Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or its characters
I shot up from where I was laying and looked to find myself on the couch in the base room. Everyone was in there and Ayako was the first to my side when I woke. I pushed her away, along with everyone else, rushed to the window and looked outside to between the two buildings and right at where the doll had been in my dream. It was difficult to see due to the fact it was now raining quite hard.
"She is buried out there! I saw it in my dream! We have to help her!" I whipped around to look at the others in the room. They looked a little quizzical but nodded their heads.
"We can contact the police and they will pull up her body." Naru turned to Lin and started talking but inside of me something was screaming for me to go and get Mikazuki now. I rushed past everyone and swung open the door and hurried down the stairs. But before I could reach the front door, I bumped into Hiroto.
"Oh, it's you again." His voice was awful and I didn't have time to deal with him. I went to move past him but he grasped my wrist and yanked me back. It was all suddenly like slow motion. I heard everyone running down the stairs, shouting at Hiroto but I couldn't make out what they were saying. My focus was entirely on the necklace nestled around his neck. I hadn't seen it before due to his shirt being completely buttoned up. It was the same necklace that the doll wore in my dream and that Mikazuki wore in the picture.
My eyes flicked up to his and the glare on his face was something I finally recognized. It was the same look that the doll would give me in my dreams. It all made sense now; why he didn't like us. It had nothing to do with ghost hunting or the belief in them. He was the murderer and knew anyone who was investigating had a chance of figuring him out. But his eyes were a brown that didn't match the doll's blue. That's why I hadn't realized his glare was the same one.
I was pulled away from him and time had sped up. Ayako was holding me away from him and Lin was towering over him. Ayumi was standing off to the side, having witnessed the whole thing herself. She looked a little frightened but said nothing. Natsu had come out of her room and was standing next to her mother with the same look of confusion on her face. I pulled myself from the miko and turned to them.
"Ayumi-san, do you have a shovel?" She nodded her head with a look of confusion on her face. I heard a shout from Hiroto and turned to sneer at him. "Call the police. Hiroto is the murderer."
"What proof do you have, you stupid little girl?" Hiroto screamed while the four other men in the house held him away from me. I felt anger flare up inside of me but also a sense of justice too.
"I will have all of the proof I will need soon enough, you can count on that." I turned back to the mother and daughter and asked them to get me a shovel while Ayako went and called the police. The two seemed to be in shock. Once I had the shovel I started toward the door but I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see John.
"Mai, where are you going?" His voice was hesitant and I felt determined.
"I'm going to dig up Mikazuki's body, John. Either you can come with me or I will leave and do it myself. I can't let him get away with this." The priest looked outside to see the rain getting heavier.
"Why don't we wait for the police? They will be able to gather the tools to dig up her body better than we can." Just as he said that, sirens were blaring outside of the house. I had forgotten that the police station was close to the Kagami household. They rushed in and started asking questions. Most everyone pointed in my direction.
"I know where the body is buried. I can explain it all later but I don't want the rain to wash away the evidence. We have to hurry and get her out of there." I felt like I was pleading desperately with the man but he didn't do anything. He spoke into his walkie-talkie and said some codes but I didn't know what they meant. "Please, sir! We need to hurry and get to her. I have a shovel and I have an exact location but I am afraid the rain will wash it away."
"We will have to wait until morning. There is nothing we can do in this rain without it posing a significant risk to my men." I yanked out from under John's arm and ran out the door, hearing the others running my way while calling for back up. I was in the woods in no time and felt a pull toward where I needed to go. I knew the forest was dense and that would give me just enough time to uncover some of the evidence and then they would have to do something about it. I didn't care about the lecture that would be headed my way later by everyone in the group, I needed to save this little girl's soul and water falling from the sky wasn't going to stop me.
I could no longer hear the others behind me but I knew that they were somewhere in the forest due to the muffled shouting coming from odd directions. I hurried forward and burst out of the trees and made a beeline right to where the doll had been in my dream. My clothing was soaked and I was out of breath but I felt a surge of energy pulse through me and I stabbed the ground with my shovel. The dirt was soft and wet from the rain and so I threw it behind me and stabbed the ground again, gathering more and more dirt. I heard everyone's voices coming closer and I worked harder and finally the shovel hit something that sounded faintly hollow. I pulled more dirt out of the way before I was tackled to the ground by the police office.
"There's a box where I was digging! Please, just look!" His hands held me down but I heard someone, I think Bou-san, confirm that there was indeed something in the ground and so the officer got off of me but made me follow him, holding my arm to make sure I didn't break into a run. I walked alongside him as he headed toward the hole and looked down. There was a box painted blue and pink and green down there. I watched as Monk grabbed the shovel and started moving more dirt. The box was actually a chest and was relatively small. The cop was calling for more back up and I could hear voices coming from the forest. Soon there were more cops coming and pulling the chest from the ground. They tried to open it but it was locked.
One of the men hit it with his flashlight and broke the latch and flung it open. Inside was a small decaying body. She was curled up and clinging to something. I leaned in closer and felt my insides drop as I saw the hair on a doll. The clothing matched too. One of the cops bumped into the box and it made the doll open her eyes. Confusion swept over me as I realized the eyes were grey, not a deep blue like they were in my dream. Luckily they held no life to them.
"Let's get you back inside." I heard from beside me and I realized just then that I was shaking. Strangely, I didn't feel cold. I didn't really feel anything. Someone scooped me up but I just moved my head to look at the chest with Mikazuki in it. The person holding me turned and I could see the body and doll no more. I looked up to see Lin with a face that held more anger than I had ever seen before. I curled against him, trying to stop shaking.
Soon we were back indoors and I was set on a chair and a blanket was wrapped around my shoulders. Someone started drying my hair with a towel but I didn't move. I felt numb inside and unsure of what to do. I couldn't stop shaking and I just stared at the floor, the image of that little decaying girl in that chest with her little doll refusing to leave my mind. But something I didn't understand was that everything but the eyes matched with the doll in my dream. I watched as an officer came into my view, sitting in a chair he had placed behind him.
"Taniyama-san," I looked up to meet his eyes and the person drying my hair stopped. "I know what you have just seen is traumatic but I was hoping you would be able to answer some questions for me." I nodded my head, waiting. "We have been informed by Shibuya-san that you and the others that have been here are a part of a ghost hunting business?"
"Yes, we are." My voice cracked a little and I coughed, turning my head away before turning back. "I have had many dreams since coming here regarding the death of Kagami Mikazuki. In those dreams I was led to where her body has been dug up. Those dreams lead me to believe that Kagami Hiroto is the one who killed her."
"Is there any way you could prove that?" The officer, who I now recalled had introduced himself to me earlier as Officer Toshibo, asked and had pulled out a pad and paper.
"The necklace that Kagami-san is wearing around his neck. That was Mikazuki's necklace. I believe it will fit the lock of the chest that she was buried in." I said and saw someone come up beside me. I looked to see Ayumi, her face ashen and angry.
"Toshibo-san, the other officers have shown me the chest and I can attest to Taniyama-san's statement. That chest is the same one that Hiroto built for Mikazuki. He had told me he had sold it to a school house nearby since we no longer had a use for it. I did not know that my husband had her necklace. I have not seen him without clothes since she went missing. Mikazuki wore that necklace all the time and only took it off to bathe and sleep. I remember putting it on her the morning she went missing." I grasped Ayumi's hand and she squeezed mine, clearly needing the support. Her other daughter, Natsu, stood on her other side while holding her hand as well.
"Well, thank you both. I will be having follow up questions later and ask that neither of you leave town and if you must leave town, to contact the police department here and let us know." He went to leave but I coughed and he looked at me.
"My boss, coworkers, and I are all located in Tokyo. We will most likely be leaving tomorrow. Is there another place we could meet or if we could speak over the phone instead?" I asked and he paused in thought.
"I believe I will have business to attend to in a week in Tokyo. I will speak with your boss and see when the best time to schedule is. Thank you, Taniyama-san, Kagami-san." Officer Toshibo bowed and walked off. I felt two hands on my shoulders and looked up to see Ayako looking down at me.
"You okay, Mai?" Her voice was quiet and I nodded.
"As okay as I can be at the moment."
"Would you like to take a shower, Taniyama-san?" Ayumi asked me and I nodded my head. She smiled and walked off, probably to go and set up the bathroom for me. Natsu grasped my hand, squeezing it tightly.
"Taniyama-san, thank you so much for finding my little sister and putting her to rest. You went through so much on this case and I don't know how my mother and I can ever repay you." I smiled at her and shook my head.
"I am glad we were able to put her at peace. That is all the repayment I need." I stood up, placing both the towel and the blanket on the chair before turning back to Natsu. "I'm sorry you lost her so early on in her life but she is at peace now. I hope you and your mother will be able to find peace as well."
"We will, Taniyama-san. I promise that we will." Natsu let go of my hand and walked off. I smiled at Ayako and headed up the stairs to go and gather my clothing for my shower. I looked at the dirt covering me and grimaced. I would help Ayumi clean up her floor after everything had settled down. As I was searching through my pack, I heard the door behind me shut a little. I turned to find Koujo standing there, his face blank. This wasn't going to be good.
"Mai…" The tone of his voice made me stand up and walk over to him, having left my clothing by my bag.
"Yes, Koujo?" My voice was a mere whisper, worried about what he was going to say. I watched as he took a deep breath before bringing his hand up and pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed, a very clearly irritated look. It was a very Naru-like look but it also made him look tired.
"I know that you wanted to help Mikazuki's soul tonight and that you felt you were doing the right thing but…" He removed his hand and opened his eyes, meeting mine. "I don't agree at all with what you did. It was reckless, irresponsible and, once the cops had gotten involved, illegal."
"I knew exactly where to go. The rain wasn't going to kill me, Koujo." I kept my voice steady but kind. I didn't want to start a fight.
"No but what if Hiroto had gotten lose and came after you? What if you hurt yourself in those woods? What if you got lost?" I watched as Koujo tried to keep himself calm and his voice at a quiet volume. It was clearly something difficult for him to do right then.
"But he didn't, Koujo. And I was led to the spot like I was pulled there so there was no worry of me getting lost. I was perfectly okay." I tried for a soothing voice but that didn't seem to work. Koujo was getting very worked up and his eyes held a lot of anger.
"Mai, you need to think of the consequences of your actions more." His voice was almost scathing and I didn't like what he implied with his words. A fight was inevitable it seemed.
"I did think of the consequences. I'm not as helpless as it may seem. I am no longer the little girl I was when I started at SPR. I think through the things I do now and I determined the best course of action. I'm sorry if you don't agree with that but I did what I felt was best and everything ended up okay. Actually it ended up better than okay because this case has been solved and Mikazuki's soul has been put to rest." I now felt it was difficult to keep my voice even as well. I really wasn't in the mood to fight after having just seen a dead body and the doll of my nightmares.
"And you were completely unable to wait until tomorrow to solve this?" I crossed my arms at his question and glared to which he glared back.
"Yes. Hiroto could have easily taken off or something if we waited until tomorrow. The cops would have had no reason, other than our accusation, to hold him and so he would have been free to leave. I wasn't going to allow a little bit of rain to stop me from bringing that man to justice." I watched as Koujo clenched his teeth and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. It wasn't working at all.
"You aren't a judge, a cop, a detective, or anyone who brings justice, Mai! That is not your job! You put yourself in unnecessary danger tonight trying to be a hero!" While he didn't shout, he might as well have. I felt my defenses come up and I was also trying to calm myself down but I just was too riled up.
"I refuse to apologize for my actions. I did what I felt was the right thing. You don't have to agree with it but my every action is not something to be discussed or debated. I made a choice and acted on that decision. I wasn't doing it to be some sort of hero. Honestly, I don't care if I get recognition for my actions at all because I was doing it for Mikazuki, Ayumi, and Natsu. They deserved this and rain wasn't going to stop me. I knew exactly where it was and I didn't care what danger the cop thought a little rain was." I turned around and went to my pack, picking up my clothing and showering soap before turning back to my boyfriend who seemed to be beyond mad. He seemed a bit disappointed but I couldn't find it in me to care at that moment.
"You may not be the same little girl you were when you started working with us but you clearly still have some growing up to do." Koujo turned and left the room and I felt like someone punched me in the stomach. That was so much like something Naru would say that it seemed to bring back so many emotions that I didn't want to remember. Blinking back the tears that were surfacing in my eyes, I hurried to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. Ayumi had laid out some fluffy towels for me and for that I was grateful.
Naru's POV
I couldn't help but overhear the argument between my two dating assistants. Lin was clearly arguing the side I would like to be arguing. Mai was being reckless, too reckless as usual. Without consulting any of us, she made a decision based upon her feelings and didn't base it off of what was best. Regardless of how right she thought it was, she had gone about it the completely wrong way. But that was how Mai was.
Lin wasn't arguing with her because he thought she had done something wrong but because she had worried him. It was obvious how smitten he was over her and was just still frazzled from the event itself. It was actually a bit strange watching how emotional my long time assistant had been since he had gotten with the brunette. But it wasn't something to be surprised over. Mai managed to make everyone a bit more emotional than usual, including myself.
"You may not be the same little girl you were when you started working with us but you clearly still have some growing up to do." I listened to the words Lin said before leaving the room to go and speak to some officers again. It was odd, hearing those words from his mouth. They sounded like something I would say. I knew that I wouldn't need to give any sort of lecture to Mai; Lin had done more than enough. I could only wonder how long it would take for the two to work it out. Working with them in the mean time wasn't going to be enjoyable in any sense of the word.
Mai's POV
I dried off my hair while looking into the mirror. I had decided to have a good cry while showering. It hid it well and I could use the excuse of shampoo getting in my eyes for why they were red. I felt a bit better after the shower and I had gained a bit of perspective. I knew what I had done was right and I didn't feel sorry about it. But I also knew that I had worried Koujo greatly. He wasn't mad because he thought I had done the wrong thing but because I went about it in a way that made him worried for my well being. It was a reckless move on my part but…I was a reckless person when it came to things I felt passionate about. And saving Mikazuki from an eternity in that chest was one of those things.
I hung up the towel and gathered my dirty clothing. I headed back to the room we had all been sleeping in and put the clothes in my pack. I heard someone come up behind me and so I glanced over my shoulder to find Ayako standing there wearing a new outfit. Clearly she had changed clothes as well. I stood up after finishing putting my clothing away and turned to her. It looked like she was going to give me a lecture as well.
"You really scared us all when you took off running, you know." Her arms were crossed and she was leaning against the door frame. She stepped inside, uncrossing her arms and sliding shut the door behind her.
"I know and I'm sorry I worried you. I did what I felt was right, though." I tried really hard not to sound defensive. I knew I was still upset over the fight with Koujo and I didn't want to take it out on Ayako.
"I know you did but you really ought to think about your actions more." Damn, did Koujo tell her to come talk to me or something? That sounded just like what he said.
"I know you all think that I just do things spontaneously or something but I do actually think through the things I do, you know." I turned around and reached into my pack again and grabbed my hairbrush and started to brush my hair, not looking at the miko. I was now more than irritated. I didn't need to be lectured like some child.
"It sure didn't seem like it. Your decision was made pretty quickly." I seethed and stood up, whipping around to look at her while still brushing my hair.
"What did you want me to do?! Give Hiroto the chance to get away while the cops waited until a little rain let up? They would have had no reason to hold him and he could easily flee the country. I was not about to let that happen, Ayako." I glared at her while angrily brushing through the knots in my hair. Her face turned angry too and she glared back.
"You're not the police, Mai. They would have found him or put a restriction on his name so that he couldn't leave the country." I rolled my eyes and finished brushing my hair. I turned and put the brush away before facing her again.
"Spare me the lecture, Ayako. I've already heard it." Lin must have talked to her. There was no way the two of them thought this similarly.
"Maybe you need to hear it again then because clearly you aren't understanding the worry you put us all through!" Her voice rose as she said that and I felt all of my defenses flare up. I was not a child and I didn't need her lecturing me, much less anyone else. I expected it from Naru, hell even from Koujo, but not from her.
"Ayako," My voice was quiet and stern, "I am going to ask you to please leave me alone right now. I am in absolutely no mood to deal with another lecture from someone. So please, just go." Ayako's face got a confused and lost the anger.
"Someone else has given you a lecture? Who, Naru?" I sighed and shook my head. I just wanted her to leave me be. "Ah, your boyfriend. Well you worried him too, you know. You really didn't think it through properly."
"Thinking it through properly and thinking it through your way aren't always the same things, Ayako! Now I asked for you to please leave, so please, just leave!" I pointed to the door behind her and she rolled her eyes at me but turned and left, slamming the sliding door shut behind her. I huffed and sat down. I knew I had worried them but they weren't the ones who were experiencing those dreams. They didn't get to have that nightmare all of the time or go through what I went through. It wasn't exactly something I could make them understand. There was a knock at the door and I groaned and looked up as someone opened it. It was Naru. I glared fiercely at him but he didn't react.
"We'll be leaving tomorrow early in the morning, so make sure your things are packed. In a week and a half, Officer Toshibo will be coming in to SPR for all of our official statements, so make sure you know what you are going to tell him by then." I removed the glare from my face, surprised that I wasn't going to receive a lecture form him as well.
"Alright. Have they confirmed that the girl in the chest is Mikazuki?" I asked quietly. He nodded his head and I sighed. Well at least she could now be at rest.
"The rain will be gone by the morning but is supposed to continue through the night so we will be waking up early to pack up equipment, considering the drive back is a long one, so get some sleep, Mai." I smiled at him and nodded my head, feeling a bit better. He went to shut the door but I stopped him.
"Hey, Naru?"
"Yes, Mai?" He looked over his shoulder at me.
"Thanks for not lecturing me too." He gave a faint smile.
"I figured you had enough." Then he walked off, shutting the door behind him. Naru could be a good guy when he wanted to be. I stood up, feeling much better, and walked out to find Ayumi and ask her if she wanted help cleaning off her floors. Looking around, I saw that most of the action was confined to the living room at the moment. It seemed that they were going to search through the house to find evidence and clues to prove Hiroto's guilt. They were going to take him in for questioning since the key on the necklace matched the lock on the chest. Ayumi and Natsu were going to go to a hotel and stay there until the investigation finished but that they would start it tomorrow morning.
"Are we allowed to clean off the mud from the floors?" I piped in, standing beside Ayumi. The officer nodded his head and walked off. I turned to the woman of the house. "I would like to help you clean off the floor, Kagami-san."
"Please, call me Ayumi. You have done so much for me tonight that I couldn't possibly ask you to help me clean." She said but I smiled.
"I would like to help, though, Ayumi-san." She smiled and gave in. "Also, Ayumi-san, you may call me Mai."
"Alright, Mai-san, well I will go and get the cleaning supplies. You wait right here." I stood there and looked around. Hiroto had cuffs on him and was being led out the door. He glared at me but it didn't frighten me anymore. There was nothing he could do to hurt me so I didn't let him bother me. I wasn't sure where everyone else was, I could only assume the base, but I didn't want to be around them right now.
"You were brave to go out in the storm and find my sister, Taniyama-san." Natsu said, coming to stand beside me. I smiled at her words.
"Please, call me Mai. And it was nothing, Kagami-san. Helping your sister move on was very important to me and a little rain wasn't going to stop me."
"Well then I would like it if you would call me, Natsu, Mai-san." I nodded my head and Ayumi came back into the room with the supplies. The three of us got to work on scrubbing the floors, her rugs, and any carpet that had mud on it. The work was hard but it took my mind off of everything and it seemed to do the same for the other ladies as well. Finally, after two hours of decent scrubbing, we were done. The others from the SPR group had come and gone from some of the rooms but I paid them no mind and they paid me none either. Tonight was a bit somber and a bit angry as well but I wasn't worried about it.
"Thank you for helping us, Mai-san. You are a wonderful and exceptional woman that has done more for my family than I could imagine. Would you like some tea before we all go to bed for the night?" Ayumi asked and both Natsu and I nodded our heads. The three of us headed to the kitchen and Natsu and I sat down at the table while Ayumi set some water to boil, then she came and sat with us.
"Natsu," The brown haired woman called to her daughter, "Would you like to change back to the family name Tanaka?"
"Yes, I would like that, mom." I couldn't help but smile at the idea. I'm sure the late husband would have liked that. I felt my eyelids droop. I was more tired than I realized. The sound of the heavy rain was soothing to my ears and only served to make me more tired than I already was.
"Mai-san, you look rather tired. Are you sure you want tea before you go to bed?" Ayumi placed her hand on mine and I gave her a smile.
"I think you might be right. I do feel really tired. Do you mind if I do head to sleep?" I asked, holding back a yawn.
"Of course I don't mind. You head to bed and get some good rest." I nodded my head and bid the two goodnight before slowly going up the stairs and to the sleeping quarters. I quickly changed into my pajamas since no one else was in the room. I flipped off the light and got comfy on my futon. Almost immediately I fell into a dream.
It was the astral plane. It always felt weird to me to be in the astral plane without Gene to guide me now that he had moved on. But it seemed I wasn't alone. There was a man there with a little girl running around and playing. I watched them quietly before the man turned to look at me. I recognized him from the photos in the hallway of Ayumi's house. He was Kyosuke Tanaka, Ayumi's late husband and Mikazuki and Natsu's father.
"You're Tanaka-san, aren't you?" The man smiled and that was when I noticed his eyes. They were a deep blue, the same as the doll's. I gasped. "You were the one giving me those nightmares?"
"I regret that I had to go about helping you solve the case that way but it seemed to be the most effective. I'm sorry that I had to have you see those dreams." I nodded, accepting his apology.
"I still don't understand the rhyme you kept saying to me." He glanced over to his daughter and then back to me.
"The two buildings where she was buried…well one was a tea house and one was owned by a honey farm. You can understand the rest, yes?" I nodded my head. "Well that rhyme was something that Hiroto had come up with as he was…committing the crime."
"Oh…I see." I looked over at the young girl who was clearly Mikazuki. She was playing with the doll that they found her body with. Finally she turned to me and gave a bright smile. I couldn't help but to smile back at her.
"Daddy tells me you helped me move on." I nodded my head and she ran over to me and gave me a hug tightly. I hugged her back, a few tears forming in my eyes. "Thank you for making me happy again."
"You're welcome, Mikazuki-chan. I'm glad you and your daddy can be together again." I let go of her and she ran back over to Kyosuke and held his hand in hers.
"Thank you, Taniyama-san, for all you have done for my family and I. You are a very brave and selfless woman. Please never change." He walked over to me and gave me a one armed hug, holding his daughter's hand with his other hand. I hugged back, a smile glued to my face and watched as the two of them walked away, hand in hand. I breathed a sigh of relief as I fell into a dreamless slumber, too tired to dream of anything else.
Author's Note: Holy cow, guys! I think this is the longest chapter I have written for this story but I figured since it was the end of a case (one that I am pretty proud of if I do say so myself), you guys deserved a long chapter for it. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I won't be coming up with another case for them yet as I will be focusing on their relationship. Don't worry, this isn't their last case but I haven't focused enough on their forming relationship so I figured I should. Well, until next time!