Chapter 3: Hunting Season(ing) Part Two

[mp_npc]

God, was there some planet in retrograde right now? Everything was so…gray. Tome usually would have been able to cite a specific planet but she had been too oddly deflated all day to speculate.

At least she wasn’t the worst one off. No, not by far. That honor went to the pompadour’d thug who did nothing but sulk in the corner of their shared club space now. Her own club mates who were always too scared of him to even approach even tried to offer him one of their honey chip bags out of sheer pity. Tome, usually quite stingy with the resources (especially now they didn’t actually have funding anymore) didn’t even object. ‘How the mighty fall.’

Goda had spent some time trying to cheer Onigawara up. That boy was too nice for his own good. Him AND Kageyama. Tome didn’t know what Goda had been trying, exactly, since she was too engrossed in (or rather numbed by) her video game to listen but she could guess. The Body Improvement Club had one solution for every possible human ailment. It was exactly why she didn’t risk complaining today.

Tome glanced at the clock—it was getting to be that time, wasn’t it? The time where everyone finished their club activities up. Ah. Orwell was calling her name once again.

Comments

[mp_simplyacommoner]

Teru kept his mouth shut in a concerted effort not to ask Mob more about his club. Out of everything alarming or unexpected that had taken place that day, the act of having to reign his curiosity in while he held the other boy's hand was by far the most frustrating.

'Focus!'

"Hey. How smart do you think this thing is, Kageyama-kun?"

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob considered, giving Teru's hand a squeeze as he nearly slipped through another slippery patch of mud. His mom was going to be angry when they got home. He was soaked through and his pants were muddy up to his knees. He was pretty sure it was going to be worse than this by the time they were done with all of this.

"If it's only hunting the turtle dove, it has to be somewhat intelligent. Any other animal wouldn't be this focused on small prey when there's so many other things around to eat. It has to have a reason why it's hunting him specifically."

[mp_simplyacommoner]

Teru nodded in agreement. "Have you ever dealt with an evil spirit like this at your job?"

Then, as if on cue, the phone Mob had tucked away in his pocket began to ring.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Though Mob was not clairvoyant, he knew immediately who was on the other end of the line before he even fished the phone out of his pocket with his free hand. His worst fears were confirmed when the screen displayed the name of the caller.

Despite the sense of dread rising within him, Mob flipped the phone open immediately. "Master Reigen?"

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

“Mob! Where the heck are you!? It’s a mad house over here! I’ve had five consultations and four drop-in curse removal requests—not counting our appointments—in one day and the precious reception desk is very very empty.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I'm really sorry." Mob really was. He really felt bad about it. It was going to be really hard for them to get through this and then get back to the office and then get back to his own home before it got too late. At this point, it was looking really unlikely. "Something's come up and I can't get away at the moment."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

“What was that? What’d you just say? No, seriously, repeat that because you’re really breaking up. It sounds like you’re in the middle of a power washer.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"We're in the middle of a monsoon," Mob said apologetically. "And we're trying to look for a wedding ring. So I'm not sure I'm going to be back in time." Mob hoped he would understand.

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

Reigen could make out his pupil’s follow-up a bit better but that didn’t mean it made any more sense. “You’re at a wedding in the middle of a monsoon? What? You said you were hanging out with a friend! If you were going to a wedding you could have just asked for the day off.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"No, we're looking for the ring for a turtle dove spirit," he said, as if it's the most normal thing in the world. "We're not at a wedding."

[mp_strikinglyblessed]

‘Ugh.’ Reigen could still barely make him out and they were getting nowhere and he had a client on their way up the stairs. He guessed Mob lost track of time or something, but that didn’t mean Reigen was about to let him off the hook.

“Look, we’ll talk tomorrow. Get indoors and don’t lose your phone, okay? Those things aren’t cheap.” Reigen flipped his phone shut and ended the call.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Alright," Mob said, but before he could say the word, Reigen had already ended the call. He shoved the phone back into his pocket.

"I don't have to be back at work today," he informed Teru. Even though he was sure he disappointed Master Reigen, he felt relieved he no longer had that hanging over him. Now he could better focus on their mission. Provided that they could finish it with this little visibility.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

“Wait, you had to be back at work?”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"Yeah, I didn't want to let Master down." He kind of had, though. But he'd try to make it up to him some other way.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

“Come on, you’re not planning on dating your master, are you? He’ll understand.” Teru gave Mob’s hand an encouraging squeeze. “Hey, when we get close to the river, we should split up.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I don't mind it, but why?"

[mp_simplyacommoner]

“Think about it…that thing’s an ambush predator and we don’t exactly have a strong environmental tactical advantage. Of course, it’s nothing against you and me combined, but we can’t attack it directly while the Fluffy One is around. And we can’t leave it or Tome-senpai unguarded either.” Teru looked ahead and was a bit impressed that Tome hadn’t slipped once. “So, let me keep them out of harm’s way while you look for the ring. That thing might be fast but I’m pretty sure I’m faster.”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

Mob nodded. Teru really knew a lot about this kind of stuff. While Mob was just worried about making sure to keep Tome and the Turtle Dove safe, Teru was already three steps ahead.

Just like Master Reigen.

"Thank you," he said appreciatively. He really did appreciate it. But there was one thing that was bothering him.

"Hanazawa-kun... I know that you feel that you owe me, but... isn't this a lot?"

[mp_simplyacommoner]

Teru made a face. “What are you talking about?”

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

"I mean... you're putting yourself in danger doing all this. And for someone you barely know. Don't you think it's a lot?"

[mp_npc]

“Ouuuuh! We’re here!” The dove’s cry cut their conversation short. The barrier around it and Tome automatically made the wheat bow around them until they were emerging onto a barren floodplain.

Tome held her breath at the sight of it. It was just like blondie had said…the river was already flooding and lapping violently at the river banks. “Hey, can you really still feel it?”

“Yeah! I can! It’s definitely still somewhere here. Keep following my beak!”

“Then, we’re going.” Tome held the dove closer to her body and took a big breath like she was taking a plunge into cold water. She didn’t realize what comfort the wheat surrounding them offered until it was gone and they were wandering into a totally exposed area but she didn’t let herself dwell on it. She wasn’t one to lose her nerve and she wasn’t going to start now.

Teru released Mob’s hand and pushed ahead to stay close to the other two’s side.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

An unsettling feeling overcame Mob as Teru pulled away. At first, he thought it might be the absence of Teru's support. But that unsettling feeling grew larger and larger until Mob could no longer justify the feeling stemming solely from that absence.

It was then that he remembered something that Dimple told him.

"You gotta listen to your gut, kid!" he said. "Most of the time it's right on target. So don't question it!"

"It's here!" Mob rarely spoke in a loud voice, but he wanted to make sure that he was heard over the torrent of rain and river.

[mp_simplyacommoner]

No sooner had Mob yelled than Teru was hoisting Tome by the waist--

FWOOSH

In one instant the mud beneath their feet burst and sizzled as if it had been cut through with a giant flaming sword, right through the spot the three had been standing. Now, they were safely a good twenty feet away.

'Shit.' Teru blocked out the sounds of Tome wheezing and the dove cooing frantically. Yeah, that pressure was unmistakable. There was no way a barrier that was weak enough to accommodate the pigeon would last more than a few hits. And it hit fast. "Sorry about this, Tome-senpai. Fluffy One."

"Sorry about wha-AAAIIIEEE!!" Tome held the dove tightly to her as the world became a blur. When things had stopped spinning she could just barely make out the dark form of Mob at a distance.

"Kageyama-kun, find the ring! Make sure it doesn't get washed away--" 'Shit!' No time to rally as Teru had to dodge another attack that stretched far enough to carve through a nearby boulder like it was nothing.

[spiritsandsuchtrainee]

How could he possibly find it? He's not clever like Reigen. He's not smart like Teru, either. Tome's mind worked way faster than him, too. Even before this all started, he couldn't see anything and now that it was growing even darker, it was even harder.

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Teru believed in him, he tried to tell himself. He just has to figure it out as quickly as he can. Before something happened to the others.

Mob scrambled forward, the mud reaching up past his knees now. He frantically searched for it, pushing back mud, eyes scanning wildly for some glimmer of light in the torrential rain.

But he doesn't see anything like a ring.

Not anywhere he looked.

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[mp_simplyacommoner]

Teru was right about one thing--he was faster than this thing.

'At this rate, as long as I don't get hit.'

He was single-minded now. He was going to keep Tome safe. He was going to keep the little dove safe. He was going to see this through to Mob until--

The pressure was building again. It was predictable in that it had only been bum-rushing them but he couldn't be sure it didn't have something else up it's sleeve. He couldn't get a clear look at it just operating on it's level. So he bent his legs, told his companions to keep their heads down and he leapt up. He could feel the wind cutting through and just barely missing the bottom of his shoes. Up, up, up he went and he hovered until he was on-par with the farmland's tallest trees. It was hard to see as the darkness encroached on them, but he could make out a faint smoking zig-zag pattern.

"Oooouuuoooo! So humans CAN fly! I knew it!"

Tome heaved. "N-no-not q-quite--"

Before Teru could even think about soaking up the first bit of praise he'd gotten that evening the pressure was building again and quicker than ever. He twisted his body in-mid air as a rush of wind went by and suddenly the rain was muffled. Actually, everything was muffled. Wait, was Tome yelling now? He landed again to get his bearings and winced at the ache in his neck from jerking it so suddenly.

Ah. Something else hurt. Something really hurt. Something was warm. That's what Tome was yelling about. His shoulder was spurting blood and was soaking into her hand.

"Are you hurt, Tome-senpai?"

"Oh my god, did it take your arm off!?"

"No. Don't worry about it. I've gotten it worse from Kageyama-kun."

"Wait, what--"

Teru took off in a new direction. Even if it was dark, he had picked up on a few more interesting tidbits while he'd been airborne.