Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.
Burnt Desires: Part 12
Day 3. 8:15AM
"I need you to do something."
Mai jumped at the sound of Ayako's voice, staring wide-eyed at the woman's reflection in the bathroom mirror. "Dwoo whut?" She mumbled around her toothbrush, spraying toothpaste all over the sink.
She was still in her pyjamas, having only woken up around twenty minutes ago. Ayako had barged in on her during her morning routine as she was now facing her with a toothbrush sticking out her mouth and her cheeks covered in foam from the paste.
Ayako covered her mouth stoicly and laughed loudly at Mai's appearance, eyeing the floppy ears of the bunny slippers covering her feet. "You look like you've just woken up," she mused, tapping her nail against the bathroom counter.
Mai pulled her toothbrush from her mouth. "I have," she grumbled, adjusting her top self-consciously. "What do you want so early in the morning?"
"I need you to pass this on to the client," the priestess showed her a crinkled charm.
Mai froze, scrutinising the miko warily. "But I thought you told Naru she had already accepted it." She frowned, spitting the paste in the sink. "And anyway, didn't Naru say the exorcisms were to be conducted at 9AM?" She popped the toothbrush back in her mouth. "Why arrren't you dwessed?"
"Because I was trying, for the second time," she growled, "to get the client to accept it!"
The assistant almost choked on her own saliver. "She dwidn't take it fwrom you!?" She yelled, colliding with the countertop while the priestess simply watched, disinterested. "Ouch! Why dwidn't she?"
Ayako threw her arms up in defeat. "I don't know! She just didn't want it, but I don't have time to be worrying about this Mai! I need to get dressed for the exorcisms, it's not a one minute job," she complained irritably.
"Wait, what's the twime now?"
"8:18AM."
"You'wve got plenty ov twime-"
"Yes, well...I'm passing this task on to you," Ayako slapped the charm against her chest. "Bye!" She was out the door before Mai could blink, gone like the wind.
The assistant stared out the open door with the toothbrush hanging from her mouth, feeling a line of foam drip down her chin as she sighed.
"Gwodammit."
After brushing her teeth and getting dressed, Mai found herself wandering the house in search of the client, stopping in relief at the sight of her in the kitchen.
Yurei was leaning against a wooden cupboard with the kettle whistling loudly in the background, seeming oblivous to the schreeching as her eyes lowered and her lips pressed into a firm line in thought.
"Y-Yurei!" Mai hurried in and reached for the kettle before the water overboiled, snapping the client from her stupor as the assistant quickly turned off the stove, twisting away from the hot rising steam. "Are you OK?" She pondered lightly, setting the kettle down on the marble counter.
Yurei nodded, giving her a half-smile. "I'm fine, Mai. Thanks," she nodded at the stove. "Did you come for breakfast? The rest of your team ate earlier, I was just making tea-"
"Ah, no thanks, I came to give you something." Mai fished the charm from her back pocket and displayed it on her palm for her to look at.
Yurei's expression insantly darkened. "My answer is still no," she barked, meeting Mai's confused gaze. "Your friend has asked me twice already, I don't want it." She backed away.
Mai moved with her. "But it's for protection! It will defend you from any spiritual attempts at possession," she thrust it forward, pleading. "Please take it, Yurei."
The client shook her head wildly, suddenly cradling her head as if in pain as she dug her nails into her scalp. "N-No! I don't need it!" She dragged her hands down her face, creating angry red lines with her nails. "He won't let me!" She locked her crazed gaze with Mai's widened eyes, giving her a clear view of her black, inky pupils.
Mai gasped, taking a step back. Her eyes, they've turned black! The same thing had happened during the previous interview where a black substance had crept into her eyes and consumed them whole, changing the startling colour from blue to black. Her attitude completely changed after that, almost as if she was possessed.
It's happening again, Mai thought internally, not knowing what to do. "Y-Yurei!" She tried calling her name, reaching out to shake her shoulder. "You need to snap out of it! I-I don't know what's happening, but you need to fight it, whatever it is!" She begged.
The client swung her arms manically, knocking over the kettle in the process as it fell from the counter will a loud 'bang'. The water spilled over and Mai cried out in pain as it splashed across her hand, burning the pale skin a red raw while the client groaned loudly at her cry.
Mai was unaware of the buzzing filling Yurei's head as she bent forward in pain, balling her hands into fists from the deafening pressure.
The assistant rushed over to the sink and smacked her hand against the nearest tap, turning it on as a blast of cold water hit the burnt patch of skin. She bit her lip, holding back her cry with tears in her eyes as she forcefully held her shaking hand beneath the cold spray.
"Don't want it, don't want it, don't need it, he won't allow me, I can't take it-" Yurei chanted to herself, quietly lowering herself down into a crouch as the words spilled from her mouth.
"Yurei!" Mai desperately tried again, hearing her heart thump in her ears. I'm scared. "P-Please, you need to snap out of it!" She pleaded, feeling her hand throb painfully.
Amongst the mayhem the damaged kettle rolled into Yurei's foot, dripping steaming water over her shoe. The client pulled back instinctively at the hot sensation seeping through the leather of her boot and Mai watched in shocked fascination as a bone-chilling shiver ran down her spine, causing the black substance to shrivel back before shrinking and disappearing from her eyes.
The client blinked, removing her hands from her head as she stood. She turned around, face pale and stoic. "...Mai?"
Mai slumped against the sink in relief, her hand numb from being under the cold spray for so long. "Y-You're back," she sighed in relief, running a hand through her hair.
"Back?" Yurei asked, seeming confused by her statement. "What happened?"
"N-Nothing," Mai waved her hand, forcing her lips into a passive smile. She doesn't remember anything, just like last time. "Um...Do you happen to have any bandages?"
"Sure, but why-" Her gaze landed on Mai's hand. "W-What happened?" She grew panicked, pulling the assistant's hand away from the sink. "It looks painful, are you alright?"
Mai shrugged her off. "I'm fine," she lied casually, giving her a smile. "I just knocked the kettle over, nothing major."
Yurei seemed to believe her story as she went and hurriedly opened a nearby cupboard and pulled out a clean white bandage, using her teeth to rip a hole into the outer packaging before threading the roll out. "Give me your hand," she instructed, clumsily wrapping the material around Mai's burn in loose hoops and securing it with a safety pin. "There you go," she smiled, relieved.
Mai frowned at her awkard handiwork but gave her a half-smile in return. "...Thanks?" She wiped away at her eyes, feeling a dead ache across the back of her hand which she knew would soon turn into numbing tingles. I can't believe I injured myself so soon, Mai grumbled to herself, puffing out her cheeks. Yesterday I had my energy sucked out by a vampire-wannabe spirit, and this morning I have hot water tipped over me. Monk's going to get a kick out of this, she scoffed, returning her gaze to the client as a sudden thought struck her. "...Um, Yurei before you were living here, did any of your family or relatives ever stay here?"
"No, my parents and I never stayed in contact with our relatives so I'm not sure where they are or who's even still alive." She replied without a pause in speech, giving her another smile.
That doesn't make sense. "T-Then what about the daughter, did you know anyone who lived here by the name of Yumi?" Mai countered, noticing the slight rigidness in the client's shoulders.
Yurei turned her back on her, preoccupying herself with wiping up the spilt water from the countertop until she said, "My father, my mother, and I have been living here since I was born. I was put in charge of looking after the house until my father gets back while my mother has been away abroad, working." She said expressionlessly, throwing a quick look at her over her shoulder. "But if that's all you wanted to know then please excuse me. I have other things to do," she threw the cloth into the sink.
'-the house was taken over by the Hachimitsu family consisting of a husband, his wife, and their daughter, Yumi.' Naru's words swirled around in Mai's mind, spiked from Yurei's explanation of when she came to live here. But this just doesn't make sense! How can any of this- Her eyes swelled with awareness.
"O-OK then, sorry for bothering you." She bowed quickly before darting out the door, keeping her steps light until she rounded the corner and braced herself against the corridor wall, drawing in a haggard breath. "If Yurei had no other relatives living here, then are Yasu's findings wrong?" She wondered, only to shake her head at the stupid idea. "No, that's not possible." She sighed, staring at her feet. "...Naru said the wife went missing and that the husband was the one to report her disappearance, whereas Yurei told me that her mother's away on a trip." Mai bit her lip. "The Hachimitsu family in the report consisted of a husband, a wife, and a daughter named Yumi. The Hachimitsu family living here now is made up of a husband, a wife, and a daughter named Yurei." She remembered, counting the number of people on her hands. "Three people in each family. They're almost identical; both mothers have either been away or gone missing for a long period of time, and Yurei and Yumi's names are pretty similar too..."
Silence filled the air as Mai's mind whirled with the possible comparisons and thoughts about both families. "Now that I think about it, the two times I've asked Yurei about her parents was when her eyes turned black, completely changing her attitude as if she was being possessed. Yurei also wouldn't take the charm which could be another sign of a possession, with the spirit refusing on her behalf..."
The more Mai thought about it, the more confused she became. Just what was going on in this house?
Day 3. 9:26 AM.
"-Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradankan, Naumaku Sanmanda BAZARADANKAN!" Monk chanted loudly, dressed in his traditional Buddist clothes as he finished off the cleansing of the room. Bou-san wiped the sweat from his forehead and released his breath, slumping forward against his knees. "That's the living room, guest rooms, and all five bathrooms done." He panted, sweeping back his hair as he heaved. "...I think Naru's trying to kill me." He grumbled, feeling exhausted from performing the multiple exorcisms.
Monk hadn't taken a break yet and had quickly piled through each cleansing, wanting to get his assigned rooms done as quickly as possible so he could go see how Ayako was doing and perhaps gloat. "I bet she hasn't even cleansed them properly," he chuckled to himself as he stood, pondering over how he could tease her. The monk dusted himself down, gave the room one last scan before hurrying out and almost bumping into Naru on his exit. "W-Whoa! Sorry about that Noll," Monk stepped back, putting some space between them before he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see how you were doing," Naru replied coherently.
"Oh," Monk said slowly, shocked at his boss' concern. "That's...nice of you." And weird. "Well, I've finished all of mine. Have you been to see Ayako?"
"Yes, she's still exorcising and probably won't be done for a while yet." He replied, glancing around the corridor as if in search of something.
Monk frowned, watching the narcissist's brow twitch in agitation. It could only mean one thing. "...Are you looking for Mai?"
"Yes," Naru focused his gaze on the monk. "Do you know where she is?"
"Nope!" Monk smirked playfully, arching a devilish brow at his boss' narrowed stare. "But Ayako might."
The narcissist sighed at the monk's mischievous expression, eyeing him solemly before gesturing for him to follow behind as he made his way back to where Ayako was working. Ten minutes later found the monk and narcissist outside the priestess's designated room, and yet neither male could make out the sounds of her chanting. It was completely silent.
Monk placed his ear against the cold wood and listened intently while Naru watched on, noting the rise in the monk's forehead as the skin between his brows creased into puzzling lines.
Naru moved closer. "Anything?"
"Nothing at all," Monk replied, staring intensely at the door for a short moment, briefly pondering what to do before deciding to push it open out of curiosity and revealing a startled Ayako kneeling casually on the floor with a burgundy-coloured fan in her hand.
Her face instantly dropped at the sight of them. "T-Takigawa...and Naru? Didn't you just visit me not too long ago?"
"I'm here for something else." Naru explained briskly, getting straight to the point. "When did you last see Mai?"
The priestess lowered her hand containing the fan, throwing a worried look at the monk. "...She hasn't gone missing again," Ayako said slowly, drawing out the moment, "...has she?"
Takigawa pressed his lips together as he chuckled to himself, understanding the woman's instinctive questioning. "Hah! She hasn't gone missing Ayako, Naru didn't word his question right-"
Noll's glare cut him off. "I'm just enquiring about her whereabouts. When did you last see her?"
Ayako fanned her face, purposely pursing her lips together as she pretended to think, feeling a thick sweat break out across her skin at the feeling of Naru's stare on her back. She glanced in every corner of the room except for his, avoiding Naru's stare with a gulp. "Mai...she was in our room the last I checked," she replied, lowering her fan. "Although, she did mention something about finding the client for something-" She broke off. It's not technically a lie, Ayako awkwardly assured herself. "-I'd try looking near the kitchen," she suggested, "you'll probably find Yurei there, and once you find her you'll find Mai."
Naru took in a breath, not bothering to hide the calculating essence in his cerulean eyes as he impatiently scrutinised her look. With his lips twisted the narcissist jerked his head into a rough nod before spinning on his heel and exiting the room.
"Naru," Monk ran after him. "Hey! I'm gonna stay behind and help Ayako with her cleansing exorcisms, so good luck!"
Noll held his hand up behind him without a pause in his step, acknowledging the monk's answer with a wave as he continued on to his next destination, wondering what his assistant could possibly want to talk about with the client. And it didn't take him long to find her, resting against the corridor wall a few turns away from the kitchen. Her eyes were shut.
"Mai." Naru stopped in front of her.
The assistant's eyes flew open at the sound of her name, visibly jumping from the sudden call. "N-Naru! I wasn't slacking off, I swear!" She babbled hurriedly, wobbling in a skittish manner. With her chaotic state of dress and muddled expression, Naru already knew she was hiding something from him.
His eyes dropped to her hand. "What happened there?"
Mai blinked owlishly, drawing her gaze to her bandaged hand. "O-Oh, this? It was an accident."
The narcissist scoffed internally. "I'm not surprised." He rolled his eyes, studying the untidy fabric hanging loosely from her hand. "Did you bandage it yourself?" He asked accusingly, taking a step closer for inspection.
The assistant shook her head, feeling her cheeks flush from embarrassment at the state of the dressing. "No, Yurei did it," she huffed.
Naru sighed and grabbed the loose strands of fabric to tug her away from the wall, undoing Yurei's handiwork in one pull while he cupped her wrist with his other hand. "I presume you went to find Yurei for a bandage after you fell-" His eyes held an all-knowing look which soon vanished as the bandage slipped through his fingers at the sight of the stretched blemish across her hand. His heart twisted in shock. "A burn..." He muttered. "You scalded yourself?"
Mai ducked her head but Naru tightened his grip around her wrist. "It was an accident. Yurei knocked over the kettle and..."
His brow raised in wait. "And?" He pressed, but she just shook her head, drawing in on herself. He paused a moment more before assessing the tarnished skin of her burn, noticing how the red and irritated skin bunched up in some areas. Whatever had burnt her had been dealt with quick, but Mai hadn't come out unscathed. A few layers of skin had been scalded which would surely scar if it wasn't treated properly. His eyes drew up fast and he said, "Tell me what happened Mai."
Silence.
Naru watched her chest rise as she took in a breath, appearing to contemplate her answer before finally replying. "Yurei had another episode."
Noll slowed his movements, settling his intense gaze on the gauze in his grasp. An episode? He thought confused, waiting for Mai to elaborate.
"Do you remember," she sighed, "right back at the start of the case when we sat Yurei down for an interview, and her–her eyes changed..."
Naru nodded, picturing the moment clearly in his mind. "Her eyes turned black."
"Well, it happened again," she continued, scrunching her face at the image. "I asked her about the former owners of the house and if she had any family living here previously, but as soon as I mentioned the name of the daughter she just flipped! It was like she was a different person!"
"You asked her about the past Hachimitsu family?"
Mai gulped, shakily nodding her head for confirmation as she –somewhat– forged the truth. It was actually the charm that had set her off. "I, erm, asked her about Yumi," she breathed. "I-I even tried giving her the charm-" No, no no no no! Why did I just say that!? Stupid! Ayako was going to kill her!
"...Charm?" Naru repeated emotionlessly, pulling tighter on Mai's bandage for emphasis.
Mai wanted to slap herself. Naru would probably murder her first before Ayako could get to her if she didn't spill.
"I thought Ayako told me everyone, including the client, had received the protection charms." He spoke sharply, boring his gaze down on Mai. Matsuzaki was acting unusually strange when I last saw her, but now I understand why. "She failed," he concluded, meeting her eye. "Aren't I right? She must have passed the job on to you which is the cause of this whole mess with the client."
It's like he read my mind. "...Yes," she mumbled, feeling her shoulders sink. "But Yurei still rejected the charm, first from Ayako and then from me. At the time I believed it to be connected to a possession, with the spirit refusing the charm on her own behalf. I thought, perhaps her eyes turning black were a sign of the possession, with her sudden personality change being another. But then I realised," Mai shook her head, "and remembered why her eyes changed in the first place..."
Naru finished wrapping her hand before crossing his arms across his chest, pleased at her growing analysis on the problem. "Go on," he smirked.
The assistant twiddled nervously with the ends of her sleeves, keeping her eyes downcast while her mouth opened for air. "It's linked with her parents." She gathered quietly as she lowered her tone. "Whenever we mention them the same pattern reoccurs; Yurei's attitude changes, quickly followed by the colour changing of her eyes before she completely either grows angry or dazed." She paused, drawing in a breath to steady herself. Now that I think about it, the first dream I witnessed with the girl and the fire held the same element as a dull buzzing sound filled her head, totally directing her away from the nightmare. But it still doesn't make sense. Why would her own mind want to direct her elsewhere...? Unless...
"Could it...D-Do–Do you think...she's making herself forget..?"
Naru's gaze snapped back to hers at her thought. Clever girl. "It makes sense," he nodded, eyes wide with adrenaline from the new information. "Well done Mai, this is brilliant-" He suddenly broke off, placing a hand to his chin in thought. Yet we still don't understand why the client would be making herself forget. "What doesn't she want to remember?" He said aloud.
"Him." Mai muttered suddenly as something came to mind. 'He won't let me!' Yurei had yelled during her episode. He? She repeated in her head while Naru watched on quietly, waiting for her explanation on the sudden outburst. "When I was back in the kitchen, Yurei had yelled out, 'He won't let me', and 'he won't allow me'. So I'm guessing that whomever 'He' is might be the reason behind her memory distortion..."
"OK, good start Mai. Let's return to base to inform the others about what we've found, and Ayako can treat your wound properly." Naru brushed off a small clump of imaginary dust from his shoulder with a disinterested look before ushering her along.
Mai stumbled in the process of keeping up with his pace, having to grab onto the ends of his jacket lapels for support. "W-Wait!" She blushed bright red, stumbling back. "Where's Lin?" She asked with wide eyes.
Naru's steps slowed at her man-handling as he stopped to give her balancd, watching her pale cheeks light up with a beetroot red. "I instructed Lin to look around the first floor."
"He's upstairs!?" She gasped loudly, releasing her grasp on his jacket. "But didn't you say upstairs was off-limits?"
Noll stared at her for a few moments more, purposely baiting her as he waited for her gaze to settle on him before he rolled his eyes. Her blush deepened. "Lin is an adult Mai, he can handle himself if anything does happen."
Day 3. 10: 01AM
Within an hour the whole team regrouped back at base, leaving Naru to pass on his and Mai's jumbled ideas about the source of Yurei's episodes and supposed memory loss. Ayako hadn't been too keen on their ideas, passing the client off as a messed up child who probably hadn't had a very good upbringing. Mai had yelled at her for talking nonsense.
Their chatter didn't last much longer as Naru finished with his talk, leaving them to scatter around the base for a well-earned break after taking part in exorcisms all morning. Mai found herself perched against the window ledge, staring off into the fog in confusion as something seemed to bother her.
"Hey, Naru? Wasn't the fog much further out the last time we saw it?"
The narcissist quirked a brow and moved towards her, leaning around her to peer out the window. "...It's moved closer." He scowled deeply, missing Mai's frown as he leant in closer. "Lin."
The assistant rushed over and joined them at the window, following Naru's gaze. Throughout the night the fog had moved in substantially and was now within touching distance of the house, surrounding it.
Mai snapped the assistant from his daze as her finger tapped the glass, pointing at the purple tendrils creeping through the fog in the distance. "What are they?"
"It's the spirits influence." Lin replied, gesturing towards a much larger cluster hovering above the embankment. "Look, those ones are bigger."
"Meaning?" Monk shuffled in, lingering behind them to get a glance.
"It's getting stronger. The exorcisms didn't work." Lin sighed.
"Great! We worked ourselves for nothing." Ayako grumbled loudly, slapping her hand across her lap in a fit of anger as her lips quirked up into a grimace. "Just our luck."
Mai manoeuvred around the group of men to get to the priestess, reaching out a hand towards her. "Don't get upset Ayako, we just misjudged the locations. So for now, why don't you get changed into some comfortable clothes before we sort this out?" She smiled reassuringly, flexing her hand in front of her face. "Come on, I'll go with you, and then you can help treat my wound."
Ayako pursed her lips, feeling the pressure of the men's gazes on the side of her face. She took one look at herself, noticing how she was still wearing her miko garbs before quickly accepting Mai's offered hand and standing up. "Fine. I'm in the need for a fresh set of clothes," she hmphed, leading the assistant towards the door without a word of goodbye to the others.
Mai happily followed, waiting until they were out of the room before tugging her hand free to stroll at a more casual pace besides the priestess. It only took them a matter of minutes to arrive at their shared room, and Mai waited outside while the older woman changed, leaning against the wall patiently with her eyes trained on the floor. While she waited she hummed an unspoken tune in her head, making it up as she went to break the silence of the empty corridor.
Mai's humming hit an off-key note unexpectedly as something tugged at her senses.
Without warning, Mai slowly regarded the flicker of white hovering near the end of the corridor, catching the glimpse of a figure adorned by a fuzzy white dress. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest. Mai's body froze in shock and she hurriedly blinked in an attempt to clear her vision, but by the time she opened her eyes the flowing dress was gone, leaving a questioning thought in her mind.
"...Was that another spirit?"
Posting Date: 24th September 2015
Symm: *Peers from behind wall*
...I'm back? |д꒪ͧ)… I'm sorry, you know, about the erm, whole 'two month absence' thing. *Cue the author's rambling* I was away on holiday and then started back to college when I came back so I've had my hands full with work. Between college and gorging on Chinese dramas, I haven't left myself with much time to write; but even when I do have a spare amount of time it's spent on college work and such. It's my final year so I've been spending my time looking for universities which is pretty time-consuming (and exhausting) but I promise to update much quicker this time, so just bear with me! I promise! Wǒ bǎozhèng! (I promise in Chinese).
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