Chapter Text
How things can change, I know. So I’m putting on aftershave, nothing is out of place. Gonna be on my way. Try to pretend it’s not only glass, concrete and stone.
Glass, Concrete & Stone by David Byrne
The air was cool out on the balcony overlooking the river. The moon was bright enough to light up the water and turn it to mercury.
Reigen watched the smoke curl up between his fingers, wondering when he’d become so wistful. One day, the fingers holding the smoke would be nicotine stained and wrinkled with age, but right now, they were haphazardly clinging to youth. He brought the cigarette to his mouth and took another lungful of smoke. He felt the faint buzz of the nicotine settle into his bones, calming the static in his brain.
It had been three years since Mob had stopped working at Spirits and Such, but without the good influence of a benevolent esper, he’d fallen back on bad habits. His on again off again relationship with cigarettes was one of the first things to come creeping back, like an annoying ex.
Like I’d know anything about that, he laughed at his own expense.
He crushed his cigarette against the railing and went back inside.
The bar was overly warm and clammy, and a sea of voices fought to be heard over one another - it was Serizawa’s personal nightmare, but he was still sat in the booth where Reigen had left him. He was already sitting up and alert, but when he spotted Reigen, he straightened further, if that was even possible. The drink in front of him, a half-pint of beer, remained untouched.
Reigen slid back into the booth and straightened his suit jacket. It was clear Serizawa could smell the smoke on him, but he was more than used to playing along with Reigen’s lies.
“Was there a queue for the bathroom?” He asked.
“Yeah.” Reigen agreed, taking a sip of his own single-shot cocktail. It had tasted like apples, but now it tasted like cigarette smoke, as did the handful of peanuts he dropped into his mouth from the dish on the bar.
Reigen tapped the table as he thought, unable to remember where they’d left off before he’d been pulled away by his traitorously nicotine addicted brain. Even though it had been well over a year since they’d worked together, Serizawa still knew his body language well.
“You were telling me how business has been?” Serizawa prompted.
“Good.” He swept his hair back out of his eyes. It was longer than ever, tickling his neck. “Yeah, it’s been good. You know, Serizawa, the thing with psychic work is it never stops rolling in.”
“Oh yeah?”
Reigen nodded ferociously. “If there’s one sure thing in life, it’s death. You know what that means?”
“Uh, no.” Serizawa said nervously.
“There’s no lack of evil spirits to exorcise. That’s job security.”
“Mm, I’ve heard some colleagues at Sato Corp mention job security before. And healthcare. But I haven’t encountered any spirits yet, just lots of spreadsheets.”
Serizawa had been working for Sato Corp since leaving Spirits and Such a year ago, but Reigen was still a little remiss on exactly what he did, though Serizawa had explained it in detail. He found it hard to listen. Whenever Serizawa mentioned Sato, Reigen felt a small pang in his chest. It was regret, or anger, or sadness, he wasn’t sure which. Perhaps it was all of the above. He’d never once considered while they were working together that Serizawa would move onto bigger and better things until he was already gone. Now, he was lost to Sato Corp.
“Spreadsheets sound boring.” Reigen said, taking another sip of his apple-smoke cocktail. He already wanted to smoke again, but getting up for the toilet twice in as many minutes would look suspicious. Even if Serizawa knew he was lying, Reigen refused to be caught.
“They can be interesting.” Serizawa said lightly. “If you find that sort of thing interesting.”
“I don’t.”
“Well, I couldn’t imagine you in a normal corporate job, Reigen.”
“Hm, I know several people who wished I had taken a normal corporate job.” He watched Serizawa trace the ring his drink had left in the table. “But who am I to deny my true talents? How could I keep them to myself in some pencil pushing desk job, when I could be out there, helping people?” He swept his arms out at the bar, encompassing the crowd of dancers, drunkards and drifters.
“Of course. You’ve helped loads of people.” Serizawa said, and considering his clear expression, he really meant it.
Reigen batted the compliment away like it meant nothing, but the starving creature inside of him clung onto it like it was the last cracker in hell.
“Anyway, how are you getting along? Mob told me you recently went in for a promotion?”
“Oh, you spoke to Shigeo? Isn’t he off to college soon?”
Reigen shrugged dismissively, “Only on the phone. He’s busy with his studies.”
Serizawa nodded. “I’m being interviewed next week for a new position. It was put forward to me by my manager…He—uh—he really thinks I could get the promotion. He said I’m one of the best on my floor.”
“Well, obviously.” Reigen said.
Serizawa’s ears went red. He took an alarmingly deep drink from his beer. “To be honest, I’ve been losing sleep over it. I’m so nervous for the interview, I can hardly concentrate on my current job. I think maybe I should pull out of the running.”
“Nonsense.”
“Eh?”
“You heard me. I think you should take the interview. I’ll bet you smash it, just like you did with your night school exams, and your interview for Sato Corp.” Reigen said sagely, “The time for doubting yourself is over, Serizawa! You’ve come a long way from the shut-in with wild facial hair I first met. You’ve earned your chance. So take it.”
If anything, Serizawa looked more nervous than before, but he couldn’t quite hide the smile pulling at his lips. He looked up at Reigen through his hair, seeming smaller than ever—some feat as Reigen was the shorter of the two by quite a fraction.
“You know, sometimes I wish you’d take your own advice.” Serizawa said.
“Huh?” He said obtrusively, not feeling like delving into deep emotions this evening, “What are you on about?”
Serizawa shook his head, but the small smile remained, “Never mind. Finish up your drink, I only booked this booth out until midnight.”
However off-hand the comment may have been, Reigen still found himself surprised at Serizawa’s assertiveness. He really had grown so much over the past few years.
And where did that leave Reigen?
Spirits and Such was quiet nowadays.
Reigen made enough noise on his own, but without anyone to talk to aside from clients, the stillness of the office freaked him out. Mob’s desk, which had become Tome’s, was empty. Serizawa’s desk had become a storage table for his recently self-published Psychic and Spiritual Self Help books. They weren’t exactly flying off of shelves.
With Mob concentrating on his studies, and the other kids spread halfway across the country in varying stages of further education, only Tome remained in near-constant contact. She still swung round most evenings after college, if only to gush about her classes, her friends, her recent contact with the otherworldly. Tome may have grown out of her middle-school uniform, but she hadn’t grown out of her obsession with all things alien. Reigen kept her on the payroll because she was surprisingly good at crunching numbers and keeping track of the books, activities he’d rather chew off his own left hand than attempt to do himself.
It was only two in the afternoon, meaning Tome wouldn’t be over for another few hours.
He stretched out his increasingly aching spine and braced his hands against the desk. He had a client who’d requested a house call later on in the afternoon. He’d just have to find something to fill his time until then.
He fiddled around with the Spirits and Such webpage for a time, updating the blog he’d been starting to keep with success stories from recent clients. He could admit, it had been hard to keep the momentum going on his psychic business without Mob or Serizawa to supplement his own severe lack of psychic powers, but he was managing. He was good at that.
His phone trilled. He answered it with embarrassing speed.
“Arataka?” The voice on the other line said sharply.
He only knew one person who used his first name as a greeting. He didn’t hide his groan of disappointment when he confirmed his suspicions with a glance at the caller ID. He didn’t feel guilty about his reaction. She was perpetually disappointed in him, and never in her life had she bothered to hide it.
“Hi Mom.” He said. None of his usual pizazz could be mustered.
“I was wondering when you’d finally pick up.”
He wrinkled his nose. He’d picked up instantaneously, but he knew his mother had pointless arguments down to an art form. He wouldn’t take the bait.
“How are you? How is Kimi?”
The receiver rattled as his mother sighed, “Your sister is fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“I’m fine. I tell you every time you call. Don’t worry about me.” He said. He stood up and walked to the window. The afternoon light was casting the office in an amber glow that made the stark space look vaguely comforting.
“Did you know it’s the anniversary of your father’s death today? Did you know that Arataka?” Her voice was taught and her words snapped together like a whip.
“Oh, yeah. I’ve got the date circled on the calendar in red marker.” His father had passed away ten years earlier rather suddenly. Despite the lapsed time since, Reigen still hadn’t decided how he felt about it. He had never had much of a relationship with his father, and had never intended to change that, but having the choice taken from him was a tough pill to swallow. They only found out afterwards what had taken his life—a sizeable brain tumour.
“I don’t appreciate you being sarcastic about this. You know how I’ve struggled without him. We’ve all found it difficult.”
Reigen relented with a deep breath. If she didn’t appreciate the sarcasm, perhaps he’d try showing some emotion instead. “It’s been hard. And I’m sorry I haven’t been there.” He tried to find a level field for their conversation to continue, “Listen, I know you haven’t always…understood what I do, but—“
“And I don’t intend to. I’d hoped when your father passed, it might spur you into some action. I’d hoped you’d find yourself something less shady to fill your time, but I bet you’re pacing that dark little office right now, hm?”
“Don’t call it that.” He said. He was occupying himself by staring at a water stain on the linoleum floor that he’d never noticed before. It stretched out in a wide ring and disappeared under his desk. “You make it sound depraved.”
“It is depraved. I don’t know how long you want to keep up this psychic business, but it’s not natural.”
“Did you call me just to rattle off this old spiel again? I’ve heard it before. I’ve made my choice.”
“I was just calling to let you know that I’m thinking of you today.” His mother said, brushing over his weak protest, “To remind you about your family. You know, if your father were still here, he’d—“
“Think real carefully about how you finish that sentence.”
“Arataka, do you think so little of me?” For a moment, his mother actually sounded regretful. “I was going to say, he’d be just as worried about you as I am.”
“I told you—I’m fine. Never better. In fact, business is booming.”
She chuckled at this, but her sharp voice made it sound like the high titter of a hyena. He often felt like he was about to be torn apart when he spoke to his mother, so that checked out.
“Let’s forget about business. I’m asking about your life. Last we talked, you had a friend working with you, someone your age. What was his name? Serizama?”
“Serizawa.”
“Oh, yes. Him. What about him?”
“He’s working for Sato Corp now. I trained him too efficiently, so he’s already up for a promotion. Putting his skills from Spirits and Such to good use, eh?” Reigen couldn’t help spilling his pride for Serizawa.
“Now, there’s a young man with a good life ahead of him.” The implication was clear.
Reigen bit back his comment about how Serizawa had only managed to achieve so much because of Reigen’s teachings, but that wasn’t true, was it? Serizawa didn’t need him—he never had. He was better than Reigen, he always had been. He was perfectly capable of success on his own.
Reigen said, “Serizawa’s done really well for himself. I couldn’t be more proud.”
“So that means you’re on your own again?”
Reigen’s mouth twisted. “In a way.”
“Your sister and her husband are trying for a baby.”
“Well, good for them.”
“I was just wondering, if it’s not Serizawa, then maybe—“
“If you’re trying to ask about my love life, the answer is no. And Serizawa was just a colleague.”
“Right.” His mother said, clear in her conviction. “Arataka, I just don’t want you to be lonely. I want you to make an effort.”
“Okay.”
“That means talking to girls. Have you ever considered a singles night? Of course, you’d have to convince someone that you have a steady job, but my Arataka could convince the leaves off a tree. You know, I really think if you gave it a chance, you could—”
“Yeah, right.” Reigen interrupted, feeling the hollow inside him widen. “Not really my scene.” He tried to imagine himself on a singles night, but the fantasy fell apart as soon as he thought of speaking to a girl seriously. His confidence could only get him so far.
“You always do this. You’re so dismissive! I’m just trying to help you.”
“That’s just it. You call it helping, but I’ve told you I’m fine on my own.” He wondered where the water stain under his desk had come from. Maybe there had been a leak at some point. “I wish you and Dad had just understood that I was happy.”
“A happy man doesn’t cut off communication with his parents.”
A laugh broke free of his chest, one that held little humour. “I wasn’t the one who cut you off.”
“Your father-“
“My father was obsessed with my achievements because he was pissed at how his own life turned out. He never accepted anything that I did. Don’t put that on me.”
His mother was silent for a moment, then the moment stretched into minutes. Reigen pulled his phone away from his face and realised his mother had hung up on him.
Good.
He snapped his phone shut and let it drop back into the pocket of his slacks.
He looked across the room, at Serizawa’s desk stacked up with stupid books that didn’t sell. He wished Serizawa was sat at his desk, waiting to absorb the rant Reigen had queued up about his mother and offer his platitudes. But he wasn’t there. He was at Sato Corp punching numbers into spreadsheets and probably getting paid more than Reigen.
With nowhere else to direct the sudden peel of anger, he grabbed the landline on Tome’s desk and threw it at the wall. He watched the phone clatter unbroken to the floor with no satisfaction, and he felt instant regret at his outburst. He wasn’t the sort to present his anger in such violent ways. He hated it.
His hands shook.
He picked up his bag and closed up the office. The next client was only a few stops along the subway, but getting there a little early couldn’t hurt. As he walked, he tapped out a cigarette and lit it with one smooth movement.
The smoke swirled into the air.
“Mr Reigen, please do come in.” An old man with less face than beard held his front door open for Reigen. “Though, you’re a little early. You’ll have to forgive the state of the house.”
“Oh trust me. I’ve seen worse.” Reigen reassured him as he kicked his shoes off. He stopped himself from making a comment about the state of Serizawa’s apartment, because Serizawa wasn’t here for context or to defend himself.
“Mr Yoshitori, is it?” Reigen said absently, pretending to scan the corridor for spirits.
“That’s correct.”
“My secretary spoke to your wife on the phone.”
“Oh, yes. Riyo said the young lady she spoke to was very helpful, if a little strange. She asked if the haunting could possibly be the work of extraterrestrial moon men.” Yoshitori continued to usher Reigen further into his home.
“Please rest assured, she is underpaid. Now, you were saying about a haunting?”
Yoshitori nodded gravely. He led them both into a modest kitchen, where a hunk of pork sat simmering into broth on the stove top. It smelled like the humble beginnings of a tonkostu, and Reigen wondered if he could feasibly delay his ‘exorcism’ until dinner was served.
“It is an old house, but one we’ve never had any problems with, up until recent years.” Yoshitori continued, “At first we could ignore the strange noises and cracks in the walls, but it’s becoming harder and harder to turn a blind eye. I don’t know what it’ll do next. I couldn’t live with myself if it hurt Riyo.”
“Of course.” Reigen said, “Beyond today, there is no need to worry about that. I will make you two promises right here, Mr Yoshitori.”
“Okay.” Yoshitori said, seeming a little starstruck.
“One: I will exorcise this evil spirit and leave you and your wife to live on in peace. Two: For today only, I will offer you my deluxe treatment package with five percent off. This is a one time deal, Mr Yoshitori. I only offer this to customers who truly need my help.” Reigen handed him one of the flyers from his bag.
“Oh!” Yoshitori remarked with polite surprise when he saw the price of Reigen’s deluxe treatment package.
“You won’t get this kind of deal anywhere else.” Reign encouraged. “Sure, you could go for the basic package today, but does that really guarantee a full exorcism of the evil spirit?”
“Well—“
“Think about Riyo. You want to make sure she’s safe, right?”
Yoshitori frowned as he mulled this over, but soon Reigen was shaking his hand and sealing the deal.
He was truly back to the work of a conman without Serizawa or Mob there to provide the actual service, which meant he rarely took jobs he thought were actual spirits. It also meant he had to fall back on some pretty sleazy tactics to ensure he got paid at the end of the day. Maybe his mother was right. It really was a shady business, but that was nothing to do with psychics.
“Excellent choice. Now, why don’t you show me to the evil spirit? I’ll begin work right away.”
Yoshitori nodded hesitantly. “Yes, of course. Please follow me.”
He was marched through a sliding door and out into a small garden. It was pretty traditional, which Reigen had expected with the Yoshitori’s age. There was an impressive looking koi pond in the centre, with an old deer scarer trickling water.
“It seems we have the most strange activity here. My wife likes to spend her time out here, but recently she’s complained of headaches when she spends too much time outside. She’s resting right now, but I’m worried that it’s getting worse.”
“Are there any other symptoms?”
“I’m not sure. Riyo has spoken of seeing shadows before, but she’s always been rather…imaginative. The only symptom I have noticed is the headaches. She seems increasingly weak because of it.”
“I see. And you think it’s a spirit?”
Yoshitori nodded, “We spent some time away from the house, and Riyo’s condition improved almost the instant we left. When we came back here, she went to feed the koi as always, and she…she collapsed.”
“It’s here?” Reigen asked without thinking. It was a question directed at an esper assistant who wasn’t present.
Yoshitori looked at him expectantly.
“Uh, yes. It’s here. I can feel it.” Reigen added. “Definitely an evil spirit here.”
In the serenity of the garden, the silence after his declaration was almost comical.
“So, do I stay, or…”
Reigen shook his head. “Best to leave it to me. Go inside and have a cup of tea. Before you’re finished, I guarantee, I’ll have exorcised this evil spirit.”
Yoshitori ambled back into the house.
Reigen was left in the garden alone.
He busied himself with exploring. That way, if Yoshitori happened to look out of one of the windows that opened into the garden, Reigen would look superficially busy.
He kneeled at the edge of the koi pond and touched the surface of the water. One of the fish bobbed up and nibbled at the end of his finger. He watched it for a moment, then withdrew. His father had kept koi. It had been years since he’d visited his childhood home, but he still remembered sitting and playing with the fish when he was a kid. The little creatures had always freaked his sister Kimi out, but he found them to be peaceful. He could lose an hour just watching them swirl beneath the clear water.
He heard a crack, like a twig snapping.
He looked around at the deer scarer. It filled with water and cracked together again.
As he walked around the rest of the garden, every few steps punctuated by the crack of the deer scarer, he wondered if there truly was a spirit or if Yoshitori’s wife was simply ill. He’d known people to blame evil spirits for a sudden degradation in health, and vice versa. He supposed it was his job to figure out the truth.
Which was hard, with as many psychic abilities as a lump of coal. In fact, he’d encountered a coal spirit before, which meant he would even lose to the coal.
He’d managed so far without Serizawa or Mob, aside from a few urgent calls for last minute exorcisms. Those usually ended in payment with ramen, or drinks. This was just the same.
“If something is out there, it’s better for the both of us if you just show yourself. It won’t be good for you if you continue to terrorise this elderly couple.” Reigen addressed the koi pond, unsure of where else to look. “It won't be good for either of us." He continued in a low voice.
The pond was decidedly silent. Just as he’d suspected.
It was most likely that the cause of Riyo’s sudden illness wasn't the work of an evil spirit, but the work of her old age catching up with her. Still, telling the Yoshitori’s to get checked up at the hospital wouldn’t bring him in any cash, something he desperately needed if he were to keep Spirits and Such afloat.
He reached inside his suit jacket pocket and pulled out a bag of salt. He hadn’t needed it for a while, but it was a reassurance as he dipped his fingers in the salt and threw a pinch into the pond. Not enough to harm the fish, but enough to feasibly harm a malignant spirit making its home there. He tossed a few more handfuls of salt around, giving it a little flourish in case Yoshitori was watching.
Once he was done, he folded the bag and returned it to his pocket. A job well done he supposed.
He was turning to leave when the crack of the deer scarer jolted through him again. The noise was different this time. It sounded less hollow, and more like it had impacted something brittle. He heard it again, and again, each time it sounder louder, and closer to breaking.
He dusted his hands of the remaining granules of salt and turned back. The deer scarer cracked together again, and Reigen saw the length of the bamboo had split up each side. He hummed his curiosity to his absent assistant.
Snap.
The bamboo scarer clattered as each piece fell away from the other and dropped to float on the surface of the pond. There was a moment of deafening silence, without the steady stream of water dripping into the pond, and then the remains of the deer scarer exploded. A plume of water spurted from the opening and drenched the garden. It spun, aiming for Reigen.
Reigen jumped back, out of the way of the sudden sputtering fountain. A few drops of water plopped onto his jacket, seeping in through the layers of fabric down to his skin. It felt supernaturally cold.
“So there’s a spirit after all, eh?” Reigen grimaced, immediately going for his phone. He knew his limit.
He punched in Mob’s number and hit dial. His fingers were numb with adrenaline, but he managed to raise his phone to his ear, dodging the wild waterworks which seemed intent on soaking him through.
He was met with Mob’s answerphone message.
Of course—he was probably at cram school at this time of day.
“Okay…scratch that. Let’s try…” Reigen had typed the first few digits of Serizawa’s number when the ground went from beneath his feet.
The plume of water, with the physicality of a giant hand, had caught him by the ankle and flung him up into the air. The freezing water numbed his bare skin. More than that, the air had been knocked out of him with the ferocity of the attack.
He heard a yelp of surprise pulled from his lungs. He tried to right himself, but the spirit’s hold on him was tight. He’d never encountered malevolent water. It would be an interesting one for his new blog, if he made it that far. He remembered his phone, still clutched in his hand.
“Come on…” He typed the rest of Serizawa’s number from memory.
The hand around his ankle loosened, and he was free-falling.
On the descent, which either took forever or went too quickly for him to register much else but the air rushing past his ears, he hit dial. He heard the dial tone start up.
It was too late.
He met the ground again, his back meeting the stone pavings that surrounded the koi pond. He had instinctively dropped his phone in favour of clamping his hands around the crown of his head. Still, the blossom of pain that started at his shoulder blades and radiated outwards had eaten up most of his coherence. The space between his shoulders stung. When he took a heaving breath in, his lungs protested with aching pain that told him he couldn’t withstand another attack.
He looked around, sluggish and stunned.
His phone had clattered to a rest, just out of arm’s reach.
And above him, looming taller and taller, was a figure made entirely out of the brackish pond water. He could even see several of the koi floating helplessly in the figure’s chest cavity. Definitely an evil spirit.
He reached into his pocket with scrabbling, panicked fingers and pulled out his bag of salt. He tossed the bag at the evil spirit with the last of his fleeting strength. He was impressed with his own throw—the bag stuck itself in the spirit’s watery face. The salt was absorbed harmlessly. The bag, now empty, floated leisurely to the ground.
“Ah, worth a try.” He murmured.
The evil spirit, now enraged, screamed through gurgling lungs.
Reigen rolled out of the way a second before the spirit’s hand crashed into the edge of the pond, sending rocks and plants flying. Reigen felt bad for Riyo’s garden. It had clearly taken a lot of work.
He tried to scramble to his feet, but he had a sinking feeling that the fall had been worse than he’d initially thought. The pain was only worsening, and now his head was filled with cotton. He tasted copper.
The spirit roared again, a declaration of its presence more than anything, and slammed its arm down again.
This time, Reigen wasn’t quite fast enough in his dodging. This time, the attack hit him head on. His head slammed back against the rocks hard enough that for a staggering second, he thought his teeth had been knocked out.
His senses were lost as they were submerged within the spirit’s watery arm. The freezing water shocked his system enough to stay awake, head wound withstanding. Underwater, he watched a swirl of his own crimson blood peel away from his hairline.
The oxygen in his lungs had been exhausted. He gasped, and received a mouthful of freezing, foul tasting water. His vision had begun to flake away into darkness.
He pulled away as hard as he could with the energy he could muster, but the evil spirit held him down with several tonnes of water. He had no chance.
Always kind of planned to go down like this, he thought, semi-delirious, just wish I could’ve gone out on a high note.
As he lost consciousness and his vision went completely dark, he heard his phone trill with an incoming call.