A/N: Hi all!
Update: All previous chapters have been revised and edited further for clarity! If you have this story saved for offline reading, please update it!
*Warning for graphic descriptions and violence*
Mai's thoughts = Italics
Gene talking = Bold italics
Case Four—Part 3
After encountering Sakauchi, Mai had trouble falling asleep that night. Worry gnawed at her, and she spent more time staring at the ceiling than relaxing. Careful not to wake up the others, her feet led her to the base where only Naru, Lin, and Madoka were still up.
She did this so often on overnight cases that Naru didn't bat an eye at her arrival.
"Couldn't sleep?" asked Madoka. She sat at the table with her laptop open and a cup of coffee. A few case files sat sprawled around her. While she appeared to be working, Mai could've sworn she had several online shopping tabs on her laptop. Mai released a "pfft" and made a beeline for the kettle.
"Yeah. I kept thinking about what Sakauchi-san said." She sighed, filling the kettle with water. "Tea, anyone?"
The three other occupants didn't object. She settled for making a caffeine-free tea, hoping that her workaholics would sleep at some point that night. Glancing toward Madoka, she wondered if the woman was like the other two. Was she also a hermit? A workaholic?
Telling from her relaxed demeanor and online shopping interest, Mai figured the answer was no.
"Gene said 'hi,' by the way. He was curious how you're doing," she said, addressing the other woman.
"Oh, I'm surviving, but you can tell him Sir Squiggles is thriving!"
Why did she feel that "Sir Squiggles" was not human?
Noticing her look, Madoka chuckled. "Mine and Gene's office pet. He's a turtle with a habit of squiggling when you give him food," she shared. "Martin found the idea of an office pet preposterous but has since seen the positive effects of having an animal for morale."
"Martin-san…" Mai repeated the name quietly to herself. He was the man from her dream—Naru and Gene's adoptive father. What she knew of him was that he liked to read, preferred coffee over tea some days, seemed like the more practical type of person, and played cards for money without his wife's knowledge every Thursday night.
"If he met you, he'd chat your ear off about your abilities," Madoka said.
"He's also into paranormal stuff?"
If Mai noticed the warning glance Naru sent Madoka, she didn't say.
"He's a professor, so he likes to stay educated on all matters." Madoka smiled, albeit a bit strained. She wasn't exactly lying.
"Guess that makes sense. What about Naru's mother? What does she do?" Mai asked, leaning forward. When Madoka cracked a smirk, she quickly backtracked, realizing how nosy she sounded. "Not that it's any of my business! No need to answer that!"
Madoka stared at her for a second before giggling. "Luella is also a professor, but she's not nearly as interested. She'd much rather read about regency-era romances."
Ah! That's it! Luella's the name!
When she tilted her head in curiosity at the genre, Madoka chuckled. "Stays, noble scandals, and gentlemen—ever heard of it? I'll have to unload it on you some time!"
Talk about shallow and one-note. Gene scoffed.
What, you or the genre?
Rude.
"Just to spite Gene, I'd love to try reading one sometime," Mai said, a mischievous smirk plastered to her face.
"You can ask the twins for recommendations. Luella made them read three novels each and write a twenty-page report as punishment when they were ten."
"Were they any good?" This question was directed toward Naru, who ignored her.
Madoka brought a finger to her chin. "I think Luella kept the reports if you want to read them sometime. I hear they were very analytical!"
The two shared some laughs before the room fell into a comfortable silence.
Mai finished preparing the tea and handed out the cups, placing one in front of each person. She settled in and drank her tea quietly.
Halfway through her drink, Naru's voice broke the silence.
"Lin, feed in the sound."
Audio from the announcement room revealed scratching sounds along the walls without any explanation. The broadcast suddenly turned on, filling the hallways and classrooms with an echo of microphone screeching. As if the night hours weren't already haunting.
Then, the camera feed cut out. Mai held her breath in anticipation only for the monitor to display that the SD card memory was full. She let out a sigh she didn't know she'd been holding.
"You should consider a cloud feed. Would save you a lot of trouble," Madoka suggested before sipping her tea.
"I can change it," Mai offered as she stood up. She didn't wait for Naru to answer her before taking the initiative to get a blank card.
Madoka noted the less-than-pleased expression on Naru's face. It was nothing more than a mere narrowing of his eyes, but she knew him well. She pushed her chair back when he didn't say anything or act.
"I think I'll go with her!"
Mai waited for her at the door before the two headed out.
"That Naru, leaving a girl to walk around alone in a volatile place. I know Luella taught him better than that!"
Mai chuckled, imagining Naru getting scolded by Luella. It shouldn't have been so fascinating, but the idea of Naru in everyday domestic situations amused her. As cold as he could be, he was still just a son when it came to his mother.
Madoka's short heels clacked loudly against the floor, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"In his defense, he can be chivalrous when it counts," she said.
Madoka's brows waggled. "Oh? How so?"
Mai shrugged. "He always shows up when I'm in trouble. He pulled me out of a pond when a spirit tried to drown me, fell into the sewers with me, and saved me on that mountain," she listed from the top of her head. The look on Madoka's face bothered her, so she looked away awkwardly. "But he does that with all of us! With Masako too!"
Why she felt the need to mention the medium, she didn't know.
"I guess he's built a good reputation while here. Say, how do he and Hara-san get along?"
Mai blinked and tilted her head. What kind of question was that?
"Good, I would think," she said, remembering their silent communication earlier after she had saved Sakauchi. "They understand each other well. They're both cool and collected. Kindred spirits or whatever they call it. They make a good pair."
"Hm… do they?" Madoka didn't say anything further, instead opting to observe the girl as they arrived at the announcement room.
Mai completed her task quickly and sped out as fast as possible—the room sent shivers up her spine. She wouldn't be surprised if something happened later.
She glanced back into the dark room one last time before Madoka shut the door.
"Got a bad feeling?"
"Yeah."
Later at 4:32 am the announcement room lit into flames.
When they investigated the next morning, the group noted in relief that the fire hadn't made it far. There was at least a third of the room that was untouched.
"Looks like your camera's toast, Naru-bou," Bou-san said, poking at the now-extra-crispy camera.
"That's fine. All the equipment is insured."
Mai's ears perked up. "Is it now?"
Naru pretended he hadn't heard anything and continued looking around the room without a care. Huffing, she stomped over and looked him right in the eyes.
"So, you're telling me the camera I broke when we first met was insured? Were you just trying to get free labor?!"
The sly smirk on his face looked so punchable at that moment.
Her anger quickly dampened when the room started rattling, the equipment shaking like in an earthquake. The other team members had the same idea apparently because they all ducked for cover toward the walls.
Yasu, closest to the door, looked out the window into the hallway and instantly shot up into standing. "It's not an earthquake!" He alerted everyone.
As soon as he said that, items flew off the shelves and out of the cabinets. Everyone dodged the items well. It wasn't until they tried getting out that one of the speakers hit Mai squarely on the back of the head. Ayako and John helped her up and they ran to the door quickly. Yasu and Bou-san took turns slamming on the door to get it to budge.
"Sakauchi-san, you have to stop this!" Masako called out.
"Why should I? You all are just trying to get rid of me so that demon can live," said Sakauchi's disembodied voice.
"We're trying to do what we can. Give us some time to figure things out!"
The spirit didn't respond, but the activity stopped and the door opened easily. Everyone sighed in relief, flooding out of the room.
"You okay? That was a pretty heavy-looking speaker." Ayako frowned in worry and palpated Mai's head.
Mai flinched as she hit a tender spot and rubbed at her head. "Definitely not having a party."
"You should rest in the infirmary."
Suddenly, a male scream down the hallway had everyone's fight-or-flight back in gear. Bou-san moved first, rushing to the source as everyone else followed. Mai, Ayako, and John trailed further back.
Arriving on the scene, Matsuyama was halfway down the hall dragged by his neck. No physical marks were there, but the indentation on his skin indicated his attacker wasn't of this world.
"What are you standing around for? Help me!" He squeezed out despite being mid-choke.
Bou-san sprinted to action, chanting as he thrust his beads forward. The grip on Matsuyama's neck loosened, dropping him to the floor in a big heap. His body shook as he caught his breath.
"Are you hurt?" asked Yasu, crouching down to help him onto his feet.
Matsuyama cleared his throat and brushed off his pants before looking Naru squarely in the eye. "Your team better figure this out soon before you tear down the school! Don't think I didn't hear about that fire earlier."
"We save him and the first thing he does is yell at us," Mai grumbled to John and Ayako.
Naru was silent as Matsuyama continued to rattle on about their presence. Wasting enough time, he cleared his throat loudly. "Considering your grievances, you'll be interested to find out that you are in fact the motivation for all of this."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you remember a student by the last name Sakauchi?"
"Of course, the kid who committed suicide. He had so much potential, but he wasted it on fantasies instead of looking at a real future."
Mai tightened her hands into fists. She could feel Ayako's and John's grips tighten as well. "You should be ashamed saying that about someone who passed away," she said.
"Why should I? I'm only pointing out the truth."
"Reports from the students and staff say otherwise. I hate to inform you but because of the treatment you subjected him to, Sakauchi enacted a death curse on you," Naru said.
"What?! I can't die yet! You have to do something!"
"But I thought this was a work of fantasy? After all, to the public, it would seem no more than a heart attack, massive stroke, or maybe even a fatal accident." Naru tilted his head back in repugnance. His voice was level yet the weight of his words was as heavy as dropping a block of ice on Matsuyama's head.
"You have to save me, please!"
Bou-san scoffed, placing a hand on his hip. "For someone who has ridiculed us this whole time, you sure have a lot of gall pleading to us now."
"Start with an apology," Mai said, stepping away from Ayako and John. "Not to us but to Sakauchi-san."
"Will that break the curse?"
"Don't do it because it could break the curse. Do it because you owe it to him. Who knows, maybe that'll dampen his wrath," Madoka suggested. "After all, he could easily kill you before the curse goes through. Think about it."
Matsuyama's mouth sputtered, nothing coherent leaving his mouth.
"Let us know your decision," said Naru before turning his back on the man and leaving.
Not long after they turned the corner, Matsuyama called out to them. His face conflicted while his fists repeatedly tightened.
"I… will talk to him."
The group convened in the nurse's office so that Ayako could check Mai for any head trauma and anyone else who had been hit in the announcement room.
Mai squinted as Ayako flashed her mini flashlight between both eyes. She could practically see stars at this point.
"No abnormalities. Doesn't mean you didn't knock something out of place in that head of yours," said Ayako, clicking her light off and storing it in her pocket. "Rest for a bit."
Mai followed her instructions and plopped herself down.
"What now?" asked Yasu from the bed next to hers. Bou-san, John, and Masako sat around him.
"I would like to try having Matsuyama-sensei reconcile with Sakauchi-san," said Masako. "It may not affect the outcome, but I would like Sakauchi-san to be sent off without resentment if we can."
"What about the hex, Naru-bou? Any ideas?" Bou-san leaned back onto his hands.
"Hm," was Naru's reply.
"Seeing as you're fine, we should prepare for the seance. I want Hara-san to identify where Sakauchi lingers the most. Father Brown, please accompany her. Bou-san, you will be on standby in the event of more attacks on Matsuyama."
"What? Why me?"
Naru's look silenced him quickly. "Matsuzaki will stay with Mai. Yasuhara, come with me," he said. He turned to look at her. "Mai, just stay here."
Without another word, he left the room. Everyone trickled out behind him.
"When are they doing the seance?" Mai asked.
Ayako shrugged and made herself comfortable in the nurse's chair she pulled over. "My guess is sometime tonight. Maybe at dusk?" She crossed her legs and pulled out her phone. "We have some time if you want to nap."
"You don't have to stay here the whole time."
Ayako looked up from her phone and eyed Mai for a few moments. "I don't know… knowing you, something will happen."
Mai rolled her eyes and got herself comfortable under the covers. "I can protect myself!" she said, a pout on her face. The more she thought about it, the more she questioned herself. "Okay, most of the time."
The other woman wasn't convinced, her lifted brow telling all.
"Here, I'll teach you a spell. It's called the Nine Cuts. Five horizontal cuts and four vertical cuts." She readied her hands to demonstrate. "Rin, pyo, to, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen."
Mai tried to follow her demonstration but mixed up the syllables and directions. How the hell is anyone supposed to remember this?!
It turned out that Ayako was a strict teacher. She had her practice the sequence repeatedly until she memorized each one. Mai could've sworn there were sweat beads on her forehead by the end of the lesson. At least with Bou-san, he wrote it down and let her study it. Ayako was persistent!
"I think I'm ready for a nap now," she said, feeling her soul figuratively float away.
"Good." Ayako smirked and patted her head. "I'll stay here for now, but I'll check on you on and off later. No dizziness or lightheadedness, right?"
Mai rolled her eyes. "Should've asked me that before that lesson," she mumbled.
"Just rest, Mai."
And rest she did. No dreams plagued her initially and she slept peacefully for the first few hours. At some point during her nap, anxiety crept into her chest causing a state of unrest.
When she awoke on the astral plane above the school, she whipped her head around to take in her surroundings. The sun began to set, coating the environment in a muted blue overcast. Ayako was true to her word. She was seated at her bedside preparing talismans for the seance.
The building was littered with foxfire—that weren't originally there. Were the students still playing Orikiri-sama? It was probable since not every student knew about the game's true nature.
"The sheer amount of negative energy here is attracting other spirits," Gene said, stepping beside her with Usa-sama on his shoulder. The grimace on his face as soon as he saw the giant embryo left her feeling unsettled.
They both had the same idea—it looked ready to hatch. Perhaps, even tonight.
She scanned the building to search for Sakauchi. She gasped when she caught sight of him on the rooftop. His lower body had been enveloped in a black energy that resembled tar. The edges looked like hands clawing at his legs. The energy festered and pulsated as it slowly climbed up his legs.
"What is that?"
"He's been feeding it to expedite the process. Quite literally striking a deal with the Devil."
Mai's brows furrowed, fear taking over her senses. "What should we do?! It might be too late by the time we do the seance."
"I actually don't have any ideas. It might even be too late to reverse it," he said, scratching his head. "I hope my brother has a plan. He usually does."
To make matters worse, the foxfire wisps rapidly scattered without warning. Like fish flocking to food in a pond, they collected themselves around the larger foxfires to be consumed. The satiated foxfires then pulsated as if ready to hatch. One was in the teachers' office where a few people sat unsuspecting about what would come.
"That's not good! I have to let someone know!"
Before Gene even had the chance to get another word in, she was gone. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
In her anxiety, she forgot to note the hatching foxfire in the nurse's office.
"Watch out for yourself too, idiot."
Mai shot up in bed, scaring Ayako out of her wits. "What the?!"
"Ayako, you need to head for the teachers' office! One of those things is hatching!"
"I can't leave you here by yourself."
Mai shook her head. "You taught me that new spell, remember? I'll be fine. I'm more worried about those teachers who don't know anything."
Ayako looked reluctant but ultimately nodded. She placed some of the talismans she made on the bed. "Use these with your usual prayers," she said, before leaving the room.
Mai sighed in relief, hoping Ayako would make it in time. Picking up the talismans, she studied them carefully before placing them in her pocket. "Hopefully, I won't need them."
She swung her legs off the edge of the bed and put her shoes on. Telling from the windows, she had been sleeping for a while. It was a wonder why Naru let her doze off for so long.
As she went to stand up, the lights shut off abruptly while the blinds closed.
When her eyes finally adjusted, she identified three shadow figures—one, two beds away, and the others standing by the door and in the furthest corner.
This is hardly fair! Three against one, she complained to herself.
"Calm down, Mai. You have all the tools. Just use them," she whispered to herself over and over.
…Was it her or were the figures getting closer?
She quickly reached into her pocket and gripped her mirror for dear life and began praying. She never took her eyes off the figures as they slowly approached. Her eyes shifted around the room as she plotted an escape. What if she tried booking it for the door? She would have to pass them, but maybe they wouldn't react fast enough to do anything.
It was no use thinking about it, she just had to do it.
Sucking in a deep breath, she made a run for it. She only got a little further than the end of the bed before something tripped her. She hit the floor with a thud.
Shit!
Stumbling to her knees, she looked up to find all three figures were gone. Footsteps and crackling surrounded the perimeter of the room. If they wouldn't let her run, maybe she could crawl for the door. Sucking in a breath, she crawled as fast as her limbs could take her toward the exit and quickly stood.
The floor collapsed before she could slide open the door, knocking the wind out of her.
"Ah!"
She groaned and gave herself a minute for the pain to subside. "Talk about bad luck," she whined.
The sound of something sliding against the floor alerted her to sit up. What was that? It almost sounded like a body dragging against the floor. Breathing against the back of her neck caused her to whip around. The view that greeted her froze her in place.
Sakauchi's apparition dragged itself toward her from the back wall. The same tar-like substance clung to his legs—the black hands pierced his skin leading to trails of blackened blood against the floor. Once sharp and skeptical, his eyes were now nothing but black holes.
It's the depravity, said Gene's voice in her head.
"I thought you would understand me but you're no better than everyone else!" His voice distorted to something inhuman, not unlike talking underwater.
He quickened his pace, the skin on his arms rotting away as he crept toward her.
I have to move! Why won't I move?! MOVE!
"Mai!"
The door slammed open, breaking her from her trance. Faster than she knew she could, she threw one of Ayako's paper talismans at Sakauchi, stunning him. She followed up with the Nine Cuts. Not knowing what to expect, her eyes widened when the last cut shredded his apparition into two.
With a shaky breath, her body trembled rapidly as she brought a hand to her chest. Her heart pounded while she tried to hold down the bile that rose in her throat.
"Mai, can you stand?" Naru's voice brought her back to reality. She found him crouched at the doorway.
"Oh, um, yeah," she said, her voice cracking. She winced at the stiffness of her knees as she attempted to stand.
"Woah, what happened here?" Yasu popped out from behind Naru, likely heading over after hearing the commotion. "I knew you were trouble but this is another level, Mai-chan."
She couldn't even muster an eye roll.
Naru reached out his hand but before he could pull her up, cracking sounds and falling debris redirected their attention upwards. Within the blink of an eye, the ceiling fell through and panic infiltrated Mai's body.
Moving automatically, she let go of Naru's arms to prevent him from getting caught in the mess and squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation.
Rather than pain, her body collided with the floor in a dull thud.
"Are you guys okay?" called out Yasu.
"We're fine."
Naru?
Blinking her eyes to adjust to the darkness, she shifted and noticed the warmth above her. Her eyes cleared to reveal Naru's face mere inches away from hers. She breathed in sharply as her heart palpitated—a little too loudly—in her chest.
Naru pushed himself onto his elbows, effectively easing some of the collapsed ceiling off his back. His leg brushed her own and she had to look elsewhere lest he saw her blush.
Mai, now was not the time for that.
Movement beneath her head alerted her to his arms' positions. Had he been trying to protect her head and neck in the fall?
But, wait.
How did he end up in here with her to begin with? She recalled releasing him so that he wouldn't be dragged in. Her chest swelled with an emotion she couldn't quite place. With everything that had happened, she desperately quelled the urge to hug him.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly.
Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded like a frantic chicken.
He studied her for a moment longer before officially trying to push the rest of the rubble off them.
More voices approached and what sounded like people jumping down were heard. Bou-san and Lin lifted off the largest piece weighing them down, revealing most of the crew standing around them.
Masako noted the proximity between them and frowned. The glare she sent had Mai feeling like she'd just been caught sneaking around. It wasn't like she asked him to cover her!
He… did it of his own accord.
A-and it's not like Naru and I are even like that. She's the one dating him, not me!
You got that right! She has no reason to be jealous, Gene commented, something off about his tone.
Why did it feel like he was teasing her?
Ayako briefly examined them both when they returned to base. "Within a few minutes of you being alone, this happens. I knew I shouldn't have listened to you," Ayako said, slapping a bandage on Mai's forehead, ignoring her yelp. "You're lucky you got away with only a few scratches."
"How would I have known the building would come apart?" Mai rubbed at her sore forehead. "Besides, Naru probably took the brunt of it."
She glanced to the side. He had a few bandages wrapped around his wrist and hand but nothing was broken. It wouldn't be surprising if he had some moderate bruising, but there was no way he was going to strip in front of them for her to see.
But… would he strip for her in private? But only to inspect for bruising, of course.
Blushing at her audacity, she immediately kicked the thought out. It was bad enough the guy could hear her thoughts. She couldn't continue with life if he caught wind of her degeneracy.
She swore she could feel Gene's smirk. He had enough grace not to comment but his mischievous energy was ever present.
Amidst her inner conflict, Masako's unreadable stare went unnoticed.
"What should we do now? Do we have a plan for reversing the curse?" asked Bou-san, his arms crossing as he leaned against the wall.
No one responded, instead opting to look between each other.
What could they do? The curse was nearly fulfilled—it was just a matter of time.
"The curse is almost completed. Sakauchi's been feeding his energy to that thing to expedite the process," she said. "We figure it'll be any moment now."
The atmosphere in the room went from low to abyss levels.
Madoka turned to Naru. "You think it'll work?"
"You got an idea?" Bou-san removed himself from the wall.
Naru was silent at first, his face deep in thought. "Success is questionable," he said, almost to himself.
"Care to share? Before I do something else stupid," Mai joked.
His eyes flickered to hers and the corner of his mouth twitched. "Glad to see you're self-aware," he said.
She rolled her eyes but stuck her tongue out playfully.
"In any case, Lin has created a hitogata for Matsuyama in case the curse is completed before we devise another plan. Moreover, that may very well be our only choice now. Because Sakauchi is feeding the curse himself, I'm unsure if the hitogata will be enough despite the accuracy of Lin's method."
Masako's eyes widened. "You don't mean there is a chance the hitogata won't be able to handle it?"
He nodded, tapping his fingers on the table in thought.
"Feel like the old fart kind of deserves it," Ayako mumbled for only Mai to hear. They both made eye contact and chuckled.
"That's why I think it's a good idea to have Matsuyama-sensei talk to Sakauchi-san," John piped up. "Perhaps if he can lessen the malice, the final impact won't be as severe."
Suddenly, the door to the base slammed open. "Help! We were in a meeting when all the lights exploded and Matsuyama-sensei was thrown out of his chair! He's being held against the wall and choked by nothing."
So much for that plan!
The teacher led them down the hallway toward the conference room where Matsuyama's struggle could be heard. When they arrived, he was suspended off the floor and held against the wall halfway to the ceiling. He clawed at his throat and flailed his legs in the air.
Mai and Masako could distinctly see the distorted shape of a physically unrecognizable Sakauchi. While his hands choked Matsuyama, a miasmic-type energy suffocated his victim from the inside. Sakauchi intended to harm before, but now, it was pure malice.
He's going to kill him this time. I know it!
Lin stepped forward, whistling loudly with his fingers and summoning something Mai couldn't see.
Whatever they were, they collided with Sakauchi much like how Usa-sama had with the foxfire the other day.
Matsuyama dropped to the floor in a big heap, coughing aggressively with tears in the corner of his eyes.
"He's still here," Masako said, looking around the room.
Naru instructed Mai and Yasu to close all doors and windows before having Ayako place talismans around the room to prevent Sakauchi from escaping. Bou-san set up a separate barrier for extra measure. The room shook vigorously as a loud pulsating sound echoed in Mai's ears. No one else could hear it.
She covered them in pain as they continued to pulsate. "It's going to start soon!" she alerted everyone. Turning to Matsuyama, she said, "If you're going to talk, do it now!"
"I-I-"
Seeing as he couldn't form coherent words, Mai went to speak for him but was beaten by Masako. "Sakauchi-san, I understand you hold resentment, but will you really be fulfilled if you kill him? At the expense of your peace?"
No reply.
She continued, her face pleading. "Don't you want to pass on as 'you?' Not as the demon you're becoming?"
Sakauchi snorted. "I already know it's too late for me. I knew the consequences when I began feeding it," he said, his voice distorted. "I will only feel at peace once he's gone. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A life for a life."
"All I did was to better your future. I'm sorry you couldn't see that," Matsuyama said as John helped him stand.
Not exactly the apology we wanted but okay, Gene said in her head.
"Better my future? By humiliating me in front of everyone and going out of your way to make me miserable every day?"
"Those with foolish ideas need to learn that the real world isn't kind to those who don't conform."
"How could I expect you to understand? To you, students are all just scum if we don't have high grades and awards. That's all you adults care about. But what about after high school? All we have waiting for us is to slave way through college and to work ourselves into the ground."
Matsuyama's lips pressed together tightly as he listened. "I know people who had dreams like yours that learned the hard way that they were nothing but fools. You can't support yourself let alone a family without money. You can't get money without a good job. You can't get a job without a skillset and an education. Letting you kids waste your time on these fantasies is just signing you up for failure."
The pulsating in Mai's ears from earlier quickened before stopping abruptly, leaving her lightheaded.
Sakauchi's apparition rematerialized, this time, the tar-like energy covered his eyes, like two hands clawing into his orbital spaces. What was left of his face revealed a grin. "Doesn't matter now. It's ready." His voice echoed as all the furniture in the room collapsed or broke in half.
Finally, he allowed the energy to swallow him whole despite Masako's protests.
Mai panicked and looked towards Naru and Lin. While Matsuyama and Sakauchi had been exchanging words—if it could be called that—Lin had set up Matsuyama's hitogata in a circle of rice and black salt. During the entire exchange, he had been reciting an incantation while holding an unfamiliar-looking amulet.
Before she could process what was going on, an intense pressure brought her to their knees. Intense dread and nausea swept through her, leaving her body heavy and her knees like mush. The nausea nearly made good on its threat but she forced herself to breathe, Gene's "be like the Buddha" line repeating in her head.
While others had also felt the pressure and were similarly on their knees, Lin, Naru, John, and Bou-san remained standing. The latter two followed Lin's example by reading their scriptures. Ayako stood by Matsuyama in case anything attacked him directly. The man in question had crouched on the floor with his hands up to cover his head, quivering in fear.
The room continued to shake with items flying off the shelves, smashing into the walls and narrowly missing the SPR members.
Can we really hold it back for much longer?
She slid along the walls, trying to dodge what she could. Suddenly, she was yanked to the side as a book smashed into the wall where her head had been. Her face collided with someone's chest and she barely had time to process it when disembodied screams erupted, one voice sounding like Sakauchi's.
The person beside her didn't falter, holding onto her shoulders firmly and whispering into her ear. "Lin's almost done. I need you to help by praying."
Not thinking twice, Mai reached for her mirror and followed the command. She had difficulty ignoring the cacophony of sounds around her, especially when Ayako's and Yasu's voices were heard in distress. When she nearly stopped to see what was going on, the grip on her shoulders tightened, grounding her.
After what felt like hours, Lin finished his chant with a mantra she'd never heard. The screams turned into a single shriek before the hitogata exploded into pieces, one of them crossing far enough to strike Matsuyama in the face.
"Ah!" He called out, holding a hand to his eye. Ayako had him remove it to see the damage revealing a jagged cut from the inner corner of his orbital space to his cheek. It bled profusely, running into his eye and down his face.
Lin's amulet cracked in half, signaling that it was finally over.
They relocated to the base for Ayako to disinfect Matsuyama's injury. "The cut is deep. It'll likely scar," she said, flattening the edges of a bandage.
"Weren't you people supposed to prevent this?!"
"You're lucky to have both eyes," she said, silencing him with a glare.
"The objective was to keep you alive, which we succeeded in," Naru said, his face cold. "That scar is the legacy of Sakauchi's curse—what people call 'karma.' Continue to live your life, but realize you will never forget what transpired today."
Matsuyama was quiet, his face revealing the smallest amount of remorse.
"Our job is done. We're leaving."
They took Lin's broken amulet and buried it beneath the nearby shrine where the Orikiri-sama boards had been taken after use. When asked about it, he stated that the amulet absorbed Sakauchi's negative energy during the curse's awakening. This was to lessen the impact and allow Sakauchi to go as a human spirit, regardless of his demise.
Surprising to everyone, Matsuyama offered to bury it.
Even if he hadn't learned the wrongs of his ways, something must have shifted in him that day.
To say the principal was outraged by the amount of damage was an understatement. Fortunately, they were still compensated after Yasu's and even Matsuyama's testimonials. Not to mention that the principal couldn't deny that there weren't any more incidents after they left.
All returned to normal after that with spring coming to full bloom.
Meanwhile, Mai's dreams of Naru's past continued. The longer she had them, the more details she could remember. Gene started showing up now too, whereas before he was missing from the scenes.
There was one specific dream that had her stomach churning upon waking up. In this memory, Naru had been barely a preteen when he was tasked to help with a missing child case. She couldn't remember the specifics but Naru demonstrated a psychic ability she didn't know he had. It was psychometry or something like that. He had experienced the entirety of the boy's death, including the fear and loneliness of being buried alive. She recalled how sick Naru had gotten after the vision, emptying his stomach, and nearly fainting. Luella had been livid at Martin for allowing him to participate in the case.
He barely ate anything and didn't talk for two weeks after.
When she woke up in a cold sweat, she sped for the bathroom and followed the exact actions Naru had. This wasn't her first vision of a murder, but at least her first had been at the tail end of middle school. Naru had barely been out of elementary school when he helped with this case. It was no situation for a child to be involved in.
Anxiety plagued her for the rest of the night, and she knew she wouldn't be able to fall asleep any time soon. There was a high risk of disappointment, but she wanted to talk to Naru.
Her heart pounded as her phone rang against her ear. Panic set in when she remembered the time. Naru stayed up late but what if he went to bed early that night?! Before she could abort the mission, he picked up.
"Why are you still awake?"
"Hello to you too," she said. "I just had a dream that bothered me. One where an 11-year-old boy helped the police locate a missing child using his psychic powers."
Silence.
"My heart hurt, for the boy who was kidnapped, and for the boy that helped find him."
"That was years ago. It doesn't affect my life anymore."
She frowned, picking at her blanket. "Still, you didn't eat anything or speak for weeks. Please tell me you didn't help with any more investigations."
More silence.
"I know it's all in the past, but it still bothers me." She didn't say anything immediately after that, and he didn't either. They sat quietly together until he broke the silence with a sigh.
"You also had similar visions when you were younger."
"Yeah, but they weren't in live investigations! Ones where I met the family members and worked with them," she argued, sitting up. "I didn't know you had psychometry either."
She heard a page pausing mid-turn. "...I see you remembered your vocab," he said, ignoring her huff. "It is not something I use often."
"I'm surprised Luella-san let you help with more investigations. She was furious after this first case."
"I chose to help."
"Even after all that stress?"
"Martin and Luella attempted to keep me from these investigations, but after the constant pleading from families, I agreed."
So self-less, she thought absentmindedly. If Naru heard, he didn't say.
"Wasn't it emotionally draining?"
"Eventually, I had to stop due to the condition I was left in each time. Often, families would blame me for not finding their loved ones soon enough." His voice was devoid of all emotion and she wondered if she reminded him of traumatic memories.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring back those memories. I just… wanted to talk," she said, not vocalizing, "to you."
He didn't respond initially. She nearly thought he got distracted by whatever he was reading, but then she heard an exhale. "Do you feel better now?"
Her breath hitched, a smile spreading across her face. "Um, yeah, actually I do."
"Then you should head to bed before your brain shrivels up anymore."
Scoffing, Mai rolled her eyes in good nature. "Good night, Narcissist."
"Hm."
After she hung up, she stared at her phone momentarily, smiling dumbly.
Someone's happy, Gene said. Talk about a one-eighty!
Mai reached for her pocket mirror beside her pillow and flipped it open. "I'm just happy he opened up to me—well, at least a little bit."
Gene studied her with a hand to his chin. I'd only been joking this whole time, but now I'm starting to wonder. Actually, I've been wondering about it for a while.
She tilted her head in curiosity. "About what?"
He looked conflicted like he was debating asking or not. After a sigh, he looked her straight in the face.
Do you have feelings for my brother?
Not expecting the direction of his question, she blinked, her cheeks warming. She went quiet, averting her gaze.
"…Probably."
A/N: Hi! Hope you guys are doing okay! I feel like it has been a while, but I'm technically on schedule for when I usually update so idk hah. Life's been busy but luckily no writer's curse! I did get lazy though, which was why the art dump hasn't been updated, sorry!
So, about this chapter. Firstly, congrats on the feelings, Mai! Don't mind Gene over here being surprised that his teasing worked LMAO
Secondly, I wanted to talk about Sakauchi. Part of me wanted to save him, but from the little that we know about him in canon, all we can say is that he isn't innocent either. The first time Mai met him, he was presented with a sinister air—I mean, my guy was laughing suspiciously to himself. The fact that he knew and found a way to curse Matsuyama tells you that he has no qualms using other people, and that taking another's life is no problem for him. If he survived, would he not have become someone like Ubusuna? Kind of like an "ends justify the means" kind of person? Just a thought.
On another note, for anyone who listens to Kpop, my number one NaruMai theme (for no real reason) is "Every time" by Chen and Punch. I listened to it a lot when I started getting into GH fanfic in 2015/2016, so it stuck. It's "the NaruMai song"
Anyways, thanks a bunch for reading, commenting, kudos-ing, and bookmarking! Means the world to me and I love reading your thoughts on the chapter content.
If you liked the story, please let me know what you think! Take care, guys! Toodles~