Mikage yawned. The one-hour-and-a-few-minutes flight was too long to his liking. His soft, blonde hair was tousled as he rubbed his head sleepily. He turned his phone on and notifications rushed in. There was a message from Akashi Seijuurou, the current Chief of the Supernatural Division.
'Heiwa will fetch?' he wondered to himself.
He'd given up trying to call her with her current name, Akashi Akashi. It was too confusing. Mikage neared the Arrival Gate, pulling his small luggage along. It was a one-week stay in Osaka for his privately assigned missions.
Then, right outside the entrance, he saw a familiar figure.
'Heiwa,' he called out gently.
The girl turned to him. 'Oh, Mikage!' she smiled, waving then held out her hand. 'Hand me the luggage.'
Mikage shook his head then took his backpack off his shoulder. 'If you insist, you can hold this one instead, it's much lighter.'
Heiwayuki took it obediently and placed it over her shoulders. They began walking. 'Seijuurou is waiting in the car,' she said.
Mikage nodded quietly then asked, 'How are you doing?'
Heiwa shrugged. 'Same old thing. Fine and boring.'
He chuckled, 'No interesting out-of-this-world cases yet?'
She pouted her lips and shook her head.
Mikage glanced at her a few times. He'd read the message she sent, saying she wanted to ask him something. But she didn't look like she would ask any time soon. So he halted his steps.
'Hey, I want a cup of coffee,' he said and immediately pulled Heiwa's arm towards the coffee shop they just passed by a second ago.
Heiwayuki followed suit. He made his order and they waited for the drink to be brewed, sitting near the bar counter.
'So,' began Mikage, leaning against his seat. 'You have something to ask.'
'What?'
Mikage raised his eyebrows questioningly, shrugging.
'Well...' the girl seemed uncomfortable.
'Yeah, what?'
'There was someone who has been waiting outside the HQ for a long time. He has a soul attached to him and he's afraid to come inside. I told Seijuurou that the souls following him were malicious and nothing I've ever seen,' she said. 'But then Seijuurou said he's solved cases like thi-'
'Heiwa,' Mikage interjected, frowning. 'Cut to the point.'
'Ah, sorry, I feel like I'll be intruding on your privacy if I were to ask,' she said. 'I heard you had a soul attached to you before.'
Mikage fell silent and looked away. Heiwayuki frowned slightly, knowing she had asked something sensitive.
'I'm sorry,' she shook her head. 'You don't have to tell me.'
'No, I was just remembering some things,' he replied.
The waitress arrived at their table with a tray and a cup of coffee. She carefully placed the cup in front of Mikage then left. He took a sip and exhaled sharply.
'It was my classmate, Yukio,' he began.
Heiwayuki stared at him pitifully. 'Wait, Mikage. Your face...' she stopped him. Mikage blinked, unmoving and silent. 'Let's talk about this some other time.'
'What's with my face?' he raised a brow in confusion.
'I'll wait in the car,' she said and quickly left the scene. I've never seen Mikage making that kind of face. It's sorrowful. His eyes... empty and distant.
-
Heiwayuki sat on the passenger's seat, beside Akashi, then took off Mikage's backpack she was carrying and placed it on her lap. Akashi looked at her questioningly when she entered without Mikage.
'What's wrong?' he asked but he seemed to already understand the situation.
'He'll come later,' she answered curtly.
He chuckled, 'I see, you asked him about Yukio, didn't you?'
Heiwayuki snapped her head to him. 'How did you know?'
Akashi rested his head against his seat. 'Sorry, I guess it was rash of me to have you ask him about Yukio.'
'I've never seen a face sadder than that...' Heiwayuki said quietly.
'Yukio was his classmate when he was in his second year,' said Akashi as he glanced at the rearview mirror to see if Mikage had come by. 'But she turned out to be a soul, rather than a human.'
Heiwayuki frowned, 'How is that possible? Wasn't he able to see her?'
'He was. Everybody could see her but she is actually an artificial soul made from the other side of the world, she didn't exactly die or anything.'
'Wait... are you saying, she was and is not a human? But she is able to act like a normal person?' she queried.
Akashi nodded. 'It's rare, but not impossible. She was the first case Kyoto HQ had encountered, though.'
She sighed loudly, 'I want to know the whole story so badly,' then looked at the side mirror. 'Mikage is taking a long time.'
'He's just enjoying his coffee and probably reminiscing about his school life or something.'
Heiwayuki hummed in reply then it was just silence between them.
Then suddenly, Akashi shifted his body so he was facing Heiwayuki, resting his right arm on the armrest. He leaned very close to her. As expected, she blushed at the sudden move. She had flinched but their faces were still only inches away.
'W-what...'
Akashi smiled, the usual sly smile he'd always display whenever he was about to do something naughty or inappropriate.
Heiwayuki frowned. 'I know that eyes,' she said and quickly placed her palm over his mouth. He smirked against her touch and his left hand gently pushed her wrist away. Then he reached for her nape and pulled her to him.
She didn't resist or move an inch when they kissed. It had been a while since they had time together. Tokyo Supernatural Division was as busy as it could get. The touch of his warm lips against hers were gentle at first, coaxing her to part them. She obliged shyly. He slid his tongue in and angled his head to deepen the kiss.
The sensation sent goosebumps along her midriff and further down. He tasted dizzyingly sweet and her throat let out a low whimper, muffled by their connected lips. Akashi's fingers grazed her jaw, then grabbed her nape.
He wanted more. He needed more. More of her. All of her. He wished to devour her, take her right then. She moaned again and he kissed her deeper. That mellifluous, seductive voice of hers...
His other hand travelled down to her shoulder, her collarbone, then her chest. Heiwa flinched but she was so enchanted by the kiss that his touch was electrifyingly pleasant, despite causing her heart to thump vigorously.
The passenger's door behind them was then abruptly opened. 'I thought you guys- Oh GOD-!' it was Mikage. And he saw them.
Akashi pulled away and looked at Mikage, who opened the door that was opposite of his side. 'Welcome back,' he said nonchalantly.
'Be more sincere, dammit,' Mikage mumbled and entered the car. 'You guys were too busy making out you didn't even hear me putting my bag at the back.'
Heiwayuki's face turned red as she quietly faced forward, trying to act like nothing happened.
Akashi chuckled and began driving.
'And you should've brought your BMW M4, rather than this one,' said Mikage, examining the interior of the car he was sitting in. 'This looks too fancy to fetch someone at the airport.'
Akashi glanced at Mikage from the rearview mirror. 'Maserati Quttroporte? It's not that fancy,' he denied. 'Would you prefer me driving a Rolls Royce?'
'No, I just said I prefer the M4.'
'Quattroporte has its engines designed by Ferrari, you know?' Akashi uttered a random fact.
'Whoa, really?' Heiwayuki gaped.
'Now you're talking Heiwa? Are you done being flustered over the kiss?' Mikage said mockingly.
Heiwayuki clicked her tongue and pouted, looking outside her window.
'You guys seriously need to consider this man sitting at the back being single for more than six years,' Mikage sighed. 'Stop displaying your affection so openly in front of me.'
Hearing that, Akashi and Heiwayuki simultaneously held each other's hand, obviously being sarcastic.
'YOU GUYS!'
-
Akashi parked his car in the compound reserved for the officers of the Supernatural Division. Heiwayuki and Mikage had fallen asleep; the ride from the airport back to the HQ was quite long and the road was packed, slowing them down.
He saw the man again, standing nervously by the gate, waiting for help without asking for one. It's not like he never asked the man what he wanted. He did ask but the man ran away whenever he approached so he had no choice but to ignore his existence.
'We're here,' said Akashi.
Predictably, Mikage stirred while Heiwayuki didn't move an inch. Mikage rubbed his eyes sleepily and blinked repeatedly as he looked around. When he realized he was in front of the office building, he sat up straight and ruffled his hair.
Akashi caressed Heiwayuki's head gently.
Mikage sighed. 'You guys are really deprived of each other, huh? Was there a lot of work while I was away?'
The redhead slightly smiled as Heiwayuki grabbed his hand on her head and held it close to her face, as if hugging a plush toy.
'Yeah,' Akashi replied.
'Then shall I leave first while you two take some time here?'
'Do as you see fit.'
'Okay, take your time then. Just don't do anything stupid like se–' he stopped himself then cleared his throat. 'You know what.'
'While you're at it, Mikage, could you try to approach the man waiting outside?' Akashi requested. 'He runs away as soon as anyone tries to say anything.'
'Will do,' Mikage nodded then got out of the car. 'Then, I'm off.'
And the door was closed shut. Mikage took out his luggage and went inside the office building.
-
Mikage passed Towa's office where the door was slightly ajar. He didn't stop because he'd come there later anyway so he deemed it unnecessary to visit him. Through the small crack, he slowed down a bit and glanced inside.
Towa was standing by the window, staring outside, hands in his pockets. Mikage was absolutely sure the air conditioner in the room was not that strong but for some reason, Towa's hair was swaying as if it was windy inside the office. His blazer fluttered slightly too.
He frowned in confusion but kept walking. Perhaps he was speaking to Koufuku. But he wasn't convinced by his own consolation.
-
The man flinched when Mikage stood in front of him, outside the HQ. When he had a good look at him, he saw that the man's hair was unkempt, his eyes were red like he had been staying up for days and he was shaking, mayhap in fear.
Mikage held out one hand, extending it to the man. 'Hi, I'm Mamura,' he spoke with a smile. 'I'm an officer in this building. I've been seeing you for a while now outside, do you need help?'
The man stared at Mikage, his face a mixture of fear and hope. 'P-please...' he stuttered.
'What's your name, young man?'
'It's... Takayama.'
'Okay, Takayama-kun, I can help you,' Mikage flashed a smile. 'Shall we go inside?'
'NO!' Takayama yelled almost immediately and took a step back. 'Not inside... They wouldn't let me...'
'They?' Mikage questioned.
'It's them!' Takayama said rushingly. 'They wouldn't let me! But please... please, I want to escape this somehow.'
Mikage didn't reply. He just watched him quietly, thinking.
'T-they appear everywhere...! In the mirror, in the shower, under the bed, by the window, on the ceiling, hanging upside down or sometimes they are right beside me on the bed! Please, Mamura-san! Please help me! I can't bear with this! It's going to kill me soon!'
'Are you saying you're being pestered by ghosts?' Mikage concluded.
'Ghosts? Y-yes! Perhaps that's what they are!' he knelt down in despair, holding his head in his hands. 'I can't do this... help...'
'I can help you, but doing it outside is too dangerous.'
Takayama looked up at Mikage, his eyes desperate. 'But it burns me if I step inside.' he whispered.
Mikage was taken aback by the statement and his breath was caught in his throat.
'Every time I step inside, it burns me. But I tried to endure it.'
He shook his head at the sudden flashback and regained his composure. He took Takayama by the arm and helped him stand up.
'There's a barrier around this building. Naturally, souls are weakened when they pass through here,' Mikage said.
'Souls?'
'We call them souls instead of ghosts but it doesn't matter, you can call them whatever you want,' Mikage explained and guided Takayama towards the gate. 'If these souls are strong enough, the barrier won't kill them, but it could incapacitate them at the very least.'
'B-but...!'
'Listen, Takayama-kun,' Mikage halted just by the invisible barrier. 'This would hurt like crazy but if you want to get rid of this, you need to put up with it.'
Takayama flinched. 'I'm not strong enough...'
'Do you want to die then?'
'No, I don't,' Takayama shook his head quickly. 'There's a lot of things I haven't done and I need to get back to my normal life.'
'Then, this is the only way.'
With all his might, Mikage pushed Takayama inside the HQ grounds. As expected, the man screamed as he fell down by the sudden force. The burning sensation engulfed him as he stepped inside the barrier. Takayama turned around and tried to escape but Mikage pushed him back every time.
It went on for a long time until Takayama suddenly stopped screaming and fell unconscious.
-
Heiwayuki opened her eyes and realized she was hugging something. She looked. It was Akashi's hand. Her eyes travelled to the owner of the hand. The redhead was sleeping soundly with a serene face.
The two were still in the car but it was parked in the HQ parking space. Heiwayuki gently placed his hand down and looked around. Then, she spotted two figures not far from them, by the main gate. She squinted her eyes.
It was Mikage and an unknown man. The man was lying on the ground, writhing in pain while Mikage just stood there watching. Heiwayuki frowned. There were three souls attached to the stranger and they were burning and screaming. She could faintly hear the horrible squeals of the souls.
Then, one of the three who had very long messy hair, crawled away from the man, trying to find somewhere or something that wouldn't hurt it. The thing crawled very slowly, on all fours. Its clothing was a white long-sleeved dress that had turned yellow and was covered with dirt. Its limbs were wounded and bleeding and its face was black as if burned, and it had a creepy pair of white eyes. The crawling thing moved in Heiwayuki's direction.
At first, she thought it was just lost but after a while, it seemed that the thing was keen on approaching her. The distance between them was shortened and Heiwayuki finally felt afraid of the incoming figure.
'S-senpai...' she gasped and grabbed Akashi's hand tightly.
Akashi went awake and saw her pale face. He looked in front then back to her and quickly covered her eyes with his hand, squeezing her hand at the same time. At that moment, he knew what was happening.
'Don't look, don't listen, don't think,' he said softly.
Heiwayuki's breath hitched. 'It's beside me...' she whispered and her voice was trembling.
'I'm here Heiwa, don't worry.'
She tried to control her breathing but she suddenly felt a cold grip around her arm. She flinched. 'The soul's angry...' she sobbed and gripped Akashi's hand tighter.
Akashi winced at the force. He glanced at the gate's direction and saw Mikage bringing an unconscious man to the inside of the building.
'It hurts.'
Akashi looked and saw Heiwayuki's arm had started to bleed. He thought of their escape route. He could try to drag Heiwayuki to get out from his side but it wouldn't be fast enough to escape the soul completely.
There was one last thing to do to weaken the soul for some time but it would ruin his car. His partner was crying silently beside him, waiting for him to do something. He'd taught her a lot of spells and chants to shoo souls away but she could only utter them once in a while because most of the time, she'd be too scared to speak.
Akashi uttered a single chant and Heiwayuki's side of the door exploded and she flinched in surprise. The soul was probably blown away and she quickly exited the car. He followed and they ran inside the building.
-
Mikage placed the man down on the bed in the exorcism room of the HQ. There was no one in it but he had called for Towa to tend to the man. He was unconscious and unmoving.
A series of rushing footsteps were then heard and Towa entered the room, along with Akashi.
'Where's Heiwa?' Mikage asked.
'Infirmary,' replied Akashi curtly then he and Towa went to Takayama.
'Where's the other soul?' Towa questioned, looking around after examining Takayama's condition.
'I sent it away,' Akashi said. 'But it will come back, right? Since the three souls were sent by someone. It's powerful enough to not be affected by regular curses.'
Towa nodded. 'I could exorcise him, but I feel that it is necessary for me to find out where they came from. May I?' he turned to the redhead.
'That'd serve as precious data for our HQ,' said Akashi. 'Go on.'