Psychic Detective Yakumo
I'm so sorry for my long absence. Last was just terrible week for not only me, but for my country. Then, I had to write my first research paper over Gun Control. That really took up most of my strength as well. I ended up getting a 109, so I guess I did pretty good. Then Sunday comes and I hear that one of my school mates has been missing since Friday. She still hasn't appeared...I wonder if she's okay.
Anyways, pushing everything aside, I would like to thank all my readers, reviewers, followers, ect. I'm sorry for the long wait, but I hope this chapter meets your expectations. Also, there might be (there is) a lot of OOC from Yakumo's part. It's always so hard to write in his point of view.
Won't Give Up
Chapter 11- Exchange
It was already past ten and there was still no sign of her. She had called him over an hour ago to tell him that she was going to spend some time with her friends. She didn't tell him when she was coming home. She didn't even tell him where she was going and of course, he didn't bother asking either. He regretted that now because even though he didn't like it, Yakumo was starting to get a little worried.
It wasn't like her to be out so late especially if she knew that she had class tomorrow. She was pretty clumsy and clueless sometimes, but she wasn't irresponsible. As he sat there on top of the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, Yakumo wondered where she could be. He finally understood what she had to go through when she would wait for him to get home from work. It wasn't a comfortable feeling at all.
He pulled out his cellphone from his pocket and looked at the screen, waiting for a call or text from her. He got nothing. The more he looked at his cellphone the more impatient he became. He had already called her a few times, but she wouldn't answer her phone and it would go straight to her voicemail.
Sighing for the millionth time, Yakumo sat up straight as his eyes focused on the door. The entire apartment was dead silence and the only thing that could be heard was the constant maddening ticking of the clock that was hanging on the wall. The minutes kept ticking by and there was still no sign of her. It wasn't long before Yakumo's head started filling with crazy ideas.
What if something had happened to her? She trusts people way too much and that could probably get her into some problems. She'd probably take a ride from a stranger if they offered her one. What if she got herself lost? What if she was lured away by some other guy? What if she decided to spend the night over her friend's house? Asking himself all of this, Yakumo smirked to himself and he shook his head. He was being ridiculous. He was thinking of his wife as a little girl when in fact she was a grown woman. He was sure that she was capable of taking care of herself or at least that's what he hoped.
Yakumo wasn't sure how much more time had passed when he finally heard a knock on the door. He stood up, a bit too quickly for his own liking, and walked toward the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see his wife in the arms of another man. He immediately felt his eyebrow twitch.
She looked half asleep, but she was gripping on to the man's shirt tightly like if she needed him for support. Yakumo glared at them not sure what to think. He felt himself holding tightly on the door when he noticed the man's arm around her waist. "Who are you?" He asked him a bit coolly, trying to not show anger. Then he gave her a quick glance. "What happened?"
"Saitou-san!" A woman suddenly popped out from out of nowhere and Yakumo quickly recognized her as one of Haruka's friends. "We're so sorry about this. We didn't take care of her properly. I didn't notice her drinking so much and when I finally did, it was already too late. I'm very sorry."
"You should be." The man replied as he tried to stand Haruka up properly. Judging by the way they spoke to one another, Yakumo concluded that he was also one of Haruka's friends. Even so, he didn't like the way he was holding his wife with such familiarity. "It was mostly your fault."
"Be quiet, Naoki!" She exclaimed, pretending to punch him in the arm. For some reason, her eyes were close to tears. "You're at fault here too, so don't put all the blame on me."
Ignoring their bickering, Yakumo stepped forth until he stood right in front of Haruka. He lifted her head, getting her attention. She rubbed her eyes a few times until she finally realized it was him. "Yakumo-kun!" She squealed with some delight before she embraced him. It was in that moment that Yakumo could smell the stench of alcohol. He found himself losing his cool for another slight second, his eyebrow unconsciously twitching.
Yakumo slowly took her inside and then he turned to look at her friends. He glared at them, gripping on the door tightly. "This better not happen again," he told them before slamming the door shut.
Once inside, Yakumo looked at her as she stumbled her way to the living room. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe she had let herself get drunk to such an extreme. She kept mumbling to herself under her breath, but she went dead silence when he grabbed her wrist firmly. "What happened to you? Why are you like this?"
"Me?" She said, acting surprised as she pointed at herself with her index finger. She let out a small laugh which completely annoyed him. He wasn't joking around. He was being dead serious. "What are you talking...about, Yakumo-kun?! I'm totally fine! I feel...perfect."
She was lying straight through her teeth and Yakumo unwillingly let out a small growl of frustration. He was worried about her and it turns out that she was off somewhere getting drunk with her friends. The more Yakumo thought about, the more pissed off he became. That would be the last time he would let her go anywhere. "What the hell were you thinking? Do you know what could have happened? You can't wander around the streets like this."
She wasn't listening and it seemed to him that she was staring off into space. She turned to look at him with a small smile, catching him completely off guard. Really. What in the world was she thinking? Was she even thinking at all? Yakumo wondered just how much she had drunk and he wondered why her friends hadn't stopped her from the beginning. What type of friends were they? Haruka let out another small laugh as she pulled her hand from his reach. Of course, that almost made her fall back, but she managed to regain her balance.
"You shouldn't...worry too much, Yakumo-kun." She told him in between hiccups. Placing her hands on her hips, she tried to act natural. "Everything is fine! Fine! Fine! Nao-chan...he brought me home. He's soooo nice! What would I do without...without him and Hana?"
"What were you thinking?" Yakumo began to scold at her, but looking at her drunken state, he doubted she would even listen to him at all since she seemed to be in her own world. "Why didn't you answer when I called you? Why didn't you tell me that you were coming home late?"
"You called...me?" She asked him and he could see a small blush forming on her face, her cheeks becoming redder. She began to look in her pockets for something before she looked at him dumbfounded. "My phone? Where is? Where is it? Did I leave it in Nao-chan's car? Did I take...a purse? I didn't know. I don't knowz any-"
"How do you not know? You're such an idiot." He told her as he tried to calm himself down. Letting out a sigh, he placed his hand over his forehead and decided to give up. "You know what forget it. Go take a shower and wash yourself off. We'll talk about this in the morning."
Before he had a chance to walk away, he suddenly felt her small hand grab onto his sleeve. His eyes widen a little when he noticed tears swelling in her eyes. In that moment, he felt a pang in his chest. He hated seeing her like that. He always hated seeing her cry. "Yakumo-kun," She whispered as she placed her forehead on his arm. "Do you hate me?"
"What are you talking about now?" He asked her with a sigh. He turned around to look at her, placing his hand on her head. Of course, he didn't expect her to push it away. "What's wrong? What makes you say something like that?"
"I don't...I don't understand." She began, standing up straight as she tried to take a few steps back. Tears were streaming down her face while she looked at him. "You've...you don't care about me. Sometimes I wonder why you even married me at all. You...you don't love me, so why? Why did you marry me? I don't...I don't understand. You don't care about me, right?"
Why was she doing this to him? Was that how she really felt? "You know that's not true, so stop saying nonsense."
"You know what, Yakumo?" She said quietly, wiping her tears away as she sniffed. "Sometimes...sometimes it feels like we're not even married. You never...never pay attention to me." She was starting to have a bit trouble breathing since her crying was getting in the way. "I know...I know you have work, but...but I want to be with you. I want to be with you soooo badly, but you don't care. You never make an effort to be with me..."
Yakumo didn't say anything as he suddenly felt his anger wash away. For some reason, he began to feel a little guilty since it seemed that she hadn't gotten drunk because of him. Was he really causing her that much stress? Why didn't she say so before? Getting closer to her, Yakumo grabbed her hands before he lifted her chin with his finger. She looked up at him, tears crawling down her cheeks. "Calm down, Haruka. You don't know what you're saying right now."
"I do know what I'm saying! I know perfectly well what I'm saying!" She tried to pull herself away from him, but Yakumo didn't let her. He grabbed her arms tightly preventing her from going anywhere. She was being so difficult, but it was understandable. She was hurt and it was all his fault.
"Tell me, Yakumo-kun...tell me." She paused, bending her head and covering her eyes with her hair. "Tell me now if you don't want to be with me...just tell me now. It's not too late..." She suddenly began to drown in her own tears. "It's not too late to...to divorce."
"What in the world made you think of something so stupid?" Yakumo asked her, trying to shake away her cold words. Even though he didn't like to admit it, her words were actually scaring him.
"You did!" She exclaimed out of nowhere, surprising him a little. She pushed him away and quickly stumbled toward the back of the sofa. She leaned her body on top of it as she tried to catch her breath. This was all too much for her and it was definitely too much for him to handle. "You did! You don't love me, Yakumo-kun! It's soooo obvious that you're embarrassed of me! You never want to kiss me or hug me in public! Did you think I wouldn't notice that?! You don't even wear your wedding ring because you don't want people to know that you're married at all!"
"Do you want me to spell out everything for you?!" He snapped at her, getting a little angry himself. "Are you that stupid?"
"You're right!" She said, shaking her head back and forth. "You're right. I'm completely useless. I'm not good at anything...I can't cook. I can't take care of the house. I can't take...can't take care of you." She began to cry again as she sat down on the floor. She curled her knees, placing her head on top of them. "Is that why you're ashamed of me? I'm really...Am I the worst wife on the planet? You don't need me..."
How was he suppose to explain it to her? How was he suppose to tell her his feelings? He had always struggled to say things like that. He was never good at expressing himself. Yakumo walked over to her and kneeled down in front of her. This time, she didn't bother to move away from him. He placed his hand on her cheek, but she turned away. Then in a low whisper she said, "I don't even remember...the last time you said that you loved me."
"Don't say that I don't care about you because I do." He told her really softly, hoping she would finally listen to him. He grabbed her face with both his hands to find her blushing a faint shade of pink. "If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't have asked you to marry me. Do you think I would marry you out of pity?"
"Maybe-"
"You're wrong." He said through his teeth, pulling her a bit closer. "I would never do something like that. I married you because I wanted to be with you always. Is that so hard to understand?"
"Yes...yes, it is because you never demonstrate it to me." She told him, snapping her eyes shut and probably trying to prevent her tears from coming out. "All I want is something to know that you're proud of having me as your wife... You don't-"
He didn't let her finish because, by that point, he was pressing his lips tightly against hers. She squirmed a little at first, but it wasn't long before she calmed down, her insecurities washing away with his. That's where she belonged. She belonged in his arms and in no one else's. Even though he didn't like to admit to himself, Yakumo was head over heels for that knucklehead and he would do anything for her. Of course, he never something like that out loud and he hoped she didn't forced to.
They parted from each other and Yakumo was relieved to see Haruka much more calm. She was still sniffing out her last tears, but he was glad to see her tantrum gone. He lowered his head a little and helped her wipe away her tears with his fingers. "Don't do this to me ever again."
"I'm sorry, Yakumo!" She suddenly exclaimed, placing her head on his chest and her arms around his body. Her touch was warm even though she still reeked like alcohol. "I'm soooo sorry! I love you so much! I don't want a divorce! I'll die!"
"I know. I know." Yakumo said to her as he patted her head. He helped her stand up before he picked her up gently, bridal style, making her squeal silently. She leaned her head on his shoulder as she wrapped her hands around his neck. She was probably scared to fall. "Please. Don't ever get yourself drunk again. I won't be able to take it next time."
"Yakumo? Do you love me? Do you really love me?" She asked him in a small whisper, her voice full of exhaustion. She cuddled herself closer to him while he began to walk toward the bedroom. He opened the door and sat her on top of the bed.
"I told you already." Yakumo said quickly, trying to avoid her teary eyes. The wrong words could probably cause another tear outbreak. Yakumo wanted to avoid that by all means since it was painful for him. "I don't like to repeat myself. Stay here. I'm going to make you a cup of coffee or something."
He would have never known that she felt that way. He always assumed that she was alright because she never said anything to him. She never said that she needed more effort from his part. Still, why didn't it ever occur to him that she was feeling that way? After everything they went through, he was suppose to know her better than anyone. He should have been able to prevent her anguish and her loneliness.
Then again, there were still so many things she didn't know about him. She didn't know that he had never had a girlfriend until her. She didn't know that she was his first love. She didn't know that she was the first one for everything. She made him feel things that he had never felt before and up until that day, he was still learning many new things from her. He was still learning how to be the husband she believed he was.
She considered him perfect, but he was nowhere near perfection. He was human. He was human just like her, just like Gotou, just like anyone else. The only difference was that he was born with the ability to see the souls of the dead. Because of that, Yakumo thought he would always live in his splendid isolation. Never did it cross his mind that he was going to fall for someone. He never thought in a million years that he was going to find that perfect someone to spend with for the rest of his years. Even though she was kind of slow and a big idiot, she was meant to be with him. She was his idiot.
There's only so much he could do, though. He couldn't always be with her because of work. He couldn't always give her that attention she wanted because work. Still, he promised himself to change that. He would try to show his feelings more to her and he would try to show her that he was extremely proud of having her as his wife.
By the time, Yakumo made it back to the bedroom, Haruka had already fallen into deep sleep. He silently sighed as he looked at the mug in his hands. Placing it on top of the night table, Yakumo sat down on the edge of the bed and stared down at her.
Without even realizing it, he began to caress her cheeks with his fingers as he admired her features. He always thought that he was the only guy stupid enough to find her beautiful, but now he realized that he maybe wasn't the only one. It angered him to think that there were other pests flying around her.
Yakumo stayed that way for a while before he laid down next to her. He embraced her tightly, convincing himself that no one else could possibly replace her. She mumbled something underneath her breath before she scooted herself closer to him. She still reeked like alcohol, but that didn't matter in that moment. He would make sure to give her a good lecture tomorrow when she was back in her senses and he would make sure to tell her that she wasn't alone.
That's why they got married; so they could be together.
...