Yo! Thank you to all readers so far!
Mai and Ayako stood at the top of the stairs, Bou-san and John at the bottom. Naru had sent them to check out the stairs due to the temperature anomaly that had been recorded. He wanted to make sure there was no explainable reason for it, but of course, he wasn't going to do it himself.
They'd spent the last few minutes looking around, and though they could definitely feel the small pocket of oddly cooler air, they could see no real cause for it. Mai swore she could feel some kind of presence around, but since that was more Masako's specialty than hers, she really couldn't say for sure.
Arako and Mai both turned when they heard someone come up the stairs, and were a little surprised to see Naru approaching them.
"What do you feel, Mai?" he asked before either of them could even open their mouths.
Mai blinked. "Oh, uh, I dunno, really. It just vaguely feels like there's someone else here."
"Good or bad?"
Mai cocked her head, understanding what Naru was getting at. "Hard to say," she admitted. "Kind of feels like both, to be honest." She shrugged. "You know I'm not as good as Masako or Gene when it comes to this sort of thing."
Naru frowned slightly and nodded, but didn't say anything for a moment. He looked down the hallway leading to the bedrooms, then turned back to them a few seconds later. "We may as well return to the Base."
Ayako was the first to do so, heading past them and making her way down the stairs. "I'm going to run outside for a smoke. Don't take too long up there."
"Okay," Mai called out in response. And when Ayako was out of sight, Mai looked over at Naru. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You're lying. You keep staring down that hallway. Did you see something?"
"...A figure."
Mai's reaction to those words only surprised Naru. "Humanoid?"
He hadn't been expecting her to remain calm like this. She used to panic at these things before. "Yes."
Mai didn't turn, and kept her eyes on her boss. "Male or female?"
"Too indistinct."
"Is it still there?"
"Yes."
"Is it moving?"
"No."
"Where is it?"
"Directly outside the last room."
"Is it looking in our direction or in the room?"
"The former. ...It's vanished now."
Hearing that, Mai finally turned to get a look down the hall herself. She didn't do it before because sometimes sudden movements startled or interrupted spirits, and considering Naru pretty much never saw spirits himself, she'd been curious to see what would happen. There was a camera pointing down the hall as well, so unless they were blocking it, it was very possible they'd finally managed to catch some clear evidence.
"Are you two still up there? Get back to the Base!" Ayako, returning inside the house, called up.
"We're coming!" Mai called back. "C'mon, Naru, let's go back," she said, making her way to the stairs. But just before she even stepped down onto the first stair, she felt something shove her roughly from behind.
Mai stumbled, heart leaping into her throat. But then she felt something else-a gentle but firm pressure on her chest, pushing her back, allowing her to regain her balance, where she grabbed hold of the banister immediately, Naru grabbing her arm from behind.
Neither of them had the chance to say anything, because a sudden voice sounded in Naru's ear, the tone gentle but also a little scolding.
"Idiot, you're supposed to protect my sister."
The immediate area dropped in temperature, and a soft breeze tousled their hair, almost as if someone was stroking their hair. While Naru tensed at the sensation, Mai only relaxed and looked over to her left.
When Naru did the same, he saw the same figure he had seen standing down the hall earlier, and he quickly realized that it was a dark entity. It wasn't Suzaku, but that meant-
"Shin-nii…"
Naru looked from Mai to the dark figure. It was obviously one of the negative ones haunting their client and the house, but as Naru looked at it, he saw a flicker of light and the entity's appearance changed. For barely an instant he saw an attractive man with a small smile on his face. And now Naru thought he understood at least a little bit of what was happening.
Shin wasn't evil. His darkness was caused by anger. Anger at the man who had hurt his sister. Anger at the man who had killed him. But that anger wasn't directed at their client.
No, if Naru's suspicions were right, Shin was angry not at Akira, but at another dark entity that was residing in the property. He was angry at Jack Midnight.
Naru was stunned by his revelation, and he barely even realized he was leading Mai downstairs and into the kitchen, where she promptly began preparing some tea, even without him asking her.
Right now, he was thinking that Jack had grown angry after his death and had possessed Akira multiple times, using him to get his revenge. Upon his own death, Shin must have realized the truth and gone to haunt not Akira, but Jack. Or so he was thinking.
"Were you and Shin-san particularly close, Mai?" asked Naru suddenly.
Mai seemed a little surprised by the abrupt question, but nodded as she sat down on the counter next to the stove. "We were, yeah. At least, that's what I remember. He wasn't with us for very long, but i think he liked having younger siblings. Maybe that had something to do with all the kids he was surrounded by at the orphanage."
"Orphanage? Oh, that's right, he was adopted."
Mai nodded again, and absently fiddled with one of the button's on Naru's shirt, since he was standing in front of her. "I remember thinking he was really cool. I think May and Ryou-nii thought the same," she said with a smile. "I'm...glad he isn't fully dark."
Naru was glad about that too.
That's it for now. Another very heavily edited chapter and, actually, the beginning of the chapter, up until Mai nearly falling down the stairs, is completely new and wasn't in the original at all. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!