Behind Closed Doors
File 7: Snow Joke
Mai glared across the table at Masako.
That little twerp had said it would help them connect to the spirits better if they all held hands for the séance, which really meant she just wanted to hold hands with Naru. Although Mai lucked out in this situation since she would have the opportunity to hold Naru's hand as well, it still felt as if Masako had won some sort of unspoken competition between the two of them.
The medium smirked evilly in Mai's direction as she joined hands with Naru and Miyamoto. Huffing, Mai reluctantly did the same. Don't get her wrong! It's not like she didn't want to hold Naru's hand – of course she did. It's just…after the whole kitchen moment she felt so awkward. Naru probably felt the same, too. She just didn't want him to be uncomfortable around her. Well, she could go ahead and shoot the idea in the face with Masako calling the shots.
Naru tightened his hold on her hand, although he had probably done it unintentionally. His hand felt so warm and comforting within hers. Mai never would've imagined his hands to feel this way if she weren't experiencing it right now. He was so pale, like the moon. And he was also usually emotionally cold as well.
Mai took the moment to glance up at him, only to receive the shock of her life.
Her face quickly snapped back into place, leaving her neck stinging with the force of the jerk. Mai's blush quickly spread all the way up to her ears. Why had Naru had been staring at her?
Hell if she knew! Why would any hot guy ever look at her, to be honest? Was it because she looked weird? Was her hair messed up? Did she have something in her teeth? A pimple? She could crawl into a whole and die.
Naru squeezed at her hand once more, tighter this time. When she looked up, he was facing Masako who was beginning the séance.
That's right, what on earth was she thinking about? She needed to focus on this case, first and foremost.
"Spirits of the past, move among us. Be guided by the light of this world and visit upon us."
Mai held her breath, her hand twitching against Naru's. There was a long period of silence and, disappointingly enough, nothing happened. The brunette sighed, her shoulders slumping as Masako repeated the chant over again.
What the hell?
She didn't understand. Why wasn't he making an attempt to communicate with them? Setou had already told her that he had been trying to get their attention. Shouldn't he be jumping at the opportunity to explain things? Give them clues so that they could help?
Masako huffed in frustration, repeating the chant for a third time when the silence became unbearable once more.
Tears pricked at Mai's eyes. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to will away the tears when suddenly a cool breeze relaxed her. It was a familiar feeling.
Mai opened her eyes, only to see Setou's ghostly face a few mere inches away from her own. Gasping loudly, the brunette almost tipped backwards in her chair, but was held firmly in place by Naru and Miyamoto's hands.
"S–Setou?" The brunette managed to choke out.
The spirit stuck out of the middle of the table from his shoulders up, facing Mai with a smile on his face. "Mai-chan."
A bit miffed that she wasn't the one being addressed (she was the medium, after all), Masako interrupted, "Now that you're finally here, we'll get down to business. There are a few questions that we need to ask you."
Setou turned to Masako, his face suddenly serious. "I'm dead, right? I've been thinking about it a lot lately and that seems to be the only explanation. So please tell me the truth."
Masako said nothing for a while before nodding slowly. "You are dead, Setou-san."
The man smiled sadly, "I don't know why I'm surprised…I thought that was the reason."
"Do you think if you knew the reason you died you would be able to move on?" Mai inquired gently, more tears threatening to spill. "We want to help you, so that you don't have to be stuck here any longer. You don't have to suffer anymore."
Setou laughed. "That's very kind of you."
"There was a newspaper article on the incident that claims the avalanche might've been premeditated. There was evidence of a bomb," Naru commented for the first time since Setou had appeared. "The only fatality was yours. Although a thorough investigation was done, the police could find no connection between you and the bomb."
The spirits eyes widened at this tidbit of information. "You said a bomb?"
Naru simply nodded. "You see a connection?"
"Well, its just speculation," the ghostly man whispered, sinking slightly into the wooden table, "but an old friend of mine used to be interested in that kind of thing…"
Mai's eyes widened. "It couldn't have been…!"
Miyamoto's eyes narrowed. "My father?"
Setou shook his head, denial setting in. "B-But he decided to take over his family's ski lodge! He dropped out of college instead of pursuing a career in engineering. He couldn't have…he was my friend…"
The brunette covered her mouth in horror. "But he was the one that invited you and your wife to the ski lodge for your anniversary. Are you sure…?"
"He was my friend!"
With a gust of wind, the spirit had disappeared.
Mai breathed heavily, cursing under her breath. Why was she suddenly feeling over heated? She broke the circle and quickly stood from the table, exiting the building and escaping onto the frozen porch.
Her boss called after her and he hastily followed, his steps stopping on the porch when he saw her.
Mai glanced up at him apologetically, "Sorry, I just needed some fresh air. I feel sick."
Naru gave her a strange look, torn between worry and anger. Mai nearly snorted at her own thoughts. Worried over her?
"Mai, I think you know what we have to do next," he said, crossing his arms.
The brunette gasped. "You're not planning on exorcising him, are you?"
Naru glared at her. "Exorcize him with what, exactly?" That's right. It was just them and Masako, none of which had the skills to properly exorcize spirits.
Mai glanced at Naru sheepishly. Well, he probably had some sort of ability to perform exorcisms, but there was no doubt that it would drain him dangerously. Speaking of which, she still knew hardly anything about Naru's powers. What exactly was this man capable of?
"Sorry, I'm not thinking straight…" Mai admitted. She blushed, mentally blaming her muddled mind on that almost-kiss that had nearly taken place in the kitchen.
Naru stepped closer, a dangerous look on his face. Mai almost flinched. "There's only three of us now, Mai. I need you to be fully capable. Screw your head on straight."
Mai flushed angrily, stomping her foot in emphasis. "Well, whose fault is it that I'm like this in the first place?"
That had not come out the way she had intended. The brunette quickly realized her mistake when she saw Naru's shocked reaction. And if Mai hadn't been red in the face before, she certainly was now.
"Mai…" Naru took a step closer, looking at her with confused eyes. "What are you talking about?"
"You're infuriating!" Mai exclaimed, backing away quickly as if trying to distract him from what she has just admitted. She shook her head, with a pitiful laugh. "I can't handle you right now."
The brunette moved around him to find refuge inside where Masako and Miyamoto were waiting. Naru hated other hearing about his business; maybe he would drop the subject around the others? However, Naru's reflexes allowed him to expertly cut her off, his arm flying out to block the threshold that Mai was dying to get through. "Mai."
Surely, Mai's heart was about to break her ribcage it was beating so hard. "Naru, it's nothing."
"Answer me," he demanded again, beginning to sound like a spoiled child.
"Naru!" This time Mai couldn't help but sound pleading. "Do you have to do this now?"
"Yes," he replied stubbornly, surprisingly relentless. Usually, if an argument went this far he would leave it alone. He had never resorted in blocking off her exits and trapping her.
Not seeing a way out of the situation she was in, Mai sighed and calmed herself. She closed her eyes, suddenly finding it way too cold outside for her liking. "You frustrate me more than anyone else on the planet, Naru. I can barely think straight when I'm around you, you know? It makes it hard for me to be efficient at anything I do, which you don't miss a chance to tease me about. It makes me nervous when you watch me…and it makes me nervous when you don't! I just…I don't know what to do with myself."
There was an instant of pregnant silence. Mai stared at her feet, wondering when the awful moment would end.
"Is it a bad feeling?" her employer inquired softly.
Slightly surprised at the gentleness of his voice, Mai shook her head in embarrassment. "Not really…"
"Then, that's it?"
Mai looked up at Naru in disbelief, slightly horrified at the huge smirk across his face. That's it? Yes, that's it! She poured out all of her feelings, like he wanted, and he didn't even feel a hint of remorse for forcing her into doing so!
Her face turning beet red once again, the brunette raised her fist, ready to give him a piece of mind.
A laughed bubbled out of his mouth before Naru was able to stop it and Mai's heart nearly stopped. It was so rare for him to actually smile, let alone laugh genuinely. The brunette was so astounded that all of her anger remained forgotten.
"We should go inside," Naru suggested, watching his assistant begin to shiver from the cold.
Mai laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, you're probably right."
Naru raised an eyebrow. Probably right? He was always right. Mai could almost hear him saying those exact words and continued to laugh even more as Naru led her into the warmth of the cabin house.
"Perhaps it would help for Setou to speak with Miyamoto-san himself? Maybe to forgive him?" Mai suggested with a shrug, leaning back on the couch as she hovered over a cup of hot tea.
Naru nodded, thinking it over.
Mai perked up at this, a smiling tugging at her lips. So he was actually considering something she had said?
"My father?" Miyamoto looked up in concern. "Unfortunately, that's impossible. He died a few years ago in a skiing accident…"
The brunette would've scoffed had it not been so incredibly inappropriate at the moment. The irony of the entire situation was just becoming ridiculous. And there goes her idea that even Naru hadn't criticized, down the drain.
"Plus, we're still partially snowed in. It would be a challenge to have anyone come down here," Masako commented.
Naru simply nodded again, looking off into the distance as if he weren't even listening.
Mai frowned. Okay so maybe she hadn't had the best of ideas, but no one else had any input so her pride didn't feel that wounded. "Well, maybe you can convince him to come to terms with reality, Masako? Help him pass on."
The medium smiled that famous behind-the-sleeve smile, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "But Mai, you've done so well lately with helping spirits pass on. Why would I take this one from you? You also seem to have a much deeper connection with him."
"Masako is right," Naru said, speaking for the first time. "Mai, you should be the one to take this one."
The brunette sighed at having said job thrust upon her. "Well, I'm going to nap a little. See what I can see."
After twenty minutes or so of resting peacefully on the couch, Mai slipped off to the astral plane.
It was dark, like usual. Mai hovered in the midst of it all, orbs continuously floating passed her in an upward motion. It felt like it had been years since she'd visited this place, and oh how she had missed it.
"Mai."
The brunette nearly had a heart attack when the soft voice came from behind her. Yes, she had been expecting to meet Setou here, but this voice did not belong to him. In fact, it was all too familiar.
Mai turned slowly, facing the boy she once thought she'd never see again. "Is that really you, Gene?"
Gene smiled, pulling the girl into a quick hug. "It feels like its been forever."
"Has it been you in all of my dreams lately?" Mai inquired curiously. "Naru said I might see you again one day, but I had not clue that things would just…return to normal."
"I wouldn't say that things are returning to normal," The boy laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. His mannerisms were so boyish, so unlike Naru, that it made Mai smile. It was only too bad that he couldn't be around for his brother in the flesh. "I can still continue to be your spirit guide, however. There are a few things I'd like to teach you since our skills are so similar."
"That would be great! But…" Mai trailed off, looking at the boy curiously, "is it okay that you haven't passed on yet?"
Gene smiled sadly, "There's nothing much we can do about it right now. I'll be fine, though."
"You would let me know if there were any way I could help you out?" Mai questioned, holding his hand comfortingly.
"Absolutely," Gene assured with a grin, "But for now you have work to do, right? I'm sorry for distracting you."
The brunette couldn't help but tear up. "I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of you now, right?"
Gene started to fade, but gave her a wink, "Of course! Oh, and tell Naru to check his mirror!"
As Gene dissipated into thin air, Mai frowned. "Check his mirror? What on earth does that mean? I guess its like an inside joke or something."
A tap on her shoulder disrupted Mai's thoughts.
"Setou."
Thank you guys so much for waiting on me! I'm so bad at being on time, especially since I've been having horrible writers block lately. Sorry for this horrible excuse of a chapter, because it's the best I could come up with.