A/N:
And here we are with the resolution to case two, which I hope comes off as lovely on paper as I see it in my head. Answering readers questions from last chapter-
The end scenes are called stingers because that's one name for them in the movies. Another name is the post credit cookie, but since there are no credits, the name didn't seem to fit.
Thanks so much for all the reviews. Still working on a tablet via copy and paste, please forgive any formatting errors.
As always, not my sandbox just my sandcastle.
Refraction: Case Two Part Five
"Souls Like Fireflies"
"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." - credited to Albert Einstein
Mai looked around the bridge. Gene was leaning against the baulastrade, watching her.
The fireflies are back." She said, glancing around with soft wonder.
He shook his head. "Those are actually low level spirits attracted to the area because of the festival and the presence of the water god."
"All those light are spirits?" Mai asked in disbelief, staring out at the water again. "But the lights…they're so tiny. What's happened to them?" She had seen wandering souls before, but she remembered them as being larger.
"They're mostly wandering spirits. Those who passed unfulfilled, in all likelihood." Gene replied as she leaned against the rail next to him.
"So, they have unfinished business?" She asked, thinking hard.
"Not quite." Gene said thoughtfully. "A spirit with unfinished business is normally more…complete for want of a better word. These are simply spirits who passed with unfulfilled longings. For as long as there have been humans, there have been festivals of some sort. They often originate as a way of honoring the dead and helping spirits like these move on. But some, like this festival originated as a way to honor local deities instead. The spirits don't understand, of course. They are simply drawn to the festival, and than many linger here due to the presence of the water gods. It's soothing to them."
So if the water gods hadn't interfered, Ayako might hav been able to cleanse all these spirits…
"How do we help them? Or Tsubaki?" Mai asked. "I don't want them to get hurt because Bou-san has to exorcise them."
Gene looked thoughtful. "He would have to find a way work with the presence of the water gods, instead of against them." Gene said after a moment. "As for Tsubaki, she really does have finished business."
"She's waiting for her dad." Mai said thoughtfully.
"Work with the water gods?" Naru mused as Mai fed her fish.
She'd come in that morning to find an actual glass fish bowl on her desk, a present from. Bou-san. Naru had only rolled his eyes so she assumed that meant Chiaki was here to stay.
"But it won't be enough to help Tsubaki? Bou-san frowned. "I really hate the idea of having to exorcise a kid's spirit, but we may have no choice here, Naru."
"You can't!" Mai insisted. "What if we tried something else?"
Like what?" Lin asked, looking at her flatly.
"Well…how about a hitagata, like you did with Tomiko's mother? Could we fool Tsubaki into thinking her father has come? Maybe we could purify her that way?" Mai asked, desperate.
"Or we could just get the real thing?" Yasu asked, leaning against the doorframe with a triumphant smile.
"You found her father? And he's still alive?" Ayako asked in an impressed voice.
"Yes. He still lives in the same home."
"We'd better start there then." Naru said.
"There's one other thing." Yasu interjected, looking more serious. "I also tracked down Sergeant Irie. Or, that is, his story."
Mai felt her insides still.
"Why didn't he report Tsubaki's accident?" Ayako asked hotly. "She was just a little girl."
"It seems that he was in a rather acrimonious marriage, and his wife had taken a lover. When he found out, he beat the man rather badly. Though he wasn't fired from the force, he was demoted, and a harsh warning was issued. My guess is, he was afraid he'd be blamed for the girl's accident and punished because of his history of violence."
"So he hid her body, and joined the community search party specifically to point them the other way?" Ayako said, lip curling in disgust.
"Pretty much seems that way." Yasu said.
"So where's this guy now?" Bou-san asked.
"Seems he died of cancer a few years back."
"And Tsubaki has been stuck there at the park, waiting for her dad for more than twelve years. No wonder her spirit has begun to escalate." Masako murmured.
'I bet he passed right on, the jerk.' Mai thought bitterly. Then she shook her head. She couldn't get wrapped up in all that now.
Mai perched nervously on the edge of the couch in Tsubaki's living room.
"Relax, Mai." Naru commanded softly.
"We just told the man his daughter is dead, Naru. He might have still had hope she was alive." She hissed back, shifting in her seat again.
"Actually, I suppose I've known in my heart for some time that Tsu must be dead." Hirohito said, coming back into the room with a tray of tea. Mai could see drying tear tracks on his cheeks.
"At first, I really believe she had run away. Or maybe.." He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "Maybe that's just what I wanted to believe."
"After her mother died, I lost myself for a long time. I threw everything into my work. It just hurt so much to be in our home, or to look at Tsu. She looks…she looked so much like her mother."
"Sir, do you understand what we're telling you, about your daughter's spirit?" Naru's voice was purposefully calm, measured.
"That she's trapped at the summer festival? I suppose so. She loved that festival. She begged me to meet her there, but I just couldn't bring myself to. I thought she was so angry that she ran away. I would have deserved it. But you're saying I not only abandoned my daughter the night she died, but every summer since then. What kind of father am I?"
A part of her wanted to hate the man for leaving his daughter alone when she needed him so badly. But even if he was partly to blame for her death, what followed hadn't been his fault.
"Spirits don't have the same sense of time as we do. She may not even realize how long it's been." Mai said softly, placing a comforting hand on his arm.
"But you're saying you can't purify her spirit using normal measures because of the water shrine located in the park?" He looked at them with horrified eyes. "Does that mean she'll be trapped there forever?"
"Actually, if you are willing to help, we have a plan that might work." Naru said.
Mai looked around the festival.
It was the same and yet somehow different. The crowd had a different feeling to it, probably because of all the flyers the team had spent the day handing out. Well, the team members who hadn't been making paper boats.
She watched as an older woman approached Ayako. In her priestess robes, she was the epitome of grace and reassurance. They spoke for a moment, and then the woman handed Ayako a small photo. Ayako placed the picture in the boat, along with a small candle. The woman used the taper Ayako handed her to light the candle and then slowly walked over to the edge of the pond. Gently, she set down the boat and pushed it out to join the dozens of others already on the water.
It was beautiful, and heartbreaking.
"I have to hand it to Naru." John said from beside her. "It's pretty brilliant, actually. Handing out flyers at the local nursing homes and hospitals. People have come from all over the city to honor their loved ones. And the boats are are blessed by Ayako and Bou-san, so the water god should view it as a tribute, and not an assault."
"As a bonus, though the lingering spirits here in the park are unlikely to actually be the relatives of anyone who came tonight, the well wishes of the participants may be enough to cleanse some of them. They may also be able to move on tonight." Masako added from her other side.
Mai nodded silently. She had launched her own boat earlier, with her parents photos inside. She had no doubt her parents had moved on, but if her wishes helped another soul on its journey, it would make this whole case feel a little better.
The three of them watched as Tsubaki's father came forward slowly. He approached the bench where they had placed a photo of Tsubaki. Slowly, he placed a series of items on the bench.
A shaved ice, a stuffed goldfish, and a sparkler which Bou-san helped him light.
Tsubaki was finally having her memorial.
Mai watched as a girl in purple materialized behind the man. The rest of the crowd didn't appear to see her, but Masako's small gasp told her she had.
"Daddy?" The question echoed across the water, full of joy.
Slowly, the man approached the water with his boat. The spirit shadowed him, step by step. She was smiling ear to ear.
She knelt beside him, placing her hands over his as he gently pushed the boat out onto the water.
And then she was gone.
Mai smiled as a tear tracked down her cheek.
But inside, a tiny part of her raged.
It wasn't enough.
Mai wiped the sweat off her brow, wishing she hadn't agreed to wear the yukata again tonight. As beautiful as it was, it was difficult to clean up the ceremony site in it.
Still, that Naru had convinced the festival organizers to allow them to do the ceremony on the last night of the festival instead of the big firework show they had planned was a testament to his persistence.
She shoved another piece of paper into the trash bag she was holding, losing herself in her thoughts again.
There was a restless energy coiling inside her.
Tsubaki might have been satisfied with the candle ceremony, but Mai herself was struggling.
That poor girl had waited, with perfect faith, for a person she loved to show up, and he never had. What's worse, a police officer, someone she should have been able to count on for help, had increased her suffering tenfold by hiding her body.
It wasn't fair, and she was so sick of life being unfair sometimes.
"Are you alright Mai?" She and John were on the far side of the pond from the could see them across the water, and every now and then a stray word drifted across to them, but otherwise, it was quiet.
It was nearly dawn.
"It's not enough." She murmured, her hands clenching.
"Mai?"
"It's not enough. We didn't even find her body." She said, wiping an angry tear from her face.
John walked over to her, an alarmed look on his face.
"Mai, we went over this. Tsubaki didn't even seem to know where her body was, or you would have dreamed it."
"I know." She sniffed. "I know that. But I can't help it. I want to find her, John!"
"Mai, even Naru wasn't able to find her using his psychometry. Besides, she isn't really there anymore. Not now that her spirit has crossed over."
Mai knew that. She knew she was doing this for herself, and not Tsubaki.
And yet…
"I want to try and go a little deeper." The words slipped past her lips, gaining a life of their own in the early morning hush.
A little deeper….
To go to the place between thinking and feeling, that place she visited whisper-quick every time she made a drink before the person ordered it. The place that let her know a spirit's intentions at time.
It was like a merging between herself and her astral self, the part of her always connected to the spirit world.
"Mai, that could be dangerous. You might anger the water god." John said worriedly.
He didn't understand this part of her process as well as Yasu, since she did it seldomly.
Itwas dangerous to do it for more than a second or two. Her body was here but not her mind. She could walk into traffic, fall off a cliff, exhaust herself spiritually and physically…
Just for moment.
She slipped off her geta. If she tried to walk in them while sensing her surroundings instead of seeing them, she would break her neck.
"Mai, Naru won't like this." John cautioned her.
Well, there was currently a lake in between her and Naru soooo-
"I guess I'd better hurry then." She murmured closing her eyes.
She was at the edge of the water, and she pictured it in her mind's eye. She built it, layer by layer like when she had first created the tea shop. It was fuzzy and indistinct at first. She simply wasn't familiar enough with the park to recreate it in detail.
But even without her willing it, the details were beginning to sharpen and emerge, and that's how she knew she was treading the very thin line between reality and something more intangible.
"Mai.." John's voice was distant, and she ignored it. It wouldn't help her here. Gene wasn't here either though, which meant she really was in that linimal space between reality and elsewhere.
So.
What to look for? She had to believe that Tsubaki's body was close by. How would a police officer on foot take her far?
The lake then? It would make sense, since the water god could have shrouded the body from even Gene's senses.
She took a step forward, and then another. She felt cool water around her ankles, sludge between her toes. If she guessed wrong and angered the water god, this was going to hurt…
She heard distant splashing beside her.
John.
The others would have disrupted the quiet balance of the water the spiritual world. But even faithless John had a way of walking quietly, among the dead as well as living.
She felt something stir, something strong and just a little curious.
And old. So old it made her teeth ache a little, like the very beginning of a cavity.
"Please help?" She asked, unsure if it could hear her.
But surely, if this god had spent untold centuries sheltering lost spirits, it didn't hate humanity.
She's just lost, and I want to bring her home….
The shrine glowed sleepily in mind's eye, as she scanned the horizon.
"Houshou, what is she doing?" Ayako's voice startled him. It shocked him that she was speaking to him directly, but when he followed her gaze, his heart climbed into his throat.
"Mai." He whispered, cursing himself. He knew better, knew her better.
This wasn't shocking for her, not really.
The girl took another step into the water, a frantic looking John matching her step for step. He knew better than to touch her though he held his hand out at the ready.
"Yasu, how deep is this pond?" He demanded.
"Not very." Yasu said in a low voice, watching his best friend intently.
"That means it's deep enough." Lin said solemnly.
Naru was speeding over the bridge towards them already.
"Don't go in the water." He heard Ayako whisper. "It doesn't seem like the god has noticed Mai, or if it has, she hasn't offended it. But Naru's too powerful, to them, he might feel like another god."
"Don't underestimate Mau's power." Yasu warned, and Bou-San wasn't reassured by that at all either.
Mai opened her eyes, wobbling as the world tilted for a moment.
"Mai, are you alright?" John's hand closed around her upper arm and she nodded.
"She's under the bridge where the pond is deepest. The water gods have been looking after her all this time. She was sleeping, like a Princess in a fairy tale. She only woke up for the festival, to look for her father. That's why it took so long for her spirit to begin to escalate." Her voice sounded hoarse, as if she herself had been sleeping for a very long time.
"Alright. Naru will get someone out here to retrieve her right away. But can we have the rest of this conversation on dry land, because Naru doesn't look happy right now." John's own voice was tight with worry.
She looked up at where her boss was standing at the water's edge, an air of tightly coiled energy wrapped around him.
"Do we have to?" She whispered, half-heartedly joking.
"No backing out now. Plus, you're shaking. If he starts yelling, just shake more. Even if it doesn't get to him, it will get to Ayako and Houshou."
"That is seriously devious for an ex-priest." She muttered as they made their way slowly back up the slope to the water's edge.
As they waded out the shallows, Mai bit back a cry of dismay. Her beautiful yukata was wet with muddy water all along the bottom three inches.
"I don't suppose there was a way to do that without entering the territory of a rather touchy water god?" Naru asked dryly. His brow was furrowed, like a thunderstorm hovering.
Mai flushed. "I'm sorry about the yukata. I'll pay for the cleaning so the office doesn't have to."
Naru closed his eyes in apparent irritation. "That is not really the issue…." He sighed.
"Yasu, can you drive Mai and the others back to get changed. John, a word if you please.."
Alarmed, Mai looked from John to Naru. "It wasn't his fault, he tried to stop me-"
"Go on Mai. I'm assuming John knows where the body is. We need to report it now that we've located it. I don't really want you and the others here for that." Naru said grimly, and she swallowed, flashing a look at John.
He nodded reassuringly, handing her geta to her as Yasu came towards her.
She cast Naru a last look as they walked away.
Mai stared at her phone, stealing her courage.
With shaking fingers, she punched in number Aoi had given her.
It rang a few times, and she nearly lost her nerve.
Naru, the way he had looked that night in khakis and a shirt as he handed her the goldfish flashed into her mind, and she forced herself to wait.
This case had just proven to her that it was dangerous to wait for someone who wasn't coming. Naru had come back, but the only thing it had shown her was how easy it would be to fall for him again. She wouldn't survive him leaving again if that happened. She'd barely survived the first time.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end sounded curious.
"Ren? Hey it's Mai. I'm sorry it took so long to call you. Work got kind of intense…Yeah, yeah, actually we did find the person responsible. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Naru didn't actually tell you everything the other night…..
There are some things I need to tell you."
Mai hung up in bemusement.
He knew about her powers and still wanted to try? What did that mean?
Try?
Date?
Go steady?
She wasn't ready to be his girlfriend. She wasn't even sure if that was what she wanted. But she couldn't help but wonder if she would have wanted that if Naru hadn't come back.
And that was so dangerous.
Because letting Naru be the reason she made decisions led to nothing but heartbreak, which she'd learned the hard way.
She sighed. Did agreeing to Ren mean she was just using him as a shield against Naru though? That wouldn't be fair.
But she had told him she preferred to go slow. Maybe if she spent more time with him, romantic feelings would grow? He really was a great guy. All the girls at school had crushes on him.
It wasn't like she had agreed to marry him.
They were just starting with coffee..
There was a knock at her door.
"Who is it?" She called warily. She wasn't expecting company.
"Tokyo First Dry Cleaners!" The voice answered, and she frowned as she opened the door.
"Mai Taniyama?' The uniformed mask asked, holding out a slip for her to sign.
"Yes, but i think there must be a mistake. I don't have anything at the cleaners…oh."
Naru must have taken her at her word about the yukata.
"How much is the fee, I'll get the money." She said.
"It's already paid for ma'am." The driver said with a bored voice. "I just need you to sign for a receipt"
"Ok." There must have been a mix up at the office.
She signed and the man quickly left. Laying the box on the table, she lifted the lid in trepidation. She sighed in relief when she realized how great a job the service had done. There was no sign of the muddy water. It was good Naru had sent it out so quickly. But it still needed to be returned to the rental company…
She dialed Naru's number.
"Shibuya."
"Hey, Naru. Good news, the cleaners did a great job. The yukata looks brand new. But they delivered it to my apartment by mistake. What's the address of the rental agency and I'll run it over."
There was a pause. "It doesn't need to be returned. It's paid for in full."
Her mouth fell open. "They made you buy it? Naru, I'm so sorry-"
"It's of little concern, Mai. This is unlikely to be the last time you need traditional garments for an SPR case. I've already wrote it off as an expense."
"Naru-"
"If that's all, I'm going to hang up. This case has generated a lot of paperwork, so I'll see you tomorrow."
She swallowed, staring at her phone. Then she looked over to where the yukata lay in its box.
A business expense? The yukata was beautiful, for all the grief it had given her, a tiny part of her was thrilled to think it was hers.
And that scared her. She looked over to her vanity where the kanzashi Naru had bought her still lay. It was beautiful as well, crafted out of a piece of dark, polished wood with peach enamel flowers hung from the end. It was a perfect match to the yukata, and Ayako and Masako had made quite a fuss over the craftsmanship the other night.
She couldn't help but be moved by Naru's actions. But while they meant a lot to her, they probably meant nothing to him.
And that was her, alone once again, waiting for Naru to return to her, no different than Tsubaki waiting for her father who never came either.
She stared at the yukata for a long moment and then picked up her cell phone with hands that only shook a little.
Quickly before she could second-guess herself she tapped out a quick message to Ren.
"Let's try."
****************stinger********************************************************
Noll stepped to the side, allowing the exiting mother and child to walk past before entering the Yukata Store. According to the festival organizers, this was the shop most likely to have the range of sizes his team would require for this investigation. Thumbing quickly through the mails on his phone, he glanced up distractedly when the overly perky associate came up to the counter.
"Hi! How can I help you today?"
"I need to rent three women's yukatas and two men's." He said absently, scanning the photos Lin had forwarded him from their earlier investigation at the park.
"Of course, I'm happy to help. Do you know the sizes you need?" The lady chirped brightly.
"The sizes are listed here." He pushed the sheet across the counter to her. Luckily, clothing sizes were stored in SPR's employee files for just this reason, though it was the first time he had needed to procure clothing of this sort.
"Alright, we should have several available for the ladies in these sizes, do you have any preferences as to colors or patterns?" He could feel her assessing gaze as he sighed internally.
Though it shouldn't matter for an investigation like this, he knew without a doubt that Ayako would make his life a living hell if she ended up wearing something she deemed "Ugly".
Though Mai and Masako would probably not be as loud in their displeasure, he didn't doubt they would get their own back one way or another as well.
He sighed. "If I show you their pictures, can you pick out something appropriate for their coloring?"
"Of course." She shot him a curious look.
Reaching back into his folder, he pulled out the girls' employee photos. "The redhead is the tallest, and the girl with the bob is the shortest." He explained brusquely, already ready to be finished and on his way to the office.
She must have sensed his irritation from his tone, because her smile dimmed. "Of course. All our rentals come with geta, a purse, and a hair accessory. I'll go to the back and bring some up for your approval right away."
She bustled into the back, and Noll began to wander the store, already running through the various aspects of the case in his mind. He couldn't help but remember his earlier conversation with Mai. Though she had agreed with all his commands, at least verbally, he couldn't help but feel like there were several things she "hadn't" said.
The Mai he remembered hadn't been one to remain silent about any perceived grievances, and he actually found himself missing that aspect of her personality. At least whenever she'd been yelling at him as a teenager, he'd understood where she stood on a subject.
He stopped before a mannequin, studying it. The colors were bright and warm, and for some reason it made him think of Mai.
Of course, he already had been thinking of her, so it really wasn't surprising.
"Here we go. Three women's yukatas, and two mens." The woman's arm's were full of the requested garments.
He didn't look away from the mannequin, still studying it. "What about this one?"
She walked up to him. "That's brand new, it just came in the morning actually. It's quite lovely, but I'm afraid it's not a part of our rental program. That brand is for sale only."
"I'll take it, if you have it in the size needed." He said, surprising himself.
"For which woman?"
"The girl with the long hair." He said, already looking down at his phone again.
The woman glanced at the paperwork. "Actually, the one on the mannequin should be her size. You would need to purchase the geta separately."
"That's fine." He handed her the SPR business credit card. "Put the rentals on this card."
"And the last Yukata?"
"Ring it up separately, I'll use a different card."
