"Here. This is for you." Said Serizawa as Mob sat down at her desk. He was holding something in his hand. Mob held hers out and something light and ceramic was put in it. She opened her hand. Oh!
"Thank you! How did you put him back together?" asked Mob. She had shattered her ceramic cat, cookie dough, into a million little pieces. Serizawa shrugged.
"Glue, mostly. I used my powers to glue it back together." Said Serizawa not looking at her. It hadn't taken much effort. Things wanted to be put back together after they broke. He learned that trick from her, after he had seen her put the city back together for the first time. He had learned a lot from her.
"Serizawa, you're amazing. Thank you!" said Mob with a smile. Serizawa smiled back, a little. It hurt, a little. The wound hadn't scabbed over yet. He thought that he was over it. She was with Master Reigen and that was it, that was the way that things are going to be from now on. He had been alright, for a little while, until her brother had reached one hundred percent upset and made all of those suggestions.
Not that he had stayed up staring at the ceiling and imagining what it would be like to be with her.
"You're welcome Master-um, Mob." Said Serizawa. Mob. Her given name. She was letting him use her given name.
"Are you alright? I can't tell what your expression is." Said Mob. He was smiling but it didn't look like his usual smiles. She looked over towards Master Reigen. He could always tell what people were feeling. He was looking at his computer. He was working, like she should have been. It was time to start the day.
"I'm fine, don't worry." Said Serizawa before sitting down at his desk. He could feel Reigen looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Serizawa hadn't meant anything by giving her the cat. He just wanted to put it back together to make her happy. Nothing more.
"Arataka, what are we doing today?" asked Mob. She saw him shift in his seat. They had spent the night curled up together again. It wasn't easy on his back, being the big spoon. Her neck was a little stiff too. It wasn't easy being the little spoon either. If there was time they could stop by the cheap department store during the day before it got crowded. They could get either a big bed or another futon for him.
"The usual. Back rubs, curse removals, exorcisms. Why?" asked Reigen. It amazed him how willfully blind he had been. Not that he was jealous. Mob had picked him. She didn't even have the faintest idea of Serizawa's feelings for her. Serizawa wouldn't try anything. He wasn't that kind of guy. Plus, well, he liked being employed.
"I know your back hurts. I thought that we could get a bigger bed, or a futon today, before the store got crowded. If there's time." Said Mob
"You can just get one on Amazon, and probably for cheaper, too." Said Reigen. He had been thinking about the bed situation. He liked sharing with her and he knew that she would be devastated if he ever suggested that they stop sharing.
"Isn't it better to test them out first? That way you can know how it feels." Said Mob. Reigen raised an eyebrow. He knew what she meant by test it out. She really was a horny brat, sometimes, though he meant that in the fondest terms possible. He rolled his shoulders. Not that he would mind. Serizawa was trying to look busy, Reigen could tell. Right, empathy. Poor guy was still hurting. Thanks to Mob's little brother opening up barely healed wounds. That kid...
"I think that you maybe just want to go shopping." Said Reigen. Mob did like going to stores, she mostly just looked at things though. She treated the hundred yen store like a museum, she even took pictures sometimes.
"For a new bed, Arataka." Said Mob. That and, well, it was a couple thing. It was grown up couple thing to do and they were a grown up couple so why not?
"It looks like it'll get slow for me in the afternoon, how about then, Mob?" asked Reigen. That was such a…domestic…activity. He had been living with Mob since she was fourteen but this was the most domestic thing that they had ever done together. Well, as a couple.
"Ok. Serizawa, you can be in charge for a little bit, right?" asked Mob. Serizawa practically jumped up.
"Sure! Of course!" said Serizawa. He didn't much want to listen to the two of them talk about buying a bed together. Why did it hurt so much? It hurt less when she had told him herself. Maybe now because he was thinking about it. Maybe now because he could actually see them being a couple.
"Mob, can you look in the back and tell me how many bags of salt we have left?" asked Reigen. He needed to talk to Serizawa again because he was not going to sit through this. Espers were loud in general but powerful ones like Serizawa and Mob were extra loud, like having someone scream their feelings into a megaphone six inches from him. He needed to, once again, get this sorted out.
"We just ordered salt, Arataka." Said Mob. It wasn't that she minded doing the inventory, it just didn't seem necessary.
"I just want to know how much we have left, that's all." Said Reigen
"Alright." Said Mob. She got up and went to the back room. Reigen waited until he could hear the door shut behind her.
"Serizawa, having a day again?" asked Reigen. If he ever saw Ritsu again he would wring his stupid neck. Angry or not one did not say things like that. Reigen wouldn't have even freaked out that badly if it had been his own sister in Mob's position, not that he had any sisters. Still, it had been a bit much and now it was up to Reigen himself to pick up the pieces.
"Sort of, but I'll be fine." Said Serizawa risking a glance in Reigen's direction. He didn't seem mad, that was good.
"You know you can talk to me, right?" said Reigen. It was weird, sort of, being this person to someone his own age. Serizawa was his age chronologically but mentally he seemed so much younger sometimes. Lack of social contact would do that to a person.
"I know, Reigen, I know. I'll be fine, really." Said Serizawa. He didn't know what he would even say. It seems to be getting worse, not better? I don't know what's wrong with me and it's making me resent myself? That I used to be able to think of something else but now she's consuming more and more of my thoughts because I could have had something with her but I missed my shot not that I even knew that I could have taken a shot not that I even had a shot-
"Are you sure?" asked Reigen. He could feel the energy crackling in the air again. He tried to pull his aura in, to pull away from Serizawa's anxiety.
"I'm sure. I'll be…I'll be fine. How are you?" asked Serizawa because, yes he knew that talking about it would make him feel better in the long run, in the now he wanted to distance himself from all that he was feeling.
"I'm fine. I'm ready to kill Mob's little brother but I'm fine." Said Reigen. Serizawa looked up at him in alarm.
"Don't be angry with him, that's just how he is. Sometimes he gets into moods. Master Kageyama, Mob, said that sometimes he just gets so angry that he doesn't realize fully what he's saying and doing. It's like when she gets emotionally overwhelmed and doesn't know what she's doing." Said Serizawa. He exploded out of anxiety, she exploded out of the collective force of overwhelming emotion, and her brother exploded out of anger. Everyone was different. He had never seen Reigen explode, though. What made him explode? What pushed him to that point?
"That's not the point. He knows better. You and Mob…you can't control it but he should be able to." Sid Reigen. He needed to have empathy. He needed to remind himself that Mob's little brother was only seventeen and had a lot going on. The kid didn't have too much stability in his life, not really. He had a low opinion of the Kageyama's parenting ability. That kid was under a lot of pressure. It was hard being the only son in a family and especially hard being the only son in a family with two parents who were perfectly fine with letting one child walk right out the door at fourteen because she had been a little difficult. He needed to empathize with the kid. He had a lot going on and was just trying to protect his big sister, the only person in his life that was stable enough to be there for him no matter what, and there had been a lot of what over the years.
Reigen needed to forgive him.
"Oh. I didn't know that he could." Said Serizawa not meaning anything by it. He had just assumed that Ritsu was just saying whatever came to mind because he wanted to protect his sister. From what Serizawa didn't know. He did know that families were very protective of their girls. He didn't understand why. If anything she should have been the one protecting her family, but he could sort of see what Ritsu was getting it.
He still shouldn't have told Mob…good thing she didn't know. She couldn't even conceive of it.
"He's seventeen, he should. Mob hardly ever explodes, even." Said Reigen. Mob had been having a good few years. She hadn't truly and completely lost herself since that day when she merged with the other her and almost leveled the city looking for Mogami. He didn't know where she went after he put them back together but she had managed to kill Mogami so…yay…? Whatever happened to her that day and the subsequent days when she had been totally missing had put her and the other her mostly right.
She still almost lost control, though, but in a good way. Serizawa didn't need to know about that, though.
"She's had more practice. She's amazing, sometimes, I mean that she's managed to do so well even though she's so much…more powerful…than anyone…than me." Said Serizawa. She could have so easily turned out like him. She could have so easily hidden herself away from the world for years but she didn't. She was strong enough to go out there each day and help people even though she had all of that power barely contained within her.
"She is. She really is." Said Reigen. He knew that he was on dangerous ground now. He didn't fault Serizawa for how he felt. Reigen himself felt the same way and had felt like this for God knows how long. Reigen couldn't fault him for feeling like crap right now, either. Reigen knew what it felt like, when the person you cared for was unattainable. Serizawa would get over it eventually.
"Oh." Said Serizawa. He felt someone getting closer. He let himself see. Dark blue. Oh, Ritsu was back. Oh no, Ritsu was back.
"What's up?" asked Reigen. Serizawa looked suddenly bothered. That could mean anything from he was a little anxious to the world was about to burn down so they'd better get some water. Mob took the moment to come darting out of the stock room, her gym shoes slapping against the floor.
"Ritsu's here!" said Mob as she ran to the door. Reigen groaned. No. Nope. Nada. Not going to happen. Not twice in two days.
Ritsu clutched a cardboard pastry box in his hands. He had been such an asshole yesterday, an overgrown brat. It had been the shock, mostly, that made him act out. At least Sho had held him back before he could start breaking things on accident, or out of anger. Anger, guilt, and other negative emotions fueled his powers. He was like his sister like that. Family trait, most likely. Family traits weren't always bad. His sister always atoned for when she did something wrong, or if she just felt like she did something wrong. Well Ritsu knew for a fact that he did something wrong and now he had to atone for what he did. Not that he was sure how to do so.
That was what the pastry was for. He had to apologize not only to his sister but also to Serizawa and Reigen. Heh. Apologizing to Reigen. He never thought the day would come.
Food was good for apologies. Well, he had originally decided to just come by and say sorry but Sho said that if he was going to be waking up at the crack of dawn then he could at least pick up something for breakfast because Sho did not feel like sitting at the table and listening to his parents either argue or start up on the 'Ritsu you're so amazing now live up to these new expectations' lecture series. They were on part five, or, the debate over whether or not he should get a girlfriend.
Sho hated that one.
Maybe, just maybe, his parents would have something knew to fight about once Shigeko broke the news about her and Reigen. Mom would probably hit the roof. Dad would have to be wheeled out in a stretcher. He knew that it was selfish but it would be good, honestly, if the two of them could talk about something other than him for one goddamned night. They had another kid after all, even if they pretended that they didn't.
The new house didn't even have a room for Shigeko.
They didn't make her a room. They didn't even consider making her a room. A waste of space, mom had said. It would make the taxes too high, dad said. He knew the value of everything, dad, even a hug. It would be better when the day came that he left for university. Then it would just be him and Sho and they could finally be together and not have to hide and sneak around and lie. They wouldn't have to pretend that they were just friends. They could have a bed big enough for two. They could make actual breakfast together and lunch and dinner and live like adults and it would be awesome.
Was that how Shigeko felt? What that what it felt like when she had moved in with Reigen? Was that what it was like for her now? She was an adult and she could do literally whatever she wanted to do. She could have anything, be with anyone, but she chose Reigen Arataka. Out of all the guys in her life, and there were a lot, she had picked Reigen. Even over Teru, and he was great. Even over Serizawa, and they were super compatible despite the age thing. Why?
She loved him.
Ritsu knew why she loved him. Sharing her memories hadn't been like watching a movie for him. Really it had been like he had been living in her skin. He had lived every single moment that she had showed him. He knew, now, just how much Reigen Arataka meant to her. He had seen the Reigen that existed in her mind and he was a great guy. Nice. Devoted. Funny. Caring.
Other things too. Words that Ritsu did not want to apply to Reigen ever.
Why, oh God why, did Shigeko have to show him that?
He was going to live a life of celibacy from now on. It was the only way. He couldn't even kiss Sho after that. One did not need to know these things about their big sisters. The silver lining was that at least Reigen hadn't done anything to hurt her. Ritsu now had confirmation that Reigen loved his sister and she loved him and everything was great between them.
Ritsu really, really, really didn't need to know what Reigen was like. What it was like. No. He could have died without knowing that. Maybe desperate times called for desperate measures. Maybe he just made his sister feel so cornered that she had shared everything with him so that he would understand. Or maybe she couldn't control it with any kind of precision. That would make sense. Both explanations would make sense.
He's going to have to face all of them, the entire office. He needed to apologize, to atone. One box for the office, one for him and Sho. An apology and then an olive branch. He shouldn't have pulled away from Sho like that. That had been mean, too. Well, hopefully this was enough pastry to make up for all the ways in which he had messed up.
He's in front of the building. He can feel three auras. The strongest is his sister followed by Serizawa and then Reigen. He takes a deep breath and then heads up the stairs. It smells heavily of incense, it gets up his nose and for a moment he thinks that he's going to sneeze and send everything flying and then he's have nothing to apologize with. He hopes that it happens, maybe, because then he can just go home and not have to face everyone and he can make it up to Sho later, too and then-
His phone vibrates.
He clicks it opened. Shigeko wants to know what he's hovering outside for. She's asking him to come up as long as he doesn't yell, scream, tell her who to date, or use the word sex in any way.
Right. He had said that a lot, hadn't he.
Well in his defense he thought that Reigen was using her. Also, knowing that your own sister would be…like that…with someone…yeah it wasn't something that one could accept easily.
He hoped to God that they liked pastry.
The second his hand touched the door it opened with a burst of power. He saw his sister's aura before he saw her. She looked weirdly happy to see him. She was emoting, sort of. Her eyes looked bright.
"Brother!" said Mob. He was alright! He didn't look angry at all anymore and he had even gotten himself something to eat. He tended not to eat when he got upset. He tended to brood and chew on what upset him until he couldn't take it anymore and acted like a jerk when it go to be too much.
"Sister….hi…" said Ritsu. He couldn't look at her. He couldn't look at her without seeing what she had shown him. He looked at a spot on the wall. There was a sign up with the prices of various exorcism services. It barely covered a deep looking crack.
"No. Out." Said Reigen pointing towards the door. He was not in the mood to get into it with the kid. He needed some time to cool down. Ritsu had accused him of using Mob, of hurting Mob If that had been any other man he would have been drop kicked through to the South Pole.
"Listen I'm-" said Ritsu. He had to apologize. He had to say sorry. He needed to show that he had changed, he understood, and that he was sorry. Otherwise the guilt would eat him alive.
"No. Go." Said Reigen pointing towards the door. The kid wasn't filled with righteous anger anymore. He was looking at the wall, actually. He felt bad. Good. Seventeen or not he was old enough to know never to talk to someone like that.
"I think that Arataka is still upset, Ritsu, but I forgive you." Said Mob. Reigen almost rolled his eyes. Mob would forgive anymore. You walk right up to her and spit in her face and she'd still forgive you.
"I'm sorry! Ok! I acted like a jerk and I'm sorry. I just…it was weird, ok?" said Ritsu. Serizawa nodded. He forgave Ritsu. It was weird and Ritsu obviously just had some trouble coping. Serizawa could understand that. Reigen was not as forgiving.
"Ok. You're sorry. I acknowledge that you're sorry about what you did but that doesn't change what happened." Said Reigen. It was hard to see Ritsu as a child. If he had been younger, smaller, then Reigen could have easily written it off as a childish tantrum. If he had to see Mob as woman then he had to see her younger brother as a man and Reigen would not take that from another man. Or maybe it had been a teenage brat's tantrum. Seventeen, the edge of seventeen, was a weird time. Not a boy and not a man.
"But when someone apologizes to you you're supposed to accept their apology." Said Mob. She accepted everyone's apologies because you didn't just say I'm sorry to someone. That was one of those things that you had to mean or it wouldn't be right.
"Mob, it's different." Said Reigen. Mob was the most forgiving person on the planet. She was also, well, a she. It was different between guys. Another man had accused him of using her, Mob, his Mob, for sex. Had accused of that multiple times. Had come into HIS place of business and accused him of that. Maybe it was just getting to him because that was exactly how it looked. Maybe because he felt a little guilty that he…but he had no reason to feel guilty. Mob was a grown woman and she could make her own choices and she chose him.
"Why? It's just Ritsu. He's always been mean to you." Said Mob. That sounded better in her head. She had meant that Ritsu had never liked him so him being so mean yesterday hadn't been out of the ordinary for him. He had never liked Arataka and sometimes got into his 'Ritsu moods' so it wasn't as bad as if someone nice had been mean.
"It's different because, first of all, because he's a guy. Mob, guys don't say things like that to other guys. Secondly not only did he say all of that to me he bothered you and Serizawa. Mob, that could have gone so, so, so bad. Also, we had a client! I don't know about you guys but I like being employed!" said Reigen. Mob nodded. It would have been bad if she or Serizawa were to have exploded. But she hadn't exploded, actually exploded, in years. Not since she and the other Shigeko merged and killed Mogami.
"I'm not a child. I'm not going to explode." Said Mob. Reigen cocked an eyebrow.
"Mob, I've seen you explode, and recently too." Said Reigen. Mob felt a brush of pink across her face. Ritsu decided that his shoes were incredibly interesting. So much more interesting than the people around him.
"….that was different." Said Mob. She hadn't broken everything again, just moved some stuff around. She couldn't help it, but it wasn't an actual explosion.
"Still, you and Serizawa have both been known to lose control from time to time. He knows full well what can happen to the both of you." Said Reigen. For Mob it was enough for someone to sing 'I'm sorry' to get out of trouble. Reigen was, well, tired. He knew what he was getting into when he started this with Mob but he had also been listening to the constant stream of dislike from her little brother since the kid was ten.
"Ritsu is sorry, though. Right Ritsu?" asked Mob. Ritsu nodded, still looking down at his shoes. He didn't want to look at either of them because it was just way too awkward. The things Shigeko showed him, looking at the both of them now, it was too much. Apologies were always hard but this one was the hardest he had ever had to make. Well, one of the hardest.
"I'm sorry. Please, forgive me. I brought you guys breakfast." Said Ritsu holding out the box and still looking down at his shoes. He could feel everyone looking at him. He heard Reigen get up and take the box from him.
"You're lucky I have such a soft spot for your sister." Said Reigen. Apologies meant a lot to Mob. He knew this, he had known this for years. Her brother meant a lot to her, too. He felt slighted, disrespected, insulted, but he knew that he had to push that away for Mob. She was what mattered the most to her. Besides, the kid seemed genuinely sorry if he was extending an olive branch. He should make nice with the kid, he could very well end up being his brother in law some day.
"And free food." Said Ritsu before he could stop himself. He looked up. Reigen just rolled his eyes. Mob took a pastry with her powers and passed the box to Serizawa.
"Thank you, brother." Said Mob as the box was passed to him. Ritsu took one, he needed something to do with his hands. Well he had said sorry, it was accepted, and now he could get on with his day. Right?
"I'll just get going…then." Said Ritsu as he began to inch his way out of the room. Mob looked up at him.
"You can stay." Said Mob. Reigen and Serizawa exchanged a look.
"He's probably got stuff to do. Here, let me walk you out." Said Reigen. He walked over and led Ritsu out the door with a hand on his back. Mob watched them descend the stairs before looking over what she had to do for the day. She could feel Serizawa looking at her. She looked up and him and he looked away. She could hear Ritsu and Master Reigen talking. No raised voices, so that was good. No more fighting.
Ritsu and Reigen were, for once, having a civil discussion like actual grown men. Hell had officially frozen over. Pigs had learned to fly. They had invented a diet cola without the funny aftertaste.
"I love Mob, alright, and I would never do anything to hurt her. Do you understand?" asked Reigen. He was outside the building down, smoking a cigarette. Ritsu had declined. He had heard his dad say it a thousand times, people who don't smoke miss out on half their lives or whatever. Well, Ritsu knew that if he started smoking he would definitely end up missing out on half his life.
At least he and Reigen weren't going to kill each other. It would have been really embarrassing to end up being killed by Reigen Arataka.
"Yeah, I get it now. I know. Shigeko showed me." Said Ritsu shifting. He couldn't meet Reigen's eye so he stared at his shoes. Beat up dress shoes. His pants were frayed at the cuffs. They were kind of short. He had pink socks on.
"Do you really? Because I don't want a repeat of what happened the other day." Said Reigen taking care not to blow smoke in Ritsu's face.
"I'm sorry, ok? I was just freaked out. I mean, wouldn't you be?" said Ritsu still not able to look at Reigen. Reigen took another drag as he thought.
"Probably. If I didn't know Mob I would be. The thing is you know Mob and you know that there isn't anybody in the world that can make her do something that she doesn't want to do." Said Reigen. He took a deep breath. This was just a kid. He may have stood taller than Reigen himself but he was still talking to a kid. The edge of seventeen was not a good time.
"I know! I was there, ok. I was there for the times we fought Claw and the Divine Tree thing and the time she hunted down Mogami. I know how powerful my sister is." Said Ritsu. He didn't need a lecture. He knew that his sister was on another level, somewhere that may have even been beyond comprehension, and he didn't need to be reminded of that fact.
"No, not about her powers. Mob is damned stubborn, we both know that. She's not just stubborn but she's smart, too. She's not going to let someone use her for sex. Ok? And yes, I will use that word. You certainly used it enough." Said Reigen. He hadn't seen Mob's little brother get angry enough lose his filter in years. He was old enough to know better.
"I know! I know, ok! It was just so weird, ok? She just came out and said it and then all I could think about was how old you were and how you always lied to her, and you were lying before she told me, and then I just got madder and madder and madder. I just exploded, ok? I exploded and I'm sorry." Said Ritsu sounding like a kid. An almost six foot tall kid.
"Yeah, it is really fucking weird. I'll give you that." Said Reigen taking another drag. Now Ritsu looked up at him. Reigen shrugged.
"I know, right? It's a sign of the apocalypse. We actually agree on something." Said Reigen
"Yeah, it's going to rain fire any second now." Said Ritsu
"Well, it's still better than you killing me for dating your sister." Said Reigen
"I wouldn't have killed you. I was just going to…I don't know what I was going to do, actually." Said Ritsu
"Apparently play matchmaker. Seriously, though, don't mess with Serizawa like that. Ok? He's an anxious guy and he doesn't need that. Plus I just had him feeling ok about it. Don't make it awkward." Said Reigen. Serizawa had a crush on Mob. It was a weird enough situation without Mob's little brother coming in and pointing out the elephant in the room. Thank God Mob was so dense.
"I'm sorry about that, too. I guess I just figured that he was more…harmless…I guess. I just thought that you-" said Ritsu
"I know what you thought, you told me what you thought. I'm going to let this one go because you're young and you didn't fully know what you were saying. Don't ever accuse me of that again, though, because I was legitimately ready to drop kick you through the floor." Said Reigen
"I said I was sorry." Said Ritsu
"Good. I'm glad you realized that you made a mistake and I'm glad that you realize that what Mob and I have is real. I'm not asking you to celebrate it, I'm not asking you to throw us a goddamned parade but I am going to ask you to be respectful." Said Reigen. If he was going to have forever with Mob then he had better make peace with Ritsu. This kid could very well end up being his brother in law.
"Ok…I will. I get it now. Shigeko…she showed me. I believe her." Said Ritsu looking away. Reigen watched him for a moment.
"What, exactly, did Mob show you?" said Reigen after a moment.
"A lot of stuff. It wasn't really showing, it was more like…living." Said Ritsu. Reigen stared before laughing a little, then a little more, then full on laughing out loud.
"It's not funny." Said Ritsu. It was downright traumatic. He might never recover, psychologically, from knowing these things about his big sister.
"It kind of is. That's what it took to get you to believe that Mob and I love each other? Serves you right you little jerk." Said Reigen, no malice in his voice. He was just amused by the sheer absurdity of it. That was what it took.
"…please stop saying that you love her? I get it that you do but it's still kind of weird for me." Said Ritsu. Ok, Reigen wasn't a bad guy but he was still old. He had met Reigen when he was ten and his sister was eleven for God's sake! It was more than a little weird.
"Duly noted. Anyway, I'm going to stop lecturing you now. Whatever Mob showed you is punishment enough." Said Reigen. Ritsu looked grateful. He gripped the other pastry box in his hand. That was for Sho. Now he just had to tell Sho sorry for being so weird and mean and distant.
"Thank you!" said Ritsu. He didn't need to hear any more about how he screwed up.
He turned away for a moment before turning back again. He should make his peace with Reigen. Reigen could very well end up being family someday. He wasn't such a bad guy. The Reigen Arataka in his mind wasn't anything like the Reigen in real life, the one that Shigeko saw.
"Hey Reigen?" asked Ritsu as Reigen was about to enter the outer door.
"What's up?" asked Reigen. He wondered if he should take out another cigarette. No, it wasn't good to smoke so many back to back.
"You're…you're not a bad guy and…and I'm happy that my sister has someone in her life who loves her as much as you do. You're not a bad guy." Said Ritsu
"And you're not an angry brat." Said Reigen. Ritsu smiled.
They were going to be ok, the two of them.