Chapter Text
It’s strange: while it’s clear you’ve been scammed, you also feel there’s never been one-thousand yen as well spent as this. After a few weak complaints and a dramatic conceding sigh, you hand Reigen the note, which he accepts with a cocky smile.
“Glad doing business with you, (L/N)-san.”
“Do warn me before you begin our next consultation, Reigen-san.” Your lips quirk up.
“Well then, let’s start our second session now.”
“You wish!”
Still cradled in Reigen’s jacket, you take a step back before the man can extort all the money out of your wallet. With one hand tucked in his front pocket, Reigen waves you off with his other.
Slightly disappointed at his dismissal, you walk away anyway after bidding him goodbye. You’ll definitely see him again soon. To return his jacket—maybe ask for help with the Yamakage situation again.
The till is half an hour before it's back to work. As you walk down the street, a chant faintly reaches your ears, steadily growing louder. You realize the source of the sound is rapidly approaching you…
Soon it reveals itself. A mob of sweaty, beefy guys emerges from an alley, shouting a slogan while stampeding past you. As much as you find it hard to believe, their uniforms tell you that they’re from a local middle school. You’re vaguely amazed at the way their gym kits manage to persevere when it looks one flex away from erupting.
What do people feed their kids these days for them to grow like that? You stop to wonder before resuming your walk to the bento store. Almost there now!
A skinnier, less fictional-looking middle-schooler jogs past you about five meters away from your destination. Or, he would’ve jogged past if he hadn’t face-planted onto the cement walkway.
You look up. Right in front of the bento store, seriously?
If their gym kits were anything to go by, the beefy guys just now seem to be in the same club as this kid (or at least the same school, since you find the former idea hard to believe). The road in this part of town winds around houses and shops—it’s no wonder he got left behind. They’ll probably notice their friend is missing by the time they turn the corner in front of your office.
Geez, what’s up with you today and that corner?
That being said, you couldn’t bring yourself to step over the kid’s body for a pass at lunch. So you crouch down and flip him over to his side… which is a harder task than anticipated—a tendon might or might not have been pulled in the process.
You manage, though. Once you sit him up on the ground as best as you can, a hand raises to pat his shoulder gently.
“Hey,” you glance down at the boy’s shirt for his name tag—“Kageyama-kun?”
No response. You try again. “You have to wake up, you’re falling behind your friends.”
“Kageyama-kun, c’mon.”
The boy hangs limply in your arms. His body is startlingly cold now that it's lost the heat from kinetic energy. Evidently, his thin gym shirt and shorts aren't helping much with temperature retention.
Geez, kids are always so reckless.
Your brain flits back to what Reigen said a few minutes ago. Since you’ve started a good deed, might as well finish it, right?
You take your newly acquired jacket off with one arm while holding Kageyama up with the other. Draping the warm fabric around his shoulders, you hope it’ll help the boy restore some body heat.
For good measure, you circle the sleeves around his torso and secure them in a nice knot behind his back. Sorry, jacket. You promise to give it a nice wash and press once you’re home.
Now, Kageyama is rolled up like a little caterpillar in a cocoon. The sight makes you smile a little.
You offhandedly hope the bento store boss is witnessing your good Samaritan actions from the glass door. Maybe you’ll capture her old heart and score some discount vouchers for the week.
Kageyama stirs slightly in your arms, snapping your attention back to him.
“Kageyama-kun?” Shaking him lightly, he seems to have a bit more movement.
“You have to get up now, this isn’t your bed, kiddo.”
“Your friends are waiting for you, Kageyama-kun. They told me they’re going to get going soon if you don’t wake up!”
Kageyama stirs a little more at that. You see his eyes slowly fight their way open as he regains consciousness.
He seems a little dazed at first—then, gradually realizing the situation he’s in, his eyelids fly open.
“W-Who?”
“Kageyama-kun, right? Hey, I got your name from your gym shirt, so don’t make that face.” You say, but the twist in his expression was barely visible; you’re not sure how you caught it in the first place.
Letting go of him once he seems like he could balance, you continue: “You fainted in front of me during your jog. I’m sure your clubmates will be back for you soon though, don’t worry.”
Kageyama moves to get up, which leads to the realization that he’s pitifully cocooned in a random stranger’s jacket.
“I gave you my jacket because you were starting to freeze.”
He worms-squirms a bit harder to try freeing himself, to which you had to bite back a chuckle. He’s not getting free anytime soon; you made sure to double-knot that thing. Watching him try heals you like those funny cat videos, though.
Then, just as you’re about to give the poor boy a hand, Reigen’s coat unravels magically around him.
Huh? Did you see something glow?
Kageyama interrupts that thought, though. “Thank you for your help... um.”
You smile. “It’s (L/N) (Y/N).”
“Thank you, (L/N)-san. I’m sorry for the trouble.”
“Don’t let me catch you passed out here again, okay? Remember to wear more layers,” you chide, but cut yourself off because you’re not that old yet. Holding out your hand, it takes Kageyama a second before he puts his hand in yours, letting you pull him up. “Do you have a way to contact your friends? If not, I’ll stay here with you till they turn back.”
Politely, Kageyama crouches down to pick up the jacket pooled at his feet, handing it over to you. For some reason, you see him pause a bit when he first grabs onto the material.
“No worries, (L/N)-san. Last time they noticed I was missing before I even woke up,” Should you be concerned this is a common occurrence!? “I think I’ll go join up with them now—”
“You’re not going anywhere right after you just passed out. Come, I’m taking you into the bento store,” you toss your thumb to your right at said store, “and you’ll wait for your friends to come back for you.”
You pull Kageyama in with you before he can make off again. You greet the boss, then find Kageyama a seat near the glass door so he can look out for his friends. Just to make sure he regains body heat more quickly, you make him wear Reigen’s suit blazer over his gym shirt. It’s a bit of a ridiculous combination, but you’re glad to see some color has come back to Kageyama’s cheeks.
Meanwhile, you go up to the counter to find something to eat.
“The usual, dearie?”
“The usual, thank you.” You smile at the boss, a little grandmother barely peeking over the counter.
She shuffles to grab your two tuna onigiri.
As you pay, she winks and slips another onigiri into your hand. “That’s for helping out that poor boy.”
Your day is rapidly taking a better turn. Grinning and saying thank you, you call out to Kageyama.
“This one’s on the house for you, Kageyama-kun. What do you say to the boss?”
He’s shocked. “Thank you, ma’am.”
The boss chuckles.
You sit down and pass the rice ball to the boy next to you, urging him to eat. Looking closely, he has a small smile on his face. “Thank you too, (L/N)-san.”
At that moment, you feel your heart warm not just a little.
From outside, you hear a pack of bulls storming down the quaint street.
Surprised, Kageyama fast-walks out of the bento store, onigiri in hand. “I’m here, everyone!”
Those are humans, right.
You walk out with Kageyama, ready to explain the whole situation to his club members.
As you learn, Kageyama is a member of the body improvement club at his middle school (which explains a few things about the members). You are thanked in an oddly formal fashion by the club leader.
He bows forty-five degrees to you, followed by Kageyama.
Hurriedly telling them that it was no big deal, you send Kageyama off with his friends. The boy thanks you one last time, finishes his rice ball, then jogs off to his middle school.
These are good kids, you think to yourself.
His figure diminishes until it is a a small dot vanishing off the corner. Your phone rings. A gust of wind blows through the street.
You are left with two realisations.
One. The alarm reminding you to clock into work. You will be late in five minutes.
Two. Kageyama took your only jacket with him. Reigen’s jacket.