Title: SleepWalker
Word Count: 1,123
Notes: Written from the concept that Takigawa would've felt useless after losing the talent of being able to see spirits. Mentioned in Case Seven (the manga): The Forgotten Children.
Also, this is set before the Forgotten Children. I believe Naru would have figured it out before Takigawa told anyone else.
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Takigawa leaned back in the drivers' seat, closing his eyes and listening to the rain hit the window shield.
The car hummed softly as it sat in park, the heater running to keep the chill air away.
The headlights illuminated each water droplet as they passed through the beam.
A small, boxy house sat quiet and forlorn on its plot of land. The cars' lights reflected off of a large lake behind the house. The whole place had an eerie, disturbed feel to it.
Only one light was on in the entire house, in the foyer. Where Naru, supposedly, was talking to the head of the house. For the past few hours.
Lin had called Takigawa, asking him to pick up Naru at this address, which was forty-five minutes from where he lived. Lin had said that he couldn't make it due to something important unexpectedly coming up.
Takigawa just wished he'd known that he would have been sitting here for the past hour with nothing to do.
The green digits on the car's clock read 11:52 p.m.
He hoped that the SPR knew that they would be paying for this gas.
He pulled himself back upright when he saw the door open, Naru stepping into the heavy drizzle of rain. Naru let himself in through the passenger door as Takigawa took the car out of park.
Naru didn't even look at him, just continued to stare at the house. The light in the foyer had been turned off.
Takigawa pulled out of the driveway, easing onto the road. The sheets of rain made it difficult to see.
"So, is that our next case?" Takigawa asked, trying to keep himself awake.
"No. It was information on something else."
Takigawa turned to look at the seventeen-year-old; the dark-haired boy was looking out the window. "For what?"
"It's none of your concern," Naru said.
"Of course it isn't," Takigawa sighed, his hands gripping the wheel tightly as he sloshed through puddles on the road.
The two were silent. Takigawa was just glad it was mostly his subconscious driving; otherwise they probably would be in a ditch by now.
Lin had woken him up with the telephone call, asking him to do something obviously important and Takigawa knew that he probably should've felt honored. But after a week of exhausting days and the nights were only bringing restless sleep, he had finally managed to pass out, but had hardly gotten an hour in before Lin had called. Somehow you don't feel that honored when you're half asleep and irritable.
Naru cleared his throat, "You're driving on the wrong side of the road."
Takigawa jerked and righted the car. "Sorry," he said. So much for his subconscious driving.
"If I didn't know any better, I would say that Lin is trying to kill me."
Takigawa gave a strained smile. "Do you mind if I talk? It keeps me awake."
"Just as long as you don't expect me to respond."
"Why not? I talk to myself enough, I guess," Takigawa said. Now after he was given the opportunity, he didn't know what to talk about.
"Why did you hire me?" he said.
"I thought that we were in agreement that I wasn't talking."
"I know, but from the other two psychic groups I've been in, you're the only one that's kept calling me back."
"I appreciated your skills."
"No one else ever did."
"Perhaps your ability has been perfected since then."
"Perfected. Ha, all I've done is gone downhill."
"…You used to see spirits," Naru said, in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"I use to…How'd you know?"
"A feeling."
"Sure… I use to work with a couple of other guys who were doing paranormal research. It happened when I was dispersing a spirit. It was being difficult, but then it released so quickly that it startled me. I moved back too fast and tripped. Hit my head on the floor so hard that I was out for a few minutes. Couldn't see them anymore after that."
Naru continued to stare out the window, Takigawa wasn't even sure if he was listening anymore.
"The guys said that I was practically no more use to them and let me go. I had already left the mountain by that time, and me and my friends finally started the band we had wanted to a few years back. That was fine for a few months; though I still sought out the odd ghost jobs here and there…"
Takigawa grew quiet, thinking of those few months. It still felt like someone was rubbing salt into a wound whenever he thought of that conversation, with people who he believed were friends, telling him that he was useless now.
"And then?" Naru said.
"What?"
"And then. You said that you were in another group."
"I didn't think you cared," Takigawa smirked.
"I don't. It's for my own protection; I would rather you not drive off the road."
"Ouch…Fine then. I met the other group at some point in those months, they were impressed with my talent, but I didn't stay very long with them. They said that they didn't like my 'unsophisticated disposition' and that I put the clients too at ease. They always did try to act like they were running some TV show…
"After that, I can count on one hand how many job offers I was getting. And you know what? I almost didn't come to that school, I wasn't sure I wanted to do it anymore. But the principal was the brother of another one of my clients, so I figured it wouldn't hurt anything." He grinned, "I have to say, that day made an unexpected turn of events in my life."
Naru remained silent, but it didn't matter much anymore. They had arrived at the SPR office, where Lin said he would pick Naru up at. Takigawa had said he could drop him off at his house, but Lin had made no comment, so Takigawa had let it go.
It was still raining, but not as hard as it had been.
Naru opened the door and stepped out, but stopped with the door still open. The rain didn't take anytime flattening his hair to his head.
"You are a valuable asset to me—whether or not you can see spirits." With that, he shut the door and walked away.
Takigawa had to process that for a moment, sitting at the wheel, watching the rain.
He knew that he was good with his talents; he'd saved quite a few people in some of their cases. But he had always thought that he had lost something impeccable, and that there was no replacing it. Sometimes he would watch Masako and lament, but maybe it was a waste of time now.
It was strange getting a compliment from Naru, but perhaps Naru knew that he needed it.
Maybe, just maybe, he could sleep now.