Disclaimer: I don't own any of this and I'm not trying to sell any of it.
AN: Soo loooong. This chapter took me 4EVAR to write! I tried making a nice little story that involved animals andthisis what I came up with. ( -_- ) Imma have to try again another time.
AN: Updated 3/4/16
CASE 5: INVISIBLE CROW AT THE ORPHANAGE!?
As if they can last. But…
~o0O0o~
A week or so has gone by since our case at the Aki Corporation, and life seems to be falling back into place now that Naru's here. It was a lot easier working with Madoka though…
She's not as mean.
"Mai, I want tea," Naru's voice says from his office. Ugh… I slouch in silent despair before standing quickly and walking to the small kitchenette to brew some tea.
"Flip that frown upside down Mai-senpai," Yasu says, chortling as I walked passed him.
"Oh be quiet," I say, mumbling under my breath as I wait for the water to boil.
The days seem to drag on; we haven't had a single person come in for a case-consultation, and it's starting to irritate Naru. His life seems to revolve around business. …But I already knew that. Monk and Ayako stopped by regularly on the first few days after the last case, and even though he wasn't happy about their visits, Naru let them stay because he knew they were just checking up on me. They've since stopped coming by for extended periods of time because Naru's agitation level was started to reach its peak.
Without Monk and Ayako though, the office is dull. Yasu is always nice company but he works less than I do because of his college classes, and, of course, neither Naru or Lin are talkers. I tried striking up a conversation with Naru at one point, but he told me I should be making myself busy with work. There's nothing for me to do though! With all the free time I have I always end up finishing my homework early, so I amble around the building boorishly.
Gene isn't much fun either. He knows I'm self-conscious about talking to him when Naru's around so he doesn't say much to me; in fact, he doesn't turn up that much while I'm at the office, and I have a suspicious feeling that he's haunting Naru; watching him work in the other room.
"Mai… The kettle's been whistling for a while now," Yasu says to me; his hands over his ears. I take the kettle off, wondering how on earth I drowned out the noise. After the tea has finished brewing I set cups on a tray and fill them with said tea before proceeding over to Yasu; beginning my duties as SPR's Tea Waitress.
I place his cup beside his work on the table and then head into Lin's office, offering a quick knock before I enter; Naru can wait. Lin thanks me promptly for the tea and I quickly leave the room, sensing the "don't disturb me" vibe that he's emitting. As I walk the five steps to Naru's office, his door opens and I react swiftly, turning to the side, so that we don't collide.
As I recover from my near heart attack—I almost spilt piping hot tea all over myself! —Naru walks passed me and heads for some of the small filing cabinets that hug a bare part of the wall; digging inside of one for whatever work he has found to do.
The door chimes, catching me off guard as I'm about to walk into his office. I set the tea down on the central table while Yasu moves his work so that the customer isn't disturbed. Naru walks by me casually, picking up a cup of tea and sipping while a young woman with short black hair, and a small boy with auburn flyaway hair, enters into the main room.
"Hello," I say brightly, greeting our guests with a warm smile; Yasu smiles as well, but Naru ignores them.
The woman doesn't say 'hi' back to us. Her hand trembles slightly as she places it on the boy's shoulder.
"Please. We're from a far off orphanage. I heard about this place from a few of my colleagues at the office job I have and I was hoping that you'd take on our case."
"Well we can have a consultation about your case right now if you'd like?" I offer; Naru never accepts a case without hearing all of the facts first.
"That would be great," the woman's face lifts a little. I turn to Naru to see if he wants me to talk with her or if he will do it himself but he's already sitting down ready to discuss, so I grab some papers to take notes. "And you are?" She says to Naru.
"Kazuya Shibuya." Naru says. "These are two of my assistants; Mai Taniyama-san and Osamu Yasuhara-san." I sit beside Naru with a clipboard and blank papers in hand. "Let's start with your names and then you can tell us your situation."
"My name is Noriko and I work part-time at the orphanage," the woman says before indicating the boy sitting beside her. "This is Kuro-kun; one of the orphans. I came here today because one of the children has begun to act… differently."
"Differently?" Yasu says; prompting her to continue.
"There's a girl, Kokoro-chan, who has a twin brother named Kōki-kun, but Kōki-kun passed away recently. Kokoro-chan has always been a strange girl, but after Kōki-kun died she's been acting even weirder."
Naru, as usual, is undisturbed by the news. Yasu and I on the other hand, are delved deep within her story. "What is she doing that you consider abnormal?" I say.
"I think she's talking to her dead brother," Noriko says.
"Is there anything substantially wrong with that?" I say, the words coming out of my mouth a little too forcefully. Yasu gives me a look that reads "take it easy, Mai" and Naru gives me a glare that is mixed with interest.
Noriko doesn't seem to catch my attitude though; possibly thinking that I'm just posing a standard question. "She's always been able to see things so we aren't necessarily concerned with that itself. It's just, the orphanage is very small and it houses nothing but… problem children…" She gives Kuro a sympathetic look before continuing. "One child, Akio-kun, is normal, but he's the son of the woman who runs the orphanage so he isn't an orphan at all. Kuro-kun here… Well he's very shy and closed off from the world. Then there's Kokoro-chan. She's considered a problem child because of her abilities; she speaks with the dead. Not including those three, the rest of the children are violent and mean-spirited; including Kōki-kun."
Noriko turns to Kuro and removes a bandage that's clinging around his neck. His bare neck reveals a strange rash; three red lines of irritated skin. "Kokoro-chan's new friend, whom I think is Kōki-kun, has been causing oddities with the children. Rashes like these will form on their backs, arms, legs, necks, anywhere really. Some of the kids have even started getting scratches." She lifts one of Kuro's arms and shows us weak scratches running across it. The scratches also come in groups of three.
"That's terrible," I say as we examine the rash and scratch marks.
"Why are you the one presenting this case and not the woman who runs the orphanage?" Naru says. I sense the slightest hint of aggravation in his voice and I wonder if he's sensitive because he used to live in an orphanage.
"Rei-san… She's extremely busy and it's hard for her to take time to come into the city. She's the only one who works at the orphanage full time and Yumi-san, the only other employee, and myself, can barely come by for a few hours a couple of days out of the week." Noriko says but Naru's eyeballing her so she keeps talking. "Believe me, Rei-san is very concerned but she honestly can't make it for a consultation like this."
"Alright," Naru says. "I'll take your case." He places his empty cup of tea on the tray and turns to me. "More tea, Mai," then he leaves for his office. Noriko is a little taken aback by his attitude.
"Sorry about that…" I say sheepishly. "Our boss is always a little—"
"He has hemorrhoids," Yasu cuts in. I gawk at him as Noriko's mouth drops in shock. "Don't get on his bad side," Yasu says with a brilliant smile.
"O-o-of c-c-c-course not!" Noriko stammers as she stands up. She and Kuro bow to us, and us to them, and they leave.
"Yasu," I say to my colleague in shock but he just continues to smile.
"Mai! Tea!" Naru's voice is on the verge of provocation and I fear that he's heard Yasu's comment. When I enter into Naru's office minutes later, the tray carrying his freshly brewed tea, in hand, I'm not surprised to see that he's in a foul mood. I'm also not surprised to see Gene leaning against his desk, stifling his laughter as best as he can. So they both heard Yasu's comment. I wonder if that means… I turn to look at the wall where I know that, right on the other side, Lin is sitting at his own desk. Is he trying hard not to laugh too?
"I'd appreciate it if you told your spirit companion to stop hovering next to me; my shoulder has gone numb from the cold and its affecting my work to the point that I'm considering asking Monk to perform an exorcism," Naru says blandly.
"What am I supposed to do about that?" I say as Gene wraps his arms around Naru, giving his brother a chilling hug that causes him to shiver.
"Keep him on a leash, Mai," Naru barks.
"He'll never stop being fun to tease," Gene says with a happy sigh as we leave Naru's office.
~o0O0o~
The rest of the day, and the few days that followed before the case started, went by calmly. But soon, Naru, Lin and I are driving to the hills towards the small office; Yasu staying behind for school—and maybe because Naru is still angry with him. We won't be calling the others until we've assessed the situation further.
As we drive I wonder why Naru decided to take this case. Is it because he sympathizes with Kokoro-chan? Or maybe it's because we've had so few cases recently that he just wants to get out and do some field work for a change. Either way, the case itself doesn't seem too challenging and there aren't a lot of facts pointing to spiritual activity. With the orphanage being out in the mountains the strange rashes and cuts can all be attributed to playing outdoors and, since the kids are problem kids anyway, they could be lying about how they've obtained the marks.
The true oddity of the case is Kokoro and her ability to talk to spirits. Whether there's an actual ghost involved or not, I wonder if Naru is more interested in her.
Only time and investigation will tell.
Soon we arrived at the small orphanage. It's a cross between a daycare and a house. Gym equipment sits hazardously atop the ground, threatening to tip over if trampled on to heavily. The main building itself looks like it only has four or five bedrooms, possible one main room used for dining and gathering, and then a separate kitchen. The surrounding trees drown out any nearby city noise though, and I feel that the building is quaint. This wouldn't have been too bad of a place to grow up.
Shortly after we parked the van, three women usher five kids out of the building to greet us. I recognize Noriko and Kuro among the group. One of the other women looks to be about Noriko's age, somewhere in her mid-twenties; she has a mean yet striking look and long golden-bleached curly hair. The other woman is in her thirties and she has an aged—though not exactly old—appearance, which is not subdued from the low ponytail that her dark brown hair is tied in.
Out of the five children, two are girls and three are boys. One girl has low pigtails while the other has a high ponytail. The two other boys, aside from Kuro, both have short hair, but one of the boy's hair is a little more flyaway while the other's falls greasily across his forehead.
We hustle out of the van and walk to the women.
"Thank-you so much for coming," Noriko says with a bow. She indicates the thirty-ish-year-old. "This is the woman who runs the orphanage, Rei-san." Then Noriko turns to the woman with the bleached hair. "This is my coworker, Yumi-san."
"Thank-you again for the visit. We can only hope that you three are able to resolve the issues we're having with Kokoro-chan," Rei says kindly. Her hand gestures towards the group of kids. "How about a brief introduction then?" The girl with the pigtails is called Fumiko, the girl with the ponytail is Etsuko, the boy with the short fly-away hair is Akio, Rei-san's son, and then the last boy is Hayate.
"Where's Kokoro-chan?" I say, realizing that her name was never given to us. I glance across the kids, wondering if I missed one, and receive glares in return.
"She decided that meeting you wouldn't be necessary so she stayed out back," Yumi says with more animosity then I was expecting. Her arms are folded across her chest and her body weight has positioned itself onto one leg. She scoffs at the thought of Kokoro and whips her head to the side, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"It isn't necessary. We need to establish a base and take measurements," Naru says. His expression is the same as it always is, and yet I feel he's agitated because of this woman. Orphanages must be a sore spot for him.
"But Na—I mean—boss… Shouldn't we be talking to the main focus of this case?" I say. Noriko and Rei are now guiding us to a room they've cleared out for us. We'll be using the room as our base. As the women leave us alone in the room, I hear Yumi nitpicking at the children; bickering to them about using their manners when guest are around.
"You want to be adopted, don't you?" I hear her say as I round a corner and start down a hall.
"None of them are here to adopt us anyway!" Though shouted, the little boy's voice fades as I draw further away and then their conversation is lost to me.
"If you want to go talk to her then by all means, do it. Lin will just have to pick up your slack," Naru says, bringing my focus away from its distraction. I give Lin an exasperated look but he shrugs it off and tells me to do what I must. With a quick thanks to Lin, I head for the back of the orphanage.
The kids are in the backyard; they must have hurried away from Yumi as soon as they could.
"Hi!" I say gleefully. Kids can be so cute. Maybe they were just in a bad mood earlier?
"What are you so happy about lady?" The greasy haired kid, Hayate, says. His hands are in his pockets and a dark scowl is etched across his face. He kicks at a rock and begins to ignore me, apparently not wanting an answer to his question.
"Go back to the freak show," one of the girls, Etsuko says. She snaps her head to the side as she turns away from me quickly; her ponytail bouncing neatly in time with her pace as she leads the kids, now snickering, away from me.
What a bunch of rude kids!
Akio and Kuro follow suit, though Kuro does bow and apologize to me before leaving.
I continue along the back of the building until I happen upon a small girl with long, midnight-black hair. Her bangs sweep squarely over her eyebrows and her hair is so long that it hangs down to her knees, the ends tied in a thick hair tie. She's almost completely hidden by the building's shadow, but it's because of her cat that I've become aware of her. This must be Kokoro-chan.
"That's a cute little cat," I say as I walk up to her. She's sitting on the ground, a large calico cat lying in her lap.
"You can see my cat?" Kokoro says. Her voice is uncomfortably deep yet almost overpowered by the cawing of a nearby crow.
"Yeah… Why wouldn't I be able to?" I say back, trying to keep a smile on my face. This girl is a little…Oh but I shouldn't start thinking that way. I come across all sorts of weird things and it's not her fault…
"Mai, have you found the child?" Naru says, walking up to us briskly. His head turns to Kokoro, answering his own question as he comes closer to us. I wonder what made him decide to meet her after he said the introductions didn't matter.
"Leave me alone," Kokoro says, her voice raising a little. She's staring at Naru intensely, as if sensing that he's up to something no good or maybe he knows something he shouldn't.
"Excuse me?" Naru says back. His voice is chilled and subdued as always. Does he never give an inch? Not even to children?
"I don't want you studying me!" Kokoro says as she stands; the cat still tucked away in her arms. What does she mean by study? Who would have told her that?
"Kokoro-chan… We aren't necessarily stu—" I try to say but she cuts me off.
"Shut up! You think I'm creepy just like the other kids." Then she turns to Naru. "And you! Stop looking at me with those cold eyes!" Her voice isn't deep anymore, sounding high pitched and squeaky like any girl's her age ought to.
"I honestly don't have time for this," Naru says while turning around and leaving. What was the point if coming over to us if you were just going to go?
"You sure are an interesting little girl." Suddenly Gene has appeared. I hold back a gasp as I grab my chest. My heart is beating fast; it's not often that Gene surprises me anymore.
"Who's that?" Kokoro says. Her eyes are surveying Gene animatedly.
"This is Naru's twin brother Gene," I say. She looks at me puzzled so I introduce us to her. "I'm Mai and I work for Naru. We're here investigating the odd attacks that are going on here. You know, you and Naru aren't that different. You both have brothers watching over you, though, you get to see your brother still while Naru can't see his. We're here because the staff is concerned that your brother is hurting people."
"I know why you're here," she says forcefully. "So that's why he…" Kokoro bites her lower lip before continuing. "It doesn't matter." I feel like she knows something that would be impossible for her to know.
"Please tell us," I say. "We really are trying to help."
Kokoro studies me for several minutes before deciding that I'm okay to trust. As she relaxes within my presence I hear the flaps of large wings. I turn towards the noise and see a large crow flying in our direction; landing on Kokoro's shoulder. "This is my brother Kōki-nii," she says; her voice has dropped again.
"This crow is Kōki-kun?" I ask. How is that possible?
Her expression jumps from admiring her brother's sleek and feathered form to glaring at me. "You don't believe me?"
"That's not what I meant," I try to defend my statement. "I just haven't come across a case where a little boy turned into a crow."
"Then what good are you to me?"
"W-well that's why Naru's the boss isn't it?" I say. Damn this girl is hard to impress.
Kokoro sits down again, leaning against the side of the building with the bird on her shoulder and the cat on her lap. "Everyone thinks I'm heartless because I don't cry over Kōki-nii's death… But how can I? He isn't gone. He's right here." She scratches the cat's head for a second and nuzzles her head against the bird's body. "How can I morn someone when they're right next to me?"
I feel like I can understand her a little. Is this how Naru feels? Is this why he's so keen for Gene to cross over; because he finally wants to mourn and can't, knowing that Gene is always as far away as I am?
"Could you just leave me alone now, please," Kokoro says with a solemn expression. I oblige, not wanting to overstep her boundaries.
"Any idea why Kōki-kun is still here?" Gene says to me as we enter into the orphanage, using the backdoor which leads into the kitchen.
"I assume Kokoro-chan is bullied and Kōki-kun is a protective older brother that wants to stay and defend her," I say.
"What makes you assume that?"
"It's common sense. Kokoro comes off as rash and spooky so the other kids would naturally fear her and for that they ridicule her. We already know they do."
"And if you disregard all of that what does your gut tell you?"
We've come to the base and I'm standing outside of the entrance; pondering my answer. "I'd think the same thing."
"I want you to start keeping a second journal," Gene says. "This one will be for your intuition, but unlike the dream journal you keep in your bag, I want this one on your person at all times. Every time you feel the slightest hint of intuition you must write it down."
"What? Why?" I say. How am I supposed to tell the difference between common sense and intuition?
"Starting with your feelings about Kōki-kun," Gene says before fading away. Apparently we won't be discussing this further.
I walk into the now setup base and head over to my boss who has begun typing away at his computer. "Do you have a small, pocket-sized notebook?" I ask.
"For?"
"You heard the conversation." He doesn't have to act like he doesn't know I talk to Gene all the time.
"I heard "I'd think the same thing." and "What, why?"," Naru says, never looking away from his monitor.
"Oh right… you can't hear him,"I say, mumbling to myself for being stupid. "I need to start writing down any intuitive feelings I get." Then I turn towards the center of the room, raising my voice to Gene, though I don't know where he's hidden himself. "But why do I have to write it down every time?" Writing down random thoughts every time I have them is going to be embarrassing and inconvenient…Especially at school…
Naru stands from his desk and walks over to some boxes which are filled with office supplies. He moves some of the contents aside and brings up a small, yellow notebook. It actually resembles a really thick memo pad. "It's so that you can grow through realization. By writing down your feelings every time you come across them you can learn to recognize the difference between intuition and thought," he says as he hands me the note book.
"Oh," I say, opening it up to write down the first thought. "Th-thanks."
Naru ignores my show of gratitude and goes to his desk to continue working. What is he even working on? We just got here...Because I'm not with Kokoro anymore, Naru tells me to start measuring all the rooms; a feat done with great difficulty. The children decide I'm fun to screw around with so they keep jumping on me and throwing toys at me or messing up the tape measure.
I wish I could forgo the task and talk with Kokoro again, but she seems to have gone missing for the rest of the day.
She doesn't return until night has fallen; and we watch her amble to the dining room to join us for dinner.
"Why did you bring your cat?" I say as we eat; Kokoro is sitting next to me along the long table we are all sitting at, that cat resting snuggly on her lap. I notice the others stop eating long enough to stare at me.
Suddenly the girl with the pigtails starts to talk. "Mom," she says, referring to Rei. "Why is that girl encouraging Kokoro to lie about that stupid cat?"
"Don't talk carelessly about our guests Fumiko-chan," Rei says to her.
"I don't…" I turn to Naru; confused about their reaction, but he doesn't give me any reassuring answer, choosing to focus his attention elsewhere.
"Mai," Kokoro says to me; her voice barely a whisper. "We're the only ones who can see the cat." I take another quick look at Naru but his eyes are still transfixed on the little girl. I decide to drop the question; it was just small talk anyway.
We continue the dinner in near silence; apparently I ruined the mood by bringing up the cat.
Once we are done eating, Naru, Lin, and I walk back to the base; Lin locking the door behind us so that the rambunctious children can't sneak in.
"What are you thinking Naru?" Lin says as they take their seats at their desks. I swear these guys are in love with their computers.
"That cat seems to be the only lead at the moment," Naru says.
"Why? It's just a normal, friendly cat," I say. Do they suspect the cat because neither of them can see it?
"Cat's are known to become demonic by Japanese standards. You're Japanese; shouldn't you know your own culture?" Naru says flatly. Ouch. Well excuse me…
"What? Of course I know about the bakeneko," I say; my voice irritated. Why does he always feel the need to undermine me?
"Oh really? So if I asked you to describe to me what a bakeneko was, you'd be able to?"
This guy! "A bakeneko is a cat that… well… it's a demon… right?" I suck. Naru sighs audibly so I try to redeem myself. "Look you don't hear a lot about them nowadays and it's not like a lot of the old stories are written down. Besides, regardless of the stories the key factor is that a bakeneko has two tails and Kokoro-chan's cat only has one."
"That doesn't mean that it can't change," Naru says.
"I'm telling you the cat is fine," I say.
He finally looks away from his computer, glancing at me. "Then write that declarative feeling in your note pad."
The discussion ends with that comment and, after writing the feeling down, I decide to see if Rei wants help with the dishes or any other chores. It must be rough taking care of six kids on her own, especially since her help is only with her for a short period of time. And there used to be seven kids even. No wonder Noriko said Rei wasn't able to take the time to see us for the consultation.
~o0O0o~
Rei's grateful for the help and together, we pick up abandoned toys and wash the dirtied dishes. A few hours go by and the house is relatively quiet as the children sleep in their rooms. Eventually, I grow bored from the lack of activity and decide to go back to the base.
"Where am I sleeping tonight?" I ask Naru. No one showed me where the spare rooms were and all of the rooms I measured were occupied by either Rei or the kids.
"There's a couch right over there," Naru says; nodding his head to the opposite side of the small room.
"If I'm sleeping on the couch where are you two going to sleep?" I say. They ignore me. It's awkward standing around, waiting for an answer I won't get, so I decide to sprawl out on the couch and make myself as comfy as possible. If they don't want to enjoy the furniture, then I definitely will. It takes a while for me to fall asleep, and I reposition myself more times than I can keep track of. Eventually, I end up with my face buried into the seat of the couch, with my arms wrapped around my head; trying to block out the lights and the sound of their fingers racing across the keyboards.
I still haven't received my laptop from Naru; he just takes the time to update my new dreams into his computer each afternoon when I come to work.
I wonder if he's forgotten.
I hear Lin clear his throat suddenly.
Now I can hear Naru standing and walking out of the room. Maybe he's using the bathroom?
More time passes and my mind begins to clear as sleep forces itself on me.
After a while longer I open my eyes and lift my head up. It's already morning? The sun is streaming into the room and there are birds chirping outside. I look over to Naru and Lin and see them studying their computer monitors astutely.
"You two are going to need glasses when you get older," I say.
"I'm already near my thirties and still haven't developed a need for them," Lin says.
"My family has perfect vision," Naru says.
I suppose if his family has perfect vision then genetics probably show that he—"Hey! You're adopted, though," I say. He takes a second to smirk at me and then goes back to his computer.
"Did you have any dreams?" says Naru.
"Well I…" I consider his question for a second. "No."
"I see."
With no conversation following, I decide to look for Kokoro-chan. I have no idea what Naru and Lin are working on and I don't have any leads since I didn't dream. What I do know is that this case involves a little girl who can talk with the dead, her dead brother, who is taking the form of a crow apparently, and a dead cat. Kokoro-chan is my best bet for gathering clues and I don't understand why Naru and Lin aren't putting in more of an effort to investigate her.
"You're creepy Kokoro!"
"Just let the psychics take you home with them freak!"
"I don't like living with someone as freaky as you!"
As I step out into the backyard, I find the orphan children circled around Kokoro. Fumiko and Etsuko have started shoving her back and forth across the circle while Hayate watches sadistically, a tantalizing grin across his face. Akio looks on hesitantly, his expression mixed with interest and regret. Kuro looks like he wants to stop the abuse but is afraid he'll be beat up.
"What are you kids doing?" I say, hurrying to the group and separating Kokoro from the others. "You shouldn't treat her like that."
"What do you know baa-san?" Hayate says.
"B-baa-san?" I said. I'm notthatold.The four bullies start snickering, their faces appearing possessed though I can't sense any spirits in them. "What's wrong with you kids?" Are they really this cruel?
As I question them, a nearby crow flies down to us from the top of a close tree. The crow caws and swoops at the kids, slashing its talons across their bodies before circling around for another attack.
"Oh no! It's happening again," Fumiko says as the group disperses and runs into the house.
"Well that explains the marks," I say, making a mental note of the attack. I turn to Kokoro in time to see the crow land heavily on her small shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Happens all the time," she says, her voice unusually low again as she shrugs off the attack like it was nothing. "They can't see him by the way." Kokoro turns away from me and starts walking to the woods surrounding the back of the orphanage. Her back and calves are covered in smeared dirt and mud.
"Kokoro-chan? Did they throw dirt at you? How can you act like this is no big deal?"
For a second she takes the time to look at me over her shoulder, her face gaunt and expressionless until a small smile spreads across her lips. "I know I'll be okay because Kōki-nii will take care of me."
"I don't like Kōki-kun anymore," Kuro says, running back to join us now that Kōki's onslaught is over.
"What do you want?" Kokoro asks him harshly.
"I just wanted to say sorry for not sticking up for you," Kuro mumbles under his ragged breath.
Kokoro turns away from us again. "I don't need a weakling apologizing to me." As she continues to walk away, Kōki leaps off her shoulder and rounds on Kuro, digging his talons into his flesh. With a sharp yelp, Kuro sprints back to the orphanage, holding his arm close to his body as a small trail of blood licks its way across his skin.
I hurry to catch up with Kokoro, who is making quick progress through the trees.
"Why did they start attacking you?" I say as we continue down a dirt path to a place unknown.
"For talking to the cat." She says; continuing forwards without bothering to look back at me.
"Where is—"
"He ran off."
"Oh but—"
Kokoro finally turns to me. "Would you leave me alone? I don't want your company."
Her tone catches me off guard and I stop in my tracks, watching despairingly as she continues deeper into the forest. Should I follow her? Maybe it'd be best to check on the kids; they were just attacked after all.With that in mind I turn back to the orphanage, finding the kids gathered around Yumi who is bandaging them up.
"That child needs to keep a better control on her brother," Yumi says, muttering hoarsely to herself as she wraps Kuro's arm. Her eyes seem heavy. How can she blame anything on Kokoro? She, Rei, and the children can't see the crow anyway. There's no way for them to know who or what is at fault.
"It's not Kokoro-chan's fault, it's that crow," I say as I enter into the kitchen where they are gathered. It's strange trying to blame a creature that's invisible to them.
"That crow is only here because she's too weak to handle any of this herself," Yumi says, barking back at me.
"Excuse me? Maybe if these kids weren't so mean spirited she wouldn't feel cast out," I argue.
"They're problem children, it's in their nature," Yumi says, her voice raising. Doesn't that logic mean it's in Kokoro's nature to be odd then?
"That is not an excuse for poor rearing," I say. It's a closed off mind, like the one this woman has, that teaches the kids to treat Kokoro the way they are.
"Are you questioning how we're bringing up these children?"
"I am!"
"Mai!" Our arguing stops as we turn to Naru, who's standing at the doorway connected to the dining room. "Come with me," he says sternly. He must have heard the entire fight. Crap…
I follow him back to the base where he stands pointedly in front of me. "Why do you think it's alright for you to argue with our clients?" he says. His voice is also deeper than usual and his expression is cross. "This is the second case in a row that you've been rude to my paying customers. I don't want to start offering free labor because of customer loss do to your piss poor attitude."
"I just…" I say, trying to defend myself. I shouldn't be arguing with the clients though. He's right. "She was saying that it was Kokoro-chan's fault that the kids were attacked by the crow."
"The crow…" Naru says intrigued. I think this may be the first time the crow was brought to his attention.
"Hey Naru," I start to say, "Do you know how Kōki-kun died?" I'm assuming that with all the work he's been doing he was able to pull up this kind of information.
"He drowned. His body was found on a nearby riverbank."
My eyes widen. He drowned?
I rush away from the room.
My mind needs to make up its mind darn it!
Should I stay in the orphanage or find Kokoro?
It's too late to decide though, I realize, as my legs carry me back through the woods.
Running as fast as I can, I draw closer to where I separated from Kokoro, and soon I can't recognize my surroundings. Within a few more minutes I hear the sound of water running. There's a brook just on the other side of some bushes, and I find Kokoro sitting along the edge of the river.
"Help us!" I hear Kokoro cry and a sense of panic rushes over me. I don't know where her fear is coming from; she's just sitting normally, but in a matter of seconds I'm by her side.
"A-are you okay?" the words rush out of my mouth. She responds by giving me a look that tells me I'm stupid, and it's then that I realize the feelings and voice that I experienced must have been spiritual. I take a moment to jot them down in my small notebook.
"I thought I told you to leave me alone," Kokoro says coolly as she looks back to the river.
"I wanted to ask how your brother…" I started to say.
"In the rainy season this river expands dramatically and the current gets stronger. We aren't allowed to play near it at those times but that idiot, Hayate, decided to torment our orphanage's cat. He dragged it up a tree. I followed him up, hoping to stop him, but despite my efforts he threw the cat into the water." Her eyes look hollow as she tells her story, that deep, empty voice of hers sending chills up my spine. Now I know how my friends feel when I tell ghost stories… "After that, he pushed me in too. Even before nii-san died, I was greatly feared and disliked."
"I wish I could say that I can't believe Hayate-kun would do that to you…" I say softly.
"Kōki-nii jumped in after me. With great effort he was able to pull me back to the riverbank, but then he was swept away by the current. Later, both he and the cat were found dead. That's when I started to see their spirits; though Kōki-nii took the form of a crow."
I want to hold and comfort her. She seems unapproachable though.
"It's okay. You can hold me."
What? "Kokoro-chan… how did you—" I start to say. She couldn't possibly…
"I can read minds. That's how I know this crow is Kōki-nii," Kokoro says as the crow flies over to us.
"C-could you prove it?" I say.
"You're boss is always at the back of your mind. At the moment, though, you're wondering why Kōki-nii would choose to be a crow," She says icily. "This is one of the reasons I'm hated so much."
My arms rush around her hurriedly as I pull her close for a hug. I can't believe this poor little girl has to go through so much. Her body starts to shiver and I hear her sniffle; she's crying but trying to hide it.
After several minutes her tears come to an end and I finally release her from my embrace. Maybe I should change the topic?
"So what does Naru think about?" I ask.
"Himself."
I laugh, but, I feel she may actually be hiding something more.
"I don't think it's right to reveal someone's personal secrets," she says and I agree, deciding not to press the matter.
"You really are a good little girl," I say as I place my hand on her head and pat her the way Monk normally does to me. She gives me a look of confusion. Should she accept my praise or am I trying to ridicule her? The poor thing isn't used to affection. I grab her hand and stand up, leading her back to the base.
The kitchen grows quiet as the kids, Rei, and Yumi watch us enter from the backyard; they've decided to have lunch.
"And what are you two up to today?" Rei asks us and I'm glad to note that she isn't nearly as livid as Yumi normally is.
"I'm going to take her to my boss for a bit," I say and then my stomach growls. Rei's face softens a little and she grabs a tray, filling it with onigiri, sandwiches, and salad.
"I normally just make a lot of simple food for lunch because the kids eat so much. Bring this with you so that you can all eat something while you work," she says cheerfully as she hands me the heavy tray. I do my best to hold it with one hand, my other still grasping Kokoro's, and we continue to the base after saying "thanks".
~o0O0o~
"Rei gave us some food," I say as we enter the base. Naru and Lin don't make any attempt to grab a bite to eat so I set the tray on a table and Kokoro and I help ourselves. "So… Kokoro-chan… do you mind if I tell him?" I ask after we've eaten a little.
"He already suspects so go ahead," Kokoro says.
Naru is staring at me when I turn to him. "Kokoro-chan can read minds."
He makes no sign of hesitation and simply stands from his desk and walks over to us. As he joins us on the couch he pulls a deck of playing cards out of a pocket from the inside of his coat. After he has shuffled the cards he slides them, upside down, across the table. Then he picks a random card and keeps its image hidden from us.
"Ace of hearts," Kokoro says. He places the card face up on the table, revealing the ace of hearts, before grabbing another card. "Queen of diamonds." He places the card down and then grabs another. "Four of spades." Then another. "Six of hearts." They go through the entire deck until the cards are all piled on top of one another.
"How can you know what those cards are?" I say as I turn to Kokoro.
"I create an image of the card in my head and she reads the image," Naru says; explaining as he puts the cards back in their small box. He brushes past us and pauses when he's beside Kokoro. "You have a very special talent." Then he walks back to his desk.
Lucky duck. Naru barely ever compliments me, but I'm happy for her; she's finally found a reason to smile. Kokoro curls up into a ball as she tries to hide the grin on her face, not used to feeling happy or complimented.
Screams soon echo their way to the base as we sit and rest, interrupting our lunch. Naru, Lin, Kokoro, and I hurry to the sound, making our way to the backyard. The kids are fleeing from the crow; though to their knowledge they only know some invisible force is attacking them.
"Kōki-kun, please stop this," I say as we exit the building, but the crow doesn't listen. "Why is he doing this?" I look at Kokoro.
Her face, which had held a beautiful smile only moments ago, is back to its uncaring yet melancholic appearance. "They were scheming to attack me again."
"Is that why you don't ask him to stop?" Naru says bluntly.
"Kōki-nii told me he would stay by my side for as long as I need him," she says.
This is getting us nowhere though… I hurry to the kids, hoping to stop Kōki-kun's attack. Soon Monk's chant is rushing from my lips; I'm not as strong as he is but the bird dashes away from my words, finally ending his attack on the kids. I check on the children, hoping that none of them are seriously injured, while Naru talks to Kokoro.
"I have a special power just like you," Naru starts to say. "I can't read minds, but I can move objects. When I was your age, I had no control over the ability and it would scare the other children. I was living in an orphanage just like you are now." He looks down to her and his face is stern yet sincere. "The children would taunt me as well, but I would throw objects at them and turn the whole room upside down if I wanted to. The only one who could stop me was Eugene."
It's odd listening to Naru talk about his childhood and I find myself feeling happy that he isn't like that anymore. Still, it's strange thinking that even Naru had a rough past.
"Once we were adopted, I soon learned that no one would ever look to me as a respectable individual if I resorted to violence." Naru kneels to the ground so that he's at eye level with Kokoro. "It's fine that you want to rely on your brother, but you need to learn to rely on yourself too. And, since he's a spirit, all of this negativity can start to affect him."
Suddenly I remember a lesson Gene had taught me a little over two months ago, shortly before Naru and Lin found his body. He had told me that spirits who haunt are weighed down by negativity and it's only when they're shown and given a high volume of positivity that they can move on; free from the chains binding them in place. It's still hard for me to recognize positivity and negativity as types of power, but hearing Naru talk about it helps me connect the dots a little. The effects of positivity is the reason why I need to speak openly and sincerely to the spirits.
"But… If I stop relying on him then there won't be any point to him staying here." Kokoro's face squints up and tears begin trickling down her cheeks. "Then nii-san really will be gone!" She begins sobbing, wrapping her arms around Naru's neck and burying her face in his shoulder. Naru gives me an uncomfortable 'do something' look but I shrug at him; she wants him to comfort her. He awkwardly hugs her back and lifts her off of the ground.
While Naru stands up, holding Kokoro in a gentle-ish embrace, the kids around me give her sympathetic looks. It must be uncomfortable for them to see her cry when she normally takes their abuse without a fuss. Is it odd for them to see her expressing emotion? Gene finally appears again, standing next to his brother.
"Kokoro-chan," Gene says. "Even if Kōki-kun crosses over, there's still going to be a part of him that watches over you. Take Noll for example. He can't see or hear me, but he knows that I'm here helping him through Mai."
Yumi slams the back door open and rushes outside. She was probably told about the commotion from Rei, who had been watching us fight off the crow from within the orphanage. Before she can get a word out, Kōki is back, this time directing his attack at her.
"Kōki-nii, please, stop," Kokoro says as Yumi cowers to the ground, her arms shielding her head as Kōki swoops down at her. In a heartbeat, the crow changes directions and heads towards Kokoro, deciding to attack her now.
"Kōki-kun what are you doing?" I yell. "That's your sister! Didn't you stay to protect her?" The bird stops in midflight and then drops to the ground, staring amenably at me. Naru sets Kokoro back onto the ground so that she can rush over to the crow and give him a hug; I take the time to keep talking. "I know you care deeply for your sister, but this is going too far. While protecting her is a great thing, it's having negative impacts on her life. If you truly care for her then you would cross over and watch her from a distance so that she can live her life like any girl her age should. With peace and friends."
The bird looks at Kokoro and she returns his gaze with an apologetic expression, as if telling him that she agrees with me. Finally understanding, he begins glowing for a second and then grows, his body stretching and distorting until he has taken on the appearance of a small boy maybe half an inch taller than Kokoro.
He gives his sister a brief hug before the light illuminates his entire being and he disappears into the sky, crossing over.
~o0O0o~
The event leaves the residence and employees of the orphanage feeling closed off and distant. The children are less rambunctious and sit around the house doing nothing while Yumi avoids us. Rei and Noriko, who finally made an appearance shortly after Kōki's crossover, busy themselves in the kitchen.
I found myself alone as well.
Kokoro, after taking a sudden liking to Naru, is now sitting on his lap while he works in the base, so I decide to explore the grounds for a while. There isn't anything left to do. The case is solved and we didn't even have to call for backup.
~o0O0o~
In the morning of the next day—I went another night without a dream—I ask Kokoro where her cat is. I wasn't able to find him at all while I explored the grounds and she had fallen asleep by the time I got back.
"He decided it was a good time to move on as well," Kokoro says.
"See Naru, I told you it was a regular cat," I mumble to my boss.
"Now I don't have any friends," Kokoro says quietly, her voice falling to a whisper again. A twinge of guilt shoots through my gut.
As we say our goodbyes, well, I'm saying my goodbyes anyway—all of the stuff already loaded into the van—Naru takes a second to dig a business card from out of his pocket and then hands it to Kokoro.
"If you ever want to learn more about your abilities then contact them."
"Who are they?" Kokoro says as she examines the card.
"It's the British division of SPR," Naru says before turning away and leaving the building.
It's time to go.
I give Kokoro a quick hug and say my farewells to everyone.
"British division huh?" I say to Naru as I climb into the back of the van. "Isn't that more like the main division while this is just a branching company?"
"It's still a division Mai," Naru says, giving me a plastic smile. Apparently Shibuya Psychic Research outranks the British SPR as long as Naru is involved.
As we pull away, the orphanage residents waiving to us, I notice a crow caw to Kokoro, grabbing her attention.
"Is he back?" I ask Naru.
"No, I can see the crow now. Crows are probably her spirit animal," Naru says.
"Spirit animal?"
"Have Gene explain. I'm tired." Naru says snappishly.
You wouldn't be tired if you actually slept during a case. I turn to Gene who has appeared beside me.
"Simply put, a spirit animal is an animal that you connect with. You share traits and characteristics with this animal and it means something to you," he explains.
"Huh?" I say. He laughs at me while I try to take in what he's telling me.
There's still a lot I have left to learn…
~o0O0o~
AN: Yet another chapter completed. Reviews/Comments/Thoughts/Opinions/Critiques are always welcome!
Fast Facts #8: Noriko (典子) means "lawful child", Rei (麗) means "lovely", Yumi (由美 ) means "reason, beautiful", and Akio (昭夫 ) means "bright man"
Fast Facts #9: Kuro (九郎 ) means "ninth son" (but Google Translate says it means "Crow" so now I'm questioning the validity of this Japanese Name website I've been using…), Fumiko (富美子) means "child of abundant beauty", Etsuko (悦子) means "child of joy", and Hayate (颯) means "smooth"
Fast Facts#9.5: Kurou (クロー) is another way of saying "Crow"
Fast Facts #10: Kokoro (心) means "soul, heart" and Kōki (光希) means "light, hope"