Chapter Twelve: Limbo

The sun is setting but Tsukauchi still isn't home. He hoped everything's okay. Tsukauchi has been on-call and had to leave numerous times the past few weeks, so things must be busy. In his line of work that probably means things aren't good.

Eating out so much can't be good either. Serizawa knows that he always felt a little better when eating his mom's cooking than when he ordered delivery or snacks. All the oils, fats, sugars, and salt add up and it isn't a great feeling.

He looks to the fridge. His sister even dropped food off.

Serizawa looks around the freshly deep-cleaned apartment. He's still getting used to being self-sufficient, but it feels good to accomplish something by himself even if it is just cleaning. He feels bad placing so much on his mom for so long. It didn't matter that she said she'd do it again if it was for him. He noticed the way his shut-in behaviour used to wear down on her. He needs to keep learning to be self-sufficient to make it up to her.

He still thinks of that period as an anxious imprisonment, but in hindsight he found a glimmer of light. He really does have someone in his corner wanting the best for him, even if he had taken it for granted. He realizes that now more than ever, as he does his best to become a functioning adult.

Serizawa searches the cabinets until he finds some appropriate containers. He opens the fridge and places the food Tsukauchi's sister brought over on the little counter space there is before scooping and arranging food into the container.

It looks a little messy, but he thinks it will be fine.

Serizawa returns the rest to the fridge and looks for a bag he could put it in before leaving the apartment.

He only walks a few blocks when he feels something. An evil spirit? It was certainly a spirit. Distracted by this news, Serizawa changed course until he arrived at a park. The sky darkens over the playground. The grey clouds don't extend further, but the wind whips. The swings fly upward as the chains creak. The whispers of the wind reach his ears as he watches on.

He wishes he brought his umbrella. Serizawa is trying to become less dependent on it, but it still comes in handy sometimes. He could have used it to block the wind.

Oh.

He doesn't need an umbrella to do that. He raises his hand and wraps his fingers as if he did possess the umbrella. He then erects a demi spherical barrier.

His chest soars a little at his progress.

A small twister appears until the spirit can be seen in full.

Serizawa knows what he has to do. He may be alone, but he can do this.

And he does.

Just like that.

"I did it!" His voice squeaks a pitch higher than normal only to cut his celebration short. His face whitens as he swallows hard.

Tome will be mad he did an exorcism without her, especially after their many fruitless hunts. He doesn't know why, but spirits are much less common here. "What am I going to do!" He panics and pulls the short stands of hair.

Ah. His hair is getting long enough he can pull it. He also has to add getting a haircut on his list to do. Except he isn't being paid at the moment.

Reigen.

Serizawa worries again. Day after day he gets no response. It took a few weeks before Tome came, but that time has almost doubled.

His mood sours. The people here are nice, but he was starting to make a life for himself. Being suddenly uprooted is a bump in the road. He isn't letting it hold him back. There are things he can do no matter where he is, but it somehow feels wrong.

He imagines what Reigen would say. Probably something along the line of facing whatever life has to throw at them.

Serizawa goes back to making his way to the police station.

He's almost there, he can even see the building, when a familiar figure left the station.

"It's you!" Serizawa's eyes widen. The man doesn't even react. "The spirit."

"You can see me?" The man looks over his way. "Oh, it's you." The spirit rubs the back of his head. He's the ghost from Nonome Park. "I guess I should thank you. I finally get to be a hero like I always wanted to be. Well technically within the police force, but it's within the division that deals with quirks so it's like becoming a hero."

"Tsukauchi reached out then?" He had mentioned that he'll deal with it, but Serizawa never got an update.

"Tsukauchi? Right, that's his name. Urg. I have to start remembering names again. Stupid corporate ladder and company culture."

Serizawa thinks that it's less company culture and more necessity when it comes to the police, but doesn't say anything. What would he know? It wasn't that long ago that he thought a cult was company culture.

"But, it's nice. I like messing with people, but it's nice to be notice. I even met someone with an invisibility quirk which is close enough. It's nice to talk to someone who gets it."

"That's great!" Serizawa's festering negative emotions vanishes and blooms into positive ones. He's happy that he could be a help to anyone.

The man looks to Serizawa's bag. "I'll let you get back to what you were doing, but… it would be nice to talk to you again. They're helping me find some place to stay so I don't have to wander anymore, so I'll tell Tsutoki to pass my address along when I do. If you want to."

"Of course!" He can't turn down the opportunity to make a friend, even if it's temporary. "But it's Tsukauchi."

"Tsubochi, Tsutoki. It doesn't matter."

Serizawa freezes up. Is he supposed to correct him again? Not using someone's name is rude, but also the man is also having problems integrating back into society like him. Ah, he isn't equipped to be someone's senpai!

He ends up not saying anything as they go their separate ways.

Serizawa talks to some nice people who lead him to Tsukauchi. He gives him his dinner and a couple colleagues laugh. He must have missed a joke they said as he focused on Tsukauchi.

"Did you cook?" Tsukauchi is bewildered. Serizawa made it clear he very much cannot cook. He's tried to help, but more often than not Tsukauchi takes care of the food.

"Your sister dropped by."

The interaction doesn't last long as Serizawa doesn't want to be a bother.

Tsukauchi is happy as he takes out the food. He's hungry.

He opens the containers and wants to hit his head. This is very much Serizawa's doing. He didn't separate the cold and room temperature foods from the food that needs to be heated up. Tsukauchi had to eat all his side dishes before reheating the warm dish.

Ah, well. It could have been worse.

His stomach is happy for real food.