Oliver Davis froze upon hearing the young girl's voice, Lin was indeed distracted but it didn't stop him from helping desperate Mai. He knelt down and then took the pieces of the DVD and looked at the young brunette sobbing. He gently reached his hand out for her. "Taniyama-san, Are you okay?" He courteously asked and waited for the brunette to respond. It took Mai a while for her come back to her senses. Mai blinked blankly for a while before finally hearing Lin's voice. Mai nodded and then took the pieces of DVD from Lin's palms. She then knelt down and stood up. She hurriedly went to her bag pack and then set her things inside. She was trembling and shivering. Oliver Davis stood right in front of her and took her wrist before dragging her into his office.
"Naru! What are you doing?!" Mai struggled as she tried to let go of his tight grip. Naru pulled her inside his office and then closed the door before locking it. He let goes off her wrist and then coldly said with a raised tone. "Sit down." Mai's eyes started to tear up with fear, she sat down on the sofa inside his office as she looked down and covered her face. She sobbed.
"What was that Mai?" Naru crossed his arms looking down at the sobbing brunette. He waited for her to respond but realized that he was making it more difficult for Mai. So, he gently sat down beside her and gave a small pat behind her back before asking again, but before he was supposed to ask again, Mai finally spoke up.
"I watched the video in my dream. It was as if I was hypnotized to watch it." Mai sniffed and then tried to breathe. "And when I woke up, I was as if really watching it in the office." She paused for a while and cleared her throat. "So, I ran to the DVD player and saw it in there." Mai looked down and quivered. "Why was it in our DVD player Naru? Did you watch it? Did Lin watch it?" She asked.
The raven haired man shook his head. "We'll take this case, Mai. But it will be a challenge for us."
Mai understood what he meant and then mumbled. "I can re-watch it again so that we can gather some clues about it. Maybe I can start from there." Oliver Davis hesitated to agree and then stood up as he reached his hand to her. "Let's get you home." He suggested.
Oliver Davis noticed her pale skin and cold temperature, he took a spare coat from the coat hanger and let it hung on her shoulders to keep her warm for a while. He walked towards the door to open it for them but when he turned the knob and pulled the door, he saw Lin ready to knock. The Chinese man noticed the concern in Naru's eyes, he then leaned forward and whispered into the raven haired man's ear. "Taniyama-san already destroyed it…" He paused and then moved his body slightly to the side so that he could see it. "But, why is it physically unharmed?" Naru's eyes widened as he looked at the completely unharmed DVD on top of Mai's desk.
"We may need all the help that we can get," Naru whispered back and then stepped forward. Lin agreed by nodding his head and retreated back into his personal office. Mai stood up holding the coat through its sleeves. She gently walked towards her narcissistic boss and then said, "I think I can go home by myself." Mai mumbled as she approached her desk. The moment she reached her desk she stepped back for a while and realized the once-destroyed DVD was right in front of her. The young brunette cleared her throat and then thought of how to use the DVD as an advantage for her and her team to crack the case. Mai turned her hand into a fist and then reached for the DVD. She tore a sheet from her notebook and then wrapped the DVD with the sheet.
"I don't want you guys to get involved in this." Mai sheepishly said and then placed the DVD inside her bag pack. Lin stepped out from his office carrying his keys. The Chinese man looked at the gloomy brunette carrying her bag pack and ready to leave. He sighed and then saw Naru gave a nod.
"Taniyama-san, I'll take you home." Lin offered. Mai simply nodded as she walked towards the door. Naru approached Lin first before he heads out.
"Can you leave one of your shikis with her?" Naru politely asked his mentor. Lin smiled for a second but faded after he nodded his head and turned around to escort their client, Mai.
Oliver Davis turned around irritated to himself, the first thing he saw was the vase on top of the desk near the window. Out of his control, he uses his qigong to levitate it, he was angry, he was feeling scared for the 2nd time of his life. He felt that he should have accepted the case of Tomoko Yuko even if it means watching the video. He was starting to feel furious at the fact that Mai could possibly die because of a video. He stormed back into his office and did his research about such video, but to his dismay, there were a lot of lacking information that could lead him to the video.
Lin dropped off Mai in her apartment, he made sure that he could see her safe while she was inside, and the onmyouji left one of his powerful shikis to Mai so that he could make sure that she was unharmed even if she was by herself.
The trembling feeling of Mai didn't leave her side. There was the feeling of anger and dismay mixed in with the emotion of sadness and pain. She stepped in front of her apartment door and unlocked it. In just a few seconds, the young brunette stepped inside and threw her bag to the side. She slammed the door shut leaving the onmyouji worried for her. She walked her way through the bedroom and just laid down, she wanted to think that it was all just a dream. A dream that she would consider a nightmare.
Mai gently opened her eyes, she blinked it for a while before realizing that she was dreaming again. Her eyes rolled to the side. Curious of the dripping noises that she heard, she slowly walked towards the source. As she walked, her surroundings changed. She was in a hallway. "This isn't my house…"Mai continued to walk and walk until she reached the end. The moment she reached the end she paused for a while and saw herself looking on a round mirror. Her hands all of the sudden picked up the brush from the side and combed her hair down. She started to think why was she combing her hair all of the sudden. As soon as she was aware of her surroundings, Mai instantly turned to the side and then noticed a childlike figure's shadow was near the next hall. The young brunette could feel the chills coming up to her spine, she was feeling rather aware of her surroundings even more. All of the sudden, she felt a push from her back and the next thing she saw was the dark void.
Day 1
Mai opened her eyes, she sat up and thought of what she dreamt about. She paused for a while and took a deep breath of relief after seeing the light coming from her bedroom window. She slid her feet off the bed and then sat at the side of the bed. She stood up and then walked towards the small kitchen of her apartment. To her surprise, she saw the red-headed priestess preparing her pancakes for breakfast. Ayako held the pan and then placed it in the sink. She untied the pink apron and then let it hung over on the vacant chair. Her head rose up hearing Mai's footsteps stopped. Ayako smiled and then greeted her. "Good morning, Mai. I thought we could have breakfast." Mai's mood slowly changed upon seeing the mother-like priestess in front of her. Mai sauntered towards the dining table and sat on the vacant seat in front of Ayako.
"Did Naru send you?" Mai asked tilting her head, she was quite curious of Ayako's visit all of the sudden. The priestess shook her head and scoffed. "Ha, what are you saying, Mai?Of course I'm here for you and that man didn't put me up to this." Ayako clarified. "So you better eat up."
Ayako insisted on taking Mai to the office so that she won't have to walk that far, besides the office needed them to have an emergency meeting.
"I don't know whether to believe it or not, but this is Mai we're talking about here. If she says that the creepy cursed tape is true then it's true!" Bou-san argued with the raven-haired man, who was still doubting Mai's case. Naru glared at the Monk and then hid his statements to himself. Masako finished reading the research that Naru did about the cursed video. She wanted to believe in it, but it was lacking too much information. Yasuhara was quiet on the other side of the room, he wasn't comfortable with the topic being discussed by the team. He was busy reading some of his textbooks in college to cover up his awkward ambiance inside the room. Lin approached the team and gave them a heads up that Mai and Ayako are nearby. Naru stood up carrying the folder that he researched about the cursed video.
Mai opened the door and approached her locker, she slid in her bag inside before locking it, she hung her coat and then was about to proceed to her desk. But to her surprise, she saw the whole team gathered. Mai stepped back for a while and realized what she got herself into. She tightly held her hands and then stepped forward, making her way towards her friends. Monk slid to the side to that Ayako could sit down with them.
"Good... Morning guys…" Mai sheepishly said looking down. The team could feel her sadness lingering around her, it was quite new for them to see the cheerful, bubbly Mai completely bummed about something.
"Are you willing to review the video?" Naru stood up and then confronted the brunette. "Oi, Naru! What is the possibility that might happen if she watches it again? Takigawa, out of concern, stood up. Mai shook her head towards the monk and said. "I'll be fine, I'll do my part. Just make sure, none of you will watch it with me." Mai said as she held the DVD tightly.
"Or maybe we could drive the spirit out from the DVD?" John raised his hand for a suggestion. Mai shook her head once again and then said. "I don't think the spirit is possessing this DVD."
"Are you sure it's okay for us to look at the pictures after you re-watch it and do some screenshots of it?" Masako asked. Naru folded his arms and answered the spiritualist questions. "I believe that the video must be entirely watched before the curse could start." "And, Keiko was able to have a copy of just a screenshot. She didn't die or anything." Mai said.
"Where can I re-watch it?" Mai looked at Lin and Oliver Davis. Lin approached the brunette and then led her into his personal office. The moment that Lin was about to step inside, Mai pushed him back. "I will be locking it from the inside," Mai said before shutting the door.
"How the hell did that DVD land in our DVD player?" Bou-san folded his arms as he tried to think of a possible way, it was quite unnatural for such item to just pop out all of the sudden. Masako noticed that the college student was too quiet at the side. So, she decided to give him a pat on the shoulder and said: "Are you okay, Yasuhara?" Masako slightly tilted her head as she looked at the young man. Yasuhara couldn't take the guilt anymore, he shook his head and then stood up before bowing down to the people in front of him.
"Yasuhara-san, what is the meaning of this?" Lin inquired. Naru raised an eyebrow and before Yasuhara could even say a word, Naru opened his mouth. "He's the one he brought it here."
"Naru, how can you accuse of Yasu about that?" Ayako looked at the tensed CEO and then turned to Yasuhara waiting for him to defend himself.
"Ayako, Naru's right. I was the one who placed it there." He guiltily looked at the television and said. "I have 5 days to live."
NOT YASUHARA TOO! I am thinking of another person to watch it as well so that Mai and Yasu won't be the only ones who's going to suffer! So, who do you guys think it's going to be?