Mai and Lin turn their heads towards the annexe. They take off running. They are at the garden when Naru, Masako, John, Houshou and Ayako join them. The seven of them speed down the corridors and to the living quarters. Tsugumi and Kenji are looking in Sentaro's room. Tsugumi with hand over her mouth and fear in her eyes. Kenji motionless, his eyes widened and mouth open.
Lin, Mai, John and Houshou get to them first. They are shocked at the scene before their eyes. Sentaro is standing straight with a knife to his throat. He is holding the knife but his hand is being held by a spirit of a woman.
The spirit is of a young girl, no more than twenty. Anger and evil has screwed and distorted her, what Mai thinks, her once beautiful face. Her body is translucent, but her hair which is set loose and flying all around her is dark and ominous. Purple and blue sparks of energy float in it.
John and Houshou step forward to exorcise. But their efforts are cut short when the table comes flying at them. John ducks in time but a corner of the table hits Houshou's head and he gets knocked out. Ayako cries in alarm and kneels down beside him. Now John and Lin stay standing.
Mai feels as if someone has poured ice cold water on her when she sees two more spirits materialising from nowhere. Two samurais. Lin curses under his breath as he moves to cover Mai.
Then absolute chaos ensues when the woman moves Sentaro's hand like a violin string and a fountain of blood gushes out his slashed throat. Masako screams. Then the samurais attack Lin together, their swords slashing, cutting through his shirt. He gasps in pain as he staggers still trying to protect Mai. Mai shouts as blood seeps through his shirt. She quickly catches him by his elbow. Naru helps her.
The samurais turn their attention to John who has already started, "Father who art in heaven…" Lin's shikis get to work. Ayako joins him too with her chants. Bitch just hurt her husband, no way no earth she will stand down.
Between them they manage to expel the samurais. The woman, watching her spirits disappearing so fast, starts screeching. It is an ear-splitting screech. All of them press their hands to their ears trying to block her out. Then she moves and flies straight through Masako.
Masako presses her hands to her ears, but no avail. Then she feels a cold knife-like sensation pass through her. The pain overwhelms her. Her own pain and the spirit's pain. It feels as if her very blood froze on impact. She coughs and the last thing she remembers is darkness. She faints.
Lin does not want her here. But Naru is talking to the family members downstairs; Ayako is dealing with Houshou; and John is keeping watch over Masako. So it left Mai to tend to his wounds.
They are seated on the floor. He tentatively takes his shirt off, wincing as the fabric peels off his cuts. The swords had slashed his right side: his bicep, near his shoulder blade, his elbow, and on his cheek.
First she notices how well built he is. He did not have much chest hair. And he is smooth, and hard. She remembers feeling it against her body. She gulps and scolds herself because now is definitely not the time t go down that road. Then she exhales in relief when she realises that his cuts were not at all deep or serious. She sends her thanks to all the gods. She says softly, "Your wounds are superficial."
He is about to nod when he winces and a hiss escapes from his lips. She had just applied the antiseptic liquid. Is it his imagination or was it burning more? He turns his head to look at her. She still hasn't changed out of the yukata. The dress is wrinkled, her hair is starting to escape from her braided bun. He looks at her for a few heartbeats. Even in this disheveled state, her beauty had not diminished. He never really noticed her beauty before, has he? She mutters, "Thank you…for saving me then." He makes a noncommittal noise in his throat.
She feels his gaze on her as she deftly wipes away all the blood. She prepares the gauze and applies it winding it around his arm, and under it to cover his shoulder. She moves on to the elbow. Then she steels herself as she turns towards the wound on his face.
He is a bit hurt when she refuses to make eye contact as she looks at his nose instead to rub the antiseptic on his cheekbone. When she peels off a Band-Aid to apply, he finally speaks, "Mai?"
"Hmm?" she says, already dreading where this is going.
"I am sorry. For that, I shouldn't have done that."
She presses the Band-Aid and finally makes eye contact. Her brown eyes are stormy. She asks, "Why?"
"Mai…"
She grabs him by his face and says, in a steady voice even though she is breaking apart inside, "I can tell you why. I wish you can see. Yes, I know, I am younger than you. But you need to open your eyes. I am no longer sixteen. I am no longer a girl. I am a woman now and I want you," her voice softens, "I buy oolong tea for you because you like it. I learnt how to make coffee for you. You don't know how glad it makes me when among everyone else you never once insulted my intelligence. I care what you think about me but…I am so tired of you not seeing me Lin."
She gets to her feet and promptly escapes, leaving a very surprised Lin in her wake.
She runs all the way to the room she shared with Ayako and Masako. Maybe she shared too much. She wants to cry. She puts a stop to that when she sees John sitting beside an unconscious Masako. She asks, "How is she?"
John startles a little. He turns around, "Oh hello Mai. She is okay. She actually woke up a few minutes ago, asked for water and then fell asleep right away. I don't think she is possessed. How is Lin?"
"He is okay," she clutches around for a viable excuse so John can leave, "Uh, John? Lin-san needs your help. He can't find a wearable shirt with one hand. I didn't feel right rummaging a man's luggage."
"Oh that is understandable. I will go. Can you stay here?"
She nods. John leaves. She sits down on her knees beside Masako. She clutches the fabric and bites down on her lips, trying very hard not to crumble. But, it doesn't work, when she remembers the regretful look in his eyes.
He regrets kissing her. She can no longer take the hurt and hot tears roll down her cheeks. This is what heartbreak feels like then.
"Mai?"
Mai tries to wipe her tears when she sees Masako looking at her with her dark blue eyes. She says, "Oh hey Masako."
"Are you crying because of Lin?" Mai's mouth drops open. "I saw you two kissing. I remember feeling glad that you two might have actually expressed your feelings for each other. But now that you are crying…I am thinking it did not go well."
"So you knew?"
"Me and Yasu. It wasn't too hard to guess."
Mai blushes, "Oh god that is embarrassing."
"Mai," Masako grabs her hand, Mai thinks her grip is too weak, "Tell him you love him." Her eyes flutter and close.
As Masako goes back to sleep, Mai gasps. She gets to her feet and stands beside the window. She can see the koi pond from there. She asks herself—love?
Was this heart-wrenching, soul-crushing emotion love? Did she love him? She takes stock how he made her feel. How her heart would jumpstart, how his miniscule smiles brings her immense joy, how every touch set her skin tingling, how safe he made her feel, how she knows she can tell him anything and he wouldn't judge, how she wishes she could spend all her time with him. Oh gosh, she realises with a jolt, she does.
She grips the pane hard, her knuckles go white. She is in love with Koujo Lin. And goodness it hurt.
The police came by and ruled it as suicide as the only fingerprints on the knife handle were Sentaro Nohara's. Kenji and Sakura made up when he saw his own cousin getting killed by a ghost. Hitoshi had not spoken much after he saw his father's body being carried away by the police. Masako had woken and she was confirmed not-possessed by everybody. Houshou had a bandage around his temple and he might have a concussion.
It was nearing night and yet, Lin did not see Mai anywhere. He did have a shiki following her and he knew she was okay. Yet she avoided him. It hurt him a bit. But he will not deny that her bold confession shook him up. She was honest with him. And he was lost at sea. If he took one step forward, his own mind would pull him two steps back. He did see her as a woman. But he was a failure when it came to express his feelings.
A day prior to Masako ending up unconscious on her bed, her boyfriend, Osamu Yasuhara, gets down from the train at Shin-Osaka. The genealogist lives in Himeji, in Hyougou Prefecture of the Kansai region. His name is Daichi Watanabe. When Yasu called him up, he got his secretary instead, who very hesitantly and sadly informed that the professor hates modern technology and he is basically a recluse—maybe he can physically visit him. So here is Yasu now, waiting for the train that would take him from Shin-Osaka to Himeji.
After a thirty-six minute journey, he successfully locates the professor's house. It is a small house covered by lush greenery. He presses the bell. The door opens revealing a diminutive woman in her early thirties with bright red dyed hair. He smiles, "Hello, I am Osamu Yasuhara. I called—"
"Oh! I am Rin Kimura. I am the one you talked to," she says, "Come in, the professor's this way!"
As soon as Yasu enters, he hears a rough, rude baritone call out from somewhere, "Rin! Where are my cookies and chocolate milk? How am I supposed to take my medicines otherwise? You know my bowels do't work without them. I haven't taken a shit in two days!"
What? Yasu has a feeling it is going to be awful dealing with Professor Watanabe.