spirits_and_such_offices | Chapter 2: Hunting Season(ing) Part One

Chapter 2: Hunting Season(ing) Part One

"Are you okay with this?" Mob sat on a bench with Tome, the head of the Telepathy Club. Mob wasn't part of the Telepathy Club, but he had a good relationship with the members since they shared the room with the Body Improvement Club (which Mob was a part of). So naturally, when Tome aggressively insisted that he help her hunt aliens or telepaths or telepaths that were also aliens, Mob felt like he had no choice to agree.

But unfortunately, despite having four investigative meetings (this one was number five), they had thusfar failed to find anything.

Maybe aliens or telepaths weren't as common as either one of them thought.

"Maybe it'd be better for us to try again later in the year. Maybe aliens visit only during certain seasons." It didn't at all seem implausible to Mob. People always hoped for the weather to be a certain way when they went on vacation. If aliens were even a little like humans, Mob was sure they'd feel the same way when they vacationed on other planets.

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'The dynamic just totally shifted...' Well. That was to be expected, but...it was still embarrassing.

"Hey, let's go someplace a little quieter. I can grab you some tea or something on the way. You look beat."

"Sure." It was strange... this Hanazawa was a lot different from the one he met the other day. But Mob didn't mind it. He thought he liked what he saw of this Hanazawa a lot more than the other one.

Maybe that's why he agreed so readily to get tea with him.

It was unexpectedly exciting to show Mob his favorite café. There were a bunch of high schoolers there crowded over their notebooks or already over all the studying. The sun had just started to set, after all.

It's nice to cool down after a workout with citrus, Teruki had said to Mob when he ordered his iced fruit tea. Even if the choices were overwhelming at first, Mob honed in on the creamy drinks pretty quickly. Ah. Noted. Teruki paid before Mob could say anything about it and they were on their way.

"...Ah!" The walk away from the noise was silent, save for the sounds of them chewing boba, until Teruki stopped. His blue eyes sparkled in interest. "It's a park...no little kids around at this time. Let's go in."

"Oh," Mob said, looking over at Teruki. "You know this place, too? I used to play here all the time when I was younger." With his brother and Tsubomi especially.

"Not at all. I didn't grow up around here, after all." His running sneakers were touching wood chips now when he passed the gates and he took in the feel of it as he looked around. 'Where should I start?'

Then, the self-awareness was back. He had come here to do something. Something of deep importance.

Still, he could indulge himself a little. The swingset had side-by-side seats, one of which he helped himself to right away. "Sit by me? I'd feel weird about monopolizing this thing."

"Sure." Mob sat down on the swing and began to swing a little. This was... a little nostalgic.

Following Mob's lead, Teruki kicked his feet off to give himself a little movement, but not too much. It was important that Mob could look him in the eye when he spoke. That was one of the most important life lessons he'd gleaned from his father when he was still around.

"Kageyama-kun...I'm sorry."

Mob's head immediately turned. How should he respond to that? Mob wasn't sure. Instead, he waited for Teruki to continue.

"I've had a lot of time to think, and... ..." There was a lot he wanted to say; so much more, just about everything he had been thinking about. He had been burning with the desire to tell it to him. But that could come later...if Kageyama even wanted to hear it.

After all, Kageyama had every reason to despise him. Hate him even.

"I'm sorry. I had no right forcing you into a fight or...anything else." He swallowed. "And I'm not just saying that because I lost! If you really wanted to fight me I would be sucking it up and giving you your dues right now, but...you didn't want to. And I'm sorry."

Mob caught his heel in the sand under the swingsets to stop himself from swinging anymore. "No," Mob said. "I should be the one apologizing to you. I went overboard."

Teruki ground to a sudden halt. "Wait, seriously? You want to apologize to me? No, no--don't. I mean it. I'm not upset. I'm..."

"Well, I messed up your school and your hair and your clothes. And... all of your friends saw you naked." There were so many things that Mob felt guilty about from the other day. And those were only some of them.

Teruki scoffed. "They weren't my friends. Who cares what they think?"

"Oh." Mob swallowed. Teruki's response had taken him off-guard, but even Mob knew that his answer was a cool one. Like something the hero might say in a movie.

"But there's still everything else."

So, Kageyama was truly the stubborn type. Just like him. That made Teruki...really happy, somehow.

"Yeah. Alright. Maybe. But...it's kind of a relief, you know? There were all these things I thought were important. But they weren't really that important to begin with."

Except the school. That was kind of important. But...Mob still fixed it in the end, didn't he?

Teruki dug his toes into the sand to lean towards Mob. If there was ever a time he needed the other boy to see his eyes while he spoke, it was now, and he had to do it while he still had his nerve. "You showed me that. Even if you didn't mean to...so, this isn't just me saying sorry. I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" Mob repeated. The surprise couldn't be masked from Mob's face -- not that he was ever the kind of person to intentionally hide his feelings. He couldn't believe that Teruki had apologized. Thanking him after all that seemed even more unbelievable.

Ah, he didn't get it. It was fine--who could? He was aware of how absurd his feelings on this was, but...

Teruki leaned in a little closer. Even if it was absurd, he could still do his best to put it into words. Kageyama deserved that much from him. "Look. I've had these powers all my life. Everyone around me knew I was different in one way or another. But you were the only one like you."

The only one like you...

"Why is that worth thanking me for?"

"Because you were you." He laughed. "I don't know how to put it...and maybe I sound like I'm exaggerating, but...I just enjoy talking to you."

"Well, maybe we can talk more if you want." Mob didn't know Teruki very well -- not this one or the one he met before. But the one in front of him right now seemed like a nice guy. "And if you wanted, maybe we could be friends, too."

'Friends?'

...

"Kageyama-kun. Are you the type to make a lot of friends?"

"Um... I guess I started to recently." He didn't really have many friends up until then. Just Master Reigen and Ritsu. Did the two of them count? Mob thought so.

"I see. ...I'm not the type. Well. Not until recently." Teruki stood, then, balancing himself effortlessly on the swing even with his hands in his pockets. "That being said, I want to pay you back before we go any further."

"Pay me back? There's nothing to pay me back for."

"I'm afraid no matter what you say, I'd like to make things up to you." Paying back. Making up. Whatever Mob preferred to think of it as. "Once that happens, we can become friends on equal terms."

Teruki kicked off into a swing with a powerful lurch before gracefully leaping from it to land back on the mulch. He stretched and took stock of everything on the playground--approaching the spin rider and giving it an investigatory shove. "So. Kageyama-kun. Isn't there something you'd like me to do for you?"

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