The Pretender
We had been going over my English homework for about an hour, Lin calmly and patiently correcting my mistakes and trying – key work trying – to make the English language system more understandable to me.
We were just finishing up and Lin was correcting a short story I had attempted to translate into English – he was using a red pen.
My paper now looked like something found at a murder scene there was so much red ink.
"Kami, I'm never going to get this! I'm doomed to fail; I should just go back to Naru and beg for my job back." I bemoaned into the library desk I currently had my forehead pressed into. "I'm going to flunk out of school and end up cleaning toilets for the rest of my life."
"It's not that bad" From the sound of Lin's pen I could tell he was continuing his massacre of my English homework.
I just raised my head from the table and glared at him, and as if sensing my gaze he looked up from my paper, before glancing back down at my homework and cringing.
"Okay, it's pretty bad, but English is a hard language to learn and is completely opposite from Japanese. You can't just expect to get it after one study session." Lin, probably realizing that my homework was beyond salvageable, put down his pen and leaned back in his chair.
"You're a smart girl Mai, no matter what Naru may have said, but learning languages different then your own is hard and requires a lot of work and dedication. I will continue to help you but you need to put in some effort as well." I was ashamed; I didn't want Lin to think I was lazy.
I sat back in my chair as well and looked at Lin who was now packing up some of the books he had left out on the table. "I'm sorry Lin, it's just I haven't had time…" Great, now I'm just making excuses, I really am pathetic.
I felt tears well up in my eyes, I'm so useless, and I shouldn't be wasting Lin's time like this. I'm sure he has better things to do then try and teach a dunce like me English.
"Shit" I looked up surprised to hear Lin swear. He looked guilty.
"I'm sorry Mai" Lin let out a breath while running a hand through his hair, a sure sign of his agitation. "Kami, that came out wrong, I didn't mean that you haven't been putting in any effort just that English is hard and requires a lot of it."
He came around to my side of the table to put a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. "I know you haven't been able to study because of all the pressure Naru puts on you at work. Mai, I know you, and I know that you put all your energy into everything you do." Lin gave my shoulder one last comforting squeeze before releasing me and straightening back up to head over to the shelves and put away the books he had stacked in his other hand.
He looked back over his shoulder to tell me to stay put while he re-shelved the books and that we still needed to talk about what happened yesterday. Crap.
Before I could flee, Lin was once again sitting down across the table from me. I don't know why we had to talk about it, I just wanted to move on and forget all about that narcissistic douche-bag.
Lin just sat there looking at me expectantly. I looked away and studied one of the book shelves to the right of his head like it was the most interesting things I'd seen in years. If he wanted to talk about "the incident" then he was going to have to start talking because I sure as hell wasn't going to be the instigator of this particular conversation.
"He thinks you're coming back" He started in a calming voice, like he was talking to a cornered animal.
I looked back at Lin and realized he was just as uncomfortable as I was; he was no longer looking at me but at the table in front of him and was fiddling with my homework paper that I had yet to put away.
"Well HE thinks wrong" I spat out, making clear what I though about the opinions of the "he" we were talking about.
Lin gave me a gentle smile his eyes reflecting a warmth I thought him incapable of, "I know and I'm glad"
Wow, I looked away from Lin and started to sputter, "Wh-what do you mean your glad" I don't think I have ever felt this fluster in my life, not even with Naru.
Lin sighed, "He didn't appreciate the effort you put into your job and was constantly insulting you, plus I've noticed that you haven't been as happy lately."
I just shook my head, "of course not, I'm always happy and Masako said the only reason he insults me is because he likes me" Why am I defending him, maybe deep down I still harbor feelings for him or maybe now that I know about Gene I feel sorry for him.
I cringed inside; I hated that look of pity people would give me when they found out I was an orphan living alone and now I was doing the same to Naru.
"Don't defend him Mai…" The frigid undertone of Lin's voice caused me to glance back up into his now not so warm eyes. "… he does it because he is miserable and he wants everyone else to be miserable with him."
"I would be miserable too if my twin brother died" I mumbled to the table in front of me.
"What did you say!" Lin gasped and stared at me in complete astonishment; I think his mouth was even hanging open a little.
Oops, well at least that gets us off the topic of my current state of unemployment and now maybe I can get some answers.
"How do you know about Gene?" Lin had a cautious expression on his face, as if he was afraid of the answer I would give him.
"Um, well you see…" Come on Mai spit it out, you intended to tell him about your dreams today anyways. I took in a deep breath and held it for a second before releasing it, in an attempt to calm my nerve, and then started over.
"Remember on the last case, when I said I saw Naru in my dream?"
"Yes, I remember, I asked Naru about it in the hospital, but he was unable to recall anything from when he was possessed." The tension seemed to drain out of Lin and he now looked curious instead of cautious.
"Well that wasn't the only time, he's been visiting me since the day after I met you two." Kami, I can't believe I am admitting this. "I thought at first he was a figment of my imagination, because in my dreams he was so nice and helpful." My face was warm and I could no longer look at Lin so I just stared at the table while I finished my explanation.
"Well, last night he visited me in my dreams again, but after the last case I figured it out that he couldn't actually be Naru, because he called himself my guide" I heard the sound of pen on paper so I looked up and saw that Lin was taking notes.
I must have been silent for too long because Lin ceased his note taking to look up and ask me to continue.
"Anyways, last night when he came to me he started questioning me about why I was upset and… well I didn't want to talk about it so I started questioning him instead" I peeked up briefly from the table and caught Lin's smirk – I'm glad someone found this amusing because I sure didn't.
"It's not funny." I huffed out.
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry it's just so typical of you; I think you dislike talking about yourself even more then I do." He stopped writing to give me his full attention. "So I'm guessing he told you he was Naru's brother."
"No, he just told me his name, I figured out the rest on my own" Lin looked impressed and I couldn't help from feeling satisfied, it was a nice self-esteem boost.
"How did you figure out he was Naru's brother? Spirit guides can take on any form their charge needs" I was glad to finally have someone genuinely interested in what I have to say, Naru always just dismissed my theories unless they came from one of my dreams.
"Well, first…" I lifted my hand from the table to count off on my fingers "… I asked Gene why he looked like Naru and he cryptically answered he had no control over his form. Secondly, after going over some old case notes I realized that Masako had seen him during the Bloody Labyrinth case. That led me to the conclusion that he's a ghost and not actually a spirit guide."
I let out a breath, relieved to finally have someone to share my theories with, I sure beets sitting in my apartment talking to myself.
"I'm impressed, I don't think Naru is the only one that has underestimated your intellect" Lin's praise had me grinning from ear to ear.
"So, now are you going to tell me why when I looked for a Gene Shibuya I couldn't find an obituary" I smiled at Lin, anticipating getting a straight answer, because all of the questions were driving me nuts.
"Because his name isn't Gene Shibuya" Lin stated calmly, but when I glanced at his eyes I saw a teasing lit to them.
"Come on Lin, I just want a straight answer! Pretty pleeease tell me about Gene" I gave him my best puppy dog look and he just chuckled.
"Alright I will tell you about Gene and Naru, because you deserve to know the truth and I think you might be able to help, but not here, there are too many prying eyes and ears" It was at this time I noticed a couple of college kids sitting a few seats down from us. Kami, I hope they didn't hear everything I told Lin, they probably think I'm nuts.
"How about I walk you home and I will tell you on the way?" Lin was getting up from his chair so I followed his lead.
"Sure, sounds great!" I grabbed my homework from the table and stuffed it into my backpack before proceeding to follow him out of the library.
As I was passing the computer lab I heard my name being called and looked to the left to see the flirty help-desk attendant waving me over. I wanted to ignore him and continue out the door of the library with Lin, but I have a hard time being rude to anyone but Naru, so I told Lin to wait for me and headed over to see what the attendant wanted.
"Um, did I forget something at the computers?" Knowing that wasn't the case but hoping it was.
"No, it's just I never got a chance to introduce myself properly, I'm Chiaki" He held out his hand and I quickly shook it before bring it back to my side to discreetly wipe it on my pants.
I didn't want to catch his crazy.
"Yah, nice to meet you, I'm Mai…" Wait he already knew my name. "… but you already knew that, how?"
He looked at me sheepishly, which made him look more cute then handsome. He was probably about as tall as Naru and had short dark brown hair and warm chocolate brown eyes, but no matter how "cute" and/or "handsome" he is I am sticking with my gut. This guy is nuttier then peanut butter.
"You had to put your name down when you signed in to use a computer" Okay now I feel dumb.
"Oh, yah I forgot about that, so…" I trailed off not knowing what to say and feeling uncomfortable.
"Oh well I just wanted to introduce myself, give you my number, …" He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me "… and tell you that if things don't work out with that Chinese business man to give me a call" He nodded over at Lin, who did in fact look like a business man in his suite and was at this point glaring daggers at Chiaki. Does that man even own a casual outfit, I mean really it's Sunday for Kami's sake.
Seemingly unaffected by Lin's glare of death Chiaki continued talking at me for a few more minutes, telling me about how cute I was and how disappointed he was that I already had a boyfriend.
Once he started talking about how much "fun" we could have together – and yes he added a creepy wink – I managed to tell him I had to go and without waiting for a reply I practically ran for the front door grabbing Lin on the way past and dragging him with me. So much for studying at the library, Lin and I would have to find someplace else to meet next time because I sure as hell wasn't coming here again. I had a gut feeling that this wouldn't be the last time I saw Chiaki, and I was dreading our next meeting.
I slowed down after we exited the library and then realizing I was still holding Lin's hand I quickly dropped it like a hot coal. I looked down at my feet and blushed as I waited for Lin to continue our conversation about Gene while we walked down the block towards my apartment.
"What did that guy want back in the library?" Lin asked. Great, I was hoping that he would just forget about that and go on with telling me about Gene.
"He gave me his number and said if things didn't work out with 'that Chinese business man' to give him a call" I mumbled to the concrete as Lin let out an almost silent chuckle.
"That's what I thought was going on when he handed you that piece of paper"
"Do you ever wear casual clothes?" I looked up from the sidewalk to glance at Lin, trying to imagine what he would look like in jeans – I just couldn't picture it.
"Yes, I don't normally wear a business suit to go to the library but I had to meet with a potential client at the office before coming to meet you" Lin cleared his throat and his expression became closed off , what I called his 'business face', "So you wanted to know about Gene and Naru?"
"Yah, could you start by explaining what you meant when you said that Gene Shibuya isn't Gene's name?" I went back to facing forward; I wasn't the most coordinated person so I thought it might be a good idea to watch where I was going before I ran into a light pole or something.
"First off, you need to promise me that you will not repeat what I am about to tell you." Wow, I guess this really was a big deal. "I have been after Naru to tell you about all of this since you were able to find Masako during the Bloody Labyrinth case, but he has continued to ignore my advice. So, he is not going to be happy that I went against his wishes and told you anyways, but we need help; Naru is just to prideful to admit it." I could hear the frustration and anger in Lin's voice – I guess I wasn't the only one that Naru pissed off.
"Sure, okay Lin I promise not to say anything, but I still don't know what you think I can help with." And why would finding Masako be the event that convinced Lin I would be able to help them?
"I know I can trust you to keep a secret I just need you to know how truly grave the situation is" Grave? I have a feeling I'm not going to like a lot of what I'm about to hear.
"Gene and Naru's surname is Davis not Shibuya and Naru's name isn't Kazuya its Oliver." That would be why I couldn't find a Gene Shibuya but why would Naru change his name…. wait
"Naru is Oliver Davis! Thee Oliver Davis!" My outburst got me a few strange looks from some fellow pedestrians. Oops.
"Mai quite!" Lin hissed at me while looking around to make sure no one was paying too much attention to us.
"Sorry, but that's a huge bomb shell you just dropped on me!" I hissed right back at him.
"I thought Oliver Davis was a doctor? I know Naru is smart but he couldn't have already completed graduate school, right?" I asked, bringing my voice to a more secretive level and moving closer to Lin so he could better hear me.
"He received an honorable doctorate degree from Cambridge for his work in the field of parapsychology; he was in the process of working towards a degree the traditional way when Gene was killed." Lin stopped to take a breath and to check to make sure I was following.
So Gene was killed, that wasn't too much of a surprise considering he apparently hasn't yet moved on. I was having a little trouble coming up with more questions though; I was still trying to wrap my brain around Naru being THEE Dr. Oliver Davis. Luckily for me Lin seemed to realize that I needed time to process and the remainder of the trek to my apartment was made in silence.
Once we made it to my not so impressive building I invited Lin up for some tea so he could finish telling me everything, not even considering how inappropriate it would be for us to be alone together in my apartment.
"You really shouldn't be inviting older men up to your apartment Mai."
"Well, you said you didn't want to talk someplace we could be overheard, so what better place then my apartment, it's not like we would be doing anything bad." I blurted out while my face warmed and my cheeks flushed with color.
Lin just sighed, "I know that isn't what you meant but what if your neighbors get the wrong impression, you're in a very delicate situation. If the school believes you can't take care of yourself or you are acting inappropriately they may send you to live in a foster home or halfway house."
I gasped, I never even though about that.
"Why don't we walk to that park and we can continue our conversation there?" He pointed to the small abandoned playground just down the road from my apartment. I lived in a rougher part of town and there weren't many little kids around so the park was abandoned.
"Okay." I mumbled out as I made my way towards the rusted play ground, knowing that Lin would follow. After walking over to the swing set I plopped down on one of the less then clean seat, I didn't expect Lin to take the swing next to me.
I didn't say anything and it took me a few minutes to realize that Lin was waiting for me to say something to continue. I shook myself mentally and attempted to remember all the questions I wanted to ask. I figured just to start off with the most obvious question.
"So why are you and Naru in Japan?" Oliver Davis is from England and it had occurred to me as I gently swayed on the swing that I still didn't know why he would come to Japan.
"He's looking for Gene" Lin answered as he sat perfectly still on the swing next to me. Does he have to be so damn vague?
"Umm, why?"
Lin just gave me a look, like he was expecting me to come up with the answers on my own. I'm glad he thought I could figure it out without his help, but I was emotionally exhausted and my brain felt like it was about to ooze out my ears.
"Come on Lin, can we stop playing 21 questions, the past two days have kind of sucked and I've used up all my reasoning ability for the day. Please just tell me what's going on." Slumped over in my seat, I let my cheerful mask dissipate and looked towards Lin so he could see in my eyes how truly tired I was.
Lin almost looked ashamed, "I'm sorry Mai, I should have realized how exhausted you must be after yesterday."
"No, that's okay, just… I really want answers; I'm so tired of not knowing what's going on." I went back to watching my feet kick up dust on the ground below as I slowly pushed the swing back and forth.
I heard Lin take in a breath and let it out slowly, and then he told me everything.
(AN: I almost ended it here)
"Gene came to Japan on request from an old friend of his fathers. Gene was a very powerful medium, even more so then Masako. He completed the case within a day's time but decided to stay in Japan for a little while in hopes of finding some information on his birth mother, who was thought to have lived in Tokyo." Lin had a wistful smile on his face as if remembering something pleasant – I wonder how close Gene and him were.
"He had been gone for a week and Naru was being miserable as he normally was whenever he and his brother were separate…" I snorted, that sound like Naru, Lin just gave me a look to keep me from making a comment. "Anyways, Naru went into Gene's closet to borrow one of his shirts, but when he picked it up he was struck with a vision." Oh, I had forgotten about Dr. Davis' psychometry ability, I guess that explains why Naru had Masako's comb when she went missing in the ex-Prime Ministers Mansion.
"Naru saw Gene's death" Lin's voice had taken on a somber tone and he was hunched over with his forearms resting on his knees. "From what Naru has told me, Gene was accidentally struck by a car on a road near a lake. He was still alive after being hit and probably would have survived, but the woman must have panicked and she purposely ran him over a second time." I gasped.
"That's horrible! What kind of person does something like that!" Poor Naru, to have to witness such and thing and not be able to stop it. Lin just nodded his head absently as if to agree with me.
"The women then dumped his body into a lake. That's why we are here in Japan, Naru is trying to find Gene's body and bring him home to their parents." I could tell by Lin's expression that he was done talking, he looked sad but relieved all at the same time. Naru wasn't the only one morning Gene's death.
"He was your friend wasn't he?" I barely spoke above a whisper not wanting to disturb the silence that had enveloped us.
"Yes, while I was responsible for Naru's training I got along better with Gene."
"Well, he is a lot nicer then Naru." I let out a sigh of contentment, it was nice to be able to talk about Gene with someone that knew him – I wonder if Lin felt the same.
"So, you still haven't told me why you think I can help" Getting back on topic.
"You were able to find Masako when even Naru couldn't, so I thought you might be able to find where Gene's body is."
Duh, of course. "But Masako was alive, and if Gene knew where his body is wouldn't he have told me by now?" I asked. I think Lin overestimated my abilities, I don't even know how I managed to find Masako.
"He might not want to be found…" Lin trailed off deep in though. "… Naru is already under suspicion because he knows so many details, only details someone who was involved in Gene's murder should know. If we found Gene's body they might have just enough circumstantial evidence to arrest him."
"But you both were in England at the time, there is no way either of you could be involved!" Were the police really so stupid to think Naru would kill his own brother!
"Just because Naru wasn't involved directly doesn't mean he couldn't have paid someone to kill Gene, at least that's what the authorities think. You have to remember Mai, the Davis' have quite a bit of money and influence, and the police think Naru had his brother killed so he wouldn't have to share their parent's wealth." I could tell that Lin had been worrying about this for a while; could Gene also know of the situation? Would he really hide the truth from me to protect his brother, even if in protecting him he was also denying his family and friends closure?
Yes, he would, Gene would never want his own brother to be arrested because of him.
"Maybe instead of looking for Gene's body, we should be looking for his killer then." It made sense that if the real killer was found Gene wouldn't have to worry about Naru getting blamed and he would lead us to his body. Lin didn't look impressed by the suggestion and continued to stair at the ground as if an answer was going to sprout from the earth like a lily in spring.
"We have already tried …" Lin stood from the swing and started to pace; which isn't something I've ever seen him do before – I'm the one that normally paces. "… Naru wasn't able to make out the license plate of the woman's car and even if we find out where the crime occurred, the likely hood of finding any usable evidence is low."
"Naru only saw the vision once though… right?" I had an idea, it probably wouldn't work but if I could just get Gene to show me his death I might recognize the area, after all I've lived in Japan all my life and my parents use to take me with them on day trips all the time when I was little; while Naru has always lived in England and wouldn't be able to tell one Japanese lake from another.
Lin stopped his pacing to look back at me, "He scried Gene's shirt and other articles of his to try and produce another vision, but he only saw Gene's death that once… what are you thinking?" Lin went back to the swing and sat down next to me so I no longer had to crane my neck to look up at him.
"Well… maybe I can get Gene to show me his death and I will recognize something that Naru didn't." Lin just let out a breath in what sounded like a snort.
"He would never do that to you, he hated when Naru had to see someone die and if he's been protecting you for this long he's not going to put you through seeing his death." Lin just dismissed me and went back to contemplating the soil.
It was a good idea! How could he dismiss me like that? I was tired of just getting the brush off, I though Lin would be different, I though that he was going to listen to me. Plus Gene has let me see some pretty gruesome stuff before and while he apologized for it he never stopped me from seeing what was needed to solve a case. This was no different!
"Then what do you want me to do Lin! You asked for my help, so let me help!" I jumped from my seat and turned around to face Lin, who looked startled at my outburst. "This is the only thing I can do; I have seen people die in my dreams before how is this any different!" I stomped my foot and glared down at the onmyoji as he just sat there waiting for my tirade to end.
"Are you done?"
"Yes" I plopped back down onto my swing and promptly fell off the back. I felt my body begin to fall backwards and when I though I was going to hit ground and most likely give myself a concussion, a large, strong hand grasped my upper arm and stopped my decent.
"Th-thanks" I stammered out as Lin helped me back onto my swing.
He just chuckled, "You're such a klutz, how do you manage to stay upright and fracture free when I'm not around?"
"You don't always have to save me" I huffed, I was never this accident prone before; it felt like Murphy had placed a target on my back since that book shelf nearly collapsed on me at the old school building behind my high school.
"Someone has to, at least I didn't sprain an ankle this time" Now he was just teasing me, but the tense atmosphere that surround our conversation before had disappeared so I was willing to forgive him… this time.
"So, back to what I said, I didn't mean that I don't want you to try. I just don't think Gene is going to show you anything." Lin seemed to be in a better mood now and was no longer glaring at the ground but was actually slowly rocking back and forth on the swing while he spoke with me.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten mad at you like that… it's just, I'm not use to people taking me seriously"
"You mean your not use to me or Naru taking you seriously" Lin had stopped the swing and was looking straight at me now. I went to deny his claim, because while at first Lin intimidated me with his stony silence he has since become a good friend and he isn't anything like Naru, but he held up his hand to silence me before I could say anything.
"No, I am just as guilty as Naru. I ignored your opinions on cases, just like he did. I have never taken the time to listen… and I'm sorry. Up until the Urado case I was even trying to get Naru to either fire you or keep you from joining us on cases…" I just gaped I know Lin never liked me much until recently, but I didn't think he had actually wanted Naru to fire me!
"No, let me finish…" I didn't even realized I was about to start yelling until he told me to be quite. "… the first time I met you, you where nearly crushed by a book case and every case since you seem to either get injured or put in grave danger. I'm Oliver's guardian, but you need someone to look after you far more then he does. So, I'm sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you, but Naru has already put you in danger by just bring you with us on cases and I didn't want to encourage him to pay more attention to you then he already does."
Lin leaned back and seemed to contemplate whether he should continue or not.
"Why would it be bad for Naru to pay more attention to me?" I questioned not sure where this conversation was going, and what did he mean by pay more attention then he already does? Unless Naru wanted tea he completely ignored me, until I did something he deemed insult worthy.
Lin sighed and continued. "He is a scientist first and foremost and your multitude of abilities has him fascinated, but the more your abilities grow the more trouble you are going to attract. I can see by your aura that your abilities are still growing and you may at one point even surpass Naru and Gene, but I haven't told Naru this."
"Why haven't you told him and why after the Bloody Labyrinth case did you stop trying to dissuade Naru from bringing me along on cases?" What turned out to be a quest for answers about Gene seemed to be turning into so much more, but why was Lin only telling me this now?
"I haven't told him because I don't want him to encourage your powers to grow and after the Bloody Labyrinth case you reached a point of no return so to speak. Your powers reached a point that they would no longer return to being dormant even if you avoided the paranormal for the rest of your life, so I saw no point in trying to get Naru to fire you anymore."
It was a lot to take in so we sat in a tense silence for a minute or two before I decided to speak up. "So all the times you pretended you didn't like me it was because you were trying to protect me?" Wow.
"Well the first time we met I truly wasn't very fond of you." The air seemed to thin out and the companionable atmosphere returned.
"Well I did break a super expensive camera and cause you to sprain your ankle so it's understandable; I made a horrible first impression." I just gave Lin a grin and he returned it as if to say no hard feelings.
"But why would my powers growing be a bad thing, wouldn't I be more help to the team?"
"Mai, do you want to do this for the rest of your life?" Huh?
"What do you mean?" As I told Lin before my brain wasn't functioning at 100% so I had a hard time catching on to what ever Lin was trying to tell me.
"Do you want to be plagued by visions of ghosts and demons for the rest of your life? Do you want to constantly wake up screaming after experiencing someone's death? Because that's what's going to happen if your powers continue to grow, you will start getting your dreams even when not on a case." Lin had left his seat and was now kneeling in the dirt in front of me getting his nice suit pants all dirty, but he didn't seem to care he just stared straight into my eyes as he spoke. "Every lost soul and tormented spirit will latch onto you and visit you in your dreams; this is the life you will live if you continue down this path. We need your help to find Gene and I can help you control the abilities you have now, but after Gene is found I would prefer that you not get back involved with SPR or any other paranormal research group or your powers will continue to evolve and grow."
Lin was still kneeling waiting for my answer, how awkward we must look to any passers by. I didn't care; I was lost in Lin's dark brown eyes. I have always known Lin to be handsome and I was maybe even developing a little crush on him, but Naru has always been the one in the forefront of my mind. Yet, in this moment all thoughts of Naru were wiped from my mind. Why didn't I notice Lin before, sure he was older then me by at least ten years, but it seems that he's been looking out for me from the very beginning, ever since he put himself in the way of a falling bookcase and a strange high school student he'd never even met.
"Why Lin…why do you care?" I whispered not braking eye contact.
Lin traced a finger along my cheek "How can I not?" he whispered back to me. Oh wow, this was intense. I was frozen in place. Lin broke my trance my gently placing a kiss on my forehead before standing and offering me a hand up. Not knowing what else to do or say I silently took his hand and let him lead me back to my apartment.
"You never answered me." Lin abruptly broke the silence about a yard away from my apartment. "Do you plan on continuing in paranormal research after Gene is found?" I guess we were just going to pretend that the 'swing incident' never occurred then.
"I don't know, can't I wait to make that decision until after Gene is found?" I shot right back; after all he never really answered my question either.
"Yes, but I must warn you, if we do find Gene there is going to be questions about you not just from Naru but from his father as well. I can only hide from them what is not plainly evident from your current power manifestation. Martin has already started asking about you and if he discovers your true potential he will want you to come study in England."
"Wow, England! You really think Naru would bring me to England?" Hey that didn't sound half bad.
"Haven't you listened to a word I've said!" I jumped back at the sound of Lin's raised voice. He grabbed me by the shoulders and gave me a shake, not enough to hurt but enough to get the point through that going to England was a very, very bad thing.
"The power you possess is massive and if allowed to grow and evolve it may very well devour you! The only others that I've seen with your level of power are raving mad lunatics!" Lin looked terrified, he was scared of what I might become and at that moment I was overcome with a vision.
I had the woman pinned to the ground and was grasping at the pistol she held in her right hand, but she was much taller and stronger then me and easily knocked me back.
"Now, now children shouldn't play with guns" The crazed woman rasped out while stumbling to her feet. Her tangled black locks of hair looked like a nest of snakes as she swayed towards my prone form.
"You are a very, very bad boy always trying to take your mother away from me" The woman had a maniacal grin on her face has she raised the gun and pointed it at me.
I was quickly on my feet and as I foolishly dove towards the woman a shot rang out and I hollered in pain, a deep burning pain in my stomach bringing me to my knees. I riled on the floor in agony while I clutched my stomach, blood flowing through my pale fingers and staining the carpeted floor red.
"Foolish little boy, what were you planning on doing if you got the gun? Would you shoot your own mother?" The woman cackled in glee as she watched me continue to writher in pain. My extremities grew cold as I clutched my stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding, the pain making everything appear red to my young eyes.
"You killed them, why did you kill them… why…" I gasped out while trying to not choke on the blood that was beginning to fill my airways.
She bent down and stoked my cheek almost lovingly, "Because my dear, if your mother has nothing left in this world to live for, she will stop fighting me and let me have this body of hers for good."
"You should have heard the names she called me as I squeezed the life out of your little sisters, I didn't know that a proper Chinese lady could be so crude" She chuckled as she leaned back from my bleeding form. "She must love them far more then you, she hasn't even said a peep since I picked up this gun and shot your father or maybe she has finally given up… hmm." The apparition that possessed the body of the boy's mother stood up and looked down on me as I struggled to remain conscious, before raising the gun to deliver the killing shot.
Then she stopped, her hand shaking and turning on herself. "So you are still there…" She said as if to herself. "You can't do it; you have tried before and failed. I always win!" but the gun stayed poised against her temple. The apparition actually seemed concerned now. "What's the point! They're DEAD! I have already taken everything from you! Just give up!"
The glint of madness faded from her eyes and as she slowly pulled the trigger she whisper. "I'm sorry, Koujo"
The sound of the gun shot echoed in my consciousness as I took in Lin's concerned expression. He was still holding my shoulders but had relaxed his grip.
"Mai, are you okay?" All I could see as I looked into his eyes was his mother pulling the trigger her blood and brain matter spraying out behind her head like a sick hallow. It was so tragic; did he think that was going to happen to me? No wonder he was scarred. I didn't know what to do, should I tell him what I saw? I felt hot tears form in my eyes and make a trail down my cheeks.
"Mai, what's wrong! I'm sorry I yelled I just don't want anything happening to you." If I wasn't so upset I might have been amused at how fluster Lin was. Lin had released my shoulders so I took advantage of the freedom and launched myself into Lin, wrapping my arms around his torso and burying my face in his chest as I sobbed.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I chanted over and over again, not even sure what I was apologizing for. Maybe I was sorry because he lost his family in such a horrible way. Maybe for having to watch his mother shoot herself or maybe I was sorry for being such an idiot and bring up memories from his past.
"Mai, its okay you don't have anything to apologize for and I promise I'll protect you" He didn't push me back like I expected but wrapped his arms around me and slowly ran his hand over my hair in an attempt to calm me down.
As I slowly got my emotions under control, I decided that if Lin was going to help me control my abilities I had to tell him about the vision. I never had something like that happen while I was awake before, so it was probably further evidence of my growing powers. I took a deep breath and stepped out of Lin's warm embrace to look him in the eye. He still looked worried.
"I saw what happened to your mom." Lin's startled and disturbed expression was too much for me to take in so I turned my eyes away. At some point we had arrived at my apartment building and were now standing at the entrance.
"Now, while you were awake?" Lin asked in a choked sounding voice, like he was holding his breath or about to cry.
"Yes" I whispered afraid to look at him. Maybe I should've just kept silent about the vision, he sounded so broken.
I heard him let out a breath and when he spoke again he sounded normal if not somewhat clinical. "What did you see and from what perspective?"
Not wanting to draw this out any longer then necessary I quickly told him what I saw and experienced, when I mentioned the gun shot wound Lin rubbed his stomach absently.
"I'm sorry you had to experience that" he said quietly when I was done.
"It's not your fault" I examined Lin's expression for any signs that he was upset, but he had completely shut down and wasn't showing anything.
"I have never come across a case like yours before, with one person having some many different abilities."
"Is that a good or a bad thing?" I asked happy that we were no longer talking about his mother.
"I don't know" Lin mumbled seemingly to himself. "I need to do some further research, right now you don't seem to be experiencing any sort of ill effects from your abilities so you should be fine." I don't know if he was saying that to comfort me or him. I got the feeling it was more for himself.
We said our good byes and Lin reminded me to ask Gene for some clues to his killer the next time I saw him. Lin also said he would call to check up on me and keep me informed on his research into my paranormal abilities. I then had to promise to call him if anything happens; he even made me shake on it.
As he turned to walk away I grabbed his arm. "I'm not going to end up like that Lin, I promise" He didn't bother to look back at me, he just nodded his head. I let go of his sleeve and he left down the side walk, back to Naru.
I trudged up the stairs, mentally exhausted, and made my way to my sterile apartment. Maybe that's why Lin cares about me we are alike in that we are both alone.
O_o
Super long chapter for making people wait so long for an update. Sorry I'm in the process of trying to sell our house and move, plus my Dad had a heart attack (which thankful he has fully recovered from) so I have been SUPER BUSY.
Hope you like it and I hope Lin isn't to OOC. That is the good thing about Lin though, we don't really know much about his character so you can kind of do what you want with him. I didn't want to end the chapter like I did, but it seemed like a good ending point.
The plot should really start to move next chapter… as soon as I figure out what direction its moving :P
I got the name Chiaki from Mirage of Blaze which is one of the animes I'm currently obsessing over.
I am also obsessing over Kuroshitsuji right now and I'm trying to figure out a way for Sebastian to make a cameo appearance while not detracting from the story.
Also go and read VivaEdina's Ghost Hunt fanfic "Unlucky" it is majorly AWESOME and also one of the reasons this fic wasn't updated over the weekend.
I'm thinking of making a Naru/Yasu one-shot side story just for shits and giggles. It would be M and contain a lemon, because I love to torture Naru.
Reviews make me update faster.
Title is taken from The Pretender by The Foo Fighters