Author's Notes: Wow, I'm really excited about the responses I'm getting so far! Thank you so much!
In regards to pairings, I'm going to see if I can pull off a few Mai/Naru moments here and there (I love those two together!), along with Ayako/Monk; possibly Masako/John and Lin/Madoka if I can (I have an OC, but who they happen to be "paired" with won't be revealed until much, much later – Yasuhara's going to be fun to deal with, though. LOL). ^_^
And now, on with Inception!
Case File #1: Skeletons in the Closet
Part 3
July
Day 1 (cont.)
6:35 PM
It was hard, so very hard not to burst out laughing.
Following Sendo's tour of the worksite, they'd all been gathered in the trailer Kazehiro Otanashi and his secretary, an unnervingly sharp and taciturn man named Obitsu Katagiri, shared (just as the foreman said, he really was hawkeyed, if not hawkish, and watched them all with unwavering scrutiny. Mai had to keep herself from shuddering under his gaze). While there, they'd each been handed (or rather shoved, in Mai's opinion) a bright yellow hardhat with the company's slogan under the brim, similar to the one the foreman wore.
"While on-site, it's required that you wear a hardhat," Sendo explained. "I'd recommend boots and possibly knee-guards if you can, but the hardhat is a must. They're yours to keep, so consider it a souvenir."
He said it with a jovial laugh, as if to make them feel a bit more comfortable about their position. Given that they were going to be investigating a highly dangerous and unfinished construction site, Mai felt that whatever comfort the foreman had to offer was welcome.
It wasn't long after that Monk had managed to nab a permanent marker from somewhere in the office, and soon his hardhat sported the words Property of SPR in bold lettering on the front, and his band's emblem scribbled on the back. Despite the somewhat crude attempt at being artistic, he looked to be extraordinarily proud of himself and wore the yellow atrocity with gusto.
After base had been set up and they found the site still in process of being cleared of the morning's mysterious disaster, Naru begrudgingly allotted them some "free time". Everyone save their unsociable boss and Lin ventured into the small store one block over, Yasuhara going on ahead to do some research as Naru had ordered. While in the store, Mai and Monk discovered an assortment of stickers and various other tidbits that they deemed appropriate to use for the occasion of "personalizing" their souvenirs. When they returned with their package, they discovered John and Masako had already arrived… and they too received their hardhats.
Mai personally wasn't too irked by the necessity of the uncomfortable headgear; after all, it was necessary for their protection while on the jobsite and it was awfully nice of Sendo to have retrieved them from the company's own on-site stock. Ayako and Masako, on the other hand, didn't share in the sentiment and preferred to openly reject their hardhats, the petite medium surprisingly coming out the most vehement (though it was hardly surprising, being as not only was she condemned to wearing the unsightly headgear, but she was forced to trade in her kimono for a pair of jeans, an old shirt, and sneakers). It was Mai's impression that the only reason Ayako hadn't continued her rant on damaged hair was because she realized the necessity of the offending object in regards to their safety.
And so it was now that they sat in the office while they each continued his or her own individual "personalization" of the hats, Yasuhara having only just recently returned from his trip to the local public library and currently engaging John and Takigawa in a semi-competition of which hat looked the most original. The competition was mostly limited to the monk and the college student, as John had only chosen to sign his name on one side and a small prayer in Latin on the back. Mai fought with herself in an attempt not to laugh as Yasu had seen fit to put stick-on bullet holes onto his, one being in the exact center of the forehead (which he claimed to be a "bull's-eye").
She looked at her own, now adorned with a few nondescript flowers of random colors, and couldn't help but enjoy herself just a little bit. It was moments like these that made her feel like she was a part of a family again.
It was a good feeling.
And it was soon shattered by one particular narcissist's sudden interruption of: "If you're all finished with acting in accordance to your presumable mental ages, it's time we got started with the investigation."
Mai shot him an evil look, and she was certain she wasn't the only one.
"Aw, live a little, Naru!" Monk laughed, pulling his graffiti-laden hardhat on and cocking it at an angle. "We're all stuck wearing these things, so why not have some fun?"
"We're here to investigate," Naru reminded him, if not the entire group. "If you want to go out and play in the sand, please feel free to do so when you aren't on SPR's time."
The room fell silent, and once again the air felt as if it had been overtaken by some dark force of nature. If there was one thing Mai couldn't stand (and there was a long list of the "one thing" nature, when she got right down to it), it was Naru's ability to crash the proverbial party.
Certain that he now had everyone's attention, the black-clad youth continued.
"Now then, this is what we're going to do: Monk and Ms. Matsuzaki will investigate the first and second levels of the business section of the complex. Yasuhara will accompany you."
The three nodded in agreement.
"Father Brown and Ms. Hara will take the same levels of the residential section. Lin and I will investigate the basement levels of both. And Mai –"
"I know," the brunette interrupted. Oh boy did she know. "I stay here at base, right?"
"That's right. And stay awake, if you can." He smirked slightly at her indignant reaction before returning his gaze to the others. "I shouldn't have to say this, but considering Ms. Hara and Father Brown weren't here and I doubt the rest of you were listening the entire time –" he looked again in Mai's direction, and received an even darker glare in return – "I will reiterate what Mr. Sendo told us earlier:
"Under no circumstances is anyone to go above the third level of either side of the complex. As was explained, only half of each third level is completed, so if you choose to go that far, do so with extreme caution. Do not wander alone, and make sure you have either a cell phone or walkie-talkie on you at all times. Whether there is spiritual activity or not, this is still a construction site and we're being treated as visitors for the duration of our stay. Keep this in mind as you do your walkthrough."
They would keep it in mind, of that Mai was certain. From the moment Sendo had uttered the policy, "under no circumstances will the company held responsible for any injuries visitors may acquire while on the jobsite," they'd all clammed up in a moment's unbearable tension.
Put succinctly, the construction company wouldn't be paying for a stay in the hospital. And anyone who thought SPR would readily cover medical bills for its employees was sorely mistaken: individual medical insurance was the best any of them could rely upon. Even though Mai was covered under Japan's health insurance program, those bills were still expensive.
…
Mai blinked a few times to clear her vision before she realized where she was. The darkened backdrop and the glow she could see emanating from her body were clear indications that she was dreaming again.
'But what happened?' she couldn't help but wonder. 'The last thing I remember was sitting at the desk and waiting for Naru and Lin to get back…
'Speaking of narcissists…'
She sensed the presence coming from behind. She really didn't need to, but she turned around anyway, finding the warm smile of her usual guide greeting her once again.
It was a shame Naru couldn't smile like that in reality…
"We don't have a lot of time, Mai," he said, the smile suddenly wavering a bit.
Mai couldn't help but giggle. "When do we ever?"
'Why can't we have these moments when I awake and not just when I'm dreaming?'
The smile grew warm again as he extended a hand in her direction. Taking the offered appendage willingly, Mai moved forward quickly before falling into the same pace as he.
"What's going to happen now?" she asked after a moment's silence. "You guide me whenever I come here, right? So that must mean there's something going on at the construction site that I need to know about."
Dream Naru turned and gave her another heartwarming smile. "That's right, but this time it's a little… different."
Mai stumbled. "What do you mean 'different'?"
They stopped, the brunette nearly running into her guide. Looking down a little, Dream Naru pointed. Cinnamon-colored eyes followed in the direction he indicated, and her brow creased in confusion.
Just below them was the business half of the skeletal building. From their position above, Mai could make out Ayako and Takigawa as they made their walkthrough, and clearly going against Naru's orders: the miko looked to be somewhere on the second floor, near to where the last completed set of offices were; the monk was on the unfinished third level. Yasuhara was on the first level, apparently observing one of the panel boxes left behind by the electricians. Masako and John were nowhere to be found, but Mai remembered that they'd been ordered to check out the residential side of the complex.
All-in-all, it looked to be a routine sweep of their location, although she knew the three in the business section would be scolded once Naru found out they'd gone against the standard procedure again.
'Except…'
Except there were a multitude of tiny white lights gently floating about, a few making an effort to avoid the humans among them. And in several areas, Mai could make out higher concentrations of the orbs, looking as if they were just large masses and not clusters of the tiny lights.
But what caused her to fret even more than the characteristic orbs that would normally accompany her psychic dreams was that in one unfinished area, not far from where Monk was currently heading in the direction of, there was a strange swirling pattern of lights, their focal point a barely visible pulsation.
"What's going on in that area on the third floor?" she inquired, looking up to her guide for an answer.
Dream Naru's face remained untroubled, although she could have sworn she caught a bit of a smirk threatening to overtake his features.
"Is Monk in danger if he goes near there?" she pressed, grasping onto his jacket. She didn't know if it was her instinct talking or what, but she was getting a mixed reaction from the epicenter of the swirling orbs.
"No. At least not life-threatening danger," Dream Naru said after a moment. The smirk tugged on the side his mouth again, as if he was enjoying some kind of internal joke. "But it's important that everyone watches over the cause of that swirling, Mai. There's more to the circumstances and events surrounding this case than meets the eye, though it may not dawn on everyone until much later."
Mai was confused. Why was Dream Naru talking in riddles? He was usually a bit more helpful than this. Now he was acting…
Evasive?
"Someone was here before us."
"What?" she looked up at him in utter confusion, but found him to be looking back at the swirling pattern Takigawa was getting closer to. She opened her mouth to demand an answer, when she was halted by someone singing:
"Go, go, beauty, round, round, nothing's gonna stop…"
Dream Naru smiled apologetically in the brunette's direction. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave now. Wake up, Mai… it's time to wake up…"
…
…
…
"Wake up, Mai… gotta get up… huh?" her head snapped up and she looked around frantically, surprised to find upon awakening that no one had returned to base. Not only that, but it had grown considerably darker outside the office trailer. It was good thing they'd left the lights on, or else she'd have awakened to brightly glowing computer and televisions screen in a pitch-black backdrop. "That's weird…"
"What's weird?" Mai let out an automatic squeak upon hearing her boss's voice right behind her. Looking around and upward, she found him peering down at her, not amused in the slightest though perhaps a bit curious in spite of himself. "Did you have one of your dreams again?"
'Typical. He never cares about how I am – just how useful I can be!'
Irritation flitted across his face at her lack of an answer. "I don't think I pay you to sleep on the job, Mai," he said icily, eyes finally tearing away from her as he made his way back to his seat. Lin followed close behind, silent as usual.
'No, I think you only pay me to serve you tea.' Mai seethed as soon as she was certain he wouldn't hear her, should any of her thoughts have chosen to escape through her mouth. She sighed when no repercussion came. 'Speaking of which, I'd better go make some.'
She was barely out of her seat when Takigawa's voice suddenly came in over the radio:
"Hey, is anyone hearing the same thing I am?"
The room went silent as Lin quickly turned up the audio coming from the camera nearest to Monk's position. They could barely make it out, but the voice was there, almost haunting…
"Go, go, beauty, round, round, nothing's gonna stop…"
Mai dashed out of base without a second thought, her hardhat long forgotten as she made her way towards the monk's location. She didn't even hear her boss's voice as he called out after her, nor was she aware of the pounding footfall behind her.
'That's the exact same song and voice I heard in my dream!'
A/N: The line "Go, go, beauty, round, round, nothing's gonna stop," is from the song 独壇場 Beauty (Dokudanjou Beauty) by Buck-Tick.
Special thanks goes out to TheAmateurArtist, Aoi Kitsukawa, Tbonechick2011,Torublossom, Forestfirekid, rika-carol, and Foxgrl18 for the reviews, favs, and alerts – I'm really glad you're enjoying the story so far! Until the next chapter! ^_^