Chapter 10
"What did you find exactly Yasuhara?" I question him sternly, if he wasn't mistaken and I didn't hear wrongly it means that Mai and Kenji are in a very precarious situation.
"We found a note attached to one of the victim's possessions. At first I didn't think much of it but after reading it I don't think we can just brush this aside." He hands me the bloodied note that has been kept in a sealed clear bag.
Not the end but the start. I will have my reward. Taniyama.
"But why is Taniyama san mentioned?" Yasuhara asks puzzled and confused as to why a co-worker who left years ago is dragged up in our case.
"We have to find Mai and warn her!" Houshou san declares.
"How do we know it's the same person? There must be more than one Taniyama in the whole of Japan." Masako san questions aloofly. Of everyone she seems to be the only one who at the time didn't seem too concerned that Mai had left us so abruptly.
Because that very same 'Taniyama' is in Lin's home at the present moment looking after my son, who also lived in the next apartment from the victim's.
I hold back the words that threaten to spill over and concentrate on the note instead. No doubt that the note is referring to Mai and or Kenji, but I don't understand; why now? Of all the times this could have happened it happens now. There has to be someone or something behind this.
"The original spirit which killed Mr. Ichinose is not acting on its own. It's being controlled. But by what? And why?" I think harder and stare at the note.
"How did you come to that conclusion Naru?" Houshou san asks me taking the note from me to scrutinise it further.
"The note. It's telling us that this will happen again. Usually a singular spirit no matter how enraged will not commit a second offence unless it is being controlled and played. Manipulated if you will, by another higher being of greater mental and possibly spiritual strength." Madoka walks in then and waves a stack of papers around.
"I did all the research you've asked me to Naru, and I don't have anything about the guy killed, about the apartment block OR any stories relating to that particular area. I did however find a stack of information and data relating to a similar incident that happened about fifty years ago." She dumps the papers on the coffee table and drops herself onto the couch, relaxing and leaning back to stretch out her spine.
"Woo!" She exhales loudly, "Someone get me some tea already! I've been running dead on my feet for the last three days just gathering your information for you." Lin passes her a teacup and picks up the papers quickly leafing through them.
"Naru, you might want to read through these. There is some very interesting information there." Lin passes me the stack of papers and I take it from him.
"Hmm… Nice tea Lin, where'd you learn to make it? It's almost like Mai's only just a little off." My spine goes rigid and my whole body clams up. She doesn't even know about the note yet or about Mai, why did she mention her?
"Do you know anything about Mai?" Lin asks nonchalantly.
"No, I just thought about her. That's all." She says cheerfully. I breathe a sigh of relief turning my attention back to the information that Madoka has gathered for me. I quickly scan the pages and start making mental links between our current case the previous case. Both cases have had a notification of about the same thing, only that the last time it involved a well-known psychic of phenomenal powers. If we don't do anything about this case, Mai or Kenji might just end up being the next victim. I grit my teeth and announce to everyone.
"If we don't solve this case then expect the worse. Madoka tell them what happened on a similar case that happened several years ago."
"Well fifty years ago, police were confronted with almost the exact same case we have here now. The first victim had seemingly imploded and a note similar to the one we found was also found at the crime scene. Both notes name a physic to some level of power. The first victim did not have any physic powers, however in a time frame of about a month the named psychic on the first note was killed. This time the victim had the heart carved out; the cause of death is unknown."
"NARU!" Lin's eyes flare open in shock but mostly in anxiousness. I got it immediately. I throw the papers onto the table and rush out the office running into the car park unlocking and getting into the driver's seat. I don't bother waiting for Lin he'll come soon. Mai is in trouble.
I speed all the way to Lin's house. It doesn't matter how many tickets or fines I'll get, I just hope that Mai is holding on.
Please be all right when I get there Mai.
---
"MUM!" Kenji screams and I can hear fear in his voice. I throw on my shirt over my still wet body and run up to him. He is so pale when I come up; he has been sweating a lot as well giving his face a waxy sheen.
"Oh! Kenji, what happened?" I run to his side and hug him tightly.
"Th-there's something…"
"Where? Kenji! Tell me where!" I demand urgently, wiping the sweat off his face and pushing back damp strands of hair stuck to his face.
"In my dream… there was something trying to hurt us…" He shuts his eyes close tightly and clench over rolling tightly into a ball. I turn my attention over to the clock on the bedside table. The hands on the clock have been warped and the time is stopped exactly at eight forty. He did that in his sleep? Oh my dear, you must have really hurt… I hug him tighter and burry my head into his shoulder. Then I start to feel it. The deep gnawing feeling in my gut slowly moving up to my heart making me feel nauseous. Something bad is coming and it's very, very hostile.
"Kenji whatever happens, don't ever let go of me." I whisper fiercely into his ear holding him tightly. I hear a sharp whistle and something white flashes at the corner of my eye. That'll be Lin's Shiki, but how long will they be able to hold out? I bite down on my lip and hide Kenji's face in my shoulder.
"MAI! KENJI! WHERE ARE YOU?!" I lift my head when I hear Naru calling for us.
"Naru…" I whisper, relief flooding my whole body. He slams the door open, his eyes widen in relief for a moment before contracting in concentration.
"Mai, you have to get out of here!"
"I KNOW! But I can't move in case something happens to Kenji!"
"I'll take care of him, Mai just go!" He hurries over to my side, "Trust me Mai. Please." I bite my lip and tell Kenji,
"Please follow what Naru tells you to Kenji. He can protect you more than I can. I'm so sorry honey." He gives me a brave look as I kiss him and try to get up but my legs feel like they've been rooted to the bed. I cry out in alarm.
"Naru! I can't move! My legs won't move!!" He grimaces,
"Kenji can you still move?" He nods his head and scrunches up his face.
"Mum… it hurts… something bad… like in my dream…"
"I know honey, I know… Naru! Do something! I can't move and Kenji can't do anything!"
"Lin's shiki didn't block that one on time. If you weren't covering Kenji, he would have gotten it." The door slams shut on it's own and the barrier between us and whatever is trying to get in bursts through the broken gap that Lin's shiki had built.
"NARU! MAI!" Lin's muffled shouts and pounding from behind the door is urgent as he tries to be heard. "My shiki can't protect you any more. This is more powerful than I'd have ever thought possible. Naru, I'm sorry but I can't help you any more. That spirit has sealed this room inside and out, I'll try my best to break through and I'll call for everyone to help but I can't guarantee anything."
The room starts to wrap and everything distorts.
"Naru, what's happening?" I ask, panic rising in my chest. I can feel the build up of energy around us, it's not coming from Naru, and it's not coming from Kenji. It's an unknown source that I can't pin point nor can I identify.
"The spirit, whatever it is, is gathering it's energy and soon if I don't do anything about it we'll be flat pancakes. If I'm not mistaken it's going to do what it did fifty years ago."
"FIFTY YEARS AGO?! How do you even know it's the same thing?"
"It's the same case, the same spirit from the same origin. There's no mistaking it. I'm sorry to ask you of this Mai, but you'll have to put up with the energy that's going to go around. I'll try my best to protect you and Kenji but I'll have to beat this spirit if we are going to get out alive."
"How are you going to determine – " Writing start appearing on the walls of the room in a deep red colour. A smell like iron filters into my nose and I gag myself to stop the nausea from rising.
My reward is here. I shall have what I deserve.
I hide Kenji's face in my shoulder to prevent him from reading the words on the wall. A light hazy film starts to coat Naru and I can feel the energy steadily rise in the room. Kenji starts to cry in pain and more items around us warp.
"Hold on Kenji, please just hold on." I whisper to him holding him tightly willing some of his pain to be mine.
The air is so thick and sticky I can barely breath, the amount of psychic energy and power going around is nearly too much for me to handle. Kenji is still crying in pain, I can feel him emitting large amounts of energy and they keep coming in waves. Compounding to that Naru is also producing so much energy. It's almost unbearable but I have nowhere to go, the spirit has sealed off the whole room.
"Naru…" I chough trying to breath in the heavy air. He doesn't answer but I can feel a steady increase in his energy, the pressure in my ears is getting very painful and my ears are starting to ring. I can feel him nearly over powering the spirit but he's reached his limit, they are both on par but Naru can't push his powers any more. I hold on tightly to Kenji and pray that he will get out of this alive. I can feel his pain getting more intense and I feel it in my heart, it's squeezing and twisting inside me.
I can't hold on any more, it's too much. I can't protect my baby any more. I've failed as his mother. I let bitter tears of sadness and pain slip out before whispering into his ear,
"I love you Kenji…" I slip like in quicksand into the deep murkiness of unconsciousness.
---
Mai just passed out. I bite back my worry and anger for now, the fact that Kenji is just adding energy into the room with no real focus is just hindering me even more and that is probably what contributed to Mai passing out. I need to push past my limit… But I can't… Kenji!
"Kenji! Come here for a moment please!" I plead with the little boy. He shakes his head furiously, refusing to leave his mother.
"Kenji, please I need your help! I know it hurts but if you want to help your mum you have to trust me." He bites his lip in indecision before standing up on wobbly legs and taking my out reached hand. I'm surprised by the amount of power he is directly giving off. Mai was holding onto him so she would have gotten the full brunt of it. I don't blame her for passing out.
"Kenji, I want you to concentrate really hard on my hand you're holding on. I know it hurts a lot but please concentrate as hard as you can." He bites down hard on his lip and stares at my hand. Slowly I can feel his power shrinking down to a point on my hand. I release it into my flow of power and it slowly gains more strength.
A sharp wail starts in the room but I push my powers some more. Anything for Mai and Kenji. I will do anything. To protect the ones who matter to me, anything is the right price.
The wail turns into a piercing scream and Kenji's hand tightens around mine, it would probably hurt but under these circumstances I can't feel anything except concentrating all my energy on over powering this spirit. At that moment the door breaks open splinters flying everywhere, the scream suddenly stops and all I can feel is Kenji's and my powers circulating around the room.
Lin and Houshou san are standing at the door both very exhausted from trying to break through. I slowly reduce my powers but as I lower mine Kenji suddenly collapses to the floor his hand still in mine.
"Naru, what happened?" Lin demands taking in the scene before him. I shake my head as the weariness claiming me. As my powers reduce fatigue replaces it and my legs fold under my weight and my body falls onto the floor next to Kenji's. Too tired to talk and too tired to move. I close my eyes and tighten my hold on Kenji's hand; to stop myself from drowning into nothingness or to stop Kenji from being lost I don't know.
A/N: this is a shorter chapter I know, but it is pretty important. The next part is probably the one where most of you've been waiting for and that's the part where everyone else finds out about Mai and Kenji. Please remember that Lin still doesn't know that Kenji is Naru's son as well. And please leave a review!! They help me think a lot faster and better too!!