Underneath the Flickering Lights
Someone was splayed out on a large square of tarp on the ground. It crackled as he moved his heavy arm. He gingerly touched the back of his head and groaned. "What the hell happened to me?" Everything around him looked gray. The only source of light in this windowless room is the dim, flickering light from the open door.
The man refused to move from his position though there was an exit to escape from. His head ached. His body ached. His heart ached. Everything ached. He hoped that his wife and daughter are okay...
He blinked. This was not how he really felt right now. First of all, he was not lying on a piece of tarp. At the moment, the black-haired man was lying on a moth-eaten cot with a lumpy sack of a pillow with brown stains that he didn't want to know where they originated from. Secondly, he never recognized the people that he thought about. He didn't have a wife let alone a girlfriend. 'Sadly.' The man thought. Lastly, there were rusted metal bars, which kept him from leaving through the open door.
The door mocked him. Its wide open so that he can vaguely see the long stretch of the dim hallway if he turned his head. He gave up calling for help. There was no one. He gave up trying to pry the bars apart with one of the metal legs of the cot. The bars still stood strong. "So this is what jail feels like?" His voice sounded raspy, but it was a sound nevertheless. The man habitually reached for his nose only to find air. He cursed. He could hardly see in this place. 'Great.' The man shifted his position and winced. He saw stars.
He lied there on that same piece of noisy material. Guttural laughter spilled from him, ignoring the metallic liquid trying to choke him. He turned his head and all he saw was his blood contrasting against the pallor of his skin.
It flickered away in a span of a second. His head was still sore. He must be getting delirious. "I didn't know I am this morbid." He says breathlessly, trying to be cheerful so he doesn't fall into the hole his head created. His memories became blurred and blended together with other images. He had no idea what was going on with him. For the first time, he felt fear for the unknown."How long was I here?" Talking to himself felt a little comforting. He had to stay strong. "I hope she's okay."
A shadow blocked the light from entering the room. Someone stood by the doorway. Thinking could wait. He had company.
From what I gathered from the drive here, the family lives in a very isolated area with no neighbors with the nearest town thirty minutes away. The house stands before us. It's a mansion, which is no surprise when I researched some general information about the wealthy Kaname family. They own a couple of hospitals and other businesses around the area. Why they have to live far away from them, I have no clue.
However, the house itself is very modern. The two-story building appears to be entirely made of glass. It stands on a rocky cliff, which overlooks the eerily calm lake eight feet below, so there are some steps to climb. Trees surround the lake like a barrier blocking us from the rest of the world.
At first glance, it doesn't follow the pattern that I'm used to. Most of the places I went to were old buildings with a violent history.
"This mansion doesn't seem like the type to have ghosts." Ayako speaks next to me, voicing out my thoughts. "It might be a site-bound spirit."
"You're just saying that because you don't know what else to think. Aren't you contradicting yourself?" The monk teases as he hands her luggage. She accepts her bags and mock hits him.
I rub my chin. "I'll consider it." Its possible.
"Huh?" Takigawa whips his head towards me as if he hadn't heard me right. The miko laughs mockingly, feeling accomplished.
"The house...Maybe not. The area...It might be." I sigh. "That's why we're investigating. Looks can be deceiving..." I definitely won't draw conclusions just by a glancing at the house. My train of thought stops when I see the clients approaching.
"Welcome. You are here early." A woman with black mid-length hair greets us, following a stern man in a suit who I assume is her husband. "Which one of you is Shibuya-san?" The man asks gruffly. I don't think contacting us was his idea.
I take a step forward. "I am. I'm Kazuya Shibuya." I extend my hand for him to shake. He eyes me skeptically, but accepts it anyway. My eye contact didn't falter.
"No kidding." He comments. He sees my confusion so he continues. "You know how to make firm handshake. You also mean business." Also? Someone else came here before us. He probably thinks that we're con artists who will cause more trouble for the household. It's not the first time that someone thought that. "We tried to have another group get rid of this problem, but I think they ran off. It must have been over their heads." It will be an interesting case.
"If you don't know me, my name is Jiro Kaname." He gestures the client. "This is my wife, Megumi."
"More introductions later." Megumi says to her husband before looking at everyone else. "Come in. They need to get situated."
I pick up one of the suitcases. All of us then filed the steps each with something in hand. Masako walks at the rear with her sleeve in front of her face. I slow down my steps.
"Are you getting something, Hara-san?"
The girl ponders for a bit as we make the last few steps. "I don't feel any malicious intent from the house. However, there are spirits, but their presence disappear and reappear. It makes it hard to read them."
We entered the foyer, which had a fairly large chandelier above us. The marble tiles are so shiny, the miko had to look down and lightly place her feet on the floor. Maybe she is scared to make it dirty. It is a very open area, which leads to the living room. There are also other corridors at both the left and right side. In front of me there are stairs that lead up to the second floor. However, what gets me is the amount of mirrors and pictures lining the walls in the foyer. I stare at one of the metal surfaces with my own face scrutinizing me.
"This is bad!" The monk exclaims behind me.
"What?"
"Mirrors! Naru won't resist the urge to stop and stare at himself." Yes, because I'm that much of a narcissist.
Ayako elbows him. "Don't say that in front of him. He will deduct your pay." That I can...
He scoffs. "He won't seriously do that."
"..."
"Sorry, I'll get to work now."
A butler who looked like he seldom smiled appears at our side. "Ren, can you show them to their rooms?"
The woman sat in the hallway curled up in a ball. Everything was swirling around her and it was disorienting her. She couldn't find the way out. The woman barely escaped from the shadow. Her neck was burning really badly. It was like someone dumped acid on her wound, which refused to go away.
There was a disturbance in the water-like world she's in. It rippled throughout the air and through the walls. She felt it in her chest similar to a heartbeat.
The sound of footsteps made its way to her ears. The brunette's head jumped up in shock. A breeze caused her hair to flutter. There were different clouds of mist that were moving past her. However what got her attention was the vivid aura that had shape. It was the vague figure of a person walking passed her. It wasn't a shadow, but it glowed a bright blue. It felt comforting. She wanted this comfort. "Wait!"
She had no idea what this phenomena was, but she wanted to stop this aura from leaving her. The young woman reached for the person. It wavered as soon as she touched it. Static shocked her for a second. It stung. Maybe it was just something to watch from afar. "No." She was relentless. The energy wrapped around her arm. It didn't hurt anymore instead it felt pleasantly warm to the touch.
She was met with the sight of a person's back suddenly. However, his image disappeared as soon as he appeared, but she knew he was wearing all black. He also had black hair. Then, her hand shot back. "No."
Three white demon foxes growled from behind her. They float in the air yet they surrounded another aura, which didn't glow or have shape like the one in front of her but it had a little more color than the rest. One fox snapped its jaws at her. She backed away in fear and ran.
I turn my head to the person behind me. "What now, Lin?"
He doesn't say anything, but he has a look of confusion. "Didn't you tap my shoulder just now?"
"No." Then, Lin appears to be listening to something. "My shiki saw a spirit, but they scared it off."
"I see." It must be watching us.
Masako is wobbling in her steps ahead of me. However, John catches her before she fell. "Hara-san."
"Are you alright?" John asks. He pulls her sleeve down from her face. She is paler than usual.
"Everything is so distorted. I feel spirits, but I can't really see something." Ayako steadies her other side. "Its like I'm seeing through frosted glass. Its making me motion sick."
"You can rest when we go to the base."
"I'm sorry. Every time we go to a case, I always end up getting sick." She doesn't need to apologize. It happened to Gene sometimes in especially terrible hauntings.
We arrive at the room. The house does not need lights during the day because of the windows. The base is in one of the guest rooms in the second floor. "Natsu, Misa and Kenji are coming home from school soon. So you'll have to wait a bit." Ren announces.
We discuss our rooming arrangements. Lin and Madoka are rooming together in one room while John, Takigawa and I are sharing another one next to it. Ayako and Masako get the one across from us. Then, the butler leaves.
"Ne, Naru, you know... I have needs and-"
"Nope." I interrupt just as Ayako hits Takigawa with a clipboard with her face as red as her hair. "He does not need to know that." This is awkward.
"We are limited in rooms." I merely say washing my hands off this subject.
We are going to introduce ourselves to the rest of the family and then I will set them to work. Lin is already checking the sound equipment. Everyone are at various places in the room, talking amongst themselves. I sort through my notes. Ten pages. This might take twenty minutes to read through. "Mai, tea." I fail to hear the amusing sound of protest. Right... Shit. Why does my mouth have to have a mind of its own? It gets silent. Shit. Shit. Shit.
They all stare at me with a certain brown-haired man snickering in the background. Masako has a sleeve covering her mouth, but her eyes show her surprise. Ayako wears a sly expression on her face. John's mouth is gaping in mid-sentence. Madoka blinks a few times. Lin didn't even respond and continues to type.
"What?" Their stares are annoying the hell out of me.
"You miss her." Someone teases.
"It's okay." Madoka giggles. "It happens to the best of us." I picture flowers surrounding her with her appearance of innocence, but I know that coy smile my mentor has. She has some more blackmail on me.
I give them a look and then I continue to sort through the papers on the desk. I nearly rip one of the corners, but I stay quiet. I try to fight the scowl that is trying to form on my face. They are not getting to me. They are not getting to me... Why the hell is she on vacation? What if she doesn't want to be in the SPR because of me? Hopefully, she comes back. I need her tea-making skills. Oh, hell, even her presence is fine! Why does she put me in this position?!
I hardly read a sentence on the first page. My thoughts darken.
"It's getting a bit chilly, Noll." Madoka jabs at me. I growl.
There is a knock at the door and Ren opens the door. "Everyone is here now."
We all ended up sitting in front of a long table with dinner. I take a sip of green tea. Better, I can tolerate this. "This is my daughter, Misa." Megumi indicates the seven year old girl, who sits across from me and keeps glancing at me every time she thinks I am not looking. I raise an eyebrow and then she blushes. Megumi ruffles the boy's hair next to her. "This is my son Kenji." The ten year old boy scowls a bit at this gesture. "The last one is Natsu, my nephew." He grunts in response, but keeps picking on his carrots. Otherwise, he is very uninterested. The boy looks like he is about thirteen. "Then, that's his mother and my sister, Emiko." She gestures to the end of the table where a woman who had her hair tied in a bun sits. They really look similar in appearance with their black hair and gray eyes, but its the only thing I see in common.
"Nice to meet you." She gives us a small smile. "Sorry my husband isn't here to meet you personally. He had some business to attend to."
I didn't say anything, considering the rest of the SPR is greeting them. Lin looks fidgety to my left. He still wants to go on his laptop.
"We'll we need to start interviewing all of you after dinner-"
The light flickers and dims. Since the curtains are drawn, the room darkens.
"Oh, don't mind it. There is something wrong with the wiring."
They keep coming on and off intermittently. Everyone stops eating and scan around. "Doubt it." Someone comments. Even the boy, Natsu, shoots up in his chair alert. Its cold. My breaths are coming out as mist. The candles in the middle of the table dance then blow out. A light wind flutters around the room.
Then, the lights turn off completely. Misa starts to whimper. I can hear everyone's ragged breathing and Megumi's whispers of comfort for the girl. Something falls on the floor and rolls on the wooden floor. Then, it turns back on.
On the wall facing me is the black dripping word—monster—that was wiped on the surface hastily with various hand prints.
"Cool." Kenji murmurs in awe before some of the girls start to scream.
AN: Yeah a cliffie. Did you wait long? I have a summer college (torture) class, which will end next week. Yay for me... and you. Naru is having a withdrawal apparently so he'll be in this mood for a lil' while. What of Yasu and Mai? *Shrugs* I don't know. Hold your horses, peeps. There are more excitement to come.