Chapter 8-Broken Together
March Day 4, 10:39 P.M.
Kiko was sitting at the desk in their hotel room getting herself ready for bed. The rest of dinner went off without a hitch, although things seemed to get a little awkward once they ran out of things to talk about. She was removing her makeup when she heard her roommate exit the bathroom. "Hey, Kiko?" he asked, buttoning up his nightshirt.
"What's up?" she replied, wiping off the last of her mascara. You see, Kiko had put him on the spot at dinner and now it was time for Yasuhara to finally get her to confront a topic that she seemed to avoid like the plague. It was time for them to close one chapter of their lives for good, but they needed to write the last few sentences before they could.
"It's just," he began, fixing his glasses. "It's been nearly two years since you left Ryoukuryou and yet you haven't spoken more than a quick explanation to Mai and Monk about the place being hostile because you have psychic abilities." He saw her stiffen, but recover and throw away the wipe she was using for her makeup. She put on her glasses and picked up the brush and started brushing her hair.
"Well, it's not exactly a lie, look what happened to Sakauchi," she said, working the brush through her hair. "And there's not much else to say."
"And you up and left without a goodbye to anyone. Never told anyone you were thinking of switching schools. Summer vacation came and when we came back, you never did," he said sitting on the edge of the bed. "We reconnected back in July, but we still haven't uttered a word about it."
She felt bad, to be honest, she knew she was being selfish to try and lock away that memory and never speak of it again. Just allow it to collect dust in her mind, but she knew with Osamu Yasuhara, there was no way that would happen. "Yasu, I just," she started, putting the brush down. "I wanted-I couldn't...it was...it was...everything just-I"
"It was hard, everything was jumbled and you needed to get away," he finished for her. "I get it, I always did." But there was one thing that was on his mind since the last case that he went on. Even though he left early.
"Then why are you-"
"Because I saw Renjiro." He had never seen her head snap so fast, nor had he seen such terror in her eyes.
"When?" she blurted, then looked away. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You already knew."
"No I didn't, what are you talking about?" She gave him a confused glance.
"You refused to come on the last case," he said, she opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her. "You lied and said you weren't able to go, but when he was there and tried chatting with me like old buddies, I knew exactly why you didn't want to go."
She looked down at her hands and smirked. "So what did he say?"
"Well, I know what he did to you..." he finally revealed, she just looked at him confused again.
"Yeah, you found me on the floor of the classroom when I didn't show up for the club," she said shaking her head. "It's not like I could keep that a secret from you-"
"I mean after that." Her face paled.
"He...he told you?" Betrayal painted her face.
"Not in so many words," he confessed, and smirked. "He saw us having lunch one day and assumed we were dating and referred to you as his old girlfriend among other things." She still looked confused. "I had always suspected that he..." He couldn't bring himself to say it. "The way he talked about you only confirmed it. And then everything made sense."
Her breathing hitched and a tear fell, but she stayed at the desk and didn't look at Yasuhara. "That-" her voice cracked and she paused. She cleared her throat and sniffed to compose herself. "That was a long time ago." She wiped her eyes behind her glasses and looked up. "And this is not the time to bring it up. If you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep."
Yasuhara was shocked at her outburst but nevertheless, respected her and let the conversation go as she climbed into bed. She took off her glasses placed them on the nightstand and turned out her light. Yasuhara followed suit, but when he tried to put his hand on her shoulder, she just swatted it away. "Yasuhara! Let me sleep!" she snapped, snagging the blankets.
He brought his hand back and turned out his light. "I just wanted to say I lied back then," he confessed. "There actually was a girl I was interested in, but I knew someone else was interested in her. I thought she would go for him before she would go for me, I was sort of right. But, had I known then what I know now, I would have done things differently. Maybe I could have saved her." He laid down and turned on his side. "Good night, Kiko."
But Kiko didn't say a word, she was in shock at what she had just heard and pretended to be asleep. It was later, when she actually was asleep that the tears an emotion she bottled up earlier came out. Her unconscious sobs even woke her friend who didn't know whether or not to wake her. He just turned on his side to face her and wrapped an arm around her waist. He pulled her closer and she seemed to calm down. He whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry, Kiko. I'm so sorry."
He felt her body relax into his and soon he was asleep as well. So sound asleep, neither one awoke when Kiko's body turned around to face the boy in bed with her and wrap her arm around his waist, under his arm, and pull herself closer. She wasn't even awake. It were as though her body moved of its own accord, helping her gain what she needed without her consciously knowing it. Relaxing into each other, they both unknowingly smiled.
***
"I bet your boyfriend wasn't happy when you told him about this case," Monk teased, coming out of the bathroom in only his pajama pants. "Or you haven't told him yet?"
Ayako just gave him a confused look as he rifled through his suitcase for a t-shirt. "There's nothing to tell," was all she said as she brushed her hair.
"Oh, don't want him knowing? Scandalous," Monk continued to tease, running a comb through his hair.
"No, there's no one to tell anything to," she said, internally cursing herself for still feeling bitter about the break up. She thought she was over this, it had been months!
"You and Daisuke broke up?" Ayako stood and threw the brush into her bag and headed for the bathroom.
"Yeah, we broke up awhile ago," she replied, starting to brush her teeth.
"I'm sorry," she heard Monk reply after a minute.
With a mouth full of toothpaste she turned around. "For what?" she asked.
"I know you liked him," he explained, she finished and spit out the paste and came back into the room.
"He turned out to not be the person I thought he was," she shrugged, sitting on the bed.
"Sometimes that happens," Monk said, sitting next to her. "Did you want to talk about it?"
"What's there to talk about?" she scoffed. "I caught him with his ex and got a little revenge when I broke up with him."
"What did you do?"
"I soaked his condoms in pepper juice for an hour." Monk got a kick out of that. Ayako smiled. "Pretty ingenious, right?"
"I feel pretty lucky for only having pissed you off enough for a smack on the head, who knew you could be so evil?" he laughed, nudging her arm, but her smile was fading.
"Yeah," she exhaled, crossing her arms.
"I'm sorry, Ayako," Monk said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't deserve this."
"It's shit like this that make a girl think that all the good ones are either gay or married." Ayako shrugged his hand off of her.
"Nah, that's the same as when we say that all you girls ever go for are the assholes."
"Well, it's seems true in my case."
"No, you'll find the right guy, he is out there, you just have to find him," he encouraged, she just sighed.
"But how many more times do I have to get it wrong in order to get it right?"
"Now that I don't know."
Ayako pulled her knee up to her chest and wrapped her arms around it in comfort. "Maybe I should consider going lesbian, can't be any worse than what I've gone through," she said thoughtfully.
"That would make a lot of really good guys very unhappy," Monk teased, nudging her again. She cracked a smile again. "Besides, even though we drive each other nuts, I think you're pretty amazing and deserve so much more than what he gave you."
"Houshou? You mean that?" she asked looking up at him in wonder, she felt her eyes watering.
"Absolutely, and you'll find someone who will treat you the way you deserve to be treated and you'll be able to forget about that douchebag," he said, wiping a tear from her face as it fell.
Both of them fell into a silence as they stared into each other's eyes. Both found themselves closing their eyes and leaning forward. Both painfully aware that they were mere inches away from a kiss that would change their professional and personal lives forever. What was only seconds seemed like an eternity, as both waited for what they subconsciously yearned for.
It was then that Monk opened his eyes and pulled away. "We should get some sleep," he said, as Ayako pulled back as well.
"Y-yeah," she agreed trying to hide her blush, luckily the lights were turned off and she crawled into bed.
Unbeknownst to her, the monk lying next to her bore a similar blush on his cheeks. He could have very well kissed her, but that would be taking advantage of her in a weak moment. He didn't want to do that, not after what she had just revealed.
The priestess on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to look back in his eyes and finish what they started. But then she would be using him to get over Daisuke. She couldn't do that to him.
***
"Well, this is certainly an interesting case," Lin commented, buttoning the last button of his pajamas. He ran a hand through his still damp hair as he came over to his side of the bed.
"I know, I think I've finally caused enough sexual tension for Noll and everyone else to realize their feelings for each other," Madoka cheerfully agreed, looking up from the book she was reading.
"Is that the whole reason you made Oliver take this case?" Lin asked climbing into the bed. "And is that his book?"
She nodded. "It's his latest that he released last year. I'm surprised with him looking for Gene's body he was able to write and publish this while he was here," she replied, closing the book.
"He already had it written before we left for Japan," Lin explained, setting up his alarm clock. "It was ready to be published when Gene died and then he held off on the publishing. It happened last year to keep up Oliver Davis's appearance in England." He put his cell phone on the charger and placed it on the desk next to him. "You never answered my question."
"It's part of the reason why I encouraged Noll to take the case, of course I didn't tell him about the room assignments, I told no one about that," she replied, putting the book on the desk next to her side. "Ayako and Monk seemed pretty pissed about it, almost as much as little Noll was-"
"It's understandable why they are," Lin interjected.
"Yeah, those two just don't want to admit that they are meant for each other-"
"No, that's not why they were upset," Lin replied. "In fact everyone was a little upset about the room assignments and for the same reason, myself included."
"You didn't want to sleep in the same bed as your girlfriend?" Madoka asked skeptically.
Lin chuckled. "No, that's not it. Everyone was upset about Mai and Noll having to pretend that they are a couple."
"Oh, because she's his assistant and the work relationship would be in jeopardy? You and I made it work so I don't see how-"
"A couple cases ago, Mai got out of a bad relationship." Normally, the Chinese man was perfectly fine with his girlfriend rambling on and on and not letting him get a word in edgewise. However, tonight, he realized that she had ticked off most of the team and honestly did not know the actual reasoning behind it.
"A bad relationship?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Just a couple days before the case began at the college, Mai showed up at Miss Matsuzaki's apartment with a black eye and several bruises on her arms. She also mentioned that she was no longer with her boyfriend," Lin explained, earning a gasp from his girlfriend. "She managed to convince Matsuzaki to bring her along for the case, despite Noll trying to send her back home. I didn't realize he never told Matsuzaki that the spirit at the college was known to possess the male students and try to rape the female students and faculty. And when Noll was possessed briefly on that case-"
"Oh my god!" Madoka exclaimed, bringing her hands to her face. "Why didn't anyone tell me! I would have just made you, me and either Yasuhara and Kiko or Monk and Ayako be couples to use as bait."
"I have a feeling that neither one of those options would have been a good idea," Lin answered. His girlfriend looked up at him, beckoning him to elaborate. "Miss Matsuzaki has or had a boyfriend, I'm not too sure if they are still together or if they broke up. However she seemed a little preoccupied when she found out she had to sleep in the same bed as Takigawa. As for Yasuhara and Kiko, their relationship has been strained since the case at her house."
"What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Apparently, Kiko went to Ryoukuryou but left after her first year. When we had the case at her place, Yasuhara reconnected with her and they seem to be close since, but," he paused with a sigh. "It seems the real reason she left the school didn't have to do with the strictness of the teachers. It was more of a situation like the college case."
"Oh fuck!" Madoka exclaimed, thoroughly upset and disappointed in herself. "I've ruined everything with this case! I wish I never made Oliver take on the damn thing!" She sunk into the bed and pulled the covers over her head. Lin couldn't help but smile a laugh a little.
"Madoka," he said, nudging her shoulder. "Madoka, come out."
"No! Leave me in here to wallow in my failures!" This time he fully laughed. "Don't laugh at me!"
"Oh, come on, Madoka," he said, pulling the covers back to reveal her face. She looked as though she were about to cry. "You haven't ruined a thing."
"Oh bullshit, Koujou." She wasn't happy. She wasn't going to buy into his attempt to comfort her. She knew he was just trying to make her feel better. She wasn't going to fall for lies even if they were in good faith. "I wanted to use this case as a way for everyone to be able to get together and finally have everyone see how much we mean to each other. Had I known any of this, I would never have even taken the case."
"But I think you may have succeeded." Lin was honest. And he really didn't want to have to deal with a crying girlfriend this late at night. "Sure you forced three potential couples to not only share a room but a bed. Yes they all have some baggage; you could probably say they were even broken. But maybe this case will cause some sort of healing. That it will show them that they can be broken together."
"Lin, that was the most beautiful and poetic thing I have heard you say," she looked up at him wide eyed.
Lin just reached over and turned out her light. Then his. Then he slid under the covers and faced the woman who he was sharing a bed with. "What can I say? You're starting to rub off on me," he said, kissing her forehead. "So maybe this case was a good thing."
"I love you!"
***
"You haven't seen your spirit guide in how long?" Mai could hear Hozumi's voice in the darkness. She felt as though she were floating in it and was unsure whether or not her eyes were open. The familiar comforting purple glow had been gone for so long and if it were there right then it was too faint to see.
"Not since the case at the hotel, back in October," she heard her own voice reply. She remembered this conversation; she had it earlier that week. "I haven't had many visions in my dreams either."
"But that was when you began to really see spirits, right?"
"Yeah, I even had someone say I was a medium. But I'm not a medium, am I?"
"Who knows? You could be and your spiritual powers began with simple visions of the cases. You have seen glimpses of spirits before and then after the traumatic experience at the hotel, your mind shut itself down and did it's best to protect you from your visions."
"Yeah, we went over this before and then you suggested Reiki treatments with Izumi and they helped with the nightmares, I'm sleeping better now. But I still haven't seen my spirit guide. I've had visions but he wasn't in any of them."
"It seems that after the case at the hotel, your mind severed your connection, or at least tried to."
"What do you mean tried to?"
"I mean that your guide may still be guiding you even if you can't see him, he could be the one helping your eyes open to the sight of spirits while your awake instead of asleep."
"So my connection to him wasn't severed, just damaged?"
"Yes, unfortunately, I don't know how to fix it. It's something you have to fix on your own."
"That's not exactly very helpful."
"Around October was when your nightmares began, when you last saw your guide, and when your mind began to let you see things while awake that you were used to seeing while you were asleep."
"Yeah?"
"During that time and up until now, you have felt a bit depressed, exhausted, and empty. As though you were missing a piece of yourself."
"I guess you're right, but what?"
"Only you can figure that out, but you subconsciously tried to use Shouta to fill that gap, but he was a piece that would never fit no matter how much you shape it or cut it. When he did what he did to you, your nightmares came back full force and you felt as though you were thrown back into the darkness you were so desperately trying to escape."
"So I need to find the missing piece to my puzzle?"
"Or mend a broken bond that will fit into its place."
"Broken bond?"
***
2:22 A.M.
Mai opened her eyes and realized it was still nighttime. She was still exhausted and knew she would fall back asleep very soon, but something had woken her. Something in her mind told her she needed to be somewhat awake for something.
But she was so warm and comfortable, and felt safe under the weight of the blanket and the arm around her waist.
And that was when she realized why she was awake. Naru must have turned around in his sleep and latched onto her waist, had she been more awake, she might have squeaked. But it felt nice, it had been a long time since she felt this safe. This secure.
She relaxed into his embrace, figuring that she could freak out about the total cuddle session with her boss at a later time, and sighed. She felt his grip tighten, almost desperately. It surprised her a little but her exhaustion was taking over her and soon she would be engulfed in another nightmare or dream about how she can't connect with her spirit guide.
Naru pulled her even closer to him and she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. It sent a shiver down her spine, but it was only when she realized he was saying something that it really hit home. "I'm sorry, Mai," he was saying, over and over. "Forgive me."
Was he dreaming of her? Was she dreaming this whole thing? No, it felt too real to be a dream, even if it were a vision. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What was he apologizing for? Was it for everything she went through? Was he blaming himself for everything that happened to her? He cared about her enough to feel guilty for it?
"It's okay, Naru," she whispered back, it only came out as a breath. She felt her eyelids falling over, about to allow sleep to take over.
"I'm so sorry, Mai," she heard him whisper again, it almost sounded like a whimper. "Sorry for-"
But the urge to sleep was too strong and she found her world spiraling into one of darkness.
***
Mai opened her eyes to find she was lying down in the glowing blackness she was used to. But this time it was different. The glow wasn't the hollowness she had become accustomed to the last few months. The glow was that of a purple hue.
She sat up immediately as soon as she noticed it. She whipped her head around, her heart racing a mile a minute as she marveled in the comfort of this world she had almost forgotten. There was only one thing that would make this all complete. It was when she stood up that everything was perfect.
The figure walking toward her was several inches taller than her, and bore a striking resemblance to the young man she was actually sharing a bed with. Tears welled in her eyes and she raced for him. He caught her in a hug and the two just stood in each other's embrace.
Happiness overflowed in the little brunette's heart as she let the tears fall. She never thought about how empty her life had been when she shut him out. But for the first time in a long time she was starting to feel whole again.
"It's so good to see you again, Mai," he said, stroking her hair.
"I've missed you so much, Naru," she said back through sobs of happiness.
"Why are you crying?" he asked, standing back to wipe a tear from her face.
"I-I don't know," she stuttered out, a smile grew on her face as she hugged him again. "I'm just so happy you're back!"
"I never left," he replied, rubbing her back. "I tried to get back to you, but you wouldn't let me in."
"I'm sorry," Mai answered, still sobbing in the spirit's chest. "I don't know why. I never wanted to keep you out. I couldn't control it."
"It's okay, you figured it out and now everything's going to be fine."
***
Naru had never realized what a fitful sleeper Mai was until he was forced to share a bed with her. He couldn't tell if she was having visions or just plain nightmares, but considering this was their fifth day on the case and she hasn't spoken word of any visions, he could assume they were only nightmares. She hasn't had any visions in a long time, he noted to himself.
He wasn't too sure how he ended up waking up with Mai literally in his arms, then again he wasn't sure how he woke up the same way the last three mornings, but he was glad she seemed to be sleeping a bit more peacefully. He was also glad she hadn't woken up before him to see the state they were in. At least to his knowledge, but he would have known if she woke up, she probably would have shoved him off of her. With how he's treated her, he wouldn't be surprised if she hated him.
Despite the sun peaking through the blinds of the window, telling him he needed to get up, he was very tempted to just stay where he was. Tempted to pull the girl even closer to him and sleep a little longer. Then he remembered it was his assistant he was holding.
Madoka and even Lin have teased him about having feelings for his assistant that were on the more romantic side. Pretty much ever since the case at Yasuhara's high school when the ceiling collapsed and he used his body to shield her. Of course he claimed that there was no way to get her out of there before the ceiling fell on them, but neither of them bought it. Their teasing only got worse when Mai was dating Shouta and this apparently disturbed him.
But he was right to be disturbed, he remembered. He felt absolutely horrible when Ayako called him to let him know his assistant would not be in because her boyfriend hit her. He really never even liked Shouta, but at the time he made Mai happy and she was doing better on her schoolwork and her casework.
He remembered Mai becoming distant once again not long after their relationship started, how Michiru and Keiko came into the office looking for her. She had used the same excuse to ditch them as she did to call out of work. But he didn't penalize her for it. He had a growing feeling that Shouta was up to no good, but had no proof. Mai still seemed happy to be with him, just anxious to finish up any cases or work. It wasn't until Mai showed up on their new case, with a disapproving Ayako that he almost blew up at her, then he saw her eye. She had tried to cover it up but he could still see the swelling and blue hue.
He couldn't scold her for what happened. It wasn't her fault. She had been fooled, but they all had been. Everyone on the team was happy she had found someone, even if they felt they may have been moving too fast, but they were young. Don't most young couples move too fast? The most he could do was actually teach her how to investigate, in the hopes she wouldn't hate him as much anymore.
Perhaps he did have a romantic interest for the girl, he was very fond of her. But to be honest, Naru wasn't sure exactly what he felt for her. What he was sure of though, was that she was his assistant and he was paying her. Even if he were to try to develop a relationship with her, the last thing he would want would be the relationship to turn sour and either her leaving or him having to fire her. And even if it seemed to be doing well, what if she didn't like him back, but continued the relationship so she could keep her job?
Oliver Davis knew very well what it was like to have something like that held over his head. To feel indebted to someone for keeping his secret, he didn't want to do that to her. It wasn't fair to her. Plus, he wasn't in Japan to find a girlfriend. He was so close to finding Gene's body, he couldn't afford distractions.
So he slowly got up, removing his arm from her waist as carefully as possible to not wake her. Once he was sure she was still asleep, he got out of bed and pulled the covers over her so she could sleep comfortably. He grabbed a few things from his bag and went to the bathroom to change.