** Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy! I tried to post earlier this week but I found out my preschool is opening back up next week so I've been rushing to write lesson plans. **
Chapter Fourteen
Mai stifled a yawn as she approached the BSPR building. The sun was just beginning to shine through the city in the early hours of the day. A cool breeze swept down the nearly empty streets causing stray strands of auburn hair to fall across her face. Hoisting her bag securely onto her shoulder, she reached up and skillfully tied her hair up. Even though it was late spring, the mornings were still particularly chilly. She was thankful she had worn jeans instead of the shorts she had been planning on wearing. However, her striped blue and white linen blouse didn't do much for warmth against the wind so she quickened her pace.
It was Saturday, her first case with Oliver, and she had to admit she was rather excited to see him in action instead of just reading about it from his books. This particular case already seemed more risky than her previous one. Part of her wondered if he would need to use his powers but then she quickly dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. No. No matter how much she would love to see the infamous Oliver Davis use his powers in person, she had read about how dangerous it was for him to do so. She had heard about the brush with death he had last year and the last thing she wanted was for him to be hurt.
The brunette began to ascend the stairs that led to the familiar glass doors and made her way inside. She could hear Oliver's familiar voice coming from the other room but also heard two others. A woman and a man. Curious, she made her way into the meeting room and her breath caught slightly when she noticed the two newcomers. They were the same people she had seen on the sidewalk the previous day.
The couple was sitting on one of the large settees, speaking to Oliver who sat across from them. The woman wore a grey knee-length skirt and navy jumper. She had long dark red hair with fringe that fell just to her eyes and her lips were stained a deep maroon colour. Her brown eyes were serious yet warm. Mai had to admit she was quite beautiful.
The man sitting next to her was leaning back casually with both arms outstretched on the back of the couch. He had dark blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail and had traces of a beard of the same colour growing on his chiseled chin. His ears were pierced and he had multiple rings on his fingers. The man wore a weathered jean jacket over a half-buttoned white shirt. He also wore a pair of punk styled cowboy boots. Mai noticed the man had kind, laughing eyes as he said something to his wife.
"Really, Houshou, can't you at least try to be mature?" the woman growled.
"Oh come on, Ayako. We've known Gene forever," the man laughed.
"Yes. Gene. This isn't Gene now is it? This is his brother that we are meeting for the first time, you dolt. Be professional," the woman glared as one of her brows twitched in irritation. "Remind me why I married you again?"
"He doesn't mind, do you, Oliver?" the man, Houshou, laughed.
Mai could tell Oliver was trying his hardest to be polite to Gene's friends and so she made her entrance. The blue-eyed man looked over at her and visibly relaxed slightly.
"Mai, you're here. Good," he sighed, drawing the attention of the couple.
The brunette set down her bag on the floor and bowed slightly to their guests. "Good morning. You must be Gene's friend's. My name is Mai Taniyama, it is a pleasure to meet you."
The couple bowed their heads in greeting from their seats as Mai sat next to Naru on the couch.
The older woman smiled at her. "So you're Mai. Gene told me about you. You just moved here from Japan didn't you?"
Mai nodded with a bright smile. "That's me."
Ayako sighed thankfully. "Great! My English is pretty great and all, not one to brag, but it will be nice to know I can talk to someone in Japanese if I want to."
The younger woman nodded happily. "I'd be more than happy to!"
Oliver cleared his throat and crossed his ankle over his leg. "Mrs. Takigawa, my brother informs me that you are a shrine priestess as well as a doctor."
Ayako nodded. "Yes. I spend most of my time as a doctor at my parent's hospital but I am also a priestess."
"Can you elaborate on your skills?" the man prodded.
The woman looked at her freshly manicured nails and crossed her legs. "Well as you know I'm a shinto priestess. Shintoism revolves around nature spirits, we believe in the sacred power both animate and inanimate nature holds. Our shrines worship different kami, or gods, such as fox spirits or river spirits. Ever since I was young I have been able to communicate with trees. I hold a power in which I can utilize the energy of trees and with their energy I can exorcise spirits through a Shinto ritual."
The woman's husband smiled fondly over at her. "I hope you get to see her in action. I've never seen anything more beautiful." The woman's cheeks reddened at his words but then he continued. "You just gotta hope that you go somewhere with trees otherwise she's shit outta luck."
Ayako's brow twitched and she quickly reached out to smack her husband in the back of the head. "You couldn't have just left it at me being beautiful?" she glared before clearing her throat and turning back to Mai and Oliver. "Anyway, as this idiot monk was saying, even though I am highly skilled I do have some limitations. For one, if there are no trees I can be somewhat useless. Also, I can only exorcise spirits, not possessions or anything stronger than a typical spirit. On top of that, once I have utilized the energy from the trees, I can't use the same trees for quite some time because they need to rest half a year to regain their energy."
Oliver nodded. "Can you tell me more about your other occupation?"
The red haired woman nodded. "My parents own a hospital in Japan at which I am a doctor in the emergency room. Those skills have come in handy during the aftermath of some of my exorcisms."
Mai was in awe at the priestess' abilities. Obviously she had been to shrines but that was for festivals. She had never seen a priestess in action before and she was quite excited to see it firsthand. And on top of all of that she was a skilled doctor as well. Brilliant!
"Gene has informed me that your parents requested my skills as a doctor on this particular case since it is your first one after the incident last year," Ayako continued.
Oliver's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes, it appears Gene likes to talk. But it will be beneficial to get my parent's off my back at the least. Mr. Takigawa, I hear that you are a buddhist monk."
The blonde man grinned. "Part monk, mostly musician. When I'm not with the band I attend exorcisms with Ayako. My family owns Mt. Koya, a temple in Wakayama Prefecture, so It wasn't much of a choice. I specialize in exorcisms and luckily I'm able to perform without the aid of trees. Unfortunately, however, I won't be able to join you all this weekend. I have two big gigs."
Mai perked up. "You're in a band?"
Houshou flashed her a grin. "Better believe it. I'm the bassist in a band called MouseRat. Odd name but great music."
"Not for much longer though," Ayako grumbled.
Houshou shrugged. "Excuse the missus. She's a little upset that our lead vocalist is going solo and the rest of the band wants to settle down. So, this is unfortunately our farewell tour."
Mai gave the man a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about that."
The musician waved it off. "Don't be. I hurt my hand during a gig a while back and my skills on the bass haven't been as killer ever since. Not to mention I'm getting older, especially Ayako."
Another smack was delivered to the back of his head and the man looked over at his wife with a playful smirk.
"Do you sing too?" Mai asked curiously.
"Not much, I just do some backup vocals," he shrugged.
Ayako grinned teasingly. "Thank goodness for that. If he was the lead singer you'd be bleeding from the ears."
The man frowned at his wife and Mai laughed at the married couple.
Oliver took his opportunity to reign the conversation back to the original topic. "Does that mean you will be working primarily as a monk after the tour?"
Takigawa nodded. "It does. I'd be happy to help after we've finished up. I've gotta be honest, I've been a big fan of your research for a long time so it's pretty exciting getting to meet you in person. The science behind your research is brilliant."
Naru nodded slightly in thanks and Mai held back her smile at the sign of a proud smirk attempting to pull at his lips. "The two of you will be in England for the next three weeks, correct?"
Ayako spoke up. "That's right. I'm available for any of your cases and my husband will be available any day except for this weekend and our last weekend here. That weekend is their final concert."
"Good to know," Oliver hummed.
The sound of the front door opening caught their attention and after a moment Lin walked into the room. He looked at Oliver and gave him a gesture, indicating everything was ready to go.
Takigawa stood up and stretched. "Well, it appears you're all about to head out. I'll take my leave. Keep me informed if you need anything." With that he leaned down and gave his wife a quick kiss before making his exit.
Before long, the four of them had packed their belongings into the van and were on their way to their client's house. Oliver sat up front as Lin drove, while Ayako and Mai sat in the back.
"Well this is exciting," Ayako smirked. "It's been a while since I've been on a case like this."
Mai nodded eagerly. "Not to mention it's Oliver's first case in nearly a year!" She leaned forward and tapped the man's shoulder across from her. "How long until we get there?"
Oliver opened the file in his hands, brushing off her prodding finger. "We should be arriving in Bridgewater in just over three hours. Once we arrive, Mr. Miller will meet with us to give us a quick tour. Seeing as this haunting has taken a more aggressive turn, I have advised our clients to remain in a hotel until their home is cleansed."
Mai nodded knowingly and clasped her hands in her lap. "That's good. It's one of the worst things to feel vulnerable in your own house. You're supposed to feel safe there, not endangered."
Ayako turned to Mai curiously. "Speaking from experience?" she queried.
"Maybe," The brunette whispered with a shrug before looking out the window of the van. After her mother passed and she began to have her dreams, she really didn't feel safe in her home anymore.
She closed her eyes and a memory flashed in her mind. She had been allowed to live in her old home for a week following her mother's passing before being placed in her teacher's care. That week had been one of the worst in her life. Not only had home suddenly not felt like home without her mother, but all sense of security also left once the spirits began to be drawn to her. Walls didn't stop a ghost.
She remembered one particular night as she laid in bed, staring at a mutilated spirit hovering over her. She didn't know how long she laid there in terror until it vanished but she refused to blink in fear of it attacking her. Another memory flooded her mind of walking into her dark flat in Shibuya and being met with ice cold air. Her door had slammed shut and locked behind her before frozen hands grabbed her from behind and threw her against a wall. When she had come to, the room was back to normal and the spirit was gone but the bruises on her arms stayed for days. Once she moved in with her teacher she had to lie about where all the bruises on her skin were coming from. She had to learn how to make a balm that would heal bruises quickly so no one thought she was being harmed. Luckily after several months everything settled down as her ability stabilized and she began to only see spirits in her dreams instead. The dreams could be equally as traumatizing but at least they didn't hurt her like spirits in the human realm did.
Oliver paused his studies, furrowing his brows as a thought came to him. There was an air to Mai's silence that reminded him of what she had told him before. She had mentioned spirits were drawn to her when she first began exhibiting her ability and an uneasy feeling filled his chest. A small scowl pulled at his lips as he also remembered what the brunette had told their client yesterday. She had a remedy for healing bruises, and from the sounds of it she had used it often to know the recipe by heart. Either she was highly accident-prone or there were more to those spirits in her earlier years than she had disclosed to him.
Ayako also regarded Mai's reaction. "Gene tells me you have post cognitive dreams."
Mai turned to look at her new colleague. "Yes."
"That's pretty cool. So you have dreams about the past?" she wondered.
Mai nodded with a polite smile. "Lin is teaching me to gain control over my dreams. Once I master that I'll move on to train with Gene to become a medium."
"That's pretty impressive. You'll have a great mentor. Gene has helped me many times in the past and he is very skilled. Actually, I met him around the same time I met my husband," she added with a smile when she realized Mai was successfully distracted from whatever troubling thoughts had been plaguing her.
Mai's brows raised. "Really? How did you all meet?"
Oliver continued to look at his file but listened to the conversation behind him.
"I first met Gene probably about eleven years ago when he came to visit my shrine. He was doing research on different forms of exorcisms and had heard about my ability and had been interested in Shintoism. He studied with us for about a month before I was called into a high school on a case. Gene came with me and apparently the principal had wanted the job done as soon as possible that he hired Houshou as well. There was a building that was supposedly haunted by a teacher that had committed suicide there."
"Wait a moment! Shibuya High School? You were at Shibuya High School? You were the ones that came to my school?" Mai chirped in astonishment.
Lin and Oliver both turned around briefly.
Ayako's eyes widened. "You were there?"
Mai nodded eagerly and smiled. "I remember there was a team of paranormal investigators that were trying to cleanse the old school house. My friends and I used to stay after school to tell ghost stories in the dark but they made sure to send all students home once school was over as to not interfere with the investigation. It was a big deal because that famous television medium was there."
Ayako laughed. "I forgot all about that."
Oliver turned around. "That's where my brother met Masako?"
"Yeah," Ayako snorted. "I nearly forgot about it though because your brother annoyed the hell out of her. It was pretty hilarious. She kept going off on her own to get away from him. You know, the whole, 'I'm not here to make friends' spiel. Anyway, the four of us finished that case within a couple of days. I guess there was supposed to be a priest there too but he wasn't able to come. It's kind of funny though, now that I think about it. I met my husband there and your brother met his future wife. Who knows, Mai, maybe that priest was supposed to be your future husband," the woman barked in laughter.
"Gene 's fiance is Masako Hara?" Mai gasped ignoring the older woman's joke.
"The one and only," Ayako said, rolling her eyes.
Mai laughed in disbelief. "Wow. I- wow. I still can't believe you were there. It's such a small world. Maybe that's why you look so familiar..." Ayako gave Mai a questioning look but Mai grinned and quickly changed the subject. "Well, anyway, this case seems like it should be pretty interesting."
"I just hope there are trees," Ayako muttered making Mai laugh.
"Even if there aren't trees at least you can help us if we get hurt," Mai smiled kindly.
"Hopefully no one will be hurt, but yeah, I guess I can help in that way," she shrugged. "Hey, Mai. Do you know any protection spells?"
The brunette shook her head softly.
Ayako pursed her lips lightly. "I'm getting a sense that you are a magnet to danger for some reason. Here, let me show you something that's helped me out many times. Hold your hands up like this."
The woman took Mai's hands and positioned them in front of her with her index and middle fingers both extended while the rest curled into a fist.
"This is a spell you can do if you feel threatened by a spirit. It is called Kuji Kiri, or 'the nine cuts.' Each cut or sign you do with your hand is said with a syllable." She held up her hands and illustrated how to move them while reciting the syllables. "Rin, Pyo, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen. These are used as a protection ritual. They stand for power, energy, harmony, healing, intuition, awareness, dimension, creation, and absolute. Since you and I are both female, we make five vertical and four horizontal alternating cuts. For a man it would be the opposite."
Mai spent the next half hour perfecting the protection spell with the priestess before she committed it to memory.
"Very good!" Ayako cheered. "You're a natural."
Mai smiled and yawned softly. "Thank you for teaching me. I'll definitely feel more confident on cases now."
"Now that you know a protection spell doesn't mean you can let your guard down on a case, Mai," Oliver reminded her stoically from the front seat.
Mai scowled slightly. "Obviously. I just mean I feel a little safer now is all."
Ayako spoke up again. "I know some other protection charms. I'm actually very skilled in making omamori, or paper protection charms. I usually make one for the room I stay in on a case, and if a case is particularly violent I make charms for people to wear as well."
For the first time this whole drive, Lin spoke from the driver's seat. "Mrs. Takigawa, would you mind if I talk to you about your protection charms during the case. It could be valuable information in future cases you aren't able to attend."
"Good Lord, call me Ayako, Mrs. Takigawa is my mother-in-law. But of course. Gene's told me about how dangerous some of your cases are so I'd be more than happy to help out," she nodded. "Houshou also uses the nine cuts as well as some other protection spells that I'm sure he'd be glad to talk to you about after we return."
Lin grunted in approval and returned his focus on the road. The occupants in the car sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Oliver closed his folder and rubbed his eyes.
"Mai, when we get to the location I am going to have you take temperatures of each room while Lin and I set up the base," he instructed.
"You're talking to deaf ears there," Ayako chuckled gently.
Turning around curiously, Oliver saw Mai fast asleep against the van window. Normally he would have woken the person up but she looked so peaceful when she slept. He sighed to himself and turned back to open a notebook, letting her rest.