Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters. :)
[Chapter Two]
- Day One: 9:48 am -
After Naru left the base, everyone grew silent for a moment before the giggles and snickers of the members filled the room. Masako left the base soon after, probably to look where Naru had gone off to. Bou-san and Ayako were sharing meaningful glances with one another, Madoka and Yasuhara were both looking at Kaname with interest, and John and Lin were conversing about something while finishing the setting up of the monitors.
"Did I say something to offend your boss, Mai?" Kaname asked her in a soft tone while gently rubbing the back of his neck.
"Of course, you didn't! He's just like that whenever he's jealous!" Bou-san commented which earned smiles and nods from the others. Lin just smirked at this.
"What? Kaname, don't listen to them! Naru's not jealous!" Mai countered defensively.
"We're not blind Mai, we know there's something going on between the two of you," Ayako added while smiling mischievously. Bou-san frantically nodded.
Mai sighed. It's been a month since the day she confessed to him out of the blue.
Mai caught herself staring at the candid photo of Naru she took from the previous case. In the photo, Naru was looking out the window, the light blue sky gently illuminating his pale skin. His eyes seemed to be looking at something far away from him, and he looked very peaceful and serene. It was the only photo of Naru that Mai had; the only time that she had captured Naru's serene look perfectly.
"I try my best not to think of you, but somehow, you unconsciously make me fall in love with you even more," she muttered to herself while lightly tracing the picture with her thumb.
"It's unfair though. You seem to have someone important in your heart. And I envy that person, the only one who's allowed to see your gentle smiles, knowing that I would never be that someone. It's like losing without even being given a chance to fight,"
"I guess even after everything, I'm only ever capable of loving you, Naru," she whispered before finally putting the picture away.
When she glanced up at her boss' office, it was only then that she realized that Naru had been listening to her all along.
"Naru!" Mai exclaimed as she quickly stood up from her chair.
"That is still my name, Mai," Naru said in a cold tone.
"Um...did you hear what I just said?" Mai softly whispered while looking down.
"If I didn't, then why else would I be standing here?"
Mai blushed as she refused to meet Naru's eyes.
"Don't ever say anything like that again. You're mistaking me for someone else," Naru told her in a harsh tone.
"What? But Naru-" before she could even finish, Naru's door was already shut.
"Mai-chan! Are you alright? Is something wrong?" Madoka's voice broke Mai out of her reverie.
"I'm alright, Madoka!" Mai replied cheerfully, suddenly remembering where she was.
"So something did happen," Bou-san commented while appearing to be thinking hard.
"I already told you, nothing happened!"
Everyone laughed as Bou-san and Ayako kept on hugging Mai while she struggled to break free of them, seeing that it made Kaname uncomfortable. And also, they were hindering Mai's flow of oxygen.
"Um, Mai?" Kaname's voice made Bou-san and Ayako release Mai from their death grip.
"Where do you want to have it? After all, I don't know the place so..." Mai trailed off as she blushed lightly.
"I was thinking that we'd have lunch together on the restaurant. It has the most wonderful view of the ocean!" Kaname excitedly told her.
"I thought you said you wanted to have a picnic?" Mai asked, feeling confused.
"Well, I originally wanted to have a picnic, but the weather reporter just announced that the storm will probably last for more than a week," he answered Mai shyly.
"Ah, alright then! See you later, Kaname!" Mai happily exclaimed.
"The pleasure is all mine, Mai," Kaname smiled at her then left.
When Mai turned around to look at the others, they were all grinning at her, except for John and Lin, who were genuinely smiling.
"Mai-chan is going on a date later!" Madoka hugged her eagerly, as if she was the one who's going on a date.
"It's not exactly a date since we're just friends," Mai kindly replied.
"Hitsuga-kun looked really shy in front of you, Taniyama-san. I do think he likes you," John politely joined the conversation.
"By the way, Mai-chan, how do you know each other?" Yasuhara asked her, while the others also looked interested.
"We were childhood friends. And we also went to the same school. But I don't think he likes me that way," Mai answered with a light blush on her cheeks.
"He looks at you as if you're a long lost treasure," Yasuhara chimed in with a grin.
Mai just laughed at that.
- 10:52 am -
After an hour or so, the door opened, revealing a very stoic Naru followed by Masako. The room was suddenly filled with silence. Naru sat down beside Lin and started typing away on his laptop as if nothing had happened just a few hours ago.
"Naru-bou, where did you run off to?" Bou-san calmly asked him, while the rest looked rooted on the spot.
"Unlike the rest of you, I was working," Naru answered plainly.
"I can sense three spirits here. The two spirits only have a faint presence, but there is one spirit who seems to be holding a grudge. It's extremely angry at something, and it's very dangerous to cross paths with her," Masako shared, breaking the cold atmosphere.
"Her? The spirit holding a grudge is a woman?" Bou-san inquired.
"Yes. And apparently, she's the one who frequently attacks the female customers," Masako confirmed.
"From what Hara-san observed, it's best if the girls are always accompanied. And I mean always," Naru said, glaring at Mai while emphasizing the last word.
"Hey! That's not nice at all!" Mai blushed furiously.
"And since when did the name 'Naru' coincide with term 'nice', Mai?" Yasuhara joked, earning chuckles from Ayako, Bou-san and Madoka.
"I guess I would have to cancel that lunch with Kaname then," Mai sadly mumbled.
"Eh? But why?" Ayako and John asked at the same time.
"Well, we have a lot of things to do, and according to Naru, I have to be accompanied, which would certainly make Kaname feel extremely uncomfortable," she answered while fiddling with her fingers.
"And finally you realize that, Mai. Now make yourself useful and make me some tea," said Naru while glancing at her.
Mai huffed and murmured "Damn that stupid narcissist," before making tea in the small kitchen located on the corner of the big room that served as their base.
"Ayako, would you mind telling Kaname that I would have to cancel our plan? Please? And tell him that I'm really sorry for calling it off," Mai asked Ayako while using her puppy eyes technique. [Which worked every single time]
After a few seconds of struggle, Ayako sighed and said, "He's the one in the information desk, right? Fine. But you owe me, Mai!"
"Thank you so much, Ayako!" Mai gratefully smiled at Ayako before she left.
As soon as she returned, Naru arranged the team strategically to have partners, who were under the orders of never leaving the other whatever the situation was. Mai protested at this, but in the end, she had no other choice but to follow. Naru then instructed Masako and John to roam around the resort to locate and try to exorcise the spirits. Madoka and Yasuhara were asked to gather more information about the place through newspapers and other materials available. Ayako and Bou-san were to take the temperature of each room while Naru and Mai would set up the cameras around the resort where most activities took place. And of course, Lin was to stay at the base to watch the monitors.
- 3:51 pm -
"Why do I always end up with you? I could've gone with John or Madoka, you know," Mai muttered as she broke the awkward silence and glanced at Naru, who was bossing her around on where to put the cameras. They had already been walking around the resort for hours, and this was their last stop: the hot spring. To say that Mai was tired was an understatement. The hotel had eight floors, and they had to deal with some stubborn, stranded customers who refused to cooperate with their investigation. Although, when Naru used his charm [which was actually a threat], the customers hesitantly allowed them to place a camera inside the room; of course, without invading their privacy.
"Stop complaining. You're getting all the angles wrong," Naru replied tersely.
"Maybe if you actually helped me instead of just standing there and boss me around, I would've done it right!" Mai retorted as she placed her hands on her waist.
"I'm your boss, Mai. It's my job to 'boss' you around," he shot back at her.
"Stupid narcissist, workaholic bastard," Mai droned as she did everything Naru told her to do.
"I heard that," Naru smirked.
"Of course you did! That's why you have ears, you jerk!"
"And at last, you use that brain of yours," Naru commented as he turned to leave.
"Don't leave me here!"
"Why? Scared of the thunder and lightning?" he glanced at her with a smirk.
She really was scared of the thunder and lightning, but if Naru knew about it, he would tease her to death. Apparently, the storm wasn't going to let up soon, causing the other customers to get stranded on the resort.
"Of course not!" Mai bluffed as she set up the last of the cameras and started walking ahead of Naru back to the base.
"Mai, you're going the wrong way," Naru simply stated.
"I knew that, you heartless, conceited narcissist!" Mai blushed as she went the other way, disregarding the glare Naru gave her.
And then a scream was heard echoing through the long corridors of the hotel.
"That's Ayako!" Mai cried out as she quickly followed Naru to the source.
After a few twists and turns, they found Bou-san and Ayako sitting down on the carpeted floor, with him calming her down by gently stroking her hair and soothingly calling her name. If Ayako hadn't been screaming then, Mai would have teased her endlessly. Ayako seemed to be looking right in front of her, her arms defensively held up, although the object of her sight wasn't visible to the others.
"Ayako? Ayako, snap out of it!" Mai sat down in front of Ayako then slapped her face lightly.
It was only then that Ayako's eyes focused on Mai, Naru and Bou-san.
"What happened?" Naru asked as he leaned against the wall opposite of them.
"He touched me. And he kept on saying that meet him at midnight in a certain room to finish 'our business', then he told me that I should never tell his wife about it. I started chanting but he only laughed then smirked at me, saying that a simple ward wouldn't stop him from making me his," Ayako's voice was slightly trembling when she answered.
"Bou-san, where were you? I told you to never leave your partner, didn't I?" Naru asked Bou-san, who looked guilty.
"While we were taking the temperatures of the rooms, Ayako said that she had to go to the bathroom. I thought it was alright to let her go since the girls' bathroom was only three doors away. When she screamed, she was already on the floor," Bou-san scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
"What happened? Ayako, are you alright?" John and the rest simultaneously asked, slightly out of breath from running.
Ayako smiled then nodded, visibly relieving the others.
"We were so worried. Usually, it's Mai who suddenly screams," Yasuhara attempted to mess around, but the concern could be heard clearly from his tone.
"Let's get you back to the base, okay? I'll stay with you while you rest," Mai told Ayako with a smile.
Back in the base, Naru was already typing like there's no tomorrow beside Lin, Mai and Bou-san were sitting beside the couch where Ayako was sleeping, Masako and John were having a small talk, while Yasuhara and Madoka were sorting out some documents at the table.
"Hey, Naru. Check this out," Yasuhara broke the silence as he handed Naru an old newspaper article.
"This event occurred ten years ago. It appears that a man was pushed to his death by his wife in one of the secluded pools here in the resort. The wife, who felt remorseful about what she did, jumped off the cliff on the farthest part of the resort and drowned. Her body was found a week later, as it was brought by the waves to the shore," Naru said as the others paid close attention.
"Two spirits down. But how about the third spirit?" Mai asked curiously.
"Naru, you might want to see this," this time, Madoka handed Naru a document written in English.
"Before the couple died, a young woman was murdered right inside a hotel room with only one witness. The witness was a man named Shiro Tomoki, who was later on killed by his wife," Naru continued.
Mai shuddered at the memory of her dream.
"Mai, these articles match your dream perfectly, right?" Naru glanced at Mai, who was trying hard to regain composure.
Mai nodded and told the rest of the team about the events that occurred in her dream.
"I think it's safe to assume that this Shiro Tomoki had been cheating on his wife," Bou-san stated.
Naru nodded.
"Then, is it likely that the young woman who was murdered was actually the mistress of Shiro Tomoki?" John added as Lin typed the new information while Naru was reading/writing something on his black notebook.
On the other hand, Mai was having a hard time recovering her usual optimistic self. The scent of blood grew fresh in her mind, along with Gene's warning that the case was perilous.
"Mai-chan? Is something wrong?" Madoka asked her which broke Mai out of her reverie.
"I'm alright! I just need to get some air. And I'll personally apologize to Kaname on the way too, since it was impolite of me to send Ayako a while ago," Mai stood up as she stretched before leaving the room. In contrast, Naru's aura visibly darkened upon the mention of Kaname's name.
"Naru-bou, don't you have to accompany Mai? After all, you assigned yourself to go with her a while ago," Bou-san pointed out, and the others nodded.
In response, Naru's aura got even darker than the weather outside.
"I could go and accompany her for now," John volunteered with a small smile. But before he could even step out of the room, Mai was heard screaming, "LET GO OF M-," then was silenced almost immediately. Whatever had caused her abrupt silence, no one had any idea.
The lightning sharply illuminated the base accompanied by the sound of thunder, and as soon as it was over, Naru was already out of the room.
[Author's Note]
Take note that the weather for the whole case would be harsh, to be exact, a thunderstorm. (To make things interesting, of course!) So here you go! I hope that you enjoy the second chapter! I'm already trying to start the action since it would be nice for the case to have some thrill and excitement in it :) Please read and review! And if you want to be friends with me/complain about something/suggest something, don't hesitate to message me, alright? :D Have a nice day, everyone!