First of all for this chapter I would like to say thank you to my three faithful reviewers, these are the three authors/readers who have read and reviewed every single chapter so far: NaginiFay, WhisperToTheWolves and 14AmyChan! Thank you so much! Cookie for you!
I hope you enjoy the new chapter of Alone in your Company!
Reviews:
NaginiFay: Yeah, they finally found her! Hopefully now they can finally start doing something to help her, ne?Thank you for reading, have a cookie!
WhisperToTheWolves: I know it's depressing but it should get a little better now, I agree, Gene should tell him soon! Things should start looking up from here on out. Thank you for sticking with the story even though it's depressing! Thanks for reviewing :)
14AmyChan: *Pats you on the head* Please don't cry, I hope this chapter makes you feel a little better as things start to look up for Mai. Thank you for sticking with this story and reviewing along the way. *gives you a cookie*
Uchiha Tsunako: I agree and feel a little bad for making Gene see Mai go through that and also for Mai herself! Thank you for reviewing!
Yukihime88: Hope this makes up for the cliffy at the end of the last chapter, here's the next chapter for you!
We're born alone, We live alone, We die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion that we are not alone.
-Orson Welle
Disclaimer: Me no own Ghost Hunt, understood?
Alone in Your Company
Chapter 4: Drowning in Hope?
By Seishin no Hime(Sei)
Naru's POV:
(When reading this listen to Voices by Yoko Kano, preferably the English version but the Japanese version is good too. It helps to set the mood for the scene.)
Everything happens so quickly that I am unable to keep up with what is going on.
There is a deafening shrieking noise as Mai's room begins to slowly fill with water. The murky substance seems to come from the once clean linoleum flooring without any clear source. It's not nearly enough water to pose any threat to the girl who is clearly elevated out of it's reach, still safely on the hospital bed.
I feel a minute vibration from my pocket and slip my hand in expecting it to be my cell phone with one of Mai's worried friends on the other end but it turns out that I am wrong. The object that my hand comes into contact with is the small hand mirror that used to belong to my mother.
I remove the small object and inspect it closely, it has a thin spidery crack running from one corner right to the other corner and then widening outwards into a complicated system of even thinner cracks over the rest of the surface. My mind automatically goes to Gene, the only reason that the mirror would be effected would be if Gene was trying in some way to contact me.
When the face that could actually be my mirror image appears if is fuzzy and he looks panicked.
"Noll, I don't have much time..." Gene sputters out before his image momentarily disappears only to reappear again after a few seconds. I listen intently as he tries to tell me what he knows but is constantly disrupted by his image becoming distorted. I can feel that the worried frown on my face is becoming more and more prominent as I try to piece together what exactly he is trying to tell me.
His image once again reappears and this time he looks desperate, "He's trying to stop me from telling you about..." the manages to shout before he once again disappears and this time his image does not reappear.
I wait for a full four minutes before his face is once again present in the reflective device.
"Noll, He's a Demon! He's trapping Mai in her own head, you need Lin to perform the counter curse in order to ….." He stops talking but does not disappear, instead his eyes flash a violet-red colour and when he speaks again he sounds taunting, "You can't save her, It's already too late!" In an instant it is Gene again and he looks exhausted.
"You Have to get Lin to counter the Xīn cáng Zǔzhòu!" It's the only way that Mai can be forcibly removed from her captive state!" Gene sounds more panicked than ever before he suddenly disappears and I know that he will not reappear so I replace the mirror in it's original position. The situation is suddenly even more crucial than it seemed before.
If Mai is actually under the influence of a Xīn cáng Zǔzhòu then depending on how long she had been in this state, she may be in great danger. I remember reading something about this particular type of Zǔzhòu before in a book called Gǔlǎo de yìshù liànjīn shù: Rénlèi mèilì. The book detailed how the particular kind of curse could only be used over a particular amount of time. Depending on the age of the vessel, the spell could be used over a different period of time.
Mai would be 18 now, meaning that her body could hold out for a maximum of about 18 months.
I find Lin quickly and tell him everything that Lin told me, making sure not to leave anything out. The expression on Lin's face suddenly becomes very serious and I know that breaking Mai out of this curse will be difficult.
As soon as I am finished explaining the situation Lin is on the phone to Madoka. I vaguely hear him tell her that he needs to to look something up for him in one of his reference books.
(^o^) … AIYC… (^o^)
The rest of the day passes quickly and the tension in the room is so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Lin has been in a private room for a while and It's been a few hours since I've heard anything from him. I gather from his behaviour that he has found out what he has to do and is now preparing the counter-curse.
I feel useless. The floor of Mai's room is still covered with a thin layer of murky water as nobody has dared to try and enter the room for fear of their own and Mai's lives. Her vital signs continue to look normal and it is almost as though she is merely sleeping, she looks peaceful but I'm not stupid enough to think that her state of mind is the same as the image projected on the outside.
I hope that Mai is not suffering too much. I know that before I left she was already troubled by her dreams as she was forced to live through countless deaths of people she had never met but never the less formed an attachment to.
(^o^) … AIYC… (^o^)
The rest of the team arrive two hours before midnight. Lin has yet to emerge from his current position and I can only hope that he will be finished soon.
I can tell that everybody is as worried as I am. The Monk's face is pale and he looks more tired than I have ever seen him. The Miko leans on him for support and I relieved to note that for once they are not arguing. The silence is welcomed at the same time as being completely stifling. Only Mai can bring the whole team together like this and only Mai could bring about this kind of solemn silence as they await her return to the living.
It is almost an hour later when Lin emerges looking exhausted but accomplished at the same time. I am relieved to see a talisman inscribed with something written in tradition Chinese, followed by what I recognise as the Kanji for Mai's name. (護身符逆轉一記藏咒術. 麻衣o谷山)
He wastes no time in moving towards Mai's room and forcibly throwing the door open. Almost immediately the monitors begin to beep furiously but Lin doesn't stop his advance until he is right beside her bed.
He places the talisman beside Mai's head on the pillow and begins reciting an incantation, "Wǒ wèn nà zhòng shén tīng dào wǒ de qǐngqiú. Qǔchū zhèngzài jūzhù de chuánzhī ér bù yuàn yāo hé gōngzhèng de fǎtíng qūzhú tā. Fābù!" he shouts the last word and suddenly the room is silent.
The water that had been covering the floor for the better part of the afternoon and evening immediately begins to recede and I watch in relief as Mai's vital signs once again return to normal.
It looks as though she is now out of immediate danger.
Mai's POV:
I have been in the dark place for an in-ordinary amount of time. Usually my torture would have begun again by now. Then again maybe I am being given a break after being betrayed by the one person I thought I would always be able to depend on.
After being drowned I lost sight of Naru. I suppose that his murderous intent was enough to torture me mentally for now. I honestly wished that I would never have to see him again but in the back of my mind I knew that this thought would only make his appearances more frequent.
The changes begin so slowly that at first I do not notice. However, it doesn't take me long to finally notice the receding darkness around the edge of my self imposed prison. I don't know if this change means that I will soon be dragged into another vision or if it is a further stage of relief from the cruel torture that I have been forced to endure.
My own consciousness is the next thing that begins to recede and I muse that this shouldn't be possible because I am already completely unconscious, a soul that is trapped within the further corner of an unresponsive body.
The blackness is not imposing though and I do not feel scared as it takes me in it's gentle clutches. Instead I welcome the feather light touch that feels both soft and gentle and strong and secure.
I am startled to reason that I feel safe.
(^o^) … AIYC… (^o^)
When my consciousness begins to return I note that my limbs feel heavy. In the next second I also note that this is the first time in a long time that I have been able to feel an ounce of physical sensation.
The thought makes me freeze, an imperceptible stiffening of every single muscle in my body which sends a shooting pain through my legs, arms and shoulders.
Am I awake?
I dismiss the thought almost as soon as it enters my head. It is impossible for me to be awake, I have come to accept the fact that I will never again wake up from this never-ending nightmare. Although I still to this day cannot figure our what it is that I am being punished for I have simply accepted the fact that it must have been something terrible for my punishment to be this severe.
However, the aching feeling all over my body tells a different story. In some part of my mind I know that I must be awake and alive in some way for me to be feeling so much physical pain.
Another part of my brain registers that I am soaking wet, something that hasn't changed since I've apparently been released from my self-imposed prison. When I notice this I finally realise how cold I am. My arms are coated with goose bumps from their position lying above what could only by some sort of comforter and a shiver runs down my spine as I register the fact that although I have yet to open my eyes, I know that I am alone in the room.
I am not surprised, I am long passed expecting to have somebody here, awaiting my return. However, the realisation still brings the slow burn of tears to my eyes. Although I have given up hope on my family, somewhere in my heart I had hoped that they still had faith in me, that they still loved me.
Finally I am able to blink my eyes open although my eyelids are heavy and I automatically close them again when they are are assaulted by a bright light. It takes me a few minutes to get used to having my sense of sight back but soon I am able to take in the details of the room in which I lay.
As I expected it is a hospital, although I had already deduced as much from the irritating beep of the heart monitor that I could hear from somewhere nearby.
The room is empty save for a black jacket that is slung carelessly over an uncomfortable looking chair. The item of clothing is familiar and it sends a pang of fear through my heart to think that Naru could be here. At the same time I feel an intense longing, one that I have always felt when I am around Naru and that I cannot stop.
Lost in my thoughts as I was I didn't notice an ever familiar presence enter to room so when arms slid around my waist in a horrifically familiar gesture I do the first thing I can think of.
I scream.
So that's chapter 4 of AIYC completed. I hope you enjoyed it!
Mai is finally awake and in the next chapter we will see her interaction with the other members as well as how she reacts properly to Naru's presence at the bedside.
The incsription of the Talisman reads: Talisman for the reversal of a mind possession incantation. Mai Taniyama.
The chant that Lin speaks is: I ask that the gods hear my plea. Remove the demon that is inhabiting a vessel which is unwilling and banish him before a court of justice. Release!
Both are in Chinese!
Please leave me a review to let me know what you thought and if you liked it!
Sei x