บท 12: The Secrets of Fukumoto Manor

AN; TWIGGER WARNING- SOME BLOOD AND VIOLENCE, DEPICTION OF EMACIATION AND SOME MINOR HINTS OF NON CON (it's really nothing too serious this time, but I want to cover my bases)

So, I had to write the rest of this arc in one piece bc I wanted to make sure it was cohesive so y'all are getting the chapters early. Lucky for you guys 😂

As always, thx so much for the support and comments. Make sure you announce your ship votes, although it will be a while yet before we get into that. Please let me know what you think, and feel free to check out the rest of the series that shows this soul's journey through the cycle of reincarnation!

Also, Discord! https://discord.gg/uaBZk2M32P

XXXXXMAIXXXXX

"You're an idiot." The woman grumbles without a hint of true ire, her cheeks flushed a lovely pink as she hid behind her hair.

"Maybe. But, considering it's you I love, I wonder what that says- ow!" The blonde next to her yelps when she, Hibiki, swats at him, laughing. The man gathers her against him, blue eyes sparkling as he rests his forehead against hers, careful not to disturb the flower crowns on their heads, something Hibiki always created and wore.

"I love you," he murmurs, blue eyes wide and filled with wonder, like he was looking at the most incredible thing he's ever seen, will ever see.

"Love you, too." She whispers, ducking her head into his shoulder, shyly. He chuckles, smooth and sweet, and something about the scene nags at me, but I'm not sure what it is.

They fall back into the grass, the man's hand going to rest on her still flat tummy- I blink my eyes open, finding a river of dark hair next to me. Carefully, I sit up, petting my older sister's silky strands. Last night, we curled up together in the same futon. Tsukiyo had practically collapsed and fallen asleep, shaking and shivering, and I didn't want to be away from her. Even in sleep, she looks vaguely ill, in a fetal position and slightly restless, her breaths almost loud and harsh compared to her normally perfect silent stillness.

I get up and head to the bathroom trying not to step on my sleeping friends and coworkers, all of which chose to squish themselves into the common room with us for safety. Lin and Naru were here last night, but now they seem to have stepped out.

I make sure to call the Fukumoto servants for room service, and by the time I make it back, both Lin and Naru are returning from… wherever they were. Soon enough, our food, and more importantly, the tea tray arrives and I set about making cups, the dark bags under the two stoic men's eyes urging me on. One by one, SPR begins to rouse, and despite her recent ordeal, Tsukiyo is one of the first. She crawls forward like a zombie from a grave, eyes barely cracked open against the light. She just sits, tea in hand and hair like a curtain around her. Breakfast is quiet, unnervingly so, and it's only when everyone finishes eating that she speaks.

"We go for Gene tonight."

"Why not now?" Naru asks quietly. It's not accusing, and his eyes are focused on his knees. It's pretty much the same expression he's worn since last night. I'd never thought I'd see it on Naru the Narcissist, but I have at least this much faith in my empathetic abilities. Our boss is drowning in something that feels like guilt and shame. I want to tell him it's stupid, that none of this is his fault, that Tsuki-née is a big girl that makes her own decisions and no one could be expected to just accept her words after such a short acquaintanceship. But, I'm very aware it's not my place and he wouldn't listen to me anyway.

"We can't move sooner without risking his captors noticing and that could put him in danger." No ome argues with her now, not even Naru.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Are you okay?" I ask Tsukiyo, running my brush through he silver streaks of hair before gathering them into braids.

She pauses. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Liar," I mutter and she winces but doesn't dare deny it.

"I had a lot of visions last night. A woman having a stroke. A man dying in a car crash. Things are starting to come together." I nod, but don't ask her to explain. She will when the time is right.

When my mother died, I was very fortunate. I had a very generous teacher who took care of me. And then, as I got older and tried to live on my own, I met Tsukiyo. Despite only being a year apart, she took me under her wing and before I knew it, we were all living together, a little family to replace the ones we lost. I wouldn't trade her for the world, but that doesn't mean she's perfect. She has taught me endlessly about what it means to be strong and kind and how to take care of myself. She has shown me about life, been there for me when I needed it, and caught me when I stumbled. But, she never lets me return the favor. I wish she would rely on me at least a fraction of how much I do her, but she always sees me as something to protect and never completely lets down her walls around me, never lets herself feel weak. It's a painful realization, especially when I know there is no one else she can be vulnerable with.

"Sorry," she murmurs, leaning against me for a moment, as though she's read my mind. The apology isn't for being stupid and taking everything on on her own, but for being unable to do otherwise, because frankly, my adopted sister was utterly self aware. I suppose that comes with the experience of multiple lives.

I just hug her, settling a crown of pure white flowers, Hibiki's crown, on her head, and we go on with our day. The plan was to follow the scheduled itinerary for the convention and sneak out later to find Gene. Until then, we had to draw as little attention as possible.

First was a rather interesting seminar on the alternate means of spirit communication, like the Estes Method, spirit box, automatic writing, the Ovilus, and even compared them to Quija boards. I heard Monk and Ayako muttering about trying some of it on future cases, but Tsukiyo was noticeably dozing the entire time. Not because she was uninterested, but because she was exhausted and slipping into chain visions. I exchange concerned looks with John, where Tsukiyo is leaning against his shoulder.

After that, there was an exhibit and lunch. People were eating and examining a bunch of haunted objects the Fukumoto and various guests have collected. Our group ends up eating quickly and wandering among the display cases.

"Wow, it feels crazy in here," I whisper to Masako, shivering at the dense feeling in the air as we pass. The celebergy cringes, hiding behind her sleeve.

"There are so many spirits in here, goodness. Why on earth is a spirit even haunting a spoon?" Masako whispers. I sputter a laugh, trying desperately to keep it behind my teeth.

I look over at said spoon resting on a coushion, squinting at it. I couldn't "see" the spirt like Masako or even Tsukiyo. I could feel it, and even catch glimpses or hear bits and pieces, but each day I was learning to pick up more and my psychic dreams were getting more clear and frequent. Currently, there was a figure, an older male, I think, hovering about the utensil, much to my confusion.

"That's not even scary, it's just weird." I reply bemused. "Are we supposed to help it move on? How would we even-"

"Hey!" John appears, arm entwined withTsukiyo who, guessing by her slightly averted gaze, was having problems with her eyesight. "Are you two okay? We thought you might be having some issues in this environment so we came to check on you."

I beam. "We're okay! It hasn't been too bad, although it's not exactly comfortable."

Everyone at SPR is kind of quirky and, as Tsukiyo would say, batshit, but they were also really kind once you got past the hard shells. Despite everything, I am incredibly thankful we ended up working there.

Just then, Tsukiyo goes still, a subtle shift in her posture, a hand going to rest on the mask tied on her hip, and I note that it almost looks like the stance of someone ready to pull a sword out. Her head tilts like she's listening to something, and then she seems to sharpen, dual colored eyes narrowed dangerously. Tsukiyo wasn't exactly a stoic person, it was just that anything you saw on her was what she wanted you to see. I could barely read her after years together so I doubt the others would notice if she wasn't completely unsettled or letting them. Right now, her body language was saying something was wrong.

"Let's go see the boss," she says out of no where, nudging John to head to the other side of the room. Straightening my shoulders, I usher Masako after them despite her confusion.

We follow after her purposeful strides, long hair fluttering out behind her. I feel dread pool in my belly. I know that set of her shoulders, the way she prowls like a predator whose caught the scent of blood in the air. I tug Masako along more insistently.

Around a corner, we find Naru, and to my surprise, Junichi Fukumoto, current successor of the family as the eldest son of Genji-sama. One glance at the situation has all the alarm bells in my head ringing violently and I feel the color drain from my face. Naru looks fine, but there is a certain wariness in his stance, a hesitance. The fact that Naru of all people is unnerved is disturbing enough, but it's Junichi that is far more concerning.

The man has the most deranged look in his eyes that I've ever seen in a human being. It has me flinching, the cold light aglow in his eyes as he steps closer to our boss who in turn retreats another step.

"Incredible. It's you," thin lips begin to stretch over yellow, crooked teeth. My stomach twists into knots and that instinct I've gradually learned to trust begins to scream. Dangerous, dangerous man. The more unhinged, the less predictable, and that is very, very bad.

"Pardon? I don't quite-" Naru's back hits a literal wall and still the man aproaches, hand reaching and eyes horrifyingly unblinking.

"Naru. There you are. We've been looking." Voice measured and bored, Tsukiyo strolls foward, easily wrapping an arm boldly around our boss's waist. I feel another surge of admiration for the girl who made me family as she smoothly cuts in. "Hello, Fukumoto-sama. Did you need something?"

She looks almost bored, but I know better. The invisible thread of tension is sparking dangerously just behind her skin, like a live wire ready to burn this whole place down. Naru, seemingly baffled, still plays along, and any other time, I'd smirk at the way pink dusts to tops of his high cheekbones and the tips of his ear as he carefully wraps his arm around Tsukiyo in turn. It is rather adorable and I'm glad I realized my feelings for Naru weren't romantic. I don't think we'd make a good couple anyway.

I'd be better off with someone like- Oh. Oh, no. That line of thought is one I immediately crush and bury, because I frankly could not deal with it right now. Focus, Mai!

I wince at the sudden rage twisting Junichi's face and it makes a cold sweat drip down my spine. The pure hate there has me dragging Masako to settle next to Naru's other side, but between one moment and another it's gone, replaced by confusion.This man didn't know the first thing about hiding his emotions. "Do we not know one another, young man?"

Naru frowns and Tsukiyo tilts her head, flower crown catching the light, in an expression of innocent confusion. It was convincing enough that I almost second guessed myself until I caught sight of the way she had ever so slightly shifted herself protectively in front of our boss. Naru shakes his head. "I'm afraid not, Fukumoto-sama."

Junichi's confusion is replaced by a look of alarm as he catches sight of my sister. "Young lady, where did you get that crown from?"

Tsukiyo blinks slowly, facade still easily in place as she scrunches her nose a bit. "I made it after finding some lovely flowers this morning. I hope that's fine."

"Yes, of course. Just a coincidence…" he murmurs under his breath. The man looks oddly relieved, an expression that quickly morphs into unholy glee as he turns back to Naru. "My mistake. I have a few questions about your work, Mr. Kazuya Shibuya. Would you be kind enough to have a chat with me?"

Naru goes to deny the request, but a subtle and sharp pinch to his side from Tsukiyo has him changing his mind, and Junichi promises to send a servant to our rooms at six this evening. We all let out a sigh of relief as he walks away. John, who's been hovering nearby, shuffles closer, brows furrowed in confusion and concern. "What on earth was that?"

"We've bought some time," Tsukiyo murmurs, turning to Naru. "Don't go anywhere alone anymore."

"He… recognized me?" Naru states slowly befor realization and wrath lights his eyes. "No, he knows Gene. Is he the one-"

"Listen," Tsukiyo hisses, gripping the boys elbows and shaking him slightly. "It doesn't matter right now. You need to keep your head down." The fervent denial dies on Naru's tongue when he's shaken once more. "It is Gene who will be harmed if your reckless."

That snaps him back to reality, shoulders slumping, but Tsukiyo just touches his cheek gently. "Don't worry. You can make moves once we have him. But, for now-"

"Yeah, okay," he mutters, eyes averted from the positively burning ones aimed at him.

With a sigh, she patty's his cheek, doing the same to me as passed by, and hooks her arm back in John's, vanishing between the exhibits once more. As Naru goes to walk away, I snatch his sleeve, halting him. At his incredulous look, I hook my arm through his, smirking gleefully because I'm about to get one over on this jerk for the first time since I've known him. "Tsuki-nee said you couldn't be alone. Guess you're stuck with us."

"You can't be serious."

Masako grabs his other arm, and I pity the girl for thinking he has a chance when his attention has already clearly been caught by my lovely sister. I admire her determination, though. "Dead serious."

"What, are you Tsukiyo's minion?"

I snort amd nod enthusiastically. "Yup. I'm her most loyal right hand woman." As Naru opens his mouth to argue, I narrow my eyes, annoyed. "Don't you realize how lucky you are? I know you got that whole emotionally stunted genius thing going on," Naru sputters, aghast, and oh, this is so much fun, I see why Tsukiyo does this. "But, you have to see that we, especially Tsukiyo, are trying to protect you because we're your friends. Idiot."

Naru goes still, and something flickers behind his eyes, and I wonder how on earth I confused the twins in the first place considering Gene wears his heart on his sleeve where Naru is like a block of ice in comparison, but the corners of his mouth and eyes do soften slightly.

"You're all annoying."

I grin. "Hey, come check out this haunted spoon we found. How do you think that even happened-"

XXXXXTSUKIYOXXXXX

I squint at a painting curiously. I can't rearlly see it clearly, but the colors are bold and vibrant and the energy it gives off, a grieflongingexhaustion, completely contradicts the visual. A timid, stricken presence settles next to me, and Lin, who has replaced John as my seeing eye buddy, goes carefully still in that focused, dangerous kind of way, and I feel his cat shiki, Jia, settle all along my shoulders.

"Anything?"

"Not yet, Lady Fukumoto." I murmur, not taking my eyes off the painting. It's rare that I manage to perceive things so vividly outside of visions, and even after lifetimes of my eyes being cursed, they were still hungry to see lovely things. A vision ruins it, plunging my physical sight into darkness. "Soon. But, I need something from you."

I lower my voice even more and whisper something that only Lin and her can hear, face still forward. I can feel her eyes on me in consideration, or more accurately the flowers on my head, a calculated move on my part, a necessary manipulation. "That is rather private."

My face stays neutral. "Do you think I'd misuse it?"

The question seems to soften the Fukumoto matriarch, even as she continues to scrutinize me. "No, I don't think so. Hibiki always was an excellent judge of character. She came to you for a reason. I'll meet you later." With a gentle touch to my head, she disappears as I stare sightlessly, grimly mourning the loss of my vision and inability to continue observing the painting. It was not often that my disability bothered me, but I felt particularly resentful of Fate's bitchiness. The arm under my hand shifts, a hand settling over mine, and Lin's deep voice rumbles into my ear. "Are you okay?"

I shift my hand to squeeze his, smiling wryly. "Yeah." He felt unconvinced and I huff. "I will be. We all will."

That's a promise.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'd like to try," I call out softly, raising my hand.

"Oh, my! Please step forward!" The lady, a wiccan who considered herself a witch, is offering tarot readings. The crowd, predominantly Japanese, are wary of the tan skinned American, but I am always curious to see someone else's gifts.

"Have you done tarot before?" She asks as Lin guides me in front of her, his shiki still seated on my shoulders, there-not-there fur brushing my cheek.

"Yes, if its no bother, drawing seven cards seems to work best for me."

Excitement flows through the witch's aura, bubbly and happy to have a knowledgeable volunteer. "It's no problem at all! Such things are personalized. Could I please have your name and birthday?"

I give them to her, asking for guidance for me and mine in the near future as she shuffles and offers me her cards, and I drew seven, ones that felt vaguely warm to my fingertips, settling them into a circle.

"Oh my, theses are quite interesting," the witch murmurs, not unkindly.

"The Empress, a strong maternal energy, a force of nature, a deep unyielding love," I barely restrain a snort. "The High Priestess, another strong feminine energy linked to sharp intuition. Trust in your instincts to guide you, and find the truth even if it's painful. But this card, The Tower is less positive. It refers to a great change that will shift the path that lies ahead. When combined with these two cards, hmm, it could be troublesome. This is the Nine of Wands. I would say that a great deal of pain, emotional or otherwise, lies ahead, and will require resilience on your part when you face it. Whatever lies ahead won't be easy, but it will be necessary. And this, the Seven of Swords." She hesitates, vaguely alarmed. "It's…"

"A reference to betrayal, a malicious energy aimed at you," Lin states suddenly, causing the woman to startle, but I wasn't surprised. The man was a professional researcher after all, and extremely intelligent.

"Yes," she swallows a bit nervously. " And this is Death," I smile, feeling fond where others would feel trepidation. "It is the end of something, but perhaps also the beginning. It could be an actual death, or just the closing of a chapter." I, of all people, understood that.

"Lastly, The World refers to completion, a full circle. This is a rather daunting set of cards to draw." I could agree. Considering we were going for Gene, I could feel in my bones, the whispering in my soul telling me shit was absolutely going to go down, I knew that Hibiki would also be making an appearance and that tonight would be the end. Not surprised by the reading, I thank the woman with a smile, complimenting her skills, before Lin guides me over to a more secluded area with snacks. Sensing my friend's trepidation over the reading, I playfully hand him a cookie, bumping our shoulders together, making him give a tiny huff of amusement and I wish I could see it.

Just then, a servant appears, handing me a roll of paper on behalf of Lady Aina. I turn to Lin and smile grimly, all levity gone. "It's time."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Go, go, go!" I hiss, ushering the group through winding halls. We'd snuck out in pairs, discreetly, but time was ticking. Now that we'd gotten the map and I'd hard enough visions, we could bounce, but when the servant came looking to collect Naru for the "talk" with that fucker, the jig would be up. "We need the head start before they notice we"re gone, so don't stop-"

I curse, throwing my arm out to halt my friends, yanking the door next to me open, and shoving Monk headfirst into it, quickly followed by the others. We cram ourselves into some kind of storage closet, and I just manage to shut the door as footsteps turn the corner and pass. As soon as I sense the servant turn another corner, I'm whipping the door right back open and bolting, the rest of SPR hot on my heels.

We make it to the enegawa and I don't hesitate to leap off of it, turning to help Masako, who, thank the gods, had heeded my words and worn pants rather than the usual inflexible kimono. "Hurry, hurry!"

We bolt, hitting the tree line of the forest just as the sound of more servants pass by. Fucking rich people! Surely they don't need this many people working at a time!

"Okay, lead the way Lin," I state, gripping Ayako's hand as we keep going.

"This place is huge," Monk says worriedly, looking over Lin's shoulders at the map from Lady Fukumoto. "It's kilometers worth of land, practically the whole mountain top."

"Don't worry, we know where he is and it isn't far. Gene said it was this way," Lin makes a motion on the map. "Just a kilometer away is a smalll storage building. Tsukiyo said it was here."

That's what my visions and intuition said at least. We rush through the forest, my hands clasped in both Mai's and Ayako's. I'd spent most of the day flickering between visions and running calculations and now I can hardly see beyond shadows and light, only my steady footing and my friends guidance keeping me from busting my shit up.

After a while, I stop the group. "Okay, we're splitting up here. Lin, Mai, and John. Then, Monk, Masako, and Ayako . And Naru and I. Mai, Masako, and I need to spread out because we are the only ones who can sense Gene and auras, and we need a person strong enough to carry Gene out if he's found, hence these groupings."

"Tsukiyo…," Lin starts worriedly. I turn towards the man, reaching my hand up to curl around his nape and tugging him closer to whisper into his ear, my cheek accidentally pressing to his in my sightlessness, but I'm not going to worry about propriety in a life and death situation.

"I promise, he'll be safe, him and Gene. I'll protect them with my life. Trust me on this," I murmur, hoping I'm not hurting his ears by speaking directly into them, but all Lin does is briefly squeeze my arms and hesitantly nod.

With that, we scatter, Naru now taking my hand. It's finally time so I spread my energy out, searching for anything to lead my way. On instinct, I drop to my knees, ignoring Naru's quiet question. I throw my hand out, and something sharp, a piece of bark or a twig, scratches my hand, causing blood to well up.

"Tsukiyo! What the bloody hell are you-" Naru hisses, crouching by me.

"Hush," I intone as I shut my eyes, head bowed. Feeling blood drops hit the ground, I begin to pray. Oh gods above, oh you who have granted me the greatest honor of your friendship, I ask for your guidance once more as I make this offering. Please show me the way. There is someone I want to save… OY! CAN Y'ALL BLOODY HEAR ME? I'M PRAYING OVER HERE!

I feel it then, the vague feeling that a certain someone is once more amused by my antics accompanied by a tingling under my skin, and I raise my bloody palm up, hearing Naru's intake of breath. I squint, seeing an orb of light forming and beginning to move by itself and grin, knowing exactly what life it was that I learned this ability in. I'd never used it here, but this seemed to be the help from those in the Beyond.

"How-"

"Not now! Follow it! I still can't see where I'm going!" I shove lightly at the teen, and he refocuses, pulling me along quickly.

"Shit, it's here," Naru whispers urgently after a bit of running, and I almost snort at the use of a curse word. "The storage building. It's locked!"

The next moments must go perfectly. It wouldn't be fun for either of us, but this sequence of actions is the one I'd Seen that led to the best outcome. I wish I'd had time and energy to find a better path, but this would have to do.

Naru's grip on my hand is starting to grow painful in his anxiety. I grit my teeth and squeeze back, feeling the energy around me. It was oddly stagnate, like a still pool of water with pin pricks of light. Those pricks of light were like a net that anchored and chained the energy in place. It's the runes Gene saw on the walls and why he couldn't enter his own body. His astral body couldn't enter through the barrier created by whatever spell or ritual did here. Were they trying to trap something, Gene, in? Or keep something out?

"Okay, where-" Naru starts, but - Danger! I shove Naru hard, feeling a burning pain glance across my side and jab into my rib bone, sticking there. I yelp as the fucker, Katsu, yanks the knife out of my side with snarl.

Kudos to him, I honestly wouldn't have pegged him as having the balls to stab someone, in the back or not.

"You!" He spits as I stagger, clutching my side. The boy looks truly frenzied. "No, no, no. We are not going to jail because of some nosy brats!"

"Tsukiyo!" Naru sounds panicked as a fist full of my hair is used to drag me to Katsu's chest, knife pressed to my throat. I remain silent, calmly letting this play out.

"I'll fucking slit her throat! DO YOU HEAR ME?! ILL FUCKING DO IT!" Katsu screams, deranged and terrified, and I have to hold back a laugh because he's finally noticed he's in way over his head. When his father had hit Gene with their car, he'd been shocked, but when daddy said he'd make it all go away, Katsu absolved himself of any responsibility, practically forgetting all about it. It's why he didn't even recognize Naru when they met. But, now his cowardice is coming back to bite him in the ass. I lower my head to hide the wicked glee in my eyes. Both boys needed to believe I was helpless.

"Okay! Okay!" Naru says, voice just barely steady. "You don't have to do that. We'll do whatever you want."

It was both pleading and desperately placating, and I regret the necessity of scaring the shit out of my friend, but I had a part to play. We both did.

"Fine," Katsu growls. He presses harder on the knife, tearing the skin of my neck as he digs something out of his pocket, throwing it at Naru. The sound of jingling and clattering reveals the object to be keys. "Unlock the door and enter. Hurry up!"

He shakes me for emphasis, nicking me again with the blade. I feel my face twitch as warm, slick blood begins to seep into the waistband of my jeans from my side. Naru does as he's told, his energy starting to fluctuate dangerously in preparation to use PK to defend us, consequences be damned, although I know his timing is off. As soon as he crosses that threshold, I feel Naru tugs violently on his own PK, making it swirl erratically, but, as expected, It's to no avail. We're officially in the building and barrier. Any external psychic ability won't work here, but on the bright side, there will be no risk of Naru accidentally killing himself.

We are forced down a hallway and into another room that Maru has to unlock. I hear a steady beeping and a strangled noise comes from Naru. "Genie."

We found him. I breathe a sigh of relief. Okay, now the tricky part.

Katsu throws something else at Naru. "Handcuff yourself to the wall. Now!"

"You-"

"It's okay, Naru, just do it," I interrupt gently. "Just trust me, it'll be alright."

Katsu laughs hysterically. "Stupid bitch! You're not getting out of here! I got you!"

I remain silent, eyes aimed at Naru, unbothered and hoping he realizes I'm very much prepared to deal with this. I smile, hearing his handcuffs clicking into place. Naru is officially out of the way.

Katsu laughs again, relieved and drenched in a false sense of security, he yanks me around by the hair, slamming into the wall as he grabs… a rope and forcing my arms behind my back, and I take a moment to take a few deep breaths. Despite my clear headedness, my heart is still thumping wildly, and my side is still bleeding freely, although lightly.

To my annoyance, this psycho is actually quite talented at binding people, so I can't easily free myself. Katsu, still cackling, throws me to the ground and I grunt as my weight lands on my bound wrists behind me. "I did it! Stupid bastards! You're not going to ruin my life!"

"Pretty sure you did that to yourself with all the kidnapping, fucker," I state boredly.

He snarls, pinning me to the ground and grabbing collar of my shirt. "Foriegn whore! You'll die here!"

He slaps me and I shoot him a bland look. That is, of course, when he yanks on my shirt again and the fabric rips loudly, espousing my bra and torso. Everyone freezes.

I sneer in disdain as the scummy dumbass's energy imedietly changes at the sight. Disgusting freak is excited.

I hear him lick his lips. "You might be a foreign, low class whore, but even with that dark skin, you're beautiful enough," he says, and I can hear his grin as his blade brushes across my bra.

Fantastic. Colorism too. This man really needed to be every kind of awful possible, like he's been trying to check every box on the bad guy checklist.

"No, don't you fucking dare-" Poor Naru loses it, and I can hear him frantically yanking on his cuffs as Katsu seems to get off on the whole situation.

"Like what you see?" I offer sweetly, leaning up.

The pervert's eyes go wide. "What a slut," Katsu leans closer, and I grin wildly.

"I love how fucking useful boobs are for distracting dumbasses," I say cheerfully, taking in his confusion as I rear my head back and slam into his face.

Katsu screams, reeling back as his nose breaks, and I drive my knee into his crotch, making him screech in high pitched agony, dropping his knife in favor of the Fukumoto family jewels. I roll, snatching the knife up as I gain some distance and begin to saw furiously at the rope binding me, ignoring the way it slices into my arms.

Katsu groans, slowly staggering to his feet, the frantic sound of clanking metal loud as Naru is still desperately trying to free himself. I tilt my head, noting that the beeping from earlier is louder, and it makes me giggle giddily because that noise is the sound of a heart monitor. Gene's heart monitor.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Katsu roars, rushing forward, and I adjust my grip on the knife, running for him with a vicious grin. I might be out of shape in this life, but this wouldn't require much athleticism. I build up speed in three steps, launch my legs up towards my chest and use the momentum to drop kick the fuck out of him. Katsu screams as he slams into a wall, and I relish the wet crack that is his skull making contact with something hard.

The hardest part of a dropkick is actually the landing, but I manage to land on my uninsured side and roll rather than my back, which would have definitely resulted in stabbing myself in the back. I'd die of embarrassment before I even bled out. Fuck that.

I tilt my head, listening to the silence interrupted only by Naru's uneven breathing and Gene's heart monitor behind me. With a snap, the rope comes undone and I let out a cackle. That mother fucker isn't getting up again for a while.

I haul myself up, wincing at the throbbing in my hip from landing on it, and hurry towards where I hear Naru, finding him by bumping into his legs. "Are you okay, Naru?"

"Me?" He chokes out, and waving my hands about I find where his wrists are still bound to a pipe. I frown at the feeling of warm wetness, and the smell of iron..

"Shit, why'd you go and make yourself bleed. I told you I had things handled," I grumble, displeased that I couldn't prevent this.

"You're insane if you think I could just-"

"Sorry, honey, no time. Do you see my hair pin?" I ask patting my tangled hair looking for it.

"Bottom right, near the end of your hair," he replies, and I quickly find it, easily unlocking the cheap cuffs with a scoff at the quality. These were probably from an adult store considering police grade ones couldn't be openly sold. It is easy to pick the lock but effective against most people.

"Cuff him like you were," I order, now heading toward the beepIng still echoing in the room.

I find the heart monitor next to a bed, and then my palms find cold skin, but not cold enough to be dead. My fingers brush sharp, bony flesh, but not a rotting or decaying corpse. When my fingers touch painfully, emancipated features that are nonetheless familiar, covered in an oxygen mask, I sigh in relief. The sight is likely horrible, but this is Gene and he is still alive. Malnutritioned, weak, and hurt, but alive.

My eyes burn, but I shove it down, hearing cuffs clicking behind me and the thud of flesh on flesh as Naru lets out some pent up rage. I snort, but lightening quick, the boy is next to me, choking on his twins name.

"Time to go," I say, removing Gene's oxygen mask and the IV in his arm, taking the bandage Naru grabbed from somewhere around us. I also remove the heart monitor knowing Gene will be fine and wake up as soon as we exit the building.

I take off the scraps of my shirt, using the fabric to patch my minor stab wound, and use the rest to tie it tightly in place, Naru knotting it for me, my hands too shaky. He also hands his button up to cover myself, and rather than putting it on, I turn it backwards, tying the sleeves around my neck and closing a few buttons behind my back like a halter top. I needed my arms, although still bleeding a bit, bare for the next fight.

Together we push the bed out of the pseudo hospital room, wheels squeaking as we flee back to the entrance of the building. I gasp as the crisp air hits us, and without missing a beat, I turn my focus inwards, reaching for my psychic energy, I let it flare out wildly around me, now unrestrained by the walls of the building. "Gene."

The word is spoken softly, but it vibrates wildly with energy, echoing silently with the force of my will, and in between one moment and the next, Gene's astral form's hand is clasping mine.

"Bloody hell! Bloody fucking hell-"

"No time," I hiss for the millionth time. "Gene, I need you to listen closely, okay? This is going to be hard. It's probably going to be the hardest and most painful thing you've ever done. Your spirit has been out of your body for almost a full year and your in real shitty condition. Focus! Put all you will into it, or you could die right here. Do you understand?"

Both twins inhale sharply, but determination fills the air, and Gene is throwing himself forward. I feel the spiritual fight going on beneath his skin as his body tries to reject what it thinks is a foreign entity. It is why astral projection is so damn dangerous and not supposed to happen for more than a few hours at a time. It's miracle he even lasted this long.

"Come on, Genie. Come on, big brother. Don't leave me," Naru whispers, gripping his much frailer twin's hand. I blink, squinting at the blurry seen, my eyesight finally coming back now, a reminder that has me reaching down and grabbing the flower crown I dropped earlier when Katsu first appeared.

With a gasp, and a feeling like a puzzle piece falling into place, Gene wakes up. I huff, "Welcome back to the land of the living. It's nice to meet you for real, Gene."

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