Hey guys! Has it been awhile or is it just me? Maybe its because I'm only working on one story right now. Anyway, I had my second driving lesson today. I was so excited! Haha, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt
Chapter 11: Water Wars and Agreements
Mai jumped, spinning towards the origin of the voice. A woman with long strawberry hair that hung around her form and large green eyes stood beside the bed. She ran her pale see-through fingers over the fabric of the quilt, not looking at Mai. "Yes, I'm here," she repeated in a soft voice.
Mai's words stuck in the back of her throat. She struggled to form a coherent sentence. "Why…?" she asked, trailing off because she didn't exactly know what she had been going to ask.
"Why what?" the woman asked her, lifting her eyes to watch Mai with a neutral expression.
"Why are you haunting Tamaki and Kamin?" Mai whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as she forced the question from her lips.
The woman shook her head gently as she sat on the bed, still running her fingers across the fabric. "I'm not haunting the twins. I'd never do that to them. They are precious to me. I only wish to protect them," she said, her eyes roaming around the room absentmindedly.
Mai started. "W-well, if you're not the one haunting them, then who is?" she asked, taking a small step closer to the woman. She pressed the picture of Naru and Gene hard to her chest trying to draw strength and courage from it.
Again, the woman shook her head, her hair softly brushing against her cheeks. "There is nothing haunting those two young kids except their past and heritage."
"What do you mean there's nothing haunting them? What about all the strange things that happen? What about the fire and breaking glass?" At the mention of the fire a sharp pain lanced through her back. She bit back the groan that crawled up her throat. "If nothing is haunting the twins, then is something haunting Suzuka? Are… are you haunting Suzuka?"
The woman smiled sadly at the mention of her husband. "No, nothing is haunting Suzuka and neither am I. I am only here to ensure the twins are safe. The problem lies with the twins themselves. They are the ones causing the paranormal phenomenon."
Mai chewed on this new piece of information, chewing of the inside of her cheek. Pushing it away for later inspection, she let something else the woman had said settle in her mind. "What did you mean by 'they're haunted by their past and heritage'? Do their parents have something to do with the activity around them?"
A nod was her answer.
"So, do you know who their parents are?" Mai asked tentatively.
The woman shook her head. She got to her feet, roaming the small room. "No, I do not know who their parents are, but that boy does," she said, stopping to stare at the picture of herself. A heavy sigh left her chest.
"Boy? Who do you mean?" Mai asked, confusion crowding out any annoyance or anger that had lingered after the spirit's arrival.
The woman looked over at her. She walked over to where Mai stood and somehow pulled Mai's hand away from her chest to reveal the picture. She cradled Mai's hand in her gentle yet icy palm, and pointed to the boy being leaned on.
"Naru? He knows who their parents are?" Mai asked incredulously.
"Yes." The woman smiled at her before removing her hands. "Sorry for making you so cold."
"I'm not cold," Mai began to retort before realizing that her hands felt like they're been encased in blocks of ice. Goose bumps ran up and down her arms and legs. Somewhere along the line, she'd begun to shiver violently. The woman motioned towards the quilt with a smile. Mai smiled back sheepishly, pulling the quilt from the bed and pulling her around her shoulders. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," she said, moving to stand beside Mai. She stared out the window, watching the rain pour down and the lightning flash in the distance. It was still far enough away that the thunder couldn't be heard.
"Will you… will you help me with something?" Mai finally mustered up the courage to ask. When the woman nodded, she continued. "Would you please go out there and keep Tamaki safe? I'll go down to the kitchen and watch over Kamin."
"Of course," she said and flitted out the closed window just as three scream emanated from the kitchen.
…..
Ayako and Masako walked into base followed closely by two munchkins. "Hey, where'd Mai go?" Ayako immediately asked after entering. She glared over at Naru as she sat down. "Did you do something to piss her off again?" She was spitting fire already even though she'd just gotten back. Kamin giggled behind Masako's legs.
He shrugged, staring intently at the monitors. He was blocking a certain one, the one to the bedroom they'd slept in that night, with his body making it impossible to see. Not getting answers out of him, Ayako turned her glare on Monk, Yasu, and John who were decked out in rubber boots and raincoats.
They shrunk away from her glare. They hurried over to Tamaki saying, "Hey Tamaki, can you help us with something outside for a moment? We need to get some stuff from the orchard for the lake." They all smiled encouragingly at the boy who nodded in agreement.
As he was dressing down, Masako turned to Kamin. "Kamin, can you help Ayako and me do the dishes please? We could really use your help," she told her, smiling.
"Okay!" Kamin said enthusiastically, grinning widely.
"Hold it!" Ayako called as the boys started out the door. They froze in their tracks, turning slowly back towards her. "Where. Is. Mai?" She asked slowly, enunciating every syllable.
"After you and Masako left, she stormed out. We don't know where she is now. Probably in your guy's bedroom," John explained before hustling out of base with the other three. They hurried down the hall and stairs, and out into the light sprinkle that had just started up.
Ayako watched them scurry away disdainfully. "Do you always have to pull at Mai's nerves?" she yelled at Naru in annoyance. She didn't stay to hear his answer. Instead, she motioned for Masako and Kamin to follow her. They headed for the kitchen, quiet as they walked through the door.
"Why's Mai-chan mad?" Kamin suddenly asked as she hopped onto the stool beside the sink. She picked up a dish towel and waited patiently for Masako or Ayako to hand her a dish.
"I don't know, Kamin," Ayako said with a heavy sigh, "Your dad just seems to do a phenomenal job of pushing her buttons. I think he secretly enjoys it when she yells at him." By now she was talking more to Masako than Kamin.
"Daddy likes Mai-chan a whole lot. She also likes Daddy a whole lot," Kamin said matter-of-factly, drying a bowl Masako passed to her.
The two women exchanged raised eyebrows. "So Kamin, how did you figure that out?" Ayako asked casually, keeping her eyes focused on the cup she was currently washing.
"When we all sleep together, and Daddy thinks we're all asleep, he'll stay up to watch Mai-chan and stroke her hair. They hold hands when they're sleeping too, and Daddy gets really worried about Mai-chan. He's always watching her too," Kamin explained happily, setting the bowl to the side and picking up the cup Ayako had just handed her.
Masako and Ayako watched her with wide, shocked eyes. They certainly hadn't expected that to come out of her mouth. They'd expected her to be vigilant, but not so vigilant it was almost up to par with the great narcissist himself.
"He also says her name a lot when he's dreaming," she added as an afterthought before looking at the two women and smiling mischievously, "I know who likes you too."
"What? Who?" they cried together, staring at the little girl hopefully.
"Bou-san likes Ayako-san, and Yasu-san like Masako-chan," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, smiling at the women's stunned expression.
"No he doesn't!" they cried together.
"Uh huh!" Kamin shouted back, pulling herself to her full three feet something inches, standing her ground.
"What do you know? You're five!" Ayako sputtered, standing in front of the girl with her hands on her hips.
"More than you!" Kamin countered, splashing water at her.
"Hey!" Ayako cried, splashing water back and hitting Masako full in the face instead. She now looked like a drowned mouse causing Ayako to burst into laughter and Kamin to giggle uncontrollably.
Masako was stunned for a moment. With deliberate slowness, she wiped the water out of her face and pushed her wet hair back. She glared menacingly at Ayako, her eyes shining with revenge. "I'm going to get you back for that," she whispered ominously before shooting her hand out and grabbing the spray nozzle. She pulled it from its place and shot water at Ayako who let out an indignant shriek.
"Why you little…!" she cried just as Kamin threw more water in her face, "I'm going to kill both of you!" She took bowls of water from the sink and tossed them at Masako and Kamin who let out twin screams of surprise.
Their water war continued for several minutes. By the end, the kitchen itself was soaking wet. All three girls were drenched, dripping water on the already overly wet floor. They were finally getting back to what they were supposed to be doing. They were just finishing up when they heard the clanking and cracking. They went still.
That's when the window shattered. Shards flew towards them. They all dropped to the floor letting out screams of fear.
…..
Mai ran from the room, the quilt forgotten on the floor, and instantly crashed into Naru. "What's happening?" she asked, all her anger at him forgotten. He kept his hand on her wrist, pulling her towards the kitchen as they ran.
"I don't know," he answered over his shoulder.
They reached the kitchen in a matter of seconds. Lin threw the door open revealing the three cowering females by the sink on the other side of the kitchen. Glass shards littered the floor and flew through the air. Water, knives, bowls and cups accompanied the shards, swirling through the air, and coming dangerously close to the three girls.
"Mai, stay here," Naru ordered, pushing her back as she made to run into the mess, "Lin, go fetch the others. Now!"
Lin nodded and sprinted out the front door into the downpour. Mai stood by anxiously as Naru bobbed and weaved around flying glass and other things, occasionally knocking something off-course with a smack of his sleeve-covered arm. Standing over the three females, he pulled Kamin into his chest and helped the other two to their feet, knocking a piece of glass out of the way that was headed straight for Masako.
They ran from the room. Mai slammed the door shut, a knife lodging itself in it just as it clicked shut. About three inches of the blade stuck through the door. They breathed heavily, sprawling on the floor. Kamin lay on Naru's chest, soaking him as well.
The men burst through the door. "What happened?" Monk cried, running to help Ayako sit up. He checked her over for injuries. He only found a shallow cut on her cheek and arm.
Yasu hurried to help Masako up, and Tamaki rushed to Kamin. He pulled her into a tight hug, not caring that she was soaking wet. John ran to get the medical kit. Mai scooted over to Naru, helping him sit up and then checking him for injuries. Out of the four, he'd fared the worst.
He had cut all up and down his legs. A cut marred his pale cheek and parallel cuts ran across the side of his neck. All of the cuts were shallow, but bleeding profusely.
Monk cleared his throat, turning pink as he noticed the way Ayako's clothes clung tightly to her body, and how her shirt had nearly gone see-through. "Why are you, uh, all wet?" he asked sheepishly, handing her his jacket and looking the other way.
Ayako and Masako exchanged glances. "Uh… water war?" Masako said, her statement coming out as more of a question.
"And you guys didn't invite me? How unfair," Yasu pouted, sticking out his bottom lip. Monk and the rest just looked lost.
"We'll explain after we take showers and clean our wounds," Ayako said, pressing Monk's jacket to her front. She ran a hand down her face before getting to her feet. She uncharacteristically hauled Masako to hers.
…..
Several hours later, they all sat in base. They were all in their comfiest clothes which ranged from sweats to pajamas so loose pants. Mai sat with Naru, the twins leaning heavily on the two of them. Masako and Ayako had just finished recounting what had happened in the kitchen. Silence filled the space.
It was broken by Naru's next question. "Takigawa, Father Brown, Yasu, anything significant happen?" He looked at the three males who were seated on the floor in front of the coffee table.
They shook their heads.
"I believe we may be dealing with two spirits," he said, though he hardly believed it himself. There was too much evidence going against such a conclusion, but he was reluctant to divulge what he truly thought because that would mean actually having to admit that he thought the twins were related to him. The team would immediately jump to the conclusion that they were his children. He was not ready to face that, and having to explain who he truly was.
Mai and Masako broke in at the same time. "No, there's only one spirit," they said in unison.
Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This story should be over in the next couple chapters. Then it's onto the short three chapters (I think) story I have planned. Review please! :D
P.S. ~I think I'm repealing what I said about going on a hiatus. I have no idea where to start on rewriting that other story so I'm just going to put it off. It's not like I'm going to do anything with it anytime soon *shrugs*