Koujo Lin: The Account

Chapter 7: Affairs of the Heart

So he finally knew the truth. Koujo Lin had found out the truth behind what had been slowly tearing his life apart bit by bit. The realization brought him no relief- it was something he should have known all along, really. It was his own ignorance on the subject of his powers that had caused his family so much suffering.

If he had known that his shiki had broken away from his control, none of the events that had transpired lately would have happened. Nazuke would be as healthy and snarky as ever.

Enraged thoughts coursed through Lin's brain. Plans that he could not act upon clouded his mind, frustrating the Onmyouji to no end.

He wanted to do something- make a difference in his situation. But he truly was powerless, wasn't he? He didn't have the smallest idea of how to fight off a shiki who had broken away from his master and was hellbent on destroying the foundations of his life.

How did one fight off a creature that was on the loose due to their own negligence? The answer didn't throw itself at Lin in the form of a sudden well timed epiphany. This was real life, not some anime that Lin could simply cut off when it got too violent for his liking.

Lin knew that he needed to tell Naru about what Gene had told him during his astral projection; however he also knew that the paranormal researcher would have a difficult time accepting the news. Despite the front that the teenager put on, he truly did miss his twin. When Gene had died, he had taken his telepathic link to his brother- Naru had been forced to deal with having only his own voice in his head for the first time in his life.

The Onmyouji intended to avoid telling his charge the new information for as long as possible. What difference did it make when he told him? They wouldn't know how to fight the rogue shiki anyway.

In reality, there was nothing that Lin could do while confined to the hospital except for sleep, which was in truth, something that the chronic insomniac had not been doing much of before being hospitalized. Knowing that it was the only option that would have even the slightest chance of giving him peace of mind, Lin closed his eyes and allowed his mental exhaustion to lure him into a light slumber.

In a room a few doors down the hall, Madoka Mori got up from her bed. She had already been detached from all of the wires that had been put on after the car wreck. She had been lucky- she had no internal injuries, just simple bruises and cuts from the glass.

The man who it was her intent to go and visit was the one who had taken the brunt of the damage from the car wreck, as the vehicles had hit the car on his side, though the nurse had informed Madoka that both of them would be healthy enough to go home the next day if all went according to plan. Lin would be forced to remain on work leave for several weeks with no heavy lifting until his shoulder had healed.

The thought made Madoka wince. She had not seen Lin since their altercation the previous day. How would he react to seeing her now? She knew deep in her heart that he probably wanted more time away from her to get his bearings straight, but she couldn't find it in herself to give it to him. She herself needed the peace of mind that would hopefully come with apologizing for her unjustified action of kissing him without his explicit permission.

It was selfish, she knew. But she couldn't help that the heart needs what it needs, and right then it needed for her to have the very conversation with Lin that she should have had with him years before.

The realization made the pinkette's heart race. She was finally going to get this huge weight off of her chest, after all of the years that she had been forced to endure the torment that had come with being separated from the man she had once viewed as her soul mate.