"Well, someone looks happy." Akemi took note of the smile plastered in Eugene's face. "I'm suspicious..."
Akemi was once again on the Other Side; she knew of it the moment she saw Eugene standing in front of her. So far, she could see she was in the middle of a room with her actual body peacefully laid down on a sleeping mat right on the middle.
Now that she thought about it, it seems to be a first for her to see such a sight, but she has seen a lot more surprisingly disturbing things to be affected that much.
"I see that you're joining us on this case today?" Eugene gave out a light-hearted shrug, one she would never see on Naru. If he were to shrug though, it would instead be more nonchalant close to a dismissal— "I'm just glad to see natural gifts being opened, that's why I'm here."
Akemi narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "You've done something to Mai, haven't you?"
"Just nudged her to dream at the right direction." was his quick answer. Eugene deep inside let a chagrined thought, Akemi seems to have been hanging out with Naru for quite a while for him to quickly let out an answer just from a stare.
"As long as she's safe, Eugene." Akemi opted to let it go, even if she didn't like any of her loved ones to be used in such a subtle way— but knowing Eugene, it was made with pure intentions.
Even though those pure intentions seem to be one of the common interests he shares with his younger twin— studying one's paranormal abilities.
With the windows wide open, Akemi and Eugene watched the orbs floated up towards the sky with the speed of snow falling at Christmas. It was both an awe-gripping sight at the same time hauntingly eerie.
"These are spirits, correct?" Akemi rhetorically asks after she had stared for a bit. Eugene nods beside her before they found themselves outside, particularly near the entrance of the cave that Akifumi told them about— with those spirits coming from the direction of the ocean.
"They seem to be drifting spirits, all of them having been summoned here." Eugene says before gesturing for them to walk inside,
When they got inside however, Akemi herself felt something different— she felt herself being drawn in.
"There's something strange..."
"I don't understand it well, either. It's not a bad place but it also doesn't seem like a good place either, but it is of sacred ground."
"But it shouldn't be." Akemi mutters under her breath and beside her she saw Eugene nodding in agreement, but hearing Eugene's response, Akemi realized that he must not have felt the encouraged pull she was feeling. 'Why am I getting the feeling it's all just been placed?'
When Akemi went to try and point it out by speaking it herself, a voice beats her to speaking up.
"You feel that drawing energy, don't you? Glad to see I haven't failed in teaching my niece." Akemi froze. This voice sounded familiar; one she hasn't heard of for years. It was slightly lowered compared to the honey voice of her mother and more authoritative, but it was still something that brought warmth in her chest.
Without a doubt, this was someone close to her heart— close to being her mother figure when she lost her biological one. With a quick turn back, she was greeted with the sight of a person identical to the appearance of her mother, Aunt Chieko.
Not wasting any time, Akemi ran up to the woman behind them and wraps her arms around. A wide smile plastered on both their faces as niece and aunt reunited. "Aunt Chieko! I can't believe I'm seeing you right now!"
Pulling away from their hugging reunion, Aunt Chieko gave a long look on Akemi's appearance with a loving gaze. "You've grown so beautiful and strong just like your mother... I see that you've grown wise too with the things you have experienced— you've got that all from me. That's good." Akemi felt the pride her aunt was feeling, and she was relieved to actually be doing good as her student and niece.
"Come, I have something to show you." Akemi went to follow as her aunt led the way first but paused when she noticed Eugene staying back.
Akemi blinked her eyes as her head lightly tilted in question. "Eugene? What's wrong?"
He smiles at the sight of her, she looked cute just then— that he had to admit. "I don't want to intrude, but I also have something to do."
"You're going to meet Mai, aren't you?"
Eugene draws out the silence but soon nods. "Just want to see how my own student reacts to my teaching."
'You mean test subject?' Akemi let out a wry smile at his words as she and her aunt watched him leave and disappear from their sight.
"It's his brother that you like, right?" Aunt Chieko suddenly speaks up after letting silence surrounded them for a while. "Naru, was it?"
"Yes." Akemi without fail, corrected her aunt shamelessly. "His real name is Oliver Davis. A well-known person on our area of expertise."
Beside her Akemi saw how her aunt let out an "Ohhhh." approvingly nodding at the same time.
"They're twins?" Akemi nods, clasping her fingers in front of her as they went back to walking deeper in the cave.
"Identical twins, like you and mom." Her aunt-teacher hummed in thought. This was a difference between her mother and Aunt Chieko— her mother holds elegance and grace but has quite a temperament; very emotional and quick tempered while her aunt may seem to hold such an authoritative aura and strength, she has great passivity and stoicism.
"Seeing that Eugene has quite an appearance, I'm glad you've picked such a good-looking boy even with an awful eyesight like yours."
Akemi proudly grins, "I know. Lucky, aren't I? He's also a professor with a doctorate. Handsome and intelligent—"
Aunt Chieko nods, "You've got the lottery ticket."
Akemi sighs beside her aunt, "in terms of personality though, he is quite straightforward like a bullet." 'Quick and painful. Just like you, I guess.' Aunt Chieko hums before tilting her head, her aunt deep inside thinking of what sort of problem it was— not able to find the trouble of it.
"But you like that kind of attitude on a guy, so you're not really losing..."
"Yes, I thought so too." Akemi not once let go of her proud smile adds, "but he is quite sweet and soft-hearted if you get to know him deeper-"
"Huh? Naru? Something wrong?" Ayako asks as she saw Naru frown.
Beside Ayako, Naru stood still with her words gaining the others attention and stared at him. They were all checking the results and tapes of the Eijirou possession with their eyes downright close to being tired— but looking at it, they are seeing a more different kind of frown on Naru's face.
"What is it Naru-bou? Did you find something out?" Here he was at the beginning of their checking, Bou-san was inwardly cheering if it really meant Naru has already solved the case.
Naru however cocked his head to the side for just a second before saying, "I feel as though someone is causing trouble right now..."
'Akemi isn't here though...' inwardly, everybody in the room thought of it.
The said person in their thoughts continued to their trek towards the end of the cave. Akemi was confused on the long journey— is it really that far? Was what she would have asked if they haven't reached it at this point, but they already have just at that moment.
"There is a small Hokura shrine. That is where the souls are being lured." Aunt-teacher points her finger forward. Akemi freezes at the sight with her eyes taking in the dizzying effect of the shrine. Chieko adds: "It's warped, isn't it?"
Akemi nods, a solemn frown on her lips as a more focused expression plastered itself on her face. "Why is it though?"
Hauntings have patterns, that was what she was first taught. When it comes to hauntings, there is a system of process on how spirits work even though they are beyond the living but still works against the forces of reality. And this dizzying effect was an act that Akemi hasn't seen before, and basing it on Eugene's lack of explanation earlier, he too didn't know what was going on.
But she did think of a reasonable answer. "Could it have something to do on the manifested beliefs?"
Chieko nods in thought, "They have been manifesting for hundreds of years now... especially since people like monks who can hold their own spiritual energy fed this thing. It must have been through much of the years, yet its inconsistent manifestations had led it to be incomplete... or lacking." Akemi nods in understanding but still needed more to fully comprehend and so asked her teacher as to what it could all mean. "Akemi, when serving a new god even an old one, one has to handle it as though it is a child. Affection, Attention, Sacrificial time, prayers, food... in any case like with children, if a mother inconsistently gives what a child wants and needs, the child itself would grow rather differently compared to other children."
Akemi finally understood, her eyes narrowing to stare at the small wooden object on the Hokora shrine. She couldn't believe such a small thing could do so many disturbances. "So you're saying this god has been consistently forgotten through the years?"
Chieko nods, "And its acting up, wanting attention to those who should take care of it."
Without any further mentioned, Akemi already knew to whom this wannabe god wants attention from.
"The Yoshimi's?" Chieko nods in agreement.
"I see." Akemi frowned, remembering the trouble she has saw. "But what has that got to do with me?"
Aunt Chieko sighs slow and defeatedly. The sight of such a strong woman to reveal a defeated action, made Akemi worry. "It didn't want you at first, Akemi." Aunt Chieko turns her head and looks at Akemi. "It wanted my sister first."
Akemi blinked in confusion. "Mother?"
Chieko nods, "In this world, purity is rare but somehow your mother was such an angel. She was so kind and innocent that it was divine calling to have her in the same room— that was one of the main reasons she was scouted." Her aunt then continues, "-and when she was pregnant with you, she glowed much more." Chieko clenched her hands, eyes lowered in guilt. "And I was idiotic enough to send her here to give her a break from her busy world."
Akemi silently stood, staring at her aunt with sincere encouragement as she knew— this was it. This was the answer to everything she had ever been afraid to ask to anyone. She is this close to finding out the truth of how she got to have paranormal abilities.
"We walked around, swam on the seas and later went inside this very cave..."
[Start of Flashback
Chieko and Akemi's mother, Mitsuko, clapped their hands twice and prayed to the shrine they had found inside the cave. One of the spots the Yoshimi restaurant had suggested to visit.
They know they shouldn't pray as they have their ancestral mountains as their guide, but one should always pay their respects to every sacred ground they step on.
Chieko was quite happy in this day as she had rarely seen her sister due to her work, but now, Mitsuko stood beside her brimming with joy and love as her stomach grew more through the weeks of pregnancy.
With their prayer finished, Chieko lifted up an arm to help Mitsuko but the angelic woman still nagged about her cravings throughout the way and Chieko did her best to respond by nodding and humming in agreement— it wasn't until they neared the exit that Mitsuko gasps midway her nagging, holding a hand to her chest as it started to ache.
"Mitsuko? What's wrong? Is it the baby?" Mitsuko shook her head as the actress gritted her teeth hard.
"My chest... It hurts."
Chieko helps Akemi's mother back on the house, in time for one of the Yoshimi males to see them. At the sight of Mitsuko in pain, he had gotten concerned and helped place Akemi's mother to a nearby hospital, but they opted to direct their selves home to not let baseless rumors ran about.
"That is when we found out that the shrine we prayed to, took claim of your mother. It was decided that Mitsuko wouldn't step foot again on the cove until we found a way to remove the claim," Akemi quietly listened to her aunt's words. "It was hard for your mother to stay in the house with the ancestral mountains so close to her. She always gets heartburns and near heart attacks and so decided to stay at your father's. Nothing happened for the next few years, we thought it was all over and done with, until..."
[Continuation of Flashback
Years went by and Chieko wakes up in cold sweat, dreams having plagued her ever since they went to the cove. When nothing happened to Mitsuko after the events in the cave, they all went back to their peace in hopes to put it behind them.
But the dream Chieko has seen was brutal. It sent her back to the coves to try and visit the shrine. Managing to bump unto the same man that helped them get to the hospital with a little boy next to him, his name, Akifumi.
The two greeted each other, when asked— Akifumi's uncle spoke of leaving the country for a while to start working there and in response, Chieko revealed her desire to seek the cave and the shrine made inside it.
All she wanted to do was drive it off their name and the life of her sister, but it instead sent her a message. A threat of death in her family,
Knowing it to be possible, Chieko called, Mitsuko telling them they had to leave. Akemi's mother took the warning seriously and planned to leave the country with their 10-year-old daughter, thinking of going to the States to lay low in New York.
End of Flashback]
"That was when the accident happened... I didn't know it would go feral over it." Chieko's head lowered in guilt, her hands on her sides fisted and clenched. "I shouldn't have gone back..."
Akemi stood still. Quiet beside her aunt.
Akemi after a while, reached a hand out to hold her one of her aunt's clenched hands. Unaware that her shoulders were stiff in deep thought as well, her gaze lowered, and eyes not seen. "Aunt Chieko... Akifumi's uncle was possessed, wasn't he?"
"Yes, he was." Chieko nods, intertwining their fingers. "As punishment, the drifted wood or 'Okobu-sama', took your eyesight but the trauma you've been through opened your very being to the spiritual realm. This awakening happens to every Maruyama whenever experiencing near death or death even."
"..." Akemi was deep in thought, only hearing bits and pieces but somehow her mind was focused enough to understand the story. She didn't know how it worked but she herself was too muddled to even focus on anything, right now she was just hearing it all.
"It was quiet for a few months, I never heard from your mother or father about your whereabouts, but I was uneasy throughout those days. I knew something was wrong," Aunt Chieko adds before she lifted her head and gazed at me sadly. "It wasn't until one of the family connections spoke of a Doe family accident." Akemi's breath hitched, knowing this was the day she was still in the hospital, stuck in a coma dream under the care of her paternal grandparents— still healing.
Akemi had thought she heard sobs on the back of her mind, but it quieted all too soon for her to realize.
"I called dad and my siblings in hopes to get more information, but it took quite a while to figure out where you were in the U.S. but when your grandfather called me in hopes to help you when they finally found you in America, we had to take you home to Japan."
"Aunt..." Akemi's voice shook, unable to focus on her feelings as all she thought was 'It was all because of a measly little wood found at shore?' she wanted to let out a crying laugh. 'Her mother. Her father— her parents went through all that pain because of some driftwood look-alike?'
Akemi bit her lip and knew if it weren't for her being on the Other Side, she would have tasted something metallic by how hard she had bitten. 'She was like this, all because of some wannabe god? What a load of rubbish!'
"Akemi," at the call of her name, Akemi lifted her head and saw the soft expression of her aunt, only then she realized she whispered her last words out loud. "Calm down, sweetheart."
At the words of her aunt, with the appearance of her mother— Akemi couldn't help but break.
"All this time... I thought I was okay with it..." Akemi breathes out, her voice shaking and her aunt with a sad look wraps her arms around her niece for comfort: whispering genuine apologies. "But knowing that it was all taken from me... I can't..."
The two of them stayed that way for a couple more minutes before Akemi finally calms down and closed her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Akemi heard Eugene's voice beside her, opening her eyes— she found herself standing at the edge of the cliff, silently looking up with a calm unreadable expression.
Spiritual orbs still floating up in an endless circle.
"I don't really know and I don't think I can talk about it for now. Are you okay?" Akemi softly returns the question. Her aunt no longer with her and Eugene standing just a few steps behind her with a patient comforting air.
Eugene was quiet for a while, before keeping up the smile he always has. Akemi shook her head. Even without looking, she could tell Eugene and Naru were brothers all right, they even hide themselves the same way. "Yeah. I've learned of what my brother thinks is happening to my situation..."
"And?" she waited for Eugene to stand beside her as he walked closer.
"And I felt something I thought I wouldn't feel anymore," Eugene removes his stare from the sky and stares at his hands, a soft gaze with a more genuine smile coming on his lips before looking at Akemi. "Hope."
The corner of her lips twitched just a bit as Eugene added. "What would you like as a thank you?"
Akemi scoffs, a small laugh coming out of her lips. Of course, the brothers also didn't like being indebt to anyone. "Just to see you alive would be the greatest thank-you gift I'll get."
"Hmm..." Eugene leans closer to Akemi. A glint of knowing plastered in his eyes as he got closer. "I have a better one."
Akemi tilted her head in question and was about to push him away before he could share her personal space, but Eugene gives her a dashing smile that spoke of things to come. Lifting a finger to poke her forehead before darkness surrounded her sight, and she was left alone.
Masako and John arrive right exactly when Akemi finished getting ready for the day. Her body felt fresh and new: being able to meet her aunt and teacher as well as talked to Eugene, she felt glad to see them fine however, the underlying fact of her condition and abilities gave a heavy weight on her mind.
Akemi remained quiet in the corners as Bou-san and Naru interrogated Masako on her findings, "I haven't seen this often." Masako says as she looked a bit troubled. "This is just a feeling, but the spirits here seem to be what's called an 'empty spirit'."
"What does that mean?" Naru asked, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he sat on one of the single seats in the room.
"One that is colorless... transparent... It doesn't exhibit any kind of emotion. Despite this, it possesses a strong presence— something that may hinder our work is the possibility that we can't grasp the spirit's true form."
Bou-san sighs, seeing Mai's conflicting expression, Akemi too took notice and spoke: "How about you Mai?"
"Me!?" Mai pointed to herself with wide eyes, Akemi gave her a soft smile as she softly nodded.
"Do you sense anything or dreamed something?" Knowing that Eugene had done something, made Akemi confident to question Mai of more answers.
"Uh- um..." Mai faltered before she remembered the words told in her dream. 'They must be cursed until the end of days.'
With twiddling thumbs, Mai voiced her thoughts. "This might seem to be in conflict with Masako's opinion... but I think there are dead people harboring a grudge. People who were brutally betrayed, surrounded by enemies and killed. At this point, the dead people probably no longer have a connection with this land."
Mai thought it would connect things together but it didn't seem to be the case as Masako let out a disapproving huff beside her. "If it is that kind of spirit, I should have recognized it already."
Mai chagrined and scratched the back other head, "Yeah, it was probably just a dream."
"It was just a dream!"
Naru sighed at the lack of destination of answers as the others went into deep thought and nonsensical conversations. With nothing more logical to find with the others, the boss turns his focus unto the silent heiress without as much as a glance. "How about you, Akemi? Anything helpful that you might want to add?"
Hearing her name, she lifted her focus to the topic and thought about what she has seen last of those she believed are possessed in the family. "The spirits I saw so far reminded me of the spirits we dealt with on Yasuhara's school case. Its texture was definitely oil-clay like but its aura this time is thick— not at all mist like." Akemi claimed. "And as soon as I stepped out of the van and into this land, the scent of incense is too strong. I don't think this is a work of someone who wants to get their hands dirty. This is pure incense with no human tampering, were dealing with a spiritual being here."
Finally getting somewhat close to the answer, Naru frowns in thought before his eyes moved and connected with Akemi's. The heiress felt shivers ride up her spine and felt her face turn warm,
"Akemi-sempai? are you okay? You're turning red!" Mai gasped in concern, staring at the heiress whose pale skin was turning pink in embarrassment.
Stunned, Akemi touched her warm cheeks, indeed feeling the heat crawl to the tips of her ears. "Eh? No— I mean, I'm fine... just thought of something..."
Mai blinked, "Oh? What did you thought about?"
At the question, Akemi felt her herself heat up further. 'No! Don't think about that!' she cried internally and shut her eyes and covered her face.
Naru internally sighed, feeling his brow twitch as the conversation once again went off road.
While the others around Akemi panicked, "Akemi's heating up! Where's the fan?!"
Only those who remained calm was Lin with Naru slowly simmering in irritation, the latter watching the girl in confusion as his lips turned down further with his brow raised in cold questioning.
While the most flustered out of all was Akemi. Her heartbeat raising further as she tried her best to furrow her brows into an angered state. All thanks to Eugene's gift of opening the dream of her and Naru kissing back on their past case about the late lovers of the old haunted cliff house near the beach.
With them being possessed, only clips of memories of what happened that day were kept but a few were missing. Eugene put it to himself to let her remember.
And she could almost curse and hug her brother-in-law with his gift. Kyah~!
"Now that I think about it, Akemi-bou, have you even met all the family members?" Bou-san asked once Akemi finally calmed down, it took a few cups of water and a fan but all was worth it as Akemi was back to normal.
Akemi paused, tilting her head slight. "Hmm, aside from those we've seen together... I haven't seen them at all." Now that she thought about it, all family members that Akemi had met were Akifumi; his niece, Hazuki; his grandmother; his parents; the two children; Eijirou and his wife.
The only people she based her words about the spirits were the two children and Eijirou— though Hazuki's surrounded, it was unfeeling and dormant. With that coming into mind, Akemi realized what was going on and gave a solemn expression. This isn't good.
"You think this is on purpose?" As they looked into it more, they've concluded that Akemi's interaction compared to theirs was near non-existent. Naru and Lin has interacted with a few more of the family members in compared to Akemi's number of meeting them.
"With Akemi's abilities, they are trying to avoid being seen by Akemi." Naru speaks out, Akemi nodding in agreement to his words. "Her gift of sight reveals anyone who is possessed along with her psychic abilities."
'With her, they are all just elephants on a field.' everybody else finished in their thoughts as they listened to Naru.
"So what do we do, Naru?" With that Naru started giving out orders for Ayako and the others in handing out talismans to the family members for protection tomorrow and so Ayako and Akemi begun their work until the door to their base opened with a horrified Akifumi.
BLAG—!
"You have to help us! Something terrible happened to my brother!"
...uh— hi? HAHAHAH writer's block is such a pain in the behind! I missed you guys and I missed writing Akemi huhuhu, it's been so long I felt like I don't know her anymore! NOOOOOOO!
I already have an outline of what would happen my only problem is HOW. Anyways, usually the story would be near end with it being the 5th but with my writer's block it might reach 7 or 8 chapters maybe more! GASP*
Thank you guys for waiting and I hoped you enjoy, this chapter might be updated or edited as I posted this with a lack of focus but I still published it so that you guys know this story is still on!