Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.

Burnt Desires: Part 8

Day 2. 1:20PM.

Mai fumbled with the ends of her sleeves, stretching the tortured fabric between her shaking fingers like an elastic band while refusing to meet her boss' levelled stare. After an awkward length of silence, Mai had finally given in to her boss' demands and had spent an agonising hour informing him about the first dream she'd had –the one that had started all of this. She had made sure to emphasise about the strange phenomena she'd encountered within the dream; believing to have woken up from the vision, only to find herself still trapped there. It had been a difficult thing to make sense out of, with Mai struggling to determine and separate the two dreams that had been conjoined into one. And as much as her explanation had proved to confuse him and herself, Naru had simply stared, keeping the information locked away for the time being until Lin arrived, taking note with his extraordinary memory rather than recording it down on paper.

And although she had been reluctant to at first, Mai didn't struggle with recalling the events of the second dream after realising the consequences of withholding such information, finding herself unable to withstand one of Naru's famous glares.

"And that's pretty much it." Mai concluded, brushing back a loose strand of hair which had fallen beside her cheek during mid-speech. "...Any questions?" She murmured after taking a breath to settle her nerves, waiting for his yelling to commence.

Naru took in her nervous state, watching her fuss over the fabric trapped within her grip while he thought through the silence before finally nodding. "Not for the moment." He replied stoically, running his eyes over her form one last time before standing. "Mai-"

The closed door of the make-shift base opened just in time, unconsciously interrupting the narcissist. Lin stepped in, brushing his gaze over Mai before locking eyes with Naru. "Naru. I apologize for making you wait," He bowed his head humbly. "But there's a reason why-" Lin paused momentarily, feeling an odd sensation emit from the base. He turned to properly face the room, moving away from the door as he felt something off with the set-up, drawing his calculating eyes back to Naru's. "Why hasn't the equipment been set up?"

Naru quirked an inquisitive brow before turning his attention on Mai, thanking the oblivious assistant for reminding him of such a thing. "Ah, yes, about that," He mused, reaching behind Mai to grab the damaged piece of equipment from the couch. "Come here, Mai." He gestured for her to stand.

Mai gulped at his penetrating stare boring holes into her forehead as she chose to sit on the couch instead, skittishly meeting his gaze. From the corner of her eye she saw Lin move back, edging towards the door as her boss' power flared warningly at the pair of them.

But before Mai could join the Chinese assistant she felt her heart lurch as Naru stalked forward, towering over her quaking form and blocking any routes of escape. "Mai." He growled lowly, moving even closer until his legs were touching her knees; keeping them in place and efficiently cornering her against the couch. "Do you know what this is?" He felt his fury spring back full power from the previous discovery, pointing a very angry finger at the crack in the screen.

"W-What's what?" Mai asked innocently as she avoided looking at his face, struggling not to crumble under his gaze. She drew her frightened eyes towards the minor crack decorating the corner of the monitor before shaking her head, wondering for a moment how it could have gotten there. That is, until it all came hurtling back to her. Oh God. I completely forgot about that...

"You don't know?" He taunted, leering closer with an evil glint in his cerulean eyes. "Well, why don't I remind you." He gripped her wrist with more force than was necessary, encasing her tiny wrist with his calloused fingers in one quick swipe. "Do you remember when you were carrying a certain box of monitors to the base?" His tone dripped with venom, and Mai could only nod frantically, not trusting herself to speak. "Well, after that I believe something must have made you jump because the next thing I heard was you squeal, followed by a loud thump and then the sound of your running feet. And do you remember what caused such a loud thump." He bit down on the word, tightening his hold on her wrist.

Mai winced, not liking where this was heading. "E-Ehhh –A box?"

"A box filled with what?" He asked not too kindly.

"...M-Monitors?"

"Yes. These monitors to be exact," He pointed at the box she had carried in, carelessly dropping the damaged monitor into her lap. "Did you think I wouldn't notice and that you could escape without a punishment?"

Lin looked on in shock, watching the wide-eyed assistant shake her head in surprise. Throughout his job as an assistant, Lin had never seen Naru pull off such a menacing look before; he almost pitied Mai for the situation she had gotten herself into. She was always on the other end of Naru's wrath, whether it was her fault or not. And yet the whole team knew that the girl was a magnet for trouble. Lin wanted to intervene and defend the poor girl, but this was something she needed to hear. The equipment was expensive and was hard to ship over from the States, but it couldn't hurt Naru to back down a bit. So the only thing Lin could do for Mai was to sit and pray to the Kamis that Naru would let her off easy.

Mai visibly gulped, dragging in a deep breath through her clenched teeth. "N-Naru –I'm sorry-"

"Each piece of equipment costs a lot of money, Mai. A single monitor is worth ¥26887; money that you have just wasted. A boxful is averagely ¥161,322!" He broke off momentarily, massaging his temples as a pained expression crossed his face. "You don't understa-"

Lin coughed into his hand, purposely cutting the narcissist off and shooting him a look which had him answering with a glare. "Naru." He spoke calmly, nodding at Mai sitting motionlessly on the couch.

Naru cast a tense look over her pale complexion, biting back his earlier remark before releasing a pent up sigh, stepping back from the trapped assistant to give her some breathing room. Mai instantly slumped back against the couch, causing Naru to furrow his brows as a relieved sigh escaped her lips at the given space between them. "...But," He strained after receiving a stern look from Lin. "I will forgive you as long as you agree to set up the equipment by yourself." He settled, not finding it that hard to forgive her.

Mai blinked slowly, taking a moment to register his words. "...I have to set up the equipment." She said slowly, pronouncing each word with a steady breath. "All. By. Myself."

Naru nodded.

"Without any help?"

"..."

"Can Lin at least share the punishment?"

"...Mai."

"He did disappear for a while, and it'll take too long to do all by myself-"

"Mai."

"-Plus I'll probably get attacked again-"

"Mai-"

"-So do I have to-"

"MAI!"

Said assistant flinched, knowing she was pushing her luck. "O-OK, OK. I'll do it." She shook her head miserably, shooting him an apologetic look. "And, again, I'm sorry. For, you know, breaking the equipment. It won't happen again." She promised.

Naru nodded, staring a second longer before saying, "It better not. Now get to work before the rest of the team arrives to an empty base." He sighed, having forgiven her, for now. Sure, he'd overreacted, but Mai had to realise how expensive the equipment cost. They didn't have your average camera to play around with, no. Their type of equipment was much more intellectual than that and it was hard to get your hands on such good quality sets.

And they were lucky she had only broken one.

Mai reluctantly stood, grumbling under her breath about an "idiotic scientist" as she removed the broken monitor from her lap and moved towards the door, receiving a pat on the back on her way out from Lin as he congratulated her for not firing back at their boss. She scoffed. She deserved an award for it, not a pat on the back! Casting an unhappy look at the pair, she shot them both a look before moving on, hoping the rest of the team would arrive already.

Naru waited for the sound of his assistant's retreating footsteps to disappear before releasing a sigh of his own, slouching back into the couch. He could feel an incoming headache.

Sensing his growing agitation, Lin got to work quickly by settling down on one of the five cushioned chairs they'd borrowed previously from the corridor, resting his hands on his knees as he hunched forward, catching Naru's eye. "I need to tell you something important."

Naru leaned forward with a thoughtful look. "Is it about the barrier?" He asked, gaining a nod in return. So he gestured for him to continue, copying his assistants posture with his hands resting in his lap. "Go on."

"I tried accessing the barrier again, but my shiki couldn't even touch it. The fog creating the barrier definitely isn't natural; I sensed something off about it." Lin shook his head, feeling his power wrap protectively around his resting shiki. "I tried to hit it more than once but my shiki recoiled back every time. I could destroy it if I had enough power stored up to attack it, but my shiki have weakened considerable just from touching it! Whatever is protecting the barrier is evil, that's for sure. I fear we might be dealing with more spirits than we had originally thought." He explained. "The fog has approached greatly since we last saw it, and I'm unsure whether Ayako or Takigawa will be able to pass through it."

Naru sighed, rubbing the aching muscles in his neck as the headache finally caught up with him. He sighed, bowing his head tiredly. "Seems we've got our work cut out for us."

Mai stopped beside the van once she was outside, surprised to find the boot still open and carelessly leaving Naru's so called expensive equipment on display. "And here I was thinking Lin was the responsible one." She mused, reaching upwards to grasp the edge of the door with both hands. "A-At least he left it all out ready for me," She strained on the tips of her shoes before slamming it shut, releasing a sigh. "But it doesn't make it any easier. And I swore it was closed the last time I was out here!" She muttered grumpily and grabbed the last monitor box, finding it much lighter than the first one she had brought in. Believing she could handle more, Mai hoisted the box higher and held it captive with her strongest hand while picking up a bulky plastic tub filled with cables that were supposed to power the whole lot of equipment, juggling the pair in her hands until she got a firm grip on them both.

"OK," She breathed, wavering slightly from the weight before deciding to make a move, strolling casually towards the entrance and up the steps, and proudly entering the house with her load. It didn't take her long to arrive at the base, relieved to find the door open upon entering. She hurried inside, spotting Naru and Lin huddled together in the far corner, whispering to one another and not even batting an eye in her direction as she passed. Mai shook her head, knowing they were talking too in depth to notice her.

She placed the boxes down in front of the couch before moving the broken monitor back into the box, transferring the cables and the newest monitors beside them onto the couch. Mai dusted off her hands, stretched her back into an arch before making another trip back to the van, making sure to pick up the keys to the van on her way out without Naru noticing.

Mai locked the van and grabbed the last bit of equipment; carrying two wide monitor shelves under one arm and holding the tub of microphones and camera stands in the other with great difficulty.

"Mai! Let me help you," Yurei called once Mai was back inside, exiting out of one of the rooms near the front entrance with a mop and bucket. She gladly discarded her items to handle the tub slowly sliding from Mai's grip, sending her a boisterous smile. "Is that better?"

Mai returned the smile, happily carrying the shelves in a more comfortable manner. "Yes. Thanks." She nodded, casting a wary glance at the dimly-lit staircase, not wanting to linger beneath them for much longer. "W-What were you doing?" She asked in an attempt to move the conversation elsewhere, taking a few quick steps down the corridor with Yurei trailing behind.

"Is this about the mop and bucket I was carrying?" The client mused, noticing Mai's sheepish grin. "I knew it." She sighed comically, shaking her head. "I was doing a last-ditch effort at cleaning the two bottom floor bedrooms for you guys. The floors are a little slippery so I wouldn't unpack anything yet." She said. "I gave you two rooms since, well...You're a girl, a-and I thought you'd like to have your own privacy, you know?" She stammered awkwardly.

"A-Ah," Mai blushed at her statement, ridding herself of the creeping image of her sharing a bed with Naru. No, Mai. Don't even go there. "T-Thanks."

"No worries!" Yurei replied, stopping outside the base. Mai frowned as the client peeked in, causing a few strands of her silver hair to fall against her face. She pulled back and handed back the box, gingerly brushing them behind her ear with a giggle. "Do you need help setting up?" She inclined her head at the room.

"No, no. You don't have to do that! It's-" Mai paused, suddenly not wanting to tell her about her punishment. "I-It's my job! It's what I get paid for," She kindly declined her. "But since you want to help, would it be alright if you made us some tea? We have two more colleagues on the way to help out and they would definitely appreciate a warm drink after a two hour drive."

"Good job I prepared two rooms!" She chuckled, placing her hand on Mai's shoulder. "I don't mind making tea. Does everyone like green tea?"

Mai shrugged. "If not I'll force it down their throats!" She yelled childishly, pulling off a scowl for effect which made Yurei laugh along with her.

"OK. I'll see what I can do."

Posting Date: 5th April 2015

Symm: Has anyone noticed the new chapter titles, and the info about what day and time it is? Well! I took inspiration from some of the other Ghost Hunt stories on here who took the similar style of titles from the Anime. I think it looks more professional since you can tell which case we're currently on and gives a span of how many days it will take place on. (It also hints at there being a new case after this one!) Sorry for the wait!

Also, ¥26887 is around £150 in British pounds, and averagely $225 in US Dollars.

Thanks for the review Ishval, natnatgibbs, NaginiFay!

Thanks for the follow Sweet Demons6, Ultimate Game Hunter!

Thanks for the favourite Sweet Demons6, Ultimate Game Hunter!