Hey, everyone! Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! I'm glad you liked the first chapter!
As said before, I do not own Ghost Hunt in any way, shape or form.
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"So, do you think we'll take that case we got offered yesterday, Naru?" I asked; trying to stifle the loud silence that filled the room.
Naru, for whatever reason, had decided to do his work in the front office today. He was sitting in a chair at the coffee table; working in the black notebook he always carried around with him. Omi Nazuka seemed to be watching everything with fiery intensity, missing nothing.
Naru looked up at me. "I think we will, actually," he said in his usual indifferent tone.
"Do you want me to call and tell them?" I asked brightly with a smile.
"Yes." Naru paused, as if considering something as I picked up the phone. "Please," he added. Saying it made him look like he was in pain.
I felt my eyes widen in shock for a heartbeat, then quickly masked my face over with the same chipper smile. "Okay!" I dialed the number, my mind whirling. Naru was actually trying to help?
My eyes flicked over to Nazuka-san, who was still watching me intently. Damn. I wish she'd stop staring at me like that, I thought in annoyance.
The previous day, a young girl by the name of Maaya Suzumara had shown up at the office requesting our assistance. Apparently, her orphanage, the Minami Home for Orphan Girls, was experiencing paranormal phenomena. Chairs, plates, and all kinds of furniture was thrown around by an unseen force, disembodied voices of girls called for help, and girls disappeared into thin air and were never seen again.
"Hello, is Suzumara-san there?" I asked politely. "I need to speak with her, if that's alright."
"I'm terribly sorry, young lady," the voice on the other end of the line said. "But Suzumara-san disappeared recently. None of us know where she's gone."
My eyes widened in horror. Suzumara-san had fallen victim to the spirits, too?!
"O-oh," I said in a shaky voice. "I'm sorry to hear that. Well, I can just tell you, I guess."
Naru looked up at me, an eyebrow raised slightly in question. Nazuka-san was being as weird as ever and still hadn't taken her eyes off me.
"Okay. Go ahead," the kind, young woman said from the other side of the phone.
"I'm Taniyma-san from Shibuya Psychic Research, and Suzumara-san visited us just yesterday and told us about the spiritual phenomena you're experiencing at your orphanage. We have decided to take your case, and we're wondering when you'd like us to come investigate."
"Oh!" she said in surprise. "Right, of course! Um, you could come this weekend if you would like. Friday at noon."
"Yes, alright," I replied, writing down the date in the planner. "We'll need a room for research and a couple rooms for us to stay in. Could that be arranged?"
"Yes."
"And I'll need to know your name."
"Oh! Okay. I'm Kaori Tai; I'm the secretary here."
I wrote down her name next to the date. "Alright, that's all I need! We'll see you then!"
"Thank you very much!" Tai-san said, and hung up.
I took another minute to transfer the address of the orphanage that Suzumara-san had left yesterday to the planner, too. Then I stood up and smiled at Naru. "All taken care of! She said she'll see us on Friday at noon. I'll call the others!"
By the others, I meant the priest John Brown, the monk Takigawa Houshou, the shrine maiden Ayako Matsuzaki, and the medium Masako Hara. They weren't part of the SPR team, but they usually came and helped us on cases.
After calling them, I turned to Naru. He hadn't asked for tea for a while. Come to think of it, he hadn't asked for tea since this morning when I'd first walked in. Weird. "Hey, Naru, can I get you any tea?" I asked cheerily.
"Yes, please." There it was…that 'please' again. Seriously, he didn't have to try that hard to help. It just made him look like he was being stabbed in the gut or something.
"Would you like some tea too, Nazuka-san?" I questioned politely, turning unwillingly to look at her.
"Yes."
I got up and walked to the kitchen, feeling eyes on my back the whole way there. Why couldn't stupid Omi Nazuka stop that?!
As I made the tea, I puzzled over the new case. It was weird that Suzumara-san had disappeared right after appealing to us. Would more girls disappear once we arrived there?
I walked out with the tea, and I noticed Nazuka-san staring at Naru with narrowed eyes. Freak. "Here's your tea!" I said, setting down a cup in front of Naru and Nazuka-san.
"It took you long enough to offer me a drink," Nazuka-san muttered accusingly.
I ignored her and went back to my desk and looked at the clock. It was almost two p.m. "Hey, Naru! We have an appointment in one hour."
"Fine." Realizing that wasn't polite enough to treat an assistant, he added "thank you" and managed to look like he had a very bad toothache.
Nazuka-san set down her teacup with a loud clatter and stood. I glanced at her; startled. Naru looked over at her expressionlessly.
"I think I've seen enough, and I assure you, I don't find what I've seen agreeable," she said coolly. "Taniyama-san, you are unfit to be living on your own."
"What?!" I shouted, shocked. I jumped to my feet, the chair I had been sitting on flying back behind me. "No! I'm doing just fine!"
"I beg to differ, Taniyama-san," the cold lady said.
"Nazuka-san, if I may," Naru said calmly, slowly standing up. "Mai is always working hard, and I find her living conditions perfectly normal."
What? Naru's never been in my apartment! I thought in confusion. Oh. Wait. The SPR Halloween party. Right; he'd come to my house then.
"Not to be rude, but I don't really care for your opinion," Omi said. "I don't care what anyone says or thinks. Mai Taniyama will be taken into custody."
"You can't do this!" I yelled at her. I was near tears; my life would be over if I had to leave this life behind! I couldn't leave SPR! I couldn't leave my friends! I didn't want to leave Naru! Sure, he was a narcissist jerk most of the time, but I didn't care!
"On the contrary; I can," she said with a cruel smile. She turned and began to stroll for the door. "By tomorrow morning I expect your apartment to be cleaned and your job quit. I will come take you away at eight."
"No! Please!" My voice had reduced to a pleading whisper. The door clicked, and Omi Nazuka was gone.
The tears brimmed full in my eyes. Not wanting to face the world, I ran into the bathroom and locked the door. I curled up on the tiled floor and began to sob.
"Mai!" Naru called from outside the room, but I didn't answer. Sure enough, after a few moments, I heard him leave.
I buried my head in my arms as far as I could. What had I done to deserve this?
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Okay! Hoped you liked the second chapter! Oh, and in case you noticed, I started using the surnames. I would have used them in the first chapter, but I didn't understand them yet. But I read about it and now I know! :) I'll move it up to seven reviews for an update!