Firstly I want to thank my new beta- person Ayjah (yay!).
I was feeling very uninspired lately. 20 ghost hunt amv's, a few bags of chocolate, a huge snowman cookie, and a very tearful Pan's Labyrinth later I was able to get this out. Yay for sentimentality and sugar!
Chapter 4
Mai, Naru, and Lin entered the base and to Mai's surprise Koneko and Karasu were there chatting with Ayako and Takigawa as if yesterday had never happened. Naru on the other hand did not seem surprised at all. He took his place in front of the others and, as expected, everyone else quickly quieted down upon his entrance.
"Last night Mai dreamed that the spirit possessing the piano was a young woman who's lover had died in the war," Naru announced. He can't let me say it myself, Mai thought, slightly upset. Naru continued, "This proves my original assumption, that it was the ghost of a lonely woman, correct."
"I was thinking that too Naru!" Koneko announced happily. "They say great minds think alike," she added suggestively.
"I would rather my mind not be associated with yours." Wow, usually Naru waits a few days after he meets someone before he starts insulting them. However, Koneko didn't seem very put off by Naru's insult.
"You are such a narcissist," she said laughing.
Naru ignored her. "John, Takigawa, and Matsuzaki, would you like to try to exorcise the spirit?" They were all predictably agreeable to this idea. Naru led the way to the room and the others followed him quietly with an occasional whisper, except for Koneko who was happily talking to an unresponsive Karasu. As they passed through the entrance hall, Mai paused, turned, and looked up through the large window above the door. She could see the silhouetted leaves of the large tree outside. This was a beautiful house. It made her sad really. She wished she could live in a house like this, large spacious, and with beautiful scenery.
Karasu tugged gently on her hand. Mai had been left behind. "Aha, sorry," she said. "I got a bit distracted."
As she entered the room the others were in, she heard Masako say, "I can't get a clear feel for the spirit, it seems she is repulsed by our appearance and is avoiding us. Naru frowned slightly. "If she stays away like this we will not be able to exorcise her."
Koneko went up to the piano and traced the fine wooden engravings on the surface. Slowly, she lowered herself onto the piano bench. She closed her eyes and poised her fingers above the keys. There was a slight pause and the then she pushed a single key down. The lone note resounded throughout the room. It was completely quiet as she began to play. Mai recognized it as the piece the woman had been playing in her dreams. Each key sounded like a heart breaking, beautiful and piercing. In fact, it seemed even more beautiful and tragic than it had when she first heard it. Each note felt like a stake through her heart, but it was so lovely. There was a slight ping each time a drop of blood hit the keys. No it was tears this time. The translucent liquid left puddles of light on the piano. Before Mai knew what was happening the song was over and she fell to her knees.
"That song…" she said. Naru watched as Bou- san and John rushed over to her.
"Mai, was that the song in your dream?" Naru stood over her.
"It was. How did she know it?" Mai looked around the room. Where had Koneko gone? The only trace she had been there were the still moist keys. Karasu was gone as well. "She's gone…" Naru did not seem surprised. Takigawa helped her get it up.
"What next Naru?" Takigawa said with his usual smile.
"Masako, would you mind checking the areas in question for any paranormal activity again?" Naru said looking at Masako.
"Of course Shibuya- kun," Masako said smiling slightly. Mai scowled. How could Naru like someone like her?
A half an hour later they were at the same place they had started at. There were no further supernatural occurrences. Mai got the feeling this case was going to be rather difficult. Ayako and Masako were bickering behind her. Ayako was teasing Masako for her inability to sense the spirits and Masako was making snide remarks about Ayako's usefulness.
When they came back to the base Karasu and Koneko were waiting for them with something that faintly resembled lunch.
"Where did you go?" Takigawa asked.
"Look, I made lunch!" Koneko said cheerily, ignoring Bou- san. It appeared to have once been ramen, drowned in some undeterminable green liquid.
"Um, I don't really feel hungry right now," Mai said laughing nervously. Masako turned the same colour as the soup.
Koneko's eyes began tear up. "I spent so long trying to make something you would like." Her face turned a splotchy red.
"Oh, I'll eat it. It looks good!" John smiled nervously.
"Yay, a test subject!" Koneko sang as she spun around the room.
She had been acting?!? Well she is not even trying to be subtle about in anymore, Mai thought.
John paled but grimaced in determination. He took the chopsticks Koneko handed him. Bracing himself he pulled them apart with a snap. Slowly he lowered them into the soup.
"John- san, you don't have to!" Masako cried.
"Its okay Masako- san," John said bravely. Lin produced a first aid kit out of nowhere.
"Lin- san!" Mai protested.
"I just want to be ready." John gulped upon hearing this. He pulled up some noodles covered in the thick green slime and put them to his lips. There was a collective intake of breath. Slowly, John put the noodles in his mouth and closed his lips around them. He put the chopsticks down and chewed thoughtfully and swallowed.
"This is pretty good!" John said brightly.
"Nani!?!" Takigawa yelled and grabbed the chopsticks away from John. He took some of the ramen and ate it. "This is good!"
"Eww, Bou- san, that's like kissing John," Mai said making a face.
"Don't think about kissing me," Ayako said haughtily.
"Like I would," Takigawa said.
"What?!?" Ayako yelled. She snatched the chopsticks from Takigawa's hand and proceeded to poke him mercilessly with them. Takigawa grabbed them back.
"What exactly is that stuff?" Takigawa asked as he warded off Ayako's blows.
"Its spinach sauce," Karasu said smiling at the bowl of ramen she held in her hands. "It's my grandmothers recipe. I made it using her ingredients."
"I thought Koneko- chan made it," Masako said.
"I boiled the noodles," she said smiling proudly. Takigawa sighed.
"Are you related?" Mai asked suddenly.
Koneko smiled mysteriously. "I wish we were."
"Oh," Mai said. Karasu handed her a bowl of ramen. Mai took her chopsticks and ate it cautiously. It was very good for something that looked so appalling. When Karasu tried offering it to Naru, he refused it.
"Nani? You don't want any of our special ramen?" Koneko pouted.
"No, but I will have some tea, Mai."
"Aye, Naru."
"I hope you brought your own tea. It seems the master of the house does not enjoy caffeinated drinks from the likes of his pantry," Koneko said, with an evil smile on her face. Lin actually blanched at this statement.
"No tea?" Lin asked weakly.
"Nope!" she said happily.
Lin turned very pale. "Its okay Lin- san. I brought tea with me just in case!" Mai interjected. Koneko looked disappointed, and Lin looked extremely relived.
Koneko offered to accompany Mai to get the tea and make it. As they were walking to Mai's room, Koneko asked, "Don't you think Naru is so kawaii?"
Mai jumped. "Haha, why do you ask that?" she asked laughing anxiously.
"Oh, its so obvious you like him. It's so cute!"
"Wha- What? Where did you get that idea?" Mai asked turning a vivid red.
"Like I said, it's obvious," Koneko said laughing. Mai blushed even more.
"Is it really that obvious?"
"Yep!"
They were in front of the door to Mai's room now. "You can wait here. I'll hurry and get the tea bags."
"Okay."
Mai stepped into the room. Where had she left her suitcase? She looked around and spotted it in the far corner. She made her way over there and opened the suitcase and rummaged through her thing until she found it, and quickly left.
"You have it?" Koneko asked, a bit of hope on her voice.
"Yes I have it." Koneko's smile faded and she pouted.
Koneko sulked as they walked towards the kitchen. The kitchen was very plain for such a nice house. The cabinets and walls were of a simple wood design. It was obvious this room had been neglected in relation to the rest of the house. Mai searched through the cabinets finally finding a kettle. She filled it with water and put it on the stove stop. A few quiet minutes later the water was boiling. Mai took out a cup, put in a tea bag, and poured in some water. She water until the water turned a dark amber colour and measured out one and a half teaspoons of sugar and poured them in. Exactly how Naru liked it. She had it down to a science. Koneko lazily watched her make the tea. Mai found a small plate and put the cup on it. Koneko opened the door for her as they exited the kitchen. When they got back to the base Mai handed Naru his tea.
"You are more capable than I thought," Naru said as he took the tea. Was he complimenting or insulting her? Naru was unreadable as ever.
There was not much to do, and it was remarkably quiet. The only noises were the slight murmur of voices and the scratch of Naru's pen on the paper of his notebook. Koneko who had grown bored decided to find out why everyone had chosen their professions.
"Ayako- chan, why did you become a miko?"
"Well…" Ayako began.
"A long long time ago…" Takigawa added. Masako laughed into her kimono sleeve.
Ayako slapped him. "Watch what you say old man," she snapped. Ignoring Takigawa's protests about not being an old man she continued. She told Koneko of her childhood and the special tree.
"Hau, that's so romantic," Koneko cooed. Romantic. This reminded Naru of something. On the first case Mai had worked with him on, the one at the old school building he remembered she had something like that. "There's always these old buildings in schools, and ghost stories about them… it's kind of romantic, don't you think?" When she said it, it was as if she had spoken his feelings. Her words were an embodiment of how he felt. At that moment, he decided to hire her. Until then, he had only thought of her as a temporary assistant, a mere replacement for Lin. Since when had he become so sentimental, and more importantly why did he remember what she had said word for word. Naru brushed these thoughts aside. There were more important things at hand.
"If you have time to prattle about your long lost childhoods than I am sure you have time to work," Naru said.
"What would you like us to do?" Koneko smirked.
"Anything that would contribute. When you chatter like that it is distracting and I can't concentrate on work." For the next half hour they tried to come up with things to do, but with such inactive spirits there really was nothing to do.
"What are you doing Naru?" Mai asked looking for some inspiration.
"I am transcribing the different cases and writing out what I think to be their cause and ways to exorcise them." Mai sighed and looked out the window.
"Oh! It's snowing!" she said jumping up. She ran to the window and the others followed her except for Lin and Naru.
Koneko pressed her face against the glass. "It must be the last snow of winter."
"Let's go out and enjoy it," Ayako said to Bou- san. Bou- san nodded.
"Yes, lets enjoy it," Masako said a smile touching her lips.
"What about you Taniyama- san?" John said smiling and turning to her.
Mai looked to Lin and Naru. "I'll stay with Naru and Lin. Go enjoy yourselves," she said smiling. She was still sitting there a while later. Naru had not acknowledged her sacrifice on his behalf and honestly, she was becoming quite bored.
As if he had read her mind Naru asked, "Do you want to go outside Mai?"
She stood up quickly. "Yes," she said eagerly. Lin smiled slightly at her enthusiasm, and Mai blushed. Naru and Lin escorted her outside. It had stopped snowing but a few inches of snow covered the ground. Takigawa and most of the others were throwing snowballs. Masako and Karasu sat off to the side talking quietly. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. As Mai stepped onto the frozen lawn Takigawa threw a snowball at her. She tried to dodge it but it still hit her shoulder. She then remembered that snow was cold. Not to mention she was only wearing a skirt and a turtleneck. Goosebumps broke out on her arms. Suddenly something warm was lowered onto her shoulders. She turned around and realized Naru had put his coat on her.
"Naru- chan!"
"As expected, you don't dress appropriately for the weather." Mai blushed. Whenever he did something kind or nice, he had to ruin be adding some unkind comment. Mai put her arms through the sleeves. It was very warm and was made of a very soft fabric. She pulled it around her.
"Naru, won't you be cold?"
"I'm fine. I am dressed more suitably than you are."
"Mai- chan, come play with us," Takigawa called.
"No sorry." She didn't want to ruin Naru's coat or get it wet. She looked over to where Karasu and Masako were talking. She wanted to join in the conversation too, but she felt it would be rude if she interrupted them. She squatted down and ran her fingers through the snow, careful not to let naru's coat touch the ground. She abruptly had an idea. Smiling, she began to make little snow spheres. Naru watched indifferently from a bench that Lin had brushed clean from snow.
When Takigawa, Ayako, John, and Koneko finished their game they went over to where Mai was. "Oh, snow animals," Takigawa said poking one of the figures.
"Uh, they were supposed to be people. Oh well," Mai sighed.
"Who are they," Koneko asked.
"Well," Mai said. She pointed to a very large thin one. "That's Lin." A short stubby one. "Masako."
"That's me!?" Masako interrupted.
"It looks just like you," Ayako smirked. Masako glared.
"This one is John. And this is Ayako."
"Where am I and Karasu?" Koneko cried.
"Karasu and I," Naru corrected.
"Well, um, I was just making SPR members, but I'll make you two figures if you want."
"Yay!" Koneko cheered.
"Which one is Naru?" Takigawa asked.
"Oh this one."
"Naru looks lumpy," Koneko snickered. Everyone else laughed except for Naru. Even Lin was amused.
"It's time to go," Naru said suddenly beside her. He pulled Mai to her feet and dragged her after him to the house.
"Don't think you can steal my Mai- chan like that!" Takigawa yelled after him. "Just because you're young and so handsome, and I'm so old!" She heard the others laugh at that comment.
"Naru where are we going?" Mai inquired.
"I need tea," Naru said curtly. Still wearing Naru's coat Mai stumbled into the house with Lin behind her.
So Mai made Naru tea just the way he liked it. And Naru drank it without thanking her as usual. They sat there in the quiet base. The others seemed to have resumed their games and conversation again. Mai stared out the window. Naru typed on his laptop taking an occasional sip of tea. Lin watched the monitors and checked for noises. Mai felt sorry for him. It had to be tedious. She stared at Naru next to her. Had he forgotten she still had his coat. She might as well enjoy it while she had it. She pulled the coat around her snugly, relishing its warmth. A deep warmth spread throughout her body and she wearily closed her eyes. She did not know how long she had slept, but when she looked beside her, she saw Naru asleep, his notebook ajar in his lap. She picked it up in flipped through it. She instantly felt bad and put it back on his lap.
"Lin- san, where are the others?"
"I believe they are in the kitchen making dinner."
"Why didn't you go?" she questioned.
"I am busy."
"Oh."
At the moment Koneko peeked in. "Isn't Naru pulchritudinous?" she asked.
"Where are the others? Aren't you supposed to be with Karasu? And what is pulchritudinous?" Mai asked.
"I don't know what it means," she said, only acknowledging the last question. She sat down on the edge of the couch next to Naru and she pinched Naru's cheek before Mai could stop her. Naru's eyes shot open. He brushed her hand away and glared at her gleeful face.
"Was that necessary?"
"Nope! But it was amusing."
"You shouldn't be by yourself. But then again, it is not my responsibility if you get hurt," Naru said changing the subject. Before Koneko could respond, Takigawa burst through the door.
"Dinner is ready!" he announced.
"Naru," Masako said coming over to him. "I made some special curry. Would you like to try it?" She smiled shyly at him. Mai felt her blood pressure rise as she glared vengefully at Masako. At least Naru didn't trust her enough to make his tea.
Naru sighed. "If I must," he said. Mai watched as Masako gave him her curry and Naru ate it. When Naru made no comment Masako's face fell, but only a little. Mai took the onigiri Takigawa handed her. It was a bit dry, but it was still food. She watched as the others tried the onigiri, and winced slightly at the unexpected crunchiness. Despite, the mediocre food, somehow things felt pleasant like this. Mai smiled to herself before taking another bite.
Another Author's Note (Hooray):
I was watching some Death Note parodies. All the Death Note fangirls ( if you have read/ watched it you will know who I am talking about) love Matt. I mean he is only there for like 5 seconds. But yet he is really popular. Why do fangirls love him so much??? Why do I love him so much!?!?!?! ( I really do!) (I think it might be his clothes, they are really kawaii!)