Chapter 6 Blue Blood

Mai sat herself down at Ayami's dinner table, just as the owner sat at the head. Mai was about a seat away from Ayami, but the arrogance in Ayami's posture startled her greatly. This person wasn't like the same sweet, friendly girl that Mai had met just a week ago. Across from Mai, Naru stared directly at Ayami, his face emotionless – as usual. Lin-san sat beside Naru and Yasuhara-san beside Mai. Ayako, Bou-san, John-san, and Masako aligned themselves towards the end more, so Mai didn't pay too much attention to them. Everyone seemed just a little reluctant to come closer to Ayami, and even she didn't speak until Touya-san had sat tea in front of everyone except Ayami. For Ayami, he set a bottle of vodka.

"Is this all I get?" Ayami asked patiently, her eyes boring into Touya-san's. The manservant leant down towards her, whispering something in her ear and Ayami rolled her eyes. With the familiarity of someone who had obviously done this a few times already, Ayami popped open her bottle.

"So, you caught me out." She tossed the bottle lid onto the table and balanced the vodka between three fingers. "Are there any questions you want to ask or should I have my say and go?"

Naru didn't appreciate her words. Nor did he seem to take any of it into consideration. Mai remembered how Ayami had once told her that the other girl would answer any questions Mai had for her. Mai wondered of that still applied now.

Yasuhara-san didn't seem to know much about Ayami – then again, none of them probably did – because he smiled brightly and suggested, "Why don't you tell us your story first, and if we have anything more we need to know about, we'll ask you?"

Ayami shook her head. "No, that's not how I play. You can either ask me questions, and I shall – if I believe necessary – answer them honestly, or you can sit their idly while I talk. I don't do both."

"We'll ask questions then," Naru told her.

"Excellent," Ayami smiled. "That gives me time to finish my vodka. Normally, I give the other person 5 questions they can ask me. Since you people are so bright, having had discovered my ploy so early on, I give you 10."

"How gracious of you," Naru said dryly.

Ayami shrugged, clearly ignoring his sarcasm. "I try."

"Then you won't mind if we theorise first amongst ourselves?"

"It's okay. You're talking about me anyway. Just say it in front of me. I don't mind."

Yasuhara-san coughed. It was obvious that they'd expected Ayami to leave the room for awhile. Mai had thought she would too, but then she realised that she should have known better. Ayami wasn't quite the type to hide from something just because it might place her in an awkward situation.

"Mai, Mai!"

Mai's mind snapped back to reality and she darted her gaze towards Ayako, who had been calling out to her.

"What's wrong with you, Mai? You're not concentrating at all?"

The rest were looking at her too, including Ayami, who had something in her eyes that stretched towards sympathy almost. The hardness of her expression seemed to fade, but it was only for a moment, because when Touya-san came back into the room, her arrogant posture returned.

Yasuhara-san coughed again. "Well, after Shibuya-san called me, I did a bit of research. Apparently this manor has been around for almost three hundred years, and has been refurbished countless times to blend into the modern era. It apparently belongs to one Mimisaki Raidon, a billionaire whose main investments reside in the hotel and tourism industry."

Billionaire? Mai's eyes widened. How many zeroes did you need to have at the end of your account to be a billionaire?

"I assure you," Ayami said, leaning towards Mai as she read Mai's expression. "He's overrated. What he has was mainly left back by his ancestors."

Mai blinked. Ayami nodded back towards the others and Mai turned back. They seemed to have missed her exchange with Ayami because they hadn't seemed to have stopped at all. Now, they were onto Ayami's identity.

"Mimisaki had a childhood friend whose name was Ayami. Her family, in the past, had been accused of various things, all in which related specifically to witchcraft and the dark arts. I looked up the Domjouji family and found out that when a gypsy clan had scorned a member of the family, the entire population within had died in one night. On the neck of the villagers were rope-like marks. A traveller who had stayed the night claimed that a woman had raged through the tribes, strangling everyone with her long hair. They called her a demon."

Yasuhara-san paused and the others were quiet. Mai's eyes itched towards Ayami, who had raised her almost empty bottle of vodka into the air in cheers. "God Bless Caecelia. She's always been friendly, that one." Then, she took one final swing of her drink and drained it until there were only drops left inside the bottle. After that, she humbly dropped the bottle on the table and stood up. It seemed as though she'd gotten a little impatient with their bantering, and had decided to end it all.

"Let me say it for you then, since you seem to have a little bit of trouble getting it out." Ayami's eyes snapped over towards the rest of them. "I am what people these days have proficiently termed witch. I can cast spells; I can heal people; I can communicate with greater beings in order to see into the future or borrow their strength. I even have a few familiars with me, something you people would probably term as shikigami." Ayami leant forward against the table, her eyes challenging as before she sank back onto her chair elegantly. "Ask your questions, please. I'm bored now, seeing as I've ran out of alcohol."

Masako huffed. Mai shot her an annoyed look. Masako seemed judgemental of Ayami's err…habit? The others didn't seem to have missed Masako's expression, and Ayami didn't at all let it go when she sighted it.

"Oh, please, Hara-san," Ayami smirked. "Don't give me that. If you've seen half the things that I have, you'd need more than alcohol to get through your days." Then, she shrugged. "Besides, it tastes good. And I wouldn't give it up. I like what I have."

"So you like being a witch?" John-san asked. He, as a Catholic, no doubt objected to the worship of Satan. "You've sold your soul to the Devil."

"As opposed to being a Ghost Hunter who can't do anything that doesn't involve a paranormal spirit?" Ayami rolled her eyes. "I'd rather have my own powers, thanks. And it's not Lucifer that I worship; I said that I am what people term as witch – it doesn't mean I'm the typical ride-on-the-broomstick type. Besides, if I must survive in a world, I would rather stand at the very top of the food chain. And just to add to it, I'll count that as question number one, thank you."

Ayako frowned at Ayami. "It's work, not world, girl."

Ayami gave the older woman an almost pitying stare. "Is that what you think? I beg to differ. We are surrounded by completely different entities to everyone else. What we have is not an occupational hazard; we may live around the same area as everyone else, but what we know and see is unusual."

Naru's eyes bore into Ayami's. "Spirit manifestations are a part of everyday lives. There aren't many worlds, Domjouji-san; its people like you who insist that we live in alternate dimensions."

"So you would walk down the streets to a random person and tell them that there was a spirit next to them if there was?" Ayami smirked. "Don't be silly. You'd no doubt be locked in an asylum, if they haven't already tried already because of your terribly anti-social nature."

Bou-san and Yasuhara-san coughed. Mai suppressed a smile. Despite the mishap, Mai still couldn't help but be amused by the other girl's humour.

Ayako was frowning. "You said that you're a witch, but witches can't summon gods like that. I thought they could only call on demons."

"So you're insinuating that I was the one that had summoned our buddy in the attic? We'll call this number two. But where did you get those facts from, wikipedia?" Ayami rolled her eyes.

Bou-san had sobered by now. "You're not just a witch, are you?" Bou-san frowned at Ayami. "Back in the days, there were a lot of blue-blood psychics. A lot of them died out during the Witch Crusades in England, but the most power of the families managed to survive. There are about three clans left now, and everyone in their families are incredibly powerful psychics."

Mai's eyes snapped towards Ayami. Blue-blood psychic? That would mean that her entire family had powers like she did. Mai had seen so many anime and read so many manga where the families with people holding the power seemed to be more powerful than the rest. Was that why Ayami was seemingly stronger than most?

Ayami, however, was looking at Bou-san as though she was rather impressed. Clearly, she hadn't expected the answer to come from him.

"I couldn't piece it together at first, but one of the few remaining clans originated from the Aegean. Their powers relate to that of the Mediterranean Gods. The Celts, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans; this clan had links to all major pantheon groups in the Aegean region, stretching as far as the Anatolian region." Bou-san's expression was thoughtful. "If you could summon a Greek Goddess to this area, you'd have to be from that region too, wouldn't you?"

"Three. I admit; I had misjudged you, didn't I?" Ayami looked around the group again. "And here I thought the only person that would have come even close to guessing my identity would be Shibuya Kazuya. But to answer your question, yes." Smile. "I am a member of a blue-blooded psychic family. And my ancestors are from the region that you named. And yes, I was also the one that had summoned the Goddess in the first place."

There was a significant pause and Mai's mind went completely blank. Ayami summoned the Goddess? But if she did that, why had she asked S.P.R to come and get rid of her? Naru had been oddly pensive during the conversation, Mai noted. He seemed to be watching everyone's reactions instead. Ayami didn't seem to notice Naru's contemplativeness, because when he spoke, Ayami's face told Mai that she had underestimated them for awhile now.

Naru shut the book in his hands with a simple snap. "So are you going to send the goddess back?"

"Is that question number four?" She shook her head no at her question. "No, see – that's what I'm paying you for."

Ayami's smile was challenging, amused, and cocky all in one as she eyed the people within the room. She didn't turn towards Mai with that expression, but everyone from Naru to Masako held her gaze for at least one second as she scrutinised them in such a manner.

"Domjouji-san—"

Ayami interjected, not allowing Naru to continue. "The Goddess in which I summoned was not Demeter, the Goddess of Fertility. In this country, so far away from the Temple of Olympus, no one could summon a God of that power unless they held a direct medallion of that deity and were a keen worshipper. And a keen worshipper would not trap the said goddess in the attic, nor could she." Ayami took a light sip of her wine. As usual she took the swing right out of the bottle. "The demi-goddess in the attic would be Eleusis, an attendee of Demeter. She's all but a glorified priestess, so you don't have to worry so much about that one."

Masako huffed. "If you're as strong as you claim, why don't you send her back yourself, Domjouji-san?"

"Five. I like the collect information on all cultures around the world. How they banish their spirits, deal with their psychics et cetera, et cetera. I'd like to see how you fare when something beyond your genre pops up."

"You want us to send a demi-goddess back to Greece through spells and rituals?" John-san's incredulity was blatant.

"Think of the airfare fees that we'd be saving. But be careful what you ask. I counted your scepticism as yet another query. That was number six."

Naru lifted his head again. "I have something I want to ask. The only family I know that is supposedly like yours is the Ramirez Family, and they're involved with cults and Gothic tributes. Apparently they originated from the South-American cultures. Are you related to them?"

Again, Bou-san nodded. Mai blinked in surprise at him. She had never known Bou-san to know that much about spiritual details, but then again, it wasn't as though she knew his age either.

Blinking, she realised that Bou-san was talking. "—Europeans accused psychics for bringing forth the Black Plague during the Burning Times so the predecessors of the Ramirez Family cursed that plague into Europe, which in turn took down 50 of Europe's population, which was almost 100 million at the time."

Ayami nodded and sighed as though she were being nostalgic. "The Ramirez Family. If you ever get to meet the Head of their Clan, tell him that Ayami sends her regards. Hopefully the next time we meet, he won't try to slide a knife through my ribs again."

"And yes," Ayami continued, her eyes suddenly turning towards Ayako. "I do very much like the sound of my own voice." When the priestess's eyes widened and Mai frowned, Ayami shrugged. "Being a psychic has its charms, and in my case, telepathy is one of my abilities."

Masako didn't seem appeased by Ayami's statement, and honestly, neither was Mai. "If you know what we think, then why are you still like this?"

"Seven. Because I have telepathy, not empathy. I don't care how you feel; it's what you think that's got me." Ayami turned to John-san. "And yes, returning a deity to her origins can be dangerous. If you don't have the right powers for it, you can't do it."

"It would be more than easy for us to pack up and leave," Naru pointed out.

"Same here," Ayami laughed. "And if I do, then the demi-goddess in the attic is set loose. You must know that I don't actually need to send her back. After all, I live overseas. If the demi-goddess is let out and she kills everyone randomly, what can we do?"

Mai stared at her, almost not believing what she was hearing. That was so utterly and undeniable irresponsible of Ayami to say that. The job was clearly dangerous, yet she didn't seem to mind if someone else did it. She was trying to push all responsibility onto everyone else.

Ayami turned towards Mai as though she'd read Mai's thoughts. Her face sobered. "Don't look at me like that, Mai. I was born into this world. I might be a bitch, but I will always be your friend."

At that, Mai shook her head, not quite understanding the other girl. "You're nice to me, yet you're not even kind to them. I don't understand. You're not a bad person; you know this is your responsibility. Why do you do this?"

Ayami stared at her and for a moment, Mai thought that she may have pushed their friendship too far. Had she said too much? Or was there more to the story than that? Mai continued to look back at her, and she had a feeling that if she gave up first, Ayami's answer to all of this would be different.

Finally, Ayami nodded, and the arrogance in her expression had faded. She looked just like the Ayami that Mai had met just a week ago. "Fine. Like you say, Mai, it's my mess. I'll deal with it on my own." Her eyes snapped to Naru. "Seeing as I am providing you a cheque that stretches to four digits before the point dot, I'd like to borrow two of your employees."

"And why should we have to help clean up your mess?" Ayako demanded.

"Eight. I am more than capable of doing this on my own. But like you believe, I am a schema. I want someone to accompany me on my way down, if that is where I am heading."

Naru ignored the challenge in Ayami's words as he looked down at her. He, Mai could tell, was not impressed, but he knew that there probably wasn't any other way out of this.

"And who do you choose to accompany you for this then?"

Bou-san, from where he sat, eyed Ayami wryly, and he spoke before she could count the number of queries they were on. "Nine questions now. It'd better not be Mai that you're going for," he warned her.

"No, not Mai. I like Mai." Ayami's eyes skimmed towards the outer area and her smile – the one that made her eyes show malice and arrogance, slid towards the rest of the people in the room, and then rested on Naru again. "You, however. I don't like you. Or anyone else in the room, really." She shrugged. "Feel free to debate amongst yourselves as to who shall be my other two victims."

The girl stood up in an incredibly languid manner. She was almost like a contented cat after its meal, only the glimmer of compassion in Ayami's brown eyes strangely calm an went, unlike everything else.

"And will you look at that. You people made it one hour into the session, and you still have one spare question to go. Lucky for you people, I do rainchecks."

06.08.08: The 8th of the 8th of year 2008. How awesome is that? The truth is, I wanted to update on that date, but then I figured that I'd never updated BEFORE the time that I'd say that I had, so maybe I should try that for a change. Anyway, the point is, this chapter didn't take as long as I thought it would, but then Ayami constantly blabbering was a bit hard to write, admittedly. Oh wells...don't worry; you won't see that much of her after this segment. Though I enjoy writing her, I must admit that Ayami has one of those overbearing presences. She kind of just screams for attention, in comparison to a lot of other characters.

Many thanks to: killbethy, Simplemoon, Gabryell-P, canadian violet (lol it explains in this chapter why Ayami uses the term world and not work. Of course, Naru contradicts this and they kind of argue back. He let her win this time, but if he wasn't trying to extract info from her, I don't think Ayami would have conquered quite so easily), yumegirl91, lunamoongoddess, Simply Christine, zeroseconds.