Disclaimer: Not mine…
"Moriyama Shrine…"
Naru threw the file at the back of the seat after making sure it was properly clipped, so that he wouldn't lose anything, even though it had been a waste of time, and flipped through the other file on his lap.
The newest case.
He was certain that this case would not be easy.
"Then again, since when have any of our cases been easy?" Takigawa's voice broke through his thoughts.
Naru frowned, then turned to Lin. "Did I just say that loud and clear?"
"Eh? Naru- bou, you were thinking of that? Ahaha!! I must be a psychic!" Lin looked vaguely amused. "Ayako was talking about it."
"Hey Lin, don't spoil my few seconds of glory, will ya?" Takigawa whined as Ayako started cursing profanities at the monk, with John trying to keep peace, but failing miserably.
The tirade went on for a while, until Naru started getting fed up and turned off the communicator. Scowling heavily, he leaned back into the seat and continued reading the file, as the day's conversation came to his mind…
# Flashback #
Naru was in his moods again.
As a result of excessive tea-drinking, their two months worth of tea were polished off within 4 weeks.
Mai had not been very happy, and to make it worse, she was in her own moods that day when she found out, and had promptly given Naru a lecture. After which, she grabbed her jacket and stormed out of the office, all the while muttering and cursing.
It was half and hour since it happened.
And Mai was still not back with his tea.
Drat it.
Then, he heard the familiar chime of the door, and it took all of his willpower to not go out and start screaming at Mai, so when he opened the door…
"Ah, Shibuya- san. So you were in after all."
Naru squashed the 'disappointment' word as he acknowledged John. "Can I help you?"
"Actually, yes…" the door chimed open, and Mai stepped in, one hand laden with groceries. She shot Naru a withering look, which disappeared as fast it had come out.
"John- san! Ah, sorry, Lin- san…" Lin shook his head. "Do you want me to bring these to the kitchen?" Mai nodded, then turned to John. "Give us a moment, 'kay? I'll be right back with the tea!"
John sweatdropped as he saw Naru glared murderously at his assistant's back, who was chatting happily with Lin as they walked into the kitchen, then motioned for John to sit as he readied his notepad and pen. "So, what's your case about?"
"Ah yes. Actually, I'm not so sure about the details myself. A bishop friend of mine has a friend who is a monk at a shrine. Just several weeks ago, something odd happened."
"Odd as in?"
"Well…how should I say this…the atmosphere suddenly felt wrong. At first, the monk, Shima- san, thought that it was the construction nearby that was disturbing the peace in the forest, since the shrine is technically surrounded by forests, but as it went on, things became…much weirder."
"We should probably get Matsuzaki- san to look at it, since she is attuned to trees and such. Anyway, what happened from then?"
"Shima- san said the atmosphere completely changed. Birds stopped singing, groups of insects would gather, and everything felt eerie. He always felt something watching him, and nasty pranks were frequently carried out. It was not until last week where a visitor was badly hurt that he decided that something was extremely wrong, and thus approached my friend, who then referred the situation to me."
"What happened to the man?"
"Knocked out, and when he woke up, he was pushed off a tree once he made sense of where he was. He suffered a fracture and some other light wounds."
"Had there been any scenarios such as these before?" John shook his head. "I'm not certain. However, the case that we would be working on tomorrow, is close to the shrine. I can make arrangements for us to go over to take a look."
Naru shut his notepad. "Please do. And also, have him keep you informed of any happenings at the shrine. We might need to be prepared properly if we are to head directly to the next case after handling the current one."
John nodded. "Understood."
"Good. Mai! Are you boiling a turtle or whatsoever? When is my tea going to be ready?"
# Flashback ends #
Naru stared out at the scenery. Suddenly everything felt so wrong.
Moriyama Shrine
The scenery was the same as ever.
Mai walked among the tall pine trees, taking comfort in the shade and the peacefulness it gave off. It would have been nicer if birds had been singing.
-Naru must be hopping mad by now. Well…that's because no one is going to make his tea…- A corner of Mai's mouth twitched as she imagined a furious Naru. She wondered if Gene made the same reaction, when he was deprived of something.
-Nah…impossible. By the looks of it…he only gives those puppy dog eyes…- she chuckled. The trail gradually ended, and as Mai walked past several rows of tombstones, her eyes ever forward, and turned right-
She stopped in front of theirs, and set down the flowers and picnic basket she had brought along with her. A nostalgic, but cheerful smile crossed her face as she brushed off dust that had collected over the months.
"Hello mum, dad."
As they waited for the cars to refuel, Takigawa had questioned Naru about his next step. "We will have to see the place first."
"But do you really think its paranormal activity?"
"We might need Matsuzaki- san's expertise on this one. Moriyama Shrine is surrounded by forests, so we will need her to ask the spirits if the construction nearby is what is causing the disturbance." Ayako shot Takigawa a smug look, then turned back to Naru.
"But in any case, is there anything else that we should consider?" Naru nodded. "I have taken other things into consideration. I have also researched up my father's files on cases like these, and added my own notes inside. But I won't make any further assumptions until we have seen the occurrences." Takigawa let out a frustrated sigh.
"And we will also have to take Mai's feelings into consideration. I have this feeling that this case will be very strongly tied to her."
"Mai will know what is right, and what needs to be done."
"Are you certain?" Takigawa's eyes bored into Naru's. "Are you certain you won't do anything without getting her left out of the loop?" Naru stared back. "Yes."
-No…I'm not certain. But what has to be done, must be done.-
Moriyama Shrine
Mai set down her cup. "Ah…the tea you serve is always the best, Shima- san." The monk chuckled. "Thank you, Mai- chan. Has life been good for you?" Mai nodded happily. The monk beamed.
"Oh yes, Shima- san. Are you expecting visitors? I saw all the cushions, and I will be going if I am going to be a lightbulb here…and yes, how is your leg?" Shima shook his head. "No, you aren't, Mai- chan. And don't worry, my leg is healing a lot better now. Its only a sprain, remember?"
"But when the hospital called me, I was so freaked out. But in any case, it's good to see you're better." Shima patted Mai's head. "Thank you, Mai- chan. I am really a lot better now." Mai smiled.
Loud mumblings from outside soon drew their attention. "Ah, that must be your guests. I should be going now." Mai and Shima stood up. As he reached out to open the sliding door, he turned to Mai. "Do take care of yourself more often." He heard someone gasp. "And make sure to talk to someone if you have problems. I still have Mr Kazuki's number, if you ever need to talk to him or his wife." Mai shook her head.
"I'll be fine." Then she turned straight forward, and her eyes widened in shock.
Takigawa gave a sheepish 'yo', as the others smiled, obviously strained. Naru, was still Naru. Gene would have been snowed over if Naru ever smiled.
-Okay, he did smile once…-
"Mai."
"Na…Naru? What are you doing here? Why is everyone here?"
Silence fell over the group, as Naru tried hard not to roll his eyes.
"Obviously, for a case."
Mai felt chills run down her back.
"Case? What case? Shima- san, what's going on?"
A/N: Wahhhhhh~~~ I finally finished~~~ and its hols~~~~
Yeah, so erm, I realized that in my previous chappie, I forgot to say thanks to the reviews (I felt so bad) and I really have to apologise for the late updates. Projects can really screw one up. TT but for some reason, I love it sometimes.
I must be a little nuts from the projects.
Anyway, to the following people~~:
Lilmel87, Tenru Wingstorm, Emina 105, KayKit, YunaNeko, Moons- chan, Naruishot, lullabyoasis, XxmotojixX, Fallenraindrops, Jillian, twilight-twins2, scoliosisr2d2, girlx901, Flamegirl5500, LunaxXmoongoddessXx, Ayjah, chocolvr69, moonlight ookami, moonlightbutterflye, kimmiiee. And to all the others who read or added this story to their favorites.
Thanks for the reviews! They were lovely. =) Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!