Holy shit an update. Apologies for the long wait.
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14
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"Do you just pop out of the ground when you deem it necessary?" Yuki growled at Misa as the woman laughed at her.
Yuki had been about to grab the newspaper when the sudden appearance of the woman emerging from her kitchen had scared her. Yuki was wheezing slightly as she tried to catch her breath, her heart racing. She hadn't expected someone else to be in her apartment. Did her landlord give the woman a key to the apartment when she wasn't looking? That thought made her furious, and she wanted to move to a different place. Yet, she didn't have the funds or resources to do so. She was stuck near the school campus. Emrys gave the woman an unamused look before growling at the woman. He seemed to dislike her, and it caused her to pause. He liked Naru, and that man was hard to like. That was worrisome.
"You should've seen your face," Misa said through her laughter, "it was so good, I've never scared you like that before."
She calmed down after saying that, wiping a tear from her eye. Yuki was still glaring at her. She was paler than usual which meant she had been quite startled. It didn't help that she had woken up from a dream about Gene's death not even ten minutes previously. She pushed her hair from her face before heading to the kitchen to make herself some tea. Misa followed; amusement still clear in her expression. Emrys stopped growling and padded up to his owner. He wasn't leaving her alone.
"I swear your family has a way with animal," Misa commented as Yuki began to make the tea.
"No offence, Misa-San, but why are you here?" Yuki questioned as she let the leaves steep.
"It's been a year, and not once have you called me young lady," Misa stated and Yuki kept her face impassive, "so, I think this is a well overdue intervention."
"For what?" Yuki questioned, her nose crinkling.
"The way that you dress," Misa answered getting up from her chair at the table and heading into Yuki's room, "you'll never catch the eye of your boss dressing in such heavy, dreary clothing."
Yuki couldn't help but roll her eyes in response. She wasn't trying to catch anyone's eye. She removed the tea leaves from her cup and picked it up taking a small sip. She couldn't help but think that Misa had no right to talk about how she dressed. Her style was her own, something that she had been introduced to back in her previous life. Dark Academia, of all things she could've been introduced to it was a strange aesthetic. She continued wearing it because it made her comfortable.
"Do you own anything that's not a turtleneck or dress shirt…or a graphic shirt?" Misa's complaint informed Yuki that the woman was pouting.
She sighed and continued to drink her tea. She wasn't going to dignify that question with an answer. She'd suffer through what the woman wanted to do, but she wouldn't do anything else. She sighed as she was manhandled into wearing clothes that she didn't remember buying. She was sat down, and her hair was pulled into a braid.
"You obviously like the boy," Misa commented, and Yuki clenched the pencil skirt she had been forced into.
"So?" Yuki questioned, keeping her annoyance and discomfort out of her voice.
"He seemed to be oblivious to how you feel about him," Misa added smirking slightly as she tied off the braid with a small ribbon much to Yuki's ire, "the two of you are oddly cute."
"Wow, thanks," Yuki muttered in slight annoyance.
"With that gratitude I might not give you what your mother asked me to," Misa's words caused Yuki to frown.
She was really going to withhold an item that rightfully belonged to her. All because she was getting annoyed with the constant barbs sent her way. And the woman wondered why she hadn't called. She kept her frown up as Misa tutted about the mess in her home. She had created poltergeist activity once more. Books were strewn across the floors and some of her furniture had moved away from the walls. She went back to the kitchen and grabbed her tea; she didn't offer Misa anything. Her peppermint tea was hard to find, so she sort of hoarded it when she could. It didn't help that she was also annoyed by the woman. She sipped at the hot liquid again, keeping her expression blank.
"I always wondered how you came to make such a good cup of tea," Misa commented in an off-hand tone as she enjoyed the fragrance of the drink, "your mother struggled until your father showed her how."
"I sold my soul to satan, obviously," Yuki said without hesitation.
"That sounds far more plausible," Misa said as she laughed, "I don't know if it because you are basically forced to talk to people at your job, but you've started coming out of your shell."
"That sounds plausible," Yuki dryly said, using Misa's words against her.
"Your Boss reminds me of my late husband, he was the sort to be slightly narcissistic but a good man nonetheless," Misa commented, "his reaction was quite entertaining."
"What did you even say to him?"
"I commented that he must get quite a few male clients coming into the office since he has such a lovely secretary running it."
Yuki had a stricken expression on her face and was staring at the older woman in disbelief. Her expression was ignored, and she brought a hand up to her forehead as she tried to think of a few ways to apologise to her boss because of her former guardian. What the woman had said was borderline harassment. She knew that Misa had no verbal filter, but it seemed to have gotten worse since she left. Misa finally noticed the expression on the teens face and let out a light laugh. She always adored getting a rise out of the serious teen. It was never so easy before.
"What is wrong with you?"
Yuki's question caused the woman to grin in response, and she became deeply annoyed. She huffed and rinsed her cup before plucking at the tight fabric of the t-shirt she was wearing. It was one that she'd had for years, and it didn't fit anymore. She should've donated it a while back. She shook her head and pinched her nose.
"I guess it's time for you to head out?" Misa asked as Yuki looked at the time and nodded, "I'll walk with you, the Director wants me to greet Kazuya-Kun and give him a walkthrough."
Ah, Yuki had hoped that she'd get some time to herself. Emrys could enjoy a walk in silence, and it would allow her to train the puppy. She could stop him from getting easily distracted, and have him respond to his name quickly. She inwardly grumbled as she grabbed her keys and pulled on a pair of flats. She ignored the rectangular package next to her door; Misa would easily get to it if she tried to pick it up. She had learned her lesson well after the last time she had gotten a package while living with the woman. That had infuriated her more then she'd ever admit out loud. She liked having her privacy and having it ignored as it had been annoyed her.
"Oh, right, here you go," Misa said as she picked up the package and handed it to the teen, "your mother wanted you to have this while you were in your third-year of high school, she gathered that you'd be ahead of your age group…never knew how she could guess such things."
"Why did you…" Yuki trailed off before sighing, "thank you."
Yuki gently removed the newspaper wrapping, throwing it away where Emrys wouldn't get to it. Miss fixed her with a serious look as the teen caught sight of the black box. Small hands shook slightly as brass clasps were unlocked. Yuki softly stared at the violin as she gently placed it down on a nearby table. The mahogany wood shone in the low light, and she could smell the varnish on it. The violin had been sitting for a while, and a part of her was absolutely furious about that. The only thing that curbed her anger was a small note, delicately tucked under the strings. She gently pried it from underneath and opened it up, her mothers beautiful handwriting met her.
My little snow princess,
I am so proud of you! If you are reading this note that means my illness finally caught up with me and I was unable to give this gift to you. Congratulations on graduating from High School. I want you to know that your father and I are so incredibly proud of the woman you've become. We believed that this gift would suit you best, you always did have the most peaceful expression on your face when listening to violin pieces.
We loved you so much. Never forget that, or else we'll start to haunt you!
-Love Maman and Otou-San
Yuki let out a shaky breath as she put the note into the pocket of her skirt. She waited for a few seconds before slowly turning towards Misa. It wouldn't do for her to completely lose it. She heard something crash in her bedroom, but it went ignored as Emrys sneezed. Yuki just wanted to know one single thing.
"Why did you keep this from me?" She asked, her voice deceptively soft.
"You weren't ready," Misa shrugged, "now give it a play, I'm hoping that your skills didn't die from the years of neglect."
Yuki narrowed her eyes slightly before grabbing the bow. She gave it a check for resin before picking up the small block and using it on the bare hairs. The violin seemed tuned, and she sent out a silent prayer that it was as she picked it up from the case before gently setting it against her collarbone. She brought her arm up, her wrist angled correctly. She nervously looked at the strings before figuring out a good starting piece. Kreutzer Sonata-1st movement slowly came to life as she played the right chords. Her fingers easily finding the correct positions. She stopped where she knew that the piano accompaniment should've started. She lowered the bow and violin back into the case. Misa let out a soft clap and Yuki ignored the anger starting to rise in her at the woman.
"I sometimes forget that you were talented when you played," Misa sighed before studying the girl's hands, at the deep lines embedded in the skin, "they've become too soft, you need to practice more."
"I need to get to work," Yuki stated, keeping her emotions well hidden from the woman.
She closed the violin case and spun on her heel. She needed to get Emrys ready for work. She put the small vest on him and blue leash before grabbing her keys and pulling on her boots. She picked up the violin case. She didn't trust Misa not to take it away from her. She couldn't have it taken away, not after receiving it.
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"You're on time," Naru commented as she walked into the theatre.
He was sent a look by her, and he simply ignored it. A small part of Yuki wondered what she had did wrong, but another decided to shrug it off. It wasn't any of her business. She turned her focus onto Lin instead.
"Good morning, Lin," Yuki softly greeted, and he tilted his head in greeting.
"I'm to give you a tour of the theatre and show you to the room we cleared out for you to use as a base," Misa informed them, easily stepping in front of Yuki, "the cast and musicians have been informed of your investigation and have consented to interviews if you need them."
Yuki found it strange to see the woman being so serious for once. She mentally shrugged and hid her violin case near Lin, she trusted the man not to let anyone take it. It spoke volumes that she did. Emrys let out a sniff of greeting towards the tall man. Lin simply raised a brow at the puppy. He was left alone as Naru, and Yuki followed Misa around the theatre.
Yuki picked up on something. It was so…lonely inside the theatre. It felt as though she'd never be able to leave it, like something was keeping her there and creating that deep set loneliness. Naru politely listened to Misa as she informed him of all the different rooms and what they were used for. They had just pasted the costuming department, apparently, several workers had seen different costumes move in that room. He discreetly looked towards the ceiling and saw the vents fixated in the wood. There was the reasonable cause of the movements.
"Here is the auditorium, this is where we hold the concerts and ballet recitals," Misa informed him, "the next room has a similar design, but we use it with plays, movies, and announcements."
Yuki knew that one far too well. She looked around the familiar room and was surprised at how little had changed. She could see the violin section, a small dent in the room still there from when she was a child. Someone had dropped a music stand on accident. She felt something brush against the back of her neck and discreetly looked around. There was nothing there. She looked up and saw a vent. Huh, it was oddly cold outside, why would they have the vents on? She spared her boss a glance and noticed that he was mentally placing cameras around.
"The backstage is usually busy, but we postponed our productions because of all the activity," Misa informed them with a sigh, "we have stage tunnels for certain plays that call for the actor to disappear, a few of them have stated that they saw someone walking down there."
"Is it possible that their minds were playing tricks on them?" Naru asked.
"It can be," Misa nodded her head before tilting it, "but, I believe there was a time when Yuki-Chan thought she saw someone down there."
"I was seven," Yuki shrugged, "and not a big fan of the dark, it was most likely my mind playing tricks on me."
Naru filed that information away. He looked between the two women and noted the obvious power play that one of them was playing. Misa had seemed kind the previous day, but it was quick to see that his part-timer didn't like being around her. Her body language got that through quite clearly. Her tense posture whenever the woman spoke had been too obvious.
"Yuki, can you go and start setting up the cameras," He ordered, and she spared him a glance before nodding.
She had been slightly surprised by his words, but he noted the thankful glint in her eyes. He'd have to keep the two of them separated for his own peace of mind. Misa continued her tour and eventually they stopped at her office. Their base was three doors down, and he narrowed his eyes in annoyance at that.
"I believe this is where I will leave you," Misa informed him with a small smile, "if you have any questions I will be here."
Naru went back to his team and noted that Lin and Yuki were quietly talking about where to put the cameras. They had a floorplan made up, something that could've only been done by Yuki seeing as she knew the building. He double checked their work and nodded that he agreed with their placements. They tried to cover the most amount of area with the smallest amount of cameras so they wouldn't overload the system. He looked towards Yuki and she sighed before motioning towards her map.
"This is the auditorium right here, it's where we hold the concerts and ballet recitals," Yuki explained before moving her hand down to a different room. "This is a similar room but it's mostly used for plays, movies, and announcements. I spent the most time in the auditorium and know it fairly well. The only issue I can see is the backstage area because of how narrow it is."
"Don't forget the tunnels underneath the stage itself," Misa's voice startled the group, but none of them showed their surprise.
"Right," Yuki muttered before moving on.
Naru narrowed his eyes in thought as they started to make small circles where they wanted the cameras. Lin and Yuki were double checking the spots and removing a couple. Mainly in the restrooms since there would still be some workers performing their jobs. It was the janitorial that would cause them issues. Misa gained a saccharine smile and slowly walked away to inform them of the groups presence. Naru…didn't like the woman, not one bit.
"Yuki," Naru called and she looked up from the diagram as Lin figured it was the best they could do. "I want you to take the temperatures of the rooms while Lin and I set things up here."
"On it," Yuki's quiet confirmation was welcomed.
She picked up her thermometer and clipboard before heading out of the room. The small ball of fluff following her made her slow her pace a bit. She looked down at the puppy and gave a soft sigh. She slowly started to implement the training she was going to before Misa showed up. She brought the thermometer and caught sight of her hands. A strange expression appeared on her face. Misa was right, her hands had gotten soft. In her previous life she had done everything on her own, she had played music to her heart's content. In this one, she had others to lean on. Even if there wasn't many of them. She entered the instrument storage room and looked around in thought. It was colder in that room.
A metallic clanging startled her and she quickly looked around to see what had fallen. Metal mallets sat on the ground from where they had fallen off the glockenspiel. She let out a soft sigh before moving to pick them up while the digital thermometer took the temperature. She placed the mallets on a table next to the glockenspiel and stepped back. Emrys let out a whine and she knelt to gently scratch the puppy behind the ears. The digital thermometer let out a cheerful beep and she quickly wrote down the temperature. One room down, twenty or so more to go.
Naru looked away from the monitors as the sound of shuffling cane near the room. A winded looking Yuki entered the base, a hiding Emrys right behind her. She held out her clipboard to him and he accepted the temperatures. He looked at them, noting a few cold spots. The instrument storage room being the coldest, he listened as Yuki informed him of that.
"Did you notice anything strange while walking around?" He asked, and she frowned in thought.
"Besides some metal mallets falling to the ground…just the sensation of being watched," Yuki answered. "Then again, it's been that way since I was a kid it's most likely due to the faulty wiring."
Naru frowned, his look was oddly annoyed. His part-timer had such good intuition, but had the habit of thinking far too logically. If one were to believe the stories about her mother it would be obvious that she followed her father's footsteps more than she'd like to think. Still, just what could they do to bring about the spirits of the theatre? Back in the Morishita household Ayami had been the key to everything. Here? It would have to be the performers. He looked at Yuki, and she simply raised her brow in response.
"Can you play an instrument?" He asked, she motioned towards the violin case that was tucked under Lin's desk.
"Why?" Yuki asked.
"Have you heard of triggers?" He questioned and she sent him a dry look.
"What do you want me to do?" She questioned, sighing quietly.
The door to the base opened and she knew it was going to be a long day. She sat at a desk and read some of the reports from their interviews. Several of them had been with the company for years and had recognized her. Yuki was a tad bit annoyed when Naru folstered them on her. They wanted to talk about how her life was going and about the strange things that were going on. She ran a hand through her platinum hair and rubbed the back of her neck in thought. Naru couldn't help but watch how she interacted with the elderly members of the orchestra. They treated her like their grandchild and she had gotten incredibly uncomfortable. She pushed her hair back from her face and he noted the expression on her face. She knew something. Her shoulders tensed just the slightest and she looked at him. She looked ready to say something when he noted someone behind her.
"You look stressed," Misa commented.
If there was ever a time that he believed her to be truly terrified it would be then. Emrys growled at the older woman as Yuki held a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart. The startle had removed the blank expression and showed a wide eyed look. She plopped a hand down on Emrys's head and gently scratched the dog behind the ears. Her expression went back to normal, her baseline of blankness.
"I'm not," Yuki sighed before frowning. "Do you remember that one woman that always came to the concert when the violinists were playing?"
"Oh, Katsuya Ai?" Misa asked and Yuki nodded to confirm. "I remember her, she used to date one of the cast members, when you took the spot of first chair your first year they went through a nasty breakup."
"She still came after that, I remember seeing her around," Yuki quietly commented, picking up a piece of paper and looking at it.
"She said that she adored the way you played," Misa stated and Yuki froze. "She said it was nice to see a fellow lefty playing the violin."
Naru and Lin looked at the albino and noted the strange expression on her face. They then noticed how she reached for things, and how she was currently holding the paper. All with the left hand, even the pen that was tucked behind one of her ears was on the left. She put the paper down and looked at Misa. Misa was taken aback by the strange glint in the teen's eyes. She was serious about…something. It was unnerving to the older woman.
"What happened to her?' Yuki asked.
"She committed suicide after a confrontation with her ex," Misa answered and Yuki frowned.
That sounded familiar. She could hear the distant sounds of someone yelling and she felt as though she was starting to get tunnel vision of all things. She could almost grasp it. A memory that she had buried deep. A memory she had chosen to forget. A part of her refused to admit that she did that far too often. It was just a habit at this point. One that she couldn't really figure out where it came from.
"How dare you!" A male voice shouted and she felt her hand flinch as she stopped putting resin on the bow. "How dare you say that little freak is a better violin player than me?!"
A scared sound echoed and Yuki gained a frown. It was a woman's voice. She knew that voice. She went to get up from her spot on the floor, but paused when the man huffed. She shouldn't get involved. It wouldn't be the best thing to do.
"I wasn't insinuating that at all!" The woman countered, her voice trembling just the slightest. "I was just saying that it's impressive she's so good at such a young age."
A slap echoed through the area and Yuki's head swiftly moved to the side. Her wide eyes looking at the shadows on the wall. The shorter shadow had a hand pressed to their face and Yuki was contemplating getting involved. She knew that it was a woman in trouble, one that was in an abusive environment. But, how did she go about interjecting herself into the situation? If she were to do that, would he get worse?
"What happened to you, Ryo?" The woman asked, and Yuki felt her heart clench at the grief in her voice. "As soon as you came here you changed into a terrible person! How did someone so gentle become so violent?"
Ryo? She knew that name. It was the first name of the violinist who's spot she took. She finally stood up from the floor and noted that she was seeing from her current height. She knew what day this was. It was right before the Christmas concert, her last one. She heard another slap and a soft cry. She went to move, but noted that she was frozen in place. Right, she hadn't moved when they had this altercation. She had just been an observer, something she was growing used to being.
"It would do the world a favor if you weren't around!" Ryo's words caused Yuki's blood to run cold, her heart slowing a bit.
"Ryo!?" The woman gasped in disbelief.
A growl went through the area and that's when the shadows twisted and slowly thinned. A woman walked past her and Yuki watched as she did. Ai…her eyes were so blank, a stark contrast to the tear stains on her face. A man had his arms wrapped around her shoulders, a crazed grin so large it seemed as though it would split his face in two. It looked like a lovers embrace. But his hands, his gnarled and twisted hands, moved and slowly enclosed around AI's throat.
"Yu-Chan?" Misa's question snapped her out of the memory.
"Ai was dating Ryo, right?" Yuki asked, and at Misa's surprised nod she sighed. "I remember their argument…it ended horribly."
"That would explain the uncomfortable look on your face when you had to sit next to him…did you notice anything else?" Misa asked and Naru watched as Yuki's walls went up immediately.
It was a trigger response. One brought about by constant manipulation. He noted the silence in the room, even Lin had stopped in his work to listen to their part-timer. Emrys let out a soft sound as he burrowed into Yuki's lap a bit more. She didn't even put her hand into the soft fur to comfort the puppy. Her focus was on Misa.
"No, nothing."
Naru's eyes narrowed. That was a lie, and one that sounded far too believable. He watched the disbelief appear on Misa's face before a strange aloofness replaced it. So, Misa was a narcissist that didn't even know it. The second that Yuki stopped giving her information, the second she stopped the pretense of caring. Naru knew his nickname came from his confidence. If he was truly a narcissist, Yuki would've never given him the time of day. Misa left them and he watched as some of the tension in the albino's shoulders started to disappear.
"If you have something to ask, then do it," Yuki stated, slowly comforting Emrys.
"You lied to her," He stated and Lin raised a brow.
"Not many people can pick up when I lie, colour me impressed," Yuki admitted, there wasn't even a glimpse of any positive emotion in her eyes. "I didn't notice it at the time, but thinking back there was something that seemed to be following Ai when she left that night."
"What did it look like?" Naru pressed and Yuki frowned.
"A black wisp," Yuki explained, she knew it was a man now, but that's what it had been when she was a child. "It was odd, Ryo had always been incredibly sweet…yet after a week here his personality did a complete flip."
"What else do you know about this building?" Lin's question caused her eyes to widen just the slightest.
"The land used to be the sight of a small shack where a man named Yoshimori Taku starved to death," she answered, scratching her cheek in thought. "It was an old tale told by one of the previous conductors who liked history. He passed away a few years ago."
Lin started to type into his computer and Yuki found a deep respect for him. She needed to ask him how many words a minute he could type. She looked down at some of the interviews and thought back to the information they had been given. Things had changed since she had last played with the orchestra. Fights were more common, and people couldn't help but shake the feeling they were being watched. A part of her entertained the idea that Misa was being affected by the spirits but decided against it. She had been like that before starting her work at the theatre. Still, it was strange that Misa hadn't said a word about these events, she lived for gossip.
She looked down for a few seconds and tapped a finger against her chin in thought. This wasn't the work of Ryo, or Ai for that matter, so it left Taku as the reason behind any haunting the building was experiencing. A knock sounded and she looked up when the door opened. An older woman, her once dark hair a pure white, had opened the door and smiled at Yuki. Naru watched as Yuki's expression softened just the slightest.
"It's nice to see you doing well, Hana-baa-chan," Yuki stated and Naru watched as the old woman gave a light chuckle.
"I heard you were in the theatre again and wanted to greet you," Hana stated and Yuki gave an internal wince. "I missed my favorite violinist."
"It wasn't the same with a different accompanist," Yuki freely admitted before noting Naru's frown. "Hana-baa-chan used to be my partner when I did competitions, she was my pianist. She retired the same year I stopped playing."
"Would you two be willing to play?" Naru asked, and the two blinked before sharing a look.
"I might be a little rusty," Yuki stated, and it was obvious that she hated that fact.
"As may I, but it does sound a little fun," Hana said, a smile on her face.
Yuki didn't smile, but it was obvious she was fond of the old woman. Naru knew that she had a softness to her that she didn't show very often, but when she did it made her seem like a completely different person. Lin reached under his desk and picked up the case for Yuki. She gave him a quiet thanks before motioning for Hana to lead the way. Naru shared a look with Lin. They were going to hope the trigger would work and they'd get something substantial.
"You want to do a twelve minute piece?" Yuki's humored question made Naru look up from his notebook. "Is that all right with you, Naru?"
"It doesn't matter," Naru stated and she gave a soft huff in response.
That was an okay if she had ever heard one. She waited for Hana to get ready. She readied her violin and at Hana's nod she played the first few notes. Naru stopped writing in his notebook. This was something about his part-timer that he hadn't known about. Rusty? The sound she produced from her violin was crisp and in tune with what she knew was needed to be played. He knew Kreutzer, classical music helped to calm the mind and focus it. He noted the smile on Hana's face. The old woman was in her element, and Yuki helped to bring it out. He looked at the equipment he had brought out and noted that the auditorium had gotten colder. He discreetly looked around and saw Misa watching with a detached expression. He would've thought that she would be proud, but there was a glint of disappointment. He did something that surprised everyone. He gave a polite applause when they finished playing and Yuki's surprise was apparent before she smiled at him. Gratitude, something she had no issue showing him.
"Go home early today," Naru stated as Hana waved goodbye to Yuki.
"All right, see you tomorrow," Yuki agreed.
Yuki looked at the ground in thought as she headed home. Just what was going on with the theatre? She sighed. It didn't matter. Naru would figure it out soon. She turned her gaze up and watched as dark clouds started to roll in. Rain? She couldn't remember if that was part of the projected forecast. She rubbed the tips of her fingers together and felt the indents from her playing. She needed to practice more often. A frown appeared on her face, after her finals of course.