Chapter 2
Seventeen year old Taniyama Mai sat at her desk in a small office in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo. The pencil she held in her hand tapped incessantly on the paper as she stared at the words on the page. She was so focussed on those words that she was completely oblivious to the fact that she'd since made a small hole in the paper from the constant tapping.
Her co-worker – Yasuhara Osamu, 18 – wasn't so oblivious to the constant tapping and glanced at her over the rim of his glasses from where he sat at his own desk. Despite being more than capable of ignoring the sounds, he was starting to wonder if he should say something to Mai. 'If I don't say something soon, she might explode from frustration and end up disturbing the boss,' he thought.
"Tani..."
Just when he was about to ask her what she was struggling with, Mai cried out in frustration.
"Aah! I don't know! What'm I supposed to write for this??" Mai threw her hands up in despair. "Yasuhara-san can you help me with this? Please?! ...Ah! No. Actually, I take that back. Um, never mind," she said stiltedly. Mai laughed weakly as she waved her hands in front of her in denial.
Yasuhara couldn't help smiling wryly at having been slightly off in his timing. Apparently, he'd been concentrating on his work than more he'd originally thought. He quickly gathered together the papers he'd been working on and brought them with him as he decided to see what she'd been struggling with. Mai's sudden back-pedal and weak laugh had tweaked his curiosity. And as he expected, a moment later the door to the boss's office opened audibly, and Shibuya Kazuya, a.k.a. 'Naru', stalked out looking annoyed.
"Mai! Be quiet! This is an office! Five-year-olds are quieter than you!" he snapped. Apparently, her outburst reached him in his office disturbing him from his work.
Mai shrank back slightly at his sharp words. "S-sorry," she muttered. She couldn't argue; she hadn't meant to disturb people by yelling like that.
"Ah, Shochou, I finished the initial data analyses. Would you like to take a look at them first, or should I hand the information to Lin-san?" Yasuhara asked in an attempt to deflect Naru's attention from Mai.
"...I'll take a look at them first," Naru said with a slight sigh after a brief pause. "Mai, tea."
"Coming," she replied slightly relieved. "Yasuhara-san, would you like some tea, too?"
"Please," he said with his winning smile.
Several minutes later, Mai returned from the office kitchenette carrying a tray with tea for the three of them. She quickly served Naru and Yasuhara before taking her own cup. Since Naru was sitting on the sofa reading through the papers Yasuhara had given him, Mai decided to go back to staring at the assignment she'd been fighting with before she'd gone to make tea. Unfortunately, for her, she didn't notice Yasuhara come over to her desk to see what was written on her paper, so she was taken completely by surprise when he suddenly grabbed the sheet away from her and began reading it.
"Yasuhara-san! Give that back!" she cried out panicked. However, it was too late. Yasuhara was already skimming through the page. Mai knew when Yasuhara reached the part she'd been struggling with because he froze.
"Mai!" Naru yelled at her.
Mai flinched at the anger in Naru's voice as she snatched the paper back from Yasuhara and glared at him. But the damage was already done. He'd read the paper... However, before anyone could say anything else, the bell attached to the door of the office suddenly rang out merrily announcing the arrival of a guest.
"Wel... gah!" Mai's greeting quickly turned into a rude sound of displeasure as she turned and saw Hirota Seigi standing in the doorway.
A look of distaste crossed Naru's face briefly before he stood. "Mai, ask our guest to leave. Once you've finished with that, bring me some more tea in my office."
Mai looked surprised. She couldn't comment about Naru's behaviour given her own reaction to the person standing there, but still, Hirota could hear everything Naru said. Of all the people in the reception area, Yasuhara was the only one with a smile on his face, although it was very much his professional work smile.
Hirota grimaced slightly. Given how things had gone between himself and the SPR (+ Irregulars) for much of the Agawa case, he couldn't entirely blame them. Hirota Seigi was a member of the Tokyo District Special Investigations Unit's Zero Squad. Responsible for re-investigating unsolved cases where spirit manifestations, psychic ability, or curses might have been involved, he'd had a run in with the members of the SPR a little over a month ago. At the time, they'd often been at odds, not only because of his then utter disbelief in the paranormal, but also over his unofficial investigation of the SPR's boss, Shibuya Kazuya.
'Shibuya Kazuya' was an alias. The incredibly good-looking young man who led 'Shibuya Psychic Research' was in fact the famous and highly respected paranormal researcher, Oliver Davis, of the English SPR – an organisation that studied paranormal phenomena in an impartial, scientific manner. Their office initials SPR were in fact reflective of that organisation, and like Shibuya Kazuya was an alias for Oliver Davis, Shibuya Psychic Research was an alias for the Japanese Branch of the SPR.
At the time of the Agawa case, Hirota Seigi had been unofficially investigating any possible involvement Oliver Davis might have had in the death of his twin brother Eugene Davis. None of the members knew whether Hirota still believed Naru might have been involved in any way in Eugene's death, but they weren't too happy about seeing him. He'd simply been too stubborn and relentless in calling them frauds intent on robbing clients.
Hirota sighed. He thought he'd prepared himself for the reception he would receive when he came to the office, but apparently he was mistaken. Still, he couldn't just turn around and leave.
"Don't worry. If I had a choice, I wouldn't come within fifty feet of this place," he said looking annoyed.
"You're more than within fifty feet of this office, Hirota-san. In fact, you are inside this office, so I'd appreciate it if you would leave," Naru said coolly.
"I said 'if I had a choice'!" Hirota shot back angrily.
"Ah! Do you mean Nakai-san?" Mai asked suddenly.
Naru glanced at her curiously at the mention of Nakai Saki. Hirota just looked away fidgeting uncomfortably.
"Anyway, I'm here about work," he said heavily.
Naru glanced at Hirota. "Even assuming that you've started to consider the possibility that paranormal phenomena do in fact occur, I believe it's your job to investigate whether such influences could be at the root of certain unsolved cases. I fail to see why you'd expect us to do your job for you... unless you're that incompetent of course."
Hirota struggled visibly to control his temper. He'd forgotten how sarcastic and sharp-tongued Naru could be.
Mai and Yasuhara glanced at one another before deciding to take control of the situation. If they let the two continue as they were, it would be an unending stream of angry comments followed by sarcastic retorts. Mai quickly fled to the safety of the office kitchenette, sensibly to make some new tea for everyone, while Yasuhara ushered Hirota in suggesting he take a seat.
Naru looked slightly annoyed that his employees were in fact doing the exact opposite of what he'd told them, but he soon gave in with a slight sigh. "And is your co-worker also coming here?" he asked resignedly as he slowly sat down again.
"Hm? Oh, um, no. She's still in Kyoto taking care of things there. I'd been helping out there as well, but she suggested that I contact you. We were hoping you could help with an investigation we're working on at the moment," Hirota confessed uncomfortably.
"I assume you have a house or building that needs to be investigated but lack the proper equipment for such an investigation?" Naru asked coolly.
Hirota flushed slightly, "Um, well... the investigation is still ongoing. We think we have a location and a common thread, but it's not a certainty. At best, we think that's the centre, but we don't have much else to go on at the moment."
Naru stared at Hirota in disbelief for a long moment. "You mean you really do expect us to do your job for you?"
Yasuhara quickly intervened before Hirota could get angry at Naru's question. "Hirota-san, why don't you start from the beginning. All this talk of an 'on-going investigation' without any detail is making for a very vague conversation."
Hirota frowned slightly at having been headed off by Yasuhara but slowly nodded. However, before he could begin his explanation, Mai returned from the kitchenette with new tea for everyone. He patiently waited for her to serve tea and to take her seat before beginning his explanation.
"Nakai and I were called in after the initial investigation into a multiple murder in Kyoto about a week ago. One of the investigating officers thought something was a bit odd about the circumstances and called my department for help. Most likely, you've heard about the Katou case on the news?" Hirota asked the others.
Naru's expression didn't change while Mai and Yasuhara both indicated knowledge of the recent incident.
"That's the case where the father went on a killing spree murdering his wife and his wife's parents but whose daughter is missing, right?" Mai asked seeking confirmation.
"And immediately after the killings, the killer then contacted the police and confessed to the three murders," Yasuhara added.
"Right," Hirota nodded.
Mai and Yasuhara glanced at one another before Mai hesitantly asked, "Why are you investigating that case? It didn't seem like there were any umm... unusual circumstances."
Hirota grimaced slightly. His reaction had been much the same when he and Nakai were first called in to investigate the murder.
"During his confession, the perpetrator – Katou Hiroshi – claimed there was a blank in his memory. According to his story, he says he went looking for his daughter, who he thought had wandered off somewhere as she was prone to do. However, he has no memory of the time between looking for his daughter and picking up the axe he used to kill the rest of the family."
Naru looked impatient. "Maybe he's trying to get out of taking responsibility for what he'd done by claiming temporary insanity," he said with a shrug.
Hirota shook his head. "I don't think so. Not once did he deny doing the killing. In fact he seemed pretty stunned and horrified at what had happened, and he was fully aware that it was he who'd done it. What he didn't understand was why and that blank in his memory. He also doesn't know where his daughter went. And before you start coming up with alternative ideas, we've tested for abuse or exposure to drugs, conflicting medications, etc., so that's also out. He's also been declared mentally competent following a psychological evaluation. What's more important is why we were even called in in the first place."
Hirota paused frowning slightly. He'd learned through experience that the people of this office didn't try to blame everything on the paranormal. The boss was too lost on the research aspect to want to waste his precious time on anything that didn't involve the paranormal.
"The house where the incident happened, it's not the first violent crime to happen there," he said finally.
Naru didn't miss a beat as he shot back, "Just because one crime happens in a place doesn't mean it won't ever happen there again."
"With the same comment about not knowing how he went from looking for his dog in that case to picking up a knife and killing his wife! In the previous case, the perp immediately turned himself in to the police," Hirota replied annoyed. "Nakai's currently piecing together the history of that house and the various people who've lived there and what happened to them."
Naru smiled thinly. "Are you suggesting a spirit's there haunting the place and causing residents to kill one another?"
Hirota paused before he shook his head. "That's what I thought at first, but it didn't seem to make any sense," he confessed.
Naru raised an eyebrow slightly. "Have there been any reports of strange occurrences at the house, strange lights or apparitions, things moving, doors opening or closing on their own? Are there any rumours of the place being haunted in the neighbourhood?"
Hirota shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of, and not that we've been able to discover from anyone else yet either."
Naru cocked his head to one side at that comment. "So, you want us to investigate a house, which shows no signs of paranormal activity and isn't even reputed to be haunted, simply because it was the site of two murders that had one thing in common?"
"Not one, three!" Hirota yelled angrily. "Both times it was a male, they were both looking for someone or something, and they both experienced the same memory blank."
Naru blinked at Hirota's reply. "Nothing you've mentioned indicates any sort of paranormal activity, and if there's no data to be recorded or obtained, this office isn't interested. If you're trying to find the cause of the crimes, despite the case not being in Tokyo, you should look to your own department; in other words, do your job. Alternatively, you could try finding a medium or other psychic who is willing to bill your department into bankruptcy as they join you on your wild goose chase."
Hirota took a deep breath but said nothing for a long moment as he stared into his tea. He finally looked at Naru asking, "Is that your final answer?"
Naru nodded.
Hirota sighed in resignation. He knew this would be the result even before he left Nakai in Kyoto. He nodded slightly before climbing to his feet. "I figured you'd say that, but I had to try," he said. "Well, if you change your mind, I'm sure Yasuhara-san knows my number."
Hirota opened his mouth to say something more, but after a brief pause, closed it and shook his head. "Taniyama-san, thank you for the tea," he said finally as he left the office.
After Hirota left, Mai started cleaning away the tea things from the reception area. Much to her surprise, Naru remained sitting where he was and continued reading through the data set Yasuhara had given him.
"Naru, did you want more tea?" Mai asked hesitantly.
Naru didn't look up as he nodded. Mai smiled wryly at her boss's response. She glanced inquiringly at Yasuhara who also nodded with a smile.
Several minutes later, Mai came back out of the kitchenette with fresh tea for everyone. After serving everyone, she took her own cup back to her desk, when Yasuhara came over to her desk and handed her one of the day's newspapers.
"We forgot to take care of this earlier," he said with a rueful smile before returning to his own desk. He then opened another newspaper and started checking through the stories.
Several minutes later, after having read through a number of pages of the newspaper, Mai started chatting with Yasuhara as she continued looking for any unusual incidents. "What did you think of Hirota-san's case, Yasuhara-san?"
Yasuhara frowned before shaking his head. "There didn't seem to be anything that would indicate paranormal activity. And if there's no actual measurable manifestation happening in the house..."
"Yeah, I thought that odd, too," Mai responded. "I mean, he knows how much of a mad scientist Naru is, so he at least needed to have some sort of paranormal activity happening there."
The two fell silent for a moment as they considered Hirota's strange visit.
"Oh, hey, listen to this one. 'Kyoto teen beaten up by best friend: Two Kyoto teens snuck out of their homes late Monday night to take a break from their exam studies when one of the teens suddenly attacked the other. The mother of the victim claims her son's friend was possessed by a fox spirit.'" Mai said reading a small article she found at the bottom of one page. "Do you have it in yours as well?"
Yasuhara shook his head. "That one's not in mine, but I do have the proverbial haunted tunnel," he said. "A small group of university students are claiming that their vehicle was attacked by unknown spirits when driving through a rural tunnel in Niigata. Supposedly a bunch of hands suddenly appeared on all the windows of their vehicle. They claim that their van was slowing down because of all the hands grabbing onto it, so the driver floored the pedal to get out of the tunnel as quickly as he could but ended up losing control of the vehicle and crashing into a tree. The teens claim that there were strange scratch marks and bloody hand prints all over the vehicle."
"Ewww. That sounds like it came out of some horror movie or something," Mai said shivering slightly. "Could you imagine having a bunch of hands just show up out of nowhere?"
"Ahahah, Taniyama-san, what are you talking about? I wouldn't think hands would be quite so bad after having zombies come after you for a whole night," Yasuhara said sounding mildly amused.
"...Yeah, but we're talking about hands. Only hands and nothing else," Mai said frowning. "Which is worse, having a ghost look at you, or having a thousand eyes all over the walls, floor, and ceiling just staring at you?"
"Hmmm, well I guess if you put it that way." Yasuhara said. "It says that alcohol may have been a factor in this accident though, so I wonder how reliable their story is."
"Good point," Mai agreed. She fell silent as she continued reading through the headlines.
"...I'm glad we're not going on an investigation yet." Mai muttered to herself quietly after a long moment.
"Taniyama-san?" Yasuhara asked looking at her oddly. He knew that Mai was paid more when they were out on an investigation due to the dangers involved and the fact that they were on the job 24/7. So, it was rare for her not to want to be out on an investigation.
Mai's head jerked up in surprise at the sound of concern in Yasuhara's voice. "Ah, sorry, it's nothing..." she answered looking flustered. She hadn't realised she'd spoken out loud.
"Taniyama-san, do you honestly think I'll buy that?" Yasuhara asked looking at her oddly. It was clear from her expression that it wasn't "nothing".
Mai shook her head. She remained silent for a long moment as she continued reading through the paper on her desk.
"Taniyama-san," Yasuhara said firmly.
Mai sighed. She could almost feel Yasuhara's gaze. "To be honest, I'm not sure how I would feel about going on a case yet," she confessed. "Ah, it's not like I wouldn't want to go or I have a bad feeling or anything like that. I'm just not sure about sleeping if we went on one. Not yet. Not when there's a kid missing and presumed dead."
Yasuhara looked at her steadily at that comment. He'd heard from the Irregulars about Gene showing up in Mai's dreams during the Agawa case and how he'd connected her to Naru's psychometric vision. In her dreams, she experienced the child's last terrifying moments when someone broke into his home and murdered his entire family before finding and killing him. Mai had been badly shaken, both by the dream as well as by Gene's sudden re-appearance. But mostly by the latter. However, Yasuhara thought Mai had come to terms with it. "It's not like you can avoid sleeping. After all, you're not Lin-san or the boss." Yasuhara said quietly.
"I know. I thought I was okay with things once I got over the initial shock; after all, I was really happy to be able to see him again. But..." Mai sighed unhappily. "I don't know how I feel right now. Gene's probably asleep, so if we go on a case... I don't know if I'm hoping that he does show up or that he doesn't. I mean, he's always shown up, right? But at the same time, I know that it'd be better if he didn't. But... but I can't help hoping... wanting to see him again."
Mai looked away and stared out the office window. "I want to see him again. But at the same time I don't want to see him again. And I know I don't want to see or experience another kid's death again; not so soon. I think, I'd be afraid of sleeping because of what I might dream," she said quietly.
'I'll want to see him, but I'm also afraid I won't see him,' she thought to herself.
Mai never realised Naru was still in the reception area while she was speaking with Yasuhara.