"I still can't believe you thought I was a ghost," Masako huffed. Mai just shrugged sheepishly, embarrassed by her behaviour.
"Hey, at least I didn't scream," she defended herself weakly. Masako levelled a steely gaze on Mai, giving the girl a full view of the nasty bruise on her jaw.
"No, instead you punched me."
"Look, I'm sorry. I was defending myself," Mai exclaimed. Masako's eyebrows knitted together slightly.
"From what?"
"There's been some activity, and it's set me on edge. This whole theatre is setting me on edge, actually. It's... odd. Supercharged," Mai said. Masako straightened slightly, bringing a kimono sleeve to her mouth. Mai caught the thoughtful look in her violet eyes.
"I see what you mean, there is definitely an anomaly here. Naru was smart in choosing this place," Masako agreed, before lowering the sleeve and glaring at Mai again. "There was still no need to punch me in the face." Mai raised her hands in surrender.
"Sheesh, I said I was sorry. What do you want from me?"
"An ice pack would be nice."
"I would get you that, but I'm not allowed out. Naru told me to stay here," Mai said apologetically. Masako's anger shifted to an expression of quizzical disbelief.
"Since when has that ever stopped you?" Now it was Mai's turn to glare.
"Since now. Why is it when I'm actually being careful I get frowned upon?" Mai whined. Masako snorted ungraciously before quickly pressing her sleeve back to her mouth.
"Mai, I don't think you know the definition of careful. But enough of that, where is everyone?" Masako asked.
"I've been asking myself the same thing for the last hour. I have no idea, though, probably still checking out what happened earlier," Mai said.
"What happened earlier?" Masako and Mai jumped as the door violently swung open and Naru, Monk and John walked in. Mai's eyes narrowed when she saw no sign of Lin... still. Or Yasu. She was a bit worried, she was also getting the prickly feeling of being watched whenever she walked out of base.
"Ghostly activity, no big deal. It probably got impatient and started flinging some stuff off the catwalk, a lot louder than it was. It did damage the props though, setting production back," Naru said, stopping in his path when he saw Mai sitting in his chair. His eyes flashed and she was quick to jump out of the chair and run to Masako, plastering on a fake innocent expression.
"It's a woman," Masako blurted out. Naru finally tore his gaze off Mai to look at Masako, much to Mai's relief.
"Why do you say that?" Masako blushed and lifted her sleeve a little higher.
"I sensed it earlier when I walked in. She's very angry," Masako said demurely. Mai glanced sideways at her.
"Um, I kind of already guessed that after she hurled valuable props off the stage. If you ask me, it looks like she's trying to stop the play," Mai said.
"Well we didn't ask you, so shush," Masako retorted huffily. Naru frowned at the two and crossed his arms.
"Mai does have a point, however rudely said it was. The real question is why?" Naru said quietly, drawing the girls attention. Monk cleared his throat.
"Didn't you say there was a basement?" he asked. Naru's eyes widened fractionally.
"That's right, I have been wanting to check that out." John paled slightly. He didn't like basements.
"B-But why? No offense, Naru," he added quickly.
"It's agreed that any sane person would put things they didn't want anymore in the basement. Those said things could be old memorabilia from the past," Naru began.
"We're going treasure hunting for clues," Mai finished brightly.
"Yes, I suppose. Everyone meet downstairs in an hour, I have something I want to check. Oh, and for the love of God, someone find Yasu."
Investigation Day 1 - 4:45 PM
"Ew, why did I agree to this?" Masako groaned as she delicately flicked a spider off of the box she was cradling. Mai glanced over at her.
"You know, for someone who dislikes Ayako so much, you're a lot like her," Mai commented, staggering under the weight of various heavy theatre manuals.
"I-I don- shut up!" Masako stuttered before blushing and slapping her sleeve to her mouth, her fail safe in case she let slip any more unlady-like words. Mai grinned good naturedly before tripping and crashing to the ground, books flying everywhere. She could hear Yasu and Monk laughing and she resisted the urge to cuss them out.
"Would you stop fooling around and get some work done," Naru ground out from above Mai. Mai sat up quickly as he knelt down to study a book on the ground, studying it's title curiously. "Where did you find this?"
"Um, in that box over there," Mai gestured towards an empty wooden crate. She grimaced as she remembered how hard it was to pry open. She probably had splinters that were never gonna come out.
"I see. This is very handy, thanks," Naru murmured before scooping up the book and standing up. "Now get back to work."
Mai grumbled for the next ten minutes. She was interrupted by a loud exclamation, and then the lights flickered out. Instantly three flashlight beams turned on, dimly illuminating the pitch blackness of the basement. Mai heard Masako gasp and bump into something in the dark. Yasu had stiffened next to Mai, and she was sure he was ghostly white.
"What happened?" John said tersely. Mai stood still, listening to the ragged breaths of her team mates. She blinked owlishly when a beam slid over her face, but it passed quickly. Probably Naru doing a sweep of the room.
"Hara-san," Naru suddenly cried, and Mai's suspicions were confirmed. She felt torn between fear for her friend and jealousy over Naru's evident concern for her friend.
"What happened?" Monk asked, and Mai saw one beam swing towards her. As it drew closer, she could make out Monk's features.
"She's not here," Naru explained. Mai frowned.
"Yes she is, I heard her," Yasu said slowly. He could see Naru's look of bewilderment in her mind.
"What do you mean?"
"She's right behind me, actually. I can hear her breathing," Yasu said, confused. To accentuate his point, he whipped out her flashlight and turned it on, before whirling around to illuminate the space behind him.
There was no one there.
"Yasu what are you-" John began, but was interrupted when Yasu yelped and staggered backwards.
"I can still hear breathing," he cried. Monk made his way over to him before silencing everyone and listening cautiously.
"There's definitely breathing," he confirmed.
"That's it, everyone gather what you've found and let's make our way out," Naru ordered. Mai felt Monk's warm hand on her arm and the two began edging towards the other two flashlight beams carefully, trying not to trip over anything.
"Monk, is it just me, or is the breathing still really close?" Mai asked hesitantly. Monk frowned in Mai's pale beam.
"Behind you," John shouted. Mai and Monk whirled around, frightened. Yasu sounded like he was hyperventilating. The beams flickered, but didn't die. In the steady light, there was still nothing there. Just dust and stacked crates with various old items strewn about from their search. Monk did notice a small puff of dust swirl up which no interference from anyone, setting him on edge. Mai felt her heart racing. She let out a sigh of relief when the lights flickered back on.
"What did you see?" Monk asked, turning back to look. This time Monk and Mai screamed. They were the only ones in the basement.
A.N:
Wow. It's been so long, and I deeply apologise. Thanks everyone for urging me to keep writing and offering suggestions, I greatly appreciate it. Finally I'm back in gear for writing, and I've never been happier. If anyone has any suggestions about how the story should go, please leave a comment or message me, I promise I'll read them. Hopefully now I can get a steadier flow of writing going without all these distractions and problems, and deliver one kick ass story for all of you!
Happy reading!