~~~
AKEMI AND OTHERS
"Seriously, you need to stop falling into holes!" Ayako chastises. Cleaning up some of Akemi's scratches— which weren't much, considering her clothes covering most of her skin.
Akemi smiles apologetically at Ayako's care. "Please do forgive me..." All the heiress could do was apologize for making a friend worry.
Mai sits close to Akemi's side, the high schooler clinging unto her. Turns out the girl almost got attacked by one of the spirits cursing students and staff. Hers was more of a little girl.
Hearing such event Akemi got concerned. Yet it turned out well due to the jade beaded bracelet that Akemi prayed over the night before. Akemi could not make the bracelet ahead of time with her busy schedule and so did it last night.
A simple bead bracelet providing an aura energy that engulfs Mai like a shield. Akemi made sure to place a lot of it so it would for at least a few months.
"Wow... Whoever it is, I'm impressed that they actually made this many hitogatas..." Bou-san observes each sculptured wooden dolls placed on the table. The amount of it, made a miniature hill. "-I didn't even think to look in that manhole..." Bou-san turns his head to smile at Akemi behind him, his face in awe.
"You really are something, Akemi! Nice!" Bou-san praises, "Up top!" Lifting a hand up and Akemi hops out of Ayako's watch with gladness and hit their open palms.
"High-five~!" Akemi pleasingly laughs despite the unladylike manner, she still induces grace. The two laughing together,
"Mai." Naru speaks out, lifting a hitogata with the high schooler's name inscribed. Mai took it with shaky hands, she really was cursed.
"My hitogata and Yoshino-sensei's also found in there... So? this should stop the power of the zuso, right?" Mai asks, clutching her hitogata tighter in her hand.
Naru nods from where he sat. He placed himself immediately on a vacant chair without waiting for anything else once he got inside the temporary base. Facing everyone and the pile of hitogatas. "Correct. All we need to do now is throw the hitogatas in the river or burn them..."
Akemi fixes herself straight beside Bou-san, a worried frown on her lips. "But I wonder if this will stop the Jusha..."
"That's right. We still don't know who it is." The monk nods, along.
"It's not Kasai-san!" Mai was quick to turn and glare at the others before names get pushed out to blame.
Bou-san abashed, "Okay, got it..."
Ayako shakes her head at them, before turning to observe a quiet Naru on his seat. "Naru, didn't you get hurt too?" When Naru didn't say anything, Ayako stepped forward. "Let me take a look at your injury."
Noting his lack of response, Akemi tilts her head towards Naru. Her purple gaze concerned for his well-being. "Naru? What's wrong?"
Hearing his name, Naru finally shows attention. He sighs, uncrossing his arms and even trying to get up from his seat.
"It is nothin— !" He went to dismiss but soon let out a groan, bending slightly down.
"Naru!" Akemi caught the boy, thinking he was gonna fall. Thankfully he didn't and remained somewhat crouching.
"I think he sprained his leg!" Ayako calls out, noting Naru focusing on his leg. Before Ayako could do anything, Lin steps beside her and observed Naru's condition. "Please don't move him. I'm not sure of the condition of his leg—"
The heiress panicked.
Naru sends Akemi one of his cold glares when she left his side. "I'm calling the ambulance!" Akemi says, letting Lin support Naru's weight back to the seat.
"Eh?"
Akemi ignored the piercing threats being thrown on her back while she turned away to answer the call. "Hello? I have a friend who fell on a manhole—" Naru intensifies his glares and it never once subsided.
Akemi gave a sigh of relief at the mention of the ambulance coming soon.
When Naru left with Lin, is the moment Akemi was truly relieved. He would be in goods hands. Clearing her throat, the heiress fixed herself and turns to the others "I suggest we get rid of these once and for all, I don't feel comfortable on having such cursed objects being so near us..."
Bou-san hums in agreement, "I agree, then we'll go back to the Office and wait for Lin to contact us. We'll leave our base as is until Naru gives us further instructions."
Akemi smiles, nodding at the others. "What do you guys think?"
"That's fine."
"I agree."
"..." Mai remained quiet, noting the lack of voice— Akemi places a hand over the crown of Mai's head.
"Let's finish what we can. Don't worry Naru would be fine." Bou-san nudges the high school girl. Akemi smiling at her with reassurance when Mai turned to see Akemi's thoughts.
"Right..."
Akemi teasingly adds, despite the whole truth it holds. "Besides if we don't get it done he'll probably get mad at us."
'He can be scary...' the group thought to each other, shivering at the sight of his indigo glaciers.
~~~
~~~
NARU
May 18, 2001
"Deep in the meadow
Under the willow"
Naru softly opens his eyes, the eight year-old boy sat up from the bed of different kinds of flowers. His indigo blues moving around the wide area, deep sincerity in his eyes.
The smell of fresh grass and breezy wind calm on his nostrils. The sight of the clear open meadow with calf length grass and flowers dancing the same way the wind twirls. The sight of it was satisfying and awe-inspiring. Even the sky knew no blues as it filled the dome with white cotton clouds and clear skies, birds passing by in a sharp V.
"A warm bed of grass
A soft green pillow"
Naru remained quiet from where he lay, his ears listening to the soft song the girl not far from him sang. The wind touchy enough to move and cares his combed dark locks, he and his brother hadn't trimmed in months. It was fair enough to also twirl her already curled blondes with the white summer dress she sported.
"Lay down your head
And close your eyes"
The ten year-old girl remained oblivious of her company. Keeping herself busy by plucking flowers and it's petals. Her voice did not resemble a bird nor the soft lullaby that captivates like a siren. It was like how every child would sing a song they learned, widely enunciated and plain. Sometimes breathy or adenoidal.
Yet for a person who appreciates the little things, it seemed fruity. A mix of all sweetness.
A few minutes passed the girl finally lifts her head towards his direction, her purple orbs reminded him of royalty and magic for being so rare. Sparkling like gem from the clear light met his deep midnight's.
It looked refreshing,
"And when they open
The sun will rise"
"You're awake! I've been waiting all day for you, you know!" The little girl pouted, Naru kept silent. Watching the ethereal view.
"Here it's safe
Here it's warm"
Even he could admit to cherishing the bright sight of open nature when he lived in a dark tight room for eight years of his childhood.
"Here the daisies guard
You from every harm"
~~~
Present
Naru's eyes fluttered open, the sight of the hospital's white ceiling greeting him a good day. The fresh breeze became the cold air of air condition and the skies shown on the window threatened a slight cloudy day.
But the sound of refreshing tone remained in his ears,
Naru turns his gaze, seeing Akemi sitting on the vacant seat beside the hospital bed. Her eyes closed, disappointing him from seeing its usual magic and dignity. Her head lulling from side to side from the lack of placement.
Her lips moving smoothly to form words she continued to sang under her breath.
"And here your dreams are sweet
And tomorrow brings them true"
Akemi remained oblivious of her company and kept lulling herself, soothing whatever it is she could soothe.
"Here is the place where I love you..."
Naru kept himself silent, yet he was uncomfortable laying down and moved to sat up. Gently, trying not to break fragile moment.
His sudden movement jolts Akemi awake from her slight slumber. Turning her gaze immediately to where Naru should be and smiled when she found out he was awake.
Her eyes sparkled, "Ah! You're awake, would you like some tea? Water?"
Naru remained quiet, keeping his eyes on Akemi before moving to the windows. "Tea."
Akemi sparing a giggle, she stood. "I'll go and get some then, please wait here for a moment." Hearing the sound of a few ruffles where she must have fixed her clothes before going out to get what she needs, she paused. "Oh! The file for the case is right there next to you, knowing you— you would work the moment you wake up. See ya~!"
Naru remained staring on the window before finally deciding to do what Akemi said. Taking the files, it was time to figure out who could the Jusha be.
Naru gives out breathe, flipping the folder open. Here is the place where I love you.
~~~
AKEMI AND OTHERS
"Hey, are you sure this is the right room?" Akemi sat straight when she heard Ayako and the others by the door. "-His name is not listed."
"Lin said this is his room." Bou-san slides the door open to see Naru and Akemi. The boss half laying on his hospital bed while Akemi sat next to him by the windows with an apple on her hand. She was in the midst of carving them into rabbits, which seemed to be not a common thing on Naru's household when he took note of it. "Hey Naru-chan! Akemi!"
"Yoh~!" Akemi delicately waves the knife holding hand, a gentle smile on her lips.
Akemi went ahead the others once they finished burning the hitogatas. Naru texted her that time he needed news articles and the folder for this case, with a bummed Mai and jealous Masako— Akemi left the group to give the wizard exactly what he needed.
Naru kept silent, picking up a piece and ate a carved rabbit.
The others stepped inside one by one. John and Bou-san steps forward and stands by the left corner of the room— next to Akemi's seat— while the girls stayed a bit behind when they saw Naru's get up. "Are you really gonna be hospitalized for a while? How are you feeling?"
Ayako and Mai leaned towards each other, whispering to themselves with bountiful laughter. Their gaze focused on Naru's lack of darkness. "Hey! Naru in non-black clothes!"
"How rare is this!" Ayako chuckles under her mouth, sending Naru a pitiful gloating.
"That is rad!"
"It's kind of funny..."
"How are you feeling?" Masako chimes in, lifting her sleeve with a side glance towards Mai and Ayako; sighing at the two girls. 'You guys are so inappropriate.'
"Did you do as I asked?" Naru ignored their questions. His words more directed to Bou-san,
Mai tried to send the ignored psychic medium a pity glance but Masako let out a huff, turning her head away.
The monk nods, unaware of the girls behind him. Lifting his hands, intertwining them behind his head. "-As you instructed, we burnt them and also threw the ashes into the river. Now we just need to find the Jusha...."
"I think I've figured out who it is." Naru's quick claim resulted to widening gazes from the crew. A few jaws left open and the air of shock and disbelief around them.
"Really?!" Their question observed Naru's calm demeanor.
"Well it first started out as Akemi's intuition until I looked into it and figured things out..." Naru glances to his side, "I'll meet her in person and take care of it. This case is now closed,"
The others were stunned, some were waiting in silence. Waiting for him to say anything about the case, but alas, minutes passed and still Naru remained quiet.
Eventually, Ayako spoke up with an irritated tone. The Miko already done waiting.
"Aren't you going to tell us who the Jusha is?" crossing her arms, Ayako leans more to her left foot— trying to look superior yet shut down the moment Naru spoke.
"It's not your concern."
"Hey, Hey! don't you think I have the right to know?" Bou-san steps in, pouting just a bit to show his playfulness yet his eyes conversed a serious glint. "I had an official request from my client to work on this case..."
Not liking the tension in the room one bit, Mai meekly steps forward. "Naru..." She mutters, her brown eyes wanting to meet Naru's blues.
From Mai's slight imploring and the tensed atmosphere,
The boss remained silent, pondering his thoughts before deeming the most he could do. "....except for Bou-san, would everyone please leave the room?"
KNOCK — KNOCK!
Mai slid open the doors, pausing when she saw familiar faces of students from Yuasa High. "Ah! Yuko...Kasai-san..."
Before Mai could say anything more Naru raised a hand to gesture them in. "I asked them to come. Please show them in."
"Ah... sure," Mai hesitates, noticing another presence behind the two students. "-and... Ubusuna-sensei is also here."
"Ubusuna-sensei?" The sound of her name made Naru frown, just a bit before glancing towards Akemi whose knife paused mid slice.
The heiress kept herself quiet the whole time after greeting the SPR crew. She remained seated with a gentle smile and a knife on her hand, slicing and carving apple rabbits and placing them on the plate in front of Naru. Handing him a piece once he finishes another.
Knowing she was the reason why they fell on the manhole, the heiress kept worrying about Naru's state. It wasn't until she remembered the image of the teacher did Akemi got out of her stupor.
"Hi... Sorry. Should I not have come?" Naru was quiet but Akemi gracefully welcomed them and gestured to vacant seats of three on Naru's right.
"Naru appreciates the gesture, please come in." Akemi smiles, sitting back down after showing manners.
It was quiet for a while, and Naru's plate already filled with rabbits looks inviting. Taking a piece, Akemi cherishes a bite.
CRUNCH—!
~~~
AKEMI MAI AND NARU
"Takahashi-san and Kasai-san, did you two hear that I may be an Onmyou-ji?" Akemi hands Naru his folder, a pen following in hand.
Yuko grimaces, not quite familiar with the word. Yet the girl sitting beside her knew what Naru meant. "Yes, I did."
"Did you tell anyone else?" Naru asks Kasai-san, not bothering to move his gaze away from the folder he is currently writing his questions.
"Yes... I told Kei-sensei about it... Is there a problem about that?" Naru ignores her question and moved to his own.
"With our case, Mai has been very helpful with her intuition, did you hear about that?"
Kasai lifts a hand over her chin, pondering. "Yeah, I think she mentioned it in passing... I told Kei-sensei about it... was I not supposed to know about these things? I didn't tell anyone else about them..."
Akemi beside Naru closed her eyes, as though she were dreading a thought passing her head.
"I see..." Naru hums, almost finish with his work. Bou-san and Mai remained silent on the side beside Akemi's seat. "I'd also like to confirm something with you, Ubusuna-sensei. What school did you graduate from?"
Not knowing where this was leading to, Ubusuna answered with a calm smile. "I graduated from a local University in my hometown."
"If I remember correctly you're from Fukushima prefecture, right?"
"That's right."
Mai freezes, remembering her conversation with Kasai-san. 'What? she's not from Tokyo? I thought she graduated from Yuasa High...'
Naru couldn't tell Mai's thoughts and so continues his questions. Unaware of the sudden wariness one of them was starting to get. "You came from Tokyo for the first time after you became a teacher, correct?"
"Yes, that is correct." Seeing that she was being truthful, Naru got the last bit he needed. Akemi watching him work with a smile on her lips. Not her usual elegance but still a small smile.
"I've got it now. Thank you for your help. I think I can solve the mystery of the problems happening at your school." Naru shuts his folder, ignoring Akemi's teasing gushes from his side.
Yuko gasps, "Really?!"
"Excuse me, what do you mean solve?" Kasai-san sat straight, confused and worried at the same time.
"I figured it out," Naru repeats. "-It was a Zuso. More specifically, an Enmi performed by using hitogatas.... We just needed to get rid of the hitogatas but then we need to convince the Jusha to stop the Zuso."
"What's that mean?" Kasai-san, asks. "The reason you called us here is because you're trying to say that I'm the Jusha?!"
Naru scoffs, a smirk on his lips. "No way." This was the part he loved in his work. "Kasai-san, you're innocent— The Jusha is Ubusuna-sensei,"
Even Akemi wasn't surprised, she had gotten the feeling the moment she saw Ubusuna in the hallway.
"What do you mean, Naru?" Mai however, was confused along with the others. Ubusuna remained smiling to herself.
"We've burnt all the hitogatas. Sensei, you made those Hitogatas, correct?" Naru asks, fully rhetorical now at this point.
"....What are you talking about?"
"We gathered all the items that were in the empty lot. If you have any other Zuso items that you used please let us know."
"I'm not sure what you're talking about." Ubusuna once again denies, but Naru wasn't finished.
"-and please promise me you'll never do this again."
"...I'm not the Jusha..."
"Yes, you are."
Bou-san and Mai watched in awkward tensed silence. 'Oh, gosh...'
"No I'm not."
"There's no one else it could be." Naru shook his head, this was the part he didn't prefer. "All of the victims didn't believe in Kasai-san's psychic power, which she demonstrated at the morning assembly. I'm sure the Jusha's motivation is related to that somehow."
"Really? Then shouldn't you be accusing Kasai-san of being the Jusha rather than me?" Ubusuna spoke calmly and without pause, ignoring how Kasai froze in shock. Akemi and the others frowned on how quick Ubusuna chose sides.
"That's because the Jusha didn't know Murayama-san's name." Akemi spoke next to him, not one bit comfortable on having Ubusuna around them.
"What nonsense.... I could have asked someone what her name was."
"If she knew the person who sat at that desk, then she wouldn't have to place the Zuso on the random person who sat at the desk. At that time, many people didn't want to associate with you and Kasai-san. Would you have felt comfortable asking someone what her name was?" Naru barks, but Ubusuna kept her stance.
"Then it must have been someone else, we are innocent."
"It wouldn't have make sense." Naru pushes, "-Aside from the motives, why would the Jusha place a zuso on Mai and me? Mai accidentally told Kasai-san that I was an Onmyou-ji then Kasai-san told you. I heard that Kasai-san doesn't really speak to anyone except for Mai and you. So that means there is no one else that could have known that I was an Onmyou-ji. The same thing applies to knowing about Mai's good intuition."
"I didn't hear about that." Sensei denies.
"...I did, and I did tell you, Kei-sensei..." Kasai-san mutters in disbelief,
"But what reason would I have to want to hurt all those people?" Ubusuna remained calm despite the sudden evidence pointing to her. Naru remained stoic knowing he got the right person.
"Because of Kasai-san's psychic power both of you were attacked and treated poorly. That was enough to cause you to want to hurt them."
"But that was just Kasai-san's problem, not mine. It's true, I did defend her but I only did that out of sympathy..."
Akemi had enough, her gaze cold and direct but her expression showed no disdain.
This time Akemi's eyes sparkled, not with brightness from light but blazing fire. Her expression solemn and worthy of an heiress. "No. It was your problem too. You understand parapsychology very well. You're very knowledgeable and resourceful in the field... which we find to be quite surprising. However, it seemed that you had more than just curiosity in Kasai-san's psychic power— we began looking through old news articles and sure enough, we found stories with you in them."
Naru continues, taking out a few printed papers. "A little over 20 years ago, Uri Geller came to Japan. Shortly after that his followers the Gellerine, started. The Gellerini were children who were inspired after seeing Geller bend spoons. They began to bend spoons just like Geller. Some of these children ended up in the spotlight of the paparazzi. Sensei, you were one of the children. Along with of Geller's popularity, psychic bashing had begun in Japan. Most of the Gellerini were accused of cheating and some of them even admitting to using tricks and some were forced to say that they were cheating."
"Ubusuna-sensei was one of the children who admitted to using tricks." Akemi finishes,
"But I.... I.... I never cheated..." This time Ubusuna-sensei was losing her composure bit by bit.
"Are you talking about the same trick that Kasai-san tried to use?" Mai asks, her words coming off as a whisper; none heard her words.
Ubusuna clenched her intertwined hands tighter on her lap, her head lowers to her chest. Making it unable to grasp her expression. "...I .... Unlike Kasai-san, I didn't have anyone that would tell me it was wrong to do it... Nobody was there to tell me it was okay to say so when I couldn't do it... no one was ever there for me..."
"For you, it was unfortunate that it happened when it did because at that time Japan depended on the media to decide the legitimacy of ESP. Japan had no proper ESP research organization. There were no proper tests to determine your psychic ability..." Naru says, Akemi rigid beside him.
"It should not have been up to the media to decide. The paparazzi were more interested in creating a sensation, rather than presenting the truth."
"Kei-sensei..." Kasai-san frowns at the sudden emotion of her teacher while Mai kept her attention towards her sempai. Both girls worried for the people they look up to. "Akemi-sempai...?"
"I just... I just wanted to protect Kasai-san's ability as much as I could.... However, we somehow became the object of the school criticism and even other teachers started attacking us. They criticized Kasia-san's psychic power at various times even prior to that day of the morning assembly. They even criticized me and told me I wasn't being a proper educator."
"That's why you did it?" Naru asked, his gaze soft.
"Yes, it was just a prank. I couldn't stand them."
'In a situation like this...' Mai shuddered, watching when Ubusuna-sensei lifts her head up. Fully showing what she felt.
"This is much serious than just a prank. Do you understand that Enmi is a curse placed on others to violently harm them?"
'How can she be smiling...?' A tinge of anger and disappointment fills Mai at the sight of such a person.
"Luckily no one has died yet, but it was only matter of time." Ubusuna smiles wider, from Naru's words. "With that desk it's very likely the next student who sat there could have been dragged by the train and killed."
"That... would be unfortunate. But if that were to happen people would finally start to realize, you know? In life, there are things that take more than science to be understood." As though her words made an encouraging influence, Ubusuna straightened her back and rose her chin.
The whole scene itself disturbs the high schooler.
Mai frowns to herself her eyes saddened and pitying the people who lived like this. 'I wonder what went wrong... Is it because Kasai-san... or Ubusuna-sensei bent a spoon? No that's not it, it wasn't because of anything particular or someone specific but so many people got emotionally involved with psychic power and zuso and that type of special power made them lose themselves. In a circumstance like this, Ubusuna-sensei lost herself and forgot what's important as a human...'
"Bou-san, please contact the principal. Let him know she'll be needing a counselor." Naru fully orders, the Monk not one inch hesitant and rang for the phone.
Ubusuna frowns, the mention of a counselor and mental help triggering her. "How rude! You're a parapsychologist too! And you're going to treat me like a sick person?"
Akemi turns to stare at the teacher. Her voice gentle. "Sensei, aren't you exhausted?"
"Eh?"
Naru copies Akemi's actions. Turning his head, staring at Ubusuna. His lips lack smile and gentle facade yet the thought of caring still there. "You must be tired— you should get some rest. For Zuso, it takes both physical and emotional energy."
In short, it would take a great amount of toll on someone with the numbers of Hitogatas she had done.
"Okay, you may be right..." Ubusuna calmly backed down.
The other crew members let out a sigh,
~~~
MAI AND OTHERS
"In many ways, this was a very tough case." John sighs as the other members of the SPR crew sat around the vacant sofas on the receiving area.
"Sure was..."
"Yeah..." Mai nods along beside the young foreign priest. The young high school girl twiddling her fingers.
Seeing their expression, Ayako lifts a hand and waves it around as though to dismiss it. "Don't worry about it. What's done is done." the Miko says, unaware of the sudden lift of Masako's sleeve over her lips.
"Matsuzaki-san, you are such an optimist." The psychic medium sharply smacks.
"What did you just say?!"
Noting the sudden rise of volume, Mai tries to sway the glaring women. "Hey, please keep it down!" Mai tries to calm down, full down sweating at this point. "-Naru would scold me if we disturb his tests on Akemi-sem—"
"Mai."
The door to Naru's office opened, speaking of the devil and he appears.
"How may I help you, boss?" Mai gasps, flinching at his sudden call. 'Shoot...'
"I need you to participate in a quick experiment." 'Eh?' Mai dumbly blinks, keeping her gaze towards Naru yet not fully focusing. Akemi peaks in from behind Naru with a wide enchanting smile, excited with her hands intertwined behind her.
'An experiment...?' Mai observed Naru's ever stoic front with an angel behind him, beaming a wide smile over his back. 'He's... he's not gonna inject with something, right?'
"One of the fours lights will light up each time on it's own." Naru gestures to the machine in front of Mai, the others surrounding the high school girl. "-You need to guess which light will light up next and push the button first, okay?"
"Okay..." Mai squirms on her seat. "-but what's this all about?"
Akemi raises a hand, Naru letting her tell. "It's a psy-ability test~!"
It took a while before Mai could fully understand and when she did, she almost jumped off her seat. "Hu? Psy... You mean a psychic ability test?!" when the heiress gleefully nodded, Mai's mouth gaped. "No way! Why do I have to do this?! You know I don't have psychic ability—!"
Naru glares. "Let's start."
Mai sucks in her lips tight. "Yes, sir! No problem!"
With a sharp gaze and a straight back, Mai was ready. She would be ready. She has to be ready or Naru would continue glaring at her. "But which one... this one?"
PAA—!
"False!"
"oops, that's too bad."
"What's next?!" Mai panicked, pressing another button before the timer went off.
This lasted a few more times and soon it ended, Naru and Akemi remained quiet on the side while the others laughed under their breath. "You missed them all. You're a genius." Bou-san says as he applauded. "Oh, how impressive."
"See?" Mai turns to Naru who read the printing readings. "Just like I told you!"
"As expected," Naru speaks, turning to nod at Akemi. The heiress matching his gaze with feigning innocence.
"Huh?"
"Mai has latent sensitivity." Naru says, handing the readings to Akemi for her to hide. The heiress going ahead inside his office drawers to place it on one of his folders.
"Sensitive? Mai?" Ayako laughs. "You mean like 'delicate' and 'emotional'?"
Naru walks out of his office and sat on the single vacant sofas. Crossing his arms, Naru leans back. "Sensitive or a person with pre-natural power. She has extrasensory perception. ESP."
"WHAT????!" the group gaped, Mai even felt a bit faint. 'M- me?! having ESP?!'
"This explains why she sometimes has good intuition although she's usually dumb." Naru was quick to add before such words could fill Mai's ego.
"Now Naru, that was a bit harsh." Akemi chagrined, closing his office door and walking towards the kitchen to make him tea. Naru glances at her way before she went out of his sight with a thoughtful expression.
"Then mentally challenged?"
Akemi weakly chuckles, looking back at him with a tilt of her head. "I think that's even worse... although you did try, I'll give you that." and then she was out of his sight to make a surprise tea.
Naru scoffs, turning back to remembering Mai's readings. "Perhaps her various intuitions during this case weren't just coincidence. Out of 1000 lan she had scored zero. When you have 1000 chances you should get a certain amount of correct answers based on probability. The number of correct answers a normal person should get is 25% that means if you score above or below 25% you will be abnormal."
"Ehh? Then how many did Akemi-sempai get?" Mai asks, but with the heiress not present Mai thought of asking later but Naru was swift in responding.
"Akemi took the test thrice and each resulted the same. A whole 100 percent."
"Ehh? Then you're abnormal!" Mai gasps, turning towards the kitchen where Akemi peaked out with a few desserts while they wait.
Their dessert for the day are parfaits.
"Akemi-sempai how many fingers am I holding on my back?" Akemi froze on the out of nowhere question, she placed a couple parfaits off the blue floral tray and onto the center desk.
Akemi hesitated, flustered at the out of place conversation-- for her anyways. "Ano..."
"Come on, Akemi-sempai!" Mai cheered.
Akemi weakly laughs, deciding to indulge the girl saying. "4,"
Mai's face sparkled, Bou-san pointing to himself and Akemi spoke. "2,"
To john she pointed, "5"
Ayako gave her a challenging smile but Akemi kept her meek smile. "no fingers up."
"Woahh!" The others gasped, when they peeked behind Ayako to indeed having her hands closed to a fist.
"Wait! does that mean Akemi-sempai can tell the winning lottery numbers?!"
"Uhh..."
Without hesitation Akemi says, "16, 27, 24, 30, 04, 12 specifically in that order."
"Eh?"
"You're... you're kidding, right?" Bou-san stutters, Mai's eyes widening in comparison to normal sizes.
"Anything for a friend~!" Fiery greed fills their eyes. Ayako knocking Bou-san and Mai's head.
"Cut that out! Akemi's just messing with you guys, and you're a monk!" Akemi giggles, before going back to the kitchen knowing the water must be boiling by now.
"So you're saying she has pre-natural power?" Masako cuts back to the conversation.
"Basically." was Naru's toneless response.
"Then why wasn't she at all useful in the past cases?" Ayako chimes in, Mai pouting at the shot in the heart.
"Actually I thought Mai's intuition was very impressive," Akemi chimes in from the kitchen. On her way to knocking Lin's office door. "-She had that dream in the last case at the Morishita residence when we fell down the well."
John, hums. Perking up a bright look. "Sounds like post-cognition."
"So the one Mai saw at their window was probably a spirit?" Bou-san smirks when Mai jumps at the thought.
Naru smirks towards the monk, unknown glint in his eyes. "Bou-san, you're very observant."
"Hn, thanks!"
"Mai is extraordinarily sensitive to outside objects that are harmful. She has self-defense instinct like animals. She has the ability to distinguish between friend and foe." Akemi placed a hand over her lips to stifle a snort.
"It basically means her appearance may be human, but her mind is like a wild animal, right?!"
'What...?'
"Perhaps she has an invisible antenna on her head!" the others laughed except for John, Naru and Lin. Akemi tried to control hers. "Wait, that would make her a bug!" another set of bountiful laughter joined in.
The sound of their teasing laughter filled in Mai's ears. Her face flushed in embarrassment, "Naru... I'm telling everyone." Naru seemed to have flinched from Mai's words.
Akemi tilts her head, handing Lin his blend of tea. 'Tell what?'
"Who's an animal? Who's abnormal? Huh?" Mai pushed, a grin on her lips while she crossed her arms. Akemi watched the two with entertainment. Finding Naru's uncomfortable seating, a lot more funny.
"Well, that was just an example." Naru dodges, Akemi biting her lip while she placed his cup of tea on the center table.
But Mai was not having any of it. With a smug grin, she crossed her arms. Akemi cheered the girl internally on her mind. "Then what about you? Bending a spoon is not abnormal?"
"What did she just say?" Ayako and the others leaned in, pausing from taking a bite of the parfait.
"You're saying that breaking a spoon just by touching is not abnormal?" Mai repeats with more detail.
"Hey, what? What do you mean?"
"Hey, Naru what is—"
"Naru!" Lin's voice floundered around the group.
Mai blushing from the sudden jump. "Ah.. Lin-san you were there..."
"Naru, did you really do that?! You promised me that you'd never do that!" Lin ignored the stares of the others. His sharp gaze focused on atroubled looking Naru.
Naru glares at Mai, "Mai!" he hisses,
'Eh... I'm very scared... ahahaha...' Mai awkwardly stepped closer to Akemi, muttering a farewell to Naru.
"Naru, are you listening!? You are—"
Akemi places a hand over her lips, stifling her own amusement. 'These are the times reminding Akemi that Naru is human after all.'
"I understood, No I meant.... I know it."
"You don't get it!"
"This is more rare than psychic phenomena, huh?" Bou-san chimes as he stepped closer between the girls. The three of them watching in amusement.
"Darn, I wish I had my video camera."
Akemi watched as Lin and Naru continued to converse with each other, one was hissing the other trying to console the other. It wasn't until Ayako spoke up of wanting to see the spoon bending trick that she stepped in to get a closer look.
The two bickering men turn their gazes towards the staring audience. A few holding amusement, mostly the first three mentioned while the others were mostly curious.
The sight of Akemi's amusement to his situation gave him a thought.
Naru picked up a spoon from a tea cup, glancing towards Akemi. "Naru!" Lin went to stop the boy.
"I might as well demonstrate, shouldn't I?" Naru assures, once again glancing towards Akemi who was staring at the spoon in his hand. He tries to control the upturned twitch of his lips. "Are you ready?"
The others surrounded Naru when he turned to them, the tip of his finger touching the very curved tip of the spoon while the other pinched it's neck below it.
With an unnoticeable smirk, he pushed the tip of his finger down, bending it successfully.
"Whoa!!!!" The others gaped while Akemi tilts her head with a frown, lifting her gaze off of the spoon and blinking when her eyes connected with Naru's. Both observing each other.
One held a confused frown, blinking at him in question while Naru felt the corner of his lips twitch in amusement, his unblinking amusement his only answer.
"Here you go," Naru tosses the bent spoon towards Ayako, who successfully caught the utensil.
"Wow, very impressive."
Bou-san chuckles, shaking his head like there was an inside joke none knew."Hey, hey, hey Naru-chan...hold on a minute..."
"Yes?" Naru turns with a feign innocence, knowing the monk realized what he had done.
"What are you doing? You can't fool me!"
"What, what's going on?" The girls and John blinked in confusion.
"Ahh you guys are so gullible!" Bou-san laughed at their expressions while Akemi spoke tot hem with a sheepish smile.
"Naru just bent it with his physical strength." The heiress said, completely stunned from such a con-man move.
Bou-san nods, waving a hand towards Akemi and Naru. "It would have been very obvious that he cheated if you were looking from the side! I could totally see his trick!"
Hearing his words, Bou-san taught the others how Naru did his trick. Masako and Akemi declined doing such tricks. For Akemi it wasn't exactly a good thing on her family to play with kitchen utensils— play with anything but kitchen matters.
"Knowing the same tricks a con man knows is best to protect yourself from him." Naru quotes, his gae fully amused and shoulders light from the turn of events.
"Ahh... is it acceptable for a cheater like that to be a parapsychologist...?" Bou-san adn the others muttered as they watch Naru walk away with Lin.
"I'm disappointed it was just a trick..." Mai mutters to herself, pouting at the bent spoon on her hand.
'I thought Naru broke the spoon?' Akemi knowingly smiles, hiding it from Mai's view yet fully showing her knowing gaze towards Naru.
Naru noticed Lin sighing defeatedly, with a slight assurance Naru gave him a small smile. "I'll never do it again. I promise."
Seeing the waste of tricks and gushing, Bou-san sighs. "Well, since we're here we might as well go out for dinner."
"Eh? Your treat?" Mai cheers, the spoon-bending trick completely out of her mind now.
Bou-san hopefully turns to Akemi but the heiress gave a sheepish smile. "Gomen~ But I have to decline the offer... The paparazzi found out I'm back in Japan when some of the students leaked some photos of my whereabouts... going out is not optional for me at the moment..."
"What? Awww...." Mai slumps.
Akemi sadly smiles, patting the girl on the head. "But I do own a restaurant somewhere nearby— I'll have a guard drive you guys, my treat! All you can eat~" Akemi continued, unaware of her friends' reactions. The others felt their jaws dropped, freezing at the sight of Akemi's cash in power.