A/N: Plot bunnies won't leave me alone, so this story emerges. This is my first attempt at Ghost Hunt Fic.
Title: The Ups and Down in the Life of Taniyama Mai
Pairing: NaruxMai
Summary: Mai is not as ordinary as she appeared to be – she has a secret and a latest case taken by the SPR forces her to lay it out in the open. Follow her as she and the SPR gang carried on in their ghost hunting adventures… Eventual NaruMai.
Disclaimer: Ghost Hunt is not mine, copyright belonged to Fuyumi Ono.
Author's Notes: This case is the hardest to manage, in a way its worst than the Karaoke Suite case...
Chapter 14 – Case 4: A dead pianist's last wish…Part 4
Shinomiya Kaori observed Taniyama Mai from her hidden spot behind a pillar that stood in between the music room hallway and the stairway. The more she thought about the reason the brunette had provided her yesterday afternoon in the music room when the girl stumbled in on her, the fishier it seems to her. First of all, if her memory served her correctly…Taniyama Mai had been holding on to a temperature recording board that afternoon.
If everything the brunette told her was true, then why on earth was there a need to take down temperatures of the rooms within the estate for a filming of a documentary or sort? The only situation that involved the necessity of taking temperature and filming would be for a paranormal investigation scenario. At least, that was the only plausible reason that Shinomiya Kaori could think of. So did her uncle called in some paranormal investigation in to check things out here in this house?
Yes, most likely that would be the case. Shinomiya Kaori gathered…she was no fool; obviously her behaviour over the past few days was freaking her uncle out. Looks like she should informed a certain ghost companion of hers to tone down a little while taking control of her body. The last thing she required now was to have an exorcism conducted on her; the feeling of being sprinkled by holy water was not exactly 'welcomed' to her. Then again, not that she enjoyed the feeling of having to share a body with a ghost either…but at least; she had already established an agreement with the said ghost inhabiting her body.
Initially, she was contemplating on informing the brunette of the situation herself and to get these investigators to stop complicating matters and leave everything aside for her to handle. She was after all, a graduate from the Psychic Stream of Salem Academy. Granted, conducting a séance wasn't on her routine list and her main forte area in psychic field actually lies in Psychometry. Still, her medium ability was not to be underestimated either. Besides, it was not as if she was incapable of handling a séance once in a while time.
Nevertheless, the idea of broaching the subject outright with Taniyama Mai was forced to be discarded once she noticed the brunette's obvious lack of recognition upon sighting her in the music room. Not only that, the brunette had even attempted to feed her some crappy reasons for the outsiders presence in the estate…and if it were not for the fact that she had actually caught sight of the temperature recording board, she might have actually taken Mai's words for it.
With a shake of head, Shinomiya Kaori sighed as she made a move to head upstairs after the figure of Taniyama Mai disappeared down the stairway that led to her family basement where she guessed was used as a investigation base for the group of investigators.
Taniyama Mai burst into the basement of the client's house noisily, successfully in her attempt to gain every member's attention onto her.
"Mai-chan…?" The monk of Mt. Koya cocked his head slightly to the side as he regarded the brunette with a quizzical look apparent in his eyes.
"Mai, what are you doing back down here? I thought you said you wish to retire early?" Ayako questioned.
"Well…I was thinking of surfing the web for a while first, when I chanced upon something that I thought you people should be informed of…so…" Mai responded sheepishly, before beckoning for everyone to take a look at her laptop screen.
"Isn't that Salem Academy's official website? What's so special up there that you wanted us all to be informed of?" Takigawa Houshou inquired, still not getting it.
Mai rolled her eyes and replied. "Take a close look at the column by the left side of the page, under the graduating year 2007. Did you notice the name Shinomiya Kaori up there?"
"Um…yeah, so what's so special about this Shinomiya Kaori?" The monk asked.
"Well duh…Shinomiya Kaori is the niece of our client, Shinomiya Mihato. That, and the fact that this particular list of honorary students was from the Psychic Faculty of the school…Now do you see my point already?" Mai stated flatly.
"Oh…" The light of recognition dawns in on the monk as he echoed weakly.
"Yes, oh…" Mai rolled her eyes at the monk, and shifted her gaze to the other SPR members who have something to say.
"So our client's niece's a psychic, and was a graduate from Mai's old school in the US…anyone want to take a guess on the powers of this Shinomiya Kaori?" Matsuzaki Ayako piped up then.
"…" Upon the end of the self-claimed priestess words, everyone in the room simply rolled their eyes and turned their attention back to their initial task at hand.
"There's no need to guess, I'll just pay her a visit tomorrow morning." Mai said, she had gotten the hint that Shinomiya Kaori might have known her on a personal scale before and hence the possibility of her informing Melissa, the ghost to communicate with her through the use of dreams.
Day 3
Shinomiya Kaori was once again in the music room playing away on the grand piano when Mai entered the music room on the third day of SPR investigation work on site. It seems like the former was expecting her to drop by for a visit, as the music stopped almost immediately upon her entry into the room.
"Good morning, I assume you have questions for me?" Shinomiya Kaori started, taking the initiative to strike up a conversation between them.
"Well…yes, I do have some questions that I hope you could answer." Mai responded, regarding the niece of their client with unwavering gaze.
"Likewise, I have some questions of my own that I wish for you to shed some light onto." Shinomiya Kaori said, gesturing towards the sofa couch situated in the far left corner of the room for Mai to take a seat and make her-self comfortable.
"Right, first of all…last night I was surfing the website of Salem Academy aimlessly when I chanced upon your name on the honorary ranking chart under the Psychics Faculty…so I would like to ask which psychic ability you possess." Mai started hesitantly, inwardly wincing at how awkward this whole situation was. If her gut instincts of Shinomiya Kaori knowing her on personal scale were right, this question would sure strike the former as an odd thing for her to be asking.
"…You know what, why don't you enlighten me on just what exactly had happened to you that resulted in your amnesia situation?" Shinomiya Kaori arched an eyebrow up in expectation as she voiced her doubt across.
Taniyama Mai who had been uneasy since earlier this morning completely froze for a minute, before recovering her ability to react. Her first act was to do a face-palm and then followed by letting out a groan of dread.
"So you did know me from before…"
"Well…?" Shinomiya Kaori prompted, still waiting for Mai to answer her previous question on the memory loss issue.
"I wouldn't say I'm suffering from amnesia, because I do have my memories for the past eighteen years. All I can say is that…there's a block in a portion of my memory, specifically relating to events that took place around three years ago. I can remember the important events that took place in that year with no problem, but when it comes down to specific details…I'm afraid I'm at a loss here. The memories during that period of time were all jumbled up, so I guess I should apologized for not being able to recognize you at first glance. And before you ask, I had no idea how my memories ended up in such a condition…" Mai said, explaining the reason behind her lack of recognition of the girl when they had met up in this very room on the first day of the SPR investigation.
"I see…okay, to answer your previous question. My main forte area or rather my specialization was in the fields of psychometry but I'm also an adequate medium. I can sense and detect ghosts' presence if I want to; my spiritual level weren't exactly those high notches ones… so I usually won't bother to 'look' for their specific presence in a place. Unless, I had the misfortune to touch an object in which the ghost was actually haunting…" Shinomiya Kaori said, while Mai flicked her gaze automatically to the piano's direction.
"Oh…okay, so you've already established an agreement with that ghost haunting the piano?" Mai asked, despite having already gotten the notion from her earlier dream pertaining to that particular ghost.
"Yes, I promised to play her intended piece for my own impending competition so to finish off her last wish in order to let her move on." Kaori nodded in confirmation to the brunette's words.
"Ah…so that's the reason for the 'Moonlight Sonata'…" Mai commented, the light of realization dawning in on her now.
"So are you going to let her take control of your body on the actual day of competition in order to let her finish off her unfinished business or sort?" Mai asked, sounding quite curious to know Kaori's intention.
"Well…that's what I promised her, but only on the day of competition it-self and also I limited the number of times in which she could seize control of my body to practice for the piece to once a day, no more than that." Kaori said in a firm tone of voice.
"…And she obeyed?" Mai inquired, rather sceptically.
"She has no choice but to obey, especially with you people around. I threaten to have her exorcise if she overstep her boundaries." Shinomiya Kaori claimed.
"Very cunning of you to do that…" Mai commented then, shaking her head at the former words.
Shinomiya Kaori's response to Mai's comment was a mere shrug of the shoulders, while Mai lingered on for a little while longer to chat about something else outside of the case. Specifically, Mai had inquired the former on the circumstances that led to their knowing one another. Shinomiya Kaori had responded that they were working together on a joint-project between the school's different faculties, Mai was not told of the specifics aside from the fact that it was supposed to be a reception session to welcome some guests from the Britain side.
"It wouldn't by chance have anything to do with the BSPR, was it?" Mai felt it in her to ask, the moment she heard the term 'Britain'…this was the first thing that sprang forth to her mind.
"I think so, but I can't remember exactly. Sorry, it's been ages already… but I do remember there's a very nice and good looking guy from that group of visitors." Shinomiya Kaori said, while Mai sweat dropped and thought – it definitely had something to do with BSPR and Gene…
"Right, I better get going…I still need to fill my co-workers in on the information which I've gotten from you. Speaking of which, do you still want us to hang around here until the competition day or…?" Mai started, making a move to stand and leave the place only to turn and asked before stepping out from the door.
"Although, I have things under control on my side… but you guys are welcome to stay on if you people wants to."
"Okay…I'll be sure to pass the message along to my boss, see you later then." With that, the brunette excused herself from Kaori's Company and headed down towards the basement where the investigation base was being situated.
In the end, Naru decided to stay and observed the situation for another day before packing up and go. Before leaving the place, Naru assured the client that they will be there on the competition day to supervise the situation and to ensure that the ghost had moved on to its afterlife by the end of the event.
On the day of the competition, only John, Lin, Naru and Mai turn up for the event. John was asked to be present for the event in case something went wrong, and the ghost refuses to move on after having her last wish before dying fulfilled.
"So are you ready?" Mai inquired, once she met up with Shinomiya Kaori minutes before the former was scheduled to be on stage for the performance.
"Yes, I'm always ready for a show… and I do try not to think about the outcome every time I do something like that." The elder girl responded before making her way backstage to join the rest of the performers whom are waiting in line for their turn to be called on.
'Melissa, do remember your part of the bargain.' Shinomiya Kaori kindly reminded as she allowed the ghost inhabiting her to take over prior to her moving out from backstage to the front where the piano was situated.
'Of course...' The voice of the ghost sounded in Kaori's mind, before claiming all control of the body. Moments later, the tune of Beethoven's infamous 'Moonlight Sonata' was heard clearly throughout the event hall.
The four SPR members watched on in silent anticipation once the music piece comes to an end, while it may not be visible to the general public. The four of them could clearly see a faint glow of light surrounding the possessed person, before a white mist was plunge out from the person's body.
"Thank you." Shinomiya Kaori heard clearly before a warm golden light enveloped the white misty human apparition, and then the ghost-like figure of Melissa was no more.
Both Shinomiya Kaori and Mai were glad that the ghost had chosen to leave before the winner for the event was announced. They both knew with the ambitious nature of the ghost…and if Melissa had lingered on long enough to hear the winner's name. There might be high chance of the ghost not leaving at all…so all in all, they were quite relieved to find that the ghost of Melissa had stick to her end of the bargain, leaving upon the end of the competition piece being played.
With that, the case was considered closed for good and Mai hurried to exchange contact information with Shinomiya Kaori before leaving the event place with the SPR members. Although, she had no previous memories of how she had gotten to know Shinomiya Kaori…but there might be a lingering sense of the forgotten friendship lurking in the back of her mind, hence causing Mai's subconscious to make the decision to keep the girl around.
Meanwhile in the astral plane that was surrounded by ever lasting darkness and wills o the wisps, a certain Davis twin was fretting. Two steps away lay an abandoned pocket size mirror that he had last used to communicate with his younger twin, Noll. It has been some time since he had shown himself in front of a certain brunette, and while he still guided Mai's dreams on routine basis…it seems like he had taken refuge in the shadows refusing to head outside of his comfort zone to meet the girl heads on. Instead, he had settled for pulling the strings from the background.
Taniyama Mai may not be real smart, but she was no fool either. The brunette had already sensed his reluctance to let certain things in on her, and that he was trying his best to wriggle out from any form of confrontation. He knew he was merely prolonging the inevitable, but still he could not help it. There was no need to doubt Mai's reaction upon finding out how he had died; the girl would break down for sure. Then again, he supposed he could not blame the girl…the feeling was bad enough upon his own twin who finds things out using psychometry.
Mai, on the other hand, had practically witnessed the whole situation happening in front of her very eyes just because of a certain psychotic stalker which she had had the misfortune to attract to her at some point of her life back in the US. That stalker of hers had started tailing her everywhere she goes while she was still in the US, and then later on even attempted to follow her back to Japan. Everywhere that she went, she would somehow cross path with that creepy guy stalker one way or another.
Mai eventually managed to evade that creep's detection by roping in one of her friends to pose as her by getting a ticket for Hokkaido whereas her real self head for Tokyo, Japan instead. Before her departure from US though, she had rang him up for help and he upon receiving the call had flew over to Japan and meet up with the girl as soon as possible.
Gene knew his death was no ordinary incident and it had nothing to do with his reputation of being Eugene Davis either. The so-called incident that ultimately caused his death was a set-up ploy to target Mai; it was a warning from that stalker to the brunette that she would never be able to escape from him. It had to be the case since it was too much to be considered as a coincidence for Mai to be around the vicinity when he was first rammed over by the approaching car, and then stashed into the car trunk before finally being dumped into the lake to drown to his death.
That creep had paid someone to do his dirty deed, and then make sure to have the brunette watch from the sideline. Before he fell unconscious he had heard the driver that rammed him down on the road muttering an apology for what he was going to be doing to him later. The rest he knew no more, since he was completely out of it then. By the time he came to, he was already choking under water and eventually was drowned to his death.
The next time he regain consciousness, he was already in the astral plane where he met up with the brunette again. However, when he heard Mai's address of him…he knew, something must have happen after his 'death' that eventually caused the brunette's memory loss. Though sadden by the fact that his friend had no longer remembered him, he was glad that Mai was alright and safe from harm, generally to say.
Not wanting to risk upsetting the girl, Gene dutifully played the role of the brunette's guide in dreams while pretending to be his younger twin. While there had been times and occasions which Gene was tempted to have his friend back… the idea of wiping the cheerful smile off the brunette's face had him halted in his act.
However, with the recent way of how Mai was interacting with him…he found himself worrying of what might happened if the girl were to remember the events leading up to his death. Even if Mai still show no signs of recalling these events yet, who was to say the same for sure that she won't be prompted into remembering once someone else accidentally let it slipped to her of how he actually died. The more Gene pondered on the issue, the more vexed it becomes for him.
'Damn…now I'm even feeling the onslaught of a migraine to come when I'm quite certain that ghosts aren't supposed to be suffering from migraine.' Eugene Davis thought with an exasperated sigh of breath.
Date started: 8/3/2013
Date completed: 10/3/2013
P.S: I hope the last portion of this chapter managed to shed some light into what happen to Mai's memory being missing, and clued some of you in the actual extent of how Gene and Mai's relationship is like :P
Once again, please do read and review! : D