AN: Hello! This is my first publication on this site, and I'm a little nervous. The Ghost Hunt fandom is kind of dead [:-((] so I'm uploading this first chapter to see if there is anyone willing to follow it. I want to follow this story through, but it won't be all that fun if no one is around to go through it with me. So pls give me your thoughts and whether you want me to get the rest of this story done! ooo this is exciting. Okay, I don't own Ghost Hunt! Have fun!
It was a rather childish notion, but Mai had always believed that there was magic hidden in the rays of sunlight. She liked to close her eyes and tilt her face up towards the sky, let the sun's warmth soak into her skin. It made her feel steadier, a little more ready to face the day. After several hours in a cramped van with her two silent companions and a handful of cameras and monitors, Mai really needed a bit of sun to feel sane again.
Now that she and her coworkers were at their destination, Mai marveled at the relief stretching her legs granted her. The summer heat would have been stifling, but the salty breeze that drifted through the strands of her hair made the sun seem less like heat and more like a warm glow. It helped that Mai was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a light tank top. Her hair, which had grown longer over the years, was tied up in a ponytail so the back of her neck wasn't being suffocated.
If it weren't for the nature of SPR's work, Mai could have pretended she was on vacation. She could see it quite clearly, this alluring fantasy: her and her found family out at the coast for a week to lie on the beach and make friends with the waves. It would have been a wonderful time. As it was, just being in the sun with the distant sound of the ocean crashing into the beach washing over her made the sensation all the more magical.
"I don't pay you to play photosynthesis, Mai," interrupted the voice of her boss, breaking the serene calmness the sunlight had created within her mind. Mai ignored him, too annoyed with him for having snapped at her several times during the drive. Maybe her fantasy of a 'dream vacation' were not well grounded in reality. She didn't think this man clad in all black (though, to be fair, he too was wearing thinner clothing. The heat wave that had hit southern Japan was no joke.) knew of the connotations associated with the word fun.
See, Oliver Davis, aliased Shibuya Kazuya, also known as Naru, was an impatient man and had no tolerance for Mai's fidgeting in the backseat. As if Mai had any control of her bladder, or of the fact that there were no pit stops for three hours straight, or even a single thing to keep her happily distracted. Oliver wasn't the one whose bladder had almost exploded, he had no right to get so testy. But Mai shouldn't be surprised. Oliver hated distractions, especially noisy ones in a hot car on a winding, bumpy road.
Mai blinked away from the sky at the sound of another van pulling up to the beachside castle. She could already see that Takigawa was annoyed. He brought the van to a jerky stop besides the van Lin, Oliver and Mai had driven down to Minatzu in, the brakes screeching in a foreboding way. Preferring to avoid Ayako and Takigawa's arguing, because of course they would start arguing after four hours in a cramped vehicle together, Mai rushed ahead to join Oliver in greeting their latest client. She was looking forward to meeting Ichida Yunosuke, a kind retired detective that had reached out to Shibuya Psychic Research or SPR for short, Oliver's paranormal investigative service. He had pleaded kindly for SPR to take the case, and Mai's heart had ached for him.
Mai knew, theoretically, that Ichida lived in a beach house in a small seaside village filled with retired wealth. She had been the one to act as a correspondence between Oliver and the elder man. All the details of the case had been passed to and then passed on by Mai, so she knew that Mr. Ichida had a "manor on the beach passed down from my father." But somehow, Mai was still not prepared for what awaited her.
From the drive up the road, Mai knew that Ichida's residence was located at the top of a modest looking hill. The vibrant green grass of the hill made the light blue walls of the house feel more welcoming. Not that the house needed help in that arena, as the wide windows and several floors and marble entranceway had it covered. Mai was almost afraid to put her shoes anywhere near the spotless marble, too afraid of damaging it in anyway. But, Ichida, and her boss, and Lin were all waiting.
The beach house was as grand on the inside as it was on the outside. Mai was happy to see that the sun shone through the many windows of the home, making the house seem much more pleasant than Ichida's accounts had made it out to be. The walls were a bright white color for as far as Mai could see, and the floor was also a gleaming marble. There was a grand staircase that twisted up into the second floor, and a wall decorated with pictures of boats and sea shells right off the entranceway. Mai could hear Oliver and Lin discussing in the sitting room, and Mai moved to join them as soon as she managed to convince herself to stop gawking at the house.
But when she walked into the sitting room, Mai found herself gawking at something else.
Standing in the center of the sunlight spilling into the room was Oliver looking as handsome as ever. His pale skin was quite literally shining, and it stood out starkly against his navy blue button down and plain black slacks. Upon her entering, Oliver glanced over and his clear, blue eyes washed over Mai like a cold drink in the summer heat.
(Mai fought hard to keep that soul consuming affection to overtake her entirely, because she and Oliver had suffered through several extremely awkward and stilted months before achieving this ease and comfort with each other, and there was no way in all of Hell that Mai would risk it. Even if her heart pined for it so desperately it sometimes physically pained her)
He looks like a painting, Mai couldn't help but think to herself, but then managed to force her eyes to look away. It was a good thing that the summer heat already had her red in the face. This way, no one could tell she was blushing furiously. Except maybe Oliver, who was too smart (yet too dumb) for his own good. And he was looking at her with that calculating gleam in his eye. To distract herself from her boss's gaze, Mai hurried over to the windows to take in the view.
"Wow!" She exclaimed, attention easily captured by the beautiful picture on the other side of the glass. As the house was settled atop a hill, it overlooked a pink, sandy beach and then the beautiful blue ocean. In the midday sun, the ocean shimmered and blinked, and Mai's skin ached to feel the cool water surround her. Wanting to see whether the ocean was calm or throwing rampant waves today, Mai eagerly pulled the baby blue curtains aside. "The ocean is right there! It looks so pretty in the sun."
"Be careful Miss Taniyama; the ocean is more dangerous than she looks." Said a spritely old man wandering down the winding staircase. His voice startled Mai, causing her to jump where she stood and almost trip over the curtains. She caught herself before she could land on her face, stumbling over to where Oliver and Lin were standing. The quirk of Lin's lips told Mai that her little fumble did not go unnoticed. That was okay, though. Over the years, SPR had beared witness to worse things than Mai tripping over herself.
"Mr. Ichida." Mai said, smiling at him with happy eyes. She rushed over to greet him with a bow, and laughed happily when he pulled her into a warm hug. "It is nice to finally meet you. And, please, call me Mai."
"Ah, Mai. You are as wonderful as I pictured you, perhaps even more so." Ichida told her with his rough voice. "And I assume you are Mr. Shibuya." He turned to Lin and Oliver, holding his hand out to Oliver for a shake. Mai snuck a smile behind her hand; she had warned Ichida beforehand as to who was who, and it was apparent that he had paid attention to her. She decided she liked him that much more.
"Mr. Ichida." Oliver took his hands for a brief moment, and then stepped to the side so Lin could also make his greetings. "Have you prepared the rooms we asked for?"
"Straight to business, I see," the old man laughed. Mai found herself a little amazed at how cheery he was. Considering the nature of their visit, Mai had expected him to look a little haggard or stressed out, but Ichida had sunbeams spilling from his crinkled eyes and a wide, happy smile on his face. "Yes, the rooms are ready. Your base is just down the hall, left of the kitchen, and your two bedrooms are upstairs, both to the right of the staircase."
Mai quickly repeated the directions over in her head, and then again, and then a third time. She wasn't going to get lost this time around, no she would not. The team wouldn't be able to make fun of her anymore. She had come a long way from the clumsy high schooler she had been when she first became a part of the paranormal world. She had matured, sometimes by brute force while other times by pure will, and she had grown up. Working with dead people never really got easier, but Mai had come to an understanding with that harsh reality. She would do her best, work with her team, keep them safe, and try with all that she was to save those souls that had suffered long enough.
Once Mai felt confident enough that she would not get lost, she returned to the conversation in time to hear,
"...and my daughter will be around by mid afternoon. She's working all the time now, and this house is on her roster. She'll be able to tell you whatever my report has missed." He was at the entrance to the sitting room, moving out into the hallway with Lin and Oliver at his stead. Mai rushed over to join them, mindful of all carpets and doorways because, sure, Mai was a young woman now and she was respected by her peers and her family, but she absolutely refused to trip over anything ever again.
"So, I'll be heading out now. My son's wife is in labor, and if I'm not there to watch him faint at the sight of his baby girl, then what was fatherhood really for?" Ichida said, his face glowing with his delight. Mai cheered almost unwittingly, already picturing the sweet bundle of joy about to be welcomed into this world with all the love a single grandfather could ever give to his grandchild.
"Congratulations!" She cried, shooting forward to hug the man. For a split second, Mai was ready to reprimand herself. She'd been in contact with the man for weeks, felt she knew him quite well, but he was still virtually a stranger. But he accepted her hug easily, bouncing with her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
After the two of them had calmed down, Ichida went over a few last minute details. It was all business, things that bored Mai half to death, so when Oliver nodded, which meant Mia should nod too, she did. When Ichida started going over details about the house, Mai tuned back in.
"It's the first floor that you should really be worried about, but the third floor can be troublesome, too. Not much has happened since my last email to Mai, just somemore wailing and banging on the walls. Oh! Before I forget," Ichida had stopped suddenly at the front entrance. He reached into a briefcase resting on a console table and pulled out a manilla folder. "These are the police reports and a few numbers I thought might be useful. They've been color coded in reference to the police reports, and the last one right there is my cell phone. Don't hesitate to call me if there are any concerns or issues."
When Ichida looked back up from the files, his face was suddenly ten times more grim than it had been only moments before. Gone were his million watt smile and happy eyes. Now he looked serious, the way Mai had come to expect most of their clients to look like. This was when the gravity of the situation would settle over Mai like a steel blanket.
"Keep the young ladies safe, Mr. Kazuya." Ichida requested solemnly. "They are in the most danger at night. We have lost enough, I don't think we could bear to lose another." His gaze was so fierce but sad, and Mai knew he meant those words. Though Minatzu was not his home, not really, Ichida was a dedicated police officer in his bones.
Oliver's gaze, when Mia glanced at it, was as steely as it could get. And not in the way that meant he was contemplating using his expansive vocabulary and his PK abilities to destroy someone, but in the way that meant that he was about to give his absolute all to get the job done. It sent shivers down Mia's spine.
"We will solve this case, Mr. Ichida." Oliver said.
And just like that, the smile was back on Ichida's face. He bowed one last time, gave Mai a wink over Oliver's shoulder, and then slipped out the front door and past the rest of the SPR gang dawdling in the front yard.
Lin disappeared into the house, most likely to start setting up the base, but Oliver and Mai watched Ichida make his way down the sloping road. Oliver only looked away when the retired detective stepped into his car. He looked down at Mai, at the delicate flush on her shoulders and on the tip of her nose, and tamped down on the urge to force her to put on some sunscreen with the ease of long practice.
"Mai." He said, and then stopped when she looked back at him with that sharp smile of hers.
"I know," she responded, stepping off the porch. "I'm on it."
It took them less than an hour to get the base set up. It could have been less than 45 minutes had Takigawa and Ayako not spent several minutes greeting Mai and then chiding her for not having applied sunscreen beforehand. Mai rolled her eyes at their antics, but she loved it. It was always nice to be cared for, especially after going without for so long. Mai would never forget her parents, would never replace them. Ayako and Takigawa had their own places in her heart, right beside her parents, and she loved them dearly.
She loved the whole team so much she thought it would actually explode out of her sometimes.
Masako and John arrived with Ayako and Takigawa, which also helped them all get the base set up so quickly. Usually, it's Oliver, Mai and Lin that arrive at the location first and it's up to them to get the base ready. Them here means Mai. The two men often help Mai bring all the monitors and wires and cameras in, but then they busy themselves with other things while Mai is left to get the shelves up and the monitors situated. She's become an expert at it over the years, but Mai has always been on the smaller side no matter how much exercise she's tried to do, and she has a limit. It was very nice to not have to do everything on her own, and she figured she should find some time to make them dinner to show her gratitude.
Their base room was located in what was probably meant to be a library, but was more like another lounge room. It followed the theme of the rest of the house: white walls and a very peaceful ocean glow to everything. This room was accented with pale purples and pinks instead of all shades of blue, and Mai loved it. One wall was left bare so they had a place to put up their monitors, and connect all their wires. Occupying the whole of the wall opposite to that of the monitors were steel bookshelves. They were almost bare save for a few scenic photographs in frames and decorative statues and vases. Mai was afraid to go near it in case she lost control of her body and broke anything. Opposite the door to the base was a beautiful pair of glass doors that opened up into a balcony overlooking the sea.
All in all, this room was quite possibly Mai's favorite room ever. With the sun still going strong in the early afternoon, the room was alight with dancing sunshine. It was almost unerringly peaceful in there.
At the moment, though, SPR were too busy with their case to sit back and enjoy their surroundings.
"I hope I get a little tan while we're here." Ayako was saying airily as she made several charms for the bedrooms. "I think it would look good with my hair." It was clear that she wasn't really paying any attention to what she was saying, too busy keeping her brushstrokes as neat as possible. And that was fine, because no one else was really paying attention.
Takigawa, her supportive boyfriend (much to SPR's relief after years of watching them bicker over the very blatant romantic tension between them), hummed noncommittally. He was looking over the files Oliver had likely already memorized and left for the others to go over. He had his hand wrapped around Ayako's waist, which was all the miko needed to feel like she was being involved.
Mai was sat besides Lin, her own laptop open on her lap. Oliver had tasked her with finding as much information on the witnesses in the police report as she could, and was scribbling dutifully into her own black journal. It was tedious, and Mai was already tense with the want to move and do something. But it was important to the case, so Mai took a lap around the base every now and then, when the words on the file started to blur. Mai really wanted to run down to the beach, but this case was more serious than any of the ones SPR had taken on recently. It required their full attention, both for their safety and for the safety of everyone else involved.
Since Mai and John had already set up the cameras and Oliver had already given Mai a task, he, John and Masako were out doing a walkthrough of the home. It could have been seen as slightly excessive to have three of their big players out on a mission, but this case was a big deal.
The facts were this: Over the last five decades, almost two dozen young women had been killed by the ocean. And not in any accidental drownings, or even in horrible boating accidents. These girls had walked right into the ocean with a glazed look in their eyes. Before the girls had started dying, there had been organized chaos. Most of the houses on the beach would be ransacked, left with bloody messages on their doors and windows, all relaying the same memo: Stay away from the water! Most of the properties on the beachfront were vacated after the disturbances became more sinister: people were attacked, voices could be heard screaming for help, the beach trembled and the walls of the homes shook. The reason the case had finally been brought to SPR's attention was because, in the past few months, all types of people were being viciously dragged towards the beach. All men, young girls and older women had never made it past the surf, but a few young women had been or were almost drowned. The police force had been trying to explain it all away as some psychotic killer, but the evidence was building up and leaning in the direction of the paranormal. Ichida had gotten tired of the attacks as soon as they started, but after weeks of waiting for his juniors in the force to admit that they needed help, he had done it for them.
So, all precautions were to be taken on this case. A few years ago, Mai would have probably complained. But after a few close calls, not all of them involving Mai, the brunette had readjusted her outlook on her value to the people around her and what her injuries cost them. It was a lot like what their injuries cost her. When Mai sat down and thought about it, it made perfect sense. But it was hard to accept that, especially when Mai had believed at the ripe age of eleven that she would not have a family again.
A few minutes after Ayako had finished her last charm, Masako, Oliver and John returned to base. Mai looked up from her notes to find Masako being mostly supported by John, looking a little paler than usual. Her eyes shot to Oliver, who did not look bothered or worried. His deep blue eyes caught Mai's amber ones, soft at the edges in the way that meant to be reassuring. Mai relaxed, then dropped her pen and set to making some tea.
"Masako feels a presence," Oliver announced to the room once Masako slumped into the couch near Ayako to be tended to, "but cannot identify who or what it is. It's strong, but distant." He had turned away from where he had been looking out at the ocean, and looked at Masako to say, "Once you are feeling better, you should take Takigawa and Ayako to examine the beach."
Masako gave a faint not and Oliver returned to his seat beside Lin. Mai went around the room to pass out tea, stopping a moment to make sure that Masako was okay and force an energy bar into the small medium's porcelain hand. As soon as Masako had swallowed her last bite under the watchful eyes of Mai and the miko, Ayako resumed checking her over. Though Masako did her best to sound annoyed, no one could deny the warmth in her eyes.
"Ayako finished the protection charms." Mai informed her boss as she returned to her seat between him and Lin. When the two men failed to respond, Mai continued on with, "Hey, Naru. I don't know if Mr. Ichida told you this, but there's a young girl that almost drowned a few days ago. She's not that far from here, so we should probably give her a visit and ask her a few questions. She's one of two survivors of the drownings, and the other girl is abroad."
Oliver turned to her then, his chin tucked into his hand in his signature thinking pose. He looked ridiculously handsome, it was so unfair. "Did the report say anything about how she managed to survive?"
Mai hummed, glancing quickly over her notes. She was good at her job, but her brain didn't chug at the same caliber that Oliver's did. And her handwriting was kind of messy. And her pen had smudged a few times where Mai's wrist had run over the fresh ink.
"Nope," Mai declared after a few seconds, popping her lips. "There's a note that says she, and I quote, "'was thinking on a matter that was far away from the hospital room.' I'm not surprised, she must be traumatized."
Mai had had a few dreams about drownings. It was kind of morbid that she could categorize her case related dreams by the different ways of dying. There were drownings, stranglings, fires, horrible accidents, and more brutal murders that Mai tried really hard not to think about, ever. In a horrible way, drowning always seemed kind of peaceful to Mai. Sure, the burn in the lungs was absolutely terrible, but the feel of the water surrounding her had always felt a little like a hug. The dying part, on the other hand, sometimes made Mai flinch away from water. Just thinking about it lit a small fire in her lungs, and Mai unconsciously rubbed at her chest.
"I can't believe you could read that scribble you call writing." Oliver's voice broke through Mai's thoughts and ignited the familiar fire of indignation.
Mai dropped her hand and turned her narrowed eyes to Oliver. He was sat comfortably, leaning back in the luxury chair left for them to use, with one ankle balanced on his knee and the barest hint of a smirk on his face.
"This is perfectly legible." Mai argued back, taking her journal and holding it up for both of them to inspect. She immediately regretted that decision. "Okay, maybe it's a little hard to read-"
"Or to even look at," Oliver kindly interjected.
"But," Mai huffed, pursing her lips in that telltale sign of annoyance, "that's hardly my fault. My brain just thinks faster than my hand can write. You should be glad to see that my handwriting is such a mess."
Oliver blinked at Mai slowly, as if marveling at her stupidity. Mai was very familiar with that expression.
"I would expect any honorable scholar to have the dedication to their studies to stay organized and legible." He bit back, voice as monotone as ever. The humor in his eyes was hard to spot, but Mai was used to their game of back and forth and recognized it. Still, she grumbled under her breath about just try to ever get me to take notes like this again and you'll see what I have to say about that.
A good hour later, Masako was feeling strong enough to try the beach. Mai was secretly glad Masako had started wearing modern clothing to cases because the heat and the layers of the kimono would have surely caused a heat stroke. Instead of the kimonos Masako still wore whenever she made any TV appearances or went to conventions, she wore ridiculously expensive form fitting jeans and a pale green blouse that complimented her eyes wonderfully. She looked amazing.
"Make sure you stick together." Oliver reminded the trio before they headed out. Ayako nodded along, making sure her bag had enough water bottles for the three of them. She was vehemently against heatstroke. Takigawa and Masako looked just as solemn, though Masako also had an air of eagerness to her. Mai understood. She too wanted to dig her heels into the sand and feel the ocean spray against her face.
"I won't let them out of my sight." Takigawa promised. "You keep an eye on Jou-chan. I want her looking just as I left her."
Mai paused from helping Masako get sunscreen on the skin of her back to groan at the man that had become like a brother to her. "Monk! I can keep myself out of trouble. Don't worry about me and focus on yourself, please."
Monk swept Mai into his arms before she could even blink. "But Mai! You're my precious little girl. I'm always going to worry."
Mai struggled fruitlessly against Monk's iron grip. At least she could still kind of breathe.
"Oi!" Ayako shouted suddenly, bag snug over her shoulder and sun hat settled fashionably over her luscious red locks. "Stop crushing Mai so we can get to work. The sooner we get this case solved, the sooner I can focus on getting my skin to glow golden."
"I hope you brought wrinkle cream, Ayako." Masako cut in haughtily. Her lips were dripping with mirth, and her eyes were laughing. Ayako's shriek of outrage disappeared into the hallways as the trio of ghost hunters headed out of the house. Mai shook her head wistfully, trying to remember the day that Masako switched from antagonistic insults to friendly banter.
"We've come a long way, haven't we Naru?" Mai sighed happily. "We're more like friends now, less like people forced to work together."
Oliver, who was still standing besides Mai, humored the girl by inclining his head. Together, they moved back towards the monitors. Lin had gone out with John to get food for their dinner, so it was just Mai and Oliver in the building at the moment. Yasuhara wouldn't be available for a few days as he was busy preparing for an exam that he could not afford to miss.
"I can still remember when I thought you were full of yourself. How little I knew then. I'm ashamed of that now." Mai was thinking aloud, something she tended to do when her mind wandered.
She glanced at her boss and saw that he was looking at her with a pointed expression.
Outraged, Mai spat out, "It wasn't all my fault! You did all you could to convince me that you were indeed Naru the Narcissist. I'd only known you for a good few hours at that point, okay. I had no other experience to dissuade me."
"Careful examination is important, Mai." Oliver pointed out helpfully.
"Well, duh." Mai responded. "But I was a kid. The only thing I could carefully examine was -" was the way I felt towards you, "- the gossip my school spread like wildfire. And ghost stories, but mostly for how frightening they were."
Oliver was quiet for a moment, eyes fixed on the screens. Mai was used to the way he lapsed into silence, and remained happy enough to stand besides him and supply an extra pair of eyes. But then Oliver spoke. "I think, of all of us, you've come the farthest."
Mai's head snapped to look at Oliver. He was looking down at her with the sincerest eyes he possessed. They were Mai's favorite. And she couldn't look away. She felt the small smile bloom on her lips and the pleased flush that erupted in her cheeks, but she could not even bat an eye. She was transfixed on Oliver and the warmth in his expression.
I want to kiss you, Mai thought unbiddenly.
Then, with a soft pop, all the light in the room disappeared. Not just the fluorescent light bulbs from overhead and the grey reflection from the monitor screens. No, the sunlight was suddenly gone, like the sun had been plucked from the sky.