ESP Escapades

Chapter 1

A girl in a high school uniform stared at the sign of a well-established facility. She pursed her lips in thought, musing about the name of the company. First off--why PsiCo? The way that it was pronounced suspiciously sounded like ‘psycho’. But that wasn’t the strangest thing about the company. Minami first came to this facility since she heard rumors at school about the place--about people who solve crimes using ESP, of therapists that can dive into a person’s mind and fix whatever affliction they have, and people who can predict the future giving life advice to people who need direction. Minami shook her head as she looked at the advertisement in the window.

PsiCo features various professionals in a variety of fields to suit your purposes. We have psychometric detectives on the case, telepathic therapists, clairvoyant visionaries who can work on your future, along with so much more. Step inside the shop and schedule your appointment today!

“Honestly,” Minami said while shaking her head, causing her pigtails to sway with the movement of her head. “All of this is very ridiculous. How Hotaru managed to convince me to come to this place is unbelievable…”

Hotaru was Minami’s friend at school. She was a supernatural buff who enjoyed ghost stories, alien hunting, and practicing with Tarot cards. Minami never believed in that sort of stuff--she believed that life could be rationally explained down to a scientific principle. Hotaru liked taking pictures with her camera in order to spot ‘orbs’; Minami deduced that it was either dirt, dust, or the weather conditions that caused those pictures to have misty aureoles printed on them. Hotaru insisted that her pictures were authentic orbs, and Minami stubbornly insisted that they weren’t.

At that point, Hotaru then told Minami that she could prove that psychic experiences, ghosts, aliens, and all that were true. Deciding to play along with her friend, Minami said that she would be up to the challenge of being proven wrong. Her friend then told her all about PsiCo and the amazing cases that they’ve taken on. Clients who were originally non-believers came back convinced that the supernatural was real, that psychic powers exist, and yes, there are aliens out there.

So here Minami stood before the PsiCo facility, which had the unfortunate connotations to ‘psycho’. The people who ran this facility were probably nutjobs, the whole lot of them. Psychic powers? They weren’t real. The psychics on television couldn’t actually bend spoons with their mind--it was a mere parlor trick, a magician’s sleight of hand. Psychos, on the other hand, were people that were delusional or believed that they had magic powers that they did not in fact, possess, which Minami concluded that the people in PsiCo must be.

After an internal debate with herself, pacing back and forth in front of the facility, Minami heard someone exit out from the shop. Minami turned to look, and saw an impeccably dressed young man who could only be a few years older than herself. He had blond hair, bright violet eyes, and an easy smile that was always on his face. Minami immediately distrusted him. There was no way that someone could smile like that much without being a psycho.

“I’ve seen you pacing outside of the shop,” the man said with a friendly smile, before he swept a hand against his chest and bowed towards Minami. “Would you like to come in?”

“I didn’t come here because I wanted to,” Minami said, before pointing a finger towards the man, then stabbing it towards the direction of the window. “First of all, I have a problem with your company name. PsiCo. Who honestly thought that was a good idea? It sounds like ‘psycho’ and I don’t think that’s something you want to advertise to your customers or clients. Anyway, the only reason I’m here is because my friend said that you people would be able to prove that the paranormal is real.”

The young man nodded sympathetically before saying, “Indeed, what you say is correct. It is rather is unfortunate, isn’t it? However, as you can plainly see, ‘PsiCo’ is clearly different from ‘Psycho’. Goodness gracious me, it wouldn’t do to have psychos amongst our midst, especially considering our professions. PsiCo is comprised of two words: Psi for the psionic energy that emanates from psychics, and Co is for company. It is rather simplistic, though we didn’t think the Association of United Psychics Facility for the Welfare of the People didn’t have a nice ring to it. We originally wanted to go with Psyche, but then we decided that it sounded as though we were tricking our customers--“

“As if ‘PsiCo were any better…”

“--when our work is quite genuine indeed. Well, you could say that the current name is a joke to our customers. But when you really think about it, doesn’t it grab your attention? You see, we get a lot of nonbelievers who come to our facility, but once they’ve entered inside, we have changed their outlook on life completely.”

Minami put a hand on her hip, before narrowing her eyes towards the too handsome man with a too pleasant smile. Not that she would admit aloud that he was actually quite attractive. He had the look of a narcissist about him--any compliments would most likely overinflate his oversized ego anyway. “There has to be some kind of trick that you put on your customers. Maybe you’ve hypnotized them and used behavior modification to make them believe that the paranormal is real. I’m warning you right now, I know the tricks of the trade.”

“You are quite an enlightened young lady, Miss…?” the blonde haired man said with a polite tilt of his head.

“Minami,” she said a little reluctantly.

The blonde haired man nodded in agreement. “Very wise. You didn’t give your family name. Remember, names have power, and if anyone were to have your full name and birthdate, they can reign full power over you.”

He disappeared into the shop, with Minami following behind. What the hell was he talking about just now? Names have power? Birthdates have astrological power that people can get a hold of? It was all ridiculous, though she supposed that people in a facility named ‘PsiCo’ would believe in that sort of thing. This made Minami want to pull her hair out in frustration. Why did she even agree to come with this facility? She really was going to regret this later on, she knew it.

When they entered inside, they went into a lobby area where potted plants stood in the corners and lounging chairs have been provided for client comfort. Lying across the couch reading an engaging novel was a young woman with long black hair that draped past her hips and curious red eyes. Her nails were painted a deep red, with a matching shade of lipstick upon her lips. The woman looked up from her novel and gave Minami an appraising stare, before a smile split across those too perfect lips.

What’s with that woman? Minami thought to herself as the blond-haired man gestured for her to take a seat while he disappeared into another room. I don’t like the look of her at all…ah, damn it she’s coming this way. Just pretend to smile and nod.

The woman had since gotten up from her lounging position, snapping the book in her hand closed. She put one hand against her hip while she clutched the book in her other hand towards her chest. After seeing this woman at a better angle, Minami could see why men would find her arresting--long beautiful hair, an enviable bust size, slender limbs--she had the right proportions for being a model. She should’ve chosen that profession, instead of…whatever it is that she does.

“How very interesting,” the woman with red lipstick said. “What is your full name and birthdate, child?”

“Apparently giving my full name and birthdate lets a person have control over me,” Minami said a bit sarcastically. “Not that I believe that, of course. But why would I reveal that to a complete stranger?”

“Takara-kun has given you some solid advice,” the woman said while she chuckled a bit behind her book. “Words themselves hold potent power. Imagine what kind of power that a name holds? Besides that, there are great cosmic influences that move the world.”

“Are you gonna give me a horoscope reading or something?” Minami asked while folding her arms across her chest. “How about a cold reading or a hot reading? I know how these things work. People are just gullible and naïve and can be easily tricked into believing something that isn’t true…”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

The woman’s smile merely split wider, and there was a certain knowing in those crimson eyes that gave Minami a chill of foreboding.

“I hate to be associated with the charlatans and fakes that call themselves fortune-tellers,” she said. “Though I suppose if you must, you can call me a fortune-teller, of sorts. I’m a clairvoyant--I can glimpse into the future and give life advice for those who wish to have direction in life.”

“Oh great, so do you want me to hold out my palm or something? Try reading the future in there.”

The woman’s smile never faltered. “As much as you’re in denial of the paranormal, you secretly want to be proven wrong. You want someone to give you substantial proof that the paranormal exists, even though you get flustered and embarrassed when the topic is mentioned.”

Minami let out a laugh. “I want to be proven wrong? I hate the paranormal! I hate the fake psychics and mediums that say they can predict the future or they can move things with their mind or read other people’s minds--that’s just ridiculous! They’re nothing but magician’s tricks, a knowledge of psychology and self-delusion, and other such nonsense. No, the paranormal is not real--everything can be deduced to a rational explanation?”

Amusement was in the tone of the woman’s voice when she spoke. “Oh? I wonder what your subconscious really says about the matter. Follow me.”

Minami reluctantly followed the dark haired woman into another room. The woman paused before a door, before she knocked against it at the back of her hand. Minami read Therapy Services next to the door and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. This woman had the nerve to think that she needed psychological help when the people in the facility believed in things that didn’t exist. That, and the woman said that she wanted to be proven wrong about the paranormal. What was up with that? What is she trying to prove here?

“Come in,” a kindly voice said, and the woman opened the door and ushered Minami inside.

A potted plant sat in one corner of the room, its glossy leaves gleaming a healthy shade of dark green. A serene pictures of daffodils was framed upon the wall, painted in a surrealistic kind of style that lent a dream-like quality to it. An oak bookshelf also leaned against the wall, with various psychological texts. Minami recognized some of the names, big names like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. She could almost imagine the Freudian psychoanalysis now: Minami, perhaps you denial of the paranormal symbolizes a lack of compensation in something? Maybe it symbolizes the scary and unknown, and you have this deep-rooted fear of the unknown and you repress certain frustrations…

Minami shook her head. She wasn’t crazy--she was a rational, clear-minded, and educated young woman. She believed that therapy was another waste of money--usually the therapist dispensed common knowledge and advice that a person is perfectly capable of figuring out on their own. She didn’t want to do a roundabout discussion about her hatred for the paranormal and how this hatred symbolized something else when it simply meant that Minami had a certain disdain for the paranormal. The paranormal was nonsense, irrational, pseudoscience. People who believed in this kind of stuff were easily duped and influenced by self-delusion.

As Minami ventured further inside the room, she saw a young girl who was perhaps the same age as herself, fifteen, sitting at an ovular desk. She wore a pair of reading glasses and a green ribbon in her hair, which matched the vivid green shade of her eyes. Minami almost laughed at the notion of being analyzed by someone who was in the same grade as her--what did this girl have that other people far older and more experienced that made her qualified for psychological services. Glancing at the huge psychological books on the book shelf, Minami assumed that the blonde-haired girl was one of those people that pretended to be intelligent by carrying around thick books and pretending to read them.

Did she understand classical conditioning, cognitive behavior modification, or the James-Lange theory of emotion? Could that girl explain what the id, ego, and superego were, and what roles they played in a person’s development? Maybe Minami could play a little psychological game with her if she was going to be performing a psychoanalysis on her person. There was no way that this girl is going to prove that Minami wanted proof that the supernatural existed, and most importantly of all, she was not going to let that smiling, black-haired woman win.

The blonde-haired girl twirled one strand of golden hair around a finger, before she stopped writing in her notes on the table. She stood up, then bowed politely towards Minami. “Nice to meet you. My name is Kaede Ikeda. My profession is a therapist, though my therapy sessions are a little different from standard procedure.”

“Hi,” Minami said, not trusting herself to speak without some sarcastic quip towards the girl. The girl’s too sweet honey voice was just unbearable.

“I’ll go ahead and explain,” Kaede said as she slipped her reading glasses off from her face. “I’m a telepath and an empath. That means I can read other people’s minds and sense other people’s emotions. I use these powers to help people overcome any problems they may have, though it’s usually recommended that they try to work on it on their own. You see, in my therapy sessions, um…you go into a dream-like state of your mental landscape where you encounter all your psychological constructs.”

Minami stifled a laugh. “Right. Keep going.”

“Anyway, this method does provide results, though it can also be very problematic,” Kaede said. “When you go into a mental landscape and influence the constructs that you’ve created in your mind, you can turn out to be a completely different person. Maybe you acquire a fear that you never had before, or a shy introverted person becomes outgoing and blunt. But that’s not the only risk involved. Sometimes a mind has fissures or cracks in it, which can lock a person’s soul into their own mind. They go into a trance-like state and they only wake up years later. Or sometimes none at all.”

Minami listened to all this without saying a single word, though she was making quick mental assessments about the girl. First of all--mental landscapes? Going into a dream-like world made of psychological constructs? What kind of New Age, trippy nonsense was that? Not only did it sound crazy, but this girl’s procedural methods involved an awful lot of risks, if it even worked at all. Minami then suspected that this is how people come out of the facility convinced about the paranormal--this girl uses some kind of technique to brainwash them all and used behavior modification, just as she expected!

“Let me get this straight,” Minami said. “You can read minds and feel other people’s emotions. When you do your therapy sessions, a person goes into a dream world?”

“That is correct,” Kaede said, before she went on. “I sense that you are quite skeptical about all this. That is perfectly fine, that is the normal reaction of some our clients who don’t believe in the supernatural. Though let me assure you that I don’t ‘brainwash’ anybody. Mental landscapes are…unique. Yes, whenever I do a therapy session with a person, I interact with their psychological constructs and this can cause changes in a person. It is risky, though I honestly perform this job for the sake of my clients.”

Minami was taken aback for a moment. She didn’t speak aloud her true thoughts about the matter, did she? Then again, anyone who could read people could tell from something as subtle as their body gestures or expression that they are irritated or skeptical. It’s not like it took magical powers to see that, it only took keen powers of observation and deduction. Though what about her mental thought about the brainwashing thing? It’s almost as though Kaede probed inside her mind…

No, no, this was nonsense. She was not going to succumb to delusion. Kaede was more intelligent and observant than Minami originally gave her credit for. So if she read all those psychological texts, of course she would be able to use psychological methods and techniques to convince other people that she was a telepath or empath. It almost convinced Minami for a minute, but she was smarter than that. This girl was good.

“Well, if you would please lie down right there,” Kaede said as she gestured towards a recliner. “We will get started as soon as possible.”

“Wait, I didn’t set up an appointment with you or anything,” Minami said in protest, though the black-haired woman grabbed her from behind and forced her into the recliner. “Hey, what’re you doing?”

“Oh, we absolutely insist that you lie down for a spell,” the woman said, her smile widening and her eyes gleaming in mischief. She then slipped out a piece of paper from between her breasts, and Minami spotted some elegant kanji on it. “Here, hold onto this. It will help you relax, dear.”

The woman then slapped the piece of paper right on the middle of Minami’s forehead. As soon as she did so, Minami couldn’t move. Her muscles and limbs stiffened, and she became as rigid as a board on the reclining chair. She attempted to open her lips to voice her protest, though her mouth remained zipped closed. What was going on? Why couldn’t she move or speak at all? Wasn’t the point of therapy was to have a dialogue between two people? If she couldn’t speak at all, then she was right about this place: everyone was downright psychotic.

The black-haired woman laughed elegantly behind her hand, before saying, “As you can see, I have some knowledge of spells and tags. Now lie down and be quiet as Kaede does her work. Hmhmhm~”

“Oh, Yukiko-san, I would appreciate it if you didn’t do that to my clients,” Kaede said as she nervously chewed her bottom lip. She then gave a reassuring smile towards Minami. “I apologize. There’s no need to be afraid, though. Now, I want you to close your eyes and focus on relaxing. First smooth out all the tension in your brow. Take a deep breath. Once all the tension has left, move down to your eyes and release the tension from your eyelids. Once your eyes are relaxed, I want you to work down the rest of your body in the same manner; your jaw, your neck, your shoulders, all the way down to your feet. Very good. Now…”

Minami, despite herself, found that she followed Kaede’s instructions as the tension that knotted her body slowly unfurled away and she found herself in a tranquil state. She couldn’t catch the rest of the words, though she felt that she was being carried away, farther and farther from the real world and into a dream-like state into the subconscious that told people’s true feeling in surreal code.