3rd Person, Limited, Dianne Simmon
Silence… Peace and quiet.
It felt serene, almost too serene. She couldn't recall when the last time was that she had felt this. It felt akin to a dream. And if it was one… Perhaps she could never wake up. What a paradise that would be.
"No, no! I don't want to, I'm not leaving you! Don't you dare, I refuse!"
But then, her eyes opened, and a familiar sight fell upon her. The one of which remained in her nightmares for years. Sapphire eyes moved over towards the duo with her. Mai and Yasu, staring off at the opposite wall of the overly large room.
"It's been six years…" Dianne finally spoke, lips instantly pursing afterward as the reality of it truly set in.
"Yeah… It has been, hasn't it?" Mai responded, her gaze finally moving towards the blonde. "It almost feels like it was all a dream, doesn't it?"
"I still can't believe that none of them have met back up since." Yasu quietly mumbled, looking about the area again. "Or that something like that could even happen…"
"The fire at the office didn't help," Dianne admitted truthfully, "They recorded everything within paper files, and all of them were destroyed. SPR had to start from scratch, and with their memories gone…"
This made all of them look away from one another.
"Either way, our goals here today are clear. To see if we can get into contact with that being again. I think we're finally ready to handle a second meeting." Mai ended up putting a hand on her hip, a frown on her face. "I refuse to let them all remain apart like this… We were meant to be a family. And I'll do whatever it takes to get that family back."
"I agree," Yasu responded, "But at the same time… You said not even Naru and Gene could take that thing on. Would just the three of us even be able to take it on?"
"Certainly not." Dianne closed her eyes, in thought, "But even if we cannot, we shall still gain valuable information if we are to investigate here again, on the anniversary. We had waited this long because we were worried about consequences, but now, the point in our coming is different."
"To see what triggers the being to come out, and any small details we may gather by witnessing the activity in a fresh light. We were young then, unaware of a lot of things. But looking back on the memories is hard…" Mai hid her face in her hair a bit, nervously swallowing, "So we need to look again, see what we possibly missed that Naru, Monk, or any of them might have noticed. Perhaps if we get all the facts, there was a solution that we didn't see before."
"You guys do have a point…" Yasu ended up getting a smile on his face. "You two have grown up, haven't you? It's almost as if you'd deserve to write a novel or something."
This made Dianne chuckle, amused at the thought. "Almost tempting, Yasuhara. Almost." But a novel would mean fame, and that would be popularity that they didn't need. It was… Too much of a risk. "But perhaps someday, does that sound fair?"
"As long as I'm mentioned thoroughly, boss."
She rolled her eyes. Of course, that was how he was going to go about it.
Looking up towards the large nature-made structure, Dianne felt a ping of anxiety crawling all over her. It wouldn't go away, no matter how much she had tried to make it do so. It was simply a case, after all, and she knew that. What could possibly go wrong?
Naru and Gene had the answers, and the others were prepared for this.
"Are you sure you want to join us, Dianne?" She heard the familiar voice behind her, and her attention moved back. A smile instantly crawled up her face.
Gene.
"I am certain. I wish to see this to its conclusion, no matter the cost. I assure you, I will be alright." She responded to him, turning to properly look at the boy before her. The one who had invited her to SPR, albeit much to his brother's annoyance. And the person she had slowly fallen in love with, as well.
He moved forward and pressed his lips gently against her forehead, an act she was more than aware of being of reassurance. "Even then, be careful. We don't know what the spirit is capable of. It's possible that something can quickly go wrong."
"I am aware, Gene," A chuckle escaped her, "I am here not only to witness the end of it but also to protect those that may not be able to see something coming. It will be dark in there, and I have decent night vision." She didn't have capabilities like the others to exorcise spirits, but she can defend herself, and that was more than enough for her.
"I don't care what you say, Naru, I'm coming in there with you!"
Another voice erupted from the distance, causing both members of the conversation to look toward the source. It had seemed that Naru and Mai were once again going at it verbally. A small smile formed on the blonde's face.
"I do not want you in there, Mai. It will be much too dangerous for you." The tone of voice made it clear that Naru had seemed to be at this for a small while, at the very least.
"If you're going in, I'm going in. There's nothing else to it. It'd be one thing if I could watch from the base, but there won't be any cameras, and I just want to be there in case I need to contact someone for help!" Mai whined, seeming to be getting frustrated herself.
"If we don't come out after a while, then you can contact someone."
"Don't give me that! What if everyone gets severely hurt? What if my waiting is what causes some damage that can't be fixed?"
She could see the exhale of his nose from where she was. It was clear that Mai has once again won. It was adorable, if she were honest.
"Fine." Naru finally snapped back, gaze latched onto Mai. "But you will get out of the area once anything goes wrong, do you understand?"
"Fully understood, boss!" Mai grinned, looking to be more than proud of herself.
"It seems that your brother has gotten softer on her, Gene." Dianne gazed over towards him, a hand sitting on her side. "I would almost say that there is affection in the way he treats her."
"You're not wrong," Gene responded, before quietly muttering, "It seems she's no longer a pumpkin to him."
Blinking in confusion, this causes the girl to move her attention back to him. "Pumpkin?"
"Ah, it's nothing." He nervously laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
She could help but be curious, but… If he didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't going to push him. After all, everyone was here now.
It was time to go in.
With a slow inhale, she finally gained the ability to ignore her instincts and waited for Monk, John, Lin, and Ayako to start heading in before her. After herself was Masako, Gene, Naru, then Mai. They grouped together, but at a slight distance from one another. After all, sticking together in this kind of situation is mandatory.
The four that entered first remained at the front, and Naru and Gene stayed in front of her, along with Mai and Masako. She knew it made sense, they were the ones more vulnerable compared to them. But even still… To her, it hurt a little. She wanted to be able to defend herself, to be able to protect others, but yet…
She simply wasn't even capable of that, was she? She could never be like how her father had once been.
Even so, she witnessed the exorcisms begin and kept a close eye on the four of them. It hadn't taken her long to notice the fact that it seemed the entrance was closing, but before she could even say it, someone else had gotten to it first.
"It's trying to close us in!" Masako cried out, kimono hiding her mouth, and fear in her eyes, looking as if she was still trying to find an opening.
"Everything should open back up when it's done!" Naru responded back, both of the twins blocking the three girls behind them for the moment in case anything were to occur. It didn't take long for their expectations to be met.
Instinctively, Dianne had covered her face when she felt a gust of wind, only to be shocked to see that three of the four front-row members had been swept away. Lin had been the only one able to withstand the gust.
"G-gene!" She cried out.
"It's going to be okay!" He yelled back, reassuring the other.
The longer they were in the closed-off space, the more difficult it became to hear one another. It was dark to the point where even Dianne was having trouble properly seeing. All she could do, eventually, was hear the events as they happened.
"Get off me, you stupid Monk!"
"That isn't me, Ayako-"
The first of many, many screams that night.
"Ayako!" The woman suddenly sat up from her spot, her hand reaching out and tears in her eyes. She could feel her heart racing… It felt near impossible to breathe at that moment.
Just like that night.
Putting the extended hand on her chest, she took the time to take deep breaths, slowly forcing herself to calm down. After all, there was no need to get emotional so soon…
She didn't need to be overly reminded about the memories of this place.
Once she felt calm enough to be able to properly access the situation, she took a look about the room, recalling it as the same one the boys had to use as their bedroom before. A bit small for the number of guys that had to use it, but for just herself and Mai, it was a perfect size to feel comfortable. She was grateful for the smaller group in that aspect, at the least. It made it easier to deal with the room sizes.
"I wonder if Mai is still up…" Dianne quietly muttered to herself, putting one of her hands up to her bangs. Given she had just woken up, they were in the way, so the desire to move them away from her eyes was an obvious move. Even so, she got up and out of bed, ready to check on her groupmates.
She mindlessly wandered over to their base, opening the door to such a familiar sight. The screens, many wires, and many pieces of equipment reminded her of those days… Mai did take after their methods of placement, after all. But she felt a small smile cross her face, seeing the fact that her assumptions were correct.
Mai had fallen asleep yet again.
Carefully, she took one of the nearby blankets and used it to cover the other. "Goodnight, Mai." She muttered, before looking up towards the cameras. She may as well use this chance to keep an eye on any and all activity and see if she could rewind some of the cameras while still keeping up with current footage.
Sitting down next to Mai, Dianne took hold of a pair of headphones and placed them over her ears. From there, she rewinded footage of cameras she felt wouldn't give as much evidence. It was still wise to look, and she felt both of their attention should be on more important rewinds, which she shall suggest in the morning.
For now, though, she shall put the burden of being up the rest of the night to herself. There was no need for Mai to overwork herself like she currently was. But she did understand why…
Both of them missed what they had, once upon a time. Whether it be budding romance, a happy family, or simply the lack of trauma, both of them can agree on one thing.
They were going to do whatever it took to return those days back to them.
Hey there everyone! So sorry that it's been so long since I last did much of anything. But I had this in my drafts, fully complete, so I felt the desire to share it. I plan on working on The Unseen soon, as I have my manga on hand now and just need to do a quick reread of the content. I also plan on working on Complex Living, as it is a fic I absolutely adore as well. But one step at a time, I suppose, because I have the next chapter of this already halfway written! I may as well finish it off, ya know?
Hope everyone enjoys!