Chapter 9
"Mai, do a run down of temperatures", Naru spoke to her gruffly, handing her a clipboard and electronic thermometer.
After finally bringing everything inside, they managed to successfully set up base and cameras with little fuss.
The main room was simple with a kitchen attached and was traditional in design like the rest of the building, the bedrooms sporting traditional futons.
"Sir, yes, sir," Mai quipped sarcastically in English, bringing a hand to her forehead in a salute. Snatching up the items, Mai ignored Naru's stare and swept into the hall, taking down the temperatures of each location on the board.
Mai sighed after collecting half the temperatures. She felt odd. She felt almost…sad and… angry. But it wasn't her sadness or anger. It didn't feel right. 'I'm probably just reacting to the history that surrounds this place.' Mai thought, 'Those files I read are just getting to me', she sighed again.
Finally finishing the first level, Mai continued up onto the second; the team had already been given permission to go anywhere in the inn for investigation purposes. As it was winter, the ryokan's business was slow, which could only benefit them during the investigation. Currently, only the investigation team and the staff were in attendance.
Coming to the end of her list, Mai turned the corner and came to a stop.
Standing before her was a figure; she was outfitted in a beautiful kimono of red, blue and white, and she was walking down the hall. Looking around Mai realized the inn looked different. It was darker, candles being used to illuminate the hallway instead of the dim electric lights, the shojo screen doors looked older, the paper now had beautiful depictions of blooming cherry blossoms as opposed to what Mai remembered to be plain paper screens.
"Hey," Mai called, but received no response. Confused, Mai followed the woman down the hall and into another room. The woman sat down in front of an ornate mirror before reaching for her brush and looking into her reflection. Mai finally saw her face, a gasp escaping her.
The woman was gorgeous. She had long, flowing black hair and pale skin. However, the ugly bruise on the side of her face marred her beauty, staining her pale skin a dark, mottled purple.
The woman proceeded to brush her hair resolute, her eyes staring forward. However, she met Mai's eyes in the mirror, spinning around with a gasp.
Mai, stunned, took an uncertain step back and stared back before realising she wasn't looking at her. Turning around, Mai jumped in fright noticing the towering man behind her, his eyes boring into the woman's.
Mai's eyes opened with a gasp, suddenly finding herself back in the hallway on the second floor, no woman in sight. Realising it was darker, Mai blinked to adjust her eyes. Looking forward, Mai realising there was a camera pointed directly at her. God forbid someone had seen her little spaz.
Shaking herself out of her daze, Mai looked around before deciding to make herself a cup of tea to clear her head before making her way back to base, using the external kitchen door instead of the one connected to the base room. Mai made a mental note to tell someone about what she saw, hoping it might give the team a little headway in the case.
Walking back into base with her tea in hand, with a murmured "Here you go", Mai passed the clipboard filled with temperatures to Lin who had marginally turned his head when she entered, giving her a nod. However, he didn't turn back to this computer, continuing to stare at her as Mai stared back in confusion.
"What did you see?" he asked, his voice quiet but clear, still staring deeply at Mai.
'God, he's observant', Mai thought before sighing and moving to sit on the corner of his desk, taking a sip from her tea and beginning to explain what she saw as best as she could.
Lin gazed into space, deep in thought before looking at something beside Mai. Mai turned her head to look before startling slightly to see Naru standing beside her with his arms folded, he had clearly been listening intently to the story.
Slanting a look at Naru, Mai continued to slowly sip her tea, waiting for either man to say something.
"Yasuhara will be travelling to the nearest town to do some research tomorrow. A connection might present itself in whatever information he finds. Not that we have much to go off with what you saw", Naru smirked, slanting a look back at her.
Mai refused to rise to the bait. Mai continued to sip her tea while staring blankly at Naru, her eyes unamused.
"Is that all, Shibuya?" She asked calmly.
The amusement vanished from his eyes, his eyes narrowing diminutively.
"No." He began, eyes boring into Mai's, arms crossed. "Tea, Mai"
Mai's eyebrows rose, a smirk curling her lips, a chuckle escaping from behind her lips, "No", she said, before turning around to walk toward the table positioned in the center of the room, currently covered in files. Mai started to flick between the pages of one file before feeling a warm presence at her back.
Looking over her shoulder, Mai straightened and turned to see Naru before he took another step forward, she matched his move with a step back, effectively pushing her lower back into the table. Placing one foot in between hers, Naru towered over her, his chest brushing against hers with each breath they took.
Directing her gaze up to his eyes and positioning her cup out of the way, Mai raised a brow in question. Naru gazed down at her before glancing to the side at her cup of tea. Following the direction of his stare, Mai's mind clicked before he started to reach for her cup.
Swiftly maneuvering the cup out of the way of his incoming hand, Mai brought the cup to her lips before gulping down the rest of her tea, letting out a satisfied hum after she was done.
Naru brought his gaze back to her eyes, an unhappy frown twisting his lips slightly, his stare narrowed.
Mai pasted an oblivious look onto her face, "What?" she asked, licking her lips to catch any tea that might have lingered, amusement lighting up her eyes.
Giving a sigh, Naru pressed a hand to Mai's hip to gently push himself away from her, walking back over to Lin, who had been watching, a slight smile tilting his lips. Seeing this, Mai gave another cheeky "What?" Lin just shook his head in response, turning back to his computer.
At this point, John and Masako walked in, having completed a walk of the main building to see if Masako could sense anything.
"Hi guys", Mai smiled, "Would you like some tea?", her smile morphing into a smirk, feeling Naru's gaze bore into her.
Authors Note: Please review! Let me know what you think! It makes me happy to see the reviews. :)