Thankfully, I got a response from EverlastingRyo and she is just fine. She wasn't in the affected areas. I'm so thankful for that. So, now with a large weight off my chest, I'm writing again. I got a new laptop, and if I thought my last one had a temper, this one takes the cake. Regardless, it works and we are currently working on a peace treaty between the two of us. But if there's a missing S anywhere, or any random letter for that matter, the reason why is that the keyboard hates me and, despite how much I've already typed, this thing will NOT break in, so the keys get a little (a lot) stuck, so I'll think I typed it but it didn't work…. Almost all of them are like that… but especially for the S… it has a special hate for me, I think.
Also, I actually get to start responding to people (though it's starting to get a little more difficult). I'm glad so many people were excited about the fact that the last chapter divided from the anime, but I this one brings it back. But YASU IS FINALLY COMING IN. FINALLY. AND I CAN FINALLY START THINKING ABOUT MY OWN CASES. I'VE WAITED FOR THIS LONGER THAN YOU GUYS HAVE.
Another thing, I'll try updating A Love So Pure soon, but while I know what's going to happen, I just don't really know how to word it. It's one of those times where I wish I had a useful sibling to bounce ideas off from. Emphasis on useful. I have siblings, and the wonderful things that come with that. Please note that there was lots of sarcasm on the word 'wonderful'.
And as much as I love my friends, they can't be serious for more than three seconds a day, so I never am able to bounce ideas off with them. It's actually really irritating, but life goes on.
I also remembered that I FORGOT about Lin's shiki during the last case. So now I'm going to pull an explanation out of effin nowhere as to why they weren't noted.
AND USUALLY I TRY TO RESPOND TO ALL AND ANY MESSAGES, BUT I GOT REALLY BUSY SO I ONLY RESPONDED TO THE ONES THAT REALLY NEEDED A RESPONSE AFTER THE FIRST FEW. IF I DIDN'T RESPOND, I SWEAR I LOVE YOU THE SAME, I JUST COULDN'T AT THE TIME AND IF YOU REVIEW AGAIN I'LL TRY TO RESPOND! I'm not meaning to yell. I just needed your attention. I'll try not to let it get like that again. I really want to stay in contact with you brilliant beautiful people.
AND HAVE I EVER TOLD YOU GUYS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU? BECAUSE I FREAKING DO AND YOU BETTER NOT FORGET IT! I get reviews and follows and favorites and just finding out about you guys reading this story completely makes my day. I wake up and if I just get told I have a new follower I get all happy and mushy inside and then I actually get up in the mornings. To those who can get up early, congrats, I am not one of you. But you guys really are the best. I know for a fact I would not be where I am without you guys.
But, without further of this mushy-gooshy ado, the next chapter!
I don't, I repeat, DON'T own Ghost Hunt.
PS- I just started one of my playlists to write with. First thing that came up? Blind by Lighthouse.
Go figure.
BLIND
Sometimes I forget that the little blobs were always around Lin. I hadn't actually noticed it, but they were there before the case on Christmas. But I don't recall them being around when I woke up. I think… maybe because I was possessed, I couldn't use my non-existent eyesight to see them, since I had been able to see all that day. Or maybe they noticed Lin was a bit upset after the whole entire Kenji incident and they had scattered.
Either way, it wasn't until a week later that I noticed them again.
That was also when Naru and Lin came back from who-knows-where.
When I came in on the day after Christmas, I had found a note on the table. I recognized Lin's handwriting on the note, and then realized that, since Naru isn't from Japan, he must not know how to read or write in Japanese, or at least not very well.
Huh. Didn't even notice.
Regardless, it read that they had some important things come up, and that they were taking the tree.
The tree for goodness's sake. Maybe they went to contact Naru's parents about the letter? But why would they take the tree?
Oh, wait. They found the note under the tree, so maybe they thought the tree might have some clues? I'm not sure. I was still a bit sore from Christmas.
The pain that I had thought was a headache was not a headache. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but my eyes started bleeding.
What a pleasant way to wake up on Christmas, huh? Your eyes just start pouring out blood.
I had gone to a hospital, but it seemed nothing was wrong. The bleeding stopped and, after getting my insurance through to cover the visit, I had gone home.
It was really weird. But nothing else seemed to happen, and there was no other health concerns, so I mostly just cleaned up and went on with life.
I came in to the office the day after, found the note, and just started cleaning the place with a shrug because somehow it turned into a complete wreck in the day I was gone. It crossed my mind that maybe Gene told them where his body was, but somehow I doubted that. Gene seemed confused by the whole affair himself, so perhaps he didn't know where he died? Seemed plausible enough.
So for the week that they weren't there, I simply made sure the office didn't get any worse than it was. Plus, it seemed that wherever they were going, they left in a hurry. After having sat down and gone through the entire cup collection we had and the spare kettle along with the one we used regularly.
I guess that when Gene does something, he makes sure that there is a reaction.
I wasn't sure when the guys would be back, so I just kept office and dropped the letters on Lin's desk as they came in, not bothering to really look at them. When they finally did come in, I gave them an once-over before going straight to the kitchen to make tea.
"You both look like a train wreck. Are you alright?" I asked as they both plopped down on the couch, not bothering to go their offices yet.
"We were fine, until we had to take another case. A simple poltergeist, much like your first case, only a heck of a lot more stressful," Naru said as inhaled the smell of the tea in his clasped hands. Lin even took his and actually drank it. I never did figure out what he did with the tea from Christmas, though I'm guessing that, if he did throw it at innocent bystanders, I would have heard the screeching.
"Can I ask where you guys went?" I said.
"No," was Naru's response.
"Okay," I said, letting it drop. You aren't supposed to know, remember that. It may be January now, but you can get pissed at them when they aren't like… this.
It wasn't that they seemed broken or anything. They just seemed a bit ruffled and maybe need a little while to calm down. Then again, they did get a letter from a dead person. I suppose I'd get a bit ruffled too.
"I think I'll just leave you two here and go home for the day," I said. No response. "Can you hear me?" I said. No response. "I know all of your secrets. Well, the major ones, anyway," I said. Nothing. "You're both really out of it. Okay, I'll make a whole kettle of tea, set it in front of you, and leave, sound good?"
Again, no response. I smiled a little at them. They must be tired.
I made the tea, put it on the table, and left. Just like that.
I didn't come in the day after that.
Then, when I did come in, everything was back in order. Mostly. I still didn't have my tree back.
Well, it's not like I actually liked it. I remember that the stupid thing fell on me several times over the years. Good riddance.
Then one day I got called into Naru's office without the usual order of tea.
Shocking, right?
"So," I said as I entered. "Something you need?"
"Just a couple of questions," Naru said. He was holding the cup I had gotten him for Christmas. Oh, maybe he thinks I know something? He wouldn't be wrong, but it's not like I can tell him.
Fortunately, nothing seemed to indicate that I knew what this was about. "Questions? Well, I can't guarantee anything useful."
"I wasn't expecting it," Naru said. "So this cup, this is what I was meant to find on Christmas, right?"
"Yeah. John helped me pick it out, too."
"Was there anything else under the tree? Or did anything unusual happen that you noticed?"
"I'm not sure what this is about," I lied, "but I didn't notice anything."
"You're sure?" Naru pressed.
"Yes," I said. I hated lying to Naru, but it wasn't like I had a choice.
"Fine then. Mai, tea," Naru turned away, still holding the cup in his hands. He just played with it. Naru, how old are you again? Stop playing with the cup. You drink with it, not play with it. Just like with the nail from the old schoolhouse.
I let out a sigh. "Yes sir," I said, turning to the door to go get the requested tea. There was something about the way Naru had been talking to me lately that sort of… bugged me. Not his usual condescending self, but rather like he was confused. At first I brushed it off as the whole entire 'got a letter from my dead twin brother' thing, but as it was now two weeks later, it seemed that maybe it was something else.
Maybe I'm just thinking too much into it. I poured the hot tea into one of our many cups and went to Naru's office, then back to my desk. Since the night they came back, Lin hasn't accepted tea from me and is acting just the same as before our Christmas case.
Life was normal.
Well, as normal as working with a ghost-hunting company could be.
Which, in actuality, is either severely normal and boring, or severely un-normal (dare I say, paranormal) and dangerous.
So basically, the 'normalness' did not last long.
BLIND
I faintly remember dreaming, sometime in the fall, a very strange dream. But I can't figure out what it was about…
That information might be helpful to know, if only to put my mind at ease. But I just couldn't figure it out.
Well, whatever. It's not like it's THAT important, right?
January
Day 1
"Whoo, it's freezing out there," I said as I came into the office.
You're late," I heard Naru say. "I need tea."
I huffed. "Okay, sorry but Ryokuryo High School was on the news again this morning and I wanted to see it." Well, depending on your definition of 'see', that is. "Besides, can't you make tea yourself?"
"Then why do I pay you?" Naru retorted.
I decided to ignore him as I put my coat up. "They said this time there was a group of students saying they got bit by a dog right in the middle of class. Can you believe that?" I set about actually getting the tea. "But," I continued, "the teacher claims he didn't see anything." I started trying to open one of the loose-leaf tea canisters, but the lid seemed to be stuck. "Wait a second, didn't we get a call from their principal once?"
It was about then I noticed that Naru's office door was ajar. Being accidentally curious, I found another figure in the office that wasn't Naru. I couldn't clearly tell, but I knew there was a person there.
"Who's that?" I asked lightly as I stepped closer to investigate. "Hello?" I said.
"Oh, hi," said a boy in a school uniform. He couldn't be much older than either Naru or myself, and he wore rectangular glasses on his face. His hair parted towards the middle, but was in fact shorter than Naru's. "I'm the student council president at Ryokuryo High School. The name's Osamu Yasuhara, but please, call me Yasu."
Wait, Ryokuryo High School's council president? The lid that had previously been stuck now popped itself off along with the casualty of a few tea leaves, but I barely even noticed.
"What's going on?" I turned to Naru. "I thought you had turned them down?"
"Actually that's why I'm here," the boy—Yasuhara?—said. He must've just arrived then. "I was hoping that you'd be willing to reconsider. The situation has gotten much worse. The student body is getting more and more scared."
"To be honest with you," Naru said, "I'm actually quite interested in the string of events that have surrounded your school. However I usually prefer to stay away from any cases the media is covering."
"I can understand that," Yasuhara said. Oh you don't even know the half of it, Mr. Not-Oliver-Davis-Searching-For-Dead-Identical-Twin-Brother-Who's-Murderer-Is-Still-On-The-Loose... "There's been over a dozen reporters outside the school for the past few days. That's why we're hoping this case can be solved as soon as possible so we can put it all behind us. Please sir," Yasuhara bowed low at his waist, "we need your help."
Naru literally looked down at the bowing boy before sighing and turning towards me. "Mai, call Ryokuryo High School for me. Tell them we'll take the case."
Yasuhara looked up and smiled, and I beamed. A new case. "Alright," I said, thrusting my hand in the air.
… The same hand that held the tea.
I sighed at my own temporary faux pas. Dammit. More vacuuming.
Looks like this case will be interesting.
Ryokuryo High School, here we come!
BLIND
Day 2
"Thanks for coming," Yasuhara greeted us at the door. Somehow we had escaped the reporter's attention, probably because Naru did it a lot, or maybe we were just really lucky. Either way, we weren't noticed. "I'll show you to the principal's office." Yasuhara gestured to the halls and began to lead, leaving Naru, Monk, and myself to follow. As I past the reception desk, the male receptionist gave me a certain look—more like a glare—that had me move quickly to stay near Monk.
"Well that was uncomfortable," I mumbled. Even before that the receptionist hadn't been exactly warm to us.
"In my experience, schools don't like outsiders coming in," Monk reassured me.
"Maybe they're just suspicious of you, Monk," I teased.
"Oh get real," he said.
"Uh huh," I laughed out quietly.
"Have you seen Lin?" Monk asked.
"He's waiting back at the office to hear what kind of equipment we'll need to use. I guess Ayako's coming with him," I answered. "John and Masako will be here tomorrow."
Before we knew it Yasu was knocking on the principal's office door. "Come in," a rather clipped and serious-sounding voice echoed out.
We came in to find a more well-rounded man sitting behind a desk in a suit. Really, he seemed to act like he was the head of some important company, not a school, and we haven't even spoken to him yet. Another man, a more lankily built one but still having the same air of annoying importance going about him, stood off to the side of the desk.
"Excuse me, sir," Yasuhara said as we filed in, "the people from Shibuya Psychic Research have arrived." Yasuhara indicated first to Naru. "This is their manager-"
"Look," the principal cut in sharply, "I don't need to know their names. Just fix the problem, and do it quickly. Ghosts? I don't believe it. It's nonsense. What will the board of directors say when they find out I hired ghost chasers to handle this!"
What is with this old geezer? Does he want us to do this or not?!
This time the lankier man spoke. "Yasu, why are you not in class?"
"I have a shortened schedule today, sir," Yasuhara said.
"Is that so?" the man said. You're a teacher and you don't know the senior schedules? The fact that Yasuhara can be the student council president as a senior when he has exams is impressive as is.
"I wouldn't worry," said student president reassured, "but, if it's alright, I'd like to keep this brief. I need to help them get settled, and I'd hate for it to cut into my studying time." At this, Yasuhara gave a strained smile and short strained laugh.
Poor Yasuhara. He dealt with this all the time. I haven't been here ten minutes and I wanted to leave. How the heck he did it -for, what, three years now?- is impressive.
"Well," the principal said, "Yasu, you are one of our best students. I trust you're on top of things." The principal, or as I think I'll start calling him 'Mr. Ego-Egg, turned to the lanky man. "Mr. Matsuyama, would you please show them to the conference room." He said this as an order, not a request.
Mr. Matsuyama, as we now know him to be, turned and nodded. "Yeah," he said stiffly.
Probably due to the stick up his-
Quickly we were whisked down the hallway.
"So," Matsuyama—he's too rude to call Mister, and likewise Yasuhara will now just be called Yasu because I actually LIKE Yasu, not Matsuyama—, looked at Naru, "you're the one running this show? How old are you?"
Both Monk and I were astonished. It wasn't so much his questions, though they were a bit rude, it was his tone in speaking to Naru. How rude!
I could practically tell by Monk's face what he was thinking. Something along the lines of, 'This is going to be a fun job' with lots of sarcasm mixed in.
"I'm seventeen," Naru said. He actually answered this bastard?
"And you're not in school?" Matsuyama snuffed.
"I'll leave that up to your imagination," Naru clipped.
Matsuyama let a soft pfft pass his lips. An almost satisfied smirk settled on his face as he said, "Is that what you told your parents when you decided to become a dropout?" If I get the chance to punch you, I am going to and pretend I'm possessed. I think the others will back me up at this point. I know at least Monk will and Naru will probably ignore it. Besides, this is Oliver Davis you're talking to. Doesn't Naru have a doctorate? "I don't know where this occult garbage comes from," Matsuyama continued, "but I do know that young minds are impressionable and people like you take full advantage of that. I'm not afraid to admit that the thought of you profiting off this scam makes me sick to my stomach."
How long is this hallway again?
Then Matsuyama turned his attention to me. "And what about you, kid? You a dropout too?"
I huffed a little, but I followed Naru's example and answered. "I'll be a junior at the end of the year," I said.
"Hm. At least you're in school. You don't look all that bright though."
Screw this. Time to intimidate the bastard. "Actually, Mr. Matsuyama sir, my school has recently offered to let me skip my junior year and go straight to being a senior," I said. "You don't know what school I go to, but keep in mind that my school has recently been voted one of the highest academically achieved schools in Japan." *1
Matsuyama huffed again. He decidedly ignored my remark. "If it were my choice, I'd throw you out," he said, looking pointedly at Naru over his shoulder. *2 "Recently quite a number of religions have popped up. Amongst these fraudulent neo-religions, it looks like even girls have been involved in these malicious situations, right?"
Hmph... Just as I was about to express my displeasure, Monk started speaking in a seldom used, quiet, extremely polite tone. "If we are talking about the recently popular small scale religious groups, I think it is more accurate to call them New Rising Religions."
"What?" Matsuyama looked unprepared for any response.
Monk continued his act and said, "That is to say, recently - in what they call the Third Age of Religion that we are currently in the midst of; about the rapidly spawning witchcraft based small scale religious groups, they should be called New Rising Religions to be accurate." Matsuyama looked like he was about to say something, but Monk did not give him a chance to interrupt. "And if we are discussing these New Rising Religions, these are the ones that came chronologically after the Second Age of Religion. This is common knowledge."
"Such small details don't matter!" roared Matsuyama. Monk smiled a satisfied smile.
"So it is. But, don't you feel that arguments based on mistaken knowledge are meaningless? No, our Teacher here might have only been slightly misinformed; but if you are really unaware, I can enlighten you. Even though you are an educator; to allow you to persist in your misunderstanding is unthinkable."
Instantly, Matsuyama was speechless.
Success. Well done, Monk
"As long as people don't mess up the essential parts in life, that is enough! Japan has popularized the occult, and it spreads to our schools. What the heck, you people! I don't know if it is the attraction of boring religion, or if there is something strange going on in the depths of your minds; a student like you who is clearly skiving, and a man like you who keeps his hair long and messy will sooner or later wind up on the wrong path!"
That... What? Is he trying to say that we're walking a path forbidden to man?
That bastard!
"Is it here?" Naru said, pointing to a sign that I could barely make out. *2 Dammit, it's painted. Brushstrokes are hard to make out when there are other brushstrokes alongside of them…
Regardless, we had finally arrived at the meeting room. Finally, finally, we could be rid of this bastard. "Come, in here," he snapped before practically slamming the door open.
I was about to punch his lights in, but Monk was holding me back rather well. You're part of the school that hired us! And your manners! How dare you talk to him like that! Naru may be a bastard, but at least I work for him while I insult him. You're just an inconceivable-
I was struggling against Monk, but he seemed to be able to handle teenager temper tantrums rather well. "Watch it Mai, you're wearing a skirt," Monk reminded me.
After a moment I calmed down enough to go into our base and not punch someone. Namely Matsuyama. Speaking of him, he sat in one of the fake-wood chairs in a rather irritated way. He probably thought we were going to start a fire and read scriptures or something. *3
"This seems decent enough to set up base," Monk commented as he evaluated the conference room. "What's up first?"
"Let's see," Naru turned to us after taking a quick look at his watch. "Why don't we start by rounding up and talking to all the students that have been involved?"
"I can get them for you, if you'd like," Yasu volunteered.
"Yes, thank you, that'd be much faster," Naru said. True, normally I'd have to do it… and Naru actually has manners towards Yasu. Well, for now at least.
"Just make sure you do it quickly," Matsuyama said from where he sat. "I have things to do myself."
What do you think you're sitting on, a throne chair?
"Actually you're free to leave," Naru said. "Thank you for your help." Not that he probably meant that thank you.
"I'm staying here," Matsuyama sneered. "It's my job to manage and keep an eye on the students."
Manage? Who does this guy think he is?
"Once they're involved in a haunting, the victim becomes a client of mine, and as my client it's imperative that I ensure their privacy," Naru quipped back.
"Since when are children allowed privacy?" Matsuyama sneered again. "I can see what's going on here. You're trying to get rid of me because I make you uncomfortable."
No no, trust me, that is so not the case.
"A client is a client regardless of age," Naru clipped. "Now, please go."
"I'd like to know what they were thinking by calling in some kid that believes in fairy tales to do a man's job," said Matsuyama.
Naru let out a soft sigh. "Okay, then go and ask the principal."
The rest of us started chuckling. "What?" Matsuyama growled out, obviously not used to someone younger than him to be so defiant.
"He's right," Monk managed to say. "The principal did hire us. Talk to him."
Matsuyama stood up sharply. His shoes clicked sharply against the tile as he walked to the door. "It's fine by me," Matsuyama said as he held the door. "Let him be to blame when you kids destroy the school!" The door was shut with a slam, and the anger I felt just leaked out all at once.
"What the heck!" I practically shouted as I pointed toward the door. "That guy's an idiot! A real jerk. How is he supposed to 'manage' the students when he can't even manage himself? He may be top dog around here, but he needs to be housebroken!"
"You're making a scene, Mai," Monk said in a calm almost-whisper.
It was only about then that I realized what had just happened, and how completely stupid I made myself sound.
I could already feel my face heating up.
Then Yasu just started laughing from the other side of the room. "Ah, don't worry about it, she's hilarious!"
That does not make me feel better, Yasuhara.
"I'm impressed, Naru," Monk turned his attention away from me. "I was expecting you to unload on the guy any second. I was definitely fighting the urge. It was especially hard to not throttle him while I was talking about the New Rising Religions…"
"There's no use in lecturing a pig," Naru didn't even look up from his notebook. So Naru was pissed too?
"It's like," Yasu put his hand to his chin, "you already know him."
Naru shut his notebook and handed it over to Yasu. "This is for you, Yasu. A list of all the students that have been involved so far. Once class has ended, bring them all to this room."
Out of nowhere, a scream pierced through the air like a slick knife.
Instantly Monk was leading the way out of the room. "What was that?" he yelled, looking around the hallway before turning left. As we followed out I was able to sense a girl in the hallway, completely terrified. "What's wrong?" Monk said as we neared her. "Are you alright?" She turned to us shaking before facing the opened door of the room again, a shaking hand pointing inside.
"It's," she trembled, "a dog."
We turned to the classroom. In a purple haze that suddenly came, the outline of a dog stood out in the inky blackness of my vision. I could sense several desks, chairs, and papers scattered around the room, along with a few huddles of scared students, but I was transfixed on the first think I had seen in the waking world other than floating blobs in about a month or so.
A dark, low growl came from it, and I had to wonder how we hadn't heard it until now, along with the cries and whimpers of the ones inside.
"The one we're here for," Naru said as he and Monk braved a few steps into the room.
Apparently, this dog did not want them in its classroom, and came barking teeth first. The two quickly jumped back into the hallway as the dog did a flying leap into the air, disappearing right above my head.
"It's gone," Yasu said, a tone of disbelief coloring his voice.
Now an entire group of students were in the hall. I guess they had heard the commotion. "Everybody get back to class!" Matsuyama said from within the crowd somewhere. It was much too busy and crowded for me to sense him even if my attention wasn't diverted to the girl we had found.
"Are you okay?" Monk put a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I answered, "but, uh… She needs help." I pointed out the bleeding bite mark on her as I held in a shudder at the sense of blood pooling around her leg. "We're going to take care of you, okay?" I said to the injured girl.
She didn't say anything, but instead started to sob into her hands.
"I'll carry her," Yasu said, and together we got the girl onto his back and more-or-less ready to go.
"Hey Yasu," Naru said from the class doorway as we were about to leave.
"Yeah?" Yasu said.
"I need you to group the students together depending on the incident, then bring them back to the conference room here," he said.
"Will do," Yasu reported.
"Geez, he's all work," I mumbled about Naru as Yasu and I started off to bring the girl to the nurse. "And Yasu, you're taking this rather well…"
"No," Yasu said in a slightly high-pitched and scared voice, "no I am not." Hysterical laughter also laced his tone.
"Well that was crazy," Monk mumbled from behind us. "Maybe now that he's actually seen what's happening that teacher will be a little more cooperative." He gestured inside to where the teacher that denied that there was a dog had gotten on his desk and was still presumably shell-shocked. I had only half noted him and couldn't sense him with the door so far from where I was walking.
Naru peeked in, and could barely hear him say, "It didn't waste any time getting started, did it?" before Yasu and I turned a corner, efficiently putting Naru and Monk out of my range.
BLIND
Something swirling in the dark… A pulse… beat-beat… beat-beat… over and over… what's making that sound…?
Later, after classes had ended, we started the interviews.
"You said you're afraid to come to school because of ghosts in the classroom," Naru stated to the group of girls in front of us. "Can you tell me why you feel that way?"
"Yes sir," the representative of the group by the name of Kazumi Okamura said, squirming in her seat. *4 "But, it wasn't just a regular classroom. I was in the language lab listening to a tape I had made the night before. It was for a homework assignment. As I listened, I could hear this strange voice. 'Why is there so much static?' I had thought, and tried to adjust it. I realized it wasn't me, and it sounded…. It sounded like a little boy's laughter. I remember saying that it was creepy to myself before I felt something pass by my legs. I dared to think about someone down there, but was too scared to look. Then… I felt a hand on my knee. I couldn't ignore it, and I looked down. Down there a little boy was smiling straight at me. I screamed, and got the whole class in an uproar… I told my teacher about it but she refused to believe me! I swear I'm telling the truth." At that time, Okamura started to cry a little into her hands, unable she could compose herself. She must be really spooked…
Two crying girls in one day, and it wasn't even Naru's fault. I can't tell if that's an accomplishment on Naru's part or really, really bad news for us.
"Did anyone else happen to see this boy?" Naru asked the rest of the group, considering that the rep was currently bent out of shape.
"We've all seen him," one girl said, leaning forward and placing a hand on Okamura's shoulder. "It's no secret. And I know everyone in class has heard him."
The girl to the left spoke next. "We all told the teacher how afraid we were, but she thought we were just trying to get out of class. That's when we decided to stay home from school."
Since Lin wasn't here, Monk was forced to write down notes. "So there's a child spirit hiding in the language lab…" Monk mumbled as he wrote down the info.
"Okay," Naru said, looking down in his notebook a brief second before facing the group again. "Are there any other strange occurrences that have happened here at school?"
The girls all had a peculiar way of looking at one another before answering.
*5 The girl right of the hand-on-shoulder girl spoke first. "Yeah," she said, "there's the Unopened Locker." Apparently this elicited a strong response as the other girls gasped, and the floodgates were down.
"And the anatomy model that breaks apart when no one's there," the girl left of the one who had her hand on Okamura's shoulder said next.
"Weird sounds in the music room…"
"They say that when you open the incinerator door, an old man's face appears upside down…"
"Oh, and in the nurse's office," one girl said particularly emotionally, "on the second to last bed, there'll suddenly be someone in it!"
"Woah!" Monk cried out as he wrote like crazy. "Slow down!"
"This place is messed up!" I said in agreement.
Okamura had dried her tears and spoke again. "I heard someone say that they'd seen Sakauchi…"
"I heard that too," the girl behind her said, having removed her comforting hand. "They passed him in the hallway or something."
"I heard he was seen in a classroom."
Naru looked at them as they spoke before turning to Okamura again. "Sakauchi… Who is that?" he asked.
"Um," one of the other girls said, I don't think she had spoken up yet… "He was a freshman that went here. He committed suicide."
What…? Suicide…? A young male high school student commits suicide… a common ghost story plot device… considering these stories, it's somehow not surprising…. But something bugs me about this…
"All of this weird stuff started happening sometime last fall. It was right after… Sakauchi decided to take his own life," yet another girl spoke. "I mean, if you look at the timing of the whole thing, it can't all be a coincidence…"
"And when you think about the suicide note he left it's even more chilling," the girl next to her spoke.
"What'd't say?" Naru rushed out. He had a habit of abbreviating like crazy when he wanted answers. *6
"Just one sentence," someone else spoke. "'I'm not a dog'."
Where… have I heard that before…?
Naru tapped his finger twice on the desk lightly, trying to think. Another strange habit of his—having to do SOMETHING with his hands or fingers when he tried to process something. *6 "Do you know what it could mean?" Naru asked.
"Yeah, I think I do know what it means," the girl who brought up the note itself replied. "Everyone who goes to this school has thought about it. I do all the time."
BLIND
"Hey, did either of you two notice," Monk said, "how much they hate school?"
The base was currently empty. Many interviews later including, but not excluded to, many claims similar to what we heard from the girls who ditched, the Seven Wonders of the school-which were much, much more than seven-, and a group that tried (and got caught by a teacher and therefore failed at) an exorcism, and we weren't even done yet. But, we were able to catch a temporary case from the insanity. *7
"Yeah," I answered Monk's question. "So what?"
"You tell me," Monk said. "You're the one in high school."
"Eh?"
"Think about it," Monk said. "The uniforms, the hairstyles, it's like none of these kids are allowed to express themselves. I mean, I haven't seen one kid here with their hair bleached, have you?"
I gave him a deadpan look before waving my hand in front of my eyes. Not waiting to see his response, I spoke up. "Monk, that like… was out a long time ago…"
"Geez Mai, how old do you think I am?" Monk said.
"Wanna know?" I faced him straight on.
"No I don't," Monk held out a hand in a signal to stop that train of thought right there.
"Oh," I said, "fine."
"The point I'm trying to make is that by judging from what I've seen, the school seems to have some very strict rules," Monk said. "Just look at the principal and that Matsuyama guy. They act like they're running a boot camp, not a high school."
"Yeah," I said, "you're right…"
"For a lot of these kids, school is where they spend most of their time," Monk continued. "And with so much pressure from the staff, the stress has gotta get to them."
I started to think on his words. I'm not a dog…
A minuscule second later, the door opened again. Who is it this time…? "Hey…."
"Excuse me," Yasu said as he sat himself in the chair in front of Naru. The work-o-holic wasn't even stopping his work while we were on an unofficial break.
"Yasu," Naru noted, "are you a victim of this haunting as well?"
"Yes, I am," Yasu said grimly. *8
"Great. Could you tell me everything you remember from the experience?" Great? Really Naru?
"Well," Yasu began, "it actually started just this morning when an awful nauseating smell came into our classroom. It was the middle of class, but no one could really focus. As of that time I hadn't noticed it much, just that the air seemed somewhat stale, and if the teacher did he didn't say anything about it, but he did notice that most of the students seemed rather sick. He just told us to try and keep it together until class was completely over so he could go over his insane amount of coursework.
"One of the girls raised her hand and asked to go to the nurse, and soon everyone was raising their hands asking to leave. He told us to cut it off already. He must've thought we were joking and trying to skip class. One boy even ran straight out the classroom. I was told to go after him, and like a good little student council president dog I started to get up… but then I could smell it too, and felt absolutely terrible… I couldn't even move, I just felt so bad. All the while the teacher wasn't doing anything, just telling me to get up."
"That's horrible," Monk said, and I'm not so sure he was talking about the smelly illness thing.
"Later, a boy named Eda scattered some salt around, and the stench went away for a little while. He said that he just thought it might work, since salt is supposed to be cleansing and all… because he was also one of the first to get sick, and he was one of the first to say that this place has spirits… but it's still pretty bad now, especially when Eda had to leave. Somehow we've gotten used to it in the past few hours. It's not the heating system, since we use steam and not gas, but it's still very strange."
This is starting to sound more serious than I thought… if students are getting that sick at a smell…
"When did you first notice that strange things were happening here?" Naru asked.
Yasuhara paused slightly to think. "I started thinking 'there is definitely something wrong here' first with the mass absenteeism. Only... yes, I had started feeling something was amiss around the period of the cultural festival."
"The details are?" Naru pressed on.
"Because the number of weird rumors increased. Since autumn, the student grapevine has reported nothing but strange tales. Here and there someone saw a ghost or something; I heard these stories, and started feeling uneasy." Yasuhara looked very serious. "As there was preparation work to do for the cultural festival, everyone would remain in school until late. That is, everyone suddenly became very reluctant to stay back. The change in the girls' behavioral tendencies was especially acute. Normally they would loiter around even if they had nothing on. I felt that was a little strange."
Just what is going on here?
BLIND
Classroom 3-1, as in Yasu's classroom, was our next destination. We were going to investigate the smell mentioned before.
"Now, get ready, because it's pretty rank," Yasu said as we followed his lead into the class. Instantly it seemed both Monk and myself were both assaulted by something awful. Naru seemed to only note it before calmly walking on. "Can you smell it?"
"Ah man that's nasty," Monk said with a funnily plugged-nose voice. "It smells like a fish that's been left out in the sun to rot for a couple days."
"No it doesn't," I argued. "It smells like a tank full of stinky frogs." Man I hated the class pet that year…
"Yeah that's… about it," Yasu said. He seemed a bit sheepish, but I wasn't really noting that.
I was noting the window on the other side of the room. As was Monk. Together we did a strange run to the window for fresh air, getting more strange stares than we already did from the room's occupants as we slammed open to window and started breathing the sweet, sweet freezing-cold air.
"The odor doesn't seem to be coming from a certain area," Naru said calmly as ever. I turned toward him as I could breathe again. Is he human? Seriously? That's all he has to say?
"Exactly," Yasu said. "It's as if the air itself is causing it."
Naru walked from his place in the middle of the classroom to the front, briefly ghosting (ha!) his hand over the desks as he went. I noticed a faint… glow or something around his finger tips and the surrounding desktop area each time Naru did this.
Confused Mai is confused. And unfortunately, I can't brush it off as a trick of the light… that's actually sorta the problem…
After the third or so desk, Naru stopped and just stared at the desk, somewhat confused but having a very severe face at the same time. "Have you been doing anything here?" he asked a very weighted question that he somehow probably knew the answer to.
"Um, I'm not sure I know what you mean," Yasu said.
Naru wasn't even looking at Yasu though. He was looking at two girls who stood at the front of the classroom. "Séances, perhaps?"
"He's talking about Orikiri-sama," one girl with low pigtails whispered to the girl beside her.
"No you dummy," the other girl, this one with really short hair, argued. "He is not!"
They both then realized that they both really, really sucked at whispering, and that Naru, Monk, Yasu, and myself were giving them our attention, wanted or not.
Orikiri-sama? What the heck is that?
"It's a popular game," Yasu answered the unasked question as Monk and I dared away from the window—not that it actually helped much unless you stuck your head straight outside. "Started a little over a year ago. It's called Orikiri-sama."
"Oh!" Pigtails said. "I've got one here." She pulled something out of her pocket. "It hasn't even been used yet." Strange sentence… but this thing is it? Monk took it into his grasp and we both examined it. Basically, it was just a piece of paper that had been carefully folded, surrounded by the word 'demon' and had all the other typical Ouija board things on it, other than maybe a few variations.
"That's… it?" I said as I leaned around Monk's arm.
Monk, however, had a completely different reaction. "You two were Ouija boarding?!" he practically yelled at them.
"No, Ouija boarding is used to summon foxes," Short-Haired girl protested, "but Orikiri-sama summons gods instead. They help you find your true love and stuff." *9
Monk crumpled the paper up in his hand. "Cupid, Angel, Gon-Gen, Hanako," Monk listed off. "They're alternate names for Ouija boarding. No matter what name you give them they're all one and the same. Playing games with spirits just for the fun of it is dangerous and wrong."
"But… I thought since Orikiri-sama uses gods its safe!" Short-Haired girl said.
Monk practically exploded. "Well that's where you're wrong! Any amateur can summon a spirit but sending one back takes training! Never do it again!" The girls both flinched at Monk's scolding. I imagine that at this school, the students must get this a lot.
Our somewhat-silent boss slightly nudged his head at Yasu. "He said it was popular," Naru interrupted. "How many use it?"
"Well uh," Short-Haired girl said thoughtfully. "Pretty much everyone at school."
"Honestly, I'd be more surprised if anyone didn't do it," Pigtails concluded.
Well, this leaves a sticky situation…
BLIND
"I'm back," I announced as I came back into base. "Almost everyone I talked to said they'd done it at least once. It'd be easier to count how many haven't done it…"
"I spoke to some who do it multiple times a day," Yasu reported.
"Uh… are you okay with doing so much work for us?" I asked. Heck, it was like there was a second me around, as far as having errands and being ordered around by Naru goes.
"Yeah, it's fine," Yasu reassured me.
I smiled at him. You so don't know what you're getting into…
"Aw man!" Monk complained. "This is way worse than I thought. The entire student body is Ouija boarding!" Monk looked straight at me. "How many spirits do you think we're dealing with here?"
"Quite a few," I answered. Though I don't know why you're asking me…
"This school is like a cattle car crammed to capacity," Monk said.
"That's… one way to put it…." How old is Monk again….?
"Are you prepared for what's to come, Naru?" Monk asked our boss who was slinking around in the corner caused by a small pillar… thing beside the window. Naru was in his pose where he looks at his reflection in the window and I imagine that he's looking at Gene in his reflection. "Using Ouija boards incorrectly can dredge up some really nasty stuff, and I am not looking forward to it."
Yasu tried to reassure Monk and said, "I hope you can do something about-"
"Oh, I know!" Monk interrupted, having cut straight across the room and patting Yasu's shoulders down. "I'll teach you how to drive out spirits so you can do it!" Yasu seemed slightly terrified at Monk's sudden closeness and at his shoulder-patting. "Yeah right! That's it! Sound good to you!"
"Huuu, Monk!" I chided at him. Stop slacking off, dammit!
Suddenly Yasu was a slightly-less-terrified smiling human meat shield. "Hey, stop it I'm a pacifist!" And yet Monk was grinning as he said this, though admittedly with a bit of worry…. "Besides… I dislike this school's principal."
"Ah, so you're being difficult because you were bullied by Matsuyama."
"Shut up..."
I darted around Yasu and ruffled Monk's hair.
"Poor Monk. Your pure soul has been hurt."
"Exactly. To be so blatantly treated as a conman; although that does happen quite often. It's really a difficult job to be a psychic power user," Monk pretended to cry.
"If that's the case, this will do," Yasu said. "Collect all the various wondering spirits and have them concentrate on Matsuyama, that'd be fun." Yasu… since when did you become evil…?
"Oh, not a bad idea." Geez, the moment Matsuyama is mentioned, Monk actually starts to pay attention.
Suddenly Yasu seemed a bit more somber. "I'm really sorry that Matsuyama is that sort of fellow."
"No, that's not something you need to apologize for, Yasu," I said.
But Yasu continued on. "From the students' perspective, issues involving that fellow are completely ignored. Everyone tries not to have anything to do with him, because it's not like he'd listen to the opinions of others. It is the students who are more mature in having to tolerate him instead." I can't help feeling Yasuhara said some incredible words...
"By the way, Yasu… with you helping us at our request? Did Matsuyama say anything to you?" Monk asked.
"No worries. Because my grades are good," Completely serious, Yasuhara said that smiling. "In the past he said a lot. I'm not sure when, but after I wrote that my goal was to enter the Literature and Economics Department, he suddenly stopped criticizing me. People who abuse their power are weak in the face of power."
So it was like this.
Uncovering the truth, Monk and I were impressed. I don't know if Naru was listening, he was staring motionlessly out the window (or at himself…. or at 'Gene'…. Any of these possibilities are likely).
"What's up? Still thinking of something deep?" Monk asked.
Naru remained deep in thought.
"...yeah. It's not like there's any deep, I'm just a little concerned," he answered after a moment
"Concerned? What about?" I asked.
"As Matsuyama mentioned, the Japan of today appears to have popularized the occult."
"So it appears. So what?"
"Of all the schools in Japan how many do you think take part in Ouija boarding?" Naru said.
"I would assume not many so I can see how odd it must seem that so many practice it here," Yasu answered.
"Just because a group of kids hold an amateur séance doesn't mean that a spirit will be summoned," Naru said. "Now let's assume someone succeeded in calling on a spirit, and if that spirit happened to be a very strong one, I could see it doing some damage, be it physical or mental. But… I just can't see that happening on such a wide scale."
"I know," Monk said in vivid agreement, and it felt more like an 'I know, right?' sort of statement.
I was still curious, so I decided to ask Monk some questions, since Naru is basically useless when I need to know something, because even if I ask with bearings of good will and tea he doesn't usually answer me. "So, can playing with an Ouija board really summon spirits?" I asked.
"Yeah, if you're a spiritualist. If you aren't one you can forget about it," Monk said. "But this isn't some special school of psychics, so that's why it's confusing."
"I was able to summon a ghost once back when I was in middle school. A coin moved all by itself, and it knew some of my thoughts. It sure seemed real to me," I said.
"So even Mai's done this before?" Monk said.
"Call it what you will… I label it as the ignorance of youth. But this still doesn't answer my question," I said.
"Try this," Naru said. "Hold your finger over the desk and keep it still, like you were holding a coin for an Ouija board."
"Like this?" I said at I pointed my fingertip on the table and held it there.
"It's shaking. Keep it still," Naru said.
"What? I thought I was? I swear I'm holding it as still as I can," I said. But even though it was subtle, I could barely sense out that my finger was indeed shaking.
"When you have several people doing that at the same time, the vibrations of each finger work together to move the coin. Since none of you are trying to move your finger, the movement of the coin seems mysterious," Naru said. "People would think that it'd be interesting if it knew your age. They all know that Mai is sixteen, so it moves to one, then six, making it the correct answer.
I inspected my finger. I guess that could be true… The human body is like that, I suppose… "But how did it know things only I knew? Like what was in my pocket?"
"First everyone would start guessing. 'What could be in Mai's pocket?'" Naru said. "It might end up at the letter 'K'… so they'd next start guessing what could start with a K that would be in Mai's pocket… a key chain, perhaps? So the coin would move to the corresponding letters until it spelled out 'key chain'."
I pulled the guessed keychain out of my pocket. "How did you-?"
"Dummy, I could hear the keys in your pocket," Naru said. "When playing this sort of game, there will appear answers that are right simply because it is common sense, and answers that are wrong. What is interesting here is the human mentality. For example, I ask 'what is the name of Takigawa's mother'. And the answer that appears is 'Ayako'... Takigawa, the answer is?"
"It is Masayo."
"Didn't get it right. Furthermore, because somewhere in the human mind, we think that it'd be more interesting if it got it right, he would carelessly say it. 'Although it didn't get it right, I do know someone called Ayako. How would it know that?'"
"Ah, so that's how it is..." I said.
"If the answer was 'Ayayo', although it is wrong, but only the 'yo' was right; or if it was 'Masako', the 'Masa' alone would do it... If we are asking if it got the right answer, in this situation, by right neither of them should pass. But humans would incredibly have the feeling that it 'got it right'. Furthermore, even if it was completely wrong, one would think 'ah, as expected, it was wrong'. Because one would be surprised if it were right, that would leave a lasting impression on anyone. In a real experiment, when asked about 24 questions, only 3 were answered correctly, and these were not even strictly accurate answers."
"Listening to what you say, that might be the case..." I said… perhaps… I think I felt like that when I was playing.
Monk looked suspiciously at Naru.
"What?"
"It sounds to me like you don't have much faith in the ancient art of Ouija boarding," Monk commented.
"Everyone thinks that spirits are all knowing. Like, Mai's future, Takigawa's thoughts, the object hidden secretly in my pocket, everyone thinks that spirits would know these things as a matter of course, but is that really the case?"
"Ah," the rest of us said simultaneously.
"If Mai dies and turns into a spirit, do you believe you would know these things? Be able to read minds or know futures?"
"No." And what's with you always making me the example?! Though it would be nice if I could read what goes on in Naru's mind…
"My basic philosophy is that spirits only know two things that living humans do not: death, and the world that comes after death," Naru said.
"I guess that's true," I mumbled.
En... So it was like this... only with things associated with 'death'; it's not something one would understand without experiencing it firsthand.
"So, unlike Takigawa, I think Orikiri-sama is only a harmless game."
Yasuhara, who had been listening quietly to us, interrupted. "But," he said, "if there was a powerful psychic present? Wouldn't they really summon a spirit?"
Naru shrugged. "It is possible. But this hypothetical psychic would be able to avoid evil spirits. He would be innately able to avoid summoning evil spirits."
If he could not, he would not be a psychic. That's what I think. Which is why I can't really see myself as a psychic. Well, one of the many reasons, at least.
"Summoning a spirit is similar to adjusting the frequency of a radio. 'A crowd gathered and summoned spirits, resulting in the school being filled with wondering spirits'; on this opinion of Takigawa's I think there must be a certain degree of truth. Be that as it may, there are so many spirits to deal with here that I honestly don't know where to start," Naru ruffled the paper mountain of notes. "If we exorcize but fail to find a cause, we can only assume that to be the cause. We may have to wait until they all come together, and then throw whatever we can at them and see what sticks. Until everyone gets here, we can only exorcize the spirits as they appear."
Naru sounded like he was deeply frustrated.
This may be a harder case than we thought….
"By the way, Mai?" Monk said.
"Uh, yeah?"
"Why'd you say that your school offered you to skip a grade? Were you being serious?" he asked.
"Well… Yeah. But I don't really want to. I'm a bit scared. And just because I'm good at school stuff doesn't mean I'm really all that smart. Besides, I just don't think I'm ready for it yet," I explained.
"Fair enough," Naru said, surprising us by his input on the conversation. "Though I find it hard to believe that Mai got offered such a thing."
I started grumbling. "You're a jerk, you know that?"
"Just pointing out the obvious, Mai."
Grumble.
BLIND
"No hotel!?" Ayako practically shrieked as I told her our sleeping arrangements for the case. She and Lin had arrived not too long ago, and we were still debating on where we were going to put everything…. We weren't procrastinating on bringing in heavy equipment, honest!
Back to Ayako… "You mean to tell me I rode three hours in the backseat of Lin's car and now I have to sleep on a cot in a room with a busted heater for the entire investigation!?" I was trying to plug my ears, but it was just not working.
"Calm down, Ayako," I said rather monotonously at the older woman.
She grabbed my hands and now made me listen to her ranting. "You probably won't understand but this has been a very long trip. You should try being cooped up in a car with Lin for three hours... A man who seems to pride himself in not uttering a single word to his passengers. It's maddening." Ayako stared straight at the aforementioned man next to the board with Naru—wearing his usual 'this has nothing to do with me' stoic face—, probably discussing equipment placement. Lin seemed to notice our gazes, but only turned his head slightly in our direction before returning back to what he was doing. The blobs were just…. Being blobs.
"Fine, okay," I said. "But we're still better off than the guys are! With Masako only three of us are sharing a room." Ayako released my hands in favor of crossing her arms, a way of saying 'Continue on' in Ayako language. "As soon as John gets here the four guys will have to share a room smaller than ours."
Ayako groaned loudly at that, seeing as she had no more argument left. If I could see, I would bet money that she had grown a bit pale as well. And if I'm not mistaken, it seemed as if the blob that actually seemed to like me was snickering. There was no noise, but it just seemed that way.
Then again, it also did that when, as soon as Lin arrived, the one that seems to hate me but absolutely adore Naru hit me straight in the forehead…
In the meantime, it seems that Naru and Lin had finally decided on how we were going to work out the equipment. "Here's where we stand," Naru started us out. "There are too many eye-witness reports and not enough equipment. When Ms. Hara arrives I'll see if she can confirm the presence of spirits. Once we know they're here, I'll have John, Takigawa, and Ms. Matsuzaki ready for exorcisms. Lin and I will investigate anything that seems uncertain or vague and I'll have Mai relay information and watch over the base. Just be sure to report to me if anything happens."
"Yeah, like what?" I could just tell that the last part was directly to me, so I had to ask.
"You're the sixth-sense girl, aren't you?" Monk teased. "Wasn't it just a few cases ago you were told that you had latent ESP powers?"
"Oh, that's right. Guess I forgot," I said.
"Wait," Yasu said in disbelief, "you're clairvoyant like they are? I thought you were just normal like me!"
"Well, I wouldn't say I'm normal…" I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"Certainly not!" Ayako said haughtily. "In our last few cases, you've even been of some use, haven't you? But it's nothing new if Mai's being useless in the field of ghost hunting and investigation, of course." Then she started an equally haughty laugh.
"I think criticism should only be given by those who've actually solved a case, seeing as you have yet to be useful. Wouldn't you like to try it sometime?" I said before matching Ayako's little laugh with one of my own, my irritation showing through quite clearly.
Though, by those rules, it still all goes to Naru, I think…
Monk seemed more than a bit lost between the two girls in front of him while Yasu seemed particularly amused. "You two get along well," he said, though I couldn't be sure of the use of sarcasm or not, before he also laughed a bit. "I always thought psychics would be darker and deeper people."
"Well… we're special…" In more ways than one… "By the way, don't you need to get home Yasu?" I asked. "It's getting late."
"No," he said without hesitation. "Actually I was just thinking I could run errands for you guys if you wanted me to."
"We've got enough people in this room already," Monk grumbled before sighing as he squinted his eyes into a somewhat glare at Yasu in disdain. He mumbled something along the lines of a field trip for athletes…
"Please don't worry; I have borrowed a sleeping bag." Huh. Surprisingly, Yasu is the tough type. I can't help feeling he's a very energetic person. It appears I have turned into a fan of Yasu's.
"Thanks Yasu," Naru said, "we're grateful for all your help you've given us today, but I think it'd be best if you didn't stay the night. It's dangerous."
"Of course. Hey, if I'm overstepping my boundaries please let me know and I'll leave," Yasu said. And of course, he was smiling brightly all the same.
Naru had a brief look of thinking before giving a small smirk to Yasu. Uh-oh… "On second thought, maybe you could give us a hand tonight. Do you have some amount of confidence in your strength?"
"Leave it to me."
Naru nodded, and then said, "Then, Lin and Mai, go and move the equipment. Use Yasu at your disposal."
And that's how Yasu got roped into the dreadful task of equipment set up. Granted, I hated doing it myself and Yasu was the one carrying everything and he was kinda asking for it… but still. And the little blob also got to tag along... it seemed happy enough to do so, and I was happy enough to leave the Naru-blob at base with Naru and Lin. That one just did not seem to like me.
One by one we went to the van parked in the school's car park to collect the equipment.
"LL classroom, classrooms 2-4 and 3-1, the Locker Room, the Music Preparation Room – set up cameras in these 5 locations. Place microphones in the other places where the other strange stories were reported." We followed Naru's instructions and moved the equipment to their designated locations and set up. Running back and forth between the car park and the school compound, Yasuhara was dazzled.
"Alright," I said as we first set up in one of the many, many classrooms. "We set up these mics around the building in case we pick up any weird sounds." I explained to Yasu.
"Oh," Yasu said, looking at one of the machines we had set up on the teacher's desk. "Do all spiritualists use such… high-tech equipment?" he asked.
Eh, an honest enough question. "Some do, but not many. There are probably still ones that go around waving their arms and chanting…." I answered. "By the way, Naru's no spiritualist."
"What?" Yasu said in surprise.
Although, technically Oliver Davis is a spiritualist… but I don't really know that much about that part of Naru. I just know the sarcastic ass that is Naru the Narcissist, also known as Kazuya Shibuya, and Kazuya Shibuya is not a spiritualist. I think. Oh, whatever.
"He would rather refer to himself as a 'ghost hunter'," I explained.
"Oh, I've heard of them," Yasu said. "Sakauchi, you know, the kid who committed suicide? On the career assessment survey he filled out before coming to this school he put down 'Ghost Hunter' as his job of choice. At the time I assumed it was a joke."
"That's kinda strange," I said. So he was interested in this sort of thing... the boy who wanted to become a ghost hunter… I wonder what he would think if he could see us here now…
"Yes. According to what I know, his was the first death of a student since the founding of this school. There was a period when everyone was discussing that incident." Yasuhara looked pained. "I can't help feeling… we shouldn't keep quiet. We pass each other in the same school, spend half the day in the same space, and might have unknowingly brushed pass each other in some corridor. If it was fated, we might have become friends. That's what I think," Yasu said.
"Yeah," I said. "I agree."
There was suddenly a flash in my peripheral vision.
I turned and gasped at the doorway. A boy..?
But then there was nothing.
"Something wrong?" Yasu asked.
"Oh, nothing!" I said. Still, I had to double-check the doorway. I could have sworn I just saw somebody standing there…
You'd think by now that, if I saw something while in a totally haunted school while being blind as I have been for as long as I have been, I would know that it wasn't just 'nothing'.
Nope.
I was a bit lost in thought, trying to find a logical way to explain me being able to see something. Somehow latent ESP powers never came to my brain…
"Hello?" Yasu suddenly said. I will admit to a very girly shriek of surprise when he did that. He totally caught me off guard! "Alright, Chief, where do we go to set up next?" Yasu asked with a huge grin. "It's your call!"
"Uh," I said, calming my beating heart enough to grab the little notepad from my pocket. "Well, let's see…. People have been hearing cats meowing in the gym, right?" What is up with this school?!
"Whatever, let's just get this over with," Yasu said. "It's kinda creepy being here at school at night with no one around. I don't always handle the scary stuff too well."
Poor Yasu. Did that hurt your manly pride to admit that?
Regardless, we started down the halls to our next destination, Yasu being the one in the lead.
In the school filled with wild rumors, Yasuhara and I walked briskly, smiling. Funny how things work out like that.
"So why did you call me Chief back there?" I asked.
"Well, the way I see it I'm working for you, right?" Yasu said. "But I guess… I could call you 'Boss'?"
The way he said it… it was like he was referring to a mafia boss…
"No, I don't like that either," I said.
"Right, then I'd have to call Mr. Shibuya 'Big Boss'. I'll think of something," Yasu said.
I pictured Naru (well, as much as I can really picture anything) in my head for a brief moment. I couldn't help but start chuckling at Yasu's supposed nickname for Naru. "Knowing him, he'd probably love that! You totally nailed it!"
"It's amazing that you can be so relaxed at a time like this," Yasu commented in.
"I just seem that way because you're making me laugh," I said while, well, laughing. "And don't even think about Captain!"
"Ah, I'm foiled…" Yasu said. "For that, if you want me to be less formal then I shan't call you that. The real Mai Taniyama should be a livelier person without a stuffy name like Captain."
Oh, damn, I've been seen through.
"If Yasu does not do so too then I shan't continue. Because I am younger."
"For me, I really hate this type of thing. I dislike the society which differentiates between social classes."
"Ah, me too."
"We really have quite a lot in common, Chief."
"I'm guessing that Chief is staying no matter what? How is Chief less stuffy than Captain? Ah, but yes, little brother. Before we get scolded by that super narcissistic big boss, let's go to the next location."
"Let's do that," Yasu agreed. "By the way, doesn't the darkness here bother you? There's practically no lights on!"
"Well, not really…" I said.
"Right, a dark school wouldn't really affect a blind person much, now would it?" Yasu said. We both stopped walking, and I just stood there, completely in shock while Yasu stood there with a half-grin on his face as he looked straight at me.
"That's the fastest that anyone's ever caught on. Even Kasai didn't figure it out for at least a day…" I mumbled to myself.
"I don't know who Kasai is, but I'm guessing that this person knows?" Yasu said
"Yeah, she does," I said. "That's how Ayako found out. John, though you haven't met him yet, was the first in the group to find out, thanks to my big-mouthed principal. Monk found out after that, then Kasai and Ayako. …Oh, but you probably won't meet Kasai. She doesn't come on cases. She sometimes does work around the office with Taka, another office worker, and trains her psycokinesis with Lin…. Speaking of Lin, he only found out on Christmas Eve…"
"Huh. So Big Boss doesn't know?"
"Didn't you say you were going to think of something else?" I chuckled. "But no. He doesn't. Neither does Masako… I don't really know what I'd tell them. 'Hey, sorry I never told you for almost a year, but I'm blind, so please don't fire me'?"
"Huh. Well, whatever. I won't tell them. So you work with Masako Hara…?"
"Yeah, we do," I said, or maybe it was more of a groan, and we continued down the halls towards the gym.
I thought I felt something… grin at me behind my back.
But it was probably nothing, right?
Hold on…
Speaking of nothing…
"Where am I?" I said to the vast place I seemed to be in. "Just a second ago I was walking around and setting up equipment with Yasu…"
It was about then that I realized that I could see the hand that I had cupping my chin. I'm… dreaming…?
True to the weirdness that I was already in, I started to hear laughter…. It sounded like a guy that might be around my age, and it was only small snippets. I found myself looking forward and seeing, seeing, a guy leaning against a railing. Who's that…? Didn't all the students go home…?
Wait. Dreaming. Duh.
I slowly approached him, setting my hands on the railing next to him. I gave him a brief look before turning my gaze to beyond the railing. That's the school…. This was based more on instinct than actual knowledge.
Wait… that means I'm on the roof! According to what I know of the floor plans and the surrounding area, it has to be the roof…
I then noticed a thing that looked a bit like one of the blobs that came with Lin, but also… not. It was a sphere of just white light with a tail of white flowing behind it, almost gracefully. One here, one there, they kept multiplying until the whole school was lit up, overflowing with graceful lights.
If it's at the school… and it's haunted…
"Are… those souls…?" I said in astonishment.
The boy kept chuckling from beside me.
"Hey," I asked. "Do you know what all those little lights are?"
"Of course I do," he laughed. "That's why it's so fun!"
"'So fun'…?" I said very confused.
The boy stopped leaning over the railing. He stood straight and stared at me. He wore a summer uniform, and he just had this smirking smile on his face. "So much fun," he said. "There's nothing in the whole world that feels better than this."
"It's you…"
The girl we interviewed… He was a freshman that went here. He committed suicide…
Yasu in the classroom… Sakauchi… you know, the kid who committed suicide…
The guy in the doorway.
I'd even guess he was the grinning presence from the hallway…
I felt the pulsations again, like a heartbeat…
It almost hurt to feel it….
It… hurt…
What happened to you….?
Sakauchi…
BLIND
You guys will be happy to hear this.
I FINALLY DECIDED WHEN MY FIRST OWN CASE WILL BE.
Well, kinda. Which do you guys like better, before the Bloodstained Labyrinth or after? But for now I'm just trying to figure out the freaking title. I'm really excited for this, so hopefully the rest of this case (and possibly the next) will be uploaded quickly so I can get to mine already. This might be an awesome arc, but I really am excited for something different, and I know you guys are too. (This isn't my FAVORITE arc, but I still like it a lot. If I had to say my favorite… probably the Forgotten Children case from the manga. Or maybe the After School Hexer case. Both are rather good cases. My least favorite… I love them all so much! I can't say…)
I was kinda hoping for more results on the entire 'if you had to make a Ghost Hunt character' thing and therefore my curiosity is not sated. So I'll say it again. If you had to make a character in the Ghost Hunt world, what would they be like, and would they have powers? And if for some reason you feel like answering and you didn't make them up on the spot, I'm curious and nosy enough to want to know what their backstories might have been. Again, this isn't necessary. I'm just really curious, so if it bothers you that I ask, no worries! As they say, curiosity killed the cat, and I guess the 'cat' is me. Then again, satisfaction brought it (the cat) back. So… I'm going to shut up now.
*1 So, we're back to these bastards… Okay, again, just a reminder that Japanese schools go from Freshman, Junior, then Senior, and that seniors go on shortened schedules to literally study as much as possible for college, which is why it's so weird that Yasu is still the council president, as they have a busy schedule too... Also keep in mind that most of my knowledge comes from anime and manga as I am not THAT interested in knowing another country's school system. Shocking, right? Anyway, so I totally pulled that bit out of freaking nowhere because I felt like Mai needs a little more brain in her head. Just because you are academically smart, though, does not mean you are ACTUALLY smart. I get fairly high marks and I'll be the first to say that I am a complete idiot. (Don't believe me? My oldest sibling, my dear 'sweet' sister once tricked me into eating a dog treat. I didn't notice at first, but as she started laughing I started gagging. We went to the kitchen where another older sibling of mine, my brother, was laughing and my grandma was confused. We explained it and you know what I did next? Take another awful bite of the dog treat. And then I gagged again. And yes, I fell down a staircase when I was about two. Both are completely true stories. Also, you know who was there when I fell down? My effin' sister. Admittedly, she WAS only about six, but still!) AHEM, anyway… So whether or not Mai will graduate early, I'm still not sure. There is a legit reason why I want her to, but I'm not sure yet…
*2 That part was from the novel with minor edits by me. I thought it was too good to keep out. And no, I have no idea if we're still in this Third Age of Religion. Keep in mind that these books were made back in the 1990s, so it's plausible either way to still be in or already be out of this supposed age.
*3 … Also from the book…. But Matsuyama said it and the rest of the group ignored it, kinda like how you ignore that one annoying kid who just gets on your nerves and had a superiority complex when in reality they're about ten years younger than you. And yes, I have been that kid before. Have since been forgiven and given actual leadership positions in the group. And, since it's a few lines down, apparently Naru has a watch… in the novel, anyway. Makes sense though. And for some reason, makes him seem more British, if that makes sense. No idea why, though… and Naru really was going to make Mai try and gather up students… but we all know how that'd probably pan out… "How the f do you intend for me to find students in a place I haven't been to for even fifteen minutes?!"
There's more stuff from the novel, but a lot of it is little, and I kinda dislike making so many of these, so it's only if there's a major bit from the novel and if any small stuff is a few lines away. That's why the bicker about tea-making (the 'Then why do I pay you?' bit) didn't have one, even though it's from the novel, the manga too, I think…
*4 YES THAT IS HER NAME. From the book, it has representatives for the groups that come in. So if you see more unfamiliar names, they are from the books and can be dismissed for the most part. But I'm not putting little stars for them. Screw. That.
*5 I'll take this time to point out that there is practically no way to tell who's who in that part because when they changed the perspective, they also changed haircuts and voices. So I'm winging it. I think what happened was an animation error and that they flipped the order the girls were standing in… Don't ask me how, but that's the only thing that makes sense.
*6 Yes, he really does do that. He says things a heck of a lot quicker. In part it's because of the dubbing and all that jazz… but he kinda does that. Now, if I can just remember to do that from now on….. Also, he does like to mess with his hands as he thinks. Now, just to remember to do that as well….
*7 I am NOT writing all of those interviews. Also, the Seven Wonders seem to be a peculiar feature that I find to keep coming up in Japanese schools and still don't know anything about. Basically they are the really weird things that happen in the schools and usually are more than seven. Ryokuryo just has a ridiculous amount. The group wanted to try an exorcism, but got caught and stuff. Something about teachers not trusting students when they gather in large groups…. While they have some basis, no need to be too fussy. Most of the large groups I end up in usually end up talking about rubber ducks as the most intense topic of choice…
*8 I had to put it here because the next time Yasu speaks, it's a two-paragraph chunk of dialogue-backstory-guessing nightmares. Anyway, in the other versions, the smell comes in a few months ago and was accredited to a food poisoning incident because the kids all had low constitutions…. Really? No better excuse? And even the teacher felt unwell but claimed that it was food poisoning and NOT that his classroom smelled like a football player's locker after it rains. Also, there's at least one more boy next to him (just one more?), and he ALSO has a name. Eda. And he likes to scatter spices in classrooms and seem to be YET ANOTHER latent freaking psychic. Though, lots of people have some form of latent power. A lot of it is just weak and humans are scared of what we ourselves can do, so I decided to exaggerate Eda's story juuuuust a smidge. And by the way, if the room smells that bad, WHY THE HELL ARE PEOPLE STILL IN IT DURING THE NEXT FREAKING SCENE? YOU COULDN'T PAY ME TO STAY THERE! (But I'm also a bit sensitive to bad smells and feeling ill, so I probably wouldn't have stayed in school that long anyway…) And yes, Yasu's school doesn't run on gas. As I have now found out. And the segment about when the whole haunting starts is in two out of the three stories, and unlike with the interviews I could deal with typing this one up… Then I got lazy and just copied the dialogue from the novel tweeked it, and am now disclaiming that part as part of the original author's work. Sorry Ono-Sensei!
*9 Don't ask me why Ouija boards summon foxes, or how those things even actually work in relation to summoning spirits. I don't even know. I may have seen a fox spirit on unedited film, but that doesn't mean I know all the details. I just know that foxes are very highly revered in Japan, apparently. As if that wasn't obvious. And no, I've never done Ouija boarding and I don't plan to. I already have a somewhat haunted house, I don't need even more trouble. Besides, it appears to be a scandal anyway.
And so, I refuse to make any more of these damn stars. So you can probably guess the parts that came from the novel and manga. If not, I'll tell you. The only parts I can think of that I invented would be the skip-a-grade Mai thing and the blind confrontation with Yasu (he's a smart little bastard. But we all still like him. Even though it was kinda weird how he said 'in the school at night with no one around."… I thought he might try something with Mai…0.o).
Also, yes, Naru is seventeen right now. His and Gene's birthday is on September 19th, and when he met Mai he said that he was 'turning 17 this year'. Mai would have turned… 16 either before or during the Dollhouse case (July 3rd). In other words, for a period of about… three months they are the same age. In case you're wondering, and I'm pretty sure about these, Yasu is seventeen (birthday March 1st), Ayako is 23 (June 7th), Monk is either 24 or just turned 25 (January 22nd), John is probably 20 (January 5th), Lin is probably 27 (January 11th, keep in mind that in this story he would be, but in the originals this case might have been set earlier), and Masako is 16 (July 24th, Masako is the youngest member). As some fun fact trivia, Madoka is 23 when she gets introduced (for some reason, the Ghost Hunt wiki says 'at death' and I'm pretty freaking sure she isn't dead. Knowing Madoka, we'd probably know if she was, mostly because she'd be haunting Naru and Lin's office and screwing up Mai's tea orders-which is basically the same thing she already does) but I can't seem to find a birth date for her... I think Mai turns 16 DURING the Dollhouse case because when they arrive, she says that she is a fifteen year old freshman in high school. Unless we're all wrong and the original author is laughing her ass off, then she had her birthday during the case (if I skipped that in the actual case, it's because I realized it literally two minutes ago). Surprisingly, I'm a little jealous. Sure, my birthday gets noticed at least a little, but I think it'd be awesome to be working a case on my birthday. Plus I don't think Mai cares much for attention. To be noted? Yes. Center of attention? Not so much.
…. Or maybe that's just me.
Anyway, if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I'd love to hear them! Seriously, you guy help fill the plot holes I forget about entirely, and answer questions I don't realize are there. …Question everything, trust none…. To 'assume' makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'…. Whatever floats your boat, you get the basic idea. Plus, I love hearing what you guys have to say about what you want to happen. It lets me know what you'd like to see in the plots I write. Hey, I'm taking you guys on a metaphorical field trip. You might as well choice the details of the bus (or maybe it might be more appropriate to say 'ship'…?) and what food and drink you get… Basically I've gone completely bonkers with the metaphors... Plus, I love making you guys happy and surprised! …. How many people read this again? Potato. Yes, this again. (What is with me and potatoes…? Is it because I'm part Irish…?)
MERRY CHRISTMAS! OR HAPPY HOLIDAYS OR WHATEVER YOU CELEBRATE!
WHY AM I IN ALL CAPS?!
UNTIL NEXT TIME! HOPE TO SEE YA SOON!