Chapter 8
After another hour of driving, the SPR team finally pulled into a winding, cobbled driveway that led further up to a large, traditional, two story Japanese manor. Other small buildings were scattered around the large building that had a beautiful pond seeming to surround one side of the building, which was hugged by balconies and terraces before branching off into a river that disappeared into the forest further along.
The inn seemed to be untouched by winter somewhat, other than a light dusting of snow here and there; the pond was largely unscathed by ice and still bubbled down to the river, and snow had been swept off the wooden porch.
For such a large inn, it was taken care of exceedingly well, no sign of deterioration or wear was showing on the buildings or the surrounding area.
Mai continued to gaze past Naru into the surrounding areas, not having seen something so nice in a long time, feeling a giddiness build inside of her, though tampering it down in light of the circumstances. Not surprisingly, Naru and Lin were largely unaffected, gazing around with polite, but analytical eyes.
'Probably plotting the best place to set the cameras,' Mai thought amused, turning back to the front.
Finally pulling into two empty parking spots, Mai and the others began climbing out, before gathering out front as Naru and Lin walked into the front reception, which Mai could see was decorated tastefully, but traditionally with wooden panels and sliding shoji screens.
Breathing in the cold air, before breathing it out into a cloud of steam, Mai felt a shiver rack her frame, causing her to tighten her arms around herself before gazing around. It seemed so peaceful, this place. It was so hard to imagine that so many girls had gone missing over the years from the area.
Another shiver racked her frame as a cold blast blew in from the mountains, making hair fly all over the place. Mai leaned slightly into Yasu's frame, who threw an arm over her shoulder, tucking her under his shoulder, Mai waiting 'til they received their orders to begin unloading the vans.
"Mai"
Turning to look over her shoulder, Mai gazed at Naru questioningly with a raised brow, who crooked a finger at her in a silent command. Confused, Mai walked into the reception behind him, gazing at the lady waiting for them cheerfully.
"Mai, this is Nakamaru-san, the owner of the ryokan. Nakamary-san, this is Mai, one of my investigators," Naru said, causing Mai to lift an eyebrow in surprise.
'An investigator? That's a fancy name for an assistant,' she thought humorously.
Smiling politely at the older woman, who appeared to be in her mid-sixties, her hair greying around her temples and in traditional kimono, her eyes shining kindly at Mai.
Smiling in kind, Mai gave a polite bow in respect, Nakamaru-san bowing in return.
"Nice to meet you, dear," she smiled, her eyes crinkling, "I'll be sure to send my nephew out to help carry your things to your room"
"Oh, no! That's fine!" Mai politely refused, waving her hands in protest.
"No, no! I insist! He's such a helpful boy," she insisted.
After being told which rooms had been allocated for their team and handing them the keys, they began unloading the vans.
Dusting her hands off after handing the last monitor down to Bou-san from the back of the van, Mai turned to climb out of the van, but was blocked by Yasu, who was leaning against the bumper while chatting to John.
Not bothering to make him move, Mai decided to skirt around him before jumping lightly out of the van to the ground. However, she seemed to have landed on the only piece of ice on the driveway, effectively pulling her legs out from underneath her.
Mai prepared herself for the fall, bracing her hands in front of her face. However, before she could become personally acquainted with the ground, she felt herself slam into a chest, arms wrapping around her waist to grip her tightly.
Laying her hands down onto a warm, coat covered chest, Mai opened her eyes to see the coat come into focus. Looking upwards, Mai stumbled on her words.
"Er…" Mai garbled intelligibly, blinking in shock.
The chest underneath her hands vibrated with a chuckle, the owner's eyes sparkling down at her, which appeared to be a pleasant green colour.
"Are you alright, Miss?" he questioned, a smile tilting his lips.
Mai continued to stare in a daze. 'Speak, idiot! Good God, please say something.'
"Uh…yah! I mean- yes. Yes, I'm fine. Thanks to you, thank you. Yes," Mai stumbled, cheeks starting to flush in embarrassment.
Hearing a throat clear, Mai turned her head marginally to look at their audience, most wearing grins, others, particularly Naru, glaring,
Realizing their position, Mai quickly took a step back, brushing the strangers coat off, apologising again.
"Crap, I'm so sorry," Mai murmured in embarrassment.
The man chuckled again, his hands still resting gently on her waist. He appeared to be around Naru's height, with dark brown hair and a pleasant smile. All in all, he was very attractive.
"It's no problem, just be more careful next time. The driveway can be slippery", he said smiling, before grabbing the last of the equipment from the ground and walking into the inn, his long legs easily taking him there, Mai staring after him in a daze.
Ayako sidled up to her, staring after the stranger in a daze.
"Oh, my God" Mai murmured, "Who was that?"
"I don't know," Ayako murmured back. "Can I have him?" Monks shout of protest in the background ignored.
Mai's eyes snapped to Ayako in fury, "What? No! You already have one! You can't have two! That's selfish. You're being very…greedy," Mai struggled to get out.
Ayako let out an agonized sigh, shoulders slumped, "No fair…"
Hearing a throat clear behind them, Mai and Ayako looked over their shoulders briefly to see a glaring Naru, arms crossed over his chest looking down at them.
"Yeah, yeah. 'Back to work', we get it. I wonder if that guy is in the base room…" Mai mumbled, grabbing her duffle before trotting up the steps to the base.
Authors Note: Wow, it's been a long time guys. So much has happened and the story just became lost to me. I found the file again and decided to keep going. I re-read the story again and goodness some of this really needs to be re-written. I haven't got a Beta and probably should get one. I'm finding my bearings again with this story. Even after reading it again, I forgot where my plot was going, so I do have to think that through. But I love to hear what you think.
What keeps me going is people reviewing, so please review! It's hard to know if you're enjoying the story if no one says anything and it does give me some confidence in my writing!
Happy Holidays and please enjoy!