Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt
A/N: One more chapter before the epic battle...
The Natsuma residence was currently under siege. It was under siege by what Sho called it 'the attack from the library'. Nothing but books were spread across the living room. Tall stacks along with mountains of paper. It was the kind of thing that drove Sho crazy. It began to after a few days. To which Sayuri ignore her ward and told him to be quiet as it would help with researching on how to break the Konoe family curse. To that, Sho dove into helping Sayuri, Lin, Naru, Gene, Mai, and the others. Everyone was taking turns on finding a way to help Sayuri break her family curse without...too much damage.
It was nervous wreak for Sayuri.
On top of that, Kyo had not return.
That was what really bothered her. Sayuri expressed her worry to Lin. Lin looked concerned. Sayuri had been unsure as to what Kyo's disappearance meant. And there really was no way to contact him. One of them did propose to somehow summon Kyo. But with what information was found on the spirit of Satoshi, no one was willing to face a dark force without knowing how to defeat it. It could easily come as Kyo. It did haunt Sayuri's nightmares before.
"This is so frustrating!" Mai closed her book with a loud 'thud'. Today, only Mai, Sayuri, Tsubaki, and Ayako were left to look on. There was a list of ideas left on a sheet of paper. It had three so far, leaving much of the paper blank. It halfway discourage the group. Sayuri closed her book with a sigh.
"I think you girls need a break." Everyone looked to see Felicity standing there holding a tray.
"Mrs. Davis. I haven't heard you come in."
"I decided to stop by after picking Sho up from school." Said boy pop up from behind Mrs. Davis. He went over, giving his adopted mother and sister a hug.
"Thank you," Sayuri is handed a cup.
"Here, take a break. You look like you need it."
"But-" Sayuri is cut off by the look on Mrs. Davis' face. She sighed, taking a sip from the tea.
"It looks like all you girls need a break. How about we take a moment to reenergize. I believe that will help with the nervousness and anxiety."
"How can I relax when I feel like time is running out?" Sayuri sighed.
"Sayuri, I know it feels that way but you can't help anyone if your own spiritual energy is a wreak," Mrs. Davis grabbed the young woman's hand, "take a moment to breath."
Sayuri took the moment to relax.
"What would I give to go to a nice spa and just relax?" Ayako stretched her legs.
"Mm hmm, a chance to just renew your spirit and body." Tsubaki cracked her neck.
"I think I can solve that problem," All the girls and Sho looked up to see who was speaking. Mai had gotten up to answer the door. It turned out to be Katsuro. He recently got a hold of a friend to happened to love Sayuri's books. They offer to take Sayuri and some of her closest friends out for a spa day.
That's when Sho is quietly packed up to be stuck with the boys. The girls all reassure their male companions that they were going to go have fun. Sayuri liked the idea. Any thing to get her mind off of a curse that she was having trouble solving. The place Katsuro had told them about was high atop a hill just a few miles from town. It was a beautiful old place, recently remodeled after the new owners bought it from the family it used to belong to.
The walls gave a eerie yet mystical feeling to it.
"Oh it's beautiful up here," Tsubaki and Mai commented the moment they got out of the vehicle. The view held a nice scenery of the local area.
"Welcome!"
Ayako, Mai, Tsubaki, and Sayuri were welcome by a lovely woman in a kimono. The entire place smelled fresh.
"You have a beautiful spa and hotel, Madame." Sayuri commented to their hostess.
"Thank you! It's wonderful, isn't it? You used to belong to a very old family. Once they even held a hospital here. It held a certain healing air to it. I just hope it can still do the same in today's world as it did in the old."
The girls chattered happily, with Ayako grinning. Sayuri lagged behind, studying the old architecture along with the new. It was something alright. A mixture of a by gone era mix with modern technology. She walked by a slim hallway. Just as she heard Mai giggle, she looked back. Sayuri felt the familiar panic.
A lone figure stood in the hallway. A woman like figure with dark hair resembling a terrifying little girl who came out of television sets. But the woman looked up. She wasn't scary. Just...she looked sick. She held a finger to her lips for Sayuri to not speak a word before vanishing.
A ghost.
There was a ghost in the spa.
Great.
It was going to bother her through the entire trip. Why couldn't she just have one week or two to herself without dealing with-
"Earth to Sayuri. You alright in there? Relax your mind," Tsubaki told her.
"I will," Sayuri sighed.
She tried her best to do what her friends wanted her to. But her mind was wheeling about the ghost. Well, it hadn't come back to her. Soon, the thoughts of the spirit left her mind as she enjoyed being pampered. The girls enjoyed themselves very well. Everyone seem to be in a better mood once they were all tucked away in their robes and pjs, enjoying the wonderful dinner that was prepare for them. The look out from the giant suite they shared gave a beautiful view of the hills and forests that surround the spa. Sayuri continue to enjoy the serenity of it up until everyone was tucked away in their beds.
Her mind couldn't settle. Her small book light was prop up so that she could write in the dark. She was busy working on a next idea for a new novel. The moment she came down with a scene in mind, the door to their room unlock and creaked opened.
Sayuri looked up, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
The sickly girl ghost from before was standing in the door frame. She beckon with one hand to come.
She sighed, knowing it was just better to go along with it or...
Fear closed up around her as she left a note for the girls. It was just in case she came across something...
Sinister.
The sickly girl smiled as Sayuri went to the door frame. The girl then beckon for her to follow. Sayuri followed the spirit down the halls of the building. Everything was quiet with all able bodies asleep. It looked so eerie yet beautiful in the moonlight that came through the large glass windows.
"Where are you taking me?" The ghost was taking her to a part of the spa she hadn't seen before. They walked outside. Sayuri ignored the chill, following the girl under the enclosure to another part of the building. The plant life was beginning to slowly take over, enclosing itself around the outside of the building.
The part of the building where the sick girl was taking her look to be halfway abandon. It had not been remodeled yet.
"Wh...why am I here? Do you need help?" Sayuri asked.
The sick girl shook her head.
"Then what is it?"
"Do you know Yuri?" The question was innocent. Sayuri smiled before thinking of her answer.
"I don't think I know a Yuri but why do you asked?"
"Because," The sick girl smiled, "you look just like her."
"Wha...what?" Sayuri's eyes widen, "what do you mean?"
There was only one 'Yuri' that Sayuri looked like. Her ancestor, Yuri. The lovely woman who...
Sayuri shook her head.
"Wh...why do you need to know why I know her? I don't...I mean. I am her many times great neice." Sayuri answered. Her voice quivered as the sick girl beckoned. There was a feeling of dread as she walked down the shadowed corridors. Sayuri heard whispers floating through the air and through the walls. There were still souls here. They knew she could hear and see them.
"They won't hurt you." The sick girl answered.
"Wh-why am I here?" Sayuri asked, "You seem very vague about all of this."
Sayuri blinked when she realized she was in a high ceiling room. It was fairly large for the accommodations. The faint lights that were outside was drifting in beams to light up some of the shadows. The sick girl finally takes Sayuri by the wrist. The touch was gently as she lead Sayuri over to a wall.
"You need to touch the wall and see the past," The sick girl frowned, "you don't know the whole story."
"But how do you-" Sayuri is left alone.
She looked at the wall. The years of wear and tear on it, the several layers showing the decades that had pass. She gave a sigh. She reached out to the wall. Her palm laid against the cold stone, plaster, and paper. Her breath left her the moment she touched it, feeling the energy. Her eyes flickered for a moment as a vision comes.
Sayuri immediately lets go of the wall as she hears a woman screaming. She whirled around to see a different time. Yuri was in a bed. Several nurses were gather around. The poor woman was sweating, looked like she was in pain. Sayuri saw the bump under the sheets.
"You'll have to push, Lady Yuri!" One small nurse called to her as they gather around to help her.
Yuri...was giving birth.
Wait, she...was...pregnant?
Sayuri watched as Yuri tried her best to bring her child into the world.
"C'mon Auntie! Push!" Sayuri had the thought her words wouldn't reached her but it was the thought that counted. Soon a beautiful baby boy was born into the world. Sayuri watched as Yuri smiles, crying tears of joy at the sight of her newborn child.
"You are so beautiful. My precious son," Yuri touched his cheek, brushing a kiss on his tiny head.
The nurses quickly left as a figure stood in the doorway. Sayuri recognized the man as the guard. The nurses didn't speak as they left the room, giving them quiet.
"Look Love," Yuri looked up at him.
He knelt down to the bedside. He kisses Yuri then took his baby boy in his arms. Sayuri smiled.
The guard was the father.
"He will grow up strong like his father," Yuri smiled.
The guard gave a smile to her, "and smart like his mother."
"He'll be so handsome! All the village girls will come flocking to be his wife," The tiny family sat together. Sayuri smiled. No wonder Yuri had fainted. She had been pregnant. But did her family know? Is that why they sent her away? They wanted to keep it a secret? Sayuri saw the scene changed. It was dark now. She wasn't sure about what day it was. Yuri was sitting up reading a letter. She looked so sad.
"Your family loves you, Yuri. They...they just want you to get better," Sayuri pondered out loud as the woman began to cry.
"Sister," Sayuri felt the blood drain from her face. Satoshi stood in the doorway, drape in a hood cloak. Yuri reached for him as he knelt down. Yuri cried on his shoulder as he held her to sooth her heartache.
"Oh Brother, why won't they come? I know they have to be so ashamed but a son! A son! They'll be happy for a son!"
"Sister, only I truly understand. He will be," Satoshi paused, "wonderful."
The next scene wanted Sayuri to throw up her stomach. It was another scene change. Satoshi had been holding the baby as his sister slept. What happened next Sayuri closed her eyes.
He had killed his own nephew.
"You monster!" Sayuri cried as it was the next day with Yuri holding her died infant in her arms.
"You son of a bitch!" Sayuri growled.
It wasn't long as Yuri's depression finally took her. Sayuri felt her heart break.
"He took your life from you on purpose," Sayuri saw Satoshi in the room again as his sister's body was cover with sheets. Sayuri glared at her uncle, wondering what kind of monster would do this to his own sister. His sister! She was family!
"I hope you burn in hell for this."
"Well, it's not the first time I heard those words uttered."
Sayuri froze as Satoshi turned to stare at her. She backed away as his eyes glowed eerily like an animal's.
"What's wrong, niece? Scared of a ghost?" He chuckled, "Oh you have no idea what you're up against but I welcome a new challenge. No worries. I can't harm you now but I will love to see your blood over our family's land. My dear sweet sister...she had no idea of the power she was capable of."
"You murdered her! Her son! Her life! She had everything and you snatched it!"
"I had a life!" He yelled back.
The force of his voice knocked Sayuri backed into the wall.
"But they took it from me," Satoshi growled causing Sayuri to slip, "but I soon shall claim the rest of the Konoe family. Don't worry. I'll make sure I take your life quickly. It's the least I can do for my dear brother's family."
Sayuri couldn't wake up from the vision as Satoshi's laughter filled the air. She watched as candles pop up, forming a circle around Yuri's body. It began to float in mid air with strange markings on the ground. Soon the covered body stood up as the sheets fell off around Yuri. Her eyes was what Sayuri noticed.
"You...you're using your dead sister to take revenge."
"Soon, I shall use her...to take you."
"NO!" Sayuri sat up. Tsubaki, Mai, and Ayako gathered around her.
"Easy Sayuri, you were having a horrible one," Ayako touched the young woman's forehead. Tsubaki had noticed something was wrong with Sayuri had been sleep walking. She and Mai had followed. It wasn't long when Tsubaki left her in Mai's care to wake Ayako. Sayuri had tear stains on her face.
"Wha...But...I...damn it," Sayuri fell back onto the pillow.
"Maybe this spa wasn't cut out for ya," Ayako made a face.
They returned home in the middle of the night. Sayuri couldn't feel anything. The visions. The story. Everything was whirling in her head. Mai couldn't shake Sayuri out of it. Monk, Naru, Gene, and the others all came over. Lin ran in the door, kneeling down to Sayuri.
"What happened?" Gene asked, looking at Mai.
"She was sleep walking. Tsubaki and I followed her."
"She was having a vision of some kind." Tsubaki filled them in.
"Sayuri, what did you see?" Lin asked, touching her forehead. The sight of a man with red eyes and a woman with hollowed eyes screaming hit him fully head on. Lin staggered back but went back to her.
"Lin," His dark eyes looked on her.
She looked so weak, with dark circles forming under her eyes.
"He killed her."
"Who...who killed who?"
"Satoshi. He killed his sister...and her son," Sayuri felt the tears come again, "he killed her...to kill them."
Lin just stared as Sayuri continued to sob. Mai tried her best to comfort her. Mai was thankful that Sho was still asleep when they all came over. Lin decided it was best to stay with her until morning to figure out what they could do. Monk and Gene crashed on the couch. The others were left to go home and get some sleep. Lin nudged Sayuri out of the chair and up to the bedroom.
"I want this to be over with," Her voice was cracking.
"I know, we'll find a way."
Sayuri didn't want to respond to that. She knew what she had to do. She had been avoiding the obvious answer for a long time. It wasn't hard to figure out when her own grandfather had attempted to break the curse. Lin laid her down on the bed, tucking her in. She felt him lay down next to her.
She felt more tears silently falling from her eyes.
How could he just stay her with her. If only he knew her thoughts and what she was going to do with them. It wasn't long until she fell asleep with one thought in mind.
My blood is the only way to break the curse...the only way...is to give up my life.