A/N I have to apologize for the long wait for this chapter. For some reason, it was an incredible struggle to get this chapter out, though I am now proud to present it. I realize that there has been a lack of action thus far, though I must ask that you bear with me- there will be more action later in the story. At the moment, I am mostly focusing on building up the tension round what is targeting Lin. I should also apologize for the length of this chapter- it is larger than the past chapters, though I hope you will find it worth it. Read and review, if you will.
It was 10:30 a.m. Koujo Lin and his charge Naru, along with co-worker Mai were preparing to leave the Creston hotel and head back to Shibuya Psychic Research building, Their plan was to meet with the rest of the Irregulars of SPR's main paranormal investigative team. Oliver had called them earlier that morning on the claim that he had come across a serious case. He'd hadn't spared the details of Lifen's disappearance, or his his encounter upon tasting the water in the tap. However, he had not included the information regarding Lin's look alike, believing it better for the Irregulars to hear it from the Onmyouji himself. Though he had conveyed some of the dangers of the case to his team, and made absolutely certain that they knew that the situation was urgent, and he needed to meet with them all as soon as possible.
Despite the abruptness of the summoning, each of the Irregulars had agreed to to heed Naru's request of meeting, albeit with irritated complaints from Ayako about how "Her beauty could not be rushed." On another note, Madoka would be flying in from England later on in the day, and was expecting Lin to pick her up from the airport once her flight arrived.
The tall, dark eyed man had no qualms with heading out to retrieve the pinkette; in actuality, he would prefer being around the sweet Madoka rather than the bickering Monk and Ayako, the prankster Yasuhara, or the moody Masako. Now that he thought about it, it seemed that John was the only one of the Irregulars other than the aforementioned Madoka that Lin could bear being around for prolonged periods of time.
However, the stoic Onmyouji was also full aware of much of a handful that Madoka could be; she, with her carefree attitude, seemed to be immune to the fear often associated with her line of work. She seemed to dissociate herself from the fact that her life could be in jeopardy every time she entered the field of investigating a case linked to paranormal phenomenon.
Though once everything was said and done, the pinkette still had some type of expertise that could prove useful to saving Lifen, and handling the look alike of Lin. The twenty-seven year old wasn't stubborn enough to deny that they knew next to no facts regarding their current case. Any help offered should be taken, as well as appreciated.
"Lin, Mai and I are ready to leave," A voice announced suddenly. Koujo turned towards the voice, and was met with the blue gaze of Noll, who was holding his cellphone in his right hand, "Monk and the rest of the lot should be arriving at the SPR building any moment now." Nodding his understanding, the stoic bodyguard slipped the card key to the hotel room out of his black pants pocket.
"In that case, we shall depart shortly," He replied in response to his charge's earlier admission. Gesturing with his hand towards the door, Lin made his way towards it with the two teenagers in his company trudging along behind him. As they walked, Oliver changed his pace to match that of his bodyguard's, while Mai stayed behind, a dreary look on her face. Lin assumed that she was worried about what he had told her in the bathroom earlier that morning.
Sighing, the Onmyouji turned his head towards his charge and asked him a question that suddenly sprang to his mind- in the chaos of the day before, he had forgotten to inquire for the answer.
"Noll, what was it that saw in your psychometric vision?" Naru stiffened at the question, before relaxing his tensed shoulders and walking ahead of Lin. After a moment, he glanced back over his shoulder, an odd look in his blue eyes.
"I didn't see anything. But I felt; pain and anger, more overwhelming then anything I've ever experienced. It was...disorienting, to say the least," The paranormal researcher paused, then sighed before speaking again. "I can't explain it, but the intensity of those emotions was unreal."
Koujo, not knowing exactly how to respond to this admission, simply nodded his head in understanding before continuing his walk towards the main lobby of the hotel. Several seconds passed before Naru spoke again.
"By the way, I also did some research of my own regarding your sister's disappearance. We, of course, are going to conduct our own investigation in the hopes of determining her whereabouts. The reason I bring up the matter in the first place is that when you first received the phone call you, most likely due to the trauma, failed to mention to me whether or not Hong Kong's police department was investigating her disappearance. As far as I can discern from the information that they were willing to divulge to me, they are presently investigating leads as to where your sister might be, but no new developments have been made at this point in time. I just thought that I'd pass that along to you."
Stunned, the dark-haired man paused mid-step and turned his head towards Noll, who continued walking ahead. Catching onto the fact that Naru wasn't going to cease in his walking, Lin darted forward and matched his pace with that of his charge's, all the while leaving Mai in the dust as she drearily trudged along behind them.
Breathing in a brief sigh of annoyance that Oliver had not included this in his prior report, Lin asked the dark-haired teenager the question that had began to plague his mind.
"Noll, how exactly where you able to persuade the Hong Kong police department to converse with you about details concerning a missing person? They're normally quite sensitive about those things, as I'm sure you're aware."
"I'm well aware of how the police normally react to questioning, however, I went through the family route- which made it much more simple," Oliver conceded, causing his bodyguard's eyebrows to furrow in moderate confusion.
"'Family route'? Would you mind telling me what exactly you're referring to?" Lin asked, genuine confusion in his voice. The paranormal researcher walking beside him rolled his eyes, as if the answer to his assistant's inquiry was the most simple thing in the world.
"What I meant by 'family route' is that I called a member of your family- I believe it was your brother Lukida, if I remember correctly, and asked him to contact the police department in my stead, to plead with them to grant me permission to be allowed into to the 'inner circle' of their investigation, so to speak. They were much more lenient with a member of the victim's immediate family, and your brother's request was fulfilled."
"How did you know to call Lukida in the first place, Oliver?" Lin asked as Naru walked a few paces ahead of his bodyguard.
"First of all, I have your cellphone in my possession," The British researcher admitted, reaching into his left pants pocket and retrieving Lin's sleek gray phone. "I picked it up after you stormed out of SPR's reception room yesterday morning. I checked through your speed dial, going on the whim that the contacts listed there would be people close to you, and as expected- I was correct," He finished, before ceasing his walking momentarily and throwing Koujo his phone. Lin caught it and flipped it over to reveal the screen, which to his surprise, was completely intact- he had expected it to be at least somewhat damaged from its fall, however, the device seemed perfectly fine.
Mentally berating himself for not being in the emotional condition to find out whether or not cops had been investigating Lifen's disappearance for himself, Lin turned around to face Mai, who had yet to speak in the several minutes that he had Naru had been conversing. The brunette met his gaze, then looked at the ground. Lin took this as a sign that something had began to bother the teenager.
"Mai, is everything alright? You've been unusually….quite," The twenty-seven year old commented. Mai raised her head up again and quickened her pace slightly as her coworker began walking again, so that she was meeting Koujo's strides as they neared the Creston's main lobby. It took her a few seconds, but finally, the girl seemed to find the will to speak what was on her mind.
"I've been….thinking about your sister." The Onmyouji's eyes widened, though his demeanor remained seemingly calm and at ease.
"Oh? For what purpose?" He asked nonchalantly enough that Mai did not detect the current of emotions that flooded him at the mention of his younger sister.
"What if her going missing does have something to do with what keeps following us? What if it took her because she's a girl? Wouldn't that...put me at risk too?" Mai asked, her hands beginning to shake in terror.
Koujo, not knowing what else to do, glanced towards Naru and realized that thankfully, his charge had stopped walking and was now eying Mai with a black brow furrowed.
"You believe that Lin's counterpart, for lack of a better term, has kidnapped his sister and will do the same to you simply for the sake that you're a female?" The raven haired teen questioned, sounding slightly perplexed as he did so.
"I don't know, Naru- I'm just afraid that something bad is going to happen," Mai admitted, tears beginning to well in her large, cinnamon colored eyes. Noticing this, Naru scoffed in annoyance.
"You're such an idiot, Mai. If anything comes after you, Lin and I will protect you. There's no reason for you to cry about it," The Narcissist admonished, shaking his head in minor annoyance. Mai wiped at the tears steadily collecting in her eyes, then blinked rapidly several times to disperse the remainder of the moisture.
"I know, but what if it hurts one of you?" She inquired, meeting the eyes of her boss, who sighed.
"Don't worry about that at the moment- we'll figure it out when and if the time comes. Let's just focus on getting to the office for now," The seventeen year old replied, placing a hand on his younger assistant's back and urging her in front of him with a slight push. He met Lin's gaze over his shoulder, and Koujo nodded, walking on ahead.
After a few more seconds of walking in peaceful silence, the trio came to the main lobby of the Creston hotel. Hamasaki sat at the reception desk, a magazine clutched in her hands. She looked up when she heard her customers enter, and cast a warm smile in their direction.
"I'm glad to see you conscious," She said, directing her statement towards Naru, who nodded.
"Yes, I'm fine now."
"Glad to hear it, though you might want to be more careful next time you go out drinking. Circumstances like last night's can be avoided," Hamasaki stated with a light chuckle. Oliver cringed at her words as he mentally put the pieces of what the receptionist was implying together in his head. He cast a furious glance in his bodyguard's direction before turning back towards Hamasaki. The researcher didn't see the small smirk that formed on Lin's face, and dissipated just as quickly.
"I'm going to go on a whim and ask whether or not you were the one who provided Lin with the medication he gave me earlier this morning?" Noll asked, smoothing a hand through his black hair. Hamasaki smiled and nodded.
"I was, and as you being here represents, it seems to have done it's job."
"Yes, it did quite well, I was feeling much better very shortly after taking it. I greatly appreciate your generosity," The teen stated agreeably, "though my assistants and I do have somewhere to be very soon, so we'd like to check out and depart from the hotel, as soon as it is of convenience for you," He added.
"Of course, I just need your room key back, and you'll be good to go," Hamasaki declared, holding out her hand. Lin stepped forward and handed over the card key. Nacora placed her magazine down and took it before pressing a few buttons on the laptop in front of her. "You three are free to leave now. I hope you enjoyed your stay at the Creston." Lin began to walk towards the exit, when Hamasaki's voice caught his attention once more.
"Ah, Mr. Lin, before you leave I'd like to give you my phone number, just in case you ever need me for anything in the future," the woman said, quickly jotting something down on a business card that she had pulled out of the holder beside her computer. She held out the card to Lin, who took it and placed it in his pants pocket.
"Simply for the sake of curiosity, what circumstance do you think will come into play where I will ever need to call you again, Ms. Hamasaki?" The Onmyouji asked, quirking an eyebrow as he stared at the receptionist. Hamasaki casually shook her head in response.
"I don't know for sure, Mr. Lin- but you never know what might happen in the future. I could be a valuable asset to you at some point," the receptionist stated cryptically, before turning her attention back to her laptop. Lin took that as his cue to leave, and headed towards the revolving doors where Mai and Naru had paused, waiting for him to catch up.
Noll raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but asked his guardian no questions. The stoic bodyguard was glad for this- he had not idea of what he'd tell his charge if his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Normally, he would have been forced to worry about whether or not Mai would ask questions, however, the brunette seemed to be caught in the same dreary mood as she had bee earlier.
Lin glanced in her direction, hoping to catch the young girl's eye. He did, and gave her a half-smile in an attempt to calm some of her fears. Mai smiled back, though there was little joy in the expression: she was genuinely afraid of what was to come. The realization of that fact put a minor damper on Lin's mood- if a bubbly and typically unafraid person like Mai was so terrified of their current predicament, what did that say about their situation?
The dark haired man shook his head, forcing himself to think past depressing thoughts- he and his two companions had a long day ahead of them, and would need his full attention. Lifen would need him to be at his best if they were to save her in time. Before his 'dream' came true.
Pushing his distraction aside, Koujo followed Naru as he walked to the SPR van, still parked outside of the Creston hotel.
The Onmyouji unlocked the door to the driver's side of the car, and situated himself inside, then hit the unlock switch under his window to allow Mai and Noll access to the vehicle. Within seconds, both teenagers were buckled in and ready to head back to the SPR building to meet the Irregulars.
It took thirty minutes for Lin to drive from the Creston hotel to Shibuya Psychic Research. By the time that the dark-haired man was pulling into the parking lot of the business, both Naru and Mai had dosed off.
The twenty-seven year old reached over towards his charge and shook his shoulder lightly.
"Noll, we're back at the office," the dark-eyed man said, his voice low. With a groan, Naru sat up straight on the seat, then glanced into the back where his sleeping assistant laid.
"Mai, we've arrived back at the office- get up," The teen spoke in a low tone, before turning back towards Lin. "Are the other members of the irregular's here yet?"
Lin nodded.
"Yes, I believe so. Shall we go inside to meet them?" Lin asked. In the way of an answer, Naru unbuckled his seat belt and opened the passenger side door, the proceeded to exit the van. Lin grabbed the keys out of the ignition before doing the same. By this time, Mai had sat up, yawning tiredly, and gathered her bearings before following suit.
Lin led the way into the building, pausing in the entryway just before the door for a moment before opening it. A light breeze fluttered out towards him as he did so, similar to the breeze that he had felt the night before just after walking out of his office upon hearing about his supposed look alike. The black haired man pushed the thought aside before entering the reception room of Shibuya Psychic Research.
Inside, situated on the couch and chairs littering the spacious room, sat the members of SPR's main paranormal investigative team. On the side of the couch closest to the door sat Houshou Takigawa, more commonly referred to as Monk. Houshou was, as his nickname implied, a Buddhist monk and rock star with long, blonde hair pulled tightly back in a ponytail and mischievous hazel eyes. The monk was roughly six foot four- considerably tall, though not rivaling Lin's own six foot eight height. Sitting directly to Monk's left was Ayako Matsuzaki, the self proclaimed Shrine Maiden with long red hair and darker red-brown eyes. Both features could easily signify the fiery temper possessed by her.
Standing along the wall staring out the large window of the office was Masako Hara- a celebrity medium with short black hair and ocean blue eyes. She appeared to be deep in thought- most likely trying to use her psychic abilities to attempt to sense the spirit that was causing all of the unusual phenomenon.
And finally, sitting in a chair with his legs propped up on the coffee table directly situated in front of the couch, was Yasuhara, whose name was normally abbreviated to simply 'Yasu'. Yasuhara was a college student and one of SPR's most reliable sources of information, under Madoka herself. With short black hair, intelligent gray eyes and big glasses, Yasu was the epitome of the college student stereotype.
The only two members of the Irregulars who were not accounted for at the gathering were Father Brown, whose flight from Australia would be arriving the next day, and Madoka, whose flight from Britain had yet to come in.
Lin glanced around the room at his associates that were present, looking away each time one of them caught his eye. It was painstakingly obvious that Naru had disclosed the fact that his sister was missing, as there was an air of sympathy in the gazes of each of the irregulars. It only made Lin more aware of the reality of the situation- something that he'd rather not be reminded of.
The tension in the room became a palpable thing- no one seemed to be willing to speak until Naru coughed to break the silence. He walked past his bodyguard and took a seat in the chair situated at the backside of the coffee table in the center of the room. Mai followed him and wedged herself onto the couch in the middle of Monk and Ayako. Lin, sighing heavily, took his usual seat at his desk. Once everyone was settled, Naru spoke.
"As you've all been informed, recent events have proved quite possibly to be very dangerous. I've called you all in to aid in the investigation of this matter. You are to treat it as you would any other case," The paranormal researcher said, his eyes trained on Lin. The thinly veiled hidden meaning behind his words was not lost on the Onmyouji. 'Don't allow your personal attachments to interfere with your ability to focus', was the unspoken message directed at him.
Lin heard the message loud and clear, and tried to commit it to memory. Although it was painful to do so, he tried to push the fact that the victim of their investigation was his only sister far back into the recesses of his mind. Catching Naru's eye, the stoic bodyguard nodded curtly at his charge, who's face did not change from its expression of stoic impassiveness. Though this didn't matter- Lin had know Noll for a very long time, and knew that his understanding had been displayed to him efficiently.
Takigawa in his usual effort to relax the tension of the room, stretched his arms above his head before opening his eyes and allowing a small smirk to plaster his features.
"So, what do we know about this boogie man so far?" The Monk asked lightheartedly. Every gaze in the room turned to him in unison. The emotions in everyone present's eyes ranged from utter disbelief, to mild amusement, all the way to minor rage. Lin, felt a slight tinge of annoyance at the Monk's carefree attitude, though he could not bring himself to feel much more than that- he couldn't allow his feelings to hinder is focus.
He had to remain in control of his emotions, because if he controlled his emotions, then he could manipulate the situation. But the instant he allowed he allowed them to become unguarded would be the moment that he would be at his most vulnerable. He'd learned when he was much younger to never, ever allow himself to be vulnerable. He would not make the same mistakes that he'd made in the past- not this time.
Steeling himself, the Onmyouji mentally decided that it would best for the Irregulars to hear about his look-alike from his own mouth. Choosing his words carefully, Lin met the eyes of each of members of SPR's investigative team.
"We know that there is something out there that is seemingly capable of stealing every aspect of my identity. For instance, it appeared to Mai as a figure that she mistakenly thought was my own. Within a dream or a vision, I had a similar occurrence where I heard it talk- it was also able to fully mimic my speech patterns," Muted gasps escaped all present other than Mai and Naru, though Lin noticed Mai's already downcast expression become a tad bit darker. "we don't know much other than that. You're all advised to be on your guard and to never be alone. We're not sure if this thing is specifically targeting myself at the moment or if it could go after all of you as well," Lin summed up, locking eyes with his charge from across the room. Naru nodded his head slightly.
"For the time being, I want all of you to look around the office- find any clues as to what our adversary is. Madoka and Father Brown will be coming in later today and tomorrow respectively to lend their expertise. Lin and myself are going to make some calls and see if we can't find any information regarding his sister's possible whereabouts, or her reason for disappearing. As stated before, you are not to go anywhere alone, nor let your guard down at any time. Does anyone have any questions?"
Takigawa raised his hand, and Lin inclined his head towards the monk.
"Do we have any idea of what exactly it is that we're dealing with here? Any inclination as to exactly how dangerous the situation is?" He asked, his hazel eyes questioning. Lin closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing his temple where a slight headache had began to form.
"As stated before, we really don't have much of a clue as to what the opponent we're facing is, nor do we know precisely what it is here for. The only thing that we know for certain that whatever it is has to be dangerous- it has the ability to completely take on someone's identity, as well as affect the senses of people to disorient them. It could convincingly become me, or possibly even any one us, and lead us to believe that we are in contact with the real person."
Upon hearing Lin's more thorough explanation, Ayako spoke up, her deep brown eyes wide.
"If this… whatever the hell this thing is can take on any one of our forms, doesn't that mean that none of us can trust each other? We don't have any way to know if who we're talking to is the real us!" The Priestess said, a slight note of hysteria in her voice. Several startled pairs of eyes flashed across the room- everyone seemed to be attempting to think up a solution to the issue that Ayako had brought forth, though non one seemed to have an idea, until Yasu jumped out of his seat, obvious excitement in his mannerisms.
"We could use idiolect gestures to determine if we're who we say we are!" The college student shrieked giddily. Mai lifted up her head for the first time since taking her seat between Monk and Ayako. She met Yasuhara's gaze, her brown cinnamon eyes full of confusion.
"Idio...what?" The brunette asked, her brow furrowing. Yasu chuckled and removed his glasses, proceeding to clean them on his shirt before replacing them on the bridge of his nose.
"Idiolect gestures- a gesture unique to the people in the present in this room.. a tell, if you will. As in tapping one's knee- a very natural and often reflexive gesture, though if we set it as our idiolect gesture, we'll know that we're who we say we are, because only those of us here will know to do that." Several gasps echoed throughout the reception room as understanding dawned on the Irregulars.
"You used tapping your knee as an example- could we actually use that as our idiolect gesture?" Takigawa asked after a moment. Yasu tapped his chin for a seconds and appeared to be deep in thought.
"I don't see why we couldn't.. like I said before, tapping the knee in itself is often something that we do reflexively- often we don't make ourselves do it, but it can be a nervous habit. Though, if we make ourselves tap our knees say, three times a sequence of three times, rather than once, it could hold an all new meaning." Yasu explained, his excitement still growing. The college student turned his gaze to Naru, who had his chin captured in his hand.
"I suppose it couldn't hurt to try it. In fact, we may not have much of a choice. There really is no way to know if this thing can morph into only Lin, or if it can become literally any one of us. Its better to be safe than sorry in this circumstance, and this method might give us a better chance at being certain that none of us are being impersonated." The psychic researcher turned his head to glance in his bodyguard's direction. Lin nodded in approval, not instantaneously being able to postulate a better alternative to the plan laid before him.
Takigawa stood and clapped his hands together, a devious look on his face.
"Alright then, let's get this party started, people!" The monk said, raising his voice to echo throughout the reception room. Naru held his head in his hand for a moment in frustration, before sighing and sitting up straight.
"This is not a social gathering," The raven-haired teenager articulated slowly, as if explaining to a child. "You have not all been called here to 'party', or do anything of the sort. You are here to work, and I expect all of you to do so," He paused, then got to his feet and gestured towards Lin, who stood up from behind his desk. "Everyone, be careful. Lin and I will be in my office for the time being. And Mai, stay with Takigawa at all times, you are not to leave his side. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" He asked, locking gazes with his younger assistant, who swallowed, then nodded.
"I understand, Naru; but why do I need to stay with Monk?" The young brunette asked, locking her brown eyes with her Boss's blue ones.
"Because I said so. Shouldn't that be reason enough?" replied the narcissist, a slight note of irritation in his voice. Mai's gaze turned hard as she continued to stare angrily at her boss.
"No, it isn't enough. You can't just make a statement like that and not expect me to want a reason why." Naru pinched the bridge of his nose tightly before sighing deeply.
"Monk knows warding magic, and is a competent enough at it to where I trust that he will be able to defend you should the need arise." Upon hearing that, a huge grin slid onto Taking's face, and he grinned at Mai.
"Come on, kiddo. It'll be fun- like one of those old detective movies," the monk said, his tone light, and his hazel eyes bright. Mai couldn't help but smile at her father figure's enthusiasm. Despite the dire situation, Honshou was still upbeat, and trying to make the most of things. That was a quality that the young brunette respected in him.
"If you say so, Monk. I'll stay with you for now," Mai said in response, her words directed at Naru, who nodded, before gesturing towards Lin, who followed closely behind his charge.
As soon as the duo reached Naru's office, the paranormal researcher pulled his phone out of his pocket, and dialed a number, before moving to the chair behind his desk, and taking a seat. Lin made his way over to the black leather couch positioned to the right side of the room, and settled himself onto one of the cushions. He leaned back and closed his eyes momentarily, while awaiting further instructions from Noll.
Lin was walking in someplace distinctly familiar, yet otherworldly to him. A house in which photographs of himself and his brothers, as well as his only sister, Lifen, lined the tan-painted walls, and the smell of vanilla and sakura blossoms wafted through the air. Lin breathed in the calming scent, trying to decipher the place he associated with it within his muddled thoughts. It was difficult, however the Onmyouji reconciled the scent to memories of his mother- a perfume she had worn for as long as Lin could remember.
In fact, as Lin recalled, even his oldest brother, Draidyan, had mentioned early memories of his, in which he had been able to smell their mother's signature perfume. Although the scent of perfume was not the only thing that seemed familiar to Lin. The entire house to that point seemed nostalgically familiar to him- the holes in the walls from where he and his brothers and tried to play sports in the house, against their mother's wishes, and the slight staining of muddy brown hand-prints where Lin had touched the walls after staying out in a thunderstorm.
All of these things made Lin feel sentimental- he was home. He had no idea how he'd gotten back to Hong Kong, but in that one blissful moment, Lin did not care, for he had no worries. As a matter of fact, the twenty-seven realized that he should hurry to the kitchen before his mother had breakfast ready- she always wanted everyone to be their for the morning meal, without all of the tussling associated with awakening all of her children. Lin took a deep breath as he continued to walk down the hallway of the house he had grown up in.
After a few calm moments, the hallway came to an end, and Lin was standing in the living room where he had spent much of his time studying during his childhood. The Onmyouji sniffed the air again, trying to catch a whiff of what his mother was cooking up for breakfast this morning. Several scents floated to his nostrils- something sweet that he could not place, as well as the unmistakable scent of something…. burning? Since when did Lin's mother ever burn something that she was cooking- she was usually so careful- Lotus Lin thought of cooking as her art, she would never willingly allow any of her dishes to fail due to burning.
That was the moment in which Lin began to realize that something must be amiss. The black haired man took a step into the kitchen, and was almost immediately hit with the scent of something that twisted his stomach into a knot. He was smelling blood, and a lot of it. The realization nearly nearly froze Lin's feet to the ground, though pure instincts kicked in, thankfully, and he darted fully into the kitchen, only to stop dead in his tracks.
Lying flat across the table was Lotus Lin. Her normally beautiful blue eyes were glazed, and as dead looking as Lin feared that she was. Lin gagged, feeling like he was going to be sick. The dark-haired man put a hand to his mouth, fighting back the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. Steeling himself, Lin took a step towards the table where his mother- the woman who had given birth to him, raised him to be the man he is today, and given him unconditional love, lay unmoving, apparently very much dead.
Lin's eyes became steely as he reached towards the exposed neck of his mother. He place two of his fingers against her flesh, and closed his eyes, feeling for a pulse. It only took him a second to realize that there was none to be found. He bowed his head forward, then opened his eyes.
Lin blinked before turning and opening his eyes. He smelled the scent of blood much stronger now, though at first, he had no inclination as to why, until his eyes focused once again on the table where he had found his mother deceased. The normally stoic man was still able to see the corpse of his mother, though it appeared to be under other bodies. The bodies of the people who were the rest of Lin's family. He saw Draidyan, Lukida, and Nazuke, all with their eyes open, with that frozen in time look that death brought with it. Lin failed to notice how Lifen, another of his siblings, was not among the dead.
Above his siblings that were present, lay Lin's father. Lin felt no emotion, except for shock- he had not been close to his father for a long time, he still realized that this was the man who had helped raise him. The thought almost made Lin gag again, though he managed to not be sick right then and there. The normally calm and disciplined man forced himself to look further up the pile of bodies, as he had realized in that moment who in his family was missing from the corpses of his deceased family members. Lin continued to allow his eyes to travel upwards, and his gaze fell upon someone familiar, who was definitely not dead, standing atop the mound of bodies.
"Lifen," Lin said the name of his only sister in a low, venomous voice. "what the hell happened?" he asked, his tone taking on a note of hysteria- 'Why does Lifen look so calm?' the bodyguard wondered, as several unpleasant thoughts began flooding through his mind. He shook his head wearily, and met his sister's blue eyes, which appeared to carry none of the emotion that they normally did. A shudder rocked through Lin's body against his wishes, and a cold, sadistic smile fell across Lifen's lips.
"What happened?" the young black haired girl asked, her voice cold and methodical. "what happened is you, Koujo. Everything that has happened, and the things that will happen, have all been because of you. Are you happy, now?"
Lin stared at Lifen, not quite understanding her words, but becoming more uneasy by the minute. 'My fault? How is her disappearing my fault?' Lin did not have time to ponder the answer to his question before Lifen sprang down from atop the corpses of their dead family, and landed directly in front of her older brother. The stoic bodyguard stumbled back a few steps, though could not get away fast enough before a knife plunged into his shoulder.
Lin fell into blackness.
…
Kazuya Shibuya tapped his finger against his bodyguard's shoulder with more force that might have been necessary. As soon as they had entered his office, Lin had taken a seat on the leather couch that dominated the right side of Naru's office, and fallen asleep, most likely due to lack of rest the night before. When Naru had gotten off of the phone, he had noticed Lin struggling in his sleep.
His tapping of Lin's shoulder was an effort to wake him- in Naru's opinion, Lin had seemed incredibly frightened in his sleep, with the way he tossed and turned on the couch. The normally calm and composed man being afraid was something unusual to Naru.
Although Naru continued to tap, and occasionally shake Lin's shoulder, the Chinese man would not wake up, though he continued to struggle in his sleep. Frustrated, Naru spoke.
"Lin!" the stoic researcher said, his tone higher and sterner than the one he normally used when speaking to his guardian. He hadn't expected to get any reaction from Lin, but was very unpleasantly surprised when he felt hands close around his throat.
…
…
Koujo Lin was afraid- more so than he had been in a very long time. He had saw his sister, the very same one whom had gone missing, atop a pile of corpses that were the bodies of their immediate family. She had jumped down and stabbed him, sending the now nearly hysterical Lin into a dark spiral, that had cultivated into him waking up, still being stabbed by something.
Gasping, Lin applied more pressure to whatever it was that he had grabbed, trying to cut off its struggling. Lin was not yet using all of his strength, though he was close to it. He would have applied the max pressure that he was capable of, had he not heard a familiar, though out of breath sounding voice speak to him.
"Dammit. Lin. Let. Me. Go. Kill..killing me. Would. Make your. Job. Kind of re- redundant. Wouldn't. You. Say?"
Lin recognized the voice almost immediately, and cringed both inwardly and outwardly. He had been trying to cut of his charge's oxygen supply in the shock and fear of his dream. He instantly released his hold on Naru's throat and shot to his feet, at the same time as Naru fell down onto one knee, coughing and sputtering uncontrollably. Lin was afraid that he had nearly killed his charge. He bent down and lightly hit Noll on the back.
Seconds later, Mai and the rest of the irregulars burst into the office- they had apparently heard Naru's coughing. Their faces were a mixture of shock and fear. Mai gasped, and ran up behind Lin, who held up a hand to stop her from coming closer.
"Lin, what's wrong with Naru?!" she demanded, her tone high-pitched and face furious. Lin simply shook his head as Naru's coughing began to lessen. The paranormal researcher turned around, stood, and sat down on the couch cushion that Lin had previously vacated. He kept his head bowed for a moment, apparently catching his breath.
Monk, who had remained oddly silent up to that point, stepped towards Naru. His eyes had fallen upon the red marks across the raven haired teen's neck. His hazel eyes narrowed, and he stared into Lin's steel gray eyes for a moment.
"Lin, did you do this to Naru? Or was it the damn thing that took your sister?" Takigawa asked, his voice emotionless. Lin sighed, and ran a hand through his black fringe.
"Actually, it was me. I had a dream, though in reality, it was more of a nightmare, if you will. Naru attempted to wake me, and my kyusho-jitsu training kicked in. I began to strangle him reflexively. I very well could have killed him had he not been able to speak to me, and jar me out of my reverie," Lin admitted, brushing down the black lock of hair that covered his blind right eye. Lin met Takigawa's eyes again. The monk had his chin in his hand, and appeared to be deep in thought.
"Kyusho-jitsu?" he asked after a moment. Lin sighed inwardly in relief- he had thought that the first question that the monk would ask him would be about his dream. He was glad about the fact that that particular conversation could wait.
"Kyusho-jitsu is a form of martial arts that involves relying mostly on using various pressure points to debilitate, or in some cases kill, one's opponent. I had my hands wrapped around Naru's neck, at the same time as I was applying pressure to various points, which would have rendered him unconscious, had strangulation not killed him beforehand," Lin said in way of an answer, standing to his full six foot eight height, after he had finished speaking. "as I said- had he not managed to make me realize that he was the one that I was strangling, he wouldn't be breathing right now."
Mai's eyes were soft when she looked at Lin- a surprise considering the earlier fire in her expression.
"Lin, you were frightened. Its understandable that your instincts took over- don't be too hard on yourself," the brunette said gently. Lin shook his head, suddenly irritated.
"It doesn't matter whether or not I was frightened. I allowed myself to let my emotions rule over my senses. I'm usually much more disciplined and composed than this. I should not have allowed myself to slip, regardless of the reason," the stoic man replied, his voice hardening. He had allowed himself to be ruled by his emotions once again. Something that he had promised himself that he'd never do, after….. no- he refused to allow his mind to wander there, to painful thoughts of her. Those were memories that deserved nothing more than to be locked away, and never pondered upon again. They brought Lin nothing more than sadness, and thoughts of whether or not the situation could have gone any differently than it had.
Sighing and resolving to leave the matter that wanted to plague his thoughts to rest, Lin turned to Naru, who had raised his head up. Beads of sweat coated the researcher's forehead, though his breathing had become far less labored. He locked eyes with his bodyguard, and though Lin saw no accusations in his charge's gaze, he still felt like there were many words that remained unsaid between the two of them.
"Noll, I apologize for my actions. I did not mean to assault you. As your bodyguard, I should have been protecting you, rather than allowing myself to fall asleep on the job in the first place," Lin said and bowed his head forward in way of an apology. Naru stared at his guardian and mentor for a moment before taking a deep breath. He flinched slightly as he did so, most likely due to the remaining pain of Lin's fingers around his neck.
"No need to apologize. I can understand why you reacted the way you did, and it would be stupid of me to hold it against you. Though I'd very much appreciate it if you'd take precautionary measures to prevent a recurrence of this event," Naru said. "I'd prefer to continue breathing, if that's quite alright with you."
Lifting his head up, Lin almost wanted to smirk, but restrained himself as a particularly sarcastic thought crossed his mind.
"Actually, you continuing to breathe would very much be alright with me. As you said earlier, my job would be redundant, should you lose your life for any reason," he said, staring straight into Naru's eyes, which hardened slightly.
"Ah yes. Very true- my parents would be rather displeased with your work, should their only surviving son die due to the negligence of the man they hired to be his bodyguard," Naru allowed a small, cold smirk to cross his features. "I doubt they'd be willing to allow you to use them as references for any future jobs you might wish to apply for."
Sensing the palpable tension in the room, Monk stepped forward, resting a hand on the shoulders of both Lin and Naru. He directed his words at Lin.
"Lin, while you and Naru were…. otherwise occupied, Madoka called on the business phone. She said that she wasn't able to reach your cell phone. Her flight landed in the airport about thirty minutes ago. I believe you were supposed to go and pick her up?" Takigawa said gently, applying light pressure to Lin's shoulder. The stoic man nodded, before turning on his heel and walking out of Naru's office, without a further word to anyone.
Though it was sometimes painful for him to be around the woman, Lin still knew that he had an obligation to bring her safely to the SPR office so she could lend her expertise.
It was time to go and pick up Madoka.