i'm not a child anymore | MOB PSYCHO 100

Chapter 7

Mob was obvious. He was also the only person Reigen couldn't read. Mob wore his heart on his sleeve, but his thoughts were buried so deep even his student himself didn't understand. It was ironic, really. Being a mentor figure to the boy all these accumulated years, and yet, he still wondered why. Why Mob chose to pursue him when he had both female and male admirers everywhere. Why Mob still worked part-time for him when there were so many jobs offers out there waiting to be taken. Why Mob was willing to wait years and years for a conman, a liar, a fraud. Reigen didn't get it. Perhaps the Tsubomi thing had traumatized him.

Oh, how he wished Tsubomi was here to sweep Mob off his feet. Mob would get the girl he wanted and be so much happier than if he remained in this cramped office doing work. Mob, Mob, Mob. The light of his world. The light he would do anything for. Anything. Just to see him beam with happiness.

Reigen wished so badly things could return to how they were before. Perhaps they would. There was a spark of hope that lit in his chest when, last week, Mob hadn't confessed like he usually did the seven days before his birthday. Perhaps.

Why Mob chose to spend his eighteenth birthday with his boss, Reigen didn't know. There was a lot that he didn't know. He hated to admit it, but he couldn't keep lying to himself forever. They sat by the local park closest to his office, on a wooden bench the mothers usually planted themselves on while their children played. The sky was beginning to dark, casting rays of orange onto the ground. He admired the sun and moon. It was ridiculous, but they could go on even though so many things were happening here on earth. But then again, they had nothing to do with relationships that were doomed to fail.

"I bet Ritsu's pissed," Reigen joked, just to have something disturb the silence. Who was he kidding, Ritsu was most definitely going to go on a killing rampage. Not only had his older brother spent the entire day working, now he wasn't even going to come home until the stars shone brightly in the sky to eat cake. Reigen didn't care too much about what the little brother thought. It was the parents that he was worried about. What were they thinking, their precious son out on the streets with the shady boss he worked with on his eighteenth, the arguably most important birthday? He had a lot of guesses what vulgar words they would call him.

Mob cleared his throat, displaying nervousness that hadn't show itself in a long while. "He'll live," he said quietly. Reigen watched the boy – adult, man, he was going to have to get used to thinking that way. Mob tugged on the collar of his shirt. It slipped down to expose his collarbones and Reigen shifted his attention to something else. His student coughed.

"Don't tell me you're coming down with something on one of the most important days of your life," Reigen muttered, eyes flickered back before darting away again.

"N-no," Mob stammered. "I just... am a little nervous."

Reigen snorted. He casually leaned back against the bench seat and shoved his hands into his pant pockets in what he knew would look like nonchalance. For the tenth time that day, he thanked his younger self for learning a little bit of body language. "There's nothing to be nervous about," he told Mob, even though he himself was refraining from blinking too much with anxiety. "You're supposed to be enjoying your day as an adult." He chuckled. "Hey, wanna go drinking in two years?"

Mob looked at him worriedly. "Shishou, Dimple told me multiple times to never accept your drinking invitations because of how much of lightweight you are."

Reigen scowled, internally cursing the evil spirit for making him seem lame. "How bad can I get with only one shot?"

The concerned crease between Mob's eyebrows deepened. "Dimple said you can get incredibly drunk with a single lemon sour. He told me the bartender purposely didn't give you alcohol because you were so weak to it."