Rei didn't know why Reigen never asked her to wear the costume.

Really, Rei was much more accurate than the cards and tea leaves and candle wax and whatever else Reigen had in her bag of tricks. Rei could actually see the future. She should have been the one in the fortune teller costume. Even if it probably didn't fit her. Even if the color scheme was all wrong for her coloring. She still should have been the one in the costume.

"…so remember to smile and keep offering him tea when you make it. He'll come around." Said Reigen. Rei could have told the lady to keep being nice to that guy she liked without using her future vision. That was so obvious, like the most basic rule of getting someone to like you. Treat them really well and be useful to them.

Serizawa set a cup of tea down on Reigen's desk. There were two others there, too.

Tome had a point when she said that the two of them should just go to a love hotel already. They were so obviously perfect for each other. They were such opposites and opposites attracted after all. Reigen was loud and carefree and messy. Serizawa was neat and quiet and worried about everything. She'd help him come out of his shell and he'd help her be more…neat and quiet….Rei guessed. That was how it went in movies, anyway, and they hadn't steered her wrong yet.

She even had a date with Ritsu!

All she had to do was get low grades on her last two math tests and then complain about it a lot when they all got together. Now Ritsu was coming over to help her study. In her room. All alone. Well her parents and sister would be home, maybe her other sister would come down from university…but they would be more alone then they were when they all hung out as a group.

So that was a success!

"Are you sure? I've been doing that for a while now-" said the client. Rei could see Reigen's smile waver a little. She looked back down at the tea leaves in the client's cup and the flush of cards, Reigen called it a Celtic Cross, on the table. Reigen shouldn't have to waste two cups of tea and ten tarot cards to tell some lady that…

Rei's aura was visible for a moment.

"Your job is going to switch from green tea to oolong. He doesn't like oolong and he's going to talk to you about that. Then if you ask him out….there' a big chance that he'll say yes." said Rei. Reigen didn't look happy. That didn't make sense. There was only so much divination that could be done from cards and tea leaves and such. The client was happy. What else mattered?

Mob and Tome were on a snack run. They might have more insight because they, Mob especially, had known Reigen for longer.

Rei got the feeling, maybe, that she might have been in trouble. She could feel Reigen looking at her. She tried to busy herself making more charms, this batch was for crafting club, but she could still feel Reigen looking at her. Or maybe Serizawa. He was near her but he was doing his own thing. She didn't know what he was reading on his phone but it must have been important because he was taking notes intently.

"Hey Rei, you don't have to do that, you know?" said Reigen after a while

"I know, but I want to help. I mean, I can actually see the future and all. Not that the tuff you do isn't cool! It is but, like, I can actually see into the future." Said Rei with a shrug. That answer didn't seem to satisfy Reigen. She was still looking at her with an indecipherable look.

"It's not that I don't want you to, it's that you really don't have to. You can just hang out here, Rei, you don't have to do my job for me. I like having you guys around." Said Reigen. Rei wondered if Reigen just didn't want to have to pay her. That might have been it. The only person, non-adult person, who was paid was Mob and she only made three hundred yen an hour.

"I want to help, though, I mean if I have these powers then I should at least help people with them." Said Rei

"Trust me, you've helped us out more than enough." Said Reigen. Rei knew what she was talking about. She saw Serizawa sit up a little straighter in his chair. He knew what she was talking about, too. That day. That awful day when they tried to save the world but ended up in the middle of the fight between Mob and that crazy guy with the bad eyebrows…and everything was exploding…and there was dust everywhere….and the sky caught on fire…and all of those skyscrapers started floating….and they all made a human chain with her at the front because she was the only person who knew which was to go…because she could tell what would explode or catch fire or whatever…

That hadn't been a good day.

But it would never happen again.

And it wasn't like anybody…that they knew….got hurt. In fact after the big white light everyone was fine. All of their injuries were healed and they could all go home and go back to normal. Even before the white light she had been ok. Ritsu had kept her safe. Sho, too. They were much stronger than the others and had kept her safe when those mini bosses went after them.

Really, she was fine.

"I want to keep on helping out. I mean, I have the power to-" said Rei

"I am not using you. Ok? I am never doing that again." said Reigen in a tone that Rei had never heard before. Serizawa dropped his phone on his desk in alarm. Reigen took a deep breath and a sip of tea.

"I'm sorry if I-" said Rei

"No, it's not you. Just…I am not using anyone ever again. Ok? I am not that person anymore. I'm sure Mob told you…" said Reigen

"Mob told me." Said Rei. Rei had asked Mob, it felt like years ago, what happened with the whole thing with Reigen and the press conference and before that the salt splash meme thing. Mob told Rei that Reigen had lied, before, about having powers and that they had a great big fight about that. They were cool now, though.

"So…yeah. I'm not treating you like that. I'm not treating anyone like that ever again." said Reigen

"I just wanted to help, that's all. I mean…I just figured that it would have made more sense for me to wear the costume and tell people their future…since I can actually see the future. I didn't mean to-" said Rei

"It's more than just getting into this stupid outfit and reading some cards. You've got to tell people a combination of what they want to hear and what they need to hear. Sometimes you have to give hope to the hopeless and sometimes you have to get people off of their bullshit. Sorry." Said Reigen

"And sometimes you have to actually tell the future?" asked Rei. It wasn't all lies and talk. Reigen had books that she had read about all of this divination stuff.

"Sometimes you have to…interpret the future…based on what would be best for the person you're interpreting it for to hear." Said Reigen. Rei could understand that. She didn't like to tell people when she saw bad things on the horizon for them. She kept a lot of good things to herself, too, so that she wouldn't spoil the surprise for them. Like how Mob and her boyfriend were totally going to be together forever. Or how Tome was going to see aliens…or at least think that she was going to see aliens….

Sometimes you had to keep things to yourself. Sometimes you had to tell people what they needed to hear. It all made sense.

"I get it." Said Rei. Reigen nodded and then, to her surprise, got up from her desk and walked over. She took the scarf off of her head and tied it around Rei's.

"If you want to, though, you can help….but I'm paying you in experience!" said Reigen. Rei smiled.

That sounded pretty good.