Mai sighed as she placed the last of the equipment down in the room. It was spacious, and much like the rest of the building, completely encrusted with plant life. Steve came in moments later carrying two heavy generators.
While most of the equipment was battery operated, some of it still needed a power source, and all the power outlets had foliage blocking and intertwining with it. Thankfully, the group has long since had the mindset to bring up generators to run the base.
"Thanks for helping Steve," Mai smiled.
"Sure thing," Steve replied, tapping his ear twice and looking back at the currently empty doorway.
"We're in the clear for the moment," Mai told him.
Steve relaxed and sat down on the couch with a huff, "Ghost? And I thought I had already seen everything," he said with a sigh.
Mai giggled, "What? You can deal with superpowered Nazi's, aliens, and gods, but you can't handle Casper the Friendly Ghost?"
"From what I heard, it's not even that."
"Well, you're right about that," Mai sighed, going around the base and setting up the kitchenette, "The first thing I felt when I got here was something… pulling, on my powers. It even started to turn my skin blue! I've never seen, or felt something like that happening before!"
"I didn't know you could turn blue," Steve stated.
"Join the club." Mai snorted, digging around in a box, looking for the tea leaves. "I'm just- I hope that whatever it is, I hope they're ready for it."
Steve stood and walked over to her, "They'll pull through."
Mai began to reply, but then cocked her head to the side, "They're coming up," she warned, before setting about her task. Steve followed the same line of thought and headed over to his bag and began leafing through his case files.
"This is so heavy!" Monk yelled, struggling as he carried one of the generators, followed by an equally struggling John, and a vaguely inconvenienced Lin. " Jeez, I don't know how you carried two of these up here!"
Steve looked up from his case files at the sound of English, "Oh, well, CSI training is no joke you know."
"I believe you!"
"If you're done, we would actually like to get through the door," a voice deadpanned. Monk and John jumped, both turning in the doorway to see an irritated Naru, and a haggard looking Ayako, Yasu and Masako. All four of them had a box in their arms.
"Ah! Right!" Monk exclaimed, quickly getting out of the way, hauling the generator with him.
"Mai, tea," Naru said, walking over to a desk and placing his box down.
"Give it a minute you impatient narcissist!" Mai yelled, checking on the tea before going back over to help Lin with setting up the computer equipment.
"If you were efficient, then I wouldn't be impatient," Naru told her.
Mai turned red in anger, and was about to yell, but stopped. Her sudden pause caught everyone's eye, but Mai paid them no mind. Her eyes swept across the room, looking for, whatever it was that pulled her attention.
It felt like, that pulling again, but, stronger, and way closer. Mai thought, still ignoring her friends who were trying to regain her attention. It's really close, it's- Oh shit!
"Down!" Mai yelled, grabbing the two nearest to her, Masako and Naru, and dragging them down. Everyone else took her advice and hit the ground in time to miss a massive branch that came swinging out of nowhere.
After the initial shock, Mai stretched out her senses and found the feeling had dulled once again. She sat up slowly, looking around in a partial daze.
"Is everyone okay?" Steve called out, he stood and dusted himself off before offering a hand to Ayako and helping her up.
"I think so," Monk groaned, sitting up. He moaned and massaged his neck, "I'm already tired of this plant crap."
"Monk! My love, are you okay!" Yasu cried, lunging from his spot and clutching Monk tight. The older man let out a shriek of surprise and immediately tried to pry the college student off of him.
"Cut it out! That creeps me out man!"
"Lin, is the equipment okay?" Naru asked, pulling Mai up along with him.
"We're fine," Lin grunted.
"The hell was that?" Ayako questioned, "I've never seen anything like that before!"
"It's something," Naru sighed, "And apparently, it's pissed. Matsuzaki, I need you to get started on making wards, and start putting them around the room immediately. Whatever this is, it's not messing around, neither are we."
Naru looked around the room, "We'll stick with the original plan for setting up, but no one goes anywhere alone, and don't dally, come straight back to the base as soon as you finish setting up. Roster," Steve looked up, "If you could, occupancy Monk and Yasuhara as they set up their share of equipment. You the lobby and the first five floors."
"Ms. Hara, you'll go with Matsuzaki and John to the sixth floor and the penthouse. Be careful, and Ms. Hara, if you can, see if you can sense a presence." Naru continued, "Lin, Mai, and I will finish setting up the base, keep in contact the whole time."
"Hai!" Monk chanted before grabbing the cameras and mikes. Everyone else just nodded and followed suit.
As soon as they were gone Naru rounded on Mai, "What do you feel?"
Mai chewed her lip, "That's the strange thing… I don't feel anything."
"Then how did you-"
"I mean, physically, I felt something… tugging on my senses, but, I can't read anything from it, no emotions, no feelings, nothing," Mai sighed.
Naru stared at her for a minute before turning back to finish setting up with Lin. Mai helped with moving everything around and served tea once it was done.
Mai sent her magic throughout the building once more, she frowned as she felt something tugging on her again. And it was so familiar. Almost like her own powers. Which is a problem all on its own, cause if it's so familiar then that means it's similar to her own powers, and Mai had no idea where her power originated from, so tracking down the source of their problem might be troublesome.
"We're back!" Yasu yelled, drawing Mai away from her thoughts. She looked up to see a exhausted Monk and the energetic personas of Steve and Yasu.
"Any problems?" Naru asked, not looking away from his case file that he was going over from his position on the couch.
"Luckily not," Monk answered, flopping down on the couch opposite.
"Good, then you can help look over these case files and see if you can find any anomalies," Naru replied, tossing a folder at the bewildered monk.
"Ah! But that's Yasuhara's job!"
"Then you won't mind helping him, it's a lot of material."
"Hey, Steve? Do you have any info on the building itself?" Mai questioned, setting down a tray of tea.
Steve nodded, "I do. Though the building history isn't as eventful as it is old."
"I figured that," Mai muttered under her breath, "Either way, can I look through some of it?"
"Sure."
O.o.o
"Tomorrow, we'll be interviewing workers here," Naru informed the group. "Till then, we're heading back to get some rest."
"Steve, hang back a minute," Mai called out, grabbing the blonde and pulling him to the side.
"Mai! We're not waiting on you just because you want to socialize!" Naru yelled out.
"Then head to the hotel without me! I know how to get there!" Mai yelled back.
"Doubtful."
"Bite me," Mai growled out, before pulling Steve further away with more force than necessary.
Steve watched with wide eyes, his head whipping back and forth between the two, "Um…"
"Don't worry about it, I need you to do something for me," Mai huffed. Seeing Steve straighten out at that she went through with her request, "I need you to get files on any and all missing or runaway people in the are for the past, I'll say four to seven months."
"I can do that, but, why?"
"I have a pretty good guess of what's going on here," Mai told him, "But I want to check all my bases first before I come out with my theory."
Steve rose an eyebrow at that, "Care to explain?"
"I'll explain it to you when I have answers," Mai smirked, "Just do it soldier, I want this case finished without an incident."
"Yes ma'am," Steve saluted teasingly, ducking the fist that Mai was swung out at him, "I'll have all your papers ready by tomorrow!"
"Go home, Steve," Mai sighed, drawing the blonde into a quick hug before departing. Upon arriving back at the apartment complex, Mai realized that the crew actually left without her. Not deterred by that, Mai hailed a taxi, told the driver the hotel address, and just sat back quietly throughout the whole ride.
As soon as she stepped foot in the hotel lobby, she was ambushed by Naru. "You idiot."
"Hello to you too," Mai replied, trying to go around him but was stopped by Naru grabbing her wrist. She looked down at it before meeting Naru's eyes with her bored ones, "Let go."
"Do you have any idea how stupid that was? This is New York, people go missing or get robbed in the middle of the night all the time and you just decided to walk around by yourself?" Naru lectured.
"I took a cab, so I didn't really go walking through the streets of New York by myself, and you were the ones who left. It's not that big of a deal anyways."
"I think one of our members deciding that this is a social trip is a big deal," Naru retorted.
"Social trip? Is that what you think I'm doing?" Mai tilted her head, "I was asking Steve if he could pull a few files, I figured you'd want more than what little he was able to pull up in one day by himself."
"And you needed to pull him aside for a private conversation for that?" Naru questioned.
Mai let out a frustrated groan before yanking her arm away from Naru, "Not everyone needs you looking over their shoulder to do something Naru."
Without waiting for his reply Mai turned around and stormed off for a crowded elevator, making it in just as the doors closed, leaving Naru in the lobby by himself.
⦽The Real Side of Mai Taniyama⦽
Yeah, short chapter, sorry. It's just we're at that awkward part of the case where nothing is happening, and I have a lot more stuff planned for the next chapter that wouldn't work or flow with this chapter.
Not that this chapter has much flow, like I said, it's at that stagnant point of the story where you have no idea where craps going to go.
I apologize for the long wait, I thought I would have this done by last week, but I had to rewrite a huge portion of this chapter because I realized that it makes no sense and it contradicts with the plot that I'm trying to go with for the whole story.
But yeah, here it is, thanks for reading. I'll try updating sooner!(2019, Laughs in tears and self deprication)