divinetree | big dumb nerds I MEAN VALENTINES DAY SHIPPY POST

[This guy reminds him a little bit of Teru. Shigeo bows his head, but after a pause, he'll accept the handshake as well. Shigeo didn't think a thing of it, but Reigen's scrutinizing Joshua with a keen eye.]

Do you know Mob from somewhere?

[Because Reigen sure did only reference his student as "Mob", not by his real name. Shigeo slowly blinks, not quite catching on any reason to be suspicious - but Reigen's staring down Joshua more intently. He has more reasons to suspect that people are going to be out to deceive him or defame him, after all - and he doesn't want to tangle up Mob in all of that.]

Only from second hand information, I'm afraid: I heard about a psychic that was around my age working here too, and that was the name I was given when I asked.

[Joshua tilts his head a little curiously at Shigeo, then.]

Would you prefer having me call you "Mob" as well, or something else?

[Oh. Someone actually actively looked for him, then... if Shigeo feels any particular way about that, he's not letting on directly.]

I don't really mind. Just not Shige-chan.

[Hee Hee]

Wouldn't dream of it, dear.

[Josh no you literally just met him don't try to fluster him already--]

As to the matter of why I'm here... by any chance, have either of you been to Shibuya before?

[If Joshua was attempting, he'd have to try much much harder and more straightforwardly than that - it seems to fly right over Shigeo's head.]

I don't think so.

[Reigen hos and hums for a moment. "Mob, we had that case of the possessed umbrella over there."]

Oh. Never mind. I remember that.

[Interesting. Joshua wonders vaguely if that was during his game with Kitaniji, otherwise he would have noticed that sort of presence sooner if he hadn't been so distracted at the time.

He can only imagine what Shigeo's reaction was, if he saw any dead people running around doing weird tasks as part of the game.]

Well, I'm from there, actually, and some people I know were talking about spirits recently. Namely, that several from here are suddenly coming over to haunt Shibuya instead.

Oh. I see. We can exorcise them for you for a fee--

["No, no, let's do this one for free, Mob," Reigen interrupts, still casting a suspicious look at Joshua.]

...Shishou, you haven't been paid all week...

[At that, Joshua blinks in surprise himself. Despite the lack of psychic ability, Reigen is proving to be more perceptive than originally given credit for.]

Are you sure? I don't mind paying whatever you ask for, if it'll help put everyone at ease.

["You are just a teenager. I guess we'll come take a look at what you're talking about, first," Reigen says rather definitively, though Shigeo goes to his desk and pulls out the usual payment sheet anyway. "If there's a big enough problem, we'll see about prices."]

What kind of spirits...?

[Joshua considers how far he wants to go with the truth, before he decides he has to allow some of it here to get the information he's curious about.]

From what I have been told, most spirits that co-exist in Shibuya are almost entirely human in appearance, but recently there has been an increase in spirits appearing in a more... eccentric form.

[And here, he describes an example of something that you'd be more likely to find in Seasoning City, with odd colours and exaggerated features rather than appearing like a completely normal person...]

... And, it seems they all have the same aura that the spirits in this city typically have by comparison, hence why we believe that they originally came from here. Why they've suddenly started coming to our city, though... we're not sure of the whole story, but it's become enough of a concern for us.

Mm. I wonder why they're leaving the city. Maybe Dimple knows.

["Where is he, come to think of it," Reigen muttered thoughtfully. "Then again, maybe that spirit showing back up spooked them..." he added, tapping his chin thoughtfully and leading the way to the train station. Shigeo seems to know which spirit that Reigen's talking about, because he tenses.]

[Joshua did not come here by train and has not been on one in a long time, which might unintentionally show in the rather curious look he gives the station here as he listens.

"That spirit", huh... but, rather than immediately ask, Shigeo catches his attention with the way he tenses at the mention of it. So Joshua turns his interest toward him instead.]

Are you alright, Kageyama-kun?

[Oh. Joshua's perceptive. Shigeo tenses a little more, but looks a little embarrassed. (Probably.)]

I'm alright. I just have to perform an exorcism.

...Has anyone in Shibuya been possessed?

Ah, I see. If there's anything that I can do to help you feel more at ease though, please let me know.

As for your question... hmm. [Joshua hums in thought, considering.] There was an incident not too long ago regarding some suspicious pins--whomever wore them suddenly started acting strange and saying... ah, what was it again?

[... Oh, yes--]

"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be..."

[A pause, and then he shrugs]

... Yes, I know, ridiculously creepy and overdramatic. That said, I haven't seen anyone wearing those pins anymore, so I can't say for sure if that incident's related to what's been happening now.

[Shigeo relaxes a little. That didn't sound like Mogami, at least.]

Has anyone gotten hurt?

I think there has been an abnormal tick in the number of deaths that normally occur, but...

[...]

As strange as this may sound, I'm actually concerned about the other spirits in this city and how they're reacting to these unfamiliar ones more so than the living are.

So you are an esper.

[Maybe, at least. Joshua doesn't read like an evil spirit like this, but he doesn't read normally, either.]

Are you friends with a spirit, too?

["Maybe you've seen a floating green booger somewhere over there."]

[At that, Joshua smiles.]

Bravo, Kageyama-kun: while I would not say that I'm like most others, I've been able to see the dead from a very early age. I've even befriended a few of them over the years, hence my interest in seeing that this matter can be resolved on their behalf.

It's rare to find friendly spirits... I'm glad that they're safer where you are.

But the scariest spirit seems to have disappeared from here, so the rest that spilled out probably won't be a big deal.

I certainly hope so. It would make things difficult otherwise in calming them down, even with the rumors and such spreading around about the ones coming in from your city.

That said... [There's a pause, before he frowns a little.] They are friendly, but that doesn't always mean that it's "safer" for them or even the living sometimes, I think.

Mm.

["We'll melt them all in one fell swoop. Just follow my lead, Mob."]

Yeah. I'll find them all. An exorcism is the easy part..

Edited 2018-02-16 09:18 (UTC)

Thank you. I really appreciate having your assistance here.

[The train soon arrives in Shibuya, and upon stepping off the train, Joshua allows the distraction he had set up to keep the Reapers from noticing his lack of presence in the city to fall away now that he's back. Not that they'll even notice that he had left to begin with.

Except, the moment he does, his cellphone suddenly rings. Joshua reaches into his pocket to remove an orange flip phone, and for a moment, he glances at Shigeo and Reigen.]

My apologies, this will only be a moment. [And then bringing the phone up to his ear, and his tone of voice suddenly seems to do a 180, far too chipper to be entirely genuine.] Why, Mr. H, what a lovely surprise it is to hear from--

["J, what were you thinking, leaving like that so suddenly? What if something had happened to the city while you were gone?"]

... My, nothing gets past you, does it? Relax, I was only gone for an hour at most. I very highly doubt Shibuya's underground is going to fall apart that quickly in my absence, "irregular spiritual activity" or not. Besides, I've brought along a pair of well-trained experts--

["So I noticed." This "Mr H"'s tone is a bit sarcastic though at this, before becoming serious again. "What were you thinking, leaving the city and bringing them here without telling anyone, let alone me?"

And now Joshua frowns, but he beckons both Mob and Reigen to start walking with him now toward the location he wants to take them to.]

Why? Because you're my Producer? That may be, but you're certainly not my mentor anymore, last I checked.

["..."]

Anyway, I need to get back to work now. These rumors about the new spirits that's got everyone upset won't resolve itself by doing nothing, you know.

["... Just... never mind. As long as whatever it is you're doing right now doesn't endanger anyone or interfere with the game."]

It won't. [A pause, before Joshua sighs.] Do you really have so little faith in me, Sanae?

["... I'll check in on you later, J."]

... Sure. It's a date--ah, but try not to stand me up again like last time, it's quite rude to leave a friend hanging like that you know.

["Joshua--"]

I'm joking, sir. Besides, this cute boy I'm with right now is much more enjoyable to spend time with than you anyway.

[And just like that, Joshua hangs up the phone on the guy...]

[... And he turns his attention back to Reigen and Mob.]

Sorry about that. Where was I? ... Ah, yes: the most common place to find some of the spirits of this city tend to be in the Scramble Crossing by 104. We should be able to see them once we pass these stores here.

[Mob nods, having not parsed any of the conversation, really. But the moment he steps forward, Reigen's hand grabs his shoulder, stopping him. The suspicious look is back in full force on Reigen's face, as he instead stares Joshua down.]

I think we're owed an explanation before then. You've got some kind of stake here - you're not normal, either.

[Mob opens his mouth, but shuts it - Reigen's never really reacted to Espers like this. On Reigen's end, well...

He wasn't about to drag Mob into another situation just like the Asagiri case.]

If we're here to clean up your mess, you're going to tell us what's actually going on, you spirit. You're outsourcing and endangering my student because you don't want to risk your own hide, don't you?

[At that, Joshua actually opens his own mouth in surprise, before he closes it, tilts his head a little here.]

Well, that's a rather curious thing to say. Not entirely untrue, granted, but only for the first part of what you said.

[Reigen was right. He's not normal. But didn't he say as much a moment ago, when he had told Mob about being able to see the dead?

Of course, there is more to that, and Reigen has certainly gotten slightly closer to the truth than the actual esper has. Impressive, really.]

What makes you think that this is my mess? Or that I called you here to help purely for the sake of my own self-preservation? If I cared about something like that, you wouldn't even be here. Neither would I, frankly, as I would have let the dead contend with this matter on their own instead.

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