Edited to give more detailed. It seemed to rush through the day. hopefully this sets a better mood. Read Italics in Mai's voice, thanks in advance.
Day 1: Hitoshi's Demons
When Naru took the case, no one questioned it. No one thought it would change the gang forever. But we are getting ahead of ourselves.
It's been uneventful at Shibuya Psychic Research, and Mai was looking forward to a new case. A man was coming in about a potential case, but Mai was beginning to think Naru wouldn't be taking any today as he had dismissed two already this week. Mai was absent-mindedly brewing some tea when she heard the door open.
"Uh- yes, hello! Welcome to-" Mai started as she faced the guest.
A stoic, aged face with a no-nonsense aura made Mai stop mid-greeting, "Uh, how can I help you?" She choked out.
"I have a case for Mr. Shibuya." He stated matter-of-factly.
Thank god, even if it's an easy case... Anything would help my boredom! Mai thought when Naru stepped in to usher the man to his office.
"Mai, bring some tea for our guest," Naru barely spared her a sideways glance.
"Er. Yes, boss!" Mai saluted before doing just that.
This time was odd. When Mai stepped in, it seemed like the guest was only a messenger. He had set up a skype call with the actual client. Mai offered the man some tea anyways.
"Thanks." The Messenger grumbled.
"I apologize for not being able to come in person, but I just don't trust my valuables to be left alone with this spirit," A more serious voice emanated from the laptop.
"I see. Mai, this is Akiyahara Hitoshi, our client." Naru gave her a nod before turning his attention to the call, "Okay, Mr. Akiyahara. What exactly has been going on in your estate?"
"I have apparitions appearing, a ghostly wailing in the hallways... And foul stenches. I can hardly get up at night without having to discover where my furniture had been redecorated." Akiyahara listed, "Doors open and shut, dishes and books get thrown at me. Sometimes, I feel like someone is out to get me."
.
.
In the end, Naru took the case to investigate the man's small estate in the mountains.
He explained it once again when everyone was gathered and ready to head out, "The client, Hitoshi Akiyahara, is experiencing frightening sounds at night, footsteps, apparitions, and other eerie phenomena on his property ever since he moved in years ago and finally gave in to get it checked out and hopefully give the "restless demons" someplace else to haunt.
"That seems pretty miserable to me," Ayako hummed.
"No kidding, five years? Must have gotten really bad if he reached out to us, a company far out of the area." Monk added seemingly bored from the long ride.
"Or we were the only ones he felt were qualified for the job," Naru replied, unbothered.
"Hmph. Either way. He's been living in this house, alone." Mai commented in thought as she took in the pretty scenery. A cliffside with a clear sea jumping to reach the top.
"Maybe, after all, is said and done we can all relax and enjoy some time in the water. It's relatively warm here." Mai daydreams. She saw a small group of buildings clustered together on the top of one of the plateaus. They had just passed the local town a few miles back.
"Trip to the ocean. That does sound nice, doesn't it, kiddo?" Monk leans over to have a look.
"Imagine the nice breeze under the sun. I bet there's plenty of good sunbathing spots down there." Ayako joined in.
"Beaches are so dirty. Who'd want to waste their time there?" Moscow disagreed to start some banter.
"Well, who asked you party-pooper?" Ayako rolled her eyes.
"We're here on business, not to daydream about vacations." Naru reminded them all.
Mai ignores everyone as the nice picture was ruined! "I was just saying. I didn't forget our job..." she grumbles.
When they arrived, the estate looked almost like a Ghost Town. Ivy and shrubbery were unkempt and overgrown. There was an old, paint-worn pickup truck parked out in front of the main building. The western-style structures became beautiful with age, it's dirty brick walls stood tall in contrast to the white accents of the wooden pieces like the windows, doors amongst other pieces.
"It's really pretty." Mai hummed as she took in all the different details that popped out.
"Old and a little eerie," Monk commented.
A clearing of someone's throat cued the resident's approach, "You must be the SPR team. Thank you for coming all this way, I am Akiyahara Hitoshi."
Naru jumped in to introduce himself as the leader he had spoken to, "We are happy to be here..." He introduced all of us and got straight to business.
Mr. Akiyahara seemed to be younger than what Mai was expecting to be. He looked like he was in his late 20's. He had short black hair neatly styled to fringe to the side. Narrow dark eyes and the beginnings of a mustache. Neat dress clothes. He would get along with Lin easily, Mai mused.
He invited them in, "Make yourselves at home. I'm sure my guest will greet you eventually."
Filing in, Mai felt the spacious house was already occupied.
"Miss Hara, do you have any strong impressions of the house?" Naru asked a few moments later, seeing Moscow had paused upon entering.
Miss Hara just nods, still looking around. She didn't say anything for a whole minute, holding onto the door frame for support.
"My apologies... I sense an overwhelming aura of hatred and anger in the house. I've felt nothing like it before…" She finally disclosed it.
"Anything else you can discern?" Naru stepped closer to help her to a seat.
"There is only one here. It wants to be known…" She added, "That is all I can say for sure."
"Amazing you can discern that so fast. How can you tell for sure?" Mr. Akiyahara asked.
"Miss Hara is more sensitive to spirits than most people." Naru said simply, catching the startled stare the client was giving Mai, "Is something wrong?"
"No, of course not. Let me show you where you can set up and give you a tour." Mr. Akiyahara gestured them to follow, "I will lend you the guest wing for your operations."
The team brought in the equipment as Naru interviewed Mr. Akiyahara more about the history of the activity and house.
"It started a little after I moved in. It felt like I was invading someone else's home. I would see a young man sitting in my spare chair, watching me. Sometimes things would be thrown at me and the walls. I keep the knives in a separate room now." Hitoshi told them.
"Have you ever rented a room or wing to someone? Did you ever meet the previous owner?" Naru asked, writing down notes. Everyone else listened intently.
"The house was abandoned before I moved in. I only met the agent with the papers twice. They seemed happy to get rid of the house. As far as tenants, I have lived here alone for the entirety of my time here." Hitoshi commented, leaning back in his chair.
"I see. We will look up a further background to crosscheck any theories regarding the land and previous tenants." Naru updated him, "In the meantime, could you describe the man you would occasionally see staring at you?"
"He looked really… English. Old style clothes. Dark slacks, white dress shirt, and suspenders. Sometimes he'd wear a hat and or a leather jacket." Hitoshi explains folding his arms.
"Alright. This is some solid information we can work with." Naru affirmed. They performed the red light test to rule out that Mr. Akiyahara was doing this to himself.
"It sounds like the work of an earth spirit," The priestess theorized as she usually did.
"I'd have to agree, either that or a poltergeist," Monk validated with his opinion.
"Either way, let's get our headquarters set up so we can get a start on this." Naru started to instruct. Mai went on auto-pilot, helping the guys bring in the equipment to start the setup process as she pondered the information given. Most cases didn't have a gaping list of symptoms... I mean, yeah. But this seemed like a lot for... well just ONE spirit, right? There must be something tying this... thing here. The poltergeist theory would not make sense because there was no one to interact with Mr. Akiyahara, well no one to instigate such behavior, unless Mr. Akiyahara was instigating it with himself? No, that's just silly... Whatever. We will just have to find the puzzle pieces for this one like the rest, right?
That was what Mai thought. But she would not realize how many of these pieces she would need to let lie in the dark.
As the day wore on, they set up their base of operations, or better called as "HQ". And after nearly an hour of playing gopher for Naru on setting up all cameras, Mai decided to take a walk on a trail. She didn't plan to go far, just enough to see the scenery.
The trail overlooked the ocean. Mai supposed that it eventually led to the tempting beaches she had longed to see. But before she could decide if she'd sneak away that far, she caught sight of a woman... She had long brown hair that glimmers red in the sunlight. Mai could tell right away the woman wasn't really there. She was translucent.
"Why are you here?" Mai asked, stepping forward, making sure she didn't look away, "Who are you?"
The bushes behind her rustled and Mai jumped to see it was Hitoshi.
"You scared me, Mr. Akiyahara. I thought you were a wolf or something!" she exclaimed.
"My apologies, miss. What are you doing so far away from everyone?" He inquired.
"I was just looking around when I saw a woman in a white gown," Mai explained, looking back. The apparition had disappeared.
"I'm sure you did, but it's dangerous this far in the trails. Try not to wander off next time, okay?" Hitoshi verbalized, "There are cliffs around this way and I'd hate for anyone to get injured. Here, I'll help you back."
"Oh, thanks. I'll be more careful." Mai promised.
That night, Mai dreamt of that woman.
She was in the shade of a tree, laying on a large blanket. She sipped at what Mai assumed was red wine from the bottle that was in the ice basket at her feet.
"Bethany, my darling." a man spoke in English, yet Mai understood, "You radiate brightly next to these flowers." he proceeded to kiss the woman's hand.
"And you are a romantic fool," Bethany mused, "Why go to such lengths during the day?"
"Because I wanted to show you how good it felt to feel the sun's warmth. How blessed we are that we don't burn immediately under its gaze." the man stole the rest of her drink.
"You're getting too soft, the hunters might find you." Bethany sighed.
"There's no way..." The man continued to talk, but it was muffled.
Mai felt someone brushing her face, breathing on her neck. She needed to get out of there! She was in danger!
Waking up with a jolt, Mai felt her neck was sore. As she went to touch it she noticed something funny looking was at the door.
"Who's there? Show yourself." She rasped, trying to shake off the disorientation. Her eyes adjusting more. "Is that... a camera? Why is it here?"
She got up apprehensive to look at the serial number. "Number 16? Didn't I set this up in the common area by the dining room?" She tried to recall before giving up, "Still. Who would pull a joke this pervy?"
She didn't know if she should move it back. The idea of wandering the dark halls creeped her out, so she turned it to face the door and went to go back to sleep.
However, she saw an indent on the mattress. As if someone was sitting there, it stayed. It was a stiff bed, so it couldn't be a trick of an eye. Terror locked her joints and she couldn't move, she couldn't make a sound.
Let me know if this is interesting enough to continue! TYSM for reading!