Serizawa needed to work on saying no.
It was just so hard to say no to the girls, they were so adorable!
And his nails did look really pretty, too. It was just too bad that it wasn't socially acceptable to walk around like this. Rei did very well. Each of his nails was a different color, pattern, or design. This one was a tiny galaxy.
"I told you not to move. If you smudge them then I have to start all over again." said Rei as she held his hand in place. She was doing him a favor, really. His nails were so boring, before, but now they were fabulous. She hadn't known just what to do to him so she did a little of everything. It was time consuming and she did not want to have to start all over again if he messed them up.
"Do his toes next! Do everyone's toes next!" said Tome as she inspected Rei's handiwork. One hand was done up in galaxies, the other was done up in little aliens. Perfect.
"I'm ok with just my nails." Said Mob. Mob hardly ever painted her nails, the last bottle of nail polish she had exploded when she lost control of her powers and mom was still upset about the stain in this rug. This was nice. Her nails on one hand had little cat spirits on them and the other were the colors of Unit 1 from EVA. Mom would be mad when she saw those, Mob was not supposed to like EVA, it was for boys.
Mom said that she was different enough as it was.
"This is good Miss Kurosaki! Really, thank you so much…" said Serizawa. This was pretty and all but he could not walk around like this…but she had worked so very hard…and she was so very good at this…and if he wiped this off before it dried then she would feel so sad and rejected and maybe even cry…and he could not handle people crying, especially girls.
"I'll do you toes another day when I have all of my equipment. I'll have to do a whole pedicure because, well, it's pointless to just do someone's nails when their feet look terrible. No offense." Said Rei
"N-none taken!" said Serizawa
"That was still mean, though. I'm sure Serizawa's feet don't look terrible. They probably look like feet." Said Mob. Feet could look terrible too? Sometimes it seemed like there was no end to the things she was supposed to worry about. She was supposed to worry about her hair being neat and her clothes being fashionable and having a big bouncy chest and round hips and a tiny stomach and a gap between her thighs and not to have any hair under her arms or on her legs or even between her legs, not that she was putting any sharp objects there ever, and she had to worry about having clear skin and soft, ladylike hands….and now she also had to worry about her feet, too.
What next?
"All feet look gross, especially guy's feet." Said Tome. It had been an uphill battle to get Inukawa just to cut his toenails short, and that was only after he accidentally cut her while they were messing around. Guys. They thought that a little grooming would make their dicks shrivel up and fall off.
"They do?" asked Mob looking down at her own feet. She was still in her shoes but she tried to remember what they looked like. From what she could remember they were just feet.
"Feet don't look gross if you take care of them." Said Rei as she started to apply Serizawa's top coat. She really should have given him a proper manicure. Poor Serizawa, he had been locked away from the world for so long that he forgot basic grooming. Thank God that he had someone like Rei to help him, especially because it was obvious that Reigen liked the suave, well groomed, sophisticated type. Rei could help with the well groomed part on her own.
"Wait….I don't follow." Said Serizawa. Something else that they were worried about. He had been working with nothing but girls long enough to know that there was no end to the things that they worried about. They worried about hair and makeup and clothes and skin….and he didn't know why. The girls were so adorable…and Miss Reigen was…she was…the most beautiful woman they he had ever seen. Not that he would ever tell her that. She might take it the wrong way.
"You have to take care of your feet or they start to look gross." Said Rei
"…this is something that people notice?" asked Serizawa. He never gave much thought to his own feet. Well he stopped trimming his toenails by biting them so that was progress. Did you really have to paint your toenails too? And probably another super long grooming to do list, too, because Rei said 'take care of' and that usually meant do a lot of stuff.
"People into weird stuff, yeah." Said Tome
"Weird stuff?" asked Mob
"Google it." Said Tome
"Don't! Don't Google anything! Just…stay away from the internet! It-it's not a good place!" said Serizawa.
"But all of my MMOs are there." Said Tome as she clicked her phone on and scrolled through her favorites. She had the perfect thing to freak Mob out.
"There-there's a lot of weird stuff on the internet! Just…stay away from it! The-the internet was a mistake!" said Serizawa as Miss Kurata took her phone out. He wondered if there was a way to cancel the internet forever. Sure he'd miss a streaming, forums, online games, things he should not have been looking at…but it was worth it to keep the girls away from the stuff that they should not be looking at.
"What weird stuff? What are you talking about?" asked Mob genuinely not getting it. The internet was a good place. There were cat videos there and EVA episodes and online only manga and pictures of foods that people ate and also videogames….well, all of that, but also all the naked people. But that wasn't weird, that was normal, honestly it was hard to NOT find naked people on the internet…especially when whoever was doing…that…forgot to turn the safe search back on the family computer.
People could use anything as an excuse to be naked and do….that.
"People who are REALLY into feet." Said Tome. That one? No, she wanted to freak Mob out, not make her explode and kill everyone.
"Don't tell her!" said Serizawa. Rei held his hand in place, her nails digging into his skin just a little bit. He might have been bleeding but her nails were so red and sparkly that he just could not tell.
"Not everyone who liked their guys to be well groomed is into weird stuff. Some of us just like a well groomed, mature, guy." Said Rei
"Is this why Go keeps on breaking up with you?" asked Tome. She didn't know the guy well but she had seen pictures. Go and well groomed went as well together as Mob and public speaking.
"I broke up with him." said Rei
"Again?" asked Mob
"No, not again. We're still broken up. He's just not…mature…enough for me." Said Rei. He wouldn't cut ties with the Awakening Lab not matter how dangerous it got. He said that he would be fine, that he was a pyro-kinetic godsend….and do he could barely light his whole finger on fire….
"So that's why you're into short, red haired, an annoying?" asked Tome
"Sho?" asked Serizawa before he could stop himself. Right. This was not the sort of conversation that he should get involved in…but Sho would be happy to hear that a girl liked him….or was he supposed to keep it a secret. He had gotten the feeling that Sho liked someone. He had been on his phone texting someone nonstop lately, the constant coming and going at all hours, and the questions that Serizawa did not know how to answer.
How do you know if you like someone?
How can you tell if someone's into you?
What does it mean when you just randomly think about someone?
What's it like to kiss someone?
Questions that Serizawa was not able to answer. He had never liked someone…not really. It didn't count when he was in elementary school, it didn't count when he was locked away and he got a little…weird…about certain actresses or characters….and it didn't count if it was someone that you weren't even sure if it was ok to like. If you weren't even sure if you liked her or you were just grateful that she did so much for you or if she was just the only woman your age that you talked to that wasn't your mother or your therapist.
"No! I don't like Sho! Why would anyone even think that? That's insane! You've all gone insane!" said Rei. Nope. She was going to deny it. She could not just admit it…not when Serizawa just ASKED her like that!
She was going to do such a half-assed job on the quick sealing final topcoat.
"Because you said so. You said that if Ritsu didn't want to be your boyfriend then you were going to confess to Sho. You told me a week ago when we all went out for ice-cream." Said Mob
"…..I told you that in confidence…" said Rei through gritted teeth. Screw the quick sealing top coat. She was not in the mood anymore. Lousy secret confessing friends…telling all her secrets…making her mutter in her head…..making her give herself a headache….
"Oh. Sorry. I didn't realize. You can tell one of my secrets to make us even." Said Mob
"You don't have any secrets." Said Rei
"I don't want to know any of your secrets!" said Serizawa shaking his head. He did not like keeping secrets. He was bad at it. So bad. The worst.
"Mob has secrets, all kinds of secrets, like the really bizarre dream she keeps having where her boyfr-" said Tome
"Not that secret!" said Mob. She was taking that to the grave with her. Nobody could ever know. She didn't even know why she told Tome. Master Reigen didn't even know about that and Master Reigen knew about the time she got her period at MobRonald's.
"I don't want to know any of Mob's secrets. It's not like she has any good ones, anyway." Said Rei. That was Mob. She was like a shrine maiden.
"I think my feet might be gross…if that's a good secret." Said Mob
"We'll be the judge of that." Said Tome
"You can all judge that on your own!" said Serizawa. He was not going to appraise the looks of little girls. That was all kinds of wrong. Each and every kind of wrong that there was.
"I'm sure your feet look fine." Grumbled Rei. She could not stay mad at Mob. It wasn't her fault that she was clueless…and also she saved everyone's life and stopped that crazy guy from taking over the world, too.
"I don't know if they do. I never really thought about it." Said Mob
"As long as they don't have the gross thick skin on them, yellow nails, or stuff growing on them then you're fine." Said Rei. Yeah, Mob didn't mean it. Friends did not fight, that was why they were friends.
"Gross." Said Mob sticking her tongue out a little.
"But we could all do with a little work. There's a difference between not looking gross and actually looking nice." Said Rei
"Which is why Rei is going to bring over all of her tools and pamper us!" said Tome. Rei could be a little overzealous but she knew her stuff…and also Tome spent all of her money on videogames and important UFO hunting paraphernalia…and also snacks…and a new case for her DS….the point was that she did not have money to have her feet properly looked at by a professional!
"I will if you guys want….lousy secret tellers." Said Rei because, well, she couldn't help it. Her friends were a bunch of lousy secret tellers.
"What?" asked Mob
"Nothing! Just, yeah, next time I'm here I'll do everyone's feet! Then we'll all look nice, not just acceptable.
"Wait….I don't follow." Said Serizawa. Something else that they were worried about. He had been working with nothing but girls long enough to know that there was no end to the things that they worried about. They worried about hair and makeup and clothes and skin….and he didn't know why. The girls were so adorable…and Miss Reigen was…she was…
The most beautiful woman they he had ever seen.
Not that he would ever tell her that. She might take it the wrong way.
"There is nothing more important than proper grooming. Remember that." Said Rei as seriously as she could. She held intense eye contact with Serizawa. The most intense.
"Ok." Said Serizawa scooting back a little. She looked like she was about to kill him….
"So take care of yourself or I will." Said Rei
"Yes Miss Kurosaki!" said Serizawa nodding as quickly as he could.
"Or Reigen won't ever want to go out with you." Said Rei. Serizawa stopped mid nod. What the…..?
What?
Just…what?
"Rei, Master Reigen would like him no matter how he looked. She cares more about what's inside of a person than on the outside." Said Mob
"What are you-" said Serizawa
"But it's important to maintain good grooming. That's why she wanted to cut his hair when he first got here." Said Rei
"Hang on-" said Serizawa
"Anyone who tells you that looks don't matter is a liar." Said Tome with a click of her tongue.
"Master Reigen isn't a liar…anymore…and she likes him for who he is. She loves him because of who he is, not what he looks like." Said Mob. She wondered if she said the wrong thing because Serizawa was staring at her…and his aura was staring at her….
"Did you say…." Said Serizawa. She…liked him? She….did she…
Just what?
"…..I'm glad to hear that! Now if you'll just follow me one of my assistants will-" said Reigen. She existed the curse removal room to find a room full of eyes on her, the stench of nail polish hanging in the air, and cotton balls all over the floor.
"Apparently open up a nail salon in my absence." Said Reigen said Reigen with a sigh. She left them alone for not even an hour and this was what they did….
"Sorry Master." Said Mob. Right. Work was for work related things…and she was the only other person being paid besides Serizawa so…yeah. She should have been more on task.
"It's fine….uh….hey, Serizawa." said Reigen. He snapped to attention at his desk. His face was red, very red. Why….she noticed his nails. Oh. He really had to work on saying no to the girls…and she had to talk to the girls about playing mad stylist with unwilling victims.
"Yes!" said Serizawa. She was so….beautiful. The way the light was hitting her…the way her hair was all tied back and he could see so much of her face…and she was smiling a little….
And she liked him.
Maybe.
Don't be stupid Katsuya.
But girls knew when other girls liked someone.
Don't be stupid Katsuya.
"Write the customer out a receipt for me, would you?" asked Reigen as she made her way back to her desk. She caught sight of her own nails. Hey, if the girls really wanted to play mad stylist…..
"S-sure!" said Serizawa. Before he could do anything Rei grabbed his wrist. She was…surprisingly strong.
"His nails are still wet." Said Rei, fire in his eyes.
"He has psychic powers." Said Reigen. The client would appreciate that, it added some legitimacy to what they did. Not that it hadn't been a legitimate massage. Ick. She was the one getting knots in her muscles now. She took off her suit coat and stretched in her chair with a groan.
It took Serizawa three tries to write out that receipt.