It was hard to believe that I had slept through the night. I felt I had been hit by a train. My entire body ached with every move I made. I managed to get dressed and fix some tea. The was warm and felt nice running down my throat, but it was a sorry replacement for Mai's. My mind flickered to the nightmare from the night before. Then suddenly it raced to the words I almost told Mai.
"What was I thinking?" I said out loud shaking my head.
It wasn't like me to say that to anyone especially Mai. Not yet anyway. I haven't even told her that I liked her yet.
"One step at a time Noll." Gene's voice assaulted my ears. I was still mad at him over the deal we made.
I turned around to see him grinning wickedly at me. He leaned against the door post looking like he always did when he was up to no good.
"Whatever you're up to..."
"Has helped tremendously." He interrupted. "Let's just say I gave Taichi a push in your direction." He was now grinning bigger looking like the Cheshire cat.
"We'll see." Was my short reply as I walked past him out the door.
...
Entering the office could feel the tension in the air. I took my coat off an slung it onto the rack.
"You have an appointment at..."
"You know I'm not taking any appointments right now." I interrupted Lin.
He glared at me with cold eyes .
"It's him." That was the only thing Lin had to say. My PK spiked and sent the coat rack flying into the wall.
I dropped to my knees feeling drained. Im was lucky there wasn't a giant hole in the wall where the coat rack hit. I hadn't felt this out of control since before I met Lin.
"If you can't control yourself I'll talk to him alone. If you do something stupid you could destroy any chance of finding Mai." Lin's tone wasn't angry but instead it was soft and full of concern.
He was right. Lately I haven't been able to control myself at all and I would never forgive myself if I ruined our one shot of finding her. I ran my fingers through my hair.
"I can do this." I wasn't about to let this man get off easy by talking with Lin.
"He's coming at two." Lin turned and disappeared into his office.
...
For the next few hours I stayed shut up in my office drinking tea and trying to stay calm and in control. I just had to treat him as any other client. No matter how hard that may be.
Knock Knock.
Lin didn't wait for a reply before walking in. He closed the door behind him.
"He's here." Lin stated coldly. "If you get out of control I will not hesitate to control the situation. Am I clear?"
I knew he was serious. I understood perfectly.
"Fine." I took a deep breath and headed to the sitting room.
A tall man stood and bowed to greet me. He was dressed in a suit and his black hair was neatly combed to the side just like in the picture. I stepped toward him and forgetting formalities held out my hand to be shook. He extended his hand, which hand a brace tightly fastened up to his wrist, and grasp mine firmly. As he did a sickening jolt coursed through my body. I didn't know if it was from trying to stay in control but at that moment I felt drained and light headed. He released my hand and smiled cynically at me.
"I am Kazuya Shibuya." I said after I regained my composure.
"I know who are." He began smugly. "You must be quite the ghost hunter if your reputation proceeds you." I sat down and motioned for him to do the same.
"Can you tell me the details of your experiences?" I was already tired of talking to him so I got straight to business.
"Well you see I have been hearing voices and footsteps around my house ever since I moved in four months ago. I ignored them and pushed them off because it didn't really bother me. But last night something happened that had never happened before. One of the spirits grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down the stairs. It practically threw me." He held up his braced wrist for me to examine.
I had a hard time fighting the smirk that threatened to cross my face. Gene literally 'pushed' him in my direction.
"I want to take care of this before it grows more violent." He continued. "How quickly can you come?"
"Tomorrow morning. I need to prepare my team." I had to explain a lot to them actually.
"Thank you." He extended his hand and I quickly bowed.
I didn't want to touch him again, but he placed his hand on my shoulder. Another sickening sensation stabbed through my body.
"I appreciate it." He said quietly, grinning at me. He took his hand off my shoulder and walked out the front door.
"Call everyone and tell them to be here in an hour." I told Lin who I almost forgot was in the room.
"Naru?" Lin stood up and rushed to my side as the floor suddenly came rushing up toward me.
I didn't understand how I could be so drained. I stayed calm the entire time. Not once had my PK even threatened to spark.
"Lie down on the couch and rest while I call everyone." He helped me to the couch and I rested my head on the pillow. "I'll bring you some tea."
Lin darted off toward the kitchen and before he even made it to the hall, darkness had consumed me once again.