Wow! Well here I am again, with a sequel to Changing. This is long overdue and I know it, Im so sorry for all you people that have been waiting for this!
I also want to say Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed Changing, without you I would never have made this sequel.
Disclaimer: I do not own ghost hunt.
It has only been 2 months since I came back and joined the old team. It was almost frustrating how easily I had gone back to working for Oliver again. Why did I decide to work for him again? I don`t even call him Naru anymore, that should have been a big hint that we are not the same old thing. But still here I am, working under the same guy that threw me out like trash.
They don`t even know the whole truth of what I did on my travels. I made up some lie about seeing the world and they believed it. Nico says I should tell them, something about it being harmful to the cases with how it is. I kinda see what he means but I just can`t make myself tell them. The thought scares me more than I would like to admit. Sometimes I wanted to tell them but I couldn't bring myself to fully trust them. They were the ones who left me alone. The gang had not talked about it yet, but I was waiting for it. The talk that could make or break the future. Of course I was nervous, I had not forgiven them for what they did. I didn't know if I could, and that scared me.
In these times I couldn`t have been more grateful to be friends with Nico. He kept me together and made me believe that everything was going to be ok. He was the support I always wanted Oliver to be. Some days I could forget my love for Oliver and wonder how much I loved Nico instead. But no matter how many days was like that, I still couldn`t shake the love for Oliver totally off.
Yes two months went by very fast just like the two years beforehand. It didn't go long before the routine was back like it used to be. The difference was that we had Nico working with us on cases as well. Sometimes he came with me to work at the office, I suspect it was to watch over me. He and Naru have been fighting a lot. They just don't go together well and I don`t know why. It`s not like they beat each other up, more like they always have a glaring competition going on. Its like a silent fight, they just glare but you can see how they are actually fighting inside. It could be hilarious but sometimes it was more annoying.
Right now we were on a case, which seems normal enough. I already know that there were three ghosts involved here. I won`t tell Naru yet though, I had to get some "sleep" first. That was how I hid my knowledge and powers. If I told him the information came from a dream he wouldn't think that I had gotten it any other way. It was quite a good way to make sure I could still use my new powers and such without him and the gang finding out.
We had just finished setting up the monitors and cameras and I was about to take my "nap".
"Mai, Tea" And there it was, the famous phrase that my boss seemed to love. I rolled my eyes at the order and got up to get it.
"I can go with you" Nico said.
"I`m gonna be fine Nico, you don't have to go with me" He almost protested, but I gave him a stare and he obeyed. He was good at following orders, but he also put me way too high. He would probably insist on making the tea as he thought I was above such servant like activity.
He disapproved of Narus way to boss me around which in a way I could see why. I did get annoyed by Oliver at times, but if I truly didn't want to do something I could easily not do it. No matter what Oliver said he never fired me so it didn't matter.
As I waited for the water to heat up, I started to think about the case we had. The ghosts here had decided that they didn't like two friends of the woman who hired us. Her two male friends were often shoved or pushed down when they visited her. At first she had thought they were just very clumsy, but a week ago one of the friends were pushed down the stairs. The friend broke a leg and didn't dare to come visit her anymore.
Oliver didn't think it would be a hard case so he only asked monk to come with us. So that made a team of four this time. me, Nico, Oliver, and Monk. Lin who normally would be here, was on a visit to his family in china. In one way this made me nervous, not because of the case. But his family is the one who taught me when I was in china. Hopefully he wouldn't hear about me from them.
I finished pouring the tea into a cup and started walking towards the others. Nothing happened on the way so I just gave the tea to Naru and went straight for the couch. It was normal for me to take a nap after all the equipment was in place. Monk suddenly threw a pillow at me, which I thankfully caught before it could hit my face.
"Sleep tight" he said with a smirk.
The moment my head fell on the pillow I fell asleep, ready to gather more information.
It was still weird to be in so much control. Now I could get almost whatever info that I wanted. I just had to be careful with what I said when I was awake. If I could tell Naru everything he needed to know, then he would start to suspect me.
DREAM START
As usual I opened my eyes to find darkness which no longer frightened me. I looked around me and started to search for the ghosts. It didn't take me long to find one of them, but the weird thing was that he looked like Nico. Of course, I knew that he really didn't look like that. I had seen all the three ghosts already so it was just a question of what this meant. When he saw me he started to smile.
"There you are, I was looking for you" He told me
"Why? Did something happen?" I went along with it, as I started to analyse the situation.
"No, I wanted to tell you something" Then before I got the chance to reply, he kissed me.
It was not a long one, but I was still left with a short breath. Mostly out of surprise though.
"I love you" he said with a loving smile.
I almost forgot about it being a dream, I wanted this to be true. The truth though was too clear to be overseen. I could only stare at him with a sad look. I was about to talk when I felt someone take my hand from behind me.
"Mai" It sounded like Naru and I was not surprised when I saw the second ghost appear as him.
He kissed my hand in a way that Naru never would, before he too kissed me. I didn't know what to do, the two of them were now holding onto me.
"Mai, please choose" they said simultaneously.
I was tired of this craziness so I decided to stop it.
"Can you both please stop it?"
"I love you, I can`t live without you" They were still saying the same thing. It was really starting to annoy me.
"let go!" I got away from their hands.
"Why are you leaving? I thought you loved me" I couldn't see that they had any ill intentions, but this was still very much creepy.
"Why are you two doing this?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did you die?" Both of them stopped their movements. The Nico look alike wasn't looking at me anymore. Naru kept watching me looking a bit hurt. They turned away and dissapeared into the darkness, leaving me frustrated. I sighed loudly but found no reason to cry over lost milk so I went to find the last ghost.
The third ghost I found was a woman. She was pacing in circles muttering to herself.
"They are so stupid! They cant leave a poor girl alone. They don't get it do they? The girl probably don't even want them. I shoul…"
"Excuse me? Who are they?" The rage was radiating off her, and it was kinda hard to take.
She looked surprised up at me and in a flash she was by my side.
"Oh! You poor girl"
"What?" I was no girl, I was a woman.
"You must really be tired by those boys aren't you?"
"What boys?" I had my suspicions to who she meant.
"The two who love you, of course."
Now this was a shocker, Nico and Naru loving me! No that wasn't true.
"They don't love me"
"Shh, they do! They are always fighting over you"
"That's not because they love me, at least not like that. Nico is just a bit overdramatic and Naru has already shot me down" This woman couldn't possibly be telling the truth. Maybe she were just misunderstanding the two.
"It is better if you stop hanging around them, they will only give you grief" The woman was now looking sad, like she was reliving a memory.
"I won`t" The words came too quick.
"You must" The woman whispered so low it was hard to hear. "if you don't, you will only regret it. I know its hard but it is for the best" She was crying now.
I put my arms around her, hoping it would calm her down.
"What is your name?" I had forgotten to ask the other ghosts, but for now it was important to help this woman. Even if she was a ghost she could still feel.
It took a little while before she said anything, and I almost gave up hope.
"Honda Yuko"
"Well my names Taniyama Mai, im here to help you"
"How?" Yuko got out of the hug so she could look at me.
"I will help you get some peace"
"I will never be free from the pain" There was hurt in her voice.
"Maybe not by yourself but im here."
She was going to say something, but before she could I felt a tug from reality. I didn't want to leave before I got some more info. The tugging became stronger and I decided it was best to give in to it.
"Im sorry but I have to leave. Someone is trying to wake me up"
She nodded her head a little sad. "Will you come back?"
"I promise" I gave her a big smile, which made her smile a little.
DREAM END
I woke up to everybody looking at me.
"What?" I asked, it seemed I may have slept a bit longer than intended.
"Its gone a full hour, we were worried something had happened" Monk always the worrier.
I feigned shock and hurried up on my feet. "I guess kazuya wants his tea" I was about to leave the room.
"You must be an idiot to not tell about your dream" He doesn't even ask If I had a dream.
"There isn't much to say. I think there are three ghosts at least I didn't meet any more than that. Two guys and one woman. I dont know the name of the guys but the woman told me her name was Honda Yuko." I started to leave again, but was once more stopped.
"What did they do?" Oliver was too nosy. I pretended to be thinking and said with just right tone.
"Nothing really, they didn't give any clues as to what Is going on here." I needed to think a bit more before I could start giving out more clues.
Nico stood up to follow me, and for once I didn't want him with me. It wasnt unusual for me to tell him to stay at base, but this time I really didn't want him with me.
"Nico, you don't need to follow me" I gave him a look and he took the hint. I could see that he wanted to go but at least he respected my wishes. Not like Naru who almost never did that, except for when I told him my dreams.
The moment I left the room I sighed in relief. I looked at the door and started thinking of the two boys that I loved. None whom I could ever believe would return the love. I turned around and almost shrieked when the client stood right in front of me. Luckily no sound came out. Just because I could see more with my powers it didn't make it impossible to frighten me.
The poor woman looked so guilty and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Im sorry, its been awhile since I got spooked like that. To be honest I think I needed that" I tried to stop laughing as I spoke and succeeded somewhat. I still had a big smile on my face, and looked at the woman.
"Oh no! I should be the one to be sorry. I should have given you a warning."
"Its fine, was there something you needed?"
"Um well, no maybe its just stupid. It cant be important"
"Are you sure? Anything could be of importance"
"Ah yes, I shouldn't have bothered you."
"If your sure, than I won`t push you. Im going to the kitchen to make some tea, do you want to come?"
"Okay"
To lift the mood I started to talk about everyday stuff. Like I had travelled the world and came back just two months ago. When I told her of the countries she started to liven up a little and ask me some questions. I gladly shared her my experiences, but kept out the part about the paranormal training. She told me about her life and how she had been alone a lot in her childhood. When she grew up she got to know these two guys, who were practically her only friends. They are the ones who have been attacked by the ghosts here. I felt there were something more, but I didn't like to push her.
As I made the tea I was reminded about the dream I had. The client was still talking, but I started to space out. Nico and Oliver telling that they loved me, what could it mean? Maybe the ghosts were doing it unconsciously, but then they reacted to my question about their deaths. They must have known. Then why disguise themselves, did they have a goal? Well duh, there is something keeping them here, of course they have a goal of some sort.
Nico and Oliver doesn't really love me, and then we got Yuko who told me that they did. At the same time she didn't want me to be together with them. If I connect the two what do I get? Was she a friend of the other two? What does this have to do with our client?
"Excuse me" Suddenly I was looking at the client again. She looked worried at me and I realized I must have spaced out. My cheeks flushed a little, I have to be careful and keep the thinking to when im alone.
"Im sorry! I must have spaced out" The woman pointed to the now boiling water.
I quickly fixed the tea, which I then took with me.
"Is everything okay? You looked a bit troubled" She asked.
"Yes, I was just thinking of the case" She nodded in reply.
"Well I have to go now, I just remembered I have things to do"
"Of course, If there is anything you shouldn't hesitate to talk to us" I gave her a smile as she left.
Later that evening we were just sitting around. Nothing had happened which isn't so weird since sometimes ghosts took some time to get used to strangers. It was a shame that masako wasn't with us, she could have easily spoken to the ghosts. If I just went over to Yuko who was now just standing in a corner looking worried, I would reveal myself. Since everybody was bored it seemed like the staring competition between Nico and Naru was worse than ever. One of them would probably explode soon. I was tired of the tense atmosphere of the two which in turn was starting to irritate me. Poor Monk was trying to not die under the pressure of the two. Maybe I should do something.
"Nico" The effect was immediate, he looked straight at me.
"Yes Hime" And there was the nickname, I mentally shook my head.
"I`m going out for a walk, you want to come?" I didn't need to ask, if he could he would have followed my every footstep.
"Of course" I almost missed the smirk he sent to Naru. Now why were the two of them like this? I could already see that Naru would say something about it being too dangerous to go.
"Mai, you should stay at base" yup, I called it. But the thing was that I was more defiant now. If I wanted to go out I went out. I would respect him when his demands were reasonable but there were nothing happening here there was no reason to stay.
"I`m sorry mr Kazuya, but there are no reason for me to stay at the moment. If something were to happen we will of course return to base at once" Then I left without so much of a glance more at Oliver.
I didn't need to look behind me to know that Nico was there. I went straight out wanting to get out into the fresh evening air. There were no cameras out here so I felt more free than inside.
I let out a breath and closed my eyes with a smile. Nico were quiet not saying a word, he could probably see that I needed this little moment.
"I`m so close to the truth of this house, but the ghosts are acting weird. And I`m worried about Yuko I think she was just an innocent bystander" I said with my eyes closed.
"You should be more worried about the living people" Nico said. I turned to him an opened my eyes.
"I know but most people don't worry about the ghosts, they are people as well. The only true difference is that one side is alive and the other is dead" I stared at him.
"You should be more careful, they may seem like the living but they aren't like us. One day that thinking will get you killed"
"Cant living people kill? The living can go mad too, not just the dead but both sides can" I said a little too loud. He looked even more worried now.
"Still, please be careful." He begged of me.
"I will try" it became quiet for a few seconds.
Aside from that, what did you really dream about?" He asked after finally letting the argument go.
I turned away and watched him from the corner of my eye. It would be embarrassing to tell him about the dream, but it always felt better to share my dreams fully. Nico was also a great listener and I trusted him.
"In my dream the two male ghosts was pretending to be Kazuya and…" My cheeks flushed. How could I tell him?
"And.." He looked curious.
"And….. you." He looked shocked at me.