A/N: Hello Lovelies! Are we enjoying this case? Hopefully by now everyone realizes this is my ultimate fangirl slow burn romance. I'm having great fun devising romantic situations and then trying to figure out how to trap Naru and Mai in them. On a side note, I recently discovered Viki and now I'm a lost cause. Have you guys watched Eternal Dreams, The Pillow Book? I'm dead. I'm completely slayed. Just….wow. Go watch it if you can. You can watch the earlier series, Eternal Dreams, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, on Netflix. It will be sloooowwww at first, and if you aren't from Asia, you will probably need a notebook to keep track of the characters, best I can tell, it's a pantheon of gods but I grew up knowing the Greek and Roman pantheons, not anything out of china, so the good news is, while you are trying to figure out what's going on, nothing terribly important to the main romance is happening! That being said, the series is excellent. There's some controversy over the original novels, claims of plagiarism, ect. I haven't managed to get my hands on English translations, if I ever do, expect fan fiction in a hot minute.
Ok, now that I'm down obsessing with you guys, back to my story. I realized I left off the stinger last chapter. Don't hate me. Nothing super important was planned for it and I was posting at midnight bc I was on vacation with the boy friend's family. Stingers continue in general however. Also, I love being able to work in reader ideas, so if you have a cute/funny/sweet moment you'd like to see, tell me in a review and I'll see if I can work it in, in some form. I can't change my core story line or characters, but there's always room for inspiration. Or if you have a favorite quote, feel free to message it. I use the quotes/lyrics at the beginning of each chapter as gentle foreshadowing for the chapter, so I have this huge Pinterest board of quotes I pull from. Feel free to drop your own as a suggestion, though it might not show up for several cases. Lastly the scenic inspiration for this case is a state park located in Missouri called Ha Ha Tonka and I strongly suggest you Google pictures of the spring there because I live near there and that is absolutely what the location of this case is based on and it's beautiful.
If you are a reviewer, please know you are worth your weight in gold to me. A good review turns my entire day around. I can't describe it any other way. I live in a very conservative area, and very few people my age here even know what fanfiction is. I do have people who try to support me in real life, but they don't really understand what I do.
And without further ado, here is the next chapter.
Trigger warnings: Homophobia and bullying
Refraction Case Three Part Two
"The Forest For The Trees"
"These mountains that you were carrying, you were only supposed to climb" - Najee Zebian
Mai watched the moonlight filter in through the window. Bou-san slept beside her on one side and Yasu on the other. Lin, John and Naru had set their futons on the opposite wall, but only John's was in use at the moment. She could see the outlines of Naru and Lin in the other room, their hushed murmuring reaching her ears without the words actually being perceptible.
The meeting had basically summarized what she had expected. The lodge had, for several years now, been plagued with knocking, doors sticking, objects moving.
Visitors would get lost, both on the lodge grounds and the mountain trails. No one had ever been hurt, other than the occasion cut, scrape or sprain. But the owner was adamant that they disprove the haunting rumors.
"That's the purpose for the blind investigation, today." Bou-san had guessed. A sceptical client always meant a case needed more data.
Naru had nodded. "It's already apparent to me that something is going on here. Originally I wanted to give you the details tomorrow night, but with the level of possible activity we're already seen here at the lodge, it's unsafe to venture on the mountain without filling everyone in.
"Think Ayako threatened him?" Bou-san had whispered in her ear.
Now she was laying in bed, trying to fall asleep. They were due to get up early this morning for a team hike on the mountain. Naru wanted everyone to go together the first time, to familiarize themselves with the trails closest to the lodge.
Gene held his fingers to his lips as they peered around the corner of the building. Mai smiled at that since she'd learned a long time ago that she was unable to change the events she saw in her post retro-cognitive dreams. She was only able to chat with spirits when she was visiting their plains in real time, so to speak.
Teens walked here and there, dressed in their PE uniforms. The sunlight was bright enough to make her eyes water.
"Let me out!" A voice was calling from inside a building ahead of them. She could see a group of three other boys huddled around the door to a building she recognized as the storage building from earlier that evening.
Suddenly, a new boy strode into the clearing. "Cut it out already. This shit isn't funny anymore. Let him out!"
The new boy was tall, with glasses that made it hard to see his eyes from there. The other boys straightened, shuffling guiltily as the door opened behind them.
A much smaller boy, covered in dust and grime stumbled out. He would have fallen if the boy with the glasses hadn't caught him.
"Easy." The tall boy reassured him. "You're okay. They're leaving now." Mai could see the glare he shot the other boys from where she stood.
The boys shot telling looks at each other before shambling down the path in the direction where Gene and Mai were hiding.
"You guys are such jerks." The new girl was pretty, in a confident way Mai had never managed. She shot them a dirty look of her own as they walked past her. "Are you ok?"
She asked the smaller boy as she dusted his hair off. "You're a mess."
"I still think we should report them." The taller boy said, pulling the girl into his arms for a quick hug before releasing her.
He probably didn't want a teacher to catch them. But while his attention was on the girl, Mai watched the shorter boy's face. He'd looked away from the couple quickly, but before he had, Mai had seen the look on his face.
She recognized that look. She saw it every time Bou-San looked at Ayako, or when Yasu looked at Masako when he knew she wasn't looking.
Unrequited love.
He looked back quickly. 'It will only get worse if the teachers get involved." He mumbled, looking down.
The girl shook her head. "We should give them a taste of their own medicine."
The tall boy brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Don't. You'll get yourself in trouble."
She pouted. "And you won't?" It was a challenge.
He smiled down at her. "I'll think of something where no one gets caught. And you don't get yourself in trouble."
The smile she shot him held a hint of smirk. "I thought you liked it when I got in trouble."
Mai's brows rose. Had she been that brave as a teen?
Thinking about her interactions with Naru, she shook her head. She'd been pretty ballsy at times. Some of the things she'd accused him of had been horrible.
But she was pretty sure she'd never achieved that level of flirting with him-
"Sorry, but, has anyone seen my boots?"
She blinked into wakefulness. Sunlight danced through the window and all around her the guys were crawling out of their futons.
She frowned. Why hadn't she heard the alarm go off? Had she snoozed it without realizing it?
She looked at her phone and sighed. Apparently she had turned it off.
Or had she?
"Mai, John's boots are gone, what about yours?" Bou-san's body blocked the light and she looked around carefully.
"No, it looks like everything is still here…oh. Is that them?" She pointed towards the table their monitors were sitting on. Underneath, pushed all the way against the wall, were a pair of men's boots."
"That's them, all right. I'm beginning to think this spirit, whoever he is, doesn't like me very much." John said wryly as he walked towards the table.
"Do we have any thoughts on the identity of the spirit?"Naru was standing at the foot of her futon now. She felt disadvantaged on the ground like that, never a good way to start the day whenever dealing with Naru, so she quickly clambered to her feet.
"Well…" She started, then stopped. "I had a dream, but I'm not sure what it means yet."
Naru looked at her quizzically. "Get dressed and we'll go get some breakfast and you can fill me in."
She nodded, taking her clothes into the restroom to change. Once dressed, she washed her face and teeth before pulling her hair out of her face into a high ponytail. She could already feel the heat of the day, and was looking forward to going into the shade of the mountain forest.
When she exited, she found Naru alone waiting for her. "I sent the others ahead so we could talk."
She nodded.
"What did you see in your dream? You usually have a pretty good sense of what information Gene is trying to relay to you."
His use of Gene's name startled her for a moment. For all that Gene was literally the elephant in the room between them, after their first case where Naru had taken action to help her and Gene re-match wavelengths, he seldom mentioned him.
"Mai?"
She blinked, trying to marshal her thoughts. "Well, the dream itself was clear enough. It was here, at the lodge. At the storage room where Yasu and John got stuck."
He nodded impassively.
"So.. There were kids everywhere. High schoolers on a school trip, I'm guessing. A few of them had trapped another inside the shed, the average bully stuff. Then another boy came over and made them let him go. Then a girl showed up, and the three of them talked and then I woke up."
He blinked at her. "So, why the hesitation?"
She sighed. "Well, the dream was clear enough, but I'm not sure who the focus is. The boy being bullied? The boy and girl who saved him? The bullies? Or none of them because the haunting was already going on by then and the dream was showing me how the students themselves were being affected?" She could hear the frustration in her own voice now.
"Slow down, start again, and give me all the details."
She took a breath, and started over. Every now and then he'd ask a question, trying to clarify a particular detail but other than that, he was a good listener.
"So, you think the boy being bullied was in love with the other boy's girlfriend?" He asked thoughtfully.
She blinked. "No, actually I think he was in love with the other boy."
Naru paused, and then nodded. "Did he seem to feel aggression towards the girl?"
Mai shook her head. "No, I got the impression he was quite fond of her, actually. She treated him like a little brother and his body language stayed pretty open the whole time."
Naru nodded. "Is there a reason Gene wasn't able to clarify the focus for you?"
She sighed again, biting her lip. "What he did wasn't easy. Finding a memory of the moment of a person's death, that's easy if the spirit is still around. It replays over and over for them like a broken video tape."
He nodded. "I've noticed the same with my psychometry."
"But little moments, like that, are harder to zero in on. When I dream, I'm like a radio. I pick up whatever happens to be on the waves nearby. The tea shop can block out the noise, but tuning in to a particular wave is harder. Gene was able to help me in that way, but I think it takes a lot of his energy. He's basically helping me tune into not just a particular radio station, but a particular radio station at the exact moment it's playing the exact song he wants me to hear. It can't be easy." She explained.
"You've grown a lot more powerful." Naru said offhandedly.
She nodded. "Yes." It was the truth and it seemed silly to dance around it with him. "But more than that, my talent is more…"
She struggled to find the word. "Formed?"
"Defined?" He offered, and she nodded.
"Yes, both of those. Before, Gene was able to lead me pretty much anywhere. I was just a psychic battery pack. But I spent the last four years learning to direct my own talent and now sometimes we stumble when we work together. It's getting easier, but sometimes we struggle to communicate." She watched him out of the corner of her eye.
He was silent as they neared the main room of the lodge where they were meeting the others for breakfast.
"Is he still strong enough to protect you?"
She stilled, then forced herself to resume walking.
"I grew up, Naru. I don't need protection all the time like I used to." She said the words lightly, and didn't look at him again as she walked into the room.
Mai wiped the sweat off her brow as she looked up the path. The sunlight burst through the trees in periodic patches, and she could hear bird song echoing.
They had reached a fork of sorts near the base of the mountain. A covered wooden bridge led to trails heading west, a second trailhead forked from where they now stood, heading to the east. The last started with wooden steps, going vertically up the mountain, and on the sign ahead of them, she mentally traced the steps one the map.
Each path was color coded, and several of the paths branched off, creating new trail heads to take advantage of different scenic points, like a gorge, a spring and even a cave.
"Looks like this place has everything." Bou-San declared with a grin, and she shook her head while smiling.
He was loving this. Some rock god he was. He looked more like a Boy Scout in his jeans, boots and hiking gear. The others were all dressed more or less the same. Even Naru and Lin were in cargo shorts and polos.
Bizarro.
"Is there any particular trail that seems to have the most incidents?"John asked.
Naru shook his head. "All the different trails seem to have an equal amount of occurrences."
Mai studied the map. The trails were color coded, with some colors ending as new paths merged. Her map had a color coded replica drawn in with painstaking exactness by Yasu and John.
Speaking of Yasu, she couldn't believe he opted to go to the library instead of come on the hike with them. Naru had actually given him the option but he had declined.
She bet he would have come if Masako was here.
"Well, should we try to cover more trails, or more acreage in general?" Bou-san asked.
"What do you think, Mai?" Naru surprised her with the question.
"I don't really have any feelings one way or another." She shrugged. "I mean, if we're keeping up the ruse of being ordinary hikers, then the paths that pass by most of the attractions would be the ones I chose."
"If we assume Mai's dream has some bearing on the case, then we might as well let her choose the path." John said. "She and Yasu are the ones closest in age to the kids in her dream."
"Well, then, where do you want to go?" Bou-san asked. She smiled at his eagerness.
She traced a path on the map with her finger. "If I was just here to hike, this is the path I'd take. It's supposed to be a four hour hike with the spring near the middle. I'd break for lunch at the spring. There are bathrooms marked there as well, so it's probably a popular route."
She flushed when she realized all four of the guys were watching her. "If that's what you guys want, I mean."
"You heard the lady." Bou-san clapped his hands.
They crossed the bridge over the creek first. They'd bypass the same creek further up the mountain, where it started at the spring if she was reading the map right. The woods were beautiful, shady enough to keep the path cool. She saw small animals scampering in the underbrush.
Bou-san had taken the lead, with John right behind him, then Mai. Naru and Lin brought up the rear.
"Make sure to tell us if there's something you want to take a closer look at." Naru said, walking beside her at a place where the path widened temporarily.
She nodded, reminding herself to focus on the case. It was easy to imagine this was just another camping trip with Bou-san, but there was little doubt in her mind that Whispering Pines Lodge was haunted. They couldn't exactly set their normal equipment up on the mountain, so they would have to rely on their own five senses.
Unfortunately, Mai's psychic abilities were strongest asleep, or nearly, something she couldn't safely do on the mountain. Both Masako and Ayako would have been more helpful in a case like this.
It bothered her more than she wanted to admit, the idea that she was still the most useless member on the team.
"Are you alright?" Naru's voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she jumped.
"Yeah, sorry. I think I just got into the zone a little." She said, wiping sweat off her brow. She was glad she had gone with shorts. Her sturdy boots would protect her feet from most threats.
She glanced at him, then looked away immediately, biting her lip.
"What is it?" He asked, eyes narrowing.
She pressed her lips together for a moment before meeting his eyes again.
"You have a leaf in your hair." She admitted with a smile.
"Get it." He said easily, lowering his head towards her.
Her eyes widened. "Um, it's right there, on the right…well, your, left I guess…"
"Mai, just pick it out please." His voice was mild enough.
Well, it seems she was returning the favor for the firefly. Gingerly, she reached up, gently brushing the leaf out of his hair. She barely touched his actual hair, but it was enough to burn the sensation of silky strands into her senses.
A loud crack echoed suddenly, the sound making everyone jump.
"Bou-san?" Mai looked instinctively towards the more experienced hiker.
"'Sounded like a large branch breaking, or maybe even a small tree. It could just be normal deadfall." His face said he didn't believe it though.
She watched as he glanced down at his compass, his frown deepening. Curious, she pulled out her own compass, which she wore on a necklace along with a whistle Bou-san insisted she wear whenever they camped or hiked. Yasu and Masako had them as well.
Her eyes widened as she watched the needle on the compass circle haphazardly.
"That would certainly account for people getting lost out here if they hadn't brought maps like we did." Naru said dryly, bending over her to look at her compass as well.
She bit her lip. Hikers were probably ok if they stayed on the trails, but a lot of people liked to explore off path. Bou-san had told her to never leave a path unless she was with him, but she'd seen other hikers do it all the time. They'd try to get closer to an animal, look at a flower, or just try to get a picture of the view.
"That could be really dangerous." John said.
"When did you notice it starting?" Naru asked Bou-san.
"A while back." The older man admitted. "We're fine, so I didn't bother to say anything. And I wasn't really sure if it was just affecting my compass, or all of them."
"Mine's gone a bit wonky as well." John said with a frown.
"Do we continue?" Mai asked. For all the strangeness, she still didn't really feel scared. She knew the things they were experiencing could be dangerous, yet she didn't feel a sense of danger.
It was strange.
"Yes, unless anyone had a reason not too? We expected some activity. Mai, how do you feel?" Naru said.
She really wished he would stop putting emphasis on her hunches. Sure, sometimes they panned out. But sometimes nothing was there.
He must have noticed something in her face that had him addressing the group.
"Let's keep heading towards the spring."
He walked ahead of Mai this time, swapping places with John. Mai couldn't quite catch the conversation between him and Bou-san, but she got the sense they were talking about electromagnetic fields.
Probably the compasses then. It was way over her head though, so she focused on the forest again. She reached out, over and over again, trying to sense something, anything, but she just felt….peaceful.
"Don't wear yourself out, Mai. We still have a long hike ahead." John bumped his shoulder into hers, catching her attention.
She smiled ruefully. "I just can't help feeling that Masako would be more useful right now."
"Naru trusts your abilities, and so do I. I've seen how strong your powers can be, remember?"
She smiled, grateful for his encouragement.
The reached a part of the trail that was mostly vertical, with large steps cut into the steep hillside. Each step was reinforced by a log cut in half and sunk deep into the earth, anchored with rebar.
"You guys good for this?" Bou-san called, looking back at them.
Mai nodded with a grin, pleased to see him so happy.
"Careful, the logs are anchored, but there's a layer of dead leaves here that are loose." He warned them. They took the steps one by one, everybody careful to pick and choose their footing. Mai found herself watching Naru's feet, placing her own where he did. She could feel loose gravel under the leaves in some places, and she was glad they were going up this path and not down it.
At one point, they had to clamber over some smaller boulders. It wasn't an impossible climb for Mai, but as the shortest member of the group, she couldn't always use the same places for her footing.
"Here, take my hand." She looked up to see Naru extending a hand towards her.
"I'm ok-"
"Mai, neither one of us want me to have to carry you down this mountain, do we?" His face was impassive, but there seemed to be a challenge in his eyes.
She exhaled and then took his hand. To her annoyance, his steady grip made the climb much easier, and faster. When they got to the top of the rocks, she smiled at him.
"Thanks." She mumbled.
"It's not your fault you're short." He said, turning away.
She stuck her tongue out at him, then shook her head. She needed to stop letting him get to her.
They finally reached the spring and her eyes widened. It was gorgeous. The water was a deep turquoise she hadn't been expecting.
"It's color comes from the minerals underground, and the fact that it's a cold water spring." Naru supplied without her having to ask.
"It's so pretty." She said, smiling at him.
There was a wooden walkway running along the spring on one side, fashioned a little like a boardwalk, standing a few feet above the waters.
"Wanna check it out?" Bou-san asked her, and she nodded eagerly.
Lin, Naru and John settled themselves in a picnic shelter next to the trail head. She followed Bou-san, the sound of her boots echoing howling on the wooden planks.
"Bou-san, is it colder here?" She asked suddenly.
"Don't worry Jou-chan, that's just the spring. It maintains the same temperature year round, and right now the water is acting like a natural air conditioner." The monk explained.
"Right. I guess I have ghosts on the brain." She said.
"Well, that is our job." He said with a followed the wooden path to its end, where the water came out of a partially submerged cave. It created a pool before meandering down the mountain to become the stream they had crossed earlier.
"Look." Bousan pointed across the pool at some broken trees near where the pool fed into the stream.
"Falling rocks?" She guessed.
"Some, maybe. But most of those are probably from flash floods. The mountains are the last place you want to be in a storm. And if you are, watchout for rock slides and flash floods. The waters can rise faster than you'd ever imagine in some of these ravines."
She nodded her understanding. It was clear that though Bou-san loved the mountains, he also respected them.
They walked back towards the others. Naru and Lin were deep in conversation, while John sat sketching in a small notebook.
"Can I see?" She asked, knowing better than to just grab it out of his hands. John's drawing talent had come as a surprise to her, and he didn't like to make a fuss of it.
Wordlessly, he handed it over.
Used to his bouts of silence by now, she idly paged through the book. There was the spring, and a rough rendition of the maps he had made earlier. There was one of the lodge with the sun rising over it. John must have risen early this morning.
She smiled as she came to a rough, quick drawn sketch of her and Yasu from the day before. She studied the picture of her laying with her head on Yasu's stomach. Both of their faces were shielded by their books, but the image itself held a sense of mischief.
"I didn't even see you do this yesterday." She smiled at him.
"I actually did it this morning from memory." He replied with a blush. "That's why some of the proportions are off."
"Well, it sure beats my stick figures." She smiled as she handed the book back to him.
They had lunch at the spring, and though Mai tried her best to discern anything supernatural, nothing of note happened.
"It's weird, right?" She said, looking around. "How peaceful it is."
"You've gotten used to dangerous spirits misbehaving right out the bat. Most hauntings aren't like that, jou-chan." Bou-san said, offering another sandwich.
She shook her head, thoughtful. She felt Naru's eyes on her.
After lunch they repacked their gear. The forest seemed a little more lively now that the sun had passed its zenith, but it still seemed fairly normal.
Bou-san held up his hand from up ahead.
Naru walked up to him and she followed. "The Lodge told me this morning that the mountain had been experiencing a spate of late season storms. It looks like this path may have been damaged in the last few weeks.
He pointed to a sign just ahead.
"Watch for falling rocks."
She looked uphill from the path. Sure enough, in places trees could be seen partially uprooted, and patches of wet, raw earth shown through.
"Do you think it's safe, Houshou? Naru asked.
"Well, they haven't closed the path altogether, which you would expect if they thought the trail would go out from underfoot. Most likely hikers have just noticed rocks tumbling from above." Bou-san mused.
Naru looked back to Mai but she just waved him off. "Seriously, it's like my danger meter is broken or something."
"Everyone be careful. Keep your eyes open." Naru said after a moment.
The trail narrowed as it wound around the mountain side. At one point, another trail branched off, seeming to go straight down the mountain and she guessed that was the trail they had decided against on that morning.
She was walking behind Naru, and every once and a while he was putting his arm out behind him while he tested his footing or investigated part of the path he didn't like the look of.
She appreciated the gesture, and it irked her to no end that she did.
'Think about Ren.' She scolded herself. 'He'd do the same thing.'
And that was true, Ren really was a sweet guy-
"Mai, watch out!"
It was Lin's voice, and that was enough to confuse her for a second. She started to turn around but froze when she saw a rock, maybe eight inches in diameter hurtling down the slope towards her. Naru moved fast, pulling her into his space, but she could already tell it wouldn't be enough because the rock ricocheted off another, changing its course just enough to now have her AND Naru in its path.
She gasped, turning her face into Naru's shoulder out of instinct as she felt him tense. She braced for impact-
And suddenly, the rock diverted itself. Out of nowhere, it's course simply changed, and it passed by them by more than a foot.
She looked up at Naru in trepidation. She hadn't felt him use any power, but-
"Noll?!" It was Lin's voice, laced with an even deeper edge of concern. She realized the other members of the team were also staring at Naru.
He was frowning in thought as he stared at the rock. "It wasn't me." He said distractedly.
"Noll…"
Mai shook her head. "He's telling the truth. He didn't do it."
That was about the time she realized she was still standing in the circle of his arms. With a blush, she detangled herself from him.
"Okay, well. Jou-chan, you didn't develop PK and forget to mention it to your big brother, right?" Bou-san said with a nervous chuckle.
She shook her head.
As one they all turned to where the rock had landed. Well, impacted might have been a better word. It had struck a tree to the side of Mai and Naru, hard enough to embed itself in the bark.
John reached out a hand to touch it, jerking it back with a hiss.
"It's hot all right."
"Did it fling that rock at Mai?" Bou-san asked.
"Or did it save her?' Naru asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
"How do you feel now?" He asked quickly.
'What? Fine." She shook her head, perplexed that he kept asking her when she really just-
"I...feel fine." She shook her head, starting to feel alarmed for the first time. And it was the first time, she realized. Adrenaline had shot through her when she had seen the stone hurtling towards her, but now she realized that even then, she hadn't been particularly scared, just surprised.
"Jou-chan, are you alright?" Bou-san looked worried now.
Naru held up a hand. "If Mai feels safe, it's because she probably is, right now anyway. It seems the spirit is fond of her."
"It was messing with her last night." John pointed out, looking unsure.
"That...honestly felt playful to me." She'd even thought so at the time. She had never at any point felt frightened.
"Let's head back to the lodge and see what Yasu has found." Naru decided, casting her another long look.
Mai slumped on her futon, her book in her hands. Yasu hadn't had too much luck at the local library. The town was too small to have it's own newspaper, and while the bigger towns sometimes ran articles about missing hikers, it was such a common occurrence in the mountains that they didn't always bother to update with an article when one was later found.
Yasu was sitting on his futon beside her, probably working on schoolwork as well. Even for someone as smart as him, law school wasn't easy.
"Don't go to sleep hungry, you'll wake up with a headache." He said distractedly, paging through some of his notes again.
"Not going to sleep." She ruined her retort with a yawn.
He snorted. "Nighty-night."
She was back at the spring.
No, they were.
She saw Gene in the distance, leaning against the wooden railing of the path that ran along the edge of the spring. She was on the other side though, in an area that looked like a shallow rocky beach. The spring had looked different to her yesterday. The geography had changed, and she tried to focus on it, on the ways it was different. Perhaps if she described it to John later, he could help her draw it. Maybe they could compare it to old maps or something.
"Just leave me alone already!" The voice was vaguely familiar.
"But it's so much fun. What, you'll play with Atsuki and Aya, but not us?" Another voice taunted.
"Atsuki. Aya." She whispered the names to herself to help remember.
A group of boys was walking onto the beach from the trailhead. Well, two were stalking forward, and a third was backing onto it.
The boy who had been trapped in the shed previously looked scared, eyes darting here and there for help as the other two herded him back, towards the water.
"Oh, I'm not so sure he's interested in playing with Aya." The other said, and Maya exhaled. She found homophobia to be not only disgusting, but nonsensical.
You loved who you loved, and the only thing that mattered was how well you loved them. Bullying someone for their sexual preferences was one of the lowest, most cowardly things you could do.
But she wasn't naive enough to think the entire world felt like she did, and it broke her heart that this wasn't the first time she had seen things like this.
The boys kept advancing, and the other kept retreating, until he was ankle deep in the spring. Mai winced sympathetically, she knew that water had to be cold.
She wanted to walk closer, to see if their uniforms had any more detail, to get a better look at the faces, but she had learned that when she was dreaming a spirit's memory from a distance, if she got too close to the people watching, she sometimes lost her grasp on it-
"I warned you." The new voice was female, and angry.
The two bigger boys spun around angrily as they were drenched in water from behind.
The girl from earlier stood there, a half full water bottle clenched in her hands. She was shaking, but to Mai it looked like anger and not fear. Her eyes blazed as she looked at the other two boys scornfully.
"I don't care if your parents are teachers. I'm not putting up with this. Just leave him alone." She threw the words at them like a challenge, like a tiny viking.
She wasn't the least bit scared, even though the two boys were much bigger.
"Really Aya, you should be thanking us, in a way, we're protecting your honor-"
Aya had cut him off by stepping forward and calmly tipping her water bottle upside down directly over his shoes.
"You bitch-" The boy had grabbed for her, but another boy grabbed his wrist.
"Atsuki!" The boy in the water cried.
"Touch her and I'll dislocate your arm." Atsuki's voice had a hard edge to it.
Mai blinked.
O-k.
A little protective there, but who was she to judge?
"This isn't over." The boy with wet shoes spat.
"Yes, it is." Atsuki shook him once, then released him. Mai was completely certain he could have made good on his threat.
So why hadn't he stopped those bullies by now?
"Why won't you do something about them?" Aya hissed as they moved past her.
"Dammit, Aya." Atsuki pulled her into his arms then. "You can't do things like that, you're going to get hurt." Mai could see the worry on his face, and looking at the smaller boy, she saw him watching intently as well. The longing was still there, and the anxiety, but there was also a resigned sadness.
Aya pulled away angrily. "I don't care. If you won't do anything, I will. I'm not going to ignore what they're doing."
"Aya-" Atsuki ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Sweetheart, if I get anymore involved, it will only make the...rumors about me and Keiji worse."
"Keiji." Mai whispered the name, completely enraptured by the drama playing out in front of her.
The look on Aya's face was hard to read, but Mai got the feeling she knew exactly how Keiji felt about Atsuki.
From his pause, perhaps Atsuki had as well.
So, Atsuki was in love with his best friend, and the other kids had found out. Atsuki was in love with Aya, who had taken it upon herself to try and shield Keiji because Atsuki was worried doing so himself would just put Keiji in more danger.
And Keiji was no fool, Mai determined, watching him. While he might not understand all the undercurrents in Aya's and Atsuki's relationship, he seemed fond of Aya, instead of jealous. Which probably made him one of the coolest people she'd ever met, if " met" was the right word.
Aya sighed, shaking her head. "I'll stop when they do." She warned Atsuki in a low voice.
She looked over at Keiji with a rueful smile. "Come out of the water, it has to be freezing."
"Yeah, sorry Aya." He blushed.
"Don't. Don't do that. Don't apologize for them, ever." She stressed. "I'm going to go find my friends." She shot another telling look at Atsuki before leaving.
"Atsuki, I'm sorry about Aya, I wasn't trying to get her involved. I didn't mean for her to get mad at you…" His voice drifted off as Atsuki sighed again.
"She scares me to death." Atsuki burst out suddenly. "She's too fearless. Her family doesn't have the power to fight back if those boys make trouble for her. She's not strong enough to fight back if they try to hurt her."
Keiji sighed. "What do you need?" It was said simply, with quiet devotion that if Atsuki heard, he pretended not to.
"I just…" He swallowed. "I'm going to come up with something, ok? Something that will keep everyone safe. I just….I can't think when she's in danger."
"You'll keep her safe." Keiji encouraged. "I'll help. I'll make sure she doesn't see them give me trouble anymore."
"That…" Mai could see how torn Atsuki was. "That's not right either though. She'd be so pissed if she heard you say that."
"It's okay. I want her safe too."
"For you." Mai only imagined he said the last two words, but she knew they hung there between the two boys anyway.
"You two are my only friends."
