Never Say Die
Summary: He had been a fool to let go of her hand. [End of the Forgotten Children case through Oliver's eyes]
Written for the 2017 Ghost Hunt Weekend on Tumblr (which is like a secret santa exchange). You can learn more at the GhostHuntHQ tumblr!
My client was Evil-Dragon-is-Evil, and my prompt was well, basically, 'Things with Naru'. ^^
…
Oliver's clothes had yet to dry from the thorough soaking they had received earlier. The storm had brought in a crisp breeze. The break from the heat should have been welcome, but the abandoned school had a chill that penetrated far deeper.
Mai had just finished calling out the names of their missing companions, and she now kneeled close to him, mixed emotions flitting across her face. Horror that they had been forgotten so easily. Relief that the nefarious spirits couldn't truly take her memories away from her.
He dragged his hand through his damp hair. He had been trained better than this. He knew better than to be drawn into such trickery. They had eight people missing in a location that's main goal was to not release anyone alive.
"Yuuki Kirishima," Oliver said.
Mai looked up at him. "Who?"
"Didn't you see the photocopy of the newspaper? He's the teacher who died."
"What about him?"
"He is the culprit of these series of events," Oliver said. "He's the one pulling the strings. Do you think children could use such underhanded methods? A diversion is created to make us vanish one by one. If we get suspicious, they confuse us by making us believe the children were with us in the first place. Kirishima-san must be behind the scenes."
"Kirishima-sensei – then he must be in one of the classrooms downstairs?"
"It's dangerous to assume," Oliver said. But it really wasn't, was it? It was her intuition speaking, and it coincided with his own inclinations. "But I think he is most likely on the first floor. If we want to catch him, he would probably be in the classroom or the faculty lounge."
"But…how are we going to exorcise him?" she asked.
"It's going to be either you or me."
Mai burst out, "You can't do it!"
Oliver paused at the vehemence in her voice. "Then do you want to try?"
"Do you think I could do it?"
"Not exorcise, no," Oliver said dryly, causing her to hang her head. "But I think you can convince him."
"Huh?"
"Convince Kirishima-san. I don't have the ability to communication with spirits. But there's a possibility you can."
"Do…do you think I could do it?" she said, seeming to be unaware she had already asked that question.
"Yes, if you use the same spirit you have when you yell at me."
Mai clasped her hands together, mulling it over as she attempted to work some warmth into her fingers. But it didn't take her long to respond.
"Okay. I'll do it."
Oliver nodded. "Then let's go to the first floor. I'll put you in an altered state of mind, like what mediums are in when they bring in a spirit."
"Oh," she murmured. "Okay."
"Let's go," he said. Oliver took her hand. He could feel the tension in her fingers, as if she was afraid to hold on too tightly. He may have just come out of the hospital, but he would not tolerate being treated as if he was fragile.
He said, "Don't let go," as he dragged her up from the floor.
"Oh, wait!" she said. She offered him something in her opposite hand. He could barely see it in the dim light. Without releasing her other hand, he took from her the pointed weapon that Takigawa carried around.
She continued, "This is Monk's tokkosho. He said it was for you when he threw it."
"Is that so?" he said softly.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said. "It just seems I've underestimated Takigawa-san." He held the tokkosho firmly in his hand. It was a challenge. It said that Takigawa believed Oliver was fully capable of wielding it if he chose to. It said that Takigawa didn't believe in the mask of Kazuya Shibuya anymore.
"Let's go," he said again.
They went down the short flight of stairs, hand in hand. The building was absolutely silent. Oliver couldn't even hear the rain anymore. Perhaps it had stopped. The only sounds were the ones they created. Their footfalls echoed in the ears almost painfully. Oliver could hear Mai's breathing, deep inhale in, slow exhale.
Oliver ducked through the small doorway first. He reached up to balance himself against the shoe cabinet that Lin had placed across the doorway as a spirit barrier. The cabinet started to weave and creak. It toppled towards him, and landed against the wall and created a triangle-shaped space. It left the small doorway partially blocked.
"Naru! Are you all right?" Mai's voice was muffled, and she sought his hand which he had released by accident. Her fingers brushed his, and without looking back, he took her hand firmly.
"I'm fine," he said, pulling her forward. She followed easily.
They continued at a good pace down the next flight of stairs.
"Wait, wait a moment," Mai said quietly.
"What is it?" he said automatically, until the strangeness of her voice kicked in. Her voice was quiet because it was far away. It almost sounded like she was still by the small doorway.
His stride broke. He turned as he looked down. The hand that grasped his was skeletal, leather-like skin stretched tight against oddly-shaped bones, nails long and ragged.
Oliver recoiled and yanked his hand away. He could feel the scrapes across his skin from where the nails bit down to attempt to prevent his release. His foot slipped, and he fell down the last few stairs. He twisted and landed on a wrist and hip. It felt like small splinters had embedded themselves into his hand from the wood floor, but he stood up without taking the time to assess his injuries.
"Mai!" he called as he looked up the stairs. A small girl stood from the height he had fallen from. An overly large grin was on her face. Her hands, he had to notice, were completely normal. He didn't know if it was brighter on the first floor, or if she produced her own light.
"Who are you calling for, onii-san?" the girl said. Her voice reminded him of clinking glass.
"Where is she?" Oliver said.
"Who?" She skipped down the stairs and took his hand before he could pull away. She twirled on his fingers. "Who is she?"
Yes, who was she? Who was he looking for again?
"Come back to class onii-san," she said. "Sensei doesn't want us to stay away too long."
She tugged at his hand, and he followed mechanically. She opened the door to one of the classrooms, letting Oliver go as she rushed in.
"I found him sensei!" she said, then turned around suddenly. Oliver almost collided with her.
She asked, "What's your name, onii-san?"
"Oliver."
She frowned, trying the foreign name on her tongue.
Kirishima appeared behind her. He pulled the little girl to him, as if he was concerned for her safety.
"No," Kirishima said, panic rising in his voice. "How did you get in here again? Be gone!"
Oliver stood there as a wave of surprise, which seemed to be tinged by disgust, washed over him from the unwelcome greeting.
Kirishima curled his lip and whispered, "You're already dead."
The little girl seemed to shrink back, just as Oliver had done to her earlier.
"He's dead?" she asked.
"Well, no," Kirishima said. "I meant he's just too old. Go along, join your classmates."
She looked up at Oliver, an infinite sadness clouding her face for a moment.
She walked away.
Kirishima turned on Oliver again. He was young, probably Takigawa's or at the most Lin's age. Anger distorted his features.
"Dead!" he hissed. "Go away. Leave us be!"
Oliver found it within himself to smile slightly. "You must have me mistaken with someone else, sensei. I'm not dead yet."
Kirishima reached out to shove him, and Oliver stepped back –
– and found himself on the threshold of the schoolroom, the door already shut in his face.
After a moment of hesitation, Oliver opened the door. The air was stagnant. The room was empty of life, the desks in little rows, forever waiting to be used again. He stepped in. His footsteps echoed, a cold and empty sound. It reminded him of being on the stairs with Mai earlier. This time, he was walking alone.
He wondered if the others had seen similar scenes. It was likely, with the so-called 'kids' leaving a Welcome Ayako-chan display on the wall for her. He could see his group again, in his mind's eye, the people he was currently failing by allowing himself to be caught up in illusions.
Oliver left the classroom, shutting the door again. He would have to do the exorcism himself. He didn't know where Mai was, and what state she was in. How could he be such a fool and let go of her hand? He had fallen for the spirits' tricks, the same ones he had warned her not to be caught up in.
His body ached from his fall down the stairs. Oliver knew he would need to gather some energy before he could do anything, so he sat down in the hallway, opposite of the classroom so he had a good view if anyone or anything decided to come out. He leaned against the wall and stretched out his legs, crossing his arms. He could feel the fabric of his shirt was still damp. It was such an odd thing to notice that he shook his head and closed his eyes, if it was in laughter or desperation, he wasn't sure.
It would be a shame to die here, when his true goal was so close to being completed. It just couldn't be helped, could it? If he succeeded in besting Kirishima, his companions – if they were still alive – would not be able to get him to a city quick enough, not in this already weakened physical state.
Then trust her.
Oliver jerked, opening his eyes.
Trust her for once. Mai said she could do it, didn't she? Didn't you believe her?
Did he?
Oliver pictured her face, the seriousness that had risen to her eyes when she said she would do it; remembered the strength in her hand when she had grasped his.
Yes. She could do this. Maybe just as well as Eugene. She deserved the chance.
There was no way to tell the time passing from his position, but he was certain night had fallen some time ago. He felt the desire to go find a broken window and draw in some fresh air. He ignored the temptation. It was easier to stay where he was for the time being.
He jumped when the door to the classroom flew open. He waited warily, ready to leap up if necessary. Nothing emerged, and then he felt it. The fog at the edges of his mind cleared. He had not realized what a stupor he had been operating in until the haze was suddenly gone.
The place was cleansed.
He heaved a breath.
"Can you stand?"
Oliver looked up at Lin's voice.
"Yes." Oliver said.
"Did you do it?"
Oliver shook his head, then took the hand that was offered him and stood up. He could hear voices, the real, live voices of his group. He shook off any of Lin's additional offers of help and walked to the front door.
The outside was bathed in the cool silver of moonlight. Mai stood in the field. The glow of a spirit cleansing seemed to cling to her. She smiled at him.
He turned away.
Someone said, "It looks like it wasn't Shibuya-san either, since you're still standing." Oliver wasn't sure if it had been Takigawa or Yasuhara who had spoken, so he just shrugged in agreement. He couldn't tell if the group was just messing with Mai, or if they really were so dense to not know she had done the cleansing.
Then he saw Takigawa caress Mai's head, and the other quiet congratulations she received from the group as they all headed towards the cars. Even Lin gave her a small smile.
It would have been easy to just walk past her. But he remembered how often Eugene had liked verbal confirmation of the end of a hard case.
So he said, "Good job," as he passed her.
Mai stopped in her tracks. He could feel her eyes on his back as he walked away.