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It was with a healthy level of pride that Mob could say he was at a point where he could run with the Body Improvement Club and consistently not pass out or get dizzy. Most days, he could even keep pace pretty well. His legs would burn afterwards and his hair would stick to his forehead with sweat, but he could do it.
Today was another day where training started with running. They had just passed the halfway point of the course.
“Hey, Kageyama, you’re doing great!” said Captain Musashi, falling behind to match Mob’s pace. “You’ve definitely made a ton of improvement since you joined.”
Mob didn’t trust himself to be able to respond without wheezing, but he gave a thumbs up in response.
“Do you think you’ll keep up with the club next year?”
Mob nodded.
“Fantastic!”
A smile tugged at Mob’s lips. He really was lucky to have such supportive friends. Everyone in the Body Improvement Club was so proud of him for all the progress he’d made. It was really–
The world ripped itself out from underneath him. One moment, he was running next to Musashi, and the next moment, he was on the pavement, the wind effectively knocked out of his lungs.
Slowly, Mob picked himself up off the ground, rocking back into a sitting position. He brushed some pebbles off his palms.
“Woah, Kageyama. That was quite a fall, you okay?” Musashi said, still jogging in place.
Mob nodded. “Yeah. My shoelace came untied.” He bent over to tie it, then paused.
His knee smarted with a new scrape, shiny and red against his skin. It wasn’t even bleeding. Really, it was just a skinned knee. It wasn’t a big deal.
Except, Mob had already burst into tears.
The Body Improvement Club surrounded him.
“Are you hurt? What’s wrong?” said Sagawa.
“Kageyama?”
“Hey, are you okay?” said Onigawara.
Mob tried to respond, but hiccuped instead. A fresh wave of tears rolled down his face, hot and wet. His eyes watered so dramatically that he couldn’t see. Snot bubbled out of his nose.
Captain Musashi unzipped his fanny pack –something he’d taken to wearing whenever they went out running, in case someone hurt themself– and produced a bandaid. He held it out to Mob, who took it with trembling fingers and plastered it over the scrape, sniffling all the while. It really didn’t hurt that bad. He was just upset.
Sagawa held out a hand to help him to his feet.
“Are you okay to finish the run with us, or do you want to go back and sit down?”
Mob wiped his nose and his eyes. He sniffed once, twice. He hiccuped.
“I can finish the run.”
Musashi clapped a hand on his back. “That’s the spirit, Kageyama!”
Mob started to jog down the path. The rest of the club joined him.
“Body improvement!” Musashi yelled.
“Fight on!!”
~~~
“And then I managed to do five more pushups than I could before,” said Mob.
“Oh, that’s great, Kageyama!” said Teru with a blinding grin, sitting cross-legged next to him.
“How was your day, Hanazawa?”
Teru gave a long sigh. He flopped down on Mob’s futon.“Honestly, it wasn’t great. Lots of annoying people at school, I burned my toast this morning, I woke up late… You could say it was pretty Teru -ble,” he said, giving a small chuckle at his own joke.
Mob snorted. Then he giggled, pressing his lips together to stifle his smile. His shoulders shook and he covered his face with his hands, but a grin split across his face and he let out a peal of laughter.
Teru preened, eyes sparkling and face flushed. “Was it really that funny, Kageyama?”
Mob cackled like a witch. “Teru- ble!” he said. “Like your name!”
He dissolved into giggles, attempting to catch his breath, but the laughter kept coming. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. Mob tried to inhale, but he was laughing so hard that each breath made a squeaking sound, which made him laugh even harder. His stomach ached.
Teru’s smile strained a bit. He sat up and furrowed his brow. “...Kageyama?”
Mob managed to get in a few real breaths, calming down enough to wipe his eyes and sit up normally. He looked Teru in the eyes. “I’m good.” He snorted. “Teru-ble,” he whispered, smiling. And then the smile turned into giggles, and then the whole cycle started up again.
The look of incredulous concern on Teru’s face sent Mob into another spiral of laughter. He looked so serious.
The door opened.
“What’s so funny?” Ritsu said. He looked between Teru, with his expression of shock, and Mob, who grabbed onto Teru’s arm and hid his face in his shoulder, cackling.
“I don’t know,” Teru whined, and Mob shrieked with laughter. “He’s hysterical!”
Mob gathered himself enough to beam at Ritsu. He pointed at Teru. “He said– he said his day was”–he snorted–“his day was Teru- ble.”
Ritsu stared blankly. He blinked.
“...He said his day was terrible.” He shrugged. “Well, I guess Teru having a bad day is pretty funny.”
“Hey!” Teru exclaimed.
Mob giggled. It was like his insides were fizzing. He felt carbonated. He was a bottle of soda that had been shaken up and had its lid knocked off.
“No,” he said. “His day was Teru- ble. Like his name.” He cackled again and fell back onto his futon.
“It’s really not that funny!” Teru said.
“No,” Ritsu agreed, “it really isn’t.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I’m hilarious.”
Ritsu stuck out his tongue. Mob laughed harder.
~~~
Reigen stretched. As he twisted his torso, Mob heard something pop.
“Yeesh,” he said, “Maybe I need a massage.”
Mob smiled and started packing up his bag. Reigen raised his eyebrows. “Ritsu’s picking you up today, right?”
“Mhm,” said Mob. He pushed in his chair. “He wanted to see a movie really bad today.”
“What movie?”
Mob frowned. “I don’t remember.”
Reigen huffed a laugh. “Some things never change.”
The door swung open.
“Hey nii-san, ready to go?” Ritsu said. He had his “preparing to see Reigen today against his will” smile plastered on his face.
“Yup.”
“Ah, Mob’s little brother!” Reigen said with all the bravado he usually saves for his clients. “How’s it going?”
Ritsu’s face darkened. “I have a name, you know.”
Reigen smiled pleasantly, sticking his hands in his pockets and sitting back on his hips. “Yeah, I know. It’s, um.”
Ritsu stared at him blankly.
“No, I got it, it’s– uh.” Reigen pursed his lips and snapped his fingers. “It’s, um. It’s–”
“Are you serious?” Ritsu scoffed. “It’s been almost five years and you don’t know my name?”
Reigen held up his hands in a placating gesture. “No! I totally know your name. It’s– no, don’t help me. It’s– uh. Um.”
Mob snorted.
Ritsu’s head snapped in his direction, jaw hanging open and eyes wide. “Shige!”
Mob giggled, covering his mouth with his hand and turning away from Ritsu’s appalled expression.
Reigen stifled a laugh. “No, don’t help, I”–he snorted–“I totally got it. It’s– no, hold on. It’s–”
Ritsu crossed his arms and huffed. “Reigen.”
Reigen shook his head. “No, that can’t possibly be it. That’s my name.”
A giggle escaped Mob’s lips. Ritsu glared at him. “Shige, come on!”
“No, I’m not laughing,” Mob said, laughing.
Ritsu pointed at Reigen, waves of displeasure radiating off him like waves in a pond. “You know my name.”
“Of course I do! It’s– um. It’s–”
Ritsu groaned. “Come on, nii-san, we’re leaving.”
He grabbed Mob’s hand and pulled him towards the door. Reigen gave a yell of triumph and clapped his hands together.
“Ritsu! That’s it!”
“I’m not speaking to you!” Ritsu called over his shoulder. Mob threw his head back and laughed.
Reigen poked his head out of the office. “Wait, I forgot! We’re getting ramen later tonight, if you want to come with!”
Mob spun around and pumped his fists in the air, brimming with excitement. “FUCK YEAH!”
Ritsu gaped at him. Reigen doubled over and cackled.
~~~
Mob was no stranger to horror movies. He liked the ones about ghosts, even though Dimple always questioned why he’d watch those after dealing with real ghosts every day. Honestly, Mob wasn’t sure either. He just liked them.
They’d never really had an effect on him before. He knew that’s not how ghosts worked, and in the case of slasher films, he knew he could protect himself well enough that it wouldn’t ever be a problem for him.
At least, they hadn’t had an effect before.
He hadn’t even thought to consider the fact that fear was an emotion he’d been suppressing.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to turn it off, nii-san?”
Mob nodded, glancing up at the screen through his fingers.
“I like it,” he said.
“...Can you even see?”
Mob jumped at a sudden noise. “I can see,” he said.
Onscreen, the protagonist let out a bloodcurdling scream. Crimson splattered across the frame as the music climbed. Mob squeezed his eyes shut and clapped his hands over his ears.
Ritsu patted his back.
The rest of the movie continued in a similar manner. Mob had never been so tense in his life, body coiled up like a spring, eyes wide and mouth open. He squeezed the life out of Ritsu’s hand. His entire body flinched at small scares, and one particularly startling scene shocked Mob so badly he let out a horrified shriek to rival the screams of the actual characters.
Only once the credits rolled did Mob relax somewhat. Ritsu wormed his hand out of Mob’s grasp and flexed his fingers, wincing slightly.
“I thought you liked horror, Shigeo,” came Dimple’s voice directly next to Mob’s ear. Mob jumped so hard he nearly hit Ritsu in the face.
“Holy shit, Shige,” Ritsu said.
“Dimple!” Mob said. “How long have you been there?”
Dimple floated over to perch on the edge of the TV. “Like, since halfway through the movie. You were shaking like a leaf.”
“It was a good movie,” Mob said.
Ritsu stared. “You didn’t even watch most of it!”
“It was scary.”
Ritsu blinked. “I– alright.”
Their parents came home soon after that and Mob got ready for bed. It was only as he was settling onto his pillow that he realized he hadn’t brushed his teeth.
Mob got up and slowly eased his door open. Moonlight spilled onto the floor through the window at the end of the hallway, casting long shadows down the length of it. The bathroom door wasn’t too far away.
Mob crept out of his room. A shiver ran down his spine the second he stepped into the open. He glanced over his shoulder. Nothing.
Still, the feeling didn’t go away.
He tucked an arm behind his back, the pressure lessening the feeling of being watched ever so slightly. Mob ducked into the bathroom and shut the door.
Right. Brushing teeth.
Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Water.
Wow, the faucet was loud. Mob shut the faucet off and stared at the bathroom door, heart pounding against his ribcage, not daring to move. Still nothing.
Brushing his teeth. Right.
Mob brushed his teeth, all the while staring dead on at his reflection. Mirrors were so creepy in the dark. What little light filtered in from the small bathroom window made it possible to make out the silhouettes of the things in the bathroom, and to differentiate between the values of colors, but not enough to make out any substantial details.
With his dark hair up against the dark background, it almost looked like he didn’t have a head. Really, anything could be behind him, watching, and he wouldn’t be able to distinguish it from the towel rack.
Mob paused, pulling the toothbrush out of his mouth. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
Outside, something howled. Mob flinched.
Wind. It was just the wind. The window in here was kind of old, and when it got really windy the frame would groan. Nothing scary. Just the wind.
The floorboards creaked. Mob slammed his hand against the lightswitch, screwing his eyes shut at the sudden intensity of the lights.
He spit out his toothpaste and rinsed his mouth, then surveyed the bathroom. Nothing.
It was just a movie.
Mob tucked his arm behind his back again and flicked off the lights, easing the bathroom door open. He couldn’t see as well now that he’d thoroughly ruined whatever nightvision he’d had by turning the bathroom lights on.
The window frame groaned. A barrier shimmered to life around him.
Wind.
Just wind.
…But still.
Mob kept the barrier up, took a deep breath, and shot across the hallway to his room, shutting the door behind him as quickly as he could while still keeping quiet. He let out a sigh of relief and dropped his barrier.
“Yeesh, kid, relax.”
Mob squeaked.
It was only Dimple, floating above his bed. “Seriously, this is ridiculous.”
Mob took a deep breath, waiting for his heart rate to calm down.
“Hi Dimple,” he managed.
“I’ve seen you watch horror movies before. What gives?”
Mob shrugged. He settled back into bed. Dimple floated towards the window.
“Wait,” he said.
Dimple waited.
“...Can you stay in the room?”
“Are you serious?” said Dimple, but there was no venom in his voice. He hovered by the edge of the futon. “Yeah, alright.”
Mob smiled and closed his eyes. He was almost asleep when he murmured, “I wonder if that movie has a sequel we can watch…”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
~~~
Thirty-seven percent.
He studied for this math test all week, with Ritsu’s and Teru’s and Reigen’s help, and he still only got a thirty-seven.
Mob huffed. He crumpled the test in his fist and shoved it into his schoolbag, not bothering to put it in a folder.
There was no club today, so Mob walked home alone. He kicked a rock as hard as he could and sent it skittering across the pavement. Seriously, a thirty-seven? Did he really not understand it, or was there a mistake of some kind?
He thought he understood it. But of course the test was full of all the types of problems he didn’t even think to study for. Figures. The one time he goes into an exam with even a little bit of confidence and it didn’t help at all. He still failed.
Math was so stupid.
Mob entered the house and kicked off his shoes.
“Shige! How was school?” his mom called from the kitchen. Mob just groaned in response.
She came out, wiping her hands on a hand towel. “That bad?”
Mob fished the test out of his bag and tossed it on the table, brushing past his mom without another word.
Stupid test. Stupid school. Stupid everything.
“Shige,” his mom called.
Mob stomped up the stairs, marched across the hall, and slammed his bedroom door so hard the picture frames on the wall rattled.
“Shigeo, we don’t slam doors in this house!”
Mob scoffed.
He pulled out his futon, collapsed onto it, and screamed into a pillow.
What the fuck ever.
~~~
Today was one of the days Mob had decided he’d come in to help at the office. He didn’t want to completely lose one of the main ways he saw Reigen on a regular basis, and he liked hanging out with Tome and Serizawa.
“Hey, Mob, come look at this cat video,” said Reigen.
It was a slow day.
Mob went over to Reigen’s desk and leaned over his shoulder. Reigen had been scrolling through Twitter for probably the entirety of Mob’s shift. Not like Mob could blame him. He’d been reading manga the whole time himself.
Reigen pressed play on the video.
It was a simple thirty seconds: two cats, one brown, one ginger, were laying on a couch, both asleep. Already, Mob’s heart swelled.
“Aww,” he said.
“Just wait,” Reigen said.
The ginger cat stretched its paws out. Mob gasped.
Slowly, the ginger cat rolled over so it was facing the brown one. It reached out and touched the other cat. The brown cat reached out as well.
“They’re hugging,” Mob whispered.
“Isn’t it so cute?”
“It’s adorable.”
“I thought you’d– hey, Mob, are you okay?”
Mob’s lip wobbled. Those cats… they were so cute. They trusted each other so much to sleep next to each other, and then they hugged each other while they dozed. So gentle. So caring.
“They’re just–” Mob started, shocked at how thick his voice was in his throat. He swallowed and tried again. “They’re so cute,” he choked out.
Reigen paused the video, looking at Mob with wide eyes. His brow furrowed. Mob blinked rapidly to combat the quickly forming tears.
“Did I– are you– did it upset you? I–”
Mob shook his head. “They’re so–”
He looked up at the ceiling, fanning his face. His eyes watered dangerously.
Reigen’s hands hovered in the air, like he was unsure if he should touch Mob or not. His expression was caught somewhere between amusement and concern.
“Mob, you gotta– are you okay?”
Mob nodded. He gave up on fighting it and accepted his fate as a blubbering mess. He looked back down at Reigen, tears rolling down his cheeks. “They’re just so cu-hute,” he hiccuped.
A smile cracked across Reigen’s face. He ruffled Mob’s hair.
“We don’t have any clients for a while,” he said, scooting over in his chair. “Wanna look at more?”
Mob choked out a sob. “Yes,” he said. He squeezed himself next to Reigen on the chair. It wasn’t as good of a fit as it had been when he was ten and much, much smaller, but that didn’t matter. Reigen pulled him into a side hug and searched up a compilation of cute cat videos.
They all left him in a similar state.
~~~
“That’s great, Kageyama!”
“It doesn’t feel great,” said Mob, shuffling forward on his roller skates. “Are you sure?”
Teru rolled leisurely along next to him. “It’s your first time skating, right?” At Mob’s nod, he continued. “Everyone has a moment like this. Try gliding like this instead of taking steps.”
Teru demonstrated, pushing his skates outwards in a V-shape. Mob furrowed his brow in concentration, attempting to copy his movements. He got a little farther than he had been going when he was just trying to walk.
“Yeah! That’s perfect!” Teru said.
Mob smiled, gaining a bit more confidence to push himself along farther. He still hung onto the wall, but it was definitely better than before.
Teru held out a hand. “Here, try letting go of the wall.”
Before he could think better of it, Mob grabbed his hand. Teru’s face flushed and he grinned, pleased.
It was easier to skate holding Teru’s hand than it was to skate holding the wall. Teru matched his pace, which Mob thought was very nice of him, especially since he knew Teru was very, very good at roller skating.
He got into the groove of it. His legs were still wobbly, but they made their way around the rink before the song ended and Mob didn’t fall once.
“You’re getting the hang of it!” Teru said. Mob smiled, still looking down at his skates as they rolled along. He had the standard white and red rental skates, but Teru had his own. They were bright yellow with purple laces and electric blue wheels that lit up as he rolled. Blue flowers and stars covered the surface of the skates.
The song changed to a more cheerful-sounding one, with a good beat and a saxophone– something from the eighties, Mob thought.
Teru squeezed his hand.
Mob looked over at him.
Teru blushed.
Mob smiled.
Teru opened his mouth to say something.
And suddenly Mob’s skate rolled out from underneath him and he hit the ground with a smack, dragging Teru with him.
Teru blinked, looking around like he didn’t know what had just happened. Mob’s mouth dropped open and warmth spread across his face.
“Sorry!” he squeaked.
“No, it’s fine!” Teru pushed himself into a sitting position, one knee up and one leg still splayed out. “It was gonna happen at some point.”
Mob’s ears burned. He buried his face in his hands. He didn’t even want to imagine how red his skin was. It wasn’t like he had gotten hurt. It was just embarrassing. Teru had said he was getting the hang of it and he just fell right over.
“Wait, that’s not what I meant! I mean, everyone falls! It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Kageyama.”
Mob whined. “But I pulled you down with me!”
Teru laughed. “Kageyama, I promise it’s okay! I fall all the time when I’m skating.”
Mob just made another distressed noise and shook his head. Teru patted him on the leg. He grabbed the railing and pulled himself to his feet, offering a hand to Mob.
Mob sighed.
“Let’s keep going,” Teru said.
“Okay.”
He took Teru’s hand.
~~~
“If by any chance the spirit does come back, you get five percent off your next exorcism! Take care!” Reigen said.
“Thank you so much!” the client said. Reigen closed the door behind her.
“Well, that’s the last appointment of the day,” he said. He slumped down in his chair. “Tome, you can take off if you need to.”
“No way,” said Tome. “The last thing I need is to leave and miss out on the real deal from some walk-in.”
“Eh, it’s Wednesday. Don’t get a lot of walk-ins on Wednesdays.”
“That doesn’t mean there won’t be one!”
“Don’t you have homework?”
“I can do it here.”
Reigen sighed. “Yeah, alright.”
Serizawa stood with a grunt. “Oh, yikes,” he said. “I’m getting old.” He picked up his bag. “Anyway, I need to get to class. See you tomorrow, Arataka. Bye Tome.”
“See you tomorrow, Katsuya.”
“Later, Serizawa!”
Serizawa opened the door. “Oh, hi Shigeo!”
Reigen pretended he didn’t perk up at the sound of Mob’s name. Serizawa left, leaving the door open for him.
And there was Mob.
“Hey, Mob,” said Reigen. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but you’re not scheduled this week.”
“I know,” said Mob. He shifted from foot to foot. “I wanted to ask you about something.”
At this, Tome shot to her feet. “You know what, I will take off. See ya tomorrow, Reigen.”
Mob watched her leave, then turned back to Reigen once the door closed.
“What’s up, Mob?”
Mob pursed his lips. “I keep overreacting to things,” he said. “It’s like I’m running at a hundred percent all the time.”
Reigen leaned forward, steepling his hands. “Overreacting how, exactly?”
“Like…” Mob huffed out a breath, squinting in thought. “Like, I lose a video game and get way, way too angry. Or that time with the cat videos.”
Oh. That.
Reigen took a moment to look at Mob. At Shigeo.
He was so tall now.
He hadn’t surpassed Reigen just yet, but he feared a growth spurt might be on the horizon. It was only a matter of time before he’d have to look up at Mob. He took up more space than he did when he first came into his office as an elementary schooler– not just because he’d grown physically, or because he’d filled out a bit thanks to his muscle training, but because he walked with more confidence. He didn’t fold in on himself as much anymore. He didn’t try to hide.
Reigen rose from his desk and crossed over to Mob.
“You’re not overreacting.”
Mob raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Think about it, Mob. You’ve kept your emotions bottled up and locked away for such a long time. It used to be that the bottle would get shaken up or too full and it would burst, but you don’t have to do that anymore.”
Reigen put his hand on Mob’s shoulder.
“You’re not used to expressing yourself so freely, so your emotions feel really overwhelming. Once you get more familiar with it, I’m sure it’ll calm down. It’s an adjustment period.”
Mob nodded slowly. He furrowed his brow, chewing his lip in thought. “It’s a lot.”
Reigen laughed. “I bet, kiddo.” He smiled. “But for what it’s worth, I really like seeing you embrace your emotions. It’s good to see you comfortable with yourself.”
Mob smiled back at him.
“I said it at that press conference, but I mean it. You’ve really grown up, Mob.” He took a breath. “I’m proud of you.”
He ruffled Mob’s hair. Mob snorted and pushed Reigen’s arm away.
“Thanks, shishou.”
Reigen rolled his eyes. “You don’t need to call me that anymore.”
Mob threw his arms around Reigen’s middle and squeezed. “Yeah,” he said, “I do.”
Oh.
This kid was gonna be the death of him.
Reigen hugged him back, eyes stinging.
Damn his allergies to hell.
fin.