Me: Hi!
naru: You actually updated pretty early for once.
Me: Shut. Up.
Gene: Yeah Noll, be happy for once!
Naru: *rolls eyes*
Mai: Silver doesn't own Ghost Hunt. Please R&R!
Mai's POV:
"Great, here we go again." I sighed, looking around at the dark and empty void that once again became my dream zone. It was the same as always. Darkness and random floating lights that I now knew were souls.
"Mai?" a familiar voice asked, making me spin around and look in surprise at the visiter that came to join me.
"Gene, what are you doing here?" I asked, running over to man that was the spitting image of my boss. I pulled him into a hug, happy to see someone else in this field that was alive and not just a memory. He returned the hug, but when we pulled apart rose a brow in question.
"A better question is what are you doing here?" he asked, eyeing me with suspicion as if this were the first time we ever met in the astral plane.
"Having a dream about the case, same old same old, but I thought you could only come here if you were dead."
"I don't know. Noll told me that I've been your guide, but I don't remember it at all." he confessed, a look of pure confusion etched on his face. I couldn't understand how he couldn't remember, but then again, I sometimes had problems remembering my dreams from cases myself. Looking at him, I shrugged and sighed.
"Weird."
"Yeah." he said, laughing nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. Suddenly the scenery changed and morphed into the cave Kaguya and I had just been to. "Looks like it's starting."
We looked around for anything to move when the sounds of shuffling reached our ears. The soft sound echoed off the walls, confusing the direction of where it was coming from. Finally, after looking around the cave for a good while, a young woman came into view. She was shuffling down the cave with a blank expression and I couldn't help but feel that she wasn't completely there.
"What's she doing?" I mumbled, watching her intently as she passed by us and continued on deeper into the cave.
"I don't know. She looks to be in a trance though." he said, narrowing his eyes at his suspicions.
As she passed, we followed her on the same trail that Kaguya had brought me down earlier today. Looking around it didn't seem like too much has changed in the years since this death, but then again, I didn't know how long it took caves to form and change in the first place. We came up to the cliff area and I heard Gene take in a sharp breath at the sight. It made me raise a brow in question at him. When I looked back though I understood as a large white mass shaped just like a flame hovered above the ledge.
"Is that a foxfire?!" I asked, startled but the shear size of the spirit before us. he nodded in response and I gulped not liking it one bit.
"I think so."
Watching from the entrance to the little cove, movement from the corner of my eye drew my attention and I realized that the girl was still walking, heading straight for the foxfire ahead of us.
"No, don't go there! Run away!" I shouted, launching from my place next to Gene in an attempt to catch her and keep her from the spirit.
"Mai!" Gene cried, latching onto my hand and pulling me back from my attempt at a rescue.
"Gene, let go, I need to help her!" I said, trying to get my hand free from his grip. However, I seriously underestimated his strength as his hold only tightened and made me wince in pain from all the pressure put on my wrist.
"It already happened Mai." he said, the guarded look of detachment in his eyes that I had only seen before in his brother's. It took me aback and halt my retreat as what he said registered in my head. Slowly my struggle came to a stop, and just when I was calm enough a horrified shriek rang through the air.
"No!" I screamed, turning around just in time to see the girl fall off the cliff and to the water below.
Gene took this chance to wrap his arm around my waist and keep me here instead of racing off to the ledge myself to check on the girl. Not that I could though, for as soon as the splash from the bottom of the cove was heard the scene shifted back to it's neutral backdrop of black and orbs. My knees gave out from watching the death of another soul and not being able to do anything stop it. Gene fell down with me and brought me into a hug as he tried to sooth me with comforting words and murmurs. When I was finally calm enough I pulled away from him and sniffled, finally running out of tears.
"How about you go tell Noll, I'll see if I can find anything out in here." He offered, rubbing the top of my head gently reminding me of how Monk usually calmed me down from the nightmares that I have on cases.
"Okay." I agreed, not wanting to spend anymore time in this place anymore then I had to. He nodded in understanding and let me go completely before standing up and offering me a hand up. Gratefully I took it and stood on my two shaky legs.
"Then I'll see you on the other side" he said, leaving me with his signature smile as I slowly was pulled out of the dream world and into the waking one. Opening my eyes I looked around and found myself in the girls' room. Ayako and Masako were fast asleep and when I looked to the clock it was easy to understand why. It was only six forty three and I could already feel the energy drain that was to come with today's work. Sighing, I swung my legs out from under the covers and headed off to the base knowing that either Lin or Naru would be up. Pushing open the door a crack, the first person I saw was Naru.
"Naru." I called out, stepping into the room and was surprised to see Kaguya and Yasu also up and already active in the day's work. Naru looked up from his book with a brow raised, surprise hidden in those blue orbs of his that I was up at this unholy hour and actually early for once.
"Yes Mai."
"Um, Gene and I had a dream." I said awkwardly, quickly gaining the attention of the trio in the room.
"Where's Gene?" he asked, gesturing for me to take a seat on the couch across from him. Not wanting to deal with his wrath for disobeying him this early in the morning, I graciously followed orders and yawned stretching my hands up above my head.
"He went to go see what else he could pick up in the astral plane and told me to tell you what happened."
"I see, so what was it about this time?" he asked, giving a look to Yasu who pulled out a pen and notepad in position ready to jot down whatever I said just like Lin usually would except with his handy-dandy laptop instead.
Taking a deep breath, I mentally ran everything through my head and began to tell the tale of the girl in the cave. As I was explaining everyone else from the team trickled in. Sleep heavy in their eyes, but as I told the tale of our dream they woke up and became much more alert then before. When I finished, silence filled the room. Naru had his typical thinking face on and I could already see the wheels in his head turning.
"Interesting, Kaguya, do you know this cave?" he asked, breaking the air of silence. Kaguya nodded back to him in response.
"Yep, I go there all the time." she stated, making everyone stop and stare at her.
"Why?" Monk asked, looking at her as if she were crazy to be going there when there was obviously so much stuff going on around the place. However, that didn't really seem to mean anything to her for she simply shrugged and crossed her arms.
"Because I love the magick that it has in there. You may not be able to see it, but it is very easy to feel the different energy in there." she explained, making me sweat drop at how unconcerned she was by the whole thing.
"I assume you can lead us there?" Naru asked, eyeing the strange girl. She nodded in response and he leaned back content with her answer. "Good."
"Yasu." I said, drawing his attention away from his notes. He looked up with a hum and adjusted his glasses.
"Yeah Mai?"
"Can you tell us who was the first recorded death in that cave?" I asked, wondering what he might have found that could have been our dangerous foxfire.
"Sure, according to the articles you girls dug up, it was a girl named Misao Minamiko. Her body was found in the beginning of Meiji 10 right next to the cave bobbing in the waves." he said, reading off from his little notepad. Kaguya and I exchanged glances and although it was pretty far back, it just didm't feel to be quite right. Before I could voice my feelings though a knock on the door startled me.
"That was who we saw in the dream." Gene said from his spot over at the doorway. He was leaning on the doorframe with a serious expression that easily matched his brother's.
"Gene, nice of you to finally join." Naru chided, glaring at his brother for being as late as he was.
"Sorry, brother, but I had some digging to do." he said, just brushed it off as he took a seat next to Kaguya and then pulled her into his lap. "It was Misao Minamiko who we saw die. She was from the higher class of the society here. Well known and well liked. It devastated the community when she died at her thirteenth year." he explained, making my heart launch out for the poor girl.
"So young?"
"Yeah, another one of the deaths was a little girl. Age seven." he added, making Kaguya and myself gasp at the young age.
"Hara-san, do you sense any of these spirits that died here?" Naru asked, looking over at the famous medium who as usual kept quite and watched everyone from the sides. She looked up at him and shook her head.
"No, I only sense the presence of the one that fades in and out of the house." she said, looking at Naru from over her kimono sleeve.
"Strange with the trauma that they experienced it will typically make it so that those killed linger along with their killer."John stated, bringing up a very valid point that I hadn't even thought up of.
"Yeah, I thought it was strange too which is why I searched, but all I had was the memories of the land." Gene said, making this case confuse me more and more.
"Wait, did you say early Meiji 10?" Kaguya suddenly asked, making everyone pause and look at her strangely. Naru however huffed at her and rolled his eyes.
"Yes, please pay attention."
"Sorry, but I was preoccupied with the headache I am currently nursing from your attempts to try and act so much more superior then your co-workers and brother." she spat, throwing a scowl over at him.
"It's too late the spirit died earlier." I stated, drawing the attention that was originally on Kaguya to myself.
"What do you mean?" Monk asked, making me flounder about on how I could explain myself without going against the promise that I made to Kaguya about keeping the myths a secret.
"Well, she looked like she was in a trance so maybe the ghost led her there like all the others?" I offered, already knowing that that was the case from even before the dream. Everyone seemed to take my word for it except for Gene who looked at me with an analyzing gleam in his eye.
"I'm not sure I would call it a trance. To me it looked like a daze like she was upset about something or drunk." he stated, making me curse the fact that he had shared the dream with me.
"Uh, well in the dream it makes sense." I stated lamely, hoping that he would just agree with me and move on, however the gods of luck weren't on my side as his brow only furrowed more at my explanation.
"No it doesn't, we shared the same dream and I still don't get it."
"Mai, what aren't you telling us." Naru asked, crossing his arms at me and putting me on the hot spot.
Looking around everyone was eyeing me curiously, but the only one I could actually look at was Kaguya who had a similar expression on her face that I felt was on mine. Only one thought ran through my head in a situation like this, and in my opinion it was rightly deserved. 'Naru's gonna kill me once he finds out.'
Me: Yay, another one done!
Mai: Only 5 more to go! *fist pumps*
Me: Yep.
Naru: Thank God.
Gene: Please Review.