--so you see, we’d be filling in a huge gap in services in Seasoning City! I mean, have you looked at what other psychics charge in this prefecture? It’s absolutely obscene.
[ reigen doesn’t know that much about kageyama shigeo yet, not really. but what he does know is that like everyone else in the world--and actually perhaps more than most people, on average--the man seems to be easily overwhelmed by the kind of bullshit reigen can pull out of his back pocket at a moment’s notice. it’s fine, he thinks. as long as he keeps talking, it’s fine.
they’re at a cafe, but it’s busy so they’ve yet to be served. reigen is halfheartedly charting expenses with a pen on a napkin; his own penchant for distraction is evident in the corner doodles: ghosts, spirits, things the two of them can definitely see at the same time in the wild. mostly he doesn’t take his eyes off mob’s face. he is attempting to convey urgent earnestness as much as he can. (and anyway, it’s not like mob’s hard to look at. but that’s a backburner thought, to be revisited at a more convenient time.) ]
I’m thinking tiered pricing, a focus on community relationships ... You’re not really out there in the world right now, right? To be honest, you might even find it fun.
[If anything, Shigeo has been attentively listening. It was his suggestion that they meet at the cafe, particularly to get to know each other better now that they were being set up.
He read the tiered pricing, turning the note right-side-up for himself. It seemed fair...]
I haven't used my psychic powers like this... I also don't know how I feel about becoming some well-known exorcist?
[ reigen can’t sense auras, but you don’t have to sense auras to know when someone dangerous means business.
he’d made the mistake of stepping out for a smoke, but he knows in retrospect it wouldn’t have mattered--that the man would’ve come into the office if reigen hadn’t left it. and actually it may have worked out better, because the poster on the wall says reigen arataka, star psychic of the 21st century! and has his beaming face on it; and the man in the alley had said, you must be kageyama and reigen had known instantly, from the tone of his voice, the cold light in his eyes, that to deny it would have been to endanger mob.
so. so. he’d gone along with it all, and now he’s in a cell. a glyph on the ground apparently mutes his alleged psychic powers--or at least the blonde guy with him had said as much, his weird wig towering, his eyes blue and harsh and combat-ready. reigen trusts him well enough, because he seems to throw himself in front of the other esper kids in here instinctively. reigen’s happy to do the same, but equally happy to delegate the responsibility to someone who might actually have the power and technique to get all of them out of this mess.
all that’s left for reigen to do is twiddle his thumbs and try and calm the kids down periodically. this part, at least, is easy. he’s a little banged up from his kidnapper’s carelessness in the alley, but he’s in alarmingly calm spirits otherwise. not that he knows what to expect, having never been kidnapped by a criminal organization. he just knows when his considerable skills won’t be of much use. best to wait and see what happens. ]
[Teru, for his worth, was trying to see if he could disrupt the seal in some way. Solid concrete... he couldn't find purchase, but he was trying his damnedest, bashing the shitty cheap chair against the painted concrete to see if he could even chip it.
But for all his efforts, even managing the tiniest scuff against the paint, the seal didn't even budge. Panting, and sweaty, Teru set the chair down and sat on it, even if it was slightly crooked.]
No good... we've got to plan for the door opening instead.
[After Shigeo went home the next morning, their routine settled - their report seemed to get received even if the tone of the authorities was dubious, but time was passing and it let things settle back to calm on their own.
Peaceful weeks turn into peaceful months, letting the two of them continue working at Spirits & Such to help those afflicted with curses or sore shoulders. Shigeo's learning well to not actually tell customers that they aren't cursed, and to let Reigen handle those. He doesn't bring up the kidnapping, he doesn't bring up the night he stayed over, he doesn't bring up the kiss - he just lets Reigen get as handsy as he want most of the time, and lets the man know when he needs his space.
Business is going surprisingly well, though. And today he's a bit pleased, after reviewing their finances and schedule.]
[ today reigen has it in his head to finally put their in-office posters, the ones with the pricing tiers and the big one with his own face, in frames. he’s bent over the center table sliding one into a frame right now, so he doesn’t look up yet as he says, ]
[It was back to business as usual, after they parted the night before. Shigeo came in and greeted Reigen, they tended to their early morning client with no fuss, and set about their day like usual.
While Reigen worked on their advertising or whatnot for the website, Shigeo took up the responsibility of calculating their taxes. Urgh... he was always bad at math, even with this program to help, but he'd agreed early on to make sure they were on top of finances.]
How much of a discount did we give Yayoi-san again...?
25 percent. There’s a trick to calculating that fast, actually ... But if it’s stressing you out I can take a look at it later.
[ reigen doesn’t share his fiance’s seeming dyscalculia, and anyway he’s cooked enough books to know how to do them right in the first place.
yesterday feels like a dream, though still close enough that moments of it drift to the fore of reigen’s thoughts unexpectedly. sometimes his hand tingles with the memory of having held mob’s all the way home. he’s trying to focus on work, he really is, but he’s starting to get the worrying feeling lately that there’s something in his life that maybe deserves more attention than he’s allowed. ]
...From the outside, it was terrifying. Reigen and many psychics were injured, Dimple was granted rights to possess Shigeo's body, and Shigeo was unconscious for nearly thirty minutes. Dimple pulled him back out, and Shigeo walked with Reigen to the office again... but he was uncharacteristically quiet, and his gaze unfathomably distant.
He hadn't even fussed about Reigen's injuries after Reigen initially brushed them off. Shigeo looked normal on the surface... but there was a distance to his eyes.
After they ate MobDonalds and chatted about the job, it was time to go home. And Shigeo nearly left to go home on his own. But instead... he turned to Reigen, gently tugging his sleeve.]
[ it’s not that unusual for mob to lose himself in thought after a long or particularly difficult job. reigen lets it happen for most of the night, sneaking aside glances when he can only to find mob’s overall disposition refuses to change: he’s quiet, uncannily still, and he eats slowly, the picture of someone who isn’t particularly tasting their food.
still, they can always debrief about the whole thing tomorrow. he’s about to let them all part ways, waving dimple off as he floats off into the night, when he feels mob’s hand light on his sleeve. he turns to face his fiance more fully, brows slightly drawn together, quizzical. ]
Back to my apartment?
[ it’s a testament to the kind of people they both are that it doesn’t sound remotely like a salacious ask. something in mob’s eyes looks shuttered, almost defeated. reigen nods before he can give it much further thought. ]
Sure. [ a pause. ] Let’s call a cab. It’s been a long day.
[No word of Claw, and while the first week or so is particularly rough, Shigeo's slowly been getting sleep more consistently thanks to Reigen being oh so generous in sharing his bed... while there was going to be a Miai meet-up next week with both families, the Kageyamas first invited Reigen over for dinner on an innocuous, comfortable tuesday evening.
Shigeo hadn't worried about dressing up for it - he was confident that he and Arataka were doing well, and his family would be delighted to hear. With his hand in Arataka's at the front door of his parents' house, he smiled down at his partner.]
[ reigen has a lot of the same shirts, the same ties, the same suit jackets. he is wearing the nicest iteration of his usual outfit that he has, one in which he hasn’t smoked or taken on any strenuous jobs. he has made a halfhearted attempt to flatten his hair on one side, which he thinks is how it looks best if he really has to change it up. he is making his most valiant effort not to freak out, his other hand flailing absently at his side. ]
Y-yeah, totally. Just, uh.
[ he brought a gift! a nice bottle of sake! and!!! HE’S SWEATING!!! ]
[It's Shigeo's turn to get nervous before a meeting... Arataka's attitude about his parents was always a bit different than Shigeo's attitude towards his own parents. It made it hard for Shigeo to tell if the Reigens actually liked him or not... or what he should wear or say to impress them.
Did he really need their approval if things were going well...? But he did know that Arataka's mother especially was quite upset about the business...]
[ this. this is the night reigen has been dreading for weeks.
the ashtray by the window is overflowing, but reigen has already showered so he’s done with cigarettes for the afternoon. he’s in sweatpants and no shirt because he’s alternating between rifling through his closet and pacing and talking. ]
You should be able to wear whatever you want, of course, who cares--? But, ah, they’ll probably come dressed pretty nice, and their place is nice, so on second thought, maybe it’s better to be safe than sorry ...
[ he can keep going. he should keep going. the more words he fills every second with, the more time he has before tonight. ]
[Shigeo didn't hear from Reigen, so he didn't worry about handling spirits for his partner - that made sense, it wasn't often that they had a serious case like that, and Reigen often had his pride.
Instead, Shigeo took the time he could to reconnect with people. Spending time with friends, and with Ritsu, all of whom had felt so distant and foreign after what happened with Mogami. He'd needed it, and it put distance between himself and Reigen for the time being.
It really wasn't until Ritsu brought up that Reigen was being trashed on the internet that Shigeo was even aware of that. He was surprised, especially since he was the business partner... Ritsu had been cringing as they watched the video that had become so meme-worthy, even if Shigeo didn't. A few days after that, Ritsu was calling him, asking if he saw that there was going to be a press conference.
Shigeo had. He didn't want to face Reigen immediately, but he found himself in the press conference crowd nonetheless, waiting outside with other members of the curious public and blending in all too well with them.]
Edited (i remember my lit classes i swear) 2023-02-22 21:02 (UTC)
[ that jodo guy is an s-class asshole. that stunt on national television, reigen’s public humiliation after he’d spent the past two weeks building himself up into a local icon--and it had only taken two weeks! because when reigen arataka applies himself, he can do it all! he’d been planning to become a great psychic in the first place, with or without a fiance, a powerful handsome fiance--who he didn’t need, had never needed, even if he caught himself buttoning up his shirts in the morning and thinking about white elegant fingers buttoning up his shirt instead, even if he hasn’t opened the spare bathroom drawer once since then--he had plans, he always has plans, and it takes better men than the asshole spiritual union grandpa to thwart reigen arataka’s plans.
it’s low, is what it is, to bring a good man down; he thinks this viciously under the hot lights of the press conference, in all capital letters at first, and then smaller ones when he reconsiders the question of whether he’s a good man. and then after the first few frustrating questions his mind, as it often does, strays. there’s a frayed thread on his shirtcuff. he’s wearing a watch. he doesn’t normally like to wear a watch--the last time he did was that horrible dinner with mob and his parents, two weeks ago. his mom, in her email, had recommended that he dress well for the conference. she’d written him an apology.
his mom, writing him an apology. his mom, setting him up with someone steady. his mom, doing these things because she doesn’t think reigen can take care of himself. but he’s always taken care of himself, had insisted on doing so the second he hit legal adulthood. he would have never asked mob to do it. he’d only asked mob to ... to ...
he’s thinking about that, bored with everything else suddenly, everything else subordinated to thinking about mob again. his answers to questions get more mechanical: being technically honest comes naturally to him anyway.
can any of you, beyond any reasonable doubt, prove that i don’t have psychic powers? he says flatly. he barely even hears it himself. over the murmur and excitement of the crowd he just--he can’t stop thinking, now. what had he asked mob to do? to believe in him. to follow where he led. to trust him. all these things reigen has asked other people to do, time and again: clients, colleagues, marks. but he’s never asked anyone to be with him.
‘is it true that you used to have a business partner?’
that gets reigen’s attention, fully. his expression flat and even, he leans in, both careless and entirely exact in his phrasing, as he’s been for at least twenty minutes now. his interest in this whole debacle has fully slipped. ]
I have a partner, yes.
[ ‘is he complicit in your fraudulent activity?’ ]
Still waiting for you to prove I’ve done anything wrong. And even if you try, you’d still have to make an entirely separate case for my ...
[ he trails. the moment tense, suddenly, on the airwaves, reigen’s expression unreadable. ]
[ today they took on separate jobs! that happens sometimes. reigen had to take a train to another part of town altogether.
in the late afternoon as the working day draws to a close mob gets a text: ]
Hey babe, client wants to grab dinner and drinks after the job. I missed lunch and he’s been a good sport so I’m thinking it won’t hurt. Go ahead and eat without me and I’ll see you at home?
[That was fine by Shigeo. He'd been clearing out a rather dangerous den of spirits where deaths and accidents had been recorded, and it was safer that Reigen was elsewhere.
He smiles at the text. Sounds like it went well.]
Ritsu is in town, I'll go visit and meet you at home tonight?
Claw has finally started to move, and authorities are working to make sure people get out before the actions of terrorists cause more deaths. Joseph was right - the authorities were on top of this, anticipating it, minimizing harm.
That didn't matter much when Shigeo hurries to his parents' home to help them evacuate... and finds the house ablaze. And worse, finds three bodies inside.
By the time he's brought to the hideout, where the 7th division members are all staying, where they've gathered with Reigen not because they knew anything about him, but because his strong fiance might be their only chance of not getting killed by Touichirou... Shigeo himself is a wreck. Pale, almost green, a thousand yard stare of a man that had seen something dreadful.]
[ the spirits and such office had been in flames when reigen had swung by, trailing mid-sentence in a conversation with a prospective client to watch nonplussed as black smoke poured into the sky. he was collected promptly afterwards by a couple of claw weirdos whom he’d recognised from that one day in the warehouse in the woods, and now he’s in this lush hideout--apparently a former bar--keeping his cool amid the tension in the room even as his mind races. mob hasn’t answered calls or texts. where are you? is all he can think.
when shigeo enters reigen’s the first on his feet. ]
[ hanazawa, ritsu, shou and dimple come with him to dig mob up. they’re sedate on the walk through the seemingly organic maze that has carved its way through the destroyed city district.
it’s ritsu who senses him, being the person who recognizes his energy best. they start digging into what feels like brittle ground, green in the cellphone flashlight that hanazawa is holding up, and when they unearth mob--mob, blinking warily up at them from underneath the oddly veined earth--reigen almost chokes in relief. amid the various exclamations of relief from mob’s brother and friends, reigen bites back the indignity of tears, though he can’t disguise the tremor in his voice when he says, ]
--idiot ... you’re in so much trouble when we get home.
[ ‘home,’ though, has to be relative for awhile. suzuki’s kid, shou, seems pretty taken with ritsu, or at least familiar enough with him by now to be entirely casual when he tells reigen and mob that reigen’s apartment got trashed too. one of his bodyguards gives reigen and mob a business card for a--for god’s sake, a love hotel, an upscale one. they even call mob and reigen a cab.
sitting in the back of the taxi, fingers tangled with those of his exhausted fiance, reigen’s resting his head on the glass in silence. he’s so tired. and they’ll probably still want to shower or bathe or something too ... suzuki gave them a change of clothes, but mob’s probably bigger than both of that kid’s associates, so who knows how that’ll go. ]
[After all of that... Shigeo was emotionally exhausted. He didn't know what to feel... his everything hurt, inside and out, and he felt like he'd exercised harder than he'd ever exercised in his life. He felt like he'd cried and screamed and shriveled his insides entirely.
He could tell Arataka was angry... but he couldn't feel much about it. He was tired... tired, and drained, and just glad that everyone made it out okay. As long as he could sit here and gently grasp his partner's fingers, it would be okay.]
[ day two at the love hotel. it should say something that reigen hasn’t really gotten bored yet. they’ve ventured out to the a couple of times to pick up toiletries and a deck of cards and another new cellphone for mob, but for the most part there’s not a lot to do while they wait for shou’s psychic construction company or whatever to finish working on the office and their place.
so reigen is sprawled out on the bed, or more accurately against mob, who makes a great pillow for all that he’s brick-hard from head to toe. reigen’s just finished showering and shaving, shirtless but for some comfortably worn pajama pants, and after flopping on mob and getting entirely too cozy he’s scrolling through apartment listings within a certain kilometer radius of the office. ]
Ground floor units make sense if you have pets. I used to live under a lady with two cats who fought day and night ... I wasn’t that upset about it, but you could hear the thudding at the worst times.
[Shigeo certainly did not mind Reigen sprawling all over him. He relaxed, letting his hand rest on the small of Reigen's back.]
And it can be a bit easier for a dog, since they don't use a box... but I don't think it'd be a big problem either way. I'll probably take the dog with me on my early morning run?
[While it's a bit financially thin for a while, insurance is thankfully willing to pull through - as well as an apology package from Joseph for not being able to uphold his end of the promise. Not that Shigeo would bring that up, since it was just another detail on a mountain of details that involved moving into a new, larger apartment.
Pet friendly? Check. Two bedroom, in case someone visits? Check. Reasonably within their budget rent-wise? Check. A reasonable walk to the train station? Check!
While Reigen settled their surviving belongings into the apartment, Shigeo had borrowed his friend Musashi's truck to get new furniture to bring in. And since the two of them were undoubtedly working most of today... Shigeo gives Reigen a call.]
[ reigen wanted to be more upset about how his old apartment was beyond recovery, but on the other hand the new place is ... pretty nice, honestly - just about ideal, all boxes ticked for what feels like the second phase of reigen's engagement. joseph even helped to replace the water cooler he'd nicked from his old job, a comical but personally significant detail.
he's in the middle of fussing with some address change forms when mob calls. with the phone cradled between his shoulder and ear and a pen in his hand he says, ]
[ they’re fully moved in, slowly accruing more housewares to fill in the remaining empty space. the former claw member serizawa’s working for them now, a committed part-timer (“with room for advancement,” according to reigen) and a guy who certainly needed the excuse to get out more. almost a year into their engagement reigen accidentally said he loved him, on the phone while doing tax forms, and there was no reason to take it back. life’s been pretty good lately.
it feels like they take every opportunity to celebrate recently, maybe still riding the high of the claw incident and their unexpected good fortune. they went out for dinner; they’re at a bar closer to their new apartment afterwards. as much as reigen liked his old bar, he can’t say he was too attached; besides, he can always drop in some other time. he’s nursing a lemon sour, chin on his hand as he talks to mob, gesturing with his drink. ]
--you’re kidding, all this and you’re telling me you weren’t a sporty kid?
Not at all... I was very out of shape. I couldn't run without wheezing hard enough to pass out.
[Shigeo's enjoying a calpis cocktail that the bartender whipped up when he asked if there were any milky cocktails he could do. It was already his second one... he liked it a lot.]
It wasn't until I decided I wanted to confess to my childhood crush that I decided to join the Body Improvement Club - that's where I met Musashi-senpai.
[After moving in, and getting the apartment nice and set up, Shigeo was pretty confident in being ready for guests. Reigen's old apartment had been a shoebox, but the space they had now was breezy in comparison, with a nice kitchen.
Tonight, only Ritsu was available to visit, but that was more than fine by Shigeo - he was happily following a recipe carefully for a pork dish, hoping it would come out decently.]
That reminds me... Arataka, what's your sister's favorite food?
[ reigen has been helpful, albeit parenthetically: he picked up some last-minute ingredients on his way home and knocked out some of the chopping. now he’s just leaning against a nearby counter while mob works, at ease as he skims a folded newspaper. when mob asks about his sister he only glances up to think about it, eyes flicking idly towards the ceiling. ]
She likes street food a lot. Japanese, definitely, but other kinds too. Whenever she has to go on a business trip somewhere she’s always on the lookout for that stuff first.
[ the early morning appointment is mostly just a planning meeting--there’s a big business conference in seasoning city later that week that will also serve as the inaugural wide use of a new fancy hotel. but lately the reviews for the fancy hotel have been inundated with people expressing concerns about ill omens occurring during private stays, and more recently someone in the penthouse suite dislocated their shoulder falling off the bed. pretty odd stuff. ]
--so we’ll tour on Wednesday, have a look around, see what we sense and go from there. Sound good?
[ ‘yes,’ the woman across from them says. she’s some executive for the hotel, serious enough about this to have written a check for an upfront deposit and everything. reigen, aside from seeing dollar bills, can see she’s genuinely pretty worried about having so many people in a potentially haunted space. she rises and bows again. ‘that would be great. i’ll meet you there early wednesday. thank you very much, reigen-san, kageyama-san. and thank you for the tea.’ ]
No problem. Email’s open if you want to alert us to any more incidents. Take care of yourself till then.
[ reigen walks her to the door and bids her goodbye. when he shuts the door he goes to flip open the small box of donuts he and mob picked up that morning, picking one out with two fingers. ]
There’s no way a fancy place like that would build on an old gravesite or something, right? I’m pretty sure people do homework like that in the planning phase ... Maybe I’m giving developers too much credit.
[His first inclination is to explain that spirits are everywhere, because everywhere has history, everywhere is just as touched by death and life as anywhere else.
But Arataka seemed to prefer to not talk about his lack of powers. Taking a few moments to rethink what to say, Shigeo replied.]
It could be a presence that arrived during construction or after. A free-wandering spirit like Dimple might have settled in.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mediummmuhhh) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
millefolium2023-01-19 06:49 pm
tied to the yoke with a decent bloke--
[ reigen doesn’t know that much about kageyama shigeo yet, not really. but what he does know is that like everyone else in the world--and actually perhaps more than most people, on average--the man seems to be easily overwhelmed by the kind of bullshit reigen can pull out of his back pocket at a moment’s notice. it’s fine, he thinks. as long as he keeps talking, it’s fine.
they’re at a cafe, but it’s busy so they’ve yet to be served. reigen is halfheartedly charting expenses with a pen on a napkin; his own penchant for distraction is evident in the corner doodles: ghosts, spirits, things the two of them can definitely see at the same time in the wild. mostly he doesn’t take his eyes off mob’s face. he is attempting to convey urgent earnestness as much as he can. (and anyway, it’s not like mob’s hard to look at. but that’s a backburner thought, to be revisited at a more convenient time.) ]
I’m thinking tiered pricing, a focus on community relationships ... You’re not really out there in the world right now, right? To be honest, you might even find it fun.
no subject
He read the tiered pricing, turning the note right-side-up for himself. It seemed fair...]
I haven't used my psychic powers like this... I also don't know how I feel about becoming some well-known exorcist?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
pitching myself the leads in other people’s dreams
he’d made the mistake of stepping out for a smoke, but he knows in retrospect it wouldn’t have mattered--that the man would’ve come into the office if reigen hadn’t left it. and actually it may have worked out better, because the poster on the wall says reigen arataka, star psychic of the 21st century! and has his beaming face on it; and the man in the alley had said, you must be kageyama and reigen had known instantly, from the tone of his voice, the cold light in his eyes, that to deny it would have been to endanger mob.
so. so. he’d gone along with it all, and now he’s in a cell. a glyph on the ground apparently mutes his alleged psychic powers--or at least the blonde guy with him had said as much, his weird wig towering, his eyes blue and harsh and combat-ready. reigen trusts him well enough, because he seems to throw himself in front of the other esper kids in here instinctively. reigen’s happy to do the same, but equally happy to delegate the responsibility to someone who might actually have the power and technique to get all of them out of this mess.
all that’s left for reigen to do is twiddle his thumbs and try and calm the kids down periodically. this part, at least, is easy. he’s a little banged up from his kidnapper’s carelessness in the alley, but he’s in alarmingly calm spirits otherwise. not that he knows what to expect, having never been kidnapped by a criminal organization. he just knows when his considerable skills won’t be of much use. best to wait and see what happens. ]
no subject
But for all his efforts, even managing the tiniest scuff against the paint, the seal didn't even budge. Panting, and sweaty, Teru set the chair down and sat on it, even if it was slightly crooked.]
No good... we've got to plan for the door opening instead.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
me trying to get my life together
(no subject)
(no subject)
1/2
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Taking it easy
Peaceful weeks turn into peaceful months, letting the two of them continue working at Spirits & Such to help those afflicted with curses or sore shoulders. Shigeo's learning well to not actually tell customers that they aren't cursed, and to let Reigen handle those. He doesn't bring up the kidnapping, he doesn't bring up the night he stayed over, he doesn't bring up the kiss - he just lets Reigen get as handsy as he want most of the time, and lets the man know when he needs his space.
Business is going surprisingly well, though. And today he's a bit pleased, after reviewing their finances and schedule.]
Arataka.
no subject
What’s up?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Just another day in the office
While Reigen worked on their advertising or whatnot for the website, Shigeo took up the responsibility of calculating their taxes. Urgh... he was always bad at math, even with this program to help, but he'd agreed early on to make sure they were on top of finances.]
How much of a discount did we give Yayoi-san again...?
no subject
[ reigen doesn’t share his fiance’s seeming dyscalculia, and anyway he’s cooked enough books to know how to do them right in the first place.
yesterday feels like a dream, though still close enough that moments of it drift to the fore of reigen’s thoughts unexpectedly. sometimes his hand tingles with the memory of having held mob’s all the way home. he’s trying to focus on work, he really is, but he’s starting to get the worrying feeling lately that there’s something in his life that maybe deserves more attention than he’s allowed. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Cracks and echoes
...From the outside, it was terrifying. Reigen and many psychics were injured, Dimple was granted rights to possess Shigeo's body, and Shigeo was unconscious for nearly thirty minutes. Dimple pulled him back out, and Shigeo walked with Reigen to the office again... but he was uncharacteristically quiet, and his gaze unfathomably distant.
He hadn't even fussed about Reigen's injuries after Reigen initially brushed them off. Shigeo looked normal on the surface... but there was a distance to his eyes.
After they ate MobDonalds and chatted about the job, it was time to go home. And Shigeo nearly left to go home on his own. But instead... he turned to Reigen, gently tugging his sleeve.]
...May I... go with you, tonight...?
no subject
still, they can always debrief about the whole thing tomorrow. he’s about to let them all part ways, waving dimple off as he floats off into the night, when he feels mob’s hand light on his sleeve. he turns to face his fiance more fully, brows slightly drawn together, quizzical. ]
Back to my apartment?
[ it’s a testament to the kind of people they both are that it doesn’t sound remotely like a salacious ask. something in mob’s eyes looks shuttered, almost defeated. reigen nods before he can give it much further thought. ]
Sure. [ a pause. ] Let’s call a cab. It’s been a long day.
[ flipping out his phone to do so now. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Dinner at the in-law's
Shigeo hadn't worried about dressing up for it - he was confident that he and Arataka were doing well, and his family would be delighted to hear. With his hand in Arataka's at the front door of his parents' house, he smiled down at his partner.]
Ready?
no subject
Y-yeah, totally. Just, uh.
[ he brought a gift! a nice bottle of sake! and!!! HE’S SWEATING!!! ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
It all comes crumbling down
Did he really need their approval if things were going well...? But he did know that Arataka's mother especially was quite upset about the business...]
...Should I... wear a suit, to the meet...?
no subject
the ashtray by the window is overflowing, but reigen has already showered so he’s done with cigarettes for the afternoon. he’s in sweatpants and no shirt because he’s alternating between rifling through his closet and pacing and talking. ]
You should be able to wear whatever you want, of course, who cares--? But, ah, they’ll probably come dressed pretty nice, and their place is nice, so on second thought, maybe it’s better to be safe than sorry ...
[ he can keep going. he should keep going. the more words he fills every second with, the more time he has before tonight. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
I saw Goody Proctor with the Devil
Instead, Shigeo took the time he could to reconnect with people. Spending time with friends, and with Ritsu, all of whom had felt so distant and foreign after what happened with Mogami. He'd needed it, and it put distance between himself and Reigen for the time being.
It really wasn't until Ritsu brought up that Reigen was being trashed on the internet that Shigeo was even aware of that. He was surprised, especially since he was the business partner... Ritsu had been cringing as they watched the video that had become so meme-worthy, even if Shigeo didn't. A few days after that, Ritsu was calling him, asking if he saw that there was going to be a press conference.
Shigeo had. He didn't want to face Reigen immediately, but he found himself in the press conference crowd nonetheless, waiting outside with other members of the curious public and blending in all too well with them.]
no subject
it’s low, is what it is, to bring a good man down; he thinks this viciously under the hot lights of the press conference, in all capital letters at first, and then smaller ones when he reconsiders the question of whether he’s a good man. and then after the first few frustrating questions his mind, as it often does, strays. there’s a frayed thread on his shirtcuff. he’s wearing a watch. he doesn’t normally like to wear a watch--the last time he did was that horrible dinner with mob and his parents, two weeks ago. his mom, in her email, had recommended that he dress well for the conference. she’d written him an apology.
his mom, writing him an apology. his mom, setting him up with someone steady. his mom, doing these things because she doesn’t think reigen can take care of himself. but he’s always taken care of himself, had insisted on doing so the second he hit legal adulthood. he would have never asked mob to do it. he’d only asked mob to ... to ...
he’s thinking about that, bored with everything else suddenly, everything else subordinated to thinking about mob again. his answers to questions get more mechanical: being technically honest comes naturally to him anyway.
can any of you, beyond any reasonable doubt, prove that i don’t have psychic powers? he says flatly. he barely even hears it himself. over the murmur and excitement of the crowd he just--he can’t stop thinking, now. what had he asked mob to do? to believe in him. to follow where he led. to trust him. all these things reigen has asked other people to do, time and again: clients, colleagues, marks. but he’s never asked anyone to be with him.
‘is it true that you used to have a business partner?’
that gets reigen’s attention, fully. his expression flat and even, he leans in, both careless and entirely exact in his phrasing, as he’s been for at least twenty minutes now. his interest in this whole debacle has fully slipped. ]
I have a partner, yes.
[ ‘is he complicit in your fraudulent activity?’ ]
Still waiting for you to prove I’ve done anything wrong. And even if you try, you’d still have to make an entirely separate case for my ...
[ he trails. the moment tense, suddenly, on the airwaves, reigen’s expression unreadable. ]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
i just wanna hear you say you got me baby, are you mine?
in the late afternoon as the working day draws to a close mob gets a text: ]
Hey babe, client wants to grab dinner and drinks after the job. I missed lunch and he’s been a good sport so I’m thinking it won’t hurt.
Go ahead and eat without me and I’ll see you at home?
no subject
He smiles at the text. Sounds like it went well.]
Ritsu is in town, I'll go visit and meet you at home tonight?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
This might be the end of the world
Claw has finally started to move, and authorities are working to make sure people get out before the actions of terrorists cause more deaths. Joseph was right - the authorities were on top of this, anticipating it, minimizing harm.
That didn't matter much when Shigeo hurries to his parents' home to help them evacuate... and finds the house ablaze. And worse, finds three bodies inside.
By the time he's brought to the hideout, where the 7th division members are all staying, where they've gathered with Reigen not because they knew anything about him, but because his strong fiance might be their only chance of not getting killed by Touichirou... Shigeo himself is a wreck. Pale, almost green, a thousand yard stare of a man that had seen something dreadful.]
no subject
when shigeo enters reigen’s the first on his feet. ]
Mob!
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
for a moment you could see right through me
it’s ritsu who senses him, being the person who recognizes his energy best. they start digging into what feels like brittle ground, green in the cellphone flashlight that hanazawa is holding up, and when they unearth mob--mob, blinking warily up at them from underneath the oddly veined earth--reigen almost chokes in relief. amid the various exclamations of relief from mob’s brother and friends, reigen bites back the indignity of tears, though he can’t disguise the tremor in his voice when he says, ]
--idiot ... you’re in so much trouble when we get home.
[ ‘home,’ though, has to be relative for awhile. suzuki’s kid, shou, seems pretty taken with ritsu, or at least familiar enough with him by now to be entirely casual when he tells reigen and mob that reigen’s apartment got trashed too. one of his bodyguards gives reigen and mob a business card for a--for god’s sake, a love hotel, an upscale one. they even call mob and reigen a cab.
sitting in the back of the taxi, fingers tangled with those of his exhausted fiance, reigen’s resting his head on the glass in silence. he’s so tired. and they’ll probably still want to shower or bathe or something too ... suzuki gave them a change of clothes, but mob’s probably bigger than both of that kid’s associates, so who knows how that’ll go. ]
no subject
He could tell Arataka was angry... but he couldn't feel much about it. He was tired... tired, and drained, and just glad that everyone made it out okay. As long as he could sit here and gently grasp his partner's fingers, it would be okay.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
lovestruck, ready to construct, ready to love
so reigen is sprawled out on the bed, or more accurately against mob, who makes a great pillow for all that he’s brick-hard from head to toe. reigen’s just finished showering and shaving, shirtless but for some comfortably worn pajama pants, and after flopping on mob and getting entirely too cozy he’s scrolling through apartment listings within a certain kilometer radius of the office. ]
Ground floor units make sense if you have pets. I used to live under a lady with two cats who fought day and night ... I wasn’t that upset about it, but you could hear the thudding at the worst times.
no subject
And it can be a bit easier for a dog, since they don't use a box... but I don't think it'd be a big problem either way. I'll probably take the dog with me on my early morning run?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Lark of my heart
Pet friendly? Check. Two bedroom, in case someone visits? Check. Reasonably within their budget rent-wise? Check. A reasonable walk to the train station? Check!
While Reigen settled their surviving belongings into the apartment, Shigeo had borrowed his friend Musashi's truck to get new furniture to bring in. And since the two of them were undoubtedly working most of today... Shigeo gives Reigen a call.]
Arataka?
no subject
he's in the middle of fussing with some address change forms when mob calls. with the phone cradled between his shoulder and ear and a pen in his hand he says, ]
Hey, babe. You OK?
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
i just wanna hear you say you got me baby, are you mine?
it feels like they take every opportunity to celebrate recently, maybe still riding the high of the claw incident and their unexpected good fortune. they went out for dinner; they’re at a bar closer to their new apartment afterwards. as much as reigen liked his old bar, he can’t say he was too attached; besides, he can always drop in some other time. he’s nursing a lemon sour, chin on his hand as he talks to mob, gesturing with his drink. ]
--you’re kidding, all this and you’re telling me you weren’t a sporty kid?
no subject
[Shigeo's enjoying a calpis cocktail that the bartender whipped up when he asked if there were any milky cocktails he could do. It was already his second one... he liked it a lot.]
It wasn't until I decided I wanted to confess to my childhood crush that I decided to join the Body Improvement Club - that's where I met Musashi-senpai.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Family Matters
Tonight, only Ritsu was available to visit, but that was more than fine by Shigeo - he was happily following a recipe carefully for a pork dish, hoping it would come out decently.]
That reminds me... Arataka, what's your sister's favorite food?
no subject
She likes street food a lot. Japanese, definitely, but other kinds too. Whenever she has to go on a business trip somewhere she’s always on the lookout for that stuff first.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
i’ll be your mirror, reflect what you are
--so we’ll tour on Wednesday, have a look around, see what we sense and go from there. Sound good?
[ ‘yes,’ the woman across from them says. she’s some executive for the hotel, serious enough about this to have written a check for an upfront deposit and everything. reigen, aside from seeing dollar bills, can see she’s genuinely pretty worried about having so many people in a potentially haunted space. she rises and bows again. ‘that would be great. i’ll meet you there early wednesday. thank you very much, reigen-san, kageyama-san. and thank you for the tea.’ ]
No problem. Email’s open if you want to alert us to any more incidents. Take care of yourself till then.
[ reigen walks her to the door and bids her goodbye. when he shuts the door he goes to flip open the small box of donuts he and mob picked up that morning, picking one out with two fingers. ]
There’s no way a fancy place like that would build on an old gravesite or something, right? I’m pretty sure people do homework like that in the planning phase ... Maybe I’m giving developers too much credit.
no subject
But Arataka seemed to prefer to not talk about his lack of powers. Taking a few moments to rethink what to say, Shigeo replied.]
It could be a presence that arrived during construction or after. A free-wandering spirit like Dimple might have settled in.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...