I do not own Ghost Hunt.

Chapter 5- Confusing Factors


This was awkward, so very awkward. Two worried looks, two thoughtful looks, and one very furious glare rested on me as Naru, or rather, Masaru Kuzuhiko's arms rested comfortably around my waist, his hand rubbing circles into my side which sent electricity through my body.

Monk was the first to speak. "Ma—Yumi may we have a word?" He looked pointedly from me to the other guys.

"On what?" inquired Nar—Kuzuhiko cheerily, however the hint of his threat was pronounced. Monk paused.

"Wedding plans," said Ayako with strained exuberance. I looked up nervously into my possessed boss's face and the kind smile present still threw me. He nodded and kissed my forehead, causing a deep redness to spread through my cheeks.

After I had had enough mind to understand what had happened, I had quickly run to find the others. Kuzuhiko had not been far behind, giving me only a few moments to explain the situation. Undoubtedly, as Monk shut the door behind us and left Ayako and Masako in the room, they were itching more answers.

"Okay, so what happened?" asked Monk in hushed tones. Lin, John, and Monk all waited as I began.

"We found a secret passage in Yumi's room and so we started investigating…"

"Why didn't you come get me?" asked Lin, the strain that is always present when it comes to Naru's safety coming out in his tone.

"Naru refused to do it himself. I didn't want to leave him to go by himself. He was acting so weird."

"Is it possible he was already possessed?" asked John.

"If he was, the ghost didn't have complete control because it was definitely Naru then."

"Okay, so, go on, what happened next?" asked Monk.

"Well, there was like a small cave room in the back and we found all of this stuff that belonged to Yumi and I looked away as we were going through it and when I looked back up, Naru was very weird and then he…"

"He?" urged Monk. I felt my face redden.

"He kissed me," I said quietly, looking at my feet. The others didn't seem phased.

"And, at what point did you realize he was possessed?" asked John.

"He called me 'Yumi,'" I said. "Then I ran and here we are." They were silent, thinking about what I had said.

"It still doesn't make sense," said Monk, pacing with chin in hand. "Why would Kuzuhiko choose Naru?"

"I think I know," I said quietly. From my pocket I pulled the illustration of Yumi had done of Masaru. Their eyes all widened as they saw the picture.

"It could be Naru's older brother," I said.

"Forget that," said Monk. "It could be an older version of Naru himself."

"So, should we exorcise him?" I asked.

"No," said Lin, taking the photo from monk and folding it along the creases. "If we manage to exorcise him and he doesn't leave this place, Mai, you, will most certainly be killed." I felt myself go cold.

"So, what do we do?" asked John.

"We placate him until we can find a way to safely expel him completely from the property."

"And how d-do we placate him?" I asked, trying and failing to keep my voice stable.

"Sorry girl, but your new name is Yumi," said Monk. Before I could respond, the door behind me slid open and an arm slid around my waist.

"Are you done speaking with my fiancé?" asked Naru's, and now Kuzuhiko's, smooth voice. The word fiancé made my heart race and my face burn again.

"Well," Monk hesitantly started.

"Good," said Kuzuhiko, and he wheeled me away and down the hall.

And that's how it went. I now had to pretend I was Yumi, answer to her name. My friends and the hotel staff had to act as the staff would have to Yumi. And I had to front my love for Kuzuhiko.

What's more, part of me was truly happy that this was happening. It rejoiced at every touch, every kiss. And then the other part knew it wasn't Naru. That Naru could not love me. It was impossible and, though I wanted Naru back, I wanted that part of Kuzuhiko that loved me to stay. And that's why I felt guilty. I was confused, and what's more, it took me all of three hours to realize this.

That evening, Ayako walked with me from the dining hall to my room.

"So you guys still have no clue on how to get rid of Kuzuhiko?" I asked quietly, eyes searching to insure he couldn't hear me. Ayako nodded her head grimly.

"No, the guys are searching almost non stop. They haven't found anything yet. We're just lucky that this time period isn't too different from Kuzuhiko's." I stopped to enter my room, but Ayako caught my arm.

"Where are you going?"

"To my room," I said, confused. Ayako searched the hall we were in and then moved closer to me.

"Mai, you have to act as Yumi would, that includes sleeping in her room." My eyes widened as she began to pull me along.

"Oh, no, I'm not staying in there."

"I'm sorry but we haven't any choice. I'm right down the hall if you need me. There's nothing to worry about." And with that false assurance, she shoved me through the door and shut it behind me.

I stared at the deathly quiet room, the silence seeming to hum. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, as if testing thin ice, but everything seemed fine. I slowly walked to the grand, four posted bed and sat, not sure what to do with myself. My eyes went to the place where I knew the passage was.

Should I…

I stood and walked to the wall, searching for whatever trigger Naru had used to get us through before. I couldn't see anything, though.

"There's nothing weird…" I paused and knelt down. On the wall was a minute dent, the paint chipped away. I stuck my finger against the small mark and the wall next to it slid open. I stood in front of the dark opening, the cool air gentle on my face. I reached out and grabbed my flash light.

The cave was just as we had left it, the diary I had had lying where I had dropped it on the ground. I picked it up. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. I turned the light quickly to that spot to find only cave wall. Again, something moved just out of my line of sight and, once again, I turned quickly to find nothing.

My heart raced and my throat burned.

"Is someone there?" I asked shakily. That same knocking noise filled the air. I turned back towards the tunnel as it echoed down through it from the door.

"Hello?" I asked, fear creeping through my body. Slowly I began to walk back, the knocking persisting ever more until I reached the last bend. The sound stopped and all I could hear was my own labored breath. I stepped around the bend to where I could see the room and hesitantly stepped to the opening. The room was empty.

After laughing at myself, I pressed the little knick in the wall and sank down into the desk chair, the diary in my lap and my face in my hands.

What was going on? The activity should have stopped when Kuzuhiko possessed Naru, so why did it keep going on? Is it possible there was more than one…

Hands on my shoulders made me jump. I spun around to find Naru's face full of worry.

"Forgive me, Yumi, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, no, it's fine." I let him guide me from my seat and into his arms.

"You seem so tense, is everything alright?"

No. "Yes."

This was going to be a long case.


Okay so I thought being injured would open up my schedule but all it did was had doctor's appointments and physical therapy. But I was home sick today so I felt I would get this chapter posted. I wanted to thank everyone for my reviews. I wanted to give a shout out to all of my favorite reviews but then I realized I love them all. You guys are great readers and I get a new one almost every day. So thanks for all of my currently 535 reviews. You guys are the best!

Update Soon

-mytruthaboutlife