~Case 1 - A Mother's Love - Part 4~
"Almost done," Mai sang as she and Monk finished hooking up another camera. Monk grinned.
"Only a couple more," He smiled. "It's a good thing, too. This house is bigger than it looks."
"There are lots of rooms," She said with a sigh. They had been working for almost an hour already, and Mai was pretty over it. Ayako and Masako were probably done taking temperatures by now. At least Monk was there to keep her company. "Is the sound alright, Lin?"
"Yes," Lin's voice crackled over her walkie-talkie. Mai gave the camera a thumbs up as she collected the microphones. Monk gathered the remaining cameras.
"How many more rooms, Monk?" Mai asked as they headed toward the living room.
"After this one we're done," Monk told her. Mai pumped her fist.
"Good! I am so ready to go back!" She skipped down the hall, the mics clacking together with every jump.
"Careful," Monk laughed at her antics, trailing behind at a slower pace. "With your luck, you're going to fall. Or break something."
She laughed. "I will not!" She turned around and put her hands on her hips in an mock-angry fashion. Monk snorted at her attempt to look fearsome. "I am-"
"Miss Mai!" Two young voices cried out to her. Monk and Mai looked over curiously.
"Oh, hi Misao. Hi Hiro," Mai gave the kids a smile and crouched down as they ran up to her. They barreled into her, almost knocking her off balance.
"Hi Miss Mai," They shot twin grins at her and she took a moment to wonder how two people's movements could be so completely in sync. "We were looking for you!"
"You were?" Mai asked, quirking an eyebrow over her shoulder at Monk. He shrugged, looking on interestedly. "What do you need?"
"We need you to come play with us," Hiro told her. Misao nodded seriously next to him.
Mai looked at them apologetically. "I'm sorry, guys, I can't play right now."
Misao and Hiro frowned. "But I thought we were friends," Hiro said. Misao's eyes started getting a little watery.
Mai melted. "Aw, no! We are!" She soothed quickly. "I just have to help my other friends first! We'll play later, I promise!"
"Really?" Mai nodded affirmatively. "Yay!" The twins launched themselves at her again, this time succeeding in knocking her off balance. She fell onto her butt with an "Oof", taking them with her. They all started giggling.
"Alright," Mai chuckled after a moment. "You guys should go off. I'll see you later, I promise."
"Okay," They hummed happily. Turning with a wave they said "Bye, Miss Mai!" then ran off the way they came.
Mai looked after them fondly. Having almost forgotten she wasn't alone, she jumped when Monk put a hand on her head. "You're really good with kids," Monk observed with a soft smile. "They really love you."
"Yeah," Mai said, looking up at him. "I've just always been a kid person, I guess. I'm not sure why they like me so much."
"It's because you're so sweet," He cooed, bringing her to her feet and engulfing her in a bear hug. She laughed and patted him on the back, encouraging him to release his grip.
"Yeah, yeah," Mai brushed her clothes off. "We should finish before Naru comes to see what's taking so long."
Monk winced. "Man, he's gonna be mad. It's going to take a little while to get the camera set up and all the leftover equipment put away," Mai paused and tilted her head. "What's up, Mai?"
"We could just split up," She suggested. "I'll handle the last camera, you can put everything else away, and then we can meet up at base."
Monk hesitated. "I don't think that's such a good idea, kid."
"Why not?" Mai re-adjusted the mics against her shoulder. "It'll save time and a lecture from Naru."
"What if something happens?"
"We've only been here a couple hours," Mai dismissed with a wave of her hand. "It'll be fine," She shooed him away. "Now go! C'mon! We'll meet up at base in like 10 minutes."
Monk watched her contemplativly for a moment before sighing. "Alright. Be careful, though."
"I will be!" She promised, swapping some equipment with him before taking off into a slow jog into the living room, leaving him behind.
"This house is really nice," Mai thought aloud, trailing her fingers along the spines of some old books. The living room had big, elegant wooden bookcases completely lining one wall. Against the opposite wall there was a fireplace surrounded by some old chairs. With not much else in it save a few tables, she guessed it was designed to be a reading room by a past owner. "All of this furniture looks pretty aged," Mai muttered to herself. "I wonder if the furniture was passed down with the house..."
Shrugging at her own question, she set about hooking up the camera. She chose to place it in the far corner of the room where it would be able to view nearly everything that happened (though there was a tiny blind spot between the wall and a bookcase). Mai set the camera up quickly, surprising herself. Normally it took her a bit of time to hook one up by herself because of all the wires. Grinning proudly to herself, she raised her arms above her head and stretched.
She glanced at the clock and wondered if Monk was done with his task yet. Deciding he probably was, she started for the door. If she hurried back, Naru might not throw such a hissy fit at their being late. Almost to the door, Mai stopped suddenly. She thought she felt something brush against her wrist. She looked around, already perfectly aware she wouldn't see anyone. Shaking her head, she tried to calm herself. It was just a light brush; she could have imagined it. But it felt like fingers to her... Mai took a deep breath. She concluded that getting out of the room would probably be the best idea. She began toward the door again, more quickly this time, when she felt above another touch on her wrist. There could be no pretending that this one was in her head; her hand moved as if someone pushed it forward and she felt a bizarre sensation of something that was almost solid, but not quite, passing through the skin of her wrist. another step toward the door. Her hand was pushed slightly, absolutely by a hand this time. It only took another moment for the apparition to collect its mass and tightly grasp her.
Mai gasped loudly at the contact and the hand yanked her back further into the room. Suddenly, the body-less hand had a hold of both of her wrists and was using them to drag her into the middle of the room. It held her arms above her head as she struggled in an attempt to free herself from the invisible assailant.
Apparently her plight didn't bother whatever was holding her in the slightest. It pushed her forward , closer to the bookcases. When it was apparently satisfied with her location, it released her wrists and quickly switched to holding her shoulders instead. Giving a hard shove, it sent her to the ground.
Mai's head cracked against the solid wood flood of the living room. Dazed slightly, she assessed her situation. The ghost's hands held tight to her shoulders and she felt a weight on her body. Assuming the spirit was on her, she thrashed to try to get it off.
Every movement Mai was making stopped when a slow movement in front of her caught her eye. Her eyes widened in terror as the giant bookshelf before her began to rock. It moved slowly back and forth, as if someone was pushing it. Tipping it.
She panicked, fighting against the invisible force holding her in place. Her mind raced as she tried to get up. How was she going to get up if the ghost wouldn't release her? Would one of her friends notice and come to save her? The camera was right over in the corner; surely someone would notice, right? Her blood ran ice cold when she realized the ghost had managed to get her into the camera's one blind spot.
"I won't allow you to hurt them," Something hissed into her ear.
Suddenly, the bookcase was falling. The hands holding Mai disappeared in the same moment, giving her the ability to at least brace herself. As it fell towards her, Mai opened her mouth and let out an ear-piercing scream.
~Meanwhile~
Naru scowled in silent frustration as Ayako and Masako entered the previously silent room. Ayako was in the middle of a conversation with Masako, who didn't look like she was completely happy with the situation either.
"Hiya ladies," Yasu perked up at the woman's arrival. "Done so soon?"
"Soon?" Ayako scoffed, sitting down on the couch and crossing one leg over the other. "We've been at it for over an hour."
"An hour to do temps?" Yasu raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"We had to re-check some of them because Ayako was using a broken thermometer," Masako said blandly from behind her sleeve.
Ayako glared. Suddenly, a mischievous smirk appeared on her face as an idea came to her. She leaned forward. "So, Masako," Ayako drawled. "I noticed you and Mai were very friendly earlier."
Masako pursed her lips, not quite sure she knew where the red-haired woman was going. "Yes..." She answered slowly. "I was friendly with my friend. Is that odd?"
"Oh no, not at all," Ayako waved her hand in dismissal. "I just wasn't aware you and she were on friendly terms. What with your...rivalry and all."
The medium stiffened. Oh. "I have no rivalry with Mai anymore."
"No?" Ayako questioned. The women were aware that everyone in base was listening to them. John and Lin kept trying to work while listening to them discreetly. Yasu had put down his files and wasn't even trying to pretend like he was working. His chin was in his hand and he was watching them eagerly. Naru just sat there, staring at a piece of paper in his file.
"No. I've...moved on from it," Masako chose her words carefully, trying to be as vague as she could. Ayako's eyes widened. She was just teasing Masako, thinking maybe she'd had some sort of moral epiphany while they hadn't seen each other. Had she really moved on from her crush on Naru?
"No way!" Ayako exclaimed, no longer patronizing.
"Way," Masako sighed at the woman's wide-eyed look.
"Who? Do we know him?" Ayako whispered so the men at the computers couldn't hear. At this the black-haired girl blushed a deep crimson and looked everywhere but at Ayako's face and the general area of where Yasu and John were sitting on a couch. Ayako looked at the two men analytically.
"Ahem," John cleared his throat, a light blush on his face. He wasn't completely sure what was going on, but Ayako's eyes on them let him know that a change is subject was a good idea. "Mai and Monk are late, aren't they?" Yasu sighed sadly at the change. He'd have to do actual work again now that his juicy gossip mill had been shut down.
"Slowpokes," Ayako muttered under her breath. "Don't worry about it. They probably just started goofing off. You know them."
"So you don't think something happened?" Yasu pushed his glasses further up his nose.
Ayako shook her head. "No. They're always late like this. Plus, they're together. They should be safe."
In an amazing display of good timing, Monk walked through the door just as the words left her mouth. "I'm back!" He announced unnecessarily.
The room was quiet for a moment. Ayako shook her head disappointedly and buried it in her hands. "...Monk?" John decided to be the one to ask the question. "Where's Mai?"
Monk looked around the room. "She's not here yet, then? We decided to split up to get everything done faster."
"You split up?" Naru looked up from his file. He put it down in front of him and turned to give Monk a glare. "Why did you both go off on your own?"
"It seemed like a good ide-" Monk began to defend themselves but Naru cut him off.
"It wasn't a good idea. I ask everyone to always go in pairs for a reason. Anything could happen," Naru's tone of voice was sharp and his glare matched it.
"C'mon, Naru, give him a break," Yasu tried to sooth the big boss. "Nothing's happened yet and-"
"But it's Mai," Naru reminded, bringing a hand up to massage his temple. "That girl is the biggest danger magnet I've ever met in."
"She should be back any minute," Monk said meekly. Naru narrowed his eyes.
"She should be back now," Naru stood up and went for the door. Just as he reached out to grip the handle, a loud scream ripped through the air. The sound was closely followed by a loud smash.
"Mai!"