i'm not a child anymore | MOB PSYCHO 100

Chapter 2

Reigen woke earlier than usual, despite how late he had gone to bed last night. He had barely gotten three hours of sleep. It wasn't the job last night's problem – in fact, he had gotten home before midnight, and could have had a healthy amount of sleep if he had not spent hours lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling. This was odd behavior, especially for him and he was tempted to actually drag himself a few blocks to a clinic to get himself checked out for some kind of mental illness. He had always been the type of person who could still doze off even if somebody had a gun to his head.

Ah, whatever. Reigen hauled himself out of bed after a full minute running the day's to-do list through his mind. He staggered across his small room to the window and drew the curtains open. The morning's soft light felt harsh against his blurry eyes. He showered. Shaved, even though it was completely unnecessary. He hadn't been able to grow anything even if he wanted to for the past two years. It was just the feeling of an ordinary day associated with it that made him complete the task each morning. He brushed his teeth. Lit a cigar despite the fact that he was trying to quit. Reigen gulped down his usual cup of water, pulled his jacket on neatly, slipping into his dress shoes before continuing on his way.

This was his normal morning routine. The walk to his office refreshed him, but the same empty feeling inside his chest still lingered by the time he closed the office door behind him. Reigen opened his laptop and leaned back in his chair. He exhaled heavily.

"Hey!"

Reigen's jaw ticked. He knew that damn voice. He hated it, but at the same time, it made a part of him light up with life. Reigen straightened his back and adjusted his tie. No way was he going to let this stupid little green spirit see him so unfeeling. "Shouldn't you be doing whatever you spirits do?" He asked, yawning.

"Aw, c'mon!" Dimple complained. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Not exactly," Reigen muttered, picking up the newspaper that he had picked up on the way to work. "I didn't really miss your presence while you were away."

Dimple scrunched up his nose in annoyance, the ridiculous red circles on his face crumpling as well. "Jeez," he grumbled. "You could at least pretend to be happy to see me."

Reigen smirked. "I may be a conman but conning like that is beyond what I agree to do." Before the aggressive green spirit could sprout colorful words, Reigen continued. "Anyway, shouldn't you be with Mob? What are you doing here with a boring old man like me?"

Dimple crossed his tiny arms. "I've been through high school already. No way would you catch me in that horrid building willingly. You've gone through that hell too, right?" Dimple paused, an awful grin stretching across his face. "Unless you didn't even get that much education. Man, I should have known that this moron con artist couldn't even manage to finish high school! Maybe Mob will finally stop looking at you like you're the sun!"

"Of course I finished high school," Reigen said evenly, resisting the impulse to grab that spirit's little tuff of a head and whip him around the room like a bouncy ball. "I even graduated with honors."

"The only thing you're good at is talking," Dimple said, swirling around his blond head to Reigen's infuriation. "I bet you talked your way out of every bad situation you've been in."

Reigen suddenly grinned. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"You're so cocky. No wonder the only person who can put up with you is me and Mob."

"Mob and I," Reigen corrected with a wide smirk.

"Damn you."

The rest of the day went on like this, bickering mixed with the occasional lady or gentleman walking nervously through his office door. Business went on smoothly for once, and not once throughout the entire morning and afternoon did an agreement about whether or not Spirits and Such Consultation Office was legit. It was a good day. Dimple kept him entertained with their batter. Having that aggravating little spirit around wasn't all that bad, he decided when he managed to convince Dimple to get him one of the bottles of water he kept in the corner of the office.