Chapter 2: Hunting Season(ing) Part One

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"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.

Comments

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Wow. Teruki really did know just about everything, didn't he? Mob had no idea what his scores at school were like, but he was sure they were closer to the top than they were from the bottom. As for Mob, his scores were always right near the middle.

"What does your dad do for a living?" Mob was curious about what kind of job he'd have for Teruki to live alone. Now seemed like a good time to ask it.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

"He does hedge fund management." Teruki took another bite.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Oh, sounds..." How could Mob possibly finish that sentence honestly? He wanted to say interesting, but it really didn't sound interesting at all.

"Impressive!" Mr. Kageyama supplied cheerily, much to Mob's relief. "I'm just a salaryman, but Shigeo's mother and I met at our company headquarters back when she was still working as an OL."

[mp_simplyacommoner]

"Yes, that's right...every day I brought in lunch for myself and he'd always walk into the lounge after me and declare things smelled delicious as always. Then, he actually gifted me a bottle of my favorite chili oil on my birthday. It's one you can only get overseas. Maybe it sounds silly to you kids, but...it was actually quite charming. When you're working the printers and scanners all day, having someone notice your the little things..."

"It's not silly at all, ma'am." Teruki smiled, though a bit distantly.

"What about your mother, Hanazawa-kun?

"She's an attorney. She owns her own law firm."

Mrs. Kageyama formed a little 'o' with her lips. "That sounds quite demanding." For both his parents, really.

"Yes, you could say that."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob was getting the sense that Teruki didn't really want to talk about his parents. But what else could people talk about? Come to think of it, the only people he really talked to at school he knew from his clubs, so there was always something club-related for them to talk about.

Clubs! That's what he should ask about!

"Are you in any clubs?" Teruki already knew that he was in the Body Improvement Club. If Mob had to guess what club Teruki was in, it'd probably be the Fashion Club.

[mp_kageyamabro]

"No, not really...I've been taking a break from group activities to focus on myself for awhile."

Ritsu had been pretty quiet the entire meal--he made an excuse to his mom about being drained from being on the student council, which wasn't at all a lie. But...seriously...was he the only one who saw how weird this was!? His brother, this stranger, and now his mom all had weird radiating off of them.

His dad...well...he was the same as always.

"Are your parents gonna be worried if you're out late?" Ritsu asked suddenly as he stirred his snap pea around the edge of his bowl.

"No. I'm usually out late."

"Really? I mean...mom, you could give them a call. You made dessert and everything. Hanazawa should stay for that." 'Heh. There we go.' Teruki was giving him a look that only he could see. Maybe if he pushed a bit more, everyone else would see it--

"I'm sure if Hanazawa-kun says he's fine, he'll be fine, dear."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Mob agreed. "He's very responsible. Just like you, Ritsu!"

[mp_kageyamabro]

The end of Ritsu's chopstick pierced the skin of the snap pea he hadn't been able to bring himself to eat yet. Still, he turned his lips up. "Gotcha."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to stay for dessert. I'm very sorry. I am expecting a delivery tonight, and I'll need to be there to sign for it." Teruki bowed his head.

"I'll pack some to go for you, dear! Just stay right there." Mrs. Kageyama rose and motioned for her husband to get up as well. "Honey, could you show me where the new bento is? I know it's in the back room, but I seem to have forgotten where." Her tone was clear--we need to chat. In private.

[mp_npc]

"Hm?" Mr. Kageyama was about to say that he didn't have the faintest idea where to even begin to start until a moment later, when his wife's true intention pierced through his foggy mind. Maybe he shouldn't have had that extra glass of sake at dinner. "Sure, dear." He pushed himself up from his chair and joined his wife in walking to the back room.

[mp_npc]

Mrs. Kageyama closed the door to their humble storage room behind them and immediately set about sorting the shelves--in that moment she really needed to stay busy with her hands.

"Honey...I think Shige isn't giving us the full picture about his new friend."

[mp_npc]

Mr. Kageyama wasn't following his spouse's train of thought at all. "What do you mean?"

[mp_npc]

"When I went to tell them dinner was ready, I saw them...well." Mrs. Kageyama found a pair of old decorative maneki-nekos she'd forgotten she even had and tapped their noses together.

[mp_npc]

"KISSING?!" The word came out far louder than he intended it to.

[mp_npc]

Mrs. Kageyama pressed a finger to her lips and lowered her voice to a hush--lord, could her beloved husband's voice carry when he'd had a few! "I'm really at a loss here, Honey. We always thought he was just a late bloomer! He doesn't even keep nudie magazines or anything..." While she was one to let her children keep a certain level of privacy, she felt like she had missed something terribly along the way now.

[mp_npc]

"Wow, how did he catch that one?" Mr. Kageyama mused, half-impressed, half-bewildered. "Way to go, Shigeo!"

[mp_npc]

Mrs. Kageyama sighed. Her husband's tendency to not question things frustrated her at times but it was also a source of relief. She gathered the nice bento from the top shelf and handed him a few.

"I was worried our son was getting bullied again, but...Hanazawa seems like a nice boy. So we need to make him feel welcome, alright? If we alienate him, Shige may withdraw completely."

But still...kissing...Shigeo rarely even spoke to other kids his own age, but maybe joining that fitness club was just what he needed to bloom?

"Should we...give him the talk again?"

[mp_npc]

Mr. Kageyama hummed at that. "Maybe. But at least we don't have to worry about pregnancy here." That was the thing he was most worried about. "I'll probably need to do some reading on the internet about this before we have another talk, though." His experience only went as far as with women. Men were an entirely different species to him.

[mp_npc]

"That's true. But we should at least reassure him before he goes to bed." Their poor son had been terribly embarrassed by the discovery, after all. She opened the door back up and quickly packed up all the nikujaga and cheesecake she could fit in several bentos--stacking them neatly and wrapping them in cloth with an easy-to-carry-handle.

"Hanazawa-kun, it's all ready to go for you," she said as she re-entered the dining room. Ritsu was gone from the table already, but Teruki and Shigeo were still chatting away.

"Ah! That's so much...are you cert--"

"I am absolutely certain. And you're welcome over for more anytime. Isn't that right, Shige?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Yeah, of course," Shigeo said, chiming in. "I know you intended on walking me home, but are you sure you don't want me to walk back to your place with you?"

Mr. Kageyama shot his wife a knowing look and gave her a slight nod.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

"Oh, no way. It's kind of far. I couldn't ask you to do that." Teruki paused and rubbed at his neck sheepishly. "But...if you wanted to walk me part way to the trail near the river...we could call it even."

Mrs. Kageyama had to resist adding in any commentary, but it was really difficult not to. This was as adorable an exchange as she could ever picture her oldest having. She handed Shigeo the stacked bentos. Hanazawa-kun's got a bag so be a gentlemen and help him carry his things was the unspoken message.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Thanks, Mom." Shigeo's smile was slight, but it was definitely there. "I'll be back in a bit."

[mp_simplyacommoner]

The night was pretty warm--Spring really was here, wasn't it? The sky got brighter the closer they got to Teruki's high-rise, but that was because it was closer to the city proper. That was one reason he was always getting home late; there was just always something to do in that part of Seasoning City.

"Your family is cute, Kageyama-kun. You're lucky."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Thanks, I really am." Shigeo could definitely recognize that. Especially now, knowing that Teruki was living alone. "If you ever want to drop by, let me know. Do you have a cell phone? I'll give you my number."

[mp_simplyacommoner]

"...Yeah. That's a good idea." They were nearing the trail by the river that was popular with all the joggers. Before they ascended the steps, Teruki whipped out his phone and added Mob's number to his contacts.

When he finished, he pocketed his phone to look Mob in the eye. The warmth in his blue eyes hardened over.

"Hey...don't tell your parents that I live alone. I'm not asking you as an acquaintance. I'm telling you as a fellow psychic."

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Sure, but why don't you want me telling them?"