—Footsteps. I tugged a starry comforter tightly around me, my heart hammering in my chest. Kosori was here, and he was getting closer.—
Lin watched us, concern visible on his usually expressionless face. At some point, Naru had gone limp and slid to the floor, the box near his hand.
—Receding footsteps. Then, a woman screamed.—
My heart was in my throat. Naru should just pull out of the vision while he still had the chance. I didn't want to see anymore.
The hand on my shoulder tightened comfortingly.
—A man stood silhouetted in the doorway. He trudged closer, a knife gleaming in his hand. He raised it, and blood streamed from the blade.—
"Stop." I gritted out, and Lin's eyes snapped to my face. I mentally willed Naru to hear me. "Quickly escape. Cut the link quickly while it's still possible ro turn back!"
"NARU!" Lin barked. Naru's eyes snapped open with a harsh gasp, and almost immediately I felt the dizzying pull fade.
"That...was close." Naru breathed, his face pale.
"You think?" I muttered.
Lin's lips pursed, and he tentatively rested a hand on Naru's shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"I feel nauseous when I move."
Ick. I scooted away hastily.
Naru's dark eyes drifted over to the cards. "That child was killed here." He said eventually.
Lin picked them up, studying them closely. "Then, this belongs to the child?"
"This seems to be his treasure. Could it be that this was his room?" He glanced at me, and I shrugged. I hadn't exactly been comparing the room to whar I'd seen in the vision. I had been more focused on getting Naru out alive. "The culprit was a man. There was a female accomplice. The people killed at least the two parents and the child, three of them."
Lin frowned. "A family was murdered. It's weirds that no one ever heard about this."
"Yeah." Naru agreed just as a scream rang out through the house for a second time that night.
I lurched upright, but Lin was on his feet in a flash. "Wait here until you can move." He ordered before hurrying out.
I flopped back against the wall, letting my limbs relax as the color slowly returned to Naru's face. He shifted his arms slightly, testing to see if he'd hurl. "You told me to stop touching you earlier. What did you mean?"
"That was probably my imagination."
"You're saying that to a paranormal researcher?"
Geh. He had a point. "I thought I felt a hand on my shoulder when we entered the room and while you were using psychometry." I admitted. "It felt like a human's hand, too—warm, solid, with a normal grip. That's why I thought it was you."
"Why on Earth..."
"I know, I know, geez." I snapped. A pause. "Any ideas on what it might be?"
"It's hard to say." He pulled himself upright as if he were dragging himself out of bed. "Shall we go see what the commotion was?"
"Give me a second." I grunted as I hobbled to my feet and stretched, grimacing as my back popped. "Alright, let's go."
We made our way up the stairs and to Midori's room where we could hear voices. The door was open, and as we neared it I heard Mai say, "Even though Gene is already gone!"
Geez. I thought we were over this.
Naru poked his head inside. "What's wrong?"
I peered over his shoulder in time to see Mai flinch violently. Masako immediately took initiative. "Takigawa-san, let's go to the first floor. Midori-san, please take care of Mai."
"Okay."
We followed her down to the base, and it was only then that Bou-san spoke. "What happened to Mai? Was it the usual dream?" He pressed. "Why is it that this time, the reaction is so strong?"
"Mai also has many things to worry about." Masako said cryptically. I nodded knowingly, mostly because to bug Bou-san.
It worked.
He scowled. "What do you mean by many?"
"Lin found this in the roof of the room in the second floor." Naru said, changing the subject abruptly. He held out the box to the easily distracted monk.
He brightened. "Oh, special shot cards, how nostalgic!" When Naru raised an eyebrow, he elaborated. "They're printed cards of characters that children like. I often collected these in elementary school."
"So that's what it is."
Bou-san ran his fingers over the dusty lid. "Ah, don't tell me you used psychometry?"
"Psychometry?"
I jumped. I'd completely forgotten about Hirota.
Bou-san grinned at him. "It's a power that you don't believe in. It's the power Naru used to find out where his brother was." Turning back to Naru, he added, "So did you use it? How was it?"
"The owner of the cards was a boy. While the boy was sleeping, something entered the house. That thing found his parents' bedroom and suddenly there were screams from there, before it came back to the boy's room. The boy calls that thing Kosori."
Masako nodded slowly. "Mai said the same." She said meaningfully.
"Seems like we dreamt of the same thing." Naru paused. "What I saw was redirected to Mai by someone."
"Someone?" Bou-san asked.
"From previous situations, it would be Gene because he's the guiding spirit for Mai. Although Mai can sometimes use postcognition through dreams as a medium, it was Eugene who enabled her to see them. It seems that Mai also noticed that."
Hirota frowned, but it had lost it's usual aggression. "Wait. Is this Gene that you're talking about Shibuya-kun's brother Eugene? Isn't he dead?"
Masako hesitated. "Yes. I don't think Hirota-san will believe it, but he is still in this world. By being near Mai, or rather beside Naru, he seems to be lending power to Mai."
"What do you mean by lending power?"
"Directing what Naru sees as a dream for Mai." She studied Hirota for a moment. "Even if I say it in more details, you wouldn't understand."
Hirota had the deceny to look embarrassed.
Masako went on. "His corpse was discovered in the summer. What's happening now is the same as before. Making her suddenly remember him, that's what we think is the reason for her huge reaction. It's best if she doesn't see Naru's face even after she calms down."
Naru sat silently for a moment, reflecting on the tragic and nonexistent romance between him and Mai before glancing up at me. "Nira, can I talk to you for a second?"
Bou-san perked up. "What did she do wrong now?"
"I made your coffee perfectly." I told him. "I'll remember to do the opposite next time."
His smile faded.
I followed Naru out into the hall. He stopped a decent distance from the base to prevent eavesdropping and spoke without preamble. "The hand you felt might have been Gene's." I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. "It makes sense. The last time Mai was sent one of my visions, it was in Urado's mansion, and we both saw it during that time as well."
"I'm not saying that you're wrong, but that doesn't mean he had to touch me." I said, mildly weirded out.
Naru nodded. "Well, Gene has always been like that." He said with more than mild distaste. "What matters is that we have an idea of where Gene may be pulling the visions from. Maybe you'll have further contact with him."
I thought of his cheerful, very social twin and grimaced. "Maybe."
"Now that that's settled, let's get back to work."
As I followed Naru inside, I couldn't shake the feeling that very distantly, I heard a boy's amused chuckle.