Disclaimer: All characters in Ghost Hunt are the creation of the Goddess Ono Fuyumi-sama.
7:30 am, Wednesday, October 20th.
Location: Tokyo, Shibuya, Dogenzaka District.
Mai sat sandwiched between Lin and Naru in the grey SPR van. They were leaving exactly on schedule, per Lin's obsessive habits. Lin was the type of person who arranged everything, which had to be carried out at an exact time. Mai and Naru hadn't dared waste any time lest they feel the wrath of the dark sorcerer. They had already been scolded once that morning and refused to repeat the experience. That was why they had remained silent for the rest of the morning.
As such, an uneasy silence fell over the van. Silence was not something the three were unfamiliar with, but the strained atmosphere was nearly suffocating.
"I'm sorry," Lin muttered, "I just wanted to leave on time."
He was greeted with silence.
"I didn't mean to get so upset," he tried again.
The two still wouldn't say a word.
"So, this is how the silent treatment feels," he groused to no one in particular.
It was an odd feeling, having your own eccentricities reflected back at you. He was usually the one not saying a word. Right now, he felt like the strict father who had scolded his children and he hated it. He didn't want to play that role in their relationship.
"Please, don't do this to me for the next three hours," he tried to reason with them.
Futtsu was a three hour drive from Tokyo and Lin didn't think he could deal with strained silence for the entire trip. He just wasn't used to it anymore.
He didn't know why they were making such a big deal out of it. Mai and Naru had been arguing all morning, teasing each other like usual, and it had started to annoy him. He had wanted to leave at exactly seven-thirty and the two were slowing progress. They also seemed more flirty to him than usual and it was driving him crazy. So he had snapped and yelled at them. He didn't think what he had said was that bad, but apparently it had been.
He couldn't quite remember exactly what he had said, but he thought it was something along the lines of, "Stop flirting and get back to work." And maybe something about if they didn't leave by seven-thirty he was going to make them wish they had. He had to admit that it did seem a little bad.
"Lin," Naru said after some thought. He was fairly sure he knew what the real issue was. "You have to understand that it isn't like that between us. Mai and I have never felt that way towards each other. It was Gene."
"Naru," Lin warned, "don't bring up Gene."
"Koujo," Mai said seriously, leaning her head on his shoulder, "we love you, so deal with it."
That was all Lin needed to hear. It dawned on him then that they knew more about what was upsetting him than he knew himself. He owed it to them to listen. He respected them both so much. He nodded his head for her to continue.
"I know this is something that's been bothering you for a long time," Mai acknowledged, "but I hardly knew Gene and I love you more than I had ever loved him. It's completely different."
Lin sighed deeply.
"I understand that," he admitted, "but for a long time, I didn't think I'd get to be with you because of Gene."
"But you are now," Naru told him, "so stop being an idiot."
"You're right— " Lin began.
"Of course I am," said the narcissist.
And just like that, the strained silence had lifted.
~oOo~
10:23 am, Wednesday, October 20th.
Location: Chiba Prefecture, Futtsu.
The three arrived outside the Hayashi residence after their long drive. The house was built in an old architectural style and from the outside it appeared to have two floors. Mai remembered from the blueprints that the house also contained an underground room. Not only was the house tall, it was quite wide as well. The house looked exactly like the one from Mai's dream, but seeing it in person was a whole different experience for her.
"Wow, it's amazing!" Mai exclaimed.
"Why are you surprised?" Naru asked condescendingly. "You already knew it would be like this."
"It's different when I see it with my own eyes," Mai told him angrily.
"Calm down, Mai," Lin whispered into her ear as he placed a hand on her back in an attempt to placate her.
Mai shivered, closing her eyes. Lin's deep voice had the effect of relaxing her instantly. When she opened her eyes, it was to see a flustered Naru. She tried to hide her laugh, but Naru noticed and turned away in a huff.
"Try to refrain from physical intimacy while we're on a case," Naru told the pair in irritation.
Yuri and her mother, Keiko, came out to meet the trio.
"I'm glad to see you," Yuri told them.
"Please forgive the intrusion," Mai said politely as she bowed.
"Welcome," Keiko greeted and bowed in return.
"Will it just be the three of you?" Yuri asked.
"No," Mai answered apologetically, "four others will arrive at various times. I apologize for the inconvenience."
"Not at all," Keiko reassured. "We have many rooms and we are happy that you have taken our request."
The SPR team was shown into the house. The inside was expansive, with many rooms on the first floor, and the interior design looked expensive.
"Amazing," Mai praised.
"Thank you," Keiko replied.
She bowed her head slightly in appreciation.
"We've set this room aside for your equipment," she added as she led them to a room off the right side of the entranceway.
Sliding open the door revealed a large 24 tatami mat Japanese-style room. Again, Mai had seen the blueprints, but she still continued to be amazed. This whole room was set aside for them. It had been a long time since they had so much room for their equipment.
"We cleared out the furniture for now," Yuri informed them. "We hope this meets your needs."
Naru nodded in response, then turned to Mai and Lin.
"Let's get to work," he instructed.
They started by bringing in the steel pipes required for their shelving. After all the necessary parts were in the base, the two men left Mai to build the shelves. They made several trips back and forth while she worked.
When she finished with the shelving, Mai looked around the room. There was a large amount of equipment aligned neatly along the far right wall. It was a small part of the growing number of instruments they had amassed over the years. This was because there was always some new piece of equipment that Naru wanted for investigations and Lin had happily encouraged his obsession, always taking the initiative to set the gears in motion. Mai readily admitted that her husband was a tech otaku. If he got excited about anything, it was electronics.
Mai let out a small sigh. There was still a bit more to bring in. Because the house was so large, they had to bring a lot of equipment. Mai was at least glad Keiko had set aside such a large room for them.
As she was assessing the equipment, Mai felt an unknown presence behind her. She hadn't heard anyone approach, so this surprised her. She quickly spun on her heels toward the door. Standing just outside the room was a teenage boy wearing a serious expression, his arms folded behind his back. His long ebony bangs covered the upper right half of his face. He reminded Mai of a shorter, more boyish version of Lin.
"Hello," Mai greeted hesitantly, "are you Satoshi-kun?"
The boy frowned, appearing displeased, but remained silent.
"Hey!" Mai exclaimed. "It isn't polite to ignore someone."
The boy inclined his head, narrowing his dark eyes. Mai sensed that something was off about him. His expression was cold and clinical. It felt like he was examining her, preparing for an experiment.
As she saw the boy take a step forward, Mai took a step back. She didn't know why, but somehow, it felt as though she shouldn't be near this boy. The boy stopped and Mai decided to put as much distance as possible between them. But as she stepped back, she tripped over her own feet and fell. She let out a surprised scream.
"Mai?!" came Lin's concerned voice as he rushed into the room.
Quickly sitting up, Mai blinked several times. The boy was gone. In his place stood Lin.
"What's the matter?" Lin questioned, frowning slightly.
"I'm not sure… " Mai answered, suddenly frightened.
'What was that just now?' she wondered.
"I heard you talking to someone," Lin told her.
"What's going on?" came Naru's voice from behind Lin.
"I… " Mai tried, but the words wouldn't come out. A spike of fear caused goosebumps to form over her skin.
Lin set down the monitor he had been carrying, then walked over to Mai and knelt down beside her.
"What happened?" he asked softly.
Looking at Lin's face, Mai reached out a trembling hand to brush the hair from his right eye. She was still too frightened to bear that resemblance to the boy. Mai allowed herself to quickly take in his strong, masculine features. She saw concern in his eyes, the light blue-green color of his right offsetting the soft grey of his left. She sighed in relief, allowing his forelock to fall back in place. This was her husband after all, not some terrifying apparition.
