Chapter 2

July

Case#1: Creepy Halls 2

Day 2 (continued)

Naru saw Mai a few hours later woke up from her slumber but she didn't say anything. In fact, she looked quite upset for some reason. Naru couldn't put to tell what went wrong with her in her dreams but didn't push it and continued working. He knew well that if he did, she'll probably won't tell anything on that. It would stupid if he said something wrong though. Naru turned back on the monitors and listened through the sound, only to find there were only some knocking sounds and sounds of groaning. Nothing very special.

Two hours passed and everyone came back with nothing special to report. Lin had came back saying the locals won't talk to him for odd reasons. Naru found it strange that they wouldn't talk to Lin for whatever reason. So, instead, he sent Yasuhara to find the information instead, saying he doesn't need to stay to eat dinner or overnight that night. Yasu had agreed and left, probably heading Tokyo to get the information. It was quite far but he knew he'll handle it.

Then, it was time for dinner. Everyone went to the dining hall to eat, Naru and Lin to arrive there first. Sitting down on his seat, he waited for everyone to come and have a seat. Eventually they did come. Monk first, followed by Ayako, Masako, Mai and John. Everyone gave a nod and began eating but Naru had his suspicions on Mr. Ishino. He looked calm. Earlier, he was shouting about them being here to just ruin and create chaos. He was beginning to suspect that Mr. Ishino might be the culprit. He still needed to investigate more though.

After dinner, Naru and the others retreated to base where he told everyone to go to sleep and meet back in base the next day. Naru still needed some private time to think about the request, unable to shake it off without a nice spanning time to think of it. Lin had stayed but he can tell his bodyguard was probably allowing him some space to think it over, for which he was glad. Sighing, he laid on the sofa, thinking about the mail in his computer over and over again, unable to make the right decision still.

He heard a knock on the door. Naru looked up and saw Lin walked over towards the door, opening saying,"Yes, may I help you?"

"Is Mr. Shibuya still present?" Came a voice of a girl, probably the maid.

"Yes. Do you have business with him?" Lin asked.

"Yes, I want to tell him something that might be crucial to the case." The maid answered.

"Come in." Lin replied and opened the door wider. The maid walked inside giving a bow and murmur of apologies of disturbing him in this late hour. Naru simply kept silent and gestured her to sit down. She sat down as obliged.

"You said that there was something that might be crucial to this case, correct?" Naru inquired.

"Yes. I so happened to be the maid for the previous family. However, the previous family's record wasn't recorded in the histories of the house." The maid told him.

"Tell me about what is so crucial about this previous family." Naru said, leaning forward now and having his hands folded, his attention onto her.

"Well, it's just that there was a boy about 17 years old that really loves to used this thing called a Ouija Board to call out spirits. The moment he used this Ouija Board, he died less than 3 months later. Doctors said that there were scratches and deep cuts on the boy's body when he died. His name was Taka Zeba."

"Interesting. A young teenage boy playing a Ouija board and died from it 3 months after. I appreciate the information. You may leave now." Naru nodded. The woman inclined her head in returned and left the room. Naru pulled out his notebook and wrote down the things he found out thus far. This would be an interesting case.

Day 3

Naru woke up in the bedroom, blinking slightly from the light in the room. Sitting up, he went to the bathroom to change into his clothes. Once he did, he realized Lin was already awake. Knowing probably that the bodyguard had headed to base, he walked out, fully dressed and went to base. As thought, Lin was already there, checking the monitors and any unnatural events that possibly happened last night.

"Kazuya, come here and listen to this." Lin said, using his name. Naru came over and put on the headphones and listened, hearing the sounds of knocking and wailing sounds in the basement where camera 6 was. Not to mention, he caught a figure in the camera for a second before vanishing.

"Playback second by second." Naru told him. Lin did as he was told."Stop." The playback stopped where the figure was and Naru took a closer look at who it was. From the image, it looked like a figure of a woman. He stared at it, trying to take in the image of the figure. She looked as though sleeping since her eyes were closed but from what he can tell, it only gave a flash of the ghost woman, which was interesting for Naru to see. He'll have to keep note on that.

Walking away from the monitors and heading towards the sofa where his black book was, he picked it up and opened it, and began writing the ghost woman that looked as though sleeping. As he did so, he heard the others come in. Naru didn't look up from what he was writing as he continued, saying,"Mai, Ms. Mazasuki, do a temperature rundown. John would perform an exorcism in the basement with Ms. Hara accompanying him. Takigawa will guard base. Me and Lin will continue with the investigation."

"Right." John said with a nod and he and Masako left.

"Okay." Mai nodded and she and Ayako left for another temperature rundown. Naru placed his black book down on the table and got up and walked towards the door, leaving to investigate further in with the house. Lin followed after him. So, they first left to investigate Mr. Ishino's room. Entering in, they felt the room temperature had suddenly dropped lower all because of them entering in. Naru was intrigued by this but nonetheless, he looked around for any source that possibly might have triggered this room to have the sudden drop of temperature.

Looking at Lin, he can tell his bodyguard was more alert than ever, knowing the presence could possibly be appearing around them anytime soon. He sighed quietly as he said,"Let's go and investigate other places."

"Yes." Lin nodded and the both of them strolled out, heading towards the study room next. After that sudden drop of temperature, there were no other unnatural activities going on, so the two of them headed back to base. When they entered in, they saw everyone else was there and Mai was on the sofa, her face pale and probably unconscious. Worry flooded him like a wave but he kept his face straight face on as he walked over towards her and checked up on her.

Knowing she was still alive, he asked,"What happened to her?"

"One of the spirits attacked her." It was Ayako that answered,"I used the nine cuts to save her. Once I did, she was already knocked out, unconscious. I have to drag her back in order to have her safe and sound. It was luck that Father John and Masako was there to help be bring her back."

"I see." Naru nodded. He took his notebook again and began writing down the new discoveries they made, including the part where Mai was knocked out by a spirit. All the events were interesting so he would have to all keep in mind. It was good enough to know about them. Then, he heard Hanaka to call them down for lunch. Everyone headed to eat, relieved to have something to eat at last. Once the lunch was done though, they all headed back to base and it was the Monk that spoke first upon entering.

"Naru? I just noticed when you entered Mr. Ischino's room, the temperature suddenly dropped 5 degrees." The Monk pointed out.

"Yes, I felt it as well." Naru replied, not surprised at all.

"Could there be another spirit inside there?" Father John asked.

"It could be but we are still investigating." Naru said, not looking up from his notebook. His hands still moved, writing down the events still so he can keep them in mind. Naru was still trying to think what else to have the others do. Knowing then, he turned towards them.

"Takigawa, do an exorcism in Mr. Ishino's room. Ms. Hara, go around the house to see if you can sense more spirits around. Ms. Mazasuki will accompany you. John, I want you to perform an exorcism in the hallways." Everyone nodded and went to do their duty. At the same time, Yasuhara entered in, holding a huge stack of papers in hand.

"I have the information you need about the murder of the girl and about the history of the house. It's all right here." As he put the pile of papers before Naru.

"Would you tell me what you found out?" Naru asked as he began skimming through the papers that was brought before him.

"Will do." Yasuhara nodded."From what I gathered, there were a huge line of murders that constantly happened in this house. It all started back in 1800's where a young male named Kiru Shaki was murdered in the age of 15. Not long after, when the Kala family moved in, three of their teenage sons were murdered as well. Then, ten years after when the place was re-built, the Hiro family moved in and their daughter was murdered. Then, the Osakas entire family was murdered. Then, now, this girl of 13 years old was murdered here as well. Her family was the Jiro family. The girl was named Nuka Jiro. That is all I gotten so far."

"I see." Naru said, his hand on his chin."So a series of murders happening in this house, I presume that the children killed were in teen years?"

"Yeah." Yasuhara nodded.

"I want you to look more into the history behind this house. See if you can find anything other than just the murders. Check if there was any chance that a woman had died here. Also, look into the families you mentioned see if they used the Ouija board to summon spirits as well." Naru told Yasuhara.

"Alright." Nodding, the boy left base. Naru looked at Mai, still half worried about her. He never worried about others before but now, with Mai, he worried and he couldn't put to tell as the reason why that would be. It could perhaps because it was from his past or perhaps because he had feelings for her. He didn't know but he wanted to stay here and make sure she was safe. That was all he worried about right now. Her being safe. Naru continued writing in his notebook, taking note about every detail about what Yasu has told him. All of them posed as interesting.

Few hours passed and Naru saw Mai had stirred in her sleep, her eyes fluttering and the sign of her waking up. Naru looked up at her then, wondering what her reaction would be. When she opened her eyes fully, she saw a serious expression her face as she sat up and looked at Naru. He calmly looked her back, wondering what the face would meant. he was curious after all.

"Naru, I just had another dream." Mai said. Naru kept silent as he was now giving his full attention to her."In my dream, I saw a young boy calling his mother. The mother never came to him but only stood there and that dark figure killed the mother. I saw also the father had tried to stop the man but was only killed by the same dark figure. The boy all he did was cry and he was taken away, and got drowned in the river. It felt so bad to see that entire family killed." Mai held herself together then, her serious expression now gone.

"Not very useful." His voice sounded dull again.

"How can it not?" Mai's eyes widen at him.

"We knew already that an entire family was murdered. Yasuhara had told me the info already." Naru replied, looking back at his notebook and writing about Mai's dream.

"I know it is important and useful. I just do, deep inside my heart." Mai said firmly. Naru gave a look at Mai before sighing.

"I believe you." Naru said simply before continued writing. He heard Mai sigh. He knew the others were still doing their tasks that he assigned them to do. It was pretty dull though. The spirits aren't being active in part. He wondered soon if they would be. He sighed and shook his head, shifting a bit more in comfortable position as he awaited for results.

"Um, Naru?" Mai said quietly now. Again, Naru kept quiet for her to on. "Can you...astro-project?"

"No. Why?" Naru asked, looking at Mai now. He had a feeling she was telling him something that was a secret hidden for so long without anyone in the SPR knowing beside Lin of course.

"It's nothing. I'm just curious, is all." Mai said with a smile then but Naru still had his suspicions on. He didn't push it though. Sighing, he just looked back at his notebook and continued writing, hearing the others come back.

"We exorcise them but it wouldn't work." The Monk said.

"I sensed many spirits around." Masako spoke next.

"I tried exorcising the spirit in the hallway but didn't work either." John replied.

"It seems as though this would get more violent after this." Naru said mostly to himself.

"It seems that way." John said in a concerned voice.

"Everyone would keep alert at all times." Naru said in a strict voice.

"Yes, Naru." Everyone said in unison. Sighing, Naru continued writing in his notebook. Dinner came then and everyone had their fill. Once they were finished though, the entire SPR team, even Naru heard a high-pitched scream coming from the kitchen for which everyone hurried to there. Naru was the one that was wondering the most of what is going on. They arrived at the kitchen to see pots and pans all lying on the floor, and bloodied writing written on the wall above the sink. Naru was surprised by it yet interested at the same time. So, he asked the woman, apparently the maid in the house.

"What happened here?"

"I-I came in here and the moment I walked in, pots and pans began flying towards me. I just barely dodged all the attacks. Not only that, I saw with my own eyes the bloodied writing being written on its own." The maid answered. Naru had his hand on his chin as he thought this over. Who would be controlling the spirits in this house? He needed to know.

"I see. John, I want you to exorcise this place as well. Takigawa would be there to accompany you. The rest us would head back to base to discuss matters." Naru said before turning and heading back to base. Everyone who wasn't doing the exorcism followed after Naru.

Back at the base, Naru was seated on the sofa with the others, Ayako, Masako, Lin and Mai and later Yasuhara gathered around him. The boy had told him about what he found out and told him that all the previous families used Ouija boards to play and died as a result. Also, he couldn't find any other families that related to a woman. Naru had nodded on that. Stll, Naru had his notebook in his hand and he was writing down the events that happened just recently, probably guessing that the ghosts don't want them here. He was unsure though, since things are happening way too quickly.

"Who do you think would be behind this?" Ayako asked quietly.

"According to our investigation, there are many spirits present in this house, which is possible that someone is behind this to control them. With them bonded, they were forced to do their bidding and caused this house to be always disturbed by them. My guess is that whoever controls them want us gone, nothing more. Also, according to Yasuhara, the boys and girls that died her used Ouija boards and died as a result. A bigger tragedy is one of the families was wiped out. The interesting thing is the girl that was stabbed didn't use a Ouija board." Naru explained, closing his notebook as he was finished writing.

"But who would do such a thing?" Mai asked in a shaky tone.

"It could be Mr. Ishino." Masako said.

"It's starting sounding more and more like it." Ayako agreed.

"Perhaps it is him then." Yasu chimed in agreement.

"I wouldn't be so sure on that." Mai frowned, disturbed even more. It made Naru even more worried of what her thoughts were.

"Why would you say that it could not been Mr. Ishino?" Naru asked Mai.

"I can't really describe it but," Mai said,"But I know he won't be the one. I mean, even if he looked like he is, he isn't and he is just used as a bait, I just know it!"

"Mai, why are you helping Mr. Ishino when it is obvious he is the real culprit behind this case?" Ayako frowned.

"He isn't the real culprit, I just know it! Please, Naru, just believe me that I am right!" Mai said in a pleading tone.

"If Mai says it wasn't him, I would believe her." Naru affirmed. Everyone had shocked faces, except for Lin. Naru then said,"Your work here is done. You can retreat to your rooms to rest. We shall continue the investigation tomorrow. When John and Takigawa is done, I'll pass down the same message." Then Naru walked towards the monitors and began checking over the cameras. He heard everyone left just when John and the Monk came in, confused by the sudden leave. Naru turned towards them for an answer.

"I think John had exorcised that spirit inside the kitchen but he wasn't exactly sure." the Monk told him.

"Yeah, it felt like it left but I still wasn't sure if it was going to come back or not." John said as well.

Naru nodded and then said,"Very well. You are free to retreat to your rooms to rest. We will continue the investigation tomorrow." He saw the Monk and John nodded and they left base. Naru sighed and leaned back on his chair, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Maybe you should rest, Kazuya." Lin said in concern.

"I'm fine, Lin." Naru said.

"Your still thinking over about the request." It wasn't a question.

"I am starting to think that I should accept it." Naru sighed in exasperation.

"It sounds wise." Lin said his thoughts. Naru simply nodded and continued examining the monitors. Another long day was done. The case though, still was far from over.

To be continued...


Dear Readers,

Another chapter up and Naru is still stressed about both the case and of the request. Again, I'll love it I have everyone's opinions on what they think about this story thus far. It's my first try on Ghost Hunt and I think I am doing fine in Naru's perspective. The next chapter would involve in Mai's and Naru's perspective, so a mix. It would start of Mai then to Naru. Review and comment please and I will see you all in the next chapter!

Icestar123