Chapter 11
Soon everyone was awake and settled around base.
Bou-san and Yasuhara already knew their tasks for the day with Ayako deciding to accompany them.
"Mai, you'll be conducting interviews with Lin and I", Naru said in his 'you-have-no-choice-in-the-matter' tone.
Before Mai could make a comment, Masako jumped in, "Surely I could be of some assistance? I'd like to help with the interviews".
Mai's mouth snapped closed, her lips tipping up into a small smirk. Using her arms, she gestured towards Masako silently as if saying, 'Well, there you go'. Naru's eyes narrowed a minuscule amount in exasperation.
"I'd be happy to do something else if Masako would rather help run the interviews," Mai commented, "She's such a people person", she quipped, an innocent look crossing her face.
Naru's narrowed gaze was directed to her face, "Since you have so many skills, please tell me what you can do instead?" he challenged.
Not missing a beat, Mai began listing ideas while counting each off on her hand, staring him dead in the eye, "I could check the cameras, do a temperature check, check last nights footage, go and research with Yasuhara, do a more thorough walk through of the building and the land, read those case files you kept to yourself, take your pick"
Hearing Bou-san in the background let out a guffaw, Mai crossed her arms again and waited for his decision.
Without breaking their gaze, Naru spoke, "Hara-san, you will be doing a walk of the building with John. See if you can sense the entity better than you did yesterday", Naru said, his word final before walking out of the room, Lin following. Mai sighed before she followed after them.
Mai sat there awkwardly as Naru efficiently questioned the staff on the paranormal activity they experienced. It seemed to range from the mild but typical; lights turning on and off sporadically, cold spots and items being misplaced, to the extreme; people being pushed down stairs by an invisible force, bruises appearing on their skin, and of course the missing women who all seemed to have either attended the ryokan or had been in the vicinity before they disappeared, some of them even being staff members.
"Does the building have any violent history, Nakamaru-san?" Naru asked in a monotone, the ryokan owner being the last on the list to interview.
Mai watched as Nakamaru-san seemed to think on it, looking unsure.
"My memory isn't quite what it used to be. We keep many records. This building is very old, you see. If you'd like, I could take you to my office, you may browse the records if you'd like?"
Agreeing to this, Mai and Naru followed the owner to her office while Lin returned to the base. As they entered, Mai felt despair upon looking upon the rows and rows of books that lined the shelves of the office, her shoulders slumping.
Trying not to let it deter her, Mai walked to the indicated bookshelves before stopping abruptly. Something was pulling her to the right. Changing her course to a row of books further down, Mai closed her eyes and let her hands guide her. Feeling the soft texture of aged paper, Mai opened her eyes to see her hand had landed on a stack of papers bound with some string.
"Hotaru…" Mai whispered, staring at the book.
"Oh, you wish to know of Hotaru-hime?" Nakamaru-san asked, overhearing Mai.
Blinking out of her daze, Mai turned to find Nakamaru-san and Naru looking at her, Naru observing her in a more clinical way.
Naru asked Nakamaru-san to explain.
"Ah, I don't know much. I do know Hotaru-hime was married to the son of the lord that this building belonged to in the Edo period, somewhere around the early 19th century, I believe. She did go missing soon after her marriage, however. It was quite a mystery as to what happened to her," she answered.
"That book you're holding has all the information, though it won't be much. There is only a brief mention of the events transcribed", she concluded.
Passing the book to Naru, they said their farewells before walking back to base.
Mai sat down at the kotatsu while Naru sat at his desk, studying the book.
"Mai, tea."
Looking over to Naru in disbelief, Mai was about to say he could get off his ass and make his own tea. However, Masako piped up from the other side of the kotatsu before anything could escape her lips.
"Let me", she said before standing from her seiza.
Mai blinked, before smiling at Masako, "Thanks Masako", genuinely grateful while feeling Naru's frustration from across the room. Masako paused minutely and blinked at her before continuing on her way to the kitchen.
Deciding to get some study into what little down time she had, Mai grabbed her materials from the bedroom before finding her flash cards for her advanced English class.
Reciting quietly under her breath, Mai looked at the front of the card where it had the Japanese phrase she needed to translate to English, which was written on the back. Getting through about three cards, Mai heard from behind her, "You're learning English?", Naru asked in English, his British accent becoming quite apparent.
Looking over her shoulder, seeing Naru angled towards her with his arm thrown over the back of his chair, Mai replied back in English, "I am".
Naru raised an eyebrow but other than that, his face remained stoic, "How adept are you?", trying to determine what her level of comprehension was.
"I can have a conversation reasonably well," she replied back carefully, making sure to pronounce her words clearly without too much of an accent, being careful when pronouncing her L's and R's.
With a small but pleased smirk curling his lips, Naru nodded, commenting, "You should try and practice around Lin, John and myself. It will assist you in your fluency and articulacy."
"Articulacy?", Mai questioned, feeling a little irked at not understanding the English word.
"The state of being articulate. It means to express oneself in clear and effective language", he replied passively, but not unkindly.
Mai hummed to herself in thought, "Articulate", she murmured.
"It means-", he began
"I know what it means", Mai rolled her eyes in mild exasperation, seeing humour light his dark eyes.
"Okay," Mai conceded, "I'll try". Naru nodded his head before turning back to his work.
Masako walked in then with a steaming pot of tea at that point, placing it on the kotatsu. Pouring four cups of tea, Masako placed one in front of Mai before taking two over to Lin and Naru, placing the final cup by Naru's elbow. Mai watched this happen as Masako waited for some type of acknowledgement from Naru. Feeling a grimace pull at her face in sympathy as Naru failed to acknowledge the cup, Mai took a pull from her cup, savouring the taste.
"This is really good Masako," she commented, aiming a smile at her. It genuinely tasted good, Mai finding nothing wrong with it.
Masako looked at her in surprise, before blinking and sending a miniscule smile her way. She then sat back down at the table, sipping her own tea. Naru never reached for his own cup.
Mai continued to study while the room was quiet, which she knew would disappear as soon as Ayako, Bou-san and Yasuhara returned. Just as she was memorising and trying to pronounce 'simultaneously' correctly, she felt her eyes beginning to droop, her mind becoming fuzzy.
Feeling herself tip backwards as something pulled her into the dreamscape, Mai had no chance to cushion her fall, knowing her head wasn't going to thank her when she woke.
Opening her eyes, Mai found herself in the beautiful garden of a small shiro. Looking around, Mai could tell it was spring as the chill was just leaving the air. Turning towards the building, Mai felt something swish around her legs. Looking down, she realised she was wearing an ornate red kimono with multiple layers. She could also see long black hair falling around her shoulders.
Mai began to walk to the doors as someone called out "Ojou-sama!"
Turning, Mai addressed them, "Yes, Ichirou?", Mai felt the word escaping her mouth in a gentle tone, her voice incredibly smooth and entirely not her own.
Dropping down onto one knee, he pulled out a paper fan before holding it aloft to her, "You dropped this, Ojou-sama".
"Oh!" Mai blinked in surprise before smiling softly, reaching forward to grasp the fan, "I don't remember dropping this"
Ichirou, still kneeling, smiled up at Mai, a softness in his eyes. Quickly pulling her hand away with the fan when she lingered too long, Mai nodded politely with a soft "Thank you".
Standing slowly, Ichirou stared for a moment before bowing lowly before turning and walking away.
Mai stared for a mere moment before walking back into the main building, heading towards her rooms. Entering, she felt someone grab her before forcing her up against the wall, a gasp escaping her.
Looking up, she saw a man dressed in regal, yet very old and traditional, attire; someone obviously of noble birth. He had black hair and angry black eyes. He could have been attractive had his face not been warped with anger. He grabbed her chin, forcing it back to look at him.
"Why were you talking to him?"
Mai blinked in confusion, before she felt him grab her shoulders and slam her body back into the wall, a cry escaping her mouth as her head cracked against it.
"Why were you talking to that servant boy?!", he asked again, his face close to hers.
"I dropped my fan, he was returning it!", Mai pleaded.
Mai felt it before she saw it, her head whipped to the side as his palm smacked against her cheek, pain instantly blossoming around her face and through her scull. Another cry escaped her, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
"Do not lie to me!", he thundered in her face.
"I'm not! I swear, please!", she cried. He wasn't violent often. He was possessive by nature, which she knew, but this was the first time he'd struck her.
Hearing a slight noise on the other side of the room, Mai looked over his shoulder to see the shoji screen slightly ajar, someone's face was peaking through. Before she could get a good look, Mai felt herself pulled from the dream.
Mai's eyes snapped open, a cry leaving her lips, sitting up in a panic. Trying to stand, Mai immediately cracked her knees against the table her legs were still under, another cry escaping.
Shuffling away from the table, Mai lifted a hand towards her face, checking to see if it was still hurt, but it wasn't. Rubbing her eyes, Mai felt something come to rest on her head. Flinching away from the contact, Mai directed her eyes upwards to see Lin crouched beside her, his eyes concerned.
Taking a deep breath, Mai tried to calm herself. Leaning her head against Lin's thigh, trying to calm herself, he placed his hand back on her head, moving his thumb back and forth in a calming manner while he placed his other hand between her shoulder blades, holding her still. She could feel his shiki swirling around the both of them in agitation, looking for a threat but finding none. It was comforting. Taking a few more calming breaths, Mai leant away before apologising quietly to him.
Lin shook his head, dismissing the apology before he helped her stand, directing her over to the couch. Seeing Masako standing and watching with Naru standing behind Lin, Mai began explaining what happened as Lin placed a somewhat lukewarm cup of tea in her hand, Naru taking notes as she explained. Once she was finished and calmed down, she realised the tea was Naru's untouched cup.
A/N: How depressing is it to be back at work, guys? Super depressing. Now I'm back to working full time, I'm struggling to find time to write. Especially when i come home and all I want to do is sleep after a long day! But I hope you enjoyed this one. I think I know where I want this to go for this mystery. Please review!
I really want to thank those who reviewed the last chapters, you guys keep me going! So thank you dragonfly1339, Megan1339, CrzyAsians, MissKiku, LimeCandy, 'A random reader', , FunkyFries, Uh no thanks, O.O Lolz, Various Guests, Aeva, AssailantAngel, Hyuuga Senpai, aline, vampgirl1309, LukaLover, Rebecca, fabby28 and Candy20086! And a special thank you to Akai Seirei , receiving a really long and considerate reply like that was really uplifting and gave me encouragement. Every single review was very appreciated and I thank you all. So please keep reviewing! Tell me what you think as I write the next chapter! You guys rock.