Guys, I live. It's finally happened I can update this story it's now 2018 but I shall persevere.
Big shout out to Foxchic1. Thank you for messaging and making sure this story continues to live 3.
Also thanks to anyone still reading this and disclaimer I don't own Ghost hunt or any of the characters from it. On to the story
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"Orikiri-sama… What is that?" Bou-san and Mai chorused with their heads tilted to the side. While Naru and Gene stared at the two maids.
"Just as I thought… lately, for some months now, it's become popular. Orikiri-sama, Gongen-sama…it's basically-"
"I have it right here! We haven't used this one yet," one of the girls interrupted Yasu as she searched through her pocket.
"Look at this! It's very popular at the manor right now," The other girl chimed as her friend held up a sheet of paper for everyone to see. She handed it to Mai and the rest of the group surrounded her to take a closer look at it.
"Huh? This…"
"This is Kokkuri-san," Bou-san announced just before Gene did causing the boy to playfully stick his tongue out at the man. He only stopped when Naru, while still examining the paper used two fingers to grab a hold of his tongue and forcibly stick it back in. This made his brother pout while Mai and Yasu giggled. The two maids on the other hand were more surprised by Bou-san's statement.
"That's not right! Doesn't Kokkuri-san summon a fox spirit? Orikiri-sama summons god and it can guide us in relationships! Gongen-sama-" One of the girls tried to argue before letting out a gasp once Bou-san took the paper from Mai and crushed it in his hand.
"Gongen-sama, Hanako-san, Cupid-san, Angel-san these all simply names to call Kokurri-san! Whatever the name may be, you're basically doing the same thing! You're just playing with the spirit out of curiosity," Bou-san lectured the girls as he threw the paper ball into a nearby trashcan. Yashu pretended to applaud for Bou-san's aim, while Mai who was amused slapped his arm lightly to get him to stop.
"That's not true! I was told that Orikiri-sama is a god, so it's risk free," One of the girls exclaimed becoming indignant due to Bou-san's obvious disapproval.
"That is misinformation," Gene cut in trying to calm Bou-san's ire… without success.
"Even an amateur can summon a spirit but you need to be trained to be able to send them back to where they came from. Don't ever try this by yourself!" Bou-san finished sternly.
"You said it's really popular… how popular is it?" Naru questioned the two.
"Well… definitely all over the manor I'd bet there are more workers that practice it then don't,"
"AUUUGH"
"Miss Mori are you alright?" John asked the woman who was face down on her desk with her hands in her hair. The woman replied only with incoherent distressed sounds. Masako then entered the room looking exhausted, just barely managing a graceful descent to a nearby chair. John decided the best course of action here was to make tea and quickly scurried out of the room.
When he returned the room seemed to be slightly darker despite it still being early afternoon. John quickly handed the tea to the still forms of the women before asking again what was wrong.
"There is still so much to do! These guests aren't helping either I already had to stop 20 of them from following the princes, and then one of them had the gall to complain. She said she would fire me if I didn't let her through. Then when I told her I could find something to entertain her till they got back she had the nerve to say I would be too old to understand anything she would find interesting," Madoka ranted taking little to no breathes between her complaints. She only paused to drink a bit of the tea John made, sending him a small but thankful smile.
"Ah I see, did you settle the dispute on the entertainment?" John inquired politely during her pause.
"I got Carmine who was nearby to take her to the nearby ice rink where some figure skaters were practicing routines. Some nice men in tights should be able to distract her from following the princes," Madoka replied causing John to look confused and concerned.
"If they're practicing shouldn't they be left alone?" John asked unsure.
"Don't worry they should all be used to it, Viktor I'm sure will love the extra attention as long as it's on him. If the girls get to bothersome I'm sure a certain someone will curse them out, if only to stop another from being a nervous wreck," Madoka responded nonchalantly causing John to look at her with a sweat drop before deciding to change the conversation now that Madoka was less dead.
"Miss Hara are you feeling better now?" John asked kindly to the kimono clad woman sipping tea.
"Yes, thank you Mrs. Uchida was rather draining. It was probably her daughter, Yuki which gave Miss Mori trouble. I had to convince her no one threatening was going with the princes and that Ai Uchida, her daughter would be there to… prevent anything. If her servant Richards wasn't there I never would have been able to leave," Masako explained tiredly.
"Threatening? I don't think Bou-san or Yasuhara are very intimidating, a little strange perhaps but amazing all the same," John remarked thinking of the two men.
"That's not what I meant,"
"I'm sure Yashuara would be beyond flattered to hear you think of him as amazing John," Madoka added, when Masako didn't elaborate on her statement causing John to pale a little at the thought of the exuberant male's reaction. This cause Madoka to giggle while Masako patted Johns back in sympathy all the while hiding a small smile behind her sleeve.
"I'm back," Mai announced as she entered base. Bou-san was bent over some papers, Ai was putting some of them up on the board for easier viewing, Lin was watching the monitors and Naru and Gene were conversing with each other.
"Hey, welcome back. How was it?" Bou-san asked looking up from the various papers he had on hand.
"Just as those girls said, most of the workers and the part-time workers have done Kokkuri-san. It'd be faster to count those that haven't," Mai stated to Bou-san's displeasure.
"I came up with the same results," Yasu added startling Mai who hadn't noticed the boy come up behind her. The man grinned in amusement at her jumpiness.
"Man… Give me a break! Most of the workers have been practicing it? Do you know how many evil spirits must be floating around here?!" Bou-san exclaimed in exasperation throwing a bunch of papers into the air. Naru turned away from his conversation to glare at the man, forcing Bou-san to sheepishly apologize and start picking up the papers.
"How many?" Mai questioned.
"Probably more than you can count," Gene answered in Bou-san's place.
"Ouch aren't you supposed to be the nice one?" Mai complained catching Ai's attention as she glanced up from the papers she was reading.
"Naru are we really going to do this? I don't like the idea… Kokkuri-san can invite some of the worst evil spirits," Bou-san whined after handing the picked up papers to Lin.
"That's it! I'll teach you how to perform an exorcism so you can do it!" Bou-san exclaimed pointing at Yasu.
"Wouldn't it be better for Mai to learn?" Yasu pointed out.
"Eh?" Mai looked confused as Bou-san switched targets and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Right! Let's try that! Brilliant idea!" The monk exclaimed while Mai sent a glare to Yasu. Lin ignored the loud group while Ai wrote a few notes down in her notebook.
"Bou-san…" Mai swiftly punched the man in the face forcing him to let her go. Gene sat on a nearby chair watching the exchange with growing mirth in his eyes.
"Ouch Jou-chan have you been taking lessons from the hag? Besides aren't you motivated to work on the case after seeing Matsuyama's attitude," Bou-san questioned while rubbing his newly bruised cheek. Ai raised a brow when she noticed Mai's act of violence but otherwise didn't comment on it.
"I apologize for him. Mr. Matsuyama treats everyone poorly even the younger staff have given up on him. He won't listen to what others have to say so we have to be the mature ones and be patient with him…" Yasu told the group, as if contemplating out loud.
"Then Mr. Matsuyama must be giving you a hard time Yasu, since you no longer work here and still got us to come," Gene commented.
"I'm okay, Miss. Uchida might be in more trouble than me from her comments to Mr. Matsuyama. Besides I know the best places to get drinks so they don't stay mad for long," Yasu declared shining with pride. So bright that Gene, Bou-san and Mai had to cover their eyes in the face of Yashu's glowing grin.
"Aren't you a little young to know these places?" Bou-san eyed him skeptically when his brightness had dimmed down. Yashu turned towards him with a prizewinning smile.
"Only compared to you, but it's okay I like them mature," Yasu threw in a wink causing Bou-san to shiver and hide behind Mai. Ai could be seen giggling quietly in the background as she continued to observe their antics. Someone watching Lin closely would also notice his chair now strangely further away from everyone else.
"How many places, in our kingdom do you think practice Kokkuri-san?" Naru changed the subject while looking out the window to the dying autumn leaves below. This caught the attention of all the others and they turned towards him.
"Ah are you asking why no other nearby manors are this way?" Yasu asked finding the root of his concern.
"Spirits are not things an amateur can easily summon. Hypothetically speaking if someone were able to summon floating spirits by Kokkuri-san… I would assume that some of these spirits may be powerful enough to do some harm to humans, and I find it unusual that there are many spirits inhabiting one place," Naru explained making Gene and Bou-san contemplative.
"I know," Bou-san replied looking back at the notes Ai recently pined on to a board.
"Ah, I have a basic question… can you really summon spirits by Kokkuri-san?" Mai asked.
"Well yes if you were a psychic…" Bou-san replied.
"I remember doing a version of Kokkuri-san when I was younger, where you place your finger on a coin. Surprisingly enough the coin did move and gave us a lot of correct information how did it do that?" Mai asked, Yasu and Ai also looked curious.
"What would you say Prince?" Bou-san grinned towards the two princes.
Naru sighed before telling Mai to place her finger on the table, confused she did as he asked.
"You're shaking stop moving" Naru commanded.
"Huh? I'm not moving," Mai replied before glancing at her finger and noticing it was in fact shaking.
"Do you get it now? That's a normal human body reaction," Naru stated as Bou-san, Ai and Yasu moved closer to look at Mai's finger.
"Now imagine if you also had other people's finger on the same spot. The shaking of all your fingers would move the coin. None of you are intentionally moving the coin, so it appears strange that it moves," Naru explained.
"Then how does Kokkuri-san give out correct information?" Mai countered annoyed, moving closer to the ghost hunter to hear his answer.
"The kind of people who would try performing Kokkuri-san think that it would be entertaining if Kokkuri-san provided correct information. That expectation will make people move the coin unintentionally," Naru responded easily.
"But! But! I've seen Kokkurri-san give information that only I would know," Mai argued much to Ai's amusement.
"Such as?"
"Umm… For example, what's in my pocket,"
"Actually I could probably explain this one. After all it's not that complex," Ai decided to enter the conversation interrupting Naru before he could reply.
"First, all of your friends will start guessing the answer unconsciously. They're all thinking different things, so you might get a letter you don't expect. Such as the letter 'H', so the next reaction would be to think of objects that start with the letter 'H' 'Herbs?' then the coin will move till the word forms," Ai explained, leaning over Mai's shoulder to pull said herbs from her pocket.
"How'd you know?" Mai looked stunned and slightly uncomfortable as she took the bag holding the herbs back from Ai.
"I saw Miss Matsuzaki hand it to you," Ai stated.
"Ahh.." Mai blushed and fidgeted.
"After performing Kokkuri-san a few times you probably won't always get the right answer. When you get the wrong answer you'll just say 'oh well' and move on but when the answers right it leaves a stronger impression on you. If you test it you'll see what I mean…Let's say if someone asks you 24 questions and you get 3 of them right, then people tend to feel that you actually got a lot of questions answered correctly," Naru added, distracting Mai and surprising the others with his words.
"Going by what you said it sounds like you don't believe in Kokkuri-san," Ai pointed out.
"Well actually I don't," Naru stated causing Bou-san and Mai to stare at him blankly, Gene merely nodded along with what his brother was saying.
"Many people think spirits know everything, but I wonder if that's really the case? If Mai were to become a spirit do you think you'd know the future or be able to read people's minds?" Naru questioned.
"Not at all," Mai replied as she and Bou-san stared in astonishment. Yasu looked contemplative acknowledging Naru's points and thinking more on them.
"There is technically an easy way to figure that out, Mai do you want to take a sip of this," Ai asked pulling out a vial from her pocket. At the sight of the vial Mai laughed nervously, denied, and hid behind Gene. Causing Ai to chuckle ominously the others in the room really didn't want to know and instead took a few steps back from the girl.
"Miss Uchida please do not threaten my assistant. Back to the topic, basically I think that the only things that spirits know better than humans, is the world after death," Naru frowned putting a hand on Mai's shoulder. While Gene turned slightly to pat her head.
"I'd love to read what's on your mind one day," Bou-san commented from his new position away from Ai. While Yashu peaked from behind Lin, the tall man in question gripped Yasu's shoulders to try and shove him away.
"Well enough of that, there are so many spirits here I don't know where to start the exorcisms, probably the best thing to do is wait until some of the others visit then start performing them at various locations," Naru stated squeezing the Mai's shoulder before moving away to look over the rest of the notes.
"Anyway, we don't have enough equipment to monitor every area we need to. What is the plan when the others get here?" Gene asked his brother moving to lean on his shoulder. Mai who was still behind Gene followed and tip-toed to peak over both their shoulders.
"When Miss Hara and John visit for their update, I'll have Miss Hara and you inspect the school and confirm the existence of the spirits. Once their existence has been confirmed Bou-san, and John will start performing exorcisms. Things that are still uncertain, Lin, Yasuhara and I will continue to investigate. Mai you will stay at base and organize all the information that we'll be giving you. But if anything happens, let me know right away," Naru ordered switching his gaze from his twin to Mai.
"Like what?" Mai asked causing the room to look at her in exasperation.
"You're the woman with sixth sense, right? Weren't you told the other day you could potentially have ESP?" Bou-san commented slowly causing Mai to sheepishly rub the back of her head and laugh.
"What shall I do your highness?" Ai asked with small smile. While Yasu and Gene quietly snuck off to whisper to each other a little ways away from the group.
"Stay with Mai in base and make sure she stays awake," Naru replied easily causing Mai to puff out her cheeks in annoyance and glare at the boy. Bou-san patted her back while grinning and Ai replied with a disinterested nod.
"Yasu, Mai I have something for you two to do now," Gene stated walking back to the group and gesturing to the of the equipment. Lin wrote down out the locations for Mai and Yasu to set things up before going back to the monitors.
"You got it," Mai saluted, Yasu sent a stealthy wink to Gene, which he Gene returned, before following after her with the rest of the equipment.
"Miss Matsuzaki?"
"Ahh Masako did you need something?" Ayako asked while giving the girl an appraising look.
"John and I are about to leave to collect an update from the others, do you want us to deliver anything," Masako asked hiding her mouth as usual.
"Hmm how unexpected, and here I thought the 'princess' would never offer to do something as menial as deliver a message," Ayako teased.
"Hmmph it was John's idea I have to ask because he's busy preparing the horses," Masako replied haughtily.
"At least someone's useful," Ayako sneered back without any bite in her tone.
"You have no right to tell me that Miss Matsuzaki," Masako glared at her from the corner of her eye. This comment however caused Ayako to rant at her while Masako simply tuned her out.
"We're ready to go," John said entering the room only to notice the two women emitting a dark aura. Slightly scared the priest took a step back and coughed to get their attention. When the two turned to see the priest, they calmed down a bit which caused John to let out a small sigh of relief.
"Was there anything else left?" John asked them Masako shook her head no whereas Ayako handed Masako a piece of paper.
"That's a list of things I need. It seems a lot of people are getting colds and fevers. It's odd though it's not even winter but there's been enough patients with fevers that we had to open up another medical wing," Ayako told them frustrated with the amount of work she had.
"How strange," Masako replied before getting lost in her thoughts. John on the other hand looked at the list and noticed some herbs and medications he didn't recognize on it.
"Oh those, some people have been getting strange rashes, warts and others turn an odd colour. I'll need more information from the patients, but those supplies would probably help in the future," Ayako said in a tired manner when she noticed John's confused gaze.
"I see,"
"John we should be on our way now," Masako said before bowing a little to Ayako and exiting the room. John wished luck to Ayako and waved bye to Ayako as well before running after Masako.
"Okay I think we're ready," Mai stated as she finished putting up the mic.
"You know I just remembered, Sakauchi, the guy who suicided, when he introduced himself at the start of his employment he told us he was saving up to start his own ghost hunting group, but he may have just been kidding," Yasu commented absentmindedly.
"I see so he was interested in these kinds of things I wonder what he would have thought of us," Mai thought aloud before freezing. She quickly turned around… only to see the empty room.
"Mai?"
"Ah nothing, just thought someone was watching us," Mai said as she walked to the door leading back to the hallway.
"So where to next chief," Yasu asked to distract Mai from her thoughts.
"Let's see one in the stable, where you hear a cat's voice… doesn't seem that abnormal to me," Mai noted looking through the list Lin gave her. Thus, not noticing the way Yasu shot a grin behind him to the seemingly empty hallway.
"Either way let's go chief," Yasu cheerfully exclaimed.
"Ah why are you calling me chief?" Mai asked noticing the new nickname while also wincing at Yasu's volume.
"Because you're in charge now aren't you at least you are for me. Would you prefer boss?" Yasu questioned turning down his volume when he noticed her wince.
"No, I really wouldn't," Mai deadpanned but Yasu ignored her to continue his train of thought.
"Ah but then the prince would have to be…the big bad boss," Yasu invaded Mai's personal space to whisper into Mai's ear.
"STOP! That's too close to the truth!" Mai laughed loudly as they walked to their next destination.
"What? Do you always have to be serious?" Yasu asked in mock confusion.
"C'mon before our big boss gets mad at us," Mai said quickening her pace neither of them noticing the silhouette of a boy in the room they had just exited.
While Mai and Yasu went to set up the equipment Bou-san and Ai decided they were going to start preparing for bed as it was getting a little late and neither had any work left to do. Lin watched the monitors as the equipment was being set up and noticed how Yashu seemed to have forgotten to turn on one of the mics he set up. Informing the two brothers left in base Gene decided to drag Naru towards the location Lin mentioned.
"We don't both need to go," Naru protested as his twin forcibly dragged him out of the room.
"Maybe not but don't you want to see how well Mai and Yasu get along?" Gene grinned while his twin scowled at him.
"No, I don't care we are only going to go turn on the mic Yasuhara forgot about," Naru declared walking to the room which held the mic in question.
"So, we do need two people for this," Gene smirked knowing Naru could have simply left and gotten him to do it. Not that he would have but his brother didn't even try.
"Shut up," Naru glared entering the down the hall from the one Mai and Yashu were in. Gene stayed by the doorway glancing out into the hallway. Naru quickly turned on the mic and checked everything was working once done he started walking out the door…only to be pulled back in and shushed.
"Either way let's go chief," the two heard Yashu's voice, Gene quickly covered Naru's mouth before sticking both their heads out to watch the scene.
They saw more then heard Mai question the man with some exasperation. Aside from Yashu's first statement they could no longer hear what the two were saying so Naru watched, no longer struggling in Gene's grasp hoping his brother would let him go if he stopped. Gene still refused to release him much to Naru's annoyance. His annoyance was quickly redirected when he noticed Yashu step into Mai's personal space to whisper something in her ear. Gene let him go just as Mai started laughing loudly at what ever Yashu had said.
"Hmm I wonder what he said to get her to laugh so nicely?" Gene questioned cheerfully while glancing at his brother.
"Doesn't matter he is not behaving professionally to his colleague," Naru bit back causing Gene to laugh internally.
"No but I'd say he is acting like a good friend cheering her up like that. You could take some pointers on 'friendship' from him," Gene replied slyly causing Naru to glare at him before storming his way back to base.
"Hmm where am I? Wasn't I setting up the equipment with Yashu," Mai wondered aloud as she looked around the large empty area. Out of the corner of her she noticed a boy standing on a balcony, curious on who he was she approached him. Only to hear him giggle, following his line of sight she saw a large mansion.
'I wonder what's so funny about it,' Mai thought giving a strange look to the boy still giggling beside her when she noticed a light pass through one of the windows of the mansion. The suddenly the building across from them lit up millions of lights. Mai looking closely noticed they were will o wisps.
"Hey...Hey? do you even know what those things are?" Mai asked concerned.
"Of course, I do. That's why they're funny," The boy stated.
"Funny…" Mai trailed off shocked, gasping when she examined the boy beside her.
"They are very funny, I think nothing could be funnier," he smirked.
"Ah… are you… perhaps…"
"Ahh I've been wanting to talk to you," Martin seemingly said to the air beside him.
"Meow," Angel came out of a nearby bush to sit on the bench beside the king. The two of them peacefully looked out towards the dying autumn trees for a moment.
"Hiroki? That is you, isn't it?" Martin asked while still gazing towards the trees. Angel merely jumped onto Martin's shoulder and started rubbing their cheeks together. Martin remained silent before smiling peacefully and relaxing in his seat.
"I suppose I wasn't expecting more than that, but if you need anything come and grab me," Martin whispered to the cat who purred in response. Angel then jumped into his lap and started to nap as Martin stroked his back.
It was early morning the next day at the manor and all was peaceful.
"You don't see any spirits here?!"
Emphasis on the was.
"What do you mean Masako?" Mai questioned while the medium handed her Angel. It seems before John left the cat jumped onto his shoulder and refused to be moved. Until Masako who was ridding with John grabbed him and placed the cat in her lap.
"It's not that I don't see any spirits at all. I do feel their presence," Masako stated, watching Angel greet Mai with a lick on the cheek.
"What about you, your Highness?" Ai asked Gene who frowned but said he could still see the shape of the spirits once he concentrated.
"It's a good thing someone can," Bou-san said with a sigh.
"Ah… well… maybe she's not at her best right now?" John tried to placate the medium as she ignored the others. When that didn't work he walked over to Lin to see the notes collected on the case so far.
"But you can feel if they exist here?" Naru questioned Masako.
"Yes, I know that there are many spirits and I know where they are, but I don't know what types of spirits are here. Usually I can see spirits more clearly but… I've never been good at communicating with spirits that float around. I'm better with spirits that have strong grudges to specific locations or people," Masako clarified.
"Well, since these spirits were summoned by Kokkuri-san they may not hold any particular grudges, you're letting us down, again Masako," Bou-san teased causing Masako's head to whip around and glare at him.
"Overall, we just can't depend on you, right?" Ai added more viciously before Masako could respond to Bou-san.
"You have no right to tell me that Miss Uchida," Masako sneered from behind her kimono sleeve causing Ai to shrug.
"Didn't sleep well last night?" Yasu asked Mai when he saw her yawn. This caused Masako's attention to immediately shift to her friend and glare at her for an answer.
"No, it's not that," Mai denied trying to placate both Angel and Masako who gave her a look that asked 'Really?'.
"Miss Hara there's one spirit which has a stronger grudge can you see him?" Gene asked his fellow medium distracting her from her silent interrogation of Mai. Mai sighed and mouthed a thanks to Gene who responded with a cheeky wink. Naru rolled his eyes at the antics of the two while refocusing on Masako for her answer.
"Yes, there's one spirit that I feel very strongly,"
"What type of spirit is that?" Naru questioned.
"The spirit of a boy around my age,"
"That means he's about 16 years old," Yashu noted.
"I feel strong feelings from his spirit. He must have experienced hardships while working here. His spirit is trapped here. Even though he is not here, I feel it very strongly. I think he suicided and I believe it was fairly recently" Masako said holding the room's full attention.
"Is it this boy?" Naru asked pulling out a paper clipping with a picture of a boy.
"Yes, that's him. So, his name is Mr. Sakauchi," Masako stated as she looked at the picture causing Mai to go still in shock.
This was the boy from her dream.
"I wonder if he held a grudge against this place?" Naru pondered out loud, stepping around John to tap Lin on the shoulder and asking for footage from last night. Lin removed his headphones and told him the unnatural instances that had occurred so far.
"Several rooms had unusual temperatures, the first room on the third floor, the fourth room on the second floor and one of the nearby rooms on the first floor. I didn't see anything unusual, but some noises were recorded in three different locations too, the art room, the second room on the second floor and one of the storerooms,"
"I see spirits are already showing some reactions on the first day…" Naru trailed off tapping the desk beneath him in thought before issuing orders.
Masako was to walk around the building and locate spirits while Bou-san accompanied her to perform exorcisms when he could. Gene was to do the same except he was to wait in base until John can accompany him. John would only accompany him when he finishes exorcising the five locations Lin mentioned. Mai stayed in base to collect information when the four previously mentioned came back to update her while Ai goes to collect more gossip from the workers. Lin, Yasu and Naru himself would continue to investigate the locations that were unusual.
"Mai," Naru called out before leaving.
"Yes?" Mai looked to him enthusiastically.
"Don't fall asleep," He stated causing Mai to hold her head down in dejection as she responded with an affirmative. Angel seemed to snicker into his paw before going on top of Mai's head to comfort her.
"Undertaker aren't you done yet?" Ciel yelled loudly into the shop with Sebastian following closely behind him.
"Hehehehe why young master I didn't expect you back so soon," The undertaker replied, exiting the coffin he was in.
"It's been weeks, where's the body?" Ciel questioned with a glare.
"I don't have it,"
"Why you-"
"But I know where it is," Undertaker finished.
"Why didn't you say that first," The frustrated Ciel yelled at him while Sebastian watched on in the background.
"It's in the Suchimo kingdom,"
"The capital?" Ciel asked with some trepidation.
"Correct! Have fun retrieving it," The Undertaker laughed before going back into his coffin.
"I'll go write a letter to tell Richards," Sebastian said as the two exited the building.
"Good he can deal with it, once you're done prepare me an afternoon snack," Ciel ordered walking back to their carriage.
After a while at base Mai started to get tired, putting her head on the desk her eyes started to close…before fully falling asleep she snapped upright with a gasp. Angel watched her in amusement not caring to actually keep her awake and knowing that she would be more useful sleeping. She wobbled a bit before deciding to slap her cheeks to wake herself up properly.
SLAP
'Ow I slapped myself too hard,' Mai thought leaning over. When she looked up again she noticed that she was oddly in the hallway now.
"Mai…" A voice called out behind her and Mai turned around to her mother.
"Mom! You're back? Did something happen?" Mai asked running towards her.
"This place is dangerous, you should head back to base," she replied worry written on her face. Mai looked at her in confusion before hearing a strange sound.
"Eh…huh?" She turned in confusion.
"Sweetie look, there are many spirits floating around," Ms. Taniyama pointed at one of the will o wisps while thousands more surrounded the two of them. As they walked Mai noticed Masako and Bou-san beneath her in a locker room. There was also a larger will o wisp in the corner of the room. As Bou-san started his exorcism the will o wisp moved out of the room towards the drawing room. Following it Arisu and Mai watch in horror as the larger will o wisp consume a smaller one.
It throbbed and increased in size.
"What an unpleasant occurrence, spirits consuming each other and growing bigger and then…Anyways those are evil spirits they're too dangerous for you to handle. You should go," Ms. Taniyama said sadly.
"No way, I can't just leave the others here," Mai exclaimed causing her mother to smile at her fondly.
"Then I suggest you have someone teach you how to perform an exorcism. Also, don't go near the will o wisps. Do you understand?"
"Okay, I understand,"
"What do you 'understand'?"
Mai's eyes blinked open to see Yasu inches away from her face and staring at her. The proximity caused her to jump up in alarm and knock down her chair, face going to tomato red in a few seconds. Angel had to jump off the back of the chair Mai was sitting on and onto the table where he sent a nasty look Mai's way. The girl apologized quietly to the cat and started to stroke it's back while Yasu picked up the chair.
"I'll let his Highness know if you are going to continue slacking off," Ai commented from across the table causing Mai to laugh embarrassedly.
"Why didn't you wake her up?" Yashu asked Ai who simply smiled and shrugged in response. When Mai saw this response she almost glared at the other girl, only to catch herself before actually doing it and turn her head away instead. Angel seeing this shook his head sadly while Ai glanced at Mai from the corner of her eye.
"Anyways, I finished what they asked me to do. I'll make you some coffee," Yashu said grabbing the nearby coffee container.
"OH… I can do that myself!" Mai proclaimed moving towards the coffee container Yashu was holding.
"I've also finished talking to the workers, please make one for me as well," Ai added.
"No worries I'll do it," He replied pushing Mai down into her seat with one hand while also nodding towards Ai.
"By the way, don't you think the Kokkuri-san here is unusual? Umm Orikiri-sama right?" Mai noted while drinking her coffee. Occasionally letting Angel take a sip as well.
"Right, apparently there are many rules to it. Like you're not suppose to use the same paper twice and if you do you have to dispose it at a shrine. You also have to chant during the session," Yashu explained.
"Chant?" Ai asked.
"Let's see it goes 'O-Orikitte' or something…" Yashu tried to explain causing Mai to laugh at him. Ai excused herself to go to the bathroom while Mai laughed. Angel watched Ai carefully until she was no longer in sight.
"By the way it's interesting how popular it is here, I wonder why that is?" Mai pondered after she had calmed down.
"Life would be a lot less complicated if one were able to understand what makes things popular, just kidding. Maybe it's because the preparation of the paper, and the chant are unique you know how everyone one wants new things," Yashu said making Mai contemplate while Angel rolled his eyes.
"You're a very calm person," Mai noted making the other laugh.
"People tell me that I act mature for my age. They call me 'old man', they say I have the smile of a kind old man but it's hard to tell what I'm cooking up behind that nice smile," Yashu smiled, Mai and Angel nodded their heads in agreement.
"It's the twelfth day. There's going to be another fire in the maid's dressing room," Yashu broke the newly formed silence, looking at the calendar.
"It may not happen in the dressing room this time…" Mai said absently grabbing the attention of Yashu and Angel.
"Eh?"
"Ahh… I don't really know for sure but I was just wondering if perhaps this time it may happen in another location like in the drawing room," Mai rapidly moved her hands in front of her in a sheepish manner. The door at that moment opened to reveal Masako, Bou-san, Lin and Naru.
"Oh, I see you're all alone with your boyfriend, huh? It's good to be young," Bou-san commented entering the room. Naru's eye twitched in annoyance and muttered something about unprofessionalism. Masako and Lin who were the only ones in hearing range rolled their eyes.
"We were talking about something serious," Mai pouted, Angel watched while lazing around on the desk.
"Oh, stop teasing us Bou-san," Yashu smiled as the others entered the room. Mai started handing out tea to them with the exception of Bou-san whose mug she placed on the desk.
"Don't be shy, Don't be shy!" Bou-san grinned at the two of them.
"Please be more considerate we were about to have a good time…" Yashu beamed back at Bou-san.
CRACK
"Ah, Naru, are you okay?" Mai asked in concern for prince who now had a shattered cup in his hand. Angel walked over to Masako as they both hid their snickers. Lin went to grab a first aid passing by Ai who had just come back from the bathroom.
"Yes," He replied blankly, glaring at his bleeding hand.
"Okay son, let's have a little talk," Bou-san said slinging an arm around Yashu and pulling him away from the others. Ai went over to Masako and Angel to ask what she had missed.
"Huh?"
"I understand how you feel but first you have to think about where you are and what's going on around you. You know this type of thing needs the appropriate mood," Bou-san teased in a mock serious manner.
"Oh, I get it. I'll keep that in mind next time," Yashu replied as Lin re-entered the room and started to wrap up Naru's hand.
"By any chance do you like Mai?" Bou-san asked nervously, glancing back at Naru.
"Yes, I do," Yashu responded bluntly, Mai to blush bright red when she overheard them.
The room got cold, fast.
"But I also like Prince Oliver, he's beautiful…" Yashu continued recklessly while everyone else shivered and nervously glanced back at Naru.
"but I like you even more," Yashu proclaimed while caressing Bou-san's hand. Normally the others would stare in shock at this revelation but instead everyone, with the exception of Yashu, Naru and Bou-san, breathed a sigh of relief as the room returned to normal.
"Young man…"
"Yes?"
"You're teasing me, aren't you?"
"Of course I am,"
"Don't play with an old man's mind," Bou-san whined laying down on a nearby chair suddenly exhausted. Angel walked over and jumped on his head, Bou-san was too tired to even swat him away.
"You tried to play with me first. So, how's the research going?" Yasu grinned while going off to make a second cup of tea for everyone.
"Please don't ask me about that," Bou-san pleaded.
"It's not going well?" Mai asked Masako.
"They've been performing exorcisms, but it hasn't been very effective," Masako replied sipping her second cup of tea
"I see, hey Bou-san do you think I can perform an exorcism?" Mai asked pointing towards herself.
"Huh? Why all of a sudden?" Bou-san asked looking up from the desk. The movement made Angel to grip his hair tighter which in turn caused Bou-san to whine in pain as he tried to remove Angel from his head.
"I just thought I could be a little more useful," Mai replied calmly watching her cat terrorize Bou-san. Lin after a moment took pity on Bou-san and removed Angel from his head. Lin placed the squirming cat on the desk near his workspace before returning his attention to the monitors.
"It'll be all over for us if we have to resort to you performing an exorcism," Bou-san sighed causing Mai to rile up in anger but before she could start yelling at him Bou-san grabbed her hands and positioned them. He then told her the chant and wrote it down on a sticky note before sticking it onto her head. While Mai concentrated on learning the chant, the others watched her in amusement. Masako, Naru and Ai also watched her with some curiosity, unsure as to why she wanted to learn now.
"So anyways, since Miss Hara can't see the spirits it seems we're really going to be in trouble. You insist that even though you can't see the spirits you can tell where they are, I wonder if that's really the case?" Ai questioned Masako skeptically.
"But she's one of the best psychic medium in the kingdom," Mai nervously defended her friend who was glaring at Ai.
"Um… Masako is good at kuchiyose," Bou-san added in.
"Kuchiyose?" Mai and Ai repeated in confusion.
"It means answering questions in the voice of the dead by having spirits channel through one's body, if you think about it, it's the same principle as kokurri-san," Masako directing her gaze towards Mai.
"Ahh I remember now, I've only read this in a book, but I believe there are only two types of psychic mediums. One is a regular psychic medium and the other uses ESP," Ai recalled leaning over the table and resting her head on the back of her hand.
"That was by me, my theory is a psychic medium can be someone who has ESP, telepathy or possibly a psychometrist. I have both types while Gene is the perfect psychic medium," Naru entered the conversation, sipping the tea Yashua made with his uninjured hand.
"Perfect?" Mai asked.
"Well for example if a spirit which spoke another language was channeling through Prince Gene then he would speak that language, this rarely happens and only happens when a spirit is really channeling through someone," Bou-san added.
"Some psychics are better at foretelling and guessing than others. It's possible that they maybe someone with ESP instead of a psychic medium," Naru finished.
"Masako's always been good at foretelling and guessing, so she may be more of a psychometrist rather than a psychic medium. She may be using her psychometric ability through out the school rather than seeing the spirits," Bou-san thought aloud, Masako remained silent on the topic instead choosing to drink her tea.
"By the way Mai do you feel anything?" Bou-san changed the topic causing the girl to gasp loudly and grab the other's attention.
"Ah, Mai remember what you told me? That the fire may be in the drawing room," Yashu interjected before Mai could deny anything.
"Is that true?!" Bou-san invaded Mai's personal space to question her. While Naru, Lin and Masako turned to stare at her.
"Uh…well I feel asleep earlier and had a dream about that," Mai replied.
"And what else?!" They all asked causing Mai to explain the dream she had earlier. Once finished Bou-san shoved a pillow into her and ordered her to go back to sleep.
"Your dream must have meant something! Go to sleep! You need to collect more information!" Bou-san exclaimed when Mai showed resistance.
"But..but…I should be staying awake right Naru?" Mai asked turning to the prince and giving him a pleading look.
"Mai, go to sleep," Naru ordered without a single glance at her. Instead looking over the new notes added to the board.
"Looks like it's one against seven," Ai pointed out to Mai, including Lin and Angel in her headcount.
"Mr. Takigawa and I really were the ones that performed an exorcism in the locker room," Masako added to convince Mai of the accuracy of her dreams so that she would go to sleep.
"It must be a coincidence," she yelled.
"You've had dreams relating to our research before," Bou-san said before offering to sing a lullaby.
"I can't just fall asleep all of a sudden!" Mai exclaimed throwing the pillow at him.
"Well… we'll find out one way or another later on tonight. If the fire does happen in the drawing room, then Mai's dream was right wouldn't it? Mai if the fire really does happen there, be prepared to support them" Yashu suggested.
"Hey son… when did you become Mai's manager? I'm proud of you," Bou-san commented.
"Since right now," he replied.
"You've been keeping your claws all this time, haven't you?" Bou-san said while Yashu grinned. Mai remained skeptical on anything happening.
However, later that evening to be exact, the next morning at 4:32 am it really happened.
And that's the chapter hopefully it still fits in well with the way the rest of the chapters are. I'm probably going to start reading the reviews again tomorrow morning and then start typing up the next chapter so that there's not another 3 year wait period.
So questions for you the readers who read this section to think on.
Any idea on why people are getting sick back at the castle, what's the goal?
Other disclaimers:
Viktor and his two skating friends (Yuri and Yuuri) are from Yuri on ice! (I watched it recently, I was not prepared)
Surprisingly that was it also kudos to anyone who remembers the Suchimo kingdom or it's capital
Feel free to express any questions or concerns in a pm or as a review all reviews are appreciated.
Cheers