Bab 5: A Mother's Love
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Kanna, Ayumi, and Noriko are sent to a hotel with charms for the Kekkai barrier, Ayako and John going along. Although a direct attack on the family hadn't happened yet, they were clearly relieved to be leaving, and smart enough to realize it was only a matter of time, especially considering Noriko was there when the team found me laid out on the stairs like a sad sack of rice. Before John leaves, he performed an exorcism on the doll, even though the doll was unoccupied at the moment, removing the remaining taint. We burn it just to be safe, and this time the freaky thing gets dusted properly. Takigawa's slightly miffed pout was pretty comical though.
Now, John's slight smug energy has me gently nudging him as he goes to leave. "You know, pride is a sin," I teased quietly in English.
He gives me a rueful smile. "Ah, but I am just a man. As long as our faults are acknowledged, we can be forgiven and grow from them." He tells me sheepishly.
I chuckle, shaking my head. "There isn't anything wrong in taking pride in the fruits of your own labor. That you should be proud of." He smiles wider, somehow radiating even more friendly energy and I decide right then and there that I really like Father John Brown. Gonna keep this one. He is officially inducted into the cult of friendship.
For the rest of the day, the house is eerily silent, except for the group making it a hysterical ongoing joke to hand me pillows at every opportunity.
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I watch, face carefully blank, as the monk starts his exorcism in Ayumi's room through the cameras. Feeling a little ill from the nerves in the room, I turn away, settling myself in an armchair farther from the others. I shut my eyes, concentrating on the rise of Monk's magic upstairs. I'm getting another bad feeling.
Houshou's deep voice begins pouring from the speakers, low and steady, as his spiritual energy fills his Buddhist chant. A storm brews and thunder rumbles across a once clear sky above tall mountain peaks.
Mari and Hanako materialize next to me, and Masako gasps, whirling to look as well. They look ragged and petrified, and somehow worse than before. "She's hurting us. Make it stop. MAKE THEM STOP! PLEASE!" Mari shrieks, and suddenly the shackles around their ankles are dragging them away, through the floor and walls. Before I can do anything, the air is sucked out of my lungs by the emotions of all the children in the house.
I fall to my knees, struggling to breathe, desperately looking for something to anchor me. Pain, frear, torment, hate, anger, grief, TERRORLONGINGTORMENTRAGEHORRORPANIC- I latch on to the feeling of foreign power in my system, yanking myself free of the psychic spiral, but only barely, panting from the effort. Fuck, I'm very lucky I didn't start having chain visions.
I look around, my eyes extra blurry from tears. Naru is crouched near me, a hand on my forearm, the barest trickle of his energy slipping under my skin. Giving his hand a squeeze, I take a deep breath, trying to center myself back into my own body, noting the lack of children screaming and crying in my ears. With extreme caution, I send my own energy back. "You've gotten good at that."
"Of course," he tells me, pulling me to my feet. My lips twitch, just a bit as I brace myself on his arm for a moment.
"Thank you, really. But never do it to anyone else," at his sharp gaze, I explain. "If you send too much magic, or even just send it too aggressively, you could cause organ failure, or brain death." Naru's eyes go wide, the vivid dark blue stark. Horror, guilt, panic: Naru. "I'm fine. I'm an expert so it actually grounded me. I'll train you. I'm still looking for a way to anchor myself, so it will be really helpful if you learn how to do that. A wall of ice forms like steel, tall as mountains and unbending. Damn, that's some real protagonist level commitment there, Boss. Now-wait a minute.
"Where the hell is Mai?" I wonder out loud.
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"So you foolishly ran into a room infested by spirits to warn a fully trained spiritualist and got choked out by a Big Bad."
Mai cringes from the ice in my tone, and if I wasn't so pissed, I'd be laughing my ass off at how no one, even though they are all badass ghost hunters, wanted to be within 2 square meters of me. "I'm sorry! I acted on instinct because I was worried about Monk! I'm an idiot, I know." A field of wildflowers wilt from flooded earth, the sun covered by thick black clouds.
I bare my teeth, terrified, furious by the reckless behavior. "You could have died, you could have distracted Houshou and gotten him hurt or worse. You were injured!" I'm not quite unprofessional enough to scream my lungs out on the job, but considering the horrified silence from the peanut gallery, my hissed venom was still very noticed.
Mai, the little cheater that she is, hurls herself at me, face buried in my collarbone. "Tsuki-nee, I'm so sorry, I won't ever do it again. Please, I hate it when you're mad at me," she whines, eyes big and watery. Damnit! My greatest nemesis! The puppy dog eyes!
I growl. "That's dirty! Put those away!" She sniffs sadly and I moan in despair, anger deflating like air through a punctured balloon. I give in, pulling my sister tightly against my chest, grumpy but no longer apocalyptic.
"Look, you giant pain in my ass," I shoot a nastily glare at our giggling audience, who all scramble to look busy. Except Naru, because he's shameless. " you're an absolutely beautiful person inside and out, and it's part of the reason you're going to be an amazing spiritualist. But this shit is really dangerous, and not only to yourself. Your actions can and will affect everyone around you, whether or not that's what you intended. I know I'm not the best example when it comes to balancing instincts with a cool head, but Mai, Little Sis, I literally have super powered intuition and foresight. I don't even know why I do a lot of the random shit I do, just that I have to, like that pillow toss from earlier.
Thankfully for your continued sanity, you're not me. You won't know how your actions can play out. But, that said, I'm proud of you for trying to protect our friend, just- your head is brilliant; Use it." Mai nods, guilty but not too dejected. I sigh, resting my cheek on silky hair. Dark clouds disappear, leaving the ground wet, but the wildflowers are much healthier than before, even if they remain a bit bedraggled.
"I hadn't realized that they were literally sisters," Ayako mutters faintly, "But, why do they look so different, with different last names?" Ima pretend not to have heard that for the sake of my own amusement. Let's see how crazy the conspiracy theories will get before someone gets fed up, and just asks.
"So, Masako," the girl yelps, panicked by my attention, and this time I can't contain an eye roll at the dramatics , "What did you learn from the well?"
"The spirit is looking for her lost child, Tomiko. She lures the children by pretending to be their mother and enslaves them. She seems to have killed herself there and is extremely powerful." Masako seems like a decent person, I think. She seems sincerely sad for the spirits, all of them. "Additionally, the doll was being controlled by Yuki Tachibanna who acts as the Well Women's lieutenant. She is the ring leader for the kids, but is just as lost and hurt as the others."
"Another point to Tsuki-hime," states Monk. I tip my head in acknowledgment.
"Tomiko is her daughter. It's why she's gathering the children.
"Now, we're getting somewhere," Our boss begins to walk out, before stopping. "Tsukiyo, come with me." Raising my eyebrows, I shrug at Mai, and follow him out.
I wait patiently, following him out of the front door. Finally, he turns to me as we step out into the low light of early evening. "Is it safe to talk here?" I nod, and he continues. "I need to find some information about Tomiko. Can you help me?"
I grin so hard my cheeks ache with it. "You can count on me, Boss."
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Naru leaves early the next morning, and the others decide that Ayako will take a shot at the well in the meanwhile. John is back with Ayumi and her family. Mai and I are settled behind the Miko as she does her thing, for emotional support. I can tell Mai thinks Ayako is a bit of a freud, but she does have some spiritual power, although it feels oddly incomplete.
My eyes are still a bit busted from helping Naru yesterday night. I was able to direct him to where he could find the things he needed, but as a result, I'm still seeing dark spots and unable to read anything.
As Ayako's ritual starts up, I can feel the spirits taking notice. The room chills, and I can feel the entity in the well starting to get angry again. There is a thud, and the sound of pitter patter little feet and dragging chains makes me let loses the tight grip I have in my magic. It comes forth and settles freely under my skin ready to react.
Shit, the children are gathering. "Ayako, they are trying to distract you, don't stop," I state firmly, even as a child spirit pushes Ayako's shoulder, and one tugs at my hair braid.
I get hit with a vision only moments before it happens. I can see myself settled next to Mai, the child spirit that pulled my hair still nearby. Then the Well Women, Tomiko's mother, wraps her energy around Mai's leg and drags her screaming into the well- All vision gone, and panic sending my magic into a frenzy, I hurl myself sideways at my friend just as she starts to scream.
Miraculously, I get a solid grip on Mai just as she starts getting dragged across the room. The problem lies in the fact that I'm getting pulled along for the ride. I ignore the chaos around me, and since my free hand is doing absolutely no good trying to brace us, I use it to let my magic loose. Like a lance, my magic slams right into the dark entity of the well, making her vanish with an ear piercing scream.
It's too late to stop Mai from going over the edge of the hole, though.
A strangled cry rips free of my throat, all the air forced from my lungs as Mai's dead weight digs my injured side into the lip of the well. I wheeze from the burning sensation as the pain starts to make me weak, and Mai starts to slip. Nononnonononoooo-
Strong hands reach past me, grabbing Mai, another set wrapping around my waist and hand. With a heave, the pressure on me is relieved, and Lin, Ayako, and Monk get a solid grip on Mai.
"Let go. We got her, let go." I can't get any oxygen in as I release Mai, even as Naru pulls me farther from the well. I can't stop the panic attack from starting up, either. Everyone is scared, worried, and stressed, including the spirits, especially two little ghosts that watch from the corner of the room. Now that I kept Mai from falling and potentially snapping her neck, there is nothing holding it back. Gasping, choking breaths set fire to my side with every heaving motion, and the world skips away.
PANICPAINFEARSTRESSRAGRCONCERNALARMTERRORCONCERN- WHERE AM I? WHO AM I? AM I DEAD? ALIVE? WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE? DOES IT EVEN MATTER- I latch on desperately when I feel a spark of icy energy against my skin, and focus on the roiling mass of tumultuous magic behind my head and in the hands clamped around my forearms. A sharp commanding voice is in my ears, but I can't comprehend it. I heave another breath, pain in my side bringing me up from the depths of my head further. My name is… La- Kam- no, my name is Tsukiyo. I'm …alive. My name is Tsukiyo, and I'm alive.
"I'm here," I rasp. There is a breath of relief from the person next to me. Who is it? Who's energy is so frantic and unsteady, so overwhelmingly powerful. The answer comes as the voice speaks again.
"Are you back?" That's Naru. I nod, reaching for- a cup?- from … Masako? Bamboo fountains and water drops. A mossy bridge over an overflowing, bubbling pond. Azalea and cherry blossoms droop. The sound of a koto strums quickly, but still beautiful, if a bit frantic.
I drink the water, pulling my magic farther back, letting the hum soothe me. I breathe in, and it goes easily enough, if a bit shaky and painful. "Sorry. Where's Mai?"
"She's fine, but unconscious," Ayako states, appearing close by. My boss shifts away, giving room to the others. "Are you ok?"
I grimace, nodding. "Yeah. I…can become overwhelmed quickly when too many people around me get emotional, particularly when I don't manage to brace myself. Empathy can be troublesome. Could you please check my ribs?"
"Oh, man! I forgot you hurt them. They're probably not feeling good after being smacked into the floor and well." Monk states walking over. "But, damn, that was a pretty amazing save, and I'm guessing you did sit blind?" I send him a weak smirk.
"I'm just that cool."
"Oh, god. It hasn't even been two weeks, and Naru's narcissistic tendencies are already infecting her."
"No, she was always like that." comes Mai from a bit farther away.
"Mai!"
"Little Lady!"
"Hey. Thanks for another save, but this is starting to become an ominous pattern." She gives me a gentle hug, settling next to me, and I just squeeze her hand tightly. "On another note, I had a dream about a child being kidnapped. Tomiko's mother threw herself down the well, like Tsukiyo though. Tsuki-née, I saw that person again as well." I nod and tell her we'll talk about it later. Thankfully, nobody asks.
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My ribs are pretty badly bruised, and more across my front now, and maybe a hairline fracture, but I declined to go to the hospital. I've fractured ribs in past lives, and those times were more painful then this. Besides, the only thing that can be done is wrapping them, which Ayako, a medical professional has already done. Mai is fine excluding some nice scrapes and bruises.
The whole team has returned to base as Ayumi and her family were deemed safe for the time being with us drawing the spirits attention. It's at this point that Naru states we will trap the spirits first with a Kekkai barrier, and then cleanse the spirits by giving the mother what she wants, Tomiko, or a substitution. That sets off the group thinking he might mean using Ayumi as bait, and that this has already gotten dangerous.
Since my panic attack, I've been focusing on Mai and using her bright emotions to block out everything else, but something begans to nag at me. Following my intuition, I focus my empathy on Naru. Seething rage and self loathing. Guilt and worry. A blizzard drowns the world and Tsunamis climb to the sky, shards of ice ready to tear and rend- I abruptly haul myself to my shaky, sore feet.
"I must say I'm disappointed in all of you. I expected much more. If you can't even think objectively, then-"
"A word, please, Naru," I firmly cut right through the argument in the room.
There is silence for a moment before an elbow brushes mine. I grab it, and he leads me out, but not before telling the others that three don't need to participate and are free to go. We end up in the kitchen, and I pull away to stand in front of him, leaning on the counter, arms croseed.
"Well?" he asks.
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"It's not your fault."
I lock eyes with glassy heterochromic ones, Tsukiyo somehow managing to freeze me in place with that single sentence.
"What?" I'm so of balance that I accidentally drop back into English
"It's not your fault, so stop feeling guilty. Yes, as your employees, we are your responsibility, but we knew exactly what we could be getting into when we agreed to work for you. Don't take the blame for shite outside of your control." She says it so evenly, like it should be obvious, even as she looks so tired and has an arm curled protectively around herself.
When I came out here, I'm not sure what I expected. Perhaps her quitting, probably with Mai, or maybe more yelling, since everyone else seems to want to take a shot. I've never been good at reading people, that was Gene, and in the short time I've known her, my new assistant has proven herself the least predictable person I've ever met. The words out of her mouth are just more evidence of that.
"The people in that room, they trust your expertise and judgement. Did you notice how they defer to you for knowledge, or when they don't know what's next as their leader? Surely you know that's not just because you hired them?"
I hadn't noticed, not really. People respect my father, my name as the famous Dr. Oliver Davis, my work and abilities, but I brought none of that with me when I came here to find Gene. But, looking back, she's right. It would be the most logical conclusion.
"Can you really ask them to participate when you won't return any of that trust back?" Her voice is soft, and so terribly kind. I can't tell if she reminds me more of Mother or Gene himself. She literally spent a significant portion of the investigation blimd, but she hasn't missed a thing.
"I kind of hate you," I tell her. It's true, too. I hate the way she can so easily see right through me, when I've spent my entire life hiding behind a mask, behind my twin, behind my work. Gene was the only one who could do that, not even my parents could manage it so well. It's terrifying.
She just smiles, gentle but sad. "If it's any consolation, I'd hate me, too." It isn't. Not when I can still feel the way she trembled and shook in her desperation to keep Mai up, or the way her breath rattled and broke as she tried to remember how to breathe. Just like him. Not when that warm, steady energy that I'm starting to recognize was throne into panicked chaos.
I sigh. "Your annoying," she giggles, and I can't help the quirk to my lips at the sound, "Let's go back. We have some idiots to explain a plan to."
And if I carefully knock her into things just to hear her cutting remarks and snarky commentary, well she doesn't mention my amusement and I don't mention hers.
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Naru uses his words like a proper adult, and the plan is made with minimal chaos. John starts his excorsise, and with the warning, I'm able to block out the childrens pain as their shades rise from the ground. The crying and wailing is beyond disturbing, but I manage.
Poor Masako is still pretty rattled by it, though. Mai and I sit on either side of her, and my vision is back to normal, so I'm excited to be able to fully see her at work. Pretty soon, the hag that's been kicking our ass crawls out of the well. I honestly feel terrible for her, and the way she lost her child and died, but I think I'm allowed to be bitter considering the pain I'm in.
She rises, calling for Tomiko, water dripping off her, the sound echoing even as the children scatter and hide. Her grief and anger radiates. The love of a mother is a powerful thing, indeed, I think grimly.
Her energy lashes out towards us, but John blocks it, getting knocked to the ground. I stay with Masako as Mai goes to check on him. I let magic free in preparation, but it isn't necessary.
At the moment, Naru strides forward and holds out a small wooden doll with a talisman on it. "Your child is here. Take the children you've gathered here, and leave this place!"
He tosses the doll up and golden light fills the room. Instead of the doll, a small child calms down from the ceiling, and the women transforms as she reaches for them. The spirit, who's aura was once dark and violent enough to make me ill, fills with light and happiness, making me breathless as she clutches her child to her chest.
As the woman turns to go, I see a portal to the Beyond open, a hole filled with light and stars, and the sound of shattering chains and cheering, relieved children echo as she steps through. As she passes on, I notice a familiar figure in black leather with a hood pulled up, leaning against the portal as he lazily twirls a huge scythe.
I toss my head back and laugh, amused and ecstatic to see my friend. Well at least I know why Death wanted me in this world. He has so much influence here he can see me often if I keep investigating.
I glance at the portal and have to laugh again as several loved ones stick their heads out to say hello.
"Hey!"
"We miss you."
"We're glad your making friends!"
"Do you have to therapy everyone you see, Mom?" I shrug, unable to contain the grin as Death bats them back into the afterlife, occasionally jabbing at them with the blunt end of his scythe.
"Oi! Watch it!" Death comically grabs the head of one of my best friends and forces it back, despite the hysterical whining that ensues.
"The children aren't leaving! They think they're still trapped and are hiding." Masako says from next to me.
"Leave that to me. Hey kids! The games are over, come out, come out wherever you are!" Pulsing out my magic, just as I did when I played with them, the children materialize from everywhere. "Masako, do your thing!"
"You're free now, go on back to your families!"…Oh. That was really straightforward. She just used magic so they could all hear her. Kinda anticlimactic, really.
"Is it scary?" A small voice asks me. I turn to see Hanako and Mari standing next to me, hands fisted in my clothes, the same way Sora does. My smile softens as I crouch down.
"Not at all. It's a nice place. Many of the people I love are there. My friend," I point to Death, who fucking waves, making me snicker, "looks kinda scary, but he takes real good care of people. It's easy. I promise." Both children nod, and as they walk towards the light, they seem to get healthier and happier. Just before they pass though they wave, and yell.
"Thank you for keeping your promises!" And then they're gone. Death wiggles what I know are sharp fingernails that are more like claws, and steps through, his raspy, rumbling laugh fading as the portal shuts.
I smile, wrapping an arm around Mai. Our second case is officially over.
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Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone