~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ NARU ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
December 19, 2000
'Oliver...do you think I'm dead?' a little girl sniffled on his dreams, the area around them dark as if they floated on abyss. It was uncommon for his dreams to be like this, his brain making a girl and him float in nowhere.
'It varies,' Naru on his eight-year old stature shrugged his thin shoulders. 'Why do you think you're dead?'
The girl thought for a moment, her blonde wavy locks reaching just above her shoulders. All poorly pinned with butterflies and flowers that she said her father put on her hair in hopes to subdue her wild mane.
'I don't know...but I don't think I'm dead!' the girl claims, her purple eyes brighten with sureness.
The sight of it felt amusing for Naru, 'I heard that ghosts don't actually know they are dead and believes to still be living.' Naru bluntly responded without pause, not giving any kind of mercy for the girl who floated not far from him.
The little girl blanched, her expressions amused Naru greatly.
Akemi glared, her chubby cheeks blown like a puff ball and teeth clenched and gritting. 'I hope you get chicken pox!' she declared as she pointed a shaky finger towards Naru.
In that instance, Naru revealed what he only revealed to his brother. He laughed.
~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ AKEMI ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
December 19, 2008
"Gomen Mai— I would have helped you but..." Akemi gave out, hesitating as she glanced at Naru who sat with his legs crossed across from her, a folder in his hand.
His cold indigos glaring at the heiress, who could only serve to give him a weak smile in return— flustered at how determined he seems to be today.
"So on your visions, you say that you actually get sensations?" Naru asked, writing down Akemi's data.
So far at the beginning of December this has been the past time of Naru and Akemi. The two either stayed on Naru's office or stay in the main room for her daily inspections,
Well not daily per se, that was pulling it too much but when Naru realizes a concept or idea— he would put Akemi to the test right after.
Could you blame him? Akemi here— a specimen that lived her whole being connected to unnatural things and able to show results without trouble is right in his grasp.
One of the people he believed to actually interact what no man ever has ever been to.
So Akemi was willing to help him if it meant a less grumpy wizard to spend the time.
So far it was testing her intuition each morning, Akemi smiled as she actually suggested a game and so far, Naru was willing to put up with her antics. Can you guess what?
And right now, Akemi informed Naru of her vision on the case and on other situations. How it seemed quite real and part of those worlds.
Akemi nodded, sending an apologetic wince towards Mai as the high schooler set up the Christmas decors herself.
"I don't just feel them, when I'm in my visions I actually feel like I was there. I could touch the walls, smell the air and even... taste— it's as if I teleported to their life." Naru didn't bother to comment on Akemi's sudden pause, keeping his thoughts to himself.
"And how do you get this visions? Any triggers that get you into this state?" Akemi frowned, not really noticing how she gets her visions.
"I can't control them at will, but I think they have to do something about a Spirit's permission?"
Naru nodded. "Elaborate."
"It is like— I would not get any visions if the spirit I am trying to use it on, won't allow it... Like I need to knock on the door and get an invite before they let me in."
Naru nodded.
"Any other thoughts on how you come upon these kinds of information? "
Akemi thought for a moment, her eyes widened as she snapped her fingers in eureka. "I think...I can sense them before ever meeting them."
'Think?' Naru frowned at the word Akemi used.
"Like seeing the future?!" Mai brightened, Akemi nodded along— not as quite excited as the teenager was.
Without waiting to, Akemi elaborated once more. "I do it unintentionally at times and they only started about a few weeks after the Park case which I only noticed happening after the case back in my University... I would paint a main point of the vision that I would soon see in later times— that's why I keep so much ideas on my art room... Sometimes there are instances on my dreams and I would see it happen a few days later."
"Sempai can draw?!" Mai once again piped in,
"That's why I'm attending Art school, Mai..." Akemi smiled, not finding it in herself to tease in front of her as she could notice Naru's sense of annoyance from the constant disrupting.
This was why he would rather do his work on his office. Naru's brow twitched.
"What kind of instances did you see?" Naru asked, his silent way of going back at topic made Mai flinch and silenced once more.
"I don't really know— it is the future after all and some of them are too messy for me to explain..." Mai bit her lip, either in fear or amusement as she watched Naru's reaction to Akemi's innocence.
Naru sighed, "Can you give me some situation where you believe you actually saw the future?"
"Well I did predict my cousin's relationship and my family is still convinced I predicted the Iwate Earthquake on Northern Honshū a few months ago..." Akemi fiddled with her fingers, the ankles of her feet locking and twisting each other.
Naru noticed how uncomfortable she seemed, even Mai noticed how her sempai squirmed. "...sempai—?"
"Truthfully, I'm not entirely convinced that I could actually see the future..." Akemi worriedly glanced at her hands limp on her lap.
This kind of tapping on her abilities is something Akemi didn't bother to learn about in her years. She learned what she saw wasn't normal at the age of 6 and people belittled her for it; her Aunt Chieko, the only sister of her mother to take Shamanism as her profession was one of the people to believe her, she convinced Akemi that it was all okay and could actually protect herself, however, at 11 she decided to stop and live as normal as she could by using the meds a psychic doctor prescribed in hopes to neutralize her condition, it wasn't until she met Naru did she decided to explore her abilities,
All of these were new to her, turning to find out her visions were mutating— At first seeing Spirits for what they really are to seeing a Spirit's past to actually seeing possible futures.
She was gaining such abilities too quick for her. 'I guess they were making up time when they lay dormant for all those years...'
But what if Akemi saw a future she didn't want to see? Seeing a loved one's death? Or even a life different to what she has now...
She knew that her abilities wasn't considered possible in the human mind, and all of it were already making Akemi worry— what more about her overflowing energy that Naru explained to be the reason she was resonating so much to her abilities?
'He seems to take delight in it though...' Akemi wryly smiled, watching as Naru diligently listed her 'Upgraded abilities'.
He theorizes that her abilities were coming out so smoothly all because she was finally putting them to use and acknowledging them. Her 'acceptance' stopped any kind of hesitation of her abilities to manifest.
He thinks the first to enhance is her 'sight' and at the mention of Akemi's hearing, smell and taste revealing themselves— especially to the Cannibal Case, Naru is guessing her sense of hearing and smell would soon 'evolve' with taste and touch next to the cue.
Akemi dreaded the Touch part,
'In the end, it all comes to the unknown capability of a person's brain.' Akemi remembered Naru explain to her last week when she explained how she only used to 'see' and somehow visions showed up by the Doll Case.
At this point all Akemi could do was say what was bothering her, "What if..." She hesitates.
Her pause gained Naru's attention and signalled Mai to give them some privacy, the teenager pouted at that but left after Naru's speech of respondent privacy.
Mai decided to stop by the Cozy Bear Cafe and buy some pastries for the others while she was there.
Naru nodded towards Akemi, "Continue."
"What if I saw a future that I wouldn't like? A loved one's passing or a whole completely different future?"
Naru wasn't moved from her question and remained writing on his notes. Without pause, he said. "That wouldn't be a concern, as you said to only 'think' you have pre-cognition. So whatever you might see would be null until the foreseeable future."
Akemi scoffed, stifling her sudden laugh. Not really seeing it an appropriate time to find joy at her moments of worry.
Giving out a light cough, she stopped her oncoming laugh and felt light already.
"But what if I do have the ability to see the future?" Akemi pushed, sensing the fear on her tone Naru finished writing before glancing at Akemi with his dark orbs.
"Then we will face it." And there Akemi felt herself flying.
~~~
NIGHT
"I'm over here..." Akemi muttered as she stayed laying on her bed with her eyes deep in sleep.
"Hey, please hurry... hurry up and find me..." She sweated, turning on her side and clutched the blanket closer to her body as cold shivers went up her spine.
"Please...hurry..." Akemi panted, before her eyes opened up to haze with beads of sweat dripping down her neck.