章 7: Dark Magic and Dark Intentions
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"So, he confirmed it's him?" Naru asks, quiet and stony, hands clasped near his mouth. I grit my teeth, and try my best to block out his all consuming turmoil, focusing on Lin, but even he wasn't nearly as steady as usual, his own hope and grief warring.
Mai nods. "Yeah, Gene Davis. He's been trying to reach you, but he says you don't seem to hear him. He said, it just wasn't your gift. So, instead, Gene's been reaching out through me, trying to help where he can."
Mai holds my hand tightly. She had asked Gene if it was possible he was still alive, and he seemed confused. When she had told him that I, a rather reliable psychic, had seen him alive at SPR, he was skeptical, but he admitted that he never saw his body, or anything after the world went black, which is what Naru had seen as his last moments. He just opened his eyes and found himself in the astral plane and has been there since. We aren't telling Naru that, though. Not unless we know for sure that he's alive.
Reluctantly, he agreed to search for his own body, and so we're waiting for an update on that. I hate doing this to Gene, but neither him nor Naru look like they'll find peace until he's properly buried or found, and this is the best we've got.
The logic and justifications aren't stopping the guilt from festering inside of us, though.
I huff in relief as John, Masako, and Ayako choose this moment to arrive. Naru gives them a rundown, and sends them off to preform walkthroughs and excorsims. I make sure everyone has a bag of munchies to take with them, much to everyone's amusement. Then, Naru, Lin, Mai, and I, the base SPR team, head to the classroom to check the desk. Darting ahead, I flop down to the floor and shimmy my way under the desk, not wanting the others to touch it unnecessarily. "Hey, there is something taped here. Please don't touch the desk, Naru."
"You want me to lie on the floor?" I hear his incredulous disdain.
"I want you to be safe," I reply easily. He sighs, but I can feel his amused exasperation peeking out, before he shuffles, and his head settles near mine under the desk, feet pointed in the opposite direction as mine.
I feel the exact moment he recognizes the irem, shock and understanding jolting through him. His hand reaches up to grasp it, and I grab his wrist before he does exactly what I told him not to. Damnit, Naru.
He huffs, "it's ok, Tsukiyo. It's safe to touch, I promise, Worrywart." He flips his hand, squeezing mine briefly, before pulling a weird looking object off the bottom of the desk, tape coming off with it.
We get to our feet, and I peek out from under Lin's arm, not wanting to really get closer. "What is it?"
"Interesting. It's a Zuzhou," Naru murmurs. Hmm, I've never heard of such a thing. I feel a thread of excitement zip through me at the prospect of new magic to learn, but it's gone as quick as it comes under the building nausea the object is filling me with.
"What's that?" Mai asks, just as curios as me.
"In Yang Yang Tao, or Omniyodou, a hex is placed by driving a nail into a Hitogata, which is like a straw doll. There is a method of hexing people called Emni. Using a hitogata, or a possession of the one being cursed, driving a nail into the straw doll can convey the hatred of the curser. This process is an Emni art. It can be used to call upon spirits, gods, or even demons, to deliver a death curse."
"A death curse?" I reach out, grabbing Mai's hand, feeling fear spiking through her.
"Someone wants revenge at this school," I murmur, still using Lin as an aura block from the nasty thing.
"You were right again." Lin says softly, patting my shoulder once.
We gather the others and find out that Masako doesn't sense any spirits here either, which lines up with the fact that the dolls are summoning malicious entities to specific people. No one would be able to sense any spirits here unless in range of a cursed individual because these spirits are being called forth and aren't just floating about. Apparently, the curse doesn't kill you outright, but gets stronger over time, or scares you to death. The dark energy tends to affect people simply in proximity, which explains the widespread fear, and even the girl who thinks she's possessed by a fox. I make a mental note to raid Lin's bookshelf when we finish here.
We catch the rest of the gang up, and we start putting together a list of possible curse targets. The thing is, there are a lot of fucking targets. Whoever did this is one determined, and rather skilled, asshole. Naru gives us all a little lecture on the types of PK, one type for static targets, one for moving targets, and one for living targets, this zuzhou being a form of the last. Oof, yup, definitely a freak of nature in this world, I think, rather amused by the sudden reminder. It doesn't seem all that common to have multiple types of PK. I wonder about Naru….
With that, we all get our assignments. The others were to scan the school looking for wooden dolls like we found under the desk, and getting rid of any spirits they may or may not find. Mai would be staying at base to take more testimony and hold down the fort.
"Tsukiyo," I blink, turning my head towards my boss, "you're on radar duty. Lin and I are going with you." I huff, nodding, inwardly laughing at the irony. I'm usually shit at finding things for obvious reasons. This is an unexpected change. As we step out, I take Lin's arm, something he offered immediately, because he was a gentleman like that.
I shut my eyes, spreading my senses out as we start to walk the halls. I frown, getting distracted by the spark of malicious energy next to me. Pausing, I reach out my hand, grabbing Naru's, letting his larger palm rest in mine. Then, with my free hand, magic rising, I smack the hell out of it, scowling.
"What the hell," he says rather flatly, annoyance flaring.
"There was some nasty magic clinging to you. I told you not to touch it. Ugh, gross," I mutter, brushing my hand against his once more, my magic a thin layer above my skin, destroying the last of the remnants. "Sorry."
He huffs as we start walking again, and playfully asks, "Aren't you too violent?"
I have to stop, leaning on Lin as I promptly die from laughter. Wheezing, I can't stop my face splitting grin. Their incredulity and confusion only makes it funnier. The truth is, I am a violent person, when you think about it. Several of my lives have been spent fighting for others, for peace, for progress, for good, or even just for survival, and that doesn't always leave your hands clean. I couldn't tell you how many people have died by my hands, or on my orders. It's not the easiest of conclusions to come to about yourself, but it's no less true, and I won't deny it. It's difficult adapting to the morals of every new world, harder when society's perception of deviance is ever changing. I don't even know if I'm good anymore, but I can say that I sincerely try.
Maybe I'm just a person, not good or bad, just me. The thought makes me sad.
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We find a few more hitogata, like near the track teams lockers, but the bulk needed to cause this amount of chaos is worryingly missing, meaning it's out of my range. We do, however, find some interesting information.
"The Kasai Panic, hmm?" I murmur, seated as far away from the cursed objects as possible. They were seriously starting to make me sick, the dark magic of multiple dolls being combined, and therefore feeling much worse than originally.
Malicious whispers fill the air, calls of revenge and violence, gleeful revelry in the power to harm, laughing, laughing, laughing, revenge, make them suffer, hate- a hand settling on my shoulder makes me flinch, but the feeling of calm, gentle, sunshine makes me relax instantly. I give John a small, but truly grateful smile as he settles next to me, taking my hand in his. An angel, a true angel has appeared. I bask greedily in his lovely aura and focus on the present, the corners of my lips twisting up weekly.
Apparently, there was a girl named Kasai claiming to be able to bend spoons. Some people believed, others didn't, but then some asshole teacher, conveniently the one who has already claimed to be having issues with seeing ghosts, called her out in front of the whole school to humiliate her. She managed to bend the spoon, but the incident divided the school on the topic of paranormal activity. She reportedly said she'd curse them all to death in front of the whole school. That…is pretty damn incriminating.
While the others continued the search, Naru, Mai, and I hunt down the girl, Kasai, in the biology lab, where she can be found hiding from her peers most days. Kids are assholes in any universe, I think, grimacing. We step into the lab, and I'm immediately tossed head first into a vision. It's only a few seconds, barely anything at all, but it has me lunging, vomiting violently into the trash bin that I can't see, but knew would be by the door we just stepped through. My skin crawls and I have to force back burning tears, not because I'm scared or sad, but because of the wave of incandescent rage flooding me. And, for once, the emotion is mine. I clench my teeth, knuckles clenched on the rim of the bin, trying to force my fury behind my mask even as I heave uncontrollably.
Hands settle on me, winding to hold back my hair, and another, larger, settling low on my back, still and patient. Mai and Naru. "Oh, dear, is she alright?" I stiffen at the voice, recognizing it instantly from my vision, all sickly sweet falsities, and my jaw clenches. I force my face blank and cold, even as I stand up, ignoring the concern from my friends. I nod sharply, taking the tissue Mai holds out to me, my stomach still rolling painfully.
"I'm fine, please excuse me," I say blandly, picking up the trash bin, but Mai takes it from me, mortifyingly because she's picked up that I've just had a vision, and knows I'm too blind to be walking around somewhere unfamiliar on my own right now. I scowl at the darkness, even as Naru steers me to a chair. Mai comes back, lightning fast, with a cup of tea for me, and we start our interview, disgust simmering just beneath my skin as I observe the 2 strangers in the room
Naru introduces himself to the teacher, Kai Ubusuna and I feel an alarm go off in my head, although I can't tell why. I end up digging my fingernails into my thighs to keep from doing or saying anything. This bitch. Her aura says one thing and her mouth says another. Why is she so fucking smug? What made her triumphant?
Kasai, when she hears we're here for her, is immediately defensive, trying desperately to hide the fear and distress with acidic words, but her aura is broadcasting her emotional pain loud and clear. When Ubusuna the teacher, although she really doesn't deserve the title, tries to convince her to clear up any misunderstandings, she snaps out that there is no point because we won't believe her anyway.
"Why wouldn't we, you're not the only one who can bend a spoon, you know," Naru states from next to me. I still, before reaching out a hand to rest it against his back, both a warning and my support. Mai is shocked, but I'm more concerned about the sharp interest coming from Ubusuna, suddenly focused on my boss. It vaguely makes me wanna tear her eyes out.
"Then show me," Kasai demands, something fragile and hopeful sparking in her.
Naru takes the spoon, and I press my hand firmer to his back. In a low voice that only he, and perhaps Mai can hear, I murmur, "This much should be fine. Just a little."
Before I started working with Naru, using his power, even just this much, could have put him in cardiac arrest. But, now? His magic is significantly more refined than it was. It's not fighting for an outlet or a goal or direction and desperately tearing out of him at the slightest opportunity or slip up, so this much is safe for him to do now. He should be able to move small objects once or twice a day as long as he meditates and balances himself out again afterwards. Gradually, he should be able to do even more.
I hear the creak of metal, and then clattering as Naru bends the spoon head until it snaps off. Goddamit, he couldn't hold back, could he? Damn smug narcissist. Kasai, relief flooding her, begins to tell us her story, and I discreetly take Naru's hand, checking his magic and making sure he's fine. It only takes a bit of soothing on my part for his magic to restabilize, and it makes me happy to see his progress. Naru's glee at being able to actually use his abilities nearly makes me smirk, until I remember the asshole standing across the room. Just because she doesn't show malice to strangers doesn't mean she isn't capable of being the hexer. Conversely, she might not have anything to do with any of this despite being a trash excuse for a human being. I can't know which it is for sure, not yet.
Over the break, Kasai had simply seen spoon bending on TV and wanted to try it. Eventually, she managed to do it. When Naru goades her, she snatches up a spoon, and starts trying to bend it. It's quiet, and I feel the flickers of her magic shifting and sparking, little embers, but it is odd. Every time she pulls at her magic, it seems to slip through her grasp.
"Stop! Right now!" I flinch at Naru's outburst, startled by the sudden noise. "You were about to bend the spoon using the edge of the chair." Huh. Wait, what? But, she does have magic potential, I can feel it. Why-
Naru continues to explain that all researchers know that outside forces can affect the performance of psychic abilities, and are therefore subject to instability. Hmm, I see. The stress, and probably everyone watching her like a sideshow, waiting for her to mess up, could easily get to her. I sip more tea, hoping to loosen the knots my innards are tying themselves into. She's bound to be extremely emotionally vulnerable. Easily taken advantage of….Motherfucker. I glare down at my hands, clenching the folds of my sleeves.
Kasai starts to cry, telling us about how mean people could get when she was unable to do it, how the other teachers have even osterized Ms. Kei. I almost snarl when I realize this manipulator has gotten close enough to this little girl that Kasai calls her by her first name. My skin itches and I resist the urge to claw at it. Fucking abusers always masquerade as the venerable.
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We get back to base, and I flop into a chair ignoring the loud bickering around me, dropping my head into my hands, exhaustion weighing heavy on my shoulders. I breathe deep, trying to stop the trembling in my limbs, even as the increased amount of dark magic in the corner of the room renews my anxiety and desire to vomit.
A wonderfully solid presence settles into a crouch in front of me, and large, warm hands clasped mine, very gently between the . Lin. I clutch them tightly, but don't say anything.
"There are no spirits here!" Masako affirms. "It has to be the hitogata."
"But we can't find any more of the dolls!" Monk states, frustrated. "There has to be more, right?"
"Perhaps you aren't looking hard enough," Ayako sniffs, haughtily.
"Oh, please, you haven't found any either!"
"Tsukiyo." Lin's deep voice cuts through everything, and the room falls silent as everyone focuses on me. I lift my head and aim it at where I think his face is, blinking bleary eyes at the older man. I simply don't know what to say, I don't know how to find the words, so I remain silent.
Lin seems to understand, because he pats my knee softly, and asks Naru to recount what happened first. Naru does, filling the team in on everything we know, excluding only the spoon bending that he asked Mai and I to keep quiet about.
"It seems pretty straightforward. All these incidents only started after she was publicly ridiculed in front of all her peers. She wanted revenge, and now she's cursing people in order to get it."
"It's not her." Mai says it so firmly the team turns to look at her. I can feel her words resonate in my chest, and I know they're true.
"Come on, Mai, all the evidence leads to her." Monk huffs in exasperation, plopping down onto the table. I clutch Lin's hands a bit tighter.
"Look, my instincts, my gut, are telling me it isn't her, and I'm rarely wrong about these types of things! I'm not just throwing words around! And Naru, didn't you guys say it would take a lot of power to make these curse dolls? She can't even consistently bend spoons right now! On top of that, she's only been into the paranormal for a few months. It isn't possible!"
Naru hums, and I feel him step closer to Mai, interest peaked. "She's right, at least about that. It doesn't seem to be possible for her to be the curser, not right now. Tsukiyo?"
I grunt, pressing my palms into my eyes, frustrated at the unyielding blurriness that still hasn't dissipated enough for me to see more than vague outlines and shadows. Lin grasps my wrists gently, silently telling me to ease up on myself. Exhaling sharply, anxiety still high, I grit out, "Not Kasai."
"You too, Hime?" Monk asks, just as surprised as the others. I nod sharply.
"What was your vision about? It looked like it made you ill and only triggered when we went into that bio lab." Naru asks, sharp as ever.
"Didn't see the hexer," I mutter darkly. "It was unrelated."
"Tsukiyo-" he starts.
"Leave it," I snap, unable to help it, but immediately regret it as I feel the ripple of shock flare through the team, and a hint of hurt for Naru that makes me feel sick again, this time solely out of guilt. "Fuck, sorry. I promise, it… wasn't pertinent to the case. I'm not feeling well. I know we need to find the dolls, but could I head home for the night? I'm sure I'll be able to track down the rest of the dolls tomorrow."
Naru, after a moment, approaches and presses a hand to my shoulder, just for a second. "The rest of us will stay for a bit longer. Go home and get some rest. Lin, take her." I nod gratefully, and although I don't want to snatch Lin away, I don't protest the help, even if it is a bit of a hit to my pride.
I hadn't lied, not really. My vision didn't really have anything to do with the hexer. It just had to do with a creepy teacher taking advantage of her vulnerable student, and I don't know what to do about it.
XXXXXLINXXXXX
I glance carefully at the girl in the passenger seat as I park the car, wondering if she can see yet, if she can tell I'm watching. I get out silently, opening her door for her and taking her small hand in mine to guide her out.
"I can manage from here, if you need to get back, Lin," Tsukiyo murmurs, body slumped in something that almost looks like defeat, and it looks so odd on someone so resilient. It looks wrong. This girl was usually so vibrant and confident, kindness backed by razor sharp wit, reliability offset by borderline insanity, and eyes that were blind and all seeing at the same time. She was someone who seemed so incredibly warm, but could freeze you with a single glare, as I, unfortunately, found out at our disastrous first interaction. Tsukiyo was a force of nature that seemed terribly young and ancient and eternal by turns, and I never knew what to make of her. Except that she was perhaps the biggest enigma I'd ever witnessed.
I shake my head, wincing when I realize she probably couldn't tell. "No, it's fine. I'll walk you up."
We enter the apartment building and I carefully lead her up the stairs. After a certain amount of distance she directs me to a door. "Is this it?"
She shakes her head, reaching out to brush, long thin fingers gracefully across the wall in front of her, letting them hit the doorframe, and then using that to find the door, knocking strongly. After a moment, it swings forward to reveal a boy, maybe 20 years old or so. His eyes widen when he sees Tsukiyo, a flush rising to his cheeks as he definitely checks her out, not at all subtle. It makes me sneer, but I have to work to keep it on my face as I laugh mentally when he immediately freezes at the sight of me. If he wasn't being so crude I might have pitied the boy for the utterly bland, disinterested smile Tsukiyo gifts him with. "Hello. I finished work a bit early, and I can pick up Sora."
"R-right! It's good to see you, Tsukiyo-Chan. I'll grab him," With one final glance at me, a pathetic glare aimed at me, he disappears inside. I feel my shiki pull tighter around me, invisible and undetectable to others, but I can hear their growls and hisses at the perceived threat, and I find myself concerned because it takes a fair bit of hostility for them to get defensive like this. I don't miss the slight stiffening of Tsukiyo's fingers clasped on my arm, either, and I shift closer to her, easing my arm from her grasp and wrapping it around her shoulders instead, pressing her behind me slightly. Guess she felt it all through her empathy as well.
"A friend?" I ask softly, my eyes taking in everything I can see inside the apartment from in front of the door. He called her by her given name.
"No, I don't really know him. A lot of the old ladies and housewives are really kind to us, so they watch Sora while we work, for free. His brother and mine are friends." I frown, a bit put off by the boy's odd and creepy behavior.
"Bahji!" A small missile slams into Tsukiyo's legs, and I brace her on instinct. Big brown eyes, a dimpled smile with missing teeth, and a silver forelock of hair just like his sister, even I had to admit the kid was bloody cute, and I didn't even like kids much. They tended to cry too easily around me, making it hard for me to want to spend any time with them. Gene always said it was my scary face, and the memory brings that familiar pain of grief. Fuck, the dead haunt you, even when they're spirits don't. I learned that long ago, and yet I'm still surprised when so much still reminds me of him. God, at least I've been through this before, but it might actually be destroying Oliver day by day, and I don't know what to do. "Oh, hello, Lin-san."
I shake the thoughts away, ignoring the hole in my heart that one of my closest friends used to fill. Tsukiyo hefts the child up into her arms easily, kissing his cheeks sweetly, and the child giggles, kissing hers back. I shift slightly, tucking my grin into my coat collar, but not pulling away from my younger coworker. I've never seen siblings so openly affectionate, and it isn't common in Asian, or even Western cultures, so I have to wonder where they got it from. The closest I've seen to it was the time Gene was trying to annoy Oliver by being obnoxiously clingy and ended up being tossed into the Davis's pool via Oliver's PK. There I go again, I think wryly, swallowing my grief again. The relationship between Tsukiyo and her brother, (Sora, was it?) seems so deep and loving that I'm almost jealous. Although, there is something off. It's like she isn't his sister, but rather his mother? Why-
"Hello, Baby. How are you today?" Tsukiyo asks, setting him down and brushing delicate hands over his fluffy hair.
Sora huffs, a pout on his lips, "Not a baby anymore! But I'm good. I got full marks on my math quiz today!" A soft tired smile pulls at Tsukiyo's mouth, and I watch the child suddenly go serious, eyes flickering across her face, seemingly searching for something. His eyes widen and he takes her hand turning back to the door, where the young man stands again, his scowl on full display to everyone not literally blind. Even Sora seems freaked out. "Ah, thanks for having me!" Sora bows, Tsukiyo copies him with parting words of gratitude to the boy, and they quickly turn away, Sora tugging his sister along, either not noticing or ignoring the other teen's stuttering and trying to catch her attention. I would have felt bad for the brat if he wasn't blatantly staring at her ass and being a fucking ass. I shoot a glare at the kid, making him scram inside and trail after the teen and her brother.
I watch as the boy leads her easily, carefully guiding her around a bag in the hall, and I realize that the kid took one look at his sister and knew she couldn't see right now, and I'm more than a little impressed by it. After we get to a certain door, he takes her hand and sets it on the door knob, and Tsukiyo easily uses the key to unlock it in a fluid movement head and eyes trained on some point above her, rather than what her hands are doing.
"Coming inside, Lin?" I blink, realizing that I don't need to do so, but I am curious about the mysterious psychic, so I accept, excusing myself and stepping inside.
The apartment is small, but clean and homey, with fluffy blankets and a warm color pallet. Dark wood furniture, slightly mismatched, is crammed into a small sitting room and dining area, and various pieces or art of differing styles and photo's line the walls. Sora disappears down the hall as Tsukiyo plops herself on the couch, shoulders hunched.
"Are your parents home?" I inquire, settling myself next to her after carefully navigating the minority cluttered room, and it takes milliseconds for me to regret asking at all. She pauses, turning to me slowly, brows furrowed in confusion before understanding crosses her face.
"Ah, I hadn't realized. I guess it has never come up." Shit, what landlmine did I step on now. "It's just Mai, Sora, and I. We're orphans. Have been for a while."
My stomach drops, and I realize why Sora and Tsukiyo struck me as unusual. I look up, seeing the pictures again, and only just now processing that only Sora, Mai, and Tsukiyo herself appear in them. "You… you raised Sora, didn't you?" She smiles, pride straightening her back.
"Yes, for a few years. Mai moved in with us and we've been family ever since." I gape, awed even as my heart hurts for them and I question the hell out of the Japanese version of Child Services. I can't imagine being responsible for a very small child at such a young age, and I have no doubt she takes care of Mai as well. As reliable as Mai is, and the thought rankles, it's obvious she looks to the other girl as an authority and for guidance.
Somehow, instead of this being a revelation, I feel like I have even more questions now.
"Tsukiyo-nee, let's get take out!" Sora pops out, delivery menus in hand, and I watch them work, enthralled once again by the easy familiarity and lack of uncertainty in their routine. Sora reads out things, and Tsukiyo makes a decision on them, vetoing or making suggestions. She orders extra for me to take to the others, and when the delivery guy comes, I insist on paying myself, stating it as a company expense considering Tsukiyo can't exactly cook after getting violently sick on the job, and the logic makes her agree, albeit hesitantly.
After she walks me to the door, I hesitate for only a second before wrapping the tiny girl in a one armed hug and carefully pulling her to my chest. She freezes for barely a moment before she clutches at the back of my coat tightly, her head barely reaching my chest. Her face tilts up and I see a wide beaming grin that makes me huff a laugh, and shake my head. All it took to flip her entire mood was a hug? Strange girl.
"Thanks Lin."
I pat her head, silky strands against my palm. "Of course. We're friends after all." Somehow, her smile gets wider, almost gleeful, and she bounces on her heels, and I have to bite my cheek to stop from laughing. She nods eagerly, and even I can recognize she's unfairly charming.
I usher her back in, making sure I hear the door lock behind me before I start down the hall. I keep my face blank and pretend not to notice the boy from earlier snarlinb at me with a remarkable amount of hate from his cracked door, my shiki tugging at my magic to warn me of a threat again. I clench my teeth and walk faster to my car, officially concerned.
I'll tell Naru I'm driving Tsukiyo and Mai home from now on. I don't like this, not one bloody bit.
XXXXXXXXXX
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