Lin couldn't sense Reiji. Reiji was not there in the building.
Lin asked, "Did Reiji leave?'
Aki shook his head, 'I don't know. We will not be seeing each other for a while.
Aki tried not to focus on that and avoided it.
Aki had almost finished changing. Reiji entered the room. Seeing Aki was buttoning up his shirt quickly and misplaced some buttons.
Aki became angry, 'Do you really don't have any manners?'
'I'm sorry!' Reiji apologizes at once.
Aki scoffed, 'Why do you do things if you have to apologize!'
Aki tried to go out but he was blocked, 'Move Rei!'
Reiji placed his hands through Aki's arm.
'What are you doing!' Aki yells at him.
'You buttoned them wrong. 'While Reiji was unbuttoning those he explained, 'f you want to go I will let you go. But please listen to what I have to say...I went back home to meet with my father. Regarding an important case. I was also ashamed of my behavior. I forced you into a sudden situation. When I was returning I remembered what you were desperate about. Not being able to connect me. So I had to do something so that you can find me. '
Reiji held his hand and put on a ring. Aki was shocked. He turned back and took off the ring, 'What the hell are you doing!!! I don't want your proposal. I told you I don't want your halfhearted feelings. You are just like my ex.'
Reiji's eyes fired up. He held Aki's bare neck and whispered into his ear, 'Don't compare me with anyone. Are you not aware of what I can really do with you now?! You are in a state where I can make you do whatever I want.'
Reiji brushes his finger through the scar on Aki's chest. Aki becomes weak to the sensation, 'I can lure you anytime if I want. '
Aki was stunned by those words. He shoved Reiji back. Reiji was surprised to see Aki was not as weak as he had thought.
'Really?! You can try tempting me with all your might and I will push you away with all of mine. What do you take me as?!' Aki kept stepping forward and Reiji was going backward.
He was mesmerized by Aki's sudden change in attitude, 'Do you really think I'm a weak, vulnerable, pathetic soul that you can own over!?! I belong to myself. Just because I'm soft towards everyone doesn't mean I can't fight you off.'
Reiji's back hit the wall. Aki stopped and took a step back. Buttoned his shirt properly and told him with a sadden face in a weak tone, 'I'm weak to promises. Whenever someone promises me something, I wholeheartedly believe they would give their best to me so I keep holding onto that. But I had always received half-hearted things. So, I learned over time that words and promises can't define you or make you trustworthy. Your actions are what define you the most. You were like that, you were true to your actions. Your words and actions match. But I unconsciously believed in your promises too. Same old mistake. I guess it's true...old habits die hard. But I'm really confused now. Why did actually love me? What is about me that really made you weak? You don't even know me that well. Why did I have to fall for you too! ' Aki mocked himself as he said the last line and walked away turning back from Reiji.
He held his hand again. Aki stopped and closed his eyes, 'Rei...'
Reiji requested, 'Aki! Just...'
Aki interrupts, 'I won't be able to listen to your reasoning when I'm angry. I will only hurt you more with words. Give me some time...until I sort myself out. I know I am unstable.'
Reiji still didn't let go, 'I Can't stay without...'
'Are you trying to say you cannot stay away from me now when you already stayed away for more than a week, without any contact!! 'Reiji went silent after Aki said that.
.Aki felt a bit tired, 'See! I will only hurt you now. I can't control it right now. When I will be able to control I will find you myself...if only you are reachable. '
Aki hurried out. Reiji left the room. Aki felt something on his finger. It was the ring. A plain ring with a red single line engraved on it. He couldn't understand the material.
"Seriously!! This...'Aki gave up and went where Lin was seated.
In Lin's hand, he saw a book from the series.The three-body problem. As he sat down Lin put that down. Aki noticed, 'You like to read?'
L.in smiles, 'Me?! No! no! Never...I was already fed up with my medical books so I didn't. Just an avid reader.'
Aki nods, 'Oh! I like to read.'
'Really...My mother has a hobby of reading so I sometimes pick it up if it looks interesting. It was lying here so I just took a peek. Reiji is a book lover. Ever since he was a kid. ' Lin said.
Aki was surprised, 'What?! He is? But he doesn't seem like that. '
Lin felt a bit uncomfortable, 'Reiji does seem a bit rebellious now. But before we used to think Reiji wasn't the combat type. Like Sora and Joshua who were born to it like their mother. He was a bit timid compared to them. But who knew that kid was secretly training himself and turned out to be the strongest.'
'Why..secretly?' Aki remembered the dream he had, 'Does he...have any kind of wish?'
L.in said, 'He has his own territory now. He planned it carefully. Now no one can interfere there. It sometimes amuses me to see how he has become so powerful from being that crybaby. (Lin laughs. Aki smiles to see him smile).
'What's that in your finger?' Lin frowns.
'Aaah...This??' When Aki showed him the ring Lin was astounded, 'Reiji forced it on me.'
'That's a...'Aki saw Lin was a bit uncomfortable, 'So he went there to make it.'
Aki became uncomfortable as well, 'I will return it to him.
'You, don't have to. That ring contains Reiji's blood.'Aki couldn't understand what Lin said.
'That's one dangerous move he has made.' Lin leaned back and seemed worried.
'I should just take it off...'His finger slipped. He couldn't take it off, 'What the...why'
L.in calms him down, 'You can't take it off in the absence of Reiji.'
Aki was puzzled.
'That blood on the thing will mask your scent as Reiji's and you can get access to our world. Especially...to his territory. ' Lin explained.
A-I don't get what you are trying to say.
'Humans are not allowed in our territory. Our gates will only open in a Jinn's presence Regardless of being mixed blood or Pureblood.' Lin said.
Aki asked, 'So you are trying to say I can go to your world even though I am human?!'
'Yes. Are you not eating well? You look so pale.' Lin noticed.
Aki became shy, 'I don't feel like eating.'
Lin observed him for a while, 'Reiji bothered you that much?'
Embarrassment took over Aki, 'No! No! It's not only about...Reiji... it's also about a friend of mine...I'm a bit messed up right now.'
'You have a heart condition. So you shouldn't be so careless about your health. ' Lin became serious.
'I try not to.' Aki smiled,
Lin wasn't scolding him but Aki felt the heavyweight in the air.
'Ah...Thank you for helping me back there.' Aki remembered the office scene.
L.in became bitter, 'Don't put me there. '
Aki was confused, 'I'm sorry! Where!'
'Don't imagine me in a position where I seem like a role model.' Lin laughed out loud.
Aki frowned, 'You are reading me? Do you always....'
Aki was embarrassed.
'I don't but I can't help it sometime. It's in our blood to know the inner thoughts of humans so that they can be..so that we know what they want. ' Lin tried to ease Aki.
'What will you guys gain out of it?' Aki asked.
'Nothing!Jinns sort of like to control humans like a puppet as we hate humans. But humans trap Jinns too. It's just a foolish obsession we have. We don't have the same rational sense as humans. They are direct about what we want.' Lin said.
Aki asked in confusion, 'But you guys are different.'
'Not really! We are maybe more intelligent than other Jinn but still, we are shackled, So to say, We are living cautiously.' Lin became disheartened.
Aki asked in a low tone, 'What if you break it?'
Lin smiled seeing Aki's politeness, 'We will suffer. To be more precise, Purebloods will suffer. Others can be given second chances but we Purebloods don't get the chance. We will lose our abilities if we hurt an innocent. '
Aki shook his head, 'I really don't get anything. I get confused every time I hear it.'
Lin smiled, 'It's a million years history of us. How can you learn about us in this short period of time?!'
Aki asked with a smile, 'Are you not on Google?'
'Ha ha ha!!' Lin laughed out loud, 'Maybe we are.'
Aki smiled as well, 'I guess I can at least get a rough idea.'
Lin encouraged him, 'Sure! Go ahead.'
Food was delivered to their table.
Aki was surprised, 'Wah! When did you order them?'
'When you went to change.' Lin smiled.
They both started eating.
'Reiji said ancestors did something that enraged God. What did they do actually?' Aki asked.
Lin frowns to see his curiosity, 'They didn't want humans to take over the earth. So did everything to kill them. But when they realize it was actually Satan provoking us saying God loved only humans while the truth is God had created us both as his children, as to pray and surrender to Him. But we fell into the trap and couldn't get out. When we realized we had nothing but to give up our rights and live separately.'
'Are they what you call Purebloods?'Aki asked.
'Absolutely right. Not knowing fully the truth some clans didn't want humans to exist. Some clans even had their child mixed with Satanic rituals in order to increase their strength and killed humans. When they realized and pleaded to God and sworn not to harm any human, God turned their curses into blessings. If we hurt any human without a reasonable cause we will lose our power. That only applies to us Purebloods. Also, there are not that many Pureblood clans left.' Lin smiles.
'You said there were three kinds. Which one is common then?'Aki frowns.
'Semi-Purebloods. Many Purebloods had broken the lineage. They got themselves mixed with the animal Jinn. Some kids are born with features of either humans or animals. Some are even born with both their parents' features.' Lin leaned back as he explains.
'Your lineage doesn't have any sort of…'Aki asked.
'Our lineages are absolutely pure. I mean we are the direct descendants of our ancestors without any generation getting mixed. We preserve this very carefully.' Lin assured.
'What about the non-physical one?' Aki was still curious.
'They live within themselves. As they don't have a physical body they don't go with anyone and they are under absolute command of any Purebloods.' Lin looked outside for a while.
'If they are like air how do they live on?' Aki frowns.
'They are like parasites. Without any master, they just have to live on like air and die as they can't feed. So they have to work in different houses under the influence of either a Master or Lord. After that, they can take any form and will only be tangible when they work under a master. That way they can continue their lineage.' Lin was smiling while explaining.
'You said they can possess…You do that too?'Aki said.
Lin shook his head, 'Purebloods usually don't. But others do and they are the main cause of our headaches. Some rebel against us and create chaos.'
Those jinns make deals with humans than steal their bodies. They try to coexist in the human body. But ultimately they will perish with the body of the human. When the human soul leaves, in some cases the Jinn gets stuck in there and can't leave. They have to die with it. While surviving they need to feed by making a deal with another human. But as they are weak without their former master they can only survive for a few years even with those deals.
'In those times, some seek help from us. Joshua is in charge of handling them right now. He collects them and if necessary execute them.' Lin drinks the coffee.
Aki was flabbergasted, 'Joshua! Kills them?! He kills?!'
Lin was surprised, 'What are you talking about! Criminals just have to hear Joshua's voice. That is enough to make them have a heart attack or death.'
Aki was dumbfounded, "I thought Joshua was the timid one and Reiji was the lion."
Lin answered his thoughts, 'Reiji is not a cold-blooded ruler like Joshua. He is kind and reasonable but once he makes up his mind on anything, nothing can stop him. So don't think you can escape from him with reasoning. Even if he says he will let you go. He won't. He will keep following you. But don't worry…he will never hurt you...he cannot hurt you.'
Aki now feels a bit uncomfortable. He thought he had managed Reiji but he was wrong. He has made this worse.
Aki hadn't noticed but everyone was often looking at them. Lin obviously without any doubt is charming to look at. He has an introverted personality but he is comfortable and understanding.
'Ah! My wife is here.' Aki was surprised to hear that as well seeing Lin's face getting brightened up.
Lin smiled and kept looking there.
"His wife..means Rei's mother...I never thought I would see her this early...I should leave. I will only interrupt them." Aki tried to escape.
'Interrupt? Why would you?' Lin stopped Aki.
"Oh! Please! Not again." Aki was tried with the mind-reading thing.
'It's totally ok if you don't want to meet her. She's here to pick me up.' Lin assured him.
'Alright'(Aki saw outside that a tall lady with short hair got out of her car.
Lin went to her with a smile.
Aki couldn't see her face as the sight was covered by Lin's back. Aki got up and was about to get out of the building.
When he stepped on the exit his head went silent.
The door opened and Aki was still hearing only the sound of heartbeat but his heart was steady while what he was hearing was with a pause in pulse. He couldn't understand what was going on. He looked to his left unconsciously where Lin and his wife were standing.
"The sound..is coming from there. Is it from Ryuji-san? But how can I hear it from here." He touched his ear and his Heartfelt a bit tight.
When Lin moved and went to the other side to get in the car, Sayo was looking at Aki with direct contact.
"Wow!! They really are her Xerox copy…For a second I thought Reiji was standing there. If not for the difference in hairstyle I would not have believed." The heartbeat he was hearing began to fade.
His hearing returned to its normal state.
Lin was surprised to see Aki, 'So you finally have the courage to meet her.'
"Wait!! What just happened? How did I end up like this! What should I do!?" Aki became speechless.
'I doubt he wants to meet. He is still confused.' Sayo smiled.
Aki's focus shifted from her face to the identity card that was on her. She was a detective.
Aki couldn't hide his astounded expression, 'Whoa!! You work for the police department.'
Aki shut his mouth at once realizing what he just said.
Sayo smiles widely, ' Huh! Re was right! He has an amusing character.'
Lin smiles as well, 'I told you too.'
Aki greeted her with a bow, 'I'm sorry, that was rude of me! I am Azusa Akio. Excuse me, as I have an urgency so I will take my leave.'
Aki didn't waste a second and went away in the opposite direction, "Shit! Shit! How can I say them out loud? I need to go home. I feel exhausted"
Aki pressed Nora's number while walking, 'Ah! Nora...I'm going home. Mail me if you have any urgent matters.'
Nora was shocked as he out of nowhere saying that, 'O...k…'
'Good! Thanks! Bye!' Aki was walking and thinking at the same time.
Because of the rain, the road was wet. He feels cold, 'I'm gonna have fever again. Noah will definitely kill me this time if Ishida tells him.'
He could see Joshua with his cat. Aki hadn't seen him since that day. He noticed Joshua was wearing the scarf he bought for him. It made him feel good. Joshua was documenting something. He stands beside Joshua.
'Why won't you go…' Joshua was startled to see Aki, 'A…ki?'
Aki smiles, 'Yes, It's me!'
Joshua couldn't understand what was the matter, 'Long time no see. How..have you been?'
Aki nods, 'I'm alright. You were that surprised..to see me?'
'Oh! Ya! Kind of. I thought it was Reiji.' Joshua sees the ring on Aki's finger.
Aki was surprised, 'He was here?'
Joshua talked to Aki while writing something, 'Hm, he was. But I had to send him on an errand. He was planning to escort you home today.'
Aki remembered something, 'Oh!.. That being said you once took me home but I haven't properly thanked you enough.'
'That.. wasn't me.' Joshua smiled sadly.
Aki looked at Joshua, 'Sorry!?'
Joshua turned to him and stood face to face, It was Rei who took you home that day. All the time except our first meeting, you have been talking with Rei.'
Those words were too much complicated to understand for him, ' Reiji? But it was you…'
After a while he was agape with the question, 'Don't tell me…you can…'
Joshua smiles, 'We can.'
Aki now understood. Even though they can change their appearance, they can't actually change their eyes.
"Is this why my heartfelt comfortable around Reiji even though I didn't want to be around him? During sessions, I had felt their thoughts were similar. They have the same eyes but Rei's eye was always the one I unconsciously reached out for. So this was the reason...Shit!! This is why Joshua seemed clueless about my attitude and Reiji was friendly to me." Aki was lost in thought.
Joshua interrupted his thoughts, 'I never wanted to hide…'
'It's ok! I understand…' Aki's complexion was turning pale as Aki tried to smile.
'Ever since before I wondered why he was so taken by you when he didn't understand humans very much. It was not like that he was interested in learning them.' What Joshua said made Aki surprised.
'He is a doctor... it's his job to be better at understanding people and as far I have seen he is popular.' Aki mocks.
Joshua says while looking at him, 'He is a loner and not good with people. He just has started practicing and that's just because Dad said so.'
The train reached the station. As Aki went to get in Joshua says, 'Thank you for the scarf...It's warm.
Aki smiles and gets in, "Why do you need to wear it! You guys are already...no way."
Aki looked back to Joshua and saw him smiling, "He is actually kind on the inside."
The fever went much higher quickly. He couldn't walk properly, 'God! The headache too?!'
He pulled himself somehow but couldn't unlock the passcode. He tried but failed. At last, he gave up and fell down. He saw someone come and knelt down in front of him. Then that person opened the lock.
"Who is this!? Noah? Can't...See." He couldn't see who it was but that person held him up and took him inside.
He saw a big black cat sitting on his bed, "Ginger?! Why are you..so big?"
Aki couldn't hold onto his conscience any longer and passed out.
'Come on! Get down!' Tanya yelled at Ginger.
Ginger growled but came down from the bed. Tanya laid Aki down on the bed carefully. For a while, she kept looking at Aki's pale face. Leaning toward him she tried to kiss him but in the end, didn't. She whispered, 'I'm going to stop loving you…from now on. From now on…you will be the one to cherish our memories as I have till now.'
She took out an injection from her pocket and was preparing it for injecting. A hand stopped her from injecting it
'That's enough. You should stop now.' Reiji was furious.
His hand was on fire but Tanya was not feeling anything instead she kept staring at Reiji. Tanya moved his hand like nothing.
'As I thought. You are a Jinn.' Reiji's eye turned red, 'Which clan do you belong to?'
'I don't belong to anyone. I belong to myself.' Tanya's eyes were sharp and held authority.
Reiji was confused for a moment, 'Are you a Rebel?'
Reiji's sword touched her throat.
'Whom will I rebel with when it's just me?' Her fierce eye lost its flame as she faked a smile.
Tanya shoved the sword with her finger like nothing, 'I'm just treating him. It's medicine. He is not in a position to swallow anything. Or would you like me to use the other method?'
Reiji felt uncomfortable.
She smiled, 'I'm his girlfriend so it won't matter to me to…give him mouth to mouth.'
'Don't even think about it.' Reiji was about to shout.
Tanya shook her head, 'Don't worry, don't plan to. As you saw before, I stopped myself from kissing him.'
She injected the medicine and Reiji's expression was like he was in pain, 'It doesn't end well if you try to take advantage of him when he is unaware. So I won't. I don't want to be in a position where senpai has to hate me'
Tanya caressed Aki's sleeping face and stared.
"Why is she touching him like that! Her eye is still looking at him like she still loves him." Reiji was irritated and commands her, 'Let go!!'
Tanya's hand was forced to move away. Tanya was shocked.
'He is mine. You wouldn't touch him as you please.' The spell could not bind Tanya's hand properly. That angered Reiji.
Tanya said with a sad smile, 'You won't be able to bind me.'
"How can I not?! Unless my…" Reiji was beyond shaken with fear.
'Guardian. Yes, I am your guardian. Ruan Siya.' Tanya said.
That word confounded him. What made him unable to move was what he has feared all the time is sitting in front of him.
Reiji calms himself down, 'As I told you before he is mine. Even though he was your lover in a past life I won't give up on him.'
Tanya listened.
'I'm sure you don't have the same place as you used to have. Don't hold him back.' Reiji said with a stoic expression.