Hey guys, thank you for your wonderful reviews! It really, really means lot. It keeps me going. So, this is my third fanfic and after this I won't be able to post stories for a while as I'm moving to start my college. Hopefully, I will be back with a new story, not a one-shot but an actual story. HOPEFULLY!
chadtayor020: Thank you for accepting my request to be my beta reader! Because I'm careless when it comes to grammar and spellings. So please take care of me!
vampgirl1309: Well, I'm not going to develope 'REGRETS' into a story as of now, but I will definitely consider it.
Oliver E.C. Davis: At first, I ended 'REGRETS' differently, then I felt like it was really stupid. So I ended up making Noll forget about Gene and making Gene pass on. I kind of rushed the ending and I really didn't want to make Gene pass on, but I had to do it.
Enjoy the story. Bye!
I DO NOT OWN GHOSTHUNT!
I wish I had people who loved me, cared about me, saw me for who I really was instead of a celebrity who was treated like a fragile glass statue which would shatter into sharp glass pieces at touch and wound everyone around it. Did my life have any meaning at all? What difference does it make if I die. People will feel sorry for the celebrity Masako Hara who died, but will there be anyone who would cry over my pale, cold body and hold my hand begging me to return? Will there be anyone at all...or will I just be as invisible as the wind which just blew for a few minutes and passed.
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"Obaasan, please...I'm sorry...I won't do it again... Please don't lock me up again..." A pale, little girl about 6 or 7 was crying her eyes out as she was being dragged rather harshly across the hallway to a room by a stern looking old woman in a kimono.
The old woman, who's silver hair was tied up in a bun dragged the girl across the hallway not paying attention to the little girl's heart wrenching cries. Her violet eyes held nothing but coldness as she dragged the girl. The servants in the house watched helplessly at the little girl as she was being punished yet again by her grandmother for playing.
As soon as the old lady reached the said room, she yanked open the door and threw the young crying girl into the the room effortlessly.
"You will stay here until you feel sorry for what you have done. You are the next heir to the Hara family and mistakes will not be tolerated. It is high time that you understand this." The old woman said in a calm, cold voice to the crying girl on the floor and slammed the door shut. The old woman could be heard commanding the servants to not let the girl out.
"OBAASAN, please I promise I will do everything you say, I won't go out to play anymore, I won't dirty my clothes...don't leave me here! OBAASAN, OBAASAN!" The little girl pounded on the door crying and screaming until her throat was sour and her fists hurt. Not even a bit of energy left from crying the little girl slumped to the floor, her back against the door. She continued to sob softly, her eyes were burning and her stomach was growling.
She calmed down after a while, curling into a ball on the cold wooden floor. She tried to sleep, but the room started to become cold. She started to curl up even more when she felt warm fingers wipe away gently whatever tears were left on her cheek. The touch itself felt so soothing and familiar. The little girl lifted her head only to look into soft violet eyes which were so much similar to that of her grandmother yet so different.
Forgetting all of her punishment and her burning eyes, the little girl's violet eyes sparkled in genuine childish curiosity.
"Who are you?" The girl asked sitting up in an upright position and folding her legs. The owner of the soft violet eyes chuckled and sat down in front of her.
"Who do you think I'm, Masako-chan?" The owner of the soft violet eyes asked.
"Ehhhh! You know my name too?" She pointed an accusing finger at the owner of the violet eyes.
"You must be the boogeyman Nanami-chan told me about." The little girl answered, excited.
"My my Masako-chan you don't seem to be scared of me, you are a brave girl." The boogeyman pinched Masako's cheek.
"Nanami-chan told me that, since Masako-chan is the next head of the family I shouldn't be scared of anything." Masako beamed feeling proud of herself.
"Then does this brave hime want to see the bright golden stars?" The boogeyman asked as he stood up. At the mention of stars, Masako's bright smile fell and she started fidgeting with her dress.
"Masako-chan can't go out of this room." The girl mumbled, her head down.
"Who said anything about leaving the room, the stars will come to Masako-chan, see?" As the boogeyman said this the tears which were soaked into Masako's dress started to glow brightly and spread through out the room, enveloping the room in golden light. The little girl squealed in childish excitement as she chased the golden stars.
"See Masako-chan, every time you cry, the golden stars will leave you and you won't have any left, pinky promise me next time you won't cry." The girl nodded her head and wrapped her small pinky finger around the boogeyman's. The boogeyman smiled brightly at her before flicking her forehead lightly which made her fall asleep immediately in his arms.
"Be strong Masako, be brave." The boogeyman whispered in her ear before kissing her forehead and disappearing.
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Ten years old Masako was in her garden tending to her flower bed. The boogeyman man who was kneeling beside her, took Masako's dirt covered hands into his after she was done. Masako looked at him, surprised.
"Sometimes you have to work harder for the things you care for. Even though you tend to doubt the outcome of your hard work and you tend to feel discouraged sometimes while working, always remember Masako-chan, the outcome is always colorful and beautiful." He said showing her the well done flower bed which had many colorful and beautiful flowers.
"When people look at you, they will only see a beautiful girl with pale skin, and violet eyes, but only the people who value you and treasure you for who you are and love you no matter what, will be able to see your inner beauty. Only they will know that, behind this beautiful, fragile mask there is a strong and unbreakable wall that you built around yourself. They will break through it and you won't even know. They will be your real friends." The violet eyed boogeyman explained to Masako who was sincerely and attentively listening to him.
"So promise me my brave hime, you won't be broken no matter what, and you won't give up." The boogeyman held out his hand towards Masako.
"I promise." Masako replied bravely taking his hand.
"Will I ever find them?" She asked the boogeyman.
"They will be there for you before you even realize it." He replied smiling brightly at her.
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All she could hear were the whispers. Everyone in her new junior high school knew she was the heir to one of the most influential families in Tokyo and that she was a medium. The media just wouldn't stop following her. The increasing stares and whispers were driving her mad. She shut her ears tightly and laid her head on the desk. The voices were becoming louder and louder very second and she couldn't take it.
"Are you alright?" A girl with wavy black hair and hazel colored eyes asked gently placing her hand on Masako's shoulder. Masako sat up with a start causing everyone to stop and stare at her. Feeling everyone's eyes on her, she grabbed her bag and ran out of the classroom.
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"Is it true Masako-chan?" Chiyo asked twisting her wavy black hair around her finger as her hazel colored eyes shone with curiosity.
"What is?" Masako asked her mouth filled with food.
"That you can see spirits?" Chiyo leaned forward towards Masako. Masako stopped eating. She looked at her best friend, weighing the consequences in her mind if she told her the truth.
After all she was her best friend for almost a year and she trusted her.
"It's true, I can communicate with the spirits." Masako whispered.
"No way." Chiyo said out loud enough for everybody to hear. Masako forcefully shut Chiyo's mouth.
"Shhhh... People will hear you, Chiyo-chan. And please don't tell this to anyone." Masako pleaded.
"Our little secret." Chiyo zipp locked her mouth.
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Fourteen years old Masako was sitting in the hall of her grandmother's mansion, with all the cameras and lights on her face. News got out that she was indeed a medium and the media was in her house in no time. She could imagine only one person who could have done that. She gripped her light pink kimono tightly and her eyes grew moist at the thought.
"Be strong..." She felt someone whisper in her ear. Masako felt relaxed at hearing the voice and took in a deep breath.
The interviewer in front of her was trying to prove her wrong whenever she had the chance, to make her look like a fraud.
"Tell me Hara-san, how many fingers am I holding out behind my back?" The lady questioned liking smug. Did this woman even know what a 'Medium' meant?! Masako sweat dropped and swallowed hard. Sure she was a medium alright, but she wasn't a mind reader. But that damned lady wouldn't take any of that. While Masako racked her brain on what to do, her eyes landed on something behind the interviewer.
The interviewer smirked at the silent fourteen year old claimed-to-be-medium.
"Well Hara-san, I see yo-..."
"Two." Masako interrupted. The interviewer was stupefied.
"Excuse me?"
"You are currently holding out two fingers, behind your back yoshiyoka-san." Masako replied with a smirk. The interviewer continued to stare, flabbergasted.
"In case you didn't know, mediums are not mind readers yoshiyoka-san." With that Masako stood up and turned her back to the interviewer, ready to leave.
"How could you have known?" The interviewer questioned, standing up and clenching her fists. She wasn't going to give up, not yet. Masako signed and turned her head to look over her shoulder at the interviewer.
"Your mother said she forgives you." Masako said.
All color left the interviewer's face.
"How did yo-..." The interviewer started incredulously. Masako turned around to face the interviewer. Masako pitied the woman before her for her current state.
"She asked you to stop blaming yourself." Masako spoke comfortingly.
"Stop." The woman breathed out.
"She also said she will always love you."
"You are a liar!" The woman yelled, her eyes brimming with tears, with this Masako turned around again, and walked away elegantly in her kimono, lightly shaking her head.
"YOU ARE A GODDAMNED FRAUD!" The woman yelled after the medium.
'Humans are vulnerable creatures.' She thought bitterly. She snorted at her own thought. She was one to talk.
"Never judge a book by its cover." The boogeyman said from behind her.
"Indeed." She replied and raised her kimono sleeve to cover her mouth.
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Fifteen years old Masako, sat up with a start on her bed in her hotel room breathing heavily. The violet eyed boogeyman rubbed her back soothingly.
"Your Obaasan needs you."
The driver glared into the rear view mirror at the violet eyed medium who was staring out of the window.
"You do realize that you have a show tomorrow and we are traveling at 2:00AM just because you had a feeling your grandmother is not well? You could have just called!"
"It isn't a feeling and I hardly did anything like this before. It's an emergency and I want you to cancel tomorrow's show." She replied not even glancing in his direction.
"You know I can't do that, besides you don't even know if it's an emergency." He yelled.
"You will see." She muttered under her breath.
Masako sat beside her Obaasan holding her hand and feeding her. With whatever strength the old lady had left, she kept smiling kindly at her granddaughter for a week until she breathed her last.
Masako sat in her grandmother's moonlit room, looking out of the window holding a photograph that had been given to her by her grandmother. She didn't feel like crying, but her heart felt heavy, terribly heavy. Worst than any heart ache she ever had. She clutched the photograph tightly remembering the final conversation she had with her grandmother.
"I was so caught up in the family business, I had to put you under a lot of stress. Could you forgive me for not giving you enough love and time, Masako?" The now dying lady pleaded in a hoarse voice. Masako felt like she would break down. She kept her head down, the tears falling onto her grandmother's wrinkled hand. Her grandmother continued talking.
"No. That's not it. It was my own fear. I was scared that if I lost you too, like I lost my son and daughter-in-law, I wouldn't be able to take it. Your parents loved you a lot Masako. I made a terrible mistake. It was my own fear." Her grandmother kept repeating.
"You look just like your mother and you have your father's eyes Masako." The old lady said and handed a photograph to Masako. Masako's eyes widened at what she saw.
In the picture, holding her when she was just a baby was a woman who looked almost like her and a man. The boogeyman. Her father.
"Know that you are always loved Masako." The old lady said as she held her cheek.
"Otousan..." Masako whispered as she continued to stared out of the window of her grandmother's moonlit room.
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"I'm scared Mai." Masako whispered fearfully, her eyes searching for any signs of danger.
"I know. Here." Mai placed a key in Masako's hand.
"It's easier to hold onto a piece of reality." Mai assured Masako and gave her a comforting smile.
"Be back soon, I will be waiting." Masako said as she saw Mai disappear and clutched the key tighter.
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Masako woke up to find everything white. The dress she was wearing was a light blue, there was no urado, no smell of blood, it was just white. Her body felt so very heavy like it weighed a ton and there was something in her throat...
Masako started choking. Mai who had managed to doze off in her wheel chair woke up as she heard the choking noises and alerted the doctor. The whole SPR team surrounded their two youngest members, excluding Lin. Ayako was all over Masako, asking her how she was feeling with her head, being the doctor she was.
"You both scared us to death, especially you young miss, not waking up and all for a week." Bou-san pointed his finger accusingly at Masako.
"It's good that you are safe now, mate." John comforted with a kind smile. Naru just stood there, behind Mai's wheel chair with an annoyed look, being the narcissist jerk he was.
Masako turned her attention to Mai and took in her appearance. A neck support, a broken leg and maybe a few broken ribs. Typical.
"You are in a bad shape." Masako commented.
"Do you want me to fetch a mirror for you? You look like you have been in an earth quake." Mai retorted.
"You could at least thank me for saving your sorry ass." Mai pouted. Masako felt something hard and cold in her hand. It was Mai's key. Mai smiled sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.
"I kind of use it like a good luck charm. You weren't going to wake up. You got us really worried, you know, so...it is very childish..." Mai suddenly felt very conscious as everybody were staring at them both.
"Argh! Forget I ever said anything!" Everybody burst out laughing, except Naru who just smirked. Masako reached out and held Mai's hand in her's.
"Thank you, Mai." Mai smiled brightly.
"Anytime."
"You two" Ayako faced both Mai and Masako with her hands on her hips "have a hell lot of paying back to do. For all your work that we had to do."
"Since, two of our valuable members are currently in no position to do any kind of work, doesn't this call for a one week holiday boss man?" Yasuhara asked as everybody turned expectantly towards Naru. If he didn't agree he was in for a huge head ache.
"Fine." He said as he walked out of the room slamming the door shut behind him. Everybody broke out into loud cheers. Mai squeezed Masako's hand lightly and gave her a soft smile.
Masako was with her friends before she even knew it.