Chapter 4
Case 1: Hoshikawa Manor
Day 1: Night
"Naru," Monk called over the walkie back to base.
"What Takigawa?" his voice came back over the walkie, static being heard too.
"What do the cameras look like in the 3 rooms where they are supposed to switch furniture?"
All looked at the walkie in Monk's hand, anxiously waiting for his call back.
"Both Lin and I are currently looking at them and they haven't changed one bit."
"Then you might want to come down here Naru."
"Why?"
"They have changed. Nashi went to go show us each room and they are not in the right places! It's unreal!"
"Are you sure it's not just stress getting to you from earlier?"
"Naru, yes we all are. You need to come see this since you don't believe us."
Naru sighed, "Fine."
The walkie staticed out and within 5 minutes the sound of footsteps could be heard. Mai glanced over at the now approaching Naru and huffed as soon as she saw his stoic face, but it almost to be saying that they all were lying. But as soon as the 1st door to Nashi's room, or what was supposed to be her room, Naru couldn't hold back the look of shock on his face.
"Lin," he spoke into another walkie, "Are the rooms still the same on the monitors as when I left?"
"Yes."
"They are right. These aren't the rooms, well the furniture, in the rooms when we put the cameras and bags in when we got here."
"And Naru look," Mai said pointing into one of the rooms, "The girl's room now has the guy's room in there and your bags are in here too, since there in not my purple bag in there anymore."
Naru went to see and in fact did see that Mai was right, their bags were in the girls rooms now.
"Hmmm…" Naru got into his thinking position, arms crossed and one hand on his chin.
"Nashi will we have to move all the furniture back to the right rooms?"
Nashi shook her head, "No. Give it a few hours and then it will be back to normal."
"Mai, Takigawa and Nashi."
"Yeah?" they all said at once.
"I want each of you to go into one of the rooms and stand in front of the cameras."
They nodded and went into the rooms, located the cameras and stood in front of them.
"I'm in front of it Naru," Mai called out to him.
"Same here." Monk.
"Me too." Nashi.
"Ok Lin, what is in view of the cameras now?" Naru once again spoke to Lin through the walkie.
"Well I see Nashi, Takigawa and Mai standing in the rooms in front of the cameras looking at them."
"Hmm…how perplexing this is."
"Yeah considering it's never done this before."
Naru's eyes snapped open and looked at her. "What?"
Nashi seemed to jump slightly from how harsh his voice sounded toward her. "W-what?"
"Naru! Don't be so harsh!" Mai yelled at him, still clearly mad at him and not showing signs of letting up.
"Oh, no what I meant by that is usually the room change happens at night while I'm asleep or I'm over at Michu and Kori's house. But it's always at night, never during the day."
"Wow, this ghost likes to announce its presence now. Nashi if we were to leave and come back later would it be back to normal?"
"Uh yeah Ayako it should be. It fixes itself."
"Then I want everyone back in base."
Monk, Ayako and Mai groaned, while Ayako also whined. "But Naru you can't be serious! We are exhausted!" she emphasized with arm and hand gestures.
"I'll go grab some spare blankets and pillows for everyone. I also have a few extra futons around here as well," Nashi looked at Ayako and smiled, "It may not be as great as an actual bed but at least it softens the floor." Ayako returned her smile, what Nashi said was true even if she wasn't happy about it.
"Nashi, Yasu and I will help you carry everything so you don't have to. Right Yasu?"
"Of course as it is my duty to help the pretty girls of the world!" Yasu then rushed over to Monk and grabbed his hands, "And of course you my love."
"Yasu What the…?! Noooo!"
And with that Monk ran off to base, away from Yasu while Mai, Ayako and even John laughed, Naru and Lin said nothing and Nashi looked so confused.
"Yasu. Go with Mai and Nashi, now." Naru demanded, growing impatient.
Yasu frowned but headed after the 2 girls that had already started walking away.
"So Nashi where are the extra blankets and stuff at?" Mai asked to break the silence, since Nashi got extremely quiet after the whole room switching thing.
"Oh, uh in the storage closet on the 2nd floor, but it's almost as big as a room."
Then silence again, this time Yasu using his bubbly personality to try to get her to laugh, which ended up failing.
"If it's as big as a room almost then well have all the elders sleep there and us in base!" and Yasu doubled over laughing at his own joke while both girls looked at him as if he was crazy, but Mai did have a smile. And when Yasu looked up he noticed that Nashi still didn't seem to want to respond in any way. So why not be blunt?
As they started going up the stairs, Yasu spoke up again, "Nashi, why are you so quiet? What's wrong?"
She just sighed and shook her head but Yasu wasn't going to take that, and neither was Mai so he lightly grabbed her wrist once they were on the floor of the 2nd level, making her turn towards him.
"What is wrong?"
"It's…" Nashi closed her eyes and sighed, there was no way of escaping this, "It's just I'm worried."
"Don't worry we will keep you safe Nashi," Mai chimed in but Nashi just shook her head again.
"No Mai, not for myself, I am used to these things but I am worried for you guys."
"Us? You don't have to worry about us. We've been in some situations way more dangerous than this."
"But Mai, since you guys have gotten here, the room switching has accrued during the day not at night when everyone is asleep, we've had a kettle explode on you and me after seeing a kid and who knows what else will happened now. I don't want any of you to get seriously hurt!"
Mai and Yasu stared at her shocked, she was really worried about them and blamed herself for putting them here.
"If I hadn't come to you, this…"
"Would have gone on and you could have been killed! Do you think anyone would like that? What about your best friends Kori and Michu? Don't worry about us, we can handle this. We are professionals after all."
"Says the only one on our team that hasn't got any kind of psychic power…" Mai teased, finally causing Nashi to smile and softly laugh.
"Ok. But I still hold the right to worry."
"Fine. But I win!" Yasu shouted and happily skipped down one of the halls until Nashi said something.
"Wrong way Yasu!"
~Back at base~
"We have all the extra blankets and futons that I have here. I hope there is enough for everyone," Nashi informed as the trio entered base and sat them down in the corner.
"Ah thanks so much Nashi!"
"It's no problem, Ayako. It's the least I could do after the rooms decided to switch so soon. I'm still curious as to why the rooms decided to switch while we were still awake and not while we were sleeping."
"Now Naru can we go get a few things from our bags so we can sleep in pajamas and have clothes for tomorrow?"
"Yes but go in groups." So the girls will go 1st to get their things.
Mai, Masako and Ayako nodded and Mai turned to Nashi.
"Nashi want to come with us and we can grab some clothes from your room to while we are down there?"
"Ok."
Once the girls came back the boys minus Lin and Naru went to go get their clothes.
"Lin, Naru, aren't you going to get some clothes?"
"Nashi they almost live, eat and sleep in the same clothes I swear so don't even bother asking. They do as they please."
Nashi laugh at what Mai said until she noticed how serious Mai actually was she stopped and rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.
Everyone helped set up all the make-shift beds while Lin and Naru just sat at the monitors.
"Nashi."
The said girl looked up and over at the one who had spoken?
"Yes Lin?"
"Can you come here and tell me if you have ever seen this before?"
Nashi went over to the monitors and looked at the screen Lin was pointing at to see it becoming fuzzy and what looked to be a jewelry box but when static went across the screen it would disappear then reappear the next time it staticed.
"No I've never seen that music box or whatever it is before in this place. Especially one that disappears and then reappears."
Lin nodded and in small groups again they went to change into their pajamas and everyone turned in for the night but Naru and Lin who remained at the monitors.
"You all shall die…I won't give up my revenge!"
"But what did I do to you? I don't even know who you are."
"It doesn't matter to me. Everyone who owns this house and runs it shall die. I need to feel alive and have their warm blood flowing through my veins!"
Thud!
Nashi woke us with a start as she heard the thud and looked around, noticing that Lin and Naru were sleeping on their make-shift beds they had laid out for them. When she heard a groan she looked to her left, in the direction of the couch by the monitors and say no one laying on it.
'Wait…wasn't Yasu on there?'
And just as she thought it she saw movement on the ground and noticed Yasu laying there, face down and slightly rolling on the floor.
"Yasu?" she called in a whisper so she didn't wake anyone.
Yasu the rolled over on his side and propped himself up and looked at Nashi. "Nashi? Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you up. I just…"
"Fell of the couch?" she finished for him with a slight smile on her face.
"Well more like rolled but yeah," he replied as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"No its ok. After living in this house for so long I kind of have become a light sleeper."
"Oh. Good. But still sorry."
"It's ok. I take it you roll around in your sleep a lot?"
"Sometimes and tonight was one of them."
He noticed Nashi moving from her bed on the ground into a sitting position.
"What are you doing Nashi?"
"Switching with you."
"No you don't have to. Wait…why are you switching with me?"
Nashi gave him a soft smile that he noticed and responded "Well you're helping me with the ghost so I figured the least I could do is help you guys be comfortable, especially since you guys couldn't sleep in the rooms tonight."
"But you're still hurt from the explosion! I can't let you switch."
"Yasu, I have slept on the couch before when I was up late studying for school and I have been fine. I'll be fine this time too ok?"
He sighed and just gave in and agreed to change. Once both were settled in and almost asleep, Yasu whispered one last thing to Nashi but she did hear him.
"Thanks again Nashi. And don't worry, we will make whatever is here go away."
~Day 2: Morning~
Naru and Lin were already up when the others got up while Ayako went to go make breakfast since Nashi and Mai were both band from the kitchen.
"Lin is that music or jewelry box still in the room?" Nashi asked once she came back in the room and noticed only Lin, Naru and Masako were in it.
Lin motioned for her to come toward the monitors and she saw that the camera was staticing more than last night and that the box was still there.
"How…?" but she was interrupted when the rest of the SPR team walked into base, everyone now done with eating.
"Takigawa, Matsuzaki, could you go the room on the 2nd floor and check to see if anything like a music, jewelry or whatever it is box is in there?"
"What room is it?"
"Not sure," Lin responded while trying to thumb through their notes for what room it was. Nashi leaned over and saw it was the 2nd floor "couples room", as she called it cause it was just perfect for 2 people even if it was room 25, a little bit away from the storage closet where they blankets were retrieved from.
"Lin, I can go instead of them because I can tell exactly what room that is up there."
"You can't go alone."
All heads turned and noticed Naru had walked back into base with Masako right behind him.
"Well then I'll go with Nashi then."
"Ok just be careful. Let me know when you're in place."
Both girls nodded and Nashi lead the way to the room on the second floor. Once they're both girls looked around and as soon as they spotted the camera they radioed Lin.
"Lin do you see us on the monitors?"
"Yes."
Nashi walked over to a table in front of the end of the bed, "Is this the table from the video that it's supposed to be on?"
"Yes. Do you see anything there?"
"No. There is nothing here at all. Nor is there any traces or disturbances in the little bit of dust that is…"
"Is what Nashi?"
I know its been forever. in my defense i lost this whole story and just recently recovered it and started working on it. dead space 3 will be alove again shortly too but this first so hope you like it. im working on 5 now :)
