Welcome to Chapter 3!

Wow, this story is doing a lot better then I thought it would... And I was only two chapters in!

Well, I am glad for all the reviews I've gotten, thank you everyone! So let's get to the next chapter, now, shall we?

Disclaimer – I would never own Ghost Hunt. I would, of course, borrow the characters for a non-profiting fanfiction and mess around with their lives. That I can do. So enjoy the story.

Chapter 3 – The Change Shall Come

Mai woke up late the next morning. Actually, it was afternoon. She woke up after three o'clock, and the sun was starting to lower in the sky. Looking around, she didn't recognize where she was, but then remembered what had happened within the last twenty-four hours.

Letting a sigh escape her lips, she turned onto her back and stared at the peeling ceiling. She knew that Naru and the others most likely found her note by now when she never showed up to work.

She probably shouldn't have run like that, but she didn't regret it. She knew they would never understand. Masako maybe, but everyone else? They didn't know, and if they did... they would probably tell her to give up her child, whether before it was born or after, and then pity her. Or worse, hate her.

She knew she was being irrational, but the guilt in her heart whispered this to her mind, and she believed it. She had been lying to them all since they met. They thought she had parents. Lie. They thought she lived in a decent neighborhood. Lie. They thought she only kept the job because she loved her boss. Lie.

Well, the last one wasn't a complete lie, which was partly the reason she hadn't stormed out and found another job. But what she made at SPR was what she lived off of, and she wouldn't be like her neighbor, who was only three years older then she was, and sell herself to pay the rent and bills that came with it.

Finally finding the energy to pull herself out of bed, she headed into the small shower, and quickly cleaning her self, being a little gentler around her stomach then she normally would have been, dressed in her nicest outfit, and tried to eat something before heading out.

She was going to find herself a new job, and hopefully a place to stay besides the hotel.

Naru still gripped the note tightly in his hand.

Why?... Naru thought, and watched as Takigawa and Hara came back from the back room, having already figured out what Naru knew.

"She's gone."

"I know. She told us herself." Takigawa and Hara exchanged a confused look, before Naru handed over the letter.

They looked it over, and reading the letter, eyes widening as they read further and further. Naru took the note back from them when Takigawa dropped it numbly, and he whispered one thing. The same thing Naru had been asking himself.

"Why?..."

"I... don't understand..." Hara mumbled, glancing back down the hallway.

"Understand what?" Naru asked, following her gaze.

"There is only one bedroom, with a single bed in it," Hara said, and Naru gave her a look.

"And...?"

"What about the rest of her family?"

Mai entered the small bookstore, glancing once more at the 'Help Wanted' sign before walking up to the front counter.

"May I help you?" The woman behind it asked, and Mai gave a nod.

"I noticed you were looking for help?"

"Ah yes, come back here, it's about closing time anyways." The woman wasn't exactly elderly, but she wasn't young either. Mai would guess in her late 40's.

They talked for a while, Mai explaining that she had just moved here and was looking for work, and when asked of previous work experience, only mentioned she organized files for a research company.

"Is there anything else you wish to know?" Mai asked, finishing her tea.

"Do you need to be somewhere?" Megumi Ouraka asked worriedly, wondering if she had kept the young woman too long.

"I was just hoping to find a place to live before tonight; I don't like staying in hotels, if you understand."

"Well... I may have an offer for you." Megumi said thoughtfully, glancing at the staircase in the back. "This bookstore has a second floor, which is actually an apartment for the previous owners of this building. I can see about getting electricity and plumbing running up there, and take the rent out of your pay. Does that sound fair to you?"

"That is great Ouraka-san, thank you very much." Mai said, giving a polite bow.

"Of course, it may take a few days to get everything working; do you have enough for a hotel until that is ready?"

"Yes, I do. And when do you want me to come to work?" Mai asked, picking up her day-bag.

"Tomorrow, that way you can start earning rent, and get paperwork filled out for your stay."

"Once again, thank you. I hope you have a pleasant evening."

"To you also. It was a pleasure talking to you."

They finished saying goodbye, and Mai waked out, feeling a little more hopeful, and ready to embrace her new life.

The next few days for Mai went great. She had filled out paperwork for her job, and was able to actually start working that day, since there wasn't a lot that she could fill out. Megumi helped her fill out some of the parts, mostly about legal guardianship. She had the papers from the city that showed she was emancipated and allowed to live on her own.

She remembered how she hadn't filled that part out on her last job, and wondered for a moment how she had gotten away with that. Naru – Shibuya-san, she corrected herself – was always so thorough, so she filed it away to ponder later.

After completing the paperwork, she was to learn how the books were organized, and then to start shelving the newly ordered and exchanged books. Some were freshly printed, while others had been sold to the store for cash. The store may have been locally run and rather small, but it was in a busy part of town and received lots of attention and business.

She had finished five boxes of books before being told that the store was closing, and that it was time to clean up and head off to their homes – or in Mai's case, her hotel – for the night. Mai broke down the boxes that the books came in, put them in the storage room, and then washed her hands of the dust the older books had left behind, and headed off to get something to eat before returning to the hotel.

Stopping at a small restaurant, Mai had something to eat, and then after paying for her meal and leaving a tip, she headed off to the hotel, and took out a small blank book that she was going to use as a journal of sorts. It was mostly to keep track of her thoughts, and to have something to write in when feeling the need to talk to someone.

Taking out a pen, she neatly wrote the date at the top, and in her best legible handwriting, started to write.

It has been a week since I left Tokyo, and sometimes I wish I never left. I miss everyone there, but then again, I don't. I fear them.

Why? I don't know. Maybe it's because of the baby growing inside of me now. I already love it, even though it was not what I wanted. Or how I wanted to have my first child. I don't even know who the father is, or if some other girl is suffering the same way I am, living in fear of rejection.

I got a job working at a bookstore with a nice older lady named Megumi Ouraka. Luckily I was emancipated when my mother passed on, so I didn't have to lie. Again.

Which leads me to the thought I had earlier this day. How did I get away with putting on so little of where I lived and my parent's consent? I will have to ask Shibuya-san when I see him next. If I ever see him again.

Ouraka-san is letting me live above the bookstore, so now I won't have to raise my child in a hotel. I won't have to live in one either. The rent will be taken out of my pay, but that's alright. I am just glad to have somewhere to stay.

I move in tomorrow, so I am packing what little I have of belongings, and am going to go purchase some furniture and cleaning supplies with what I have left of my money if I have enough. I am also going to go buy some food. I have to eat healthy. I know this due to common sense, and I snuck a look at a pregnancy book while shelving some medical information books. I will have to see about purchasing that also; later though, when I tell Ouraka-san or cannot hide it any longer.

Well, it is late; I should get some sleep, and finish packing in the morning.

Mai Taniyama

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Happy Readings!
ALT