Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.
Burnt Desires: Part 11
Silence fell over the group as their attention lingered fixatedly on the black screen of the monitor; hearing the faint sound of Mai's breathing in the background. Everyone stood frozen, shocked beyond belief with what they had just witnessed.
Ayako was the first to break from their trance.
"Qi..?" She frowned. "Why would there be a display of qi over here? Isn't it an ability only the Chinese can produce?" She asked, perplexed, throwing a quick glance in Lin's direction.
"...I think he meant the Japanese equivalent, ki." Monk butted in. "I read before that qi originally came from the Chinese cultures, and was converted to ki over here in Japan. A lot of the Western cultures take after the Japanese dubbing of the technique and some can even produce it, but the Chinese are more knowledgeable on the subject," he gave a quick overview, focusing his gaze on the Chinese assistant, "right Lin?"
"Yes." He bobbed his head into a quick nod, quietly standing from his seat. "The ancient Chinese described it as a 'life force' and believed it permeated everything, linking their surroundings together to create a single flow of energy. They were able to connect the energies streaming around and through their bodies into one cohesive unit, believing they could use it as a healing technique. However, only a select few were able to unify the complete mass of their qi and were able to use the energy for defense rather than healing." He breathed, pausing in thought. "Only a powerful medium is able to produce such a blast of power...especially the one we just witnessed."
All eyes suddenly turned to Monk.
"W-Whoa, wait a minute!" He yelled. "I don't know how to use Chinese techniques, I'm just a monk!" He waved his hands wildly in front of him, hunching his shoulders defensively. "You can't think-"
"Then the only other person capable of such a thing is Mai." Naru cut in, transferring his gaze to the girl lying on the couch.
"Y-You can't expect Mai to have produced something like that!" Ayako gasped. "She's Japanese!" She shouted out of shock. "How could she possibly know?"
Lin raised his hand, silencing their confusion-based remarks as he followed Naru's gaze to Mai. "I believe Naru means something else," he spoke slowly, drawing out the words before ending them with a sigh. "Even though the technique is originally from China, the Japanese also found a way of creating a similar sense of power. The ki they've created can be accessed through meditation; as long as the individual portrays a calm mindful state, they are able to pull the energy from any part of their body, just like the Chinese."
"But how does any of this prove that Mai was the one to release that power wave?" Ayako asked, chewing her bottom lip. "She can't possibly be holding onto such a power...It's impossible." She looked at Naru for any sign of confirmation. "And she doesn't even meditate."
He smirked. "It wouldn't be so surprising, Matsuzaki. Mai has already proven her capability of using latent ESP, so it wouldn't faze me if she was the one responsible," he crossed his arms, hardening his stare. "And there only seems to be two possible outcomes. It either came from Takigawa or Mai, but Takigawa has already admitted that it wasn't him, meaning, it must have come from Mai."
The group fell into another bout of silence, once again focusing their gazes on the unconscious assistant out of disbelief. Ayako couldn't believe what she was hearing; for Mai to be able to access her ki? It was unbelievable!
...To an extent.
But that was how Mai woke, feeling the pricks of four sets of eyes staring at her as she groggily rubbed her eyes, fighting against a yawn. "...Is there something on my face?" She frowned, meeting Ayako's desperate yet confused stare with a blurred vision. Mai moved into a better position, settling herself with her legs tucked against her chest. She raised her brow. "What happened?" Has there been another attack?
Monk scratched the back of head and looked at the girl in amazement. "Wow Mai, I didn't know you were so talented." He blurted, feeling Naru's glare bite into the back of his neck.
The assistant blinked. "...Eh?"
"You produced that blast of ki, didn't you?" His smile dipped into an uncertain frown at her blank expression. "You know, that yellow light..?"
Mai pursed her lips, feeling a dull throb as she thought back. "Urrmh, eto...Ah!" She gasped. "Was that what it was? Ki..? But I...I thought that came from you, Bou-san."
Ayako slapped her forehead, making them all jump. "She must have done it unconsciously."
"Huh? Did what?" Mai questioned, becoming more confused as the conversation went on. "What's going on?"
"You produced a blast of ki, Mai."
There was a stagnant pause, shortly followed by; "M-Me!? I did that?" She squeaked. How is that possible!? I can't even control where my dreams take me! Mai shouted out mentally. She just couldn't picture it.
Naru sighed deliberately, drawing it out with an irritable twitch as he perched himself against Lin's vacant chair. "Mai, do you remember what happened to you before you released the yellow light? Did you feel different somehow?"
"Hm...Now that I think about it, I did feel an odd sensation in my feet; it moved towards my hands and made them all tingle-y." She recalled quietly, placing a finger to her lips.
"That was your body's ki being drawn from one area of your body to another and collecting into your hands, as if to form the shape of a ball, before you released it." Lin began to explain, only to stop upon the sight of her confused expression. His brows knitted into an annoyed frown as she released an awkward giggle in return.
"E-Eheh...Could you explain, please?"
The assistant sighed. "Ki is the name of the energy every being holds in their bodies; some can access it while others haven't even heard of it. The power that you draw from ki can be used as a weapon against humans and spirits. In your case Mai, you somehow drew your body's energy from the lower half of your body and pulled it up to the top half to store it into your hands. The yellow barrier that cleared away parts of the mist came from you and initially saved you." Lin elaborated, only to be interrupted by Naru.
"It could have been Gene; he was the one who initially unlocked her power in the first place. As he is your guide, I'm sure this was also his doing." His voice was confident to say the least.
"Ah, no..." Mai's expression darkened. "I haven't seen Gene since we started this case." She admitted drearily, feeling her muscles ache all over. Whatever had provoked her power in the mist had caused the yellow energy to burst from her fingertips and had also, unintentionally, drained her dry, leaving a dull pain in its place.
It almost felt like she had been hit by a truck.
Naru peered down at her through icy indigo eyes. "What do you mean, Mai. Without Gene's influence...Are you implying you accomplished all this by yourself?" His tone turned bitter as the velocity of his voice rose with each word. "This is serious Mai."
Said assistant winced. That was a low blow, she thought miserably, resting her head against her knees. It wasn't her fault Gene hadn't appeared, it wasn't as if there was a GPS chip attached to him. He comes and goes as he pleases, but how could Naru say that to her? Did this mean he'd been relying on Gene's power all this time, simply using her as a speaker between the two worlds? Was she just an empty vessel..?
"Naru-" Monk warned.
"If Gene hasn't been guiding you since the last case, then does that mean he's finally passed on?" Naru continued, however his tone had lightened somewhere along the way as a look of content briefly flashed across his eyes.
However Mai highly doubted that had happened. He wouldn't leave without saying a word...but she couldn't be certain. She didn't truly know him, only as a spirit.
"Then did Mai do all this by herself?" Ayako suggested. "W-Without any help?"
Wow, thanks for the support Ayako. Mai scowled beneath her hair. "It's not that hard to imagine."
"Do you know how you summoned your ki Mai?" Lin moved closer to her, crouching in front of her so that they were eye-level. "It would help a great deal if we could find a starting point to all of this."
"But I don't know how I did it." She mumbled into the fabric of her jeans, keeping her voice low and incoherent. "All I thought was 'I want to be stronger' and then bam! Out shoots the yellow light."
"I want to be stronger," Monk repeated, thinking it over.
"Perhaps her body acted subconsciously..." Ayako suggested, tapping her finger against her leg pensively.
Monk's eyes widened. "Like in defense?"
Mai drew in a deep breath at Monk's words, agreeing with his statement. "I think you're right Bou-san. The light protected me from the spirit and acted like a shield in some sense!"
"A shield of power which connects to your emotions..." Lin added silently.
Mai whipped her head around towards him, meeting his narrowed gaze. "What do my emotions have to do with this?"
Naru released a frustrated sigh, tiredly rubbing the skin between his eyes. "Think about it Mai. While being attacked, you mentioned how you thought about wanting to be stronger in a way to fend off the spirit. Ironically, the essence of you powers reacted to this powerful feeling and rose up to protect you." He explained, uncrossing his arms to let them dangle by his sides. "In my opinion, you were in a dangerous situation at the time which is why I believe your powers will resurface independently whenever you're in a life-threatening position."
Mai's jaw dropped. Does that mean he believes me? That it wasn't Gene? Her heart soared at the thought. Thank God!
"Well at least we know it won't be hard to witness her powers in person, Mai gets into trouble at least one time on every case." Ayako said as she fanned her face, mumbling about the growing temperature of the room.
"Ayako-!"
"Haha, that's true!" Monk ruffled her hair as he chuckled. "Jou-chan's a magnet for spirits!" He boasted.
Mai puffed out her cheeks as she rested her gaze on the Monk and glared. However something caught her eye and caused her to lean forward to inspect, almost falling into Lin's lap in the process. With a slight blush Mai pulled back, dodging Lin's expressionless gaze. "Bou-san, you look a little pale." She said with a creased brow, concerned with the monk's white complexion. "Do you not feel well?"
Takigawa rubbed his neck. "I don't look that bad, do I?" He joked but was abruptly shot down by Ayako's stare.
"I could mistake you for a ghost, so sit down next to Mai before you collapse." She growled before shoving him onto the couch.
"Woah!" Monk's solid form barely missed Mai's body as he landed beside her, mumbling an apology for almost knocking her out.
"Now rest," she said in a firm but motherly way. "You too Mai."
The assistant nodded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes ma'am!"
"You didn't have to push me," Monk groaned, moving into an easier sitting position beside the assistant. "I'm a sick man!" He swooned playfully.
Mai giggled as Ayako wacked him over the head. "You're tired not sick; you just had a bit of energy sucked out of you by a greedy ghost," she 'hmphed'.
"At least we can narrow down the side-effects of when coming into contact with the ghost." Lin announced and Naru nodded in agreement.
"Paleness of the face, body pains, weakness symptoms; they can all be expected from an energy absorption." The narcissist pulled out a notepad from his pocket and wrote them down, scrawling them in black ink.
"And a lack of consciousness of the victim should be added." Monk proposed smugly.
Naru shook his head at Mai's scowl. "No, Mai fainted due to the over usage of her powers. As you saw back on 'The Cursed House' case, I collapsed after releasing a great amount of power because it took a great toll on my body. And it's the same with Mai; using a great deal of energy without an ounce of control will drain you quicker, and when you add on the fact that she had already been drained by the spirit, this led to her unconsciousness." He concluded.
Mai pursed her lips, stretching the aching muscles in her arms. "Will that happen every time I use my powers?"
"Yes, which is why Lin and I are going to teach you how to control them once we've solved this case."
Mai blinked, flabbergasted. "Y-You're going to teach me?"
"Controlled powers take less amounts of energy through withdrawal." Lin added, curving the sides of his mouth into a half-smile. "You and Takigawa should be fine in an hour or so once your energy has replenished itself."
"On that note, Ayako," Naru cut in, "Have you finished the charms I asked for?"
The priestess pulled off a pleased smile at his question, releasing a superior aura as she pulled out a stack of papers from her skirt pocket. "I made enough for everyone." She handed them to him as he then proceeded to hand them around to everyone.
"This one's for Miss Hachimitsu." Naru gave her the remaining charm before focusing on the whole group. "I need everyone to keep the charms on them at all times, they'll fend off any attempts of possession."
"Good job, Ayako." Mai smiled and clapped her hands.
"Hm, well I am a professional Shinto priestess after all." She exclaimed loudly, straightening her back.
Monk scoffed, whispering in her ear, "Nothing professional about that."
Mai clenched her teeth and quickly covered her mouth, struggling to hold in her giggle while Naru and Lin broke off from the group, mentioning something about checking the monitors again.
The miko sat herself in-between Mai and Monk, crossing a slender leg over her knee with her arms folded against her chest. "Anyway, how are you feeling Mai?"
She shrugged. "Better, I guess. But it feels like I've been on a ten mile hike with the way my body aches," she scrunched up her nose distastefully, catching Monk's irritated look.
"What, is no one going to ask how I feel?" He whined, receiving a well-aimed hit to the gut.
"I was getting there," Ayako rubbed her fist, flexing her fingers with a menacing look in her eye. "I was going to teach Mai some defensive techniques."
"It's not that I couldn't remember them Ayako, I just panicked."
"Well, I'll remind you anyway." She said, glancing at her hands. "Rin," she moved her hand in a diagonal motion, "Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen. Got it?"
"I already knew it," Mai grumbled, tilting her head back as she sighed.
"I bet you can't remember mine," Monk grabbed her hands, positioning them into a curved pose as he motioned her to copy his movements. "Keep your fingers locked together and chant, Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradankan."
Mai sunk further into the couch, letting her head flop back. I already knew this one too. She groaned silently while Monk and Ayako argued about which chant was better. To be honest, she just didn't care!
"How about these?" Lin said in the background with his back to the group, speaking to Naru in hushed tones that Mai just happened to pick up on.
"I hadn't quite gotten around to those," Naru replied, taking a pile of papers from Lin's hands. He grabbed an empty chair and pulled it towards the centre of the room before sitting himself down on it.
Mai poked both Monk and Ayako simultaneously, stopping their chatter as Naru cleared his throat for their attention. "...Are those from Yasu?" She asked, recognising the fax-styled papers in his lap.
He smirked, impressed. "Yes, he faxed them over before we left Tokyo. Yasu researched the house for me so this is what he's found," he nodded at the papers in hand before beginning. "This house was bought in 1951 by the Kizoku family who were the original owners, however there were no recorded killings or accidents until Mr Kizoku died many years later in 1978. The medical reports recorded the cause of death as a heart attack from natural causes, which was shortly followed by the death of his wife in 1953. The Heimin family were the second buyers in 1957, and here again there were no reported killings or accidents until the house was taken over by the Hachimitsu family, consisting of a husband, his wife, and their daughter, Yumi."
"H-Hachimitsu!?" Mai spluttered loudly, eyes wide as a confused look splayed across her face. Yurei has the same surname! How could that be possible?
"Hush, Mai, keep your voice down!" Ayako scolded. "It might just be a coincidence-"
"Or she's the second generation of family." Monk supplied curiously.
Naru sighed. "If only I could finish reading it," he growled, sending them a cold glare. "It wasn't until 2013 when the wife was reported missing by the husband-"
'My mother...She's been working abroad for about two years now.'
"-after which an affair was announced by the husband that his wife had been seeing another man at the time. After little investigation the authorities decided to call off the search, believing the wife to have runaway with the other man. The case was never reopened after that, and unfortunately, the husband and daughter later died in a house fire near the end of the same year. Their bodies were recovered from the wreckage. No one has lived here since, and there haven't been any renovation reports either."
Mai bit the inside of her gum, staring off into a daze after recalling Yurei's words from the interview. It just didn't make sense. If nobody has lived here ever since, then how is Yurei living here? Was the house rebuilt by an off-licensed company? Is the client a distant relative of the previous Hachimitsu family? Her brain hurt just thinking about it.
"We're going to perform an exorcism." Naru suddenly announced without a pause, stuffing the papers into the inside of his jacket pocket.
"Whoa, hold on a minute!" Monk yelled, having been taken off-guard by the sudden exclamation. "We don't even know where the spirit is!"
"Which is why we're going to perform more than one." Naru said. "A multiple exorcism."
"Ugh," Ayako moaned. "I'm going to be exhausted after this." She collapsed back against the couch.
"Hah! With you're lack of power you will." Bou-san mocked. "I, however-"
Ayako's purse hit him square in the face. "I guess I'd better get this charm to the client before I forget," she stood from her seat as if nothing had happened, leaving Monk to nurse his injured face by himself.
"We'll be performing the exorcisms tomorrow morning. Be prepared by 9AM."
Mai waved Ayako off before slumping to her side, burying her face into the couch pillow with a sigh. She was confused beyond understanding with what was going on in this house. They already have to deal with finding the spirit's anchor (in order for it to pass on), a violent spirit who has been attacking the client and is currently the source behind the mysterious fog, as well as the missing information behind the house renovations and the disappearance of the wife!
The assistant wedged herself deeper into the couch.
One thing played on her mind, sticking out from the rest as she regarded the client.
Just who is Yurei?
Posting Date: 31st July 2015
Symm: I somehow managed to update quicker this time, thank the Kami! I've been trying to type it up in-between watching anime since I never seem to have time during college. We're almost getting to the end of this first case but not to worry! I've planned to put up another case after this one, (which gives us more time to see the development of Mai's powers! *wink wink*) Btw, I got most of the 'Qi' info from wiki and practically made up the rest of the Japanese bits so if any of it is wrong, that's why. The Chinese have 'Qi' (pronounced 'Chi') and the Japanese/Western cultures have 'Ki' (pronounced 'Key').
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