Work Text
I never learned how to write until I was 12 years old. My name is Shigeo Kageyama, and I am blind. No, not like my vision is really bad, it's just that I cannot see at all, total darkness. That was my world. This is my world. All that is in it. Darkness. I have psychic powers that help me throughout, they help me write and move, but it's harder for me to use them than regular psychics. My hearing is very good, and my sense of touching is hyper reactive. I just cant see. Colors, animals, my family. and I wish I could. My Shishou's name is Reigen Arataka. He's a fake psychic. He acts like I don't know this, but I don't mind. He's deaf, so I look out for him. He acts like he doesn't need me at all sometimes, but deep down, we both know we need each other. Like a shepherdess guiding her sheep. They could be so very lionhearted, and yet become lost without her. And she would become nothing without her sheep. I met him one day because my brother said I needed to talk to another esper (before he found out he was an esper, too.) We saw his office and came up, and I immediately knew he was a fake. There was no aura from him. But he was such a nice guy and treated me kindly. I work for him now, helping him translate what clients ask and such. He had hearing aids that made him hear the loudest of noises, but they've broken now and he has no money for any others. It's okay, because he's got me, and I've got him. I learned Japanese braille (including Kantenji) when I was 7. I learned how to write in Japanese when I was 12. I helped Reigen learn braille, too. though it doesn't seem like he's going to be blind anytime soon. In fact, he has better than perfect vision. I really envy him, but I don't know if being deaf would be any worse than being blind. I wouldn't want to take my chances. after all, being blind is enough for me. The day they found out I was blind, my family gave me a bandana to put over my eyes. I didn't mind, though that lowered the chances of me being able to see anymore. They said it was to "make it obvious i was blind so people could help". It didn't make sense to me, but thats okay. They said it was dark blue and it looked very pretty on me. I dont know what pretty or dark blue is. My name is Shigeo Kageyama, and I feel left out on life. -- I wish I was the greatest psychic of the 21st century. My name is Reigen Arataka, and I have already been defeated in life. The winner? My deafness. though I cant really complain, I've been living my life very fully for a person like me. I have my own (sort of thriving, might I add!) business, I have money, a job, I'm educated, all that good stuff. so I might as well be the greatest psychic of the 21st century! Well, more like "Star of the Paranormal World." Mob is actually the greatest psychic of the 21st century. I met him when he first entered my office 4 years ago with his little brother, Ritsu. I asked why Mob had a blindfold on, and Ritsu saw my hearing aids and got a piece of paper, writing about how he was blind. I thought it was clever how he figured I was almost deaf. If he was that smart, his brother must've been too. Well, if I've learned anything about Mob, it's that he's not very booksmart, and is instead very dense. I gave Mob advice, and he came back the next day, which I didn't expect. Ritsu said that Mob and I were similar. We had a disability and kept going. I smiled and nodded my head, acting like it made sense to me. Being deaf and being blind are two different things. Or so I thought. I didn't believe Mob had psychic powers at first. In fact, I thought it was his imagination, and that hearing the voices of spirits was some delusional thing he had going on. One day, I saw him and Ritsu at the park. Ritsu was screaming frantically at his brother that there was a fountain right in front of him, but he ran into it anyways and fell in. He controlled the water around him and picked himself up, carrying giant globs of water with him. I watched it in awe, and Ritsu snickered at me. He probably also figured out that I didn't believe in Mob's psychic powers. Or really, psychic powers at all. That was the last day I heard anything before my hearing aids broke. As the days went on, he was interested in my business and wanted to do something other than stay at home all day and be homeschooled. I said I'd pay him ¥300 each hour if he did, and he took the opportunity in a flash. I needed a real psychic on my team anyways. Some of the cases I was up against were real and needed to be exorcised. Acquaintanceship turned into friendship. -- "Oh shigeo! I bought you something to eat!" said the familiar voice of a classmate. I gasp and almost starting fidgeting out of surprise. "R-Really?" I stuttered. No one does nice things like this for me. In fact, I don't recall anyone other than Ritsu and my mom doing something nice for me. Although I couldn't see the person nor could I tell who they were by their voice, I considered them a friend from now on. "T-Thank you.." "Of course, Shigeo! It's a surprise though, so you'll have to eat it to find out what it is!" she said. I couldnt see their faces. Their expressions. I wish I could see the persons face so I could thank them and tell them how "pretty" they are. I don't even know what pretty means. "Good looking," I suppose, but what is good looking? What does that mean? I cant look. She shoved the bag into my hands and I grab it, shaking. "Thank you again... um.." "Tsubomi-chan!" "Tsubomi-chan.." I said softly. I've heard of her. She's the school's idol. I bet she looks "pretty", or whatever they call it. I wonder what pretty is. iI hear small laughter and tilt my head. The surprise must be a funny looking shape or something. I reach into the bag and grasp something... soft. It was surrounding by prickly things which I assume were some sort of plant, since it was fuzzy. I still couldn't put my finger onto what the thing I was holding was, though. I take it out of the bag and take a bite into it, only to spit it out and choke. "SHIGEO'S EATING A DEAD BIRD!" someone cried out, and everyone started laughing. "Wh-" I started, choking more on what I had bit into. Someone pushed me and I fell over onto the dead bird, feeling something crawl on me. Someone shrieked and everyone laughed again, the waves of humiliation crashing over me like a tsunami. "Now there's MAGGOTS on his BODY!" The person who pushed me shrieked, and I heard a familiar voice break out cackling. It was Tsubomi-chan. I freaked out and started rolling around the floor. 50% "OH THATS DISGUSTING!" Someone screamed, running away. I felt everyone around me bawl with laughter. I was so confused, what did I eat? did Tsubomi trick me? Did she- 57% "OH YOU FREAK! EATING A DEAD BIRD!" I felt someone kick me in the back, and I grunted, tears welling up in my eyes. 68% People were chanting "FREAK! FREAK!" while I was being ripped up and tossed around like a mouse, wrestling with the heavens and the devil himself. I felt someone kick me again in the gut and someone else threw their tray at me. 76% "FREAK! FREAK! FREAK! FREAK" 85% "You're so dumb, Shigeo-kun." I heard Tsubomi say, giggling. 95% "ROADKILL EATER!" 97% "Shigeo," 99% "You're a nobody." 100% - sadness. I wake up in a cold sweat. Someone is holding my hand, and I start to freak out, but I can smell something that is uniquely Ritsu's hair, so he must be the person who is holding my hand. "Niisan.. what's wrong? You were thrashing and-" iI grabbed his arm and hugged him, crying sloppily into what seemed to be his chest. I sobbed my heart out, because I thought it had actually happened for a while. I thought it was real and I would be humiliated for the rest of my life. It felt so.. real. and I didn't want it to be. I sobbed into ritsu's chest and grabbed onto his pajama shirt. He let out a concerned noise. "N-Niisan.. what happened.." "R-Ritsu..." I started. tears falling straight from my eyes. Ritsu said once that they were glossy and white. I didn't know what either of those meant. "Ritsu... I-I... I had.... a-a... nightmare...." "Niisan.." he started, patting my ratty hair. I sobbed into his shirt and dug my cheek into it. "It's... it w-was because... I'm blind.. and.." I sobbed even more. "Niisan..." he started, hugging onto me. "Niisan. I won't let anyone hurt you or your feelings ever. I won't let that happen," Ritsu said, and I felt a tear drop land on my ruffled, matted hair. "R-Ritsu..." I muttered, digging my nails into his shirt. "R-Ritsu.... me either..." I said, and I cried into his shirt again. "Niisan, we should get up. School will start soon." Ritsu said, and i nodded. school would start soon. i had to get ready. i release my grip from ritsu and stand up, and he helps me to the bathroom, helping me get ready for school. Homeschool, that is. I put on my blindfold and call it a day. -- "Mob-kun! How was homeschool?" Reigen said as I worked my way into his office, I had been here daily, so i didnt need ritsu's help getting into the building at all. though as for reigen's question, i didn't say anything. "Mob?" he said, and i turned around in the direction his voice was coming from. "Mob? Are you okay?" I hesitated silently before muttering something under my breath. i walked up to him and grabbed his hand, writing on it. "Yes Shishou, just had a rough morning." I wrote, letting out a prolonged sigh. Reigen pats the chair next to him twice, which I think meant for me to sit down. I sighed again, sitting down at the chair next to Reigen's. At least I think it was. I felt around to feel the chair, and, (thank god), it was a chair. "Well, are you gonna talk about it?" He asked, putting his hand on my shoulder. It startled me, but I didnt react. "I'll listen to it. Well... I'll read it.." he added. I knew he could speak well without hearing himself, since he wasnt always completely deaf. He just... couldn't hear anything any more, and he was very bad at reading lips. He gave me what felt like a piece of paper and a pencil. I put them down on the desk and levitated the pencil onto the paper. I let my powers write it for me. "I had a nightmare." Reigen read out loud. "..Mob-kun, tell me about it." He said, a bit serious. He probably didn't mean it, but I trusted him anyways. "It was.. back when I was at school... before I dropped out... and.. s-someone.. gave me something t-to.. e-eat.. and.." I trailed off, tears welling in my eyes and threatening to escape. I cleared my throat. "A dead bird. It felt... s-so real.. everyone c-called me a freak.." "Mob. having psychic powers doesn't make you any less human." Reigen said to me, and I nodded. I didn't quite believe him. seeing ghosts, bending spoons, and being blind... Wasn't very human at all. "I'm sorry people used to bully you about.. well, you know... your blindness," he said, clearing his throat. "It's gonna be okay. Okay? Keep lazing around and everything. Hey, want the day off? There's no appointments for today. Although you'll have to work extra hard tomorrow, there's a lot of clients coming through then." "Right." I exhaled softly, hoping Reigen didn't read my expression. i mean, it was probably hard to read someones face without their eyes, as most people have told me. I wrote "okay" on the paper and got up out of my chair, leaving the office. I held back tears as I left. -- Ritsu always acts like I go to school like a normal person. He says, "Let's get ready for school!", and then I stay at home. Sometimes it makes me feel included, other times I get really annoyed with him. But I guess I shouldn't, really. He's just looking out for me. He's making sure I get the most normal life I can get, which really... isn't normal. Shishou tells me that I am just as human as everyone else. I've heard the phrase a hundred times, but never had it made sense in my brain. How could I, an esper, a blind boy with ESP, and everything else wrong with him be normal? A normal functioning boy? The only thing I can sense are auras, smells and spirits. Spirits are easy to sense. People are not. I wish I was like my brother. -- I wondered what Mob was up to. if he was okay and all. He seemed... very upset. The nightmare must've been really horrible if he was really that upset. That poor kid has been through so much. I remember the day I realized being blind was just like being deaf. a core part of your body is gone, and the small senses get to become your core. The little things become important. The little things become your life. How much you miss out on regular life, how much you wish you had those senses. you have to live with it. Overcome it. Adapt to it. And it sucks. I feel like mob hasnt gotten over that yet. sure, I dont known what I would do without my sight. Though, he feels the same way about his hearing. It's all based on perspective. No matter what, though, he's still human. He's still a little teenage boy. -- Shigeo fell asleep pretty quickly. The sting from his eyes from bawling his eyes out was too much for him to handle. When he went to his house, he stayed in his room, not eating anything for dinner or talking to Ritsu. He felt alone. Truly alone. And maybe he was right. Maybe he was alone. But he pushed the thought out of his mind and went to sleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Today I skipped homeschool. The sun was supposedly out, so apparently it was supposed to be pretty today. Ritsu tried to explain what he meant by that once again, and I didn't get it. Oh well, at least Mom got me mochi ice cream. Reigen was right- the office was brimming like an overflowing dam. Clients over clients made their way desperately into the building, asking for help. I've exorcised 3 spirits in the span of four hours. That means I get ¥1200! I don't know what to do with all my money, though... it seems like I have quite a lot. About ¥25000 saved up over the years, actually. Ritsu counted it. Maybe I should spend it on something. "Mob-kun, feeling better today? You're really helping out! None of these cases have proven to be fake!" Reigen says in a cheery tone. I nod, thinking to myself about how he's just saying that to get money. It's okay, though, because I like to think that he cares about me deep down. Well... I hope he does. I know he does... don't I? Reigen puts his hand on my shoulder harshly, and I jump. I don't really like it when he does that, it really startles me. I grab his hand and furiously write "Please don't put your hand on my shoulder that hard." He reads it out loud. "Oh, sorry, Mob-kun." He apologizes, lifting the hand off of my shoulder as I sigh. I guess he really does care about me. "You know, if something is still bothering you, you can always tell me. Err... write it for me. I can't really, uh, listen, can I?" He says, chuckling lowly. I slowly nod. Heavy, frantic footsteps erupt from below as a client bursts into the room with a loud thud of the slamming door. Rushed, heavy sobs come from what sounds like a woman. I turn my head to the noise, scared from the suddenness of it. She dramatically exhales, and Reigen snaps into his business mode. "Woah, hey, ma'am please calm down! Whatever is causing this, I'm sure that I, Reigen Arataka, can do the job!" He says boldly, offering the lady a seat in front of his desk. She takes it happily, and he sits down behind it. I stay next to him so I can translate what the client says onto his hand. "Now what's the problem, ma'am?" He asks in a calm tone, trying his best to make sure she didn't explode again. "W-well, there's-" she chokes on her own words, and then clears her throat. "I-I think... my house has been haunted- o-or possessed.. by an evil spirit.."
Reigen makes a "hmm.." noise with his mouth as I write the word "haunted" on his hand. "So.. what are you experiencing?" "Creepy noises, like g-growls and... creaking," she chokes back another sob. "The h-house.. it rumbles at night and y-you can hear groaning. My husband says there's nothing to worry about... a-and I might be d-delusional in all of this.. b-but.." she waits a few seconds for me to finish up translating. "Of course, that sounds like an evil spirit haunting. We can try to exorcise it-" "Please!! I want t-the spirit gone now!" She said, making a sniffling noise. "Right! Leave it to Mob and I! Now, we can discuss prices..."I zone out when they discuss prices, because Shishou can read lips well enough when it involves money. He knows exactly what they're saying because he's gone through it so many times. Apparently she chose the most expensive one with the most spirit reduction. That's what everyone chooses. As long as the spirit is exorcised, they're willing to pay whatever. "Ah, the 3rd course! Good choice! That'll be ¥5000!" He exclaims, and the woman quickly gives him the money. He counts it and lets go of my hand. "Alright, lead us to the house and let us do the rest of the dirty work!" Before I knew it, we were off. -- I never knew there were so many spirits in Japan. Sure, Mob probably deals with them on a daily, I don't know, but as a fake psychic, I sure don't. It always amazes me to see how strong Mob is, how people claim spirits are "too strong for him" and he easily exorcises them with one move. He's got a real talent, a real power, and I hope he uses it for the right thing. Sometimes it scares me thinking about what would happen if those types of powers got into the wrong hands. Someone out there must be using their esper powers for something bad, but as long as Mob is here, the world is safe. At least.. I think it is. The woman allowed us into her car and off we went. She said she'd come quite a drive away, about 45 minutes or so? She knows exactly where her house is, though. I sit in the front, and Mob sits in the back. I don't know what I'd do without my sight in a car. Probably be extremely bored, since I couldn't look out the window. He probably falls asleep. I think about what he does in his spare time, since I don't really ask him those things. Maybe I should. I really do care about him, I just have a hard time showing it.. since communication is hard. Today is bright and sunny. The rural area we were crossing by had some beautiful trees, their leaves falling around and replacing each other in the summer heat. I could feel the sun blaze down on the car, though the woman had the A/C up, which I was grateful for. The world was beautiful today, looking out at the fields of grass and beautiful, deep, rich brown trees with pink and orange blossoms dotting them. Mob had never seen anything like this. His world was surrounded by darkness and black and everything like it. He didn't know what pink or orange was, what a cherry blossom looks like, what even "pretty" means. As we drive, I look through the window, wondering what it would be like without my sight. -- We were told that we had arrived at the house, and I already felt an aura. A pretty strong one, actually. The woman helps me out of the car and I thank her. "This is my house." The woman states, and I feel her gulp in anxiety. "Do you... feel anything? I heard espers feel 'auras'." "Yeah. It's pretty strong, too. Does this stuff happen often?" I ask, trying not to worry her. "Y-Yea-" she begins, and is straight away cut off. "Alright! Let's see what you can do, Mob-kun." Reigen chirps in, and I know full well he couldn't hear anything the client and I were saying. She scoffs and says "rude" under her breath, and I sigh. I wish she could just figure out that Shishou was deaf. I think she figured I was blind, or at least weird in some way. I clasp onto Reigen's arm, and he grunts. He helps me enter the house, and we follow the woman around it. She showed us around the place, and I said I could feel the aura getting stronger. She seemed worried by that, so she asked me where. I couldn't exactly point to where, so I let go of Shishou and wander where the aura gets stronger. It's very hard for me to wander in unknown surroundings, but I feel my way through the house, until I trip on something that seems like stairs. I hate stairs. "Ah, up the stairs? It must be up there." Reigen says, and he helps me up. I nod.
"Yeah. I feel it up there." I say. Shishou lets me stand again and I grab onto his hand, letting him help me up the stairs. The aura slowly got stronger and stronger, and I turned to Reigen. "Get out of here just incase something happens. Stay outside with the client." I say, and Reigen gulps. He runs down the stairs and tells the client to go outside with him, which she makes a worried noise in return. They rush outside as I hear the door close. I move my head and feel my way up the rest of the stairs. The ground shakes and the house rumbles, a lowly growl and a groan following it escaping the house. The aura is stronger than I expected. I inhale and clench my fists, and suddenly, there's something unfamiliar in my vision. It's something other than darkness, other than black, and I stumble back in awe. W-What? What is- The thing moved quickly from my vision and I turn, seeing it again. It suddenly pushes me over and I fall flat on the ground with a loud thud. I quickly bounce back up as best as I can, but the thing darts from my vision again and I feel myself fall flat on my stomach. I wince and focus on exorcising the thing, whatever it is. I look in the direction the "thing" is in. All I can see is the thing and the darkness that surrounds my vision, and I force the energy at the spirit. It roars at me and moves around, and I focus the energy on where it darted. I dodge it's attack from behind, well knowing it was there because of my hearing. It roars again and I focus more energy onto it before it suddenly disappears. Gone. I'm pushed back by the force of the power I used, and I can hear some objects falling over and onto the ground. Just like that, the spirit was exorcised. It was the fourth one today, why was I so surprised? That's when I realized... No more spirits were there, though there was still an aura. I search around but find nothing that could possibly emit the aura. I check every room I can feel around in and look for something that would be in my path of vision. Is this what having sight is? What color was it? I knew what it could possibly be- a spirit. But I didn't know any of the details. Maybe the aura was strong enough I could see it. Maybe it was just a once in a life time thing. Whatever it was, I saw something for the first time. Though, I couldn't find anymore spirits in the house. I sigh and clench my fists, carefully gliding myself down the stairs. Reigen bursts into the house, and I ran into him on accident. "S-Sorry, Shishou!" I exclaim, a nervous expression creeping onto my mouth. He must've read my lips, since he can read very simple phrases. "It's fine, Mob-kun! Really! Did you exorcise the spirit?" He asked, softly putting a hand on my shoulder. I nod. "But-" "That's great, Mob-kun! Don't worry about anything, she already paid us and offered to ride us home. Was the spirit strong?" He questions me, walking me out of the house. I nod again, deciding not to tell him about the strange, still strong aura that haunted the house. The main spirit must've been gone. We walk to the car, where the woman thanks us. I say "you're welcome" in the blandest way I could've said it, so I wouldn't look noticeably bothered by something. Shishou and I enter the car, and she drives us back to Reigen's office. I think about the aura still at the house on the way back there.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Shishou, I think I saw something."
He wrote on my hand. The words appeared in my head, and my eyes went wide. Mob... saw something? He was completely blind and never, ever, had seem anything in his life. I thought it was impossible. How could he ever-
"Reigen Shishou?" He mouthed, and my vision snapped as I saw him move out of the corner of my eye. I blinked as it dawned upon me...
This must be related to his psychic powers.
"Mob, why don't you draw what you... uh.. saw?"
He tilted his head, levitating a pencil and a piece of paper towards him. The paper rests on the desk, and he lets the pencil drag across the paper. He takes his drawing very slowly, seeing as though he very rarely draws. An outline is slowly forming on the paper, but as I expect a full drawing to occur, only the outline shows. It looks like a spirit, or what you could call a monster. I assumed this was because of his psychic powers.
"Mob, what you saw was an outline. An outline of, most likely, an evil spirit. Did you see it while preforming your exorcism?" I ask.
"I guess so," I saw him mouth. I sighed and looked at him, knowing he wouldn't look back. He levitated the pencil again and wrote.
"Shishou, what is seeing like?"
"Well, I mean, didn't you just experience it? It's... very helpful. And vital. Well, at least to me, seeing as though you seem to survive without it. I bet you think the same way about your hearing. Our other senses seem to be stronger than normal because of our loss..." I trail off, knowing how out of topic this was. "Sight is well, you see colors and beautiful things. You see people and billions of colors strung together. Though, you probably don't know what any of that means."
"I don't really.. I know beautiful is good, though." Mob replies. "I know that certain colors have names, and they have "shades" and "tints", in which they're a little different, but what is a shade and a tint? What is light and what is reflection? Dark blue? Pretty? I... I hate it... not knowing what those things are..."
30%
"Mob-kun, don't over think it. I know I was deaf when I was a kid, mostly, until I got hearing aids. They didn't last forever, though, as they broke, and now I can't really process any sound. I'm sure if I had hearing aids again I could hear the loudest sounds, but not really regular speech or whatever else you can hear. I don't know what certain things are, either. I haven't ever heard music, in fact. You're not alone, Mob-kun." I say in a stern tone, and he tilts his head. He levitates the pencil again.
"You haven't heard music?" He writes.
"And you haven't seen colors? We're alike, Mob. We're very similar, yet very different. That's why we work together, isn't it? To benefit from each other," I reply. He nods his head, and his shoulders slump in what I think was a sigh.
"I guess," he mouths in my direction. An uncomfortable silence falls between the two of us before I speak.
"Well, you should be going home. Do you want to go somewhere to eat, first? Or would you rather-"
"I'll go home." Is what I got from his mouth movement, and I nod. I watch Mob leave the room slowly, probably emotionally exhausted from being challenged on the daily. He carefully slides his feet down the stairs before he's completely out of my vision.
I sigh and pray to some God that things would get better for him.
-
Ritsu greets me when I finally get myself home. I ask him how school was, and he says his usual "it was good". Sometimes I wonder if it's always good, or if he gets bullied like I used to. Probably not, though. He's smart, fully functional, athletic, and handsome, unlike me. Well, I can't really tell if I'm handsome, but I can surely say I'm not the other three. I climb up to my room and lay on my bed, thinking about everything. Ritsu, Reigen Shishou, Mom and Dad... they're doing so much better than me. How can I improve myself? How can I fix my eyes?
How can I see.. more? More than just an "outline"?
Ritsu walks up to my room, opening the door carefully.
"Niisan?" He said, walking into my room. Soft footsteps echo in the room as he sits next to me on the bed. I sigh, sitting up and straightening my messy hair.
"Hi Ritsu," I say reluctantly, and I hear a noise of concern come from his mouth.
"What's wrong, Niisan?" He asks, and I tilt my head up. I wanted to say something different. I wanted to tell him how I was feeling, that I was suffering, that I didn't want to keep on living like this. I'd come so far, but everything proved to backfire at one point. I sighed again.
"Everything's good and all. Just the usual." I say. I hated lying to my younger brother so much. I knew he wanted to help, he wanted to know my suffering, and that he wanted to know how I was feeling. He... admired me, didn't he? I always thought he did. He always wanted powers.
I always wanted sight.
"Oh, alright. Well, if you need to talk to me, I'm always here." He said, and I could feel something different about the way he said it. Like, he didn't say it just to say it. He meant it.
"I'm going on a walk, I'll see you after dinner." He says, and I nodded in his direction. I hear footsteps get quieter, the front door open, and then closing.
"Shigeo, dinner is ready!" I heard Mom call, and I get off my bed, doing my best to walk down the stairs to the dining room.
-
I open the door to my apartment and sigh.
The apartment is very messy- scattered clothes everywhere, open pizza boxes from nights ago, a little bit of hair, towels that I failed to fold, and some dishes I haven't washed. I'm used to how chaotic the mess is, but when I smell it, I cringe. I probably need to clean it. I walk towards the towels, starting to fold them. Half way between, I half-ass it, and then stop completely. That's my nature; half-assing things. I half-ass my job, my house, my taxes, my relationships...
Well, all but one relationship. My friendship with Mob.
Being completely honest, he's the only person I look forward to seeing. He might be a bit of a mindless follower, but he needs me. Or, I need him. My business depends on him, and he depends on me for advice and money. He's emotionally unstable and usually reserved, though he's as much as a normal boy as any normal boy is to me. At first, I didn't believe he had powers. Then one day, at the park, I witnessed it. Ritsu was there, too, smirking at me, which I took offense to. I don't really think he likes me. Mob isn't a normal boy, but he should be treated the same as any other boy.
At least, that's what I think.
I feel a little bit of guilt from my past self, the self that only wanted him to stick around because he was good for business. I do care about him now, I truly do, but I still feel as though I don't somehow, like I haven't gotten over the fact I need him for my business and solely for my business.
Well, I feel guilty for a lot of things.
I walked to the kitchen, opening the cupboard. There was an assortment of cup ramen and other foods in boxes and cans. I grabbed a thing of ramen and went to the sink, pouring water into the half opened cup. Then, sitting it in the microwave for 3 minutes, I take it out and walk to the couch, fork and ramen in my hands. I turn on the TV with subtitles on, changing the channel to the news.
There was a report of the death of a "beast" somewhere, missing dogs, and the daily weather. I looked down at the ramen, dipping the fork into it and bringing it up to my mouth. It burned my lips and I jolted, almost dropping the cup. Damnit, this would be so much easier if Mob were here. I look back up at the TV and see a special breaking news report. It grabbed my attention quickly.
A little boy was found murdered.
I stared at the TV intensely, putting my ramen down on the table infront of me. They said they'd already caught the murderer running, and he'd been arrested. I waited for them to show the body on the screen. After a few seconds, there it was.
My blood turned ice cold.
Displayed on the screen was a photo someone had taken on their phone. The body seemed to be stabbed multiple times and then strangled, the boy's entire face blue. What caught me was what he was wearing.
A Salt Middle School uniform.
Dark blue hair.
There was no doubt about it that the boy, strangled and brutally killed without mercy, was Mob's little brother, Ritsu.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"Breathe out and breathe in, ma'am."
My mother was sobbing uncontrollably. Apparently, the police had been brought into the house, and were now talking to my mom and comforting her. They wouldn't tell me why or how, or who it was about. I stood there, trying to hear what this was all about, but it was mostly overrun by cries and sobs. When I grew too saddened to hear my mom cry her heart out, I walked back upstairs carefully, to my room, feeling around for mt futon before I sat down. I wanted to help my mother stop crying, I hated the noise. I knew it was bad. I have cried before. It sounded ugly. If it sounded ugly, I could only imagine what it looked like. What tears looked like. Ritsu said they were clear.
Ritsu... Ritsu..
Then it hit me. Where was Ritsu? I got up from the futon, heading in the general direction of the door and carefully making his way down the stairs again. I stand just at the bottom of the stairs, hearing my mother's sobbing with my father next to her now. They were all comforting her, but my dad was making ugly crying noises too. I wait until the police have calmed her down enough to where her crying was bearable before I asked, "What happened to Ritsu?" And then my mom went back to ugly crying. One of the police men spoke up. "You really want to know?" He asked, and I nodded. I could hear the police man rise from the couch and walk towards me until he stopped. "Your brother..." he started, and then gulped. "Your brother is dead. Someone murdered him. We arrested the person, but we still need to investigate in case more were involved." My heart stopped. I felt blood turned icy cold and I felt my heart slowly beat back to live in a rushed panic. All the things I heard around me were blurred and muffled out. I fell back on the stairs, feelings rushing over me and overwhelming my senses. I felt tears sting at the corner of them
50%
I couldn't identify what I was feeling, but all I knew was that in that moment, I wanted to kill somebody. And that person was Ritsu's murderer. Why would anyone on the Earth want to kill him? He was a great person, what could he have done to deserve this? Who was going to help me with all the things in the morning? Who would comfort me when I wasn't feeling good? My parents? They were always busy!
75%
I scrambled to the stairs, running up and bashing my head into walls accidentally. There were tears streaming down my face, I could feel them. Uncontrollable tears. I thought about how ugly it must've looked. I thought about Ritsu. I thought about my little brother and how he was always there for me. And now he wasn't. He was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it. Nothing I could do about the murderer. He was "put in place", awaiting trial most likely, I didn't think so. I wanted him dead. I wanted someone dead for the first time in my life.
90%
And as I screamed my heart out, I fell upon the futon, the last thing I remember being me screaming Ritsu's name before I blacked out. -- I didn't see Mob this morning at work. I felt a pang of guilt in my heart, knowing what happened to his brother. He must've found out. I had cried myself to sleep, knowing Mob wouldn't be the same and that I would never see Ritsu again. I didn't care if Ritsu hated me, I felt horrible for not being a better person. But it wasn't my fault Ritsu died. Someone had murdered him. That was even worse. That meant someone hated him so much they wanted him dead. Who would feel such a thing? Why would someone commit such an act? Did it mean so much to them that he was dead?I see the office's door open and I quickly put on a smile to mask what I was thinking about. -- Mob didn't come to work this week. Luckily, none of the cases actually involved a spirit. I could handle them myself, just as I did before Mob came into my life. I wished the best for him and his family, for their grieving and such. Ritsu's funeral was next week. Maybe I could help Mob get through the pain. Maybe I can help Mob and return all he's done for me. -- Ritsu's funeral was a day ago. I'd seen Mob in disarray. His hair was a mess, there were bags under what was visible of his eyes, and he smelled pretty bad. My guess was that he didn't have the extra help he needed to take care of himself. I felt a little bit of anger at the entire situation. Mob was suffering and now no one was around to help him in his house other than his parents! God, the world was so unfair. His parents were a bit shaken up, too. I gave them my condolences, because in reality, I didn't know what it was like for someone in my family to die. Mob was too young for this. -- Mob came to work today looking worse than he did before. I told him he couldn't live like this, and I saw tears start to form. "Mob... Mob, look. I will teach you how to do all of your hygiene by yourself. Okay? Look, we can take a day off of work and close up the office. I'll teach you how to do basic things, okay? It'll be okay. We can go to my apartment. It'll be okay." I saw him mouth my name and he looked away, before he mouthed the words "Okay, I guess." I got up from the faux leather chair I was sitting on, walked to the office door, and opened it. Mob took a moment before he walked out of the office, and I followed behind him. We went out of the building and walked on the sidewalk silently until we reached a bus stop. Mob and I rode the bus to my apartment. For that moment, it felt like he was my son.