Well, I got some reviews on chapter 10 right off the bat and I'm so glad that you all loved reading it as much as I did writing! Special thanks to demon alice – you make me laugh. Theflamingrose for your amazing ideas. Ferb O. Oche for stickin' with meh through every chapter and posting great reviews. NaginiFay for awesome reviews and being a great reader. Naruisawesome for being a good person and reading all of my things.
And most of all, a very special thanks to EVERYONE who reads and reviews! (even if you're not listed. I'm talking to you, dramalover10.) Your comments all help! (I'll start posting them on the chapters, including updating the old ones to have this feature.)
Enjoy!
Chapter 11: It Will Always Return…
(Song 6 –Tennenkyara wa go Aikyou recommended here)
Ayako whipped Monk on the back of the head with her purse.
"OWW! What is IN that thing?!"
"Oh, just a few rocks and some titanium." She laughed smugly. Masako covered her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono and giggled. Luella raised her lower lip as if to say 'Well then.' She repressed a giggle with her hand.
Naru stood where he was, his face still flushed. Mai simpered slightly and ran off to grab a new teacup to replace the one she broke moments earlier. Her eyes didn't break the gaze with the floor she walked on the entire time she was in the process. She filled the teacup with the brew in the kettle and sipped, looking at Naru's body language.
The man looked truly defeated; nobody could ever win a verbal battle with Luella Davis. The woman was loving and yet impossible to talk to.
Naru knew that by heart.
Speaking of Naru, he has a few secrets. His mother said something about Oliver Davis earlier…
"Do you know Dr. Oliver Davis?" Monk broke the awkward silence.
"Yes – he's rig-" Luella was interrupted.
"Mother."Naru's voice was impatient and firm.
Mai's chocolate-coloured gaze slid down to her shoes. If Naru's name really is Noll, how can he be Oliver Davis?
Or has he just been living a lie and gave himself a fake name to be Noll so that nobody could discover that he was one of the world's best parapsychological researchers? No…that can't be it. Naru would never lie.
…Right?
Naru looked over at his mother once again, finally seeming to be rid of his anger towards the woman's outbursts. "Now – what is it that you were saying about 'grandchildren?'"
"Yes. I said that I want grandchildren and the only thing I ever get out of you is that-"
"I understand that part. I didn't understand why though. I'm seventeen, Mother."
"Yes, I know. It would be great for you to get a headstart on it, though!"
Mai spit her tea across the room, causing Naru to give her a deadly glare, although his eyes didn't narrow in a hateful way. It seemed to be a playful stare, almost as if he was taking none of her actions into consideration of being harmful. He continued to stare at her while his mother spoke about him and Mai, and also how their relationship was very awkward.
"…And you go on cases together only! There hasn't been a case this year yet where you haven't been with her and you're always close by eachother and it's just…"
When will she stop? Mai thought. This is getting a little embarrassing…
"Well, I've never heard a mother say that she wanted her kids to do the nasty-"
WHAM!
Ayako's purse strikes again! "Next time, don't be so rude about it."
"Okay! I've never heard a mother say that she wanted her kids to do anything…" He faltered when Ayako raised her purse again, but finished off a bit latently. "…Innapropriate..?"
Naru rolled his eyes at the sight of Monk and Ayako's dispute. Yasu sat on the single ottoman inbetween the two couches and the table, who raised his voice to say something. "Umm..Naru…I think it would be wise to do something else surrounding the case. I don't feel that it ended very well. I mean, Majin could very well still be out there."
Mai's thoughts about Luella and Naru skidded to an immediate halt. I had never thought about that before… What if Majin is still out there? It could be haunting something else by now!
"Yeah! We have to see if that ship took Majin with it, or if it's still lurking somewhere! What if the thing found its way back to us again?!" Mai shouted out.
"Yeah – I mean, when sitebound spirits lose their location, where do they go?" Monk interjected.
Naru's famous thinking pose – a hand to his chin, other on the elbow – and silence following.
(Song 14 – Takigawa Houshou Mantra recommended here)
Naru cleared his throat, brow furrowed. "I had never really thought about that, actually…" He cracked open the black book he had taken from his pocket. Mai saw inside it, with a jolt, the corner of the photo with Naru and Eugene. "Spirits that are sitebound normally don't lose their point of location. Otherwise, I would have written this down. The only time this would ever happen is if they occupied a forest and it was cut down. Or like earlier, the ship sank. According to other research, if a spirit moves from one location or it is taken from them or renovated, they move on. In retrospect, Majin could be anywhere now."
Mai curled her hands into determined fists. Wherever it is, I will hunt it down. That thing killed David. It tried to kill me and Masako. I don't care if it's a ghost. I can strangle the damn thing with my bare hands.
Luella chewed her lip for a bit before speaking again. "Do you want me to leave so you can finish with your case?" Her eyes twinkled.
"No, that's quite alright, you can-" Monk was interrupted by Naru.
"Yes, please." He glanced over at Mai, the same look he gave her when he called her into the hallway when they first met. "We have some business to take care of."
The woman cantered up to her son, giving him a bear hug and kissing him on the cheek. Naru's face was bloodred, and his mouth shaped a perfect, upside-down 'u'. Yasu sniggered slightly at the teen's embarrassment.
Luella said her goodbyes and left the office, Naru still standing in place, scratching a pen in his book. "First, we must do research on 'Majin'. Next, we'll see what we can do. But – for now – we have no leads whatsoever."
"Does that mean we should leave too? It only really takes one person to do research on something." Ayako piped up. Especially if that person is an apparent 17-year-old narcissistic, egotistic prodigy.
"Fine enough. Go home and get a day off." The teen's inky-blue hair covered his eyes. No expression could be seen on his face from where the team – other than Mai – was standing. They all left the room except for Lin, giving a final glance to the room for a day. The door closed behind Masako, who was the last out. She looked over at Naru with pure hatred.
(Song 4 –Gakuen recommended here)
"Hey, Naru, I think you have a new nemesis."
He looked up, apparently finished writing his note. First glancing at the door and then Mai, he frowned slightly and didn't respond. He walked into his office, Lin following.
Mai stood in the kitchenette, still pondering about her first meeting with Luella.
"Excuse me for asking, but – what's your name?" Masako spoke.
"Oh, sorry! I'm Luella Davis."
The team remained silent for a moment, trying to figure out why Naru's last name was Shibuya and his mother's was Davis.
"Davis – as in Oliver Davis?" Mai stopped stirring tea.
"Yes. Why? What of it?"
Yes, that's it. Mai thought. Naru's last name is fake. But where did it come from? She glanced outside the window of SPR, looking at the street below. Her eyes caught the sight of a sign outside, reading 'Welcome to Shibuya'. I'm an idiot… Mai let her face rest in both of her hands. How could I never have noticed?!
…HOW DID EVERYONE ELSE NOT NOTICE?! THEY MUST BE AS STUPID AS I AM!
..Or at least some of them are…
Actually, no, it's just me.
The door of Naru's office opened, revealing Lin, who spoke to Mai. "Are you coming in to help with the research?"
"OH! Yes! Sorry, Lin!" Mai rushed to the door and walked inside.
Wooden surfaces painted black covered most of Naru's office, if not glass and metals. A shiny laptop stood on his desk, alongside his black book that was now occupied by Naru. He handwrote information that was on a file on the computer in front of him. The potlights in the roof cast shadows down the sides of the room.
Lin closed the door behind Mai, pulling up a chair opposite Naru with Mai. He placed his hands on the desk in front of him, right over left. Tapping his fingers slightly, he spoke. "Where do we start?"
"I have already started." He murmured. "The page says here that, depending on the Kanji, Majin can have two different meanings. One is a devil or demon, and the other is a magical being. Like a magic genie or sorcerer."
"Well, the one that possessed David to steer into a iceberg ain't a 'magic genie.'" Mai exclaimed. Naru gave her a cold stare and continued.
(Song ? – Mabataki recommended here)
"It says here that Majin – the demon Kanji – is a relentless, malevolent spirit often referred to as the Devil. It has several minions, such as Lucifer, Mammon, Asmodeus, Leviathan, Beelzebub, Amon or Belphegor. They all represent different sins, such a lust, gluttony, wrath and pride. Apparently, the one that Majin stands for is the worst of all.
"And what would that be?" Lin asked.
Naru remained silent before closing his eyes and breathing deeply. "Murder."
Mai's eyes widened. "Murder..?"
"Yes. Majin is a very malicious entity. This is why I told everyone to be cautious on the ship after the first hour and seeing it for the first time." He stared into Mai's brown eyes. "I feel that this research is useless now, actually."
Lin's eyes roved up to where Naru held his gaze on Mai. "Why is that?"
"Even if we are able to track down Majin – which is highly unlikely – do you really think we'll be able to banish it? I don't believe so. Even if we manage to get close to it, Majin will always be out there, looking for its next host."
Mai's shoulders slumped down as if someone had placed a heavy weight on them. So…David's death was for nothing. That child's death was for nothing. We sunk a ship.
And for what?
This has never happened before. After all, Naru is always right.
But… not this time.
This time, we failed to exorcise the haunted vessel for the client. Not to mention he isn't even alive anymore. I wonder how Naru feels right now about this…
(No music here)
Mai looked up at the man, who seemed to be lost in thought. He tapped the steel pen to his lips, creasing his brows. His lips thinned in concentration.
Well, it doesn't seem that he's too happy about it, but still…
Lin stood up, pushing his chair against the wall. He announced that he was going to make tea.
"That's okay, Lin! You don't have to - I'll do it!"
The man looked down at Mai, his eyes softening. "That's quite alright. You just stay here." He opened the office door and disappeared from sight.
The pen tapping stopped, replaced by a scratching sound. Naru was now writing in his book – or crossing something out. A large, black 'X' appeared over the information on the paragraph titled "A Haunting at Sea."
Mai remembered, with a jolt, that that was the title of the case Mai had just been on. He wrote something else quickly, seemingly illegible from Mai's angle.
A door closed quietly from behind Mai. Lin walked inside the room, carrying a tray with three teacups. One was Naru's, filled with Earl Grey tea. Mai's was next, green tea scent wafting from the cup. Lin placed the tray on the desk, away from Naru's laptop so as to not spill any tea on it. He wrapped his fingers through the handle of his cup, gingerly raising it to his mouth and sipping quietly.
Silence enveloped the room for a few minutes before Naru closed the lid of the laptop and stood. "It would be best to call it a day."
(Song 17 – Hyoukai recommended here)
Lin stood as well and nodded at his younger superior. Mai followed them out of the room with her empty teacup in hand. She placed the cup in the kitchenette sink, and sat down on the small ottoman that she so often occupied, Naru adjacent of her in his leather chair. Lin sat on the couch to the left of Mai, pulling out his own laptop from his bag beside the couch.
Something else that Mai had never noticed.
Well, aren't I blind.
Mai was the first to break the silence. "So…No more work for today, then?"
"No, but I would appreciate it if you stayed here for a moment. You have to sign some paperwork first. It's in my office."
"What's it about?"
"David's death certificate."
"Oh…alright then." Mai walked slowly into the office, opening and closing the door quietly. She found what she knew was a death certificate on Naru's desk, something she had already signed before, when her mother passed away.
Mai's signature was written on the paper now. She, just out of curiosity, slid the black book of Naru's over so she could see it. Opening the book, Mai looked at the entry for "A Haunting at Sea."
Written beside the black 'X' was the word 'Sunken' ,sprawled messily upon the paper. Mai closed the book again when Naru walked in and sat down across from her.
"The paperwork's done." Mai murmured.
Naru nodded slightly, sitting further back in his chair. "You may go home now if you want to."
Mai skipped to the doorway. "Alright! I'll see you later!"
Naru held his breath for a moment. "…I'll call you at home or at school when I get a new case."
Mai's eyes softened. "Sure."
"Goodbye, Mai."
"Bye, Naru."
After saying her farewells to Lin and Naru, she walked outside to the deck of SPR, looking down at the street.
"Even if we manage to get close to it, Majin will always be out there, looking for its next host…"
Last chapter done. Special thanks to Naruisawesome, theflamingrose, demon alice, Ferb O. Oche, NaginiFay, dramalover10, MusicalFox, Biffer, Lulucutie12, TheAllMightyDragonOfTheNorth, Lovenarumai, and SalteyJam.
And now, a BIG round of applause to EVERY ONE OF MY VIEWERS, even the ones that are unmentioned or unreviewing.
Thanks to everyone who gave me the great ideas for this awesome story, and I'll see you in the next Ghost Hunt Fanfic:
Falling to Pieces.
I'll see you all on the other side.
-xXxNaru-LovexXx
