A Goodbye Confession

Set after the original Manga

It had been over a week since Dr. Oliver Davis had left Japan, closing his office in Shibuya and leaving behind his team of psychics.

Mai had quickly found another job in a local shop, and however tame the work was in comparison, she couldn't deny that she needed the money. She'd gotten so used to big, fat pay cheques it was difficult to adjust to what she was paid now.

One Saturday morning, before setting out for work, an envelope was delivered to her apartment containing one disc and a small, handwritten note. 'To be viewed by all employees of the late SPR,' it simply read, and Mai was sure that it was Naru's handwriting.

So, after her shift, Mai called all five of her friends and arranged for all of them to come to her apartment on the same day; to say they were all intrigued was an understatement.

"What'd you think it is?" Yasuhara asked them eagerly as they waited for Masako to arrive.

"Maybe it's a map to a hidden treasure," Bou-san suggested.

"Why would he have hidden treasure?!" Ayako rolled her eyes, "He's not a pirate!"

"What? He has loads of money, why wouldn't he hide some of it?"

"Because people don't do that, you idiot!" the priestess yelled, and they barely heard a knock at the door.

"I could hear you all from the next street," Masako told them with her usual attitude, stepping inside, and Mai gave her a nervous smile

"I don't believe that," Ayako told the young medium.

"Please...don't fight..." John said, "Mai-san...why don't we see what's in the disc?" he asked her quickly and she nodded.

"Yeah," Mai nodded, listening to Ayako and Masako argue with each other, and luckily they quietened once Mai picked up the disc.

Mai put the disc in her TV, which she had been able to afford due to Naru's paycheques, and the file opened to show a list of small text files and a single audio file which they listened to eagerly.

"If you're listening to this then I have done what I came here to do and I have left Japan, possibly for good," Naru's voice said and they listened intently as he continued. "Before any of you throw this out in anger, let me say one thing; I'm not going to ask for your forgiveness or your understanding; I did what I did to find my brother. That's all the reason I can give to you."

"You lied to us," Mai corrected him quietly and her friends nodded in agreement.

"I knew one day you'd find out the truth, I knew you'd find out who I was; I've been prepared for this for a long time now. Maybe you learned too much about solving cases, or maybe you knew it all already, I'm not sure. I know it's little in the way of compensation, but under the name of the British Society of Psychic Research, I've included on this disc, extensive references for each of you should you ever need to prove to anyone - employer or colleague, that my family's company, for whatever its worth, valued your skills."

"...Whatever it's worth..." Bou-san repeated in shock, "A reference from them'll mean no one'll talk back at you in this business...ever..."

"Shhh," Ayako told him and he sighed.

"I don't suppose you'll need me to explain why your cheques were signed 'BPR' or why they were so extensive. And, Mai, now you know why I focused so much on maps and surveys, and why I never took time off. I'll also assume that Hara-san has explained certain details to you," he said and Masako went beetroot red, "If not, I suggest you ask her since I have nothing to hide from you now."

"What's he..." Mai began, but stopped as he continued.

"I've never had to put it into words before, but after everything...I can't deny I owe you at least a portion of the truth," he said slowly, and the room was so quiet it was almost eerie. "...It's so easy...to be someone else. I don't think of myself as a coward, but the more cases I worked on, the easier it was to be just Shibuya Kazuya. As Oliver Davis, there's a lot of things I can't do if I want to do my work. It's very difficult to run an investigation with press interference or people constantly questioning my abilities and so on. It's hard enough when people are genuinely critical, but it's impossible if they think you're a celebrity."

"But as you know, I've never cared about what people think, I've never cared if they believed in ghosts or psychic powers. What's important to me is the work and proving that it can be seen and treated as a science like any other is more important than people's opinion. And, as my parents are keen to remind me to inform you; you did aid my research."

"Is that his way of saying 'thank you', or something?" Ayako rolled her eyes with a smile.

"And, since the Japanese branch of my parents' company no longer exists, I am no longer the CEO. If you are ever in need of work, my father wishes me to tell you to contact him. I think that's everything of importance, except perhaps this; I don't believe in predestination or fate or destiny, I believe whatever happens will happen and we can't change it. What happened to my brother happened. I can't change it; I only saw it after the fact," Naru told them, giving them a moment to understand what he meant.

"I don't know if I'll return to Japan; before I left London I was supposed to start at Trinity College, and they don't reserve places indefinitely for anyone...including me," he chuckled lightly and they shook their heads at his familiar egotism. "It's not an opportunity I can dismiss for anything," he added, mostly to himself. "So, London, I believe, will be my home again, at least for the next three years. Should you, for whatever reason, visit the capital, I don't believe it will be difficult for you to find Davis' manor."

"Huh, 'manor'," Mai scoffed sadly, "We won't go even if you beg us, right?" she said and they smiled.

"I think that is him begging, Mai-san," Yasuhara replied quietly.

"...Goodbye," Naru said finally, and the audio track finished.

"Well, that was...something else..." Bou-san said after a minute.

"So...Masako...what did he mean about 'certain details'?" Yasuhara asked slowly.

"Oh, yeah, is it what you said about knowing his weakness?" Mai said quickly.

"Mmm," the medium nodded, turning her face, hiding her eyes from them behind her dark hair.

"Well, what is it?" Bou-san asked.

"You already know it," she answered, "Except I knew it the first time I saw him...I had a recording of the PK demonstration he did..."

"And...you used it against him," Mai concluded, and Masako nodded again.

"I thought he'd forget about it and stop hating me for it..."

"That's not what people tend to do when you blackmail them, Masako-chan," the monk said sadly and Ayako lightly elbowed him in the chest.

"I know, I know that," she said quietly, "But..."

"I really don't think he hates you, Masako," Mai said to her friend, "If he did he wouldn't worry about you at all. And why would he keep working with you if he hated you?"

"Because...I'm a medium..."

"I think it's because you're his friend. It's not like he's ever been threatened by anything, even ghosts, I don't think he hated you," Mai said with confidence, prompting Masako to give her a relieved smile and they lapsed into silence

"...Well, since we're all here, why don't we have a reunion party?!" Bou-san suggested happily, effectively breaking the silence.

"...Can you really a have a reunion party after only a week?" Mai asked quietly, with an exasperated expression as Yasuhara and Bou-san started to raid her meagre kitchen.

A.N. In my head I find it hard to believe that Naru would ignore the opportunity to go to Trinity College and just go back to Japan like nothing had happened. (I found out about the College part from the link on my profile page, it's at the bottom.) So, in my timeline, he stays in England after finding Gene's body to finish his studies...Then maybe I'll have him reopen SPR, but who knows what could happen in the middle.

There is part of a sequel for the manga called; AKUMU NO SUMU IE, I don't know if anyone's read it or not. I only found out about it recently, but there's not many chapters, so don't get excited about it.