed, only one thing was needed--a long object wrapped in white cloth. He unwrapped it hastily as the elevator rumbled and shifted again.

"Om tare tuttare ture soha..." He sand in a low and melodic voice as he carefully rose to confront his foe--a set of elevator doors now slammed shut. In his weapon was the holiest of all items at his disposal--a simple crowbar.

Reigen didn't stop his low chanting, even when his voice cracked a little from the effort of prying the doors open. Sure, that was something you were told never to do as a member of civil society, but he was on Plan C and it was a lot better than Plan D which was letting the thing fall and hoping for the best, okay!? Luckily, the doors gave and he shoved the bar at his feet between them, giving him just enough space to squeeze out.

"Alright," he said with a wheeze he managed to mask into a sigh, wiping sweat from his brow, "you're gonna need to be in contact with me to cross the barrier, but keep your eyes closed and your body still..." With that, he picked his student up and carefully gathered him onto his back.

The elevator was still trembling and groaning and every inch he passed through the open doors felt like it took an eternity and the pressure was all the more heightened with Mob holding onto him with a koala-like grip. Blessedly, luck was on their side and the moment his feet were back on solid ground he set his mind to leaving the death trap in the dark behind them--not stopping until he could spot their first trace of light coming through the windows of the hall they'd originally entered.

"All...right...you can open your eyes."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob opened his eyes, peering out at the faint light streaming from the windows from over Reigen's shoulder.

"Wow, so we really crossed the barrier." Mob wasn't sure what Master Reigen had done (he hadn't been able to sense it at all), but whatever it was, it had to be impressive.

"What do we do now? I still can't sense anything, but that might be because my powers aren't working so well today." Now that he acknowledged he wasn't feeling great, he also had to acknowledge that his powers weren't working perfectly.

Mob sniffed audibly.

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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..."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"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."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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.

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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...

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"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%.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

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."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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!

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

"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."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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.

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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.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

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

[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.