There was definitely something off about the kid and Reigen knew it the instant he stepped into the office.
Mob's head was tilted lower than usual, completely covering his eyes with his bangs. He mumbled a barely audible version of his usual "hello" and sat at his little desk, scratching at the back of his left hand. A few minutes passed. He took his homework out of his bag and placed it on his desk. Reigen reluctantly went back to his own work, glancing every once in a while at his student.
After a while Reigen noticed the tip of Mob's pencil wasn't scratching at his assignment. He looked over- Mob was staring at the opposite wall, his fingers scratching at his hand again, pencil forgotten. Reigen cleared his voice.
"Mob? Are you okay?" Reigen was just able to keep the overwhelming worry out of his voice.
At this the boy was startled out of his trance. "Yeah, I am," came his hurried reply as he appeared to busy himself with the math problem in front of him.
"If you need any help just ask me, okay?"
"Sure." He didn't sound sure.
A few more minutes passed and Mob still hadn't made any progress in his homework. His student's hand was getting redder by the second and the little succulent on the windowsill was levitating a bit. Reigen figured it was time for a little intervention.
"Wow, I sure am tired of sitting at this desk," said Reigen, stretching and faking a yawn. "And it's getting stuffy in here. Maybe a little walk around the block will help. Yeah. Come on, Mob. Let's go for a walk."
Despite Reigen's occasional comments about their surroundings it was a quiet trip. Thankfully for Mob there weren't many other people around. The cooler night air was a blessing. Reigen knew whenever he himself was like that there was no forcing him to do anything, at least not if he wanted to keep his sanity. Looking down at Mob, this kind of thing helped him, too. His scratching had de-escalated into thumb twiddling and his head was a little higher. He was glad his intuition was right.
Their impromptu walk led them to the takoyaki stand down the street.
As Reigen bought the takoyaki he caught sight of his student's left hand. It was worse than he thought. The skin wasn't just pink. There were pieces of torn skin and dried blood.
"Let's eat this at the office. That'll give it some time to cool."
Mob nodded.
He still had that first aid kit in his office, right?
...
It had been a week since the day Mob was on the edge of a meltdown and his hand had since healed. That day he had been on the verge of losing control of his powers when Reigen suggested they go on that walk.
It was clear as day to Mob that Reigen was no esper, but it was at times like those that he wondered if his master was secretly a telepath.
Or, rather, times like these.
"Oi, Mob! I have something for you."
Reigen handed Mob a small green toy frog. It was shiny and surprisingly heavy for its size. Mob rubbed it between his fingers. The frog felt like it was stuffed with sand. It was nice to play with. The middle schooler tilted his head up, almost as if asking a question.
"You can keep it. Consider it a bonus," Reigen answered.
Mob's eyes widened and he gasped, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Thank you, Master!"
"It's nothing. Just remember her when you start getting fidgety."
Mob nodded. He already had a name for the little frog. "Hello, Kero-chan."