fic for reddorozette (2/2)
Part 1
11th March - 3.20am
This time it was Kame sitting alone on the grass, looking out over the water. Jin flopped down next to him and lay back comfortably. He heard a low chuckle and then Kame was lying against the grass too, looking at the sky.
‘Shouldn’t we go to bed? We have an appointment with a ghost scheduled later,’ Jin said.
‘Huh…’ came Kame’s voice and Jin watched as the other man raised one hand towards the sky. ‘We don’t get to see such beautiful night skies in the city.’
But it wasn’t the splendour of the night sky that held Jin’s gaze. The moonlight reflected in his companion’s eyes and the way it created a glow around that pale skin made him brighter than any star. It made Jin want to reach out and touch the other man, but just as he was lifting his hand, his body was suddenly freezing cold and wet.
Kame’s yelp reached his ears before his mind even processed what had happened.
‘Damn it, Ninomiya!’ the other bellowed.
A chuckle came from somewhere above them and when he looked up, the ghost was floating leisurely above their heads, looking amused. Kame opened his mouth to say something else, but all that came out was a loud sneeze.
‘You’d better get changed before you catch a cold,’ Jin said. Kame nodded and turned back towards the resort building, not before throwing another glare at Ninomiya.
And then it was just Jin and the local prankster ghost. Perhaps he should have waited until the whole team was here, but at that moment, Jin had some questions he wanted to know the answers to.
‘What are you still doing here?’ Jin asked after a few minutes of silence.
‘I believe I have already answered that question. I like it here; it’s fun,’ the spirit replied.
‘That was a lie. You’re not playing tricks on couples because it’s fun, you’re doing it because they remind you of what you can never have.’
He wondered if he had gone too far when he didn’t receive an answer, but the ghost didn’t deny the accusation. Instead, he floated slowly down to the spot next to Jin. Jin tried not to shiver from the drop in temperature and the pure creepiness of it all.
His mind shifted through the material they had gathered over the past couple of days and he realised he had no clue about how to approach the topic with Ninomiya. Was Kame also thinking about the case when he had found him staring into space? Kame was all about professionalism and finishing each case as efficiently as he could, but Jin knew that underneath all those layers of designer clothes and that mature attitude, Kame was still that crybaby who bawled over sappy movies.
‘The person you are waiting for is no longer here,’ Jin said, deciding to approach the topic directly. ‘He never returned. His body was never found, but…’
‘There is a possibility that he survived.’ Ninomiya interrupted.
‘Even if he survived, it’s entirely possible that he has died of old age by now,’ Jin argued, but it seemed to be the wrong thing to say, because the temperature around them suddenly dropped further. It hurt to breathe; and as Jin heaved, the warm breath from his mouth formed visible clouds in the air.
‘If he’s retired somewhere with a wife and grandchildren, I’ll haunt him to his death bed.’
‘I believe you, there is no need for a demonstration,’ Jin said through chattering teeth. ‘You’re freezing my lungs.’
Ninomiya showed no signs of having heard him, but the air around them gradually returned to its natural temperature.
‘The man who was with you,’ the spirit changed the subject, ‘Is he your lover?’
‘Only in my dreams,’ Jin replied honestly with a small chuckle.
‘He was so dense you know,’ Ninomiya said in a light tone. ‘I lost count of how many times I had asked him out for a meal, for a drink, to meet away from this god damn river, but he refused me every time.’
Jin didn’t know what to say so he decided to keep quiet.
‘But every time he had to leave for the seas, he would ask Aiba to pass a message to me, asking me to meet him here at the lake. He said that every journey had its dangers and that if he didn’t make it back, then he wanted me to be the person to send him off, that I was the person he never wanted to forget. He was always so gentle on those nights.’
‘Then the last time…’ Jin spoke softly, ‘He didn’t return.’
‘I started waiting for him here. Even when my health protested, even when my actions were discovered and I was locked in, I did everything I could to return here.’
For a long time they both fell silent, Ninomiya probably because he was lost in his memories and Jin because he was lost for words. But just as the lake was lit by a crimson glow, Jin suddenly realised he knew exactly what he needed it say.
‘You don’t need to return here anymore. No one is waiting here for you anymore. You are free to move on.’
When Ninomiya didn’t respond, Jin took a breath and continued.
‘I’m sure you’ll meet again in the next life, even if you both lose your memories of each other.’
Ninomiya chuckled, ‘Everything for a chance?’
It was corny and Kame might have laughed at him, but Jin sincerely believed in what he had said at that moment. As Ninomiya slowly drifted away that night, Jin felt a shift in the atmosphere along the lakeshore. He felt more peaceful at that moment than he had all week.
Later, Koki would protest that they couldn’t be sure that the case was over because Jin wasn’t a medium and what he ‘felt’ could hardly be taken as proof. Fortunately Aiba was so touched by his account that he paid them all handsomely and Kame, wearing his newest pair of designer jeans, closed and archived the case.
14th March - 2.15am
Even after Jin had put the file away with all its attached notes, Ninomiya’s last words refused to disappear from his mind.
‘You precious person, make sure you do everything in your power to keep him by your side, even if you have to be selfish. So that if they are ever taken away from you, you will have no regrets.’
Three days after leaving Aiba’s resort, Jin turned up at Kame’s apartment at two o’clock in the morning.
‘I need to tell you something,’ he said as soon as the door opened and then pushed past a confused Kame with crazy bed hair. Kame rubbed at his eyes and just followed Jin into his own living room.
‘There is something that I have wanted to tell you for a long time,’ he said when Kame made himself comfortable on the other end of the couch and turned towards him.
‘Jin, can’t it wait until I see you at the office tomorrow?’
‘No, because I couldn’t sleep.’
‘And now I can’t sleep either.’
‘I haven’t been able to sleep for days.’ Kame fell silence after that and Jin took a deep breath.
‘In the last case, I felt that what was holding Ninomiya back, his attachment to that river, was because of his regrets. I think deep down he knew that the person he was waiting for wouldn’t return, but he couldn’t let go.’
Kame nodded slowly.
‘So I don’t want to have regrets.’
Kame nodded again. His confused expression coupled with his messily tossed hair at that moment was a sight too adorable for Jin to handle after days of sleep deprivation - or so he told himself, because the speech he had planned on the way to Kame’s apartment evaporated. The next thing he knew was that Kame’s face was a lot closer and his eyes were wide open in shock. But by then Jin’s senses were overloaded with the feel of soft hair from where his fingers were resting on Kame neck and the feeling of being enveloped by the scent of the other man. He let his eyelids drop and closed the distance between them.
Kame’s lips were a little dry, but felt magical under his own. When the other man finally responded to the kiss, Jin moved until they were chest to chest and the palm of his hand found its way under Kame’s silk pyjama top. He broke the kiss with a wide smile on his lips and he thought that the view of Kame’s flushed cheeks was the most amazing sight he had ever seen. Just as he was about to lean in again, he felt a hand against his chest. Kame was still flushed and breathing heavily, but there was a slight frown on his lips.
‘Why are you doing this Jin?’
‘I… we were kissing?’ Jin stuttered, still focusing on Kame’s lips, but the hand on his chest remained firm.
‘Jin…’ Kame said slowly, ‘If you want this to be a casual thing… ‘
‘What?’ Jin cried, throwing himself back against the couch.
‘I mean that’s fine, but are you really sure you know what you’re doing?’ Kame finished.
‘What?’ Jin repeated. ‘No... No, I don’t want this to be casual! What are you talking about?’
‘Well… what do you want then?’
‘I want… you and me…’ Jin cleared his throat and stared at his hands, ‘I want us to be involved… in, you know, a relationship. I’ve wanted us to be together for a while now….’ He admitted and sneaked a look at Kame’s expression.
‘Oh,’ Kame said, sounding a little breathless. ‘You’re not drunk are you?’
Jin looked him hard in the eye. ‘No Kame, I’m not drunk.’
Neither said anything for a few moments and Jin was about to make a run for the door when Kame spoke up again.
‘Jin, I trust you implicitly as a partner, you know that.’
Jin nodded slowly, as his stomach sank. Kame was trying to get him down slowly.
‘That’s why I didn’t ask you questions that I perhaps should have when we met up again. I told myself that I didn’t need to know the answers because they weren’t relevant to our partnership.’
Jin felt his stomach sink lower. He was going to be sick.
‘And about us?’ he asked in a small voice.
‘I can’t…. Not until I know.’ Kame said determinately.
‘But you were just kissing me back before!’
Kame sighed.
‘Why did you leave Jin?’ he asked instead.
Jin opened his mouth and closed it again. My family moved would have been the easy answer, but it wouldn’t answer the unspoken question of Why did you refuse to be my friend and then disappear? The intensity with which Kame was looking at him made Jin’s heart beat a little faster. Somehow he knew that if he lied at this moment, if he didn’t tell Kame the whole truth, he would lose whatever chance he had with the other man.
‘My abilities started developing at that time,’ Jin started, ‘I was confused and… I was afraid.’
Kame’s eyes widened. ‘Then why didn’t you tell me? Didn’t we share everything about our abilities?’
‘It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you,’ Jin said hurriedly, ‘I was afraid of what you would think of me.’
Kame creased his brows, ‘Jin… I would never look at you any different regardless of what you told me. You were… you were my best friend.’
‘I know. You were mine too, but you don’t understand. You would have hated me!’ Jin ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm himself. He couldn’t afford to stuff this up. Kame was staring at him like he didn’t understand.
‘I saw the future, my future.’
‘Yes, I figured that already. That’s your ability after all.’ Kame said.
‘And in that future, I was with you.’
Kame just blinked at him in confusion. ‘I would be surprised if you weren’t. I mean, we were close. I always thought we would be friends for a very long time.’
’No Kame, we were together, but we were more than friends. In these dreams, it was clear that we were very intimate with each other.’
He watched as realisation dawned on the other’s face. Then they fell silent again.
After a while Kame stood up to make them some coffee.
‘Were you really that horrified?’ Kame asked as he placed the empty cup down on the coffee table.
‘What? Yes, I mean no!’
Kame raised an eyebrow.
‘Damn it Kame, I was fifteen and you were thirteen!’ He cried.
‘But still… ‘
‘You would have freaked out and hated me.’ Jin stated.
‘I freaked out and hated you when you ignored me and left.’
‘Oh.’ Jin said. He had already guessed that Kame had been angry with him for being a jerk, but to hear Kame admit that he had hated him still stung. ‘My point is that either way you would have hated me.’
‘I wouldn’t have hated you if you had told me. I would have understood.’ Kame said softly.
‘What are you talking about, Kame? Of course you would have freaked out if I had told you back then that I had dreams of us playing with each other’s hair and waking up naked together. What were you, in love with me?’
Kame blushed a little and rolled his eyes. ‘You could have given me a toned down version.’
‘That was the toned down version.’
Kame just stared at his empty cup.
‘Do you mean that, if I had told you, we could have been walking around the playground holding hands?’
Kame kicked him.
‘Can we… it is still too late to walk around the playground holding hands? I mean I’m not too keen on the playground, but if it means I get to hold hands with you…’ He wanted to clamp a hand over his mouth to stop himself from becoming a blabbering idiot. And now Kame had that pained looked on his face again... The one that clearly said he was trying to find a way to let him down as nicely as he could.
‘Jin’ Kame said gently, ‘Are you sure… are you sure that you don’t just think you like me because of your dreams? Because you saw that in the future we would be together?’
Jin had to remind himself that using violence was not a good way to win people over, especially if the person you intend to use violence against could throw you against the wall with a mere thought.
‘I’m sure,’ Jin said tightly, ‘I’ve tried to run away from this dream Kame, and then I tried to forget it. When nothing worked I learned to live with it and take it for what it was, just a dream. I never went out of my way to make it come true. Meeting up with you was pure chance, or fate, depending on how you want to look at it. I fell in love with you,’ he pointed straight at Kame, ‘not with the person in my dreams.’
Technically they were the same person, but they felt different to Jin. He just didn’t know how to explain it to Kame in a way that would make the other believe him. Jin wanted to pull at his hair in frustration. ‘The me in those dreams… was in love with the you in the dreams, and you loved him back,’ he tried to explain. ‘I could see it and feel it. But that’s not you and me. It could be, in the future, if you want it to be, but it’s only a possibility and I’m not letting that affect how I feel. What I’ve said to you about wanting to be with you? That’s based on my feelings right now, at this moment.’
They locked eyes for a moment before Kame looked away.
‘I think… I think we should both give it some time,’ he said, ‘Then you can be sure about your feelings, and I …. I need to be sure of mine too.’
Jin wanted to scream that he was sure, positive even, of his feelings, but it felt like the conversation was over. Kame refused to meet his eyes and Jin stood up angrily and stalked towards the door. It was after he shut the door behind him that he realised he had dropped the ‘L word’ into the conversation earlier. He placed a palm against his chest in an attempt to calm himself. He was going to have a heart attack and die of pure, unadulterated embarrassment. It was going to be the most pathetic death ever.
21sh March - 1.15pm
Nakamaru had told him three times over the past three days to stop acting weird. Ueda, who was with Nakamaru two out of the three times, had nodded in agreement. Jin also had a feeling that Koki was laughing at him. He thought they should all just mind their own businesses and why were they hanging around the office all the time anyway?
He had always thought that Taguchi was a little too comfortable in what Kame called the ‘Copier room’, even though there was only one tiny photocopier in the corner and the rest of the room was overrun by Taguchi’s equipment. Nakamaru had set up a shop in their archive room. It was really their storage room, but Nakamaru had cleaned it out and now it looked nicer than Jin’s office. Apparently Kame’s old case files and the stacks of books he had collected were invaluable to Nakamaru’s research. Ueda popped in whenever he was bored. It seemed that the television station that he recorded his weekly Medium special in was close to their office. The guy probably made more in each one hour recording than they did in a week, not that Jin had tried to calculate it or anything.
Koki loitered around. He spent half the time flirting with Kame in his office, or at least that was how Jin saw it. He could hear giggles through the wall separating his office from Kame’s. They were worse than women really. The other half of the time he spend on their couch, which was supposed to be for clients, as Jin had to constantly remind him. The monk apparently had selective hearing.
‘If you don’t stop avoiding Kame, he might snap,’ Taguchi said as he entered the bathroom. Jin didn’t mind the occasional small talk in the men’s room, but he wasn’t about to take relationship advice from Taguchi while he was busy. Not that this was a relationship. The precise lack of a relationship was the problem.
Taguchi stopped at the urinal next to his. Jin wanted to kick him, but just stared ahead and read the graffiti instead. At least one of them had bathroom etiquette. Well, there was only one graffiti and Jin had drawn that himself. It was a turtle standing on its two back legs balancing on a pear with the words ‘Kame - nashi’ written overhead. It wasn’t very clear, but Jin had managed to give the turtle eyebrows and a crocked nose.
‘Kame just needs some time. He still remembers how much it hurt when you left him the first time and it’s hard for him to open up to you again. He’s the type of person who’ll be denying himself the thing he wants most just so he can stay in his safe, unhappy but neutral bubble.’
Jin stared at him.
‘The first part is my advice, the last part is Nakamaru’s.’
‘I’m surprised the others didn’t offer their advice too.’ Jin muttered.
‘Ueda says to get over it and Koki suggested locking both of you in the storage room, but then Nakamaru protested.’
Kame snapped later that day. He dragged Jin into the storage room and locked the room after Nakamaru made his escape.
‘Stop being an idiot.’
‘What?’ Jin snapped.
‘Maybe I’m a jerk, but I like this,’ Kame spread his arms to indicate everything around them. ‘I like seeing you everyday at work, I like working together. I like how things are. Can’t we just let things be and see where we go?’ He looked nervous and Jin couldn’t bring himself to say: No, that’s not enough.
‘It’s just you and me right?’ Kame asked softly.
And then Jin couldn’t stop the smile splitting across his face. Sometimes, it was just that simple.
‘Yeah, just you and me.’
Case 02: Nishikido Ryo
July
Kame was missing.
Koki and Nakamaru reasoned that three days was too short to presume that something bad had happened to him, but Jin could tell that they were worried. Ueda was asking his contacts, both living and death, if they had seen a young man fitting Kame’s description and Junno hadn’t touched his game console in days.
If this turned out to be a false alarm, Jin was going to kill Kame; he had even lost weight with the constant worrying. He was afraid to go to sleep. On one hand he might see something that could help them find his partner, on the other hand if he dreamt about Kame’s funeral he doubted he would have the strength to wake up and find the body.
‘Don’t be so pessimistic.’ Koki smacked him on the forehead when he voiced this particular concern.
‘No one is finding anyone’s body.’
He shouldn’t have agreed to let Kame go investigate on his own. In fact, Kame shouldn’t have been investigating at all. He was only supposed to do a routine checkup at Aiba’s resort to see if there had been any supernatural activities causing him trouble. It was perhaps understandable that he went and caught up with Tegoshi, the local gossiper who had proved to be quite the source of information in that case. He wasn’t however, supposed to go off to ‘check out’ a potential case without any background information or backup.
Jin was going to give him a stern talking to when they found him. If Nakamaru didn’t get to him first.
1st July - 10.30am
'Akanishi,' Nakamaru said as he dropped a stack of documents on Jin's desk. Jostled by the sudden movement, the black-framed glasses sat awkwardly balanced on Nakamaru’s nose.
'Have you ever had a vision or a dream deliberately?'
'Huh?'
'Have you,' Nakamaru repeated slowly, 'wanted to have a dream about someone and then actually end up having that dream?'
'I think so?' Jin replied.
Nakamaru rubbed his temples. 'And the dream, were you in it?'
'No.'
'Good. Did you have a close relationship with the person? Or a special connection?'
'I had a dream about my dog. Most of the dream was about him chasing things.' Jin offered.
Nakamaru looked a little disappointed. He took his glasses off and sat down in the spare seat across from Jin's desk.
'And I guess you have a close relationship or special connection with your dog?'
'Nakamaru, I've had him since I was a teenager.' Jin replied, 'Where is this going?'
'It's just different with animals. Your dog depends on you so understandably he would trust you and love you unconditionally. And you do seem to be kind to get attached to pets…’ he muttered.
‘Why are we talking about pets?’
Nakamaru ignored his question. ‘What about humans?' He asked while flicking through his notes.
'Yes,' Jin admitted, and promptly flushed.
Nakamaru's head snapped up in interest. He raised an eyebrow at Jin's blush.
'It's Kame, isn't it?'
'What? How did you-?’
Nakamaru rolled his eyes. 'That's good. There have been many precedents through the centuries of physics communicating via the subconscious dream world.'
'You mean I would be able to talk to Kame and find out where he is?' Jin stood up in excitement.
'Yes, theoretically, if these old reports are to be believed.' He took out a piece of paper with what looked like ten different coloured posted notes stuck onto it.
'What these incidents all have in common is that the psychic and the person they were communicating with were very close. It is that underlying connection or link between them that makes it possible for two people to meet in the subconscious despite physical distance. In most cases they were lovers or family members.'
Jin paled. 'I don't think it will work then,' he said in a small voice.
'What do you mean?'
'Kame doesn't trust me.'
Nakamaru burst into laughter. 'Are you guys having a lovers spat or something?'
'No,' Jin replied sharply, 'We're not together.'
Nakamaru just shook his head. 'Look Akanishi, you said that you have had dreams where you're seen a part of Kame's history or future?'
Jin nodded.
'But you say your ability is usually limited to seeing events that are related to you.'
Jin nodded again.
'Then there is a connection. You might feel like you were forcing your way into Kame's mind to see those visions, and in a way you probably were, but the truth is that it would have been impossible for you to have seen a part of Kame’s life if he had any sort of guard up.'
Jin was still skeptical, not to mention incredibly embarrassed that now Nakamaru knew.
'Kame is a strong, not to mention paranoid, psychic, you wouldn't have been able to see anything if he didn't trust you implicitly. Even average people are subconsciously on guard,' Nakamaru continued, 'Have you ever dreamt anything with any of your other bed partners?'
Jin shook his head.
'Then stop feeling sorry for yourself. Kame is out there somewhere.'
Nakamaru stood up to leave. Just as he was closing to door behind him, he stuck his head back through the door:
'And Akanashi, stop taking advantage of Kame in his sleep.'
2st July - 11.45pm
He couldn’t sleep.
He had managed a couple of hours the night before, but that had been after popping some sleeping pills. He hadn’t dreamed and there was still no sign of Kame.
3st July - 1.00pm
He was trying to listen to the meeting. Nakamaru and Koki were arguing over whether they should go to the police or not. It was like all of the exhaustion that he should have felt over the past week, but didn’t because of the adrenaline, suddenly came crashing down onto him. His eyelids dropped and the next thing he saw was a plain white door in front of him. It was the first time Jin had seen anything like that in a dream.
He was about to knock when the door moved backwards and opened at his slightest touch. Inside seemed to be an endless darkness, but when his eyes adjusted, there was a figure curled up towards the side.
‘Kame?’ He called and his eyes widened when the figure turned towards him.
It was really Kame.
Jin ran towards him. As soon as he stepped through the doorway, the black background disappeared to show a room, an enormous, grand room which looked like a fight had taken place in it. Pieces of a large chandelier were scattered all over the floor and the long table looked like it had been split in half. Now that Jin was closer, he could see that Kame’s skin was covered with scratches and cuts.
‘Don’t worry, they’re not deep,’ Kame said, as if sensing his thoughts.
‘How can I not worry?’ Jin snapped, ‘What the hell happened, Kame? Where are you? Are you still alive?’
Kame chucked. ‘Last time I checked I was still alive, but seeing you now, I’m not so sure anymore.’
‘Oh, Nakamaru said that we might be able to communicate in the dream realm because we have a special connection.’
Kame just raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ll take Nakamaru’s word for it. As for where I am, from Aiba’s resort, keep going north. In the next village ask the villagers for directions to the Dracula mansion.’
‘You’ve got to be kidding.’
‘Now you see why I had to check this out? ‘Dracula mansion’ is just a nickname given to the mansion by the village people, and now it seems the name is quite fitting.’
Jin froze. ‘Kame, are you saying that you’re involved in a vampire case?’
‘Yes,’ Kame said solemnly, ‘Sorry, I though it would be just a joke, you know how village stories are. But this time, it turned out true, even if by coincidence.’
‘What’s going on?’ Jin asked.
‘Apparently there have been several young people missing from the village. According to the elders, this has never happened before. There have always been stories passed down from generation to generation about vampires and this particular mansion but they hadn’t seen or heard anything in their lifetime, until now.’ Kame sighed. ‘There is a recently changed vampire in this mansion.’
Jin opened his mouth, but Kame held up a hand. ‘The one who turned him, his master, left. He must have been some sadistic bastard because the new vampire is confused and as hungry as hell. He hasn’t fed yet. I think the missing people must have been killed by his master before he left.’
‘Kame, you need to get out of here.’
‘I can’t,’ Kame said, ‘If I go, he might attack the villagers. Look Jin, I’ll be fine. He’s a new vampire and he hasn’t fed. He’s weak and may be in a delusional state. I can sleep during the day and keep him at bay during the night.’
‘I’ll come get you as soon as I wake up.’ Jin promised.
‘No Jin, not yet.’ He continued before Jin could protest. ‘Do you have any vampire contacts?’
Jin nodded slowly.
‘Good, ask them to take you to Kimura, they’ll know who I’m talking about. When you meet him, tell him about what’s happened.’
‘When do I come to get you?’ Jin asked.
Kame smiled. ‘I’ll be ok Jin, just do as I say.’
Jin was shaking his head when suddenly noise started to flood the room. The room itself seemed to be becoming distorted. He turned back towards Kame, but the other was suddenly very far away and as hard as he tried, he couldn’t shorten the distance.
It was like being roughly yanked from underwater, and all the surrounding sounds suddenly become overwhelming when your ears first hit the surface.
‘Jin?’ Koki’s face was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. He shoved the other man away and ignored the protests.
‘I know where Kame is,’ Jin said, ‘But he wants us to do something first.’
He had sent Nakamaru, Ueda, Koki and Taguchi to the mansion as backup for Kame. Jin hoped they were smart enough to keep out of danger. No smart human, psychic or not, would ever go looking to involve themselves with vampires.
He wanted to cry in frustration when he received a message from Taguchi, stating that Kame had barricaded the openings. Sometimes Kame was stupid and Jin wanted to grab the man by the shoulders and make him learn to consider his own physical danger before worrying about any risks to others. Beside, Kame should have been preserving his strength and concentrating on defeating his opponent, not wasting his strength on locking himself in.
3st July - 7.45pm
He hadn’t seen Yamashita is years, but at least Jin knew that he would have no trouble recognising the man. They had met at a bar when Jin was barely legal and going through a sexual identity crisis. He had had a little too much to drink and from what Yamashita told him later, he had been proclaiming to the world that he and his childhood best friend would be locking lips and having wild sex five years down the track. The vampire had somehow recognised him for what he was and dragged him out onto the streets with instructions to either sober up or shut up.
They remained friends because Yamashita was a cool guy and he taught Jin to stop feeling sorry for himself. There were others dealing with more unfortunate problems than his ‘pathetic highschool crushes’. Kame had been in middle school, not that Jin was keen on correcting him.
‘Do you know someone called Kimura?’ Jin asked as soon as he saw the other man.
Yamashita looked barely awake, ‘It’s a pretty common name.’
‘A vampire called Kimura then.’
His friend froze. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘I need you to take me to him.’
3rd July - 10.35pm
He was scared. Kame had asked him to meet with a Vampire Lord? Was he absolutely nuts? Didn’t he know that Vampire Lords are monsters who sucked blood from infants and virgin and all things sacred - at least that was what had happened in the last horror movie Jin had seen.
On one hand, having Yamashita standing next to him in the large ball room waiting for an audience with a Vampire Lord was a great comfort. On the other hand, he had a feeling the vampire was taking pleasure in his anxiety. Sadistic bunch, vampires were.
‘Don’t worry, Kimura is a nice enough guy.’ Yamashita said and Jin turned to him gratefully. ‘Unless of course your highschool sweetheart has unknowingly offended him, in which case he can be pretty crazy.’
Jin was in the midst of familiarising himself with the exits when the large double doors opened to reveal a party of people. All the attention was focused on the man in the middle, who Jin assumed was Kimura.
Kimura sad down leisurely on a large chair, which looked like it could be a throne, and continued to chat amiably with his admirers. The room slowly began to fill up as more vampires entered.
Jin fidgeted as he waited to be acknowledged. In the end his concern for Kame’s safety outweighed the concern he had for his own and he cleared his throat loudly.
‘Oh look, where are my manners,’ Kimura sounded amused, ‘We have a guest amongst us.’
‘My name is Kimura Takuya and this is my home.’ The attention of all the vampires in the room was on Jin, who concentrated on standing upright and to appear fearless.
‘It’s rare for us to have human guests you see,’ Kimura was saying, ‘Well, willing human guests, I mean.’
Chuckles filled the room. Jin could feel cold sweat dropping down his neck, but he refused to run away, not when Kame was depending on him.
‘Kamenashi Kazuya asked me to find you,’ Jin said and was proud that his voice remained strong, ‘He’s alone with a newly turned vampire who seems to have gone rogue.’
For a second, Jin had a horrible thought. What if Kimura had forgotten who Kame was? Kame was going to get killed by the rogue vampire and Jin doubted he would be able to leave this room alive. Even if Yamashita wanted to save him, there was no way he would win against a room of vampires.
‘Well that simply won’t do,’ Kimura spoke, ‘After all I have a rather vested interest in Kamenashi-kun.’
The next thing Jin knew, four figures were kneeling down in front of the throne.
‘Ah Goro-chan, see if you can solve this little problem for us?’
‘I can lead you,’ Jin spoke up.
‘No, that’s not necessary. You would only slow them down,’ Kimura said, ‘Don’t worry, my guards will bring Kamenashi-kun back in whatever form they find him in.’
That wasn’t very reassuring, but it wasn’t like Jin was left with much of a choice. He gave directions to the mansion as best as he could and briefly wondered whether he should warn his collegues that the Vampire Lord’s guards were heading their way.
After the guards left, the room broke out into chatter once again. Yamashita was talking excited with a man who he called ‘Tackey’ and who was roughing up his hair and referring to him as ‘Yamapi.’
Jin looked around the room awkwardly only to find Kimura’s gaze staring right at him. Perhaps he should try a little small chat? A Vampire Lord for a friend couldn’t be a bad thing.
‘So you and Kame are friends?’
The man grinned. ‘I am very fond of Kamenashi-kun,’ he said, ‘And he was fond of me too. That is, until I tried to bite him on the neck.’
The conversation died after that. Jin found a corner to hide himself in and waited.
4th July - 3.03am
When the double opened again, Jin could feel his heart pounding so forcefully it physically hurt. He didn’t know how he would react if they brought back Kame’s body.
Fortunately it was Kame who entered the room first, followed by the vampire guards. The last person to enter the room was a man, small and thin in stature, who was sucking on a straw from what looked like a red fruit juice in a clear plastic bottle.
‘Kamenashi-kun,’ Kimura sounded delighted. Kame smiled in return, ‘Kimura-kun.’
There were some hushed whispers from the vampires in the room when Kame addressed their lord so casually, but Kimura himself didn’t seem to mind.
‘For a human you seem to get yourself involved with vampires a little too often. It makes me think that you’ve forgotten our agreement.’
Kame rolled his eyes, ‘Don’t worry, if I ever feel like joining the undead, you’d be the first person I’ll go to.’
‘Still stubborn then,’ Kimura sighed, ‘That’s alright, we have time. I like them willing anyway.’
Jin found it hard to follow the conversation when all he could do was stare at Kame and repeat to himself that Kame was alright. And everything would be alright now because Kame was alive.
‘I see you have wounds,’ Kimura was saying. His tone was still light, but Jin would sense a sharpness in them.
‘Scratches,’ Kame replied. ‘He didn’t bite me. I do know how to defend myself.’
The man at the back of the party snorted before going to drinking from his straw.
‘And you, young one,’ Kimura directed his attention to the man, ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Like I’ve gotten my senses back.’
‘That’s good to hear.’
It was then that Jin realised the man must have been the vampire Kame had been fighting against. He wondered why he didn’t see it immediately; they were both covered with bruises and scratches, probably from throwing each other across the room. Then he noticed the red drink in the man’s hands and paled. He really didn’t want to think about where that came from.
‘Yamashita-kun,’ Kimura called. Yamashita nodded.
‘I hear you have been bored in the recent years.’
Yamashita shrugged. ‘Very little excites me.’
‘Then perhaps you should take a companion.’ Kimura suggested, although Jin was pretty sure his words were meant to be taken more as an order. ‘Our newest member…’
‘Nishikido Ryo,’ the vampire Kame had been fighting with offered.
‘Nishikido-kun would benefit from some guidance when it comes to how things are run in our world. It’s unfortunate that his master has disappeared, but attacking humans, especially psychic humans are not a good idea.’
‘I can see that now,’ Nishikido muttered. He turned towards Kame, ‘I would apologise, but I think we’re pretty even. I attacked you, you threw me against a wall. Multiple times.’
Kame shrugged.
Kimura leaned back against his throne and after a while the noise rose again as the chattering began.
‘We should go,’ Kame hissed to Jin. Jin nodded back blankly. ‘Just stick close to me Jin, we can’t relax until we get back.’
Kame walked closer to Kimura in order to speak to him over the noise.
‘It will be time for your kind to rest soon. We are going to take our leave.’
‘I won’t stop you this time,’ Kimura said, ‘You did us a favour, in preventing more human casualties. Our kind doesn’t like to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves.’
Kame nodded in understanding.
Kimura turned to the man standing behind him. ‘Tackey, will you show our guests out?’
The one named Tackey nodded and motioned for them to follow him. Once they were out of the ballroom and walking along the hallway, Jin felt much lighter.
‘What is your name by the way?’ Tackey asked him.
‘Akanishi Jin’ Jin replied.
‘Are you a psychic too?’
‘Yeah…’ Jin didn’t know how to respond to the attention, but the vampire seemed harmless enough. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Kame turning towards them.
‘You know, the reason why the lord is so interested in your friend is because of his psychic abilities. Apparently the blood of a psychic is different.’
It should have been a hint, but Jin didn’t sense the danger, not until he was suddenly shoved backwards by a weight pushing against the front of his body. And then his vision was filled with a familiar shade of brown hair.
‘Kame?’ He cried and reached for the man in front of him. His hands came into contact with something wet and red.
‘Kame?’ He cried again, this time in desperation. Kame grasped Jin’s hand in his own and gave it a squeeze.
‘I’m alright. It was just a graze.’ Then he turned towards Tackey who was standing surprisingly far from them. Jin wasn’t sure if Kame had flung the vampire backwards or if he had moved there on his own.
‘I’m sure you know that Kimura wouldn’t be pleased to find out that you’ve tasted my blood. He’s made it known that he’s going to be the one tasting my blood and from what I gather, he’s fairly territorial about these things.’ Kame said. Jin was surprised to see a smirk gracing those lips.
‘I can make you an offer,’ Kame continued.
Tackey narrowed his eyes. ‘Oh?’
‘I will forget that this incident ever happened,’ Jin saw Kame’s grin widen as he paused, ‘If you give us a little courtesy call if it appears that Kimura wants to see us again.’
Jin realised that Kame’s eyes were particularly bright when he was up to mischief.
‘Even if I did warn you, I doubt you could outrun him. Besides, didn’t he say that he would wait until you were willing?’
‘As much respect as I have for your leader, I wouldn’t take his word for it. He doesn’t strike me as a patient man.’
Tackey chuckled. ‘I think you might be right about that. You have yourself a deal.’
4th July - 6.15am
After they returned to the office, they answered what seemed like hours worth of questions from Nakamaru and Koki. Luckily Taguchi and Ueda seemed satisfied with the fact that they were both alright. When the four of them finally left, Kame shut the office door behind them with a sigh.
‘I’m too tired to make it home,’ he said and collapsed on the couch.
Jin laughed and shoved at Kame’s legs until he could sit at the other end of the couch. Just as Kame looked like he was going to fall asleep, Jin nudged him with his foot.
‘Huh?’ Kame muttered.
‘Your wounds, are they ok?’
‘They’ll be fine. Nakamaru already wrapped them, remember? Now I feel like a mummy.’
‘Why did you come between Tackey and I?’ Jin asked. It was hope he was feeling, and he couldn’t help himself. What he had felt when he thought he would lose Kame, were feelings that he never wanted to experience again.
‘I don’t know,’ Kame admitted, sitting up. ‘But it turned out well, right? We ended up with the upper hand.’
‘That’s not the point Kame.’ Jin said.
‘I guess my body just moved on its own,’ Kame admitted.
‘Your body moved on its own,’ Jin repeated, ‘You risked yourself to save me without a second thought. Don’t you think that’s telling you something?’
‘Jin…’
‘No Kame, this is getting ridiculous.’ Jin said and reached for Kame’s hand with his own. He held on tighter when Kame tried to pull away. ‘I’ve already told you how I feel, but you still haven’t said anything.’
Jin sighed deeply before continuing. ‘I’m not asking for forever. I’m just asking for a chance. We… we would be great together, I just know it.’
‘I…’
‘Kame,’ Jin snapped, ‘Just admit that you love me.’
Kame’s eyes widened.
‘Nakamaru could tell you about how we have a special link that is only shared between lovers or family members, but I just want to tell you this. I don’t want to lose you, and I think you don’t want to lose me either?’ The last bit wasn’t supposed to be a question, but some of his insecurity crept back in.
‘I don’t want lose you,’ Kame confirmed.
Jin was so relieved he could only make out a: ‘Good.’ Then he crawled across the couch until he pulled Kame into an awkward hug. The hug quickly became less awkward when Kame hugged him back and then when wandering hands got involved, it wasn’t awkward at all.
‘Not forever, but not casual either,’ Kame muttered against his collar bone. Jin tried not to shiver. ‘I guess we’re aiming for something in between?’
Jin nodded. ‘Unless Kimura finally loses his patience and catches us. Then you would be a vampire and I would have to make Yamashita turn me into a vampire and then it would kind of have to be a forever thing. You know, with us being immortal and all.’
Kame just snickered against his shoulder.
Epilogue
28th December - KAT-TUN Psychic Research: 2.30pm
They had a slight disagreement with the name of the office. It had been ‘Kamenashi Psychic Research’ for a long time because Kame was the one who had started the company. Even when Jin joined, he hadn’t thought of changing the name. But now that they were together together, he thought it was only natural for the name to reflect that. Only married couples combine their names on property, Nakamaru had said with a laugh. Who wanted to listen to Nakamaru anyway?
When they received a Christmas card from Tackey of all people, Jin thought it was time to do something about it. He thought Tackey had a gift with nicknames.
Unfortunately Kame didn’t take kindly to AkaKame Psychic Research.
Jin thought it was cute. Kame thought no one would take them seriously.
When Koki saw it he burst into laughter. A few minutes later he was suddenly pissed that the name only referred to Kame and Jin.
‘We’re a team now aren’t we?’ he asked.
And well, they couldn’t really deny that.
Koki and Taguchi played Janken over which ’T’ would go first. Koki sulked for days.
Their last case of the year involved a pair of ghosts who were lovers before their deaths. Apparently they had plans to elope, but the map drawn by the one of them was misinterpreted by his partner and by some freak coincidence, they both died while waiting for each other at different locations.
‘What does he mean my map doesn’t make sense. I’ll have you know it was very artistic!’ the ghost named Sakurai cried.
Jin rubbed his temples.
‘Matsumoto-san says that it clearly looked like a drawing of the beach, so he thought the plan was to escape via the sea,’ Nakamaru tried to explain.
‘It was a map to the train station.’
Nakamaru sneezed. Jin smiled smugly in his humongous jacket. He had come prepared. Kame was standing shivering beside him, looking surprised by the sudden drop in temperature. Jin unzipped his jacket and pulled Kame towards him.
‘What are you doing?’ Kame hissed.
‘Sharing body heat,’ Jin grinned.
‘You’re so lame Akanishi.’ Kame rolled his eyes, but didn’t move away. Fortunately, they were standing a little distance away from where the group was gathered around the spirit. But apparently it was not far away enough because Koki was making gagging sounds in front of them. As the rest of them waited while Nakamaru tried to convince the ghost to pass on, Jin thought about the sea and about his dream where the two of them were in Okinawa, the dream that never happened.
‘Hey Kame?’ he whispered
‘Huh?’
‘What do you think about Okinawa?’
11th March - 3.20am
This time it was Kame sitting alone on the grass, looking out over the water. Jin flopped down next to him and lay back comfortably. He heard a low chuckle and then Kame was lying against the grass too, looking at the sky.
‘Shouldn’t we go to bed? We have an appointment with a ghost scheduled later,’ Jin said.
‘Huh…’ came Kame’s voice and Jin watched as the other man raised one hand towards the sky. ‘We don’t get to see such beautiful night skies in the city.’
But it wasn’t the splendour of the night sky that held Jin’s gaze. The moonlight reflected in his companion’s eyes and the way it created a glow around that pale skin made him brighter than any star. It made Jin want to reach out and touch the other man, but just as he was lifting his hand, his body was suddenly freezing cold and wet.
Kame’s yelp reached his ears before his mind even processed what had happened.
‘Damn it, Ninomiya!’ the other bellowed.
A chuckle came from somewhere above them and when he looked up, the ghost was floating leisurely above their heads, looking amused. Kame opened his mouth to say something else, but all that came out was a loud sneeze.
‘You’d better get changed before you catch a cold,’ Jin said. Kame nodded and turned back towards the resort building, not before throwing another glare at Ninomiya.
And then it was just Jin and the local prankster ghost. Perhaps he should have waited until the whole team was here, but at that moment, Jin had some questions he wanted to know the answers to.
‘What are you still doing here?’ Jin asked after a few minutes of silence.
‘I believe I have already answered that question. I like it here; it’s fun,’ the spirit replied.
‘That was a lie. You’re not playing tricks on couples because it’s fun, you’re doing it because they remind you of what you can never have.’
He wondered if he had gone too far when he didn’t receive an answer, but the ghost didn’t deny the accusation. Instead, he floated slowly down to the spot next to Jin. Jin tried not to shiver from the drop in temperature and the pure creepiness of it all.
His mind shifted through the material they had gathered over the past couple of days and he realised he had no clue about how to approach the topic with Ninomiya. Was Kame also thinking about the case when he had found him staring into space? Kame was all about professionalism and finishing each case as efficiently as he could, but Jin knew that underneath all those layers of designer clothes and that mature attitude, Kame was still that crybaby who bawled over sappy movies.
‘The person you are waiting for is no longer here,’ Jin said, deciding to approach the topic directly. ‘He never returned. His body was never found, but…’
‘There is a possibility that he survived.’ Ninomiya interrupted.
‘Even if he survived, it’s entirely possible that he has died of old age by now,’ Jin argued, but it seemed to be the wrong thing to say, because the temperature around them suddenly dropped further. It hurt to breathe; and as Jin heaved, the warm breath from his mouth formed visible clouds in the air.
‘If he’s retired somewhere with a wife and grandchildren, I’ll haunt him to his death bed.’
‘I believe you, there is no need for a demonstration,’ Jin said through chattering teeth. ‘You’re freezing my lungs.’
Ninomiya showed no signs of having heard him, but the air around them gradually returned to its natural temperature.
‘The man who was with you,’ the spirit changed the subject, ‘Is he your lover?’
‘Only in my dreams,’ Jin replied honestly with a small chuckle.
‘He was so dense you know,’ Ninomiya said in a light tone. ‘I lost count of how many times I had asked him out for a meal, for a drink, to meet away from this god damn river, but he refused me every time.’
Jin didn’t know what to say so he decided to keep quiet.
‘But every time he had to leave for the seas, he would ask Aiba to pass a message to me, asking me to meet him here at the lake. He said that every journey had its dangers and that if he didn’t make it back, then he wanted me to be the person to send him off, that I was the person he never wanted to forget. He was always so gentle on those nights.’
‘Then the last time…’ Jin spoke softly, ‘He didn’t return.’
‘I started waiting for him here. Even when my health protested, even when my actions were discovered and I was locked in, I did everything I could to return here.’
For a long time they both fell silent, Ninomiya probably because he was lost in his memories and Jin because he was lost for words. But just as the lake was lit by a crimson glow, Jin suddenly realised he knew exactly what he needed it say.
‘You don’t need to return here anymore. No one is waiting here for you anymore. You are free to move on.’
When Ninomiya didn’t respond, Jin took a breath and continued.
‘I’m sure you’ll meet again in the next life, even if you both lose your memories of each other.’
Ninomiya chuckled, ‘Everything for a chance?’
It was corny and Kame might have laughed at him, but Jin sincerely believed in what he had said at that moment. As Ninomiya slowly drifted away that night, Jin felt a shift in the atmosphere along the lakeshore. He felt more peaceful at that moment than he had all week.
Later, Koki would protest that they couldn’t be sure that the case was over because Jin wasn’t a medium and what he ‘felt’ could hardly be taken as proof. Fortunately Aiba was so touched by his account that he paid them all handsomely and Kame, wearing his newest pair of designer jeans, closed and archived the case.
14th March - 2.15am
Even after Jin had put the file away with all its attached notes, Ninomiya’s last words refused to disappear from his mind.
‘You precious person, make sure you do everything in your power to keep him by your side, even if you have to be selfish. So that if they are ever taken away from you, you will have no regrets.’
Three days after leaving Aiba’s resort, Jin turned up at Kame’s apartment at two o’clock in the morning.
‘I need to tell you something,’ he said as soon as the door opened and then pushed past a confused Kame with crazy bed hair. Kame rubbed at his eyes and just followed Jin into his own living room.
‘There is something that I have wanted to tell you for a long time,’ he said when Kame made himself comfortable on the other end of the couch and turned towards him.
‘Jin, can’t it wait until I see you at the office tomorrow?’
‘No, because I couldn’t sleep.’
‘And now I can’t sleep either.’
‘I haven’t been able to sleep for days.’ Kame fell silence after that and Jin took a deep breath.
‘In the last case, I felt that what was holding Ninomiya back, his attachment to that river, was because of his regrets. I think deep down he knew that the person he was waiting for wouldn’t return, but he couldn’t let go.’
Kame nodded slowly.
‘So I don’t want to have regrets.’
Kame nodded again. His confused expression coupled with his messily tossed hair at that moment was a sight too adorable for Jin to handle after days of sleep deprivation - or so he told himself, because the speech he had planned on the way to Kame’s apartment evaporated. The next thing he knew was that Kame’s face was a lot closer and his eyes were wide open in shock. But by then Jin’s senses were overloaded with the feel of soft hair from where his fingers were resting on Kame neck and the feeling of being enveloped by the scent of the other man. He let his eyelids drop and closed the distance between them.
Kame’s lips were a little dry, but felt magical under his own. When the other man finally responded to the kiss, Jin moved until they were chest to chest and the palm of his hand found its way under Kame’s silk pyjama top. He broke the kiss with a wide smile on his lips and he thought that the view of Kame’s flushed cheeks was the most amazing sight he had ever seen. Just as he was about to lean in again, he felt a hand against his chest. Kame was still flushed and breathing heavily, but there was a slight frown on his lips.
‘Why are you doing this Jin?’
‘I… we were kissing?’ Jin stuttered, still focusing on Kame’s lips, but the hand on his chest remained firm.
‘Jin…’ Kame said slowly, ‘If you want this to be a casual thing… ‘
‘What?’ Jin cried, throwing himself back against the couch.
‘I mean that’s fine, but are you really sure you know what you’re doing?’ Kame finished.
‘What?’ Jin repeated. ‘No... No, I don’t want this to be casual! What are you talking about?’
‘Well… what do you want then?’
‘I want… you and me…’ Jin cleared his throat and stared at his hands, ‘I want us to be involved… in, you know, a relationship. I’ve wanted us to be together for a while now….’ He admitted and sneaked a look at Kame’s expression.
‘Oh,’ Kame said, sounding a little breathless. ‘You’re not drunk are you?’
Jin looked him hard in the eye. ‘No Kame, I’m not drunk.’
Neither said anything for a few moments and Jin was about to make a run for the door when Kame spoke up again.
‘Jin, I trust you implicitly as a partner, you know that.’
Jin nodded slowly, as his stomach sank. Kame was trying to get him down slowly.
‘That’s why I didn’t ask you questions that I perhaps should have when we met up again. I told myself that I didn’t need to know the answers because they weren’t relevant to our partnership.’
Jin felt his stomach sink lower. He was going to be sick.
‘And about us?’ he asked in a small voice.
‘I can’t…. Not until I know.’ Kame said determinately.
‘But you were just kissing me back before!’
Kame sighed.
‘Why did you leave Jin?’ he asked instead.
Jin opened his mouth and closed it again. My family moved would have been the easy answer, but it wouldn’t answer the unspoken question of Why did you refuse to be my friend and then disappear? The intensity with which Kame was looking at him made Jin’s heart beat a little faster. Somehow he knew that if he lied at this moment, if he didn’t tell Kame the whole truth, he would lose whatever chance he had with the other man.
‘My abilities started developing at that time,’ Jin started, ‘I was confused and… I was afraid.’
Kame’s eyes widened. ‘Then why didn’t you tell me? Didn’t we share everything about our abilities?’
‘It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you,’ Jin said hurriedly, ‘I was afraid of what you would think of me.’
Kame creased his brows, ‘Jin… I would never look at you any different regardless of what you told me. You were… you were my best friend.’
‘I know. You were mine too, but you don’t understand. You would have hated me!’ Jin ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm himself. He couldn’t afford to stuff this up. Kame was staring at him like he didn’t understand.
‘I saw the future, my future.’
‘Yes, I figured that already. That’s your ability after all.’ Kame said.
‘And in that future, I was with you.’
Kame just blinked at him in confusion. ‘I would be surprised if you weren’t. I mean, we were close. I always thought we would be friends for a very long time.’
’No Kame, we were together, but we were more than friends. In these dreams, it was clear that we were very intimate with each other.’
He watched as realisation dawned on the other’s face. Then they fell silent again.
After a while Kame stood up to make them some coffee.
‘Were you really that horrified?’ Kame asked as he placed the empty cup down on the coffee table.
‘What? Yes, I mean no!’
Kame raised an eyebrow.
‘Damn it Kame, I was fifteen and you were thirteen!’ He cried.
‘But still… ‘
‘You would have freaked out and hated me.’ Jin stated.
‘I freaked out and hated you when you ignored me and left.’
‘Oh.’ Jin said. He had already guessed that Kame had been angry with him for being a jerk, but to hear Kame admit that he had hated him still stung. ‘My point is that either way you would have hated me.’
‘I wouldn’t have hated you if you had told me. I would have understood.’ Kame said softly.
‘What are you talking about, Kame? Of course you would have freaked out if I had told you back then that I had dreams of us playing with each other’s hair and waking up naked together. What were you, in love with me?’
Kame blushed a little and rolled his eyes. ‘You could have given me a toned down version.’
‘That was the toned down version.’
Kame just stared at his empty cup.
‘Do you mean that, if I had told you, we could have been walking around the playground holding hands?’
Kame kicked him.
‘Can we… it is still too late to walk around the playground holding hands? I mean I’m not too keen on the playground, but if it means I get to hold hands with you…’ He wanted to clamp a hand over his mouth to stop himself from becoming a blabbering idiot. And now Kame had that pained looked on his face again... The one that clearly said he was trying to find a way to let him down as nicely as he could.
‘Jin’ Kame said gently, ‘Are you sure… are you sure that you don’t just think you like me because of your dreams? Because you saw that in the future we would be together?’
Jin had to remind himself that using violence was not a good way to win people over, especially if the person you intend to use violence against could throw you against the wall with a mere thought.
‘I’m sure,’ Jin said tightly, ‘I’ve tried to run away from this dream Kame, and then I tried to forget it. When nothing worked I learned to live with it and take it for what it was, just a dream. I never went out of my way to make it come true. Meeting up with you was pure chance, or fate, depending on how you want to look at it. I fell in love with you,’ he pointed straight at Kame, ‘not with the person in my dreams.’
Technically they were the same person, but they felt different to Jin. He just didn’t know how to explain it to Kame in a way that would make the other believe him. Jin wanted to pull at his hair in frustration. ‘The me in those dreams… was in love with the you in the dreams, and you loved him back,’ he tried to explain. ‘I could see it and feel it. But that’s not you and me. It could be, in the future, if you want it to be, but it’s only a possibility and I’m not letting that affect how I feel. What I’ve said to you about wanting to be with you? That’s based on my feelings right now, at this moment.’
They locked eyes for a moment before Kame looked away.
‘I think… I think we should both give it some time,’ he said, ‘Then you can be sure about your feelings, and I …. I need to be sure of mine too.’
Jin wanted to scream that he was sure, positive even, of his feelings, but it felt like the conversation was over. Kame refused to meet his eyes and Jin stood up angrily and stalked towards the door. It was after he shut the door behind him that he realised he had dropped the ‘L word’ into the conversation earlier. He placed a palm against his chest in an attempt to calm himself. He was going to have a heart attack and die of pure, unadulterated embarrassment. It was going to be the most pathetic death ever.
21sh March - 1.15pm
Nakamaru had told him three times over the past three days to stop acting weird. Ueda, who was with Nakamaru two out of the three times, had nodded in agreement. Jin also had a feeling that Koki was laughing at him. He thought they should all just mind their own businesses and why were they hanging around the office all the time anyway?
He had always thought that Taguchi was a little too comfortable in what Kame called the ‘Copier room’, even though there was only one tiny photocopier in the corner and the rest of the room was overrun by Taguchi’s equipment. Nakamaru had set up a shop in their archive room. It was really their storage room, but Nakamaru had cleaned it out and now it looked nicer than Jin’s office. Apparently Kame’s old case files and the stacks of books he had collected were invaluable to Nakamaru’s research. Ueda popped in whenever he was bored. It seemed that the television station that he recorded his weekly Medium special in was close to their office. The guy probably made more in each one hour recording than they did in a week, not that Jin had tried to calculate it or anything.
Koki loitered around. He spent half the time flirting with Kame in his office, or at least that was how Jin saw it. He could hear giggles through the wall separating his office from Kame’s. They were worse than women really. The other half of the time he spend on their couch, which was supposed to be for clients, as Jin had to constantly remind him. The monk apparently had selective hearing.
‘If you don’t stop avoiding Kame, he might snap,’ Taguchi said as he entered the bathroom. Jin didn’t mind the occasional small talk in the men’s room, but he wasn’t about to take relationship advice from Taguchi while he was busy. Not that this was a relationship. The precise lack of a relationship was the problem.
Taguchi stopped at the urinal next to his. Jin wanted to kick him, but just stared ahead and read the graffiti instead. At least one of them had bathroom etiquette. Well, there was only one graffiti and Jin had drawn that himself. It was a turtle standing on its two back legs balancing on a pear with the words ‘Kame - nashi’ written overhead. It wasn’t very clear, but Jin had managed to give the turtle eyebrows and a crocked nose.
‘Kame just needs some time. He still remembers how much it hurt when you left him the first time and it’s hard for him to open up to you again. He’s the type of person who’ll be denying himself the thing he wants most just so he can stay in his safe, unhappy but neutral bubble.’
Jin stared at him.
‘The first part is my advice, the last part is Nakamaru’s.’
‘I’m surprised the others didn’t offer their advice too.’ Jin muttered.
‘Ueda says to get over it and Koki suggested locking both of you in the storage room, but then Nakamaru protested.’
Kame snapped later that day. He dragged Jin into the storage room and locked the room after Nakamaru made his escape.
‘Stop being an idiot.’
‘What?’ Jin snapped.
‘Maybe I’m a jerk, but I like this,’ Kame spread his arms to indicate everything around them. ‘I like seeing you everyday at work, I like working together. I like how things are. Can’t we just let things be and see where we go?’ He looked nervous and Jin couldn’t bring himself to say: No, that’s not enough.
‘It’s just you and me right?’ Kame asked softly.
And then Jin couldn’t stop the smile splitting across his face. Sometimes, it was just that simple.
‘Yeah, just you and me.’
Case 02: Nishikido Ryo
July
Kame was missing.
Koki and Nakamaru reasoned that three days was too short to presume that something bad had happened to him, but Jin could tell that they were worried. Ueda was asking his contacts, both living and death, if they had seen a young man fitting Kame’s description and Junno hadn’t touched his game console in days.
If this turned out to be a false alarm, Jin was going to kill Kame; he had even lost weight with the constant worrying. He was afraid to go to sleep. On one hand he might see something that could help them find his partner, on the other hand if he dreamt about Kame’s funeral he doubted he would have the strength to wake up and find the body.
‘Don’t be so pessimistic.’ Koki smacked him on the forehead when he voiced this particular concern.
‘No one is finding anyone’s body.’
He shouldn’t have agreed to let Kame go investigate on his own. In fact, Kame shouldn’t have been investigating at all. He was only supposed to do a routine checkup at Aiba’s resort to see if there had been any supernatural activities causing him trouble. It was perhaps understandable that he went and caught up with Tegoshi, the local gossiper who had proved to be quite the source of information in that case. He wasn’t however, supposed to go off to ‘check out’ a potential case without any background information or backup.
Jin was going to give him a stern talking to when they found him. If Nakamaru didn’t get to him first.
1st July - 10.30am
'Akanishi,' Nakamaru said as he dropped a stack of documents on Jin's desk. Jostled by the sudden movement, the black-framed glasses sat awkwardly balanced on Nakamaru’s nose.
'Have you ever had a vision or a dream deliberately?'
'Huh?'
'Have you,' Nakamaru repeated slowly, 'wanted to have a dream about someone and then actually end up having that dream?'
'I think so?' Jin replied.
Nakamaru rubbed his temples. 'And the dream, were you in it?'
'No.'
'Good. Did you have a close relationship with the person? Or a special connection?'
'I had a dream about my dog. Most of the dream was about him chasing things.' Jin offered.
Nakamaru looked a little disappointed. He took his glasses off and sat down in the spare seat across from Jin's desk.
'And I guess you have a close relationship or special connection with your dog?'
'Nakamaru, I've had him since I was a teenager.' Jin replied, 'Where is this going?'
'It's just different with animals. Your dog depends on you so understandably he would trust you and love you unconditionally. And you do seem to be kind to get attached to pets…’ he muttered.
‘Why are we talking about pets?’
Nakamaru ignored his question. ‘What about humans?' He asked while flicking through his notes.
'Yes,' Jin admitted, and promptly flushed.
Nakamaru's head snapped up in interest. He raised an eyebrow at Jin's blush.
'It's Kame, isn't it?'
'What? How did you-?’
Nakamaru rolled his eyes. 'That's good. There have been many precedents through the centuries of physics communicating via the subconscious dream world.'
'You mean I would be able to talk to Kame and find out where he is?' Jin stood up in excitement.
'Yes, theoretically, if these old reports are to be believed.' He took out a piece of paper with what looked like ten different coloured posted notes stuck onto it.
'What these incidents all have in common is that the psychic and the person they were communicating with were very close. It is that underlying connection or link between them that makes it possible for two people to meet in the subconscious despite physical distance. In most cases they were lovers or family members.'
Jin paled. 'I don't think it will work then,' he said in a small voice.
'What do you mean?'
'Kame doesn't trust me.'
Nakamaru burst into laughter. 'Are you guys having a lovers spat or something?'
'No,' Jin replied sharply, 'We're not together.'
Nakamaru just shook his head. 'Look Akanishi, you said that you have had dreams where you're seen a part of Kame's history or future?'
Jin nodded.
'But you say your ability is usually limited to seeing events that are related to you.'
Jin nodded again.
'Then there is a connection. You might feel like you were forcing your way into Kame's mind to see those visions, and in a way you probably were, but the truth is that it would have been impossible for you to have seen a part of Kame’s life if he had any sort of guard up.'
Jin was still skeptical, not to mention incredibly embarrassed that now Nakamaru knew.
'Kame is a strong, not to mention paranoid, psychic, you wouldn't have been able to see anything if he didn't trust you implicitly. Even average people are subconsciously on guard,' Nakamaru continued, 'Have you ever dreamt anything with any of your other bed partners?'
Jin shook his head.
'Then stop feeling sorry for yourself. Kame is out there somewhere.'
Nakamaru stood up to leave. Just as he was closing to door behind him, he stuck his head back through the door:
'And Akanashi, stop taking advantage of Kame in his sleep.'
2st July - 11.45pm
He couldn’t sleep.
He had managed a couple of hours the night before, but that had been after popping some sleeping pills. He hadn’t dreamed and there was still no sign of Kame.
3st July - 1.00pm
He was trying to listen to the meeting. Nakamaru and Koki were arguing over whether they should go to the police or not. It was like all of the exhaustion that he should have felt over the past week, but didn’t because of the adrenaline, suddenly came crashing down onto him. His eyelids dropped and the next thing he saw was a plain white door in front of him. It was the first time Jin had seen anything like that in a dream.
He was about to knock when the door moved backwards and opened at his slightest touch. Inside seemed to be an endless darkness, but when his eyes adjusted, there was a figure curled up towards the side.
‘Kame?’ He called and his eyes widened when the figure turned towards him.
It was really Kame.
Jin ran towards him. As soon as he stepped through the doorway, the black background disappeared to show a room, an enormous, grand room which looked like a fight had taken place in it. Pieces of a large chandelier were scattered all over the floor and the long table looked like it had been split in half. Now that Jin was closer, he could see that Kame’s skin was covered with scratches and cuts.
‘Don’t worry, they’re not deep,’ Kame said, as if sensing his thoughts.
‘How can I not worry?’ Jin snapped, ‘What the hell happened, Kame? Where are you? Are you still alive?’
Kame chucked. ‘Last time I checked I was still alive, but seeing you now, I’m not so sure anymore.’
‘Oh, Nakamaru said that we might be able to communicate in the dream realm because we have a special connection.’
Kame just raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ll take Nakamaru’s word for it. As for where I am, from Aiba’s resort, keep going north. In the next village ask the villagers for directions to the Dracula mansion.’
‘You’ve got to be kidding.’
‘Now you see why I had to check this out? ‘Dracula mansion’ is just a nickname given to the mansion by the village people, and now it seems the name is quite fitting.’
Jin froze. ‘Kame, are you saying that you’re involved in a vampire case?’
‘Yes,’ Kame said solemnly, ‘Sorry, I though it would be just a joke, you know how village stories are. But this time, it turned out true, even if by coincidence.’
‘What’s going on?’ Jin asked.
‘Apparently there have been several young people missing from the village. According to the elders, this has never happened before. There have always been stories passed down from generation to generation about vampires and this particular mansion but they hadn’t seen or heard anything in their lifetime, until now.’ Kame sighed. ‘There is a recently changed vampire in this mansion.’
Jin opened his mouth, but Kame held up a hand. ‘The one who turned him, his master, left. He must have been some sadistic bastard because the new vampire is confused and as hungry as hell. He hasn’t fed yet. I think the missing people must have been killed by his master before he left.’
‘Kame, you need to get out of here.’
‘I can’t,’ Kame said, ‘If I go, he might attack the villagers. Look Jin, I’ll be fine. He’s a new vampire and he hasn’t fed. He’s weak and may be in a delusional state. I can sleep during the day and keep him at bay during the night.’
‘I’ll come get you as soon as I wake up.’ Jin promised.
‘No Jin, not yet.’ He continued before Jin could protest. ‘Do you have any vampire contacts?’
Jin nodded slowly.
‘Good, ask them to take you to Kimura, they’ll know who I’m talking about. When you meet him, tell him about what’s happened.’
‘When do I come to get you?’ Jin asked.
Kame smiled. ‘I’ll be ok Jin, just do as I say.’
Jin was shaking his head when suddenly noise started to flood the room. The room itself seemed to be becoming distorted. He turned back towards Kame, but the other was suddenly very far away and as hard as he tried, he couldn’t shorten the distance.
It was like being roughly yanked from underwater, and all the surrounding sounds suddenly become overwhelming when your ears first hit the surface.
‘Jin?’ Koki’s face was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. He shoved the other man away and ignored the protests.
‘I know where Kame is,’ Jin said, ‘But he wants us to do something first.’
He had sent Nakamaru, Ueda, Koki and Taguchi to the mansion as backup for Kame. Jin hoped they were smart enough to keep out of danger. No smart human, psychic or not, would ever go looking to involve themselves with vampires.
He wanted to cry in frustration when he received a message from Taguchi, stating that Kame had barricaded the openings. Sometimes Kame was stupid and Jin wanted to grab the man by the shoulders and make him learn to consider his own physical danger before worrying about any risks to others. Beside, Kame should have been preserving his strength and concentrating on defeating his opponent, not wasting his strength on locking himself in.
3st July - 7.45pm
He hadn’t seen Yamashita is years, but at least Jin knew that he would have no trouble recognising the man. They had met at a bar when Jin was barely legal and going through a sexual identity crisis. He had had a little too much to drink and from what Yamashita told him later, he had been proclaiming to the world that he and his childhood best friend would be locking lips and having wild sex five years down the track. The vampire had somehow recognised him for what he was and dragged him out onto the streets with instructions to either sober up or shut up.
They remained friends because Yamashita was a cool guy and he taught Jin to stop feeling sorry for himself. There were others dealing with more unfortunate problems than his ‘pathetic highschool crushes’. Kame had been in middle school, not that Jin was keen on correcting him.
‘Do you know someone called Kimura?’ Jin asked as soon as he saw the other man.
Yamashita looked barely awake, ‘It’s a pretty common name.’
‘A vampire called Kimura then.’
His friend froze. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘I need you to take me to him.’
3rd July - 10.35pm
He was scared. Kame had asked him to meet with a Vampire Lord? Was he absolutely nuts? Didn’t he know that Vampire Lords are monsters who sucked blood from infants and virgin and all things sacred - at least that was what had happened in the last horror movie Jin had seen.
On one hand, having Yamashita standing next to him in the large ball room waiting for an audience with a Vampire Lord was a great comfort. On the other hand, he had a feeling the vampire was taking pleasure in his anxiety. Sadistic bunch, vampires were.
‘Don’t worry, Kimura is a nice enough guy.’ Yamashita said and Jin turned to him gratefully. ‘Unless of course your highschool sweetheart has unknowingly offended him, in which case he can be pretty crazy.’
Jin was in the midst of familiarising himself with the exits when the large double doors opened to reveal a party of people. All the attention was focused on the man in the middle, who Jin assumed was Kimura.
Kimura sad down leisurely on a large chair, which looked like it could be a throne, and continued to chat amiably with his admirers. The room slowly began to fill up as more vampires entered.
Jin fidgeted as he waited to be acknowledged. In the end his concern for Kame’s safety outweighed the concern he had for his own and he cleared his throat loudly.
‘Oh look, where are my manners,’ Kimura sounded amused, ‘We have a guest amongst us.’
‘My name is Kimura Takuya and this is my home.’ The attention of all the vampires in the room was on Jin, who concentrated on standing upright and to appear fearless.
‘It’s rare for us to have human guests you see,’ Kimura was saying, ‘Well, willing human guests, I mean.’
Chuckles filled the room. Jin could feel cold sweat dropping down his neck, but he refused to run away, not when Kame was depending on him.
‘Kamenashi Kazuya asked me to find you,’ Jin said and was proud that his voice remained strong, ‘He’s alone with a newly turned vampire who seems to have gone rogue.’
For a second, Jin had a horrible thought. What if Kimura had forgotten who Kame was? Kame was going to get killed by the rogue vampire and Jin doubted he would be able to leave this room alive. Even if Yamashita wanted to save him, there was no way he would win against a room of vampires.
‘Well that simply won’t do,’ Kimura spoke, ‘After all I have a rather vested interest in Kamenashi-kun.’
The next thing Jin knew, four figures were kneeling down in front of the throne.
‘Ah Goro-chan, see if you can solve this little problem for us?’
‘I can lead you,’ Jin spoke up.
‘No, that’s not necessary. You would only slow them down,’ Kimura said, ‘Don’t worry, my guards will bring Kamenashi-kun back in whatever form they find him in.’
That wasn’t very reassuring, but it wasn’t like Jin was left with much of a choice. He gave directions to the mansion as best as he could and briefly wondered whether he should warn his collegues that the Vampire Lord’s guards were heading their way.
After the guards left, the room broke out into chatter once again. Yamashita was talking excited with a man who he called ‘Tackey’ and who was roughing up his hair and referring to him as ‘Yamapi.’
Jin looked around the room awkwardly only to find Kimura’s gaze staring right at him. Perhaps he should try a little small chat? A Vampire Lord for a friend couldn’t be a bad thing.
‘So you and Kame are friends?’
The man grinned. ‘I am very fond of Kamenashi-kun,’ he said, ‘And he was fond of me too. That is, until I tried to bite him on the neck.’
The conversation died after that. Jin found a corner to hide himself in and waited.
4th July - 3.03am
When the double opened again, Jin could feel his heart pounding so forcefully it physically hurt. He didn’t know how he would react if they brought back Kame’s body.
Fortunately it was Kame who entered the room first, followed by the vampire guards. The last person to enter the room was a man, small and thin in stature, who was sucking on a straw from what looked like a red fruit juice in a clear plastic bottle.
‘Kamenashi-kun,’ Kimura sounded delighted. Kame smiled in return, ‘Kimura-kun.’
There were some hushed whispers from the vampires in the room when Kame addressed their lord so casually, but Kimura himself didn’t seem to mind.
‘For a human you seem to get yourself involved with vampires a little too often. It makes me think that you’ve forgotten our agreement.’
Kame rolled his eyes, ‘Don’t worry, if I ever feel like joining the undead, you’d be the first person I’ll go to.’
‘Still stubborn then,’ Kimura sighed, ‘That’s alright, we have time. I like them willing anyway.’
Jin found it hard to follow the conversation when all he could do was stare at Kame and repeat to himself that Kame was alright. And everything would be alright now because Kame was alive.
‘I see you have wounds,’ Kimura was saying. His tone was still light, but Jin would sense a sharpness in them.
‘Scratches,’ Kame replied. ‘He didn’t bite me. I do know how to defend myself.’
The man at the back of the party snorted before going to drinking from his straw.
‘And you, young one,’ Kimura directed his attention to the man, ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Like I’ve gotten my senses back.’
‘That’s good to hear.’
It was then that Jin realised the man must have been the vampire Kame had been fighting against. He wondered why he didn’t see it immediately; they were both covered with bruises and scratches, probably from throwing each other across the room. Then he noticed the red drink in the man’s hands and paled. He really didn’t want to think about where that came from.
‘Yamashita-kun,’ Kimura called. Yamashita nodded.
‘I hear you have been bored in the recent years.’
Yamashita shrugged. ‘Very little excites me.’
‘Then perhaps you should take a companion.’ Kimura suggested, although Jin was pretty sure his words were meant to be taken more as an order. ‘Our newest member…’
‘Nishikido Ryo,’ the vampire Kame had been fighting with offered.
‘Nishikido-kun would benefit from some guidance when it comes to how things are run in our world. It’s unfortunate that his master has disappeared, but attacking humans, especially psychic humans are not a good idea.’
‘I can see that now,’ Nishikido muttered. He turned towards Kame, ‘I would apologise, but I think we’re pretty even. I attacked you, you threw me against a wall. Multiple times.’
Kame shrugged.
Kimura leaned back against his throne and after a while the noise rose again as the chattering began.
‘We should go,’ Kame hissed to Jin. Jin nodded back blankly. ‘Just stick close to me Jin, we can’t relax until we get back.’
Kame walked closer to Kimura in order to speak to him over the noise.
‘It will be time for your kind to rest soon. We are going to take our leave.’
‘I won’t stop you this time,’ Kimura said, ‘You did us a favour, in preventing more human casualties. Our kind doesn’t like to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves.’
Kame nodded in understanding.
Kimura turned to the man standing behind him. ‘Tackey, will you show our guests out?’
The one named Tackey nodded and motioned for them to follow him. Once they were out of the ballroom and walking along the hallway, Jin felt much lighter.
‘What is your name by the way?’ Tackey asked him.
‘Akanishi Jin’ Jin replied.
‘Are you a psychic too?’
‘Yeah…’ Jin didn’t know how to respond to the attention, but the vampire seemed harmless enough. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Kame turning towards them.
‘You know, the reason why the lord is so interested in your friend is because of his psychic abilities. Apparently the blood of a psychic is different.’
It should have been a hint, but Jin didn’t sense the danger, not until he was suddenly shoved backwards by a weight pushing against the front of his body. And then his vision was filled with a familiar shade of brown hair.
‘Kame?’ He cried and reached for the man in front of him. His hands came into contact with something wet and red.
‘Kame?’ He cried again, this time in desperation. Kame grasped Jin’s hand in his own and gave it a squeeze.
‘I’m alright. It was just a graze.’ Then he turned towards Tackey who was standing surprisingly far from them. Jin wasn’t sure if Kame had flung the vampire backwards or if he had moved there on his own.
‘I’m sure you know that Kimura wouldn’t be pleased to find out that you’ve tasted my blood. He’s made it known that he’s going to be the one tasting my blood and from what I gather, he’s fairly territorial about these things.’ Kame said. Jin was surprised to see a smirk gracing those lips.
‘I can make you an offer,’ Kame continued.
Tackey narrowed his eyes. ‘Oh?’
‘I will forget that this incident ever happened,’ Jin saw Kame’s grin widen as he paused, ‘If you give us a little courtesy call if it appears that Kimura wants to see us again.’
Jin realised that Kame’s eyes were particularly bright when he was up to mischief.
‘Even if I did warn you, I doubt you could outrun him. Besides, didn’t he say that he would wait until you were willing?’
‘As much respect as I have for your leader, I wouldn’t take his word for it. He doesn’t strike me as a patient man.’
Tackey chuckled. ‘I think you might be right about that. You have yourself a deal.’
4th July - 6.15am
After they returned to the office, they answered what seemed like hours worth of questions from Nakamaru and Koki. Luckily Taguchi and Ueda seemed satisfied with the fact that they were both alright. When the four of them finally left, Kame shut the office door behind them with a sigh.
‘I’m too tired to make it home,’ he said and collapsed on the couch.
Jin laughed and shoved at Kame’s legs until he could sit at the other end of the couch. Just as Kame looked like he was going to fall asleep, Jin nudged him with his foot.
‘Huh?’ Kame muttered.
‘Your wounds, are they ok?’
‘They’ll be fine. Nakamaru already wrapped them, remember? Now I feel like a mummy.’
‘Why did you come between Tackey and I?’ Jin asked. It was hope he was feeling, and he couldn’t help himself. What he had felt when he thought he would lose Kame, were feelings that he never wanted to experience again.
‘I don’t know,’ Kame admitted, sitting up. ‘But it turned out well, right? We ended up with the upper hand.’
‘That’s not the point Kame.’ Jin said.
‘I guess my body just moved on its own,’ Kame admitted.
‘Your body moved on its own,’ Jin repeated, ‘You risked yourself to save me without a second thought. Don’t you think that’s telling you something?’
‘Jin…’
‘No Kame, this is getting ridiculous.’ Jin said and reached for Kame’s hand with his own. He held on tighter when Kame tried to pull away. ‘I’ve already told you how I feel, but you still haven’t said anything.’
Jin sighed deeply before continuing. ‘I’m not asking for forever. I’m just asking for a chance. We… we would be great together, I just know it.’
‘I…’
‘Kame,’ Jin snapped, ‘Just admit that you love me.’
Kame’s eyes widened.
‘Nakamaru could tell you about how we have a special link that is only shared between lovers or family members, but I just want to tell you this. I don’t want to lose you, and I think you don’t want to lose me either?’ The last bit wasn’t supposed to be a question, but some of his insecurity crept back in.
‘I don’t want lose you,’ Kame confirmed.
Jin was so relieved he could only make out a: ‘Good.’ Then he crawled across the couch until he pulled Kame into an awkward hug. The hug quickly became less awkward when Kame hugged him back and then when wandering hands got involved, it wasn’t awkward at all.
‘Not forever, but not casual either,’ Kame muttered against his collar bone. Jin tried not to shiver. ‘I guess we’re aiming for something in between?’
Jin nodded. ‘Unless Kimura finally loses his patience and catches us. Then you would be a vampire and I would have to make Yamashita turn me into a vampire and then it would kind of have to be a forever thing. You know, with us being immortal and all.’
Kame just snickered against his shoulder.
Epilogue
28th December - KAT-TUN Psychic Research: 2.30pm
They had a slight disagreement with the name of the office. It had been ‘Kamenashi Psychic Research’ for a long time because Kame was the one who had started the company. Even when Jin joined, he hadn’t thought of changing the name. But now that they were together together, he thought it was only natural for the name to reflect that. Only married couples combine their names on property, Nakamaru had said with a laugh. Who wanted to listen to Nakamaru anyway?
When they received a Christmas card from Tackey of all people, Jin thought it was time to do something about it. He thought Tackey had a gift with nicknames.
Unfortunately Kame didn’t take kindly to AkaKame Psychic Research.
Jin thought it was cute. Kame thought no one would take them seriously.
When Koki saw it he burst into laughter. A few minutes later he was suddenly pissed that the name only referred to Kame and Jin.
‘We’re a team now aren’t we?’ he asked.
And well, they couldn’t really deny that.
Koki and Taguchi played Janken over which ’T’ would go first. Koki sulked for days.
Their last case of the year involved a pair of ghosts who were lovers before their deaths. Apparently they had plans to elope, but the map drawn by the one of them was misinterpreted by his partner and by some freak coincidence, they both died while waiting for each other at different locations.
‘What does he mean my map doesn’t make sense. I’ll have you know it was very artistic!’ the ghost named Sakurai cried.
Jin rubbed his temples.
‘Matsumoto-san says that it clearly looked like a drawing of the beach, so he thought the plan was to escape via the sea,’ Nakamaru tried to explain.
‘It was a map to the train station.’
Nakamaru sneezed. Jin smiled smugly in his humongous jacket. He had come prepared. Kame was standing shivering beside him, looking surprised by the sudden drop in temperature. Jin unzipped his jacket and pulled Kame towards him.
‘What are you doing?’ Kame hissed.
‘Sharing body heat,’ Jin grinned.
‘You’re so lame Akanishi.’ Kame rolled his eyes, but didn’t move away. Fortunately, they were standing a little distance away from where the group was gathered around the spirit. But apparently it was not far away enough because Koki was making gagging sounds in front of them. As the rest of them waited while Nakamaru tried to convince the ghost to pass on, Jin thought about the sea and about his dream where the two of them were in Okinawa, the dream that never happened.
‘Hey Kame?’ he whispered
‘Huh?’
‘What do you think about Okinawa?’