Hello everyone!
I am finally back after almost 2 year absence...
I hope you'll like the chapter! R&R everyone!
Hopefully by next update, the name of this fanfic will have been changed also!^^
Disclaimer: Yeaaah.. Noo...
As the silence took over the room from the deafening crash, Lin slowly opened his eyes.. Everything seemed so calm, his Shiki were no longer agitated.. He blew out a breath he'd been holding and looked down at the young woman in his arms.
"Are you okey Mai-chan?" She slowly opened her eyes and tried to sit up.. She slowly looked around at the damage.. The bed and curtains were totally shredded and all the cabinets had big chunks of wood chipped of.
"Mai?"
"Huh? Yeah.. I'm fine... I think... I'm just not sure what happened.."
Mai was a little startled by the sudden sound from the hallway but then remembered everyone else.
"Lin? Mai?! Are you guys alright!?" Mai slowly got up and looked towards the door, or rather what was left of it and saw everyone standing there..
"Yeah, I think we're fine... We're gonna try to get out of here.." She turned to Lin and stretched out her hand..
"Come on.. Let's get out of here.." Lin took her hand and tried to smile but it turned into a grimace instead...
"Arrghh shit..." Mai was instantly on her knees trying to keep Lin steady which resulted in Lin leaning into Mais' chest..
"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt Lin-kun?" Lin just shrugged, suddenly feeling the softness of which he was leaning against.
"Ayako? Lin's been hurt.. I think I'll need help to get him out from here.." Some shuffling could be heard from the general direction of the corridor and a few seconds later everyone were around us..
"Lin-san you'll have to lean forward a little so I can get a better look.." After doing as instructed by Ayako he could feel som gentle poking and prodding on his back..
"Well It's not as bad as it looks.. You have three glass shards lodged in your back, but they are fairly shallow.. So a normal band-aid should suffice.. I'll start plucking them out, are you ready? It might sting a little" Lin just nodded and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain. He could feel the miko start poking around the shards but was soon concentrating on another touch.. He noticed Mai hadn't let go of his hand and she was caressing it very smoothly, rubbing small circles on top of his palm..
"Alright. All shards are out and I've put on some band-aids... You'll have to live with the pattern on the band-aids though..." Lin turned his head towards the sniggering miko and then eyed the band-aid package adorning the Pokémon logo and some small monsters...
"Why, if I may ask, do we have Pokémon band-aids?" Everyone turned towards Mai who blushed furiously...
"It was the only one they had left when we went shopping last time... At least it's something..." Everyone started laughing at that..
Naru cleared his throat and everyone turned to him..
"Let's get back to base and go over what just happened... This case just got a lot more serious." Everyone nodded and went to follow Naru..
Mai sat in silence as the last of the equipment was put into place.
"Takigawa-san, you and Brown-san go and collect all temperatures and make sure all the cameras and microphones are properly positioned." Bou-san nodded and went with John out the door to their designated rooms.
"Hara-san, you and Matsuzaki-san take a tour around the house and see if you can make contact with anything. If you meet the little girl, do NOT engage her. We don't know exactly what we are up against here." Masako partially hid her face behind her kimono-sleeve and nodded. Ayako left Mai after making sure she wasn't hurt and followed Masako.
Naru picked up the case file and eyed it briefly, slightly lost in thought... Mai sat on the sofa and studied her boss very intently.. 'He looks almost...worried...' Her own thoughts went back to that eerie room.. 'What or who on earth was that? And why did she look like me? Why do I feel like I am missing something very important?' She couldn't help but feel more and more distressed, a small trickle of panic going down her spine..
Lin noticed a remarkable change in the tension of the room and noticed some of the loose objects in the room start to rattle.. He looked back at Mai and saw her fear-stricken look.. Naru also noticed it and was about to speak to the girl.. Lin stopped him and stood up and walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.. Mai instantly snapped out of it and blinked rapidly...
"Lin-kun? What...?" She looked a little confused and then it dawned on her, she was unintentionally using her powers again...
"I'm sorry... I just... Much on my mind I guess.."
"Lin." Naru took the case file and sat down in front of Mai.. Lin went over to his laptop and brought it over, sitting next to Naru and opened a new document..
"Alright Mai.. I want you to focus, I know it might be hard for you.. What exactly happened?" Naru went back to his usual business-mode, which made Mai huff..
"Well.. I guess it all happened when me and John were carrying in the last cables.. My shoelaces went up and made me trip, so I stopped to tie them while John went ahead.. We were right by the door anyway.. All of a sudden I felt like someone was standing behind me, I turned around but no one was there.." Naru shifted his legs and crossed them, listening intently at her re-telling..
"I called out if there was anyone there, thought maybe one of the servants was there or perhaps even the owner.. But no answer came.. So I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me.. So I continued to tie my laces.. Then I heard a faint giggle.. Like a kid giggling.. I looked up and saw a small girl running down the corridor and turned down another one.. I started running after her and called after her, but when I rounded the corner she was gone.. Then I got thinking what the owner said before..." Lin paused in his typing and looked confused as Naru..
"What do you mean? What the owner said?" Mai eyed them briefly.. 'They didn't hear him say that?'
"Well when he had showed us how to contact his staff by the Intercom he also said that it was only him and his staff living here.. And when I asked him about his family he said he had none.. No wife nor children... So it struck me as odd that I was chasing a little girl... But anyway... I tried to look around for the kid but she was gone.. And then came my next problem.. I was lost in that maze of corridors and I noticed my cellphone was gone.. Before I could think anything else I heard a very faint child whisper 'Neechan'.. " Mai shivered at the mere thought of it..
"Maybe the little girl you saw running had her sister with her..?" Naru tried to search for a logical explanation.
"Noo... I.. It was the way she said it... It was like she was calling to me.. And I don't know why, but I felt like my blood had turned to ice... It was so eerie.. Almost dead-like...When I looked down the corridor again I saw an open door with a faint glow coming from the room and I could swear that the door was closed just a second ago... I slowly walked towards the door and again the whisper came followed by giggling.. The sound, or rather the voice... It made me feel sad, really sad and heartbroken.. The giggling got louder the closer I got to the room... But when I touched to doorknob everything went quite.. I went into the room and was first awestruck by the mirror-wall.. While I was in the room I noticed something in the corner of my eye but when I turned there was nothing.. Until I turned to the mirror again..." Mai averted her eyes and looked at her hands... They were a little bit cold so she rubbed them together and took a deep breath...
"Did you see the girl that we saw when we got there?" Naru asked impatiently earning him a glare from Lin, which went unnoticed..
"Well.. Yes.. or no.. not really.. I saw a little girl, looked to be around eight or ten years old... There was something really creepy about her.. I tried to ask her who she was and if she were here by herself... She answered me in a very peculiar way... I am always by myself and never by myself... I am you...And you are me... For some reason, I don't know why, I ended that sentence... I don't know how or why... But then I noticed something that freaked me out even more, which also made me think I had fallen asleep while tying my shoes... Her eyes, her hair.. her facial features were a spitting image of me from circa ten years back..." Both Lin and Naru froze...
"I asked here again who she was and why she was there.. She just started to giggle and it turned into laughter... It was so dead and cold... She started saying I am you and you are me over and over, getting louder every time.. Her eyes also started to change from brown to red as her face grew more and more angry.. I... I started chanting the Fudo myo and ended with the Kuji-in.. And everything stopped.. Then you guys arrived..." Mai let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.. Lin typed everything down and saved it.. He glanced over at his boss whom seemed unnaturally calm..
"What are you thinking Naru?" The young boss stood and looked out the window... He sighed deeply..
"I am trying to piece everything together.. I feel like we are missing or being withheld of crucial information.. Something does not add up.." Naru started pacing back and forth, trying to get a grip on the situation.. Mai was feeling the all too familiar pull of sleepiness and yawned widely... Lin noticed this and smiled lightly...
"Why don't you rest a little Mai.. Maybe you'll find something out.." Mai smiled and nodded sleepily... She scooted over on the couch and laid down, resting her head on the armrest and instantly fell asleep...
[Dream POV]
Mai was in a beautiful meadow.. She could feel the breezing air and the warm rays of the sun.. She felt so calm... She spun around with her arms outstretched.. She felt almost like a kid again... When she opened her eyes the landed on a smiling Gene...
"Hiya Gene... How are you?" He couldn't help but smile at her...
"I'm just fine.. Someone feeling nostalgic?" Mai couldn't explain why, but she really felt like a kid again... She glanced over at Gene and noted that his smile had turned almost a little sad..
"You have to show me something you know I won't like.. right?" Her dream ghost sighed deeply and eyed the young woman..
"I hoped you would never have to know... But it is imperative for your survival that you do know..." Mai creased her brows... 'Imperative for my survival? What does he mean?' She looked at his outstretched hand suddenly feeling very wary..
"What exactly are you going to show me and why is it so important?" Gene was slowly walking towards her..
"What I must show you is something that happened long ago.. Something that was since long forgotten.. But now it is time you remember, for what you and those you love are about to fight against is something you must know the whole truth about.." She was starting to feel fear trickling up her spine..
"The truth about what?" Gene took hold of her hand and looked her straight in the eye revealing a tear sliding down his cheek..
"The truth of the Taniyama curse.." Then everything went black and a faint child giggling could be heard..
Neechan - Sister/sis
Fudo myo - The chant bou-san taught her
Kuji-in - The mantra Ayako taught her
We go deeper in the story!
Just who is this little girl? And what is this Gene is talking about the Taniyama curse..
What exactly happened in the past?
Sooo there you have it!
Wooow! That actually was a lot easier than I thought..xD
Sooo please tell me what you think about it, I know it might be a little boring chapter but I'll try and make up for it in the next!
See ya soon!