EDITED
Mai opened her eyes and sat up. All around her it was dark. She soon realised she was viewing a dream and looked around.
She was no longer in Noriko's house but Hiro's one. It was the memory of Tomiko's abduction. She concentrated in order to see more, remember more, than she had the first time.
The room she was in had a Japanese style sliding door that was currently open. Beyond the porch was a backyard with the pond.
Tomiko was playing with a red ball in the backyard. Mai could tell she was almost Ayami's age. She was wearing a blue kimono with small white flowers over it. Her obi and under kimono was white as well.
"Tomiko! Tomiko!"
A woman's cry rang from inside the house. Hiro was calling for her daughter.
A man entered the view.
The man and Tomiko exchanged a few words, and then the man took the Tomiko's hand and walked off with her.
The shrill cry of Hiro from the house continued.
The man walked away as he held onto Tomiko's hand. They went toward the pond.
Tomiko vanished into the distance.
"Tomiko!" Hiro screamed.
Mai walked outside and onto the porch but white fog engulfed the pond, and nothing more could be seen.
Mai waited patiently. Lowering her head she noticed there was a well. Deep inside the well, water was flowing.
A woman brushing her long black hair was reflected by the water. Hiro.
Hiro's teardrops fell into the well and rippled the water's surface.
Mai focused on watching the mother. The woman's sadness washed over Mai and she unconsciously began to cry, herself.
A hand gently touched her shoulder. Looking up briefly Mai found Gene staring back at her. His eyes looked pained, the sadness evident in his face. Mai offered him a sad smile and looked back to the grieving mother.
Sobbing and whimpering, she leaned against the well.
Crying, crying... She cried out Tomiko's name before jumping into the well.
The sound of water dripping.
Gene squeezed Mai's shoulder gently and then Mai woke up properly. Sitting up she started to talk softly, sympathetically.
"I'm sorry that you went through that, Hiro-san. I'm sorry that nasty man took Tomiko-chan away from you, but there is no need to look for her. She's waiting for you in the afterlife. Tomiko-chan is waiting for her mother to join her. Tomiko-chan is waiting for you to join her, Hiro-san."
Mai pleaded to the mother spirit that she could feel watching her. Although she wasn't able to see her, there and then.
A sound of confusion from Hiro came back to Mai; before a sound came from above disturbed them and Hiro pulled back from Mai's senses.
"Mai! Are you okay?!"
Ayako leaned against the well, obviously worried.
"I'm fine! But I can't climb back up!"
"Lin is finding something to help you out! Are you really okay?"
"Yeah."
Mai heard some footsteps and Lin quickly appeared. His hands held onto the well as he agilely made his way down.
"Are you hurt?"
"Just some scrapes and bruises."
Offering Mai a small smile, he nodded and looked back up at Ayako.
"Throw the chair down here."
Ayako tossed the chair into the well.
Standing on the chair, Lin reached his hand out toward Mai and lifted her back out of the well. Lin climbing back out after her.
"What time...is it now?" Mai asked Ayako.
"It's 10:00. We've just started work."
'The dream only lasted a few minutes.' Mai thought as they headed into base.
"I had a dream. A memory of the past of Tomiko's kidnapping and her mother's suicide by drowning herself in this well."
"Kidnapping?"
Ayako asked as she cleaned the scrapes on Mai's knees from being dragged across the floor. There was dark purple bruising on each ankle in the shape of a pair of children's hands. A neck bruise had already started to show earlier after Oliver had left from when she called Takigawa out of the room. It was more fully pronounced now. The hand prints were a distinct adult size and an even darker purple than the ankles. Ayako frowned looking at them.
Mai, looking at her ankles, groaned. Apparently some of her abilities from her past life, when her powers had grown, had begun to bleed into her new one. They shouldn't even exist at this stage. Looking at her hands she could see brushes of light lavender shade where her hands had been tugged on.
They weren't really bruising per say. It's just what she called them to avoid questions since it was always a purple coloured tone. The shade level of the purple indicated the level of aggression from the spirits that touched her. No aggression, meant no colour.
"Yeah, that's what I dreamt. Tomiko was kidnapped, and then her mother, Hiro-san, jumped into the well to commit suicide."
"Did you hit your head?" Ayako giggled. "You're not even a medium so does your dream even count?"
"You're right. I'm not a medium. I'm a post-cognitive and an astral projector. I view the spirit's memories through my dreams on the astral plane. I have a spirit guide who helps to guide me to view the memories I need to see. He is almost always there when I view them.
And while I can't see the spirits unless they allow me to, I can usually feel them when they are close to me. They tend to leave a physical response on my body whenever they touch me in any aggressive manner." Mai waved to her neck and ankles as an example before also showing her hands.
Ayako bit her lip. She hadn't realised that the girl had psychic abilities. Though now that she thought about it, the girl had known who she and Takigawa was the day they met before they had introduced themselves. She had known other things too.
Lin contemplated, "...This was the dream you based that ghost story on. The one you told Naru and I in the office, right?"
"Yes, it was. I remembered it from my past life. I didn't see anything new this time though, other than more details of the room around me, since I wasn't panicking this time around."
Lin was still deep in thought.
"Hey, what do you think? I doubt we can purify this place," Ayako admitted.
"We can. We just have to give Hiro-san what she wants, and as soon as Naru comes back with the necessary information, it will be Lin's turn." Mai offered a smile in his direction.
Lin nodded back, remembering that she had told him he may need to make a hitogata before they started the case. He had one partially prepared already. It just needed the pertinent information to be put on it.
"...Aren't there other ways? First of all, we don't even know when Naru will be back," Ayako replied.
"Naru has a clear idea of our situation. He wouldn't loaf around and waste time, so he'll definitely be back soon."
"...You sure have faith in your boss."
Lin shot a cold glare at Ayako. "Naru has never let anyone down before. That's why I believe him."
Turning towards Mai, his tone warmed again, "Rest for a while. Your head might hurt after your fall."
"Okay."
Mai willingly lay down on the couch. She was starting to feel an ache all over her body from being pulled down the well. Mai fell asleep.
...
Mai was floating, drifting. She opened her eyes.
In the dark room, she could hear the whirring sounds of the equipment. She was still in the base.
The person sitting in front of the equipment was Gene.
She looked at Gene. He was smiling.
"Gene?" She asked while lying down.
Gene cocked his head, as if wondering why she asked this way.
"Is there any more memories that might help us cleanse Hiro-san?"
"No, there's nothing else. Everything will be fine. Just wait for Noll to get back." Gene reassured Mai with a smile.
Mai frowned briefly. She remembered how insistent Masako was about dating Oliver, and even though she had faith in him, there was a small touch of doubt.
"Did Naru really go on a date with Masako behind my back? Nevermind, don't answer that. I'm better off asking Naru directly. It's not fair of me to go behind his back to his brother for answers."
Gene smiled again wandering over to pat Mai's hair, reassuringly. "Your faith in him is justified. He wouldn't betray you like that. He cares for you too much."
Gene bent down to place a kiss on her forehead. "Time to wake up for real little sister. Tell my brother on Lin hello for me."
Mai closed her eyes with a smile and opened them again to the sound of the door being opened.
This time she was really awake.
Slowly she sat up from the sofa.
Lin was in front of the monitors, Ayako watching from a corner of the base, a magazine on her lap, and Oliver was back. Mai was slightly distracted by the sight of 5 glowing blobs floating around Lin. 'Well that's new... Since when could I see Lin's shiki?'
Oliver looked at Mai, observing the plasters on her knees and the bruising around her ankles and neck. He pulled her up to hug and kiss her in greeting. Mai returned them, her original anger with him, currently forgotten.
"You-know-who says hello to you and Lin." Mai told him softly. Oliver smiled at her in response.
Then he turned to the other two in the room, with an arm around her waist.
"Would somebody like to explain why my girlfriend is in, even less than perfect health now, than she was when I left?"
Not even a slight tone of warmth.
"We tried a couple of exorcisms. It didn't work."
Oliver faced Lin now. "Lin, replay the recording."
"Okay."
Lin rewound the footage starting with Takigawa's and then Ayako's.
Takigawa and company came in to just in time to watch Ayako's footage. John and Masako, who were supposed to be guarding Ayami, was also here. Masako glared at Mai, who was still tucked into Oliver's side with his arm around her waist.
"What about Ayami-chan?" Ayako asked.
Takigawa shrugged in response. "Naru said we could come back and leave her with Noriko-san."
"Naru! Is it okay if we just leave those two there?"
"It shouldn't be a problem," Oliver responded bluntly.
"What do you mean 'it shouldn't be a problem'...how irresponsible."
"Tonight this case will be solved." He looked back at Mai with his deep, profound eyes. There was no worry and no hesitation. Mai nodded back, confident that he was on the right track now.
"Will it succeed?!" He asked.
"Yes." Mai responded with a smile. Oliver gave her a small smile in return, before turning back to the footage. He frowned as he watched Mai get pulled down the well. His arm tightening around her waist, unconsciously.
"Where did you ran away to while we were trying to solve the case?" Takigawa asked.
"Did you think I was out doing nothing the past few days?" Oliver retorted disdainfully. "Even with this many people, everything is still a mess."
Unconvinced, Ayako inquired, "Are you sure this will work? You don't know everything so some things might be unclear. That woman isn't an easy one to deal with."
Oliver's eyes were overflowing with contempt. "I knew from the start that the woman was no ordinary ghost. From a poltergeist standpoint, it was obvious."
For a moment Ayako had nothing else to say so Takigawa pursued it instead, "Well, let's listen to your strategy and decide whether or not it's good."
Not looking at the T.V. anymore, Oliver crossed his arms. "The situation is obvious. That woman wants to find her child."
Ayako interrupted, "We don't know anything about that. The problem is, how do we get her to give up?"
"As long as we give her the child, things will be okay."
"What?!"
"If that child is here, that woman will be satisfied and pass on."
"And where...would that child be? How old is she now? We probably won't find her."
"Are you implying that (with my intelligence) I did not think of this? Bringing Tomiko here would not only be impossible, but also meaningless. Even if she sees Tomiko now, she might not recognize her."
"...Then what do you mean..."
Oliver ignored Ayako. "Hara-san, how's the situation now?"
Masako listened carefully for a moment. "The living room...They're still in the living room. They haven't tried to go to the hotel yet..."
Ayako butted back into the conversation, "Hey, why don't we consider our safety first?!"
Oliver shot her a cold glare. "Well, that's not something a professional would say."
"Even professionals have limits! This place is dangerous! I've seen many haunted house, and this is the first time I've seen one this bad."
Takigawa calmly nodded his head. "If we don't handle this situation carefully, we may become jibakurei ourselves—"
"Why don't you just wait..."
Ayako interrupted Mai. "Quitting while you're ahead is also a strategy!"
Mai was about to argue, but then Oliver calmly called her out. "Mai, anyone who wants to go home can leave. I do not want to work with mediums of that caliber."
Ayako was fuming.
Takigawa pressed Oliver, "So will your plan be successful?"
"Whether or not you trust me is your choice," Oliver replied in a cold tone.
Takigawa and Ayako exchanged glances.
"Okay..." Takigawa stood up. "Then I'll just trust you. I'll suffer through this again and try to exorcise the ghost."
"Oh, forget it. I'll join too..." Ayako murmered hesitantly as she stood up.
"Try our best. At least until we fall," Takigawa offered.
"I'll bury your corpse."
"If it's a Shinto style burial, you'll never live down the shame. So what will we be doing?" asked Takigawa.
Oliver instructed them, "As of now, we have enough manpower. The underlying problem is the woman. If we don't bring her out, everything we do will be meaningless."
"How do we bring her out?" Ayako retorted.
"Disperse the children," he said in his sharp voice, "Matsuzaki-san, can you make some charms?"
"Of course I can. Even though the ones I stuck in the hotel were useless earlier."
"First, make a significant amount of charms."
"I'm telling you this will fail," complained Ayako.
"It's okay. John will assist us."
"Okay, but..." John murmered.
Oliver patted John's back, cutting him off. "Perform another exorcism."
"What?!"
"The idea isn't to prevent the ghosts from getting near Ayami-chan. It's to not let the ghosts leave the house in the first place."
Takigawa blinked his eyes in surprise. "I don't know if that will work."
"It doesn't necessarily need to strong. Just good enough to keep the spirits from leaving and to leave the Demon's Gate open."
"So you want us to disperse the spirits that leave through the Demon's Gate?"
"That's right. All you have to do is disperse them."
Ayako commented, "We can't solve the problem this way. Even if we do disperse the spirits, they will end up accumulating anyway."
"Don't worry. As long as we temporarily reduce the amount of spirits near that woman, it'll be okay. John, go to the living room and disperse the spirits there."
"Got it."
Oliver nodded and stood up.
Takigawa called him, "Hey, I understand that we handle the childrens' spirits, but who will be doing the most important exorcism of that woman?"
"Can it be...Naru, are you doing it?"
Oliver smirked confidently and softly clapped his hands together. "We're starting."
It was 4:00 AM.
Charms were pasted all over the walls. To prevent the ghosts from leaving through the living room, John stayed in the living room and sprinkled holy water. He recited the prayer used earlier on Ayami. At that time, the spirits couldn't immediately find Ayami; instead, they just wandered around. Even though in the end, his spell was still broken.
Outside, Takigawa and Ayako had stuck their charms onto the house. There were also charms in the hotel Ayami was staying in.
Only one place wasn't sealed by charms. The Demon's Gate and that's where Takigawa and Ayako were positioned.
John and Oliver were in the living room while Lin looked over the equipment.
Oliver had told Mai and Masako to stay in base, but Masako insisted on being in the living room.
"Mai, the living room will be sort of dangerous. Stay with Hara-san. Things will be troublesome if she gets possessed."
Ignoring Oliver's words, she followed Masako to the living room.
It was dawn, and the sun was almost up. Even if the sky didn't seem much lighter.
"John," Oliver called out, urging him to start.
John nodded and started his prayer.
Not long afterwards, the room became foggy and the sounds began.
It was starting...
Mai could feel the child spirits around her even though she couldn't see them. She could hear warping sounds coming from the ground. Knocking sounds on the wall and thumping sounds in the furniture started too. Masako's face was pale white.
"Are you okay? Do you want to go back to base?" Mai whispered.
Masako shook her head. "No, I'm fine... I'll stay here."
Mai nodded.
"There are two ways to exorcise spirits..." Masako explained, her eyes searching the room. "Cleansing them and removing them. Cleansing them involves talking with the spirit and finding out why they can't cross the bridge. But this is something that only a medium can do."
"Naru's not a medium, but he wants to exorcise the ghost," she continued to explain.
"I know, Masako. I'm not a newb even if it appears that way. Trust in Naru. He knows what's he's doing."
"I hope he doesn't kill them, at least not in front of me."
"Not that your opinion really matter to Naru, but he isn't going to kill them."
Masako ignored her.
While Masako and Mai were softly talking to each other, the rapping sounds grew louder.
Footsteps sounded from the floor. The sound of children trying to run away.
A cold layer of air enshrouded the floor, as white, wispy smoke hovered about the floor, encircling the entire room. In the middle a vague, lone figure started to materialize.
Sorrowful cries filled Mai's ears. The desperate cries became louder.
John's prayer was making them flee.
Someone tapped Mai's shoulder hard, but no one stood there when she turned around. Her hair was pulled, painfully.
Mai wasn't the only one either. John constantly turned around, sprinkling holy water every time in order to push the spirit away.
The barrier was working.
The floor distorted, and they couldn't help but sway along with it. A flash of light shone on the wall.
The room swang intensely.
The sudden shaking of the floor made Masako lose her balance as she was lounged into the air, pulling Mai with her, since Masako had been clinging to Mai's arm in fear and refused to let go. John and the others were struggling too.
Mai could feel someone clutching onto her wrist as she stood back up. She tried to pull her hand back, but the unseen force tugged her back onto the ground. She would have a new set of bruises there after this.
"Mai-san!" John cried out as he turned around and sprinkled holy water in her direction.
The force on Mai's wrist vanished. The smoke engulfed the entire room.
John didn't stop his prayer. The objects that the smoke was moving were dropped temporarily.
"Hara-san! What's the situation?!" Oliver turned to look at Masako, who was still clinging to Mai.
"They're running away. The amount of spirits has decreased dramatically... They're leaving the the living room."
The remaining spirits cried as they left. Mai was probably the only one who heard them.
The ghosts moved slugglishly. They were all trapped in this house, with no where to go. They couldn't go back to their house. They were sad, lonely spirits who called out to more children. And now John's prayer was hurting them.
It was the same for the mother, Hiro. Trapped in her own sadness, she couldn't stop looking for Tomiko, and now she had created a snaring trap of sorrow.
The mist in the living room started to dissipate. This was proof that the number of spirits are decreasing. The spirits were pushed away with the help of John, Takagawa, and Ayako.
Masako abruptly took a deep breath, her blanched face reflecting her fear. She stared at the well.
"...She's coming..."
And then there was silence.
A thin wispy mist drifted our direction.
They held their breath.
And then an empty sound filled the air.
Water drops in the well could be heard. And then, a voice bellowed.
A bluish light floated above the well.
A transient figure arose.
They all stared. It was an indistinct figure of a woman. Hiro's hair was wrapped up in a bun, and her lanky figure was covered in a kimono. She looked like she might disappear any minute.
"Tomiko-san isn't here!" Masako exclaimed. "She's not here anymore!"
Hiro lowered her head, but didn't respond.
"Please understand! Tomiko-san isn't here!" Masako cried out desperately.
"These children aren't Tomiko-san! Please release them! They all want to return to their mothers!"
Masako stopped.
The transient figure was halfway up from the well; the edge of the well reached her waist. Small white things appeared on the brim of the well. It was as if they were larva. White, small, childrens'...fingers.
The little fingers reached for the floor.
They want to come up.
On the other side was another pair of fingers. And another, and another... The edge of the well was covered with little, white fingers as the children tried their best to get out.
"No! Don't come here!" Masako shouted.
John stood in front of them as he prepared to sprinkle the holy water again. Suddenly a force knocked him off his feet.
"John!" Mai cried out.
And then, Hiro, whose head was lowered started to raise her head.
Eyes filled with hatred, Hiro didn't hear Masako at all. She was still concentrated on finding Tomiko. She had no plans of leaving until then.
Her gloomy eyes swept the floor. They stopped at the black figure near the door.
A figure black as night. A pallid face.
Oliver stared back at the mother. His dark eyes were full of confidence.
Oliver raised his right hand.
"Naru, stop! Please wait!" Masako cried out.
"Do it, Naru." Mai countered.
Oliver didn't bother looking at Masako's betrayed expression, though he did nod at Mai's support. He stared at Hiro, his arm raised high, flashing the object in his hand to the ghost. The woman watched Oliver's movements intensively.
"Your daughter is here," Oliver calmly announced.
There was a wooden board cut in the shape of a human in his hand. A spell paper was pasted on it.
Hiro stared at the wooden piece.
"Take those children...with you as well."
Oliver tossed the wooden piece into the air.
Hiro cried out.
The wooden figurine spun in the darkness, slowly spinning toward Hiro. The blurred trajectory faded into the figure of her child, Tomiko.
Hiro hunched back and reached out for Tomiko. Tomiko ran into her mother's arms.
The air in the room began to revolve counterclockwise.
Hiro spun too, her hands wispy like smoke. The moment her faded hands touched Tomiko, a white light flashed.
Hiro embraced Tomiko. A white light emanated from them. From the way she held her head and shoulders...she looked satisfied.
A white light encircled the woman. She melted into the brightness.
The light engulfed the entire room.
A warm, serene light. It wasn't blinding at all. It was just very warm.
The light slowly faded away.
The misty children's figure appeared distinct for a moment in the white light. Soon after, they too disappeared into the light.
Mai saw them. In the midst of the fog, she saw the smiles of the children.
'Thank you' whispered into Mai's head. She smiled in response.
The white light dissipated, leaving the dusky room the way it was before it all happened.
Masako stood up.
"...They're gone...the spirits have been cleansed...!"
...
Soon dawn came.
They were in the living room, looking at the hole in the floor.
"Masako, what's the situation?" Ayako asked.
Masako smiled slightly. "...Everything's fine. There are no more spirits here..."
They sat on the floor. Everyone was quiet. They had no more energy left so they all just sat there, a bit dazed.
"...How did it get cleansed?" Ayako mumbled.
Oliver replied, "Because her wish was fulfilled."
"Wish?"
"Of finding her daughter."
"I was surprised to see you use a hitogata," Takigawa commented.
Oliver looked irritated.
"It's a suitable place to store a soul. It was the easiest way to give the woman what she wanted, her daughter."
"Ah~"
"That human effigy represented Tomiko. That woman thought it was her daughter, and so she believed she found her daughter. That's how she was cleansed."
"So basically, she was tricked?" Ayako asked.
"Hey! You can't say it like that," Takigawa shouted out.
"It's amazing that you can make one. Is that why you left earlier?" Takigawa asked Oliver.
"That's right. In order to find her birth and death dates," Oliver confirmed.
"The human effigy was successful, meaning you found them, right?"
"Of course. It cost me quite some time. I was able to find the information because this house is on an old street and Mai had given me clues. Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't have found it."
"...Then what's her name?"
"The woman was Oshima Hiro. After her house was torn down, this one was built in its place. Tomiko was her only child. After half a year, Tomiko's body was found in the pond."
"...Was it a kidnapping?" Ayako asked.
Lin looked at Mai.
Oliver crossed his arms. "Maybe. That woman..."
"Committed suicide by falling into the well," Ayako chuckled.
Oliver looked a bit shocked. "...There are no records on how she died although Mai has said that in the past. Hiro-san passed away half a year after her daughter was found. The only information I needed was Tomiko's birth and death date; that's what is required for a human effigy."
Oliver then left the living room, followed by Lin and his 5 blobs. Mai still felt weird seeing them.
Takigawa looked at the two retreating figures. "I never thought Naru-chan was an onmyouji."
"Impressive, an onmyouji," Ayako appraised.
"He's not." Mai replied then stood up.
"He isn't? But then who produced the effigy?"
Mai ignored the question. That wasn't her information to tell.
"The scariest thing was that woman," Takigawa sighed.
"Ohh, in that case, the strongest emotion is a mother's love," Ayako remarked.
"Really... Well, forget it. Ah—I'm exhausted. I don't want to encounter something like this again."
"True," Ayako agreed.
They left the living room.
When Mai reached the hallway, she saw Oliver on the phone.
"...You can come back anytime. Everything has been solved," he said into the phone.
After he hung up the phone, his eyes fell on Mai. Eyes deeper than the darkest night.
"Are things okay now?" Mai asked as he pulled her towards him into a hug, careful of the hand shaped bruises marking her wrist.
Oliver's eyes were warm as he replied, "Yes, everything's fine now."
"Okay."
At his side was Takigawa, who was stretching. "Naru-chan, are you getting ready to leave?"
"Yes."
"Oh, Naru?" Ayako asked. "I heard you and Masako are dating. Is it true?"
"Dating?"
"Did you go on a date with her? You know, movies and concerts. Young people sure have it good." She said in a sneering tone.
Oliver shot Ayako a cold look. "I'm with Mai. Why would I be dating Masako?"
"You player."
"Does it bother you that Mai and I go out?" Oliver asked, a smug look in his face. Mai smacked his shoulder in irritation.
"Don't speak so confidently because you're mistaken. I have no interest in children," Ayako retorted.
"Good, because I have no interest in anyone other than Mai."
Oliver smirked.
Ayako turned around with a huff and dashed to the second floor.
That left Mai and Oliver in the hallway.
"Masako tried to give a song and dance about you two going on dates to the movies etc," Mai said, no longer smiling. "She wasn't pleased when I denied it by saying we spend every day and evening together."
Oliver had a confused look on his face.
"I don't know what Masako said," Oliver said, looking directly into Mai eyes, "but it's not true. I would never betray you like that."
"I know, Naru. I trust you." Mai replied kissing him. She pushed all her feelings of love and trust into her kiss. Oliver received them and deepened the kiss, pushing his own feelings of love back to her.
...
While they were organizing the equipment, Noriko and Ayami came back from the hotel.
Oliver explained what happened to Noriko.
"Is everything really okay?" Noriko asked uneasily.
"Don't worry. If a problem still persists, you can tear down the house. In that case, you won't have to worry."
After hearing Oliver's reassurances, Noriko sighed and lifted Ayami.
Ayami looked at Mai and smiled.
The bright, clear smile of a child.
"We can finally go home now," Mai said.
Ayami dashed towards Mai, a concerned look on her face. She tugged Mai's hand. "Mai-chan, are you leaving?"
"Hm? Yes."
"Can't you stay longer?" Ayami pleaded, an unsatisfied look on her face.
"Mai-chan, when are you leaving?"
Being asked a question like that, Mai looked at Oliver.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow then," Mai answered Ayami.
"Are you staying here tonight?"
"Yes."
"Then, Mai-chan, can you sleep in my room tonight? If you want, you can keep living here."
Noriko couldn't help but smile. Mai did the same.
Ayami looked at them.
In order to make sure everything was okay, they stayed an additional night. Mai followed Ayami's wishes and slept in her room.
The knocking sounds were gone. The night couldn't have been more peaceful.