"We don't know when he will wake up…"

"…completely psychosomatic…"

"Let's test your blood today, shall we Mr Davis?"

"Do you think he'll ever wake up…?"

"…going to change his drip and then…"

"… open his eyes? Oh no, must've been a mis…"

"…no use to us anymore…"

"Morning Mr Davis, how are you…"

"…will you be here all day?"

When Naru opened his eyes, he immediately winced at how bright the light was. He could hear machines whirring and beeping and voices talking. It took him a moment to recognise the language as English.

Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the light. He focused on the ceiling and then moved his eyes around. Everything seemed to take a long time.

His head turned a little and he spotted someone by his bed. Someone he knew. Who was it? A name was balancing on the end of his dry tongue but refused to fall.

"Noll? Are you awake?" the man said.

Naru tried to speak, but his tongue refused to work quite right. A gargling noise came out.

"I'll get a nurse," the man said. "I'm glad you back at last."

The man stood up. He was tall and dark haired.

"Lin," Naru croaked.

Lin turned and smiled at Noll before disappearing.

Minutes later and nurses were crowding him. One was moistening his mouth, one checking his vitals, and one talking at him so fast he could barely understand what they were saying.

But Lin did not leave his side.

Eventually, the nurses left them alone. The doctor had warned Lin not to overload Naru with information – as if they hadn't already done that – and too call if they needed anything.

"What do you remember?" Lin asked.

Naru frowned at the question.

"I was with Mai," he said slowly. His voice was heavily slurred. Like his mouth had been numbed when at the dentist and thus didn't want to respond properly. "But she was taken away," he continued. "Then with the Australian agent. We…" His frown deepened in frustration. "And there were voices. I was asleep? But I could hear voices…?"

"It's common amongst coma patients that they half wake for a while before they truly wake. Also, many coma patients hear things when coma."

"Coma," Naru repeated the word. "Why?"

"You were injured badly in a successful raid," Lin explained. "Your mind shut down while your body repaired."

"How long?"

Lin looked reluctant to answer.

"Well…"

"How long?" Naru demanded more forcefully. He tried to sit up straighter, but his body wasn't wanting to comply.

"Three years, seven months…"

"Three…" Naru repeated. He blinked several times. "Three years."

He fell silent and looked away.

"The doctors have recommended a course of physiotherapy. Your body is weak from lack of use and will need building up again. They don't think it'll take too long for you to be able to move around like an average person."

"Where is Mai?"

Naru stared out of the window as he waited for a response.

"She's…" Lin faltered. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about everything just now."

"Lin, where is Mai?" Naru repeated. "Is she safe?"

"We don't know."

"Yasuhara was supposed to be keeping her safe!" Naru's fists curled tighter around the bedsheets.

Lin sighed and pulled out something from his pocket.

"She was kidnapped around the time you fell into a coma," Lin said. "No one has found her body and Yasuhara has kept detectives looking for her and…" He paused to look down at the phone in his hand. He sighed again before unlocking it and bringing up a photo. He passed the device to Naru.

The younger man took the phone and was shocked at how heavy it felt. Not because the device genuinely weighed a lot, but due to the deterioration of his muscles.

He studied the image.

"What is this?" he muttered.

"An ultrasound," Lin said. "Yasuhara sent it to me."

"I don't…" Naru began. It was like his brain had ground to a halt. He didn't like the sensation.

"Taniyama was pregnant when she was found," Lin explained. "Swipe left, the next picture is…"

Naru complied and stared down at the next photograph. It contained a young woman holding a tiny baby with a massive grin on her face. Mai looked so happy.

"She…" But words failed him.

"That was taken the day the baby was born," Lin continued. Naru looked up and Lin answered his unasked question. "A girl, Taniyama named her Himeko according to Yasuhara. She was slightly premature, but completely healthy otherwise."

"Why wasn't I told?" But somehow Naru knew the answer. "Martin?"

"Yes," Lin said. "He ordered Yasuhara not to tell you until you had-"

"Completed the mission."

"In Yasuhara's defence, he said he wouldn't have lied to you had you asked."

"But I had no reason to ask."

Lin nodded gravely.

"Yasuhara believes whoever took Taniyama has the baby too."

"She won't be a baby anymore," Naru pointed out. He reached out a finger to touch the screen where Mai's face was. "Where am I?"

"Military facility, England."

Naru nodded at this new piece of information.

"When can I start physio?"

"Tomorrow."


"Come on," I said as I reached an arm out. "Himeko, we need to get going! Suzuki, are you coming?"

"Nah, I have a job this morning. You two will be alright," Suzuki said, smiling at me. I didn't ask about her 'job'. I knew better than to ask. It was odd. I'd been here almost four years now and Suzuki was the closest thing I had to a friend.

Yet we did not talk about her 'jobs' or her and Igarashi's wish to kill the father of my child. It was an odd relationship.

Himeko ran full pelt into the hallway and straight into my legs.

"Mummy! I don't wanna go!"

"You like nursery," I told her as I pulled on shoes.

"But Yuki smells."

"Then don't play with Yuki."

"But Yuki wants to play with me."

I sighed.

"Put your shoes on," I said finally. Himeko slipped on her shoes and picked up her little backpack. She took hold of my hand and we headed out.

"Mummy?" Himeko looked up at me as we walked.

"Yes dear?"

"Why don't I have a Daddy?"

The question took me a little by surprise, though I can't honestly say I hadn't expected it to come up at some point.

"You do have one," I said carefully. "But he's not with us anymore."

"Why not? All the others have a Mummy and a Daddy, except Takeshi, he has two Mummies."

"He can't be with us," I told her. I wanted to tell her the truth. I hated deceiving my own child. But how do you explain to a four year old that they were an accident as a result of a deep cover top secret mission by a government agency on the other side of the world?

"Does he want to be with us?"

"I don't know," I replied truthfully. "Maybe one day we'll get to ask him."

I dropped Himeko off at the nursery school and waved before heading back to the brothel. Of course, we had all kept it from Himeko the true nature of what went on in the place.

The teacher at the nursery school had once asked me why I lived with so many other women. The lie Suzuki and I settled on was that it was a shelter for victims of domestic abuse. It was so far from the truth it was almost comical.

"Everything go okay?" Igarashi asked me as I returned.

"Yes," I said with a smile. I didn't trust Igarashi. At all. She reminded me of Mori Madoka. She always had an ulterior motive.

"What is your plan for the day?"

"Set the laundry off and then start cleaning the rooms currently not in use," I reeled off from my mental to-do list.

"Good," she said and swept off into her office. "Just keep out of the girls' way."

That was a rule. I wasn't really allowed to talk to the working girls. Igarashi didn't trust me not to rile them up into rebellion or something. As if I'd risk that with Himeko so close.

But this was my life. And had been my life for four years.

It wasn't ideal.

But Himeko was safe and happy. And that was all that mattered.


The grey haired man did not notice the intruder. The intruder chose to make himself known.

He cocked the gun right behind the man's head.

"I should kill you right now," Naru said.

"Go ahead," Martin said in a tired voice.

"You had no right to keep that information from me."

"It was-"

"For the greater good?" Naru supplied bitterly. "And how many missions would I have had to complete before you told me? One? Five? Twenty?"

"Oliver, you were too good an agent to let go like that," Martin said. He spun in his chair to face Naru, who did not lower the gun.

"Does Luella know?"

"About the girl? Or the kid?"

"Both," Naru stated. "I thought as my adoptive parents you'd love to meet your own grandchild." His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Of course she knows, she's half the reason I didn't have them both killed," Martin muttered. "I am genuinely glad you have made a full recovery Oliver, but this isn't going to get us anywhere. What is it you want?" Naru did not show any surprise at the question. "Do you want to go and play house with the girl and her kid? Do you really think you'll be able to do that?"

Naru ignored the jibe.

"I am going to find Mai and Himeko, I will take out the people that took them as my last job and then I want out," he listed. "If you can't agree to that, we will have a problem."

"Fine," Martin agreed. "I'll make the arrangements."


Lin sat in a van holding the headphones to his ear, listening carefully.

"Well?" Naru prompted as he climbed in.

Lin pulled out the headphones. The sound of typing filled the air.

"He hasn't said anything yet."

"Did he eat it?" Naru asked.

"His dinner arrived five minutes after you left, I heard the sounds of cutlery on the plate, so I presume so."

"Good," Naru muttered.

Then Martin's voice filtered through the speakers.

"Mori? I have a job for you," he said. There was a pause. "Yes, he's become a problem. I imagine he has Lin working with him." Another pause. "Yes, an accident will be fine." Yet another pause. "Yes, the girl ruined everything. But if we take Oliver out, we can leave her alone and maintain a good working relationship with Yasuhara in Japan." A final pause. "Let me know when it's done."

"It's a shame," Naru said. Lin looked around.

"A shame?"

"That such a hard working civil servant would die of a heart attack."

Naru pulled out a transmitter and hit a button with his thumb. A signal was emitted to interact with nanoparticles that had been hidden in Martin's food.

The autopsy would conclude a heart attack.

No one would know any better.

"Madoka could still be a problem," Lin pointed out.

"I can take her down, unless you have an issue with it?"

Lin packed away the equipment before replying.

"I will help you if need be."

Naru looked around in surprise. Lin shrugged and started the van.

"I'll call Yasuhara," Naru said. "We have a plane to catch."


Author's note: WARNING SHIT IS GOING TO GO DOWN NEXT CHAPTER OMG I AM SHIVERING WITH THE EXCITEMENT OF WRITING IT.

And for those of you that don't know, I am currently in Japan taking Japanese lessons. A common topic amongst the students is what anime/manga we like and of course I say Ghost Hunt. Today my classmate said that he thought he'd seen a live action TV series of it. But couldn't remember the title it went by. But that it started with the characters looking for ghosts in the old school building. And he recognised the images of the anime... So if any of you know anything about this, PLEASE TELL ME! I will badger him more tomorrow!

Please check out all the Humour Week entries! And if you feel brave, try writing some too!

And just to re-iterate, THE BAD THING HAPPENS NEXT CHAPTER OMG MY EYES ARE WELLING UP AT THE THOUGHT OF WHAT I AM GOING TO WRITE. AMY WHY DO YOU PUT THESE IDEAS IN MY HEAD *collapses in a pile*

Please review :)