Hello there! :] Psh, I feel so thin right after having a fever. Why in the world is this happening to me?! PFFT.
Forgive me for ranting here, zzz. Anyhoooo, I just made red velvet cupcakes today! And to those amazing people who reviewed, you'll receive one, well virtually, that is, hehehe :D
thearistocrat
Bobbi Phantom
chibi konzen
Yugure no bara
xSapphirexRosesxFanx
Chrysanthia-Sunshine
crimsonplay
Naruisawesome
Krissy2lip
WriteToEscapeReality
MelissaRM
As promised, Chapter 11 :]
…
The girls were silently fixing Mai's room while the boys, except Lin, John and Yasuhara, were on the living room. The three boys are manning the base, checking if there were any sudden temperature drops or odd videos while they were away. It has been agreed by all that throughout Mai's stay in the hotel, all the girls will be sleeping in her suite. Ayako will sleep on Mai's room while Masako on Rika's room. But just for tonight, Ayako and Naru will switch. Naru wanted to be the first to know that she'll be okay after whatever she has gone through tonight.
Bou-san sighed. "I don't understand…" He shifted in his seat, angling his body towards Naru who was sitting stiffly. "I thought that the ghost was stuck on the second and third floor. Why in the world is he on this floor?" He ran his hand through his blonde locks. "And on Mai's room no less!"
Naru just stood up and proceeded to Mai's room. When he got out, he was bringing a notepad. He sat down and looked through Masako's notes. "Just like what Hara-san said, this ghost is moving everywhere." He contemplated.
"Maybe the attacks are just limited to both floors?"
Naru nodded slightly, still looking at Masako's notes. "That could be a possibility. We still need to do some interview tomorrow."
Bou-san could hear the gears running in Naru's head. He probably already has something, but needs verification.
Both boys lifted their heads up when they heard a door close. The girls walked silently towards the boys who were now wearing expectant faces. "Will she be okay?" Bou-san asked, concern lacing in his tone.
Ayako nodded and looked at Naru. "She'll probably be awake in a couple of hours. Rika already called room service. When she wakes up, make sure she eats and make her drink the pills I placed on her bedside table. For sure, she'll get a headache."
Naru stood up, nodding towards Ayako. "Alright." He looked at Rika who was still a bit pale from the haunting earlier, but he could see that she was trying to fix her bearings. "Are you okay?"
Rika replied with a shaky laugh, much to her chagrin. "Yes yes. I've heard stories about your cases but, actually witnessing one even though I wasn't inside Mai's room got me a little … paranoid."
Bou-san just ruffled her hair and grinned, hoping to lighten up her mood. "With us around, nothing's ever normal."
Rika looked at the ex-monk, disbelief in her eyes. "You say that like it's a good thing!"
"Just make sure you take note of Mai's reactions to everything, Rika."
Rika looked at the medium. "Why?"
"At times like these, it's best to rely on Mai's instincts." Masako replied.
"Just make sure that you both stay together." Naru added. "And call me when Mai starts to act suspicious."
Rika nodded, determined to help her boss slash best friend. "Alright. I'll do my best."
Ayako cleared her throat and looked at her husband. "Well then, I think we should all get a good night's rest." She looked at her watch. "It's exactly 10PM."
Everyone nodded. Ayako and Bou-san silently left the room, leaving Masako, Rika and Naru in the living room.
Rika looked at Masako. "Masako, you can go ahead. I'll just wait for our food here."
Masako was about to offer that she can wait for the food, but Naru beat her to it. "You both go and get some rest. I'll knock when the food arrives."
"Are you su –"
Masako placed a hand on Rika's shoulder, stopping her from saying anything. "It's okay. You need to rest for a while. Naru will be fine on his own." Masako said. "Besides, I'm here. I'm a medium, remember?" She smiled reassuringly towards Rika, who returned her smile and nodded.
Rika turned to Naru and smiled. "Thank yo –" She was once again interrupted by her phone. She flipped it open. "Hello?"
"Where's Maman?"
Rika's eyes widened. "Hikari! Kaori!" She shrieked. "Why are you still awake? It's already past 10!" She looked at Naru, who was also staring at her in surprise.
"Where's Maman, Aunt Rika?"
Rika was quite confused about the twins' persistence, but decided to tell them anyway. "She's in her room, resting. Why?"
"Why is she resting? Did something happen?"
This is not good… Rika looked at Naru … and Naru immediately saw the desperation of help in her eyes. "Well, your Maman is resting because she's tired. You know how beautiful your mother is, men chase after her." She let out a very nervous laugh. "A lot of people wanted to talk to her."
"Really?"
Rika nodded furiously even though the twins couldn't see her, silently hoping that the twins would be fooled this time. "Yes, really." Rika cleared her throat. "Now, your mother told me that you skipped school!" I hope this works…
Naru and Masako's eyes widened at that. "Care to tell me why?" Rika asked.
"Because we wanted to redecorate Papa's office!"
Rika sighed, letting the twins know how disappointed she is. "And your mother told me that you dropped the call even when she wasn't done speaking."
"It was because we were ordering some guys to position the couch properly!"
"Doesn't give you an excuse to skip school and drop the call. What will your father say about that?" She heard the twins gasp.
"Don't tell Papa!" They said in a desperate tone.
Rika 'tsk'ed. "Too late young ladies. Your father's here too. But don't worry, I won't tell him why you skipped school." She hurriedly gave the phone to Naru and dragged Masako back to their room.
"I definitely don't want to be at the receiving end of Naru's glare tonight…" She whispered in Masako's ear who just giggled in response.
Naru glared at Rika's door before placing the phone near his ear. "Hello Hikari, Kaori."
"Papa! We swear on our favourite teddy bears, that we will never skip school again!" The twins cried.
Naru sighed and cracked a smile, silently thanking the Gods for giving him something else to think about for a while. "I assume you won't tell Papa why you skipped school?"
"No."
"Then, will you tell Papa why you dropped the call while your mother was still talking?" He asked in a slightly patronizing tone.
"Uhm … because we were doing something …?"
"That's not a good reason to drop the call on your mother. Have you apologized?"
"…No." The twins said dejectedly.
"Then you better apologize to your mother tomorrow. She's probably disappointed. Don't forget, okay?"
"Yes. And we're sorry Papa."
"As long as you promise not to do it again." Then, he heard the doorbell ring. "You girls go back to sleep. You still have school tomorrow."
"Okay Papa. We love you!"
His heart swelled at that, and for once, a real smile appeared on Naru's features. "I love you both. Good night." He shut Rika's phone and went to get Mai and Rika's food for the night. While the waiter placed the food on the dining table, he went to fetch Rika. Masako opened the door and told him that Rika was still changing. He simply gave the phone to Masako and proceeded into Mai's bedroom, telling the medium that he'll be retiring for the night.
…
She was in that familiar place again. 'These floating white orbs and dark void … GENE!' "Gene! Are you here?" She shouted.
"Long time no see, Mai."
She instantly turned around and saw that smiling face. "GENE!" She ran towards him and as soon as she collided with his chest, she hugged him around his waist, tightening her hold on him. "Gene…" She whispered. "Where have you been? It's been so long…"
Gene relished the feel of her hugging him. All those years that he couldn't reach her, he kept worrying about her. And now that she's here, he didn't want to let go. He leaned away a bit just to look at her. "You're beautiful…"
Mai blushed prettily which Gene enjoyed. "I missed you, you know…" Mai confessed. "I've been trying to contact you these past few years, but for some reason, I couldn't. Why is that?"
Gene just shrugged. "I don't know either. I can talk to Hikari and Kaori though."
Mai pouted childishly and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Yeah, so unfair. Why?"
Gene smirked. "Jealous?"
Mai just punched him on his arm playfully. "Don't be ridiculous Gene. I was just wondering why."
"I missed you too..." Gene hugged her again … and Mai willingly returned it. She looked at his face. "So, uhm, am I gonna see anything today? Since you're here and all that…"
Gene's expression turned serious. "Tell Noll that the ghost is searching for his prey, hence his constant travelling. And clearly, it has chosen you."
Mai nodded at that. "It strangled me and threw me on the wall. I don't recognize the ghost yet though, just a purple cloud thingy floating on top of my bed."
"I won't be guiding you right now Mai, maybe next time. I just woke up from a sleep and just found out that you're on a case. Noll's stress level is reaching this plane, seriously."
Mai giggled. "I'll tell him that."
Gene smiled and ruffled her hair, feeling that familiar pull at the back of his mind. "Remember to trust your instincts Mai. See you soon."
Mai just nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating on waking up.
She slowly opened her eyes, making sure that whatever room she was in right now wasn't brightly lit. She could feel silk sheets brushing against her legs and arms. I must be in my bed… She propped both her elbows on the bed, lifting herself up, but before she could fully sit up, she plopped back down and placed a hand on her head. "Ow…" She groaned.
"You shouldn't drop yourself like that, idiot."
Her head snapped to her left and saw Naru, lying down on his right side. His eyes were boring into hers and she felt a blush creep up to her cheeks. She was about to ask him why he was in her room when she remembered she wasn't wearing any clothes when she fainted. She gasped and grabbed a handful of blanket and covered herself. "Naru!" She hissed. "You slept under the covers!"
Naru sat up and shook his head slightly to waken himself up. He looked at Mai's still-wide eyes and smirked. "I've seen you before, haven't I?"
Mai could feel herself heating up. She grabbed a pillow and threw it straight to Naru's head. "You – you pervert!"
Naru kept his smirk on his face. He slipped off from the bed and went straight to the door. Before opening the door, he turned to face her once again. "Once you're done feeling embarrassed, go to the kitchen. And don't forget to bring the pills that Matsuzaki-san placed on your bedside table." With that, he left and went straight to the kitchen, planning to reheat Mai's food.
That JERK! She got off the bed and stomped her way towards her cabinet. Due to her rising anger, she hasn't noticed her thin-strapped black sleep gown. Her anger worsened when she got inside the bathroom. Apparently, the damned narcissist didn't bother telling her that she was actually wearing something. She got out of the bathroom, threw her robe on and went straight to the kitchen.
Her anger dissipated when saw food on the table. "You're probably hungry. You haven't had your dinner." She looked behind her and saw Naru slightly slouching, reaching something that was at the back of the refrigerator.
Mai nodded meekly and took a seat. She felt her stomach rumble at the sight of food. "You ordered this?"
Naru took the seat on Mai's right side. "Rika did."
The mention of her best friend rang a bell in Mai's brain. "Oh my God! Rika! How is she?" She asked, concern in her voice.
"Nothing happened to her. Although, it was clear that she was quite shaken about what happened." He took a sip from the bottled water. He pointed at her food. "Eat first then drink the medicine. Then we'll talk."
Mai nodded and took the chopsticks. "What time is it?"
"Almost 5AM." He stood up to get water for Mai. "Will you be sleeping again?"
She shook her head. "Our meeting's at 8." She took another bite, chewed, then swallowed. "And there are some things that I still need to review. I got attacked before I was able to check my presentations for today."
"I talked to the twins today." He sat down again, looking at Mai who sighed. "They swore on their favourite teddy bears that they'll never do it again."
"Did they tell you why they skipped school?"
"No. Rika walked out on me before I even asked her."
Mai chuckled, amazed at her best friend's boldness. "She sure knows when to retreat."
"Will you tell me why they skipped school?"
Mai just continued eating, pretending that she hadn't heard him. Naru sighed. "You won't tell me."
She fixed her chopsticks and smirked at him. "Sorry dear, my lips are sealed." She stood up and took her plate, but she was pulled by her waist and landed on Naru's lap. She squeaked when she felt Naru's lips at the back of her neck. Her hands were quivering from the intimate contact. "Na – Naru…"
He placed butterfly kisses from her neck down to her left shoulder, slightly tugging down her robe to reveal creamy flesh. Her left hand flew straight to his left leg, holding onto it tightly for support. "Maybe I can change your mind?" He whispered softly, sending tingles all over Mai's body.
Her brain was going haywire at the moment. She could feel that heat pooling inside her stomach. She unconsciously brought her head back, letting Naru access more of her neck. But because of her discombobulated state, the plate slipped off of her hands and created a rather loud crashing sound all throughout her suite. Mai tensed and shrieked while Naru just sighed. Typical Mai. Mai made a motion to stand up but Naru kept her on his lap. "Don't move. You're not wearing any slippers."
"Bu – but the plate –"
"EHEM."
Mai and Naru looked at the doorway to see a blushing Masako and a grinning Rika. "You know," Rika crossed her arms and leaned on the doorway. "We really don't mind if you guys do it but –"
"RIKA!" Mai hissed and blushed. "We weren't doing anything!"
"BUT," Rika just ignored her boss, clearly enjoying her embarrassment. "If you guys decide to play kinky and all that, don't do it when someone's around." She turned around, held Masako's elbow and grinned evilly which brought shivers on Mai's spine. "Especially when you guys decide to use utensils."
Naru just gripped Mai's waist and smirked at Rika. "Understood. Sorry to interrupt your sleep."
Mai felt like fainting right then and there. Rika and Masako left with satisfied grins on their faces while Naru hefted her up and placed her on the countertop. "Stay there. I'll clean this up."
Mai was still blushing like mad. She huffed and crossed her legs, pouting like a child. "Why did you say that!"
"So you're trying to deny that we were doing something?" Mai looked at him and saw that even though his face was sporting no emotions, she could see that mirth dancing in his eyes.
"But we really weren't doing anything!" She denied vehemently, flailing her hands in the air. "And you had to go and agree with Rika!"
He stood up and threw the pieces on the trash. He looked back at her, still smirking like a God. "What is your definition of 'anything' anyway?" He stood in front of her and trapped her, placing both of his hands on either side of her. "Rika didn't specify anything. She was clearly teasing you. So what is 'anything'?"
He looked at her and saw that she was turning into a color that's probably much deeper than red. He grinned victoriously and leaned away. "Ah. As much as I'd like to do that with you –" Mai tried punching him in the chest but Naru caught her fist and kissed her knuckles. "- we can't right now since we're both busy and we have an audience. Thanks for letting me know though." He placed her hand back to her lap and kissed her on her lips. "I'll be back with your slippers. Stay right there."
THAT NARCISSISTIC, EGOTISTICAL, SELF-CENTERED BASTARD!
…
"…I really had no idea what happened next. I turned around just to put the mop on the bucket, when I turned around again, everything single thing in the room was upside down. I didn't even hear a single thing!" A woman with brown eyes and pink hair exclaimed, looking at Naru with fake tears in her eyes hoping to catch his attention who has barely lifted his head up to acknowledge her. Her name was Akiyama Nanami and she was working as a masseuse at the hotel.
Everyone was back on track. Mai was able to tell Naru her experience and her dream and attend her meeting without any trouble, and SPR was interviewing employees from the hotel … and Rika? She's stuck with SPR for the meantime while Mai was in a meeting.
"Is that all?" Naru asked in a seemingly uninterested tone in his voice.
The girl pouted. This guy is ridiculous… "Well, I heard those rapping noises in this floor and on the third floor before. But I figured that it's just couples doing their thing. We get a lot of newly-wed couples here."
"Have you seen the rumoured bloody hand prints?"
The girl shook her head. "No. But I believe it. One time, I was going to the kitchen to get water for my customer who requested one. While I was in the hallway, I saw the head chef bolt out from the kitchens. I asked him what's wrong and he kept on saying 'blood' and 'hands' over and over again. We both checked the kitchen. I didn't see any blood but the kitchen was a total mess."
Naru nodded and scribbled something in his black notebook. "When will we be able to interview your head chef, Akiyama-san?"
The girl instantly glowed all of a sudden. "Oh! He's next. Shall I go get him now?"
Naru just nodded, not bothering to say 'thank you' and 'please'. The girl opened the door and stopped halfway. She looked at Naru. "Ne, Shibuya-san?"
This time, Naru looked up but his eyes were still the same as ever, bored. "What is it?"
The girl gave Naru her version of 'sexy smile' and winked at him. "If you feel tired, or anything at all, I'll be very happy to serve you. Just call me Nanami, by the way." She left the room and went to fetch the head chef.
Back in the base, everyone was quiet. It wasn't an awkward or tense quiet; they just stayed quiet … until Rika, who was writing something in her planner, decided to break the ice.
"She should get braces or something. Doesn't she know that she has crooked teeth? Sheesh…" Rika mumbled, unbeknownst to her that everyone heard what she said.
Naru and Lin cracked an amused smile, John tried to cover his laughter by coughing, Masako covered her evil grin with her handkerchief, and the couple together with Yasuhara just bursted out laughing.
"Now that was cruel Rika-chan." Yasuhara was still snickering behind his hand. "No one could've said that better."
Rika cleared her throat and smirked. "Now now, stop talking children. We don't want the head chef to walk in on us and let him know we were talking about Akiyama-san."
As if on cue, a knock interrupted their conversation and the door opened slightly, revealing a handsome man with blonde hair and amber-colored eyes. Everyone, except Naru and Lin, was quite surprised to see a young man. The handsome man took in the sight of the room. "Uhm," He nervously cleared his throat. "Is Shibuya-san here? It's about the interview."
"Please, have a seat." Naru gestured the couch across from him. The man took a seat and eyed everyone nervously. "State your name and age. Then tell us the things that's been happening around here."
The man gulped before nodding. "My name is Sato Akira, 25 years old. I've been wor –"
"Whoa." Ayako gasped, interrupting Akira. "A head chef at a 5-star hotel and you're still 25 years old. That's amazing."
Akira scratched the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. "Well, thank you."
Naru sighed, feeling slightly irritated that they got interrupted. "Please continue Sato-san."
"Ah, yes, I'm sorry." Akira cleared his throat again. "I've been working here for 3 years already and during those two years, nothing serious ever happened. Just things being misplaced that could easily be blamed by forgetfulness or someone else misplacing it. And then those rapping noises that I hear on the windows, I'd blame it on the windy weather, you know, small rocks possibly blown away by the wind."
"I've heard from Akiyama-san that there was a time you ran from the kitchens because you saw a hand print. Was it you?"
Akira stiffened and fear leaked through his eyes. "Ye – yes. That was me. I – I was cooking dinner for myself. I was alone since it's my job to check if every utensil was in their proper places. Anyway, I was in the storage room, getting ingredients, when suddenly four pieces of eggplant appeared on the floor."
"You didn't hit a cart or a box full of eggplants, Sato-san?" John asked kindly, trying not to offend the person.
Akira shook his head. "No. We have three storage rooms. One storage room was full of canned goods and eggs. The second storage room is where we place the vegetables; the eggplants, carrots, green leaves, everything's in there. Then the third is the freezer, where we place our meat, pork and fishes."
"Maybe someone else left it there?" Masako asked.
Akira shook his head again. "No no. Before everyone leaves, I always check their assigned stations. I'm very strict especially when it comes to the proper storage of food since we serve high-class food." He sighed and leaned against the couch. "I know it's hard to believe but I was in the first storage room. I was just planning to eat canned goods for the night. I was sure that there were no eggplants when I checked before my colleague left."
"What happened after seeing the eggplants?" Naru asked, steering the conversation back so that he can get information.
"I was baffled and scared of course!" Akira raised his voice slightly. "I've been hearing stories from our waitresses and janitors that strange things happen in this hotel. Anyway, I picked them up and decided to wash them. So I went to the sink and … that's where it happened…" His voice softened and quivered a bit. "I was about to wash them when I heard that knocking sound on one of the windows, and it just so happened that it was the one on top of the sink. I – I hesitated in looking up 'cuz everything around me suddenly felt so … cold." He looked down and placed his hands together on his lap. "I don't know what went inside my mind but I checked … and it was like, the hand print was there all the time. Blood was dripping…" His hands were shaking slightly at this point. Bou-san noticed this and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Akira nodded in appreciation and continued. "I turned around and saw that the knives and oven had bloody hand prints too. That's when I ran out from the kitchen and saw Akiyama-san. I told her everything and she told me that we should check again. When we came back, there were no more hand prints and blood but everything was in disarray."
"Were you the one who took the pictures of the bloody hand prints?" Lin inquired. He turned his laptop to face the screen in front of Akira. "Takahashi-san sent us pictures."
Akira denied. "No. Akiyama-san and I reported to Takahashi-sama on the same night. She seemed hesitant in believing us, but she did anyway. A lot of the staff here has been complaining about hearing and seeing weird things."
Naru nodded, quite satisfied with the details that they gathered today. "Was that the only time you've seen the hand prints?"
"I've seen it a lot of times already."
Naru tapped his pen against his notebook. "Do they always appear on the same place?"
Akira blinked. "You mean, on the knives and ovens? Yes."
Naru nodded and looked at Akira. "Is there anything else that you'd like to tell us?"
"I guess you've already heard about those vases falling and furnitures being turned over, even though I haven't really seen those." Akira saw Naru nod. "Well, that's all."
Naru snapped his notebook shut and gave his trademark smile towards Akira. "Thank you for your time Sato-san."
Akira stood up and bowed deeply. "We hope that you'll be able to help us, Shibuya-san." With that, Akira finally left the room.
Silence engulfed the entire room when, again, Rika tore through it. "That was intense." She commented, surprisingly unfazed by Akira's story.
"And here I thought that you'd be crying by now." Yasuhara replied.
Rika just stood up and gathered her papers and her planner. "Would you like to come with me Naru?"
He looked up from his notebook. "You're gonna fetch Mai?"
"Yeah." She looked at her wrist watch. "It's almost 11. They usually have a 2-hour break when their meetings last an entire day. And she needs saving too." Rika grinned.
"Why?"
"You'll see." Everyone answered, except Lin. That raised a lot of questions in Naru's head.
Rika was now standing by the door, waiting for Naru. "So, are you coming?"
…
"See? I told you that she needs saving." Rika grinned. She could feel the irritation waves coming from her left side.
Naru was scowling. Every single man in the conference room was vying for Mai's attention … and he could see through her strained smile that she just wanted to get out. One man, who was probably in his 30's, approached Mai and started talking to her. He had no idea what they were talking about but the man just held his hand out for her to shake. She took it but instead of shaking her hand, he slightly pulled her for a hug. At that moment, he wanted to intervene. But Rika saved her first.
"Mai-san!" Rika called, waving her hand up for her to see.
Naru eyed the man and he could see the slight twitch of his eye for being interrupted. Lecherous men. He thought sourly. He saw Mai's eyes brighten up and instantly said her goodbyes to them. She swiftly walked straight towards them and glowered slightly at Rika, who was still grinning like a baboon. By the time she reached them, she was puffing slightly. "How long have you two been here?"
Rika shrugged, completely ignoring Mai's angry stare. "Long enough to see you almost get groped by that perverted old man."
"And you didn't even bother saving me before that?" Rika just stared at Mai blankly, earning the blonde-haired woman a glare from her boss. "You're impossible…" Mai mumbled and looked at Naru who was still scowling. "Naru, why the long face?"
Now it was Rika's time to roll her eyes at her boss. "Here you are, lecturing me about not saving you from getting sexually harassed although I did call your name before he actually did. And now you ask him why he's angry?"
"Oh…" Mai blushed a little. She took Naru's hand and smiled sheepishly. "Don't take it the wrong way. It's just…" She faltered, not really knowing how to explain.
Naru's facial expression faltered. "You're forgetting something."
Mai inclined her head slightly, looking confused. Naru just sighed. "You're supposed to greet me."
Mai's blush increased a little. "Uhm. Hello Naru."
Rika rolled her eyes while Naru sighed again. Someone help this girl. Rika mused.
Naru shook his head in amusement. "Hello Mai." He leaned down and placed a loving kiss on Mai's lips, long enough to let those lecherous men know that Mai was already taken. He leaned away and saw Mai getting really flustered. He didn't need to look that other people were staring at them.
Mai tugged on Naru's sleeve, refusing to meet his smug face. "Mou, let's go already. I'm tired…"
Naru wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Rika was just following right behind them, grinning like an idiot. Now, if anyone took a picture of that, how do we deal with the media…
…
Now this chapter is quite long. Hahahaha! To be honest, I had a hard time making this chapter. I knew that writing a story for Ghost Hunt would be quite a challenge. All the evidences and history for the haunting should make sense. And there's still Mai's problem that hasn't been tackled. But don't worry, that'll come up soon :] I hope some of you guys will give me tips, or anything helpful. I'll be forever grateful :D
Ciao!
Nana xxx
