Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.
"The face that launched a thousand ships. The face of Helen."
V-Helen
"What is going on?" Mai clung tightly to Naru as the banging sounds grew worse. Her eyes darted from one corner to the other. The light bulb above her head shattered to pieces. Subsidiary sounds of footsteps along with the loud banging sounds resonated in their ears. Almost, hurriedly Mai turned to face a certain perplexed man.
"Wha-" He began but stopped abruptly. He took a deep breath and began chanting a mantra. "Naumaku Samanda-"
"Stop it." Naru ordered sharply. Bou-san looked at him confoundedly. "It's a waste of time."
"Have you lost your head!" Ayako screeched as she appeared after ascending the stairs hastily. She immediately closed her eyes. "Rin Pyou Tou sha-"
"I already told you it's useless!" Naru cut her off angrily. "It'll stop itself!"
Annoyed at Naru's manner, Ayako slammed her hand against the wall. Immediately after her angry action of disapproval, Masako appeared along with John. John seemed worried, with everything for the exorcism's prepared but Masako seemed less than bothered. Her eyes darted to Naru, who looked at her expectantly. She sighed before looking at him confidently.
"No, it's not a spirit."
Naru nodded at her approvingly. A sense of satisfaction overwhelmed the narcissist before he breathed heavily. Suddenly the sound subsided without warning. He looked over at Ayako and Bou-san triumphantly.
"I told you." He muttered.
...
"You know Naru, you're being rather harsh on everyone. You needn't shout at me like that." Ayako retorted.
"We're leaving." Naru muttered, escaping her set of questions.
"And for what reasons?" She continued.
"There is nothing here." He muttered once more. "Nothing."
"What were the rapping sounds then about?" She mocked him, rolling her eyes as she put forward her statement.
As soon as Ayako completed her sentence, Naru immediately hurried towards the door of Keisuke's room and pushed it open. He looked around the room in a flurry before he looked near the kotatsu. Keisuke lay unmoving on the floor. His hands spread about on his sides, his lips parted and sweat slowly trickled from his forehead. Naru looked at Lin, nodded at him and ran to pick him up.
"Mai, open the windows." Naru ordered. Mai immediately complied to his order and opened the window, swiftly pulling the curtains on either sides. She immediately turned to look at Lin trying to hold Keisuke by his shoulders while Naru held him by his feet. Bou-san volunteered to hold his back. The three men carried him and placed him on the bed near the window. Mai whimpered as Keisuke continued sweating profusely. Bou-san placed his arms comfortably on his chest before he loosened his cuffs and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt.
"What happened?" John asked as he continued watching them move around the room restlessly. Ayako checked his pulse and sighed.
"He's fine." She muttered. "Just unconscious, again."
"Let's get out of here. It'll become harder for him to breathe if we all stay in the room together." Bou-san suggested. "Masako, why don't you ask Seiko-san to come up?"
"Sure." The medium answered wearily before departing the room and heading down the stairs. They all looked at Masako leave before Bou-san sighed. Ayako shook her head tiredly while Mai chewed on her lips, continuously watching Keisuke. Naru looked deep in thought before he let out a sigh.
"Let's leave." He mumbled. He left the room before muttering a few more words. "This man has a tendency to fall unconscious."
...
"So, mind explaining yourself?" Mai asked.
Naru sighed before looking at the slowly ticking clock. He turned his glance towards the anticipating faces of his team members before parting his lips to begin his account.
"Nothing supernatural here, Hara-san herself told so." He began before pausing momentarily. "I don't need to explain anything to you. We're leaving and my decision is final."
"What! Naru, what was the rapping sound then about?" Bou-san asked, completely astonished at the narcissists opinion.
"Nothing." He muttered before trailing out of the base. His eyes immediately fell upon Seiko in Masako's arms. Probably Masako was comforting her or so he deduced. He nodded at her as he ascended the stairs up to meet Keisuke's colleagues. His eyes fell on the last staircase. He shook his head when a sudden urge filled him. He wanted to complete this case, but he realized that he was here to battle the supernatural and not crime. He huffed before reaching the third floor.
He immediately trotted towards Ken's room. He turned the knob of his door and entered. Ken turned his head, a little surprised at his entry. He immediately smiled warmly at Naru, welcoming him inside his small, congested room. Ken was sitting on his bed and he got up to greet Naru. They shook hands before Ken asked Naru to seat himself on one of the chairs.
"How's Keisuke?" He asked, evidently concerned.
"Just unconscious." Naru informed dryly. "He'll be fine." Ken noted the dryness in his voice and changed the topic immediately.
"Is there something you would like to tell me?" He asked.
"Yes." Naru began. "We will be leaving tomorrow after packing up."
"Oh!" Ken exclaimed. "So is everything sorted out?"
"Yes, it has been sorted out." He mumbled. Keisuke flashed him his boyish smile.
"You guys live up to your reputation, don't you?" He asked.
Naru answered no more before rising up to his feet to leave. He was still unable to fight his urge and now Ken's words lingered in his minds. Reputation? He chuckled before descending the stairs slowly. As he looked at the decreasing number of staircases, his mind retraced back to the events that had occurred. He was unsatisfied, he knew, but he didn't want to get involved any more.
...
"Are you done packing?" Naru asked.
"Yes, all personal things packed only equipments remain." Mai informed. Naru nodded. He looked at everyone sitting in the base tiredly. John was massaging his shoulders while Ayako had fallen asleep on the couch itself. Bou-san was chatting with Lin who seemed to respond only in nods. Masako was still packing up her things, Mai had informed him so. Mai looked at Naru as his eyes shifted from everyone to her. She flushed a slight shade of pink and immediately turned her head towards Bou-san, to probably hide her embarrassment. Naru let out an inaudible chuckle before returning back to his thoughts.
"Keisuke..." He mumbled as he looked at the clock tick slowly. It had been four hours since the incident and Keisuke had woken up just fine.
Suddenly, Seiko barged into the base, flushed and perplexed. She huffed and bent down to catch her breath. She stood back straight before calming herself down and looking at the others. The sudden sound of the slamming door woke Ayako from her sleep and she looked at everyone glaringly. Her eyes fell upon Seiko who seemed to be in a frenzy.
"Has anyone seen K-Keisuke?" She asked, fighting back her tears. Naru looked at her calmly.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Keisuke's not in his bed. He's missing!" She looked extremely unhappy when she voiced those words. Ayako looked at her sarcastically.
"Nothing to get so worried about, he must have just gone out somewhere." She said hiding her displeasure and tried to comfort her. Seiko shook her head.
"In that condition?" She asked. "He wasn't even able to get up when I tried waking him up for tea."
"Does he go out somewhere usually?" Naru asked. Seiko looked at him when something struck her.
"He usually goes for a stroll during this time." She mumbled. "He usually goes out in the forest when it gets dark..."
"That is a rather unusual habit." Bou-san muttered. Lin let out an inaudible snort at Bou-san's derisive comment.
"He'll be back soon then." Ayako said. "He sure won't be camping out at the forest when he just regained his consciousness. It's just eight, let's wait for a few more hours before declaring him missing."
Seiko nodded and left the room. Silence engulfed the room. Mai looked at Ayako uneasily. She had been too sarcastic for the poor lady to bare. She glared at her and Mai immediately changed her view to Bou-san. He was equally annoyed at the woman's idiotic behavior. He sighed before dropping himself on the couch.
"Rather stupid she is." Ayako muttered. "She thinks people go missing just like that."
"They do." Naru's answer left an impact on the others and the base was once more entrapped in silence.
...
"Seems like our guy is really missing." Bou-san muttered worriedly. The clock struck eleven as Naru sighed. "Ken told that he'd be back from his friend's by ten, that guy has returned but Keisuke hasn't even shown up!"
"Calm down Bou-san." Mai comforted the agitated Bou-san. "I'm sure he is fine. He probably stayed out longer to er- to get more fresh air."
"You yourself know that isn't true." He mumbled unhappily.
"I'll go check on Nakazawa-san's wife." Naru informed. "Bou-san, wait at the door. Mai come with me."
"Roger." Mai left behind Naru when she heard a small snippet of a conversation between Ayako and John.
"Does anyone know where's Yasuhara?"
"He took the Shinkansen yesterday to leave for Tokyo."
"Lucky guy."
...
Mai sauntered behind Naru as he slowly took the stairs. It took a few minutes for them to ascend the stairs to reach the third floor. Mai wondered if she had been doing anything but climbing stairs since she had reached the lodge. She shook the funny thought off before following Naru to Seiko's room. Naru was about to knock when he stopped dead in his tracks.
The door was open, though only it was only open a little, it was more than enough to see inside. His eyes widened before he muttered something incoherent.
"The face that launched a thousand ships." It was all Mai could make out of his words. Unable to understand them, she peered through the small crack. What she saw astonished her. She finally understood the meaning of Naru's words. He was referring to Helen of Troy, the unfaithful wife of Menelaus. Mai shook her head as she looked at Seiko in Ryuu's arms.
Retracing their steps to the base, Mai took the initiative of a conversation.
"You know Naru, it isn't necessary that what we saw there will adhere to your deduction." She suggested. He shook his head unhappily.
"Would you do that in your husband's absence?" He asked.
"I suppose not." She responded.
"Then?"
...
"So it seems like we will have to head into the forest." John said. Naru nodded.
"But, we will look for him tomorrow." He began. "It's not safe to venture into such a forest."
"He's right." Ayako agreed. "Let's rise early and look for him instead of venturing into the forest now. It's rather dark."
All of them left for their rooms, Mai being the last one to leave, switched off all the lights and looked at the quiet view of the forest through the window in the base.
"Aokigahara..."
...
The alarm rung unmercifully. Mai growled unhappily and looked for her cell phone. She grunted as she moved from her bed and fell on the floor. She yelped in pain before looking for her phone once again. Helping herself on her knees, she managed to trod on her knees towards the cell phone placed on the table adjacent to her bed. Her eyes immediately fell on a still sleeping Ayako. She grinned.
"Now, am I the one impossible to wake or is it you?" She mocked her.
"Mai, wake her up." Masako muttered sleepily. "We'll be late." Mai rolled her eyes. She looked at Ayako mischievously before jumping on her and tickling her. Ayako woke up with a start and screamed before tackling Mai with all her strength. Ayako growled drowsily before letting go of Mai's hands and dropping herself on the soft bed.
"What the-!" Ayako mumbled sleepily.
The door barged open suddenly and Bou-san entered the room breathing heavily. He looked at the three ladies. Mai and Ayako were fighting each other while Masako sat opposite them, patiently waiting for them to stop acting like barbarians. Unable to understand the situation, Bou-san stood there.
"Who the hell screamed!" He asked. As soon as the sentence escaped his lips, a pillow landed on his face with a smack.
"You dirty monk!" Ayako hollered. "Can't you knock before entering the room?" She hurriedly covered herself with a blanket and turned her angry eyes at Bou-san. Her face was flushed, Mai giggled while Masako let out a sigh. Bou-san looked at her and blushed as she covered herself hastily with a blanket. Immediately understanding the situation. He shut the door and left for his room.
"That damned-" Ayako began but was cut off by Mai. She was definitely in a teasing mood and was ready to have fun at Ayako's expense.
"But weren't you happy? Now, now, don't hide your happiness!" Mai teased. Ayako blushed and shook her head. She glared at her.
"Dam you!"
"I'm rather in a good mood today." Mai completely ignored Ayako. "I wonder why."
"You're being fey, Mai." Masako answered.
"Fey?" She asked.
"Of course, you won't be happy when you're about to go venture into a deadly forest." Ayako mocked her. "Do you expect the spirits to go on a picnic with you? Unless you're doomed." Ayako pulled herself up, tidied up the blankets and left for the small bathroom in the room. She chose a few clothes from her collection and immediately left to take a bath.
"I don't expect to go on a picnic with them, do I?" She asked Masako. She smiled wryly.
"Depends."
...
"So we split up?" Ayako asked. Naru looked at her with his eyebrows raised.
"You think we should?" He asked sarcastically.
"No." She answered in accordance to the mood.
"Better." He replied.
The team stood before the huge forest. From the outside it almost seemed pristine. Mai looked at it, awe-struck. Bou-san had the same expression. Lin and Naru conversed a few important things about equipments. Masako looked at the forest wearily. She felt weak even by just standing in front of the forest. John smiled at her sympathetically. He led her behind the team as she walked slowly.
"Is this place even haunted?" Mai asked.
"You'll know." Bou-san muttered.
"Excuse me?" A shaky, gruff voice called out. Naru looked at an old man heading towards them. He evidently looked worried as he eyed them.
"We aren't going for mass suicide." Naru informed. The man let out a sigh of relief. He looked at the young man standing in front of him. He took a few more steps in their direction before coming to a halt. He coughed several times and cleared his throat before beginning to speak.
"I hoped so." He coughed. "What are you going to do in the forest?"
"We're looking for a man." Naru answered. "Do you know Nakazawa Keisuke?" The old man brightened up at the mention of Keisuke's name.
"Of course I do!" He answered. "He's the owner of 'Nakazawa Lodge,' isn't he?"
"Yes." Naru replied. "Did you see him going somewhere."
"Yes, I did see him yesterday evening. He was rather tired." The man began jerkily. "When I asked him whether if he was going for a stroll, he answered 'yes' and left."
"Was there anything wrong with him?" Naru inquired.
"Oh, nothing." The man said reflecting on his memory. "Probably just that his mouth smelled like almonds?"
"Eh?" Mai asked him, confused. He smiled at her.
"Yes child, almonds. Burnt Almonds."
The man left after giving them an unwanted vibe of uneasiness. Leaving behind everyone clueless, the man left joyfully under an impression that he had provided them with a piece of information which was invaluable. Bou-san being the first one to scratch his head, looked at everyone with his eyebrows raised in a funny manner.
"What does a burnt almond smell like?" Bou-san asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"It smells like burnt almonds, Bou-san." Mai replied rolling her eyes.
The team entered the forest slowly, almost cautiously. Snow had fallen everywhere. Not mere powdering but deep drifts of snow. It had gained a few feet in depth. Mai buttoned her winter coat around her and took the torch that Naru had handed her.
"Do we need anything else?" John asked.
"We've taken, torches, a compass, and what else-?" Bou-san reminded him.
"Blankets?" Mai suggested.
"What for?"
"If we end up camping there." She told Bou-san. He nodded.
"Naru-chan!" Bou-san hollered. "We need blankets!"
After setting up everything and preparing everything, Mai sighed. She eyed the forest apprehensively. Naru and Lin went on ahead and Mai followed them soon after with the others.
The forest was silent and laden with snow. Even the slightest of sound could be heard. The sea of trees seemed never ending, adding to the fear of the team, their main concern being to be able to return to the lodge. Mai's assumption of the pristine forest was being destroyed every second. Within the first kilometer of the forest, the team found all sort of litter. Ranging from cans to lipsticks, handbags to scissors, the litter seemed to be spread out throughout the forest. To add, plenty of signs had been placed everywhere, pleading people to not commit suicide and return to their homes safely.
Mai wondered if they were effective in dealing with people with suicidal tendency. She had no choice but to contradict her sentence when she saw empty ropes hanging from thick branches on alternate trees, skulls and other bones lying on the ground. She shivered on seeing decomposed bones scattered around. Bou-san expressed his feelings by putting on a disgusted face, Lin seemed a little disturbed while John turned pale. Naru and Ayako seemed anything but bothered, owing to the fact that Naru had known no other expression and Ayako was a doctor by profession.
Naru and Lin were at the front of the pack, Mai, Masako and Ayako following behind them. John and Bou-san seemed to be at the end of the pack.
"What the hell was wrong with Keisuke! Only idiots would go out in the forest alone." Bou-san muttered distastefully. Mai glanced at Masako who seemed to grow paler each minute.
"Masako, are you okay?" Mai asked, her voice immediately became panicky when she saw the medium sway, unable to stand on her feet. Mai caught hold of the falling body of the medium. Mai fell on her back due to the sudden impact the medium made on her. She yelped in pain. Bou-san stopped in his tracks to see Masako lying unconscious over Mai's body. Ayako ran to Mai's aid as she and Bou-san lifted the medium off her petite body.
"What's wrong?" Ayako asked Mai, her face paling each minute. "What's going on!"
Mai looked at the unconscious medium. Naru and Lin ran back to the rest of the team.
"Masako?" Mai shook her small body. "Masako!"
"What is wrong with her?" Bou-san asked Ayako. She sighed.
"Unconscious." She muttered. It had become a daily routine for her to declare somebody unconscious. Mai looked at the pale medium, her eyes closed peacefully. Her body seemed cold and her lips were growing blue.
"We need to leave! We've to get her back to the lodge!" Mai screamed. Naru looked at her sternly.
"No need."
"What do you mean! We need to-!" Mai stopped. She eyed the snow on the ground. Her eyes widened. She was unable to move, her hands began to quiver. Mai bit her lips as she saw the disappearing figures of her team mates. She could feel the impact on her back as her body fell against the snow. Everything went pitch black for her. All she heard before slipping into an endless sea of darkness was Ayako's voice.
"Mai!"
A/N: Update whenever possible. It's a miracle that I managed to update! It might take a while before I update once again because I've been re-plotting my story to make it better. There are slight ideas in my mind which might be put to words if I plan them out correctly. Meet you next time with a better update and a reformed plot. Please Review! Hope things have cleared up for you Snowsisters! I'm really sorry that I couldn't make the end clearer to you! Thanks Hodgeheg, Vriselle and Dunhaveaname. :D Finally! The horror commences!