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5
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Yuki was surprised at the fact that she was having a normal dream for once. She was sitting in the middle of a field, surrounded by bushels of lavender and large sunflowers. She picked at some of the baby's breath around her and she could smell all the different flowers. She smiled at the sight of the snapdragons; they were quite pretty. She looked up towards the sky and watched as some white fluffy clouds drifted across the sky. She could get used to such peaceful dreams, yet she couldn't help but wonder what had brought it about.
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Yuki groaned as the shrill beeping of her alarm woke her up from the peaceful dream she'd been having. She sent it an annoyed look before slamming her hand down on the snooze button. She grabbed her glasses and put them on before getting out of her bed. It was the first time in a long time since she'd been woken up by her alarm. She grunted as her injured leg hit the ground, but she didn't tumble down. She pushed through it and was able to get a shower and change into some civilian clothing. That was the best thing about Sundays, no school.
She came out of the bathroom in a white long-sleeved shirt under a black t-shirt, her jeans red. She moved to the kitchen to refill Bones's bowls and make herself some breakfast. She paused for a few seconds before sighing and bringing out a container to bring something for her boss. She was under the impression that he wasn't really eating. She fumbled for a few seconds of what to make and decided on something vegetarian in case he was allergic to meat or happened to follow a kosher diet. She'd rather not ruin someone's day by doing something that could put a dent in their normal diet. She did a simple egg sandwich with a lot of different vegetables. She placed it in a bento container adding a few more items such as fried okra, and onigiri. She was supposed to make something simple but ended up making quite a bit of food. Sigh sighed as she ate hers while making tea to bring to him. It was odd, but she enjoyed making someone else food. It was rare that she got to show off her ability to cook. She cleaned up after herself before getting Bones ready and heading out. She let out a small yawn as she put the container and thermos into a small messenger bag. She didn't want to drop them on her way to the old school.
"He's usually here before us," She softly muttered to Bones, "want to sniff him out."
Bones let out a quiet sniff before lowering her nose to the ground and sniffing for Naru's scent. Yuki was greatly amused as she was led towards the van by the suddenly hyper golden retriever. He was laying in the back of it, his suit jacket covering him in a poor facsimile of a blanket. She frowned at the sight, that wasn't a safe place to sleep especially with everything open like it was. She reached out and gently shook his shoulder, getting a quiet groan out of him.
"You're going to catch a cold if you continue to sleep in your van," She informed him as he blearily opened his eyes.
He blinked a couple of times before running a hand through his hair. He seemed a bit confused as to why she was there, but she patiently waited for him to wake up a bit more. He winced from the bright light when she shifted her weight and he discreetly moved to hide in her shadow. He wasn't the biggest fan of how bright the sun could be when he first woke up.
"Yuki?" He quietly asked, "What are you doing here this early in the morning?"
"I thought you could do with something to eat, I don't think I've seen you eat at all, and I was beginning to worry," She muttered as she brought out the food she made, "there's green tea in the thermos."
He didn't say anything as he picked up the bento and opened it. He kept his surprise off his face at the fact that she had made him food without meat in it. She was looking away from him as he picked up one of the onigiri and bit into it. Her food was quite good and spoke of years of practice. She was watching as Bones walked around and was brought a stick by the old dog. She ran a hand through her hair before crouching in front of the dog.
"We can play later, all right?" She quietly asked the dog.
Bones fixed her with a look, and she stayed strong to her words. She simply brought a hand up and patted the old dog. Naru continued to eat the food and drank the tea before moving to look at his notebook. He had written down the information he had figured out. He was quite invested in the case.
"Anything else interesting happen last night?" Yuki asked him.
"Yes, though I believe you came to the answer before I did," He answered, and the admittance looked like it annoyed him.
"Land subsidence?" She questioned, and he nodded.
It was oddly satisfying to be right for once. She heard footsteps approaching and she looked towards the source to see Takigawa and the others heading their way. She stood up from her crouch slowly and put her hands into the pockets of her jeans. It didn't surprise her that she wasn't the only one to show up early. She gave them a pleasant wave in greeting. John gave one in return and Takigawa gained an amused look.
"What's going on?" Takigawa questioned, "Are you packing up already?"
"Yes," Naru confirmed as he finished off one of the sandwiches and his current cup of tea.
"You must be kidding me," Atari muttered as Naru held out some laminated paper to them.
"I've decided that this case is closed," He informed them, pouring himself another cup of tea.
Yuki was slightly flattered that he liked her tea enough that he was going back for seconds. She turned her attention towards Ayako as the woman read the information on the laminated paper. She didn't seem too pleased by what she was reading. A frown had appeared on her face.
"Did you exorcise the spirit?" Takigawa questioned.
"No, I didn't," Naru answered as he turned to his laptop and brought up a diagram of the building, "this building sank more than 0.2 inches overnight. This is a simple case of land subsidence."
"That's it?" Ayako asked, she didn't sound sold on what Naru was saying, "The psychic phenomenon was caused by a building sinking?"
"It explains the rapping sounds as the wood is bending due to the building shifting, the glass broke under the pressure of it, and the ceiling also collapsed," Yuki quietly stated as she gave a slight shrug, "it makes sense when you put everything together, and when you add in the angle of the room that the moving chair was in."
"When you put it like that it makes sense," John quietly said as he brought a hand up and tapped his chin.
"The building was developed on top of damp ground and, based on the numbers of wells that I checked, directly underneath the school is a big water vein that runs through the area," Naru added as he took a quick break to sip at the tea, "there are two other wells, but when I checked them for water, they were both empty. That is what's causing the land subsidence."
"It's simple geology really," Yuki commented.
"Simple, she says," Ayako muttered, and she got an annoyed look out of the albino.
"Yuki was the first one to come up with the idea that it might be subsidence in the first place just by the fact of the west side classroom being at an angle," Naru said as he closed the lid of the laptop and placed the cap on the thermos, "we need to start packing everything up."
"On it," Yuki nodded as he handed her the thermos, and it went right back into her bag.
He got up and she trailed behind him as they headed back to the base. Everyone else followed and Yuki gave them all a blank expression. She didn't know why they had followed; it wasn't like they were needed. The only ones she gave a pass to were Bones, Takigawa, and John. Ayako and Kuroda were on thin ice due to their attitudes. She looked to the side as they entered the base, who was she to talk?
"The building sank about 7.5 centimetres, man that's a big gap," Takigawa said in an amazed tone as he looked over the laminated paper.
"Land subsidence caused everything? That seems too good to be true," Ayako muttered in thought.
"Most things do when it's a rational explanation," Yuki softly said, and Ayako frowned at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The redhead snapped at the albino.
Yuki didn't answer as she turned to make sure that Bones was peaceful in her usual spot under the main table. She felt oddly…upset, no it wasn't the right word, but it was close to what she was feeling. Melancholy perhaps, that sounded closer to what it was. The case was over, and once everything was put away, she'd never be a part of the psychic world. It was something she'd never really thought about, though she felt as though she eventually would. She probably wouldn't have been able to escape it even if she tried.
"Sooner or later this building is going to collapse, until then the area around it should be declared unsafe to enter," Naru stated, pulling the attention back to him.
"That's fine, but it doesn't explain the day I was attacked!" Kuroda shouted at him as Yuki began to unplug some of the wirings at the back of the monitors so they could be taken down the stairs.
"Perhaps it's a floating spirit that likes to follow you around," Naru calmly said, and Yuki paused as she felt that oppressive feeling again her stress levels slowly rising.
"So, what are you going to do now? Are you going home?" Kuroda pressed.
"Yes, I finished my assignment," Naru answered.
Yuki remained silent as she slowed in her actions of removing wires. She shook her head at a sudden thought she had before picking up the pace. Naru moved one of the monitors from the shelf and Kuroda frowned at the two. She was waiting for them to say something else, to agree with her that something was going on in the old building.
"I still think that there are spirits here," Kuroda stated.
Bones let out a high-pitched whine, her ears flattening against her skull as she moved from under the table and towards her owner. Yuki paused as she went to pull out a few more wires before gently placing her hand on the dog's head. She felt a shiver go down her spine as the stressful feeling intensified to the point where she was sweating. She did not like the situation, but she didn't know what to say to calm the other girl down.
"There aren't," Naru said, his voice tinged with annoyance, "the research results have proven that there's nothing here."
Yuki went to say something but felt incredibly smothered. She was starting to have trouble breathing and let out a quiet cough to see if that helped. Kuroda's frown turned into an intense glare as she grew angry at the situation. Yuki was almost worried for Naru but knew that he had brought any anger from the girl upon himself due to how callous he could be. Yet, he was simply stating facts and Kuroda was too stubborn to admit that she just might be wrong. The albino moved towards the classroom doors to try and get out of the line of fire. She didn't want to be brought into a possibly hostile situation.
"It may just be that you can't perceive it," Kuroda stated, and Bones pushed through her fear of the other girl and let out a growl as she stood in front of her owner.
"Then you should exorcise it yourself," Naru stated as the others slowly trickled out of the base, "I've decided that my job is done, so I'm leaving."
Kuroda's glare increased before she shifted her weight and turned to leave with a loud huff. Yuki let out a quiet sigh as she moved to open the door for the first-year. She would be glad when the other girl left, just to get away from the oppressive feelings she seemed to bring with her. She frowned in thought.
"I think I'm going to miss figuring things like this out," Yuki quietly stated.
"What do you mean?" Naru asked, and he got a slight shrug in response.
"This was something I thought about doing after college when I was a kid," She admitted, the warm tone to her voice caused him to pause as he placed some of the wires into a tub, "I suppose it's what formed my decision in going through psychology."
"You don't look like the type to be interested in such topics," He commented, and she let out a strange sound at that.
"I might be inclined to agree," She said, "a lot of people thought I'd go into orchestral studies, but I find the human mind to be a bit more interesting than composing."
They didn't get to continue their conversation as a loud creak went through the building and hairline fractures appeared in all the glass. Yuki's eyes widened in surprise as she turned to look at the classroom doors behind her. She felt the residual oppression from when Kuroda had been in the classroom but didn't feel anything else in the immediate area.
"Yuki, move away from the doors," Naru ordered in a dangerously soft voice.
She went to take a step when pandemonium occurred. The glass from the windows on the doors, and the ones overlooking the courtyard, shattered and Yuki ducked to cover Bones from the debris. She grimaced as she gained cuts on her exposed skin and shirt sleeves. There were larger pieces this time, so she felt her body tremble from the pain without her really wanting it to. Blood slowly dripped to the ground from where she had gotten cut. Naru moved forward and pulled her away from the doors as they began to slam open and shut repeatedly. Bones gave a gentle woof at him as he looked around with a grimace on his face. The building seemed to be sinking again, but it was more violent compared to the previous times it had. Yuki took in a deep breath and calmed down to think of a plan.
"Naru," She said, getting his attention, "we need to evacuate the building."
He nodded and moved towards the broken windows. Yuki let out a shrill whistle and Bones shook her body before jumping over the broken glass and sprinting through the doors. She adored her dog sometimes, it was always entertaining to watch her jump and run. She shook her head as Naru motioned for her to move. She did so and he helped her out of the window before joining her. He steadied her with a hand on her forearm. He quickly released her as soon as she was standing up straight. It didn't matter as a bundle of golden fur barrelled into Yuki, causing her to tumble to the ground with a grunt.
"Are you okay?" John questioned the two as he ran up to them, he seemed worried as he noticed the blood, "You're bleeding!"
"I'll be fine," Yuki quietly said as she calmed Bones down to the point where she was able to sit up again.
"So, what was that all about?!" Ayako barked at Naru from where she was helping patch up Kuroda, "Are you going to tell me that was all caused by the lank sinking? That was poltergeist activity!"
"That could also be attributed to the building sinking," Yuki muttered, giving her a slight glare, "the way the glass fractured pointed towards an unstable structure."
"You're just saying that to stand up for your boss!" Ayako snapped at her.
"I'm not, but if that's what you want to think," Yuki sighed, taking the time to study the cuts littering her hands.
It was going to take them a while to heal up all the way. She felt slightly annoyed at the sight of them as John placed a cloth on them to staunch the bleeding. He didn't seem bothered by all the blood, and she wondered how much he was around it. Takigawa came up to them and frowned at the sight of the two injured teens before rounding on Naru. He felt inclined to say something to him.
"We heard the building warp, but we also heard someone banging on the wall," Takigawa stated.
"I can't believe I almost fell for these children's silly joke!" Ayako yelled in annoyance, finishing up with Kuroda.
"We need to take this more seriously," Takigawa said as he crouched next to Yuki and started to patch up her cuts with the first-aid kit the redhead thrust at him.
Yuki was quiet as she was wrapped up with gauze, her cuts cleaned and disinfected. It was difficult to move her fingers with how much he had wrapped. Why he was worried about her, she'd never know. A part of her was angry that he did. It wasn't like they really knew each other that well. Did he feel guilty as to what happened to her parents? It had been ten years; she didn't need someone babying her. He left alongside Ayako after he was sure she was all patched up. Bones moved off her lap and went to push against John, distracting the Australian as Yuki got up to talk to her boss. She knew that they were right, but they were missing something. She looked towards a quiet Kuroda, and it fell into place. That was their missing variable. She let out a quiet sigh before noticing something.
"Naru, your hand is injured," Yuki informed him.
"It's nothing, it'll stop bleeding soon," Naru said as he glanced at his hand before looking back towards the school.
"Be that as it may, it still needs to be cleaned up and bandaged," She sighed, "unless you want to deal with an infection. We still have the first-aid kit from Matsuzaki-San."
"Go take care of Kuroda-San," Naru ordered, getting a somewhat confused expression out of her, "I just need to be alone for a while. I hate myself so much it makes me sick."
Yuki was going to hit him.
A deep frown appeared on her face as she fully turned to look at him. She was honestly close to getting physical with him and was slightly startled when she grabbed him by the front of his shirt. He was surprised, and a bit startled, that she had done so. He was forced to look her in the eyes and found that she had specks of orange in her eyes. There was something too familiar with the way that she was glaring at him.
"You weren't wrong," She informed him, annoyance thick in her voice, "this incident doesn't prove you wrong, if anything it adds more evidence that you were right, there's just a variable that you overlooked. I don't need the wallowing in self-pity, it's unbecoming and does a disservice to your intelligence."
She released him and he remained quiet as he thought of what she said. She moved towards the kit and brought out what was left of the gauze and disinfectant. She gave him a serious expression and he accepted the items she pushed into his hands. She was too angry to help him out, and he could tell by the frown she had. He gave her a blank stare before walking off. Anyone who knew him would know that he was somewhat shocked by her actions. Very few people got physical with him.
"I swear," Yuki grumbled as she shook her head in disbelief.
"It's a good thing we heard Bones barking when we did, if we hadn't, we would've been in trouble," John commented as he came to stand next to her, "did you train her?"
"Yes, along with the help of an old family friend," Yuki confirmed before tilting her head, "she had to go through service animal training. When I was a child, I had issues with anxiety and stress leading to horrible panic attacks…honestly, I'm just glad that period of my life is over with."
She looked back down towards her dog before steeling her nerves. She had to push through this obstacle, and solve this case. Naru might've been going to figure things out from a different angle, and she wanted to make sure everything was back in order. That meant she needed to put all the monitors back up and reconnect them. She felt annoyed by that.
"I need to head back to the base and put everything back," Yuki quietly told John, "please, excuse me."
"You don't really show what's on your mind, do you?" John questioned as Yuki sent Kuroda home so she could relax and be out of the way.
Yuki paused and thought about his words for a few seconds. She gave him a side-eyed glance and he jumped in surprise. She looked away before shrugging. How was she supposed to tell him that she didn't want to get attached to people? She couldn't not without such words getting out to the administration or her previous guardian.
"I've never had a reason to do so," She informed him with a slight frown, he scratched the back of his head as his cheeks turned light pink, "you are adorable by the way."
He turned a deep red and she went back into the building. The base's floor was covered in glass, and she quickly swept it to the side with her foot so Bones could walk in without any issues. John joined her and together they were able to get all the monitors back up and running. He had a feeling that she was struggling to move her fingers and she seemed embarrassed by it. He was able to pick up on what she was feeling by the way her face twitch or how she reacted. When she was happy or content she had a relaxed posture, something he had noted happened around Naru more than anyone else. He tapped a finger against his chin before suggesting they set one of the cameras on the second floor to get more footage of a different classroom.
Ayako made a face as she watched the third-year student check something on a clipboard. The albino was struggling to write something with her right hand before moving the pen to her left. Ambidextrous? It was a neat skill to have.
"I know I'm pretty, but I'm afraid I don't see you that way Matsuzaki-San," Yuki said, messing with the redhead.
"Are you not staying to watch the Monk's exorcism?" Ayako questioned with a sniff.
"I'm just doing my job," Yuki stated, "are you taking issue with that as well?"
"Is it okay to put some of these wires away?" John asked Yuki as he walked up to her.
"Yes, if we ended up needing them, we can always take them back out again," Yuki confirmed giving a slight nod, "I'd rather get most of the equipment out just in case the building finally collapses."
"You're still going on about that?" Ayako asked in disbelief.
"Because I came up with subsidence as the reason behind the activity in this building, yes I am," Yuki confirmed before crossing her arms across her chest, "unless, you have a better idea than that of a poltergeist, if so then I would love to hear it."
Ayako was quiet after that, and Yuki went back to writing. She headed back into the base and turned on the sound from the monitors before checking them. John was out setting the wires in the back of the van and had grabbed a tape recorder for the second-floor classroom that was at an angle. He set that up before returning to the base, he blinked as he looked at all the monitors. Yuki could be very efficient when she wanted to be. Takigawa was chanting as he attempted his own exorcism, Yuki's eyebrow twitched, and John smiled slightly. She was slightly annoyed by the others.
"I set up a tape recorder on the second floor, Yuki-Chan," John informed her as she checked the time on her mobile.
"Thank you for staying and helping, John-Kun," She said as she put her phone away, "I appreciate it."
"It's not a problem," He said with a slight smile, "I'm going to go look around a little more.
"Right, please be careful," She said, her slight worry for him coming out without her needing it to.
"I will," He confirmed.
He walked out of the base, and she tucked some of her hair behind her ear as she looked back at the monitors. The building was calm, which made her relax about the fact that it could fall at any moment. She didn't want to be investigating inside when it did. The door to the base opened and she turned to see who had entered. She was hoping for her boss but knew that he would be busy. Kuroda stood there and she sighed before turning and giving her, her full attention. She knew it would be considered rude if she didn't.
"Kuroda-Kouhai, what can I do for you?" She questioned.
"How is everything going?" Kuroda asked in a calm voice, she sounded tired.
"Well, since you left Takigawa-San and Matsuzaki-San both performed exorcisms," She answered, "it's a bit obsessive, but I understand the need to be thorough."
"Where's Shibuya-San?" Kuroda questioned.
"He left to go research a bit more," She said, "I'm sure there are no spirits here."
"I saw one," Kuroda stated.
It was quiet for a few seconds as Yuki blankly looked at her. The third-year suddenly felt exhausted. Her body hurt, her knee was starting to throb, and her arms had gone numb from all the gauze wrapped on them. She needed rest, and she needed to eat something other than what she had for breakfast. She picked up the clipboard again and readied the pen.
"You've mentioned that," Yuki said as Ayako walked into the base to say something, "but the evidence proves otherwise, I'm sorry."
"Playtime is over, you kids should head home," Ayako told them, "the exorcisms were a success."
"Wasn't that what you said last time?" Yuki questioned, Bones gave a humoured sniff in response to her owner's words.
Ayako glared at the albino who simply looked to the side. She thought she would be done with the sarcasm and insults from the psychic research group. Yuki seemed to have taken the place of her boss and decided to channel him. Yuki could see why he messed with the miko, the reactions she got out of her were a bit amusing. She needed to step up since he wasn't there to sass people.
"This time, we're sure!" Ayako yelled and Yuki held up her hands to try and quietly placate her.
"No, the spirits are still here," Kuroda said as she looked up at the ceiling, "I can feel it. There are many spirits here."
Yuki discreetly rolled her eyes at those words. She was growing tired of Kuroda's games. She wanted them to end because once the truth got out, she would be made into a social pariah. She'd be ostracized and no one would ever believe her again. It wouldn't be a pretty situation. Ayako agreed, and she let out a sigh of annoyance.
"Are you still playing your psychic game?" Ayako questioned, "Cut it would and leave it to the professionals."
"I don't believe you," Kuroda informed Ayako.
"Just rest assured, Ayako may have blown it, but I did it right," Takigawa said as he entered the base with John, "geez, you got this place up and running in such a short amount of time."
"I can be efficient when I need to be," Yuki shrugged.
John gave a quiet yawn and Yuki slowly followed suit. Bones looked between the two of them before letting out her own. They were exhausted, and Yuki felt horrible since John shouldn't have stayed behind to help her. He was a genuinely sweet person, and she had the feeling they were going to end up good friends. It was strange, and she gave a sleepy frown.
"How dare you!" Ayako snapped at Takigawa, "Will you knock it off!"
"I'm just being honest," Takigawa shrugged.
"Are you going to take all the credit?" She asked.
"No," He answered.
Yuki sighed and placed the clipboard down having written down that Kuroda was still saying she "sense" spirits. The building let out a loud creak and they all paused to look around. A series of bangs sounded above them and Takigawa looked out the base doors to see if someone was running up the stairs to mess with them. It sounded like someone was physically inside the building messing with them. Yuki decided to do a headcount.
"Everyone is here in the base, right?" Yuki asked them.
"This is everyone," Takigawa confirmed, "I'll check the third floor."
"At least take something with you if it turns out to be someone," She stated with a sigh, "scare the for scaring us."
"Two wrongs don't make a right," John said, and she silently conceded with a frown.
Takigawa left the group inside the base and headed through the hallways to the stairs. The four humans waited with bated breath and strained to listen for his footsteps. It was eerily silent compared to how it had been mere minutes previously. Ayako moved towards the two teenagers and placed her hands on their shoulders, it was a move that startled them but was welcomed. Yuki left the redheads reach and moved to stand in the doorway.
"Is anyone up there?" She called.
"No!" Takigawa called back as he came back down the stairs to regroup with them.
"Try and explain the banging, I dare you," Yuki said to the two people who had just done exorcisms.
"It was just the wind," Ayako said, and Yuki slowly turned to look at her, her anger rising.
"The wind?" She asked, her voice quiet before it rose to a shout, "The wind?! How delusional are you? So, your little idea of spirits turned out to be wrong and now you're making excuses? My boss didn't make any excuses when his theory didn't immediately prove itself, so why is it that you can't accept that you were wrong like an adult?!"
Yuki was panting as she tried to catch her breath. Everyone was looking at her in surprise. No one had expected her to just snap as she had, she was nicer to Naru when she had yelled at him. Her hands were clenched into fists at her side as she fought down her anger to get a hold of her temper. She was doing what her father taught her. The calming breaths, the anger she felt soon faded and her hands relaxed. Takigawa went to say something to try and apologise when the knocking sound started up again.
"Again?" John questioned as the sounds of footsteps joined the knocking, "More footsteps?"
"It sounds like an indoor athletic competition!" Takigawa exclaimed, "Let's get out of here, the ceiling could collapse!"
Yuki nodded and they quickly evacuated the building, heading down the stairs. Yuki looked towards the entrance and noticed that the furniture was wobbling side to side. She made a mental note to be careful of them, but made a face as something slammed into her shoulder. Her knee buckled and she went down, her last thought was of the temperature of the object. It was warm.
oooooooooO0Oooooooooo
She woke up to darkness and let out a quiet groan of pain. Her eyes focused and she watched as small orbs of light floated past her. She held out a hand and gently poked one, it faded from existence, and she suddenly felt sad. Were they spirits? She didn't know. She closed her eyes and brought her hand back down as pain shot through her skull from a migraine that had snuck up on her. Something moved her fringe away from her face and her eyes snapped open. Naru was there? No, she knew that wasn't right. His eyes were closer to a steel colour while Naru's were bluer. His were also gentle compared to Naru's serious ones. He was also slimmer, missing some of the muscle that Naru had. She would've been fooled if she hadn't been looking for small traits that set them apart.
"Who…are you?" She mumbled, her mouth felt like it was full of cotton, the unknown teen smiled at her, "Are you Naru's brother?"
"I am, please call me Gene, though I must ask that you not tell him that you met me," The teen said as he worked through his surprise.
"He'll be mad if I don't and you'll be upset if I do…that's not a winning situation, either way, someone gets man," She muttered before sighing, she let out a dry chuckle, "I won't tell, I just want to see your brother taking care of himself and stop looking so sad."
"Has he been eating?" Gene questioned as he sat down.
"I made sure he had some breakfast today," She answered, "I don't know about the last few days."
"I can't contact him," He said with a sad smile, "I'll tell him when I can, and I will explain everything."
"A happier smile suits you better," She cheekily informed him, getting a roll of his eyes before he flicked her forehead.
"You should wake up, you're worrying them," He informed her.
"Aye aye, captain," She said before she closed her eyes,
oooooooooO0Oooooooooo
Yuki opened her eyes to see that she was in the back of the van, someone's coat was draped over her. She winced at the pain in the back of her skull and looked around. She couldn't place what time it was. Her wince increased as her body informed her that it needed to rest for a while.
"Are you okay?" Takigawa asked as he noticed that she was awake.
"Yes, just a migraine," She muttered as she slowly sat up, her hair falling into her face.
It was dirty and grimy. She didn't know why she expected it to be shorter. She ignored those thoughts as she pushed them away from her face so she could see clearly. Well, as clearly as she could without her glasses. Someone handed them to her, and she put them on. Ayako marched up to her and placed her hands on Yuki's shoulders with a frown on her face.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" She yelled surprise showed on Yuki's face at the motherly tone, "I kept calling your name, but you wouldn't wake up! I thought you were dead!"
"I'm sorry…" Yuki guiltily mumbled.
It was such a strange sensation to have someone be motherly to her. She hadn't felt it since she left Misa's guardianship the previous year. Even then, she had moments where she was either completely ignored or completely smothered by attention. Ayako felt like a familiar in-between that reminded her of her mother. She squashed those feelings before they could grow. They were dangerous to have, and she refused to be that person.
"Calm down, Ayako, you might injure her more," Takigawa said as he gave the albino a worried look.
"Shut up you stupid monk!" Ayako snapped at him, and he backed up a little at the hostile glare sent his way.
"Ah, here's your coat back," Yuki's quiet statement caused everyone to relax a bit, she seemed fine.
Takigawa accepted his coat back and put it on. He sighed quietly and put his hands into the pockets. They had waited until she woke up before they'd head out, but they hadn't expected that she'd be out for so long. She still looked exhausted, and that bothered him more than he'd like. He helped her to her feet, and she stumbled as her knee informed her that it was in serious pain. He crouched in front of her and ended up carrying her on his back.
"You were out for a long time," He informed her, "it's already four in the morning."
"I'm sorry," She apologised, "I could make you all breakfast as an apology."
"Free-food?" Takigawa muttered in amusement, "Judging from what you made Naru it's more than enough as an apology."
He was handed her keys to her apartment and started to walk to where she was directing him. Ayako walked behind them with a worried frown on her face. John was holding Bones's leash and was keeping the dog from pouncing on the teen riding on Takigawa's back. She looked completely spent, and in the need of a shower. She seemed to think of something and slowly moved to look at them.
"What happened to Kuroda-Kouhai?" She questioned.
"She left," Ayako answered, "don't you think this is starting to get serious? The exorcisms haven't worked and I'm starting to fear for our lives."
"Are you going to run away?" Yuki asked.
"What do you suggest we go?" Ayako questioned as she pinched Yuki's cheek and began to tug on it, "Didn't your boss run away after seeing all the glass breaking around him? He's probably at home shaking in fear."
"That's unlikely," Yuki stated as she tried to ignore the memories of her mother doing the same thing to her cheeks when she was being too cheeky.
"It's either that or he's curled up in a futon crying because we gave him such a hard time," Ayako said.
"Again, that's unlikely he's too much of a narcissist," Yuki pointed out, a slight frown on her face.
"In Shibuya-San's case it would be more like him to get angry and stick pins in a voodoo doll," John stated.
A few chuckles came out of Yuki before she could stop them. She quickly noticed the smiles she was getting from the others and cleared her throat to move past her sudden laughter. She hadn't been expecting John of all people to say something like that. The mental image was also quite funny. Takigawa opened the door of her apartment and Yuki quietly invited them inside as she was put down. She removed her boots and turned to face them.
"Come on in, I also know how to make a decent cup of coffee or tea," Yuki quietly informed them.
"I don't want to impose," John shyly said as Ayako walked in and removed her shoes.
"I wouldn't have offered if you were," Yuki told him, "besides you guys didn't have to stay while I was unconscious."
John relinquished Bones's leash to her and she removed it so the dog could go eat without having to wait for them. Ayako was looked at the pictures hung up on the wall and then back at the entrance where the only shoes were Yuki's and theirs. There were no shoes for the parents in the photographs. She paused on a photograph of a smaller Yuki dressed up as a Jedi with her father, her mother in the blue uniform of an officer from Star Trek. It was a Halloween where they had gone to a street that had a Halloween party. It had been in Shibuya of all places.
"It's a nice place," Takigawa said, already knowing why there wasn't a single sign of parents inside.
"Thank you," Yuki said as she limped through her apartment and towards the kitchen, "you want coffee?"
"Please," He confirmed.
"It's very clean," Ayako complimented, and she saw how uncomfortable the teen was growing from the constant compliments.
They all took a seat at her dining table, and she served drinks first before she grabbed out an old waffle iron and plugged it in. She had a recipe for buttermilk waffles that was simple and easy to make. She even cut up some of her fresh fruit so they could add them on top. She sighed as Ayako commented about the fact that she was making a western breakfast before learning that her mother came from France. Nothing else was said about her parents and they knew that she didn't trust them enough with that information. Ayako sipped at her earl grey tea and found that it had a deep taste to it. John had an herbal tea that was fruity in taste. Breakfast was filled with conversation as they learned about one another, though Takigawa did tell Yuki to ice her knee at one point and bandage it up. She had injured it further when one of the shoe cubbies fell on her. She was very aware of the irony of that happening.