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I had to move the next chapter to this post because it made the other one too long.
CHAPTER EIGHT.
Spoiler: click to toggle February 4th, 2009
Professor Haruto Daichi was probably the last person I would ever wish to talk to. He spent half his life studying ghosts, the paranormal, the afterlife and people like me. He used things like heat sensors and special cameras and tape recorders to get himself physical proof that ghosts exist. His office, where any other professor would have degrees and awards displayed on the walls, had pictures taken at night, in which orbs danced across landscapes and on sofas and people’s skin. It was people like him that made the rest of the world think that people like me were utterly insane. But it was also people like him who could explain to me what exactly was happening to Sayu Yagami.
When I arrived at his office, Professor Daichi was bent over his desk, trailing a red marker along various photographs of a graveyard. He snapped his head up as I was closing the door behind me. A grin spread across his face, the pride that he emitted bounced off the walls of the room.
“Brilliant, isn’t it?” he asked, holding up one of the photographs. In it there was a tombstone, and around the stone there was a bright colored orb with small specks of dust around it. The ink of the red marker the professor had in his other hand was curled around the bright orb. I sighed deeply.
“Sure,” I muttered, jamming my hand into my coat pocket and thumbing my packet of gum. I knew I was going to need at least one piece to get through this visit.
“I see you’re as enthusiastic as ever,” Professor Daichi said, putting down the photo and sitting behind his desk. I settled myself into the seat across from him and scrubbed my hands over my face. It took all my willpower not to let him know that he had a greater chance of winning the lottery than running into a ghost in a graveyard.
“Hypothetical situation,” I began, and he seemed to perk up.
“I love those,” he said cheerfully. “They’re much better than your real ghost problems.”
I shook my head and took out my gum, rolling the package between my fingers.
“Hypothetical situation,” I repeated. “A person who is subject to serious emotional trauma starts hearing voices. What’s going on?”
“Hmm,” Professor Daichi thought for a few moments. “How serious is the emotional trauma? Are we talking no-toilet-paper-in-any-of-the-men’s-room-stalls serious or oh-shit-I just-got dumped-in-the-center-of-a-circle-of-vicious man-eating-lions-and-I-have-nothing-to-protect-myself-with serious?”
“I’m-locked-in-a-room-with-an-angry-woman-and-I-have-nothing-to-defend-myself-with serious,” I growled and Professor Daichi narrowed his eyes.
“That serious, huh?”
“Daichi,” I hissed, and he held up his hands in defense.
“What kind of trauma are we talking about?” he asked.
“Kidnapping,” I replied.
“Life-threatening?” he questioned.
“Yes.” He tapped his chin in thought.
“How soon after the trauma did this person start to hear voices?”
“Is that really important?” In reality, I didn’t have an answer. Sayu never told me, and neither did her father.
“Could be,” said the professor, but he didn’t wait for me to answer his question before running off on an explanation for Sayu’s symptoms. “The human mind is a fragile thing,” he said. “Put it under the slightest pressure and you risk it cracking.”
He crumpled a piece of paper between his hands to demonstrate. He stood up and leaned over the desk, letting the paper ball fall onto my lap. I tossed it to the floor.
“What I think happened to your hypothetical person is that they cracked. The kidnapping was too much for their mind to handle. They crumbled under the pressure and in the process of doing that they opened up a new door in their mind.”
“A door that lets them communicate with ghosts,” I say, more of a question than a statement, and Professor Daichi frowned.
“Well what did you come to me for if you knew what I was going to say?”
I smiled as I took a piece of gum out of the package I still had in my hands. I unwrapped it and rolled the silver wrapper in my palm.
“Just wanted to clarify,” I said before slipping the gum into my mouth. Professor Daichi shook his head.
“I’m giving a lecture in twenty minutes. Is there anything that you actually need my help with?”
“Yes,” I said and he tilted his head. “Don’t bore your students to death. I still have spirits haunting me from the last lecture.”
“Haha,” the professor said dryly. “Very funny.”
I laughed as I stood up, and when I turned I flicked my gum wrapper onto the floor. When Professor Daichi bent over to pick it up I took a book from the one of the shelves near the door, slipping it under my coat so that he wouldn’t notice I had it if he looked back up.
When I got in the car I threw my now-empty package of gum into the glove compartment and ventured off to find the nearest gas station for two reasons: one, my car really did need gas and two, I really, really needed more gum.
While I let the gas station attendant fill up my car I went into the small convenience store. There weren’t many people inside. The man working at the counter was flipping through the paper, the headline on the front boasting about the latest hit movies. There was another man, blonde and clad in leather, leaning against the wall staring at the candy display. I took a package of gum from the display and flicked it onto the counter. On second thought, I took two.
“Anything else?” the clerk muttered and I shook my head. “Two bucks.” I slapped the money on the counter and stuffed the two packs of gum into my coat pocket. I spun on my heel and made my way to the door, but when I got to the leather-clad blonde was blocking my way.
“Excuse me,” I said, staring at him and expecting him to step aside so I could leave. He didn’t budge. Instead he slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a silver-wrapped chocolate bar. I rolled my eyes as he tore the wrapper open and snapped off a piece of the chocolate. “Excuse me,” I said again, more forceful.
“Oh,” he said nonchalantly. He took another bite of chocolate and pushed open the door, waiting for me to step through the threshold.
“Thank you,” I replied and I shoved past him. Instead of closing the door behind me, though, he followed me outside. I tried my best to ignore him as I went to my car.
“Twenty-four eighty six,” the attendant said, and when I reached for my money I saw the blonde man hand the attendant the exact amount. I turned towards him, eyes narrowed, and realized for the first time that there was something familiar about him.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” I asked.
“Not really,” he replied. He started to walk across the parking lot where a motorcycle sat waiting for him. “I want you to follow me,” he said. I crossed my arms over my chest.
“And if I don’t?” I inquired. He shrugged and swung a leg over the motorcycle.
“I’ll follow you.” I shook my head and got in the car. I tossed the book I’d taken from Professor Daichi’s office into the back seat and pulled out one of the packages of gum I’d bought. I quickly broke the seal and took out a strip of gum, but before I had the chance to unwrap it Lind appeared.
“What the hell is that guy’s problem?” he huffed.
“No idea,” I replied.
“What are you gonna do about him?” Lind questioned. I glanced at my rearview mirror, watching the man adjust his motorcycle helmet.
“I recognize him,” I said. Lind furrowed his brow.
“What, ex-boyfriend or something?” he asked, his tone a little too harsh. I cracked the gum I’d already been chewing while unwrapping the new piece.
“Not that,” I said, kneading the fresh gum between my fingers.
“Then what?”Lind demanded. I shrugged and tossed the gum into mouth.
“I don’t know,” I said, keeping my gaze trained on the rearview mirror so I could watch as the man left the gas station and sped into the road. I put my key in the ignition, turned it slowly. “But I want to find out.”
“Are you an idiot?!” Lind snapped as I pulled out of the gas station. I turned to him.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re going to follow that guy?!” I sighed deeply, leaned back in my seat and cracked my gum.
“That would just be stupid,” I said. “I’m going to let him follow me.”
“You what? How the hell is that any better?!”
I ignored Lind as best as I could as I continued down the road. I kept glancing at the rearview mirror, watching for the man. I had driven a good few miles by the time he appeared behind me. Beside me Lind continued on with his fit, his words bursting through my train of thought. Suddenly, though, Lind’s constant chatter ceased and for the first time since I started the car I was driving in silence.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I…This…It…This isn’t the way to your house,” Lind stuttered.
“Of course it isn’t,” I scoffed. “You actually think I’d lead that creep to my house? That would just be dumb.”
“Oh…I…Oh.” I laughed and shook my head. I made a quick turn, and then another, zigzagging down roads that I hardly ever travelled. “So, um, where are you going?” Lind asked.
I shrugged. “Not sure, really.”
I continued on for another fifteen or so minutes before I pulled over on the side of the road. On either side of the road were rows and rows of enormous trees. There was a fresh coating of snow on the ground which crunched under my feet as I walked into the forest. I leaned against a tree and watch the blonde man speed up to my car and stop in front of it. He pulled his helmet off his head and hug it on one of the handlebars, then walked over to me.
“Where the hell are we?” he asked.
“No clue,” I replied, stuffing my hands in my pockets. “But let’s skip the small talk. What do you want?”
“I’ve been watching you,” he stated. Beside me I could feel Lind tense.
“Watching me,” I repeated slowly. “That’s a little…unsettling.”
Lind growled deep in his throat.
“Not like ‘creepy-stalker watching you’,” the man said.
“What other kind of ‘watching you’ is there?” I retorted.
“Point taken,” he said. He reached into his pocket and produced the same bar of chocolate he had at the gas station. He snapped a piece off of it before he continued. “I’ve just…noticed you.”
“I’ve never seen you before in my life,” I said flatly.
“Yes you have,” he replied.
“Em,” Lind said harshly. “I think we should go.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Look, I don’t know who the hell you are or what you want from me but if I see you again I swear to God I’ll call the cops.”
I started to walk back to my car but he grabbed my arm.
“Wait. Hear me out.”
“Get away from me!” I snapped. I tore my arm free and stormed away, Lind at my heels.
“Should I go kick his ass?” Lind asked.
“No,” I said, opening the car door. “I’ll let the police handle that.”
“Talking to ghosts?” the man replied, and just those three words made me stop in my tracks. My heart skipped a beat as I raised my eyes to look at him again.
“Excuse me?” He stepped towards me. Lind’s shoulders tensed as he drew closer.
“January 5th, 2009, a woman about 5’2” with red hair stopped me the street and asked me if I knew anything about Takuo Shibuimaru.”
“You…I did what?”
“I shrugged it off at first, but then out of curiosity I looked up the name. Takuo Shibuimaru died in 2003.”
“And this brilliant discovery made you decide to become a stalker?”
“I said I’m not a stalker,” he snapped, and he bit off another piece of his chocolate. “I’m just a very curious person.”
“Well, that’s very nice for you. Now, if you don’t want me to press charges against you I suggest you let me leave now.”
“You’re working on the Kira case.”
I was frozen in my spot, staring at him. Judging by the smirk he wore I must have looked pretty dumbfounded. When the numbness his statement gave me began to subside I slammed the car door shut and marched towards him. I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Listen. I don’t know who you are or what it is that you want from me, but what I do is special. Spirits come to me asking for help. No one else can hear them so I’m the only one who can do what they need done. Whether or not I’ve talked to the spirit of a Kira victim and whether or not I am working on the case to help this ghost is none of your business.”
“Relax,” he said. “I’m working on the case too. Just…Not exactly with the police. I was thinking that maybe we could help each other.” I shook my head and turned my heel, quickly walking back to my car. I paused for a moment with the door open and then looked back up at him.
“Are you telling the truth?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your name?”
“Mello.”
After another long paused I sighed deeply.
“There’s a café by the University that I sometimes almost always stop by around 2 o’clock on Saturdays. It’s small, but not a lot of people go there during the afternoon. The waiters are all teenagers who care more about the tip you leave them than the conversation you have over coffee, so no one would eavesdrop. If you really are serious, show up.”
I slipped into the car and jammed my key into the ignition. I shot the blonde man one last glance before turning the key and driving away. Lind and I were both quiet on the drive home, both processing what had just occurred. When I got home I had a message waiting on my answering machine.
“Hi, Em, this is Matsuda from the task force. I know we haven’t been in much contact with you recently, but I was asked to call and invite you to join us at our next meeting. If you’re interested you can call be back at 555-6578.”
I perked up slightly and re-played the message. Then I played it again. The fourth time I played it I scribbled down Matsuda’s number. Lind sat next to me on the couch, anxiously writing his hands.
“What are you going to do?” he asked.
“Call him,” I replied. “I want to go.”
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