Ghost Hunt – Timepiece I: The Inferno

Foreword: This story is rated M for realistic themes. Adult, Violence, Offensive Language, etc. However, all of these themes are story driven. There will be no pointless fluff/lemon/lime/whateveryoucallit, violence, swearing and all of those sorts. Also, there are no random comedic scenes, only when they are needed or there is something notable during a break in between cases. The characters will be displayed as closely as the originals are until character development changes them. Due to the seven month break, all the characters will have some sort of change but it will be not as dynamic as Mai. Since Mai has a different job during the seven months, it is sure her personality will differ from the past. Mai, although more competent in defending herself, will not be overpowering but will be stronger than before, giving her more of an active, action-orientated role in the exorcisms and when getting attacked. The only OC that joins the main cast, although playing an important role, is not the main character. The star of the story is still Mai. The characters themselves in the pre-story and the after-story are, although not completely, out-of-character.

Naru, sitting at his new office desk, smirks. Yasuhara is sorting out some case files in the office.

Naru: As a warning, this series will have a lot of OC since it pertains to others as well as the main cast. Of course, there will not be any original characters other than one new SPR member… and no, Mai is still the star of this story. Isdefelt-san will leave out "White Heart' series (now called Akumu ga Sumu le Jou: Ghost Hunt) as it looks more like a sidestory and have this story as an alternate continuity of the final chapters in manga and anime.

Yasuhara: *Looks up from his sorting and calls out* Mai? Can you please do the honors?

Mai Skips in Happily.

Mai: Hey everyone! Anything that is an organization, group or other "brand name" related things, people, some specific places and areas, are made up by Isdefelt-chan and are not taken from anywhere else (other than the main cast and broader areas, as this IS a Fan-Fiction~). If there is a similar or close match to something already made, it is simply a coincidence and I apologize for this author's stunted creativity~.

Isdefelt opens the office door and peeks in from the crack.

Isdefelt: You're starting to sound like a certain narcissist right about now….

Mai: Gomen ne~ hehehe… :P

Isdefelt disappears from the door and the office door closes.

Naru: You are forgetting something of importance here… Isdefelt-san does not own Ghost Hunt. And Mai…

Mai: *Cheerfully* Yeeessss? Stops, her smile disappears, replaced by the horror of realizing what he is going to say next.

Naru: "Tea".

Case 1.0 – Lumen Est

Chapter I – Forewarning

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"There's that knocking again…"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"… Where is it coming from…"

Knock. Knock. *CRASH!*

"!"

*BOOM!* *Splinter* *Creak*

"…"

Knock. Knock. Knock…. Knock….

"It's gone…:

… … …*Ker-CHUNK!*

A Scream in the Dark…

]~-~._.~-~[

Mai Taniyama wakes up in confusion and a stabbing pain in her chest. For some strange reason, she has been having these dreams for a while now. It's as if something may happen soon and there is no way to stop it. However….

"Is this going to be in a future case we will be pursuing? I never get dreams before the case starts…"

She rubs her head, thinking about what had happened in the dream but all she remembers was the last bit, surrounded by never-ending darkness, an excruciating pain in her chest, and then finally blood everywhere.

I should go get ready anyhow… I don't want to be late for my photo op…

Yawning, Mai stretches out her sore limbs, ignoring the slowly subsiding pain in her chest. She shook her head a little, tossing her silky brown hair lightly. During the few months, she had grown out her hair and now it down to the middle of her slender back. Mai is also a bit taller than before, standing at 5"3' (160.02cm) and her figure slightly curvier than before. In all, she has become a very beautiful teenage girl at the age of 16 with a body like a slender super model (though albeit short).

The dream she had has no meaning at the moment but it frightening her, at least for a while until she got use to it. Opening the floral window curtains, which turned out to be made of a fine silk, the morning light shone in, illuminating her room with warm light. The room was spacious and decorated simply with light red wallpaper, complete with floral designs at the edges of the wallpaper. To the left of the large queen-size bed is a small vanity table with an elliptical mirror, framed by platinum.

It's been seven months since her original part-time job at SPR, Shibuya Psychic Research closed temporarily due to Shibuya Kazuya, aka. Professor Oliver Davis, whom Mai affectionately nicknamed him "Naru-chan" for "Narcissist", returned to England to properly bury his dead brother, Eugene Davis. In these seven months, "Monk" or "Bou-san" or his real name, Takigawa Houshou, travelled with Matsuzaki Ayako to Italy for a special performance for his now famous band. Ayako travelled with Houshou since it was the same destination they were headed to anyways; the priestess was invited to partake in a conference with famous doctors around the world that had gathered there. Hara Masako toured the world as a celebrity TV medium and had a little free time. John Brown returned to Australia to visit his church and was going to return later on while Yasuhara Osamu had been, and still is at a field school in his university class in Wales. Koujo Lin, of course, returned to England with Kazuya.

Mai herself fared no better in a way. Soon after SPR closed, Mai had been scouted by a modelling industry and she literally shot up to the top of the charts and received invitations from many idol companies and organizations. Even the famous Nostradamus Esméralda Società (NES), effectively the Nostradamus Esmeralda Corporation, known for their super idols and top-notch hosts offered her a place as a trainee idol. Mai gladly but reluctantly accepted the NES offer after a lot of persuading from her kind co-workers and CEO of the modelling company she worked at for a month. Four months later and Mai was the super idol at the top of every listing in Japan, coming in as the "Idol Princess" of the celebrity industry. She uses the stage name 'Miata Nayami' so other people won't recognize her outside of work.

Singing, Dancing, and her looks were already considered "angelic" by her admirers, fans, manager and even other people who don't care much about idols. "The Radiant Angel" was her nickname given to her by many people after her singing concert dressed as an angel it that nickname stuck on like superglue to paper, which kind of embarrassed her as standing out so much really got her uncomfortable (even though she's already the hot topic out there).

"Hm… I wonder what Koto-chan is doing right now…" Mai looked up at the ceiling, thinking about her friend she made during her career as an idol. Koto-chan is Mai's nickname for Miyuki Shimiya. Miyuki's stage name is Kiyosumi Kotori, which she shortens to KotoriKyu. Miyuki is a refined and cultured girl from a very rich family but is missing the 'arrogant snob' personality trait that goes with being rich, spoiled and powerful. The reason is because she is the last surviving member of her family; her family was killed by a pair of mass murderers on a rampage to escape a platoon of cops chasing them down, gunning down innocent bystanders as the two ran. Miyuki, at the age of six, was with her two brothers, mother, father, aunts, uncles and grandparents that day, visiting a shrine to pay respect to the gods. It was on this fateful day, the murderers passed the area and killed everyone in the shrine before they were finally brought down by the cops and some military forces that were called on to help. The body count was horrendous, and the only confirmed survivor of the massacre was Miyuki, who was the luckiest one, only sustaining a bullet injury to the upper left arm and lower left leg…

Shaking her head about the horrifying memory her friend had told her about, the super idol then made her bed, sporting soft pink bed covers and baby blue pillows. A reddish-brown mahogany frame decorates the four-poster bed all the way to an elegant canopied structure, complete with silky white lace curtains that are semi-transparent, fitting of a real princess. Unlike others, Mai didn't like having others helping her even if they were paid to like butlers and maids, which is why she bought a small home near her original apartment and had it completely redesigned and refurbished to be a little more established and more Victorian style.

Heading to the bathroom, Mai quickly picks up the outfit she laid out yesterday night from the drawer top to the left of her and entered the lavish bathroom. The entire restroom was a soft blue except the wall the mirror and hand sink was attached to. That wall was a deep blue, surrounded by clouds and a shining sun design, imitating the skies on a sunny day. After placing her clothing on a stand, she brushes her teeth first before entering the shower stall beside the spacious soaking tub. She takes off her clothing, folds them into neat squares and places them in the laundry basket just outside of the stall. Mai then turns on the shower as soon as she shuts the door to the shower.

While taking the shower, Mai turned the quick shower time into another self-inspection period. Checking her own body for any blemishes or injures, she notices a bleeding stab wound just left of center of her chest where are heart should be and yelps in surprise. She rubs her eyes, accidentally getting shampoo in them, causing her to trip and fall flat onto the large shower stall floor.

"Owwie…" she whimpers and nurses her sore back, picks herself up then re-inspects the area of the wound. It wasn't there anymore. No wound, no bleeding, no other abnormalities. She checked over herself again to make sure that there were no other injuries or any more illusions.

Must've been a lingering effect of that dream, Mai thought for a moment and quickly finished her shower. The liquid effect of water on bare skin gleamed and anyone who sees Mai in all her natural glory will fall to their knees and call her their goddess. The dearly beloved girl we have here takes a white towel off the rack and dries her hair and the rest of her body. Mai then combs her silky and soft hair and ties it up into a pony tail with a red hair ribbon, leaving the ribbon in a bow.

While Mai gets herself dressed, she quickly goes over her mental training she has done for the past seven months to increase the control she had over her peculiar abilities. Mai's latent ESP abilities had grown vastly during the same seven months. Through practice and meditation, she is now able to temper her mind and stay calm when she experiences the victim's situation while she has a retro-cognitive dream. With her limited clairvoyance, Mai can more often be able to pin point why she feels something is right or wrong without just "knowing". Also as a result of her developing powers, Mai discovered a very unique ability that allows her to attack the target physically or attack and overload an individual's mind/spirit directly without harming the actually body through psionic blasts. Of course, this meant she could now fend off human attackers and spirits in a similar way to Naru now.

But still, I cannot control this power very well…. It's like Naru's… she stops mid-thought and shakes her head. The difference is that Mai can increase and decrease the amount of power that she uses. When she had learned this, she was able to control the power output to suit her needs. Only high-level power bursts would cause her to faint. Dangerously high levels of power may cause her to go into cardiac arrest. Anywhere within her limit and she'll be fine, or at the very most, physically and mentally exhausted. However, Mai has to keep herself level-headed and under control or else the power would go out of control, hurting or even possibly killing herself from the recoil and everyone around her. The worst part about this ability is that it sometimes fails to activate. When one is such a danger magnet like Mai is, power failing to activate in the most crucial times can be costly. One more peculiar thing; Mai keeps on developing more and different variants of her abilities for the past seven months, causing her to wonder what's going to happen next.

At the same time, Mai also learned a few tricks of exorcisms. There was one time where she had been told of a paranormal phenomenon by a friend and Mai decided to help out. The "unofficial" case was turned on its head when Mai realized the cause of the disturbance was due to a demon. The demon had her friend in its clutches and was slowly draining the life of the said friend. Mai's first instinct was to run to him and help, however, something pulled at her mind and she instead put her hands together and started an exorcism spell she'd learned. It was long and harsh to remember due to the magnitude of the incantation. The demon instantly recognized the incantation from the very first words and tried to silence Mai by throwing her friend at her, causing them both to topple over and fall on to the ground. Mai, however, remained steadfast even on the ground with her eyes closed, wincing and pausing a moment and continued the spell until the demon was completely destroyed. That was when Mai deemed herself fit to be of use in supernatural cases. What she didn't know was that successfully destroying a demon meant she's now more powerful than her ex-colleagues now in purifications and exorcisms.

Mai saunters lightly over to a large mirror on an oaken frame for a final self-inspection. Mai has a light pink t-shirt on that has a small red heart design in the lower left of the shirt. Her lower body is covered by a light brown mini skirt that reaches just below her pale thighs. She has on a pair of long white socks that reach 2cm below her skirt. Her reddish-brown eyes are still large and round, reminiscent of herself 7 months ago, but the same eyes have a sparkle to them, a sparkle that makes her seem even lovelier than she already is. Her long brown hair shines from the morning shower, causing the girl whose reflection is on the mirror to giggle at her own lively appearance and strikes a pose.

"Okay! Time for some breakfast… oh no!" Mai squeals as she finally noticed the time.

"No time for breakfast… aww, now I'll have to eat on the go!"

Mai runs to the kitchen to nab a piece of bread she had in the bread cabinet then pours herself a small glass of water. She gulps down the water quickly and then… trips over her feet and face-plants onto the hardwood floor. The bread piece flies up and lands on the back of her head for added insult.

"Uwaah…." Mai whimpers for the second time within an hour, "I wish I was not this clumsy…"

The poor girl picked herself up again, taking the piece of bread off her head and put a corner in her mouth, rushed downstairs, past the main hallway and finally reaches the main entrance. Mai goes to the shoe cabinet and takes a pair of stylish brown leather boots that reaches approximately the middle of her sock-clad calf when she puts them on. Mai then carefully steps out the door so that she would not trip over the small ledge of the door.

I will NOT be late…

About an hour after the Photo Op at Tokyo Central Plaza, Mai fell on to a large couch in the resting lounge, taking a sip of iced lemon tea in a glass. Her manager had taken the day off due a heavy flu, the said manager to the bed for at least a week. Although the Photo op was self-directed – since Mai has been living on her own for a long time – it pulled through flawlessly.

"Oh my… that was really tiring…" Mai mumbled to herself. Suddenly, she felt sleep tugging at her conscious. Eh…? I haven't felt this since he left… I wonder what it might be this… without being able to complete her thought, the tired girl slipped into a deep sleep.

-Astral Plane-

What…? Where… Oh! Isn't this where I usually come to in a dream during a case? Mai thought to herself, looking around at a black and white, or rather, white on black version of the room. Balls of light float about, the will-o'-the-wisp like spirits gently float as if suspended in a vast black ocean.

Well, since I'm here, what do I do? Mai steps around the room, taking a look at room in this perspective. Everything is in the same place other than the feeling of the room now that it is in her dreamscape.

"It's been a long time Mai, nice to see you again."

Ehhh! Mai stiffens and slowly turns around and sees a familiar face, so similar to her narcissistic boss who's in Britain at the moment yet completely different. The gentle smile of the said person, or rather, spirit guide did not make Mai's heart to leap out of her chest, meaning it couldn't be her boss. The same look, the same height, the same hair color and the same eyes…

"G-Gene!" Mai stutters right at the start, "h-how? …Why…?"

The Naru-look-a-like-but-actually-his-dead-twin-brother smiles warmly.

"To be honest, I've already passed on. However, it seems that you still need some help with controlling and managing your dreams so you don't fall at the seams and so I came back," Gene, or rather, Eugene Davis, smirked after the speech, imitating his twin brother's infuriating smirk.

"Gene! Why you," Mai mock pouts but goes up to and hugs him. Gene laughs lightly and returns the hug.

"It's nice to see you too," Mai smiles as they step back from each other. "So what are you doing here this time? I'm pretty sure you don't come out here just for a chat."

Gene facepalms. "You're starting to sound like a certain narcissist…"

The said girl then smirks, "Gene. Tea."

That brought a laugh from the spirit guide. "There's no doubt about it, now we have a Mini-Naru in the party."

"Hey! I'm not that bad," Mini-Naru, or Mai complains. (Mai: *Glares at Author*)

"Anyhow, you are right. There is something going on that I think you need to check out... ready for the dream, Mai?"

The girl happily nods, "Yep, I think I'm ready."

"Okay," Gene then pushes the brunette into a pool.

As the girl fell into the pool and disappears, Gene trips and falls on the ground.

"…Mai… you sure became devious…" he chuckles has he picks himself up, looking down and seeing a cube stuck to the floor that caused him to trip. The cube had a sticky note on it and Gene bends down to pick up the sticky note.

'I knew you were going to doing something like that~ Have a piece of your own medicine! – Mai'

"Noll sure picked up a fine young lady… I hope he doesn't take you for granted…"

Gene puts the note into his pocket and leaves the room, disappearing after he exits the door.

-Dreamscape-

"Uwaah…. What happened?" I brush my hair out of my face. Noticing the watch my boyfriend gave me as a birthday present.

...Huh? Wait, I don't believe it. I'm late for my date! I better go head off to meet him at the park. I hope he doesn't get annoyed. I take my bag off the desk, glancing at the name tag – Misaka Amane – then check around the desk area to see if I've lost or dropped anything else. With a sigh, I take the bag and put the straps around my shoulder.

Yawning, I get off my school desk's chair and head for the door. It seems like detention is the only thing I seem to be getting these days. Walking down the hallway, I grumble at the stupid teacher whom had left me here asleep during detention. I was asleep for two hours, what a waste of precious time with my boyfriend.

"Haaa…. I think I'll get a gift for him to apologize for my lateness." I giggle and skip down the hallway. Turning I corner, I notice a man standing in the doorway of another classroom. Curious, I gingerly step towards the figure and when I reach him…

"Kya!" I cry out as all the light in the building suddenly vanish. Wasn't it still day time right now? Why is everything so dark?

"…Bad…girls… must… be… punished…. Yes sire, yes sire…"

The dark figure slowly turned its head towards me and I shudder; his eyes were crimson with demonic slit-like pupils, bleeding from his left eye.

"N-No… No! Stay away from me!" I shriek and back away, tripping over my own feet and ending up falling to the ground with a loud thump.

"Bad… Bad… Must be… punished…"

The figure with the demon eyes lifted an arm upward that held a large cleaver.

"Punishment… shall be dealt…"

"Iyaaaaaa!"

…Everything Ended in a Bluish-White Explosion of Light…

The girl sleeping on the couch wakes up with a jolt, a few tear drops falling from her reddish-brown eyes. Her retro-cognition had intensified just a month ago due to training, giving her very accurate descriptions of what had occurred in the dream that she can clearly remember. Slapping her hands gently to her cheeks to wake herself up, Mai turns her head and looks at the clock hanging on the wall.

Hm… it's only quarter-to-four. I've only slept for about half an hour… luckily there's nothing else I need to do until five o'clock. I wonder if the dream I just had has something to do with the appointment at five. I better go do some research on the name I've gotten during the dream.

As Mai Taniyama, the beautiful brunette idol has gotten herself quite a reputation for solving small paranormal cases brought to her by her friends at school. No one knows about her double-life: Mai Taniyama, the class-favorite honor student who works in the shadows of the paranormal and Miata Nayami, one of the youngest professional idols that step into the light. The girl is so successful and popular that she is allowed to create her own work schedule to suit herself. Only the two closest friends and her guardian/manager know the truth about her life and kept this a secret. No one else, not even neighbours, other classmates nor teachers know.

Mai gets herself off the couch and heads out the door, disguising herself by putting on her school uniform and ties up her hair into a long pony tail, leaving two longer side bangs that seem to frame her face. Normally, the more observant people are able to see through her disguise. But naturally, Mai also switches her behavior to a more clumsy, bubbly and possibly "younger" version of herself that causes the observant people to think that Mai is similar, but not identical to Miata. Mai sneaks out of the lounge and scrambles off from a hidden entrance that only those who are VIPs or workers in the building know of. Luckily, no one spots her and she breaks away from her celebrity status, becoming the more comfortable and happy-go-lucky Mai everyone adores.

"All right, time to go check on that name…" Mai mumbles to herself as she walks back to the local library to use one of the computers. The self-made paranormal investigator preferred to use her personal computer or laptop, but her home was around an hour's walk away and she preferred to walk more than going on the transit lines. Besides, the appointment at five o'clock is going to be at a high school near the library. Even though she returned to her "Mai Mode", she still turns heads everywhere she goes. And Mai, being Mai, doesn't like it at all and she responds by opening her bag and taking out a cap that she places on her head. This half-worked.

At least I am not getting as much attention when I did not put on the cap.

Mai turned into the library and checked out a Special Projects Section computer for an hour. After turning a few more heads, the girl entered the Special Projects Section and finally settled down on a chair in front of a computer. After a few minutes of writing down some basic information of the name she had gotten from the dream. Mai was about to give up on finding something interesting when she noticed a tag on the webpage. Frowning, she clicks on it and…

Oh… my… this is… not good at all. What have I gotten myself into?

Compiling all the data together, this is what the young investigator finds out about Misaka Amane. Misaka Amane, Age 16, Female. Misaka Amane is a second year at Seiryukou High, a fairly high-standard school. Although it's a public high school, it is one of the more prestigious institutes. The school itself has no notable course subjects or extracurricular activities. Misaka Amane was known as the "trouble-maker" of her class, known as "Aku-no-Hana" in the school. A natural beauty with fairly rich parents, Misaka was classy, snobbish and arrogant. She loved to flirt and seduce boys, especially the ones whom already have a girlfriend. This caused the female population to dislike her, although the small group of girls that follows her are smitten with her appearance. Not only does she skip class and distract other students in class, Amane also had a tendency to ignore the teacher and played each and everyone one of them. Amane kept on antagonizing the female population and the teachers. However, this was not the actual problem. The problem is that "was" and "had" are used. Let's summarize the profile – Family Name: Misaka, Given Name: Amane, Age: Sixteen Years Old, Gender: Female, Status: Deceased.

Misaka Amane the Alpha-Bitch of Seiryukou High was found dead in the hallways four months ago. The cause of death was a knife wound to the heart and blood loss. The murder weapon was found still stuck in the dead girl's body but the strange thing was that there is absolutely no DNA on the handle, not even glove marks or something tangible. Nothing can be that abstract and unmarking, so the case was closed with Misaka Amane's death being a case of accidental misplacement of dangerous equipment.

"This… is going to be a long day." Mai sighs out in discontent.

Mai: Ooh… what's this? I'm getting a case for myself?

Isdefelt: *Peeks in from the door* It's only for the first case, since Naru isn't here yet.

Mai: Eh… *Yawns* I'm tired… I think I need a nap.

Naru shoves Isdefelt into a wall, away from the door and walks in from outside the office.

'CRASH!'

Naru: Mai's dreams vary in points of view. Please consult my idiotic assistant during the pre-story in each chapter for the point of view the dreamscape is based on. This time, it's a First Person point of view.

Mai lies down on the couch and is starting to close her eyes.

Mai: …

Naru then glares at Mai

Naru: Mai. Tea.

Mai: *Instantly sits back up* Hai hai… *Gets up and stumbles into the kitchen to make tea. Not before she trips over and falls on her face once first before getting up and entering the kitchen."

Naru: … *Facepalm*

Mai's Learning Corner!

Mai happily skips into the classroom.

Mai: Minna-san! Welcome to Mai's Story and Japanese-English Learning Corner! During this time, I will be teaching you some of the romaji words that were used in the chapter as well as get some character points out of the way. If you have forgotten the main storyline and the characters, this will be place you'll relearn the story. Let's get started, shall we?

Mai picks up a book.

Mai: First of all, Shibuya Kazuya is my boss, the owner of SPR, Shibuya Psychic Research. Shibuya Kazuya is an alias Naru uses… Oh yeah, Naru-chan is the nickname I used for Kazuya as he is suuuch a Narcissist~.

Mai puts the book back down and twiddles her fingers a little.

Mai: Naru-chan's real identity is Oliver Davis, a famous paranormal researcher of the original SPR located in Britain; Society for Psychical Research. Let's go to the Japanese Romaji words now, shall we?

Mai takes out a book from nowhere and opens it.

Mai: I used the word "Hai" in the After-story. This is means "Yes" in English. The translation is how it sounded like in English, so don't think so much about it. The second word I just used in the beginning of the Learning Corner is "Minna-san". "Minna" is the romaji translation of "Everyone" in English. The last part, "san", is an attached honorific as to treat others with respect. This is the most common honorific and is the one most familiar to non-Japanese people. This is commonly translated as "Mr." or "Ms.". The "-chan" attached to some words is another honorific. This general, informal term of endearment is most frequently used for and between girls. It can also be used for pets, small children regardless of gender, friends, and lovers. It's like the cultural equivalent of calling John, Johnny. I use it for close friends and female classmates. Both "Haaa…" and "Kya" are translated words more of onomatopoeia in romaji; the first one is like a person sighing, or in some cases panting. Usually it's sighing. "Kya", is like a girl screaming out in fright or something… I don't know why they had to make it that way, but just stick with it since it's out there. "Iya", however is similar to "iie", which is "No". "Iyaaaaaa"…. The one that appeared in the dream is, for this story only, an elongated version depicting the person shouting out "Iya" and holding the last vowel longer than normal. "Aku-no-Hana" literally translates to "Evil Flower" in English.

Oh yeah, Isdefelt…. Or Isa-chan I call her, often puts a Tilde (~) at the end of a sentence to indicate a melodic voice or sing-song voice at the moment. It's usually far lighter in mood than regular sentences unless someone was being sarcastic with it.

Mai looks up from the book.

Mai: Err… I still have no clue why I can read and speak English so perfectly… but since this story is in English I think it is better this way. Anyhow, I will help guide you throughout the story, so if you have anything that you do not understand, refer to my learning corner after the after-story for help~.

Yasuhara peeks in from the door.

Yasu: Mai-chan~ Naru's calling for you~.

Mai: Ugh… okay, thanks for telling me Yasu-chan~ I guess I'll be going now. Goodbye everyone!~