Chapter 13: Museum Blues 5

When Mai awoke the sun was streaming through the curtains in her hotel room. The room was empty save for her, but there were signs that both Masako and Ayako had in the room. She sighed, sitting up in bed looking at the attaché case on her bedside. She needed ten more pages to make her publisher happy. Ten pages meant a day of writing, and Mai wasn't sure if she'd ever have another free day for a while.

Regardless she pulled herself from the bed long enough to brush her teeth before her phone rang. "Hello, Mai speaking," she said willing the sleep from her voice.

"Mai, you were supposed to be here three hours ago," an irritated Naru said on the other end. Mai looked over at the clock. 11:45 a.m. stared back at her in glaring red.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Naru. Somebody must have disabled my alarm," Mai said dashing around the room to find shoes.

"Just hurry up," Naru's irritated voice called. Before she could even say goodbye the line had gone dead. Mai said putting the only pair of shoes she could find, her Christian Louboutin pumps. She sighed shoving them on her feet heading out the door.

Naru was waiting for her at HQ when she arrived. Immediately she moved towards the small kitchenette to make him some tea. "Thank you," he said as she set the cup down in front of him.

"You're welcome Naru. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Mai asked looking around the nearly empty base.

"Actually there is Mai," Naru said handing over a fairly thick looking folder, "Read this and give me your thoughts." Mai took the folder moving to sit down in a small armchair on the far side of the room from the computers.

Mai opened the file surveying the first page. The folder appeared to be a personnel file of some sort.

Name: Sato ,Kagami

Age: 25

Sex: F

Area of Work: Nurse, Extreme Emotional Disturbance Ward

Mrs. Kagami is a hard worker willing to push past her private issues to deliver top notch care to patients. However, it was been noted that she has had some difficulty dealing with the female patients….

The file went on for nearly fifty pages, detailing employee reviews, reprimands, and one formal complaint that Mai almost had to read twice.

Complaint Against Employee

Employee Name: Kagami Sato

Occupation: Nurse

Reason for Complaint: Mistreatment of Patient

Details: I visited your asylum to visit my sister, who was admitted by our parents. I arrived and was lead to the ward where my sister resides. I was then left in the visitors' room and told that my sister would be along shortly. I sat in that room for the better part of an hour. When my sister was finally led in Ms. Sato was the one leading her in. Ms. Sato essentially threw my sister in to the room. When I sat down with my sister, she told me that this nurse had not allowed her to use the bathroom in twelve hours, and withheld her food if she caused any problems during the nurses shift…..

Mai stopped reading, rubbing her eyes. "Problem Mai?" Monk asked suddenly appearing behind her.

Mai jumped in her seat. "Monk! I thought I told you to not scare me like that," Mai said looking over her shoulder at Monk.

"Sorry Mai, you looked troubled." Monk said.

"It's this nurse. Something about this woman confounds me," Mai said standing up, making her way over to the microwave for tea.

"Confounds you?" Monk asked looking at Mai as if she had grown three heads. "Yes, confounds me. One minute she seems like a normal human being. The next she comes across like a raving psychopath." Mai said punching the microwaves buttons.

"maybe, there were other issues," Monk said, " You know like an iceberg. You can see some of the issues, but there are hundreds more beneath the surface." Mai looked at him, as the microwave buzeed behind her.

"Monk that's it," she cried throwing her arms around him in a hug. "Did you figure something out," Monk asked now thoroughly confused. "Maybe," Mai said running out of the base towards the rooms with the antique syringes.

Lin and Naru were already there standing over case inspecting each of the syringes.

"Naru, I figured it out." Mai said skidding into the room narrowly avoiding a display case on her left.

"Good for you Mai. What exactly did you figure out?" Naru asked looking at her skeptically. "Why the ghost is haunting the hospital," Mai said. Lin looked at Naru for a second.

"We are working under the assumption this is a multiple haunting," he stated in his usual monotone. Mai stared at him, "Its not, its one ghost. One crazy insane ghost," Mai said.

Naru looked at Mai and saw that she was completely serious. "Lin, have everyone meet back at the base in ten minutes," Naru ordered. Mai released a breath, and turned to head back to base.

"Mai, could you wait just a second," Naru said quietly, softer than his first statement. "Sure Naru," Mai said stopping and turning around. The pair stood there for a minute, as if having a silent conversation before both moved toward the door. Mai stopped short as a case at the far end of the room started to rattle.

"Naru, run," Mai said as she watch the ghostly woman walk through the back wall, picking up a scalpel as she went. "Mai," Naru said stopping as he reached the door.

"Keep going. If you don't I swear I'm not responsible for what happens to you," Mai said taking a second step towards the door. She turned around before Naru could acknowledge he'd heard her. Mai positioned her hands as Monk had taught her long ago, and began to chant. Each step the ghost took forward Mai matched with one of her own step backwards. Mai focused on her mantra, all her will concentrated in her hands, as the spirit moved closer. Mai's back hit the wall startling her out of her trance for just a moment. The brief pause in her speech allowed the ghost to appear directly in front of her. Mai repositioned her fingers into the seal of the immovable one and began to talk.

"Kagami, you need to stop."She started sending a silent prayer that this would work. The ghost slowed, the scalpel mere centimeters from Mai's face. "I understand, that you want revenge on the people who forced you in here, but those people are long dead, none of them can harm you now." The maniacal grin on the ghost's face faltered. "That's right Kagami, listen to my voice. No one here wants to hurt you," Mai said, "They've all gone. Your family misses you. Remember your little sisters, they're waiting for you." The ghost stopped. Her mouth did not move, but Mai could hear her voice in her head.

"Everyone must pay. They are ungrateful for all that I've done. They must repay me in blood." The ghost's grin returned to her face. Mai reached into her pocket removing the black and white photo of a family. The mother and father sat sternly in the background, as five children smiled in front of them, four girls and a boy.

"Kagami, your family is waiting for you on the other side. Just let go and follow the light," Mai pleaded as the blade moved closer to her throat. The ghost spoke again, "My family left me here to die. I worked here, and they thought it corrupted me."

"They didn't do it because of you, Kagami, you know that," Mai said. The ghost shook her head. "I will never forgive them." As if by magic, Mai felt a familiar tingling in the air of the room. A bright light appeared to her left, and Gene stepped from it. He smiled at Mai briefly, the smile leaving his face as he stared the ghost down. In that instant Mai could have sworn that it was Naru come to her rescue. Beside Gene stood a ten year old girl, her arms extended toward the ghost.

"Mari," the ghost asked. The glowing girl nodded, extending her arms to the ghost. "Do you forgive me? I never meant to leave you," the ghost asked. The girl nodded reaching to hug the ghost. Kagami, reach out to the girl, her aura changing from nearly black to a warm yellow as she hugged the little girl close. As the two disappeared, Gene remained.

"Thank you Gene," Mai said as he slowly faded into nothingness. She smiled as she walked down the hall to base.

When she arrived the rest of SPR was sitting or standing around the main table, their eyes fixed on the playback from the encounter she'd just had with the ghost. They turned and looked at her as she entered. "Mai, did you really just purify a ghost all by yourself?" Monk asked her. Mai nodded fighting the light pink blush that slowly spread across her cheeks.

"How did someone of your limited talents manage that?" Masako asked hiding her face behind the sleeve of her kimono. "I learned about out ghost. Naru showed me a picture of the nurses that used to work here. The ghost haunting this place was a nurse that had later been committed to the hospital after she claimed her uncle raped her little sister," Mai explained taking a moment to catch her breath. Everyone looked shocked including Naru.

"I could have sworn this was multiple haunting," Ayako said a little confused. Mai nodded, "It is a multiple haunting. But she was the spirit that kept the others here. She was the only one with truly malicious intentions. She wanted the staff to suffer for not believing her. They went as far as to manufacture complaints against her to make her seem unbalanced beforehand." At this something in Monk's mind clicked.

"That's what you were talking about. The way this woman was written about in file was as if she was two different people," he exclaimed. Mai nodded. "She started the riot as a means of revenge against her former coworkers. When another patient killed her in the madness her rage kept her here until the place was abandoned."

Naru and Lin looked at each other. "Then how did you bring the little girls spirit? How did you know that she was the right one to trigger the change?" Naru asked. "Let's just say I had some help," Mai said a smirk gracing her face.

"Now if you would excuse me, I have a novel to finish." Mai said leaving the rest of SPR to pack up base. As the group began to pack up, Naru slipped out of the museum after Mai. When he reached the hotel room he found her bed made and her bags missing. He sighed, turning towards him own room to pack.

Back at the base, Monk and Ayako shared a look as they realized their fearless leader had mysteriously vanished. They snickered as they continued to pack the last of the extension cords into a cardboard box. Yasu looked over at the pair quizzically before giving up on their little joke and continued on with his work.

Back in Shibuya, Naru knocked on the door of a fancy door, a bouquet of red tulips in hand. As the door opened a tired Mai smiled at the bouquet, whispering a thank you as Naru pushed his way in. "Have you gotten any sleep," he asked looking around the apartment.

Mai shook her head, " not since yesterday." Naru sighed picking Mai up. She struggled for only a few seconds realizing fighting Naru was like fighting a brick wall. He carried her to her bedroom and tucked her in confiscating her phone and laptop. "You are going to bed now Mai. This book is not going to get done if you're half asleep while writing it," he scolded like a mother scolding a child. Mai nodded pulling the covers up to her chin and rolling away from the light. Naru left the room quietly turning off the light as he did so.

In the stillness of the living room, Naru opened Mai's computer, brought up the documents of her novel and began to read…

A/n: Another case has come and gone. And I'm updating again, yay! I hope you enjoyed, please remember to review this chapter and all the other chapters of this story be pressing the pretty little button down below. Hopefully the next case will start before spring arrives in march. If not, I give you premission to find me and skin me alive. -Yoko