thump thump - there's my will to live hitting the floor and rolling awayyyyyyy ٩(。•́‿•̀。)۶
Monday, November 3
Mai subconsciously moved her hips from side to side as she walked around bussing tables with her usual cheery grin. The crisp winter air seeped in through the door as customers walked in and sat for a bit of respite from the chill outside. In her down time, she absentmindedly started out the large glass panels that separated the front of the building from the outside world. Some part of her wished a certain narcissist and his twin, or polar opposite clone as she liked to say, would pop in and keep her company, but another part of her was glad she could have a few fleeting moments to herself.
A white van pulled out front of the café. Large, bold, black letters spelling 'SPR' were written across the side of it. Something about the letters seemed vaguely familiar to the teenage brunette. Mai could see smaller text underneath, but she couldn't make out what it said.
"I should really get my eye's checked."
The door of the van opened. A foot stepped out and-
Her squinting was interrupted when she was called into the kitchen by a certain red-haired doctor. She was handed a tray of pastries to restock the glass cabinet by the counter.
When she emerged from the small kitchen, the van was no longer parked out front. She made a mental note to check upstairs after her shift and see if any new clients had moved in.
Mai was working the morning shift today, so she wore her uniform as she worked. It was busier this morning than usual, and Mai was spread thinner than ever. But thankfully, the boy working the next shift was early, so she could leave a bit earlier than usual, leaving just enough time to peak upstairs then make her way to school.
After saying her goodbyes to Ayako and Monk, Mai made her way outside. She gazed up at the office building above the café and decided to appease her curiosity this time. She carefully made her way up to the second floor and gazed through the window on the door. It was dark inside, no lights were on, but Mai could make out the silhouette of something near the door.
"What's that?" She squinted to try and make out the object. A camera stood on a tripod that was facing the door she was looking in from.
"A TV camera?" she spoke aloud softly. Without realized, she put more of her weight against the door. Pushing on the door, it creaked open lightly. She looked around apprehensively before stepping inside the dark office building.
"That's what is it, alright. But why would it be in a place like this?" She continued to scan her surroundings.
"Did the last clients leave it behind? No, that can't be right," she reached out to grab the handle of the camera.
"Who's there?!" The disembodied voice startled Mai and she backed up immediately into a cabinet, recoiling her hand to her chest.
"I'm sorry! I was just, um…" Mai stopped in her sentence as the cabinet she had just backed into was now leaning against her back with all its weight.
"N-no way!" she yelled. She tried to hold up the weight but was pushed to the side by a hand on her shoulder. A loud thud and crash filled her ears. A cloud of dust arose from the crash. Mai was sitting on the ground, patting as she tried to regain her breath. Realizing she was pushed and not under the rubble herself, she looked over at the wreck to see the scene. The cabinet and camera laid crushed on the floor.
A man with black hair laid unmoving on the floor under the debris of the cabinet. Pieces of wood were scattered all over the ground.
"A-are you okay?!" Mai jumped over to the man and kneeled on all fours in front of the body. He wasn't moving.
"Oh, my God. What should I do? Somebody…"
"What happened?" A familiar voice spoke from the open doorway. Mai recognized it in only a second.
"Naru! What are you doing here?" Mai moved back slightly. His face held a stone-cold expression. Without addressing Mai, he moved over to the man on the floor.
"Lin, what happened?" The man on the floor lifted himself up, thick drops of blood splattered onto the floor.
"L-Lin!" Mai stuttered out.
"You're a bit cut up. Can you stand?"
"Yes."
Naru placed his arm under Lin's and helped him stand.
"U-Uh, I'm really sorry! I suddenly heard him call out to me, so I…" Concern laced her voice.
"Never mind the explanations. Are there any doctors around here?"
"There's one right around the block!" Mai reached out her hand to help but Lin slapped it away quickly. She retracted it.
"No thank you. I do not need your help," Lin glared up at her and stood with the help of Naru.
"I don't care to know why you are in here right now, but it is in the kindness of my heart to inform you that the school bell has just rung a moment ago," Mai had a hard time telling his facial expression in the dark. It took a second for her brain to register the information just presented to her.
"N-no way! I'm late again!" She sprinted as fast as she could out the door and down the street, narrowly avoiding cars and other people.
"Why were they there? What is going on!" Questions raced in Mai's mind as she neared in on the school.
Mai's scolding for being tardy was thankfully not as severe as it had been previous times. Mai plopped into her seat panting. Gene looked at her with curious and concerned eyes.
"I'll tell you later," she mouthed. Gene gave a reluctant nod and turned around in his seat to pay attention to the lesson.
The moment they were released for break, Gene spun in his chair and faced Mai.
"Spill it," he said in a gossipy tone.
"Please tell me why your brother was in the building above the café?" Mai huffed.
"Oh, don't tell me you went in there," Gene had an 'oh, no' look on his face.
"Oh, I did more than go in there," she sighed and let her head fall to the desk. Gene laid his head next to hers on the desk and gave her a sympathetic look.
"Your guardian, Lin, may or may not be seriously injured," she let out with an awkward laugh.
"What!" Gene shot up.
"I said may not!" Mai waved her hands in front of her.
"What happened!" Gene couldn't take the suspense any long.
"Well, I went upstairs because I thought the new clients might have moved in, but when I got up there all I found was a camera, a cabinet, Lin, and Naru. So much for new tenants. What are they even doing in there!" she held her head in her hands.
"Oh, you met the new tenants alright," Gene let out under his breath.
"Did you say something?" Mai asked and Gene shook his head. Mai was about to continue her story when Keiko and Michiru came bouncing in with their bentos. They took the empty seats around Mai.
"He's not here again?" Michiru motioned to Naru's empty seat. Mai shook her head.
"Wonder where he's at… Probably skipping for some hot date," Keiko mused. Mai let out a laugh and looked over at Gene who surely would as well. But his chair was now empty, and no sign of him remained. She wondered for a moment where he could have wondered off to, but was quickly enveloped in her conversation with Michiru and Keiko.
Break was soon to be over, and Gene finally came back with a sly grin on his face.
"Ohhh does my brother have a bone to pick with youuuu," Gene teased and watched in amusement as Mai's face dropped.
"Don't remind me," she cried.
The day slowly came to an end, and there was no sign of Naru. Mai thought for a moment she might be off the hook. The whole day she had been planning out her escape plan to avoid Naru for, well, the rest of her foreseeable future. Needless to say, step 2 was fleeing the country. She was packing her books into her bag when she sensed a certain presence behind her. Doom's Day was upon her.
"Mai. Hallway," the voice was cold. Gene gave her a warm side hug with a grin before walking out of the room. She took a deep breath before leaving the comfort of the classroom. Most girls would kill to have time alone with Naru. However, Mai knew too much about him to obsessively fawn over him.
"So, how is Lin doing?" Mai asked curiously.
"Yes, about him. He has sprained his left leg. He won't be able to stand for a while."
"I-I'm terribly sorry…"
Mai walked a step behind Naru, fidgeting with her fingers behind her back. A bubble of anxiety was swelling in her gut.
"How is Lin involved with you? Besides being your guardian and all…"
"Assistant." He stopped walking when he stood front of a window.
"Oh, you mean you help him with his work? That makes sense..."
"The opposite. He's the assistant, and I'm the boss." Mai looked at him stunned.
"Now my assistant can't move. I believe that you have an obligation here."
"W-wait a second!" She waved her hands in front of her.
"The camera is broken, too." Mai took a step back.
"He was trying to stop you, because you were touching the camera, and this is how it turned out."
"By the way, um… how much was the camera?" Mai covered her eyes with her hands.
"Probably more than you have."
"You mean- " Mai's heart began to sink.
"You couldn't reimburse me. Which means, there is only one course that you can take. I want you to be my substitute assistant."
"Y-your assistant? You want me to help you with your work?
"Isn't that what it sounded like?"
"Isn't that strange though! I mean, we are in the same class!"
"I don't find it strange."
"W-what about Gene! I mean, nothing better than your own blood working for you, right?"
"He already works for me." Mai's hopes dropped through the floor.
"So, what do you really do for work?"
"Our job is more clearly to exterminate ghosts. I'm from Shibuya Psychic Research."
"Psychic Research?" Mai echoed.
"Is that a question? In other words, spiritual phenomenon investigation bureau." Naru had taken a few steps forward but now stopped to turn and face Mai.
"And I am its manager."
Mai walked the desolate hallways, her earlier conversation running through her head.
"Psychic research…" she muttered, "fancy word for ghost hunters." She kicked at a pebble on the floor as she walked. While she disliked the feeling of practically being blackmailed, she was slightly excited to work with the twins and work in such a unique field.
She made her way out of the school and onto the road. A fleet of cop cars sped past her with their lights and sirens blaring. Mai walked down the road, passing the location of the ice cream cart which was now closed down for the season. She noticed a cluster of police cars by the entrance to her apartment complex. She began to walk faster.
A large group of people stood outside the gates. Some people were sobbing, while others were yelling at the police.
"What's going?" Mai asked one of the older woman who looked some-what composed.
"Oh, honey. All the apartments have been robbed and sorted through. They're making everyone stay somewhere else for the night while they investigate the scene," she placed a hand on Mai's back.
In that short moment, she thought about her few possessions that she hoped to God were safe. She bolted through the line of cops that blocked the way to the apartments and ran up the stairs. She could hear steps behind her, presumably a police man. She looked down the line of doors and saw all of them, including hers, wide open. She raced over and stood in the open doorway of her home. Things were a mess and thrown around carelessly. Tear's welled in her eyes as she saw the picture of her, her mom, and her dad still sitting untouched on the counter. She grabbed it and held it to her chest before she was pulled away from the scene and back out to the crowd.
People were being picked up by cars and being driven away. She didn't know who to call, who to tell, who to trouble. She would have asked Michiru or Keiko, but they're houses were already too crowded and she couldn't find herself to impose. John wasn't in town. Ayako's place was too far away, and Bou-san lived with too many older roommates. She had one last choice. She picked up her cellphone and dialed the only number that could possibly help.
Thank you for reading!
I'm sorry for this chapter being so short, I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as possible. My school's musical that I've been running for the past two months is almost over! So that means I'll have so much more time to write and edit, so hopefully no more waiting a month for a new chapter.
I heavily drew influence from the first episode of Ghost Hunt with this chapter, I thought having some parallels would be cute. I don't really plan to draw so heavily from an episode again, but I may in the future. Who knows.
And as always, thank you to everyone who has reviewed recently. I get extremely discouraged when writing but all of your positive words give me confidence and motivate me to write the best that I can. :)
I hope everyone had a wonderful Samhain/Halloween!
Have a delightful day/night!
