Thursday, April 2
2:00 pm
Mai gazes out the window of the car as they pull into the driveway of the mansion. It was a beautiful building; well taken care of despite its age. The round-about in front is well paved with decorative white and pale stones to compliment the brown and red brick of the home. The garden is well pruned and thriving. As they park and step out, they're greeted with sweet smells of roses and freshly cut grass. Not a cloud in the sky. How can a house this gorgeous be haunted?
A man in a suit emerges from the front door and greets them with a bow. "Welcome to the Kyuske Manor, it is a pleasure to meet you." The others bow in respect.
Naru scans the scenery; paths weaving through the garden, there seems to be a tree farm of sorts off to the side. The suited man offers them inside out of the summer's heat, to which they gratefully accepted and followed him in. Naru tracking slowly behind, still analyzing. His eyes wander to Mai, who seems to be doing the same thing in a less serious attitude of course. She smiled as she took in the beauty of the atmosphere. Something seems off...
They were lead into the main hall. "The Kyuske Manor has been passed down for generations; the youngest currently lives here, but refuses to come to the house itself."
"Why's that?" Naru asked, in a serious yet soft tone as they followed the man through to the main living area.
"He says he's had bad experiences here, things such as feeling something is watching him or even touching him." He gestures for the group to sit on the elegant brown-beige couches that contrast the red-white of the walls. "About a year ago, when he last visited to say his final goodbyes to his grandfather, he had fallen down the main stairway. Insisting that someone had shoved him down. We questioned all the staff that day, but nobody confessed."
"And so he refuses to return until it is cleared of whatever's haunting this house, I assume?" Naru crosses his legs and holds his chin with his thumb and index finger.
The man nodded. "Yes, that's correct."
"Is there any history of negativity among family?" Mai asked softly. Naru looked at her, then back at the butler.
"Not to my knowledge. However..." he seemed reluctant in his next sentence. "There is a long history of tragic deaths in the family, some of which in this very building."
"May I ask how they died?" Naru was intrigued now.
"There have been quite a few murders and assassinations, but most of the family deaths are of hereditary diseases."
A woman silently brought them some cold drinks and placed them onto the coffee table. Upon closer inspection, Naru saw that the maid had a few scars randomly tracing her arms as her sleeves lifted slightly. He glanced back at the butler who had a concerned look on his face. He analyzed him closer and spotted a single scar just above the collar of his shirt on his neck.
"Is anyone else living in this house at the moment, or is it just you and the other servents?" Naru felt that it was necessary to gather all the information that he can. There's something more than just a haunting here...
"I'm afraid the youngest son is the only member, other than his mother, that is currently living." The butler looks down.
"I see." Naru glances around the room. Various relics and paintings decorate the unused space. Most of which are fake. He stood. "Would you mind showing us around? I'd like to get a feel for the house before we start setting up."
"Yes, of course sir. Right this way. We will begin with the first floor, naturally." He lead the way as the others followed.
3:00 pm
"We'll set up base here." Naru said as they entered a study room on the second floor. "Thank you for showing us around, Mr..."
"Just call me John, there's no need to be formal. You're guests here." He smiles as he bowed. "Would you like help setting up?"
"No, thank you." Naru said. "We can handle it ourselves."
"Very well. Dinner will be served in three hours, we will call for you then. I hope you all enjoy your stay. I shall have rooms prepared for you." He turns away and walks down the hall.
As soon as he's out of sight, Naru plans out where everything will go and ushers for everyone to follow.
Monk walks by him, whispering "Did you see that too? All those scars?"
Naru nodded, turning to Mai who was admiring the art on the walls as she walks. He turned back as they made their way down the main stairs.
Mai started down the stairs. You don't belong here. Her eyes widened as she felt a sudden shove on her back. She screamed as her body fell forward. Monk quickly turned and grabbed her hand, bringing her to his chest as they both rolled down the steps. The others worriedly raced after them as they hit the bottom floor, monk landing on his back.
"Mai..you okay?" He groaned.
"Yeah.." She lay on his chest, back aching and her tank top torn from the monk trying to get a hold of her. Lin, Naru, and Aiyako help them up.
"Your back.." Aiyako gently placed a hand on Mai's back as she flinched. "There's a huge hand print on it." Mai held herself to keep her shirt from falling as monk put his button up overshirt around her shoulders.
"Whoever's here, they aren't shy." Naru concludes, looking up at the top of the stairs and narrowing his eyes.
6:00 pm
A knock sounded through the room as the team had just finished setting up. "Dinner is served." Naru stood up straight after connecting wires together. And nods to the others as they walk out together.
Naru and Lin made sure to stay near Mai, as Aiyako stayed by Takigawa for personal safety. They scanned the walls dozens of times over as they walked.
While making their way down the steps, Naru was fairly close to Mai, their hands briefly touching once and she pulled her arms to hold herself as some heat rose in her face. He glanced at her, then back down.
The servents opened the French doors that lead into the dinning area and Mai's face glimmered at the extravagant scenery in front of her. They walked in and took their seats as the cooks and servers elegantly placed their meals before them. The group were taken aback at the beautiful presentation of everything, there was even a violinist off the the side playing a beautiful and soft melody.
"I hope you enjoy." The chef smiled brightly and bowed as he headed back into the kitchen. Naru managed to get a glimpse of faint scars that traced his face and neck.
"Is it just me, or do all the servents here have scars?" Monk whispered worriedly.
Naru glared at the doors as they closed. "Something's not right here."
Mai adjusted the oversized shirt so it wouldn't get dirty and started picking at the food. "I'm almost not hungry..."
"What do you suppose we do about it?" Aiyako said, looking at Naru.
Naru looked around the room. "For now, we just need to collect data. No one is to be alone." He looked at Mai who nodded. "You'll stay with Aiyako tonight, naturally. Takigawa, you'll stay with Lin and I."
6:50 pm
Mai, with the help of Aiyako, set up video cameras in the main hall, stairs, and the grand-bedroom. While Naru, Lin, and Monk set up mikes and thermal cameras in the dinning area, living area, and a few of the bedrooms. Including their own, just to be safe.
They met back up at the base and tested that everything was working. Naru and Lin conducted some research of the household.
"Appearently, this family has existed for hundreds of years." Lin announced. "The furthest recorded member being Sir Haruki Kyuske. It says he was the noblest man in Japan at the time, building this mansion so he could essentially show off his wealth." He muttered something under his breath that no one but Naru could hear, who just shook his head. "His death wasn't recognized until someone found his skeleton around twenty years later. He was found in the garden with a sword through his chest."
"It took them twenty years to find him in that garden?" Monk exclaimed. "It can't be that big."
"His wife and two of his three sons were found dead as well." Lin continued. "They were found in their bedrooms with holes in their skulls. Possibly murdered in their sleep." He scrolls down as Naru leaned on the desk next to him. Mai sat in the arm chair by the wall, holding herself. "The third son seemed to have gotten away with minor injuries, as he was found in the main hallway with, presumably, the killer lying dead before him."
"An assassination." Naru said softly, holding his chin.
Lin nodded. "That child grew to become the new homeowner and married a common woman, having quite a few children. Some of which perished before adulthood. It seems to be a continuous pattern of members of the family living in this house and dying here too."
Mai looks down, holding herself tighter. "That's terrible.."
Naru glances over at Mai, then to Lin's screen. "It looks like only the male members are the ones who die though."
Lin nodded, looking at Naru. "You still want to continue with this job?"
Naru thought for a moment, then nods as he walks over to Mai and hands her something. "Keep this on you at all times. It's not much, but it'll keep you safe."
Mai held out her hands as Naru dropped a small pendent in her palms. Lin shot up. "What are you doing, Naru? Your father gave you that so-"
"I know, Lin." Naru interrupted, not even looking a him. "Out of all of us, Mai is the most sensative to spirits and will most likely be attacked." He looks at her with a bit of sadness in his eyes, he couldn't imagine this without her. "It's only logical to give this to her for the time being." He turns back to Lin who sits down and sighs.
"You'd better not regret this." Lin muttered.
"I won't." He walked back to Lin and sat down and went back to talking about the history of the case. Mai stared at the pendant, a slight blush rising in her cheeks. It was shaped like a teardrop and had a dark jewel in it. There wasn't really anything special about it, it looks like something she could've gotten at a jewelry store. She smiled nonetheless, putting it around her neck. A gift from Naru.. She looks at him, smiling as he did his best not to look at her.
8:00 pm
After they've done all the research they could, the team decided to go to bed and see if the cameras and mikes pick up anything during the night.
Mai and Aiyako slip into their pajamas, in the bathroom since they had put cameras in their bedrooms, and sat on their beds. Naru, Lin, and Monk do the same. The butler comes to bid them goodnight and tells them the schedule for their meals the following day.
Mai stretched, plopping herself onto the bed with a yawn. She smiled as she toyed with the pendent.
"So~" Aiyako teased, leaning on her arm. "Your first gift from Mr. Hot-Shot himself. How does it feel?" She smirked.
Mai looked away, blushing. "It's not like that. He says it's just to protect me, that's all." She sighed. "Besides, I'll probably have to give it back once this job is over. It seemed pretty important to Lin that Naru had this..." She looks at the jewel; it's nothing more that that, a jewel. "But what exactly is so important about it?"
"That's what I'd like to know." She scoots closer and gently takes a hold of it. She scans it closely. "I've never seen this in my life. Maybe..." she turns it around and there was a hex engraved in the metal on the back. She flinched, then smiled. "Now I see. On the surface, it just looks like an ordinary necklace. But there's a protective hex on the bottom."
Mai shot up. "A hex?! Wait, you mean like the ones Ms. Ubusuna was casting?"
Aiyako shook her head. "There's such a thing as a good hex, Mai. They're mostly used in witchcraft." Mai sat back down as Aiyako gently took the pendent again. "Look." She grabbed her cellphone and pulled up a picture of a harmful hex. "This is similar to the ones she used." She flipped the pendent. "And this is the hex here. You see the difference?"
Mai nodded. They both had pentagons encircled with symbols, but the protection hex had extra lines and symbols surrounding it. "So, Naru does witchcraft too?"
"I doubt it." Aiyako gently let go of the pendent as she sat back.
"Oh wait, when I first started working for him, he said something about his father being a ghost hunter too." She thought for a moment. "Maybe..his mother is a witch? She didn't look like one when we met her."
Aiyako yawns, smiling as she lays down. "Looks can be deceiving."
Mai lays down as well, smiling as she held the pendent to her chest. "Tell me about it.." she reaches over and clicks off her lamp as she closes her eyes. Gene...