Authors note: Reaching its conclusion, possibly a few more chapters.
Also this chapter contains spoilers from the last ghost hunt case, just to tell those who haven't seen it yet, it is discovered that Ayako has powers to equal Bou-san's, however she needs living trees nearby with enough power to help her, she borrows their powers. Thats why her exorcism's had never worked up to that point.
I do not own 'Ghost Hunt' or the characters. All I own is the plot line and characters that do not appear in the original book/Manga/Anime.
The woman's name was Hayashi Makoto. She had been attacked in bed. Unfortunately her condition was worse than they had assumed. Much worse.
This was not a coma. She was half dead.
The ambulances argent screech drummed into Mai's head, as she watched the attendants cart Hayashi-san into the back of the vehicle.
This is getting worse . . . . .
The hospital
"For some reason as yet unknown, her heart appears to be failing" The doctor shook her head, flipping through the pages of her clipboard. "We can't figure out whats wrong with her"
"Is she stable at the moment?" Naru queried, his voice couldn't have been more impersonal, Mai wondered how he could live with himself.
"At the moment, yes, you may go in if you wish, perhaps hearing someone talking to her will bring her out of it"
The sound of mechanical whirrs and beeps overtook Mai's hearing system as they entered the large hospital room, the woman in question was lying on a bed along the back wall, so many devices were hooked up to her it was as if she was part machine.
A spray of short black hair curled around her face, her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply.
"Hayashi-san, are you there?" Mai asked tentatively, the woman's eyelids flickered slightly and opened.
"W-who?"
"I'm Mai," She said slowly, carefully. Now was not the time for Naru to get businesslike. She was surprised Makoto could hear at all, let alone deal with a person like Naru.
The woman nodded slowly and after a moment rasped out, "What . . . what happened?"
"It appears you were attacked by a ghost at the hotel you were staying at" Naru's voice was soft, and for once not cold or sharp, but gentle and caring.
Even he knows when to be patient Mai thought with a smile, she turned back to the woman, who was speaking again.
"A g-ghost? Will . . . I be alright?"
Mai bit her lip, she really didn't know how the woman was doing, From what to doctor had said, it didn't look good, but it was better to tell the woman only a bit of the truth. She didn't need to know.
"The doctors aren't sure whats wrong with you, so I don't know"
Makoto was silent and merely nodded in response, after a moment Lin stepped forward to her bedside.
"Hayashi-san, may we ask you a few questions?"
"Ok"
"Taniyama-san, could you come with me for a moment?"
Mai followed the tall man as he stepped outside the hospital room, sending an encouraging smile in the young woman's direction.
Lin closed the door behind them softly and they both stood in the empty hall, after deliberating for a moment Lin turned to face the small girl and he kept his voice low so that they could not be overheard.
"Could you ask her some questions for me Taniyama-san?"
"O-Of course, but why do you need me to?"
"Because Naru and I are not the most social of people, this girl may not live very long and I have no wish to upset her. I apologise for putting you under pressure like this, but it seems to be the best course of action"
"I understand"
Lin nodded and calmly outlined the sorts of questions she should ask and the responses she should look for. Mai paid close attention, asking him to clarify a few things and questioning others. When she was sure she had the general idea she nodded.
When they re-entered the room Masako was kneeling by the bedside, eyes closed in silent prayer. After a few minutes she looked up at Naru who was standing beside her. She mentioned that she could see or feel nothing nearby the young girl, however she could sense remnants of something else.
"They're just traces . . . and it feels torn, like it whatever was there has been ripped out"
"Can you elaborate?" Naru asked, frowning slightly, his arms crossed over his chest and standing motionless.
The medium squinted daintily, narrowing her eyes slightly, after a moment she shook her head and murmured behind her delicate sleeve.
"Whatever it was, it was quite powerful"
"I see"
Mai walked over to the bedside and knelt down; reaching out a hand she laced her fingers with Makoto's.
"Hayashi-san, I need to ask you something that is a little weird . . . " she hesitated "Ok very weird . . . but could you try to answer truthfully?"
At Makoto's nod Mai asked the first question that came to mind from the few Lin had given her, something told her it was the right question to ask.
Observing from the doorway, Lin smiled inwardly, her intuition was coming out more and more.
Mai scratched her cheek, feeling a strong sense of de-ja-vu, and feeling embarrassed at repeating it in front of Lin.
"Erm . . . has anything ever happened to you that may have been to do with ghosts, or maybe something strange that you may have caused . . . um . . . " Mai tugged at her hair "I'm not being very clear am I . . . ?"
Makoto coughed and Mai realized she was trying to laugh, her voice was so faint Mai had to lean closer to catch the words. " You mean did I ever work magic or something?" her voice was incredulous.
"Something along those lines yes" Lin spoke up from the doorway, he nodded for Mai to continue.
"Yeah so . . . magic or maybe psychic powers, did anything like that happen to you?"
Makoto coughed again and appeared to consider, the team waited patiently for her response, and after a time it came.
"Well . . . Occasionally I'd have dreams . . . "
Mai started, "Dreams?"
Makoto nodded, "It might not mean anything . . . but I'd dream things about dead relatives, like my mother, she would tell me things. Sometimes I'd know things about how the weather would turn out, regardless of the forecast."
"Precognition?" Naru asked.
"I . . . guess so . . ."
Mai continued, more confident now "How often would these things happen?"
"About once every few days"
"And since you entered the hotel?"
"They stopped coming"
Lin nodded, "That's all we needed to know, thank you for your cooperation"
Naru glanced at his associate before turning to the John. He requested a blessing for Makoto's safety, the young priest nodded and reached into his bag for his bible. Opening it to the correct page he intoned a solemn prayer, asking god to watch over and protect the young woman, to insure that she recovered in the best of health.
When it was finished he gave the girl a cross pendant strung on a fine gold chain.
"I realize that this is not of your faith, but please keep this on you until three weeks after you leave the hospital"
"Oh, thank you"
Makoto took the pendant and Mai helped her loop it around her neck, she noticed with sadness that the girl could barely move, she was pale, her heart rate was minimal and her breathing was shallow. She wondered if Lin knew what was wrong with her. The silent man gave nothing away from his features, but his movements seemed alert, as if he were in a hurry to get somewhere.
In the van, Mai leaned over and addressed her blonde friend.
"John, will that blessing work? I mean . . . will she pull through?"
John's eyes were pained, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat for a moment before answering, finally he sighed and smiled sadly.
"I don't know Mai-san, hopefully, but she looked very weak"
Mai's face fell, she had hoped that John's blessing would help, but the young priest seemed more unsure than she had ever seen him before. If he didn't know, then that wasn't a good sign. She sat back in the seat and looked at Lin driving the van.
He knows something . . . I'll have to wait until we get back to base . . .
Ito-san's hotel
"Mai, tea"
"Okay"
She dragged herself from the couch into the makeshift kitchen.
Carefully she stepped into the base room, balancing the rectangular tray as she passed the hot drinks around, or in Bou-sans case, cold. By now she knew what most of her co-workers liked to drink. Naru had English tea, Lin usually had green tea or English in winter, Bou-san liked iced coffee, Masako always had green tea, and Ayako and John had English with milk and sugar.
Yasuhara, true to his personality, was unpredictable. Today he had coffee.
"Lin, would you like to share your theory?" Naru took the steaming cup from Mai wordlessly, holding the handle lightly.
"It's no longer a theory" Lin replied, smiling as Mai passed him his drink.
"Oh?"
Lin inclined his head slightly in response, "A certainty"
Bou-san leaned forward from the couch, "You know what's going on?"
The Chinese sorcerer carefully began enlightening the group as to what he knew, stopping to elaborate on certain points.
"We now know what this building was in the past, a print house whose workers were . . .oppressed." He winced slightly at Mai's shudder, Ayako draped an arm around the young girls shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze.
"Those who tried to fight back were dealt with; brutally, this spectre was one such person. The question was, why was she after Taniyama-san? This is what I have come to believe"
Lin took a sip of his tea before continuing, "I believe she is after psychic power"
There was a pause as the words sunk in.
"Psychic power?!" Mai's eyes widened and she pulled away from Ayako to look at the tall man intently, "Lin-san, what do you mean?"
"I mean just that, Asami-san is trying to gather psychic powers. You saw Hayashi-san and Takashi-san?"
Mai nodded
"It's my belief that both Takashi-san and Hayashi-san had psychic power at some point in time, this ghost attacked them to take their power"
"So that's why . . . " John trailed off
"Hayashi-san's powers were obviously much stronger than Takashi-san's. That's why she now in such critical condition"
"It also explains why there was no activity in Takashi-san's room after she was admitted to hospital" Yasuhara spoke from his vantage point behind Bou-san.
"There was no need for Asami-san to hang around after she had what she wanted"
"But why is she after . . . ?" Bou-san cut his sentence off abruptly and sent a sharp look at Mai, who swallowed.
"I have ESP . . . that's why . . . " She stared blankly at the ground; Ayako pulled her close again and rocked her gently. Mai didn't respond.
"What does she want with the accumulated power Lin?" Naru asked, frowning slightly at Mai and glancing at his tall companion.
Lin paused, reflecting, that was the only question that remained unanswered that seemed to be of any importance, he was unsure of how they could gather that information.
He glanced at the medium standing behind Mai, composed and serene as always, however Lin noticed how pale she seemed and how she was clenching her hands slightly. This was stressful for her too, though not as much as Mai.
Naru caught the direction of his gaze and turned to Masako, addressing her formally.
"Hara-san, do you think you could preform a ritual here?"
The psychic looked up briefly and nodded, asking quietly which spirit she should try and contact.
Mai spoke up then, "Ask Akiro-san, I'm sure . . . he will help"
Naru frowned, "We can't be sure that Akiro is still here, he may have moved on"
The small girl shook her head, "He's still here, I'm sure of it"
"Hara-san?"
"I have been sensing other beings, however the signal is faint. He may not be strong enough to talk"
"Will you try anyway?'
Masako nodded, she crossed over to where her bag stood in the corner, and set up an incense holder and candle on the small coffee table. Seating herself she draped her string of beads over her hands with their palms pressed together.
"Mai, could you dim the lights please?"
Mai closed the curtains, turned off the lights and closed all the doors.
Settling themselves around the table, the group watched silently as Masako started her ritual, saying nothing, blocking out everything but her own thoughts.
They sat in silence, the uncomfortable feeling ringing in Mai's ears. The dark room was oppressing without sound, there was nothing to distract from the spirits presence, and she could almost hear Miki's stifled moans as she wandered the hotel. The feeling was terrifying, loneliness, fear, pain and immeasurable hate.
Mai covered her ears, but it did no good, her cries vibrated throughout her entire body, smothering all hope and warmth. She shuddered and ground her teeth to suppress the sobs threatening to burst from her chest.
Naru watched silently, when he saw Mai holding her head and yanking her hair he walked over to her, reached out a hand and took hold of her wrist, pulling it away slowly. Mai opened her eyes and looked up at him, his face was uniform as always, but his eyes were warmer than usual. She smiled slightly and mouthed a thank you; he nodded and drew back, continuing to watch the medium.
Masako tensed visibly, everyone was on alert, and she frowned and shook her head. Naru spoke softly.
"Is that Akiro-san?"
"T-That's right, whats going on?"
"You're being channelled"
Akiro nodded in understanding, then chuckled mirthlessly.
"I never believed to this stuff when I was alive, ironic."
"We need to ask you some questions" Naru responded, ignoring Akiro's statement.
He nodded "I need to tell you something anyway, may I . . . speak to Mai-san?"
Naru nodded at her and Mai moved forward slightly, shuffling on her knees, looking into her friend's eyes, which were glazed over like cloudy glass, she introduced herself. The ghost nodded.
"It is good to finally meet you face to face, I need to tell you something that Miki neglected to tell you"
"Miki told me?"
Akiro frowned, frustrated "Who else sent you that dream?"
"A dream that caused Mai a great deal of stress" Naru cut in stiffly
Akiro sighed, "She didn't mean it that way, believe me. Miki tried to cover up most of her memories. Sending you only part of them, however her condition is . . ."
He hesitated
"Unstable. The seal broke apart due to her pent up emotional energy, she has been made bitter by the cries of those beneath the hotel."
"Beneath?"
Akiro looked at Naru, and deadpanned "The souls of those lost to the print house are trapped here, they are sealed in the grotto beneath the hotel"
Lin spoke then, "Sealed by a priest right?"
"One that worked for Ikeyama yes, I believe he appeared once in Miki's memories?"
He directed this at Mai who thought a moment before answering, "The light haired man?"
He nodded, "Correct, he sealed the souls of those who died here so that they couldn't haunt the building and cause trouble"
Mai frowned, that didn't add up "Then why were you and Miki not sealed?"
"I am sealed, your summonings brought me out, which is why I cannot stay for long as the seal will draw me back in. Miki was not sealed away because she has the same kind of soul as you. One that is difficult to contain. Only Miki . . ."
He looked so sad then, Mai couldn't look at him, an uncomfortable silence settled itself over the group in a dim fog, and the only sound was the distant sighing of the sea and the faint moans of Miki's departed soul.
"In any event I must move on, Miki wishes to free those lost, the only way to do so was to gather spiritual energy. Such as yours and those who are now in hospital, with it she can break the seal, however . . ."
He leaned across the table closer to Mai, Naru stiffened and Bou-san began to move forward to help her if the need arose.
"Those people were very lucky, their power is weak enough that they can survive the ordeal of having it taken from them. I cannot say the same for you."
Mai shivered, the look in Masako's eyes was so cold, one that didn't fit the spiritualist's personality. The candle lit her friends face with soft light, creating an eerie image. He stared into her and Mai was reminded of her first encounter with Miki, how she had looked right into her very soul, the thought that she could take her powers and thus her life though those means made her blood run cold. She couldn't look away from his intent gaze.
Suddenly the contact was broken as Naru pulled her away from the dead retainer, gently moving her back behind him he continued the conversation, keeping hold of her wrist like he had done in the manhole.
"Could Lin break the seal?"
Akiro turned his penetrating gaze to where Lin was sitting on the couch, the man stared back expressionlessly, after a moment he shook his head.
"Not without Mai-san's help, she would need to do the major part of the incantation. As you must know, there are different types of psychic power, not just ESP and PK. Those groups themselves are broken into smaller categories, Mai-san possesses dream powers and astral walking, and none of you have that sort of power. However you are close"
He looked in Naru's direction as he said this, "As is this person" pointing to the body he resided in.
"But not similar enough, only Mai-san can break the seal."
"How would she do that?"
Masako shrugged, as she did so Mai caught sight of a faint outline shimmering around the young girls body, Akiro's image was hovering around the outside. Overlaying Masako's. Naru had seen it too; he squeezed her wrist gently, as if asking her to stay where she was.
"I do not know, I was never interested in this stuff when I was alive. What I know I know from observation."
"It's seems our time is almost over" Naru said briskly "Is there anything more you can tell us"
"Stiff one aren't you?" Akiro raised a faint eyebrow" The only thing I can tell you . . ."
He rose, leaving Masako's body behind; she slumped in a heap on the ground.
Stepping towards Mai and Naru, he passed straight through the table, just a faint outline that was dissipating rapidly.
He approached Mai, Naru was standing in front if her to intercept him but Akiro pushed him aside coolly and placed his hands on Mai's shoulders.
"This isn't like Miki, she really is a good person, and unfortunately the circumstances have put a strain on her sanity."
He sighed and as he did so, his form began to fade, breaking into pieces and scattering, only the faintest traces of his being remained as he looked at Mai pleadingly.
"I beg you, help her . . . I can't stay in this place much longer . . . "
"Wait!" Mai cried as a thought hit her "If Miki repressed my dream, who unsealed it?! It couldn't have just broken by her own instability!"
Akiro blinked in surprise and a sad smile lit his form; only his face was visible now, as the rest of him had dissolved into vibrant sparks. His voice was halting and Mai only caught snatches. He whispered into her ear softly and Mai gasped.
Then he was gone, the white sparks whirled around the space, breezing through Mai's hair and lighting in Naru's eyes. Then they were drawn into a tight gathering and sucked out of existence with a faded sigh. Mai sat on the floor in a heap, a stunned expression on her face.
"Mai!'
Naru knelt down by the speechless girl, she didn't say anything, and her expression was one of shock and fear. Naru frowned and shook her shoulder gently.
"Mai, whats wrong? Did he hurt you?"
She shook her head and stood, twisting her skirt in her hands and chewing her bottom lip.
"Mai?"
Bou-san came over next to Naru and glanced at him, he didn't respond, his way of saying he didn't know.
"Ikeyama is still here"
"What?"
Mai swallowed slowly, her skirt clenched so tight in her hands it was about to rip. She repeated her earlier statement.
"That's what Akiro said, Ikeyama was the one who unsealed my dreams"
"For what purpose?" Naru asked quietly, inside resentment curled in the pit of his stomach, Akiro shouldn't have given Mai more cause to worry.
"I don't know, how is Masako?"
"She's all right, just unconscious" Yasuhara was kneeling down by the kimono-clad girl. He put her down on the couch, covering her with a blanket.
"The seal will have put her under a lot of strain, she'll probably be asleep for a while"
Naru watched as Mai rushed to Masako's side, watching her sleep, she was always like that. Concerned when the slightest thing happened to someone she cared about.
"So, what do we do now?" Mai asked quietly, seating herself on the ground in front of the couch.
"This presents a new problem, not only do we have an emotionally unstable spirit on our hands, now we have a potentially hostile one as well"
Naru crossed the room and looked at the wall in thought, everyone waited patiently for his decision. He turned on his heel and approached Lin and the computers, everyone watched, frustrated, as the two men were drawn into their own space, ignoring everyone else as they made plans without bothering to include the others.
Jeez . . .do we even exist?
Mai glared furiously at Naru's turned back, sending telepathic messages at his black-clad form, hoping she would get through to him, but doubting she would be that lucky.
You damn workaholic . . . pull yourself out of that solitary world for just a second and tell us whats going on!
Unfortunately, her prayers were unanswered; Naru remained with his back turned to her and she was left, silently steaming.
Finally their conference came to an end and Naru turned to the rest of them.
"It looks like we have no choice but to summon and contain Asami-san"
There were protests heard all over the room at this proposal.
"I don't think I have the qualifications required to hold this spirit" Bou-san looked thoughtful, turning to Ayako he threw her a inquiring glance. The Miko shook her head.
"There aren't any tree's around here to help me, no trees, no power"
John agreed slowly, "This ghost appears to have been influenced by her surroundings to the point where she defies reason, I can't help her if she has no wish to move on"
"Masako-chan can't help either" Yasuhara declared defensively "The recent ritual has drained her energy, you can't have her face such a malicious spirit on her own!"
Naru sighed in frustration, closing his eyes and leaning against the back wall he declared softly.
"You are not the ones to preform the summoning, Mai is"
"Wait, what?!"
He turned his cool blue eyes to look at her frankly, "You heard me".
"Don't be stupid Naru! You know I have no power for exorcisms!"
"I beg to differ, in the past you have dealt with minor entities quite easily"
Naru appeared perfectly calm, though his tone was slightly harsher than usual, brooking no argument as Mai fidgeted anxiously.
"But . . . facing something like that on my own . . . do I even have enough power?"
"Akiro-san said himself that you are the only one to break the seal on the lost souls below"
"And you won't be alone" Lin spoke softly, walking over and placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly "We will all be joining together, all you have to do is summon Asami-san in Hara-san's place".
After receiving Mai's nod, Lin returned to the monitors and silently began reviewing the temperature recordings and locating a way down to the grotto.
"Mai, you will stay here and follow Lin's instructions on methods to summon and communicate with Asami-san, Lin, teach her what you can."
"Bou-san, Matsuzaki-san and John, you will patrol the hotel and cleanse the rooms as you go, leave no other place for the spirit to go other than the room on the left" He indicated the room where Lin and Mai had preformed the memory search a few days earlier, "However, drive only Asami-san's soul, leave Ikeyama how he is and avoid talking about him, he must not know that we are aware of his presence. Do you understand?"
There was agreement from all three exorcists, and the darkly dressed young man addressed Yasuhara, who was sitting in a chair by the couch, guarding Masako, who was sitting up and rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Yasuhara-san, take Hara-san into the opposite room and you do some research with that laptop," gesturing to a black computer sitting by the monitors, "Hara-san, please relax but attempt to keep track on the spirits, tell me if anything changes"
"Yes, Naru" Masako mumbled into her delicate sleeve coyly, Naru appeared not to notice. "And what will you do?"
"I will go over the information, and speak with Ito-san about the current situation"
Hope he doesn't scare her too much, Mai thought, she's a good client and keeps a level head, but if she discovers just who is haunting her hotel, she'll freak.
When the rest of the group had filtered out of the room, Lin beckoned Mai over to the monitors, she approached cautiously.
"Taniyama-san, I will now teach you some basic precautions for when you contact Asami-san"
"Before that" Mai interrupted quickly and Lin gestured for her to continue. She bit her lip and wondered how to bring the subject up, she decided to be direct.
"What happens if . . . I can't contain Miki?"
"Then we will step in and restrain her" Lin spoke firmly, "Do not worry, we won't let anything hurt you, all you need to concentrate on is summoning and speaking to her"
Mai swallowed and nodded, Lin gave her an encouraging smile in return and gestured for her to sit, when she had settled herself he began.
"First, know that it is doubtful that Asami-san will listen to reason, she has been trapped in an environment full of negative emotions for so long it is unlikely she has any shred of sanity left, regardless of what Akiro-san says. If she is too dangerous, we will have to remove her"
"B-but! that'll kill her!" Mai knew from the case with the possessed doll that there were two ways to exorcise spirits, Jourei and Jorei, the former to persuade them to move on, and the latter to destroy the entity entirely.
"You can't do that! she was human once, regardless of what she is now! It's no better than murder!"
Lin's face was like stone, he still had not learnt to drop his guard, and it was exactly as it had been in Urado's case as he replied, his voice was defensive and hostile.
"Never the less, we will have no choice if she poses a threat, would you endanger us and everyone in this hotel?"
Mai flinched, she hadn't expected Lin to react that way, she had assumed that they were on more familiar terms by now, but she would not allow them to destroy the ghost she was only beginning to understand.
"I refuse to let you preform the Jorei" her voice was low, but that was because she was reigning in the desire to scream, "I'd rather die than let that happen". During the past case she had had her hands full as Naru exorcised the female spirit, luckily he had not destroyed her, but used other methods to persuade her to rest. It would not be the same this time, not unless she did something.
"Just how many ghosts have you killed?!" Her voice rose, she couldn't prevent it, "Is it so many that you no longer care about their problems?!"
Big mistake, Lin's expression wavered, but it was only momentary, and his face became even more closed, though the hostility had left his tone, to be replaced by something gentler.
"Calm yourself, I will do my best to prevent that from happening, though understand I will not hesitate if there is no alternative, will you accept that?"
Mai closed her mouth quickly, afraid she had gone too far, nodding meekly she sat down from where she had sprung up in a frenzy, twisting her hands in her lap.
" . . . That was rude . . . I'm sorry . . . That was harsh Lin-san"
Lin's guard dropped, and he mentally reprimanded himself when he realized what he had done, he had assumed that he had learnt to lessen his hostility, seems he was mistaken, and now he had damaged trust as a result.
"No . . . I was offensive as well, will you accept my apologies?"
Mai nodded slowly and Lin sighed, sitting back in his chair.
"It seems we are not getting anywhere, shall I begin again?"
It was a rhetorical question, clearly, as he continued without waiting for her response.
"In effect, what you need to do is induce that trance-state we achieved before, when I searched your memories, as I explained before, it is the same state you fall into when you sleep. A state which allows the free flowing of spiritual energy, such that two beings can communicate on that level, and is the most accurate form of communicating with spirits"
Lin stopped a moment to make sure Mai understood, she did, before delving into more complicated matters that she must learn in a short time if they were to have any chance of succeeding.
"Other forms of spiritual communication are rituals like Kokkuri-san, Angel-san, Cupid-san, Hanako-san or any other phrase by which to refer to the procedure of chanting and attempting to have a spirit move a pointer or pen to certain symbols to form a message. This is a very basic, dangerous and inaccurate form of communication, as the spirit could play havoc with the persons body, or disturb people with frightening and false messages"
Mai interrupted then to question something in Lin's lecture, "But it's rare that anyone is hurt by it, whether they're psychic or not, I did it a lot in middle school. Nothing happened to me or my friends, and it turns out I'm psychic"
"Did you really believe in ghosts back then?" Lin asked.
"Not really" She confessed, "Though they were fun to talk about"
"Studies have shown that during tests such as the one you undertook after the spoon bending case, people who believe in the occult get higher results than those who don't, you accepted the existence of ghosts after that case, and, as you were psychic, awakened your powers"
He moved back to the point.
"So that is one form of communication, another is a method anyone can use, such as merely speaking aloud to the spirit and have them answer in knocks or signs, again, this is dangerous as the spirit could be unstable and attack.
The best ways of communicating with the dead, are Kuchiyose, which is the method Hara-san uses, in which you are possessed by a ghost, Shoukon, which is a technique I use as you'll recall, to have a spirit visit you, and the method you use, however you have not yet learnt to fully control your technique"
Mai tried hard to process the rapid flow of information that Lin delivered, she had never really been very attentive, but she managed to understand the terms and basic outline of what Lin was saying. She was desperate not to miss anything, especially as everyone's lives depended on it.
Even Naru, she realized with a jolt.
Before, on previous cases, Naru had been careful not to rely on her for anything important, even when her dreams proved useful he never acted on that, or depended on it absolutely, he merely treated it as another piece of information that was yet to be proved, it showed he was not yet ready to trust her abilities completely.
"Taniyama-san? Do you understand me?"
"Yes, I . . . think I do . . . the basics anyway, though I'm still a bit foggy on finer details"
"That will not present much of a problem, you will learn those as we go"
He stood and opened the door to the hallway, motioning for her to follow him.
Lin opened the door to a smaller room, barely six square metres, it was empty.
Stepping into the room, Lin began his lesson, simplifying things down to the bare basics, skipping over the various precautions that most sorcerers of a lower status, it was risky, but they didn't have time for all the details. Regardless of Naru's views on the subject, they really had no choice but to take the less secure path to Miki's capture.
On Mai's part, she sat on the floor, tucking her feet beneath her so she was comfortable, it seems she would be here for quite a while.
Author's Note: I apologize profusely for the late update, not to make excuses but lets just say I had some things to deal with first.
Not much happened here, but if you give me some time I can make the next chapter better, at least I finally revealed most of the answers. Please bear with me.
Not as good as I would have liked, but hopefully this will help set the scene for the next few chapters.
Please review! You know it makes me happy if people actually like this story enough to want me to continue.
