Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.
"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."
II-Beginning
"Aokigahara?" John asked with an inquisitive tone.
John Brown was a man born and raised in Australia, yet somehow he had ended up in Japan with a Kansai accent. Owing to his frequent visits to Australia, John hadn't yet known much about Japan and it's culture. With a puzzled look on his face, he waited patiently for someone to answer.
Bou-san turned to the young man and smirked.
"How the heck do you have a Japanese citizenship?" He asked mockingly. John seemed a bit flustered at his comment. "Aokigahara, also known as the 'sea of forests,' is a place popular for suicides." Bou-san answered with much pride, for knowing a few facts.
An eerie silence then proceeded the whole crowd surrounding Bou-san. John looked a bit startled, Ayako seemed rather calm while Mai clearly seemed a little disturbed.
"What?" The blonde man asked, taken back by Bou-san's words.
"Like I said, it's a popular place for suicides. It's been dubbed as the 'perfect place to die' by the youth of Japan. Rather, everyone in Japan. It's just second after San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge." Bou-san explained.
"For suicide?" John asked.
"Yeah."
"That's very unfortunate..." Mai voiced her opinion. All eyes on her, she flushed on being aware of them. "I mean, it's a place where people take their own life. It's weird that someone would want to build a lodge over there."
"Well, no." Ayako began. "It isn't weird at all. It's quite the opposite of what you're thinking."
"Why not?" John asked.
"Because, it's popular among tourists." She explained. "It's profitable for the owner of the lodge. The forest has a number of rocky, icy caverns, a few of which are popular tourist destinations. Like the Ice cave and the Wind cave."
"Oh." Mai muttered.
A few moments later, Naru exited his office with a cold look on his, as usual. He looked at Mai and the others sitting on the couch while busily discussing the current hot topic, Aokigahara. His presence not being acknowledged, he cleared his throat to let them know of his entry into the so called 'lounge' of SPR.
"Ah." Mai being the first one to notice his presence, nudged Bou-san sitting next to her to stop talking. He complied to her request reluctantly.
"We'll be leaving for Mr. Nakazawa's place." He informed. Everybody stared at him in awe, wondering what had made him accept this case.
"You're taking up the case?" Ayako asked.
"We'll see." He answered curtly and left for Lin's office. A few minutes later, a man in his late twenties, with his hair covering almost half of his face, entered the lounge along with Naru. He bowed slightly to greet everyone in the room. The others did the same.
Masako entered the office, with her cheeks flushed. It was evident that she had been rushing to reach the office. She huffed loudly due to her lack of breath. Much to her dismay, all the attention was now on her.
"Masako!" Mai asked with surprise. "What made you so late?"
"I'm sorry." She apologized. "My schedule was a little messed up due to sudden plans at the TV station."
"That's fine." Naru interrupted. "As a matter of fact, I'd like to let you know a few things and get moving."
"About the case?" Ayako inquired.
"Yes." He affirmed. "Our possible clients are Mr. Nakazawa and his wife. They own a chain of lodges across Japan and it's seems that they have requested Hara-san to coax us to look into this matter. We know nothing of our clients as I haven't yet met them in person. We'll be heading to Mr. Nakazawa's house today in the afternoon at three. Till then, you're free."
It took a tremendous amount of control over himself for Bou-san to not shout that 'three and free' rhymed.
"There's still an hour left. Who wants brownies?" Bou-san asked. Ayako and John declined the offer placidly and headed out for their respective homes. Bou-san also left for his home with a dejected look on his face. After everyone's exit, Mai and Masako also decided to leave, after chatting pleasantly for a few minutes.
Exactly an hour later, everyone assembled at the office. Surprisingly, Mai had also managed to arrive in time. Bou-san patted Mai for her achievement.
"Let's leave then." Bou-san said enthusiastically with a huge grin to account for his enthusiasm.
...
To their surprise, the Nakazawa household was not quite far away from SPR. As usual, Bou-san, Mai, Ayako and John left in Bou-san's small car and Naru, Masako and Lin headed out in Lin's van. After a few minutes of constant driving, Bou-san screeched the car to a halt and stepped out of it. Mai and the others did the same. Naru and the others followed right behind them.
A huge residential complex with much luxury to boast about stood tall in front of them. Mai stared in awe. Ayako snickered at Mai's reaction and ruffled her hair.
"Don't worry. You'll be rich someday too." She said mockingly. Mai decided to let the comment pass.
"Which floor?" John inquired as they entered the elevator.
"Ninth." Lin answered in accordance to the address that had been scribbled on a small sheet of paper by their bubbly assistant. After a few stops for other residents to step out of the elevator, the team finally reached their destination.
After ringing the doorbell, the team waited patiently for someone to open the door and welcome them. A few moments later, a woman in her late fifties slowly opened the door in jerks.
"Who?" She asked quietly. The woman was dressed in a simple gray Kimono. Her hair had been tied in a bun, which had started graying and wrinkles on her face were evident. With plain but curious brown eyes, she looked at them for an answer.
"SPR." Naru answered. The woman let the door open wide enough for all of them to enter.
"Seiko-san has been expecting you." She said politely. Naru nodded and entered the luxurious apartment of the woman in question. The drawing room had a sofa set with beautiful yet simple embroideries. A small table in the center and a colorful flower vase was kept on it to intensify it's beauty. A television was kept on a table in the center of the room. With not much furniture, the living room seemed spacious enough.
"Ah, the SPR I suppose." A woman in her late twenties entered the room. Estimating her to be around twenty six or seven, Naru nodded at her affirmatively. Her glance falling upon Masako, she smiled brightly, expressing her gratitude with ease.
Nakazawa Seiko was an extremely stunning beauty. Dressed in a simple yet neat Kimono, she welcomed them warmly and asked them to make themselves comfortable. Her warm hazel eyes and her smooth black locks tied in a bun appealed to all the eyes that were gazing at her. As she seated herself, she bowed at them and then looked at a good looking man whom she assumed to be the boss from his calm and dominating demeanor.
"Shibuya-san, I suppose." She asked and went ahead as he nodded once more. "I must thank you for your consideration to help us out."
"Yes. If you don't mind, the case details please." He said in a formal manner, impatient as ever. Seiko nodded, a little startled at the young man's impatience.
"My husband owns a chain of lodges across Japan and one of them at Aokigahara is supposedly haunted." She began.
"Have you experienced anything?" Naru asked. Lin switched on his laptop and began typing whatever that was being conversed between the two.
"No. I haven't been there. Since it's a new lodge, my husband is staying there and managing it with a few of his trusted colleagues." Seiko said with a momentary pause.
"Go ahead." Naru said.
"Since last month, my husband's health has been deteriorating and it is supposedly because of the haunting occurring there. I must say, I do not believe in the supernatural, but seeing that he has started to lose control over his mind, I'm very much worried."
"Have you consulted a doctor?" Ayako interrupted. Seiko affirmed to the inquiry.
"Yes. The doctor says that he is being mentally affected due to some reasons. He said that fear was affecting him badly. Last week, a few incidents occurred that agitated him even more. The windows of his room shattered right in the middle of the night and he says that there were loud banging sounds from the wall."
Mai feared that this wouldn't do. She feared that Naru might not take up the case, as it didn't sound much interesting when she thought about it in his point of view.
"We'll help." Naru confirmed. Mai looked surprised.
"You're taking it up?" She asked, her eyes a little wider than usual.
"Yes." Naru affirmed to her surprised inquiry as something had genuinely interested him.
"Thank you very much!" Seiko exclaimed with much happiness.
After a few moments of more talking, the team left the apartment and exited the residential complex as well. Naru stopped to instruct his team. Assembled in a circle around their boss, they listened carefully to his instructions.
"We'll be leaving tomorrow at eight in the morning. I want everybody to be on time." Naru instructed and his eyes fell on Mai. "No exceptions."
...
The next day all the equipment was set in the van and most of the the team members had assembled in the office when Naru proceeded to make a few calls. The first one was for Madoka, to let her know that he might be needing her for this case. The second one was for Yasuhara with the same reason for the phone call. During this time, Masako entered the office. She carried a small bag in her hand. Noticing her enter the office, Mai smiled pleasantly at her.
"All set to go?" Mai asked. She nodded.
A two and a half hour drive from Shibuya, tiring for those crammed in the small car of Bou-san. Mai, Ayako and John were traveling with Bou-san in his car as usual, while Lin, Naru and Masako traveled in Lin's van. Loaded with equipments, it was a bit difficult to accommodate even a single extra person in the van, much to Mai's dismay.
"Why can't I go instead of Masako?" Mai fumed.
"No idea." Ayako and Bou-san chorused, while John tried his best to clam her down.
Entering the town of Fujikawaguchiko, after a tiring trip, Mai let out a sigh of relief. Aokigahara lied south west to Lake Saiko, not quite far away from it. After a few more minutes of uneasy legs, the team finally reached the Wind Cave and a few more minutes later, right at the entrance of the forest, a lodge came into their view. As they all prepared to get out of the car, Mai felt an uneasiness. She shook the feeling off and looked at the lodge.
Huge words printed on the top most structure of the lodge said 'Nakazawa Lodge.' Mai looked at the size of the lodge. It was pretty smaller than what she had imagined. After tackling the supernatural in huge mansions, this small lodge seemed impossible to be haunted.
"It's smaller than I thought." Mai muttered. Ayako agreed with her.
As Mai turned her view to the forest, a few signs had been erected at the entrance of the forest and almost all the trees had messages written on it. Mai looked a little surprised as she read the message out loud.
"Your life is a precious gift from your parents. Think about what your family is feeling. Please reconsider your decision to end your life. You don't have to suffer alone."
"Mai what are you doing?" Ayako shouted from a distance. Mai turned swiftly, a little startled, to notice that they were all ready to enter the lodge. Ayako looked at her reproachfully as she once again turned to look at something in the direction of the forest. She then paced towards her, nonplussed about something.
Mai followed the rest into the lodge. A man, decently dressed greeted them with a wooden face.
"Ah, yes. The SPR." A plain looking man in his late twenties recognized a few guests who entered. "My wife sent you, right?" He wore a formal gray suit and his slightly brownish hair was well mended.
"Yes." Naru estimated him to be around the same age of his wife, a little older probably.
"Nice to meet you." He said pleasantly.
"Nice to meet you too!" The team greeted cheerfully, except for a certain narcissist and a tall, grumpy man.
The whole lodge was decorated simply with a few flower vases set here and there. Fresh flowers had just been placed in them as dew drops were still visible. There was a huge lounge a few steps away from the reception desk, the place where the team members were currently waiting for their client to lead them to their rooms.
Owing to the fact that it was a small lodge, only a few rooms were present. All of them were rather small but neatly maintained. With exquisitely carpeted floors and a small heater in the corner of the room, the rooms were neatly decorated. The curtains were all of a soft shade and the view of the deadly forest through the windows seemed extraordinarily peaceful.
The three ladies were accommodated a single room, while the four men were divided in two rooms. Naru and Lin together while John and Bou-san agreed to share a room. All of them proposed to meet up for lunch after they unpacked and freshened up. Naru had no choice but to agree.
...
"Ayako." Mai began as she started unpacking her suitcase. "Did you read those signs?"
"What signs?" Ayako asked as she rummaged through a bunch of dresses and winter coats to pick something suitable for lunch.
A tired Masako had opted to sleep for a while and unpack later. Mai had finished most of her unpacking but lazed to continue to do so. She sat down on the soft bed covered with cream colored sheets.
"The signs at the entrance of the forest." She reminded. "And most of the trees had them too."
"Oh, the "don't suicide" signs." Ayako said with some remembrance. "Is that what you're asking about?"
"Yes."
"Well, as Bou-san told earlier, Aokigahara is a place famous for suicides. If a hundred people entered the forest, eighty of them won't be returning from there." She stopped momentarily to take a look at a dress which had seemingly appealed to her.
"Go on." Mai coaxed.
"As an effort to stop even a few of those troubled souls, the government and the police have put up signs to let them know that they can help them out, if they want to be helped that is."
"Oh." Mai muttered, her eyes placed on Ayako.
"Should I wake Masako up?" Ayako asked as she began to clean the mess that she had made. Mai made herself comfortable as she laid her back on the bed.
"Let her sleep. We still have an hour to go for lunch." Mai said. "Who are you trying to seduce with that dress? Bou-san?"
With a painful whack, a pillow landed on Mai's face.
"Ow! What the-!" Another war and Mai lay flat on her bed while trying to dodge the rain of pillows that were coming her way. "God! Stop it Ayako!" While falling off the bed, Mai successfully got a glimpse of the brightly flushed face of Ayako. With a smirk on her face, she threw back one of the pillows to Ayako playfully.
"Stop being childish, Matsuzaki-san." Masako said as she looked at Mai rolling on the floor to successfully dodge the the pillows being thrown at her. "We know that you like him."
Mai stared at a sleepy Masako who had been woken up by the ruckus that they had been making. After turning her head towards a silenced, yet even more brightly flushed Ayako, Mai burst out laughing.
...
An hour later, all assembled in the dining room. A huge fireplace in the center of the room and a dining table had been set in the room. Naru and Lin had already arrived when Bou-san and John made their entry. Masako, Ayako and Mai entered late.
The dining room was huge while considering the size of the lodge. Mai looked around with curious eyes, looking at the interiors of the room. The dining table, made of sturdy mahogany, had already been readied for their lunch, with plates, bowls and other necessities kept ready for the food to be served.
Nakazawa Keisuke entered the room last. A pleasant smile plastered on his face, he greeted everyone seated in the dining room. Naru looked at the entrance of the dining room patiently.
"I heard some of your colleagues are helping you manage this lounge." Naru began. "Where are they?" He diverted his eyes to Keisuke.
"They both are out for some work, they'll be returning after some time." He answered.
"Do you have blue prints of this lodge?" Lin asked.
"Yes." Keisuke answered after a short span of time.
"We'll be needing one. Can you hand us a copy?" Lin informed.
"Yes. Anything else?" He asked.
"Your wife had told us something about some incidents that had happened here." Naru started once more. "Could you brief us about them." For a fraction of a second, there was a flicker in Keisuke's eyes which did not go unnoticed.
"Well yes." He began. "It has been bothering me for a while and my doctor has started to suspect that it's affecting my nerves." Lin's vigorous typing began to resonate in the room.
"Yes." Naru encouraged as the man stopped.
"Er - this lodge has been functioning only since last month." He continued."But a few weeks ago, strange activities have been troubling us three."
"Three?"
"My two other colleagues and me." He answered patiently, even on being interrupted. "Since this is a new lodge and not much people come here, there are a few extra rooms on the third floor and we three are staying in those rooms."
"Different rooms?"
"Yes." He answered. "My room is the farthest one. Last week, the windows of my room shattered right in the middle of the night and well, there were loud banging sounds too."
"Rapping sounds." Naru informed.
"Yes, er - they went on continuously until I got up and well, screamed." Keisuke seemed embarrassed. A man in a humble black suit entered the room as soon as he had finished his sentence. Keisuke looked at him and nodded.
"Please, serve the food." He affirmed. The other person on listening to the request, bowed and left the room. "Ready for lunch?"
"Yes." The team answered fervently in anticipation of the dishes that they were to relish on.
...
Naru finished first and left for his room. The base was right across the corridor, next to Naru and Lin's room.
The others finished a little later and left for the base as well. Ayako and Mai were the last to leave the room. As they left, Mai bowed and displayed her gratitude for the lunch. Keisuke also did the same.
"Matsuzaki-san and Hara-san will be making rounds of all the rooms. Mai, John and Bou-san will be setting up cameras in all the rooms." Naru ordered. Mai sighed and picked up the equipment required to set up the camera. Bou-san helped her while John carried the smaller equipments like the EMF detectors.
Masako and Ayako left for their rounds. Lin began setting up the monitors in the base while Naru sat on a chair, comfortably reading the notes made by Lin.
A few hours later, Mai entered the room while massaging her shoulders and arms. Naru looked up at her as she carried a few remaining cameras.
"We brought too much of equipment!" She complained as she kept them safely on the floor.
"You should be grateful that there weren't much rooms." He answered. Mai glared at him.
"You'll never understand our pain." Mai retorted. "All you do is sit and read files. You don't even do any work!"
"Where are John and Bou-san?" Naru changed the topic smoothly.
"John is still writing down the temperatures of each room. Bou-san is with him." Mai said. "Hey, don't change the topic!"
Their attention had been diverted to Masako as she entered the room, looking pale as ever. Ayako joined her as she walked towards Naru and came to a stand.
"Tell me." He said.
"There's nothing here." Masako muttered. He narrowed his eyes. Noticing his scrutinizing eyes, Masako looked at him. "I'm confident."
Ayako looked at an exhausted Mai sitting on the couch with nothing much to do, except to sigh at periodic intervals.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Nothing." Mai began. "My shoulder hurts."
"That's what you get for working under a workaholic boss." Ayako joked. Naru glared at her and all the giggles ceased.
Bou-san and John entered the room last. John handed over the list that he had prepared in the last few hours by jotting down all the readings that the EMF detector decided to give him. Naru accepted the paper from his hand and read through it carefully.
"Temperature - Normal." He muttered.
"Well! Sure there isn't anything abnormal here!" Bou-san exclaimed. The others looked at him in an agreeing manner. Mai opined the same, Ayako nodded to his comment while Lin paid no attention. Naru also had concluded the same, much to his dismay.
"To me, it seems the outside is more dangerous." Masako muttered unconsciously.
"What do you mean?" Naru asked, a certain tone of curiosity now evident in his voice.
"I had an uneasy feeling when we stepped out of the van." She began wearily. "It was quite uncomfortable. I felt like I was stranded alone in a sea of troubled souls, all pleading and howling of sadness."
Masako then relapsed into silence. Naru nodded at her account and slowly turned to face a certain perplexed Mai.
"What is it?" He asked, looking in her direction.
"It's nothing." She began. "It's just that, I had the same uneasiness earlier." He nodded at her, his expression had evidently softened on meeting eyes with her.
"So as far as their intuition is concerned, there is nothing haunting this place?" Ayako asked.
"It seems so." Bou-san answered. Masako nodded, pulling up her sleeve to her lips, an usual habit of hers.
"The inside is safe, but outside the lodge, nothing is."
...
As the evening approached, two more people were introduced to the SPR.
"Hello!" A cheerful and bright man greeted. Estimating him to be younger than Keisuke, Naru nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Yamamoto Ken."
The other man standing next to him seemed rather efficient and gloomy. He was dressed neatly. Even though he seemed to have a gloomy aura around him, he was rather good looking.
"I'm Matsuda Ryuu, nice to meet you." He said pleasantly.
The SPR in turn introduced themselves, chatted pleasantly for a few minutes and then headed out for their respective rooms to end their busy day.
A/N: Thanks for reading, I'm very happy that you've reached this far. Please let me know how you feel about this story. Not a very long chapter, but of a better length than the first chapter. I know that this chapter might have been tiring to read, I tried my best to make it easier to read, I looked through all of fanfiction to find a neat way to make transitions, and this was the best option I found. ;D Hope it appeals to those who like long chapters. Updates will be on next Saturday.
All introductions end here. Now to get on to this case. ;D I'm very happy with the warm reviews I have received. I replied to everyone who had an account but I don't know how to reply to anonymous reviews, so here goes, thanks Jazzy and SnowSisters. Thank you.