Archive of Our Own ^beta

The first sign that something was wrong: Reigen was mellow after the exorcism. Too mellow. Usually, after jobs, Reigen would rave on and on about what had happened in great detail, even though Serizawa had been right there the entire time. Reigen would gesticulate wildly and retell the events, interjecting his own sentences with ‘Right, Serizawa?’s and ‘absolutely ridiculous’es. Serizawa always listened intently. Not to the words, exactly, but to the steady drone of Reigen’s voice. It was a nice constant, a divider between the exorcism and after. 

However, after one particular job, Reigen was eerily silent. He spoke, of course- if Reigen wasn’t speaking, he was probably dead- but with none of the grandeur or theatrics as usual. He debriefed on the train back home calmly, slowly. The only time his tone shifted was when he turned to Serizawa to give him praise on how quickly he’d dealt with the spirit. Serizawa acknowledged the compliment, if hesitantly. 

“Anyways, we’ve got another client in-” Reigen went to check a watch, only to realize it wasn’t there. Serizawa looked down at his own watch, a birthday gift from Reigen. He caught Reigen glancing at it. “About an hour and a half, but it’s an in-office consultation.” 

Serizawa nodded. 

Maybe Reigen was under the weather. It was that time of year.

-

The second sign that something was wrong: While sitting at his desk, Serizawa heard the distinct sound of a match striking against a matchbox. Then, an inhale, and a long, steady exhale. 

Serizawa glanced up from his desk and raised an eyebrow. “You’re smoking,” he told Reigen impartially. 

Reigen blew out another plume of smoke. “Yup,” he confirmed, cigarette dangling from his mouth. Defensively, he added, “What?” 

“I thought you didn’t smoke around the office.” Serizawa said. He was still learning how to change the tone of his voice to match what he wanted to convey- here, his voice was a ghost of something accusatory. Dammit. He was trying to stay inconspicuous. 

“Where the hell did you get that idea?” Reigen asked, yet discreetly put out the cigarette in an ashtray. 

-

The third and most damning sign that something was very, very wrong: Reigen’s laugh did not sound like that. 

A conversation started when Serizawa cautiously asked Reigen if he was feeling alright. Somehow, Reigen twisted his response into the introduction to a long-winded rant about… something. Honestly, Serizawa was having a hard time following. Most of his focus was directed at the way Reigen’s hands were completely still. Not one movement. The sight was chilling in a way Serizawa never would’ve expected- he sat there, not-listening to Reigen speak, waiting for his hands to finally start flailing.

They never did. 

And then, Reigen laughed- presumably at his own joke- but it was wrong. Very wrong. Serizawa knew how Reigen’s laugh sounded. It was sharp, and confident, and was usually followed by a sharp inhale as he regained his composure. This laugh was nothing like that. It was repetitive, monotone, and far too quiet. Too humble.

Abruptly, Serizawa stood up from his seat and made his way to the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and closed his eyes. Gripping the outside edges of the sink, Serizawa took steady breaths. He could feel his aura becoming prickly and anxious, which wasn’t ideal. He splashed his face with water and stared himself down in the mirror. Nervous, unsure eyes stared back at him. He waited for his gaze to harden.

When he came back out, Reigen was working at his computer- or, rather, he was staring at the screen as his fingers rested like paperweights on the keys. His eyes didn’t move. It was like he’d shut off, fallen asleep with his eyes open- died, sitting up. 

Until he realized Serizawa was back in the room. Suddenly, too suddenly, Reigen’s back straightened, and he blinked away the dull look in his eyes. That made way for a starry, magical expression. “Ah, you’re back!” Reigen said with a smile that looked more like a tear in his face than a genuine grin. 

“Yeah,” Serizawa swallowed. His hands found their way to fumble around with each other. An old, embarrassing habit, sure, but Serizawa hated the way Reigen- no, the thing at Reigen’s desk- stared him down. 

“Something wrong, Serizawa?” Reigen’s voice asked, and now that Serizawa had confirmed that this wasn’t Reigen, not at all, he noticed the unnatural way Serizawa’s name fell out of Reigen’s mouth. 

“You’re not Reigen.” Serizawa said, bluntly, and wow, he hoped that was the right course of action. He had no idea. The only possessions he’d dealt with before were of creepy antique dolls and, well, Dimple. 

Reigen laughed again, and the sound reminded Serizawa of bones cracking. “Is this some kind of prank? Did one of the kids put you up to this? You should know better, Serizawa, I-”

“Why can’t I sense you?” Serizawa asked, reaching his hand out to try and pry at whatever had infected Reigen. Reigen’s body tensed at the sudden intrusion, his head beginning to tremble. “Are you that weak? Are you some kind of spirit that can hide your presence?”

“Alright, Serizawa,” The thing inside of Reigen said, and Reigen’s voice trembled. “You’re making me nervous, yeah? I’m not in the mood for-”

“You can’t lie to me.” Serizawa asserted, and stepped closer. His desk, his laptop, the ashtray on Reigen’s desk- they all became swathed in staticy purple. Serizawa sucked in a breath and willed himself to focus. His aura rescinded like the tide, and wrapped solely around Reigen. “I know how it sounds when people lie to me. What are you? Why are you-”

“This is insanely unprofessional,” Reigen’s voice came through gritted, grinding teeth. 

Well, that was going nowhere. Serizawa sighed, like he was giving up, and released his hold on Reigen’s body. And suddenly set his aura flying in Reigen’s direction. Reigen flinched and gasped, holding his hands up in a wild, desperate defense. 

Serizawa smiled, smug. “Reigen wouldn’t have been able to see that, dumbass.” 

That did it. Reigen’s body slumped over, and a groan came from his chest. His arm fell against the table unnaturally, twisted just far enough to be painful. “I hate you espers,” Reigen’s voice said, finally clean of the painfully bad imitation of Reigen’s diction. Whatever it was spoke slowly, like it was bored. “Always, always… euh. I thought I was being sneaky, you know?”

It was Serizawa’s turn to sound bored. “Well, you weren’t. Could you leave? There’s a client coming in twenty minutes.” 

“My, my.” The spirit said, and kicked Reigen’s legs up onto his desk. It put Reigen’s hands behind his head and leaned back in the swivel chair. “Aren’t you all business-y.” 

“That wasn’t a request.” Serizawa said, and raised his arm once more. His aura bled through the air like ink, swirling towards Reigen’s body. Reigen’s hand flapped at one of its tendrils, bored. 

“‘That wasn’t a request,’” It mocked, and, wow, Reigen’s voice was ugly when it said something so mean. Serizawa never wanted to hear that tone again. 

“Why Reigen?” Serizawa asked, watching the discomfort pool across Reigen’s face. I’m sorry. “What do you want?” He should’ve just exorcised the damn thing, but for some reason, he still couldn’t quite reach it. Now that it had shown its true face, its presence was undeniable, but it was too… far away? Serizawa wasn’t sure. He was two seconds away from calling Shigeo. 

The spirit shrugged. "Dunno. I wanna see the world. How about that?” It grinned. “I could’ve picked a better vessel, though. Ever noticed how shitty this guy’s lungs are? He wheezes every time he exhales. Listen. Hhh. Hhh. Hear that?” The spirit reached into Reigen’s suit pocket and pulled out another cigarette. It lit the end with a fresh match.

Serizawa had had enough. He took a step forward, so he nearly stood next to Reigen’s desk. “You-”

“Ah, ah.” The spirit chastised as it waggled a pointer finger. With the other hand, it jammed the lit cigarette onto the skin of Reigen’s neck. The small hiss that came from Reigen’s skin as the cigarette was snuffed out made Serizawa sick to his stomach. His aura pulsed. “I never said I didn’t like it in this body.”

Serizawa took a step back, arms raised. Keep it together. “Okay. Okay. Don’t- just don’t-” His aura snapped back, and the purple light washing over the room disappeared. “When will you leave?”

“Who knows?” The spirit said, and threw out its arms. Reigen’s arms. “Maybe a day. Maybe forty years. As long as I want.” 

That wasn’t gonna slide. But Serizawa couldn’t do shit with the spirit watching him. Anything he attempted, the spirit would match with threats. Okay. So nothing too flashy. Maybe Serizawa wasn’t looking at it the right way. Maybe-

“Ugh, God. Stop. I can see you thinking your brain to death. It’s giving me a headache.” The spirit complained. Slowly, its irritation morphed into something more… curious. “You’re an interesting guy, Serizawa. Serizawa. Serizawa. Reigen doesn’t even like calling you that, but he does all the damn time. Serizawa. Serizawa. It’s all he knows.” 

“Stop that.” Serizawa snapped. He hadn’t meant to, but the spirit was getting on his nerves. He felt useless, standing there in the middle of the office with his hands hanging by his sides. “Stop saying my name like that.” 

“What, am I saying it wrong? Is that not how dearest Reigen says it?” The spirit asked flatly. A mischievous glint, nothing like the one that Reigen got when he was being sly, flashed in the spirit’s eyes. “Okay, then. I’ll stop calling you Serizawa. Katsuya.” 

That derailed Serizawa’s train of thought entirely, and he hated himself for it. “Don’t-”

“ Kaaaats-soo-yahhh. ” The spirit drawled, smiling wider and wider as it sang Serizawa’s name. “Bingo!”

“Is that your motivation? Annoying people?” Serizawa asked. Resentment burrowed in the spaces between his ribs. 

“Sure,” the spirit said noncommittally. “But that’s not really my thing , right? Wanna know what my thing is?”

“If it’ll get you out of Reigen’s body.” Serizawa said, lifting his chin. 

The spirit looked downwards, shook its head, and snickered. It swiveled to the side and planted its feet to the floor. With a clap and an ‘okay, then’, the spirit stood to Reigen’s full height. Serizawa raised an arm protectively as it approached. “There’s no need for that,” the spirit said, and raised two fingers. “Come on, it’ll be fun. You get to be a knight in shining armor, Katsuya.” 

Serizawa dropped his arm, just barely, and the spirit surged forward, laughing. The last thing Serizawa saw before the fingers tapped his forehead was Reigen’s face, split apart with a manic grin. 

He blinked and woke up in a warm, dark forest. He was seated at the edge of a small clearing.

“Well, this is something,” Serizawa said out loud. There was no response, and he suddenly felt ridiculous. To dilute the embarrassment flooding his body, Serizawa took in his surroundings. 

It was difficult to see through the thick smog settled like a blanket over the pine-needle carpeted ground. The air clung in the back of Serizawa’s throat thickly. He expected dust particles to tickle his lungs, but the air slid down his throat smoothly. It wasn’t so kind on his eyes. They welled up with tears as they began to burn. He could hardly see. However, Serizawa was sure of one thing- the forest was rotting. The scraggly branches looked as if they could slide down the tree trunks like they were caught in molasses, but the tree trunks themselves were brittle and crumbling. Serizawa reached out to touch one of the trees, and was surprised to find the bark didn’t turn to ash beneath his fingers. However, when he stared down at his hands, he realized the tree had left tar-black residue in between the divots and ridges of his fingertips. The residue clung to his skin, no matter how roughly he jammed his fingers into the forest floor. Something about that made Serizawa feel ill. There wasn’t a single gust of air blowing through the forest, but the lean trees swayed back and forth sedately. Where the hell was he?

Despite the forest’s hollow, lonely feeling, the place had an energy that was distinctly Reigen . Nothing about the forest reminded Serizawa of Reigen. He kept staring at his hands. Nothing at all. But Reigen was present in it, in a way that was neither here nor there. 

If the forest had something to do with Reigen, that meant the spirit had brought Serizawa here. Was he in Reigen’s mind? In his consciousness? Another world, one only in Reigen’s essence?

Serizawa had learned not to question spiritual matters too deeply. He stood up and got moving. He was here to get Reigen, and get out. Or fight the spirit, and get out, or… 

Serizawa shook his head and started walking. 

-

He walked for a very, very long time.

Every ten minutes, Serizawa passed the same outcropping of rock. The material was so dark, it was hardly visible through the thick night and heavy fog. But its shadow was undeniable. It loomed above Serizawa intimidatingly, but the formation was strangely comforting. A liferaft in a sea of gnarly, burnt trees. While the tree bark was warm to the touch, the rock was chilling. 

Serizawa started humming to himself on the third pass of the rock. Partly because he’d finally realized he was walking in circles, and that frightened him, and partly because he needed something to pull his mind out of the stupor it’d succumbed to. 

- 

Serizawa lost count of how many times he’d passed the rock formation. He’d tried to keep track, really tried, but then he’d begun to count his steps. And then his breaths. And then the trees. And the numbers jumbled together until Serizawa’s gentle humming had grown into incoherent mutterings of one, two, three. One two three. One two three. 

The forest was cold, now. Oh, so cold. So cold that the rock outcropping, which had once (minutes ago? Years ago? The entire time?) been bitterly cold, was now the only source of warmth in the endless forest. No matter which direction Serizawa walked, no matter how many steps he took, he always came back to the boulders.

It was almost a comfort, after a while. 

“It’s so lonely here,” Serizawa muttered, rubbing his arms. At some point, his suit jacket had been torn. Most likely by sharp branches. “Why is it so lonely here?”

No answer. 

“Is it the spirit doing this?” He wondered aloud. Again, he wasn’t rewarded with a response. The silence was agony. “Is it you doing this, Reigen? Are you mad at me or something?”

He passed the rock again. He placed his hands on the warm surface to heat the numb palms of his hands. Serizawa watched his breath come out of his mouth in clouds. Like smoke. “Are you stuck here, too?”

-

The hollow fog settled in his mouth made way for salty, rushing seawater. The change was so jarring that Serizawa couldn’t help inhaling sharply. All the gasp brought was water shooting down his lungs and trickling around the roof of his mouth. The water’s coldness was bitter, sharp, and tasted like copper. 

Serizawa opened his eyes and watched as the end of his tie whipped around with the current, slicing through the air bubbles that flew out of Serizawa’s mouth. He wasn’t sure which way was up. He held out his hand to try and steady his rolling body, but it was almost as if the water ignored his presence. His hand phased right through the liquid.

Eventually, after several minutes of agonizing– drowning, Serizawa realized, he was drowning– Serizawa somehow surfaced above the water. The light reflecting off of the dark blue water nearly blinded Serizawa upon first glance, and he had to wipe at his eyes with his sopping forearm to dull the burn. It was all so overwhelmingly intense- the water’s biting cold, the trembling cough in his lungs, the sun’s glare. As Serizawa hacked up water and struggled to stay afloat, he watched as his aura weakly pressed against the current, in a desperate attempt to push it away. Of course, as became evident when Serizawa stared out across the horizons, his efforts were futile. The ocean, like the forest, went on forever. There wasn’t any evidence to back that up, but Serizawa had a gut feeling that swimming wouldn’t get him out of there. 

Serizawa sucked in a deep, grateful breath and squinted down into the water below him. Past his own swimming silhouette, the dark blue water faded into thick, inky black. 

“Okay, don’t panic,” Serizawa muttered, panicking. “There has to be a solution.” Like a math problem, or a tricky exorcism, or a confusing conversation, or a heavy weight on the shoulders. Everything had a solution. And if it didn’t, then Serizawa could panic and drown. And drown, and drown, and drown. 

A dark, rippling shadow spread over the water’s bright surface. It swallowed the tiny waves, consuming like it was alive. Serizawa’s head whipped up and a small, weak exhale fell from his mouth. The living shadow was being cast by a giant wave. It loomed over Serizawa’s tiny body, in a much more suffocating way than the rock outcropping back in the endless forest (how long ago was that? An hour? A lifetime?) ever had. Serizawa froze, and, in a last-ditch attempt to save himself as the wall of water finally came crashing down, lifted his arm to put up a barrier.

The wave broke right through and threw Serizawa back below the surface. 

Surprisingly, unlike before, Serizawa found himself able to breathe. Water filled his mouth, nose, eyes, ears, and the palms of his hands, but he could breathe and see as if the water wasn’t there at all. 

He’d almost prefer to hold his breath. 

Serizawa could sense something in the water with him. 

Not spiritually. This had nothing to do with ghosts or psychic powers. It was something much more sinister, and it was either behind Serizawa or directly below him. Waiting. For…?

Its intentions were unknown. Its size was unknown. Serizawa just knew it was there, and, more importantly, it knew Serizawa was there. 

Another problem quickly presented itself. Just as Serizawa acknowledged the other being’s presence, the current began to tug all in one direction. The living shadow returned, much darker and much taller than before. The darkness penetrated through the water like something solid, instead of as an absence of light. It reminded Serizawa of stalactites, something he saw in a documentary a long time ago. A long time ago, in a small, dark room. The ocean reminded Serizawa of his old room. Suffocating and endless. 

Desperation struck through Serizawa’s brittle chest just as the waves did, piercing and cold and strangling. Red smoke blossomed from his wounds, icy and thick. Serizawa’s mouth fell open in a silent scream. Air bubbles obscured his vision, but he could see the solidified waves cutting through the water like blades. Deafening crashes reverberated in Serizawa’s shattered ribs. The thing below him must’ve smelled the coppery blood drifting through the ocean, because erratic chills skittered down Serizawa’s broken spine. Like something was behind him, creeping up slowly. Like a predator. 

Serizawa gasped again, and sharp seawater flooded his lungs. The salt burrowed into his wounds. The thing beneath the water was getting closer- 

And suddenly everything was calm. 

Serizawa was unscathed, his face was dry, and he floated peacefully on the water’s surface. Ripples skated across the back of his hands. They held his fingers above the water. The sun was gentle, its warmth a blanket. 

And, just like the forest, Serizawa knew this place had a distinct feeling of Reigen. 

Serizawa opened his eyes. The thing was still beneath him. 

Oh. 

It wasn’t a predator at all.

Serizawa flipped onto his stomach and watched his feet kick slowly through the water. The fabric of his dress pants flowed in slow motion. He could’ve watched it for hours, but instead, Serizawa took a deep breath and sunk beneath the water.

Just as he suspected, he could breathe easily. He rotated in the water and propelled downwards. The water grew colder as he swam deeper, and light became scarce. His heart pounded. The other being was close. Serizawa steeled himself and swam on. 

“It’s okay,” he told it when he got as close as he felt was necessary. His voice was muffled. “I’m not scared of you. I think you just need-”

-

“A friend.” Serizawa finished, but his voice was clear as day. He’d broken through the bottom of the ocean, and now he was falling, falling, falling. An undignified scream left Serizawa’s mouth as he scrambled to save himself. The ground came closer, and closer, and Serizawa couldn’t seem to stop flipping around in midair. 

Finally, the impact came, but it didn’t hurt. Serizawa found himself standing in the middle of a bustling train station. The mere presence of other people was disturbing, and Serizawa yelped when someone bumped his shoulder. 

“Sorry, sorry,” the person said, and Serizawa raised his hand in his own shaken apology. 

“That’s-” Serizawa started, abruptly cut off when the person turned to face him. “Why are you me?” 

“Huh? I don’t know.” The other Serizawa replied, looking entirely uninterested. “I gotta go.” 

“Oh-” Serizawa watched as… Serizawa walked away in a hurry. “Bye, Serizawa.” 

Serizawa turned back around and saw… another Serizawa. Talking to yet another Serizawa. The entire goddamn train station was filled with Serizawas, all in a rush to get somewhere. As many piled onto one train, the same amount stepped off the next. They were dressed fairly diversely- from work suits to large winter coats. There was one lone, yawning Serizawa in pajamas, padding around in polka dot socks with a toothbrush hanging loosely from his mouth. 

“Okay, I’m lost on this one, Reigen,” Serizawa muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“What?” A Serizawa asked. 

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Serizawa replied, maybe a bit too tersely. 

“Oh, okay.” 

Serizawa put his head in his hands. 

Walking around the train station didn’t prove to be of any use. Two Serizawas worked behind the ticket counter. Three Serizawas washed their hands in the men’s room. One Serizawa was sitting at a bench, biting the end of a pencil as he worked on a crossword puzzle. Serizawa didn’t even like crossword puzzles. He pushed back through the main crowd of Serizawas until, finally, he reached the yellow line at the edge of the platform. He stepped just past the line. Dangerous, sure, but Serizawa needed air and reprieve from the sea of… hims. 

A train pulled into that side of the station, complete with many Serizawas staring wistfully out the windows. One slept, leaned against the glass, the side of his face scrunched up by the clear surface. He looked stupid. 

Serizawa rolled his eyes and stepped onto the train once everyone else had filed out. Or, he tried, but an attendant waiting inside held a hand up to Serizawa’s chest. 

“Where’s your ticket?” Serizawa-attendant asked. 

“Uh.” Serizawa responded. He rummaged around in his pockets uselessly. 

“You need a ticket to ride the train.” Serizawa-attendant said, really condescendly. 

“Uh.” Serizawa said again, and then cleared his throat. “Reigen sent me?”

Echoing, overlapped voices from outside the train excitedly asked, “Reigen?” 

The attendant looked impressed, and grabbed Serizawa’s wrist. “I know exactly why you’re here. Come this way.”

There wasn’t much Serizawa could do besides let himself get dragged along. 

They walked through the cars, all devoid of any travelling Serizawas or employee Serizawas. As they went on, something oppressive weighed down on the air. Something crackling and powerful. 

Something terribly familiar. 

Finally, they reached the baggage car. It was empty. Completely empty. The attendant had even disappeared. The door slammed shut behind Serizawa, and the car exploded with light. Purple, staticy light. 

Serizawa shielded his eyes with his forearm, and looked up. Another Serizawa stood before him, a version of himself he resented. He resented him for being a part of Reigen’s mind, he resented him for existing in the first place, and he resented him for standing there, clutching his umbrella like a lifeline. 

“What are you doing here?” Claw Serizawa asked, wringing his hands along the umbrella’s handle. His voice was distorted, changing abruptly in pitch like a glitching speaker. His face was obscured by the umbrella’s shadow. 

“I think I’m supposed to get past you,” Serizawa said, standing tall. His aura, steady and clear, clashed with the other’s, unsure and erratic. The walls were drenched in purple.

“No, you- you can’t go past here.” The older Serizawa said. The cowardly, anxious, tricked, frightened Serizawa said. 

Serizawa raised his hand and, above his palm, a flash of purple light strung itself together into a ball of energy. “Uh huh,” he said, planting his feet. 

The umbrella folded up, revealing unkempt hair and tormented eyes. “It’s the president’s orders,” the distorted voice said, and any outsider wouldn’t have been able to detect the tremble in his voice. Serizawa knew it was there. 

“Suzuki’s an idiot.” Serizawa said, watching as his old aura slid over the umbrella’s surface. Uncontrolled spikes of psychic power jutted out from the ball of energy growing on the umbrella’s tip. 

“What a terrible thing to say,” the other Serizawa replied darkly, and launched his arm backwards. The blast followed directly after. 

He’d always wondered what it felt like, being on the receiving end of one of his own attacks. It wasn’t as bad as he’d expected, but that was most likely only because Serizawa’s barrier nearly matched the attack in strength. The only reason Serizawa lost his footing and fell backwards against the wall, he assumed, was because this Serizawa was a mysterious, uncontrollable source of power in Reigen’s mind. Was that what Reigen had seen when he approached Serizawa that day, offering a job? A dangerous, misguided person, used as a lethal weapon? 

Serizwa grit his teeth and forced himself back to his feet. “Is that all you can do?” He asked the other Serizawa, and whipped his arm to the side. The right wall of the train car crumpled inwards and threw Claw Serizawa against the opposite wall. He grumbled and jammed the tip of his umbrella into the ground. His aura made the train car quake, and a wave of energy shot along the floor directly at Serizawa. He barely avoided the attack with a barrier and a clumsy jump. “Suzu- the president is using you, Katsuya! You don’t-” 

“Shut up!” The other Serizawa screamed, and they both began to levitate from the passion of their anxiety. 

It looked like the approach Mob had taken all that time ago wasn’t gonna work. 

Right. That wasn’t really Serizawa, just a one dimensional copy of the man Reigen had encountered back at the tower. The man that had… 

Serizawa raised his arm again, and his counterpart flipped his umbrella open in a scrambling defense. A defense that was, ultimately, unnecessary. Serizawa’s plan wasn’t to hurt his other, but to… 

He punched his arm to the side and the right wall of the train car came clean off. The tracks were laid along a ravine, apparently, bordering a long, deadly drop. Serizawa dropped to the floor of the car and leaned over the edge. Wind whistled past his ears. “What are you doing?” Claw Serizawa asked, eyes wide. 

“You really don’t want to see anybody get hurt anymore, do you?” Serizawa asked rhetorically. He stooped and braced his hand against the torn edge of the train car’s wall. “You’re sick of it, and you need a reason to escape.”

“What are you talking about?” The other Serizawa asked, in a way that said How did you know that?  

Serizawa nodded and took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay.” One breath, two breaths, three- and he jumped from the train. 

Behind him, above the howling wind, Serizawa heard his own voice shout something indecipherable. He had already been plummeting for much longer than he’d planned, and Serizawa began to second guess his genius plan. 

Then, miraculously and entirely predictably, Serizawa’s fall came to a halt. A purple aura enveloped him, as gently as it could, and slowly but surely, Serizawa began to rise back towards the train car. He turned to look behind him, and there... he was, hands held out, umbrella abandoned at his feet.  

“Look at you,” Serizawa said breathlessly when he was back on his feet. He clapped his old self on the shoulder. “You finally decided to be brave for once.” 

Serizawa felt tremendous pride towards himself, but he wasn’t sure the feeling was his own. 

-

The train dropped Serizawa off at, if he remembered correctly, Salt Middle School. He’d never been there himself, but apparently Reigen had. It was sunny out, a nice change of pace from the rather jarring introductions to the other landscapes. As Serizawa approached the building, he felt willing and confident. 

(Fortunately, the school halls weren’t filled with little Serizawas running to class. The building was empty.)

He was drawn, in a nearly dreamlike trance, towards the gymnasium. It was surreal stepping onto the gym floor. He hadn’t been in a school gym since… in a very long time. He felt out of place, in his–well, his suit jacket was gone. He had no idea where it went. Even without it, Serizawa felt out of place there, standing in the middle of a gym in dress shoes and a tattered tie.

The gym was well lit, but the school’s overhead lights were dull in comparison to the light coming from the aura-like shape floating in the center of the gym. Serizawa approached it, and it descended down to eye-level, rotating all the way down. The shape was something resembling a rhombus, and it pulsed with light blue light. Serizawa had no idea why, but he felt a fondness towards it. It didn’t remind him of Reigen, not exactly, but of something Reigen likely held very dear. He reached out to touch it, maybe hold it, as it was no bigger than his two hands. 

However, as soon as Serizawa’s fingertips made contact with the thing’s surface, hairline cracks chipped straight to its center. “No!” Serizawa shouted, and the thing exploded into hundreds of shards of glass. They sliced the skin of Serizawa’s face and arms before cascading to the ground. The light blue light was gone. All that was left of the rhombus was crumbs of glass on the floor. 

The overwhelming affection that had bloomed in Serizawa’s chest solidified into heavy, oppressive grief. He clutched his chest desperately, blood trickling from his cheeks. The red liquid dripped onto the glass-covered ground. Whatever that thing had been, Serizawa had killed it. He’d killed it with nothing but a touch. 

“Oh, no,” Serizawa mumbled. Helplessly, he asked, “No, no, no, what is this supposed to mean?” 

Serizawa stumbled backwards. He needed to leave, to get out , before Reigen realized what Serizawa had done. That he’d broken… whatever that was, whatever it represented. 

Rain smacked against the windows. The weather wasn’t sunny anymore. Serizawa couldn’t breathe. 

He was then drawn to a classroom. Small, messy, and filled with books. Another three-dimensional shape levitated in the corner. This one was a cube. It glowed bright yellow, and zipped back and forth. 

Again, Serizawa felt a great need to protect. To care for. But he wasn’t sure how. Not when he’d screwed up so fatally with the last one. 

“Um.” Serizawa said, ashamed at how his voice shook. “Hi.” 

The cube did nothing. Okay. 

“Do you… know Reigen?” Serizawa asked?

Clearly, this wasn’t a being that could be spoken with. 

Serizawa reached forwards. He didn’t dare touch it this time, but it was impossible not to reach out. “Maybe I should just leave you alone, huh?” 

It hurt Serizawa’s heart to back away, but he left the classroom and began to wander the halls once more. 

The last shape he came across was a black triangle. It hovered in the middle of the cafeteria, above a table. It emitted no light. It made no movement. Still, Serizawa felt- no, not the need to protect it. The need to be protected by it. But, deeper down in Serizawa’s stomach, he knew that he wasn’t going to get it there. Not from whatever- whoever that was. It made him ache. The pain was resigned. The pain was going to be there forever. 

The school began to crumble to the ground. 

-

The train was still there when Serizawa eventually escaped from the rubble. It sat idly in front of the remains of Salt Middle, which Serizawa hardly spared a second glance. He was tired of hurting. He was tired of trying to understand why these places were so Reigen, and why, by association, Reigen was so tormented. He was tired of endless forests. He was tired of oceans made of daggers. He was tired of remembering. He was tired of breaking things. He just wanted to get Reigen back, and hopefully not get chewed out too badly by the client for being late to their consultation. 

Serizawa stepped back into the damaged baggage car, which was now devoid of any Serizawas except for himself. He was almost lonely on the ride to the next place. Even if he didn’t like that guy with the umbrella, it would’ve been nice to see a familiar face. He kicked his legs over the edge of the train car and watched them dangle over the ever-changing landscape.

Eventually, Serizawa rested his weary head in his palm, closed his eyes, and dozed off. 

When he woke up, the train was pulling to a stop at the edge of a large, grassy field. Well, at least I know this place has an end. He hopped out of the baggage car, waved goodbye to the train, and began his march towards the warm light of the sun. 

The field was littered with vibrant, diverse flowers. They were by no means abundant, but that made coming across them better. Serizawa wished he could pick some of them, stick them in his pocket, and bring them home with him, but he knew the flowers belonged in that field. Their roots grew deep down towards the core of the Earth. One end of the field was carved out by a silent, blue lake, bordered by cattails and duckweed. Something under the water's surface must have been moving, because rolling ripples spread out across the water. The contrasting currents created a gridlike illusion on the surface of the lake, and Serizawa felt for a moment that he could walk atop it without falling in. 

But there was no time to walk on water. He glanced to his left, and Serizawa almost shouted with joy when, finally, there he was. Reigen. He lay in the grass, eyes closed, hands on his chest. The sun shone brightly on his relaxed face. He was dressed like he’d be dressed on any day at work, minus the suit jacket. Grass bordered the edges of his face, casting grey, kind shadows along it. One single flower sprouted up next to his left arm. It was a light blue tulip. 

A small smile pulled at the edges of Reigen’s mouth when he registered Serizawa’s presence. He inhaled deeply and popped one eye open. “Come to get me?”

Serizawa couldn't move, suddenly. There wasn't anything stopping him except for the gentle breeze and Reigen's equally gentle gaze.

Reigen didn’t seem fazed by Serizawa’s silence. He sat up, brushed off his chest, and skirted his fingers over the tulip’s petals. “Good. I was getting antsy. We’ve got a client, too.” He reached up to straighten his tie, and held his free hand out to Serizawa. “Help me up, will you? My back hurts.”

Serizawa grabbed Reigen’s hand, lifted him to his feet, and pulled him into a hug. 

“Oh. Okay,” Reigen said, arms dangling at his sides. “Okay.”

Serizawa stared over Reigen’s shoulder at the field, watching the grass rustle back and forth under the gentle breeze’s command. “I’m sorry I took so long,” he mumbled, which was the last thing he’d expected to say. 

Reigen’s arms slowly came up to return Serizawa’s embrace. “Don’t worry about it.” After a beat, Reigen added, “I’m glad it was you.” 

“Well, that’s sweet.” A new, intrusive voice said. It was paired with a slow, condescending clap. 

Reigen sighed and pulled away from Serizawa. One of his hands remained on the small of Serizawa’s back as he turned to face the spirit. It was- or, at least, it took the form of- a lean, black-haired man. Not unlike Reigen in stature. However, its face was hard to process, as if its features were constantly shifting, or blurry and far away. The grass around its feet died. The flowers wilted. “Are you still here? I thought Serizawa would’ve dealt with you by now.” 

“Nah, Serizawa was too busy dealing with,” The spirit thought for a moment, and then looked Reigen up and down. “You.”

“Eh?” Reigen asked, clearly annoyed with the entire situation. “Katsuya, erase him.” 

Serizawa was kind enough to ignore the way Reigen’s jaw went slack at his slip-up. After all that Serizawa had seen, he didn’t mind.

Serizawa raised his hand and flicked his wrist. The spirit disappeared. “Oh.” He said, and stared down at his hand. “I didn’t think that would be so easy.” 

“It’s not,” the spirit said, this time from behind Serizawa, a cold hand on his shoulder. Serizawa whipped around, arm raised, but the spirit was gone again. “You don’t even know anything about me, and you’re trying to kill me. Kind of shitty.” 

“I know you,” Reigen supplied helpfully, rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt. “You’re Akui. A prankster spirit. You like possessing people. And teleporting. You’ve been around for a while, causing trouble.” 

“I like this guy!” Akui told Serizawa, gesturing wildly in Reigen’s direction. He’d reappeared in front of them. 

“Yeah, me too,” Serizawa said with a roll of his shoulders. His hands lit up with power. “That’s why I want you to leave.” His aura spread from his fists and wrapped up his forearms. 

“I can see it,” Reigen said incredulously. “Your-” He reached out to touch it, and Serizawa stepped out of his reach. 

Akui revealed his own aura. It was red, like Shimazaki’s, but more of a cloud than a geometrical formation. Like Dimple’s. Dimple was gonna get a real kick out of all this. “Ooh, you’re gonna fight me? It’s been a long time since I had a good fight. I saw you back there, fighting yourself. You’re a powerful guy.” 

“I’m flattered.” Serizawa said flatly, and sent two bursts of energy in Akui’s direction. The spirit flipped out of the way and took flight. Serizawa let himself rise off of the ground, reluctantly. He didn’t have much practice with flight, but he wanted to meet Akui on equal ground. 

If he could find the damn thing, that is. Serizawa spent a few moments hovering idly, scanning the air for any signs of Akui, when he was met with a kick to the face. He heard a shout from Reigen as he was blown backwards. Akui packed some power. That was fine. Serizawa did too. 

He aimed one hand towards Reigen, and the other towards Akui’s last location. Serizawa enclosed Reigen in a half-circle barrier. Once he was sure Reigen wouldn’t be harmed, Serizawa sent spikes of power in every direction, confident that at least one would hit Akui and immobilize him for long enough for Serizawa to attack again.

It went quiet. Serizawa let the barrier around Reigen disappear. 

When Akui showed himself again, Serizawa shot a wave of energy in his direction. It cut out from his sweeping forearm and fanned out across the air. Akui disappeared before the attack made contact and Serizawa swore. Offense was going nowhere, and defense was- 

Akui uppercut Serizawa in the jaw. 

Defense was nonexistent. 

Serizawa put up a barrier, knees pulling up towards his chest loosely. The barrier closed around him, encasing him in a bubble of his own. He breathed heavily, arms held out by his chest, aura swirling in tendrils. He just needed a second to think. A second to- 

Serizawa had dealt with teleporters before. He’d never fought one, but he’d seen Shimazaki fight others back in the day. He’d use it as defense- blipping away from an attack- and offense- surprising the opponent and attacking while they were still bewildered. Akui seemed to be using the same strategy. None of Serizawa’s attacks were connecting, and the damn spirit kept coming out of nowhere. 

How did those kids beat the crap out of Shimazaki? Especially if their barriers were useless, what with Shimazaki’s-

-Teleportation. 

Serizawa let the barrier around him expand. Nothing. Akui didn’t appear, and certainly didn’t break into Serizawa’s bubble. Interesting. “You know what I think?” Serizawa said, and broke free from his barrier. His legs came back down to rest below him. 

“What’s that?” Akui asked, to Serizawa’s side. Serizawa zipped backwards and pressed his hands together in a horizontal prayer formation. He pushed his arms in Akui’s direction, and sent another sheet of energy in the spirit’s direction. Once again, Akui disappeared, but Serizawa wasn’t done with his attack. He pulled his hands away from each other, one upwards, and one down. Akui shouted in surprise and appeared, just above where he had disappeared.

“I don’t think you can teleport.” Serizawa said smugly. “You didn’t enter my barrier, which any teleporter worth anything would’ve tried, and you barely moved an inch away from my last attack. A real teleporter would’ve attacked me from behind.” 

Akui growled, and then, after a moment’s consideration, broke out in a laugh. “You’re a smartass, aren’t you?” He teased, and disappeared again. Serizawa was able to block an attack to his front, but not the follow-up that grazed his side and broke his glass wounds from the gym back open. “Are you proud of yourself? Did you get what you wanted? Did you impress dear Reigen?”

Serizawa was sent flying to the ground. The impact sent tremors through the ground and knocked the air out of Serizawa’s chest. Reigen shouted his name and came running towards him, the idiot. Serizawa sent him backwards with a gentle shove of his powers. Hopefully, Reigen would take the hint. 

“You’re outclassed, here,” Akui added, looming above where Serizawa lay collapsed on the ground. He nudged Serizawa’s ribs with the toe of his boot. 

“Keep talking, moron,” Serizawa grumbled, as the hand crushed beneath his stomach began to glow purple. 

“What was that?” Akui asked. A giant, crumbling tower of dirt and grass rose above him. It cast a shadow over the both of them. Akui was blissfully unaware.

“I called you a moron.” Serizawa confessed, and dropped the mass of soil on top of Akui. Serizawa rolled backwards to avoid the damage, but still caught an ungraceful face full of dirt. He sputtered and blinked grass out of his eyes as Akui blasted his way out of the mount he’d found himself buried under. 

“Serizawa, that just pissed him off,” Reigen pointed out from where he stood, an edge to his voice.

“Just stay at a safe distance,” Serizawa shouted, rising back into the air. “He can’t hide from me any more.”

Akui emerged from the heap of dirt, fury blazing in his shifting eyes. Sure enough, he was covered in soil, grass, stems, and roots. When he tried to blip out of sight, the mess engulfing his body revealed his location. “You can’t just-” Akui squeezed his fists together. “Do you have any idea who I am? Who you’re desire-”

Serizawa shot a blast at his head. “I don’t care.” 

“Yeah, you talk too much,” Reigen added, and Serizawa shot him a small smile. 

From there, Serizawa had it in the bag. He countered nearly every attack and refused to let up his own. Akui was fast, granted, but he was no match for Serizawa’s power’s wide reach. No matter where the spirit ran, Serizawa met him with incapacitating bursts of energy. Near the end of the fight, Serizawa only had to hover in one place, shooting lazily at Akui, like some lousy first person shooter. 

Finally, Akui fell from the sky, panting. He rested on his hands and knees, plumes of red smoke evaporating from his vague form. “This sucks,” Akui said, once Serizawa got close. Akui glanced up at Reigen and smiled. “It was fun, though. Real fun. You’re one messed up guy.”

And then, the spirit turned to ash. The wind picked up the remains and scattered them across the field. Serizawa and Reigen were silent until the last speck had disappeared from view. 

Reigen cleared his throat. “Well, Serizawa, you’ve really-” his voice wobbed. He cleared his throat again. “You’ve really come far with your abilities. I’m- that’s good. For. Business.” He finished weakly. 

Serizawa smiled, and wrapped his arm around Reigen’s shoulders. Partly for the support, and partly because Reigen looked like he needed it. “Good for business,” he echoed teasingly. “Reigen, are you proud of me?”

Reigen hummed noncommittally. “Sure.” Then he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes. I am. Proud of you. I think it’s really admirable. Can we go? We really do have a client.” 

Serizawa stared at Reigen for a long, secure moment. The sun held the back of their necks. The breeze wrapped around their faces. The moment was the most gentle thing Serizawa had felt since he’d entered Reigen’s subconscious. The rest of it had been filled with blood, and brokenness, and hollow loneliness. Serizawa would go through it all again, and then some, if it was for Reigen. “Yeah, we’re done here.”

-

Serizawa woke up in the most uncomfortable position he’d ever slept in his entire life. For starters, he was on the floor. Additionally, his legs were crumpled beneath him, one of his arms was trapped behind his back, and his neck was bent at an angle that shouldn’t have been possible. Also, Reigen was on top of him, equally crumpled. He snored against Serizawa’s chest. 

Aside from the pain of the terrible sleeping position, Serizawa felt no pain. He reached beneath his suit jacket, careful not to disturb Reigen, and felt around for blood. Nothing. 

An abrupt gasp drew Serizawa out of his self-inspection. Serizawa knew that sound. Reigen had just woken up and remembered he was at work. “Whaaa- oh.” He quickly pushed himself off of Serizawa’s chest and fell back against his desk. 

Serizawa sat up and rolled his stiff shoulders. “Yeah. Oh.” 

Silence hung heavy in the air. 

“So,” Serizawa prompted. “How much do you… um. Remember?”

Reigen squinted. “Did I drink something? Oh, God. What did we do?” His eyes opened comically wide, horror flashing across his tired face. Then, the expression dropped. “Kidding. I remember it. The possession, and the field, and the fight, me saying ridiculously sappy stuff, all of it.” He waved his hand in dismissal, as if it was no big deal. 

“Oh.” Serizawa replied elegantly. “So you don’t know about…?”

“Know about what?”

“The… forest, and the ocean, and the… train station… full of… Serizawas.” Serizawa said, trailing off as he went on. Of course Reigen didn’t know about any of that. 

“The what? The hell are you talking about? Are you feeling okay?” Reigen interrogated, and reached over. Presumably to feel Serizawa’s forehead. 

Serizawa grabbed Reigen’s wrist. “You don’t have to feel so lonely,” he said abruptly, before he had the chance to decide against it. Reigen’s eyes went wide, sincerely. 

“What?” Reigen asked quietly, and then cleared his throat. He tried to tug his hand out of Serizawa’s grip, but Serizawa didn’t relent. 

“You have friends. You have me.” Serizawa pressed on. Reigen refused to meet his gaze. 

“We have- we have a client, Serizawa, seriously, we need to-”

“It’s dark out, Reigen.” Serizawa said with a small smile. He looked down at his watch. “We were supposed to close four hours ago.”

“Ah.” Reigen glanced up at Serizawa. “Well, then, we should probably lock up.” 

Serizawa took the hint, despite how much it suffocated him. “Okay.” 

They were silent through the closing process. If Reigen’s hands shook while he watered the plants on the windowsill, neither of them mentioned it. 

They were silent on the walk to the station, as well. It wasn’t an awkward silence, nor a comfortable one. It was a contemplative silence, in which Reigen rubbed at the burn on his neck and sniffled every few minutes. 

They were silent until, just before their paths diverged, Reigen reached his hand out for a handshake. Very on brand. Serizawa stood in the road, breath visible in the cold air. He stared at the offered hand. He took Reigen’s hand in his own, gripped it firmly, and shook it once, the way Reigen had taught him when he first started working at Spirits and Such. 

Then, Reigen reached his other hand up to cover the back of Serizawa’s hand. It was no longer a handshake, but a form of embrace. Reigen’s hands cradled Serizawa’s, so gently that Serizawa thought back to how the thing in the gym had shattered under one touch. 

“I know that I have you,” Reigen said, finally. His hands were warm. “I know.”