DISCLAIMER: All Ghost Hunt Characters belongs to Fuyumi Ono, I only own the plot and any future Original Characters.
Thank you and Enjoy!
The client, Hanajima Kou, was waiting for them quite anxiously but his face suddenly lit up when he saw their group, he almost ran towards them.
"Taniyama-san, thank you for accepting this case, and thank goodness that you have a team with you. You know that they will be worried if you took this case alone like you initially planned."
Mai only smiled at Hanajima's statement, "There are change of plans, Hanajima-san. This is my boss, Shibuya Kazuya, he is the one who took the case." Oliver stepped forward and introduces the rest of the team. Hanajima lead them to their base and explains that the building has no blueprint.
"It's fine, Hanajima-san. I have a copy of their initial visit here before they passed the cased to me. I'll just give it to them once we settle down and rechecked it."
"I understand, Taniyama-san. Though I really doubt that they will make a mistake in the blueprint before handing it to you.
"It's better to be safe than sorry." Oliver and the others were intrigued and shocked when they heard Mai spoke in perfect English with little to no hint of Japanese accent.
"Ah, yes, those known words." Everyone went quiet after that and continued their way to their supposed base.
"This is the largest room that this building has, and it has the most working electrical plugs. Your sleeping quarters is in the connecting room, the other places are not that clean and suitable for sleeping." Everybody was looking around the room while Mai was leaning against the doorway.
"Hanajima-san, you should stay here and recount all the things that has happened here to my boss while we set up. I know that you don't want to be here during late at night." Mai said without even looking at them, she was just staring the hallway they just walked through.
John noticed this and went to her, "Mai-san, what is it?"
"Hara-san, do you feel it?" Mai asked still looking at the hallway.
"Yes, but it's subtle. Like it does not want to make itself known."
"We should set up, so that we can finish early. They said that most of the activities are during the night. John, let's go." Mai and John left without waiting for the others who were left stunned. They only snapped out of it when they heard Hanajima sighed.
"She brought her team, but she's still investigating on her own." Oliver made the other help the two while Masako stayed in the base with Lin, Oliver, and the client. Once they have the information that they need from the client, they let him go. Everyone was silently setting up the base, still can't help but silently wonder about Mai.
"Matsuzaki-san, do you have an ice pack with you? Or anything for bruises?" John whispered to Ayako as soon as they finished setting up.
"I have a cream for it, it's in my bag, why? Did you get bruised by setting up?" Ayako asked while getting the said cream.
"It's not for me." John took the cream and went to Mai who just finished giving tea from the faux kitchen. As soon as she sat down, John kneeled with one knee in front of her and took hand and raised her long sleeves. To those who are watching in the sideline saw the nasty bruise marked on her both wrists.
"You should tell me about this, so that it can remedied immediately." John reprimanded her like a child. Mai just smiled and nodded, watching how John gently applied the cream from one hand to another.
"Mai, did you get attack while setting up?" Takigawa asked as he stared at her bruise with wide eyes.
"No, it was from the dream I had on our way here." Mai softly said as John was just wrapping up.
"Taniyama-san, about that dream—"
"I still can't tell you, Sir, as that dream is still vague. I refuse to give you an incomplete information." Both Mai and Oliver are having a stare-down and everyone is just holding their breath and silently watching. They know better than to interfere, seeing how Mai has more bite on her than she was when she was sixteen, they might make things worse. Mai was the one who cut the stare-down short and went to her bag.
"Lin-san, the blueprint is in this flash drive. Can you please check it to see if we need to do some readjustments?" Lin nodded and took the flash drive from Mai.
"Do you have any orders, Sir? Because John and I will start setting up the cameras and taking temperatures if I am no longer needed." Oliver just shook his head and let them be on their way. He was starting to get irritated with her professional, almost cold, attitude.
Mai and John silently set up the camera with the help of Lin back in the base. Mai could feel John's cautious glances towards her as they walk towards another room where Hanajima said has most activities.
"Is there something you want to say, John?" Mai asked nonchalantly.
"Mai-san, are you sure about the situation? Is it really helping?" Mai stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, with a sad smile on her face.
"I have no choice but to be distant, John. Even if I can control myself now, I'm still afraid that I might end up hurting them…Especially him" John put his hands on her shoulders as she visibly shakes with distant look on her face, she's starting to recall a bad memory.
"What I saw that day is still vivid, but as long as I keep my distance, I am keeping them safe." John just nodded, no longer want to push the girl who is obviously standing at the edge. They continued to do their job and went back to the base immediately.
"Shibuya-san, all of the cameras are set up in the locations where Hanajima-san said that is most active. Are there any more locations to add, Sir?" Mai asked as soon as they entered the base.
"None as of yet, Taniyama-san…Tea." Mai nodded went to their faux kitchen without her usual complain and made the tea. The place is a bit quiet as Yasuhara and Madoka went to research about the place and Masako along with Ayako and Takigawa went to have a walk-through of the place.
"Taniyama-san, did you felt or notice something while you set up the cameras?" Lin asked as she set Oliver's tea and gave him a cup of coffee.
"Not much. I can feel slight presence when we're outside but as soon as we enter, only remnants of their presence are left." Lin typed this information as Mai continued.
"The last room on the second floor and lounge room two doors down in this floor is where I felt that, and those two rooms are where the temperature is a bit lower than normal, but not cold enough to be considered as paranormal."
"Thank you, Taniyama-san." Mai nodded and mumbled a 'no problem'. The trio who walked through the place came back and Masako reported almost the same thing as Mai, which Lin mentioned to them.
John noticed that Mai kept looking around the base as if trying to figure something.
"Is there a problem, Mai-san?" John asked, wondering if she is feeling something.
"It's nothing…Lin-san is the one who set up the wards, right?" Lin stopped typing he heard the question.
"I-I think so. I'm not sure, why is there something wrong?" Everybody is basically listening to their conversation.
"No, nothing's wrong. It's just that his wards are so different from the wards I know…It feels so comforting while the others feel slightly oppressive." No one should feel wards except for the maker or even know who made it without seeing the process personally.
"How do you know about this, Mai-san?" Masako casually joined in their conversation. "Wards are supposedly unnoticeable, even I didn't notice the wards until you said it." She was eyeing Mai calculative, as if she's trying to solve the mystery behind the girl who was once an open book.
"I guess I just became more sensitive during the past four years."
NOTE: Please tell me your opinions about this chapter as it is a bit of a 'meh' for me. Also, clues are subtly being dropped about what happened to Mai.
The updates might be slow for a while as my Mid-terms exam is beginning, I can put my focus on writing as of the moment. So, please wait patiently, I'll come back as soon as I can. And like my other fanfiction, if I am gone for a long while, I might drop two chapters or more once I return.
Leave your thoughts, suggestions, opinions and critiques. I enjoy reading them.
Thank you and Enjoy!