Chapter 20
Mai walked into her spirit plane and saw her spiritual link waiting for her. She smiled in excitement and ran up to him and plopped right down next to him.
"Glad to see you could make it." Mai voiced.
"Of course, my lady. Ask and you shall receive." Gene cooed, bowing his head gracefully.
"Not that I doubt your brother. I was just nervous you know, with everything that happened today. D-did he tell you?" Mai inquired with distant eyes.
"In not so many words. How are you feeling now?"
"To be honest, I was afraid the others would reject me. Now I just feel numb. I thought that the poltergeist would show me my father. I was surprised to see my reflection. I didn't know I was scared of myself. Scared that I could hurt someone else." Mai confessed her eyes devoid of emotion and feeling too empty to cry anymore.
Suddenly she felt a hand fall on her own.
"Mai, as your spirit guide, I am able to see inside your heart and read your aura. I am able to see your soul and aspects of your true personality. I have never met anyone with intentions so true and despite all the trauma you've faced you are still so pure-hearted. Even when I found out what you'd done in the past I have never doubted you, and I never will. I know it will hurt for a while, but I know you'll pull through this just like everything else." He spoke from his heart in hopes to ease the girl's reservations about her guilt.
Mai nodded slowly and let a small smile come to her face.
"Thank you, Gene. You always know just what to say to make me feel better." She leaned in and embraced him which he returned and kind. When the two separated Mai remembered what she wanted to ask him.
"Oh! I almost forgot. Lin used this wooden box with these strange Chinese characters all over it and drew these chalk circles to seal the poltergeist. Have you ever seen him do that before?" Mai remembered. Her guide was silent for a few moments, most likely searching his own memory in an attempt to recall such an event ever transpiring.
"Hmm… No, not that I can remember. Lin is a very talented onimyoji. He can replicate rituals just by viewing them once or twice, and repeat them with perfect precision. He also has a very good memory; the guys like an encyclopedia. He may have done the ritual before a long time ago and remembered like it was yesterday. "Gene tried to explain and Mai laughed.
"To be Naru's number one assistant I suppose you'd have to be one of best out there. I forget your brother's one of the best in the business. Our team has a lot of valuable members." Mai thought aloud.
"Yes. Noll is lucky to have all of you. You especially Mai. If only he wou-" Gene started only to stop himself mid-sentence.
"What? What about me?" Mai forced only more curious now.
"Aww no. I couldn't. He's my brother so I can't go spilling all his secrets. Oh, speak of the devil, it's time for you to get up Mai." Gene spoke and Mai could feel a loud knocking resounding throughout her spiritual plane. She sighed heavily and rose from her sitting position.
"See you later Eugene." Mai waved before she pulled herself off the plane.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Mai rose feeling like she had a run in with death and narrowly escaped with her life. Her body was now feeling the ache of her hand to hand with the poltergeist yesterday. The loud knock persisted pulling her out of her sleep-deprived daze. Mai threw the covers away from her body and got on her feet. Making her way to the door she swung it open with unnecessary swiftness and gave her best glare to the person on the other side.
"Well now that you're finally up; get ready and have breakfast. Everyone else is already eating breakfast, and I had to come here and fetch you." Oliver spoke clearly unfazed by her state of grumpiness.
"Fine, I'll be there in ten minutes." Mai let the door close behind her, but as she was about to shut it a foot was wedged in between.
"…and Mai." Naru began and Mai turned around to meet his expression.
"Yes."
"If I have to come back again to get you it won't be pretty. Do you understand?" He warned.
"Loud and clear." With that, he shut the door and left her to her preparations. She made quick work of picking an outfit, jeans, a cute sweater, and making something of her vicious bed head. In the bathroom and she saw the discoloration under her eyes and groaned.
She patched up her appearance with concealer.
Mai had to give herself a quick pep talk as she walked down to meet her teammates.
'I can't lead them onto how tired I am. I don't need them worrying about me anymore.' Mai prepped her best smile as she entered the cafeteria. John was the first to catch her eye, and he waved to her. He seemed to notify everyone else of her arrival since they all turned to look at her. Most of them wore a hint of sadness in their eyes, which Mai picked up in an instant. She turned away quickly to grab a plate and collected herself again.
'There all giving me that look. That 'we-know-you're-an-orphan-with-a-shitty-past' look. I don't know if I can deal with that look all day. It's already irritating me.' Mai thought to herself grabbing two doughnuts, and pouring herself some tea. Mai was about to sit with her team when they gave her the same round of expressions as she received when she arrived. She switched her course and sat with a pair of unexpectant elderly men.
One of the older gentlemen looked at her clearly confused, while the other offered her a smile.
"I hope you don't mind me sitting here, it's just that my coworkers are being overbearing today. I'm trying to get away from that pitying look they keep giving me. I just want to have a normal breakfast." She spoke honestly and they both looked over at the SPR team.
"I see what you mean young lady, we don't mind, stay as long as you want." One man spoke.
"Speak for yourself. This young lady is interrupting our peaceful morning." The other spoke rashly Mai visually flinched in surprise.
"Don't mind him, he doesn't mean it. Now, what's your name, young lady?" The kinder of the two spoke again.
"Oh, I'm Taniyama Mai. It's a pleasure to meet the two of you. May I ask your names as well?" She asked hopefully.
"You don't need to know our whole names, you can just call me Dachi and him Ryou." The brasher of the two chimed in.
"Oh well, then you two can just call me Mai. What brings the two of you here to this inn?" She returned in kind.
"We came to visit a mutual friend who lives not too far from here. It's been a while since we've seen him, but I have found with good friends it's easy to get back into the rhythm of things. "Ryou responded.
"That is true. My mother always used to say that we are all connected to the ones we love no matter the distance." Mai spoke as she picked off pieces of her doughnut.
"What about you kid? What are you and your coworkers doing way out here? Not that I care or nothing." Dachi asked and Mai smiled.
'Wow, I can read this old guy like a book.' Mai realized seeing that he was all bark and no bite.
"Well the team and I are private investigators. We've been called to a case out here. I'd tell you more, but you know how client confidentiality goes." She explained and the two seemed surprised and nodded their understanding.
"Wow, you're a detective little miss? I would have never pinned you that way. You look so young." Ryou said offering her an analyzing look.
"Yeah, we all get that a lot." Mai nodded and sipped her tea.
"Why are your coworkers so worried about you? Did you get hurt or something on the job? If you don't mind me inquiring." Dachi questioned letting his eyes move freely from the team back to Mai.
"Oh yeah. I did get a little banged up yesterday, and they found out some of the stuff I've been through. Now all they do is look at me like, you know, that." Mai nodded her head toward her confused coworkers and continued." I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest since I don't have to hide anything from them anymore, but at the same time I feel over-analyzed." Mai clarified Dachi frowned and nodded with his arms folded, communicating he understood how she was feeling.
"Mai, it is their job not just as your coworkers, but as your friends to worry about you. It's how they show they care about you. Can you imagine what it would be like if they just tossed your feelings aside instead of caring? What may seem to you as overbearing is just how they are showing their affection. You are quite lucky to have people who treat you this way." Ryou now showing just how wise he was now in his later years.
"Yes, I suppose you are right. I am lucky." Mai acknowledged still doubting if she was worthy of such companions.
"Besides it's up to you Mai to put their worries at ease. If you want them to stop pitying you show them how alright you are. Otherwise, you have no right to complain! Now buck up kid." Dachi said scolding her lightly. Mai's understanding had come full circle now with the advice of these two wise gentlemen. She was happy she shared her breakfast with the two. The trio continued to converse until they were approached by a certain blonde priest.
"Good Morning gentleman. I'm sorry to interrupt, but we'll be needing to take Mai off your hands. The boss says we're about to head out for the day." He bowed politely and motioned to Mai.
"Okay young lady it seems it's time for you to go. Remember what we said and stay outta trouble, ya hear!" Dachi called as Mai rose and nodded.
"Thank you for the wise words, I'll remember them well. Goodbye, and tell your friend I say hello." Mai called back as she left the duo. Coming closer to the others she decided to address them right away.
"So you sent poor John to the wolves, huh?" Mai commented Monk the only one who offered her a guilty expression.
"So what, we know you can't be mean to John, especially not while he's injured like that." Ayako responded clearly feeling no shame in the bait and catch maneuver.
"Why didn't you eat with us Mai?" Monk finally asking what everyone else wanted to know.
"Oh no reason, just exploring my horizons." Mai said being uncharacteristically coy.
'After what Ryou and Dachi said I can hardly make them feel bad about coddling me. I'll just have to deal until they let up a bit.' She mentally concluded and looked at Monk innocently. He sighed loudly and conceded defeat. It was rare lately that Mai acted anything like a regular teen so he would let her have this moment.
"Alright, we've wasted enough time here. " Noll announced in his own way off dismissing us all to the van.
Once the gang made the short trip from the hotel to the museum, hopefully for the last time they were all ready to get to work. Mai noticed immediately once she entered the museum that there was no feeling of impending trouble in her guts when she stepped through the threshold. The other sensitives among their fold no doubt noticed the difference in the spiritual atmosphere as well.
Once they entered base they all stood around the box just as they had done the prior evening.
"So Monk will just exorcise it, and then the end?" Mai asked again feeling like this was all too easy.
'But then again we've all been through a lot on this case, and we all got kicked around by this stupid thing. It wasn't easy getting to this point.' Mai reminded herself before any of the others could respond.
"We'll have to burn the remnants of the box once it has been exorcised so that it will never have another vessel to return too. It's just a precaution, but a necessary one. "Monk added looking to Lin to ensure he got the procedure down correctly. Lin merely nodded and continued making preparations.
"Alright, is there anything you need from us Monk for your exorcism?" Mai asked again and he shook his head. Mai turned away and joined the young priest on the couch knowing that the ending of the investigation would be solely up to Monk.
'Mai!' The young girl snapped to attention immediately John gave her a strange look noticing her tense appearance.
"You okay Mai?"
"Oh yeah, I just got a bit of a chill. I left my vest in the car, I'll be right back." Mai said and excusing herself out the door. She was surprised to see just like any other day there were people everywhere exploring the exhibits laughing and smiling with their families.
'It's almost like none of this ever happened. None of these people have any clue.' Mai realized unsure of how this made her feel. She wandered around the museum until she found her own quiet place. There was a large heavy curtain that covered a large bay window.
She looked around when she was sure there was no one around to catch her suspicious movements she climbed behind it, cross-legged within the window sill.
'Eugene! Are you still there?' Mai called back to her spirit guide now that she'd found a bit of privacy.
'Yeah, I was waiting for you to get a clue and answer me!"
"Yeah yeah. What with the sudden summoning? We just spoke last night. If you need to tell me something then you should have done it then. Not that I mind your company, but your brother is going to ring my neck if I don't get back soon. Is it the exorcism?" Mai replied worriedly hoping nothing was about to go amiss.
"What? No, that should go fine. I just have a mission for you."
"You do know that Noll is expecting me to attend the exorcism just in case something goes wrong, right?" Mai groaned worriedly.
"No, it has to be now. He's here and you need to speak with him." He urged.
"Speak with who?" Mai responded, used to the ambiguous nature of his conversations.
"Ask yourself that question. He has a large concentration of spiritual power. Seek him out. Use your perception to find him."
"B-but there are so many people here! How will I know?" Mai questioned.
"Don't doubt yourself just look. I'm leaving you now." The ghost dismissed.
"WAIT! What do I have to say to him?! What does he look like?" Mai called through the telepathic link.
"It'll all be clear to you once you find him." And with that, her spirit guide cut off the connection leaving a distressed Mai.
'Okay, I don't have time to stress over this. I have to concentrate. I have to focus.' Mai allowed herself to leave her body and float over the entire museum. It truly was one of the largest buildings she'd ever been in. She could feel the number of people moving about the place, their souls all carrying different auras and different energies. To her eye, in this form of sight, psychic energy would appear to her like glitter over the soul. Something that made them stand out from the rest of mankind, but didn't make them better in any way. Just different.
Naru's was the first to catch her eye because of the sheer brilliance of its glow. She'd come to know it well when she had practiced this technique at home. His was close to a few other bright glimmers which she could only conclude were the other members of her team. Though they were still hard to notice when Naru's shone so brightly. The sight was not unlike peering up at the night sky, and he was the moon among some very bright stars. Just as Gene said there was another fairly strong sparkle that was present in the building.
Now it was nowhere as bright as her bosses', but it was also nothing to sneeze at.
Mai was quick to lock onto its energy and feel but it was difficult to gauge just how far it was from that of her team members. She'd just have to feel him out just as she was instructed. She hopped out surprising an unsuspecting couple who jumped back.
"Oh sorry about that." Mai apologized as she paid them no further mind. She held onto the feeling like a memory and followed it.
"Hey, young lady! Get back here! That is against the rules." A male guard shouted her way and started jogging over.
Mai weighed her options.
It was so rare that she was able to astral project during the day, and the feeling was fading. She doubted she'd be able to manage it again.
Mai took off in the opposite direction.
"HEY STOP HER!" He yelled again as she passed another guard who grabbed toward her but he reached a bit too late. Mai was having a difficult time of holding onto her perception of this other spiritual presence and evading these mixed-up guards. Lucky for her she'd run into a crowded room where she was able to weave through a large group of people. This task was not as easily managed by the accumulating group of people running her down.
'How the heck did this even happen? Sure, it was odd that I was sitting in the window, but it's definitely not anything to hunt me down over. I can't worry about them now; this guy is close. Got to be in the next room or something.' Mai finally entered the cafeteria of the museum which she had never been too since food was always brought to base for them. Just as she entered the room she saw him, and it all came together.
'So that's why he sent me on this wild goose chase.' Mai began to close in on the man she'd been sent to locate when her leg got caught in an empty chair, and she tripped in the most ungraceful way possible. Her arms flew straight out and her face met the cruel unforgiving marble.
"OUUFFF." She cried on her way down. Before she could get up and assemble what was left of her shattered pride, she felt herself being lifted off the ground.
"HA! That's what you get you, little troublemaker. Now you've got some explaining to do!" One of two guards that held her said.
"Hey wait I need to speak to that guy! It's important." Mai struggled against her captors beginning to cause a scene.
"Yeah yeah. Tell it to the head of security little miss." The other guard spoke as they started to drag her off.
"Miro! MIRO, HELP! I NEED TO TALK TO YOU! MIRO!" Mai yelled finally getting the older man to look her direction. He wore an expression of confusion when he failed to recognize her. He sat with two other gentlemen who also rose when she called out to the man who still seemed to be judging how he should react next.
"MAI!" The men who sat with the man called, and thought they were new to her she recognized their voices immediately. The same men from the hotel she'd eaten breakfast with this morning were sitting with the ex-museum employee from her dream.
"Ryou! Dachi! Bring Miro, come and find me!" Was the last thing she managed to yell before she was dragged from the room.
What is up readers! Here I am with this update! Thank you always for the kind words and support. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and see you next time.