Chapter Text
Mob remembers it clearly, the first time he’d ever seen Reigen cry.
It happened just after Mob started his first year of middle school and had been working with Shishou for a few years. He was walking up to the door of Spirits and Such when he heard someone shouting in the office.
“You can’t keep making excuses for him!”
Mob’s first thought was that it was a customer. Most of them were friendly, but every once and awhile someone would get aggressive. It was usually about the cost or they would complain about the quality of the service. Shishou was always able to at least calm them down enough to make them leave, if not fully endear himself to them. So Mob wasn’t particularly worried. As he reached the door, though, he realized it was Reigen who was yelling.
“He’s a monster, Misaki, when will you realize it?!”
No response.
He must be on the phone, but.. Who’s Misa--
“Because you’re my little sister! I care about you, okay?! And I sure as HELL don’t want to get a phone call one day saying he’s beaten you to death!”
His sister? I need to go, I can’t intrude. B-but Shishou is expecting me and I just can’t leave without a word.
Mob’s mind swirled with indecision which left him frozen at the front door.
“What the fuck does that mea--Wait? Are you pregnant?! Please don’t tell me you’re going to let that man near a child?!”
There was a brief moment of complete silence and then Mob heard the crash of something breaking. He still couldn’t will himself to move.
“NO! Y-you can’t!” Reigen’s shouts quickly turned to desperate pleas, “Misaki, don’t do this. Please come stay with me. I-I’ll do anything, just please don’t do thi-- Misaki? Misaki?.....Misaki” The last time he says her name, it’s a whisper.
Mob hears the distinct squeak of Reigen’s office chair and a thump on his desk. Mob still doesn’t know exactly what to do, but he does know that he can’t stay out there forever. He also doesn’t think he can just walk away knowing the state his Shishou is in right now. He takes a breath, counts to ten in his head, and tries his best to casually walk on through.
The room is dark save for some beams of light shooting from the spaces in the blinds. It takes Mob a bit to adjust to the dark, but when he does he immediately notices the broken flower pot just a few feet in front of him. That must have been what made the crashing noise. Mob’s attention is quickly drawn to the heap on Reigen’s desk as it starts to quitely sob. He feels a twist of pain at the sight.
“Shishou?” Mob asks softly not wanting to startle his mentor.
It doesn’t work because Reigen goes from a crumpled mess to sitting upright in .01 seconds. “Oh, hello Mob” He tries to give his usually friendly greeting, but his eyes are puffy, his voice is weak, and there’s a stream of tears rolling down his face.
Mob feels like he’s been stabbed in the gut. He so badly wants to help, but he has no idea where to start. He feels so useless. The only thing he knows how to do is use his powers. So, he swirls his aura around the broken pot, fixing it and setting it back on the desk.
Reigen gives a strained chuckle as he stands up and walks over to Mob.
“You’re a good kid” He said, ruffling his student’s hair. There’s a moment of quiet and Reigen sighs, “Mob, remember this. Guys who hit women are the biggest losers in the world.” There’s a dark edge to his voice.
Mob nods.
They close up shop early and Reigen takes them out for ramen. His eyes are still a little red as he prattles on about a client from that morning. Mob doesn’t know how to bring up what just happened, so he stays quiet. But he holds on tight to what Reigen said.