Previously:
"It may be breathtaking, but it's still a haunted mansion," Ayako said, feeling apprehensive.
"Obviously. We wouldn't be here otherwise," Bou-san quipped.
"I know that," Ayako huffed, while John smiled wryly, hoping it wouldn't come to blows. But then what the monk said sank in, and Ayako suddenly turned on him when he sighed and shook his head at her in a caricature of a foreigner. "Hey, what's with the sudden attitude, you jerk!?" she shouted indignantly with a vein throbbing on her head.
"Oww! I was only being honest!" Bou-san protested when she hit him.
"Yeah!? You're trying to piss me off!"
"Stop it!"
"I see you two haven't changed," Yasuhara observed with a smile. He was wearing a very nice suit today in order to look his part. "They remind me of a cat and mouse cartoon."
"Tom and Jerry?" Hitomi asked.
"That's the one!"
Case 7: The Bloodstained Labyrinth (Part 2)
Upon entering the mansion, they were met by the client's representative, who was waiting for them in front of a grand staircase that was just inside the main foyer.
"Welcome, and thank you for coming. My name is Ohashi," the middle-aged man greeted them politely with a bow. "I have been given full authority in this matter. You may think of me as your client." Mai was so nervous she had a twitch. "Incidentally, your president is...?"
"Oh, that would be me," Yasuhara said, stepping forward with a bright smile. "I am the president, Shibuya Kazuya." Mai sweat-dropped.
"I heard that you were extremely young," Ohashi said. "As for the rest of you..."
"They are all spiritualists who are also close acquaintances of mine. I asked for their cooperation on this case," Yasuhara explained smoothly.
"Uh, my name is Takigawa Houshou," Bou-san introduced himself.
"I'm Matsuzaki Ayako."
"And I'm John Brown."
All three bowed as they introduced themselves, feeling a little nervous in the presence of the man acting as a direct proxy of a former prime minister.
"These four are my assistants," Yasuhara added, gesturing towards the official SPR employees next.
"I am Matsumoto Hitomi," Hitomi introduced herself calmly with a polite smile and a graceful bow.
'Wow, as expected of Sempai...' Mai thought nervously as she bowed and introduced herself too. "I'm Taniyama Mai." She glanced sideways at Naru, wondering what he was going to say.
"My name is... Narumi Kazuo," he introduced himself, standing straight.
'Who's that...?' Mai thought, staring at him as if he had suddenly become a stranger. Hitomi smiled wryly at the expression on her face. Since they always called him by his nickname, Naru had thought it would be best to have 'Naru' as part of his alias. She had helped direct him to a website that had names in both kanji and English. It was kind of a joke, actually, because 'Narumi' was written with the kanji for 'become' and 'beautiful', and the given name 'Kazuo' was written with the kanji for 'peaceful' and 'man'... the same as her father's. She wondered if Naru had been aware of that when he chose it.
"My name is Lin Koujo," Lin said, interrupting their musings. Hitomi was almost as surprised by the others' reactions as they were when they heard his full name. Their eyes were wide, and they had all turned to look at him as if he had said something strange. This couldn't be their first time hearing it... could it?
"Are you from China?" Ohashi asked with a polite curiosity.
"Hong Kong, originally," Lin replied.
"Whattt!?" most of the others exclaimed, shocked.
"Really!?" Mai asked, surprised. Mai gulped nervously when her wide eyes met with Lin's narrowed ones, and Naru added his own signature 'shut up' look to silence them. 'Unbelievable. He's a foreigner...?' Mai thought, seriously taken aback by this revelation. 'I know they don't all look like John-san, but... Lin-san looks more Japanese than Hitomi-sempai!'
"Well, that solves one mystery," Bou-san said.
"Huh?" Mai said, glancing at him in confusion.
"Nothing, I've just always wondered were 'Lin' or 'Rin' came from," Bou-san explained. "Was that his family name or his given name? I mean, wouldn't it be kind of sad to be born with that name? As in... Rin Tin Tin-chan..." Mai's eyebrows shot up and Hitomi had to bite her lip when they heard that. That's right, as a child, Lin or 'Rin,' would have probably been called 'Rin-chan' if he were Japanese—just like the dog! That was way too adorable. "Don't you think that's hilarious?" the monk asked as he, Mai, and Ayako burst out into a fit of giggles. Hitomi smiled wryly and sweat-dropped, feeling a little sorry for Lin-san, who was now staring at them.
"Stop it! Idiot!" Ayako hissed, struggling really hard not to laugh, and failing. "They'd better not hear us!"
"Please come this way," Ohashi said, ready to lead them farther into the mansion.
"Uh, right!" they said a little nervously, realizing they had probably been holding everyone up. As Mai hurried to follow, she experienced an unexpected and ominous sensation. A chill went up her spine, as if someone had just walked over her grave. She felt like she was being watched, but when she looked around, there was no one else there.
"What's wrong?" Bou-san asked, pausing when he noticed that she had fallen behind.
"Uh... oh, nothing... " Mai replied uneasily, squeezing her arm before quickly catching up. 'For a moment... I got goose bumps,' she thought. 'And I smelled something strange...'
—∞—
"To begin..." Ohashi said once everyone was gathered together and either seated around a long dining table, or in the three armchairs that had been placed nearby around a smaller table. Actually, Hitomi and Bou-san were still standing, and she watched everything from her perch against one of the arms of Mai's armchair. "I would like to introduce everyone whom I've asked to come." He started with the man seated at the end of the table closest to him, an old monk with a bald head and a long beard who appeared to be in his sixties. "Housen Temple's chief priest, Imura Kenshou-sama. Igarashi Chie-sensei, a professor from Otoha University..." An elderly lady with grey hair and a kind face, who was wearing a dress suit. "And her assistant, Suzuki Naoko-sama." A young woman in her twenties with a nice smile, also dressed for business. "Hara Masako-sama, a medium." As usual, Masako was wearing a very tasteful kimono. She had arrived separately from the rest of them since she had received her own invitation, but they would all be working together once the investigation started. "Minami Reimei-sama, president of the Minami Psychic Research Center..." An almost middle-aged man with slicked-back hair and a white suit with a mandarin collar. "And his employees, Atsugi Hideo-sama, Shiraishi Yukie-sama, and Fukuda Miwa-sama." All three were dressed conservatively. Atsugi and Fukuda were in their twenties, while Shiraishi appeared to be in her mid to late thirties and was wearing a magatama rosary around her neck. "And their observer... Dr. Oliver Davis of the British Society for Psychic Research." The only other person left at the table, an older white man who was near middle-aged, smirked slightly at the introduction. Hitomi nearly slipped off the chair's arm and face-faulted.
'Wha... What?' she thought startled, sweat-dropping, as she stared at the fake, shooting Naru a questioning look, doing her best not to make any sort of fuss that might give him away. She could tell from the look in his eyes that he wanted her to keep it that way.
"No way... really?" Ayako asked, surprised. She and the others were shocked as well, but not for the same reason. They thought Minami's Dr. Davis was the real deal.
"Whoa..." Mai said, amazed. 'That's Dr. Davis?' she thought. He certainly seemed like what you would expect of foreigner with his reputation. 'The researcher from the British Society of Psychic Research, or 'SPR'? He's a legend among those who possess PK and ESP powers. Unbelievable. To be able to meet him here...' Mai nudged Bou-san, who was standing on her other side. 'Hey, hey, hey. You think he'll demonstrate PK or anything else to us?" she asked excitedly.
"..." Bou-san just stared straight ahead at Dr. Davis in a daze, too stunned to respond.
"... Bou-san?" Mai asked as she and Hitomi sweat-dropped.
"Huh? What is it?" he asked, looking a little startled as he snapped out of it.
"Man, why are you acting so weird?" Mai asked, sweat-dropping again.
'He's totally star-struck...' Hitomi thought with a wry smile. Poor thing. He had no idea... She wondered what Naru was making of all of this. On the outside he looked cool as a cucumber.
"... Amazing..." Ayako said. "The original SPR is here."
"During the course of your investigations on our behalf, you may stay here," Ohashi continued. "You may retire or return to your quarters at any time, but... we cannot permit you to leave the premises. We ask that you please respect these conditions."
'Is that because he's worried too much movement will attract the media?' Hitomi wondered. But then, how were they supposed to gather more data if they needed an outside source? She somehow doubted this place had been outfitted for the internet or wifi.
"You can count on us!" Minami responded enthusiastically. "After all, we have Dr. Davis. And if the situation should get even worse, I can always call on Alex Tanous, Uri Geller, or someone else!" He laughed as if he had said something clever, but Hitomi could tell Imura-san and Igarashi-sensei were not amused.
—∞—
"That Minami-san is amazing. He knows so many famous people," Mai said as they were setting up base in the room that had been provided for them in one of the newer wings that had been built onto the main house. She was helping John match cables to the monitors he was arranging on the shelves.
"He sure does," John agreed. "But, I don't know Dr. Davis personally."
"Of course. Where is he from? America?" Mai asked.
"He's English," John replied. "I thought he would be younger till I saw and heard him speak, but..."
"Hmm...? Oh, you can speak English, John?" Mai said. John stared at her.
"Australia... is an English-speaking country..." he reminded her kindly, sweat-dropping.
'Oh, that's right," Mai thought, blushing bright red in embarrassment as she sweat-dropped, chagrined at herself. She was so glad that everyone else was too busy with their own tasks to have heard that. "Ahahaha. It's nothing... I can do a little interpreting for you," she blabbered nervously waving her hands in a flustered manner. "Don't worry."
"So he's really that doctor? Takigawa-san was surprised too," John continued with a smile, letting her little mistake slide. "Takigawa-san... I think he... inclines...?"
"... Idolizes?" Mai suggested helpfully.
"That's right, he idolizes the doctor," John said.
"I see... so he's a huge fan..." Mai said as she glanced at the monk, who was still walking around with a dazed look on his face. 'Wow! That explains that expression on his face,' she thought, sweat-dropping. Ayako seemed a little excited, but Masako was completely unfazed. So were Lin and Naru. She couldn't see Hitomi's face because she had disappeared under a desk to plug in the computers. It was a good thing she was wearing hakama and boots today. Her vintage kimono seemed an appropriate match to the old building. Almost too much, in a way, since she could have been mistaken for a Meiji era student. With the right makeup, she could look like a ghost...
"You've brought some remarkable equipment," Ohashi remarked as he stood in the doorway, watching them. He seemed surprised. "Are you sure this room will be sufficient?" he asked Yasuhara.
"Yes, it will, thank you," Yasuhara replied politely. "Oh, would you mind answering a few questions, Ohashi-san?"
'Huh? Yasuhara-san!?' Mai thought worriedly, wondering how he was going to pull that off.
"Absolutely. Feel free to ask me anything," Ohashi replied.
"Thank you very much. Let's begin... Narumi-kun, would you mind...?" Yasuhara said, turning to Naru.
"Yes, sir," Naru replied dutifully, glancing up from his checklist. "Hitomi?"
"Right here," she said, handing him a binder from the crate next to her.
'Oh, right...' Mai thought, realizing they must have arranged this beforehand. Naru grabbed the binder and showed Ohashi-san over to the table in the middle of the room, where they both took a seat across from each other for the interview.
"Please... could you confirm the details of this case?" Naru asked, opening the binder to verify the information that they had already collected.
"Okay," Ohashi agreed.
"We know it was the Sensei's wife's grandfather who originally erected this building," Naru said. "But, apparently, neither the Sensei's wife, her father, or anyone else from their family ever lived here... or so we're told."
"Rumor has it that a spirit appeared," Ohashi said. Nearly everyone stopped what they doing and listened when they heard that. "As time passed, it was forgotten... but then, two months ago, a boy vanished from here. Some local juveniles broke in, since the building looked vacant. By then this mansion's structure had become convoluted and unsafe. Some areas had even deteriorated to the point of collapse. The police and local authorities searched the premises, but the boy was never found. And there's more. During the search, a young firefighter also vanished."
"Then several people claim to have seen human apparitions in the mansion. Actually, even before this, it's reported that during renovations, workers had also disappeared," Naru added. "The Sensei's wife's father supposedly wrote in his will: 'They gave their all to this mansion, and it's here they shall remain... until they rot.'" Hitomi cringed a little on the inside at the ominous statement.
"However... when two more people disappeared, terrible rumors began to spread," Ohashi continued. "To prevent further incidents... I called upon you mediums to resolve this."
"I understand," said Naru. "We can see that this is a very old building. Do you know exactly what year it was built?"
"We heard that construction started around the year Meiji 10," Ohashi replied.
"Meiji 10... is the year 1877, right?"
"This building is said to have been renovated so much that hardly anything remains of the original structure."
"It seems that Sensei's wife's father has done some sort of renovation every year since his father built it. Why every year? Even though no one lives here?" Naru asked.
"That's what we'd like to know," said Ohashi.
"What sort of man was this former head of the family?" Naru asked after a moment.
"His name was Miyama Kaneyuki-sama, and he owned a lot of land here in the Suwa region. He built a silk-spinning factory and then eventually devoted himself to philanthropy," Ohashi answered. "I hear he built orphanages and charity hospitals. Then, in the financial panic of Meiji 40... that is, 1907, he lost much of his business and had to shut down his hospitals and other interests. He passed away three years later."
"Did Kaneyuki-shi live here?"
"Yes, he did."
"Ohashi-san, have you ever seen anything here yourself?"
"I stayed here for one week to make preparations, but I saw nothing. I did hear stories from others, though."
"Did you hear them from the people who were with the missing persons? Could we ask some questions of those who were with the boy who went missing?"
"I'm sorry, but that is strictly off the record. We wish to keep this to our selves as much as possible, so..." Ohashi replied firmly. Naru didn't seem to appreciate that answer, but he didn't push it.
"And, finally... Do you know what might be causing these ghosts?" Naru asked. It didn't sound like they had definitive proof either way yet, but Ohashi-san and his employer probably wouldn't have brought in so many paranormal investigators if they didn't genuinely believe the source of their problem could be something of a supernatural nature.
"Hmm... I don't have any ideas myself," Ohashi replied with a frown. The final words of the last head of the family were suspicious, though.
"Is that so?" said Naru. "Oh, do you have the house's blueprints on hand?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not, unfortunately. But I'll inquire if you like."
"... Thank you very much," Naru said.
With the interview brought to a close, Ohashi-san left to check on the other groups.
"Huh. Doesn't this feel like the proverbial 'haunted mansion'?" Ayako remarked.
"Agreed," said Bou-san. "An old Western-styled mansion with lots of history... Hey, Naru-chan, what's wrong?" he asked when he noticed how the teen was still sitting at the table, deep in thought.
"Something's not right," Naru said.
"Yes, it's strange..." Hitomi agreed. 'From the sound of those last words, there could have been some unsolved murders here...' she thought, feeling a little uneasy.
"What is?" Bou-san asked.
"A haunted mansion, abandoned for years... a complex building with no blueprints... we need to stay there overnight," Naru said.
"Whoa, I'm not sure I'm up for that," Bou-san said.
"We'll go there discretely," said Naru. "Mai. Hitomi."
"Yes?" the girls asked.
"For now, set up thermal sensors in various locations," he instructed them. "We'll start by taking temperature readings throughout the area. Bou-san, we'll go before the sun sets. Someone should definitely be there after sunset."
"Is that safe?" Bou-san asked.
"It should be," Naru replied.
"If the mansion's layout is really that easy to get lost in, then maybe you should mark the walls with some chalk or bring a ball of string with you to keep track of your route," Hitomi suggested.
"Oh, that's not a bad idea," the monk said.
"We should go a little before sunset, and in pairs. No one patrols alone," Naru said. The last thing they needed was to lose one of their own. He could tell there was something strange about this building from the little they had already seen of it, and even if there were no ghosts, it sounded as though some areas had become dangerously deteriorated. "And Matsuzaki-san, please write up some charms. Enough for all us and each room."
"Aren't we being a bit over cautious?" Bou-san asked.
"Those are the words of a careless man looking for an excuse to be lazy," Naru retorted.
"What!?" the monk said indignantly.
"This is a haunted mansion, which has been vacant for a long time. Not only is it complex, there are no floor plans. This is where we are staying. It's only normal that I'd be cautious," Naru said coolly. He didn't want a repeat of what happened to Hitomi on the last case. They were very lucky her injury had turned out to be so mild... although, her grandfather still gave them both a very irritating earful about it when he found out. Bou-san scowled in response, but then he suddenly perked up and smirked. "What?" Naru asked.
"I see, we should definitely be on our toes," the monk said. "But this cautious attitude is such a sudden change of heart for you... 'investigator Narumi-kun,'" he teased.
"That's right! You don't sound like a lowly 'investigator,'" Ayako said high-handedly, deciding to jump on the bandwagon. Opportunities to tease Naru were too rare for her to resist. "Authority like that is reserved only for the president! And that would be our honorable 'guest'."
"Right!" Bou-san agreed with a grin.
"Naturally, he wouldn't cop such an attitude with us," Ayako added loftily with a laugh.
'Now that's going overboard...' Mai thought, sweat-dropping.
'These two sure do like to live dangerously...' Hitomi thought wryly.
"... Let's come to an agreement, then," Naru said, standing up. "I will defer to my elders." His words pierced Ayako's ego right through the heart. "So... whoever wants to take charge of this case, please step forward. Matsuzaki-san? Takigawa-san?" he continued, beaming at them with a smile that was so lovely and radiant that it could have made flowers bloom, belying the implied danger in his tone and the ice in his eyes.
"We're sorry..." the two adults said almost immediately, shivering. Was it just them, or did the temperature in the room just go down a few degrees?
'Don't those guys know their limits?' Mai thought, sweat-dropping again as she watched.
"... Masako? Are you all right?" Hitomi asked when she noticed how tired the medium looked.
"What's wrong? You look pale," Mai said, also taking note of her poor condition when she turned and saw how much weaker she suddenly seemed.
"Something's... I've felt an anxiety since we entered this house," Masako said. It had been wearing on her that whole time, and was beginning to weigh her down something terrible. "There's—the scent of blood in here." Hitomi frowned slightly with worry, while Mai's eyes widened a little in recognition.
"... Uh. I see..." she said quietly.
"Mai?" Hitomi said, concerned. That look on her face... Did Mai also...?
"What is it?" Naru asked.
"For a moment, at the entrance... I thought I smelled blood," Mai said.
"What!?" Ayako exclaimed as she and Bou-san whipped their heads around to look at her too.
"Hey, you should have said something sooner!" Bou-san scolded her. Stuff like that could be important.
"But... I thought I was imagining it," Mai said defensively.
'But Masako also sensed the smell of blood,' Hitomi thought warily. 'An old mansion with rumors of spirits and missing people... What's lurking here...?' she wondered.
