“can i hug you?” dont mind me, just fulfilling my contractual obligation
The wind seemed to yowl as well, whipping against the trees and other objects even further off in the distance. But neither of the two said anything for the longest length of time.
The spirit had been that of a man just entering his thirties—he died alone and in such a sad way: that was something they pieced together while Mob fought off the lesser spirits haunting the area and the deceased vented out his woes.
Sad—for Reigen who saw so much of himself in the man that he felt empathy clutch desperately at his heart. But maybe in the eyes of society, that kind of life was just pitiful.
If things had turned out different for Reigen...he might as well have been seeing into a mirrored world where he hadn't made one important connection that somehow lead to everyone he now knew in life.
He could only wonder if Mob gained the ability to read his thoughts when the boy spoke up to ask, in the middle of their trek back down the dirt path, "can I hug you?"
"Mob," Reigen protested. There wasn't any power behind his voice, but he didn't exactly like the idea of acknowledging what sat heavily in the back of his mind. Even if it WAS eating up his thoughts!
However he happened to glance at the boy—and he felt absolute confusion knock the wind out of him. Until it set in in another quick succession. Mob seemed just as distressed about seeing the man Reigen could have become.
"You don't have to ask," Reigen nervously corrected, realizing he'd accidentally painted himself as a jerk who ignored practically sobbing children! (Not that Mob was sobbing, but it was a near equivalent in Reigen's head after years of knowing him).
Reigen's role was switched just like that, to the one who needed to give solace, but he really couldn't mind it when it mended something within himself. "Come here, it's okay."
(What saved him back then was when he started to believe he could have a positive effect on someone).