Chapter 4: Telecommunication

By the time they'd settled down for breakfast the next morning, Mai was so sleepy, she found it hard to keep her eyes open.

The only other person that had stayed up as late as she had was Lin-san, and he didn't even look as though he'd been forced out of bed early. Mai had no idea how the man did it.

And there might have been Ayami too, but if the cheerful smile on her face could be believed, then it was obvious that their early morning talk had no effect on her whatsoever. Right now, she was even having a rapid conversation with John-san across the table, speaking in fluent English. Mai caught onto a few words that the pair exchanged, but at the moment, she was honestly far too sleepy to be able to comprehend what they were saying.

Next to her, Ayako and Bou-san were arguing about the tonight's American Football match while Masako silently ate breakfast, not looking up at anyone.

Mai yawned widely before remembering to cover her mouth. An outrageous ring tone sprang to life and Mai jumped, her heart skipping yet another beat as what sounded like angry, pulsing English swear words began filling the room. Everyone in the breakfast room was alarmed, their movements paused as they turned towards the source of the discriminating sound.

There was a tired sigh and Ayami, irritated, reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a cellular phone. Everyone else's interests dulled and they returned to their previous conversations.

Ayami's face was clearly that of exasperation. "Oh, Raidon. What do you want?" Immediately, the girl's livelihood was sucked out of her and cynicism seemed to take its place instead.

Mai perked up. Raidon, as in the owner of the house? She thought it had been her imagination last night, but Ayami certainly did seem a little hostile.

"Mai-chan! Oi! Mai-chan!"

Irritated, Mai turned towards the culprit of the disturbance, right as Ayami switched to another langage. "What?" she snapped, her sleepiness turning her aggravated.

Bou-san held his hands up defensively, his smile charming. "Do you know where Naru-bou is?"

Was it her, or did Masako turn peculiarly towards her then? Mai shook an enquiring gaze towards the other girl who at that moment, chose to ignore her with an indignant huff.

Okay…

"Mai-chan!"

Mai rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Bou-san. He left last night. Somehow." A thought struck Mai's mind. "Can Naru drive?"

Bou-san waved off her question. "Of course not," he dismissed. Then, he turned to Lin-san. "Can he?"

The senior assistant ignored the monk. Mai suppressed a smile when seeing the slight exasperation on Lin-san's face. Her attention wavered again and she focused more solidly on the conversation Ayami was having on the phone. The language, whatever it was, was eerily familiar. She didn't understand a word of what the other girl was saying but Mai was sure that she'd heard this language spoken before.

"Lin-san," Mai started, cutting rudely through the monk's speech, "what language is Ayami speaking in?"

The older assistant perked up. He seemed grateful that Mai had spared him from Bou-san and he turned slightly towards the Australian girl.

"It's Greek," Lin-san answered. His deep tone mentioned the fact easily, but there was a hidden observation involved with his comment. Mai had never found a problem in confiding with Lin-san. Sure, he might not always be the best conversationalist, but his advice was always welcomed.

Then, Mai realized when she had last heard the language. It was during the dream she'd had last night, when she had heard that person recite the incantation. Mai frowned.

"Are there spells in Greek?" Mai asked.

"I would assume that there are," Lin-san replied. "But I would think that most of them are related to the Greek deities, requesting their strength—"

The older assistant's speech paused and something close to realisation struck his expression.

Mai frowned again. "Lin-san? Is something wrong?"

Lin shook his head quickly. His stood up rather suddenly, his gaze peering pass her head to the window outside.

"Naru's back. I think I'll go see him."

Masako stood up abruptly. "I shall come with you, Lin-san, as I too have something to say to Naru."

Lin-san nodded briefly. As they left, Masako turned back to Mai and cast a reproachful glare. Mai blinked, startled by the sudden hostility the other girl evicted. The celebrity medium had never been overly friendly with her but this sort of antagonism was rare.

Mai frowned, turning around slightly to see the van park a fair distance from the building. She had no desire to go see Naru at the moment; not after her five hour shift at base. So instead, she sunk deeper into her chair and indulged in her breakfast.

"Wow, Masako was shooting serious death glares towards you," Bou-san said cheerfully.

Mai shrugged, partially used to Masako's hot and cold mood swings towards her. Mai took a bite of the toast in front of her, looking around. The room seemed rather empty, all of a sudden.

Frowning, Mai turned towards the manservant. "Touya-san, where's Ayami?"

Touya-san bowed first after being addressed and Mai nodded awkwardly back towards the man before he responded, "Taniyama-sama, Ayami-sama has left to participate in her morning schedule. If you needed to speak to my lady, I would be more than welcomed to pass on the message."

Mai shook her head quickly, though she did thank the manservant politely.

"Mai! Tea!"

What distance was that command from, anyway? Mai rolled her eyes, slightly wondering if she'd been hired to be Naru's personal maid or assistant. She had no idea where he was, but somehow, she'd been able to hear him clearly.

"Let me tend to that, Taniyama-sama," Touya-san said, quickly disappearing.

"Touya-san! I can do it!" Exhaling slightly, Mai ran after the manservant, not wanting to bother him with her chores. The manservant declined her offer, insisting that she return to her breakfast. Mai was finally shifted away from the working kitchen and pushed towards the hallway.

Then, she frowned, releasing that she had no idea what direction she needed to head in. The left looked familiar, so she assumed it was the correct way. Mai ventured slowly towards that side, hoping to soon meet another area that she found familiar.

About ten minutes later – and several turns later – she realised that she was hopelessly lost.

"Why does this always happen to me?" Mai sighed.

The distant sound of murmuring caught her sudden attention and Mai turned, frowning towards the only door at the end of this corridor. Her attention perked, she headed towards the room, waiting to stand outside the room as the murmuring continued. On the other side of the door, Mai was sure that she could hear chanting. There was a rapid dash of foreign language. Her attention perked, Mai moved closer to the door.

As Mai leant towards the door, however, it also fell open, startling her into losing her balance. Mai cried out in surprise as she fell towards another figure.

"I'm sorry!" Mai let out immediately, pushing herself up from the other figure. This was what she got for being nosy. "I am so, so sorry."

Crystal laughter responded to her apologies and Mai stopped, peaking up slightly. "Are you okay?"

Mai paused, unused to the lyrical sense in which the words were produced. Her eyes widened when she saw the middle-aged woman that was standing above her, smiling down in a motherly manner. The woman had the same, startling cerulean eyes as Ayami, with the same incredibly structured cheek-bones and porcelain skin. She dressed in a red and white flower printed kimono with her hair braided simply towards the back of her head. The woman smiled down at Mai, her expression ever so loving and Mai smiled back, irresistibly warmed towards the woman.

"Hello!" Mai let out, bowing her head quickly. "Do you live here too?"

The woman smiled, nodding lightly. "And you're Taniyama Mai, aren't you?"

Mai nodded brightly. Ayami must have mentioned her. "Just call me Mai!"

The woman nodded, her expression eternally serene. "Ayami seems to enjoy your company, Mai. Thank you for being so kind to her."

Mai shook her head. "Ayami is an amazing person. She's kind to me also, so naturally, I have to be friendly back to her."

The woman laughed again. "You're a very sweet girl." The woman reached out to pat Mai's hand, but when she did, Mai felt as though she'd been touched by icebergs.

"Mai!"

Mai turned quickly towards the direction of the door and she saw Ayami standing in the doorway.

"Ayami!" Mai let out, but before she could continue, the other girl cut into her speech.

"You saw her?" Ayami demanded, pacing into the room immediately.

Mai frowned. "Well, yes, she's just standing here—"

Mai turned back towards the direction she had originally been facing, only to see that the woman wasn't standing there anymore. Frowning, Mai looked around the now empty sitting room. There was another door, but she hadn't heard it open or close, so she didn't know how the woman had left.

"Did you touch her?" Ayami pressed impatiently.

Mai turned towards Ayami. "Well, I—"

"Listen to me, Mai. I need you to answer this one question for me. Did you come into actual physical contact with her?"

Mai frowned, wondering why Ayami's tone sounded so urgent. "I fell forward, and crashed into her when she opened the door—"

The look on Ayami's face was gravely serious. Not waiting for Mai to stop, she turned towards Touya-san – who had also seemingly materialise beside her – and nodded her head. The manservant –carrying a pot of tea on a tray – nodded to her in return and Ayami turned quickly back to Mai.

"Listen to me, Mai," Ayami began, holding onto her hand tightly. "If you see that woman again, run. Don't startle her, don't approach her; just run, okay? Either head to my room, or find Shibuya-san or Lin-san, okay?"

Mai's confusion deepened. "Why—"

"Don't ask me why. Just do as I say."

The girl smiled reassuring at Mai one more time, as Mai, in turn, frowned at her. What was Ayami going on about? Then, her eyes cast towards the door again and there Touya-san was standing, a hat on his head and scarf and coat in his hands. Mai wasn't even sure she remembered seeing him leave, but she now noted the tray that he'd held was sitting on the table by the side of the door.

Ayami walked towards Touya-san, ignoring the coat as she reached for the scarf instead. "Touya and I have to leave the manor for the day; we'll be back by tonight. Could you pass on this message to Shibuya-san and the others? You might have to drive out to buy your food; we don't allow the restaurants to deliver directly to the manor, but you can charge it on the manor's account. Just quote the address and they'll file the expenses under our name."

Mai nodded slightly, still not sure what had been going on. Where had the woman gone, and what had Ayami meant when she told Mai not to talk to her again? Ayami was suddenly acting all strange; did the woman have something to do with the case?

"Wait a minute—" Mai began.

Ayami turned back, just as she was about to leave the door, and smiled at Mai again. "I'll be back tonight. Don't wander too much around the house while we're gone. You might get lost."

And then, Mai was alone before she even realised it.

Still confused by this morning's events, Mai finally made it into base about half an hour later, having gotten lost after leaving the room again. She entered slowly, setting the lukewarm tea onto the table and sighed in relief when she saw that Naru wasn't here. At least he wasn't going to complain about the tea not being warm. She didn't think she could make it down to the kitchen and back this time.

"I don't trust her."

Ayako's voice echoed throughout the room as Mai inconspicuously slipt into base. Lin-san, as usual, was typing away at the keyboard, oblivious to the world. Mai saw Bou-san roll his eyes as John-san and Masako eyed them both, ready to be the commentators in this spectacle.

"She wasn't at all curious as to why we're investigating the house when we're clearly dealing with a demi-goddess upstairs," Ayako stated. "Doesn't that surprise you?"

"Well she did look as though she were in a bit of a rush to get somewhere," Bou-san pointed out.

"There's that fire in the living room that never goes out," Ayako added.

"It is cold, you know," Bou-san pointed out, "and its winter."

"There's also that art piece on display in one of the rooms of the library. It greatly resembles the photograph of Princess Amen-Ra's coffin that was taken in the 1890's." Mai didn't know who they were talking about, but she could tell through the heaviness of Ayako's tone that it was something rather significant.

Bou-san shrugged. "The owner could have gotten that off the internet. Even I've come across that picture a few times when surfing the net."

"Not this one," Ayako said, shaking her head. "In this one, the picture moves at certain times. I think it was the original taken during one of the first implementations of the curse."

Bou-san, however, wasn't moved by the argument. "Or you could have been seeing things. We all know how reliable Ayako's judgement can be."

"What?!" Ayako snarled, immediately respondent to the comment.

"And what do you think, Hara-san?"

Naru's voice suddenly skimmed into the room, and Mai turned over. She hadn't even realised that he was back, but there he was, standing next to Lin-san by the door.

Masako looked around the house, just for the added affect, before turning back to Naru, speaking softly, "There are signs of haunting in this manor, but I haven't actually seen any spirits manifest in this area. I think we're going to have to observe the area for a while longer if we want to know for sure."

Naru nodded, though his face didn't betray his thoughts. "Lin?"

Lin-san's fingers paused in their typing and he swung his swivel chair over to face Naru. "There are rapid alternations of temperature occurring all around the house. Only the Third Floor seems to be partial to this condition. And before, on the First Level, there was a room near the kitchen that's camera was suddenly cut off about half an hour back."

Her blood went cold at his words and Mai remembered back to where she had been at that time. Surely it couldn't be related, could it?

Mai couldn't help but frown. She didn't want to relate the temperature change to her personal experience; whenever she linked paranormal events to herself, it had always made her feel like an attention seeker. Instead, she asked another question that she had been wondering about for awhile. "I don't understand. If we already know what the problem is, why can't we just get rid of it? I mean, can't Bou-san or Ayako perform an exorcism or send her back?"

Everyone in the room – bar Lin, of course – turned over to her, but it was Naru who answered. "I want to know where this goddess came from. If my guesses are correct, then she is from the Mediterranean region. Why she's here is another issue in need of discussion, and we need to know how she was summoned here before we are able to successfully send her back."

Mai didn't know where the Mediterranean was, so she merely nodded. Naru seemed satisfied with that response, because he opened the file he was carrying and reread its contents.

"That fire that you said doesn't go out," Naru started, turning towards Ayako. "Was there a shrine near it?"

Ayako frowned and nodded. "I think so. Why?"

Naru didn't answer her. instead, he snapped shut the file he was holding. "I'll go see the shrine. Mai, come with me."

Mai nodded, standing up quickly. She grabbed her observations folder as Naru sped out of the door, ignoring everyone. As she went, Masoki huffed her and again, Mai was reminded of Masoki's glares in the morning. Not quite sure what the psychic was annoyed at this time, Mai ignored her and followed Naru out of the room.

About half way down the hall, Naru suddenly stopped. Frowning, Mai manoeuvred to stand in front of him, wondering what might have caused the delay. When she got beside him, he turned towards her too.

"Here," Naru said, holding out a small, black cell phone.

Mai blinked, not quite sure what Naru was getting at. "What's this for?" Mai asked

"You have a tendency to get yourself into trouble. If anything happens, use this phone to contact the others. I've already entered all the numbers in there already."

Mai stared at it dumbly, still not sure what was going on. Was Naru giving her a cell phone to use?

Her eyes peaked up towards her employer and she sighted an expression of slight exasperation on his face. He took her hand into his and set the phone onto her palm. "Don't lose it," Naru advised, "and keep it with you at all times."

"If anything happens, call me straight away."

Mai nodded, her mind still a little numb as she stared at the black instrument in her hand.

"I mean it, Mai," Naru emphasised.

That, it seemed, broke her out of her reverie. Mai looked up, not quite getting why he sounded even more serious than normal. "I know," she said, startled.

"Good," Naru said. "My number's on speed dial, so call 1 if anything goes wrong, okay?"

Mai nodded quickly. "Yup," she murmured. Quickly she slipt the phone back into her pocket, but she couldn't help the slight sense of euphoria that had risen in her body. She wasn't quite sure where this sudden bliss had come from, but it made her feel undeniably happy.

"Ayami-san said that it would be alright for you to wander around, didn't she?"

Mai's bubble burst almost immediately and she frowned, not bothering to question Naru's antics. Could he read minds or something? He was fast- she had to give him that. Ayami had just said this to her earlier this morning, yet he knew about it already.

"She said I could go if either Touya-san or she accompanied me. Ayami said that the house isn't very safe."

Naru nodded. He had the best poker face that Mai had ever come across and right now, he was using it again.

"Don't go with them anyway. Try not to be alone with Ayami-san for too long."

Her scowl deepened. "Why?"

He paused. For a moment, she thought he'd even not answer, but then he turned back towards the path they'd been walking in and finally spoke up.

"My instincts tell me that she's not quite what she appears." Mai almost ran to keep in pace with him, anxious to know what he had to say about Ayami. Had he noticed that something was strange about her too, or did he know something? Bou-san and the others seemed to have mixed opinions of her, but none of their thoughts seemed concrete. If Naru felt inclined to judge, however, to Mai, that was a different story.

"So you think something's different about her?" Mai asked.

"I know she's hiding a lot from us," Naru replied. "And I know that she knows a lot more about all this than she claims."

That wasn't a surprise, but Mai couldn't help but query Naru's stand on this. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Naru didn't stop walking, though what he did say next was something that surprised her greatly. "Did you know that Domjouji Ayami is a psychic?"

23.07.2008: Okay, so this was a pretty crappy chapter. LOL I'm not quite sure how it came to be about, but I know that the next one has a lot more action in it. shrugs. Anyway, thanks for reading. Again, the next one will be out in a week. But I resume uni now! It's so tragic...

Many thanks to: ravyncat, Simplemoon, canadian violet (I don't know if I was aiming for Ayami to be scary; I kind of looked at her and thought "ohh...let's make this one weird" but yeah, I was aiming to keep everyone in character, but it's just so hard to make Masako likeable...grrr), Kay (LOL glad you do. Thanks for reviewing ;), yumegirl91, misskoneko, Gabryell-P-, lunamoongoddess, and Princess Irulan.