To Those Who Crossed Over
ACT 1
medium (n) : a person claiming to be in contact with the spirits of the dead and to communicate between the dead and the living. Spiritualist, spiritist, necromancer , channeler; fortune teller , clairvoyant , psychic
2500 ¥ - Come Join Us For An Evening With the Spirits! ~ Featuring Lady Naomi
Touya's damp, sweaty hand crushed the pamphlet within his strong fingers. When the Drama Club advertised they would be holding a fundraiser for new costumes, Touya imagined something a little more cliché – like a chocolate sale, or even a charm fair, for that matter. He was familiar with those deals, and usually agreed to help out as long as he could drag Yuki along for company.
Never in a million years did Touya believe he would agree to an evening of spirit-reading. " Those damn Drama Club kooks."
It's not that Touya didn't believe in spirits, or the afterlife, or people that communicated with the dead. He just took the matter very seriously. Ever the cynic, Touya knew how easily it was to take advantage of someone, especially if it was for money.
Not to mention, he was able to communicate with the spirits only a short time ago… At least, one very particular spirit.
Touya could picture his mother's mirth as he approached the cafeteria entrance. He remembered his mother possessing a gentle sense of humor, and she would probably encourage him to try something new…not without giggling at his impatience, of course.
He tilted his head, staring into thin, empty air as if the ghost of his mother would actually appear to give her own opinion on the matter. The smallest string plucked at his heart when he knew that wasn't possible anymore. Touya dismissed the thought, however, remembering that Yuki is what mattered most. Magic or no magic, Touya knew his sacrifice was admirable.
As Touya entered the vast cafeteria, his father and sister followed behind. They, too, were willing to help the club raise any of the funds they needed, so Fujitaka happily purchased three tickets to the event. Sakura was curious about the medium, too, even though ghosts scared her more than anything in her life.
Touya immediately noticed that the long lunchroom tables had been folded and pushed to one side of the room. Instead, round dining tables – like those reserved for the food section of outdoor festivals – had replaced the usual fare. Yet the tables, adorned with cheap plastic table cloths and half a dozen folding chairs, failed to make any sort of statement in the room.
A younger student greeted the Kinomotos as they strolled through the twin doors. Touya handed over the tickets, pausing just enough to take note of his surroundings. Classmates and professors ambled about, excitement on their faces as they waited with anticipation for the evening's events.
"Take these to your seat, sir."
The ticker collector interrupted Touya's thoughts as he ripped apart the ticket stubs. "Your table is 23," he casually noted, dropping half the stubs into a collector's box. "You already have a guest waiting for you."
As the family approached their designated seats, Touya could see Yuki's mop of ashen hair. With a broad smile, Yukito turned to acknowledge his best friend in greeting, and stood when Sakura and Fujitaka arrived.
"Good to see you Kinomoto-sensei – and hello, Sakura-chan." He subtly bowed to Fujitaka and patted Sakura gently on the head.
"Likewise, Tsukishiro-san," replied Fujitaka, smiling at the sight of his son's best friend. "I was wondering if you would join us tonight." Fujitaka took a turn about the room, much like Touya had done minutes before. "If you excuse me...there seems to be a colleague of mine in attendance. I'll be a minute!" The father broke from the arrangements to greet the fellow professor.
"I'm glad to come, too, Yukito," piped Sakura. She giggled as the words tumbled from her mouth, and a lovely flush reached her ears. Still, after all these years, Touya couldn't believe how his sister still blushed at the site of her first crush.
"Don't forget about me!" a tiny, beastly voice called out. Kero, adorning a smile most mischievous, popped his head out of the bag in greeting.
Yukito leaned closer to Sakura, and knelt down to whisper to the Sun Guardian. "Hello, Kero," said the young man with a soft smile. He peeped over at Touya, who was still studying the crowd with his usual neutrality. "Are you as excited to see Lady Naomi as Touya is?"
Touya arched an eyebrow at his dearest companion, causing Yukito to stifle a laugh. Kero looked between the two, clearly not used to Yukito's sarcasm, but when on with the question regardless. "You know, I heard of Lady Naomi on the news recently. She was on a daytime talk show when Sakura was at school. She was amazin'! It was this young boy who missed his grandmother…"
Yukito nodded to every word the Sun Guardian spoke, even as Touya shook his own head. Thankfully, Fujitaka and the rest of the crowd were too distracted by personal conversation; they had missed the stuffed toy's pop-up 'hello.' Touya knew his father was well aware of their unique situation, but he still couldn't get used to the idea. He kept his own knowledge of Sakura's adventurous secret for far too long.
"Kero, you are getting too loud, shush!"
As Sakura walked away from the table to mellow the chatty guardian, Touya caught a glimpse of Yukito's smug grin on his face. Touya grabbed the other man's hand and squeezed, clasping his own strong fingers around Yuki's delicate, pale digits. "What's with the look?" Touya quipped. Yukito only sniggered, gently applying his own pressure on Touya's hands. "I'm just surprised you came tonight, To-ya." He shrugged his shoulders. "I know this is a sensitive subject for you. Ghosts and mediums and all."
"Yeah, well…" his eyes traced the attendees, seeking a particular young woman. There she was – Yoko, conversing with visitors and advising various guests. She was the one who approached Touya earlier in the week, 'convincing' him to purchase the tickets.
"You know how Yoko gets under my skin."
Yukito actually laughed this time, probably reminiscing about their disastrous first date at the teahouse. He unhooked his fingers from Touya's hand, and casually gave his friend a pat on the back. "You really are a good person, To-ya."
Touya didn't have time to respond, for Yoko herself had begun shushing the audience with an erratic wave of her hands. "Attention! Attention!" the young girl cried out. "Find your seats, please!" Yoko waited for the murmuring to settle down as Sakura, Fujitaka, and the rest of the room returned to the tables. Once the hall was silent, Yoko opened her hands in a grand gesture to signal the beginning of the event.
"Thank you," she began, dramatically pausing for added effect. " Thank you ," she repeated again, seemingly waiting for applause that never came. "Errr…thank you for coming out this evening in support of Seijou High School's Drama Club!" She skipped a beat, looking around at the faces of the room. " You may have seen tonight's guest on popular morning shows, or even read her best-selling book 'To Those Who Crossed Over.' She has brought peace and closure to countless lives, and has agreed to help our little club by doing our very own private show! It's with great pleasure that I introduce tonight's guest. The beautiful, talented, generous hearted spirit guru – Lady Naomi!"
This time, the room erupted in hearty applause.
Admittedly, Touya was once a seer himself, but he had never witnessed another in person. Kaho was probably the closest person to a clairvoyant, especially with her knack for picking things up. Despite his skepticism, he pictured Lady Naomi to be similar to Kaho – tall and willowy, and probably with a calm, mystifying demeanor.
The woman that walked out from the door was as far away from Kaho as the Earth was to Pluto.
Instead of a graceful, lofty young woman, Lady Naomi was a tiny, middle-aged imp – small in stature, yet humongous in personality. She grinned to the crowd, whooping and waving with the best of them, and blew kisses to those who really jumped for joy at her presence. As she affixed her microphone onto her ear, she warmly greeted individual members of the audience, shaking hands with this one and clapping that one on the shoulder. As Naomi passed by his own table, Touya noted the heavily kohled eyes beneath thick cat-eye glasses, and short, spiky, tousled black hair. Naomi's steps clinked-clinked-clinked as she passed Touya; he looked down, and saw that she wore the most brightly crimson, bedazzled, glimmering heels he'd ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on – all paired along with black trousers and a glittery red kimono top.
"Tomoyo would die for those shoes!" Touya heard Kero bellowed from below, even as Sakura kicked the bag to shush him. "She's so great, isn't she! Isn't she!?"
Touya turned to Yuki as Naomi readied herself for her introductory spiel. "I paid 2500 yen to see this josou talk about dead people?" he whispered. Yuki shook his head and smiled; even he was clapping for this fraudulent creature.
The room quieted down as the woman began to address the purpose of the event. Her words were garbage, yes, but Touya saw how Naomi commanded the room. She spoke with vigor, using her hands for emphasis as she introduced her spirit-reading tactics.
"Thank you, Yoko, and thank you Seijou High School Drama Club!" She started the applause again as if to thank these people for hosting her. As the noise dwindled down for a second time, Lady Naomi continued to speak. "If you're familiar with me, welcome, friends! And if this is your first time hearing of me – well, I apologize !" The room burst into laughter at the joke. "Now tonight, I say this to you, dear friends – I know not what Spirit's message will deliver. Some of you in this room hold tight connections to the other side, while some of you are here to simply observe and listen. But no matter why you've come tonight – be it to receive your own message or simply to pay for your club's costumes – yes, I know, I said it! – know that Spirit does not always deliver what you know, but merely what we need.
"Now, I think Spirit is ready to begin…"
Lady Naomi clasped her hands together, and knotted her eyebrows. She bit her lip, leaving the audience waiting in anticipation. A moment went by, and then Naomi looked from guest to guest, turning to face a group of women. "I'm going to start with you," she stated to the group. "Now which one of you recently had the miscarriage?"
And so began an evening of completely boring and utter bullshit for Touya Kinomoto.
Lady Naomi's words bounced right off of the young man. Throughout the evening, Touya, in amazement, took to studying the people around him. Whatever this woman was saying, most were eating it up. Even Sakura, who had an innate fear of all things unnaturally spooky, sat and listened to Naomi's predictable rubbish. The kaiju would sometimes turn to himself or Fujitaka, smiling in disbelief when Naomi guessed the color of an heirloom or the anniversary of a personal event.
"At least she's not afraid, To-ya. She really is enjoying herself," Yuki muttered, noticing the young man's impassive stares. Touya shook his head in reply. "We've got our money's worth from one of us, at least," he retorted.
Just about an hour later, Touya began growing impatient, and wondered if he could sit the rest of this 'magic show' out in the hallway. He knew enough not to be outright rude (especially after the rumors Yoko spread about their meeting at the teahouse), so he waited for a break in the performer's conversation. Naomi was now addressing a woman, who sat and hung to every word the so-called seer was gushing out.
Touya noticed the woman had begun weeping, "Yes, that's right," she answered in a hushed tone, validating whatever Naomi's question was. She gently tabbed a tissue to her wet features.
Lady Naomi actually knelt in front of her current client. Touya vaguely recalled hearing this young woman's story from a moment ago – her husband had taken a sudden heart attack while doing some yard work. "There was nothing you could do," said the seer, "and your husband wants you to lift that burden from your shoulders. You can go now in peace, and be happy with your life."
The woman released a tight, short sob, and nodded her head in silent agreement.
"And don't you dare throw out that bookcase!" added the medium. She shook her fists for emphasis as she stood. "Or he'll come back into that house!"
The room buzzed with quiet laughter, and the widowed woman wetly chuckled in agreement. Red-faced and emotional, she still managed to choke out a "thank you" to Lady Naomi before she gently smiled.
Naomi removed herself from the woman, signaling the particular reading was over. "See?" she addressed the audience. "When Spirit comes to speak with us, they will give us what we need, not what we want. This woman's husband wanted to make sure that she could move on with her life, and live her life to the fullest."
The audience murmured in agreement. Touya took the moment to rise himself, pushing his chair in to make way for the nearest door.
" You're giving me a headache ," Touya frowned to himself.
Lady Naomi must have noticed Touya's movement, for she turned to the young man and let out a chortle. "You! Where are ya going ?" she called out, practically singing in her high voice, drawing attention to their table. Some of Touya's classmates chuckled and called out in amusement. "Sit down, young man! How do you know Lady Naomi doesn't have a message for you?"
Touya froze for just a second – ready, willing, and able to tell this woman to take a hike. But Sakura was looking at her brother with wide, disbelieving eyes, and his father looked rather startled at the interaction. So with a huff and a grimace, Touya sat himself right where he was.
Lady Naomi trotted towards the table. Her heels padded the ground in a steady rhythm as she came face-to-face with the Kinomoto family.
Touya noticed an incoherent murmur rise from the audience. Fellow peers gazed upon Naomi with open curiosity, a glint of suspicious wonder in their eyes. After all, what insight could this petite, peculiar woman give to ever straight-laced Touya?