Chapter One
DAY ONE
MARCH
My name is Yazawa Yuki. I am a highschool student in my last year and my bestfriend just so happens to be Taniyama Mai, a first year in my school. Mai had helped me get the part-time job that I have now. She said she had told her boss about my psychic abilities. I told her they were nothing to brag about, but I assumed her boss liked what he heard.
Now I was walking with Mai on my way to my first day on the job. It was the weekend and I had to tell my guardian that I would be sleeping with my team. She seemed fine with it. Whatever got me out of the house. I glanced over at Mai as we came closer to the SPR building.
"Mai? What kind of work do you do here?" I asked, becoming a little curious. I had a job I didn't even know what I was to expect. Mai looked at me and smiled.
"Don't worry. You will know soon enough." Mai said. I narrowed my eyes and sighed. I fixed a few pieces of my green hair and clipped my bangs back. My eyes seemed to wander when we stopped in front of the building. I looked up and noticed a van in front of it. There was a tall man with long blonde hair pulled back. He turned to us and grinned.
"Well hey Mai-San. Is this the new girl Naru said was joining us?" He asked as he walked over. He patted Mai's head and looked at me.
"Yeah, this is Yazawa Yuki, Bou-San. She is gonna be Naru's third assistant." Mai said with a bright smile.
"Three assistants? How many does he really need? I though Lin did a fine job." Bou said as he chuckled a bit.
"Well, I guess he just likes more company." Mai said as she thought about it for a second.
"So, Yuki-San, what's your special power?" Bou asked. I paused a second, wondering if I really should tell him. The only person who knew before this company, was Mai.
"Well...I can see spirits. And I can talk to them..and they talk to me.." I whispered as I lowered my head and played with the trim of my skirt. My white button up shirt was tucked into it.
"Wow, that's impressive. That's why Naru hired you. Oh! Speaking of which." Bou turned just as a young looking man walked out with a taller man behind him. "Naru, the others are meeting us at the Mansion." I turned to see the younger man nod his head. Could this really be my boss? He didn't look much older than I was.
"Good. Lord Ashitaka will meet us when we arrive. He will be our client." Naru said as he looked directly at me. "You must be Yazawa-San. Welcome to the team." He said with a nod. I nodded and bowed in front of him. There was no emotion on his face as he introduced his top assistant. "This is Lin, he is my assistant, along with yourself and Mai." I nodded as the others started to pile into the van. Mai gestured for me to sit next to her. I jumped into the seat next to her and then Bou jumped in after me. He placed his arm up the top of the seat and behind me after shutting the sliding door.
DAY ONE
NIGHT
After we had met with Lord Ashitaka, the owner of the large Mansion, we started setting up our Base. Everything that was said in the meeting gave me chills.
"This is a serious matter. Since last we spoke, my two daughters have come up missing." Ashitaka said as he patted his forehead, removing the sweat. Lin typed away at his laptop as the man spoke. I watched as everyone in the room listened to the tale.
"How old are they?" Naru asked, keeping calm.
"Kaede is 13, and Aiyada is 15. They aren't the only girls who have turned up missing though. Last year, my brother's family came for a visit. He had three daughters, all around the same age as mine. They came up missing one night. After that we stopped renting out our rooms to travlers."
"Why did you stop?" Naru questioned. I was wondering if this was a dangerous job more than an extra curicular. Every bone in my body shook as Ashitaka continued his story.
"Every family that has come to this Mansion that had a daughter, a teenage daughter, have all left in dispair. All the teenage girls that enter this house..." He paused a second. "Have disappeared." I froze as I glanced over at Mai. She looked a little shaken up as well.
"What's the history on this house?" Lin asked. He didn't talk much, but when he did, something calmed me. I let out a small sigh and turned to look at Bou. He had his fists clenched.
"Well it was said, that a woman and her husband lived here. Along with their teenage daughter. The girl's mother started going crazy some time after they moved here and one night, the mother had gone into the girl's bedroom and slit her throat. She drained her own daughter's blood and then bathed in it. Come to find out, her husband had just told her that she was getting old, and showing it. Well, the woman wanted to stay young forever. She was jealous of her daughter being so young and beautiful. But when her husband learned of his daughter's fate, he killed himself in this very pallor. His daughter was everything to him. He loved her more than he loved his wife. Well, after the woman had come to find her husband dangling from the light, she commited suicide as well."
My eyes were wide, remembering the conversation. I could feel the evil that lingered in this home. I didn't want to be here, the strong entities were making me sick. I quickly set up the last wire, attatching it to the monitor and flipped it on. When I sat down, Lin and Naru walked in. I turned and watched as Lin sat down and began typing on his computer again.
"Yazawa-San. Do you see anything?" Naru asked, nodding towards the monitors. I assumed he wanted me to look at them in case I saw something he didn't see. I turned my head and looked at each one. I narrowed my eyes, confused.
"They're all black." I said. Naru glanced at them. Lin did the same.
"They look fine." Naru noted. Lin typed something on his computer, adding it to the data. I shook my head.
"No..that can't be. There's nothing...it's like someone is covering...!" I gasped as glowing eyes opened on every screen.
"What? What do you see?" Naru asked, leaning closer. I covered my eyes and looked away.
"Glowing eyes...on every screen..." I whispered as my body began to shake. This was the worst feeling I had ever encountered with a spirit. The woman wasn't the only ghost haunting this place. I felt an angry man wandering as well. Lin was looking at me now. My eyes locked on to his.
LIN'S POV
I tried hard not to look at this new girl. But I couldn't take my eyes off of her. After she mentioned the glowing eyes, I happened to glance at her. That's when our eyes met. She was feeling something, I could see in her face that she was terrified. I sighed as I typed in this new information in the SPR data.
"Lin, keep an eye on Yazawa. I'm going to make sure Bou and Mai are alright in the pallor. Matsuzaki-San and John should be here shortly. They've been instructed to come straight to this room." Naru said as he walked out of the room. I nodded briefly and turned back to Yuki.
"Are you alright?" I wondered as I scooted the chair closer to her. Yuki lowered her guard a bit and lurched at me. Her arms grabbed ahold of my shirt and she sobbed quietly. I sighed and wrapped my arms around her. Naru should have told her what was going to happen on this investigation. Someone should have filled her in on what this company did, maybe then she would have been more prepared.
"Lin-San...I'm not sure if I can do this.." Yuki whispered as she took a pause on her cry session to speak. I looked down at her and stroked her head.
"It will be fine. Just...when you're scared...or you're alone..Call for me, and I will come running." I was a bit hesitant about telling her that, but I wanted to protect her the best I could. I still didn't know if this girl even knew a protection charm. She may be a medium, but she was no Priestess.
YUKI'S POV
I looked up at Lin and smiled a bit, feeling somewhat better. I nodded as I let go of him and stepped back, falling into my chair.
"Thank you.." I whispered as I turned to the monitors once again. They were back to normal now. I froze when I saw on one screen, Mai was tied up in a room with cuts all over her. I jumped up, startling Lin.
"What's wrong?" He asked. I was already half way out the door.
"Mai's in trouble!" I yelled as I ran down the hall. Lin glanced at all of the monitors, narrowing his eyes.
"But...Taniyama-San is...fine." Lin said as he saw on another monitor that she was walking with Bou-San. He paused only for a second before seeing a dark figure, waiting in the bedroom. His eyes widened as he pulled out his speaker. "Bou-San! Yuki is heading for the bedroom. She thinks Taniyama is in trouble, but it's a trap!"
Bou listened to his radio for a second then flinched. He turned to look at Mai and nodded.
"We'll go get her." Bou replied and started running down the hall towards the master bedroom.
It felt like I was running forever. The hallway never seemed to end, and yet there were no doors. I began to panic as the walls began to bow back and forth. I froze in place, hearing knocking all around me. Then came screams. Not just from one spirit, but many. So many girls screaming. I cupped my hands over my ears and closed my eyes.
"Stop..Stop.." I whispered to myself. "Mai! Where are you!" I shouted as the screams got louder. I fell to my knees as I became dizzy, then fell to my side.
'Yuki! Save us!'
'Yuki!' So many girls were screaming for help. Tears swelled in my eyes as I opened them and looked around. There I saw the spirits of all the girls that had disappeared. My eyes were wide as they came closer.
'Find us, Yuki! You're the only one!' The girl closest to me shouted.
'Or you and Mai will see the same fate as we did!'
"How? How do I save you?" I yelled. Then suddenly, my body froze. I couldn't move. I tried to see what was holding me in place, but all I saw were imprints of hands on my skin. "I can't save you if you keep me here!"
'You must find us alone. No one else can come. ' A girl said as she pointed down the hall. There, I saw a door.
"Is that where you are?" I asked, trying to calm my breathing.
'Where it starts...Find us Yuki! Set us free before...before..' The girls voice began to scream again. I looked around at all of the girls, they were all screaming. Then I gasped when I saw blood running down their faces. They were crying blood. I tried to move again, but something else had ahold of me now.
'You...will...all...DIE." A deeper woman's voice echoed in my ear. I began to shake as I was lifted up the wall and to the ceiling. I closed my eyes as I felt claws scratch my skin.
"Save me...Lin-San...Lin-San...Lin-San!" I screamed.
"Naumaku sanmanda bazaradan senda makaroshada sowataya un tarata kan man. Naumaku sanmanda bodanan on boron. On sunba nisunba unbazara un hatta!" I heard the Monk's voice ringing out in my head.
"In the name of the Lord and his son, you shall be gone demon, from once you came!" Another, younger man's voice rang as well.
"Yuki-San!" That was Lin. I knew his voice already. The sound was like a light was shinning in the darkest place. That's when I saw the hall as it should be. When the chanting was over, I fell from the air. Lin jumped out and caught me, landing on the floor himself.
"Yuki! Are you alright? What happened?" I heard Mai's voice coming closer.
"Foolish girl. You never run alone." I turned to see a woman with long redish-brown hair. Next to her was a Priest, or at least he looked like one with his Catholic robe and cross hanging from his neck. His blonde hair made me think he was younger than Naru was.
"Give her a break, Ayako. She wanted to help Mai. She thought she was in trouble." Bou-San sighed as he looked around the hall. "Naru will want to know what happened.." He said looking at Lin and me on the floor. Lin nodded as he picked me up and we all walked back to Base.
After I had explained everything to Naru, he was quiet. I watched as he sat there and thought. Ayako walked closer to the group and spoke.
"So, knowing this. What do we do?" She asked with her arms crossed.
"Why Yazawa though?" Naru asked himself as he paced a few steps here and there. I sighed and turned away. Mai had just finished cleaning my last minor scratch.
"You're lucky they were just scratches and nothing major." Bou said as he took a look at a few on on my arms. I nodded, agreeing with him, though the voices still rang in my head.
"Yazawa, you are to have someone with you at all times. No matter what. You change, or shower, you will have Mai or Matsuzaki-San with you. You walk anywhere in the Mansion, you will have Bou-San or John with you. When you stay here, Lin or I will be here. You are to never be alone." Naru ordered. I was a bit taken back by this, but nodded in agreement once again.
"I understand."
DAY TWO
The second day of our investigation was going a lot smoother than the first had. It was nearly four in the afternoon, and there was no signs of spirit activity. I was actually feeling a lot better, though we weren't getting any data. I was sitting next to Lin, watching the temperatures in every room. All of them seemed fine.
I sighed and yawned as I looked out the window. The trees were blowing calmly, as though nothing in the world could bother them. I caught myself with a grin on my face.
"You should lay down, you look tired." Lin suggested. I shook my head though.
"I don't really wanna sleep." I admitted. Lin turned in his chair to look at me. His face was so serious, much like Naru's always was. I studied his expression for a second before he spoke again.
"I'm here and Naru is on his way back. You will be fine." Lin assured. I yawned again and nodded as I stood up and walked over to the small cot that rested behind all of the equipment. Instantly, I found myself laying and in a deep trance.
"Lin...where?" I heard Naru asked. It fell silent, so I assumed Lin pointed back towards me. My eyes started to feel heavy. The sun fell behind the trees and the night air began its reign over the land. I felt numb, cold. My body moved quickly and quietly as my feet danced inches from the ground. I noticed the lights flickering and the screams. My body paused as a girl stood on the window sill. Her smile seemed warm and invinting. I walked closer to her and reached my hand out.
"You'll fall.." I whispered in a daze.
'No we won't. We'll be saved.' The girl said. I knew this girl. She was one of the Lord's daughters. He had shown us pictures when we first got here. She was his oldest.
"Aiyada? Where are we going?" I asked as she grabbed my hand. I cold feel her cold fingers wrap around mine.
'It's okay. Trust me. The Lady of the house will get you if you don't come with me..' Aiyada's voice was chilling, yet it was calming. I felt fine even though she was leading me out the window. The wind picked up as my skirt was blown around. 'Hurry Yuki...someone bad is coming to take you away from me...' I turned to see Bou-San shouting back in the room.
"Yuki-San!" Bou yelled. Lin and the others came running. As I became more aware of where I was, my bare feet slipped off of the concrete sill. My eyes were wide as I noticed I was outside.
"Bou!" I screamed as I fell backwards. I felt his hand grab mine just before I was out of reach. I looked up at him, he was half out of the window. "Don't let me fall!" I shouted as tears swelled in my eyes.
"That I can promise!" Bou joked a bit as John and Lin helped pull him back into the room. Bou jerked a bit back down, as though something was pulling him back out the window.
'Drop her.' A voice shrieked through the room. Bou's eyes were wide as he looked down at me.
"Yuki! Don't let go!" Bou yelled. I tried to lift myself up, inch by inch, but something grabbed my ankles. I looked down at saw Aiyada dangling off my feet. She gripped on to me tightly with fierce eyes. I screamed as I felt my ankles shift. The pain sent me in a world of panic. I tightened my grip on Bou's hand, looking up at him with wide eyes. "John! Exorcism! Now!" John quickly grabbed his holy water and threw some down towards me. I closed my eyes as I was splashed with it.
"In the beginning there was a word. The word was God. The word was God! Rid us of this evil! And return to the fires from once you came!" John yelled. I looked down again to see Aiyada disappear. I softened my eyes a bit as I saw her pained expression disappear into nothing.
"What the hell, Naru? You're plan didn't work! Lin was right here, you were right here! And yet, she still managed to walk off!" Bou shouted as Lin wrapped my ankles. I looked at Bou and shook my head.
"Bou-San, it's not their fault.." I whispered.
"What would have happened if I didn't come into the room and glance over, seeing you walking out the window? If I hadn't shouted for you, you would be nothing but blood splattered on the pavement!" I jumped a bit and put my hand over my mouth. Lin glarred at Bou for a second. "I'm sorry. Naru this case is too dangerous. Yuki barely escaped, twice, with her life."
"We will preform an exorcism tonight. Bou-San will do the pallor. The male spirit doesn't seem to be much of a threat. Matsuzaki-San will do the bedroom. John will go through the halls. Mai, since you know a protection charm, you and Yazawa-San will try to find any hidden doors, or passages. Lin and I will watch from in here. The moment something goes wrong, I will contact all of you." Naru explained. I just nodded, hoping Mai would be enough to ward off the evil in this house. Bou clenched his fists.
"Naru, that doesn't seem very wise! Who are the victims that die in this house? Teenage girls...What are Mai and Yuki? Teenage girls! Sending them by there selves is sending them to death!" Bou shouted. Ayako stepped forward.
"I agree, Naru. Maybe we should send John with them." Ayako calmly suggested. Naru only nodded before turning. Mai narrowed her eyes. He was acting differently. Nothing seemed wrong. But nothing seemed right either.
"After you girls." John said as he held his cross tightly in his hands. Mai reached for my hand, holding it tightly. I looked at her, curious.
"So we don't get separated. If you're taken, I will be too." Mai said with a smile. I nodded and smiled back at her as we walked down the dark halls. I looked back just as Bou-San was watching Mai and I walk off. I could see the anger in his face, and how much he wanted to be the one with us, instead of John. I raised my free hand and waved slowly to him. He reached his hand out but the darkness engulfed both groups.
"Bou-San?" I asked as Mai walked behind John. Her hand was tight on mine as we searched the halls. As we passed by one, I saw a door at the end of it. I stopped, staring at it.
"John, Mai. That door..." I said as I pointed. Mai turned and her eyes were wide as she started to shake.
"That's the door from my dream.." Mai whispered. John walked in front of us and slowly made his way down to the door. I moved closer to Mai when I saw a few of the girls spirits watching us.
"Mai.." I whispered.
"I know.." She replied. When we reached the door, John opened it. "Be careful." Mai warned him as he walked into a completly different looking hall. It was made of concrete and there was blood splattered on the walls and floor. Then, in a sudden burst, John was thrown back into the original hall. "John!"
"Mai! Yuki!" John yelled as the door shut and locked. My eyes were wide as I felt something evil surround us. "Naru, Mai and Yuki were just locked in a strange hall. I can't get to them!" John shouted in his radio.
"We know, we're on our way with Bou-San and Matsuzaki-San!" Naru replied back through his own radio.
"Hurry! We need to break down this door...! Mai! Yuki!" John yelled as the two girls screamed from behind the door.
Bou looked at Ayako as they ran behind Naru and Lin. He had heard the screams from the radio. Bou ran faster as he passed the other two males, and stopped when he came to John. Bou grabbed the sledge hammer and began taking the door apart, little by little. Lin grabbed a hammer and pounded at the door as well.
I had blacked out. I thought I still had ahold of Mai's hand, but I wasn't sure. When I opened my eyes, my head fell to the side as I groaned. There, I saw Mai. She was strapped down on a table with a light barely shining down on her. I looked around the room and gasped seeing I was no different. I tried to move, but nothing I did made the straps loosen. If anything, they became tighter.
"Bou-San! John-San! Naru-San! Lin-San!" I shouted. Then I gasped. "L-Lin! Lin!" I called out. "If I call, you'll come.." I whispered as tears filled my eyes.
'They won't come..You must be punished like we were...'
'You were supposed to come alone..'
'Now you two will die..' My eyes were wide when I saw the spirits of the girls crowd around Mai and me. My eyes rested on a bath tub, inches from Mai. I began to shake when I saw what was in the tub.
"B-blood.." I whispered. Then out of the tub, a naked woman stood. Her eyes were wide, as though she had no eye lids. My breath hitched when she stepped out of the tub and walked over to Mai with a long dagger.
"N-no! Leave her alone!" I screamed. The mutated woman paused and glanced at me. A wide grin came over her face as she blinked a few times. I could hear the teens around me crying.
'She said she would break the curse if just one girl would give herself up, willingly!' Aiyada said as she held my head down. I gasped as I saw the woman walk over to me.
"But..I don't want to die!" I screamed.
'Save us, Yuki!' Kaede said as she held down my wrists.
"Don't do this! No! Bou-San! Lin-San! Save me!" I screamed as the woman pressed the blade against my wrists.
Bou was the first to run down the hall, Lin right behind him. Naru was pushing John and Ayako.
"Which door?" John shouted, confused. The group stopped in the middle of the hall and looked around.
"We have to check all of them...we can't be sure." Naru said as he opened the first one. The room was dark as he narrowed his eyes. "Lin, I need light!" Lin hurried over with a flashlight. John opened the second door. He jumped when the spirits of some teenage girls jumped out at him and disappeared.
"Naru! I found Ashitaka's daughters..." John yelled as he flashed a light over a few bloody bodies.
"Is any of them Yuki or Mai?" Bou asked about to open his own door.
"No, no...none of them are fresh." John said, instantly feeling horrible about how he put that. Bou's eyes were wide as he opened the third door. There were two spirits, sitting on the floor and holding hands. They swung back and forth as they sang.
'Nobody knows who I really am..' The first one to sing was a spirit that looked like Mai. Bou wanted to run in and make sure it was her, but Naru placed a hand on his shoulder.
"It could be a trap.." Naru whispered as they watched the two girls.
'I've never felt this empty before.' The second girl turned. Bou had noticed their eyes looked as though the were almost asleep. His heart began to pound harder, seeing Yuki stare back at him.
'And if I ever need someone to come along.' Mai continued.
'Who's gonna comfort me, and keep me strong?' Yuki ended the song. The two girls then stood up and walked into the darkness.
"You think this is the room?" Lin asked.
"But if that was really them, then they are dead." Ayako noted. Bou turned with narrowed eyes.
"We don't know that..It could have been one of the other girls making us think Mai and Yuki are dead so we stop looking." Bou said. John glanced at the last door.
"Maybe?" John asked himself as he took that last few steps.
"Lin, light." Naru nodded. Lin walked in front of the others and shined a light on the door. When John opened it, it was a long dark hallway.
"Another damn hallway?" Bou shouted as he took off.
"Bou-San!" John yelled. At this point, Bou didn't care. Everyone froze when a scream pierced the air. Lin's body began to fall apart as Bou continued running as he made it to one door. Opening it quickly, he saw the horrid sight he hadn't wanted to see. Mai was tied down on a table with a monsterous looking woman hovering over her, blade in hand. Then he saw the table closest to him. His eyes were wide as he watched the blood drip on to the floor and into buckets.
"Yuki!" Bou yelled as he lifted his beads and narrowed his eyes. "Naumaku sanmanda bazaradan senda makaroshada sowataya un tarata kan man! Naumaku sanmanda bodanan on boron! On sunba nisunba unbazara un hatta!" He yelled.
"Be gone!" John yelled as he flung his holy water. All the spirits vanished within seconds. "Hurry, they are only stunned. They will be back." John said to the others. Bou was already at my side. He grit his teeth as he untied the straps and picked up me up into his arms. My hands fell limp as my body drooped over him. Naru and Lin quickly untied Mai and carried her out as they ran.
Running through their previous passages, the walls began to shake and every spirit in the house screamed. They were ignored however as Bou found a window close to the ground. He jumped through and turned so I wouldn't be hurt. The others followed.
DAY THREE
I woke up the next day, sitting in the Hospital. My body hurt, but I was able to move. My eyes travled the room, seeing only white and the sun shining in on me. When I sat up, there was only one other sitting in the room with me.
"Bou-San?" I whispered as I went to reach my hand out to him, but stopped. My eyes were wide seeing the bloodstained bandages around my wrist. I looked over to my other wrist and saw the same. So, it wasn't a dream. It all happened.
"The doctors say you were lucky..very lucky.." I jumped a bit when I heard Bou speak. I took a few quick breaths and lowered my head.
"Bou-San...Aiyada...Kaede..they were.." I started, but he silenced me.
"We know. Naru figured it out. The only way they could be free was if someone willingly gave their blood to that woman. We left that house to rot. There was nothing we could do for a house like that. We deal with Ghosts, not monsters." Bou explained.
"And does the Lord know of his daughters?" I asked. Bou nodded. I sighed as I looked out the window. "Where are the others?"
"They will be by shortly. Yuki, what do you think about Lin?" Bou asked, a little curious. I turned back to look at him with a smile.
"He is a good person..he may come off cold. But I know he means well. Just like Naru." I said as I glanced down at his hands. They were clasped together, shaking. "Bou-San? What's wrong?" I asked. He just shook his head and stood up.
"Nothing." He said as he left the room. I sighed and shook my head. Something was wrong, but I felt it wasn't my place to be nosy.
