Chapter 5 Vesta

A psychic.

Naru's words stopped Mai in her tracks and she stopped, her mind slipping into emptiness almost before she registered his words.

"A psychic?" Mai repeated numbly. Naru hadn't stopped, so Mai hurried after him to question him quickly. "You mean she has PK-LT or something?"

Her employer continued his pace calmly, his eyes looking right ahead as he went. "PK-LT is unlikely, though we're not quite sure what powers she holds."

Mai remembered back to her dream last night and how Ayami had known about the ghost. Was she a telepath or clairvoyant? If that was what Naru meant, then Mai had already witnessed her abilities. The Naru in her dreams had told Mai that Ayami wasn't quite as she seemed, but he hadn't mentioned her being a psychic.

"You don't seem too surprised," Naru commented. She turned towards her and realised that he'd been watching her expression.

Mai shook her head, plastering a smile on her face. It was probably too early to share her thoughts yet. "Why do you say Ayami's a psychic?" Mai asked.

Naru held the door opened for Mai, allowing her to pass through first and she realised that they'd reached their destination. "The Goddess was openly cursing her in the attic in Greek, though Domjouji-san wouldn't respond to it."

"How do you know the goddess didn't have her mistaken for someone else?"

"Throughout our time in the attic, she was looking only at Ayami. And besides that, I have my reasons. Why did you suspect that Ayami is psychic?"

That was just like Naru; he wouldn't tell her his reason, but she had to tell him her reason. She supposed he was her employer, though, so she really shouldn't be so bitter.

"Well, she just seems to know things," Mai replied slowly. "So I thought she had latent sensitivity or maybe she was clairvoyant. And she said that this house doesn't like visitors."

Naru didn't reply. Mai snuck another look at him and saw that he didn't appear to be listening. Instead, he seemed distracted by something in front of them so she instead turned towards their front and her eyes widened.

A glorious room faced her now and Mai wondered as to how she could have ever missed it. The room was windowless, but hundreds gold and white candles ran over the wall, illuminating the entire area. At the far end, there was a massive fireplace that took up about half the wall, its fire burning brightly with red and yellow flames, yet strangely, did not crackle. Right in the centre of the room, only meters away from Mai and Naru, were a set of shelves, topped by the image of a single woman. Shivers ran down Mai spin as she turned towards the ceiling. Pressed against the roof was the skeleton of a horse-looking creature. The bones had been painted black and were itched right into the wall.

This didn't look like a shrine. It looked more like an extract out of a cult's home.

Naru took a step forward and Mai hastened to follow him. He moved until he was directly in front of the portrait in the middle of the room and merely stared at the art.

Mai leant closer to the woman's portrait. The woman was astoundingly beautiful, though she couldn't help but feel a little perplexed with the picture. There was something about this woman that just didn't seem natural.

Mai frowned. "She looks…Greek?"

"She's Roman," Naru corrected. Because there was just so much of a difference. Romans. Greeks. They both came from the same country…or was that continent?

"Why's there a memorial?" Mai asked. Mai frowned, trying to concentrate her eyes on the picture. "Is this of someone who died?"

"No, it's a shrine dedicated to the Roman goddess Vesta."

Mai frowned. "Who is she?"

"The Roman patron goddess of families and fire," Naru murmured, still keeping his eyes on the picture. "She was a little discarded after the Romans dissuaded from the belief of Olympus Gods and were instead swayed towards Christianity. The Vestal Virgins, the only women in Rome with any political power, were disbanded."

Mai looked towards the picture, slightly impressed. she didn't study history often, but she knew that there weren't many women who held political power in the past.

"This is a rather extraordinary picture, actually," Naru replied. "And it seems as though Domjouji-san is a rather keen worshiper of this religion."

"The house isn't hers," Mai reminded him. "It belongs to her friend."

"There is that too," Naru mused, though he didn't elaborate any further.

Mai shook her head, still gazing around the room. This house was amazing. So many strange things had happened in it, and Mai wondered if the manor had always been like this, or was it only like this now that there were guests residing in it? She didn't know, but in a way, she also hoped she never found out.

Day 5

Two days later, Ayami still hadn't come home. Naru had become suspicious of her actions, so Mai, who seemed to be the only person Ayami had conversed with, had been assigned the job of looking out for her. It had actually been Masako herself who'd volunteered Mai for the job. Mai had a feeling, however, that it was just because Masako wanted Mai out of the room. When Bou-san had asked why they didn't just have Mai watch the camera that overlooked the front door, Masako had ranted on about how they needed to confront Ayami earlier on and Mai was the only one Ayami seemed to accept.

Mai sighed, collapsing against the couch that she had been sitting on by the foyer. After they'd left Vesta's room, they'd met as a group and she'd had to head down the stairs an hour later to wait for Ayami until about 8PM at night. The next morning, at 8AM, Mai had returned to the spot, only this time, Naru had assigned her paperwork to look over as she sat there. And today, on the third day of this, Mai was not only assigned paperwork, but she'd also been given a laptop, so that she could moderate the temperatures on the First Floor.

"Help!"

Mai perked up immediately, her mind picking up on the other source of life. She stood up quickly, looking from left to right for the source of the sound. Mai had learnt her lesson already; until she actually saw the person and identified them as human, there was no way she was going to run blindly out to help them. Sometimes she felt stupid for falling for it every time, but if they needed help it wasn't as though she could leave them and run off.

"Please, help me! Is anyone out there?"

Okay, there was no denying that. Mai frowned, heading towards the inner pathway, opposite to the entrance.

"Please help me!" the child whimpered. A little girl? Mai wasn't sure, but she could tell that the child was nearby.

"Is anybody there?"

Oh, boy. Bou-san was going to kill her if she wandered off on her own again. Mai reached into her pocket, then sighed again as she realised that she'd left her cell at base. The calls continued and she quire easily located the source of the noise, which turned out to be just by a sitting room that she wasn't aware existed.

Mai reached her hand out towards the door, sure that the child would be on the other end. Just as her fingers brushed by the cold handle, she felt someone touch her shoulder.

Mai jumped as her heart thrashed wildly. She just managed to turn around when she heard a rather aggravated cry of her name.

"Mai," Naru said, placing a rather heavy stress on the end of her name.

"Naru!" Mai breathed. She rubbed her chest, trying to ease the thudding.

Naru didn't look impressed. "What is the point of giving you a cell phone if you never bring it along with you?" Naru asked.

Mai gulped. He did look annoyed. It couldn't just be over her carelessness, could it? Surely there was another reason for it. "Is the case not going according to plan?"

Naru just stared at her, almost as though he were exasperated. Then, he seemingly let it go as he nodded towards the door she was standing in front of. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

Mai gestured behind her. "I think I hear someone down there. She sounds like a little girl. I think she needs my help."

He just stared at her. Mai knew what she was thinking and she couldn't help but feel just a touch insulted. Naru was no doubt remembering back to her previous encounters with the spirits that had lured her by calling out for her help.

"I wasn't going to go in there until I was sure that it was another human," Mai said, immediately defending herself. When he rolled his eyes – rather dryly, might she add – Mai ignored him, pushing to open the handle again. When she opened the door, Mai uttered a scream and scrambled back immediately.

The thing on the other side of the door wasn't furniture; it was boxes of stacked up against the wall. Right in the centre of the room, however, was a little boy, his head hanging from a rope that extended from the ceiling. The irregular bend of his neck told Mai that it was broken from the fall. His feet hung limply from his body, and his eyes were wide and blank.

"Oh, god," Mai breathed, her mind numb with shock. A little girl suddenly appeared right at the door. The little six or seven year old girl was smiling, her eyes dead as she looked up at Mai innocently. She dressed in her kimono still, and was the same girl that Mai had met on her first night here.

"He likes to hang her head like that," the girl informed Mai, smiling brightly. The child reached her hands out towards them, blood dripping from her fingers, like how it had the other night. "Did you want to try it too?"

Mai shuddered again, her mind terminally horrified as the child's dingers came closer and closer to her, and then suddenly, Naru pushed Mai behind him. Mai blinked, her horror slightly dimmed as she remembered that she wasn't alone, though Naru probably wasn't in much of a better position than her. He might be more powerful than her, but it wasn't as though he could use his powers without weakening his own body.

Then, the door suddenly snapped shut in front of them and Mai heard the other side of the door click.

Naru's eyes immediately snapped to the right and he turned over, somehow doing so with Mai still behind him.

Just two meters away was Ayami, her face flustered from the snow. She was still wearing the same clothes as three days ago and she looked dead tired. The sharpness in her expression though, was undeniable.

"This door was locked before I left. How did you guys get it open?"

Naru didn't say anything and Mai hoped that he wasn't being hostile. Her heart still drumming in her throat, Mai gestured as casually as she could to the door.

"I thought I heard someone so I went by the room—"

"Say no more," Ayami cut in. "I know exactly what is going on." Ayami shook her head in disgust. "Well, that's certainly typical of him, the bastard." Mai didn't know who she was talking about, but she had a feeling it might be the houseowner. "It's probably best not to wander off on your own. This house doesn't like intruders."

Ayami gestured towards one of the doors along the hallway and creepily enough, it seemingly crawled open on its own, almost as though heeding to Ayami's words.

Mai's eyes widened to the size of coins as she took a light step back. Oh, god.

"Calm down, Mai," Naru ordered sharply.

"I was going to go shopping later on," Ayami continued, as though they were speaking of the most casual thing on Earth. "Did you want to come along?"

Mai's eyes darted back towards Ayami almost fearfully. For the first time, she realised just how dangerous her new friend could be. How could anyone see all of that, know all of that, and still be so deathly calm about it? To Ayami, all of this seemed to be of daily occurrence.

Ayami must have noted the look on Mai's face, because her expression fell. Something, almost close to melancholy, passed through her expression before she smiled wryly.

Naru hadn't said anything, but he didn't seem too impressed by Ayami. Amusement passed through Ayami's face when she looked towards Mai's employer, and just as Mai was about to speak, Ayami opened her mouth again.

"I'll meet you down at the swings in an hour," Ayami said, when Naru turned towards her, seemingly passive, Ayami smirked. The expression on her face was so different to that which Mai was used to seeing that she paused. "I'm not talking to you, Naru-chan. I don't find the need to explain myself to anyone but Mai here."

"And why would you need to explain yourself to Mai?" Naru countered.

"Why? Would you come along and protect her?" Ayami asked. The other girl's amusement faded from her face and she shook her head. "You can't protect her always, Shibuya Kazuya. And I doubt you told her just how dangerous this world was when she signed up for it."

Naru didn't seem impressed by Ayami's statement, but Mau frowned. How had the argument become about her suddenly?

Her boss did, however, scowl. "And you didn't tell us just how dangerous this task was when you requested us to do it. You've led us to so many dead ends when you know exactly how to solve the problem."

"Well then I guess I'm doing to you what you did to her."

"I haven't lied to Mai."

"Really? Then I haven't lied to you. An omission of the truth is hardly a lie now, is it?" Ayami shrugged, and Mai was completely lost in their quarrel. "But then again, at least the name I use in front of you all is my true one. I can't say the honours returned by you, Shibuya-san."

Mai sat on the swing outside Ayami's manor, her mind still processing the conversation that had occurred earlier this morning. Ayami's expression, Naru's words, the alter of Vesta, and even worse, the little girl; her thoughts were completely consumed by the events within the manor. Everything about this case was turning out differently to what Mai had expected. Ayami definitely wasn't who Mai suspected her to be; the ease to which she switched her attitudes told Mai that Ayami was much used to displaying various faces to the same world. It was hard to believe that someone like Ayami could have been the sweet, friendly girl that had made her appearance at the SPR office just a week back.

Naru seemed to dislike this scenario immensely too, if he'd actually gone to the trouble of quarrelling with a client. Mai didn't know why he didn't just drop off the case. Normally, when he didn't like something, he could be rather ultimate about it. With this, however…

Sighing, Mai put the thoughts behind her. She swung higher on the swings, trying to see if the wind would stop the many thoughts jumping through her mind.

It didn't.

Mai let out a breath, now slowing the pressure of her swings so that she could allow her feet to catch the floor. Just as the soles of her shoes pressed against the floor, she felt someone touch against the small of her back, violently pushing her into the air once again.

Mai screamed, clutching onto the chains immediately. If this was Bou-san or Ayako's idea of a joke, then she wasn't impressed. The swing swung towards ground level again and Mai felt someone pushing her again, this time, much more lightly.

"Stop it!" Mai snapped. She twisted her body to see who was behind her, ready to voice her disapproval.

Her heart sunk when she saw that no one was there.

Again, she swung down, and yet again, she was pushed right back up. Whenever she turned around, there was no one on the other side.

Then, suddenly, Ayami appeared, right beside the swings. Mai saw the other girl's widened eyes as she took in the scene

"Mai! Stop moving!"

"I'm not doing anything," Mai screamed, clutching on for dear life.

The swings abruptly stopped, throwing Mai off the set at an alarming speed. She felt someone tug onto her arm, diverting her passage, and she landed right next to the slide instead of onto it.

Mai's eyes immediately snapped back to Ayami. From a distance, she thought she saw Masako, Bou-san and Yasaharu-san too, but the malice in Ayami's eyes was the only thing that Mai could see at that moment.

Ayami circled the swing set once, her eyes not even darting to Mai's direction, before she finally stopped right in front of the swings. Right then, a strange light seemed to flash right there, and an elderly grandmother appeared before them.

Horrified, Mai stared, not quite believing what she saw.

Ayami's lips curved to form a smile that didn't at all reach her eyes. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, in nomine et virtute Domini Nostri Jesu

"Christi, eradicare et effugare a Dei Ecclesia, ab animabus ad imaginem Dei conditis ac pretioso divini Agni sanguine redemptis...

On and on the passage went. Ayami's face was completely expressionless and she continued to recite the passage in a foreign language. The woman screeched as Ayami spoke, her face contorted as though she were in true pain.

"…Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, Domine.

Ut Ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos.

Ut inimicos sanctæ Ecclesiæ humiliare digneris, te rogamus audi nos.

Et aspergatur locus aqua benedicta

The elder screamed one last time, her horror echoing throughout the entire playground. Then, the Earth seemed to open up beneath them, dragging the woman down with it.

By the end of it all, Mai was terrified, her mind barely processing what had just happened. Mai felt her feet move slightly and realised that she was now standing on her feet, having had been helped up by Ayami. Not two meters away from them was Bou-san, Yasaharu-san and Masako.

Smiling in a friendly manner, Ayami turned over to her. "You are a ghost-magnet," Ayami told her. Mai's heart was still racing at an incredible pace.

Then, calmly and serenely, Ayami turned towards the others. Bou-san was wary, Yasuharu-san politely confused, and Masako suspicious.

Ayami smirked. "Nothing to say?" she challenged.

Masako raised her sleeve towards her face, covering her mouth as she spoke.

Then, very softly, she said, "I think you have some explaining to do Domjouji-san."

Credits for the Latin passage goes to Sanctuary.

31 July 2008: Yay! Another chapter. Sorry this one took awhile longer. I have no idea when the next chapter is going to be up; I haven't even started it yet. But yeah, we're learning more about Ayami now. So yeah...

Many thanks to: Gabrylle-P, canadian violet (yes, well, you probably got the cell phone thing with Mai right. She doesn't bother carrying it along with her. I'm not sure why Naru gives her that anyway; apparently ghost can interfere with tech stuff, remember?), ravyncat, lunamoongoddess, Kay (hey, thanks for reviewing, as per usual. I'm glad you like the story), yumigirl91.