Smart Cookie
"Could you two build a shelf, please? I'm going to bring in some more equipment." Naru pronounced, managing to make it appear more like an order than a request. Kurobara rolled her eyes at his demanding tone, huffing.
"You mean you're going to leave us in here all by ourselves!?" Mai roared incredulously, Kuro glanced at her brunette friend, sighing softly, knowing that her friend was scared of being here alone. She did not need to be scared; if ghosts were here, she would have known as soon as she stepped foot in the building.
She gave her friend a light smile, attempting to calm their nerves. " Mai-chan we will be okay, you do not need to be worried, let's not forget that I am here," She told her "While I am here Mai no ghosty here is going to hurt you, I will make sure of that" at the end, Kuro's tone changed into a sinister chilly voice which seemed to make the room colder.
Mai peered her eyes on her best friend, hesitating "I guess but still…"
The raven-haired woman sighed, shaking her head at her friend's hesitance, Mai was still alarmed, and she noticed it. Opening her mouth to comfort her, but Naru interrupted her, "Would you rather carry the equipment?" He suggested to both of them, halting in the doorway."Some of it can weigh up to 40kg..."
Kurobara snickered at Mai's pale face; she knew her friend wasn't going to be able to carry that, she would most definitely struggle. Gently she bent down to Mai's ear eyes still on Kazuya's form. "As much as I hate to say, He has a point. They weigh about 88lbs. I doubt you would be able to carry it," she asserted.
Mai looked at her in the corner of her brown orbs, sweat dropping at her friend's precise calculations. It never ceases to amaze Mai; she was so intelligent that it was hard to keep up at times.
Moving away from Mai, showing a sly smile. "Shibuya-san, I think we should stay here, and build the shelves, I hope you don't mind," She remarked, tilting her. She did not want her friend to get hurt by carrying heavy and valuable equipment, and breaking more equipment would place her friend in more debt.
Kazuya paused, giving her a sensual smirk, trailing his eyes on her, causing her cheeks to warm up. A pink tint on her face, not expecting Naru's display. She gave a shake of her head, trying to get rid of the sudden weird feeling she had arrived. Mai, who was surprised by what she has seen, opened her mouth.
"Kuro-san, are you…" She started but stopped as soon as she saw Kuro's blank expression; it was a look that told her not to say anything. While this silent conversation was happening, Kazuya walked out, leaving them.
Mai soon noticed, making her frightened and quite scared; of course, Kurobara noticed right away, giving her a comforting smile. "As I said earlier, you do not need to worry, I am right alongside you" Her tone tender, trying to calm her friend down, It seemed to do wonders, for awhile. Expression was still alarmed, however.
There were noises that sound like walking, only for it to cause Mai to shake, Kurobara rolled her eyes, patting her head " Mai-chan… just breathe. Focus on building the shelves; it's better if you distract yourself, trust me…Your mind can pull unsavoury tricks on you when you least expect them. "
Mai gave her a wry smile, knowing she was trying to help her feel more comfortable, watching as she started to build the shelves. Skillfully Kuro's hands moved, busy focusing her Heterochromia eyes on what she was currently doing. Feeling her friend shift by her, letting out a soft sigh. "What seems to be the problem" Kuro tore her eyes on Mai's.
Teasingly smiling, moving her eyes back to the shelves. "Kuro-san… Do you… Do you believe in Ghosts?" Mai finally asks the question that has been bothering her for some time.
Suddenly, Kurobara stopped what she was doing, turning around swiftly as silence hangs in the air, finally after a long minute she opened her mouth "Maybe I do Maybe I don't… Why are you asking me this?" She inquired, spinning on the balls of her feet, continuing doing the shelves.
Mai sweat drops at her very vague answer; It didn't tell her anything; she was still curious at what her answer would be. "What do you mean by 'maybe I do, or maybe I don't' It doesn't answer anything" They pouted, causing them to sign out a deep breath, shaking her head.
"You really want to know, don't you?" Kuro amusedly asked her, head-turning to the direction of her friend. Much to Kurobara's amusement Mai nodded her head hastily, almost causing whiplash. What Mai and Kuro didn't know was Kazuya was standing there — observing and listening to there conversation.
"Well… To be completely honest Mai, I do believe in the existence of Spirits, but it is undoubtedly more complicated than that, for me anyway." Kuro started, taking a breath "As much as I believe in them, I kind of wished they didn't exist, it would have made people's lives much simpler and less painful. Mediums, Psychic and Espers have a hard life, because of the harassment and pressure they experience."
Mai's eyes gape wide open, mouth feeling dry at Kuro's tone. It made the room feel much colder, as her voice came out icely; it had a thick layer of pain as though she had experienced the exact same thing as others. She then realizes that her friend dropped her honorific in her name; they rarely ever do that.
"Mediums, people with abilities and In general people who can connect with ghost suffer so much for their uniqueness. Only because of the existence of spiritual phenomenon, It's so annoying and pathetic. Calling them freaks and fakes for something they can't control?" She swayed her head in disappointment at the human race. Disbelief on her expression
Kurobara scoffed "In rare cases, families who work as investigators or researchers become so obsessed that they force their children to be in the middle of everything, Placing limelight on them even though they do not wish for it, making them suffer, abusing them and their unique abilities " She finished, softly sighing. Having explained far too much.
Mai was shuck at her detailed explanation, not fully understanding what was said. She noticed that they were now silent and was focusing on completing the shelf. Her hands were trembling but swift. The only thought that came through Mai's head was, 'why did she say it as though she went through it?'
Mai opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but it was shot down, finally realizing that he was in the room with them. His presence intimidated her. Kazuya had a faraway look to them; his eyes were narrowed onto Kuro's form.
Kurobara feeling a burning feeling on her back turned swiftly. Bestowing an indifferent expression, mouth paused into a tight smile, "Ah, Shibuya-san. I was wondering when you were coming back." her voice coming out forced. "Welcome back. We both finished working on the shelf. Like you demanded, Ah I mean, like you asked for us to do."
Mai snorted at hearing the word 'Demanded,' but that quickly went away when she heard the words 'Finished' and 'both' a frown formed — feeling incredibly guilty as Kurobara had done all the work while she stood there like an idiot and asked questions.
Kurobara gave a look around the room, noticing all the impressive equipment. She saw what she thought was a tape recorder. "A tape recorder? I am guessing that you are not using a digital tape recorder? To show authentic evidence and not to have any doubts regarding the recordings. They do not last long, however... Interesting."
Kazuya glances at her, impressed by her deduction and how much she knew about technology "The tape recorders are special as they could record for 24 hours a time" They nodded at that, with a slight look of surprise "I have to admit that you impressed me."
Mai looked a little confused, watching the two of them interact. She had no idea what they were talking about. "What do you mean? What's it for?" Mai asked curiously, deciding to join the discussion.
By the looks of Kazuya's face, he was annoyed. Annoyed at her question. "I hate having to explain everything to amateurs." His voice was leaking irritation, making Kuro snigger softly. Finding his annoyance far too entertaining for her own good.
Mai groaned out very loudly "urgh!" completely pissed off at Naru's attitude towards her. She opened her mouth but Kurobara patted her arm. Interrupting her. "Shibuya-san, be nice. Not a lot of people understand what this stuff is? "
They turned around to Mai, giving her a soft smile. "Mai-chan it's to record anything unusual that might be considered spiritually involved. The specialised mic picks up sounds as the recorder documents these sounds" She explained, huffing.
Mai nods happily, giving her a grin. "Thank you, Kuro-san!" she exclaimed, making them chuckle at how adorable their friend was. Kurobara opened her mouth, but Naru decided to cut their small exchange "I recorded all day, from the windows on the first floor just as a test."
"A test?" The brunette questioned, while Kuro pats her head softly, ruffling it. "He is testing if it is safe or too dangerous to stay overnight, You see Mai have you ever watched any Ghost Hunting programs… Normally speaking, they would stay overnight when hunting for ghosts, but they are somewhat armatures."
She explained, moving her hands slightly. Mai, still looking confused, glanced in her direction. "How are they armatures?" she asked, making the ravenette sigh, getting annoyed at her friend's constant questions, but because she was Mai, she just decided to explain it.
"You see, they usually go straight to staying the night, but that is very dangerous. They are, in some way underestimating the spirits and ghosts themselves and what they can do. They can seriously hurt you in more ways than one. Hurt physically, emotionally, and even being possessed. "
Kurobara paused, thinking of the best way to explain it to her. Categorizing her thoughts, she began to speak, "Remember when we both watched The Exorcist? The Film? The one where you hid behind a pillow?"
Mai's cheeks heated up, hearing her slight teasing voice. Having no idea why this was brought up, she opened up her mouth "How does this have anything to do with this?" voice slightly raised, a little embarrassed. Kurobara gave a snicker, rolling her eyes. Finding Mai's embarrassment entertaining.
"That film is actually based on a true story, though they have some changes in the film than that actual proper story. It did happen… that's what a ghost can do, Mai. But in that case, it was a Demon, which is far more dangerous than ghosts, but spirits can do similar things."
"The True story, starts with Anneliese Michel" Kurobara started " Anneliese Michel had a seizure this one time, but it was blamed on psychos and Temporal lobe epilepsy. Shortly after this, it caused depression, or so they say at the time. She was about sixteen years old when it happened."
"By the time she was twenty, she began to hear voices and became somewhat allergic to religious objects; this was one of the signs of her being possessed. Her condition worsened even after taking medication that was prescribed to her," Kurobara took a deep breath, pausing. "She became… Suicidal as it worsened. After five whole years of taking medication, the family suspected A Ghost or a Demon…"
Kuro continued to explain. Hands were moving, as she explained. "As a result of the family's suspicions, they called a church to conduct an exorcism, which unfortunately got turned away. Her condition worsened; she was now self-injuring, more aggressive, and even to an extent, started to drink her own urine, this strange behaviour caused 67 sessions with a priest."
"It was to conduct research and to get rid of the demonic entity finally, however they couldn't save her… she stopped eating, and ultimately, she died from malnourishment. The moral of the story is do not be an idiot, do not mess with things you do not understand, be careful what you mess with, or your life could unexpectedly end."
Kurobara finally finished explaining, glimpsing down at Mai's short form, noticing a horrified and pale expression, mouth opened up like she was a fish with eyes that were expanded in disbelief and horror.
Meanwhile, Kazuya looks on with an impressed and surprised expression. Kurobara Akamia had proved how knowledgeable she was once again. She remembered so much from that famous case. She was surprising. Not many people knew the true story of the film.
Mai was coming out of her shock, glancing at the cocky raven teenager, noticing from that story that her friend had told that he was, in fact, careful — having to set all this up and set up a taste only to stay overnight? He was a very cautious person, as was Kurobara.
Mai opened her mouth, saying something that made Kazuya paused in his tracks, "You're the type of person to tap a stone bridge before crossing it." This made him confused, "What?" He demanded confusedly.
Kurobara's eyes expanded just a little. She was surprised that he hadn't understood a straightforward Japanese phrase. 'How could he not know that?' was all her mind thought of mouth paused into a frown. "It means that you are a careful person Shibuya-san" she stated in a very obvious tone.
She was almost dumbfounded at his lack of knowledge, but it did confirm what she had already suspected from the start. He was from an English speaking country that much was for sure. "Hey what is this?" her brunette friend asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. Eyes moving at what Mai was looking at. An Infrared camera.
Kazuya who was clearly annoyed, told her "I don't want to talk anymore."
Kuro shook her head at his behaviour. She understood why he was frustrated, but he shouldn't be so rude about it, "Shibuya-san… it would be best if you stopped being so antisocial, she was only asking a question. A perfectly reasonable one." Her tone coming out soft, her hand moved to her hair in an attempt to hide her annoyance.
"But since you hate explaining so much, I will explain… once again," She whispered at the last words. She is giving them a cheeky smile, spinning on the balls of her feet, now facing them both, eyes on her brunette friend. Beginning to point out the various equipment with the tips of her fingers.
"That is an Infrared camera Mai-chan and that is a super-high-speed camera. Both are to record in the dark. Than we have this little cool device, It is a thermograph. The thermograph is a camera that's sensitive to temperature and captures temperature levels."
While Kurobara explained, Mai nodded, showing she was, in fact, listening. Impressed, but she was confused about one thing. "Umm… Kuro-san, this may be a stupid question, but why do you need to record temperature levels?"
They blinked at this, mouth slightly open. She was gobsmacked that she didn't know something so basic. "You… You don't know why it is important to record the temperature levels? I'm surprised that you don't know something so… basic, but I'll explain it since someone won't.." Eyes now on Kazuya's glaring straight at him.
" A thermograph is used to measure temperature because when a ghost appears, the temperature usually drops in the surrounding area." Kuro quickly declares in a very straightforward way.
"The camera records the different temperature levels using a range of colours, from warm to cool. It gives a clearer image of the difference in temperature between individual objects in the room than you can get by just the temperature of the whole room using a thermometer." Kuro continued, Kazuya nodded with approval of her explanation. Stunning him again, with how much she knew.
He was now, however, annoyed at both of them; they were distracting him from the work he needs to get done. Kazuya decided that they needed to stop asking questions and chatting. "Now, if you understand, stop asking stupid questions and get to work." scolding at Mai.
"I want the two to go take temperature readings for all of the rooms in this building. And don't forget to record the data." He appended sternly, handing the digital thermometer to Kurobara, who he trusted more as not to break his equipment.
Mai's eye begins to twitch furiously at Naru, opening her mouth to yell at him but was stopped by her friend. "Ah, Shibuya-san… Please do be more respectful to my friend, if you don't I will kick you right into your groin, I am sure you wouldn't like that would you Shibuya-san…" her voice coming out venomously.
Her hands quickly grabbed Mai and promptly dragged her out of the door, giving Kazuya one last glare.
(TimeSkip)
Kurobara and Mai were walking around, silent. Kuro was grumbling about Kazuya's rude behaviour to her friend. She glanced at Mai's expression, noticing her chagrined expression. Knowing what it was, she sighed, "Alright… What do you want to ask, Mai-chan." She queried softly.
Mai screeched. "Ehhhhh," Kuro ears twitched at her loud screech. Wincing. "How did you know that I wanted to ask something?" She spoke with surprise. Kuro snickered at her over-reactive behaviour.
"It's undeniable, your facial expressions show it. You're an open book," she explained, causing them to fluster. They didn't like the fact that people could read her easily. Kuro could always read her, but she could never understand her. It was frustrating.
They continued to walk, her eyes peering on Mai's face for a moment. Waiting for her question, but it was quiet. "Well?" She asked, curious as to what her question could be? This made her brunette friend sigh; they seemed nervous.
"I," Mai hesitated to speak, her fingers twitched beside her. "Well… I know how much you don't like being questioned about yourself. Especially if it's personal. I know you are a private person, but… I just" Mai's head tilted downward, looking at the floor in shame and nervousness.
Kurobara sighed softly, eyes glancing around the old building before landing back on her friend's form. Biting her lip delicately as she opened her mouth, "Mai-chan… I do not mind if it is you who is asking, no need to get nervous. I will answer as best as I can, but do keep in mind that if it's really personal, I won't."
Mai's tense body language changes to a relaxed one, a small smile on her lips. They were such good friends. "Now that we have established this, why don't you ask me your question?" They added, giving her a gentle smile.
"I just wanted to know how you knew all about that ghost stuff? You were really amazing; it sounded like you were a professional… gghost hunnter. You knew everything, so I was just wondering where you learned that stuff?" Mai questioned with stars in her eyes, feet hopping in excitement.
Kurobara flinched at her badly pronounced English words; she really needed to work on her English speaking skills. Letting out a throaty sign out of her mouth. Kuro had a faint idea that she would ask this question; not many people knew about the stuff she knew. Maybe she should of just let Kazuya explain. Would have made her life more comfortable if she never said anything.
"Firstly, Mai-chan, you need to work on your English pronunciations. It's Ghost Hunter." She taunted her; their mouth was angled into a sharp cocky smirk. It made Mai growl at her, which was entertaining to watch.
"And for your question, I 'wanted' to study Parapsychology when I was younger, that's how I know a lot about spirits and the equipment that is used to help find them." Kurobara revealed, hands moving as she did. Her voice had a sharp edge to it.
"What is parasitapsychophy?" Mai asked, butchering the pronunciation of it. Head tilted in confusion. She watched her raven-haired friend sigh in annoyance, ears twitching at her English skills or lack of.
"You're English sucks." Kuro blankly commented. "It's Parapsychology the study of the paranormal. Para, meaning 'Alongside' and Psychology implies the study of the 'Psyche' or 'Soul' It's originally Greek." She explained.
Mai gapes at her detailed explanation "Ehh?! You're so smart Kuro-san!" She exclaimed making her chuckle cockily "Of course I am… But anyway as I was saying before I wanted to study the paranormal but… I grew out of it."
Kurobara's voice came out darkly; it was sharp as a knife. There was an underlying to her words. Mai wanted to ask her about her strange behaviour. Sweat dropping lightly. Before she could ask; however, Kurobara interrupted her.
"We should hurry it up before the egomaniac has a tantrum" Kuro remarked, while Mai looked on with concern on her expression.
Author Note
chapter 7 is now done and moderately edited I hope you enjoy reading this, I enjoy writing despite my lack of talent XD but anyways thank you for reading again xxx
Chapter 8 will be up later i don't know when but it will be up so yay!
Chapter Remade on: 21st January 2020
Words: 3594 words
Updated Author Note
Little Sunflower is here with a new updated chapter, this chapter is officially remade. It took several days to do this one. The reason is because I was procrastinating and dealing with Mental health issues so yay!
I was watching a lot of Doctor Who and Steven Universe. I Practically don't have a life. Anywho, I hope this chapter is a lot better than it was previously. This chapter used to be 2231 Words long.
Thank you-Little Sunflower.
