M2 : Greetings, everyone! I want to thank you all for your support and please enjoy chapter two!
FILE 9 PT 2
THE PRINCESS INN
"'She will be mine.' This is already taking a dark turn," Bou said.
"Mai, get the equipment," Naru ordered as he surveyed the scene.
Lin noticed that Sakura was pale as she followed Mai down the hallway to gather the equipment and tailed them. When he was outside, he saw that they were talking and approached them, over hearing their conversation.
"Saku-chan, you sure you're okay?" Mai asked.
"I'll be fine."
"It reminded you of when your dad died, didn't it?"
"…It…it did but I'll be okay. I won't let my emotions control me again, Mai," Sakura said as she flashed a small smile.
"That's the Sakura I know! Let's get this equipment inside before Naru gets mad."
Lin came in closer and surprised Mai, who almost dropped a tote of cords.
"Lin-san, you startled me!"
"I came to gather equipment, just like you."
"Oh…yeah. Sorry."
Lin just glanced at Sakura before grabbing a monitor and headed inside. The girls followed suit and they soon began setting up the base for ghost hunting. After some time, Naru asked the group to set up mikes and cameras in various rooms in the inn and when they returned, he had an announcement to make. That announcement was that they would split into couples.
"What?" Many of the group said in shock, Sakura was able to keep calm however.
"We split into couples. Takigawa-san and Matsuzaki-san, Hara-san and John, and Mai and myself," Naru repeated.
"Wait! You can't be serious!" Ayako exclaimed.
"Kohinata-san," Naru continued.
"Yes?" Sakura replied.
"Would you pair up with Lin for short time to catch this ghost?"
Lin jumped up from his seat and faced Naru.
"Then who will protect you?" He demanded.
"You can go home if you like," Naru countered.
Sakura saw the Lin tensed up at the very thought of this and spoke up.
"I don't mind and I'll be happy to help…Naru-chan."
The group gasped as Naru glared at her.
"I know I play dirty sometimes but you shouldn't have given Lin-san such an ultimatum."
"Just don't call me that again."
"As long as you don't make Lin-san choose between his duties or have him watch from the outside."
"…Deal," Naru said as he shook hands with Sakura.
"Now, the inn got its name from the sacred maple out in the central courtyard. Also, royalty lived here a long time ago aside from five other families including this one but the recorded haunting activities didn't start until the third family, the Hiroshis, moved in during the late eighteen hundreds. There may have been earlier accounts but there was shed that caught fire soon after the Hiroshis moved in and the shed contained many but not all records of the previous families."
"You have done some research already?"
"Yes and I can do more research for you while Yasuhara-san does research from the outside."
"…Mai, tea."
"Yes, Naru," Mai responded and headed off for the kitchen.
Sakura sidled up and sat next to Lin and helping him with various tasks while the others roamed about the inn collecting data a doing exorcisms. Sakura went to her own room sometime later and began filtering through various papers to gather data on the inn and its history. She did not notice the time that passed until she heard a knock on her door and she glanced at the clock, which was reading 8:32 pm.
"Enter."
Lin opened the door and was holding a plate of food as he entered and closed the door.
"Thank you, Lin-san. When I work, sometimes I get so engrossed that I forget to eat."
Lin took a moment to survey the room and saw gigantic stacks of paper about two feet (0.6m) high scattered all about the room and a mat in the middle of the room where she slept.
"It may look like a mess but it actually is very organized. I sometimes prefer to use paper over my laptop and this is one of those cases. Most of it is the historical records for the inn actually," Sakura said before continuing to eat.
"Have you found anything else out?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes. This happened only once but it occurred in the spring during a full moon. Apparently, apparitions were seen. Two of them were a couple and one was a samurai. The samurai snuck up on the couple while they were asleep and killed them with his sword. I wonder if that will occur now."
"Because it's the summer?"
"Yes."
Just then, Mai burst in and she had tears running down her face as she lunged forward and sobbed into Sakura's shoulder.
"Mai, what's wrong?" Sakura asked in a calm voice as she held the sobbing girl.
"I had a horrible dream!"
Lin and Sakura were on the alert as then glanced at each other and then refocused on Mai.
"What did you see?"
"Well…" Mai began suddenly blushing.
"In it, you and Naru were in a relationship?"
Mai nodded.
"Please, tell us more."
"It was our wedding day and I was dressed in really old clothing as well as Naru. We went to bed then I heard some rustling and when I looked up, I saw Bou-san standing there with a sword. He said 'you will be mine' then I…I felt the cold steel on my neck!" Mai wailed and buried her head in Sakura's shoulder again.
"Shh, don't cry, Mai. It won't hurt you. The blade isn't here," Sakura cooed while stroking Mai's hair, all the while, looking at Lin with serious dread.
The windows suddenly flew open and a mini whirlwind appeared, scattering all the papers and violently tossing them about. Lin covered Mai and Sakura from potential harm until the wind finally died down. Papers were floating down when Lin uncovered the girls and Sakura was able to see.
"Looks like we're on the right track. Whoever this ghost is made a real mess," Sakura said grimly.
Rapping suddenly came from the walls and it was so intense and loud that Mai had to cover her ears as Sakura held her close to protect her from harm.
"Lin, we have to find out who the very first family was. They hold the answers to all of this."
Lin looked at Sakura with a puzzled look and saw something strange in her eyes. He could not think of what it was but he knew that he had better listen to her or else they were doomed.