The Lost Woman 2

Shinto Temple

Hallway (Naru's POV)

"Lin there is something bothering me." Naru looked at his assistant, hidden disturbance masked well from his monotone face.

"Go on." Came the reply as Lin as he turned to look at him.

"It's about the place itself. Something is off about the way that Ms. Hara didn't say anything about any spirits being around. Do you think we are dealing with something more dangerous than a normal spirit?" Naru muttered, his eyes staring straight forward as they walked. On the corner of his eye, he saw his assistant turned to face forward as well, thinking expression on.

"It's a possibility. The fact that the woman was appearing then disappearing is odd itself. Plus, the shinto temple feels oddly eerie. I can assume that there is a more dangerous entity or whatever it is can be hiding its appearance." Lin finally answered. Naru nodded and remained quiet, thinking about the reasoning and how dangerous that spirit could be. Something about the shinto temple seemed off. He spiraled towards another room and began checking for any signs of paranormal activity. Lin stayed behind his back as usual. Both of them froze when they heard a voice behind them.

"...H...H..elp..." It sounded like a woman's voice. Naru turned to look at Lin who in turned looked back at Naru.

"Did you hear that?" Naru wondered. Lin nodded. It then came again but clearer this time.

"...Get...out...of here..." Naru blinked. Deciding to attempt to communicate with the spirit, he rose his voice a little.

"What do you mean? And who are you?"

"...He...will...destroy you all..." The voice answered."...And...he has...eyes on...that red...haired...gi...rl..."

Naru's eyes went wide before narrowing."We are here on an investigation. We won't be leaving until the place is cleansed."

"...No...too...po...wer...ful..." Naru and Lin exchanged looks at each other before thinking about the current situation. Naru then spoke again.

"What is that man's name?" But the voice did not answer. From what Naru interpreted, whoever warned them about a certain man, she must have finished talking. He heaved a sigh and turned towards Lin.

"What do you suggest we should do then?"

"I think we should keep a more close watch on Mai. We are lucky we left Gene in base. Otherwise, the risk of her being targeted is higher." Lin sighed dramatically.

"I suppose so. We should not have her sleep alone tonight then. We'll have to have another person sleeping with her. Namely, one of the girls. Either Ms. Matsuzaki or Ms. Hara." Naru headed out of the room and back towards base. Lin nodded.

"Right." Was all his assistant said as they continued walking.

Current Base (Mai's POV)

~Dream~

Mai opened her eyes and looked around. She was in the astral plane again and there were many spirit forms floating around the plane. She began to wonder what brought her here again.

"Is this another dream I'm having?" She said out loud. Deciding to walk around to see what she would meet, she began to walk forward, looking around as she did. It wasn't long before she stepped into a scene. She was in the shinto temple again and she found herself clothed in miko clothes. She blinked, surprised and moved towards a nearby window to look at herself. She was herself but her hair was bundled in a kimono style.

"Ah. Aries. So there you are." Came a man's voice. Mai found herself turning towards the man. The man had a black cloak on and hood down. His hair was shaggy, going to his shoulders and was the color green. His face was a little square and his eyes a hazel brown.

"What brings you here?" Mai asked, rather coldly. The man chuckled.

"I'm here to give you a present. Don't you remember? It's our first anniversary together." The man replied soothingly. Mai found herself glaring at the man.

"I'm not interested in any of your presents." She snapped and began to stalk away. She felt the man grab her by the arm. She tried to fight it but the man's grip was too strong.

"You made a promise remember? That you will behave in order to keep your sister alive." The man said, some coldness in her tone. Mai found herself no longer resisting and her body going limp.

"Alright. What present did you get for me?" She asked, exasperated and weary. She turned back towards the man. The man grinned and pulled out a small box.

"Happy 1st Anniversary." He said. Mai took it and teared it open. She then opened the lid. Inside, was a necklace with a purple gem attached to it. She was surprised and pulled it out slowly. The moment she touched it, Mai found herself back in the astral plane again. She blinked at the vision she had.

"What was that vision just now?" She asked out loud. She was floating around aimlessly and something told her that the vision was important. Very important. She knew she'll have to tell Naru soon. Soon, she felt herself being pulled out of her dream.

~End of Dream~

Mai let out a soft groan before her eyes fluttered. She then opened her eyes fully and looked around. She was back in base. Her body had slumped towards the desk that Naru used for talking to people or giving interviews. Provided by the mikos in the temple. She sighed and stretched, shaking her head in process.

Why did I fell asleep again? Yeeesh. Naru would have scolded me if he saw me like this. Mai thought, slightly pouting at the thought. She saw Gene had been staring out the window of base, what seemed like deep in thought. She looked over at Gene with a bright smile.

"I didn't know you were sticking around." She said, just to bring up a conversation. Gene looked over at her after a brief moment and smiled.

"I won't have you leaving without Naru yelling at me for no good reason." Gene replied cheerfully. Mai laughed.

"That's Naru for you." It was good to have Gene around. He always found a way to lighten up the mood even at times when it was serious. Gene just laughed just when Naru and Lin came back. She looked towards their direction and noticed that Naru was thinking. Even his face seemed like he was thinking and hard. She blinked at that and got up from her seat.

"What's up Naru? Something bothering you?" She asked, walking over to him.

"It's nothing you need to be bothered at the moment." Came his reply. Mai did a huff at him and crossed her arms, turning her head away.

"Fine. Be that way." She snapped and headed towards the sofa before slumping into it. In the background, Gene was chuckling about this. Mai shot a devilish glare at Gene. The twin immediately stopped laughing and put his hands up in innocence. Mai decided it was best if she went to cool off her head and rose from her seat heading for the door. A hand grabbed Mai's hand. She turned around to glare at Naru.

"What now?" She asked, annoyed.

"Have one of us accompany you." Came his reply. Her eyes narrowed.

"I want some time alone. I don't need to have any of you to accompany me." She snapped and shook her hand off from Naru's grip, opened the door and stormed out. At the same moment, Monk and Ayako came by when they saw Mai storm off.

"Yo Mai. What's with the big give up? Did Naru blow your cover again?" Monk asked. Mai snorted.

"Yes, that big arrogant he-thinks-he's-almighty of a jerk." Mai retorted. Monk sighed.

"Want me to come along?"

"If you don't ask anymore of what just happened in base." Mai stared sternly at Monk. Monk rose his hands up in the air.

"Alright. I'll keep quiet about it." He vowed. Mai turned around and stalked off without another word. Behind her, Monk tailed along and shaking his head while he followed. Mai didn't mind Monk's company. All she needed to do is to get away from the bighead Narcissist. She needed to clear her head and not get rival up by that big jerk.

He thinks he's all so mighty and high up, I swear...The next time he does that again I'll give him a piece of my mind. Mai bellowed her thoughts out as she headed for the outside with a sighing Monk behind her.

Current Base

After the argument...(Lin's POV)

Lin watched from his position as he saw Mai storm off and headed out the door. He sighed quietly and looked at the twin brothers. Gene seemed to be bothered by something, while Naru just headed back to the monitors to do a frequent check-up. He didn't know what became of that girl. She has quite a mood sometimes, especially when it comes to Naru. He remained standing where he was as he wondered why Mai was in such a bad mood after Naru came in. Then again, Mai is Mai.

"Jeez, Noll. You really blew it this time." Gene mumbled at the young boy. Lin nodded, not wanting to speak yet.

"It's not her fault that she would have to be so angry at me. She would have waited when I was going to tell her." Naru said back, stoically. Lin shook his head.

"I still object for blowing her cover. You could have made things worse otherwise." Gene argued.

"As I said, it's not my fault." Naru spoke plainly.

"Sometimes, Noll, you are a bit too arrogant for your own good." Gene mumbled before slumping on the sofa. Lin rolled his eyes and headed out the window, looking out. What bothered him is how the woman's voice was speaking about towards the both of them. Also, the way how Naru was bothered about the place told him that whatever sinister is hiding in here is not going to be an easy entity to deal with. He just hope Naru would know how to fix and turn things around a bit. Just then, he heard the door open and Ayako walked in, grumbling.

"Where is Takigawa?" Naru spoke up, and through his side vision, the boy didn't take his eyes off the screen.

"With Mai. Did you make her angry again?" Ayako inquired, glaring a bit.

"She was just angry for nothing." Naru replied and typed away on the monitors.

"Well, you made her angry enough to storm out on you! What kind of man are you!? Making a lady angry is unacceptable! You should have apologized to her for what you did instead for her to storm off like that!" Ayako snapped at him. Lin just kept quiet. He didn't want to interfere with whatever is going on. He could tell the boy was remaining quiet about this. Gene sighed and got up.

"Ayako, leave him alone. I think he caught your message." Gene said, looking at her. Ayako huffed and headed on the sofa and slumped there. Lin sighed and continued looking out the window, thinking. He heard Gene sighed in exasperation and slumped to his seat. Lin decided to look up something on his laptop and headed towards where his laptop rested and began typing away on it, focused on it. He just hoped that Mai would be able to think over and get it over with. That way, they won't have to hear about this argument for awhile.

After awhile of typing away on his laptop, he noticed Naru rising from his seat. Lin, out of automatic response, rose with him but Naru shot a glare at him. Lin could tell it meant that the boy needed some time alone, possibly try to comfort Mai again. He sighed and sat back down again and resumed typing away on his laptop. Yet, it still bothered him what the boy was thinking right now. Gene didn't seem to mind him leaving so Lin just brushed the idea off from his head. He knew that if the twin agreed with Naru, then there is nothing much to worry about. Lin sighed and continued typing away, muttering about his own concern about the boy.

Out In the Forest

Ayaka Forest (Mai's POV)

Mai slumped down onto a nearby log, letting out a soft sigh. She had found a place to finally rest and get some time to clear her own head. Monk had followed her for sometime until the sudden disappearance. It was odd. She would have swore that Monk was following her the entire time. It was only when she reached this part of the forest was where she lost sight of Monk. Talk about irony. She snorted softly at the idea and remaining sitting down, her back slightly hunched over and in a thinking pose. She was thinking about the case and about her true heritage family. Whatever that is, anyway.

"Mai..." Came a soft, whispery voice, almost blending well with the wind. She froze from her spot and looked around.

"W-Who's there!?" She called out, finding her voice was trembling a little. No answer. Mai's heart began to beat a little faster, slightly scared of who it could be.

"Can...you...hear me?" Came the voice again. She again froze but momentarily. She swallowed her fear the best she could and tried again.

"Yes! I can hear you! Who are you!?" She called out. She swore she heard a sigh escaping the voice's lips, blending so perfectly with the wind it was almost scary.

"Aries..." Came the reply. She gasped.

"Your the woman in my dream!" She exclaimed.

"Yes..."

"Why aren't you making your appearance to me?"

"...If he...find out...I'll...not be here...right now..."

"Who's this man?"

"...Be watchful...of him...he's coming for you...soon..." Mai blinked.

"Come for me...?"

"Yes..."

"Who is this man anyway?" She asked, her eyes narrowed. No answer from the woman, Aries. She was surprised. Why didn't she answer her back? Is she finished with her warning? Is that it? Or did she didn't bother answering because the man was a very dangerous man? She didn't know but she wasn't about to give up anyway. She was about to call out again when she suddenly felt a shiver down her spine. It was no ordinary feeling either. It was a feeling where you are being watched or something evil and sinister was about to attack, about to strike. Mai stiffened her posture. She twirled around to look behind her. Nothing. She frowned. Something told her that something bad was about to happen. Deep down in her gut, she knew that.

The area around her began to drop in temperature. She hugged herself and shivered. The sudden temperature drop was getting pretty cold and she didn't really know if there was a ghost present and haunting her or if someone else another creature is scaring her off with the temperature drops and whatnot. She can only hope help could come. The thought of being alone made her feel lonely and out of place. When did that Narcissist jerk go when she needed him the most? He was almost unpredictable on his actions and it was really starting to get to her nerves. Plus, she was scared the daylights out of her. She sighed.

An unexpected horrifying laughter made her froze in her spot and the ends of her hair stood on end. She looked around again with wide eyes as she tried desperately to detect where that sudden laughter came from. The laughter had stopped laughing by then but the temperature still remained in a cold temperature. Mai continued shivering under her thin layer of jacket. Why was she out here in the first place anyway? She couldn't really remember. The icy coldness was fogging her mind, not making her even think straight at all.

"Mai!" Came a sudden distant call. Was she dreaming? No, it sounded too real to be true. She shook her head and pinched herself awake only to resulting her to let out a sharp yelp. She blinked.

So I'm really not dreaming at all after all! She thought, a light blush began forming on her cheeks. She was actually flustered. Her favorite Narcissist had came for her rescue! Just as she predicted, Naru came into view through the bushes, with a worried look on his face although it wasn't very readable at first. She smiled at him.

"Naru!" She said almost in shrill excitement.

"How did you get this far out in the open?" Came the demand from Naru. Mai flinched at his tone.

"W-Well...I wanted to calm myself down so Monk came along with me. I didn't know that Monk was no longer walking with me." Mai said nervously. Naru sighed.

"He lost you about an hour ago." Naru said dully,"And we have been finding you ever since then." Mai's eyes went wide before huffing.

"Well sorry for being so careless, you beat-hot headed jerk!" Mai snapped, folding her arms to her chest.

"In any case, we should be heading back. The others are worried anyway." Naru said and turned his back towards her. Mai grabbed Naru by the arm.

"Wait. I think I should tell you something before we head back." Mai said, her tone soft. Naru turned to look at her. That was the signal that Mai should go on about what she was about to say.

"Well.." She paused then began to explain about the meeting with the ghost moments ago and the odd feeling of being watched before Naru stepped in for the rescue. As she explained, she noticed the look on Naru's face. First it was of slight monotone then it came to a harden expression. That expression remained harden for the rest of the explanation. Once Mai was done, Naru grabbed her hand and began bringing her back to the direction where the shinto temple was. Mai was surprise and stumbled to catch up.

"What's with the big deal?" Mai exclaimed with surprise.

"Bringing you back to base. You are not to leave our sight again. You hear me?" Naru said in a sharp tone which Mai was surprised. She then had a worried expression.

"Naru..." She said softly.

"Just...would you please not leave without someone accompanying you?" Naru asked, his tone soften a little but not a lot. It seemed like Naru was pretty agitated about all this. Mai sighed.

"Fine." She said rather worried but with obedience. She then followed Naru back to base through the now dense forest.

To be continued...


Dear Readers,

Thank you for your great support on this story! I'm have been trying very hard to work on this story the best I can but time has been taking me up from writing this chapter up and uploading frequently! I'm really sorry about that! Anyway, it would be appreciated if you continued doing reviews so it would motivate me to write more!

Update soon!

Icestar123