Chapter 7-Date Night Part 2
March Day 4, 4:54 P.M.
"How is your wife, Mr. Yasuhara?" Saburo asked, once the young man had entered Base. He had changed out of his wet clothes and looked a little shaken up himself.
Yasuhara crossed his arms and sat down on the couch, he sent a look to the man in black sitting in front of the monitors. "She's taking a nap. I think she'll be fine, but she's definitely shaken," he answered shaking his head.
"I've had someone go and block off that area of the trail, so no one else will fall, but I must let Mr, Murakami about what you found. He definitely won't be pleased," Saburo said with a bow and left the room. Once the door was closed Naru turned to the college student.
"You're sure with what you saw?" he asked, leaning back in his seat. The boy nodded and ran a hand through his hair.
"No doubt about it, by the pink shirt, it was the skeleton of a young girl. Probably around nine or ten because the height difference wasn't much different from Kiko and her brother," Yasuhara explained rubbing his neck. "It had a hold of her wrist but crumbled when I reached her. It wasn't the skeleton that dragged her down, though."
"The spirit possessed the skeleton?" Naru clarified, but the boy shook his head.
"Yes, but that's not what dragged her down." He rubbed his temples as he tried to comprehend what he saw. "It couldn't have been. The skeleton was tied down with rocks."
***
"We both are going to need a shower after that," Ayako said after they had dropped the horses off at the stable.
"Together?" Monk offered with a wiggling brow. Ayako smacked him and rolled her eyes.
"You're disgusting, as if!" The monk backed off with a grin as they approached the hotel. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"Not laughing at me about the horse," she answered with a smirk. "Should we stop by Base? I get the feeling Naru probably can't keep away from work this long."
Monk laughed and shook his head. "Smelling like we do? I'm pretty sure even Naru would insist we clean up before getting to work." They made their way to the elevators. "Besides, I'm sure Madoka's plan is foolproof to make Naru and Mai go on their date uninterrupted. I bet she even had people posted to take pictures."
Ayako laughed as she pushed the button for the third floor and the doors closed. "She's probably staking out at Base to make sure no one is working aside from her and Lin."
"I thought they were supposed to go to the hotspring?" Monk raised a brow as the car stopped on their floor. They both stepped out in unison into the hall.
"And just trust us all to go along with her plan? Especially Naru?" The priestess threw a look at the monk. "Come on, it may be her case, her lead, but Naru is hardly the submissive ty-" She stopped as they came up to their room.
"What is it?" Monk asked, pulling their room key from his pocket. She held her finger up to silence him so she could listen. Half a minute later she started giggling like mad. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She waved her hand as they entered their room. "Well, we don't have to worry about Madoka spying on us, unless she hired spies."
***
Mai had stayed in the bath until the nagging feeling in her head finally convinced her to get out. She got dressed and thanked the woman running the bathhouse, before heading back toward the hotel. A shiver went down her spine as the building came into sight from the path and she remembered what was said to happen in the bathhouse.
She said that apparently patrons feeling like they're being watched, Mai thought as she brushed off the feeling. I'm sure that could be explained by people getting freaked out with stories and rumors of the place. Maybe even an EMF fluctuation? Lin said something about that can cause feelings of paranoia.
She wondered what Naru found on the E.V.P.s. I somehow get the feeling he might have reached a dead end, I wonder what else he might be checking up on. And what about that cop that Kiko talked to yesterday? I wonder if he tried to call her.
Before Mai knew it, she had made her way to Base and found not just a Naru, but a Yasuhara sitting on the couch across from him. "Whoa, who died?" Mai asked seeing the solemn men.
"That's what we're trying to figure out," Naru replied, going through his notebook and jotting down something. "You may have been onto something, Mai."
Mai raised a brow and looked at the college student who leaned back and sighed. "Kiko and I were looking over the lake and she fell," he explained, adjusting his glasses. "I slid down after her and dove down to find that something had caught her leg and dragged her down."
"Like a spirit?" Mai asked, sitting on the arm of the couch.
"Not quite, when I reached her I could see what had its hold on her." He shot a look at the black clad man in front of him. "It was a skeleton. It grabbed her hand and didn't let go until I grabbed her."
Mai's blood ran cold at the thought. Pretty... "You said-"
Yasuhara nodded. "The skeleton was small, like a child. The only problem is we don't know how long it's been since she died. She could have died a hundred years-"
"You said, 'she?'" Mai interrupted with a blink.
"Yeah," he confirmed with another nod. "It could be the girl Ms. Kikuchi told you about but-"
"Did she have a pink shirt? With daisies on the sleeves and a heart in the front?" Mai blurted, feeling her wrist burn. She scratched it and put it back to her side.
"Yeah, actually. How did you know?" Both men gave her a curious glance. Mai could only furrow her brow as she looked to her hands.
"Did you have a dream?" Naru asked, breaking her from her reverie.
She shook her head with a jerk. "No, I haven't had any dreams or visions that would help us, at least." She rolled her eyes as she spoke. This is getting annoying, she thought. I've lost contact with my spirit guide but I'm still knowing information that I shouldn't. Maybe I should call Hozumi, I haven't talked to him since last week-
"Mai?" She shook her head as she came back to the reality of her boss calling her name. She blinked and saw him finally. "How did you know what the skeleton was wearing?"
She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Your guess is as good as mine. The thought just popped in my head and I said it before thinking about it." Her brow knitted as she crossed her arms. "At one point, Monk said I was clairvoyant. I thought it was because of my visions, but is it possible that visions aren't the only way I find out information?"
"We did talk about your abilities evolving," Naru replied with an interested look in his eyes.
Knock. Knock.
"It's open," Mai called, looking back at the door. Chika opened it and entered.
"Forgive my intrusion," she said with a bow. "Mr. Mizushima wanted me to let you know that Mr. Murakami has taken the liberty of informing the authorities of what your team has found, Mr. Shibuya." She turned to Yasuhara and Mai could see a sympathetic look in her eyes. "Mr. Yasuhara, he police will wish to speak with you and your wife. I understand she's resting, but-"
"Don't worry, I was heading back up to the room anyway. Just call our room when they arrive and we'll meet them in here," the college student said, earning a nod from the maid.
"Of course," Chika said with another bow and left the room.
"Kiko's taking a nap?" Mai asked with a raise brow. Yasuhara nodded and shrugged.
"She was more than a little freaked out with what happened," he explained as he stood up to leave. "And when we came up for air, Ms. Kikuchi was on the other side of lake screaming at us for being too adventurous in our lovemaking."
With the deadpanned expression the student gave, Mai couldn't contain her snort of a laugh at the scene. Now you know how I felt when Naru and I went to talk to her, she thought as she collected herself.
"Glad you can laugh at it, Kiko was a bit embarrassed, I think," Yasuhara said with a smile. "Or she was still too freaked out about the skeleton holding her hand, either way she said she wanted a shower and a nap before we were even going to think about going to the dinner Madoka planned."
"Is that still going on?" Mai wondered aloud, turning back to her boss. "Madoka knows about the lake right? She came back to do some work."
Naru cast her a curious glance. "Madoka hasn't been in Base since before lunch, to my knowledge at least."
Mai's brow lifted as she thought back to the hot spring. "After we split at the garden I went to the hot spring and Madoka was leaving with Lin. Said something about Lin guilting her into getting some work done even though she insisted on this day off."
They both looked at each other and looked to the college student. "Don't look at me, I haven't seen her." With that he left the room.
Mai shot a look back to her boss. "Well, since I'm here, did you find anything with the E.V.P. sessions?"
Naru let out a breath before glancing back at the laptop he had been using to analyze the recordings. "Unfortunately, nothing conclusive." He leaned over and logged into the device, bringing up the audio feeds. "The E.V.P. session from yesterday in room 426 had some footsteps in the background, but that could easily be dismissed. Did you want to listen?"
Mai nodded and put the headphones over her ears. Naru played the recording as she listened closely. "Wait! Stop and go back two seconds and boost the background," Mai ordered as she pressed the headset closer to her ears. Naru did what she asked and played it back. Mai closed her eyes and concentrated hard. "There!" She took off the headset and handed it to Naru. "It's faint, but there's a whisper."
Naru put the headset on and listened. Mai watched as he replayed the recording and adjusted some settings. After a moment of listening he turned back to her. "Are you sure you heard something?" Mai's brow knitted as she processed his words.
"Yeah, I'm sure." She gave a definite nod. "Can I listen to it again?" she asked, holding her hand out for the headphones.
"Why don't you go get ready for dinner? Our reservation is at seven thirty," he suggested, not willing to have her keep working. She shot him a look.
"Trying to get rid of me?"
"I told you before you had the day off," he said simply, placing the headphones back on his head. "Enjoy it."
Mai's eyes held slight confusion as she realized he spoke his last two words in English. She grinned and shook her head. "Fine if you insist," she replied back in English.
She walked out, this time noticing the smirk that graced his face. He has a nice accent, she noted as she headed for the elevator. I wonder where he learned English...
***
"So you're still having nightmares?" Hozumi's voice rang through the speaker of Mai's phone. She was in the bathroom fixing her hair and makeup.
"Yeah, all of memories of past cases," she replied taking her tweezers to a few stray hairs on her eyebrows. "More specifically the case back last month."
"About your boss becoming possessed?"
Mai nodded her head side to side even though he couldn't see her. "Yes and no, the first night of this case I dreamt of Nakajima attacking me and yesterday I dreamt of Naru attacking me."
"And last night?"
"That's the weird part," she said, putting the tweezers down and grabbing her foundation. "Last night's dream was about a case that happened almost a year ago." She remembered being pinned by Urado's henchmen as the creature approached her. "I was being held against a wall when Urado was about to attack me. Only this time instead of Naru coming to my rescue, he never showed."
"Interesting," Hozumi mused from his end. "Can you think of any reason why these specific memories are replaying in your mind?"
Mai thought for a moment as she turned to the open door behind her and her eyes fell on the only bed in the bedroom. "It might have something to do with having to share a room with him."
Mai thought she heard the man fumble with the phone before she heard, "Come again?" She couldn't help but smirk.
"Yeah, Madoka came to Naru with this case and apparently the spirit targets couples and well we all have to play the part," she explained without going to far into detail.
"And you're okay with this?" he asked.
Mai sighed loudly as she quickly applied her setting powder. "Everyone's been asking me that lately." She put her brush down and grabbed her eyeliner. "In short, not really, but I'm willing to do this if it'll help the case, you know?"
"Sounds like someone's been rubbing off on you," Hozumi teased. Mai rolled her eyes, knowing he was referring to the young man she was forced to share a bed with.
"I guess you can say that," she said with a shrug. She let out another sigh. "I'm just so exhausted, Hozumi." She grabbed a Q-tip to fix one of her lines. "I'm sleeping better than I have for months, but I just seem to be losing more energy. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up and I don't know if even my spirit guide can help me anymore."
"You've been through a lot and it's taken quite the toll on you, physically, emotionally, and spiritually," Hozumi said as Mai applied her eye shadow. "You've been unbalanced for so long and your progress to get back on track has been slow, but I really do believe that your spirit guide is the key to getting back and maintaining normalcy again."
She looked at her phone after finishing her eye shadow and pursed her lips. "Way to make it sound so easy," she said with a roll of her eyes.
"Sometimes the best solutions are the ones that can be put in simple terms," the man said, Mai could almost see the encouraging smile on his face. "Take your demon for example, you weren't sure on how to rid yourself of it, meanwhile all it took was the help of a friend." Mai bit her lip as she remembered having to be exorcised, that wasn't something she'd like to do again. She was also still kicking herself for not talking to John sooner. "And Shouta..." Mai felt a chill go down her spine at the mention of the man's name. "You could have gone to great lengths to move your entire life away from him, but instead you just tricked him into thinking you moved and made sure your home phone number was labeled 'unlisted.'"
"I still can't believe that actually worked," she commented opening her mascara.
"But it did."
"Wait," she said, shooting a look at her phone, "both of those times I had to ask for help to overcome those problems. I thought you said that I had to fix my relationships with my friends to get back to my guide?"
"Maybe you have to ask for help in fixing your relationships." Judging by the chuckling coming through the speaker Mai knew he had to be messing with her. "I only said that as a suggestion," he clarified. "I know you expect me to have all the answers but the only thing I can do for certain is give you advice and try to help you organize what's been going on. Some things you have to figure out for yourself."
Mai didn't like that one bit. She knew that getting better was all up to her, but she was getting so tired of trying and getting nowhere. If only there was-
And suddenly she was not in the hotel bathroom anymore. She didn't know where she was, but she felt something binding her wrists and ankles. Something was over her eyes forcing her to see only black. A somewhat familiar voice was cackling in the background while growling in her ear. "He'll never find you! You'll die here! They'll all move on one day and forget you! You mean nothing!"
"Mai! Mai!" Hozumi's voice broke her from her vision but she was frozen until another voice came from behind her.
"Mai? Are you okay?"
Mai jumped as she saw Naru's reflection in the mirror behind her. She quickly picked her phone up and turned off the speaker. "Hey! Yeah, I'm fine, I just zoned out. I gotta go, but I'll see you next week. Bye." She hung up the phone and quickly made sure she didn't mess up her makeup during her vision. She spun around and faced Naru. "Sorry, I'm almost ready."
And almost ready she was. She was already dressed in her black A-line dress with a red bow around the waist. Suddenly remembering the last time she wore this dress was when she went with Shouta to the play a couple months back, she felt a little guilty wearing it again for a date with Naru. She brushed the feeling aside and grabbed her lip-gloss from her makeup bag.
As she applied the gloss she snuck a look at the time on her phone. We still have twenty minutes until our reservation, she noted as she saw Naru glance curiously at her phone. "Who was that?"
The question startled her as she threw the tube into her makeup bag. "Oh, just a friend," she replied, fixing her hair only to realize just how it sounded. "Not that type of friend. Just a friend."
"And you just had to call him while we're in the middle of a case?" Mai turned around to see expression on the young man's face. If she didn't know better she might have thought he was jealous. But she did know better.
"Look," she began with a shake of her head, only for it to start throbbing, "he's just been helping me through my insomnia and nightmares. I met him back in November and he's almost like my therapist or something."
"It's been that long?" was all he asked, causing Mai to blink.
"What?"
"The nightmares, they've been going on since November?"
"October, actually," she answered crossing her arms. "Are you ready? We have a few minutes, but I'm ready when you are."
Naru only nodded as Mai tried to translate the look in his eyes. He's concerned, she realized with a pang. I thought I was done concerning everyone...
She left the bathroom and grabbed her bag off of the dresser, sliding her phone inside and double checking that her room key was in there. Her headache settled to a dull throb as Naru quickly ran a comb through his hair. Her conversation with Hozumi really made her realize just how exhausted she was. She had come a long way in the last few months but she still felt at a standstill, much like this case. She was surprised Naru agreed to go along with Madoka's antics.
"You look nice."
Apparently, Naru was just full of surprises.
"Thanks..." she said with hesitation as she followed him out of their room. Did Naru the Narcissist just compliment me?
***
"Are you sure you're up for-"
"Don't make me change my mind, Yasu," Kiko warned as she unfolded her menu. She had settled for wearing a comfy purple sundress for dinner as opposed to some of the fancier attire that she saw. She didn't care, at least she could breathe. "We've already talked to the police and we don't have to go into detail about it until tomorrow with the team. I'd rather forget about it for a minute and keep down what I eat for the night."
"You puked?" Yasuhara raised his brow as he opened his own menu.
She nodded. "It also didn't help that Madoka and Lin seemed to have taken their 'date' back to their room. You'd think that for a hotel that was meant for honeymooning couples, they would've made the walls thicker."
Analyzing the girl's deadpanned expression, Yasuhara couldn't help but laugh. The fact that she was serious made it even funnier.
"Here's our waiter and looks like Monk and Ayako are getting their table," Kiko said, still deadpan as she looked over the menu. "How did we manage to arrive first?"
***
"I would've thought Madoka and Lin would be the first ones here," Monk commented once they sat at their table. "Is it just me, or is Kiko looking a little green?"
"I'm willing to bet it's because of the garlic last night," Ayako said with a roll of her eyes. "I wonder if they ever made up after last night." She unfolded her menu and glanced over the appetizers. "I never took Yasuhara to be the jealous type."
"I wouldn't even say jealous," Monk replied pursing his lips as he opened his own menu. "Seemed more like a little insecure, but even that I wouldn't peg him for." Their waiter stopped by and took their drink orders. "What I can't believe is that Lin and Madoka apparently went all out for their date night."
"You calling me a liar?" Ayako smirked, scanning the entrées.
"No, I can definitely see Madoka try to sneak some sexy time with Lin, what I don't see is Lin going along with it during a case," he answered with a smirk as he figured out which appetizer he wanted. "I wonder how Naru and Mai's 'date' went."
"Knowing him, he probably started off at the garden like Madoka wanted and they are probably finishing up some work in Base right now. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to put off dinner for as long as possible-"
"Well, I think you might be wrong about that last part. Look who's at four o'clock." Monk shook his head and turned the page of his menu. The priestess obeyed and saw the well-dressed couple being led by a hostess to a table on the other side of the restaurant.
"Huh, who'd'a thought Naru would be punctual for something he was so reluctant to do earlier," Ayako deadpanned as she turned back around. "Must want to get it over with."
"What are you jealous of them or something?" Monk asked with a raised brow. As their waiter came back with their drinks and he waved the man off saying they were still deciding.
"Excuse me? What are you talking about?"
"You're being very bitter right now," he replied, taking a sip of his drink. "We're supposed to be on a date and you're scowling at the couple across the room."
"I'm not scowling," she chided with a scowl. Amusement danced in Mon's eyes as he tried to keep his face impassive. "I just don't like this."
"Glad to know I'm just that un-datable." Ayako was about retort but Monk only laughed and shook his head. "Calm down, I already know. You still don't like this case after what happened in February."
"That bastard tried to rape her and then that numskull got possessed and nearly did the same," Ayako hissed quietly so no one would hear. "You can't blame me for being pissed off."
"No, I can't," Monk agreed with a breath. His own face turned into a scowl. "Does Madoka even know about that case? At least the part about Mai being attacked?"
Ayako shrugged her shoulders, suddenly losing her appetite. "I can only assume Naru wrote up a case report, whether Madoka read it or not is another story."
"At least they don't look too uncomfortable anymore," Monk commented looking back at the young couple. Mai had a pout and Naru wore the slightest of smirks, he must've gotten a rise out of her. "In fact, this is the closest they've been in a while. I can't remember the last time Naru teased her like this."
Ayako turned in her seat and could see the amusement in their eyes from where she sat. A soft smile grew on her lips. "I guess Mai was right, maybe she needed to do this," she said as she waved over their waiter. She now knew what she wanted to order.
***
"Your English is coming along," Naru commented after their waiter left with their orders. Mai blinked hard as she took a sip of her water. She put her glass carefully back on the table.
"Thanks," she said, still confused with the sudden compliments. Okay, let's be real, she was still confused when he told her she looked nice. Naru had been known to compliment her work every now and again, though it was usually after he teased her about something stupid she said. Never once, that she could recall at least, had he complimented her appearance. "So how did you learn English? I'm guessing you didn't learn it in school."
Naru seemed to contemplate how exactly to answer that. "My parents speak it," he said, then a thought occurred to her. She remembered something he had said on a case more than a year before, and while it nagged her then she never really thought about it until now.
"You didn't grow up in Japan, did you?" Mai said with a tilted head. "That's why you can't read Kanji."
A ghost of a smile graced his lips as he took a drink of water. "I moved to England when I was young," he explained. "I grew up speaking and writing in English. My parents had no intention of returning to Japan so it was not important for me to learn to read or write the language."
"Were your parents ghost hunters here?" They didn't wait long for their appetizer, it arrived and forced them to pause to continue their conversation. "Why did they move so far away?"
"My father has family there," he said simply. "And at the time parapsychology was taken just a little more seriously there than in Japan." Mai remembered another case where they learned how the media took the idea of psychic abilities and made a show out of kids who faked it. She could understand why Naru's family wanted to get away from that.
Is Naru part British? Mai wondered as she took a bite. That would explain the blue eyes.
"Where did you learn?" The question only made Mai nearly choke on her food. He couldn't serious, right? It was obvious where she was learning. Her face must've said exactly what she was thinking so he reiterated. "From what you've spoken to me so far is rather advanced for you to have learned it in a high school class."
Yet another compliment, Mai thought with a mental shake of her head. The spirits must be influencing him to be so nice. "Remember how I said I would do homework when I couldn't sleep? English was oddly enough the only thing that made the most sense when I was sleep deprived."
There was a quiet pause as they ate the appetizer and soon the waiter came back and took their plates. He waltzed away with a promise that their food would be out shortly.
A little buzz in her head made her look up and toward the entrance of the restaurant. "I found Madoka and Lin," she blurted.
As Naru turned his head to see the couple being led to their seats, Mai understood why they hadn't gone back to Base. She couldn't tell you what made her know, but she knew just by looking at them that they had definitely enjoyed the unrated part of their date.
"You said my abilities were evolving..." she blurted, feeling her cheeks redden.
Naru nodded with an odd look in his eyes.
"I wish they weren't."
***
"You know, I forgot you wore glasses until this case," Yasuhara commented after their entrée had been served. The brunette in front of him adjusted her glasses before she took a bite.
"They're the wrong prescription so I only wear them when I have no choice," she replied with a shrug as she looked up trying to remember something. "I stopped wearing them, what was it? Second year of high school? Right before? Somewhere around there."
"That sounds right," he replied. "I still don't know how you can poke yourself in the eye everyday just to see."
At that she smirked. "I still don't quite understand your obsessive mancrush on Monk, care to explain that?"
"You know my brother started that-"
"So you say," she interrupted taking a bite. She chewed and swallowed before continuing, "But your brother didn't try to stalk his friend while he was on a date, or am I wrong?" Yasuhara gave a sheepish shrug and suddenly Kiko understood. "It's hard being the youngest of three, isn't it?"
"Says the oldest of three."
"I have it easy, don't I?" she replied taking another bite. "Your sister just graduated law school and your brother just got married and here you are 'married' to catch a ghost."
Yasuhara raised a brow in curiosity, just where was she going with this? "They don't approve, do they?"
He didn't answer, he just continued eating. Kiko took it as her cue to continue. "That's why you cling to Monk, he's your ghost hunting brother, right?" He still didn't answer.
***
The majority of dinner was spent in silence or in very small conversations. Mai was about halfway through her entrée when a wave of nausea passed over her. Her churning stomach caused her to pause over her food, earning the attention of her date. "Are you okay?" Naru asked, giving her a look.
It took a deep breath from her, but she was able to straighten herself and put her chopsticks down. "I'll be right back, excuse me," she said simply as she made her way to the bathroom. She locked the door to the private stall and before she knew it, her dinner had made an encore appearance in the toilet.
I told you he was only using you.
Tears pricked her eyes as the voice in her head became all too familiar. Her breathing became heavy and it took everything in her to keep herself from vomiting again. She struggled to keep her tears at bay as she crossed her arms and clutched the tops of them. She hated herself for allowing the voice to have such an affect on her
He just used you for his dirty work and now he's using you as an ornament. You never should have left me, Mai. I'm gonna find you.
It had been almost two months since she last saw him but his voice still rang clear as a bell. Why? Why now? Why here? Why was she even hearing it in the first place?
"It's not real..." she whispered as another terrifying thought occurred to her. "No..."
That demon's not back is he? It was becoming harder and harder for her reel in her emotions, but this was the only explanation, right? It would also explain why she hasn't made contact with her spirit guide. No, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening!
With a deep breath, she locked her meltdown away to the back of her mind and forced herself to remain calm. She couldn't fall apart out here, even if she were in a bathroom stall. She needed to go back to dinner and then maybe go to bed early. Hopefully Naru would want to get some more work done.
With her head held high she walked back to her table and pushed her plate of food aside. "Are you okay?" Naru asked her, by the look of it, he hadn't touched his food since she left the table.
Now or never, Mai. "Honestly, I'm not feeling good," she said, grateful that it wasn't a lie or ruse. "I think after this I'm going to turn in. I'm exhausted."
"I'm going to try and get a little more work done," he replied, taking a sip of his water. "Do you want me to walk you back to the room?"
She shook her head and rubbed her neck. "No, I think I'll be fine."
With that they left the restaurant and Mai made it back to the room. She shut the door behind her as she heard the voice in her head.
You'll never be more than a lackey to him. All you were good for was making tea and when was the last time you made him any? He's a perv who set this whole thing up and blamed Madoka!
"That's not true!" she growled as her tears finally fell. She took off her dress and threw it on her bag. She ran into the bathroom without glancing at herself in the mirror. She turned on the shower as hot as it would go and got in.
She was grateful Naru had decided to work in Base. It saved her from having this humiliating meltdown in front of him. "The demon is gone and so is Shouta." She repeated through her sobs as though it would calm her down. "Naru's not the bad guy."
When she finally calmed down she put on her pajamas and crawled into bed, silently praying for some decent sleep for once.