DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ghost Hunt

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ghost Hunt.

A.N. More editing…

Thanks to: Rayne – Hope you enjoy this chapter and thank-you for your encouraging review!

o.O.o

Ghost Hunt: Inerasable Secrets

. File 2 .

"They haven't seen us yet, so they don't know we're here. Me and Naru can slip out before they notice–"

"Sayuri-chan! Do you have visitors? We can see their car and their shoes down here!"

Koizumi-san blanches.

Damn. Well, so much for not noticing.

"Excuses would be really good right about now," our flustered client tells us hurriedly. She motions for us to follow her downstairs and we traipse after her at a clipped pace. The sound of people fussing about downstairs floats up towards us, and Koizumi gulps.

"Mai?" Naru turns to me expectantly.

I'm puzzled by his enquiring expression. "What?"

"We need an excuse," he prompts, raising a dark eyebrow as I splutter my indignation.

"What? Why me?"

Naru sighs as if it's obvious. "Well, you must have some way of covering up for all the dumb things that you do."

I halt, one foot about to descend the top step. Swivelling on my heel, I turn to eyeball the arrogant ass, taking full advantage of the fact that Monk-san isn't here to hold me back as I proceed to introduce my foot to Naru's face. "Why you–" I growl, lifting my leg to deliver the killer blow.

Naru neatly sidesteps my advance and continues down the stairs. "Mai, I would appreciate it if you maintained a high level of decency around our clients – kindly lower your skirt before you even think of coming downstairs."

I make an odd, choked cry. A vein bursts somewhere near my temple and I swear I can feel the slow spread of ruptured blood as it floods my cheeks, anger dissipating into the hot rush of embarrassment. A few moments of silent humiliated moping pass.

Naru saw underneath my skirt.

My hand quickly smoothes down the pleated lines of said garment, though, now that I'm not trying to kick anyone's lights out and my leg is firmly on the ground, I look perfectly – what's the word? – 'decent' again. Shame about my face, though; I still feel like a strawberry with a bad case of sunburn.

I trot carefully down the stairs after allowing myself a few more short seconds to compose my expression. Best not let Naru know he's won – again (!) – if you know that I mean; it's not like his ego needs any more feeding. I reach the ground floor where Koizumi-san and her parents are gathered. Naru ignores me pointedly, so my sharp-as-daggers glare is completely lost on him. Sometimes, I wonder why the heck I bother.

(It's not as if he has to look at me anymore, anyway. He's seen up my skirt – there's not exactly anything left to see.)

I feel a niggling sense of rebellion and something like the beginnings of an internal monologue stirring up. It's not like you gave him much choice, Inner Mai chuckles deviously. I groan, already thinking about how much of a big deal I'm making out of this.

"Ah… Taniyama-san, are you feeling ok?"

"Forgive her, she has some nervous tendencies," Naru supplies easily, before I can say something that might preserve what's left of my pride.

What are you talking about? Inner Mai interjects as Sayuri-san's mom and dad send me questioning glances, Your so-called 'pride' has been in hiding since the moment you met Naru-chan.

Well, there's no arguing with that.

"Nervous tendencies… right." Koizumi's mother frowns at my overly big, I'm-not- that-crazy grin. "Who are these people, Sayuri – and what is that van parked outside our house? Why does it say 'Shibuya Psychic Research' on it?"

I feel Naru tense beside me and Sayuri-san practically drops Michiko. I wonder why she wants to keep our investigation such a secret… Perhaps her parents are not inclined to believing in the supernatural; it's not like we haven't had those kinds of clients before.

"Uh… Taniyama-san is a friend of Kaori's. We met last week and I invited her round for the day," our client invents quickly, as Michiko, giggling, tangles her little fingers into her sister's hair. I have an urge to squeal at the cuteness of this, but I somehow, I don't think the Koizumi family can see me in a weirder light.

No random outbursts; serious face, serious face, serious face, serious face, serious –

Koizumi-san's mother releases her tight scrutiny on my face, rejecting me as a source of mistrust. Instead, she turns her attention to Naru, who stares back indifferently. Oh dear. I feel a lecture coming on. "Sayuri, what did I say about having boys in the house when your father and I aren't in? Especially strangers that you don't know…?"

Michiko takes this as the appropriate moment to stuff a handful of her sister's hair into her mouth. She spits it out after a second of toothless chewing, learning that hair is not very tasty despite the smell of the shampoo used on it. Sayuri-san pats her softly on the back as she splutters. "No, mom, it's ok! See, Taniyama-san is a friend, and the – uh – 'boy' is her… her brother! That means that he's not a stranger – he's a friend, too."

The word 'brother' jars my thoughts from Michiko's adorable face. "Uh, Naru's not my – huh?"

Naru grabs my wrist and squeezes it. Painfully. "Sorry, Mai-chan, what was that?" He's glaring at me, the corner of his lips moving inconspicuously as I stare up at his face.

Play along.

I frown at what he's mouthing at me. Play along. Koizumi-san nods behind her parent's backs and I hasten to say something to mellow up the atmosphere. "I mean – yeah, sorry, Naru's my – um – my half brother. I just got confused. But yeah, he's my brother all right!"

By now, Naru's grip on my wrist is blocking off the blood supply to my fingers. I make the instantaneous decision to stamp on his foot; he grunts softly in surprise and lets go of my arm.

"Oh, sorry, onii-chan – did I hurt you?" (Maybe playing this brother-sister role isn't as hard as I thought.)

Naru sends me a biting glare and I grin at him without batting an eyelid. If anyone asks, it's standard sibling behaviour, right? Apparently Koizumi-san's parents think so, because they latch onto another subject now that we've proved ourselves to be friends of their daughter. Ha, if only they knew that we were actually part of –

"Shibuya Psychic Research?" Sayuri-san's dad asks us in a harsh tone. "What is that? Some sort of fake company that cons people into giving out their money for 'psychic research'? Well?" he demands, when no-one answers.

Koizumi-san scratches her head, grimacing when she feels that it's unnaturally slick with her sister's saliva. "Hey, mom, dad... why don't we discuss this over some tea?"

o.O.o

Saturday, 5:11pm

It feels nice to not be making tea for once. I sip daintily from my cup, somehow still managing to spill a bit of my drink. It dribbles into my saucer, but Naru still feels the need to roll his eyes at me over the brim of his own steaming cup. There really is no pleasing this guy, is there?

The atmosphere is unsurprisingly tense as Sayuri's mother and father stare at us with guarded expressions. We exchange idle chitchat, and, with the subtle guidance of Sayuri herself, manage to convince them that we've actually been friends with her for a very long time (i.e. for the past half hour). However, we haven't seen each other for ages (for two minutes, to be more accurate – I had to go to the bathroom), because Naru and I had to move away – family business – and change schools. So, we were here as transfer students and decided to drop in and discuss old times. Not the best of excuses, but it has the desired effect.

Naru does most of the talking, reeling off all these long words that I don't understand, wowing our client's parents with the abundance of his knowledge and his maturity, despite his age. No-one brings up the subject of SPR until Naru lets slip (cough declares arrogantly cough) one of his numerous qualifications, which include something to do with parapsychology and psychical studies. Cue alarm bells.

Sayuri-san's father puts down his cup. "So, er, Shibuya-san," he begins (Naru can keep his original name; I called him my half-brother… genius, no?), "What is this Shibuya Psychic Research all about, eh?"

"I deal with the extraordinary perception and latent sensitivity that humans may possess to non-physical or supernatural forces that surround them," Naru informs him, sounding, as usual, as though someone's pounded a thesaurus into his head.

"I see." Sayuri's father nods.

Naru also puts down his empty cup and interlaces his long fingers in his lap. "Actually, we were wondering if we could conduct an experiment here," he says carefully, fixing Sayuri's parents with a calculated gaze. "My research has brought me to this location in the hope that I may find something that concludes my work on the human perception of paranormal activities."

"Why here?" Sayuri's mother asks, genuinely interested despite her earlier wariness of us.

"Actually, we are here more for you daughter than for your family as a whole," Naru explains. "I heard from Mai that she is an exceptionally bright student and if she participates in our experiments, I believe she could supplement our research to a great extent."

Unfortunately, making up something on the spot can have its repercussions. In this case, how are we going to explain ourselves if Sayuri-san actually turns out to be the worst achiever in her class?! I look at my boss. At least think of something plausible!

Sayuri's mother blushes a little. "Sayuri, have you been boasting again?"

"No, mom."

"What did I tell you about flaunting your grades? Don't show off like that, it's rude."

Sayuri gives a small, half-hearted sigh. "Yes, mom."

"Forgive her, she tends to let her A-star status get to her head," Sayuri's mother tells us with a subtly proud smile. If anything, she's boasting more than her daughter. "We try to keep her as down to earth as possible."

I find myself grinning largely at this. "Yeah, it's the same with Naru." Naru shifts his stare onto me. "He can get quite conceited at times, can't you, Naru-kun?"

Sayuri's mother smiles at my teasing. "Oh, I don't know about that; Shibuya-san seems very modest from what I've heard today."

There's a triumphant gleam to Naru's eyes as he hears this. 'Modest'? The man doesn't have enough modesty in him to make a grain of salt. "Please don't say that, you're flattering him." I let out a fluttery laugh, only half joking.

"Oh, no, Shibuya-san's more than flattering us! But, tell me, why would Sayuri-chan's grades be of any use to you? I don't think she's studying anything to do with parapsychology at school," Sayuri's father says. They're warming to us fast, I realise, and it's all thanks to Naru's sweet talk (though how and when he found out that our client is an apparent genius, I have no clue.)

Naru is launching into an explanation of what our exorcisms – er, our experiments entail, throwing in a lot of flattery for that extra touch. Basically, Sayuri's clever and we need an intelligent subject to base some of our research on – of course, Naru could have used me as the subject, but you know… – so here we are.

"What will Sayuri-chan have to do?"

"We will set up some equipment and monitor your daughter in her day to day life at home," Naru explains without skipping a beat. "The investigation does not entail of anything invasive, though Mai and I will have to remain at your household for large periods of time. I assure you, we will not interrupt daily life for your family for the duration of this experiment." But we will be working to save you all from evil spirits that may be trying to murder your daughter. You know, just FYI.

There is a pending pause, where Sayuri-san's mom and dad consider the proposition. Unfortunately for them, Naru happens to have the ability to wind anyone around his little finger – and yes, I am speaking from experience – so their decision was pretty much already made up for them the minute he started talking. And, boy, does he know it.

"What do you say, Sayuri-chan?" Her mother sighs out this question, as if reluctant to ask it.

Sayuri looks as though she wants to faint from all the lies that we've helped to manifest around her. "Yeah," she says breathily, "I'd like to do it."

"Good." Naru nods as though he expected much. And this is 'modest' how? "Thank you very much for your co-operation. Mai and I will return tomorrow with–"

"Wait, wait, wait," Sayuri's father stops him. "I thought you said that you'd be sticking around for a lot of the time? I assumed you meant that you'd be taking up temporary residence here for the length of the experiment?"

"Oh, no, that will not be necessary. But thank you very much for your generous offer." Naru stands up and makes to leave. "As I said, Mai and I will be returning–"

Koizumi-san's mother waves a hand dismissively. "Where are you two staying now? I thought you were transfer students?"

"At a hotel," I blab vaguely, grabbing my coat. Naru keeps quiet, which I take to be a rare sign of agreement.

"Well, we can't have two of Sayuri's friends staying at a hotel when we have plenty of space here," our new client's mother declares in a horrifyingly welcoming tone. "Please, make yourselves comfortable; our home is your home."

"No, it's fine, really–" I protest, surprised by her kind invitation. She cuts me off, however.

"No, no, I wouldn't hear of it! Of course, you'll stay with us – and no, Taniyama-san, it is no problem at all!"

You know when your host is so overly inviting that their behaviour is bordering on 'pushy'? Well, this is it, in all its glory. Though now it feels more like she's trying to force us into staying with her and woe betide us if we decline.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Naru looks as though he's chewing glass as he hears me say this. Crunch crunch crunch. Glare glare glare. Sayuri-san's mother, on the other hand, is beaming (twinkle twinkle twinkle)... and me? Sweat drop sweat drop sweat drop. The last time we ended up playing slumber party with the ghosts, it didn't exactly finish with everyone in once piece, did it?

"Hmm…where should you stay, then? Michiko-chan is occupying one of our spare rooms right now, but we still have a room free."

Naru and I share a sideways glance and a cold sensation seeps into my stomach. Uh-oh.

Sayuri's mother smiles widely, oblivious to our expressions.

"Do you guys mind sharing a bedroom?"

o.O.o

Thanks for reading!

Daygoner