Mob liked braiding her hair.
She didn't know when she started braiding her hair, when she stared wearing her hair in braids, anyway. She knew that she tried braiding it on her own when she was four and ended up making a big tangle, but she had no idea when the braids started. Maybe when she got home she could look through the photo albums and see just when mom started putting her hair up in braids.
Because it was easier to manage like that, mom said.
Mob agreed. She almost never wore her hair down because her powers always made her hair float, she didn't try to do it, it just happened. Braids made managing the entire thing just so much easier. She looked cute, too. Teru said. He liked her braids a lot…
Well he liked her quite a lot, he said.
Not enough to kiss her, apparently, but enough to sometimes play with her braids when they were all cuddly at his house watching movies. They'd lay down on the couch together, he'd lay down first and then she would lay down on what was left of the couch…then he would put an arm around her and put a leg over hers and rest his head on top of hers…and it was just so comfortable….and then he would just sort of reach over and play with her braid…
That was nice. She liked it quite a lot.
Maybe she and Teru could watch a movie later. Not today, though, because today was a work day. Rei and Tome were both going to be there, which was nice. Serizawa too, but he was always there. Mob didn't mind. He really did care about Master Reigen and she deserved to be happy. She would never, ever, replace Mob and if she and Serizawa did get married and have a baby Mob could help take care of it because it would probably be an esper baby and then her babies could be best friends with Master Reigen's babies!
But not now. She hadn't even kissed Teru yet, she could not be thinking about….not that she had been thinking about doing things like that! Not with him or anyone else!
Maybe she should just think about braiding her hair.
The wind was blowing really hard, had enough to undo her handiwork. The blue ribbon, school uniform blue, came off but she caught it with her powers. Now she just had to rebraid her hair. It was easier said than done, of course, because of the wind. She knew that she wasn't supposed to use her powers for mundane things but she really, really, really felt like putting up a barrier.
She looked around. Of course Master Reigen wasn't around, she was just being silly. Besides, Master Reigen never got mad, per say, about her using her powers for mundane things like braiding her hair or picking up spilled salt or making plants grow taller, but she still didn't ever want to disappoint Master Reigen. Ever.
Mob felt something against her aura. She saw a glint of something orange out the corner of her eye. Rei. Rei had an aura, sort of, but mostly just when she used her powers….or when she was excited about something. Both of those could be either good or bad depending on the mood Rei was in.
"Mob! Hang on!" said Rei as she ran over. Thank God crafting club was cancelled because of that bizarre splinter incident or she may have never been there to save Mob from her predicament…and she had been waiting a while to get her hands on Mob's hair. Long, soft, and pretty. There was just so much that Mob could do with it!
Darn. Rei had left her combination curling iron, straightening iron, and crimper with add on plates at home.
"Hi Rei…" said. She wasn't the best at reading people but she knew that face. That was the face that Rei made when she had ideas…
"You know, you don't have to braid it again. I could…well when we get to work I can fix it up. I don't have any of my tools but Reigen has a lot of stuff in her salon box. We can do Tome's hair too! Well it is kind of short…but not as short as Serizawa's! And he might even be overdue for a haircut….and Reigen usually just puts her hair up in a ponytail…." Said Rei as she held on Mob's hair. So many possibilities…endless possibilities!
"Um….that's ok. I like it in braids….and I could braid your hair too, if you want! When we get there, I mean." Said Mob because it was way too windy out to be doing anything…and it would be nice to braid Rei's hair. Nobody ever let her braid their hair for them…not even Master Reigen…
"Are you sure? Come on, Mob, your hair is so pretty!" said Rei
"Yours is too, that's why I want to braid it." Said Mob
"My hair sucks. It's all frizzy today because I was in a hurry. Well I was in a hurry because I didn't sleep enough but that's kind of my fault but not really because I found this new show and I kept on telling myself 'Rei, just one more episode before bed' but one turned into two and then three and then my mom, get this, she turned off the router because I was up too late! So then I got up late and I did my hair too fast and now it looks like this and it's just so…ick!" said Rei running her hands through the rat's nest that was her hair.
Mob thought that her hair looked just fine, but then again what did she know? Rei knew more about things like this than she did.
"What show?" asked Mob. Rei looked away really quick.
"….Maidens in Your Savage time….but don't tell anyone." Whispered Rei. Mob nodded.
"I won't. I'm sorry I said that you liked Sho. I didn't know that it was a secret. I mean you talk about him a lot…and Ritsu…" said Mob
"No, it's fine. I'm mature. I was just being immature then but I'm very mature….you didn't tell Sho, right? Or your brother?" asked Rei. Her eyes shifted back and forth. Mob wondered if it hurt.
"No. I haven't told them….but I think that Ritsu can tell. You kind of text him a lot…Sho can't, though, he just thinks that you want to be his friend." Said Mob
"He talks about me?" asked Rei, her eyes lighting up. This was great! Everyone knew that it was a very, very, very good sign when guys talked about you. Not that she was becoming one of those girls that was obsessed with guys. She cared about other things. She cared about…mature things! Like politics! And the economy! And…what else did mom and dad go on and on about? Oh! And the cost of living, too. She was very mature and cared about all kinds of mature stuff…and also guys.
"Yes. He said that you're very nice and stuff. He also says thank you for all the charms that you made him. Sho said that. Ritsu just says that you send too many texts one after the other and that you should just figure out everything that you want to say at once and send it…also he wants to know if you ever sleep because you text him kind of late." said Mob. Rei's eyes dimmed.
Darn.
Well whatever, you can't win them all.
Be mature, Rei!
"He doesn't dislike you, though! He said so. Well Sho asked Ritsu, I wasn't there but I could hear them talking, if he liked or disliked you and he said that he didn't dislike you…and don't be upset! He doesn't like any girl right now, he said, and he has lots of chances to like a girl because they keep on confessing to him." said Mob. That didn't seem like it helped much, actually.
"Maybe you can just look into the future and see who you end up with. I wouldn't mind it…that much…if you were Ritsu's girlfriend. You're my friend and I like you and if you married him then you and I could be sisters." Said Mob
"I tried that….I can't see a definitive future….but I do see a low probability….and I can't look far enough into the future to see who I marry or even if I get married." Said Rei
"Oh. How far into the future can you see?" asked Mob
"It's going to rain next week….and you're going to do very well on your history test…but very badly on your math test….and Reigen is going to rip her stocking again." said Rei
"That sounds about right, I think. Master always rips her stockings. I hope that doesn't happen to me when I grow up." Said Mob
"I'm just going to wear leggings, or tights, or just not be lazy and shave my legs. Stockings look like more trouble than they're worth." Said Rei
"They do. That's why I wear socks. High socks, I mean. I would always have to wear socks or my shoes would get ruined. Mom says that it's important to look neat and to take care of my things." Said Mob
"My mom does, too, but then she gets on me for wearing makeup and stuff. It's like, I'm not little anymore." Said Rei
"You're lucky. My mom says that I can't wear makeup until high school. She made me wash my face off when I came home from my date with Teru and she stood over me the whole time and told me that I was too young to wear makeup and stuff like that." Said Mob
"Your mom sounds like a total pain." Said Rei. If she had to deal with a mom like that she'd go totally crazy. Didn't Mob's mom know that middle school was the springtime of your youth or whatever? That these were the years to figure out who you were because if you didn't have it together by high school then you never would? Moms could be so ridiculous sometimes.
"She…sometimes she can be…but she just loves me, that's all, and she doesn't want me to grow up. At least that's how I see it. I heard her complaining to dad, once, that she had me and Ritsu too close to together and that at this rate we'd be out of the house and she'd be all alone." Said Mob. Mob didn't want to leave her mom all alone but she didn't want to grow old with her parents, either. That was so far away though, when she grew up, and she didn't know why mom was worried about it now. Mob wasn't. She had no idea, well besides the vague idea that she would go off to university…or maybe not go far away…..but she knew that she did not want to grow old with her parents.
"Moms are like that. It's like they want us to be babies forever. At least mine's not as bad as yours, no offense. I mean, yours won't let you wear makeup and she makes you braid you hair, too." Said Rei
"Oh no, I like my hair like this. I like braids…and I like braiding other people's hair, too." Said Mob
"…you can braid mine if you really want to, but not with your powers. You make the braids way too tight when you use your powers and I can't get them undone." Said Rei. She had let Mob braid her hair before and it took almost half an hour to get her hair undone.
"Ok, but not outside. It's too windy and it's hard to do it by hand out here. I might even accidentally braid our hair together." Said Mob. Rei's eyes lit up.
That wouldn't be very mature.
But it would be kind of cool…
Mob knew that look…Rei had an idea….
Reigen heard, rather than saw, her disciple come in.
"And they said that curly hair was an advanced course…" muttered Reigen as she ran a comb and scissors through Serizawa's hair. This was his idea, not hers, so she was not overstepping with him in the slightest. Not even if she was still in her yoga pants and tank top, and not even if he was just in his undershirt, and certainly not even if she was pressed against him a little too closely…..well the bathroom was small! She had an excuse!
"Miss Reigen?" asked Serizawa. Right, he needed to pay attention! He needed to get out of his own head and pay attention to what she said…and not how close she was….he wasn't overstepping, right? She had offered, before, to cut his hair for him…did that make it standing offer? Or was he overstepping and she was uncomfortable and griping and-
"Nothing, nothing, just complaining about that stint I did in beauty school. Anyway, you're all done." Said Reigen. A pretty good job if she did say so herself.
"Hey! Seriously, guys?!" shouted Tome. She was supposed to be the receptionist until either Reigen finished up or Mob came in, one of the two. Well it sounded like the others were there, too. Reigen groaned. The work day had barely started and those little goofballs were already up to something.
"Oh! I think-" said Serizawa. He got up quickly, too quickly and bumped into Reigen. She lost her footing and, maybe, flailed a bit less than gracefully but he caught her.
He had very good reflexes…
"Sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" said Serizawa. Oh no, he almost hurt her. Not even with his powers, which would have been worse but understandable, no he had to go and be clumsy. Now she was probably hurt and scared because she was small, so small, and she-
She put her hand on his arm.
"Hey, I'm fine. Accidents happen and this room was not built for two….I mean it's a bathroom, why would it be?" said Reigen. He was still holding onto her. One hand on her waist, the other at her arm. She still rested her hand on his arm…he was close…very close…
"Um….if it were a public bathroom….but this is an office so it would make sense that it's kind of…cramped in here…" said Serizawa. He wondered if that was a question that he was meant to answer. He felt like he had to say something, though, because otherwise it would be too quiet….
"Yeah, barely enough room for two…" said Reigen. How was he this strong? He was practically holding her and he didn't look the least bit tired. He wasn't using his powers, either, because she would have seen the purple…or felt it….
"Miss Reigen?" asked Serizawa before he could think. He didn't know what he intended to say beyond her name. Well he wanted to know….if she liked him….not that he thought that she did! He was not going to take the girl's word for it, no, because they were in middle school. That would be like taking Sho's word for it, and he was not taking Sho's word for it….even though Sho could be kind of smart about somethings….not that Serizawa was taking romantic advice from a thirteen year old boy…or even asking for it.
Not that he was going to do a somersault, or a cartwheel, or a handstand even though Sho said that girls loved that kind of stuff.
Besides, she was a woman, not a girl. Who knew with women? They were complicated, all adults were. She was his boss, too, which meant that she was off limits. His therapist agreed. She said that what he was feeling could have been transference. He hadn't…he hadn't liked Suzuki like this….but he had cared more about Suzuki than anyone else in the world…and then he was just…gone. Well he went insane and tried to take over the world….and beat up his son and Miss Kageyama….Mob…and also tried to kill Miss Reigen…and Serizawa….
He didn't give a damn about Suzuki anymore.
He could be going through all kinds of cruel experiments right now, or even be rotting in the cold, cold, ground for all Serizawa cared.
But the way that he felt for her might have just been a transference of the feelings that he used to have. He felt that same sort of gratitude towards her….because she gave him a place in the world. A place to be…a purpose….and then his therapist said that because she was female his feelings moved further into the romantic than they ever would have with Suzuki….and also the sexual…
Not that he would ever!
Not that he even liked thinking about her like that! Women hated it when you thought about them like that! He had seen enough anime and read enough manga to know! And she was his boss, anyway! One did not have thoughts like that about their boss! And she would never reciprocate anyway…
She could have any man she wanted. Why would she want him?
"Serizawa?" asked Reigen. The way he said her name there….pleasant shivers down her spine. What was she even thinking? He did not need this from her! She was terrible, plain and simple. He was in such a vulnerable place and here she was doing…whatever this was. This moment. Were they having a moment? Was this a moment?
A bit part of her hoped that it was.
But a louder, smarter, functional part of her told her that she was reading into it too much.
She had been listening to the girls again. They….shipped…her and Serizawa. Teenage girls and their teenage ideas about what love and relationships were supposed to be. They were in for a rude awakening when they became adults and saw just how…messy…it all was. How complicated.
Because the situation would be complicated.
Easy and complicated.
If she were to lean up and kiss him….she needed to stop borrowing manga from Mob…then the entire thing would be complicated…a complicated mess. Messes were easy to make but hard to clean up…and Reigen had never been good at cleaning up after herself. She wanted him. She wanted…she wanted a lot from him…she wanted things that she had never given before…
Or had given to her…
And that was a lot.
And it would be a lot for him, too. Even the basest, most simple, most primal, things that she wanted…she assumed that he had never given before. Assumed. She wasn't going to just up and ask him because that was as far from appropriate office talk as one could get. That would be….it would all be a lot…
"Yes! Now we have reached our final form!" shouted Tome. Reigen and Serizawa broke apart quickly. Right. Work. Life. The world outside of that bathroom.
"Let's…um….I'm going to go see what they're up to out there." Said Reigen. She walked out of the room quickly, stumbling just a little. Right. Come on, Arataki, get it together. You are not in middle school, they are. They get to act recklessly, you do not.
Now go out there and be an adult.
And that was what she did. She did not balk once, not once, in the face of the childishness that awaited her.
"What in the world are you three-?" asked Reigen. They had braided their hair…together. Rei on one side, Tome on the other, and Mob in the middle.
"We are one entity. We are….To-Rei-Geko." They all said mostly at once. Then the giggling started. Reigen covered her mouth and laughed along with them, it really was adorable.
"Master, do you want to be a part of our hive mind?" asked Mob
"Yeah, then we can be….um…" said Rei as she began to think.
"To-Rei-Ge-Taki." Said Tome. They all nodded in agreement. It hurt, just a little, because Mob maybe have braided their hair just a little bit too tightly together. Just a little bit.
"No, that's ok. You guys just carry on with…that." Said Reigen. She picked her phone up off her desk and took a quick picture. Oh yeah, that was one for the wall.
"Please?" asked Mob in that way that Reigen could not say no to. She sighed and took her hair down. Mob's eyes, and aura, lit up.
"Ok, but not for long. This is a place of business not a place of…whatever this is." Said Reigen. If it made Mob happy…and Mob deserved to be happy. Besides, this was harmless. The harmless kind of immaturity. If she had to give into some kind of immaturity then it might as well be the harmless kind.
And not the kind that made her heart beat out of her chest and turned her inside to jelly.
Not that she felt like that when Serizawa finally got himself redressed and out of the bathroom…and just stared at her…and laughed.
No, she didn't feel like that at all.
But she did feel like maybe, just maybe, this hadn't been the best idea. Especially when they got a walk in client…and Mob had trouble unbraiding them….
Yeah, maybe not the best idea.