Okay, so my email screwed up and I just thought I was getting nothing from anyone, not even my spam mailers. And then, lo and behold, I get 20 emails out of basically NOWHERE and so, after this is posted, I'm going to respond to all of you and stuff, okay?
But… *sigh*
Have you guys ever had that moment while watching and reading through lots of series, you realize you really are an amateur and have so much to learn that you just get into a slump? Well, that's my current situation.
Self confidence in drawing- next to none.
Self confidence in writing- well, I didn't have much to start, but HELL, this is a new low.
Self confidence as a story maker- yeah, there isn't much there.
Self confidence as a person believing in my own talents- Ha! No.
BUT, while I AM in a bit of a slump, surrounded by all these amazing writers and such, you guys like this story-for reasons I still can't quite fathom-so I'll still update. I don't want to leave this unfinished. I will not abandon this story.
Besides, sometimes you need to acknowledge your levels of talent and skill in order to improve. Trust me, there is ALWAYS room to improve.
So after I finish this, I'm probably going to go look through my bookshelf, find a book, and find stuff that could have been improved. That's where most of my ideas come from-other ideas!
(PS-this little phase of mine was also induced by looking through some old story stuff on my computer, and a few of them are Ghost Hunt fanfic… snippets are probably the best word for it. I'm tempted to put them on here so if I feel like writing it, it'll be on fanfiction and I can get more room on my laptop for other things. As for the non-fanfic ones…. I sometimes wonder what the hell I was thinking while behind my keyboard….)
Ah, well, whatever. It happens. It'll pass. Besides, I'm taking a creative writing class over the summer, so that should help too.
But, the reason I said anything about it is, well, it's one of the reasons I didn't update yet. I just really needed a break. Plus, I do the majority of my writing on weekends, and for reasons I'm still not sure of, I got really busy really quick.
I don't own Ghost Hunt. I'd feel sorry for the lot of you if I did…
ENJOY!
BLIND
Shibuya Psychic Research began preforming exorcisms to try to stop the dangerous phenomenon at Yuasa High School… But nothing changed.
The accident with the guidance counselor… Kasai supposedly cursing him…
The truth is… things were only getting worse.
That woman never looked at me. Not once! She only looked at Naru!
"We're dealing with a zuhzou. Someone has cast multiple enmi spells against people in this school, and evil spirits are appearing to those who have been cursed," is what Naru said.*1
Masako and Ayako believe that Kasai is to blame for everything, but I honestly don't think it's her.
Then we found hitogata used for the zuhzou hex in all of the places connected to these incidents, just like Naru said. If we can just find the person who made the dolls the case will be solved and we can go home.
I hope we figure it out soon….
BLIND
Thursday
The ambulance came and picked up Masako. She lay unconscious on the stretcher as we watched (in my case, sensed) her get put into the back of the vehicle.
And naturally, rumors had already started spreading.
"I heard she saw something…"
"It's the same thing that Mr. Yoshino saw…"
"It's gotta be a curse!"
"Come on you know it's her. Who else would do this?"
"I hope I don't meet Kasai in a dark hallway."
I could practically hear Kasai scream and cry on her teacher's shoulder.
"Call us soon and let us know how she's doing, okay?" Ayako said as John climbed in the back of the ambulance.
"Right," he said, looking over his shoulder at the rest of us. "You guys try to be careful, okay?"
With that, the ambulance door closed with a soft swoosh and they drove off to the hospital, sirens blaring loudly as they went.
We were now down two members, just like when Masako fell through the wall at our first case.
I hope she's okay…
BLIND
We had all gathered in base once again to plan our next move. We had not, however, calmed down enough to have an actual civil conversation to make a legitimate plan.
Example A…
"Shouldn't we just go ahead and get this Kasai girl locked down?! Our lives are in danger here!"
… it stands for Ayako.
Example B…
"You can't! This isn't her fault I swear!"
… that would stand for 'bone-headed', AKA me.
Ayako turned back with a snap. "You still believe that crap?! Then tell us who IS doing it, otherwise but out!"
I reeled back slightly. "Uh, well it's… I guess I don't know…" I put my head down in shame.
We need to figure out who it is!
"Whoever it is, they're warning us," Naru's calm voice rang out.
"What do you mean?" I said, facing up once again.
"We must be getting close to something," Naru started explaining. "The hexer attacked Miss Hara and I to warn us from digging any deeper."
"That's a hell of a warning!" Ayako pointed out. "Masako was pushed down the stairs, Naru. This is serious!"
"Yeah," Monk agreed, speaking up for the first time in our conversation. "And not to toot my own horn or anything, but who knows what would have happened to you if I hadn't scared away that spirit earlier."
"So as long as we get the message, the hexer doesn't really care if one of us is hurt or killed," said Naru. "That tells us a bit more about the kind of person we're dealing with and makes our resolving this case quickly all the more imperative." Then, as Naru had a tendency to do when he was thinking or trying to get us to think, he started listing the facts of the case. "The targets were Mr. Yoshino, the unfortunate sophomores who sat at that desk and had accidents one after another, and the entire track team. And let's not forget, the hitogata we found in the desk and the locker room make it clear that the culprit was after someone connected to them. "
And thus, Naru purposed his plan of action.
"I think we're all aware of that working on this case poses a risk, and for that reason we should want to expose the hexer as soon as we possibly can. Lin, Mai, and myself will investigate those connected to the desk and the track team. Monk, you and Ms. Matsuzaki will continue to search the school for hitogata," he said, watching us critically.
"Yeah, right," Monk and Ayako solemnly agreed to the plan.
Of course, they didn't do it without complaint. As such, here is what I gathered out of what happened out there:
"Uph, how come we always end up doing the grunt work?" Monk complained as he checked through some bushes.
"Yeah, I wish Naru would leave his computer and get his hands dirty for a change," Ayako grumbled from where she was going through a different bush. "Oh, no! My nails are ruined!" she said as she brought her nails closer to her face to inspect them. "I just got this manicure!"
A young girl was watching them sadly as they worked. She did not, however, go unnoticed. After a moment of brooding over her poor manicure, she noticed the long-haired teen as she peeked at them from behind a pillar. "Monk," Ayako said to gain his attention, "come here."
Monk groaned. "What now?" he said, hoping she wasn't going to say something about her skirt next. Then he noticed her. The girl, upon seeing that she was caught, ran back into the school building.
"That long hair… Do you think that could've been the Kasai girl spying on us?" Ayako assumed, considering they had only had descriptions of the girl they she had constantly been accusing.
What was I doing at the time? I was in base with Lin and Naru as they interviewed our number one informant on this case, again. Yuuko Takahashi.
"So you're trying to figure out if the desk and the track team have a connection," Taka said, trying to make sure she understood what Naru wanted out of this.
"Who was the first student to sit in that seat?" Naru went on to question. In the elusive language of Naru, that translates to 'You are correct so we aren't going to bother with it anymore and get on with what I need to know'.
Apparently Taka understood at least part on Naru language because she went ahead and answered him. "Uh, first term… I honestly don't remember. But I know that Murayama sat there second term."
"When exactly would that have been?" Naru shot out next.
"Oh, let's see the first seating change was in the middle of September," Taka said, giving herself a pause to think. "See, at our school we always change seat on the fifteenth day of every month, so it must have been from July fifteenth to September, uh, fourteenth, with summer vacation in the middle."*2
"When did Murayama have her accident?" he continued his questioning.
"A couple of days before the seating change, I think," Taka answered after a moment.
"Alright. That means that the culprit must have put the hitogata inside the desk sometime between July fifteenth and September eleventh or twelfth." *3
"Hitogata?" Taka questioned, only to be ignored.
"The accidents started happening midway through September, so the student before Murayama probably wasn't connected," Naru said as he walked over to the window. I had no idea whether he was looking at something or himself. Or is it something else? I know he's a narcissist but I doubt that this habit of his has anything to do with that… "I think it's a safe bet that Murayama must've done something to anger the hexer during that period."
"Anger?" I questioned.
"Oh yes, that's obvious. They had to have had a grudge of some kind. Our culprit knew Murayama, or at least what she looked like, which means we can probably rule out teachers she didn't have and students in other grades."
"Um," Taka inputted, "I don't know. Sometimes substitutes or administration type people come in. Plus there are club meetings and stuff that other kids come to." *4 Then Taka gasped and brought a hand to her mouth.
"Hey, what is it?" I asked, concerned.
"Well," Taka responded after a moment, "it happened during the Kasai Panic… Some of us kept dragging Kasai into our classroom to see the spoon-bending thing. It really was pretty cool, you know. But one time Murayama just totally stormed in and started yelling at us. She said," Taka took a moment and I guessed mimicked Murayama's voice, "'Would you guys give it a rest? I'm so sick of this supernatural crap! I mean, come on! It's really just a cheap trick, right?'" Taka returned her voice to normal before continuing. "I guess Murayama was pretty upset because she even went to talk to Ms. Ubusuna."
"Ms. Ubusuna?" I questioned. Why go to her?
"Uh, yeah," Taka nodded. "She knows a ton about psychic powers and stuff… Didn't you guys know that? I've even gone to ask her questions about it before. I remember her talking about psychokinesis… Like the three types of PK that there are. I remember trying to see if I could make a die roll a two, ya know, since she said it wasn't that uncommon… No dice—er, forgive the pun. Looks like I'm as normal as they come… But Kasai was different. I think maybe that's why she always stuck up for Kasai, even when the whole school went crazy over psychic stuff and people started taking sides."
"And this is the teacher Murayama complained to about Kasai?" Naru spoke up for the first time, finally turned to look over his shoulder at Taka and tearing his eyes away from the window. Er, it IS a window, right?
"Uh huh," Taka nodded in confirmation again. "Ms. Ubusuna said if she stepped in it would just stir things up, but pretty soon the other teachers and the PTA started freaking out about it."
"So Murayama was the first person to reject psychic powers… Quite interesting," Naru said, seemingly to himself.
"Wow, you know I hadn't even thought about it until just now, but I don't think the track team had a lot of believers either," Taka spoke up suddenly. I turned to look at her and, since she apparently noticed me looking at her, she explained further. "Well, Mr. Yoshino was the team's advisor and he really didn't believe, so the team ended up doing… you know… whatever he said."
I evaluated Naru's expression at this piece of information.
He was thinking. Hard.
BLIND
A bit of time later found Taka out of base. Naru was looking over a laptop screen. I peered over his shoulder, pretending I didn't absolutely hate screens and monitors with a passion.
"Here it is," Naru said. "Looks like everyone who spoke against our friend, Kasai, eventually experienced some kind of harm."
"Okay, so then…" I trailed of, not sure how to finish the sentence.
Naru straightened up before responding. "The probability that Kasai is the culprit has just skyrocketed."
"Hey," I interjected, "what do you mean?"
"Zuhzou doesn't work for just any person who attempts it. Only those who've had special training or are very knowledgeable about supernatural powers can perform them," Naru explained.
"But remember, you said Kasai's power was unstable, Naru! You did!" I argued. Naru took a look of surprise or realization, but I continued on. "And that would mean, it'd be hard for someone like her to control a zuhzou, isn't that right?"
"Yeah, that's a good point," Naru ACTUALLY agreed. "Very true."
"And when it comes to knowledge, I'm sure Ms. Ubusuna would be able to, wouldn't she? She'd have some sort of motive too! So Kasai can't be the only suspect!" *5 I mean, I do get weird vibes from her. Or maybe this case is just getting to me?
"Even so, she'd still have to have some sort of psychic powers," Naru said, ever the voice of reason. Right, why would Ms. Ubusuna do it? She's not a psychic, right? Then, I noted Naru had a far-off expression on. Thinking. Again. He does that a lot. One day he's going to get stuck in that brain of his and one of us is going to have to bring him back out. "… No, I doubt it…" he mumbled to himself. Then he looked at me. Crap. "Besides, why target me? If we were getting close, why not target all of us?"
"Maybe because, I don't know, you're sorta in charge?" I suggested. I didn't really know. Besides, Ms. Ubusuna? Who would suspect her? "Or maybe she just got tired of your narcissism."
Ah, Naru's giving me a look. Or rather, a glare. I should shut it now.
We stayed like that until, finally satisfied that I had become silent for a little while, he went back to thinking.
I stayed like that for a moment before deciding asking a question I actually had been wondering about for a while. "Didn't you say zuhzou came from onmiyoudo?" Naru simply turned to look at me for an answer, prompting me to continue. "So then an onmyouji could dispel them, right?" I thought back to when I was talking to Kasai earlier. "In the hallway I told Kasai that you're one of those, and her reaction was kinda weird."
"Why did you tell her that?" Naru said, his tone... well, it was strange. "I am no such thing."
"Huh? You're not?" Okay, now I was just confused.
"Of course not," he brushed it off as nothing.
"Eh?!" I took a step back and pointed a finger at him accusingly. "But you used a hitogata in that case before, didn't you? And Monk said only an onmyouji could do that!"
"Actually, Lin made it," Naru relented.
"What? So you mean Lin's an onmyouji?"
"Yes, I guess you could say that."
… You guess? What kind of answer is that?
"Oh, but, I guess it still looks pretty bad for Kasai, doesn't it?" I got back to the subject at hand. "That she's the person behind all of this."
"Well if she thought I was a threat and hexed me for fear that I'd dispel her zuhzou, then yes, it looks bad for her," Naru said.
"But what if," I searched my mind for a solution or explanation, or… anything, really. "What if she didn't mean to do it? Like she did it subconsciously or something and didn't know?" Okay, that was lame.
"She would know," Naru didn't hesitate to answer. "Practicing enmi involves actively cursing the subject."
"Oh, then…" I couldn't say it. It wasn't true. "No, it's not right!" I voiced out exactly how I felt. "Kasai isn't the kind of person who would do this!"
"Is this intuition talking again?" Naru stated coldly.
Quietly, I bowed my head and nodded. I know that Kasai is innocent.
I could feel his eyes on me. Even if I had adverted my senses straight at my shoes, I could still feel them.
"Alright, if that's what your gut is telling you, I'll trust it," Naru said, surprising me enough to face him and sense his face to see if he was pulling a trick. He was… being truthful! "But right now I need to look something up. Go find the others and help them search for the hitogata."
"Uh," I said, curious as to what he was going off to research about. But hey… I search better than anyone else! "Okay!" I smiled at his retreating back as he closed the base door.
BLIND
"What did you say?" Ayako questioned.
"You're kidding, right?" Monk was equally upset and surprised.
Oh, I knew this wasn't going to go well.
"I'm not," I said truthfully. "You just made some wrong assumptions about Naru, that's all."
"But come one, making hitogata, performing a purifications, and now this zuhzou thing? Of course we'd think he's an onmyouji! Anyone would," Monk protested. Hey, don't shoot the messenger.
"Well, according to Naru, Lin can do it," I said, my voice a bit small.
"So I ruined a perfectly good manicure for nothing," Ayako said, looking at her nail mournfully. Never saw the appeal in that, and I mean that quite literally. And I wouldn't say it was for nothing…
"And I've been putting up with his crap because I thought, 'Oh, he's a master, we have to do what master says!'" Monk was, to put it nicely, very upset. I am not sympathetic. You were the one to make the assumption. Besides, he's still the boss, you idiot!
I knew my face was probably between wanting to sooth them and wanting to whack some sense into their skulls… Oh, is that… "Ms. Ubusuna?" I ventured to say, sensing around Monk who stood right in the way. Monk and Ayako turned to see our newest arrival.
"Yes," Ms. Ubusuna confirmed it was her. "I just heard that Masako Hara was injured."
"Yeah, she fell down the stairs," I spoke up, seeing as Ayako and Monk weren't saying anything.
"Is she alright?"
This time, Ayako spoke up, pivoting on her heels to properly face Ms. Ubusuna. "At the moment it doesn't appear to be life-threatening, but if she had landed any differently things could've been a lot worse." Oh, so I guess John called her... "Maybe you'll see this as an opportunity to wake up and take a good look at this girl you're so interested in defending."
"Ayako!" I scolded. Strange how that happens, she's older than me, around Ms. Ubusuna's age to be honest.
"Oh I knew it," Ms. Ubusuna looked down at her shoes remorsefully. "You've chosen to believe Kasai is to blame for all this too, haven't you?"
"Of course we do," Ayako said.
"There's certainly no reason not to suspect her," Monk echoed.
"She's so scared, I really worry about her," said Ms. Ubusuna. "I'm not sure… what she'll do."
"Wait a minute, she wouldn't kill herself, would she?" I asked.
"I doubt it," Ayako responded. "I saw her over there spying on me and Monk earlier. For all we know maybe the 'little dear' is deciding who she wants to curse next."
"Who do you think you-"
"I'm sorry!" I stopped Ms. Ubusuna mid-sentence, accidentally pushing her slightly as I put my hands on her shoulders. I backtracked slightly and faced her completely. "Really, I'm so sorry." I bowed my head in apology. "I don't think that way. I mean, I don't think Kasai's causing all these things to happen." I straightened out. "I'm not sure how I know it's true, but I can feel it!"
Ms. Ubusuna cocked her head slightly in confusion. "You feel it?"
"There's a voice inside of me…" I know that Kasai is innocent. "I can't say it's anything more than my gut feeling, but it's so strong I have to believe it with all my heart."
"My goodness," Ms. Ubusuna said, sounding quite surprised. "And what's your name?"
What a strange question… "Mai Taniyama," I said, since she may want to use either my first or last name.
"Thank you, Mai," Ms. Ubusuna sweetly thanked. "That means a lot, and I know Kasai will be very happy to hear it too."
… Why do I feel there was a double meaning somewhere in there? Oh well. I smiled at her happily. If anyone would be able to tell Kasai, it would Ms. Ubusuna.
"I would really appreciate it if the rest of you would stop accusing that young girl," Ms. Ubusuna addressed Ayako and Monk bluntly. "The poor thing has been through enough as it is… Good day." And so, she walked back into the school.
"How can we stop accusing her?" Ayako shot at Ms. Ubusuna's back once she was out of hearing range. "What if something worse happens because we sat back and didn't act in time?"
"Yeah, and it's starting to look like it could be our turn next," Monk reasoned out.
Shortly after, we broke up to cover more ground over the school.
BLIND
It was starting to get cold. It was almost sunset, I think. It obviously didn't exactly apply to me to be worried about light anywhere, including outside. I checked the watch I had on my wrist—I broke the glass face so I could read it—and sure enough, the time revealed that it had been hours since I started looking.
"Nothing here," I looked behind another bush outside of the school. "Man I've looked everywhere that seems like a good hiding place."
I straightened out and scratched my head. Where to look next… maybe I should check into base, see if anyone else has any news.
Just then, I heard a quiet sobbing. I turned around to find the part of the school that had construction. Aren't they building a new student hall, or something? But, it's off limits, isn't it? Why would anyone be there?
I walked closer to try and hear the sobbing again. It got louder as I got closer.
Is that a little kid? I couldn't sense anything-
Oh, a kid's bag… is it? No, it can't… "Is someone out there?" I ventured out. "Hello?" I waited for a response.
More sobbing.
I tried to sensing around to find the gate… but what if there's an alarm? With that reasoning in mind, I climbed over the fence and jumped down on the other side. Suddenly, I'm glad for my overly-zealous gym teacher…
"Where are you?" I yelled. "Can you hear me?" When all I got was more sobbing, I started walking around, hoping to find another trace of anyone out here. "Please don't cry, just tell me where you are! Come on, it's okay!"
Where is this kid?! I know I'm not just imagining this… Then I noticed something. A… manhole? "Oh, how did someone get in there?" It's lid was slightly off. A kid could have easily fallen in and gotten stuck or scared, I suppose. I pulled the heavy lid off more before peering down.
… There, a kid. I can sense her clearly. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked down to her. Just more crying. "Don't worry I'm going to come down to help you."
I slowly started down the ladder, hoping that it was stable enough to not break on me. The creaking it made, however, did not reassure me of that.
"Mai!" I heard someone say. I was so focused on the kid and the ladder I didn't send my senses to check for anyone else out here! I found Naru standing by the fence… right next to the gate. So that's where it is… "What are you doing in there?" he shouted over. It WAS quite a distance from the fence…
"There's a kid trapped in here," I shouted back to explain.
"A… kid?" he said to himself. If I couldn't read lips, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell what he said.
"Yeah, they dropped their backpack over…" The ground where the bag had laid didn't have a bag. Just dirt. "Where did it go?" I said breathlessly. It was right there-!
And because my timing to do things, such as being a klutz, is so wonderful, my foot slipped right then. "AH!" I grabbed hold of the side of hole for dear life… and I probably WAS holding on for my dear life.
"Mai!" Naru burst through the gate. Well, there's no alarm, I guess.
"Don't worry, I'm fine," I said, though the hysteria in my tone probably wasn't all that convincing.
Then, I felt a tug. Not fine, not fine! I sensed to see what had my leg-
-and I saw, yes, SAW the little girl from earlier, the look on her face completely telling her intentions to pull me down.
Apparently Naru noticed my predicament, or maybe the fact I was losing ground fast, but either way he was running fast.
But, the fence was so far… it was quite a distance to run… I tucked my senses into myself as I had a habit of doing when I'm about to get hurt and waited for the impact…
I lost grip and started to scream as I fell… But then I stopped suddenly. I sent my senses out to find Naru had a firm grip on my wrist. "Listen to me," he said, his voice urgent, "calmly put your foot on the ladder. Can you do that?"
"Uh, yeah," I slowly lifted my leg to where the rung was, carefully moving my weight.
But then, it broke.
And we fell.
… You know those times when time just… slows down? Every detail becomes so vividly clear, it's almost sharp to even think about? Well, this wasn't one of those times.
Because I had spazzed out, my senses did got hyper active and I totally sensed the rocks at the bottom of this stupid pit and I did sense that Naru had fallen in after me and I did sense the ground as we both came hurtling towards us. But then there was a bright yellow light, and the rocks moved. Or maybe I finally became delusional in my moments before my probable death.
... But it happened so fast. Maybe the rocks I thought were at the bottom were really just pebbles on the ground… the ground we hurtled towards… well, we still were going to hit it, but I may have confused the thin walls around us with the ground a few times. Maybe I had turned over myself several times, and maybe I imagined it when I was tucked securely into Naru's arms….
It was just so fast.
And then, it was over. Just like that. I hurt my wrist somehow. I fell down a hole. But, all in all, I was alive. I think.
In hindsight, maybe I should make sure that if I was going to play hero… well, sidekicks are there for a reason.
Heroes, no matter how mighty, will one day fall. The bigger they are, the harder they fall…
In my case, the actual falling part just might be a bit more literal.
I held my wrist carefully. Well, it wasn't broken. Bruised? Yes. Broken like the ladder and probably our only way out? No, it wasn't broken like that.
"I fell down the well in our last investigation too…" I muttered to myself. "I wonder why this stuff always happens to me?"
"Are you alright?" a voice said, scaring me half to death. I found Naru behind me, sitting against the wall.
I think I've had enough near-death experiences for one day.
"Oh Naru, did you fall in too?" I asked. So I wasn't completely wrong when I thought Naru fell in after me… but I totally imagined the part where he held me. Didn't I?
"You were holding on to my hand so tightly, it was kind of hard not to," Naru said, holding one of his arms gently. Did I grip his hand? Ah, I don't remember…
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know the ladder would break," I apologized anyway. Regardless, it was sorta my fault we were stuck here. If only that damn ladder had stayed together… "I guess someone will come rescue us soon."
"Did you tell anyone you'd be here?" Naru asked.
"Uh, no. This wasn't exactly planned…" I admitted guiltily.
"Me neither," Naru admitted himself.
Deciding to see if anyone was close enough to hear, considering I really couldn't sense up or down tunnels very well and therefore couldn't sense anyone, I yelled. "Hey! Somebody!"
All I got were crows. You are SO not helping!
"What possessed you to come down here anyway?" Naru interrupted my obviously fruitless attempt at getting help.
"Well you see… I heard this kid crying, so I started looking around and sen-saw a little girl down here," I retold the tale. Oh, crap, I almost said 'sensed' instead of 'saw'! Wait, what about that girl?
I quickly sensed around me, searching to see if that little brat of a ghost was still around. She's gone. Of course, why didn't I think it was strange? It was so far down I couldn't even sense the bottom, but I could sense her just fine! And… her bag, I thought it was nothing, but I think her bag had a strange glow to it! It was so dark a glow, I didn't think it was even possible! Dammit Mai, if you're blind and you see things glowing, you need to run!
"So now we know they've decided to attack you as well," Naru interrupted my self-lecture.
"Oh my gosh, Naru! How can you be so calm in such a scary place? And it's going to be night soon," I said, more than just a trace of hysteria lacing my tone. Once it's all dark those spirits might appear again! I know it doesn't really apply to me, but usually ghosts appear at night, don't they?
Then, as my temper would show, I got mad for no reason at all. And of COURSE I have to be down here with the most cold-hearted person IN THE WORLD! Sure I guess I made him fall but I didn't mean too! And I'm scared and he could at least try to comfort me a little or be nice and encouraging!
Hold on… My thoughts took another sudden turn. If you think about it… this is like our own little private world! Why the heck am I so excited about that? It appears that hysteria is still here with us… And maybe I can actually learn something about Naru for once! Wouldn't it be nice to know him even a little bit more?
"Feeling better now?" the said male interrupted my little imagination party of one.
"Oh, yeah!" I turned and… he was… smiling ever so slightly? But just like that, he turned his head, and the expression was lost. Wow. He just seemed like the guy in my dreams… you know, if I could see Naru or sense that other guy… but maybe I imagined it? Hysteria and all… it's not like I can blame it on the lighting… "Could you tell I was feeling better?" I said, deciding that talking to Naru was better than letting my imagination run wild again.
"Of course," he responded as I sat down next to him by the wall. "You usually get depressed first, and then you get mad, but you normally tend to bounce back pretty quickly after that." Hey, he's… right…
"Gosh, how do you know that about me?" I was curious now. How did he already noticed what I just now found out?
"Because it's written all over your face." I brought my hands up to my face. I could literally FEEL the blush. It is? Oh man… "Hey, would you like to meet my pet?" Naru asked. He took my curious look as a yes, I think. "Come on out here," he said as he lifted his hand and, with a twist of his fingers, brought a coin out.
"That's your pet?" Did he hit his head or something? I know he lived a relatively solitary existence, but… "Come on, it's just a piddlely little 500 yen."*6
The coin shook in response, then went back into his palm with another move of his fingers. "You see, he hid because you made fun of him," Naru said.
"No!" I defended, pointing at his hand. "You've just got it in your hand!"
"Really?" He moved his hands up and opened them.
"Eh?" I said in surprise. It disappeared!
He reached around his left shoulder, then reached behind his right elbow. "Ah, there he is," he said pulling the coin back out from where it supposedly hid.
"How'd you do that? Naru, let me see it!" I asked him. Usually I could sense through magic tricks. Definitely made magic shows less fun… but he didn't hide it behind his fingers, not discreet movement of his hands to hide it, nothing.
"Catch," he said, flicking it in the air. I caught it! Or… not?
"Hey! You didn't even throw it!" I accused.
"I guess your yelling scared him so much he had to hide again," Naru decided to play innocent, showing that his hands were, in fact, empty.
"Naru, I did not yell!" I yel—er, said with a slightly louder than normal voice.
He moved his hand up to the collar of his jacket. "Ah," he said, pulling the coin back out again, "so that's where he was."
"You're really good at magic," I said.
"So you believe it's magic?" Naru asked.
"Yeah, it is, right?"
"No it's not," a strange little voice said.
"Woah, " I reeled back a bit. The… coin... did it just…?
"You're not afraid of Mai, are you?" Naru asked the coin.
"Mm-hmm," the coin supposedly agreed. *7
"You don't have to be afraid of her. I promise she's not nearly as scary as she comes across," Naru 'reassured' the coin.
How cool! I had no idea he was a ventriloquist too! But even though I know that it looks like the coin is really talking! His mouth didn't even move!
"Keep going," I requested when he stopped. "Please do some more, Naru."
"I'm afraid he's decided to retire for the time being," Naru said, taking my hand and closing my fingers around the coin.
"Why? Don't you feel okay?" I asked, holding onto the coin.
"I wish I had some gear," Naru said, almost to himself.
I know I'm blind… but he doesn't seem okay. Something's… off. He didn't get any sleep last night, either, because of that ghost. Maybe I should keep him talking… to distract him. Or myself…
I checked the time discreetly by sensing my watch without bringing it up to my face like I usually did. I usually tried to at least seem like I could see. It was way less creepy that way... I think the sun must be down by now… "It's pretty dark down here…" I said, turning my head this way and that.
"Are you scared of the dark?" Naru asked.
"Ah, no. It's just… ghosts come out more when it's nighttime, right? So… I was worried about that," I shrugged.
"I didn't think you were. You've left the base dark quite a few times without realizing it," Naru looked at me curiously. Why do I feel like he's interrogating me?
"I guess you could say I have good night vision… like that box over there… those big stones over there—I'm guessing we probably wouldn't be talking if we hit those—and... I'm blabbering again."
"It's okay," Naru said. "It's good to keep distracted like this."
Oh right. We were still stuck down here, ghosts could come out at any minute, no one had found us yet… "I was doing a good job of it until you pointed out that I was distracting us, you know."
"Both of us?"
"Well, I'm guessing so. You said it was good to keep distracted and you've been talking as well…" I decided NOT to mention that didn't seem to be doing well right now. One downside of being blind—you totally can't tell if someone's pale or not. "You didn't hit your head or anything, did you?"
"No, I don't believe so," Naru said, looking a bit surprised. Even so, I gently put my hands to his head, gently moving hair so I could sense if there was a bump. "Didn't I say I didn't hit my head?" he complained, but didn't remove my hands.
"Well, I'm checking anyway," I said, listening as the cry of the crows filled the silence. "Crows… they aren't the friendliest birds out there."
"No, but if someone comes by they'll get quiet."
"Ah, that's true." Satisfied that he hadn't, in fact, suffered any brain damage I could tell, I leaned back against the cool concrete. "You know, there once was this pigeon…"
"Did you share the same brain width?"
"Stop insulting me for two seconds and hear me out, okay? So there was this pigeon, and it basically hated everything. No, seriously. It did. But for some reason… it didn't mind me. I'd walk to school and that bird would follow me there. Walk back… it followed me home. I wasn't allowed to feed it, but it always stayed in our yard, so eventually I got a birdfeeder. One day, I fell down this hill, and I hurt my leg pretty badly."
"So you were a klutz back then, too?"
"Didn't I just say to stop insulting me? So this pigeon… well, it was there when I fell, even though no one else was anywhere nearby. It stayed a moment, and I started crying because, well, it hurt. It left, but I barely noticed. Apparently, it went to my house and started pecking at the kitchen window where my mom was. She went over and saw the pigeon. I didn't really know, but it had taken one of the bows that had fallen out of my hair when I fell. My mom ran out the house to try and find me… and the pigeon followed her. It actually tried to lead my mother to where I was. She eventually started to follow it… and she found me. I was still crying. I went to the hospital, and when I got out, that same pigeon came right up to me and gave me my ribbon. I never saw it after that… but I guess I'm still thankful. That night… well, if no one had found me… it was the middle of winter…"
"So you're saying a pigeon saved your life?"
"I guess so." Suddenly, there were hands on my head. "Hey!"
"I'm making sure you didn't hit your head," Naru said, and I didn't even have to sense his face to know he was smirking.
"Shut it," I pouted, letting him run his hands through my hair, gently checking for a bump. "Can you even see down here?" I was trying really, really hard not to turn cherry red. Therefore, saying anything at all was helping.
"Not really, but if I hit a sensitive spot you'll probably yell at me." After a minute of me struggling to keep an even breathing pace since he was really very close, he pulled away and rested against the wall again. Why does it even matter? I mean, I checked his head, right? So it's no big deal, really! So what if I could feel his breath against my forehead and so what if I could tell what he smelled like, it's not that big a deal!
I am SO not a convincing talker…
"I'm guessing you found nothing?"
"Nothing. Shocking, isn't it?" Naru was smirking. I decided to glare as a response. Better than to blush like an idiot.
And so, we sat there for a little while in a somewhat comfortable silence.
Drip.
I faced Naru again, scanning his face for any indication if he was doing better or worse than before.
Drip. Drip.
"Don't worry Mai," said Naru, seeming to sense my concerned stare. "When everyone gets back together to report they'll see I'm not there and come looking for me. At least I know that Lin will." Usually, I'd say something along the lines of 'Just you?' but I DID have a bad tendency to do whatever I wanted, so… me disappearing for a while probably wasn't too strange of an occurrence.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Still, I hope Naru doesn't get any worse… even if he totally misinterpreted as to why I was facing him. I guess he thought I had gotten scared again. While not entirely untrue, I just hoped Naru was okay… When did I start caring this much? I mean, I'm not cold hearted but…
Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. An entire chorus of drips resounded though the space in even intervals or time.
Suddenly, Naru was kneeling forward, looking ready for something. "What's wrong?" I asked him
"Whatever happens, stay close and keep calm," Naru said, not even looking behind me, instead keeping his gaze focused on one sole spot. Yeah, that's DEFINITELY the way to tell a person to keep calm!
Then… the whole space lit up in a pulsating blue light. And considering that it's me… a ghost just showed up.
I shuffled behind Naru. "What's that?" I questioned, hoping that he somehow was doing this and that I wasn't about to go head-on with another ghost. Out of the eerie (for more reasons than one) glow came long hair, then part of the face to reveal two bloodthirsty eyes. I gasped in fear.
I know this pattern… this is the woman who's after Naru!
"It's alright," Naru reassured. "The spirit couldn't have grown much more powerful in one day. Stay calm and we'll be just fine." Easy for you to say! You're the one who pulled an all-nighter doing this just so you could see what would happen!
Something suddenly protruded from the mouth of the ghost. It looked like… a handle? The woman spirit pulled it out of her mouth to reveal a bloody scythe.
"What's she doing?" I asked, hoping the answer would be anything but about how she was probably going to slit our throats with that thing. Oh god, she's bleeding from the mouth! The scythe cut the inside of her nonexistent mouth and… and…!
Naru reached behind himself and grasped my wrist lightly. "It's okay," Naru said, his voice even and calm.
"Naru," was the only thing I was able to say.
The woman flipped over, became upright, and dropped down to stare at Naru, the only thing between them being the scythe she held close to his face. Honestly, it was weird to have to sense one face and see the other, but I wasn't exactly focused on the difference because, even though she was still closer to Naru than she was me, I was oddly more worried that she was closer to Naru than she was me.
Oh, somebody… Monk… Ayako… anybody… help!
Then, a blur of white light sliced straight through the air in front of us. The woman backed away and disappeared as the little blob floated defiantly in front of Naru.
"Wha- Naru, where did it go?" I asked, referring to the woman. More blobs floated down from the where the ladder was.
"Naru? Are you down there?" I heard a voice call out. That sounded like…
I walked over to the broken ladder and looked up to the opening, sending my senses as far as I could straight up. It was hard but I could tell who it was. "Hey! It's Lin!"
Naru came over and stood beside me. Lin had a flashlight pointed straight down towards us, so Naru had to squint slightly as he looked up. "That was quick. We need a rope or a ladder, and a flashlight, please."
And thus, we were saved. A flashlight was tossed down. I caught it and gave it to Naru. He turned it on and pointed it straight at my face. I closed my eyes out of habit rather than it actually hurting, and he turned the light away.
I sent my senses around, checking for any more signs of a ghost.
Hey wait… what are those? I walked closer and gently picked one up.
"Mai! What are you doing now?!" Naru shouted as he realized I had sorta run off.
"Naru, you might want to look at this…" I yelled back, not even sending any of my senses over to look at him, solely focused on what I held in my hand.
Well, I suppose this explains a few things…
BLIND
"Mai, stop falling down holes. You even dragged Naru in with you this time!" Ayako said as she checked my wrist to make sure it was seriously nothing more that bruised.
"It's not like I go searching for holes each time I go out, you know," I grumbled.
"Naru, I'll check on you next, okay?" Ayako told him, He simply continued looking at the different hitogata, picking one up, shaking his head, then putting it back down just to pick another one up.
"You know, it's actually kinda impressive that there are this many of them," Monk commented on the pile of hitogata that lay on the table as Naru one of them down just to pick another one up. "I never would've thought to look in the sewer."
"There's Mai," Naru said, looking at the hitogata he held in his hand gently. Eh? That's why he'd been looking through those things? Didn't Lin just record all of the names on them? "So Mai's doll, and also ones for Miss Hara, Yoshino, and myself were found."
"Our names weren't there?" Monk asked.
"Hm, well I guess that's a relief," Ayako said, not looking up from her work on my wrist.
"I don't know, I kinda feel left out," Monk joked.
"Now we have to burn the hitogata and throw the ashes in the river, and the power of the enmi will be broken," Naru declared, unofficially assigning us our next job.
Ayako closed the first aid kit with a resounding click. "But, do you believe this will stop the hexer?"
"We're not even completely sure who it is," Monk added.
Because I was either feeling brave or stupid, I took this moment to comment in. "Know who it's not? It's not Kasai, that's who!"
"Mai, come on, this is really getting old," Ayako reprimanded, but I held firm, and we began a glaring match. *8
"Hey, Naru? What's wrong?" Monk asked out of the blue. Ayako and I turned our attention to find Naru to be a bit slumped over. Even Lin turned on his heel in panic. "Are you feeling alright, man?" Monk asked, coming over to stand next to Naru's chair. "Naru?" Monk put a hand on Naru's shoulder.
Due to the sudden push from Monk's hand, Naru swayed to the side…
Fell out of his chair…
On the ground…
Not moving…
"Naru?" I stood up, just as disbelieving as the rest of the room.
No response…
"Naru!" I yelled, somehow hoping he'd just pull himself up and say he was fine.
… but he didn't.
BLIND
*1- Okay, so zuhzou is how I'm spelling it here. It's how it's spelled in the translation of the anime in the sub version. In the manga, it's spelled zuso. I contemplated on changing it even after posting it when I got a great idea. So I got some friends to try to pronounce either word it its two spellings. While it was actually rather entertaining, I decided on 'zuhzou' since said friends were more correct on the pronunciation with that spelling. An hour wasted on mispronounced words was totally worth hearing someone say, "Zuhu… Zaozu… Zo-ho-zo… zu-zu? Zeus? Zu… So? Zuhzao… What the hell am I supposed to be saying? Stop laughing you bastards! I know where all… well…. where MOST of you sleep!" and "Remind me to NEVER help you with a little favor EVER AGAIN, Sabastian."
*2 Okay, so this is (again) about the Japanese school system. As far as my knowledge extends, they change grades during April or May (I think), and technically have school in session during summer vacation. Therefore, they have homework (lots of it) to do over their break, but still wouldn't change seats until they came back to school.
*3 I would like to take this opportunity to show you that 'twelfth' is a really weird word, if you think about it. It just… is. Twelve is sorta weird too, honestly. Or maybe I'm just weird?
*4 So I swear I am not meaning to put so many star… thingies. However, should you look at the screen on this part of the episode and look at Lin's screen, you'll find his notes say, "who doesn't know…. comes to report, andother school year student comes to extracurricular activities, so it is not strange even if know about Ms. Murayama". That is word-for-word. And yes, the lack of space between 'and' and 'other' was there too. Now, I know that this was made in Japan and that English is really difficult. I'm not meaning to make fun. After all, I know a few of you aren't native English speakers yourself, and I probably couldn't read a story in another language if I tried (so far, I've barely been able to interpret a French summary on this website). I just found it weird... Sorta how in the manga, if you look to the part where John spells his name on the paper during the first case, it's spelled 'Jhon'. It's no biggy, it's just interesting to see those little things. After all, if you ever heard me speak French, well, let's just say I don't and for very, very good reason. My pronunciation is ruddy horrible, and you'd be laughing too hard to listen before I even finished a single sentence. To put it simply… Je ne parle pas français. I… get the odd feeling I misspelled something in there… anyway, you get the picture. (God, that was long)
*5 So, in the manga, Mai does throw some suspicion on Ms. Ubusuna. So… there. I wasn't just making stuff up as I go… well, not completely. Hehe.
*6 Piddley is not an actual word. Of course, gunna isn't one either, nor is kinda or gotta or hexer… so I suppose it's okay. But that's what Mai said, so I just went with it.
*7 It was at this point I realized that I felt like a complete idiot while typing this. Just saying. But it was funny, so it's okay, I guess. Heh. Plus all I could think about was how the heck Naru was doing that with a straight face… or the voice actors. (I also realized that there really should be a blooper reel for this anime…)
*8 So in the manga, he falls over when Ayako comes to check on him, not Monk. I have no idea why they switched it, but hey, Masako also didn't get sent to the hospital and so both her and John were there the whole episode, so…
PSSSTTTT- I have a tumblr for SabastianScott by the same name. Someone convinced me to make it (mostly via demons she threatened to send over the internet, if I remember correctly, either that or she was the one who brought a gun into the review conversation), so there you have it.
Oh, and I've been asked this a few times. "Why is it you spell it 'Sabastian' with an A when it it's actually spelled with an E, 'Sebastian'?" Simply put… because I felt like it. Plus, the way I learned to pronounce it, it sounded like it was spelled with an A, not an E. Or maybe that's just how it's spelled on my birth certificate and you'll just never know, hehe. I'm tricky like that. Oh… And I am watching Black Butler, in case you're wondering. I haven't finished the series just yet, so don't you freaking DARE spoil or so help me… Oh, and here's a story for you. One of my nicknames when I was younger was apparently Sebastian, since I liked the Little Mermaid so much-this may or may not be true. But, once during a drama exercise thing, I was playing the role of a butler and had a 'master'. At the end of it, a couple of people were saying I did a good job. What did I say? "I'm simply one hell of a butler"…. Just for the record, I wasn't even into anime or manga at the time. Needless to say, I was super confused as to why I suddenly started getting called 'Sebastian'…. And all the accents everyone decided to adorn… And yes, I had a Viscount Druitt of my own… it was horrible… But my Ciel was awesome. Master requires his tea now…