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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Mob was utterly oblivious to the unwritten stream of communication between his brother and Hanazawa.

"I think you'll like it," Mob said, his smile slight, but still perceptible. "Mom's nikujaga is the best."

Ah. When Teruki saw Mob's lips turn up he suddenly forgot why he had been saying no in the first place and Ritsu's presence altogether. Was he seriously that pleased just to have him over...?

Sadly, the self-consciousness came crashing back like a wave hitting the shore at the sight of Mob's mother. Though, from where he was trailing behind the pair, she didn't even see him immediately.

"Ritsu! Shigeo! You both timed that well." She poked her head around from the kitchen. "Oh...looks like you're in one piece for once, Shigeo." She breathed an obvious sigh of relief.

Teruki looked at the wall. For the first time in a long time he wished he could escape being perceived at all.

"Hi, Mom. I brought Hanazawa from Black Vinegar Middle School over. Is it okay for him to stay for dinner?"

"Who? From where?"

Her eyes were on him now as Mob and Ritsu moved to the side. When their eyes met, the shock was plain on her face as she looked from between him and her son. Teruki's mind was blank but he had to take his own advice here: the most important time to be confident was when you were feeling it the least.

"Teruki Hanazawa, ma'am. I'm a student from Black Vinegar Middle School." He bowed. "Kageyama-kun kindly invited me over tonight and I accepted."

"...Oh! Of course, of course." The dull shock in her eyes brightened and she angled her head towards the living room. "Dear! Get another chair! Shigeo brought a friend!"

"Alright," Mob's dad called lazily from the living room, but after a moment, Mob was able to hear the gentle thump of his father's walking.

A friend, Mob thought. Were they that already? He gave it a thought. Probably so, though most people didn't make friends with someone after what happened the first time they met one another. It didn't bother Mob to be abnormal about it, though. Most people seemed to think he was abnormal.

"Is dinner ready yet? If it's not, I think we'll go up to my room."

"It'll be ready in about twenty minutes. Here, set your things down and make yourself comfortable, dear--" Mob's mom was already in his space helping him with his bag to tuck it neatly in the walk-in closet. Teruki could only mutter a few words of thanks. He was only going with the flow at this point--an extremely odd feeling. He tried to ignore Ritsu's eyes boring holes into his back as he followed Mob up the stairs to his room.

And suddenly, there he was, in Mob's room, and the other boy was sliding the door shut behind him. Mob's room was...quite plain, but there were little touches of him if you looked closely enough. The most conspicuous thing was the small blue dumbbells under the window. Teruki smiled and he wasn't quite sure why. "Um...are you really sure about this?"

Mob was confused. "Why wouldn't I be sure?"

"We're not friends yet, after all."

"Aren't we?" Mob sat down on the floor. "I thought so."

Despite feeling out of place, Teruki couldn't contain his burning curiosity. He wandered to Mob's bookshelf and eyed what was there. "Not until I can help you with your wish, remember?"

Mob watched Teruki move through the room.

"I don't really get it." But Mob supposed he didn't need to. "But... I guess we should do it quickly, then."

"That's the spirit." Teruki pulled out a book on math, thumbing through it. There were formulas everywhere that were erased and re-written--ah, did Mob struggle with it? He should have offered to tutor him instead.

Ah...there were so many things he should be doing right now. Like changing the dynamic. He couldn't let Mob be in control the entire time, could he? No, no.

Teruki shut the book firmly. "So...do you wanna practice that?"

Mob tensed at Teruki's sudden intensity.

"Practice what?"

"You know. What comes after holding hands."

Perspiration gathered on Mob's face as he realized exactly what Teruki was saying. "W-what? I-- I haven't ever kissed anyone before."

Laughing, Teruki approached the window and unlatched it to slide it up. It was pretty out tonight--the stars were bright enough to be seen even over all the light pollution. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You definitely shouldn't have your first kiss be a fake one. Actually...you might be better off if you didn't dwell on it at all and just let it happen naturally."

Would Tsubomi want to kiss him? Would she be his first kiss? Would he be hers? It didn't matter to Mob if he wasn't, but he didn't want to disappoint her.

"Yeah," Mob said, more to himself than to Teruki. More to convince himself than to actually agree with his friend (?).

"Live in the moment, Kageyama-kun. Let yourself enjoy it." Teruki motioned for Mob to join him where he was, leaning onto his forearms at the windowsill. "Look, look. You can see The Spring Triangle constellation in the sky. That's a really good omen."

Mob joined Teruki by his side to look up at it, eyes scanning the sky. He didn't really know much about the stars, but he did like looking at them.

"Which one is it?"

Teruki pointed and traced a clear triangle pattern in the sky, stopping on each bright star that marked the points of it. He said their names out loud as he went.

Spica.

Regulus.

And his favorite--Arcturus.

"Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern hemisphere. There are a ton of names for it all across the world. As-simāk ar-rāmiħ. Da Jiao. Uttuqalualuk. Here in Japan it's Mugi-boshi-- the "Star of Wheat." That's because it appears when all the wheat crops are fully grown in in Spring."

"Wow, you really know a lot about the stars." Mob didn't have any special interests like that. "Do you want to be an astronomer or an astronaut?"

"Huh? Oh no, no...it's just a hobby." Did Mob really think he knew that much? That was kind of flattering. "I mean...there are a lot of things I'm into, honestly. Cinema. Western music. Streetwear...actually, I've gotten into bicycle touring recently, too. But if you had to ask me what I wanted to do for the rest of my life...I'd really have no idea."

Was this too much detail to give to someone who wasn't a friend yet? Well...if they were going to become friends eventually, they should know more about each other, right?

"What about you?"

Teruki was so cool. He had so many hobbies. And all of them were really interesting ones.

"I don't really have any hobbies, but... I'm in the Body Improvement Club and I work part time."

"Oh?" Teruki turned to sit on the windowsill, his attention fully back on Mob. "I wasn't expecting that. What do you do?"

"I work for a master exorcist as his disciple." Did that sound cool? Teruki seemed to think it was cool that he had a job, at least.

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