A Touch of Mistletoe (8 page)

Ash ducked his head. "He's pretty special. I'm glad if I can be helpful. And I don't know much about skating, but watching him on the ice is an impressive sight."

Andrew clapped him on the arm. "He's definitely something special." He turned and looked out over the ice briefly, where another group of young men continued to practice. "Yuki's got charisma, combined with a natural aptitude, not to mention the right body type, and he's such a hard worker I have to monitor his ice time or he'll overexert himself. A skater like him comes along once in a generation. But that charisma, it draws people in, and it can't be taught. That's why I took him on."

"Uh-huh." Ash tipped his head to one side.

"Sorry to blather on," Andrew said, turning back to him instead of the skaters. "All I really meant to say was: that personality of his has netted him a lot of fans, but some of his rivals' fans probably don't take too kindly to how far he's come in such a short time. You take care of him. Make sure nothing bad happens, all right?"

"It's my first priority." Ash gave a firm nod and swiveled at a tug to the elbow of his suit jacket.

Yuki cocked his head to one side and gave him a charming grin. "Ready to go? I'm hungry, I want to stop for food on the way."

They bid Coach Andrew a brief goodbye and picked up takeout to bring back to Yuki's apartment. A small foldout table served as their table as they sat across from one another and dug into plastic containers full of food. Silence reigned for several minutes as Yuki stuffed his face like he hadn't eaten in days, and Ash paced himself.

"Practice seemed to go better this afternoon," Ash commented when the frantic rate of Yuki's chopstick to mouth ratio diminished.

Yuki regarded him from beneath his lashes, finished chewing, and gave a nod. "A bit. Coach Andrew reminded me that skating is supposed to be fun."

"You were landing most of your jumps."

"Yeah, except the quads." Yuki snorted. "I'm looking at bronze based on today's performance. Maybe."

Ash pursed his lips. "Would that be so bad?"

Yuki's brows rose and he regarded Ash as though he'd proposed Yuki throw a race. "I
always
want to be at the top." There was a touch of the haughtiness Ash had expected from the start. He huffed, laid his chopsticks down, and dissolved into giggles, putting a hand over half his face. He peered at Ash through his fingers. "That sounded terrible, didn't it?"

"Only a little."

Yuki pulled his mouth into a sober expression. "There's a lot of people depending on me. I had to rely on a lot of people to get this far. To honor them, I want to do my best, always. I don't ever want to let anyone down–including myself."

His face all but shone with sincerity and in that moment Ash had to admit he'd been drawn in, just as Coach Andrew had said.

"Plus, I really hate to lose." Yuki dissolved into another of his impish smiles. "And I love it. After the earthquake... I thought I'd have to stop skating. When I kept moving forward, I chose to because it's what I want most. Well, other than..." He bit his lip and glanced sidelong at Ash.

Ash's breath caught as that look sparked along his skin, tension coiled tight enough between them it seemed about to snap.

The shelf along the wall began to rock. The top shelf was lined with shrine charms and photos, and they all began to rattle. Yuki's eyes went wide and his hands visibly trembled. He gasped, and Ash shoved the small, rickety table aside, clearing space and reaching into his pocket.

"Maya," Ash said sternly. The trinkets and picture frames trembled to a halt.

"Ash, what—" Yuki began, cutting himself off when Ash held up a finger for silence.

Ash swiftly unfolded the wards he'd been carrying in his pocket and laid them in a circle on the space between them. The paper ward directly in front of him was blank and he withdrew his ink pen, uncapping it and pulling out his phone to be sure he got the characters correct. He wrote the name "Takahashi Maya" on the blank ward, put his finger to the paper, and concentrated on the perfume smell, the discordant twang of energy zipping through the room, and spoke the words to seal the casting circle.

Someone of no paranormal ability could speak the same words to no result. On Ash's tongue, however, they drew all of that energy into the circle the wards had formed.

Yuki inhaled sharply as a petite figure coalesced in the middle of the room. Maya was short with shoulder-length, straight black hair and sad eyes, her brows pinched together in a worried frown. She wore a summer high school uniform; Ash recognized it enough to know he'd seen the uniform in his shop, but wasn't sure which school it belonged to.

"Maya," Ash repeated.

She gasped, twisting back and forth to look from Ash to Yuki. "Who are you? What am I doing here?"

"Yukinoha shrine, do you know it?" Ash asked.

"Why are you bothering me?" Maya demanded. "How did you get me here? I'll scream!"

Ash sighed. Too often, spirits were disoriented, not remembering they had passed on. He looked beyond her to Yuki, whose terrified expression had shifted to fascination. Maya twisted around again and settled her attention on Yuki.

"Hanabishi-senshuu? But how?" Maya clasped her hands together.

"Maya-chan," Yuki said intently. "Were you at the Yukinoha shrine?" Ash whispered
what's the last thing you remember
and Yuki repeated the question louder.

Maya frowned. "I was... yes, I was at the shrine. No, I was on my way home." Her hands flew up to her mouth. "There was a landslide!" The shelves in the room began to tremble again.

"Don't think about that," Ash said quickly. He had more wards in his pocket, but it would be better if he didn't have to use them. For one, he didn't want to risk binding Maya to the apartment instead of setting her free. "You saw Yuki, didn't you? After that?"

"We never met—" Yuki began, clamping his mouth shut when he caught Ash's warning look.

"Yes... yes, I saw Hanabishi-senshuu." Maya adopted a dreamy tone. "It wasn't only seeing him. I saw him, and he felt the same way. I could feel it pulling me like a magnet."

"Yuki." Ash spoke over Maya's head. "Whatever you were feeling that day, if you address that emotion with Maya, she may be able to move on. That feeling is what's unresolved for her."

She had died quickly, with no warning—the emotion she'd been filled with that day would have stuck with her, whether it was grief for a death in the family, or anxiety for an upcoming test. Whatever feeling she was hung up on, it prevented her from moving to the next plane of existence.

Yuki's expression turned troubled. "Maya-chan," he spoke up and Maya sighed, clasping her hands together. "We met at the shrine, huh?"

"Mm!" Maya nodded eagerly.

"The timing is a little strange." Yuki tipped his head to one side and gave her a sweet, genuine smile. "But I'm glad that I could meet you. It's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Yes!" Maya's head bobbed again. "Yes, I was waiting there for so long!"

"It's getting late," Yuki said, tone gentle. "Don't you think you should be getting home?"

Maya turned a confused look over her shoulder at Ash. "Yes. Oh, it is late! What am I still doing here?"

Ash gave her a calm, assessing look in return. She wasn't quite ready, though Yuki's words had put her on the right path. "You don't need to wait anymore?"

Maya frowned and looked back at Yuki. "I was at the shrine..." she said slowly. She shook her head. "No, that's not quite right. I followed you home, didn't I? I waited at the shrine... I kept waiting... after the landslide." Her face crumpled.

"It's okay," Yuki said. "I'm sorry it happened, Maya-chan. But you did get to meet someone, after all. Because you felt the same way."

Maya took a deep breath and nodded. "I can go, now." Her face assumed that look of inner peace Ash had seen many times, and tried not to envy. She turned serene eyes on Ash. "Thank you."

Ash nodded and spoke a few decisive words, releasing the casting. The paper wards disintegrated, floating up and vanishing as though they'd burned up without a trace of smoke.

Maya looked to Yuki again. "Don't wait, okay?"

Yuki looked stricken, bit his lip, and nodded. He managed to summon up another smile and a jaunty wave before Maya vanished.

*~*~*

"We appreciate all you've done," Asami said, bobbing her head and extending the money packet toward him in both hands. "Truly. The morning practice was shaky, but his jumps are already back to top form."

"I'm glad if I could be of service," Ash replied, holding back a dry observation on how Yuki's jumps were the lesser concern, given a spirit had fixated on him. It could have gotten a lot worse.

Asami bowed her head with a slight frown. It smoothed as she met Ash's eyes briefly before focusing on another part of his face. "Actually, Yuki asked if you could stay on until after Nationals."

"He did?" Ash straightened in his chair. "But the job's done."

"That's what I told him." Asami's tone was relieved. "He said something about residual energy, or the possibility of another spirit given how persistent the first was. I didn't understand it. But you are the professional, and I trust your judgment."

"I couldn't in good conscience keep taking your money." Ash gave a slight head shake. "The spirit has moved on. She won't trouble Yuki anymore. I don't think she meant to, in the first place."

"Eh?" Asami blinked at him.

Ash waved a hand. "Never mind. If that's all, then I can be on my way. It's been a few days since I've been back to my shop."

"Yes, of course. Thanks for all your hard work," Asami said. "We shouldn't keep you." Though she pushed her chair back, she remained seated, frowning in his general direction.

Ash hesitated, too. "Is there something else I can help you with?"

She looked beyond his shoulder. "I see Yuki out there." Her tone was wry. "I'll let him ask you. Once again, thank you very much."

"It was nothing, I was glad to be helpful." Ash returned her bow and excused himself from the office.

Outside, Yuki was bouncing from foot to foot with his mouth pulled to one side, eyes wide. He smoothed out his expression as Ash emerged and closed the door behind him. "Well?"

"Well, what?" Ash asked, giving in to impulse and reaching out to ruffle Yuki's hair. He was too adorable.

"Ahh, Ash!" Yuki batted his hand away and mock-glared. "I am not some cute little schoolboy."

Ash raised his brows.

"Not
only
that," Yuki amended, flashing a quick smile. "Well? Are you staying a bit longer?"

"I can't," Ash replied at once. A pang went through him as Yuki's hopeful look fell, replaced with a pensive little frown. "The job's done, Yuki. Maya's gone; she won't bother you anymore. And I've taken up enough of your time."

Yuki gave a little shake of his head. "I liked spending time with you." One shoulder dipped in a shrug and he gazed at Ash sidelong again. "Maybe I want you to take up more of my time."

Ash grinned. "You've got Nationals coming up." He put a hand to Yuki's shoulder and Yuki lifted his head, meeting Ash's gaze straight on. "Title to defend, remember?"

Yuki blew out a small sigh. "Yeah." He drooped for a second before snapping upright. "Speaking of Nationals, do you want a ticket?"

"Whoa, aren't they all sold out?" Ash might not know much about skating, but he knew sports events in general. For something as big as Japan's National
anything
, there wouldn't be any seats left. And the Super Arena seated an awful lot of people.

"Yes, but I have an allotment." Yuki cocked his head.

"Then I'd love to." Ash's agreement was rewarded with a blinding smile.

"Okay, then... Asami will send you one." Yuki braided his fingers together and chewed his lip.

"I should go," Ash gestured for the back hall door. "You've got practice to get back to, and..."

"I want to see you again!" Yuki blurted in a rush. His eyes widened and one hand rose as though he'd clap it over his mouth, but he didn't. He took a deep breath and balled his hands together at his sides.

"You will," Ash said affably. "At Nationals, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Discomfort clouded Yuki's face, which was far better suited to smiles. "What about after?"

"After that, we're coming up on Christmas." Ash winked. "You'll be home in Osaka with your family, right?"

"Well, about that, I..."

Ash relented as Yuki fidgeted and looked increasingly frantic. "Here. We'll swap numbers, all right? You can talk or text any time." He'd have to take care to keep it platonic. He was already more than half gone for Yuki, and even if he couldn't let himself flirt face to face, it might be tempting to toe the line of inappropriate in text.

Yuki's sunny mien returned as they swapped phones. He even lifted up the phone and flashed a brief peace sign to capture his own photo in Ash's contacts. Ash tried to convince himself a moment of weakness, the desire to prolong their association, was perfectly logical—if Yuki could feel spirits, then something else was bound to happen at some point. It would be best if he had someone he trusted within easy reach.

"I'll text you," Yuki told him with a smile. "Okay?"

"Sounds good." Ash returned the smile, slipping his phone into his pocket. Eight years made a big difference, he thought ruefully. He would've said he'd call. Not that he was going there—absolutely not. Even if it weren't for the age gap, Yuki surely suffered far too much scrutiny to ever consider a relationship with Ash. His manager wouldn't allow it. Coach Andrew would probably kibosh it on the grounds of time constraints over any other.

"It was nice to meet you, Ash." Yuki gave him another smile, less sunny and more reflective, his eyes wistful. "Even with Maya, I've really enjoyed these past few days. We'll see each other again, right?"

If you want to
. Ash pressed his lips together. Even wanting something didn't mean it could happen. "Of course," he said easily. "And I'm only a text away."

Yuki's eyes turned up when he smiled that hard, and Ash couldn't get away without another firm handshake. "Thanks for your hard work."