CHAPTER 18
Shinji
Shinji took a taxi to Minato, where the Nakajima-gumi’s residence was.
The sunrays shone down on his back as he rang the intercom, and he took off his suit jacket, then wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
Since Teruo wasn’t with him, Shinji brought out his reiryoku, its cold tendrils soothing him.
A yakuza opened the main gate, glaring at Shinji. “I’m here to see Kazuya,” Shinji explained.
“Let him in!” Kazuya’s voice echoed from somewhere inside.
The man mumbled something under his breath and let Shinji inside. “This way,” the man said, and Shinji followed him toward the house.
He left his shoes at the entrance and walked along the engawa veranda, made a left and arrived at a set of paper sliding doors that were opened wide.
Kazuya sat inside the room on a floor cushion, his hair tied in a low braid.
He wore knee-length trousers and a loose-fitting top he was tying to the side of his torso.
A bunch of towels were gathered in a basin full of bloody water, and rolls of gauze along with disinfectant stood near it.
The fiery spiritual energy hovered around Kazuya, and he seemed to heal himself.
“Hey,” Shinji said.
“Good to see you.” Kazuya glanced at the yakuza. “Thanks. Make sure we’re not bothered.”
The guy threw Shinji one last glare before bowing to Kazuya and taking his leave.
“He dislikes me,” Shinji stated.
“Don’t take it personally. He hates everybody, including me.”
Shinji arched a brow. “Aren’t you his boss?”
“Exactly.”
Shinji didn’t get what Kazuya meant, but decided not to inquire. He grabbed a floor cushion and sat himself beside Kazuya. “Are you sure you’re okay to talk?” He nodded at the bloody basin.
“It’s fine. It’s a normal occurrence for me. My reiryoku is enough to fix me.”
“I’m hoping it’s enough to fix Teruo as well,” Shinji said.
“If Shinobu helps, it will be.”
Shinji pursed his lips and nodded slowly. “So you and the commissioner are in touch.”
“She knows I know, and I’m guessing you have already spoken, haven’t you?” Kazuya asked as he picked up the basin and stood with a soft grunt. He slid open another set of doors and called for someone. They exchanged a few hushed words before he returned and sat back down.
“Yep. I hate it. Teruo is fine with it.”
Kazuya shrugged. “It’s not ideal, I agree. From what Shinobu told me, she figured it out when she sensed you absorbing the chief’s soul.”
Anger coursed through Shinji. “Oh yeah? Did she tell you how she achieved that feat? She closed down all the healing chambers inside the castle just to ‘test’ Teruo and me!”
Kazuya stared at him in disbelief. “I see. That’s a strategy I don’t like.”
“No shit,” Shinji muttered, folding his arms. “She got an earful about it from Teruo.”
An amused smirk curved Kazuya’s lips. “I expect nothing less. Speaking of, where’s our bubbly and cheerful chief?”
Shinji snorted. “Don’t say that to his face.” Shinji sighed and summarized their investigation up to this point. “He had to go home because he’s exhausted.”
Kazuya’s brows rose. “Wow. I wish I could help, but I’m not going anywhere near an extractor.”
“Yeah, I figured. And apparently, neither is the Onmyōryō.” Shinji waved a hand. “Anyway, enough about them. Please tell me what you found.”
Kazuya crawled toward a short and narrow cupboard in the corner and opened a drawer. He pulled out two of Shinji’s mother’s journals and settled back.
“These,” Kazuya said, “contain very detailed breakdowns of Ms. Arisa’s healing process. She really was ahead of her time,” he added, which made Shinji even prouder to know how powerful his mother had been. “Incidentally, they also cover the exact moment when Ms. Arisa healed the chief.”
Shinji’s jaw dropped. “You serious? Which one?”
“This one.” Kazuya opened it at the correct page and passed it to Shinji.
His mother spoke in vague terms, with good reason, but she explained about a pregnant woman whose baby had a rare condition.
It seemed the baby being unborn complicated matters a lot because the soul couldn’t be fixed the same way it could be with an already born person, which led her to using her teacher’s soul after he volunteered it.
“So,” Shinji said, pointing to the passage, “if she didn’t have her teacher’s soul, she might not have been able to repair Teruo’s.”
“She doesn’t explicitly say it, but that sounds like the logical conclusion,” Kazuya replied.
Shinji continued reading. There were several pages of healing steps he could only mildly understand, followed by the conclusions of the healing process.
The unborn soul had required too much fixing that only a second soul could provide, but that meant sacrificing a living person, which she didn’t want to do again.
She had continued researching this phenomenon in order to be prepared if it occurred in another unborn baby.
At the very end of the page, she had written, “I’m sorry” and nothing else.
Shinji wondered if the words were meant for her teacher.
It must have been horrible to live with the guilt. He understood the burden.
“Are my mother’s explanations clear enough for you to learn? Because they’re kinda going over my head.”
Kazuya nodded. “Her strategy was slowly blending the two souls, thread by thread, particle by particle, while using her own healing energy to sort blend them together.”
“That sounds… complicated. I didn’t even know you could do that.”
Kazuya tilted his head and smiled. “There are many things we can do with our powers, but we’re forbidden by the Onmyōryō.”
He was right about that. “Once you learn,” Shinji continued, “you’re confident you can do what she did and fix Teruo’s soul?”
“While I can’t give you a definite ‘yes’ until I start the process, I’m fairly confident. And I’ll have Shinobu’s assistance.”
Shinji’s hands tightened on his knees. Even though he hated the commissioner’s sudden involvement, he couldn’t deny that this was a better outcome than he could’ve hoped for. Kazuya’s powerful reiryoku, along with Horiuchi’s skills, should repair the damage he had done.
“With your permission,” Kazuya added, “I’d like to send copies of these two journals to Shinobu.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
“I understand your reluctance, but she needs to be prepared as well.”
Shinji chewed his lip. “Fine, send them.”
“All right,” Kazuya said. “It’s Saturday, so I think we can set it for Wednesday night.”
Shinji’s brows arched. “You can learn that fast?”
“I haven’t been alive so long for nothing.” Kazuya grinned. “Besides, we need to act fast because we already postponed this too much. If I get a hang of it faster, expect a call tomorrow or on Monday.”
“Well, the commissioner agreed to try and temporarily seal my reiryoku, so—”
“We can’t wait for all the bureaucracy around that kind of approval.” Kazuya shook his head. “We need to fix this quickly.”
Shinji’s hands trembled, and he clasped the journal tighter. “Believe me, no one wants this fixed more than I do.” His gaze fell on the next passage in the journal.
His mother mentioned that the soul could weaken again in time, presenting itself with anemia-like symptoms of dizziness and fatigue, but also a sense of disconnect from the physical world.
She also spoke about a possible sensitivity to supernatural phenomena, though she noted she hadn’t encountered it yet.
If she hadn’t died and continued to study, she might’ve come to learn the soul recognized its healer.
A dreadful thought occurred to Shinji. “What if you do this and Teruo’s soul reacts to you the way it reacts to me?”
“Shinobu and I will work on avoiding that. Your mother hadn’t foreseen this side effect, I don’t think. So Shinobu and I will add our expertise to your mother’s research and solve the problem.”
“Hopefully,” Shinji added.
“I really am confident about it,” Kazuya reassured him. “I’m not just saying it to make you feel better.”
“Thank you.”
“Tomorrow, I want you to take the chief to the Onmyōryō for some blood tests and an analysis of his soul. The data will help us.”
“Let me guess: the commissioner arranged this.” Shinji gritted his teeth.
“She did, but it’s necessary. I promise they won’t treat him like a guinea pig.”
“Doubtful. Will they even let him inside?” Shinji asked.
“Yes. Shinobu handled it.”
As usual, if it benefited them, the Onmyōryō was quick to make decisions.
“Well,” Shinji said. “Teruo has been waiting to get there and put everybody in their place for a while now.”
Kazuya chuckled. “It would be best if he doesn’t do that, although I understand the urge.”
“Can’t make any promises.” Shinji shrugged.
He had to admit that despite everything, he was rather excited.
Teruo would finally see his world because being in a place with so much spiritual energy allowed non-supernaturals to see things they normally wouldn’t.
Shinji always wanted to show Teruo a glimpse because, the Onmyōryō’s stunts aside, the supernatural world was full of beauty and wonder.
“The point of the bloodwork,” Kazuya continued, “is because we’ll put him under anesthesia during the repairing process.”
Shinji drew back. “What? Why?”
“Because we don’t know if fixing his soul will cause him pain. I don’t want him awake and in agony.”
“Right.” But the notion that Teruo could be in pain didn’t make Shinji feel better.
“Try not to dwell too much on this. It’ll cause you unnecessary stress.” Kazuya gazed at the glowing white energy hovering around Shinji’s body. “I know it’s easier said than done,” Kazuya continued, “but try to relax.”
“The more I try, the worse it gets.”
Kazuya held Shinji’s forearm, his touch searing due to his fiery energy. “It’ll be okay.”
Shinji inhaled and nodded. He had to stay positive and have faith in Kazuya, but it was difficult to stay optimistic when this was their last hope of saving Teruo.