Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt
After the scare with the little girl, the four made their way downstairs to base camp. "She actually appear to you. At the end of the hallway?" Naru was the one asking questions.
"Yeah," Sayuri huddles near Mai, "she look like just as she was when she died. She ask if we were going to help them."
"We're not here to solve a murder. Simply explore that paranormal activity is going on here," Naru frowns.
"Well if dead girls can come back looking like they were ten years ago," Sayuri glares, "then yes."
"We need to know just how many apparitions are here. For sure, the little girl is. Now we have to know about the others," Naru stare at the screens of the rooms and hallways, "why did you make us do that experiment?"
"Because," Sayuri stares into the small cup of water, "how is that seven people didn't hear a gun go off? We knew that many of them weren't asleep at that time. Just how do they die without hearing it coming first?"
"We're not here to solve their murders."
"But what if we did? Huh? Maybe then they'll move on. Maybe that's why they're stuck here because the killer got away and nobody is willing to do anything about it!" Passion rose in her voice, with Sayuri standing up.
"Calm down Miss Natsuma," Naru turns around.
"I can't," Sayuri sniffles, "not when they died like that. If I'm going to do this, I want to be able to help to the point that I know I can't. I'm not doing this ghost hunting gig half-way, Naru."
"So you agree that-"
"I'm not going to agree to much. But I will accept that maybe, just maybe, people get stuck here for a reason. Right now, that little girl and the others are stuck here because of a nut job. Dead or not, I want justice."
The lights fade off and on as if the spirits hear Sayuri's words.
"Right now," Naru seems unfazed by Sayuri's speech, "I need a sweep of the rooms. Everyone go in pairs."
Naru arrange it that Sayuri be paired with Monk in case of an apparition attack. Mai was with John and Ayako was stuck being Masako's partner again.
"Guess it's just you and me now," Monk and her head upstairs.
"Yeah," Sayuri frowns, "sorry if I got carried away. I..."
"You feel for them," Monk nudges her, "you want them to move on. Not be stuck in a cramp hotel until the end of the world. You're being human. It's normal to feel for some of the spirits."
They head upstairs towards the newlyweds suite.
"Did you guys ever have a case where all of you felt emotional to?"
"Yeah," Monk frowns, "there was one. A little boy at a church. His spirit was haunting the grounds. We couldn't find his body. He had played hide and seek with the others, disappearing. His body was found up near the roof hiding behind the angels. Nobody thought to look up there."
A wave of emotion hits her in the chest.
"That's horrible."
"He move on," Monk swallows the lump in his throat, "resting in peace and hopefully finding his father."
Sayuri nods when Monk opens the door. Over the years, the hotel had redecorated since the murders. It look less tacky, feeling more like a place for a newly married couple to spend the night there. A large king size bed is place near a pair of large windows. Everything was all white and cream with accent colors of soft blues and reds.
"Wait," Sayuri pauses, "why did we get stuck with the newlyweds?"
"Because," Monk checks his clipboard, "apparently we are closer in age to them and that its easier to talk to us then a teenage girl and a priest."
"Good point." Sayuri felt the heat from her face leave.
"Why?" Monk smirks, "didn't want to be alone with me?"
"You're actually teasing me in the honeymoon suite? Real romantic Takigawa."
"You're still blushing," Monk pokes one of her cheeks.
"Stop it!"
The smell of roses and burnt candles fills the room. Sayuri felt her nose twitch, daring to sneeze. Monk stares around the room.
"Hello? Mr. and Mrs. Takeno? We're sorry to disturb you but..." Monk pauses, staring at Sayuri to continue. She jumps, wondering what to say to a couple of newly wed ghosts.
"Uh...well...we're investigating the hotel," Sayuri picks up, feeling odd for talking to air, "we just want to know why you're still here. Why you haunt this place?"
Soft music begins to play.
"Are they serious?" Monk chuckles, "either they're setting the mood for themselves or us."
"Guys," Sayuri blushes, "We're not...I mean...we're...would you please say something to them?"
"Uh uh," He leans against the wall, "not when it gets you all flustered. You look adorable getting all bashful."
"I am not bashful," Sayuri jabs him right in the chest with her finger, "and quit flirting with me."
"Me? Flirt? With you?" Monk's eyes look playful.
"Takigawa..." She growls.
The music gets a little louder with the candles in the room lighting up. The two watch as the windows open to let in a little breeze. The gauze curtains float in the air. Suddenly Monk reaches across to Sayuri, touching the top of her head. The brunette stares at him, puzzled. Monk holds up a rose petal.
The petals were all over the place now.
"Well," Monk comments, turning off his flashlight, "that's new. Never had petals appear out of nowhere."
"We're not getting anywhere," Sayuri comments.
"They both were found dead over there," Monk points to the bed.
"We're not going to-" Sayuri gets drag across the room.
"Oh yes we are," Monk sits her down, "we're sitting here. They died here so it's probably a better guess that they'll talk to us here."
"If I hear any sounds that doesn't sound like talking," Sayuri blushes, "I'm leaving the room and letting the ghosts do their thing."
Sayuri turns away, hearing him chuckle. A loud smack is heard as Monk holds his head.
"You deserve that," Sayuri glares.
"Just teasing," Monk winces.
"Okay," Sayuri sighs, "now I feel stupid. I'm sitting here in the honeymoon suite with you and all the ghosts are doing is setting the mood. Yeah, I feel totally uncomfortable right now."
"What?" Monk nudges her leg with his, "not attracted to me?"
"You're cute," Sayuri comments, "but annoying."
"At least you think I'm cute."
"Shut up, Takigawa!"
Monk's face suddenly turns serious as he grabs her wrist, dragging her gently towards the bed and tossing her smaller frame on it. Sayuri turns several shades of red, especially when Monk leans on the edge with his knees, pinning her by her shoulders and hovering over her with a smirk.
"T-Takigawa...what are you doing?" Her voice falters.
He places a finger to her lips and looks up, seeing a shimmer in the air beside the bed.
Her heart was racing as she looks towards the shimmer. She could barely make out an outline of a woman.
"Looks like it's working..." Monk says, leaning down closer.
Strands of his dirty blond locks tickle Sayuri's face as she grit her teeth, eyes flashing dangerously.
"The only thing that is working is you tryin' something you don't wanna... not unless you really want your teeth knocked out."
"If we don't," Monk whispers, "then we won't be able to talk to them or get any reactions."
"After this is over," She growls, "I'm kicking your sorry butt."
Brown eyes close partway, "I'm not tryin' to hurt you...or play with your feelings... this is for the case."
Unsure if she was supposed to feel relieved or insulted, Sayuri glances towards the outline.
"Okay," the word came out a whimper.
Monk leans down, brushing his lips across hers. Sayuri felt a tinge of regret. She also realize that the video camera was still on. She knew Mai and Ayako were never going to let her live it down. Lips met lips. Her breath got stuck in her throat. His smell was really good to begin with.
She hears a rustling near the bed, hoping it was the bride that was moving around.
Monk feels a shiver, not sure if it was from the kiss or from the icy cold touch on his shoulder. He pulls back, turning his head to see the young woman looking down at him solemnly.
"Young love... so sweet..." she whispers, her eyes glossing over, though no tears fell.
"We wanna help... tell us, please, what happened." Sayuri feels grateful for the interruption, trying to ignore the underlying disappointment.
"The door open with a loud bang," The groom frowns, "then...sharp pain...blood..."
"You didn't hear a gun go off?"
"What gun?" The bride looks puzzled.
Grey eyes met brown.
"Tell us more, all that you can remember."
"A man...he..." The bride brings her hand to her mouth, "very dark...but...scary."
"What do you mean dark?" Sayuri sits up, "like...you couldn't see him?"
"A dark massed shape like a man," the groom stands next to his bride now.
The images of the bride and groom were becoming more and more realistic. Sayuri holds a hand to her mouth when she spies the holes in each of them. The bride stares with wide eyes.
"The others saw the same thing too," she whispers, lip quivering, "a scary man who was nothing but black...he was holding something...I couldn't tell what it was."
"The police believe it was a gun," Sayuri frowns, "I'm so sorry."
The bride's eyes look down.
Sayuri felt her eyes begin to water up.
"Can you remember anything else?" Monk asks.
Sayuri felt surprised by his tone. It was tender and genuinely grief stricken.
The groom frowns, nodding. "The man...he felt...I could feel his anger. So much hate and fury."
"The little girl...she said you saw her," the bride stares at Sayuri, "most people don't."
Sayuri felt a shiver, "Yeah... strange for me too..."
"She says you have an...angel following you around." the bride's eyes light for a moment.
"A what now?"
"He's very kind," the bride sees her husband turn to the clock, "we must rest for now."
The groom and bride fade back into nothing, leaving the two alone the room again. Sayuri finally let out a breath, falling back onto the bed.
She could give a guess who this angel was.
"Kyo..." she murmurs
She rubs her hands over her face, making a noise. She parts her fingers to stare at Monk. He was writing down what the two ghosts had told him. She begins to play with the clues. From what the ghosts told them, and her own experience at writing ghost stories, it sounded like the murderer was a spirit as well.
Well... that helped.
At least she thinks it did.
"Sayuri," Monk leans over her, smiling, "was that so bad?"
She looks away, shoving him back. "Just keep your distance, Takigawa! Especially if you don't want dentures!"
Monk smirks, grabbing her wrists, "Now now, no punching me in the mouth on the job."
Her eyes shift, "I was thinking of using my shoe." Squirming free, the brunette turns to storm out of the suite.
Monk sighs, picking up a remaining rose petal and inhaling the scent.
It wasn't so bad for him.
"Women," he grumbles, before leaving the suite.
Sayuri heads her way where Mai and John were at. The room of the three teens. Just as she was about to reach for the knob, the door flies open. Mai stomps out. The strong smell of cigarettes hits Sayuri's nose and mouth, causing her to cough.
"What the hell...?" Sayuri covers her mouth.
"They're horrible!" Mai shakes her fists, "You hear me? You three are horrible!"
John was covering his mouth and sends a pleading look at Sayuri. Sayuri rushes into the room. Her hands find the window, opening it. The strong cloud of smoke leaves the room via window. The scent still remain but it wasn't as strong. The radio suddenly clicks on to some rock music. The volume is turn up just way too loud.
"Knock it off you three!" She yells, "that was a priest that was in here."
She could have sworn she heard chuckling.
"So?" a female voice giggles.
"We're having fun," a male voice talks.
"In the afterlife," the second male voice bubble over with laughter.
A vein throbs in her temple, wondering what to do. She could barely figure out how to raise an eight-year-old boy. How on earth could she possibly take on three rowdy teenage ghosts?
"Tell me about the guy who killed you three?"
The chuckling stop and so did the music.
The girl appears, making everyone jump. A large black and bloody wound is where part of her skull use to be. Her eyes were blood shot with blood everywhere.
"He was dark... and a horrid, horrid monster."
The first boy appears. Two large gaping holes are where his chest use to be.
"He carried something," He plays with a lighter, "it was shape like a gun...but it couldn't be."
"Not sure...what it was. It hurt... a lot." The second boy appears, smoking a cigarette. Sayuri recalls their names as Eiji, Jyou, and Mika.
"I'm sorry for what happen to you. We need to know about the scary man. The Takenos-"
"Ah, the love birds," The one smoking the cigarette stops, "yeah...sucks for what happen to them too."
"And Kira and her mother," Mika frowns.
"Dude!" The one with the lighter, "did you see that?"
"See what?" The other boy's eyes widen, "wow..."
"I feel safe now," Mika smiles.
The clock in the room chimes.
"Alright times up," All three stare at them, "you better find out what happen. We really like to move on."
"Yeah to that big rock concert in the sky," the boys fade with the girl waving.
"I like your guardian angel," Mika giggles, "He's cute!"
"How come ghosts are seeing him and not me?" Sayuri comments after the smell and the teens vanished. Monk pats her on the shoulder. John, now able to breath, told her not to worry, that she'll see Kyo in time. Mai is puzzled as to why the ghost were able to see the 'angel' floating around Sayuri.
Movement out of the corner of her eyes catches a glimpse of a tall man with dark hair.
"Mai?" The others stop walking to see that she was still staring down the hallway, "we got to go and tell Naru what we found out."
"Right," Mai continues to look over her shoulder as they head back downstairs.
When everyone gather in the lobby, Monk and Sayuri went over the evidence the Takenos gave them. Also the information the teens said about the scary man. Masako had manage to contact the little girl and her mother, who said the exact same thing.
The receptionist manage to tell little, but it was the same as the others.
Something had killed them that could or could not be entirely human.
"The only one left is Osama," Naru speaks, "we tried to contact him but he won't appear. My guess is that he's moved on since then or does not wish to speak to us."
"He was mostly a loner," Sayuri comments, "after his wife died and his kids move out of the house. He likes to keep to himself, mostly trying to write his next novel. Don't feel bad if he doesn't want to talk to you."
"I heard that," a male voice causes all of them to jump.
A older man with grey hair sits in one of the plush chairs near the fireplace. His entire being look see through yet they could make out the details of his facial expression.
"Sorry that we-"
"It's alright," The newspaper finds itself back on the coffee table, "I figure someone would come by to investigate after all the racket we been making over the years."
"Could you tell us anything else about who killed you and the others?" Naru asks.
The former horror novelist frowns, "Did they tell you that he was one black son of bitch that had enough fury to burn down the whole town? Of course they did. You ghost hunters are lot different then the others. There is one thing that you should know. I could pick up on it the moment he was in the hotel."
"And that is?"
"He's just as dead as the rest of us," Osama tilts his head up.
All the lights in the hotel went on and off when everything dims, creating a creepy scenery.
"How do you know that?"
"Because I try to shot him. The bullet went right through him. I always carry a gun with me. Since my wife died, I wasn't going to take any chances of getting mugged. When the bullet went through him, I knew I was going die."
"Anything else?"
The strong smell of death hangs in the air. Everyone tries to cover their mouth and nose, hurrying away from the ghost into the conference room.
"Be careful."
"Alright we have to find out what this spirit is," Naru looks to Lin and Monk, "we have to find if there is a source where this spirit is coming from. John, stay here with everyone. We'll be right back. If anything happens, contact us."
The group leaves.
Sayuri ponders over the statement that was given to them. She quickly grabs her phone out of her pocket, hitting speed dial on her phone.
"What are you doing?" Ayako asks.
"Shh," Sayuri hears the voice on the other end, "Ritsuke?"
"Well hello beautiful," A warm male voice comes over the speaker, "haven't heard from you in a while."
"Hello to you too, handsome," Sayuri chuckles.
She stops giggling as she gets strange looks from the others in the room. Sayuri clears her throat, putting the phone on speaker, "Hey Ritsuke...I'm here at the Ehime Hotel. I...uh...I need you to look up something for me."
"Sure," His voice pauses, "why are you at a haunted hotel?"
"Because Katsuro is a jerk," Sayuri chews on her lip, "and I'm ghost hunting."
Ritsuke begins to laugh over the phone, "You? Ghost Hunting? Are you pulling my leg?"
"No I'm not," Sayuri blushes, "I'm helping out Shibuya Psychic Research with the-"
"Murder case," Ritsuke chuckles.
"So you have heard of it?" Mai speaks up.
"You got me on speaker phone, don't you Yuri?" Ritsuke chuckles, "and just who may I be speaking to?"
"Mai Taniyama," Mai speaks, "and how are you?"
"Detective Ritsuke Satoru," His voice was dripping with sexiness, "I'm an old friend of Sayuri's."
"Old friend or boyfriend." Ayako speaks.
"And who is the lovely lady with the sweet voice I hear talking to me?" Ayako blushes, "Ayako Matsuzaki..."
"Nice to meet you. Okay, I'll get introductions later. What is that you need me to look up Sayuri?"
"Anything about any deaths since the time that the hotel has been open," Sayuri looks over the files, "we...have a hunch."
"Sure," Ritsuke is hear typing away on a computer, "on it. I'll call you back once I got something."
"Thanks," Sayuri hangs up, with eyes staring at her, "what?"
Ayako and Mai gives her knowing looks.
"He's like a big brother to me," Sayuri sweat drops, "we do that whole other thing because it's a inside joke to us. Don't judge me."
"Wasn't going to-" The lights flicker again, with loud knocking and banging.
John looks out the windows of the conference room into the lobby. He raises his arms, ready to defend off whatever it was that was coming.
"Uh oh," Mai had a bad feeling in her gut.
The banging was getting louder and louder. Everyone huddles down in the conference room, ready for whatever to come.
A little voice is heard, "he's coming."
That's when all hell breaks loose in the hotel when a door from the basement bangs open.
A dark mass comes out roaring with a gun shape object in his hand. The boys suddenly appear out of nowhere. The mass screams as Monk chants and John leaps into it with him. The mass slowly takes human shape, revealing a very tall, big male figure with a monster face and red burning eyes. A dark aura hangs around him, smelling of death, fear, and hate.
The gun is more visible now, slowly lowering to the group at face level.
"Shit!" Sayuri jumps up, "Monk! John!"
A loud gunshot goes off with her and Mai screaming for them.
The lights all go out.