Greetings, here's chapter 4!
Wow, lots of feedback! I was surprised, so here's another chapter for all the reviews I got.
Many of you kept asking if Mai would be found by the others. Well... You'll just have to see!
Disclaimer – I would never own Ghost Hunt. I would, of course, borrow the characters for a non-profiting fanfiction and mess around with their lives. That I can do. So enjoy the story.
Chapter 4 – Embrace the Moment
Mai finished cleaning the last room in the small apartment. It was a single bedroom, like her last apartment, but it was a lot neater, just needed some fresh paint, floor polish, and a thorough cleaning; she was in the process of doing that currently.
Megumi had offered to help buy furniture, a bed, some paint and cleaning supplies, and take it out of her paychecks over the while she worked for her. Mai reluctantly agreed, having wanted to buy them with her own money, but knew she wouldn't have enough for everything she needed.
The furniture would be there later that evening, and they had gotten the cleaning and paint supplies immediately. The apartment, over the next week, would be a soft yellow-orange color, like a sunrise, with painted white wood covering the bottom half of the wall. The floor would be stained a dark reddish-brown color as there was no carpeting, and the doors would be painted. The apartment was in good condition for not being used in so long, and after the cleaning, looked much better also.
Mai laid down some paper along the floor, and taping it into place, got the white paint out and not needing to pour any out as of yet, dipped her large brush into the bucket and started in the living room.
She had finished the living room and most of her bedroom when the furniture arrived. Helping the men take it up to the apartment via the back entrance, she placed them all in the dining room and some of the living room when it wouldn't fit in the small dining area.
She finished painting her bedroom, and checking to see if the living room paint was dry, saw that it was, and getting out the paint roller, opened this time the 'sunrise paint', as Mai had come to call it. Taking the paint pan out of the shopping bag, she poured a moderate amount of paint into the front of the tray, and quickly and efficiently rolled paint onto the hand-held roller, started to paint the upper part of the wall.
Mai wasn't that tall, so she had to use one of the chairs that had just been delivered to reach the higher parts of the wall. Soon, by the time the sun had set and she was starting to get hungry, Mai had finished painting the two rooms that would have furniture in a more permanent place: the living room and her bedroom.
Going into the kitchen, which was sparsely stocked seeing as she hadn't had a lot of time to shop for food that day. Picking out some meat, vegetables, fruit, and rice, she cooked the small portion of beef and steamed the rice and vegetables, and ate the meal.
She was glad she hadn't eaten a large meal, for she ended up having to vomit it up a few minutes after she finished.
After flushing the toilet and brushing her teeth, she got herself some juice, and sat down on the couch that was placed in the dining room for the moment. She was taking a well deserved break.
Megumi was sitting in her own home, the store having been closed all day as was usual for her on a Tuesday, thinking about the young woman she had hired.
She knew the girl was only 16, soon to be 17, yet she was living alone, and moved without knowing where she was going to be staying.
Megumi, though not many knew, was very aware of what happened around her. She could tell that Mai Taniyama, who was the young woman, was expecting. From this, she drew the conclusion that this unborn child was the reason she up and left so quickly.
Megumi wasn't one to judge though. She would wait to hear the story from the young girl, and wouldn't press the issue. She knew what it was like to unexpectedly find out she was pregnant.
It had been almost two months since Mai had left, Naru mused, and they had yet to find her. He could tell that his irregular and regular staff was disappointed by the lack of progress, and this was putting it lightly.
Takigawa, the Buddhist monk, was more subdued then usual, and his way of coping was to spend more time playing in his band then coming to hang out at the office.
Matsuzaki, the Shinto priestess, had also taken to avoiding the office, but would take the cases that Naru had rejected – which seemed like more and more, he thought to himself – to distract herself.
Their Exorcist, John, still came by the office, and usually spent time going over information, and doing the things that Mai had often done, excluding the tea of course. No one could make it as good as Mai could, and no one wanted to try.
The medium Hara, who used to be considered enemies with Mai until the few weeks before her leaving, took this extremely hard. Naru knew she was hiding something, but she must have promised something, for she always looked like she was about to break down and give in, but refrained herself. She usually came by to help John, and to also search for the missing teenage girl.
Lin hadn't changed much, it seemed, but the atmosphere in the office was less than pleasant, and Lin could be found missing for several hours, coming back with papers and once a map of Tokyo and its surrounding areas. There was also an extra key on his key ring.
Naru, himself, didn't see a change in him. Maybe life was better without her. Without her smile, without her always present cheerfulness, with her pleasant aura that filled the space she occupied, and made any situation better...
Well, I'm starting to show, and I think Ouraka-san suspects my condition. Though she hasn't said anything, she won't let me lift the heavy boxes, always makes sure I have plenty to eat throughout the day, and sometimes I see her glance at my belly. I just hope I won't lose my job over this secret. How will I explain to her about what happened?
Work has been going well for me, I've finished buying furniture for my apartment, and I have to say, it looks a lot better then my old one did. Maybe because I know I can't live the way I use to with a little one on the way.
I have been reading that book, the one on pregnancy, and it says I should be seeing a doctor to make sure the baby is healthy. But... I don't know how I would go about doing that. Maybe if I just come out and tell Ouraka-san, she will know what to do.
Shopping in town yesterday, I almost cried. I think it has to do with hormones, but part of it was that I saw a poster for a band coming into town. Bou-san's name was listed as one of the players. Maybe one day... my child will be able to see him play?
Hah, here I am, daydreaming again. But can these dreams ever come true?
Well, I better end it here for tonight, I have to open tomorrow.
Mai Taniyama
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Happy Readings!
ALT