A/N: Enjoy, Enjoy...I'm severely under caffeinated...so nothing clever here.
Reviews are love!
As always... Not My Sandbox!
-RavensGame
Ps- anyone here in the Fairy Tail Fandom? If I go play over on that playground next, anyone feel like reading it?
"Sometime's I'm terrified of my heart; of it's constant hunger for whatever it is it wants. The way it starts and stops." - Edgar Allen Poe
She stared at Naru in shock.
She wasn't sure she was equipped to share dreams with two Davis brothers.
"How?" She breathed the word, completely ignoring the Spirit behind her.
Naru shrugged, looking for all the world as comfortable in her head as he was in the office.
Something about that seemed supremely unfair.
"It appears to be Gene's doing. Neither one of us retained enough of the earlier vision to understand what happened, so he seems to be blending it together in bits and pieces from both of our memories." Naru surmised.
"Oh." Was all she said.
Was all she could say.
She was, completely and unequivocally unprepared to have Naru walking around in her mind any more than he already did.
Naru arched a brow. "You asked for it, Mai. You wanted to know what really happened. It appears my brother took your request to heart."
You mean to my head, right?
Which you are currently in...
Naru was in her dream.
"Still, if this is the clarity you normally have during a sleeping vision, I'm not surprised the earlier one upset you. I suppose I got used to translating the rapid fire images. This..." He gestured towards the room behind them where Miyazawa was still lost in her thought.
"What?" She asked, shaking her head.
He looked at her, scrutinizing. "You're more talented than I realized. Is it always third person?"
"Huh?" She asked in confusion.
How could he be so nonchalant about this?
"At the mansion with the labyrinth underneath, you described your vision as first person dream? Do they vary?" He asked.
"Oh. Ummm. When I'm the person it's a little scarier. Sometimes Gene acts them out with me then, but that means I see him and not the other person's face." She said
As soon as she said it, it felt awkward, however.
"He acts them out with you?" Naru's voice had a funny edge to it.
She thought back to her vision at the Okubu's cave, where she and Gene had re-enacted a lovers suicide pact...
"It's complicated." She said, blushing.
How do you explain to the guy you're in love with that while, yes, you do technically have dreams about his brother (and, technically about being his lover), but really, you're just friends...
Naru said nothing, just watched her for a moment.
Suddenly, movement caught her eye behind him.
"It's starting." She whispered, and Naru quickly stepped over to her side.
A man about Naru's height had walked into the room, shaking the rain off his clothes as he went. His hair was plastered to his face, but it did nothing to hide how haggard he looked.
He reminded her a little of how Yasu had looked after a particularly bad bender.
Miyazawa had stood at his entry, frowning.
"Shinpachi, you were supposed to be here hours ago..." She said, shaking her head as she walked towards the man.
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" He said angrily. He brushed of her hands as she reached for his jacket, obviously upset.
Mai frowned.
Shinpachi...
Where had she heard the name before?
Miyazawa narrowed her eyes. "What on earth happened to you?"
She pushed his bangs to one side, revealing a darkening bruise.
He simply scowled at her, tension radiating of his frame.
She looked at him steadily. "What have you done now?"
There was the faintest touch of dread in her voice.
He glared back. "Nothing I haven't done before...except this time, the floor boss caught me."
She sucked in a breath. "How deep are you in?"
Were they talking about gambling?
Poker, maybe?
Miyazawa asked the question grimly, but Mai got the feeling she wasn't surprised.
Just tired.
"Not so deep you can't get me out, sister dear." He said, taking a step closer.
Shinpachi was Reo's Uncle, Mai remembered. He had passed away a few years back. The notes indicated the death had been related to alcoholism.
However, there had been in the file about Reo's Uncle being in the house that night.
She was shaking her head now. "I warned you. I warned you they'd figure out what you were doing eventually. That's not how we're supposed to use our gifts."
"Oh, what. Am I supposed to build a magic castle and hide away in it like a little princess, scared of all the ghosts and monsters?" He said the words sarcastically.
She shook her head. "I didn't want Reo growing up the way we did, scared to sleep at night."
She paused. "I can't give you any more money, not without my husband finding out. He was furious the last time I bailed you out. We're already fighting over the fact that I'm letting you do the remodel in the basement."
"And it's getting done, isn't it?" He yelled angrily, slamming his palm against the mantle.
"Shinpachi, you got drunk and smashed a hole in the wrong wall!" She cried out. "I gave you that house key so you could come in tonight and fix it before my husband realizes two walls down there are destroyed instead of one!"
"He'll never find out. I pushed the shelf back in front of the hole. You can't even tell it's there. I'll fix it tonight and no one will be the wiser tomorrow when they see the second one I've already started. But I can't do anything without money!" Shinpachi growled the last part.
Miyazawa shook her head. "I won't do it. Not again. You have to get your gambling under control!"
"Don't you understand what those guys will do to me if I don't get them their money?" Shinpachi roared, laying a slap hard enough on Miyazawa's face to send her stumbling. She tripped on the edge of the rug, pinwheeling as she tried to regain her balance.
The fall was graceful.
The sound of her head hitting the hearth was not, however.
There wasn't even any blood.
"It broke her neck." Naru murmured quietly beside her. "It must have been instantaneous."
She wished she was still holding his hand.
For long, endless moments Shinpachi merely stood staring with stunned eyes at his lifeless sister, laying like a broken doll.
Outside, the storm still raged, an uneasy counterpoint to the stillness in the room.
He knelt woodenly, reaching out with a shaking hand. Placing it against her neck, he paled.
As Mai watched, something in his eyes seemed to harden.
"Don't panic..." he muttered to himself. "Think, Shinpachi..."
With a sudden look of resolve, he grabbed his sister's body, hefting it over his shoulder, heading past them out of the room.
Miyazawa's sightless eyes stared into Mai's as they passed, and Mai shuddered.
She didn't need to follow them downstairs to know what happened next.
He had sealed her up in the wall, in a hole already dug that no one but he had known about.
He'd left the other hole visible for the investigators, and no one was ever the wiser.
He'd come so late in the night no one else had seen him, and the sounds of the storm raging outside must have masked any sound.
And because of their fight, Reo's father had fallen under suspicion.
Mai blinked, shivering hard.
"Are you back with me?" Naru's voice was low, ghosting into the shell of her ear.
She nodded jerkily, looking around the cellar. Her muscles were stiff, and despite Naru's jacket she was cold. She could hear a banging on the door.
"Noll? Mai?" It was Lin's voice. He sounded...perturbed.
She hoped she didn't get blamed for this.
"The door is jammed." Naru answered in reply. "You'll have to pry it open."
Then- "And you'll want to bring a pick ax."
She stood unsteadily, Naru's hand at her elbow, and it made her remember the night he had explained to her that ladies were supposed to walk on the inside of the sidewalk.
Gallantry should look effortless...
A few minutes later, the rest of the team plus Reo had rushed inside the (now broken) door.
"Are you alright?" Reo had rushed over to Mai and Naru in concern. Something in their eyes must have warned him, because he stilled suddenly, watching them wordlessly.
Naru nodded at her, and she gently took Reo's hand, wordlessly leading him over to the wall.
"How fond are you of this shelf?" She asked quietly.
He stared at her wordlessly for a moment, before he turned and pushed the shelf over with a bang.
Together, they stared at the now-exposed wall.
There was a collection of inhaled gasps from the team.
Mai felt Masako take her hand. Bou-San and Ayako had come to stand behind her in a show of silent support.
The repair had obviously been hurried, but it had done the job. The concrete had cracked over time, a large brown stain discoloring it. Darker rivers of some unknown fluid had dried down the wall over the years.
Reo stared at the wall, swallowing. Then he grabbed the pick ax from Bou-San, swinging it at the wall so hard Mai had to jump back to avoid being hit with chips of flying cement.
Reo tore at the wall like a man possessed, until large chunks of concrete were piled underneath the stain. Finally, what looked to be the edge of a piece of plastic sheeting peeked through.
Lin and Bou-San wrestled him back then.
"Let the police do the rest." Naru said calmly.
Reo turned to them, chest heaving.
"He did it. My father really killed her.." His voice was laced with despair.
"No." Mai said gently, leading him upstairs. John took his other side, and she smiled, grateful for his calming presence.
"If your ready, we'll tell you everything." She said.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Hours and several phone calls later, the house was a flurry of activity. Police, the coroner, the inevitable press.
Reo stood with the team in the kitchen, watching as people came and went.
"They've nearly finished freeing the body." Ayako reported gently. As a Doctor, the police had allowed her to stay downstairs and watch on Reo's behalf.
"For what it's worth, I believe Naru is right. When she fell, she hit the back of her neck on the edge of the hearth." Ayako paused, but Reo nodded for her to continue. "It was immediate, and I doubt she suffered."
Reo stared grimly out the window. "I barely even knew my Uncle. He and my father hated each other. After my mother disappeared, so did he. Dad said it was because the money dried up."
"All this time, I've blamed my father. I stood by silently while other people blamed my father." Reo's voice held a lifetime of pain.
"No one could have expected this. Your mother gave your Uncle a key specifically so he could enter without anyone seeing him. Unfortunately, he used it to his advantage." John said quietly.
They turned solemnly as a stretcher with a black body bag was carried quietly out of the stairwell and out the back door.
"Wait!" Mai cried, suddenly determined.
Surely it didn't always have to end like this.
"Naru, I need you! Reo-San, please follow me!" She said, dashing out the door.
"Mai..." Naru said warningly, already having figured her out. Reo simply followed in sad bewilderment.
"It's okay, Naru. I can do it. We're outside now, plus, Gene can help." She pleaded.
"You're already exhausted, and Gene probably is too." Naru pointed out in warning.
"Just for a moment." She begged. "Just put us under. They're both psychic."
The truth was, she was exhausted. But Reo would never get another chance to do this.
If she could be a bridge between Naru and Gene, surely she could do something for the Sanda's.
"What are you talking about?" Reo asked as they reached the gurney. The body bag looked so small and final.
"Reo." She turned to face him. "Naru has explained that I'm a variable wavelength psychic. I can change my wavelength to match most ghosts. But I can also do it for other psychics."
She held out a hand expectantly. "What do you say?"
"Are you implying I'm psychic?" Reo asked in consternation.
Mai smiled softly. "Both your mother and uncle were. Your mother built his house to protect you. So I'd say, yes. But I know one way to prove it."
She held her breath, hoping both Reo and Naru would cooperate.
Just for once, she wanted to save someone living.
"Three minutes." Naru warned, and she wanted to hug him, but the men pushing the gurney were already getting impatient.
"Trust me?" She asked Reo.
"I do." He answered, sounding a little surprised. "What now?"
"Listen to Naru and do exactly as he says..."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
She looked around her Tea Shop in anticipation.
Four cups were out before her and she grinned.
"I see you're rather pleased with yourself..." Gene smiled at her fondly.
She laughed as the bell over the door jingled and Reo walked in, looking dazed.
"Mai?...Davis-San?" Reo's confusion was obvious.
Gene winked at her. "That's not...incorrect."
Reo walked forward. "Where are we?"
Mai smiled at the dazed man. "This is my Astral Plane. This is where I rest and control what visions I normally see. It's safe, I promise."
Reo opened his mouth to ask another question, but then, the bell behind them jingled again.
Miyazawa Sanda really was beautiful.
Reo stood there, gaping.
"Mom?" He asked, sounding impossibly young.
The woman smiled so warmly it made Mai's chest hurt.
The two flew at each other, embracing in a hug so joyous that Mai turned away to give them some privacy. She studied Gene instead.
"Are you okay?" She asked, worried that he is been taxing himself to help them solve this case.
Gene leaned forward conspiratorially "Well, I'm a little tired, but the good news is, it isn't going to kill me."
She gaped at him.
Had he really just made a joke about being dead?
"Relax, Mai. The things you can't change are the ones you should laugh about the most." He chided.
She nodded numbly. "Thank you. For what you did. For what you are doing. For me, and for them."
He arched a brow. "Don't forget to thank my idiot brother..."
She flushed, remembering Gene's kiss on her temple.
"Gene..." She trailed off, unsure. "Why did you choose to be my Spirit Guide? Was it because I was able to match wavelengths with you? Because I was near Naru?"
He frowned. "Both of those are reasons. But part of it was just you. You're so accepting. It made it easy to be near you. Noll felt the same way, I could tell. That's why he asked you to come work for him."
She shook her head. "That was just sympathy for My being an orphan."
"In part. But the truth is, Noll doesn't connect well with many people. Even before he knew you were an orphan, and long before he knew about me, he saw you." Gene said, looking at her intently.
"Of course he saw me." Mai answered, confused.
"Have you ever seen a black and white movie?" Gene asked.
She nodded.
"Now imagine just one character was in color." He said, looking at her meaningfully.
She stared at him in shock.
Suddenly she was hugged from behind.
"Thank you..." A light, feminine voice whispered in her ear, and for just a moment she let herself pretend it was her own mother.
"Times up." Gene announced...
She looked around. At some point she and Reo had sat down on the glass outside. She could feel the dampness seeping through her shorts, but she was too tired and too happy to care.
For once, they had gotten everything right.
Suddenly Reo stumbled to his feet.
An older man in a wheel chair was being pushed towards them. He looked frail, obviously in poor health.
"Dad." Reo's whisper was agonized as he stumbled forward, falling to his knees in front of the man's chair. He wrapped his arms gently around his waist, laying his face down in his lap. His shoulders were shaking, and Mai knew he was crying.
"Congratulations, Mai. You gave him his mother back." Naru said in her ear.
She looked up at him, smiling. "We did." She corrected.
"But you really are a foolish scientist if you think that's what this all was about." She said, looking back over at the father and son.
"What do you mean?" Bou-San asked.
She smiled again. "He never expected to get his mother back. But deep down, he was hoping to get his father back."
Just once, they'd gotten everything right.
