Mai rushed into the office, a swirl of leaves following her. She took off her coat and hung it on the pegs that stood by the front door, running a quick hand through her windswept and bedraggled hair. She crept as silently as she could towards the kitchenette, hoping with all her heart that Naru hadn't noticed that she was late. To be fair, it wasn't completely her fault, as she hadn't forced her sensei to overrun and then for the train that took her from school to work to be full. Mai sighed as she waited for the kettle to boil, allowing her mind to relax slightly. She hadn't been yelled at the moment that she had put one door over the threshold; maybe she would get away with it. Oh, how naïve she was…
"Mai. Why are you nearly an hour late?" Naru's cold voice cut through the relaxing fog that had settled in Mai's mind. She jumped, unaware that he had entered the kitchenette.
"Jeez, Naru! Don't do that!"
"Are you going to answer my question?"
"Well, if you must know, Sensei kept us in late and then I missed the train."
"Mai, the trains run every two minutes. Even if you had missed it, you would not be half an hour late."
"Well I'm sorry if all the trains were full. I can't control the public transport, you." Mai retorted angrily, taking her teacup into the main room. A scared looking client looked at her from the doorway, and Mai attempted to rearrange her facial features into what she hoped passed for a… comforting expression.
"Hello! Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research. My name is Taniyama Mai, do you have an appointment?" The client frowned.
"Excuse me, I was not aware that I needed one..."
"No worries, take a seat. I'll just go get…" she trailed off as Naru entered the room and sat on an armchair, legs crossed and tea in hand. "This is Kazuya Shibuya," said Mai, indicating to Naru and going to get Lin. The man sat down on the seat opposite Naru. Mai knocked on Lin's door, and looked down at the teacup she was holding, then back at the client.
"Can I offer you some tea?" The man shook his head and Mai rejoiced. Not that she didn't mind making tea, but with the quantities that she had to make a day, the less the better.
"Can you tell us your name, and where you are experiencing the paranormal phenomenon?" asked Naru once everyone was seated.
"Yes. My name is Kisake Kenji. I come from the old Shibuya Prison, which has been closed for at least forty years. It has now been converted into a museum, where visitors can explore the old cells. However, it has been undergoing renovations for the past five years, and is due to open to the public soon… but…" he trailed off, staring at his hands.
"Yes?" prompted Naru. Kisake looked up again.
"But there have been several incidents, mainly involving people going missing. The old complex is very large, you see, and unless you have a map you are likely to get lost… it was built to prevent criminals escaping, and was incredibly effective. The corridors are like a maze, I've been working there for twenty years and even I don't know my way around all of it.
'So you see it is possible to get lost down there. And that is what has been happening… at first, we just assumed that the builders going missing were just sick, or couldn't come in… but recently we found this belonging to one of them." He opened the briefcase by his side, and pulled out a photograph, passing it to Naru. The picture was one of a simple gold locket. "This belonged to one of the new trainee staff that we hired for the re-opening."
"Is it possible that she just took it off?" asked Mai, peering closely at the locket. Ryuzaki shook his head.
"No. The girl who owned this wore it every day. I asked the other members of staff, and one of them said that it was a present from her father for her fifth birthday. Apparently the two girls had known each other for a long time, and that she had worn it every single day since."
"And where is the necklace now?" asked Naru.
"With the police. They were contacted shortly after she went missing."
"And why are you attributing this to a ghost? How do you know that these people aren't just going missing?"
"Well, shortly before they went missing, they have all been caught by CCTV footage to have been entering one of the cells. However, when we checked there we found nothing. And sometimes employees will end up at that cell, locked in and having had no recollection as to how they got there. When they get out, they all have similar markings around their necks."
"What sort of markings?"
"Markings as if they have been strangled. But when we look at the CCTV, there was no one in there which could have caused the bruising. Please, accept the case, we open in five days! If these incidents keep occurring, then…" he trailed off again and Mai gulped as she realised what he was alluding to.
"I see. Please leave your contact details with my assistant. Please have a large room ready, with lots of sockets, not too far from this cell." He stood up and walked into his office, Lin leaving for his. Kisake looked at Mai.
"Does that mean that you'll accept the case?" he asked hopefully, his brown eyes widening. Mai nodded and smiled.
"Yes, but we'll need a large room like he said, so that we can monitor the activity. Now, could I please take your contact details?" Kisake nodded, and happily gave the telephone number of his office, before leaving Mai to make the calls to the other members of SPR.
Two days later, Mai was looking up at the old, castle like building that had served as the old building. It was about an hour's drive out of Tokyo, but not too far that it necessitated overnight stays. For this, she was glad. Whenever she had to miss school for cases, work tended to pile up, and she often spent all of her free time catching up. It also meant that there was a reduced risk of her doing something embarrassing in front of Naru… in pyjamas… yes, Mai was glad that it was not a stay over case.
Yasuhara walked up next to her, and cocked his head to the side, looking up at the old building. He let out a low whistle.
"It looks like one of those old posh schools you get in England," he said, shifting the weight of the box he was carrying from one arm to the other.
"How do you know what schools look like in England?" asked Mai incredulously.
"I was part of an exchange trip there once, many, many years ago now."
"Uh huh. Sure you were," said Mai sceptically.
"Hey! When have I ever fibbed or lied to you?"
"Yesterday."
"No, I really did see someone dressed up as a giant strawberry! Why wouldn't you believe that?"
"Really? A giant strawberry? In November?"
"They could have been going to a fancy dress party."
"A party during the middle of the day?!"
"… yes."
"Unbelievable."
"Mai, stop slacking." Naru's cold voice cut through the conversation like a knife, causing Mai to jump. She walked up the steps, peering round the large box. Soon, all the equipment had been carried in from the van and Mai was about to flop onto the sofa when Naru stopped her.
"Mai, Takigawa-san and Hara-san, go around the building checking temperatures and setting up the cameras. Hara-san, I also want you to sense any spirits. Kisaki-san will go with you to ensure that you do not get lost. Yasuhara-san and Matsuzaki-san, look up anything that may be related to the case." He settled back into his chair and continued to read the file. Mai picked up the box of cameras whilst Bou-san took the microphones.
"Masako, could you get the thermometer and clipboard?" asked Mai politely. Masako sniffed and exited the room without as much as a word. Bou-san looked at Mai, his eyebrow raised. Mai just shrugged in response and took the clipboard and thermometer as well, balancing them on top of the microphones.
"Naru, is this camera good?" asked Mai over the walkie talkie.
"No, move it to the left a little. The other left, Mai." Mai was able to hear the rolling of his eyes and she growled.
"There, that better?" she asked, as she moved it slightly.
"It'll do." Biting back her retort, she moved over to Bou-san.
"What's the temperature?"
"Normal. Have you sensed anything?" he asked Masako, who shook her head from behind her kimono sleeve.
"Well, on to the next room I guess." Bou-san went ahead, leaving Mai and Masako to trail behind in uncomfortable silence. Mai had thought that after the… case in which Mai had lent Masako her clothing, they would, if not friends, be able to get along reasonably well. Apparently that was not the case. As they walked to the next room, Mai felt a strange prickly feeling on the back of her neck. Her stomach gave an unaccountable lurch, as if she had suddenly thought about something that she was dreading. She tried to shake the feeling off, and was so absorbed in her thoughts that she walked straight into Bou-san's back.
"Hey! Watch where you're walking, Mai!"
"Sorry!" Bou-san waved the apology off, setting up the thermometer.
"So, any spider-senses tingling yet?" Masako and Mai were silent. "What? I was trying to lighten the mood!"
"Yes… but, there is a weird feeling here."
"It's as if something is watching us, but they are concealing themselves," added Masako from behind her kimono.
"… I'll check the temperature." Bou-san moved over to the thermometer. "No, it's normal."
"Well, we can set up the camera here anyway. And we can also tell Naru when we get back to base," said Mai as she set down the box of cameras and microphones that she was still carrying. Bou-san nodded, grabbing one of the microphones. Mai busied herself with setting up the camera, and a cool breeze brushed the back of her legs. She turned, but nothing was there. Shrugging, she went back to the camera when she felt the breeze again, this time much colder, cold enough to raise goose-pimples on the back of her knees. She turned round again, but just like the first time there was nothing there. Mai sidled up to Bou-san.
"Something keeps brushing against the back of my legs." She muttered, pretending to peer at the clipboard.
"Ghost?" muttered back Bou-san.
"I think so." Bou-san stretched, cracking his back.
"Yo, Masako, you sense anything?" Masako frowned.
"I… it's hard to tell. There is a weird energy in the room, almost as if there should be something here but it either isn't, or it's concealing itself."
"Huh?" Mai asked intelligently. Masako rolled her eyes.
"I sense the absence of a spirit, rather than the spirit itself."
"Right. Well, will let Naru know when we get back. He may want to check this room out himself." Bou-san held the door open for Masako and Mai. As she left, Mai looked back at the cell, seeing a slight flicker. She shivered, and couldn't shake off the feeling that someone, or something, was watching her.
A/N: … … … hello. Sorry about the very long wait. In my defence, this school year is beyond hectic. So don't expect another update until late June at the earliest. :p
However, this summer is going to be a long one for me. So my plan is to write up a load of chapters so that you guys don't have to wait so long for updates. Aren't I nice? That is, of course, people are still reading this story…
Anyway, please review!