Chapter 41
Hey. It's Mai Taniyama! Sorry I missed your cal-
Naru hung up his phone having no desire to hear the voice mail for the fourth time in the past couple hours. After Yasuhara had left he'd waited until Mai was due to be out of school to call her.
With no response he assumed she must have been distracted by her classmates afterschool.
Though something in him refused to become sated by that thought, and told himself he'd call again. Now that the sun had become only a few warm tones marking the sky, and dark hues of blue reigning true, he'd already called a few times with no response.
That was even stranger.
He sat at the monitors with Lin, who he'd just caught up on the chain of event.
"No answer again. Do you think she misplaced her phone? I wouldn't put it past her." Lin questioned and Naru said nothing.
"In light of recent information, I don't trust the unpredictable nature of that boy's actions. The pattern is of someone who has become unhinged. If he is indeed the one who has been orchestrating the recent chain of events, then the competence to wait until suspicions are low is not likely. If I don't receive a response from her sooner than tomorrow, I will call her school. If the scenario calls for it, I will need to dismiss you from the case to address this." Naru determined eyes tracing the unfinished tea in front of him.
"I'm afraid I cannot accept leaving you here to check on Taniyama as a solution. My shiki have been nervous since we arrived here, and that is never a good sign. If I were to leave my post here and any harm was to come to you it would be problematic." Lin asserted not raising his voice, but remaining stern all the same.
His young boss narrowed his eyes at this response and exhaled to calm himself.
"Fine. I will have to send Osamu then. I want to solve this case as quickly as possible. I don't have a good feeling about any of this." Naru completed and grabbed his walkie-talkie.
"Everyone returns to base. Change of plans. We'll be doing a séance tonight. Prepare yourselves." Was how he concluded before nodding at Lin.
It was close to the time the team was supposed to reconvene therefore it didn't take them long to meet back at base. They all wore confused expressions, but Monk was the first one to address it.
"What's up Naru? Did you find something else out that we don't know?" Houshou inquired scratching his head.
"Not necessarily, but I have reason not to continue to loiter about this school. Hara would you be ready to conduct a séance at the earliest convenient time?" Naru inquired and she nodded. She left toward her personal belongings to prepare herself.
'He still addresses me by my last name even though I haven't displayed any inkling of interest in months. What a cad.' Masako thought to herself and went to prepare.
"Are you assuming that the students who have disappeared are dead then?" Masako countered, but Naru didn't respond only returned to his notes. The medium took no offense and began to prepare for the ritual.
"How did the rest of the interviews pan out?" John asked Ayako who ran her hand through her fiery red hair.
"Not much better than this morning, but there was something rather interesting that two young boys said that seemed important. I was surprised they stayed to speak with us even after school was let out for the day." Ayako informed and Naru approached as John urged her to continue.
"One of the boys was very close to one of the students that went missing. He remembered him to be a very happy boy before he decided to disappear. He said once he noted his friend declining, he suggested he talk to a guidance counselor. The boy informed me his condition only decreased even faster until the unfortunate happened. I think we should speak to the guidance counselor to see if she can tell us about what changed in the boy since she must have had notes on his mental decline. She might have even spoken to other students who went missing. Apparently, they all left some sort of note before they disappeared, and even stranger no one wants to share what these notes say." Ayako offered and Naru nodded.
"Interesting. Good work Matsuzaki. This lead has potential." Naru praised successfully surprising her with the compliment. Ayako pretended not to be phased but was very proud of her deduction.
"Naturally, I'm not exactly dull you know." Ayako recovered gracefully and flipped her hair.
"Hey! I was there interviewing too! Where's my compliment?" Monk whined putting his hand on his hips.
"Come now Naru. Your secret fanboy wants some praise from his senpai. Won't you do him the honor?" Ayako jeered and Monk blushed.
"Come on! Will I ever live that down? So what if I was impressed, it's Naru." Monk crossed his arm and turned away from his girlfriend to hide his expression.
"Enough you too. Masako is nearly ready, and we'll need to prepare in the pool room." Naru silenced as he grabbed a video camera and extra cords. Other members gathered candles, matches, and all the necessary tools.
The air in the pool room was warm and heavy, which was normal, but the deathly still water and reverberating hum of pool equipment gave no comfort.
It was after hours at the school so the entire building was silent, with the exception of a few staff members preparing their lesson plans. Despite this, the pool room held a distinct oppressive presence. Masako silently prayed that she would be able to summon the spirit without losing what little energy she was holding together in that domineering place.
"I'm surprised Naru's even bringing his precious equipment into this muggy place." Ayako mumbled and Monk nodded in agreeance.
They settled down next to the bleachers, and the closest outlet in the room. John helped Naru to set up the camera, while Masako and Lin set the stage to summon the spirit.
"Um… Kazuya, perhaps I wasn't paying close enough attention, but who exactly are we summoning?" John asked as he assisted his boss.
"We have the birthdate and information of all the missing students, but the boy mentioned in interviews was most likely our best candidate. His name is Jaken Kasshoku. The interview today should give us enough to go on in confirming his identity." Naru responded shortly. Even though they were in an important phase in the case, it still took the young scientist some time to tune back into the matter at hand.
'Mai… you'd better be at school tomorrow.' He silently thought and mentally agreed to conclude his train of thought at that. They all gathered around the short black crate that had been covered by a black tablecloth. Somehow Naru produced a photo of who they assumed was the person they were trying to summon.
'Most likely from a missing flyer they had at the school.' Monk thought briefly and would expect no less from their boss, but to be prepared.
Even for his last-minute options.
Finally, Lin produced a candle and they all sat around it patiently with Masako at the head of the makeshift table. John and Lin flanked her on both sides, with Monk and Ayako across from one another, and Naru at the opposite head of their circle.
John quickly rose to shut off the lights, and used a flashlight to light his return. Masako had her eyes closed and waited; breathing in deeply for her unfathomable spiritual search. The team waited patiently as the hum of the pool cleaner echoed through the silence, and the darkness grew heavy around them. Her brows furrowed in concentration and her forehead was accented with the faintest traces of perspiration.
"This is taking longer than normal…" Monk whispered over to Ayako and she shrugged. The dim light intensifying the apprehension in their expressions.
Masako ignored the chatter of her teammates and let her third eye summon whoever responded to the call of this candle. There were other figures in her hindsight observing, but only one spirit stepped forward to her, illuminated by a strange glow.
Normally spirits would appear to her in shades of blue from light pastel shades to deep cavernous azures. This one was a flickered from orange to red, and the image of it seemed twisted and distorted.
It gave her a bad feeling.
"This spirit appears to be… strange… I am … hesitant to invite it." Masako debated quietly as if it wasn't very far away from the group, and might potentially hear their conversation. The medium kept her eyes closed, but she shivered and her brow furrowed.
"Make contact anyway. John, be ready to drive it out if anything goes amiss." Naru responded as Masako's head fell and her body loosened. The candle flickered so abruptly it was as if it would go out, alerting the team they were in presence of a departed soul. Of course, Naru spoke up to assure this fact.
"Spirit, are you Jaken Kasshoku the high school student?" Naru began assertively. Initially, nothing was spoken for a few tense moments, but Masako's head rose and looked around as if truly seeing her surroundings for the first time. The mediums eyes searched in the dim light making out each of the team's faces; perhaps wondering who spoke.
"I…who is Jaken? I have never been addressed by this name." It finally spoke and it was the team's turn to wear confusion.
"He was summoned from the information we acquired so it has to be him." Ayako whispered over to Naru who nodded but pressed on.
"Then who are you if not Jaken Kasshoku?" Naru probed.
"My master calls me only by the number three. If … I-I do not respond to this number, I am punished." The spirit informed with a solid empty tone.
"Who is your master?" Naru asked his eyes narrowing at the prospect of what this spirit was suggesting.
"My master tells me nothing about their being, only that I am there to serve. The master will be cross if it is known that I have spoken with you out of turn." The spirit retorted and shivered again, but this time began to look around into the surrounding darkness wildly.
"How did you come into the service of this master?" Naru questioned.
"I was wandering and then my master found me, and took me for their own purposes." The spirit uttered quietly clearly not fond of that particular memory.
"You've said 'they' repeatedly, do you have more than one master?" Naru noticed and responded in kind.
"No, I have one master and they preferred to be called only 'master'. She becomes quite irate if otherwise addressed." Number three confessed rubbing Masako's arm nervously.
"Do you know the appearance of your master?" Naru said again hopping onto the spirit's response, eager for a result. Suddenly, Masako's body began to sway and the candle flickered as well.
"Naru, our time is waning." Lin voiced nearly startling John who had been tense and awaiting the entire séance. Suddenly the medium stood up and attempted to kick Lin in the chest, but the assistant caught her foot with ease.
He stood and raised her foot in seconds bringing her to the ground.
He was about to bind her when a wind sickle blew right past his face, nearly taking off his head.
It nicked the middle of his ear.
"Crap, what happened?" Monk said jumping over to help Lin, and John reached for his holy water ready to force out number three. Lin and Monk flipped over Masako, and the spirit struggled to get free and deliver more blows.
Just when they were about to secure the possessed girl; two white lights came sailing into the pool room. John, Monk, and Lin narrowly dodged and were lucky not to fall into the pool water. Their young boss was able to reach the lights to illuminate the room and give his team a bit more leverage over the situation.
The whole team was on their feet now, and the white lights mercilessly delivered more wind sickles onto the ground.
"Naru, they're foreign shiki gami!" Lin yelled and ducked from the onslaught. Monk desperately looked around for any potential shelter against the surprise attack.
"Everyone into the office!" Monk yelled and began chanting furiously with his Buddhist dagger in hand. Ayako soon joined him as the entire team backed into the adjoining office space, and did their best to avoid injury. Lin whistled bringing out all five of his shiki into the fray adding more ferocity to their attacks.
Lin's shiki not only were capable of creating wind sickles, but there were all able to employ their claws and shark-like teeth. They all looked on anxiously as they escaped beyond large glass pane separating the two rooms.
The entire team observed through the large glass window as the enemy shiki were quickly overwhelmed and fled. Just as they left Masako stopped struggling against Ayako and John, and her body slumped. John made sure to continue his blessing for good measure. A small white light emerged from the medium and began to turn red and squirm wildly.
"According as they have delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word…" John continued as the light slowly fell onto the ground and squirmed like a slug in salt.
"Wait… Please stop John." Masako called weakly from her new position in Ayako's arms. The priest did as requested, but did not lower his holy water nor his small crucifix.
"He's still just a boy and he's been turned into a servant by a person. His spirit has altered in shape, but perhaps he can still pass on willingly. Perhaps a hitogata or I could speak to him more or…" Masako whimpered as a single tear left her eyes.
"We don't have that kind of time." Naru said but just as the words left his mouth the shiki dashed out and broke the glass and disappeared. John sighed heavily and placed the cross onto Masako head with a sad smile.
'In Principo." He completed his exorcism with a spray of holy water and Masako nodded to John that she was okay. After the ordeal she looked very small and fragile against Ayako's lap.
"That was no ordinary spirit." Masako said weakly.
"That's an understatement. We were just attacked by shiki meaning whatever we're dealing with here is a skilled omniyoji." Monk fretted running his hands thrown out in exasperation.
"Capable yes, but skilled maybe another conversation." Lin interjected as he placed his hand against the broken window.
"Indeed. Can another spirit control shiki?" John pondered his gazed wandering out beyond the glass.
"No only a living person or a God can. Which means someone at this school is not fond of our interference. Not to mention they must know we drew that boy into a séance as well. If what the spirit spoke was true, and he is in the service of a living person, they would be able to feel when the spirit left their side." Lin advised calling back his shiki.
The team could all feel the same pit in their stomachs as they pondered the implications of Lin's words.
"Then that person is probably also behind the student disappearances. For all we know we may have already interviewed them today. It could literally be anyone." Ayako cautioned.
"No. Not anyone. It would have had to be someone who was here when the disappearances started to occur so we can rule out any freshman or sophomores here, and the spirit also distinctly said 'she' which denoted that our culprit is a female." Naru concluded as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Um… is that smoke?" John asked pointing out the window. Sure enough the pool area had begun to filled with black smoke. The team rushed back out to noticed that the candle must have been knocked over in the squabble, and the entire cloth was ablaze. Monk ran over to the set up and kicked the burning crate into the pool effortlessly.
He waved the smoke away from his eyes and coughed a bit to force the soot from his lungs.
"Good catch John. Luckily, we're so close to the water, though I don't think the staff will appreciate all the debris." Monk sighed knowing he'd probably have to clean it up before it sank to the bottom. Monk's eye also caught onto some charred papers sinking that were lost in the fray.
"Sorry to say this Naru, but some of your papers might be in Davy Jones locker." Monk reported grabbing the pool sifter and bringing up the water-logged pages. Naru was over by the camera ensuring there hadn't been any damage to the equipment when he called everyone to attention.
"It's fine I have copies of all the information. Monk finish cleaning up the pool, and John you wait here with him and collect the camera then both of you return to base. We'll regroup and then begin shifts for the night." Naru ordered and the team separated.
Mai only took small sips of the water, but ate the bread greedily with no consideration of how long these provisions were supposed to last. She was quickly losing track of time in the deep darkness of the room, and if eating was how she distracted herself from the discomfort, then so be it. She also wasn't thrilled at the prospect of having to use the bathroom in a bucket either.
Thus, her small calculated sips.
'I'm already losing track of time. What day was it when I was taken? It was Monday so is it Wednesday now? How long was I asleep after I got here? I wish I could see the sky.' Mai thought to herself as she leaned into the corner of the wall and nibbled quietly.
The wave of strong emotions from earlier had ebbed and she was a bit numb from crying as much as she did. Now, she was hungry and tired. If her ankle wasn't in such terrible condition, she'd be a lot more optimistic about her situation.
Even if she was able to escape how far could she go?
She also had no idea where she was and if she'd be able to get help quickly enough to get help. Although larger issues were making themselves present right now then any of these hypothetic ones.
She was cold.
Mai could only guess that the lower temperature was a result of it being night time outside. All she had was her uniform and the light sweater she wore with it today. She put the bread back into the bag and tied it shut and pulled her body into herself.
She shivered and closed her eyes hoping that the emotional and physical exhaustion would allow her to sleep.
Mai had long since placed her necklace back on to conserve her energy, but even with her charm in place her instincts were now sounding off wildly. She kept attempting to relax her body so she could sleep, but the anxiety of danger made her too tense to achieved this goal. Not to mention the constant throbbing of her ankle was difficult to ignore, and made it even more challenging for her to get comfortable against the cold concrete floor. Mai sighed heavily knowing that she would just have to wait until her body was ready to sleep.
She was too on edge.
'Why am I so defeated? If it were anyone else on the team, they would be trying to find a way out? Maybe it's because I'm expecting to be rescued like every other time I've come into trouble. When my father wanted to hurt me, I was rescued by my mother. When I'd lost mom, I was rescued by Sensei. When I started living alone, I was rescued by Keiko and her family, and then Michiru joined in. Then all of SPR has been rescuing me ever since we've met. It's time I helped myself. I need a plan.' Mai decided and began plotting.
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