Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the anime/manga Ghost Hunt
Mai's POV
"Mai, can you hear me?" I heard a slightly frantic voice calling. I groaned and lifted my hands up to rubbed my eyes. My head was pounding and when I opened my eyes, I was blinded for a second. I heard a sigh of relief and when I could finally see, I found that my head was cradled in Lin's lap while I laid across the couch.
"K-Koujo…what happened?" With the help of the Chinese man's hand, I sat up slowly, making sure I didn't get too dizzy. I shifted and was sitting normally on the couch.
"You were going to get the honey from the kitchen when you passed out. You've been out for about ten minutes now." His face looked worried as he said that. I tried to concentrate on what had happened but I couldn't really get anything.
"Ugh, I can't remember anything after Naru asking why I hadn't added any honey to his tea." I groaned in frustration. Lin gently grasped my hand and I looked at him, a small smile forming.
"It's okay. Give it some time. We'll figure out what happened." Koujo said and I nodded, reassured by his words. Both of our heads turned, though, when we heard the office door open and a young teenager came in, looking about sheepishly. Then she met our eyes and gave a small smile.
"Am I interrupting a lunch break?" Her hair was black and went about two inches past her shoulders. She had a natural glow to her face and she was in a school uniform that was blue and white.
"No, you're not interrupting." I stood from the seat and headed over to her. "I'm Taniyama Mai. How may Shibuya Psychic Research help you today?"
"I'm Kagami Natsu, and I was hoping you could help me." The young teen said. I walked her to my desk and she sat in the chair in front of it while I sat behind the desk. I pulled out all of my needed materials and then looked at her.
"Please explain your case, Kagami-san." I stated to her. She didn't seem too distraught, which seemed like a good sign.
"Half a year ago, my little sister was murdered. She was seven years old and was walking home from school with our step-dad and she had gotten lost from his sight. We had search parties going for weeks but her body never was found." I nodded my head, encouraging her to keep going. "Well everything was pretty quiet while the search parties went, but when they stopped a month after there was no progress, things started to get weird at my house. Okay, my little sister's room has been closed ever since the searching stopped and it sounds like someone is playing with toys in there. My family and I are too scared to go inside and find out what is happening in there. Also I'll be doing things and will see out of the corner of my eye, my little sister just sitting beside me, crying. I can kind of make out that she's bruised and had blood on her. I think there might be dirt too but I'm not sure."
"May I have your little sister's name?" I asked when she had paused and started to get a lost look in her eyes.
"Oh, yes, you may. Her name was Mikazuki." It brought Kagami-san's attention back to the matter at hand. "Also, when I will be in my bed, trying to go to sleep, I'll hear her crying for help but it always sounds so muffled or sometimes her cries will stop. Not just abruptly, though, but as if she's being choked into stopping. My mother says she hears them and we both can't take it anymore and would like help."
"Have you called in a priest to maybe help Mikazuki's soul move on?" I asked and she gave a nod.
"We've actually had three priests come in to help her move on but it didn't work. She just continued with her cries. We were hoping you could find out how to help her move on." Natsu explained and I nodded my head.
"I hope you don't mind waiting here for a moment while I go ask my boss about your case." I smiled at her and she gave a small smile back. Quickly I headed into Naru's office and he gave me a look.
"Someone brought in a case. I was wondering if you would take a look at it." I placed my notes on his desk and he looked over them. Then he nodded and I hurried out to the client.
"Kagami-san, if you would follow me please." The young teen stood up and headed into Naru's office and sat down. I sat beside Natsu, which Naru didn't seem to mind, and the young woman gave me a kind smile. Then she proceeded to reiterate her case to my boss, to which he sat quietly through. Once she was done, he proceeded to contemplate it through again and gave a slight nod again.
"We'll take your case, Kagami-san. Please have room ready for my employees and I. We'll need at least two rooms, three if you could provide them. One of the rooms needs to have many outlets. This won't be a problem for you, will it be?" Naru asked and Kagami-san shook her head.
"We can only provide you with two rooms, though. Will that be alright?" She politely asked, to which Naru nodded his head. Then she wrote down her information and I walked her to the door.
"I hope this isn't imposing of me, but you seem to be at ease with the fact your little sister died." I said quietly and she gave me a serene smile.
"I am. I do not know what kind of death she suffered, but to know that you will be able to take her out of her suffering, that puts me at complete ease." Natsu explained and I blushed a little at her compliment of the company.
"You place a lot of trust in us." I stated and she nodded her head, her expression suddenly serious.
"I have a feeling about you all, and this place. It puts me at ease and gives me something to believe in. I trust fully that you will be able to rid my little sister of her suffering." Kagami-san then placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and looked me right in the eye. "Please take great care of her when you meet her, Taniyama-san."
I could only blinked with wide eyes and nod my head. She then turned and left the building, leaving me standing there confused and slightly shaken up. I wasn't quite sure what she meant by her parting words but I had a feeling she knew of my psychic powers and that she knew I would be the one to contact her younger sister and bring her to the afterlife. I could only hope that somehow I would be able to do just that for her.
I gave a slight shake of my head and turned back to my desk. I was still a little shaken up when I sat down and for a long while I just stared at my desk. A lot of strange things were occurring in this one day and it felt so overwhelming but also just very out of place. First the nightmare, then my apparent fainting spell, and now a client who seems to know what I can do when she'd yet to see it. It wore me out slightly and so I just laid my head down on my desk and closed my eyes.
"Mai." Naru's voice made me lift my head slowly, giving a slight yawn and blinking. I gave a small shake of my head and looked around, noticing the light in the room. It was much brighter outside, which told me I had slept until noon.
"Yes, Naru?" I yawned out and he just rolled his eyes at me. I stuck my tongue out, making him give me a blank stare.
"Do you remember anything from before you passed out?" He was leaning against the door way casually but he was serious about his question. I felt a slight skip in my heartbeat at the sight of him, because I still was physically attracted to him, but I let it go because emotionally I was over the young man.
"The only thing I can remember is…" I stopped as I heard a slight whisper in my head. Naru's face only changed slightly. He became more focused on my face but said nothing to interrupt me. I focused my energy on the voice whispering inside my head and could hear a young girl's creepy voice. "…A little girl's voice. I remember a little girl's voice."
"What just happened, Mai?" Naru asked me and I focused again because suddenly the words were clearer.
"I told you? What are you talking about?" I asked out loud, because I could hear the young girl's voice telling me she told me so. Then suddenly I smelled honey and groaned as the urge to throw up happened.
"Mai?" Naru came over to my desk but I didn't respond to him as I was trying to let the nausea pass. After a moment, I looked at him and gave a weak smile.
"I'm okay. I just suddenly remembered some of the things from right before I passed out. There was a little girl telling me that she told me and suddenly there was the taste of honey in my mouth, and way too much at that. It made me sick but I'm not sure why that caused me to pass out. I think, though, that the little girl, who keeps talking to me, took the honey out of your tea. I don't know how, or why, but I just have this feeling that it was her who took your honey." I explained. My boss's eyebrow had slowly risen as I had spoken.
"She keeps talking to you?" His question was slow and enunciated and I gave a sheepish smile.
"Well that's what I was focusing on just a second ago. The little girl was talking to me. Or at least it sounds like a little girl. I can't see her but I somehow feel she's connected to the nightmare I had this morning." I explained and he nodded his head while going back into his office. I stood from my desk and stretched, popping my joins and yawning.
"I see you woke from your nap." I blushed and turned to find Lin leaning against the wall looking at me. He gave me a small smile that was comforting and walked over to me. "So a little girl is making you pass out?"
"I guess so." I shrugged because I honestly had no clue. I felt Koujo grasp my hand and give it a gentle squeeze, to which I gave one back.
"We'll figure it out, I promise." His voice was calm and did have a soothing effect on me. I gave him a grateful smile.
"So what have you been doing while I napped?" I asked, in a better mood. He shrugged and led me to his office by the hand, making me blush for some reason.
"I've been seeing if I could find anything on Kagami-san's little sister but nothing but news reports has shown up. When I looked up their last name, nothing substantial came up. One of Kagami-san's mother's friend blogged that the client's mother had gotten remarried and that the reception was amazing. Nothing more was said about the family. It seems they aren't a largely known family, which is a bit of a problem but not too much." Koujo gave me a soft smile.
"We'll be able to solve this, I'm sure." I smiled but then remembered what the girl had said to me, which put a slight frown on my face. Koujo's smile went instantly from happy to a worried look.
"Is everything okay, Mai?" Lin's voice was worried.
"Yeah, except that Kagami-san had said something really weird to me before she left." He waited for me to continue and I remembered back to it. "She looked me right in the eyes and told me 'Please take great care of her when you meet her, Taniyama-san.' It was almost like she was telling me she knew I was psychic. It made me feel a little strange."
"As it should, it sounds rather curious I might say. How about you stay in my office for now?" Lin offered and I nodded my head and was about to gather my things but he didn't let go of my hand.
"Koujo…is everything okay?" I quirked an eyebrow at him and he laughed a little.
"Yes, everything is quite alright. You've just had me worried since this morning." My heartbeat sped up at her said that as if it were the most normal thing in the world. It made butterflies erupt inside of my stomach and I let out a small giggle, making him look at me with questioning eyes. I just blushed and gave a weak smile and he let go of my hand. I nearly wobbled out of his office to go gather my things because his words had made me weak-kneed at how giddy they made me.
Quickly I gathered my things and was about to gather paperwork when I realized there was none to be gathered. I found that rather odd but shrugged and headed back into Lin's office again. I set my things down and got comfortable in one of the chairs in his office. I glanced about and then noticed some pages on his desk and gave him a reproving look.
"What is it?" The Chinese man once again gave me a questioning look, so I glanced down at the papers and back at him. For once he gave me a sheepish look and slid the papers to the side. "You were sleeping. I figured I'd get your work done while I could."
"You know I could have done it once I woke up." I was sitting across from him and he reached out and grasped my hand.
"Mai, you already do enough work for all of us. It's alright to take a break every once in a while." Lin explained to me. I shook my head.
"Most of the time I just do simple secretary work. It's no big deal and I don't even mind doing it." I protested and he gave a sigh.
"That's not what I meant Mai." Koujo pulled his hand from mine but we sat there a moment. "How about we work on your English?"
"But I'm not even in high school anymore. And I plan to stay in the paranormal for the rest of my life, so I get enough training from Naru and you. I passed English." I grumbled to him but stopped once I realized he was giving me an amused look.
"Mai, just because you have a job now doesn't mean you should slack in your studies. The state may have said that you can be done learning all of the basics once you leave school, but I know you have the capability to learn much more. And English is a much needed language in today's world. What if Naru and I were to go to England and take you with us? How would you communicate besides the basics if you stop learning English?" I gave a huff and nodded my head and he gave a victory smirk. Then we proceeded to sit there for many hours and work on my English skills. Naru didn't even once ask for me to bring him tea.
A/N: Oh my gosh, guys! I'm so sorry for taking forever with this chapter. It seems writer's block likes to hit me a lot. But I have the next few chapters planned out and I hope to get on a roll with this story! Hope you enjoyed this chapter and are excited for the case to come. Oh, and yes, there' more to the nightmare Mai had but you'll have to wait for it.
