Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukah/Happy Kwanza/A very merry Winter Solstice/Happy Holidays/Whatever the hell else I missed to you all!
Even though it's a bit late for literally just about all of those.
Someone asked me to try and update by Christmas (looks like it's a bit late. Sorry! I worked as fast as I could, but the quickest I've written a Blind chapter using my current method was around twelve hours). I had a few obstacles, but don't say I don't at least try. I seriously got that review, buried myself out of my government homework—in a more literal way than you people will ever know—and got working on this. It wasn't just that review, mind you—I read them all—but it was something about that one that got me going… The straw that broke the camel's back, so to say. Or the straw that got that camel's lazy ass moving.
Ah, you want to know why it took forever and it took someone reviewing to get this for Christmas to get me to update?
Well…
So, to put it simply, everything freaking broke.
Including my toe.
Especially my toe.
And damn did it hurt.
But I finally got my mobile thingy to work, and my laptop is its usual grumpy/happy self. One thing, though. My wifi is acting up like crazy on my laptop. Basically, I have about enough time to post this before it goes weird again, (I write in Word but it takes a little while for me to set up FanFiction and I currently have to look through the manga and the novel on my phone… which is a total pain) and so I won't be able to respond to PMs. Reviews are increasingly hard to answer, so I appreciate the reviews and all the plot twists and ideas you guys give me, but if you want a specific discussion, either indicate so in your review or PM me directly. Otherwise, I might not answer at all. Trust me, I read them, and quite a few are actually written down in my computer for reference, ideas, inspiration, or to just lift my spirits up in general, but-and I'm not trying to sound brattish-it gets harder the more reviews you get. And, somehow, by some ironic twist of fate or stroke of luck, I happen to get a nice bit each chapter. I appreciate it… but it's hard to answer. I hope I don't sound like a brat because I'm not complaining or anything. It's just getting harder for me to answer them. I hope you all understand. If not, then I do understand it.
Moving on…
Well, it's finally here. The case that pretty much everyone just couldn't wait to get started. I'm pretty excited too. Personally, it's a tie between the Bloodstained Labyrinth and the Cursed House (or whatever the last one in the anime is called) case as my favorite case. I mean, I still like most of the other cases a lot, but I have to put those two on the top. And yes, I do have some edits, but these will not be major, or at least I don't think so, but you might want to watch for some foreshadowing. However, the most major changes will probably be from the combining of the novel and manga into the anime.
Also, there will probably be a healthy/unhealthy dose of cursing. I'm in a mood. Plus, my brother. That's all you really need to know about that.
With that in mind and not much else to really say, let's get started, shall we?
I don't own Ghost Hunt.
ENJOY!
BLIND
A cold, sterile but blood soaked room.
"Help…"
Tiles adding a weird chiming echo to any noise produced.
"Help…"
The grasping of struggling arms.
"Someone, please!"
Sobbing. Gloves. A strange lamplight.
"Help me…"
A knife sharpened, reflecting the miserably low light.
"Help... Help me please…"
Sobbing. A strapped table. Blood dripping from its new found placement on the wall.
"I don't want to die."
BLIND
April
Day 1
I tried to shake that dream off. Really, I did. It had been bothering me for the past couple of days. I was sleepy and I swear I was starting to get sick.
Or maybe that was just the new homework and material I had to make up since I oh so smartly skipped a damn year to be a senior in high school. *1
"Welcome," a slightly elder voice brought me back out of my mind. "Thank you for coming. Please call me Ohashi," the man, Ohashi, addressed to us. "I've been given full authority to handle this matter on behalf of the client. If you have any questions or need to speak with him, I will be your direct contact." Ohashi looked around. "May I ask who is in charge here?"
Yasu stepped up and raised his hand. "Yes, of course. That would be me sir. My name is Kazuya Shibuya," he lied through his teeth.
"So it seems the rumors of your young age were in fact true, Mr. Shibuya," Ohashi said, fully believing the deceit. "Who have you brought with you today?"
Yasu turned to Monk, Ayako, and John. "They're accomplished spiritualists and friends of mine. They have graciously offered their expertise on this case." The three bowed as they were acknowledged. Yasu then gestured to the main SPR employees. "And over here we have my assistants."
Naru greeted himself first. "Narumi Kazou, sir."
Ah, more lies. I took a deep breath, trying to remember that I had to make sure no one figured out their real identities. Particularly Naru's. Naru had the special situation of a second disguise to hide his first disguise to hide the fact that he is Oliver Davis and is looking for his brother.
Man, this sucks….
There actually is a reason for all of this…
A few days ago *2
"I've accepted a new contract," Naru said as he all sat down around him. "It's a very high profile case. The client has requested that we exercise the upmost confidentiality. If the media got involved, it would no doubt blow up into a massive story. I think the safest bet would be if we all worked on this together."
"Excuse me," Masako piped up, "but did you speak with a Mr. Ohashi?"
"Did you get a call from him too?" Naru asked.
Masako nodded slightly. "Yes."
"Then I'm guessing you'll be working independently?" Naru asked.
"Yes," Masako said, "but I will offer my assistance. For Mr. Ohashi to call us both…"
"So tell us," Ayako interrupted, her voice impatient. "Who are we talking about?"
Naru pulled out his slim binder, rummaging through it for something. "Mr. Ohashi is just a representative. The actual client would be…"
He put down an article on the table for an answer. Monk and Ayako leaned over to look, and I pretended I needed a closer look before gasping slightly.
"Are you serious?" Ayako said.
"Isn't that… the ex-Prime Minister?" I said.
"Wow," Monk said, shock on his face. "That would be a major story for the press."
'Which is why we should avoid attention as much as possible," Naru said. "And a good way to start is by asking Yasu here to stand in for me."
Yasu looked a tad confused. "Uh… What are you talking about?"
"So that's the reason why you asked him to come here today, Naru," I said. "I thought it might be so we could celebrate him passing all of his exams."
"Oh man! You got into college?" Monk asked.
"Yeah, of course," Yasu laughed.
We all shared sentiments of general celebration.
Here's a tip. Naru is not a fan of shared sentiments of general celebration. Especially in his SPR sitting room during a meeting. Or in his SPR sitting room ever. Or in SPR property. Or in his general vicinity. Or ear shot. You get the idea.
Naru gave us about two seconds of celebration before slamming his binder closed, the article he had previously pulled out put back in place.
It was like someone hit freeze. Then, everyone went back to pretending we were actually serious people (ha). Monk even coughed to add to the effect.
"So do you think you'd be willing to stand in and take my place, Yasu?" Naru asked.
"Oh yeah!" Yasu agreed without hesitation. "You guys are great and I'd be more than happy to help out. Plus, I think I owe you one. I mean, if it weren't for you all, I'm pretty sure the case at my school never even would have been solved."
"Wait a second," Monk interrupted. "I understand why you prefer to steer clear of the media," Monk, you don't even know the half of it, "but do you really think this calls for a body double?"
"The client has apparently been calling in a number of other psychics including some shady bottom feeders," Naru stated. "I'm sure it's no surprise that I have no interest in associating with those types."
"Nice, so you're pushing it off on Yasu just because you don't wanna do it?" Monk said, scoffing slightly and probably thinking something along the lines of 'typical Naru'.
"If you have a problem with that, no one is forcing you to stay here," Naru said.
I made a slight sound in protest, though I couldn't really think of anything. Thankfully, the loud bang of the door being opened as loudly as humanly possible and an equally loud "Please!" interrupted that.
Still scared me half to death, though.
"You should talk to me before you go running at the mouth," a woman said, walking into the place like she damn well owned it.
I was slightly nervous as I stood and attempted to be a good secretary. "Um, excuse me Miss? Are you looking for someone?"
I was completely ignored. Well, I tried.
Then I learned this woman must damn well be suicidal. She started lecturing Naru. "Here's a shocker, when you're asking people for favors there's actually an appropriate way to do it. I've said this before but no, you never learn, do you?" At least I wasn't the only one who was wondering what the hell kind of woman just walked in and was Naru pouting and is that cute or terrifying oh my sweet goodness. The woman turned to address us. "Please excuse him. This little boy is still learning his manners."
This little boy?!
Madoka spoke again. "Please try to ignore his personality and tolerate him as a person."
"Madoka," Naru seemed to partially grit out. "Would you mind having a seat and being quiet? We're trying to work here."
The woman, Madoka, leaned down to try to look Naru in the face. "And that's why communication is so important."
Yep. Naru is pouting and the Madoka person was some sort of… Actually, I have no idea. Let's go with 'Scolding Queen'.
"Isn't she something," Monk grumbled.
"Who is she again?" Ayako asked.
The she in question apparently overheard us and addressed us again. "Of course. My name is Madoka Mori."
"Hi, um," I pretty much spoke for the group. "How do you know Naru?"
"Well, I guess you could say I'm his teacher," Madoka answered.
"His teacher?" Monk asked.
"Yes, I'm the one who taught Naru everything he knows about ghost hunting," Madoka answered.
We were all a little surprised. He didn't just crawl out of a rock and know everything? I mean, I guess that's impossible but so should falling down wells in the middle of a living room and guess what happened?
Naru just pouted again, turning his head to glare at a corner.
"To be completely honest, I'm the one who asked Naru to take on this case," Madoka stared a little guiltily at her pupil. "I know it's weird and you don't know me, but I really hope you'll work with us," Madoka said, finishing off with a bow.
We all took a moment of surprise before bowing back in acceptance.
"Wait," I said. "If Yasu is the 'Boss', then what will you be, Naru?"
"I'll be an investigator," Naru answered.
… There's no way this is going to work for more than two days tops.
Let's see, then Lin entered and saw Madoka and they smiled at each other and I checked to make sure the end of the world wasn't coming. If there was any person capable of starting the end of the world, it would have to be Madoka Mori…
… Which brings us up to now. In a creepy hallway, Naru having a secret identity on top of a secret identity, Yasu dressed in a suit, and me feeling just a tad sick and unbalanced.
"This house is so weird," I said, checking out some stairs that were quite literally sticking out of the ceiling and wall and what seemed to be part of a door or window against the floor. Oh, and some windows just straight up on the ceiling.
"It's a little more than weird," Monk said.
"Hey, have you guys ever seen those paintings that are like this?" John asked.
No John. As a matter of fact, I have not.
Ayako answered John's question. "I was thinking about that," she said. "I wonder if the builder was an artist…"
We finally stopped, Mr. Ohashi opening a set of large doors for us. "Come in here, please," he said, beckoning us in.
I lagged behind for a moment. The dream I had been plagued with came to mind.
Dripping, tiles, a monster. Run run run run….
What's that smell?
I turned to face the hallway. I didn't sense anything, but since we're at a haunted manor… what would I see?
"Is something wrong?" Monk asked, noticing my hesitation.
I gasped for a moment, Monk having quite literally startled me out of my mind. "No, I'm fine."
Monk seemed to accept that I wouldn't say anymore regardless of whether or not I was actually fine. He walked in, and I started in after him.
Still, I couldn't stop myself from stopping just in the door frame, looking back down the hall just to be sure…
What was that?
BLIND
We were eventually settled into the large meeting room like place. It seemed that the main people of our group were seated with most of everyone else that was called at a large table. Meanwhile, Ayako, Monk, John, and I were seated at a couple of sofas off to the side. To be honest, it was probably a good idea.
Mr. Ohashi spoke in a loud, informing voice. "This house has been unoccupied for quite some time now. Local teenagers took advantage by sneaking in to explore it and scare each other. However, two months ago it was learned that one of them went missing. A young man from the fire brigade who was searching for the missing boy also disappeared. Shortly thereafter, several people reported seeing foxfires inside the house. In fact, there are many who would swear on their very souls that this house is haunted.
"While the house was being remodeled, there were similar stories of workers disappearing. Of course, we don't want anyone else to come to harm and we'd like to try to control any more negative rumors, which is why you all have been invited here. Whoever exorcises the house successfully may expect a very substantial reward."
"Interesting," one man said, and I decided right then that I didn't like something about him.
"Also, if any of you decide to withdraw from the case, I will understand. If you would remain on the premises until such time, I would greatly appreciate it," Mr. Ohashi bowed to the group. "Now, please allow me to introduce everyone who so generously agreed to join us today. Ms. Igurashi, professor at Ottawa University and her assistant, Naoko Suzuki," Mr. Ohashi said. Two women, one older-Ms. Igurashi-and a younger one-Naoko Suzuki-bowed as they were introduced. "Renowned medium, Masako Hara." Masako bowed respectfully. "Reimei Minami, head of the Minami Psychic Research Council, and staff member Hideo Atsugi." The man who perked at the sound of a reward and the young man sitting next to him both bowed at their names. "Their mentor, from the English Psychic Research Society, Doctor Oliver Davis."
Oh.
…Oh.
"Shut up, are you kidding?" Ayako said.
Ah, that's right. I'm supposed to be shell-shocked. "Oh my gosh, who knew we were going to be working with the famous Oliver Davis on this case!" … Way to lay it on thick, Mai. Changing tactics, I turned to Monk. "Monk, isn't it cool? … Uh, Monk?"
Ignored. Again. He just stared at the 'Oliver Davis' at the table. I don't blame him. I would be too, if it weren't for the fact that something just told me that he wasn't and that not-so-random random dream-boy told me that Naru was Oliver while I was possessed as we played cards with a fox.
… It's a good thing my intuition is usually right. Out of context, it's a wonder that I actually believed Gene.
"Look at him," Ayako scoffed lightly. "All star-struck and freaking out."
"I gotta say, I'm really surprised that such an authority on psychic research would show up here…" John said. Ah, looks like someone is having doubts.
No one at the table seemed to notice the little drama going on at the kids table. "I assure you that we'll have no problem handling your case," Mr. Minami said. "After all, we have the famous Doctor Davis with us… And not to mention the efforts of all these other talented and fairly important people." And then he laughed.
I'm pretty sure that laugh is playing on repeat somewhere in Hell. *3
BLIND
A bit later, we were in our base room. I had to endure listening to Minami brag about all his connections to people such as Alex Taunus or Uri Geller to the extent that the seeds of doubt were beginning to blossom in the other's heads about Minami. Still, they seem to think that the Oliver Davis they saw was real.
I was halfway tempted to ask for vodka in my coffee earlier. I had never drunk, but I think a stiff drink would have been a nice thing to try at that point.
"So who's this Davis guy?" Yasu asked. "And why is he such a big deal?"
"Because he's incredible, that's why," Ayako answered bluntly. "He's actually not involved with the psychic power side as much as he's done some really fantastic spirit research."
"That's right," Monk said. "He said in the preface of his book, Supernatural Systems, that he wants the field of psychic research to be considered a science and that researchers in this field should conduct themselves as such."
"So he's kinda like Mr. Minami, the guy who is with Doctor Davis?" Yasu asked.
"Yes, but Doctor Davis probably has a better personality than Mr. Minami," John said. Oh, if only you knew. "Something's weird about him though. I'm pretty sure Doctor Davis would be younger. His doctorate is a bit special too. It came from a western foundation, the Londenberg Foundation actually… Simply put, he has the title and usually gives lectures at colleges."
"I think he's about the right age," Ayako said. "He is a researcher and has published his findings. One would think of an older man surrounded by books." *5
"Ah, but there was this one time a few years ago that he did this amazing PK demonstration," Monk said.
"Was that one the one where he took the giant aluminum block and slammed it into the wall?" Ayako asked. Monk nodded to Ayako's question. "I had to miss that one," Ayako whined.
Naru did what with WHAT? Some of my working friends' bosses are scary but at least they can't do THAT with their MINDS.
John brought me out of it with his own two cents on Oliver Davis. "And there's also that famous case where Doctor Davis helped find and rescue that American billionaire's son who had been kidnapped," John said, an amount of admiration in his tone.
"Yeah, yeah!" Monk said. "That kid had been buried alive in the ground, right?"
"That means Doctor Davis is clairvoyant, too," Ayako said.
I decided enough was enough. I couldn't really stand that someone was taking my amazingly talented (if not narcissistic and rude) boss's name and running around in it. I obviously couldn't say anything outright, but I could at least steer them in the right direction. "Hey, isn't it sorta weird that someone that famous would be here without more people making a big fuss about it?"
"Honestly his fan base is pretty specialized," Monk said.
Attempt one to steer well-meaning but uninformed friends in the right direction, failed.
"I'm glad to see you're all enjoying yourselves," a deceptively calm voice chimed from the door.
"Hey Naru, where'd you run off to?" Monk asked.
Naru set some box of who-knows-what on one of the tables before turning to address us. "I decided to start bringing in the equipment. I mean, we were intending to do some work here, right?" Naru said as he rubbed his shoulder.
The collective group thought was definitely something like "Oh crap I forgot and now the actual boss is going to kill us".
"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry," I said as I rushed over to the newly-dubbed equipment table. "Here, let me help." I barely had wrapped my hand around a monitor to start set up before Naru stopped me.
"No Mai, leave it there," he said as he headed out the door to continue unloading. I shivered at the look he gave me. He's a little terrifying. "The equipment is way too heavy for a woman to carry."
Ah, isn't this the second time he's told me this? Is he being sarcastic or is he serious? Should I be insulted? "Oh, no, I can do it, you go ahead and take a break," I said.
Naru didn't have time to respond as Mr. Ohashi came in to check on us. "Well, this is very impressive," Mr. Ohashi observed the boxes of equipment on the equipment table.
Yasu went straight over to invite him like the good fake boss he was. "Ah, Mr. Ohashi," Yasu greeted.
"I hope you find this room to be sufficient for your needs," Mr. Ohashi said.
"Yes, thank you," Yasu said. "We're getting settled in. If you don't mind, may we take this opportunity to ask a few questions?"
Yasu's asking questions now? Because that won't end badly.
"Of course. You're welcome to ask me anything," Mr. Ohashi said.
"That's very kind of you," Yasu thanked the man before turning and calling across the room. "All right then, Narumi? Please proceed."
"Yes sir," Naru answered.
Oh, I get it. Good job, guys.
The rest of us went along with setting up all the equipment as Naru took out his case binder and set everything up to ask Mr. Ohashi some questions. Lin sat with his laptop at the ready, and Yasu… He basically just sat there and looked pretty or something.
"You said the house was unoccupied for some time," Naru started out. "Would you mind telling us who the previous tenant was?"
"The Prime Minister's wife's grandfather," Mr. Ohashi stated, "and former family head. He actually built this house around Meiji Ten, or 1877 if you prefer, but since that time there have been numerous renovations and add-ons. In fact, up until the last head of the family, I believe additions were made every year, so it's unlikely that much of the original building still remains."
"Tell us more about the character of this former head of the family," Naru said.
"Well, his name was Kaneyuki Miyama," Mr. Ohashi said, "and he owned a lot of land here in the Suwa region. He ended up building a silk mill here, and was known for his involvement with various charitable works, even opening an orphanage and a charity hospital. Unfortunately, he lost most of his ventures when the market collapsed in Meiji 40, or 1907, and the hospital and orphanage had to be shut down. He passed away about three years thereafter." *4
"Mr. Ohashi, have you ever witnessed anything out of the ordinary in this house?" Naru asked. I had to appreciate that he hadn't said noticed because everyone noticed 'something out of the ordinary' in this house.
Mr. Ohashi seemed to think for a moment before answering with a certainty in his voice. "I've been here for a week to prepare the place but… No, I haven't."
"Would it be at all possible to interview those people who were in the house at the time of the child's disappearance?" Naru asked.
"Well, we'd prefer to keep this as quiet as possible," Mr. Ohashi answered.
"Do you have any ideas as to the source of the ghost stories?" Naru continued on.
"Hm," Mr. Ohashi thought for a moment. "No, but the last head of the family might have suspected something. His final words were instructions to leave the mansion alone. He wanted it to deteriorate over time."
"His final words," Naru said softly. Was he thinking of his brother, or was he thinking of the importance that a man's final words in his life were instructions regarding this place?
Lin took over from there. "You wouldn't happen to have a floor plan of the house?"
"No, unfortunately there isn't one," Mr. Ohashi said.
"I see," Lin said.
"Excuse me," Mr. Ohashi addressed Yasu, "who is this gentleman?"
Oh right, we never introduced everyone, did we?
"My name is Lin Koujo," Lin answered.
"I would guess that you're Chinese," Mr. Ohashi said.
"I'm originally from Hong Kong," Lin said.
The rest of us were a little shocked. It was a small thing, but Lin never says anything so it was a surprising thing to learn. …I might have had my own motives too.
"Wow, Lin, I had no idea that you were from China," I said.
"So what," Lin said, somewhat glaring at me from the corner of his eye.
"Uh, so nothing," I said
Mr. Ohashi took the semi-murderous vibe from Lin as a sign to go. "If that's all I shall take my leave," he said as he exited.
"Yes sir," Yasu said, standing up to address Mr. Ohashi. "Thanks very much for your assistance."
Mr. Ohashi bowed at the door and closed it behind him.
No sooner was Mr. Ohashi gone that Naru headed straight back into action. "All right let's start by taking temperature readings throughout the house, and after the sun goes down no one does anything alone, agreed?" Naru said. I would say asked, but let's be honest. It's Naru. That was definitely a command. "Ms. Matsuzaki I want you to make some charms. Be sure to make enough for each of us and all of the rooms."
"Relax man," Monk said. "Don't you think you're jumping the gun a little?"
"That sounds exactly like what somebody would say to excuse their own laziness," Naru said. Monk looked like he was about to argue, but Naru wasn't about to have it. "This is a haunted mansion that's been empty for a long time. There are numerous stories and there's no floor plan. Given what we know and what we don't know, it's only common sense to be cautious."
… Monk just accepted defeat with a pout. That is, until Masako decided now was an excellent time to quite literally faint into Monk's arms. "Hey!" Monk said as he caught the girl. "What's wrong?"
"There's a foul presence here," Masako said, looking small as she held her sleeves to her face. "… And I think I smell blood."
I gasped. That's what I smelled earlier… And now… "I think I smell it too," I said.
Naru's already serious face became that much more stone-like.
BLIND
Yasu, Monk, and I formed a group and started taking temperatures. In other words, I was working, Monk was mostly getting us lost, and Yasu…. He's pretty much the mascot at this point.
"Man, this place is like a maze," I said as we took in the insanity of the mansion.
"Dead end, ladies and gentlemen," Monk said as we finally got to the end of the corridor. We turned around and started walking again.
"He did say there were a lot of additions but seriously this is kinda crazy," Yasu said as we took a random guess as to where to go next. Yasu choose a door and went inside.
"What is this?" I said as I took in the large room with various doors, windows, floor styles, and two small sets of steps.
"I guess it's just another weird room," Yasu gave the best explanation he could while Monk took it upon himself to open all the windows and doors as I recorded the temperature. "You don't think we might actually discover the body of anyone who went missing, do you?" Yasu asked sounding genuinely concerned on the matter. I pulled a weird face on that, but I'd rather not find a body so…
"If it's somewhere we could find it I'm sure the police would have turned it up a long time ago," Monk said as he opened a set of shutters. "What the…"
"What is it?" Yasu and I said in sync as we rushed over. "Did you find a body?"
"Not quite…" Monk said as we took in what seemed to be a dining room or something. Yasu and I sighed, though in disappointment or relief I'm not too sure.
"But, why would there be another room on the other side of this window?" I asked.
"Well the shutters look kinda new, so I guess this is just another one of the additions," Monk said.
On the other side of the room, the temperature gage beeped, letting anyone in earshot know that it did its job. It let out a series of beeps that I interpreted from Morse Code to an actual number. To be clear, the numbers were the only thing in Morse Code I knew and I only knew it because the electronic voice annoyed the hell out of Naru so he reprogrammed it. I'm just glad that he left some audio thing in since I obviously can't just read the screen.
"Just over four degrees," I said, touching a button on the darn thing so it would stop beeping.
"Well, should we keep moving?" Yasu asked. He was still new, and since I was the only one actually doing their job… I suppose that decision would be mine.
"Yeah," I said. "Which way did we come in again?"
"This way," Yasu and Monk said at the same time as they both pointed in completely opposite directions.
"Oh great," I sighed. "Uh, hey, wouldn't it be hilarious if the three of us managed to get lost in here?"
Well, more lost than we already are. All we had was a map with rooms labeled as numbers and the hope that my intuition wouldn't get us killed.
We eventually sort of wondered out and managed to get to the corridor from before and find more rooms to get temperatures and we were now standing in room eight. That led to us staring at a door. Let me rephrase that. We were staring a door that went into a room that was in the middle of another freaking room.
"A room inside a room?" Yasu said. "No way, this is totally like we're in an RPG."
An RP what now?
"A dungeon maybe?" Monk played along. "Heh.
"Well, if this were a dungeon there would be something in here," Yasu said, leading our little group to the door. Mainly, I was confused.
He opened it to reveal… nothing. "Ah, well, that's too bad, nothing's in there," I said, writing in the room into the little map we had and jotting down 'Room 8.5' and quickly taking its temperature.
"Hey you guys," Monk said. "Forget the dungeon, have you heard of the Winchester Mansion?"
"Like… Winchester Rifles?" Yasu asked.
"That's right," Monk said. "The inventor of the rifle left a widow when he died. For years she was constantly putting additions on the house to protect her from curses and spirits. She thought people killed by her husband's guns would come back to haunt her. It's supposed to be a pretty complex house, similar to this one."
"You mean someone wanted the house to end up this way?" I asked.
I didn't get an exact answer as we were interrupted by an annoying guy and his not-so-annoying assistant.
"Oh excuse us, we didn't realize there was anyone in here," the man, Mr. Miya or something, said. Does he always sound like a haughty ass or are we just special? "You're all with Shibuya Psychic Research, aren't you?" he said as we waved around an alcohol thermometer in his hand.
"Who's that guy?" I asked, wondering how the heck I managed to forget his name.
"I think it's Minami, the guy who brought Doctor Davis," Monk said.
Oh. It's this ass. Now I remember.
"Ah, the eagerness of youth, I find it so refreshing, really," Mr. Minami said as he seemed to be recording the temperature. He wasn't doing in properly mind you. For starters, it was a freaking alcohol thermometer. "Of course, when it comes to psychic research, it's all about experience, so I'll be very curious to see how well you kids do, hehe."
I gave a slight growl. Yasu stepped up to him civilly and I had a feeling that this would get interesting.
"Pardon me," Yasu said. "I realize I look young, but the truth is I just turned two hundred forty-nine this year." Mr. Minami openly gaped at him while his assistant what's-his-face seem to be trying to decide whether or not Yasu was serious. "I've got great genes," Yasu continued like it was nothing, "everyone in my family practically lives forever."
"I don't really appreciate being made fun of kid!" Mr. Minami said. "All right, smart guy, then tell me when you were born."
"Well I was born in Horoki 8," Yasu said. Mr. Minami took a step back at the correct answer for a two-hundred forty-nine year old to say. "You know, I think you young kids today are just super, but of course if I had talked to my elders with the same sort of disrespect you've shown me I'd have felt it for a week. Yeah, the times sure were tough back then. I'll never forget the great Tenmei…"
Yasu continued on about his supposed 'childhood' while Monk and I just tried to not laugh too hard. "Man Naru totally knew what he was doing," Monk said. "This kid is awesome!"
"Yeah it's kinda freaking me out a little," I laughed.
"…And they scared me to death with stories about the Onin War," Yasu continued on before noticing that Minami and his assistant started to leave. "Oh please! Wait! I'm not done yet! Mr. Minami!"
Yasu was answered with the loud bang of the door shutting.
Monk and I came up to our 'boss'.
"Well done!" Monk congratulated.
"Bravo," I added in. "Good job."
"That was truly amazing," Monk told Yasu.
"Thanks, but I really feel a little guilty," Yasu confessed. I don't. Yasu set his hands together like he was praying. "Please forgive me for being a jerk to the jerk."
Although… I couldn't help but feel like I was being stared at. Even though we had a good temperament in the room, it still didn't feel right.
Were we being watched?
I brushed it off as we went to another room, Yasu and Monk talking animatedly. I mean, we haven't even met all the teams that were hired. Maybe one of them had entered the room and we didn't notice. That was probably it.
It was nothing to worry about.
BLIND
I was glad to be back at base. I wasn't sure what it was, but the deeper we went into the house, the more I tripped up and felt sick. Monk thought it might be the phantom scents of blood getting to me, but if that smell was sticking around, I had grown accustomed to it.
Something brushed against my hair, bringing me back to our little meeting. It was a blob. The little blobs seemed agitated. Actually, they had seemed a bit… twitchy since we arrived, but that wasn't too uncommon on a case and I was usually too busy to notice. Somehow, though, they seemed a little more active today.
I ignored them in favor of reporting in to Naru. "All the temperature readings we took were on the low end," I said.
"I don't think we should call it a day until we've got the night vision cameras, thermography, and condenser microphones set up," Naru said. "And remember to stick together no matter what happens. Tomorrow I want us to measure each room and the hallways, then we'll use those to make a working floor plan."
I shot my head around the rest of the group to face Lin. "So how 'bout it Lin? Do you feel like drawing up a floor plan?"
… Ignored. I've been ignored a lot lately.
"Alright everyone," Monk said as he grabbed a microphone and handed it to Yasu. "Back to work." I grabbed a clipboard to record the temperatures on a spread sheet as Monk grabbed an equipment box and hauled it onto his shoulder. "Well, this won't be over any time soon… Hey Mai, shouldn't you call home or something?"
I jotted down a temperature before responding. "Nah, it's okay," I said, not sure how much I wanted to divulge.
"Just let them know where you are," Monk tried to persuade me.
"Well since I don't have any parents there's not gonna be anyone there," I answered bluntly.
And thus, I suddenly had the attention of just about everyone in the room (Naru is, as usual, the exception… damn guy probably already knew).
"What are you talking about?" Monk asked. "You're… an orphan?"
"Yeah," I said nonchalantly. "My dad passed away when I was little, so I don't remember him much, and my mom died when I was in middle school." Well, that was the simple version of the situation…
"Don't you have any aunts or uncles?" Ayako asked worriedly.
"Uh-uh, no one," I answered. "Neither one of my parents had brothers or sisters."
"Then who's been taking care of you all this time?" John asked, his voice laced with concern.
"Oh, well I had a teacher that was really nice and she let me come and stay over at her house for a while," I said, transferring the last few readings onto the spreadsheet. "But now it's just me. I'm all grown up! My school is really great to people who are having hard times, so my tuition is free. Between that and my job," my wonderful, well-paying job, thank you Naru, "everything I need is pretty much covered. And, since I'm supporting myself, the school will let me take off whenever."
"I get it, if you want to skip you just say you gotta work," Ayako said.
"Yep, I can stay out as long as I want," I said before my words registered. Oh, man, that did not come out right…"Eh…" I was about to tell them that I didn't and I totally skipped a year, but Yasu beat me to a response.
"No wonder you're stupid," Yasu imitated a certain narcissist.
"Oh wow you sounded like Naru!" I ignored the insult before being muffled by a chest.
"If life ever gets you down you just come cry on Monk's shoulder," Monk said as he held me in place.
"You quit it!" I said, muffled by Monk's hug. I pushed Monk out of the hug. "No way! Let go you dirty old man!"
"Well you don't have to be rude," Monk said as he lightly hit my forehead, obviously getting that I was half-way joking. He put me in a headlock, apparently to make me more docile and hey when exactly did we get on the topic of marriage?!
The rest gave no help as they laughed. Traitors. But still, it was fun, and I laughed too.
These cases may be scary, but I wish times like this could last forever. When we're all joking around and laughing, it makes me so happy. It's the best feeling ever.
BLIND
Of course, we did have to actually work before going to bed. In the girl's bedroom, I was in the middle bed with Ayako to my left and Masako to my right (if I was on the bed and facing away from the headboard).
Ayako and Masako had long since fallen asleep, but as for me… I felt fitful.
That's when I heard a strange noise.
Is something dripping? Someone probably left the faucet on.
I got up and went into the bathroom that was attached to our room. Instantly heading to the most likely culprit, I went to the sink and turned the knobs. No, it's off…
There was more dripping. This time, it was louder and seemed to come from my right…
The bathtub. But… no one took a shower since we got here… Somehow, I felt a bit of apprehension…
"It smells like metal," I whispered to myself to fill the pregnant silence. That when I sensed liquid dribble out from underneath the bath curtain. The brain-racking feeling told me it was probably blood…
No, no, that can't be. I'll open this curtain and I'll find a bathtub of water that one of the servants must of drawn up for some reason…
I reached a hand to grab the curtain and yanked it out of the way.
Somewhere between the bathtub of spine-chilling blood and the fact that I could see the corpse floating in it I realized it was a dream.
I still woke up with a start and even sat up straight in bed. It took a few moments to calm down. Just a dream, just a dream…
It was just a dream… but it was so awful… I feel a little sick.
Or maybe… a bit more than a little….
BLIND
Day 2
Regardless of feeling a bit woozy, I still headed out after breakfast to start taking measurements with the rest of the group.
"This is so weird," I said as we finished measuring the same room a third (or was it the fourth?) time. "If you go by the outside measurements it's a rectangle, but when you actually look at the room It's a square."
Yasu looked over my shoulder at the map I was making. "So if we measured correctly the thickness of walls would be three meters?" he asked.
"It is weird, but maybe we just got something wrong," Monk said.
John didn't seem so convinced.
A gentle voice interrupted us. "Excuse me, Mr. Shibuya?" a woman, Ms. Igurashi, tried to get Yasu's attention.
Yasu remembered after a few seconds that he was Mr. Shibuya right now. He jumped and turned to face the older woman and said, "Uh, yes, I'm sorry, what is it?"
"I think it would be a good idea to conduct a séance here tonight, and I would like to invite everyone in the mansion to participate, if at all possible," Ms. Igurashi said, completely unfazed by Yasu's hesitance.
We all agreed to go, and we even were able to get Naru's permission to go without raising suspicion with Yasu asking 'Narumi' if he wanted to attend the séance with him (Yasu), to which 'Narumi' expressed an interest.
Most of the day consisted of us measuring and then pulling hairs at how it was not adding up. Finally, it was past sunset and we set out to where Ms. Igurashi was holding the séance.
"Hello, please come in," she greeted us as we entered the room.
"It's Doctor Davis," I whispered to Monk as we came in. I elbowed him playfully. "Try not to freak out on him."
"Hey, keep it down, will ya?" Monk protested.
Yasu in meantime was trying to make amends with Mr. Minami. "Sorry about yesterday," Yasu said. Mr. Minami decided now would be a good time to get up and talk to our temporary hostess.
"Ms. Igurashi," Mr. Minami got her attention away from the younger woman (Suzuki, if I remember correctly). "Can we add a little light in here? It's difficult to shoot with the room this dark."
"Oh," Ms. Igurashi looked at the camera Mr. Minami pulled out. "Is that a regular video camera you have there?"
"Yes, I use it often," Mr. Minami answered.
Ms. Igurashi seemed a tad downtrodden. "I see," she said. "When you said you were going to record this experience, I assumed you had brought a night-vision camera."
"I beg your pardon?" Mr. Minami was genuinely shocked and confused.
"I'm sorry Mr. Minami, there will only be a single candle during the séance," Ms. Igurashi said. "Spirits do tend to dislike the light."
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine," Mr. Minami said with an arrogant tone.
Wow. How could he not know something as basic as that? I noted that Naru was glaring at Mr. Minami out of the corner of his eye. Or maybe just looking at him suspiciously. Naru's face is a little hard to decipher at times.
"I'm concerned, though," Ms. Igurashi confessed. "Without a specialized camera…"
"Wait a sec," I said and turned to Lin. "We have a night vision camera, right Lin?"
Interpreted—we have a night vision camera and we should totally show this guy as a fraud and dammit Lin stop ignoring me more that usual.
I probably should have expected the cold shoulder. Usually he at least nods.
"Well then sir," Naru said to Yasu, breaking the awkward silence. "Should I go and get our camera?"
"Yes, please do, Narumi," Yasu answered. Oh, I will so not ever get used to that.
"Oh, if you could please, that would be wonderful," Ms. Igurashi said.
Lin and Naru left for a few minutes to retrieve the camera. When they returned, Ms. Igurashi and Suzuki had set up just about everything else. The séance was soon on its way with Yasu being to only SPR member at the séance table. I felt a little sorry for him. Since it was a séance, they all held hands, and Yasu had the unfortunate luck of having to hold Mr. Minami's hand. Then again, he was actually somewhat mature about those sorts of things, unlike me.
"Let us take a deep breath and call out to the spirits… Those living here in this house…" Ms. Igurashi instructed them. They all took a deep breath as instructed. "To you who dwell around us, I welcome you to use this woman's hand to speak your will to us…" That's when I noticed that Suzuki was not holding 'Doctor Davis's' open hand and was instead holding a marker on top of a good sized stack of paper. "Please speak to us and help us to understand your wishes. If you can hear my voice, please, use this woman to speak your will to us."
Nothing was happening. The candle flame flickered for a moment, and Masako gave a slight gasp. "Masako?"
The sound of a marker caught my attention. Suzuki's hand was flying across the paper in fast motions and flicking the paper of the table one right after the other. I got the distinct feeling that this, whatever this was, was not exactly 'normal'.
That's when the banging started. It was so intense that the chandelier started swaying and all furniture started shaking. What's happening up there?!
I thought one of the nearby vases was going to completely fall off the dresser and the candle for the séance fell over and extinguished. Mr. Minami stood up in a panic. "Mr. Minami, please sit down!" Ms. Igurashi instructed him harshly. "You must remain still!"
Suzuki continued writing in a frantic pace and the bangs continued throughout the room.
Something touched the small of my back. I thought it might have been one of the SPR members until I realized I couldn't sense any of them that close to me and my back was against the wall. I jumped a bit away from the wall and yelled, "Who are you?!" I took another step away from the wall. I know there's someone here… I felt something tug harshly on my wrist. "Hey!" I yelled again.
Monk started chanting and whatever was tugging at my wrist disappeared. One final loud bang came from above before everything became still. After a moment, Naru flicked a switch.
Oh right, the lights. It must have been dark…
"Are you alright?" Ms. Igurashi asked Suzuki.
"Yes ma'am," she answered, sounding weak.
The supposed Doctor Davis was away from the table, near the mantle, and Mr. Minami was cowering underneath the table and whimpering. The floor was covered in papers.
"It would appear you summoned a spirit," Naru said as he held up one of the papers.
"It says 'Help'," I said, more for Naru's benefit than mine (since Naru isn't very good with Japanese writing). Isn't 'Help' a strange thing for a spirit to say?
"This one's the same," Ayako said, picking up a paper.
John held up another one and said, "This one too."
Monk picked up a paper. "Hey, this one's different," he said before turning it for the rest of us to read.
Everyone gasped. "'I don't want to die'?" I read the paper in Monk's hand. "Who wrote it?" I asked, noting that whatever this message was written in, it wasn't marker.
I briefly remembered the nightmare that had plagued me from even before this case started.
Dripping. Blood. A monster…
"I don't want to die…"
BLIND
Omake – damn it has been a while since I made one of these.
"I don't want to die."
Well, damn. Oh well. Get over it. Whiney brat.
BLIND
Just so you know, this was a bitch to write. All three different mediums have vastly different openings. I already suck at those. This did not help. The novel starts the day that they sit down and get the case from Naru. The manga starts similar to the anime, but then veers off to start as they enter the mansion. The anime starts similar to the manga, but then starts with the greetings and then goes back to the beginning day and… See where this is going? So I just went with the anime version.
Also, I feel like I make Mai a bit too much like me at least some of the time. Then again, she actually went into the creepy house where as I'd probably say that there wasn't enough money in the world and start walking home.
***REGARDING THE NAMES, I looked up the ones I could find. Ms. Igurashi is, for some reason, Ms. Igurash in the anime (or at least the dub), but in the other mediums, it is Igurashi. So I kept it. I also have no idea if she's married or not, so it's Ms. not Miss or Mrs. (English is fun. Not. Ms. is for when you don't know or if you don't want someone to know. Miss is an unwed lady and/or a young girl. Mrs. is for a married woman. All of them are short for Mistress… I think.)***
Star… thingies.
*1 Okay, so I made her skip a year. There is a reason for this. The transition will not be mentioned all that much, if at all. Mai will keep contact with Keiko and Michiru, but probably will not suddenly be making senior friends. I imagine Mai as being busy and kinda the weird kid. Kinda. Really, she's pretty normal, all things considered. Especially if you had any idea what the hell kinda backstory she's gonna get later…. I've said too much.
*2 The manga says that is was five days prior when Mai first met Madoka and four days prior to the meeting. The novel agrees. The anime is lazy and so am I so we're going with that.
*3 … Can you tell that I really don't like Mr. Minami? Because if you can't, let me clear it up. I really don't like Mr. Minami. Asshole.
*4 Okay, so I got the dates and such, so the dialogue is a bit different here. I made this note to make sure you guys remember that technically this story takes place in around 1987. So. Yeah. I kinda try to avoid the dates when possible.
*5 I summarized the novel and manga into that the best I could… Man, why is the anime so different from the novel and the manga this case?! It's making this so much harder!
I want you guys to watch this video on youtube. It's the music video for a song called Little Game by Benny. Seriously. Go watch it.
Hey, I have a question. Does it bother any of you guys that I don't have a 'cover' for this story? Because it has been on my mind recently, and I just don't really know if I want to add one or not. There is a heck of a lot going on behind the scenes of this story, so I want to subtly hint at it, but at the same time, you people are really damn smart and might figure it out. Well, you won't figure out much, if anything, really, but… still. Besides, there really aren't any pictures of Mai being blind or whatnot, since this story has no fanart (that I am aware of). Not that I mind that or anything (I'm still surprised after two years that people actually freaking read this story—I'd probably die if someone made art for it), but finding pictures for a cover is going to pain if I decide to do it, and I doubt I could do it correctly. So I'll ask you guys officially: Do you guys want a cover for this story? And if so, do you have anything in mind? I'd love to know! If need be, I can try my best at it. There's no guarantee that I'll add one, but I thought that you guys might like it. Or something.
And just a reminder, unless you PM me or specifically ask it, I probably will not answer the reviews. Go to the top author's note for more details on that. I promise, it's not because I'm trying to be an asshole or an ungrateful brat.
UNTIL NEXT TIME, FRIENDS!