Tokyo Medical University
Misaki Asou set her jaw and narrowed her eyes at the girl across from her - a look that was happily returned. Through her irritation, Misaki had the thought that two people should not have the same eyes, but look so differently as Ayako and Sakuya did. Sakuya was beauty and grace and kindness; Ayako was ego and irritation and an unsettling sinister edge. Sakuya smiled; Ayako smirked.
It was also Misaki's humble opinion that someone like Ayako should never be allowed to be a doctor, either. That girl took a little too much joy in cutting things apart, as they had all found out the hard way during a so-called 'accident' which involved a pair of scissors and Madoka Tsukimori's pet canary, an incident that had been the spark of the years-long rivalry between Misaki Asou and Ayako Haibara.
Ayako had feigned childish innocence and curiosity, and her grandfather, especially, had dismissed it as a child not understanding the consequences of their actions. Misaki had seen Ayako's expression - the little brat knew exactly what she was doing. Misaki also hadn't been afraid to call the girl out on it, but the protests had gone nowhere, though it did make Ayako more wary around her.
So Misaki hadn't seen the other girl get up to any violent trouble in the years since, but just because she didn't see it, didn't mean it never happened, and more than once through their childhood Misaki had found Madoka sobbing in a corner or covered in bruises she didn't dare relay the origin of. More than once it had led to an argument or an altercation - Misaki was not afraid to fight with someone two years older than her - and more than once had Misaki found herself alongside Ayako, squirming in humiliation and indignant rage under the disapproving frown of Sakuya. Not a glare, there was never really any anger there. No, it was all disappointment, and that was always worse than actual anger because someone like Sakuya should never have to be disappointed or sad.
It made for an interesting dichotomy: Sakuya was a mentor to Misaki, a 'big sister', everything Misaki aspired to be as a person, even if in recent years it became harder and harder to have much patience. Sakuya was someone even Misaki's mother joked had a better handle on Misaki's behavior than she did.
Ayako was a nuisance at best.
"Ayako," and Sakuya was caught in the middle, but if it bothered her even a single iota, she never once showed signs of the pressure. "You haven't been taking your medication."
Ayako's look peeled slowly from Misaki's, and melted into pure sugar and innocence as she turned to her mother. Misaki just barely reminded herself she was too old to snort and roll her eyes. At least not this time.
"It was just the one time, mother," the girl said, and the saccharine in her tone could've killed a small child.
Misaki gnawed the inside of her lip, wishing this conversation could be done and over with so she could get away from Ayako, and get back out into the city with Sakuya until Kei and Yuu were done with her radios and they all met back up for dinner.
"They found you on the roof, Ayako," Sakuya said, as though they hadn't just gone over this with the staff of the university. All things considered Ayako was fairly well an adult and would normally have been trusted to take care of herself - this was her second year of university, after all - but when she had been found on the roof of the dormitories, wandering dangerously close to the edges, mumbling something about blood and dashed skulls to herself in the dead of the night, the school had decided to call her parents.
"It won't happen again, mother," Ayako said, and she tried for 'dismissive', but her usual haughtiness came to a satisfyingly screeching halt when she was face-to-face with her own mother.
But then, Misaki had to admit, Sakuya had that effect on people. Everyone, even the usually dull-expressioned Ruka.
"That doesn't occur when you don't take it just one time," Sakuya rebutted, tone still even and gentle, but firm on the emphasis, and Misaki could only feel satisfaction as she watched the excuses dry up on Ayako's tongue before they were even spoken.
"I may have... forgotten," Ayako continued, and finally she was breaking under the pressure.
"Do I need to have You refresh your prescription?" Sakuya continued, a note of concern in her voice. It made Ayako wince.
Misaki barely kept from smiling.
"Do we... have to talk about this here? I mean... you have a guest," Ayako asked, glancing only briefly over to Misaki, and quickly away, full aware of the light in the other girl's eyes at watching her under fire like that.
"I just want to make sure you're still going to be safe, Ayako. You're my daughter, and I don't want you hurt," Sakuya stated, and this time even Ayako couldn't hide the flush of guilt and shame as it washed over her.
"Promise me you will take the medication every time you need to, Ayako. I don't want to have to come back here for anything but good visits and to watch you graduate," Sakuya continued, a slight pleading tone to her voice, and Ayako's ego visibly crumbled.
"Yes... I will, mother," Ayako said, and the defeat in her voice nearly made Misaki laugh-
"Misaki."
- and just like that, her high came crashing down as Sakuya, without even having turned to look at her or so much as glanced toward her, said a single word in a markedly firm tone, and destroyed Misaki's inflated ego as easily as she had dismantled Ayako's.
"This isn't something to laugh about. She could have died," the statement brought a notably sad note with it from Sakuya, and Misaki felt herself sink lower in her chair. If Ayako hadn't already been worn down by Sakuya before, she knew the other girl would be smirking at her.
Somewhere in Misaki's mind, she wondered if it would really be such a tragedy if Ayako died, then dismissed it in the same thought. She wouldn't mind if Ayako just up and disappeared one day - moved out of the country, for instance, or took a job or schooling in some far distant corner of Japan - but dying was going a bit far.
So maybe the situation was more dire than Misaki was giving it credit for, and just that thought - that realization - was enough to make her avoid eye contact, pointedly frowning at the edge of the table.
Was their meeting over yet? She wanted to get out to the city and leave Ayako behind.
Unfortunately for Misaki, it took another hour before Sakuya was ready to go, and another ten minutes after that before Misaki allowed herself to relax into the more friendly and casual air she had around Sakuya.
Tokyo was a huge city with a lot to do, and Misaki realized she didn't visit the metropolis very often; not that she had much reason to, nor much desire to be caught in the crowds with all those people and all those strong emotions that grated on the back of her mind - emotions not from herself, but strongly radiated from other people that caught up somewhere in her mind and made her think she saw ghosts every so often.
Sakuya had explained, a long time ago, what those manifestations were. It was something Misaki did not envy her cousin for spending his whole life chasing, trying to prove true, continuing on with research one lonely folklorist had dedicated his life to proving when everyone simply thought him crazy for believing in ghosts. People nowadays were no more accepting of the theory. Yuu Asou could only continue on with what Kunihiko Asou had started, and fight that uphill battle.
Misaki preferred simpler things; like keeping the evidence to herself. People without the 'sense' rarely understood anyway. Misaki's mother, for instance, never inherited it, and was accepting but mostly non-believing and merely brushed it off as an oddness of Misaki's - but Sakuya had it. Sakuya had the sense even more strongly than Misaki did and it was in no small part why she found it so easy to get along with the woman.
That, and the strange phenomena Misaki had discovered with Sakuya that two particularly strong senses would reverberate into each other until emotions were shared in an oddly empath-like way.
Regardless, it made being around large crowds, or places where strong emotions were present a difficult and annoying proposition. And if it was bad for her, Misaki knew, it had to be even worse for Sakuya. Still, the woman never complained, not a single time, and the calm helped keep Misaki calm, Sakuya's placid demeanor cascading through the frenzied thoughts and emotions like a cool wave and grounding the younger woman.
Misaki craned her head back, staring up at the huge skyscrapers that surrounded them as they walked through Shinjuku, outside of the University and hospital, and headed toward Shinjuku station. There was technically a train station right outside the campus, but Sakuya insisted they walk to Shinjuku station instead - why, Misaki would never understand, seeing as there was a greater convenience in just riding the other train, and transferring as quickly as possible once they arrived at Shinjuku station, seeing as being at the busy station was like sticking her head into a bees' nest.
Instead, Misaki watched the skyscrapers as she walked through the city, glancing down to ensure she didn't run into anyone, but distracted otherwise. The buildings looked so cold and imposing, looming above as they did. Less like guardians, and more like watching her, waiting for her to do something wrong so they could topple down...
And Misaki squeezed her eyes shut as she walked, then shook her head. Someone near her had some kind of phobia, she decided, and she saw Sakuya slow, and so slowed to match the new pace. Sakuya must have felt or noticed it, too.
"Misaki," Sakuya said, gentle and quiet, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. Misaki's attention was rapt and immediate. "You've been having nightmares."
Misaki had just enough grace not to let her expression change too much to one of shock, but she did sway slightly. "Big Sister?"
"I can see it in your eyes; you're not sleeping enough. And... I can feel it. You've woken up twice this week in terror."
Misaki winced; was the fear so great it was reverberating through to Sakuya?
"They're just dreams," Misaki stated, flippantly, waving her hand. "It's not important."
"What are you dreaming about?" Sakuya continued, pursuing the line of logic without a pause or space for further argument.
"Things. People I know dead. It's... it's not important," Misaki continued, but the drop in her shoulders and obvious discomfort worked in contrary to her words.
"It is when you have a sense like ours," Sakuya stated plainly. Misaki frowned, then sighed her resignation. She didn't like withholding things from Sakuya like that, but that urge fought with her embarrassment over the actual contents of her dreams and that Sakuya could tell when she was upset, anyway.
"I dream... it's strange. I dream of Madoka and Marie and Tomoe dead. And... when I look in a mirror, I can't see my face," she moved her hands a bit, trying to explain, but trying not to get into too much detail. "And sometimes, I'm chasing after Ruka. Oh... and it's... noisy? Like when you're in the Kagura stage during the festival; music all over, and lots of people talking. But it sounds like that even when I'm alone."
"Where are you, in these dreams?"
"... At the hospital. Well, at Rougetsu Hall, technically, but at the hospital. Am I remembering... something from my past?"
Sakuya pressed her fingertips together in thought, then sighed. "The last time you had those dreams, Misaki... was it Monday and Thursday?"
"Yes..." Misaki pursed her lips together, but Sakuya had already admitted to being able to feel when Misaki was scared. It didn't make it sit any better with her.
"Those are the same days I've had nightmares as well. Thursday was a particularly bad sleepwalking episode."
Misaki stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at Sakuya in a mixture of disbelief and surprise. Sakuya paused, turning to look directly at Misaki.
"But I don't dream of things like death or chasing someone to try to save them."
"What do you dream of?" Misaki was almost afraid to ask, but curiosity got the better of her by far.
"A world so peaceful and empty it's scary," Sakuya stated, and Misaki frowned, confused. What was so frightening about something peaceful and empty?
"I can't see my face in my dreams, either. I can't see anyone's faces. I know who I am looking at, but I don't know their names. Soon, it feels like everything merely slips out of my mind. Yet, it never bothers me."