So, yeah…Hopefully this is the last chapter. Almost completely out of ideas for this one and getting bored of the storyline. So I'll be ending this soon enough. Hope you guys enjoyed it so far! ^_^
Mai: Chii owns no Ghost Hunt related topics.
Chii: Disclaimers are depressing…8(
Jun's scream echoed throughout the house for a few minutes before she dropped to her knees.
"M-Mom…?" She managed to stifle out. "Mom…" I had cowered behind Naru, who even himself was stricken with disbelief at the lengths this spirit will go. Suddenly, we heard what sounded like footsteps. They didn't sound like they were coming from a specific place, as much as the sound was surrounding us. It went on for a couple minutes, before stopping completely. Jun was on the floor, whiter than a ghost, knelt near the body (or what was left of it) of her deceased mother. I went up to her and knelt down beside her.
"Jun?" I said. It seemed to finally bring her out of her shock, for when I said her name, she dived into me. She sobbed long and hard as I softly embraced her, trying to comfort her. We heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Monk, Lin, and John appeared, all sharing the same frightened expression as us all. The three of them stood there, shocked at the sight, before coming over and pulling Jun and I to our feet. Monk whispered to me to take Jun into another room. I quickly complied as I herded the trembling girl back to the base, looking over my shoulder to see the men quickly cleaning up what remained of Takara-san's body.
By the time we got to the base, Jun was now hyperventilating. I brought her over to the window seat and tried calling her name multiple times to snap her out of it.
"Jun!" I yelled. "Jun! Snap out of it!" But failed attempts only followed. Finally, I had to smack her face lightly to get her attention. This seemed to work because she ceased her hyperventilation immediately. "Jun…I understand how you must feel right now. But you need to stay calm. Getting too excited will only appease the spirit's appetite even more. We need to deal with the problem right away." I finished with a confident expression plastered on my face. I wasn't going to let Jun give up this easily. Finally she nodded her head slowly, and reverted to staring out the window. I sat next to her for a while, before being a bit startled by Monk entering the room, followed by the other three men. Ayako and Masako left a while ago, due to other personal matters that needed to be taken care of. With us down two members, we're going to focus even harder on the situation at the time. This isn't going to be easy, and this last event doesn't make it any easier.
After a few hours of staring at inactive camera screens, we all were getting more and more tense and anxious for this case to just end. Jun, typing away on her computer to keep her mind off things, was probably the worst out of all of us. She looked like she was about to snap any moment. I decided to lighten the tension in the room by trying to be the peacemaker for once.
"I'm gonna go make some tea. Anyone want any?" I asked. I got some form of yes from everybody, and didn't even wait for Naru to give his usual "humph" of an answer. I quickly left the room, wanting to get out of the horrible aura-filled room.
I was on my way to the kitchen when I heard a second set of footsteps matching my own. I shuttered at the thought of encountering that spirit once again. I quickened my step, which in turn the second set of footsteps did the same. I eventually found myself running to the kitchen in a panic. I got to the kitchen and the footsteps continued toward the room, I waited right inside the room around the corner for the footsteps to reach the room. When they did, I jumped into the doorway, only to run straight into Jun. We both ended up being propelled backwards."Jun!" I exclaimed once I regained composure. I got up quickly to help her up. "Jun, what are you doing? You scared me half to death!" I scolded her.
"I'm sorry…I didn't really try to." She apologized. I cooled down after she still looked a bit shaken up.
"It's ok." I said. "Want to help me fix tea for everyone?" I asked. She nodded and proceeded to get cups and saucers for everyone, while I put the kettle on to boil. Jun was scavenging through a cabinet for a tray to place all the teacups on. When the kettle started whistling the familiar sound that we're all used to by now, I poured all the cups and placed tea leaves in each cup. While we waited for the tea to steep, Jun started up a conversation.
"So…Mai…how long did it take you to get over your parents' deaths?" She asked. I was a bit surprised at the question. But quickly responded.
"Well…I'm not quite sure." I said. "I knew that I wasn't very open the rest of middle school. But, after I left middle school and went to high school, I finally realized that it's time to move on, and take life head-on. There's no use in mourning over the past and not treasure what you have in life already." I smiled sadly. Jun just looked at me and didn't say a word. She smiled a sad smile and embraced me lightly. I returned it and smiled at her. We finished up the tea and quickly walked back to base, as to make sure the others weren't getting worried that we were gone for too long.
"Sorry we took so long." I said as we entered the room. I dispersed the cups of tea to everyone in the room, before sitting down at the table in the center of the room with my own. "Any new leads?" I asked.
"Not one…" Monk said solemnly. Everyone else shook their heads. I sighed heavily and threw my head on the table.
"If you keep doing that, you're going to become even more stupid than you are. Then there would be no need for you around my place of business." Naru jeered. I shot my head up and glared hard at him before standing up abruptly and walking over next to Lin to observe the monitors. I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small smirk on his face, but calmly disregarded it.
It felt like I was staring at the monitors for hours, before I noticed something. I got a bit closer to the screen that was set up in Tsukiki's room. When I saw what it was, I jumped backwards so hard that I almost hit my head against the table.
"Mai! What's wrong?" Monk said kneeling quickly next to me. I sat there, staring at the screen with disbelief.
"No…" I said. My voice shaky. "It can't be…" I was almost in tears as I watched what laid before me.
"What?" Monk said. "It can't be what?" He was shaking me to try and get me to answer. But all I did was stare at the screen. Naru looked at the screen but what he said next, I did not expect to hear."Mai…there's nothing there."I just cringed at the statement, and looked at the screen in astonishment.
"What do you mean 'there's nothing there', Naru!" I yelled. "Do you not see them!" I asked.
"See who, Mai?" Monk asked. I couldn't believe it. They couldn't see them.
Without thinking, I got up and ran straight out of the room. I could hear several other sets of footsteps and various voices shouting for me to stop, but I just kept running. Before I knew it, I was standing outside Tsukiki's bedroom. When I heard the others running up the stairs, I opened the door with ease, and rushed in.
"Mai! Come back!" I heard a voice yell. I didn't turn around to see who it was. I was concerned with only one other thing in the room.
"Mom…? Dad…?" I asked, my voice still shaking. The two spirits stood before me smiling lightly. I ran up to them and embraced them tightly. "I can't believe this…" I said between sobs. Suddenly, I heard loud pounding on the door. I quickly watched as Monk and Naru, both, knocked down the door.
"MAI!" Naru yelled. "GET AWAY! Those are not your parents!" He was yelling frantically, his stoic figure now gone. I felt a hand on my shoulder, looked up, and saw my father smiling down on me. Then, I looked down at his hand, which now was morphing into some creature's hand with large claws. I screamed loudly, and tried to get away, but my "mother" placed her hand on my other shoulder, which resembled that of my father's. They both gripped my shoulders hard, before propelling me into the wall, and surprisingly through it into the hallway.
"MAI!" I faintly heard Naru and Monk yell. I felt someone holding me up, but couldn't make out who. I could hear the faint sound of Monk starting his familiar mantra, and John his prayer. I finally regained my vision back, and noticed Naru holding me up. I quickly jumped back up and rushed back over to the doorway to watch what was going on. Lin had just whistled for his shiki to join him. But, none of their attempts were working. Monk and John were both knocked back on their feet, while Lin and his shiki were knocked to the floor.
"No…!" I exclaimed softly. Next thing I knew, I was in the room chanting the mantra that Monk had taught me. Then, reciting the Nine Cuts. "Rin! Pyou! Tou! Shah! Kai! Gene! Retsu! Zai! Zen!" I finished the nine cuts with some success, but very little. While in the midst of all this, my so-called "Parents" morphed together and revealed only to be Miyami in disguise. She jumped back a bit, but quickly regained her composure.
"Stop this! Please!" I screamed at her. Naru appeared behind me and just glared at the spirit. Miyami smirked, and with a simple wave of her hand, sent me spiraling across the room, landing right next to Lin. Naru just kept his eyes on the spirit, but cringed when he heard the painful yelp when I hit the floor. He had that look in his eye from back when he last used his Qigong. We knew what was coming. I tried to get up, but failed every time.
"Naru…!" Lin exclaimed weakly. "Don't do it! You know what will happen!" I tried again to get up, this time succeeding. I ran over to Naru quickly and tried to stop him, only to be propelled backwards again, this time straight into Lin. Luckily, he was able to catch me.
A breeze started up around Naru, and everything started looking distorted and warped. Being able to hear was not an option now, as there was loud ringing everywhere. Naru raised his arm above his head and a light formed as he made a fist with his hand. Miyami smirked at this entire scene, as she looked like she was about to charge at Naru. Naru suddenly flung his arm downward at the same time as Miyami started charging at him. They both got a blow, and was enveloped in smoke and dust. We couldn't see a thing.
"NARUU!" I screamed. I got up weakly, but was stopped by Lin, who motioned for me to stay put. I hesitantly complied. When the smoke cleared, Miyami was nowhere to be found. We were glad about that. But, all of our hearts stopped when we saw Naru laying on the floor, lifeless. Lin got up quickly and ran over to him, listening for a heart beat. When he heard nothing, he tried to revive our narcissistic boss, with no luck. Suddenly, we heard what sounded like a small child laughing.
"Pitiful fool…" Miyami hissed. She was standing at the other side of the room, obviously weakened by the blow, but still physically there. Then, we heard quiet mumbling, and noticed someone standing in the doorway. It was Jun. She was dressed in a priestess's gown, and mumbling something under her breath. Miyami seemed to react to this. She was holding her head in pain. Jun started walking towards Miyami, still chanting under her breath. When she got only a few inches from the now cowering Miyami, she pulled out something we didn't even expect to see: A doll that resembled Miyami.
"No!" Miyami exclaimed. "No, please! Anything but that!" She was hysterical, but Jun stood her ground. She knelt down to the small child.
"You killed my mother…and my only sister…" She started, her voice deep and sinister. "You need to leave this place." She continued to chant whatever it was until Miyami was almost completely powerless. She then held the doll up to her. There was a flash of light, and Miyami was completely absorbed by the doll. All was quiet afterward.
The heavy atmosphere seemed to lift completely after all that had gone on. We were all frozen for a few minutes, but quickly rushed over to our boss's, now, lifeless body. I walked over slowly, and knelt down next to Lin who was holding onto Naru. I looked into my former boss's eyes. Those grey, lifeless, steely eyes. I leaned over and gave him one last kiss, before placing my hand on his face to close his eyes. Jun walked over, and held the doll out for Monk to look at. He took it cautiously.
"Don't worry…" She said solemnly. "It's completely safe. She's completely sealed inside what she created so long ago." Monk nodded.
We sat in the room for a while longer, before heading downstairs to strike camp. Naru, we freshly buried outside by a beautiful cherry blossom tree, and had a mini-service for him. It suddenly felt so nostalgic, in a way. It somehow reminded me of my parents' funerals those few years back. We had all the equipment and tools packed up within an hour. With that done, we left the house behind in our most shocking case, ever.
A few months went by since the case ended. Jun was now living with me, since she couldn't possibly live in such a big house by herself. I offered her to live with me after everything happened, and offered her a job at SPR. With Naru gone, things have been a bit slow lately, and the office seems lonely and empty without him there. I'm going to miss the same line he says every day that has been a ritual ever since day one: "Mai, tea!" My eyes were tearing up just thinking about it.
"Mai?" Jun said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You ok? You'd better hurry up, or we'll be late for work." I wiped my face quickly and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said cheerfully, trying to hide my tear-stained face. She smiled sadly."It's ok." She started. "Even though I only knew him for a short time, I miss him, too." I smiled and embraced her in a soft hug, before turning and heading out the door.
When we got to the office, everything was silent. Naru's office was turned into a office/conference room for myself and Jun to work in. There were two desks, each with laptops on them, and a set of chairs and table for questioning and interview sessions with clients. Jun went immediately to this room, while I fixed some tea for us all.
I delivered Jun's tea to her, and she greatly accepted it. I placed my cup on my desk and turned to go deliver Lin's tea to him.
I knocked lightly on his door to tell him that I was entering. I walked in, and for once, found Lin NOT typing on his infamous computer. He was hunched over in his chair with his elbows on the desk and his hands on his face. I walked over and placed the cup of tea next to him on his desk. He didn't move. I wanted to say something, but couldn't, so I turned to go back out. Then, I heard what sounded like a silent sob. Sure enough, Lin had finally broke. He was quietly sobbing into his hands. I walked over to him, and placed an arm around his shoulders. I spoke quietly to him to try and comfort sat like that for a while. After he finally calmed down a bit, he looked over at me and smiled.
"Thank you, Mai…" He said quietly. I smiled and enveloped him in a tight hug. To my surprise, he accepted it, and placed his arms around me as well. I let go and smiled softly at him, tears running down my face. He wiped them from my face, before I got up and left, a smile still plastered on my face. I went over to the next room with Jun and sat down at my desk. She turned around in her chair and smiled at me.
"So?" She started. "Any new cases today?"
"No, not today…business has been kind of slow…I'm wondering if it'll even stay running…" I thought out loud. Jun frowned.
"I sure hope nothing happens to business." She said. "I'm starting to enjoy kicking the crap out of spirits!" She said jokingly. I just laughed. It's nice to have someone my age to joke around with at work. I just hope that things can stay this way…I feel like my family's falling apart all over again. But, I won't let that happen. As long as we all stay together, nothing will happen.
I finished going through some paperwork, and put it all into a file. I took a marker and wrote on the tab: Tsukiki's Pastime. I put it in a filing cabinet that had all of our cases inside.
"Interesting name for the file." Jun said, standing behind me watching me work. I just smiled. Suddenly, we heard the door to the office open
."Hello? Is this Shibuya Psychic Research?" the voice said. Jun and I just sighed deeply, and went out to greet our next client. Here we go again.
FINALLY! It's over…*poses triumphantly and falls backwards in exhaustion* Let me know what you guys think. PLEASE no flames for killing Naru. I thought it'd be interesting if something happened to a team member. Don't kill me!.. Well…ideas have been floating around in my head for a while, which means…*drum roll* Sequel! 8D Hope you guys enjoyed!
Mai: Wow…didn't see that one coming…
Chii: That's what you always say
Mai: True…R&R and comment! Hope you guys enjoyed! Ciao!
Chii: Bai Bai! ^_^ See ya next time!