Chapter 29: Voice
9AM
"Mai, I've been wondering," John started.
"Hmm?" Mai hummed from her desk. John, Takigawa, and Ayako were in the office once again, nothing new. She had prepared them a cup of hot chocolate and a packet of biscuit she baked. Mai was on her desk fixing the file while the rest had been playing some kind of game Mai hadn't taken interest with.
"What have you been doing while SPR… went on hiatus?" John said, deciding that 'broke up' was not an appropriate term for the sentence.
Mai looked up from her paper works a.k.a. homework disguised as paperwork, and suddenly, she was flustered, "N-nothing! I- uh- was having a vacation at Kyle's and my cousin."
"Oh really?" Ayako raised a brow in suspicion, "No dirty business?"
"What?" Mai only blushed harder, "N-NO! What exactly do you have in mind?"
Naru's hand was half-way through reaching the door knob. He was about to tell Mai to be prepare for a customer when he caught half their conversation.
"You weren't out crying your eyes out?" Monk asked
"Definitely not."
Naru raised a brow at her response.
"Singing your hearts out maybe?"
"… What?"
"I knew it! It was her!" Ayako said followed by a loud thump, which Naru guessed, was her jumping.
"What do you mean?" Mai asked cautiously.
"We saw a video last night," Monk said. "It was real awesome!"
"What video?" now Mai was genuinely curious in the conversation they were having. Before anyone, John, Monk and Ayako, could respond, the door slammed open.
"You won't believe what I just found!" Yasuhara said, dropping his school bag on the floor with a loud thud. "It's Mai!"
"What about me now?" Mai cried in frustration. No one had been answering her question and everyone was going in circles.
"See for yourself!" Yasuhara said, tossing his phone to Mai.
Mai narrowed her eyes on the man but transferred her focus on the screen of the phone. Her eyes went wide and almost immediately, she threw the phone. Yasuhara barely made it on time, but he managed to save his phone from cruel and undeserving death.
"Hey!" Yasuhara said, "This phone is very much new and I would prefer if you didn't toss it around."
Mai blushed, "Where did you find that?!"
Yasuhara gave her a triumphant look, "A classmate of mine is a big fan."
"Which is saying something, since you only sang covers, right?" Ayako said to John.
"It is something," John agreed.
"I wanna hear you sing!" Takigawa exclaimed, "Come on!"
"No," Mai said annoyed ."That's not even me!"
"It's not?" Yasuhara asked confused.
"No it's not," Mai sighed. "That's not me, that's someone else; moreover that girl's eyes are blue."
Yasuhara, Monk, John and Ayako leaned forward to the picture.
"Oh it is," Yasuhara said, "I thought she was you, her name is even Mai."
"It's Amai not Mai," Mai corrected. The girl on the video was someone she had been acquainted with once but she hasn't heard from her for a long time, for a while there she thought it was something about her getting caught on doing her job, she sighed in relief, "Seriously."
Naru finally opened the door and sat on his usual black seat, "Mai, prepare some tea, we have an appointment today."
Mai checked the time and jumped. "Geez, Yasu next time don't jump into conclusions, you guys too," and then she disappeared to the kitchen.
Moments after Mai prepared two cups of tea, she ushered the four members to leave and Lin sat outside with his laptop on standby. A man in his fifties entered the office and Mai asked for his coat. The man sat down opposite to Naru and Mai stood behind Naru's seat.
"Shibuya Kazuya?" The man asked Naru, who gave a nod. "Just as they had said, young and handsome."
Mai fought the urge to say 'and narcissistic'. Mai handed a file to Naru with the man's name.
Yamaji Saito
A haunted place in the forest, rumored to be filled with ghosts.
"My eldest son bought this land for me recently as a gift since I am close to retirement. My son said he almost bought the land for free so he didn't think twice and bought the entire land." Mr. Saito continued, "My wife and I were happy, we can stay somewhere peacefully far from the city. I boasted it to my friends and they had told me why it was sold so cheaply, even when the land was nice. It was because there are claims that the place is haunted."
Had been declined by every ghost hunters in japan.
"Go on," Naru said.
"I'll be straight first, I have asked every Ghost hunting office in Japan and each and every one had declined my request. This place was suggested by a friend of mine and you are my only hope. My wife and I don't know what we would do with the land if we can't even come near it. Please tell us you'll take the case."
"We'll take it."
"I'll pay you a large sum of money-" Saito's eyes widened, "You'll take it?"
"Yes," Naru said and drank his tea, still reading the file. "Mai, take the exact address and contact the team if they're available."
"Yes sir!" Mai saluted and handed a note and a pen to Saito, who wrote down the address.
"How soon do you want us?" Naru asked, looking up from the file.
"Anytime!" the man said happily, "I shall contact you for the details!"
Mai barely had time to hand his coat to him when he grabbed it and rushed outside in excitement.
"He's really happy," Mai said amused. Naru found himself staring at the brunette. Mai noticed this and looked back at Naru "Hmm?"
"Call the team," Naru said finishing his tea, "We're leaving today."
"Right!" Mai said. She contacted Yuuki to tell her to pack a change of clothes and leave it by her door, and then she asked Ayako to pick it up for her.
Mai knocked on Naru's office door, "Naru?"
"Do you need anything?" Naru asked.
"I contacted the team, only Ayako and Takigawa can come," Mai said. "Yasuhara has his final exam soon, Masako has a job and Madoka, well, she's having her cramps."
"And John?" Naru asked.
"He's catching up; he's heard something about the place so he has to search for it."
"Anything else?"
"Yes, Saito-san had informed us we needed heavy clothing."
Early afternoon, the team assembled and prepared the equipment they needed.
"Naru, you really look weird with that muffler" Ayako teased Naru. Naru had a light gray muffler on his neck, which slightly stood out from his dark hair and dark clothes.
"Even when he knows it he still wears it," Monk teased. "I heard from Lin that Naru has another black muffler at home."
Mai looked worriedly at Naru. She was wearing the newly bought black muffler of Naru, (he bought them at the last day of November.)
"It had holes," Naru pointed out as if it was the most reasonable explanation ever.
"Naru, really, I think it's better if you wore this." Mai was starting to remove the black muffler when Naru glared at her and walked to Lin, who was carrying the equipment.
"The only reason he wears them is because of Mai," Monk declared.
"Definitely," Ayako second. Mai gave that muffler to him at Christmas eve, together with the rest.
Two days ago; Christmas with the Gang.
Naru was in a gloomy mood, he was being forced to wear a clothing piece that wasn't black or dark at all. Monk had already taken the pleasure of removing his black one and placing it on his lap. He would've refused if only Mai wasn't looking at him with big eyes, expectantly. When his mouth was about to form a no, Mai cut him off.
"I knew it! I should've made you a black one!" Mai grumbled, "Its fine Naru, you don't have to wear it, I'll make you a new one. Besides, I didn't bring any muffler myself."
Mai grabbed the light gray muffler and wore it around her neck.
Naru sighed, thankful he wasn't forced to wear the gray one, when he looked up, he saw everyone, other than Mai, giving him disapproving looks.
Naru stared at them expressionless until he finally gave up, he took the light gray muffler from Mai's neck and wrapped it on his own. He placed his own black one on top of Mai's head, not bothering to fix it. He used his finger to raise the muffler, covering his lips. Already, the muffler smelt like Mai.
"You don't have to force yourself to wear that Naru, really." Mai said, getting Naru's plain black muffler off her head and glared the knowing smiles of her family. "Geez, you didn't have to force him."
"It's fine Mai," Naru's slightly muffled voice said. Everyone thought Naru looked with the muffler.
"Well, if you say so," Mai was secretly happy Naru was using her gift. "Keep yours too, in case you change your mind."
"You can keep it." Naru said, "You gave me a new one."
"It's a gift then," Mai smiled at the tall man as thanks, "Thank you."
Going back to the present day, by mid-noon they had already filed into the respective vehicles. Naru was already sitting on the van silently, rereading the case. He raised the muffler to cover up to his nose and kept reading.
Mai raised an eyebrow at him, smiling. She walked towards the van and sat beside him.
Edited 07/09/16.
