- I -

"Master? Can I ask you something?"

Reigen looked up, several stray noodles hanging from his had closed the office for the evening, starting on some reheated takeout as Reigen rifled through a stack of neglected paperwork. He blinked, surprised at the little esper breaking the companionable silence. He loudly slurped the rest of the noodles into his mouth. "Sure, Mob. What is it?"

The boy looked back down at his food, expression thoughtful. Reigen never could read the peculiar kid.

"Should I change my haircut?"

The blonde hesitated, his chopsticks halfway to his mouth. "...what?"

"At school today…" Mob's pale fingers shifted over the thick ceramic of the bowl in his lap. Reigen chewed, waiting for him to gather his thoughts. "...one of Tsubomi's friends told me my hair is stupid."

Arataka felt a distant stab of indignation, amazed at how utterly mundane this was. So absurd - children could be so fickle, so cruel - yet he remembered that. The kind of nonsense people sputtered all day in the adult world, said by someone who mattered from across a classroom, could be devastating. Mob's gaze rested on him as Reigen mulled over the best response.

"To be fair, you're not exactly the epitome of fashion, Mob." He pressed a fingertip to his cheek, theatrical in his thoughtfulness. "Think of it this way: you consider your brother to be your friend, right?"

Mob blinked. "Ritsu?"

Reigen nodded, knowing that this was as close to a conclusive answer as the boy was likely to give. "Do you and your brother agree on everything?"

The esper's eyes fell somewhere between them, the contemplative look on his face making it seem as if he had never thought about it before. "Little brother and I? No, I suppose not…"

"So, just because her friend thinks you look stupid doesn't mean Tsubomi thinks so too. Unless she says it herself, you shouldn't worry about it, okay?"

The morphing of Mob's expression, from thoughtful to surprised to quietly delighted, did something to Reigen's heart - it was much like the blooming satisfaction when a customer thanked him enthusiastically for his services but much stronger. Mob knew him. For him to be in awe of Reigen was that much more amazing.

Self-consciousness prickled at the back of his mind and Arataka stuffed another mouthful of noodles into his face. He met his student's eyes. "Mob. Stop looking at me like that."

Mob seemed startled by that. He blinked again. "Like what, Master?"

Reigen frowned. Mob's expression was so sincere, even his polite posture honest. "Like you're going to do exactly as I say," he finished.

"Sorry, Master." Mob's voice was softer, his gaze dropping back to his food. Instead of coddling him, knowing that would only make him feel worse, Reigen went on.

"You're capable of finding solutions, too. I'm glad you want my advice, but it's okay to decide on your own what to do after talking to other people. You don't have much common sense, but listening to your gut and following through is how you learn. Try to have some faith in yourself."

A small smile spread across his face as Mob processed this. "Thanks, Master." Reigen nodded sagely, swallowing down another messy glob of noodles. "Maybe I won't worry about it. She's just some girl, after all. I probably won't even see her anymore after school is over."

"Mmr'sactly," Reigen agreed through his mouthful. If he does it himself, it'll probably look more ridiculous anyway, he chose not to vocalize. For all his quirks, Shigeo was a good kid. Seeing that look on his face - that pleased curve of his lips, so small that a stranger wouldn't notice it - warmed his heart too much to chase it away.