Chapter Text
The pungent smell of mold and mildew greeted Reigen's senses as he cautiously passed through the darkened hallway. Puddles of stagnant water and mud squelched under his dress shoes while drops of water falling from a distant leaky pipe echoed ominously. Plip. Plip. Plip.
An involuntary shudder went down Reigen's spine as he clutched the bag of salt in his hands. Cursing the fact that the client decided to call right after Serizawa clocked off to go to night school, he tried not to think about how many cockroaches could be scuttling along the crack-lined walls. And how much the dry cleaning bill was going to be if he got mildew stains on his suit. Behind him, brief flashes of light crackled and popped intermittently as a soft voice spoke up.
"Shishou, I exorcised some of the smaller cursed spirits around us. Is there anything else up ahead?"
Reigen straightened up, putting on an air of confidence as he waved his hand around. He wasn't entirely sure if Mob could even see him in the dark but he smiled nonetheless. "Not to worry, Mob. These small fry are too weak for me to detect anyways. If there's anything worth fighting against, I'll be sure see-AUGH!!!"
Harsh, overwhelming light flooded Reigen's vision. He screamed and jolted backwards, crashing into the slimy mildew-covered wall. Mob stood nearby, unamused. "Ekubo, I told you not to scare people like that."
The evil spirit cackled, spinning around the flashlight in his hand. He smirked, the corners of his mouth reaching the two bright red circles on the face of the security guard he was possessing. "Some greatest psychic of the 21st century you are, Reigen. Scared shitless by a flashlight."
"I'm just being vigilant of anything that might come up." Reigen brushed off his suit, silently lamenting the blow his wallet was going to take from dry cleaning. "Besides, why are you still using that guy's body, are you too weak again?"
Ekubo scowled, putting a hand on his hip while shooting Reigen a glare. "Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy."
"Ekubo tried to jumpscare me as a prank and I almost completely exorcised him again," Mob said matter of factly.
Reigen's laugh echoed through the hall while Ekubo's jaw dropped at the betrayal. Mob shrugged apologetically before turning back to exorcise more small evil spirits. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Reigen clapped his hands and gestured for them to keep moving forward, trying to shrug off the uneasy feeling that something was lurking right next to him.