Theatre Wars

Chapter 2: In which there are a lot of expositions and Mai does it again

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Ghost Hunt.

Lin has parked the car in a vacant lot in front of the main theatre building which I am pleased to see had been built with a dramatic façade with imposing red pillars entwined with old gold dragons balancing the slate roof which curved upwards at the corners. The interior however is entirely modern, with a spacious lobby and ticket booth. The stairs beyond led up to the gallery. "Wow. What's a place like this doing in the middle of nowhere?" I breathe, awed. Lin, surprisingly, answers me. "You slept through the town when I was driving through."

"Oh."

I have just fallen into step with him when a girl with close cropped hair comes out from the booth. "Excuse me, but would you be from SPR?" Naru nods.

"I'm Kazuya Shibuya, and these are my associates."

"My name is Nijima Haru. If you'll follow me please," she answers, bowing as she speaks. She has vivid eyes and a friendly smile and I find myself liking her instantly. We follow Haru up the stairs to the gallery level of the theatre and down the corridor. The walls on both sides are decorated with framed black and white pictures of past performances and the floor is covered with a deep red carpet that muffled any sound. Haru stops at a door at the far end and knocks politely.

"Enter."

The room beyond is surprisingly spacious with a long table and office chairs all along its length. The three men who have been waiting inside rose to greet us. The taller of the two men and the only one dressed in a traditional hakama speaks first.

"Ah. Welcome. It is very gracious of you to come all the way out here from Tokyo at such short notice. I am Nijima Hajime, director of Ichibara Theatre and this Umezo Kensho, the leader of Aoi Theatre Company. The young man here is my secretary, whom you spoke to on the phone yesterday, Kikuchi Takashi-kun."

Both men bow and Umezo gestures towards the table. "Please take a seat… Shibuya-san?" he says in Lin's direction.

Naru steps forward smoothly."I am Kazuya Shibuya. The man you were speaking to is my assistant, Lin Koujo."

Umezo Kensho, not unsurprisingly, looks surprised. "So young? Er, I mean, this is unexpected."

Well of course it would be, prodigies like Naru don't exactly grow on trees and knowing my boss, I suspect he actually liked being misrecognized.

"Do take a seat all of you." As soon as we have settled down, Umezo clears his throat. "Firstly, Hajime and I deeply apologize for not being able to meet you at your office as planned. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law has been hospitalised and I only just came back here today."

"It's not a problem. I understand from my assistant's liaison with Kikuchi-san that your performance is for the spring festival that is in two weeks' time."

"Yes. Time is indeed pressing for us."

Haru has returned with a tray of steaming tea cups. "Then, I'll get straight to the point," Naru replies as he takes a sip of his green tea. "Given your brief to me, I would like to start by hearing more about this collaboration since it appears to be the source of your cast's unhappiness."

Nijima Hajime lowers his tea cup slowly. He is a dignified looking man with silver hair and a fatherly smile. "I believe it was in July last year. At that time, I had been considering possibilities of reviving audience numbers when I met Kensho in Ginza at a play last year. That was when we began talking of a possible collaboration."

"As you might have observed," Umezo-san booms, "both our troupes are relatively small and it seemed absurd to limit our repertoire because of a lack of actors when we could pool our resources. A month later, we pitched our idea to the management of the festival." He snorts. "You can imagine the actors' reaction. But Nijima and I had already signed the agreement."

Naru leans forward with his arms folded and I know that he is preparing to be serious. "And the matter of the curse?"

Umezo looks uneasy as he straightens his pin-striped suit. "The thing is… Ginsui Theatre has long had a reputation of being haunted. It all sounded pretty trite to me though, especially since the management attributes it to Okiku, of all things."

"Okiku?" I echo. "Do you mean that character from that tragedy?" Nijima Hajime affirms this with a nod and a slight smile.

"It seems unbelievable doesn't it? We didn't think too much about it either and it all seemed like hype set up to attract people to the Ginsui. A theatre with a colourful history can contribute very much to the atmosphere of certain productions. Only...

Nijima's smiled fades. "We have had nothing but trouble since we arrived. Cast and crew alike have been complaining about being watched during rehearsals, loud breathing in the shadows and a day doesn't go by without some kind of accident happening. Things even got dangerous when one of my actors fell from the upper floor, reportedly after seeing a woman in a white kimono step through the wall. This got everyone fired up unfortunately. And somehow word got round that someone in the production was jinxing it in protest of the collaboration."

"Do you have any idea who might be involved?"

Nijima shakes his head solemnly and then glances at his portly friend. "How about you, Kensho?"

"None."

Naru thumbs to a page which he had earlier marked out with a post-it. "Naturally, I've been conducting my own research since I received your file last week.

"And I gather that this is not the first time the Ichibara and ATC have collaborated in the Ginsui before." He flips several more pages and then leans forward. "From what you have told me, I believe that you do not suspect your present cast but perhaps, one from the past of the source of the hauntings?"

"Ah. Well." Umezo clears his throat embarrassedly. Naru is unmoved. "While I understand the curse to be somewhat a matter of delicacy for both your troupes, I doubt you would have hired me if it was a simple exorcism."

Nijima chuckles wryly. "We are well aware you come with very strong credentials. The minister is a patron of ours."

My eyes widen. Naru shrugs. "You want me to exorcise ghosts of your own making."

"That would be one way of saying it," Nijima answers. "But on top of the cast's claims, it is my belief that the less cooperative members are building on Ginsui's reputation in order to disrupt our opportunity to work together." He glances at Haru. "It would be ideal of course, if you could prove that there are no supernatural happenings but Kensho and I have come to believe that may not be quite possible."

"Very well. We'll be starting investigations today. I believe I also mentioned that we would require a room to conduct our investigations."

Kikuchi-san who has so far been earnestly scribbling in his notepad, pauses. "If I may offer a suggestion, this conference room would I believe be ideal."

"Certainly, that can be arranged. What do you think, Kensho?" Nijima-san asks. His counterpart grunts. "Fine with me," he says. They both get up. "Good luck with your investigations, Shibuya." Catching Naru's eye, Umezo pauses at the door. "You would no doubt want to find out more about what exactly the cast knows and there will be very eager persons who will fill you in. I only ask that discretion be used in your investigations."

The meeting over, we are now back outside. Somehow, the theatre doesn't look as appealing as it has earlier, Nijima and Umezo's account of its history having cast a pall over its glossy façade.

"You don't mean to leave us here for the night!" I protest unhappily as I watch Lin get into the car and start the engine. After some discussion, Naru feels that he would need the extra equipment after all and Lin has to go back to the office to get them. He winds down the vehicle's window, leaning out solemnly. "Is there anything you'll need apart from your overnight bag?"

I shake my head distractedly as Naru joins us. "Maybe a toothbrush," I say as he hands Lin a piece of paper. Lin scans it, nods and winds up his window. Then, with a soft crunch of gravel, he pulls out of the lot, the car vanishing down the slope beyond. Naru watches for a minute and then starts to go back into the theatre. "We might as well make a head start," he announces. "Go set up the shelves."

On another occasion, I would have been thrilled to have Naru all to myself but given our earlier argument, the atmosphere is tense and I wan't wait to escape.

"Umm… should I clear a space for the interviews here?" I ask meekly. Naru lifts his head with barely concealed impatience.

"Mm… Yes, Mai. You've worked for me long enough. Use your discretion and stop bugging me every few minutes."

The nerve of him! As if making monosyllabic grunts when I ask him anything is any better! And he never lifts a finger to help either!

Once that is done, I am quick to escape out to the front entrance and the car park. The theatre sits on the side of a hill and from the edge of the garden I can look down into the city in the valley. I must have slept for a long while in the car if I missed all that. I watch for a while and then as the light began to fade, I turn to leave, only to bump straight into Naru.

When had he gotten here? I stumble, my nose stinging from where it'd hit his chest. He doesn't say anything but catches my hand so I don't fall. Bad move. My foot catches Naru's and we both go down.

Oww.

I can feel blood rushing up to my face. "I'm-I'm sor-sorry!"

"Are you two alright?"

Two more people have arrived. The taller one of them extends a hand out to me and I accept it gratefully. "Thanks," I say, my face still red. "Not to worry about, miss," he says as I scramble up, pulling Naru up with me. "Now then, would you two be from the paranormal team that's investigating the curse?"

"Yes, my name is Mai. May we be of any assistance er…mister…?"

"The name's Ike Himura, from ATC and this young man here is Hiro, also from Aoi," he says before breaking into a jovial laugh. The boy, Hiro, who appears to be about sixteen or seventeen smiles brightly, his brown eyes crinkling shyly. "Nice to meet you," he answers as we all begin to walk back to the main building. "We heard that some of your members would be remaining and that we could speak to you if we had any questions. Would that be you and…?" He looks at Naru.

"Since Mai has so conveniently forgotten to introduce me, I'll do it myself," Naru cuts in smoothly. "I'm Shibuya."

Oh – oops. I hadn't meant to that - honest!

"I believe you have something you wish to speak to us about?" Naru starts to ask when Kikuchi coughs politely, having just appeared from inside the lobby.

"Excuse me, Shibuya-san? Your rooms have been prepared. If you two would follow me, I will take you to them now."

"Oh-

I begin to say when Ike-san shakes his hand.

"It's alright, Hiro-kun and I have some things to finish up first anyway," he says and then winks at me. "Why don't you two head back? I won't tell your boss that you two lovebirds have been skiving."

Ehh?! Naru and I look at each other. Then, I realise that I hadn't let go of his hand. As Kikuchi goes to speak to Ike-san, we hastily move apart, and embarrassed though I am, I am certain that Naru's face is redder than it usually is. He's going to kill me later. Kikuchi bows. "Allow me to apologize, Ike-san, for disrupting your conversation," he says courteously. Ike-san is equally polite. "Not at all, not at all," he replies before waving to Hiro. "Come on boy, we've got to fix those mikes before tomorrow." Is it my imagination or are Ike-san and Kikuchi-san both extra formal with each other? Then I remember that their troupes don't get along. That must be it. They leave, and we are about to as well when I stiffen.

"What is it?" Naru asks, looking sharply over to where I have been staring.

"I thought I saw someone standing near the bridge watching us."

But, when we get there, there is nobody. Naru sees me shivering uneasily and makes a decision quickly. "It was probably one of the crew members. Let's head back."

That night I wake up to feeling a warm weight over me. A pair of warm hands pin me down on the couch and I groan as warm kisses are planted down my arm. I shift, arching my neck hungrily for more which Naru complies, nibbling lightly on my exposed skin. "We shouldn't be here," I say reluctantly, guiltily.

"Why shouldn't we? I'm not needed for at least another…" he pulls a sleeve back to look at his watch. A gold and leather Omega… a new one I haven't seen before. "…Six minutes. There's still time till the curtain goes down," he breathes, his face bare millimetres from mine. "Umm, what are you doing?" I ask, when he grips my thigh. "Shh. Look, now there's only five more minutes," he murmurs as I dig sharply into the silk material over his back, biting back a sharp moan, my eyes fluttering open. Funny. Since when were the chairs in the conference room made of wood?

"Er…" I say as we shift on the couch but he stops me with a finger to my lips.

"Shizu…" he whispers hoarsely. "If you keep talking, they'll hear us," he admonishes. I sit up quickly, pushing him away while I scoot as far as I can from him. "Ha-Haruo-san?" I squeak. The man frowns, his dress shirt in disarray and still looking much like Naru would if he was wearing the remnants of a tux. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop using that honorific?"

"At-At least once more, as always," I sputter before jumping up and smoothing down my kimono. A kimono? Mai, you fool. You've been making love to some figment from the past and you didn't even know. The Haruo-Naru of my dreams staggers up as well, looking mighty annoyed when a bell chimes. Seizing the opportunity, I pick up the hem of the pastel yellow cloth and run for the door, slamming it behind the imitation Naru and the dream world with a relieved sigh.

The dream has me bolting out of my bed. Haruo? Shizu? Who are these people? I sit there mulling over it. At least Gene hadn't been in it. Or had he? The idea is too discomfiting to think on and I get out of the bed. A drink of water will probably calm me down. As I pass Naru's door I see that the light is on. Typical workaholic! I blush again and set off for the pantry, only to meet Naru, a damp towel around his shoulders. His eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Mai?"

"What are you doing here?" I demand indignantly. Of all the people, he is the last person I want to see at that moment. Naru looks taken aback. I suppose I must have sounded much fiercer than I thought. His eyes narrow. "I was taking a shower. If you have no particular business, go back to your room instead of wandering about at four a.m."

His door slams shut and I stick my tongue out at him. Pot calling the kettle. Who takes baths at four huh?

Notes: Okiku is a popular folktale character from Banchō Sarayashiki (The Dish Mansion at Banchō). There are many variations of which the following gist is only one. In summary, Banchō Sarayashiki is a tragic story about a maid called Okiku who is spurned by her samurai lover after she tests his dedication to her by breaking one of several heirloom plates. Put to death for the crime, she becomes a vengeful ghost who haunts him.