PHANTASMAGORIA

4: Portentousness

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Mai didn't know what to call her new boss.

Sure, she called him 'Mr Shibuya' when addressing him, but . . . last year, he had told her to call him another name. Although, seeing as he wasn't acknowledging her as someone he knew . . . She should do the same, right? It kinda pissed her off that he didn't remember her though.

"So . . . what exactly are we doing again, Mr Shibuya?" Mai asked, pulling randomly at the tangled electrical cords of this . . . thing. Mai could guess that it was some sort of microphone, but she couldn't be too sure. It wasn't like anything she'd seen before. Microphones were supposed to be on stands or attached to cameras, right? Well, the one her new boss handed her was supposed to be attached to a ceiling. Now she understood why Mr Shibuya hired super tall Mr Lin.

Mr Shibuya tucked his chin slightly and narrowed his eyes for a short moment. It was a subtle change from his normal deadpan expression, but Mai noticed because he'd done it several times in just this afternoon alone. Probably tired with all her questions. "We are installing microphones and camcorders in rooms that have been said to have had paranormal phenomenon in the past. After that, we will organize the monitors at the base. If we still have time later, we must make a rough blueprint of the building. Your principal didn't provide one."

"Okay but," Mai said, scrunching her eyebrows. Her face soured at the idea of being ordered to do more grunt work. "What does all that have to do with exorcising ghosts?"

The sound was infinitesimal, but Mai was sure he just clucked his tongue at her. "I'm not here to exorcise ghosts, nor am I here to catch them—I'm here to study them," he stated, fiddling with a tripod to make it stable. He then took the microphone from Mai's hands and affixed it at the ceiling corner in front of the staircase, setting a small camera next to it. "My business, to most people, is perceived as 'ghost hunting'. Although . . . those two words don't truly catch the essence of what I wish to accomplish."

"What do you wish to accomplish, then?" Mai asked, half-curious, half-irritated. Whatever his reason was, it better be worth all this heavy-lifting.

She really didn't understand why they had to go through all this trouble. She seriously hadn't expected to shoulder so much manual labor! With what she'd heard from Ayako, all she expected from this 'assistant' job was to participate in an exorcising ritual or something. Ouija boards and weird religious mantras and stuff like that. Wasn't that what usually entailed 'ghost hunting'?

"Parapsychology," he replied, but didn't immediately elaborate—to Mai's chagrin. He stepped away to regard his work, nudging the microphone slightly to distance it from the adjacent wall, and then picked up a box full of wires and small gadgets. He handed it to Mai, who huffed at the unexpected weight.

"Parapsychology is a study concerned with the investigation of paranormal phenomena such as telepathy, psychometry, apparitional experiences and the like, which employs the use of the scientific method of investigation," he continued, his tone flat and robotic, as if he was conjuring this entire impromptu lecture from practiced memory. "It is considered a study. However, attempts to scientifically explain these phenomena have all been considered nonsense. Why do you think so? Because up until this point of time, no one has been competent enough to have gathered enough material."

Mr Shibuya paused in his tirade to examine the foyer, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. Meanwhile, Mai's head was . . . spinning. All this complicated talk about sciences and studies contradicted her idea of the supernatural. Wasn't it supposed to be nonsensical? Most people didn't believe in the very idea of ghosts, so wasn't it a moot point to do all of this? What was he to gain by convincing a few people with his 'materials' that spirits and psychic phenomena existed?

Mai bit her tongue. As much as she wanted to question Mr Shibuya's conviction, she could feel that she was gonna be thrusted with another long speech if she did. Racking her brain, she thought of a neutral response to deflate the conversation.

"Right so um. These . . . materials. You're, like, gathering evidence to support your investigation?" she said. Mr Shibuya started walking away and she followed, heaving the box she was carrying to her chest.

"Yes," he replied as he passed by the staircase.

"That's kinda—" Mai halted mid-sentence as she bumped into Mr Shibuya's still form. He stared wordlessly at the floor—or rather, at something on the floor. Mai couldn't see because of the box in her arms. "What is it?" she asked.

Mr Shibuya crouched down to pick up the object. It was the fallen baluster.

"H-hey—wait. I'm not sure if you're supposed to touch that," Mai warned, unconsciously taking two steps back.

"And why not?" he countered without taking his eyes off of the baluster. It was old and worn, its varnish peeling off at the edges.

"Because . . ." Mai couldn't continue. She glanced at the staircase and bit her lip.

Mr Shibuya took one look at her conflicted expression and raised a brow. He swung the piece of wood onto his shoulder as if it was a baseball bat. "This could be material for me to study, then?"

"Um. I guess?" Did he see what she saw yesterday? Did he see the two men, too?

Mr Shibuya started walking again and Mai decided not to pursue the query. She had just gotten out of her 30-minute sessions with Ayako's mom. No need to go back there. Even though, yes, her new boss might need them as much as she did too, considering his single-minded obsession with a job that wasn't supposed to be a real job to most people. Still, nobody should know she still saw them.

They walked in silence. Much like the other day, they played a despondent game of follow-the-leader, but Mr Shibuya was in command this time. He led her further into the building, passing by several doors before they got to the dilapidated sliding door of their 'base' of operations. It was supposed to be where they'd be observing the data they had gathered from all the cameras and stuff they'd been planting all over the place. Well, the key word here was 'supposed'.

Mr Shibuya opened the door and went into the room without missing a beat. Mai, on the other hand, just gawked at the humongous mess inside. Cables and monitors and several cardboard boxes littered the floor. There was a mountain of metal rods in a corner next to the windows, a discarded ball of paper equally abandoned beside the pile. Mai picked it up and smoothed it out. It was instructions on how to build a shelf.

Mai hung her head in defeat. Was she supposed to clean all this up too?

"Hey, uh, Mr Shibuya?" Mai called. She could feel a bead of sweat running down from her temple. "Where . . . Where do we start?"

Mr Shibuya, seeming not to have heard her, continued through the obstacle course that was their base. He headed straight to the desk at the other side of the room and began searching through the box on top of it. Out came a small monitor and—you guessed it—more wires. Spinning the monitor around until he found the input socket, he plugged several cords into the monitor and turned it on.

The screen showed nothing but blue. It was blank except . . . Huh. Mai squinted her eyes. There was one line of text against the blinding blue background. Mr Shibuya raised a hand as if to hit the monitor until it worked properly, but his hand halted midair and returned to his side shortly. Humming noncommittally, he decided to inspect the wires again and switched the red one and the white one.

The monitor worked properly this time, showing a live feed of the monitor they'd just installed in front of the staircase.

"Okay," Mr Shibuya said, huffing almost inaudibly. He looked around the room with cold indifference. "27 more to go."

Mai's eyes grew wide as her mouth dropped to the floor. No way. It was just too unfair that she was supposed to clean this hopeless mess just to make up for a tiny mistake! Sure she broke a camera. Yeah okay, she was the cause of Mr Lin's shoulder dislocation and possibly lots more broken bones. But it wasn't like she did all those things personally! It was an accident! A mistake! She shouldn't be held responsible for those damages!

. . . Not like she could just explode in an outburst like that. She was deluding herself. She knew damn well Mr Lin's fall was entirely her fault. What was it that possessed her to grab that cord and pull him down anyway?

A loud thud resounded throughout the room. Mr Shibuya had dropped one more monitor beside the first one he had installed. Mai's eyes glazed over it but—there was something moving in the background . . ? Mai could swear she saw a pair of bare, wounded feet atop the staircase. But she had looked away too fast, and when she squinted at the monitor again, the feet were gone.

Alarm signals blared inside her head. Whoa, okay so Mai knew this job was gonna involve ghosts because, duh, 'ghost hunting', but . . . She just wasn't too thrilled to see one more of them so soon.

"So N—Mr Shibuya," Mai started, her nervous jitters almost causing her tongue to slip. "Mr Shibuya, uh . . . Could we maybe negotiate my, ah, employment?"

Shifting his focus from the third monitor he was installing—it was blue again—he raised a brow in her direction. And smirked. "Shouldn't you have proposed that before you signed our agreement?"

Mai cheeks burned. Why was it suddenly so hot in here, dammit. "Well I felt like I was being cornered! I actually thought I'd go to jail if I didn't sign it!" she exclaimed, stomping one foot. Then she remembered that she was supposed to be bargaining, so she took in a deep breath and tried again with a softer tone. "Look, I've thought about it and maybe we can reach another agreement?"

Mr Shibuya crossed his arms. "What do you propose?"

"I really don't think I can keep up with my studies if I have a part-time job. And . . . Yeah, uh, Ayako can tell you about how I'm—" Mai gestured to the clutter surrounding them—"not supposed to, like, move or anything. So . . . Can I maybe pay for all the damages I caused instead?" Mai could feel sweat pooling at the nape of her neck.

Mr Shibuya blinked. Silence passed through them and Mai could feel gravity pull her down, down, down along with her mortification.

"And I'm really horrible with any type of technology! You wouldn't believe how many phones and computers I've broken!"

"How many?"

"Um. Three computers and five—no, six phones."

"Impressive. You can add one camcorder to that list."

Mai could feel heat rushing to her cheeks. "Yeah. So, uh, for the sake of us both, wouldn't it be better if I just pay for the damages and cut ties?"

"Okay then, I accept your terms," he said after a beat of silence, uncrossing his arms. He propped one hand against the desk behind him, while the other one reached into his pocket. "The camcorder you broke was a brand new thermal imaging model—fresh out the factory. Along with Lin's hospital bills, the total rounds up to . . ."

He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and offered it to Mai. She stepped forward hesitantly, nearly tripping over a box, then took the paper from him.

After taking exactly seventeen seconds to process the sum printed on it, Mai was very tempted to ball it up and put it in her mouth. Swallow it, then forget it ever existed. But she didn't do that—instead, she wordlessly returned the (slightly crumpled now) piece of paper back to Mr Shibuya.

"I'll get back to work now, boss."

She shuffled over to the other side of the room, fully intending to sit in a corner and think about life. Particularly, how unfair it is. Although . . . there weren't any vacant corners, she noticed. Nor were there any vacant floor space to be honest, what with all these wires and monitors and thingamajiggies scattered all over.

Sighing heavily, Mai decided she should deal with the mess now. She was gonna do it sooner or later anyway. Didn't really have a choice here, now did she.

She started with the mountain of metal rods, assembling it into the shelf it was supposed to be. Just when she was about to connect two of them with a rubber joint—someone whistled long and loud, incredulity apparent in that single note.

"Well damn. If I knew you were this helpless without Ms Mori, then I never would have agreed to work with you again," said a deep voice Mai didn't recognize. "Are you that lost without her, deputy?"

A man sauntered into the room, stepping on the wires without a care. Long brown hair in a ponytail, statement shirt that made no sense whatsoever, seemingly permanent smirk—he looked to be in his mid-twenties. With both hands in his jeans pockets, he regarded the room with amusement.

"You're free to leave whenever you like, Takigawa," Mr Shibuya responded icily. "I don't need apathetic individuals in my team."

"So you're saying, you'll leave the exorcisms to Ayako?"

Mr Shibuya winced.

"Yeah, thought so," Takigawa laughed. "Seriously though, this is such a drastic one-eighty compared to last month!"

"We're short on hands, if you haven't noticed," Mr Shibuya snapped, continuing his work on his fifth monitor. "I've instructed John and Ms Hara to investigate the perimeter. You should do the same."

"Nah, I think I'm more help here," Takigawa snickered, picking up two boxes on one go. "You're such a meanie to make Mai here do all the work."

"Uh." Mai pointed a finger to herself, head tilted to the side in confusion. "How do you know my name?"

"I told him that."

Ayako entered the room, head held up high as she took in its state. "No kidding though. This place is a mess."

"Lin was in charge of setting up the base." Mr Shibuya narrowed his eyes. He would've looked intimidating, though to Mai it just seemed like he was pouting.

"Oh well, it doesn't really matter," Ayako said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I'll get rid of the ghost here faster than you could set up your base."

Takigawa chortled. "Yeah, okay. That's exactly what you said last time."

"Tch. I did not."

"Oh hey!" Mai snapped her fingers. "Is this when Ayako fractured her arm last month because of—oomph!"

Ayako covered Mai's mouth with said arm.

"If you're done chatting," Mr Shibuya said, glaring at them. "I seem to recall you people being here for work."

"Yes, yes of course Mr Shibuya." Ayako gave him an angelic smile. "Mai and I'll be on our way. She needs to help me with my exorcism."

"Ms Taniyama is still in the middle of assembling the shelf."

Ayako waved her hand. "This outlaw can handle that. Mai shouldn't do much menial work anyway."

"I'm the outlaw," Takigawa grinned, hand raised.

Mr Shibuya sighed. "Bring this with you at least."

He handed Mai a notepad and a small rectangular . . . thing. She pushed a small button on top of it and it flashed three columns of digital numbers.

"Um. An alarm clock?"

"A thermometer," he corrected. Mai could hear the unspoken 'you idiot' tacked at the end of it. "Measure the temperature in all the rooms of the first floor. Should I be worried that you'll break this too?"

A corner of Mai's lips twisted up into a forced smile. "It looks sturdy enough, boss."

"Try to be back in an hour."

Ayako led Mai out the room and they crossed hallway after hallway, searching for a place where Ayako could change into her white haori and red hakama. They ended up in what was once a biochem lab. Eight tables in total, fourteen cabinets surrounding two walls.

One of the cabinets starts to fall—but when Mai blinked, it was no longer there. Marks were left in place, discoloration in the wall's paint the only indication of what had been there. The floor directly in front of it had dents and scratches.

Strangely, it was painful to look at. Mai averted her gaze.

Spying the built-in thermometer beside the chalkboard, Mai nearly smacked herself in the forehead. She and Ayako had passed through countless rooms already and she was supposed to take note of the temperature!

"Ugh." Mai took out the thermometer and her notepad. 11° C.

. . . Was that normal? Mai remembered the weatherman saying that today was supposed to be an unusually warm spring day.

She shrugged it off. Weather forecasts were always wrong anyway.

"Hey so," Mai whispered to Ayako even though she knew they were totally alone. "When exactly did Mr Takigawa . . . get out of prison?"

Ayako, who had been tying her hair with a white ribbon, paused and blinked once, two times, then burst out in laughter.

"P-priso—ahaha!" Ayako couldn't talk through her fit of giggles, even going as far as hugging her stomach since she couldn't breathe properly. "Who could blame you for thinking that though!"

"W-well what was I supposed to say?! You said he's an outlaw!"

Ayako couldn't stop laughing. "Yeah he is. But not that kind!"

Rolling her eyes as she picked up Ayako's discarded clothes, she asked, "What else could an outlaw be, Ayako?"

"He didn't introduce himself to you, now did he? He's a monk—from Mt Kouya to boot," Ayako said, rolling up her sleeves. "But he was kicked out because, well, just look at him." Ayako laughed again.

"So he was kicked out because he wanted to grow out his hair?"

"Mai. Have you seen monks with long, luscious hair?"

"You think his hair is luscious?"

". . . Not the point."

"Yeah, you're right. The only monks I've seen in books are bald and fat. Mr Takigawa's none of those, huh?"

"Hmm. Nice mental image you got there. Fat Takigawa." Ayako snorted.

"He's not the only strange one here, at least," Mai snickered. "Oh, what's a doctor doing here playing Shrine Maiden?"

"Shut your trap. I get enough of that from my relatives," Ayako huffed. She handed her bag to Mai. "Well anyway, we should get going—Mr Shibuya told me to start at the foyer."

"Do all of you know each other?" Mai asked as they started walking, swishing around Ayako's haraigushi in the air.

Ayako yanked her stick away from Mai. "No, not everyone. I met Masako from a party last year. Then Mr Shibuya and Takigawa—I worked together with them last month. We had a different team leader though."

"Oh? So Mr Shibuya's not the original boss?"

"Nope. Madoka Mori was in charge of SPR last month, though we knew she was leaving soon."

"SPR?" Mai asked. "Where'd she go?"

"SPR's the company you work for now, you dolt," Ayako flicked Mai's forehead. "Mr Shibuya's supposedly meant to be in charge of SPR, she was just there to start things up."

"What's up with that anyway? Why do you call him 'Mr Shibuya?' He's younger than you, isn't he?"

"Well I . . ." Ayako looked away. "Oh hey, Masako! Why isn't John with you?"

There was a girl wearing a kimono standing directly in front of the staircase. Mai had seen her the other day, covering half her face with a kimono sleeve—just as she was doing right now. Mai couldn't put a finger on it, but she was sure she knew this girl from somewhere.

"You just missed him. Takigawa called him to the base," the kimono-clad girl said. "Who is this?"

"I'm Mai Taniyama. SPR's new part-timer, I guess."

"Masako Hara. Medium. Nice to meet you," she said, bowing. "We're the same, aren't we?"

"W-what?"

"This man." Masako pointed at an empty space in front of where the fallen baluster once was. "You saw him yesterday too, didn't you? When Mr Lin fell."

Mai stared at the place Masako was pointing at, looking at it from top to bottom. No matter how many times she blinked, there was no man present.

"I don't see anyone there . . ."

Masako hummed in contemplation. "Is that so."

"So there's one right here, huh? You sure about that?" Ayako asked haughtily.

"Yes."

Ayako stared at the medium for a moment. "This isn't an act, right? You're pretty convincing, to be honest. Now I get why lots of people watch your show."

"Show?" asked Mai.

"Really Mai. You haven't heard of it? Masako Hara here is the star of a famous TV show where she summons spirits," Ayako explained, then murmured, "Well I can't blame you really. I don't remember your room having a TV."

"You summon them?" Mai asked incredulously, eyes wide.

"No. I channel them."

"That's even worse! Oh my gosh, that must have been rough for you," Mai sympathized, stepping closer to the medium. She took Masako's hands in hers. "It must have been awful."

"Not really." Masako offered a hesitant smile. "If I severe the link fast enough, it isn't that bad."

"Why haven't you started, Ms Matsuzaki?"

Mr Shibuya's voice suddenly echoed in the room. Mai turned around to see him standing at the top of the stairs, leaning on the fallen baluster as if it was a cane. Takigawa and the foreigner flanked behind him.

"I just got here, sheesh. Get down from there if you want me to work faster." Ayako inspected her perfectly manicured nails.

When Mr Shibuya got down from the second floor he took one look at Masako and said, "I believe I haven't introduced myself to you. I am Kazuya Shibuya, owner of Shibuya Psychic Research. It is a pleasure to work with you, Ms Hara."

Masako stared at him for the longest moment. ". . . The pleasure is all mine," she finally said, then shifted her gaze to the baluster in his hand. "You should let go of that right away."

Instead of dropping it, Mr Shibuya lifted it up and brought it down on the floor suddenly, a sharp clack of wood on wood resounding throughout the room. "I quite like it though. Why should I throw it away?"

"The spirit might target you if he sees you with that."

"I'll deal with it if it happens," Mr Shibuya said.

"Now then, shall we get started with Ayako's performance?" Takigawa boomed from beside John Brown. "Look forward to it," he said to the blond, elbowing his side.

"Oh I've always wanted to witness a Shinto ritual for the longest time," John Brown agreed.

"Okay, okay. Enough chit-chat. I gotta concentrate," Ayako grumbled. "Mai, bring me my bells."

Mai reached into her pocket and handed them to the priestess, the bells' white ribbons flowing freely beneath her hands. Ayako conjured two small branches from her own pockets and tied the bells to them, then attached them in front of the staircase. Mai readied Ayako's shinki set as well, but Ayako had to redo it all because Mai got the order of the vases wrong.

All noise in the room ceased to a hush as Ayako fell gracefully to her knees. She lifted her haraigushi and waved it in front of her. Left and right—a steady tempo.

"I humbly ask your aid," Ayako started. "Descend upon this unholy place and make it pure. Exorcise this demon as you have so many before."

The hairs on Mai's arms started tingling, goosebumps spreading across her body little by little as Ayako continued her incantation. Mai could feel the temperature dropping, and the silence of the room was interrupted by the thermometer in her pocket. It was beeping like crazy.

"Listen both peacefully and calmly, and speak the Kannon's chant onto our wished place."

Mr Shibuya beckoned Mai to him and she stepped away from Ayako as silently as she could, but a plank gave under her foot, creaking harshly. She gave him the thermometer without a word.

"Two degrees," he whispered in wonder. "Lin—" Remembering that his assistant wasn't present, he clucked his tongue. He plucked a nearby camcorder from its tripod and passed it to Mai, telling her to point it towards Ayako.

"It's here," Masako said beside Mai, clutching the student's arm.

Mai wasn't sure if she was supposed to see or not, but . . . she couldn't see anything. Though Mai wasn't sure if it was working, Ayako proceeded with her chants, swishing her haraigushi back and forth without so much as a pause.

"Our plane is a vast, violent tundra."

"Do you remember what caused Lin's attack yesterday?" Mr Shibuya asked Mai.

She pointed her gaze to the short pillar he was holding. "That."

"Gods from all places, gather here."

Ayako got up from her knees and started for the stairs. She climbed the steps one at a time, simultaneously with every word she said.

"Rin."

The air around them grew thicker.

"Pyou."

Masako gasped, then turned to Mr Shibuya. "Please let go of that."

"Later."

"Tou."

Softly at first . . . then violently. Knocking sounds came from everywhere—the walls, the ceiling, even the floor.

"Sha."

"Mr Shibuya, please—"

"Later," he repeated firmly.

"Kai."

Five steps up the stairs, Ayako visibly faltered. Mai put a foot forward and started for Ayako, but John Brown stopped her.

"It'd be more dangerous if you interrupted her now."

"But—"

"Jin."

Masako clutched her arm harder.

"It's right there behind her," the medium gasped in horror.

"Retsu."

Mai's eyes hovered worriedly over Ayako—but there at the corner of her vision. There was a pair of bare, severely wounded feet at the second floor landing. She tried to lift her gaze up but stopped herself. She couldn't. She didn't want to see it.

"Zai."

"Ayako," Masako called, but her voice was too soft. "Ayako!" she repeated. "Behind you!"

"No, in front of you!" Mai shouted.

"Zen!"

T-H-W-A-C-K!

There was a sharp sound of wood cracking—then an angry, unintelligible bellow of a man.

"Ayako get out of there right now!" Mai shrieked, ignoring the others as they tried to stop her from running towards Ayako.

Black entered her peripherals as Mr Shibuya overtook her, running faster and climbing two steps at a time. He got to Ayako first and found her hunching over her leg.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his careful deadpan voice betraying worry.

"Arg. Ugh. My foot's stuck," said Ayako, more irritated than concerned.

Mai shoved through Mr Shibuya and kneeled next to Ayako. Her foot was inside a large gaping hole on the stair tread, large enough that Ayako shouldn't have trouble retracting her foot. Mai tried pulling it out, but no matter how many times she tried getting it out, it was definitely stuck there.

"I don't understand . . . Why can't your foot get out?!"

"Something's holding me down!"

Mr Shibuya stood up beside them, and Mai only noticed now that he was still carrying that damn fallen baluster with him.

"Get out of the way!" he shouted, though it was not directed to Mai and Ayako.

"What the hell are you thinking, man?!"

"P-please Kazuya, think about this carefully!"

"Mr Shibuya! I don't think it's wise to anger it further—"

Mai felt the air shift behind her. She had just enough time to look behind her and see Mr Shibuya hoist the baluster up behind his head and—swung.

What was left of the balusters fell to the ground like hail from the sky.

-:-:-:-:-


A/N: Um. Well, at least it didn't take me eleven months this time, right? Ahaha... I'm so sorry. Tbh I already finished this chapter's outline even before I posted chapter 3—and I was really excited at first too bc would'ja look at that badass cliffhanger—but it took me forever to find the motivation to sit down and write. That, and whoop-dee-doo, the new semester's here and college professors are as unforgiving as ever.

On another note, have you guys read the last chapter of Akumu yet? TTnTT I'm still in denial huhuhu noooo there's still gonna be more right?2?

—Super mega special thanks to archangelBBQ for editing and listening to my endless rambling haha! I would have stopped writing sooo long ago if not for you ✮ I baked a million brownies the other day and I bought this cool notebook that I really want to give you, and oh if only it were possible to ship them to you right this second (but damn it I'm broke and shipping costs a shitton) (also, the brownies would rot)

Okay I know this is so long already, but bear with me for just a bit more. I made a sideblog for Phantasmagoria – phantablah .tumblr .com. I'm going to post some of my notes there, reblogs of pictures that may or may not be related to my endgame (shh), and even maybe hints for the coming chapters and stuff. Please check it out! :)