Part XXII
Just as he'd promised, Gene left the office early that following Thursday afternoon in order to prepare a celebratory dinner after Mai's last exam. Lin had offered to help, but Gene wanted it to be something special he did for Mai all on his own—not to mention it didn't warrant a good enough excuse to close the office early. From what he'd heard back from Noll about one particularly vocal BSPR member's attitude towards their so-called satellite office, he didn't want to do anything whatsoever which could be scrutinised by the head office and risk any pushback, no matter how innocent and well-meaning their intentions.
And so Lin tended the SPR office while Gene went shopping for fresh ingredients and then back to the apartment. He'd asked Luella for some ideas, who had given him some menu options and then provided the recipe once he'd settled on the idea of a veggie pasta bake. Because he was ambitious—or perhaps because he wanted to go all-out for Mai—Gene decided to make a side salad, and cut fresh fruit to accompany the sponge cake he'd bought for dessert.
The preparations had all gone surprisingly well. Gene had just closed the oven and was moving on to the salad and fruit when he felt the tap on his psyche that was his brother's own mind, reaching out for him from halfway across the globe.
Are you free now?
More or less, Gene replied, pausing in his movements as he took a firm mental hold of his brother in his mind before resuming again, slicing the cucumber slowly as his mind was only half on the activity. He'd found that he could perform relatively simple tasks like this while communicating telepathically with his twin, but enter any distraction and he would lose the connection.
Making dinner, Gene extrapolated in response to the silent, unspoken question. Mai finished the last of her exams today. Lin and I wanted to do something nice for her.
How thoughtful of you. Any other time—or for any other person, more like it—and Noll's words might have sounded sarcastic, but today he was genuine. And how is she, this week?
Gene frowned. Didn't you speak with her a few days ago?
He could hear the frown on Noll's face, mimicking his own. Yes. And before you ask, I tried asking her about her dreams. But she insisted it was only on account of the stress of exams.
She has been a bit off this week, Gene conceded, but I think that has more to do with Lin Hua's visit than exams. Not that she would admit it. But we've both been waiting for Lin to tell us any news, if he's heard anything from her since she left Japan.
At that, something shifted in Noll's demeanour, so slight that Gene wondered if he'd imagined it. But Noll remained silent, so Gene ignored it.
Do you believe her? Gene asked.
No, was his brother's immediate reply. But I recognise that we'll just have to wait for her to tell us. At least for now. More pressing is what we tell Madoka.
Madoka? Gene felt a nervous lurch in his stomach, knowing what Noll was about to say but not how he could convince him otherwise. We can't tell her about all this, Noll, we can't—
I know you want to protect her feelings, Gene, but Madoka has to know. What we don't tell her she will either deduce on her own or ferret out through Martin and Luella. When she knows the truth, you know as well as I do that she'll be angry we didn't trust her enough to tell her in the first place.
But—
I've told her enough to make her stop speculating about what Martin let slip. I'm sorry Gene, but I need her to focus on the Pullman case right now. We need to get to the bottom of it, so we can figure out why this case came in this timeline and not in any of the ones before.
Gene nodded, grudgingly agreed. The last time he'd spoken with Noll they'd discussed as much. Most important was to resolve the cases before them.
And maybe after that, I'd like to tell her more. But I won't—not if it goes against your true gut instinct. Mai thinks we're going to need her help. And after this week, I'm inclined to agree.
Gene frowned. Wait, what else happened this week?
Noll let out a long sigh. I've been meaning to talk to you about it for a few days, he admitted. But I've been trying to sort out my own thoughts so that I can do it properly. It's about Lin Hua's trip to Morocco.
Don't tell me Lin's told you something?
No, quite the opposite. Actually—
And at that moment Gene heard the sound of the apartment door opening, footsteps, and laughter. Mai's bright voice as she and Lin returned to the apartment.
Gene felt his head begin to spin. It was too much to try to hold onto the psychic link to his brother and to hear the sounds coming from the other room.
He knew Noll understood immediately, would sense his drop in concentration.
I'm sorry, Noll—this will have to wait, Gene managed, grasping desperately at the connection before it faltered completely. Can I call you later tonight?
I'll be in class, came the distant reply. Just – talk to Lin.
And he was gone.
"Gene, we're back!" Mai announced from the other room.
"Welcome home!" Gene called out in reply, forcing cheer into his voice. It certainly wasn't Mai's fault they had rotten timing.
"Wow, it smells amazing in here!" Mai looked tired from the week, but her face had a happy glow to it. "What's for dinner?"
Seeing the happy look on Mai's face, Gene couldn't help but grin himself. "Just some pasta, nothing much, really. How'd your last exam go?"
"Yeah, it went alright." Mai bent to peek through the oven window. "OMG Gene, you say nothing much? That looks fantastic."
Lin chuckled as he followed Mai into the room, retrieving cups from the cupboard. "I think saying your exams went just alright might be an understatement on your part. You put a lot of effort into studying this week and I'm sure you did very well. Tea, Mai?"
"Oh—yes, please. Thank you." Mai sat down at the table with a happy hum.
With the sudden interruption his conversation with Noll had nearly completely flown from his head, but with Lin's presence the thought snapped back into his mind. But seeing Mai's tired, contented expression, he couldn't bring himself to raise the topic. When had he last seen her without worry etched into her brow? For once, he thought, she looked sleepy-tired, not run-ragged-tired.
It can wait until after dinner, he told himself. We'll talk about it then.
While Lin prepared tea, Gene stood behind her and began rubbing her shoulders gently. "Relieved to be done?" Her body stiffened at first under his hands, then began to relax as he gently dug his thumbs into her tense muscles.
"Yeah." She let out a long exhale, slumping as her body relaxed and dropping her head forward. "I suppose I should be proud of myself. I didn't feel very motivated, honestly, to study and get good results. But I'm sure I did better than last time."
"I'm sure you did." He could feel her shoulders were tight and he began to knead, hoping to relax her. "You should be proud."
Lin placed the steaming cup of tea in front of Mai, who cupped her hands around it and inhaled the steam but did not raise the cup to drink just yet. She waited until Lin had left the room, raising her head and listening for the sound of his footsteps down the hall and the creak of a bedroom door opening and closing again.
"Gene?" She ventured. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course. Anything, always."
"Do you think it's worth it? Studying, getting good marks on exams and all that?"
Gene's hands stilled for a second, caught off guard by the question.
"I mean, I know Naru would say it is," Mai groaned, putting her head in her hands. "I don't know. I go back and forth. Sometimes I think I should try to do better than last time, get into a better university, get a better degree. Make a better future for myself. But sometimes…" her voice trailed off.
"It seems kind of pointless?" Gene asked, a smile twitching his lips.
"Yeah. I say better future but I don't really know what that means." Mai sighed, finally picking up the cup of tea and taking a sip. As she did so, Gene noticed the tenseness which had returned to her shoulders moments ago began to dissipate again. "Maybe it's super presumptuous of me to think so. After all, that future isn't even guaranteed. All I can do is do my best for this one. And Naru won't hire me back for any work at SPR if I'm not qualified."
Gene snorted. "You are certainly qualified."
Mai laughed. "More than qualified to make his tea. You know what I mean."
Gene shook his head, dropping his hands from her shoulders as he moved around the table. He sat down across from her, leaning forward to gaze at her seriously. "And you're selling yourself short. I think you know that."
Mai held his gaze for several moments before a grin finally quirked across her face and she nodded. "Maybe I am."
"I think," Gene continued lightly. "That you put a lot of effort into studying this week, and you're in need of a break. So that's what we're going to do tonight. Put all of that behind us and have a nice dinner to move onto the next thing."
Forget tonight, Gene thought. If it was that important Noll would have told me already, would have used the bloody phone than try to rely on my side of the telepathy. Doesn't Mai deserve at least one night off?
After all, he reasoned, this was her only chance for a night off. He'd already set his alarm clock for the next day before dawn; they were meeting John and Yasuhara at four in the morning to drive the eleven hours to Etajima in Hiroshima prefecture. So much for a break. Maybe he'd made the wrong decision to take this case when he knew Mai's exams were coming up—maybe he shouldn't have scheduled it so soon after she finished.
"So, yes, to answer your question, I think it is worth it." Gene shrugged his shoulders. "But what do I know."
"Now who's selling themselves short?" Mai teased. She smiled as she lifted the teacup to her lips. "Thank you for the back rub. And talking some sense into me. You're right. I'm just.. worn out from this week. I feel a lot better now."
Lin returned to the kitchen then, having changed out of his work clothes. "Shall I set the table, Gene?"
"Oh – yes, please," Gene hopped to his feet and picking up a potholder from the kitchen bench, opened the oven to peek inside. "I reckon another ten minutes and this'll be done."
Gene's dinner turned out even better than he expected. Mai was genuinely delighted at his efforts and kept telling him so, much to his embarrassment. He'd had no intention to make it the subject of conversation, but once they sat down the topic inevitably turned toward their upcoming case and Mai asked Gene and Lin to outline the research they'd been able to compile during the week.
"We asked Kanegae to send through what information he could on the property—when the house was built, the orchard established, and made a basic timeline of how that fit into the family history." Gene tipped his head, gesturing to the other room. "You can take a look at my notes after dinner. There isn't much available from here, but we've learned a bit about the area in general, especially what happened during World War II. Being relatively close to Hiroshima, it shouldn't be a surprise the area was affected by the war. There was a naval base in the city of Kure, nearby, but there weren't any accounts relating back specifically to Okimi town because it didn't exist back then. I'm sure there are maps out there somewhere showing the boundaries of the two villages which merged into Okimi, but I couldn't find them in the Tokyo library."
Mai nodded. "I bet we could find that at the local Etajima library, or the municipal office."
"My hope is we can leave that to Yasuhara."
"Yeah. Yasuhara can take care of that for us." Mai grinned with another nod, but her expression grew serious and pensive. "Has anything happened in the past week since his interview?"
Gene shook his head. "No. At least not that Kanegae's let on—and I did ask he contact us if anything did."
"Oh." Mai sounded deflated. "Well—that's good, actually."
"What's bothering you, Mai?" Lin asked, before Gene could form the question.
Mai laced her fingers together. "I know I shouldn't think of it, but I can't help but wonder what happened last time. If SPR didn't exist to take this case, what happened to Kanegae-san, his mother and his sister?" Seeing Gene was about to protest, she shook her head quickly. "I know I shouldn't, and that we can never know the answer. I just feel like there's…" she paused, searching for the right word. "Important that we're missing. A really big piece of the puzzle. Even though we haven't even technically started the case. But I think it's important that he didn't come to SPR last time." Mai's voice trailed off and she shook her head quickly, contradicting herself immediately. "Forget it. I don't know why I keep thinking about it. It's nothing."
Gene glanced at Lin, who was watching Mai with a considered expression.
"It's nothing," Mai repeated, shaking her head again and forcing a laugh. She stood and picked up her empty plate. "Thank you for dinner, Gene, it was wonderful."
"Oh no you don't," Gene said quickly, hopping to his feet. "You're not about to clean up. So take a break and sit down." He steered her shoulders into the living room when she tried to protest. "Let me, Mai."
The words caused her pause and she smiled, acquiescing to his demand. "Okay. Thank you." She lifted her eyes hopefully. "Your case notes, then?"
"As you wish." Gene retrieved his backpack, rummaging through it to find the papers. When he'd found them, Mai had settled on the sofa. As he handed them over to her, he paused, reminded again of his conversation with his brother, fingers not releasing their grip on the papers as he placed them in her waiting hands. "Just one thing, actually."
"Of course, what is it?"
"Promise me you won't discount your instincts." Gene looked at her sternly, his voice dropping. "And you'll tell me. Because if you think we're missing something – then we undoubtedly are."
Mai pressed her eyes closed briefly, averting her gaze when she opened them. "I shouldn't have said anything," she muttered, lips turning down in a pout.
"If I'm missing something, you'll tell me," he repeated. "Promise me that."
"Gene—" Seeing his exasperation, Mai stopped and nodded. "Okay. I will."
He smiled, all seriousness evaporating from his face and he released the papers into her waiting hand. "Thanks."
Returning to the kitchen, Lin gave Gene a questioning glance but said nothing as the two did the dinner dishes and tidied up from the meal. When the last of the pots and pans had been washed, the dishes loaded into the dishwasher and leftovers packed into the refrigerator, the two returned to the living room only to find that Mai had fallen asleep on the sofa, Gene's papers still in her hands.
"Should I wake her?"
"Let her sleep." Lin turned to return to the kitchen and gestured for Gene to follow. He turned on the kettle and sat down at the table, motioning for Gene to sit as well.
"Naru rang me after you had left the office this afternoon." Lin began, without preamble. "He said he was going to talk to you?"
At this Gene closed the door between the kitchen and the living room, following Lin to the table.
"We spoke briefly. He didn't have a chance to tell me whatever it was that he'd intended to," Gene frowned. "What happened?"
Lin's face blanched. "Oh." He sighed and rubbed the space between his eyebrows with his fingers. "The fact is, I spoke with my grandmother the other day. Apparently she went to see him in London."
"What," was all Gene was able to manage at first, head spinning. All earlier thoughts that it couldn't be that important and it could wait seemed to echo back at him, mockingly, so outlandishly incorrect. "What did she find out in Morocco? And went to see Noll? Why would she…?"
"I was hoping Naru would have told you. It would be better coming from him." Lin exhaled slowly, lips twitching in what might have been a half-smile, half-grimace. "I'll be very honest with you, Gene. My grandmother did not like what she found in Morocco. When she and my father went to the cave of the djinn, what they found was a spiritual fingerprint which is exactly identical to Naru's. Aahil was there to confirm it."
Gene placed his hands flat against the table as if to steady himself. A thousand questions were running through his mind that he didn't know where to begin. "Hold on a second. What does that mean?"
Lin exhaled slowly. "That were I not able to vouch for Naru's whereabouts on that day, there is nothing that could convince my grandmother that it hadn't been him who was there. Because he was with me, she accepts the only alternate option, no matter how unlikely—that there is someone out there with an aura identical to Naru's. Something I would have thought impossible before."
Gene sat back in stunned silence. "But…" He shook his head. "So whoever consumed the djinn looks exactly like Noll? No, that's impossible. How? How is that even possible?"
"I would not have thought so before myself, either. Just as no two humans are alike, every human should have a unique, individual aura. But I trust Aahil. If that's what he's seen, then there is no other possibility."
Gene took a slow breath, mind leaping to the next conclusion. "No wonder Lin Hua wasn't happy. And if not for you being here, she would have thought Noll…" his voice trailed off, trying not to think what would have happened if Lin's family believed Noll had gone to Morocco to steal away the djinn from under their noses, the djinn they'd been watching over for years. A djinn Noll had learned about in the future, from Lin himself.
"So Lin Hua went to London to see Noll, and tell him this?" Gene asked.
"Yes. I gather my grandmother told Naru more or less what she told me."
Gene closed his eyes, dread seeping through his body. He did not want to think the next thought, but it came to him all the same. "An identical aura would mean identical abilities, right?"
"That is what I assume."
Gene wondered if Lin was thinking about the Yoshimi case, and what had happened the first time the SPR team had undertaken the investigation. The threat of his brother's abilities in the hands of a vicious, unbridled spirit had been very real. It would not have been dangerous just to the team, but the family, the town—perhaps all of Japan. After all, Naru had created something like a psychic black hole to turn time around. And to think there was another person out there, whose psychic energy was just as strong as Noll's—
Gene frowned, thoughts tripping over and interrupting himself. "But—identical means identical, right? So if someone has Noll's abilities they would also have his limitations? Noll doesn't have total use of his PK, he needs me to help channel his energy before he can use it—wouldn't this person then be the same?"
Lin tipped his head, considering. "Not necessarily. Naru's limits have more to do with the physical rather than anything else. Remember, it's only his body that can't handle his PK. And his control has gotten better with time. Depending on this person's training and background, they may not need their own spiritual energy refined in order to handle it the way you two do."
Gene dropped his head in his hands. "I don't understand. I would have thought a spiritual fingerprint or aura or whatever would reflect the psychic and the physical. Aren't they intertwined?"
Lin spread out his hands. "Once I would have thought the same, but now I don't know, Gene. I really don't."
Gene dropped his hands and lifted his head, fingers tapping restlessly against the table. "And why did your grandmother go see Noll? Just to tell him this in person?"
Lin's face contorted in an undisguised flinch. "My grandmother has decided it's her duty to keep this man away from her family."
"Whoever consumed the djinn, you mean. Yeah, I don't want to have anything to do with them, either," Gene muttered.
"The problem in that is if she cannot tell the two of them apart, any spells she cast would include Naru—which would be rendered essentially useless when I remain in close contact with him."
"Or prevent you from coming into contact with him ever again. But Lin Hua wouldn't—would she?"
"It is, I think, the one thing my grandmother didn't tell me." Lin sighed and shook his head. "And Naru wasn't very forthcoming about that aspect of their conversation, either. He didn't go into detail, but I can only imagine one outcome. One of my grandmother's talents lie in psychometry. He must have given her one of his personal memories in order that she exclude him from her magic."
Somehow, the revelation that Lin Hua was also a psychometrist didn't surprise Gene. And that Lin had waited to raise the topic until Mai had fallen asleep on the sofa now made a lot more sense.
"A memory of Mai, then."
Lin's face remained carefully stoic. "He didn't say."
"But that's the most likely, isn't it. Something personal to him and him alone."
Lin gave a short nod.
That Lin Hua had somehow needled her way in between them, had taken something so personal and precious to Noll irritated Gene more than he expected. "So Noll hasn't told Mai any of this, either. He said he hadn't spoken to her in a few days."
Lin's shoulders slumped and he smiled bitterly. "It must be foolish of me, but I didn't want to spoil our dinner with this. The timing is all a bit difficult. I suppose I was hoping that having this conversation first would help. That it might be easier. This is…" Lin paused, searching for the right words, and Gene could see how exhausted the other man was.
"This is difficult for me, Gene. I would trust Naru with my life—I do trust Naru with my life. I have known him for a good part of my life and nearly half of his. And for my grandmother to make this accusation against him, to not trust him as I do—how could she? It is his fingerprint in the cave, evidence pointing that he—or someone who looks exactly like him—is the one who consumed the djinn. It would be different if we knew where this other person went when they left Morocco, but they can find no trace of them. How can my grandmother not doubt that somehow Naru has tricked me, tricked us?"
"You know Noll, he wouldn't—"
"I do," Lin interrupted. "I do know him. But my grandmother does not. I am not telling you this because I doubt him, only for you to understand that it would be impossible for others not to. And I have also seen what Noll can do. I understand better than anyone else—even better than Naru—what it means that he has a doppelganger. And what it means if this person is out there, seeking energy to consume, like some perverse living kodoku curse."
Gene felt a chill run up his spine. The drum of something like a heartbeat, felt but not heard, pulsing through empty hallways. The unheard scream of a boy's spirit, echoing through the building as he was devoured by another much larger than he. He did not have memories exactly of the kodoku curse case, but instead an indistinct, vague but somehow extremely unpleasant recollection of a time which had not come to be.
And then he thought of Noll, Noll in the place of the boy's spirit. Sought by another, just like him, seeking his abilities.
Lin rose to his feet, taking a teacup and the tin of loose-leaf green tea down from the shelf. The kettle had come to a boil and shut off again without Gene even noticing. Lin's face was dark and deep in thought as he prepared his cup, glancing up and motioning wordlessly to ask if he should prepare one for him as well, but Gene shook his head.
"Did Noll say he was going to talk to Mai?" Gene questioned. His brother had indicated he wouldn't pick up if he were to call, but now he was wondering if he should try to connect the line all the same.
"He asked if we could talk to Mai in his stead." Lin sighed and leaned back against the counter. "I disagree, but I understand his reasoning. Because it is my grandmother, and because all of this concerns him. So that we could discuss it freely."
It seemed like a cop-out, Gene thought, but he could understand the reasoning. "Lin Hua still doesn't trust him, you said."
Lin shook his head, lifting the tea strainer from the cup and tapping it gently to shake out the last drops. "Perhaps more so because he was willing to give her one of his memories, but I know my grandmother. She does not have much trust in others. Those outside our family. There is only one thing I think Noll could do to make her trust him."
Gene frowned. "What's that?"
Lin was silent again for a long time. "To find who did this." He said simply. "Proving it is not he who did. And then to stop him. She requested as much of him."
Gene laughed nervously. "You can't be serious—" And yet, he knew Lin was utterly so.
Lin looked at the tea in his hands. "It is unfair," he began quietly. "For my grandmother to place this burden upon him. Upon you. Upon us. And for her to walk away. I understand that."
He looked up and met Gene's gaze, his visible eye serious and unflinching. "But I am not going to walk away, Gene. It is not something Naru has to do alone. I will stand by him and help in whatever capacity I am able. I will stay here with you and run SPR, I will continue to train Mai. I will help him find his doppelganger. And if it came to it, if this man is truly as dangerous as my grandmother thinks he is, I would give my life if it meant Naru could stop him. I don't say that lightly."
"Why?" Gene managed, his mouth dry. "Why would you…"
"Why?" Lin repeated, and a chuckle escaped from his lips, lifting his shoulders in an almost imperceptible shrug. "Because it is the right thing to do. Because I have to. And because I understand the consequences of inaction." Lin kept Gene's gaze in his own, his expression deadly serious. "If Naru cannot stop him, there may not be anyone who could."
"What do we tell Mai?" Gene finally asked, eyes drifting to the closed door, knowing that Mai slept peacefully in the other room. "Surely we can't tell her now…?"
Lin paused, considering as he lifted the cup to drink. "Tomorrow morning," he decided. "I'll talk to her after our qigong session." His usually stern face softened. "Otherwise she won't sleep tonight."
Gene nodded, silently wondering if Lin had consigned him to a sleepless night. "And what do we do now?"
"We go to Etajima," Lin replied simply. "And move forward with the case."
Gene nodded again, a glum, reluctant feeling settling in his stomach. He knew Lin was right. After all, what else could they do? And yet—their case in Etajima was now the last of his worries.
…
It was that night, long after his conversation with Lin and he'd gone to bed, that Gene dreamed.
He blinked, eyes focusing in an unfamiliar setting. In the murky darkness of the dream he could see he was in a bedroom. It only took a moment for him to orient himself in the room and to realize he wasn't alone.
He stood in the corner, next to a double bed and the two sleeping figures that occupied it. Mai slept on one side of the bed and Noll on the other, the two back-to-back, facing away from each other. The curtains in the room were drawn, but enough light slipped through the gaps to illuminate their faces. Even though he stood between Mai and the moonlight, he did not cast a shadow over her as she slept.
Mai suddenly whimpered in her sleep and Gene bit his lip, a tightness spreading across his chest at the familiar sound. He knew the sounds of a nightmare too well, recognised them immediately. Unable to stop himself, he reached down and smoothed her hair gently against her head. "Mai," he whispered. "It's all right. It's only a dream."
She stirred and blinked blearily into the darkness. "Naru," she whispered. And with a shuddering intake of breath, she began to cry.
His brother awoke immediately, rolling over and placing his hand on her shoulder. "Mai," he soothed in a quiet voice.
"He was here," Mai managed hoarsely, covering her face in her hands as she began to sob. "He was just here."
Even in the darkness he could see his brother's expression become pained, holding onto a wound that would not heal. He watched as he hugged her tightly, cradling her head in his hands and pressing his lips against her scalp. "It was just a dream, Mai. Just a dream."
With those words Gene awoke with a start, transported from one bedroom to another.
What was that?
He was covered in sweat and his body felt like a furnace. Pushing off the covers, he pulled his shirt over his head, wiping at his damp chest with the fabric before throwing the shirt in the direction of the laundry basket. Sinking back into the bed, he covered his face with trembling hands.
It was still early. From between his fingers he could see light coming in through the window blinds, but it was the cold white light of the city and not yet the warm glow of an approaching sunrise. Tilting his head he glanced toward the closed door. There was just the faintest line of light underneath: light not from the hall but further away, either the kitchen or the living room. Lin would be up, then. Gene rolled onto his side, eyes landing on the bedside clock. Mai would be with him. It was earlier than their normal qigong practice sessions, but it had to be if they were to get one last training session in before they left for Etajima. Mai had insisted, knowing they wouldn't have the chance during the case.
The heat left his body as Gene rose to his feet and he took a fresh shirt from the dresser, pulling it over his torso. Opening the door to the hall, he tread quietly toward the main rooms. He could hear Lin's voice from the living room, quietly coaching as he took Mai through the qigong exercises. Gene had gotten used to waking up to this sound. Lin must enjoy it, he knew—otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to the morning session when they had to drive ten hours to Hiroshima today.
The kettle was hot so he made himself a cup of instant coffee. Spoon in hand as he stood there in the kitchen, Gene listened to Lin's voice drifting from the other room. Gene's lips twitched as he heard Lin remind Mai to focus on her breathing, his mind wandering to the few times he'd joined Noll's morning qigong training with Lin. Gene, steady your breathing. Don't allow distractions to enter your mind. As soon as a distraction appears you must return your focus to your breathing. Inhale, exhale. Gene, focus.
Gene snorted aloud. What were Martin and Luella thinking, having Lin try to teach a couple of ten year old kids how to meditate? It was ridiculous, even if it worked for Noll. But Noll hadn't really much of a choice in the matter, without learning qigong his PK would destroy him. He frowned, considering the parallel that Mai had only started learning qigong as prevention from her absorbing loose psychic energy. On first impressions Mai and Noll might appear to be total opposites, but they had almost parallel circumstances—not to mention the same determination and willpower.
Gene took his cup with him as he returned down the hall to his bedroom, leaving the light off as he went to the window and pulled back the blinds. The night sky was illuminated from the city beneath it and he could see heavy clouds stretching into the distance, like it might begin to rain any moment. He closed his eyes and held the coffee under his nose, inhaling the scent deeply to ground him in his own body even as his mind began to wander, wandering back to the dream. Whatever it was, he had the distinct feeling he would not understand its importance for some time, but that didn't stop him from trying.
Was it a vision or a premonition? There wasn't any uncertainty to that fact, even as the details of the dream began harder and harder to retrieve. The question was, was that something from before? Or something that would have happened before? Mai and Noll had never lived on their own together and that room hadn't been in Martin and Luella's house. Or was it something that could happen—would happen—in this future? Was it related to his conversation with Lin from the night before, the revelation of Noll's doppelganger in the Moroccan desert? But Mai had seen his spirit—or reacted in such a way that meant she'd thought she'd seen him. Did that mean his own life was still uncertain?
Gene's fingers curled around the coffee cup as he clutched it tightly with both hands and he found himself focusing on his breathing. No. Noll had saved him from a solitary death in the Nagano countryside and he was grateful for every extra moment he had. So incredibly grateful he hadn't left Noll like that, grateful he'd been able to meet Mai as another living human being rather than as the shadow of what once was. Grateful but he took it for granted. How could he not live his life, assuming he'd always just stay by their side?
He didn't want to die again. An unbearable ache had begun to spread across his chest and he reached out for his brother. Noll, he called, sending his thought across the void, searching for the warm light that was his brother's presence. Are you there? But the line was dark and silent. There was no reply and he was left with an empty, lonely feeling.
He took a deep breath and shook his head to himself. No. Why else see the dream but to change the future? If he'd seen his death in that hit-and-run before it happened he would have prevented it himself and save Noll all the trouble. Not that he would have ever thought he could die before, but death had a way of knocking the unshakable immortality of youth and turning it on its head. All he had to do was pinpoint whatever it was that would lead to his death—
"Gene? You're up?"
He opened his eyes and turned to see Mai standing tentatively at the open door.
"Oh, you've finished, then?"
She bobbed her head in a nod but her smile was uncertain, as if somehow she knew what he'd been thinking about. "I thought you must be up.." her voice trailed off. There were reasons why: she could have seen the coffee he'd left out, or noticed a cup missing from the cupboard—not to mention with their imminent departure to the case, of course he would be up. But more likely she had just known, she'd probably just had a feeling he'd woken up just as he sometimes had a feeling when she was on her way to the office after school even when he'd lost track of time.
"Are you okay?"
Her question caught him off guard and he must have stared at her blankly before the forced grin found its way to his face. She'd asked him the question he couldn't even bring to ask himself. "Of course." She didn't look convinced at his charade. Of course she wouldn't be fooled, he thought, remembering how she and Noll first met. She'd always known. He sighed and walked across the room to meet her at the door, knowing she wouldn't enter his room. "Sorry. I didn't sleep very well so I'm kind of out of it."
She looked at him dubiously, sensing his lie, but thankfully didn't press the subject. A wry grin lifted her lips. "I suppose that makes two of us."
"Not—" Not a dream of that man again, he wanted to ask.
She understood anyway. "No, no, nothing like that. I couldn't sleep." She waved her hands quickly, trying to dissuade his worry. "I just get nervous before a case. I always do." She tilted her head, lips pursing as she studied him. "You're not worried about.. about Naru's look-alike, are you? Lin told me everything this morning."
"Of course I am." Gene exhaled a nervous laugh. Maybe he was reading too much into the dream. Was it only mulling over that conversation which had set him off? "You're not?"
"Well," Mai tipped her head back and forth. "It's important, isn't it? So I'm glad we know. Knowing, we're in a better place than we were before."
"Sounds like Noll is rubbing off on you."
"I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear that." Mai gave him a sheepish grin. "Trust me, I didn't think that at first! Meditating probably helped." She frowned, fingers absently twiddling with a loose thread on the hem of her jumper. "It scares me," she admitted, averting her gaze. "We all know how strong Naru is. I understand that now, more than ever before. And I also understand now his constraint. So the fact he has a look-alike, someone who has the same kind of power he does…" She bit her lip, shaking her head from side to side. "I don't like it. But I know I can't dwell on it too much. Because right now, we have a case to focus on. They're counting on us."
Gene nodded slowly, knowing she was right. And Noll would say the same thing. "Right now, the case is our first priority. It's what we have to do."
Mai nodded vehemently. "Yeah. It is, isn't it." Her face relaxed as she smiled at him, quelling some of the worry that had settled in his stomach. "Lin took some stuff down to the car, I'm sure he'll be back soon. We should get ready to go."
"Yeah. Just let me.." Gene ran his hand through his hair and realised he was still wearing the sweat pants he'd slept in. "Just give me a minute."
"I've still got to pack up some stuff in the kitchen," she said, voice drifting as she disappeared down the hall. "And we've got time before we go to pick John and Yasuhara up, there's no rush."
Gene closed the door and dressed, all the while unable to shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Something just felt off—or was it just one of the after-effects of the dream? He often felt strange after waking, whether it was exhaustion or nausea. But today... today he just felt as though he wasn't who he was when he'd gone to bed the night before. As if he'd closed his eyes and woken up in another time and place. At this thought he rubbed his face with his hands. Ridiculous, he scoffed. Maybe he should meditate too. His mind was in such a jumble he wasn't even sure what he was thinking.
Deciding not to dwell on the matter, Gene put the thought out of his mind. It was not long before Lin returned and they packed up the van, and then they were off—their first destination to pick up John and Yasuhara, who would be joining them on the case. Mai had had the foresight to make sure the two met during the week. It was only then, seeing the two clamber into the back of the van—John cheerful but quiet, Yasuhara bleary-eyed after his own harrowing week of exams—that Gene was grateful they didn't have to make introductions.
Mai had followed the other two and climbed into the back, so Gene sat in the front passenger seat as Lin started the vehicle. They hadn't been driving for more than ten minutes when he glanced behind him to see that both Mai and Yasuhara had fallen asleep. Gene couldn't help but smile, turning his gaze forwards again. "Feels just like old times, doesn't it?" he murmured, reaching forward to turn on the radio, volume set low. How many times had Lin been in this position, only with his brother sitting here instead of him? Too many to count.
"Yes," Lin agreed unexpectedly. They could see the clouds break in the distance, a strip of clear sky above the horizon. The sun was just beginning to rise, the clouds overhead glowing pink and orange and lighting the road before them. "It does."
…
It was a long drive to Etajima, but despite the monotony of the road Gene enjoyed the ride. The map indicated about ten hours from Tokyo to Hiroshima city, plus another hour or so to the city of Kure and finally the bridge over to the island. They'd been driving south on the Tomei Expressway for about an hour when Mai and Yasuhara woke, and the group passed around onigiri and apple slices, sweet bean-filled breads and convenience store pastries.
Once awake, Yasuhara was back to his usual self and with a captive audience, was eager to talk to John about Australia. The topic remained the subject of conversation as they passed first through Kanagawa and then Shizuoka Prefecture, with Mai chiming in with questions every so often about his home country. Gene turned the radio up when a particularly catchy song came on, both Mai and Yasuhara singing along. It was almost like a family car-trip, Gene thought—almost, except they were on their way to a case, not on holiday, and this family was made up of a spiritualist, a Catholic exorcist, two high school student investigators and a medium. It was really too bad Takigawa hadn't been able to join them and add to their credentials.
Yasuhara and John's discussions continued even after they had exhausted their first topic. Mai dozed in her seat and didn't wake even when they stopped for fuel, the rest of them taking a break to stretch their legs before they got back on the road. John took a turn driving so Gene moved to the backseat, allowing Lin with his long legs the seat with the most leg room. Yasuhara drifted back to sleep while Lin and John spoke about the case in the front, Lin directing questions back toward Gene every so often.
All the while Mai continued to sleep. Gene felt the dullness of the drive and the sound of the car begin to press against his eyelids and he struggled to stay awake, but eventually his eyes stayed closed and the voices drifted further and further away.
Where before there was nothing but darkness, all of a sudden he was on a deserted road, flat and empty before him as it followed the edge between water and land. He walked on the edge of the pavement, all but touching the steel guardrail that separated him from the sudden drop toward the narrow, rocky beach below. Across the channel, he could see blue-green mountains, rising hazily in the distance. There were several distant boats in the bay and close to the shore there were long stretches of metal frameworks erected in the shallow water. Aquaculture? He wondered. Some kind of farmed shellfish, perhaps, exposed with the low-tide.
Where am I?
Then he saw Mai on the street in front of him and he called out, hurrying toward her.
Or was it? She was wearing a different school uniform. Was her hair longer, too? He shook his head as if to clear his vision, but when he opened his eyes again it was both Mai and Not-Mai, Mai masquerading as someone else, someone else borrowing her likeness.
Something about seeing her here made him angry. He couldn't explain it. She wasn't supposed to be here, she should be studying for her exams. The nerve of her, playing hooky when they all worked so hard to put her in that damn private school—
But Mai had already finished her exams, a quiet part of him reminded himself, but was forgotten just as quickly.
"What are you doing here, this time of night?" He growled, grabbing her arm when she didn't stop, yanking her around to face him. "You should be at home, or at cram school—"
Cram school? Gene thought. When had Mai gone to cram school?
But she had ripped her arm away from his grip, eyes burning a glare into his own. Leave me alone! What do you care where I am? It's none of your business!
"You know damn right it's my business," he snarled. The anger in Gene's voice surprised him, and must've scared her, too—she flinched, before narrowing her eyes at him contemptuously.
I don't care! I hate you! the girl, Not-Mai screamed. You can go and die for all I care!
And then Not-Mai began to run. He chased after her, easily keeping pace. Reaching for her arm, he swung and grabbed her long ponytail by mistake, yanking her backwards. There was no one on the deserted road to see her stumble and as he pushed her to the ground.
Stop it! Shesobbed, face twisting in pain and tears filling her eyes. The sight of her halted Gene in his tracks, releasing her and stumbling backwards.
She was on her feet in an instant, running again, and this time he did not follow her. I hate you! I wish you were dead!
And then the road was empty.
What was that?
Gene was then fully aware he was dreaming. He no longer stood next to the sea, but on a winding road through dark forest, the dusky sky just visible behind the black silhouettes of bare, snaking branches of the trees. Turning his head, hairs raising on the back of his neck, Gene knew that the woman who had killed him was on her way, her reckless driving careening toward him and while he might know it was coming, there was nothing he could do to get out of the way—
He did not feel the impact this time, but closed his eyes, willing it to be over.
This didn't happen, he reminded himself, sinking into the depths of the lake. This never happened. I might remember but that doesn't make it real—
The light was drifting further away. He could hear voices, then. The comforting sound of laughter. As if he could open a door and find them on the other side—
Yasuhara and Mai were laughing.
Gene opened his eyes, finding himself back in the van, the steady sound of wheels on the highway a low, constant drone. Above that sound, Mai and Yasuhara were laughing so hard they were gasping for breath. John sat in the front passenger seat, Lin driving once again. Gene saw Lin's eye in the rear view mirror flick toward him before returning his gaze to the road.
"You've got to be kidding me," Yasuhara gasped between guffaws. "There is no way a bird sounds like that! It sounds like a monkey—"
"Absolutely," John said, a bit of mirth in his eyes. "The Wizard of Oz actually used kookaburra calls for the flying monkeys. Could be where the stereotypical 'monkey' sound comes from."
"No way!" Mai turned in her seat, seeking out Gene's eyes. "When we went to the zoo, do you remember what the monkeys sounded like?"
Meeting her gaze, Gene felt his entire body twitch, the girl from his vision suddenly one and the same as Mai.
I hate you! the girl's screams echoed in his mind. Leave me alone! You'd be better off dead!
"No," he said slowly, willing himself back into the present moment. "I don't remember."
If Mai noticed the strangeness of Gene's demeanour, she didn't show it, and had turned back to John again. "That's so funny! Don't tell me there are other crazy bird calls in Australia!" Seeing the look on his face she drew in an excited breath. Gene was only half surprised that John was so good at this—he'd captivated both Mai and Yasuhara's attention completely. "What else?"
"Well," John continued seriously, "the Australian raven sounds like a sheep."
"A sheep?" Yasuhara sputtered, and cracked up. "Like – baa – that kind of sheep?"
"Baa-aah," John imitated, and the three in the backseat began to laugh. Gene couldn't help himself, feeling the vestiges of the vision begin to slip away as he joined in. Even Lin, Gene could see, had cracked a smile, although their driver's eyes remained steadfast and focused on the road before them.
"Amazing, I never knew that Australian bird calls were your hidden talent, John," Mai managed, wiping her eyes. "I mean—never would have thought that anyone could have that hidden talent—"
"Just practice, I suppose," John shrugged, a sheepish smile on his lips. "Something my brother and I would do to pass the time, waiting to be picked up after school. We'd try to get the birds to answer us in the park."
"Please tell us you've got more," Yasuhara said, both hopeful and incredulous.
John thought for a moment. "I haven't done this in ages. Hold on," he paused, as if mentally focusing himself, and began to make a strange cooing, warbling sound.
"Australian magpie," he explained sheepishly, after their stunned silence.
Yasuhara began to clap. "Bravo, John, Bravo!"
….
Gene had been quiet for the rest of the drive, his face pensive and serious as he gazed out the window. Mai frowned, chewing on her lip, wondering if it was the case—was he simply anxious, like she, with the added burden of comparing how he handled himself to his brother? Or was it the situation with Naru's look-alike? She knew it was weighing heavily on all of their minds, but Gene had looked much lighter after their conversation that morning. When he'd said they needed to put it out of their minds and focus on the case, she'd thought he'd really meant it.
Or was it something else entirely? Mai furrowed her brow, not knowing where to take this thought. She could only hope Gene would confide in her. She didn't want to keep pushing the issue and make him uncomfortable, but she didn't want him to worry over anything by himself.
Mai snapped to attention when she saw the white bridge that crossed the water from the mainland to the island, realising they were almost at their destination. From the front seat, John was giving directions. The fact that John had shared the driving and was now helping Lin navigate made Mai doubly grateful the priest had accompanied them on the case. With only one case together so far she'd been surprised at first he'd accepted the offer, until Lin pointed out that John could very well suspect Naru to be Oliver Davis and Gene his twin, and wanted to know the truth for himself.
While Lin had a point, Mai didn't think curiosity was the sole reason John agreed to take on the case. John hadn't said anything that he suspected their true identities, but he did know the brothers were British and that the two were using assumed names—in fact since Yasuhara had taken calling Gene by his name, rather than Ichirou, John had done the same. Naru had let it slip on the Murata case, after all. Surely John had heard of the esteemed Davis brothers before. Like Takigawa, it was possible John assumed Oliver Davis would be an adult, but what he'd encountered of the twins so far would surely point him in the right direction.
It doesn't matter if John knows, Mai thought firmly to herself. Naru was so secretive before. But he doesn't have to be this time. Yasuhara won't, John wouldn't break their confidence—even Takigawa could keep their secret if we asked him. Martin and Luella might not like it, but they don't know them the way we do.
As the car ascended the bridge, Mai suddenly felt alert, tense, and excited all at once. Her heart rate increased, the adrenaline of the upcoming case coursing through her veins. Of course they couldn't say yet for sure, or what they were going to find, but Mai just knew the root of the cause and their client's troubles was supernatural, and something SPR had to resolve.
"We're here," Mai whispered to herself, the van crossing the last of the bridge girders to the road on the other side. Behind her, Gene placed his hand gently on her shoulder, squeezing gently.
The van followed the road along the coast, dark outlines of the distant hills rising out of the ocean, deep blue in the late afternoon light. The tide was high and as they drove Mai noticed wooden posts in the shallow water, staking out the regular plots of oyster beds.
"I feel like I've been here before," Gene muttered, so quiet that Mai didn't think Yasuhara next to her would have heard him.
Passing through a village, the vehicle began to drive up the winding road of the hillside. Passing through a tall, dense bamboo grove, the road suddenly turned and opened out onto a terraced valley, both hillsides cultivated and covered in trees. As far as she could see, mikan citrus trees—or at least she assumed. The fruit had been harvested months ago, and it was still too early for the trees to blossom.
"Wow," Mai breathed. She'd known the family was a citrus producer, but seeing all the trees was another thing entirely.
"I'm no statistician, but I bet it's a 100% chance we'll have mikan for breakfast, mikan for lunch, mikan for dinner." Yasuhara quipped beside her.
"Complaining?" Gene asked, a wry grin on his face.
"No, boss, never," Yasuhara replied, just as cheerfully.
"Yasuhara-san—" Gene began, but the other boy interrupted him just as quickly.
"I know, I know. Lin-san is the real boss." He winked. "But you're my boss too, aren't you? This is only my first case. I'll be in your service. Please take good care of me."
And the car turned and began to make its way up the driveway, the house looming into view. Kanegae Yuuto was waiting for them outside. He looked tired, Mai thought, but not that much worse for wear than when they'd seen him the week prior.
Lin parked the van, the occupants climbing out before the engine had even turned off. Three dogs ran to greet them, circling the party excitedly and rising up on their hind legs to press their noses into open palms. "Down," Kanegae said firmly, and while the dogs' front paws remained steadily on the ground, the command did nothing to stop the ferocious wagging of their tails, which slapped against shins and knees as they manoeuvred through the group.
Their client raised his hand in greeting. "Lin-san, so good of you to come." He nodded toward Gene and Mai in turn. "Shibuya-san, Taniyama-san. Thank you for being here."
"Let me introduce John Brown, a Catholic priest," Lin said, gesturing to the other members of their party. "And Yasuhara Osamu, who will be assisting us."
Kanegae bowed to each in turn. "Nice to meet you." He tipped his head. "Thank you again for coming. Please, come inside. I'd like you to meet my mother and sister. "
The party followed him up onto the wooden veranda, leaving their shoes and the excited dogs behind as they entered the old house.
It was exactly as Mai would have imagined an old farmhouse. Knowing some history behind its construction had set an image in her mind beforehand, but it was uncanny how well it fit the picture in her head. The main room was filled with all sorts of items without being overly cluttered. Countless books stacked on shelves lined the walls, old magazines and volumes of comics. Old and new tools and various implements were scattered about. Clocks and posters and old scrolls on the wooden plank walls, the surfaces darkened with decades of soot from an open hearth.
Two women, Yuuto's mother and sister, sat on cushions on the wooden floor. A low table was positioned near the centre of the room, set with teacups and a steaming pot, and just as Yasuhara'd predicted – a basket of mikan fruit at its centre.
"Please, have a seat. Can we offer you a cup of tea?"
As they sat down, the sister poured cups of tea, passed around by Yuuto as he began the introductions. "My mother," he began.
"Kanegae Kimiko," the older woman said, bowing politely with hands on the mat in front of her. Mai tried to remember exactly how old she was—she appeared to be in her early fifties, but Mai knew appearances often deceived. Kimiko wore thin-rimmed glasses, her grey hair cut short and set in an old-fashioned style.
"And my sister, Makiko."
"Thank you for coming," setting the last cup in front of John, Makiko repeated her mother's bow. Mai remembered the age of Yuuto's younger sister, who was twenty-four–the same age she would have been, had she not been involved in the accident on the street corner which led to Naru turning time around again. Makiko's long hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail, and in contrast to the old-fashioned, floral blouse of her mother, wore a flannel shirt with sleeves rolled up to her forearms.
Mai frowned as she looked at the woman closely. In contrast to her brother, who looked tired, Makiko looked haggard. Mai bit her lip, glancing between Gene and Lin, wondering if they'd noticed this as well.
Yuuto introduced Lin as the head of SPR, who then introduced each member of the team in turn. Yuuto must've mentioned their ages, as neither seemed surprised by the presence of high schoolers undertaking a supernatural investigation.
"Thank you for you entrusting this case to us," Lin said, bowing after the introductions had been made. "Kanegae-san has explained the situation and we will do our utmost to investigate and resolve the problem."
"Yuuto's explained what you do, but…" Makiko's voice trailed off as she glanced between them. "What exactly is it that you do?"
"We'll begin with physical observations. If we can detect and identify the cause, we will be in a much better place to deal with it, whatever it may be."
Makiko shivered slightly, glancing at her brother questioningly. Mai frowned at the look which passed between them, but neither moved to speak.
"How will you deal with it?" Kimiko asked, looking at Lin over her glasses.
"It depends on what we find," Lin said. To Mai, the words sounded rehearsed, she'd heard a version of this explanation so often. "Once we determine the root cause, the type of supernatural activity will determine our next steps. So, for example, if we can identify a spirit, we will first make all efforts to cleanse so that it might pass peacefully of its own accord."
"And if it is not peaceful?" Kimiko asked sharply.
"Then exorcism, to force it to go." Lin said plainly.
Glancing between the children, Mai saw Makiko's shoulders droop slightly. In sadness? Or relief? Mai frowned, unsure what to make of it.
Kimiko frowned, her line of questioning not yet finished. "And how do you determine what you find? Our testimony isn't sufficient?"
"We'll need more than accounts of the sighting to help us identify exactly what is happening." Lin continued smoothly. "As you've only seen the apparition outside, we will first conduct as much surveillance from inside the house as possible. To be sure nothing out of the ordinary is occurring inside, we'll monitor the indoors as well." Seeing Kimiko about to ask another question, Lin explained. "Primarily through temperature readings. At this stage, we're planning to only use video surveillance outside."
Kimiko nodded, placated. "Very well."
"I hope you don't mind if I interrupt to ask a few questions," Gene began, speaking for the first time. "We wanted to ask about the circumstances under which you've all seen the apparition. Have there been any occurrences that you've seen it at the same time?"
"No," Yuuto said slowly, looking between his mother and sister for confirmation. "We've never seen it at the same time. By the time we call out for one another, it's disappeared."
"Has it always been at dawn or dusk? And could you describe what it looked like, to you?"
"Initially, it was always at dusk, but lately we've seen the spirit before dawn as well," Yuuto said, and his mother and sister nodded in agreement. "I told you about the first time I saw it. I thought someone was in the orchard, one of the boarders. When I called out, it vanished. I never got a close look at them, it was always so dark and they were moving in the shadows. But I could see well enough to know there was nobody there."
"It happened a few times?" John asked, and Yuuto nodded.
"One of us would see it once every few days or so. And when we continued to see it after the boarders left, I knew it couldn't be one of them playing a prank on us."
"When did you last see it?"
Yuuto paused, considering. "A week and three days. Before I came to your office."
"Have either of you seen it since then?" Gene asked, turning his head toward Kimiko and Makiko.
"A few days ago," Kimiko supplied. "I got up when the dogs wouldn't stop barking. It was early morning, before dawn. I saw a light from the kitchen window."
"I saw it the day before yesterday," Makiko added. "I was sitting on the verandah with the dogs. I saw someone walking, between the orchard and the house," As she spoke, her voice became quieter and trembled. "Both Yuuto and Mother were still inside. The dogs growled and when Tama barked, they disappeared into the shadows. The moon was bright and I could see clearly. It was like they were never there."
"Do the dogs usually bark at night?" John asked.
Kimiko shook her head. "Before this, never. They are well-trained, well-behaved dogs."
Mai thought back to the excitement of the three dogs at their arrival. She might have disagreed with Kimiko's statement, but then remembered how despite their exuberance, none of the dogs had barked. Well-behaved—at least to Kimiko, it would seem—meant 'quiet'.
Gene nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you. That's all for now."
"Well then." Yuuto said abruptly, rising to his feet. "I'll show you your rooms upstairs, and then we can do a tour of the house."
As the house usually functioned as a guesthouse throughout the year, there were plenty of upstairs bedrooms for them to choose from, but Lin had arranged for three rooms. Lin and John, and Gene and Yasuhara would room together, respectively, and Mai had agreed to room on her own. She'd shared the room with Gene, Naru and Lin during the Murata case without thinking twice about it, but with John and Yasuhara's presence on the case she knew her sharing sleeping arrangements with either Gene or Lin would have aroused suspicion. The three had discussed at length and decided that the arrangement would only be if they were satisfied the only supernatural activity was outside, as their clients had said. Should there be any hint of a spirit roaming the halls, John would move in with Gene and Yasuhara, allowing Lin to share a room with Mai.
"As requested, we've emptied a room which you can use as your work area," Yuuto said, leading them to the base. The room he'd designated was once a storeroom on the first floor, which would be somewhat cramped but Mai was thankful they wouldn't have to carry up the equipment to one of the larger bedrooms on the second floor.
Once they'd toured the house, Yuuto took them on a short walk around the property. A short walking distance from the house were several sheds, one for vehicles and machinery used in the orchard, another for equipment, and another simply seemed to be full of old miscellaneous junk. Behind the sheds stood an old warehouse.
"It's usually walking from the house to the shed that I've seen it," Yuuto said, pointing away from the house, toward the orchard and the road. "And where the boarders said they saw anything."
"You only started seeing it from the house more recently, is that correct?"
"Yes. I can take you round the orchard if you want," Yuuto offered, "but it gets dark quickly and you won't be able to see much. We can leave the rest of the tour until tomorrow morning."
Lin nodded, the group looking up at the darkening sky. Dusk was starting to fall, and already the shadows under the trees seemed darker than they should be. Mai stood, listening. It was very still, with just the faint sound of wind through the distant bamboo groves. After hearing their clients talk about the apparition, Mai wondered if they might turn and see the spirit along the road. But the air was still, and there was nothing but shadows.
"It's getting late. We'll unload the van and set up base," Lin said, and the team got to work.
The equipment carted inside, the base room was too small for five people to work comfortably so Gene asked Mai and Yasuhara to go room to room, recording ambient temperatures.
"It sets a baseline, so to say," Mai explained as they went. "Supernatural phenomena often results in fluctuations of temperatures, so if we know what the so-called 'usual' temperature is, we'll be able to notice anything unusual right away."
"Is that right," Yasuhara hummed, and although his full attention was on the task at hand, didn't seem fazed by the reasoning behind it. "How'd you end up being a ghost hunter anyway, Mai?" he asked instead. "Working at SPR?"
Mai paused as she noted the temperature in the laundry, pretending to focus on getting the numbers right. The truth was the easiest, and the simplest, although what trouble might she get into if she divulged something which had not, in fact, actually happened? "Completely by accident!" she laughed, hoping the grin on her face didn't seem strained. "I knocked over one of Naru's—Kazuya-san's—cameras, and he made me work for him to pay it back."
"Sounds like a big scary boss," Yasuhara joked. "Don't tell me that was after you were already dating—"
"No," Mai interrupted, ears going hot. "He—um, I—that is…" she stammered, suddenly at a loss for words. "Our relationship has nothing to do with me working at SPR," she finished lamely, ears burning. Was that a lie? It bothered her that she didn't know.
"Of course," Yasuhara agreed easily, ignoring her discomfort.
Mai and Yasuhara had finished recording temperatures on the first floor and were passing down the hallway when they heard voices, drifting from the kitchen and carried well enough that they could clearly hear the conversation. Mai paused in her steps, about to signal to Yasuhara to do the same but the boy was already following her movements.
"Do you think they can even do anything about it?" It was Makiko's voice.
"I don't know, but what else can we do? We have to try something. We can't take boarders on with this continuing, you know we can't take the risk after what happened. But the orchard doesn't bring in enough on its own."
"I'll just have to find work in Kure or Hiroshima—"
"If that's what you really want," Yuuto's voice was cold. "Or are you just running away again?"
"I'm not running away," Makiko snapped. Then her voice wavered and broke. "Just why now? Why is this happening now, after ten years?"
"It's got nothing to do with that," Yuuto's voice was hushed, Mai could barely hear him.
Mai and Yasuhara exchanged glances and wordlessly, made their way up the stairs.
…
With John's help, setting up the base had gone much more quickly than Gene had anticipated. Tasking John with assembling the shelves for the monitors, Lin managed setting up the monitors, computers and cords, which left Gene to set up cameras on the covered verandah. Gene suspected it had a lot to do with Lin's own proficiency with the electrical equipment more than anything else, but dividing up the tasks meant the three had finished by the time Mai and Yasuhara returned.
"Good timing," Gene said, taking a seat on a cushion. "Yuuto just came by, dinner will be served in twenty minutes." He glanced toward Lin. "But might be worth a quick re-group before we head down."
"By all means," Lin agreed without looking up from the laptop.
"You've already got some cameras set up?" Mai asked, inspecting the monitors on the shelf, three of which were displaying dark, fuzzy images.
"We'll have to leave some until tomorrow morning, but we've got three on the verandah to record overnight." Gene said. "Lin's sure we've got enough cord to run to the nearest shed, but we'll want it to be under cover and out of the way. There's rain on the forecast, so better not to risk it." He turned his head toward Yasuhara as the other boy sat down next to him. "How're the indoor temperatures? Seem normal?"
"As far as I can tell," Yasuhara replied, passing him the notepad. "A little cooler upstairs, a little warmer in the kitchen. But otherwise the ambient temperature is pretty consistent across the house."
"What did you want to discuss, Gene-san?" John asked, following suit and taking a seat.
"Just to make sure that we ask any questions we might have about what we're doing. And relay anything new that may have come to light since we've been here." Gene nodded, fingers tapping absently together, waiting as Mai closed the door. "For instance, I think there's something that Yuuto and Makiko aren't telling us," he frowned, glancing at Mai and then between the rest of them. "You saw it too, right? I don't think it's deliberate in the way that they're withholding information—maybe they don't think it's relevant or there's some other reason."
"About that," Mai said, glancing between Yasuhara and Gene. "We overheard Yuuto and Makiko in the kitchen earlier." She relayed the conversation. "First of all, did Yuuto say anything about something happening to any of the boarders? I thought they stopped taking on boarders because having a spirit on your property isn't necessarily something you want to advertise. But maybe I missed something? The way they were talking, it sounded like something happened. I don't know—an accident or something. Maybe a close call."
Lin shook his head, frowning as he considered it. "Yuuto certainly didn't mention any particular incident. From what we've been told, it's been more of a nuisance, and there haven't been any adverse encounters with the likely spirit. Nor anything that happened ten years ago which might be relevant."
"What about the mother, Kimiko?" John asked.
Mai shook her head. "No, that look that passed between them was only Yuuto and Makiko. And besides, did you notice how exhausted both Yuuto and Makiko are? There's definitely something that's bothering the two of them."
Gene frowned, meeting Lin's gaze and then nodding seriously. "All the more reason, then, that we be careful. We don't know what we don't know."
"On that note, a word about safety," Lin said. "We are a relatively small team and I'd like to ask all of you to exercise caution," Gene thought he saw Lin's eyes rest on Mai a moment longer than the others. "I'd prefer if we always work in pairs, even during the day and certainly at night. We may not know exactly what we're dealing with yet – or even if it's dangerous – but I'd prefer we err on the side of caution."
"Yes, boss." Yasuhara said cheerfully, the others nodding and murmuring their assent.
Gene nodded. "As our first night, based on precedence we can expect it to be a little quieter. All the same, Lin and I will watch the monitors overnight."
"I'll take a shift," Mai said. Gene was about to protest, but she shook her head. "We can't have both of you staying up all night."
"I'm happy to as well," John added.
"Then that's that," Gene agreed. "We can decide on shift times after dinner."
"And what exactly comes next?" Yasuhara prompted. "You watch the monitors tonight, and tomorrow…?"
"Yuuto-san said he'd give us a tour of the orchard," John supplied.
"Plus, there's additional cameras to set up," Mai added.
"Our strategy will largely depend on what, if anything, happens tonight." Lin said. "We may have no other option but to hurry up and wait, so to say. The municipal office and library is closed until Monday, so any local research will have to wait until then."
"Presuming nothing happens, it'll be a good opportunity to speak with our clients and get a better picture of what's going on. Speaking of which—" Gene took a look at his watch. "We'd better make our way to dinner. I'm starving!"
"Here here," Yasuhara grinned, rising to his feet. "What do you reckon it'll be mikan?"
As John laughed, Mai leaned closer to Gene, meeting his gaze. "Have you…" Seen anything, her eyes questioned, even as she didn't form the words.
Gene shook his head. "No. Nothing. Although I'm looking forward to that tour tomorrow," he murmured. "Once we know our way around the place, I think I might have a bit of a wander."
"I'll come with you," Mai said, eyes twinkling and lips curling into a smile. "Boss's orders, we work in pairs, right?"
Lin, standing close enough to overhear the two, let out a sigh. "And what did I say about exercising caution?"
"Oh, but we wouldn't do anything but," Gene promised, giving Lin a thumbs-up simultaneously as Mai extended her hand to do the same. "C'mon, Lin. You know us better than that!"
….
A/N:
I'd like to express my utmost gratitude to the people who have encouraged me in my hiatus. I can't overstate how much I appreciate you, your time and your effort. I treasure your reviews and messages, even when I can't muster the energy for a response. Life and the Real World can be tumultuous so thanks for bearing with me.
And for some actual chapter notes. Can I just say, I have always liked entertaining the thought that John would be surprisingly good at mimicking bird sounds. And 'tis true – your old mate here fact-checked herself afterall – the call of laughing kookaburras was often used in older movie/tv to depict "jungle". For those of us who didn't grow up with it, it's a pretty wild, maniacal sound. And did Lin talk too much? Not only have I put him in the uncomfortable position of masquerading as the SPR boss, I put him smack in the middle of the Naru/Lin Hua drama and all resulting long conversations. (Soz not soz!)
And sorry to anyone who was hoping to get a glimpse of what Naru is up to. It's a bit inconvenient tbh that the two cases (Etajima and Worcestershire) are happening pretty much simultaneously (yes I thought it was a great idea at the time, and I take it all back.) For this one's sanity I think we're going to see a bit more of Mai and Gene in Japan than Naru and Madoka in England (plus the one in Etajima is a lot more interesting, trust me.) (And after the last chapter focusing more on Nacchan, I'm a little bit over him and his brooding.) Your thoughts? Am I being unfair? Let me know in your comments :)
Thanks for reading. Really going to try my hardest that the next update won't take half as long as this one did. Wild to think how it's a different world now than when I started this journey some (ten? hoo boy) years ago. And I'm a different person now than I was when I set out on this venture. It's been rough going sometimes, but despite it all it's remained a steadfast goal to finish what I started, no matter how long it takes. I love these little psychic babies afterall. Thanks for being here with me.
Hope you are all safe, happy, healthy, and well.
abbq