I participated to the Ghost Hunt Exchange on tumblr this year again (it always is a lot of fun with great art and stories, check the GHHQ tumblr if you want to read those who haven't been published on ffnet), thus wrote a little something, which turned into a bigger something because I ended with a multi-chaptered problem in my hands.
Anyway, the requested themes were fluff and mystery, with a dash of Mairu. I hope this will fulfill the expectations!
Mai knew something wasn't right the moment she set foot into the base.
She had come here led by a nagging suspicion that something about the case they were investigating was amiss. The slight feeling of unease she hadn't been able to dismiss since they had arrived at the ryokan had grown into a foreboding unrest, as if her intuition was trying to warn her. And for once, Mai had listened to it.
Finally decided to share her worry with the rest of the team she had headed straight toward the base where she was sure to find Lin glued to his monitors and Naru to his black notebook, working on the case.
When she entered the room she was indeed greeted by the sight of her narcissistic boss.
"Hey, Nar—"
Her voice died before she could call him.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Lin was missing.
And Naru, oblivious to his surroundings, was preparing tea with slow, careful movements.
The sight was so alien it left her speechless. Why would he…
Her eyes widen as all the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place. Now she understood what had been bothering her for days.
Naru hadn't been acting like himself.
It had been subtle enough to go unnoticed for a while, but Mai wasn't fooled anymore. Her narcissistic boss would never make tea, at least not when she was available to do so. It surely wasn't a coincidence that the recently departed owner of the onsen had been in charge of preparing tea for the guests while alive.
She held her breath, recalling Lin's alarm the last time his charge had been possessed. If whatever spirit which was inhabiting him figured out what sort of power the young psychic was holding, the consequences could be dire. He hadn't noticed her presence yet, all she had to do was leave and tell the others and-
Naru suddenly stopped and slowly, very slowly, turned his head to face her, revealing glassy eyes.
"Mai."
Her name was rasped in an low, almost threatening voice.
She should have realized she was drawn toward danger like a magnet.
It was too late.
Mai muffled a scream and did the only reasonable thing she could think of in these circumstances.
She ran as fast as she could