Investigation Day 2 - 3:00 PM
Yasu twiddled his thumbs nervously as he stood next to Masako. He could tell she was miffed at not being able to walk around with Naru on a spirit sensing mission, but Naru agreed that it would be doubly successful if both Yasu and Masako could be used as lures. Right now they were on the main stage, just standing in the middle of it, waiting for something to happen. It felt odd being in the darkened theatre with only flashlights to illuminate it. Masako had insisted on being in near absolute darkness, claiming it was best for sensing spirits if she could concentrate. Yasu decided that she just wanted to torture him.
"Do you-" he began, about ask if she was sensing anything.
"No." He sighed and rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, the prickly feeling of his hairs standing on end making him uncomfortable. Wait a second.
"Are you sure about that?" he pressed, becoming more alert.
"Yes." Masako insisted, her eyes narrowing in the beam of the flashlight. She must've noticed Yasu's nervousness because she turned to face him full on, a delicate eyebrow arching upwards.
"See, the thing is, I kind of-" he was interrupted by a loud bang off stage left. Both of them jumped and headed towards the noise, even though Yasu desperately wanted away from it. Internally Masako was cursing herself.
"Whoever you are, show yourself. It's alright, we're here to help. I can see you and hear you, feel free to communicate with me," Masako said as authoritatively as she could muster. There was only the darkness and the ragged breathing of Masako and Yasu. Yasu almost felt bad for the girl when he realized something else.
There was a little breeze on his neck.
It was an odd breeze, too. Kind of irregular and moist.
"Masako, something's breathing on me," he hissed. With that he spun around and shone his flashlight on the culprit. In the light a woman stood there with pale skin and small pupils. She had a deranged grin on her face, and her hair was matted with blood streaming down the right side of her face. Yasu took a deep breath and was about to scream when the flashlight went out. He was started into silence, luckily Masako had the sense to scream as loud as she could.
"Naru!" she shrieked.
"What the hell are you calling him for? He can't exorcise anything! MONK," Yasu said loudly. He grabbed Masako and pulled her close to him. He wished he could say it was for noble reasons but the truth is he was hiding behind her. The two kept screaming until a door flung open in the theatre and the lights came on. Lin stood in the doorway looking unamused.
Yasu didn't care, he nearly bowled both Lin and Masako over in his scramble for the exits.
"Alright, Lin you may begin," Naru said once he made sure everyone was there.
"I'm not sure why you insist on doing this, from what I'm hearing you have more than enough information to take these ghosts out," Kazuko said tonelessly. Anyone could tell he was less than impressed, but they let Kazuko go on. "If you ask me, you should just exorcise the whole place."
"If we did that we'd risk angering the spirits and making everything worse," Lin explained. Kazuko's eyes widened.
"I thought I was paying you to make it go away! Will we be safe?" Midori shushed her husband and absent-mindedly rubbed her stomach.
"Yes of course you are, but it can be a tricky business. You have my guarantee that you will be safe, however. In the meantime, please let us do our jobs," Naru said. Mai noticed the sharp edge to his voice. His patience was running thin.
"I think we're ready," Lin said suddenly. Mai's heart started to pound, and she could see Masako take a deep breath.
Lin began to perform the ritual. Mai shot a look over at Yasu, who was positioned behind Lin as a sort of summon. He looked like he was going to wet his pants at any moment, but he tried to put on a brave face.
"Masako, do you hear that?" John asked softly. Masako nodded her head once, lips thin and tight. It was someone crying. Midori looked faint and Kazuko didn't look much better. Monk and Ayako were huddled in the corner talking in low tones. Everyone was tense.
"If you're here, show yourself," Lin commanded abruptly. Midori screamed as the chair Lin was on was violently yanked out from beneath him, sending him to the floor. Naru arched an eyebrow but didn't move from his casual position against the wall.
"Well, we found them," Yasu commented as he helped Lin up, much to the older man's chagrin. Everyone fell silent as a knocking started. Mai was suddenly very glad she had a flashlight. She didn't know what she'd do if the candles went out and they were left in a pitch black room with a vengeful spirit.
"Hara-san, what are you sensing?" Naru asked. Masako shook her head and brought a hand to her throat, causing John to cluck and wrap a protective arm around the medium.
"She can't talk right now, the spirit is taking possession of her," Lin explained, rubbing his tailbone - it was rather sore after colliding heavily with the floor. Midori let out another small scream.
"Oh my god, make it stop," she exclaimed. Mai placed a reassuring hand on her arm.
"No, really, this is what she does for a living believe it or not. It's safer right now because we have multiple exorcists in the room. The spirit can communicate better through a person anyhow," Mai explained. Midori relaxed but still looked sceptical.
"Can you speak now?" John prodded Masako. Masako frowned slightly, shook her head twice and then focused her eyes on Yasu. Her violet eyes had gone dark and empty, making her look odd. It chilled Yasu to the bone. This definitely wasn't Masako.
"You can't just mumble some words and we'll go away," Masako/whoever was in there said. Ayako gasped and Monk let out a quiet exclamation. Normally in an exorcism the speaker retains their voice. However, Masako did not sound like herself at all. Her voice was rough and gravelly, definitely not the usual soft and sweet voice she normally had.
"Then what should we do?" Naru challenged. Monk and Lin exchanged disapproving looks.
"You should know," the ghost replied evasively, her voice taking on a nervous tone.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ayako replied, miffed. Masako turned to look at her, and her features twisted into a scowl.
"Oh, it's you," Masako said dismissively.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Monk had to lay an arm on Ayako's shoulder to calm her down but Masako's face grew impassive, and she seemed to be far away suddenly.
"Who are you even?" Mai blurted out. The ghost didn't reply, and instead started swaying and humming. Midori shot Kazuko a concerned look, one that Naru picked up on.
"It's the original score from Suzume," Midori whispered in awe. "I haven't heard it in years."
The ghost continued humming and swaying and Mai started feeling weird. She cast a furtive look around and saw that everyone's eyes were beginning to look dull and slip closed. So they were feeling oddly sleepy and tingly too. She struggled to pull herself out of it, clearly the ghost was trying to pull something. It felt sinister to Mai.
"Mai, wake up," Naru's voice said sharply. It took her a moment to realize it was actually Gene, but thinking was difficult. "Come on Mai, I know you can do it." Mai shook her head a couple times and felt her head begin to clear. She was able to pay more attention to her surroundings.
To her surprise everyone was already asleep on their feet, and the lights were dimming slowly with the the ghosts/ Masako still humming. Mai's stomach heaved suddenly and she knew something without a doubt was seriously wrong. What was she doing?
"She's trying to take over your minds and figure out your intentions. If she does, it's game over for you, she'll counter attack and get rid of you all," Gene sounded again. Mai was beginning to regain feeling in her fingers and toes. Masako was still swaying and humming, and Mai had to wonder how she hadn't noticed that Mai was breaking out from her influence.
"Hit the lights." Mai took an unsteady step towards the light switch near her. Masako didn't respond. Mai took another shaky step and then another when suddenly Masako screamed loudly, causing Mai to gasp. Everyone around her fell to the floor limply and she had to resist the urge to run to them. She had to distract Masako somehow or she feared her friends would be seriously hurt. She reached out and flicked the switch and the lights shut off.
Oh right, the lights were on, just dim. Mai began to panic. Thinking quickly she groped at her belt for the flashlight she always carried with her at Lin's insistence. She flicked it on and shone it around wildly. She heard another blood curdling scream and flashed it towards the noise. She saw black liquid seeping from Masako's mouth and it registered that it was Masako, the real Masako screaming. There was a long, low hiss and Mai saw something dart in front of the flashlight beam when everything stopped. Masako's mouth snapped shut and she sank to the floor as well, breathing heavily. Mai hurried to turn on the lights, and to her relief they turned on properly this time, flooding the room in light.
As everyone slowly began waking up Mai stood in the center of the room staring down at the new hole in the floor and the bloody knife beneath it along with a crumbling note next to it.