Disclaimer: All characters in Ghost Hunt are the creation of the Goddess Ono Fuyumi-sama.
Upon arriving at the investigation site, the client, Yamazaki Jirou, came out to greet them.
"Shibuya-san, welcome," Jirou greeted. "If you'll follow me, I'll show you to the room I've set aside for you."
Naru nodded to the man and the three followed him inside. Once in the room that was to be their base, Jirou spoke up.
"I hope this is alright," he said.
Naru nodded, expressionless, before turning to Lin and Mai.
"Let's get to work," he told the pair.
Jirou wore a hesitant expression as he watched Naru turn to leave.
"There's something else I should tell you about the Yamazaki house," Jirou confessed.
The three turned their attention to Jirou, waiting for him to continue.
"We have not fully atoned for all of our sins," Jirou cryptically replied.
"And how does this relate to our current investigation, Yamazaki-san?" Naru questioned in a bored tone.
"There are more than just ghosts here, Shibuya-san," Jirou replied. "Our family is cursed."
"How so?" Naru inquired.
"The family keeps a set of records detailing our history and influence," Jirou said solemnly. "Among these records is the tale of two individuals whose actions would eventually result in their deaths and cause a disastrous effect upon the family. It's unclear why, but their names are absent from the family records. They're known only as the nameless master and his beloved."
"Are these records available?" Naru asked, glancing at his two investigators as they visibly stiffened.
"I can acquire the records in question for you," Jirou offered, "but other than that, the records are off limits to outsiders."
Naru nodded. "Continue."
"Long ago," Jirou began, "our family once held the service of a master of sorcery and martial arts. For generations, he trained the first born son of the family on an isolated mountain top. This continued unchanging until something occurred that would change everything."
"What was it?" Naru asked, keeping an eye on his investigators. They appeared tense.
"It happened in the first half of the 19th century," Jirou continued. "The legend begins with the birth of twins. One boy and one girl. Apparently, the boy was weak and showed little potential, but his sister was exceptionally gifted. Being the first born son, the brother should have been chosen to train atop the mountain as per family tradition. But in their sixteenth year, the sister was chosen."
"A young girl on an isolated mountain top with a lonely old man," Naru stated. "Didn't they expect something might happen?"
"That's where the tale gets somewhat fanciful," Jirou admitted.
Naru raised a brow at him. "How so?"
"According to the legend, the nameless master was centuries old," Jirou revealed, "yet due to a contract formed between him and our family, he attained immortality. Because of this, he forever appeared as a young man and could not age."
"If he was immortal, then how could he die?" Naru questioned skeptically.
"He willingly broke the contract to be with his beloved," Jirou answered, "thereby accepting mortality."
"It appears your family had no foresight," Naru commented. "If he was a lonely young man, then he would have had all the more reason to abscond with the girl."
"He was said to be a highly austere man," Jirou asserted, "unable to be moved by the wiles or charm of any woman. In fact, he hated women. In his view, they were all silly and ignorant, ready to ruin a man without a thought. It was because of this that the family held no worries. They did not think he would give up his immortality for one girl."
"I see," Naru conceded. "So, the sister was chosen."
"Yes," Jirou confirmed, "she was to spend several years training. They would occasionally descend from the mountain to meet with the family, but after spending two years together on the mountain, they made the decision to leave."
"And the consequence?" Naru prompted.
"The only consequence should have been the loss of his immortality," Jirou disclosed. "However, the brother, embittered and enraged, did not think this was suitable punishment. The only problem was that he lacked the power to do anything against the two. The brother made the decision to contract with a demon to gain the power to murder the pair. In the end, both siblings died and with his remaining life force, the master sealed the demon and bound him to the earth."
"And where does the curse come in?" Naru asked, maintaining his bored tone.
"Since that time, every firstborn son dies at the age of sixteen," Jirou finally revealed. "The deaths are inexplicable. We haven't been able to find the cause and it has come to be believed that we are cursed. The records state that fate will bring the master and his beloved together once more in order to lift the curse from our family, but we can no longer wait for fate."
"And how will fate achieve this?" Naru inquired.
"Reincarnation," Jirou answered.
Naru stared at him expressionless for a few moments.
"We will take this into consideration," Naru acknowledge, "but first I'd like to perform a preliminary investigation."
"I understand," Jirou conceded, slightly bowing. "Please continue with your work."
He left the three and Naru turned to Lin and Mai once more.
"Go and move the equipment," Naru ordered.
They nodded in acknowledgement, one thought passing through their minds.
'It can't be.'
~oOo~
As they transported the equipment into the base, Mai pondered over the Yamazaki legend. It sounded eerily familiar. She couldn't be sure, but it sounded just like the dreams she had of that man, the one she called Master. It was difficult for her to tell though. Her memory of the dreams were vague. The only time they were clear was just after she had one. It was only then that she would realize it was a recurring dream. Of course, she knew she had them and she always remembered the man, it was just that the events seemed to slip from her memory after a few days.
After they finished setting up the equipment and gathered in the base, Mai still had many questions buzzing in her head.
"Naru," Mai said, "what do you think about the legend?"
"I think it's a legend," Naru replied coolly.
"You don't believe in reincarnation, then?" she asked cautiously.
Lin tensed at her words, but didn't offer any comment.
"I don't have any particular interest in the subject," Naru replied. "It's all subjective data."
"You don't think fate works to pull souls together?" Mai tried.
"Now that, I find foolish," Naru replied cruelly.
Naru's comment angered her. She wanted to believe there was some truth behind the word fate.
"It's not foolish!" Mai loudly argued.
"It is," he asserted. "So be quiet."
Mai turned to look at Lin. She didn't know why, but she needed him to acknowledge that it was true.
"Lin-san, tell him it's not foolish," she pleaded.
"It is foolish," Lin commented, suddenly feeling annoyed. He wanted her to just let it go.
"But you believe in it!" Mai protested.
"I believe in the concept," Lin agreed, turning to face her, "but I think it's foolish to wait around for someone you may never even meet."
"But you said souls are pulled towards each other," Mai reminded him.
"They are," Lin conceded, hating himself for putting the idea in her head, "but that doesn't guarantee anything."
"It must mean something, though," Mai insisted. "Bonds aren't easily broken."
"Souls can form new bonds." Lin argued, suddenly feeling defensive. Why couldn't she just accept what he could be for her? "Our past lives shouldn't hold us back."
"So you're saying you don't even care?" Mai questioned in disbelief.
"Not if—" Lin abruptly stopped, too angry to continue. He exhaled through his nose several times, trying to calm his anger, before he quietly spoke, "It would have been best if I had never told you."
Mai was suddenly taken aback. She couldn't understand why he would say something like that. It hurt her more than anything to hear him say it.
"Why?" she finally asked.
Lin took a moment to search for his next words. Their argument had become heated and he wasn't thinking properly.
"You're obsessed with this soulmate thing," he calmly informed her. "You can't even see what's right in front of you."
The room fell silent. Naru quietly watched his two investigators, unwilling to hazard a comment or snide remark. After a few moments, Mai spoke up, her tone dangerous.
"What I see in front of me is a heartless bastard," she seethed. "Do you care so little about me that you'll never support me against Naru?"
Lin looked at her in surprise. She had clearly misinterpreted his words. It had nothing to do with Naru.
"That's not—" He attempted to correct her, but he was cut off.
"I don't want to hear it," Mai broke in.
She then abruptly turned to exit the room, leaving the two men to their thoughts. After a minute of silence, Naru spoke up.
"You're clearly in over your head," he observed.
Lin glared at Naru, unhappy with the young man for provoking Mai, and equally unhappy with himself for everything he had said and everything he hadn't.
"I need to go talk to her," Lin finally told Naru.
"Fine," Naru replied, reflexively lifting his hands in surrender.
This had always been Naru's default response for diffusing a tense situation with Lin, but at the moment it only caused the man to look at him curiously. After a moment, Lin spoke up.
"I don't know how I'm going to deal with this," he admitted.
"Just remember to use your words," Naru tried to offer encouragingly, though he didn't quite succeed.
Lin exhaled deeply, trying to center himself. Feeling only slightly better he set out to look for Mai.