http://clampfix.fanworks.net/kenichi/essen04.txt </head><body><pre> "You have made the darkness our enemy. We - we exchange civilities with the world beyond." - William Butler Yeates Chapter Four The dinner was pleasant, with an interestingly Chinese twist. For the moment, I had forgotten completely the seriousness of my visit; Linda, Ken and I exchanged little small talk about the differences between Tokyo and the more rural parts of Okinawa. Wang-San, it seems, used to work in Tokyo before moving to Okinawa three months ago. Ken volunteered to do the dishes as Linda and I sat in the small living room together. I had questions to ask, yet they were not the serious ones I initially planned. No, those would wait; no sense in spoiling a quiet evening. "Wang-San, you had a stable job in Tokyo. Why come here?" "This was where Keiji and I first met and married. I felt it right to come back here... Okinawa is normally a quiet place." "Hai, I agree, Wang-San. It dosen't have the bustle of big city life like Tokyo does." My hand reached instinctively for a cigarette. Damn. I forgot to buy some. Then again, it's better this way. Break a habit before it even starts. "I was a bit surprised when you said you had a son..." She nodded slightly, in agreement. "Hai. I guess the Americans' insistence that I use my maiden name does confuse some people... I wonder why they require that? I'll never understand why they do that..." I smiled. "I'll never understand westerners, either." I looked to the window and the sparkling night sky. A slight tone of mischief touched my voice. "Wang-San... why do you think westerners talk too much sometimes?" Linda tried to supress a chuckle. My smile only widened. It soon became apparent that the laughter was contagious. Ken must have been at a loss; he didn't seem to understand what his mother and I were laughing about. The evening ended with me not knowing more than what I already surmised; yet it did not seem a total loss. Linda was willing to help me further on the matter, in case she gained any more information. As for myself, I hurried back to the house Julie rented. By now, the rain had ceased and I was thankful that Linda called them earlier. There was a thick cake of mud on some of the more rugged streets; it stuck readily to my shoes. I was glad that Obachan had the presence of mind to remind me to bring a spare pair. Nonetheless, a warm shower and a soft bed were the only things occupying my mind as I walked up to the yard. As luck would have it, Richmond stood sneering at me from the door. "Well, well... if it isn't mister spiritualist..." For once, I wished that Richmond had just kept to speaking in English. At least the words didn't hurt as much when you didn't understand them. In spite of the irritation with which I felt for the man, I tried my best to answer tactfully. "Gomen. I was caught in the rain. Wang-San also invited me to dinner..." "Oh, a dinner date, then..." Richmond looked up to the stars in disgust and muttered a few words. "...so what did you do next? Call up your dead ancestors and ask them who the killers were? Or did you just light a few candles and pray for the peace of the world?" I held my temper back. Getting angry at him will not change anything. "Sorry. Wang-San couldn't give me any more information." "Oh, sure. Blame it on the Chinese lady..." He turned his back on me and stormed inside, just as Julie appeared. "...Blasted prettyboy is useles..." Julie looked to the fleeing Richmond, then to me. "Gomenasai..." "No need. It isn't your fault, McCarthy-San." I stepped in and removed my mud-caked shoes at the porch. "I only wish I knew what it is about me that angers Richmond-San so." "Would you mind some tea, Sumeragi-San?" I nodded. "Only if you will start calling me Subaru. I'm not that old, yet." Julie smiled whimsically. "Hai, Subaru-San. But only if you remember to call me Julie, not McCarthy-San." Richmond's rebuff was all but forgotten. "Hai. As you Americans would say, 'it's a deal'." Darjeeling tea, she said it was. Julie was apologetic that she could not find any green tea in the house. I did not mind, however. British tea was a welcome change from the traditional tea Obachan enjoyed so much. Julie turned her cup thrice, then gently held it to her lips. When she ended her sip, her voice was tinged with a slight of regret. "Richmond wasn't always like this, from what I heard from his old college mates." "I wonder why he is that angry..." I sipped my cup. The warmth seemed to reach into my soul as well as my body. "Richmond-San is... angry at anything relating to the occult." Angry? I put down my cup. "Is that why he hates me?" Julie nodded. "I don't know the whole story. I just know something happened which caused him to be this spiteful. Richmond has never bothered to explain what or why he does this. I sometimes think that he dosen't care anymore." "Uncaring..." I let my hands caress the warm teacup. Like Seishirou was uncaring of Hokuto and me. From the very start. "...Subaru...? Are you feeling all right?" I looked into Julie's eyes. Blue, like the crystal of the seas. Honest. "...Y...Yes, Julie-San. I am alright..." Liar. "...I just need to rest, that's all." Julie nodded her consent, and proceeded to clear the table. I stole silently into my room, taking my clothes off as I walked into the shower. For a few minutes, I let the warm water caress me. It was not for long; I donned a hakama and a gi, falling on the bed, tired. Clean. But not cleansed. My eyes sealed shut as the softness of the matress lulled me to sleep. And dream. "Subaru..." What...? Seishirou...? I opened my eyes to a shock. Before me lay the dead bodies of the previuos Miskatonic University expedition, their hearts torn out... ...And they were still moving.... "Messy... very, very messy..." I turned to see Seishirou's build standing among the branches of a nearby tree. "...Come now, Subaru. You really don't think I would be that careless or inefficient, do you?" He did not so much jump as slither down from the branch. Landing on his feet, silent as a cat. A shriek from the skies signalled the coming of a falcon. His Shikigami. A rustle from its dark feathers as it perched lightly upon it's master's shoulder. "I was wondering... Why don't you use your Onmyoudo to ask them what happened? Or are you afraid...?" "None of your business!!! I didn't ask for your advice, and I damn well won't take it. Sakurazukamori...Get out of my life!" Seishirou stared me down with his cold single eye. "Now, now, Subaru-Kun. Is that any way to speak to an old friend?" Friend. It stung the soul with a venom that was unparalleled. "Friend...? YOU KILLED MY SISTER, YOU BASTARD!!!!" Smile. A smile cold and kind at once. Part of him was the gentle, caring Seishirou I knew. The other was the relentless, manipulative Sakurazukamori I hated. One cannot exist without the other. "And had I not killed her, I would have killed you." Spite. Bile. Hate. Fear. "So I should be thankful that you killed Hokuto?!?" "There is a saying, Subaru..." He donned his sunglasses artfully. "...That which does not kill you makes you stronger." He peered over the glasses. Smiling still. "Kenichi Kaeda has not killed you yet, has he?" "Don't involve him in this!" Reason was failing me as rage took over. "He's just a boy!" Seishirou barked in laughter. "So were you, Subaru. So were you." Expressions melting...from a mocking mirth to an icy stare. "I wouldn't underestimate him if I were you, Subaru..." The falcon and its master shattered in a rain of sakura petals. Leaving me alone again. Alone. He's right, you know...? I AM afraid. To use these powers of Onmyoudo once again. That's why I hadn't done it yet. Why I hadn't attempted to communicate with the dead this time around. I was scared. But should I be? Isn't this what Sakurazukamori wants? No, I won't give in to you, Sakurazukamori. I can still use Onmyoujitsu, I still wield it. And I'll prove that I'm not afraid to use it. First, I will help Julie find the killers, Supernatural or mundane. Then I'm going to kill you. Somehow, that thought reassured me as I drifted back to the empty darkness of sleep. No more dreams haunted me that night. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Julie, Charles and I stood at the site of the deaths. It had been a long time since I used this spell, and I worried that it may not be effective. But I have to try. The preparations were complete. The white chalk circle would do for this, an outside ritual. Julie and Charles stood back as I had suggested; with a death as violent as that, there was no telling what a spirit could do to a human. I couldn't afford mistakes. I nodded to Julie. No cameras, and they brought none. I was glad Richmond didn't tag along; being the violent skeptic that he was, he might only make matters worse. It was just as well, he scoffed at my attempt to communicate. I felt a shiver of tension. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered as I spoke the incantations. The circle, I hoped, would be enough to contain the spirit. As I spoke, the wind rustled, and I heard an audible gasp from Charles, possibly fascinated by the sight. I was halfway through with my incantations when I felt a presence. Malevolent? A spirit. Whose? I finished the chants and looked up. What I saw shocked me. All of the Miskatonic team were there, floating above my head. All were chanting...no,..screaming... I did not understand what they said, but I think Julie did. The professor's face turned chalk-white with horror, as did Charles. The fear on their faces was apparent as I heard her screams. "Send them back, Subaru!! I can't take it anymore!!!" I felt the presence. It was not evil, as I first surmised. It was insanity. Insanity coming from these dead souls. I chanted the counterspell furiously, hoping that I could send them back before they did harm. They were chanting, too. I shuddered. But held firm. The last words of my incantation flushed the spirits away like a forgotten nightmare. Except this nightmare had been all too real. I stepped out of the circle. Julie was shell-shocked, as Charles comforted her. So shocked that she nearly collapsed along the road. "They were..." I took her words from that point. "They were insane. I coubt that they would have helped, even had I been able to understand English..." The professor looked up to me, and my heart went out to her, as I saw the fear in her eyes. "Did you hear what they said...?" I nodded as I helped Charles pull her to her feet. "Chanting of sorts... I'm not familiar with it, but it dosen't sound like English to me..." "It wasn't..." Julie propped herself beside the RAV4, catching her breath. "...Tekeli-li..." I shuddered at the words. "So you heard. What does it mean? Julie shook her head. "...I don't know. But I don't think it was anything friendly..." It was too much for them both, so I suggested that we call it a day. Charles agreed to my suggestion as soon as Julie translated. The RAV4 took us home, but even there we felt little increase in comfort. Anna had not found anything new, and Richmond, as usual, accused me of parlor tricks. But I had no time to waste on Richmond. Whatever it was that killed the Miskatonic Scientists drove them mad first. The insanity that I felt emanating from the spirits was high; very much higher than what you would expect from a murder or ay other violent means of death. No, they were driven insane BEFORE they were killed. And something inside me told me that I would dread meeting who or whatever killed them. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a new Philip Morris. I let the smoke curl in my mouth before I inhaled, letting its dark white lustre coat my lungs. Damn. I shouldn't have bought that pack this morning. Obachan warned me it was to be bad for my health. Then again... As far as I'm concerned, everything I do is bad for my health. Dinner that night was plain; a cup of rice each and a few pork chops, fried in the western style. I finished quickly, then went to my room, where I began to take notes. Whoever it was that killed them could have been mistaken for Seishirou. But it was all wrong. I looked at the notepad, where I began scrawling my theories since the first day. By now, I was sure of only one thing: Sakurazukamori did not kill the Miskatonic team. First, the kills were far too sloppy and careless. Second, I didn't recall Seishirou taking hearts as trophies. Third, whatever killed the scientists drove them insane, but not in the way that Seishirou did. Fourth, there was absolutely no reason for him to kill them. Fifth and most important: Why the words "Tekeli-Li?" Rustling again... I tossed the pad onto the table as I stood. Shutters moving. I whirled to see Anna at the door. Anna, smiling innocently at me. I smiled back. Anna then spoke in broken Nihongo as she crept in. "Thanks. Can, help after all, very much for." She must have seen the look of puzzlement on my face; her face blushed as she pulled out and consulted a small book. English-Japanese Dictionary, I'll bet. "Go Mennasaye..." It took me awhile to realize that she was trying to say "Gomenasai." Apart from Julie and Richmond, it seems, nobody around here understood even basic Nihongo. Coupled with the fact that Anna was herself Asian in descent. I found it hard not to laugh as she spoke fractured phrases to me. "Thanks for help yours. Professor McCarthy very thankful. Me want you thanked..." She walked closer. "Best way to thank you for help." I stood stunned as she kissed my cheek. Anna's face again flushed crimson as she stepped back and left. I must have been standing in that position for hours; I only turned in after I realized that the clock had struck twelve... No, not hours... I must have miscalculated... Yet still, why this feeling over a chaste kiss? Like a foreboding , a harbinger of sorts... Lying in bed, I had to wonder. Are all westerners that unpredictable? </pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>