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Mob and Reigen had been on a taxi drive back from a relatively mediocre exorcism job, the house was very obviously in no way haunted, it didn't take an Esper to see that. So, Reigen waved some sage around as well as chunks of salt and went on their way.
The most annoying thing about this trip was the fact that it was a stupid long drive from the office, on top of the fact that it was in the middle of nowhere to boot. He sighed, questioning if an uneventful exorcism like this was worth the cab ride. He told Mob they could go out to get lunch after they got back, which he's mildly starting to regret now. The things he does for this kid…
Reigen gave a sigh, sick of being stuck in this cramped vehicle. Thankfully it wouldn't be much longer till he'll be able to stretch his legs once more. The taxi slowed to a halt as they reached a stop sign, on a nearly completely dead road. they've probably only passed maybe four cars down this one alone.
Mob didn't show it as much as his boss, but he was equally as excited to leave. He didn't like car rides much, but at least this trip had some pretty views of fields and forests. He felt the car slowly pick up speed again as unsurprisingly no cars were seen at the stop. He looked out the window again, when he saw a small brown figure run towards the car. Was that..?
“Stop the car!!” Reigen shrieked, hand clamoring for the roof handle, he clearly saw the same thing Mob did. The driver halted pretty easily, glancing around to see what he might have nearly hit. Mob’s eyes widened as he saw the small bundle of fur eagerly running up to the stopped vehicle.
“It's a dog.” Mob supplied. The driver sighed, thankful he didn't hit the poor thing. Finding out where the dog was, he pulled toward a tad bit more, then parked on the side of the road. Reigen quickly opened the passenger door, Mob following from his spot in the back.
“Geez that thing is small.” Reigen muttered, scratching his head, thrown off by the presence of the small thing. It was a short haired dog with chocolate fur, with a touch of white on its belly and lower face. He quickly got to work trying to call it over, as the dog simply stood in the middle of the road, clearly having never stepped out of its home all by itself in its life. He crouched down on the ground, trying to pat the concrete to try to convince it to come closer.
Mob followed his master's actions, crouching down to make himself look smaller, as to not accidentally scare it off. The dog only hesitated for a moment before bounding over, nearly toppling Reigen over with its eagerness. The blonde decided to forget about keeping his suit clean for now, more focused on the lost animal in front of him.
“Hey buddy, where's your owner?” He looked over the small thing to notice no collar. “Hmm, well that's no good.” Mob reached over to pet it as well, receiving a few licks on his hand.
“It's a boy. Where do you think his owners are?” Mob asked, looking back up at his boss.
Reigen looked around, looking for anyone else walking around, but found no one. Completely dead. “He probably broke out of his house.” He deducted, looking back down at the poor thing. “He looks pretty young too. Why'd you run in front of our car buddy? You could have gotten hurt.” He started baby-talking to the dog, scratching its head as it wagged its tail happily.
The sound of a car door closing alerted Mob, turning to see the driver looking just as lost on what to do. “Gosh, I would like to get you folks home, but I wouldn't feel right just leaving this thing out like this.” He scratched his head, looking conflicted.
Reigen waved the man off. “Don't worry about it, I'd rather he get somewhere safe too.” Experimentally, he wrapped his arms around the small dog, testing to see how it liked being held. After it didn't throw any fuss, he picked it up no problem and stood up. “Maybe we could try some of these houses? See if anyone knows the owner.”
Looking around, it was clear it’d be quite a walk if they were to travel to each house on foot, as they weren't quite far in town yet. “You can bring him in the car, nothing a little vacuum can’t fix.” The man gave a friendly smile, clearly resisting to reach down and pet the dog himself. Reigen nodded, and made his way back to the cab with Mob in tow.
Settling back in the rear seats Reigen paused at his still open door. “How about you keep the dog here with you? Might be more comfortable for the little guy.” He smiled, still thinking about the dog’s needs first. Not that Mob was complaining, even he couldn’t resist the urge to hold a cute puppy. Exchanging the ball of fur and drool between arms he attempted to keep the animal still in his lap, which went about as well as you’d expect for a young dog.
Much to Reigen’s joy, the dog seemed infatuated with him, but as not to disturb the driver Mob did his best to keep it from jumping over the console. Making quick work to turn around they began looking for a house that seemed to have people home. “Man, I don’t want to think about what could have happened to the poor thing if we hadn’t moved in time.” Reigen muttered to himself, gaze trained out the window in his search.
Mob stared down at the dog in his lap as it looked right back up at him, panting from the warm summer air around them. He rolled down his window a crack and watched as the dog hurriedly spun around and stuck its nose outside. Mob smiled a bit to himself, finding the dog’s antics cute. How could a sweet dog like this have ended up outside in the middle of the road?
Thinking about what Master Reigen said, what could have happened to it if they hadn’t found it? It had run right in front of the cab without seemingly considering if they’d stop or not, and what if they had simply continued on and left it there alone? The idea of its white matted fur on the pavement, covered in the sickening red. With the laughs of his classmates roaring in his ears-
Mob shook himself of those thoughts. It wasn’t real. He was fully brought back to reality by its wagging tail repeatedly thwacking him in the face as it turned anxiously to see what the adults up front were doing. It looks as though they were talking to some neighbors taking a walk. All he was able to catch was that, no, they didn’t know who owned him. They gave some suggestions which Reigen and the taxi driver took with thanks, and continued on their way.
Throughout the rest of the car ride the dog would begin to wriggle and whine, clearly upset with being confined in the closed space for too long, Mob was inclined to agree with his new furry friend. “What will we do if we can’t find its home?” He spoke up after being silent for a good few minutes, visibly spooking the taxi driver slightly who seemed to have forgotten he was there.
Reigen turned to look back at his student and the lump of fur they were lumped with for the time being. “Well, it’s definitely unconventional timing, I called a few no kill shelters and none are open for the rest of the day, and no vets are open to check for a chip either…” He trailed off, trying to wrack his brain for any other options they had. He had called the local police as well, informing them of the lost dog, but they also had no other options than to simply hold on to it until the owners made themselves known. “I don’t have my laptop on me either, so I can’t make a local post to get the word out.” He fell back in his chair giving out a sigh.
“Yeah, it’s too bad I don’t have room for the little snot, we’re not allowed pets.” The driver shrugged, also unsure of what to do.
“My parents wouldn’t let me take him home either…” Mob sat with his thoughts for another moment. “We’re… not going to leave him here, right?” He doesn’t want to see another stray on the streets, or the red soaking through the dirt…
Reigen perked up at Mob’s words, turning back around to give the boy a reassuring smile. “Of course not, Mob. We won’t leave him.”
Mob’s frown deepened. “But, what are we going to do with him? Where can he go?”
Reigen scratched the back of his head. “I suppose I could take him home, if it’s really coming to this.”
The young Esper’s mood switched instantly. “Oh, that’s good.” Then he tilted his head a bit to the side. “Why are you so hesitant to bring him home? I thought you liked dogs?”
Reigen sighed again, a sheepish look on his face. “Cause I know if I bring him home, I won’t want to let him go.” He chuckled. “But if that’s the way it has to be, then so be it.” He clapped his hands together in finality. “Let’s just change the address to my student’s, then we can head to mine so I can take him in for the night.” The con-artist began discussing directions and payment with the taxi driver, who insisted Reigen not pay for the past few minutes of driving as they weren’t even making their way to his destination this whole time.
Meanwhile Mob sat back in his seat subconsciously petting the dogs back in a soothing pattern. “I wouldn’t mind going with you, Master. To help you set up your house for the dog.”
Reigen waved him off. “I appreciate the offer, Mob, but I got it handled. It’s probably getting close to dinner time anyways, so it’s probably for the best. But, hey, you can come with me to bring him back to his owner once we contact them, how does that sound?” Not wanting to argue, Mob nodded in agreement.
…..
In no time at all they arrived at the Esper’s home. He climbed out as Reigen held on to the dog, making sure he didn’t escape. He gave a respectful thank you to the driver, considering he was especially thankful that he let them take the dog in the car. Reigen gave an odd hand gesture which he thinks was a form of saying goodbye before the car started up again, leaving Mob and his brother at the front door.
“What are you doing home so early?” Ritsu questioned, leaning on the door frame with his shoulder. “Already out of ghosts to kill?”
Dimple suddenly appeared next to Mob's head looking agitated being surrounded by teenagers nearly 24/7 “Can we not talk about killing ghosts, I’m right here!” Ritsu smirked, gratified in agitating the spirit.
Mob shook his head to his brother’s question. “No, we just had an emergency, so Master sent me home.” He walked past Ritsu and Dimple, stopping inside to take off his outdoor shoes.
“Emergency? What did your Boss get possessed or something?” The younger Kageyama joked, while looking mildly concerned.
Mob shook his head as he slipped on his indoor shoes. “No, not a spiritual emergency. We just found a lost dog on our way back. He’s taking it home to take care of it for the night.” Mob stopped in his tracks before turning to his brother. “Do you think we could convince Mom and Dad to let us use the computer to make flyers?”
Ritsu chuckled, closing the door behind the both of them, nearly shutting Dimple out. “If we hurry, you know they don’t like us using it after dinner.”
With the most amount of energy Ritsu has probably ever seen in his older brother, Mob hurried his way down the hallway, quickly making his way to the kitchen to convince one of their parents for permission. Ritsu shook his head out of fondness, then looked up to Dimple who trailed behind. “Did he even get any pictures of the dog?”
“Oh that won’t be a problem.” Dimple huffed with an eye roll. “Reigen will make sure of that.”
…..
Just as Dimple had suggested, as soon as he got home Reigen took as many pictures of the small dog his shitty phone could possibly save. Sending a multitude to Mob without him even needing to ask.
Then he realized he forgot to get dog food.