hey! it's me again! i kno its been a bit of a wait but i finally got around to this case and i will be writing more towards the end of the month once my research project is finished! XD and i would like to mention
This case is dedicated to XxHate's-A-Strong-WordxX also known as...The Shinigami Buttercup Meister! lol you finally get your nickname and thx for inspiring the idea behind this case :D enjoy!
Chapter 1- Tea
September Day 1, 7:55 A.M.
September was coming to an end and Mai could already feel her room becoming colder with the change of seasons. Her blanket nice and warm she didn't want to get up and merely rolled over into a more comfortable position. Only to face the clock.
And scream.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HH!" she exclaimed sprinting out of her bed and for her dresser. "No! No, no, no, no!"
Scrambling to put on her clothes while simultaneously making sure she had everything she needed, anxiety rose in the pit of her stomach.
"Why! Why today of all days!" She frantically grabbed her things and running out the door.
"Mai's late, again," a certain priestess noted, leaning against a certain college student's car. "As usual." She turned to said college student. "You know, you didn't have to drive us, I could've given you a ride."
"It's fine, Ayako," he smiled. "Naru said it was probably better if I drove."
"Mai's still not here yet?" Monk asked, walking out from the office. "She's late even for her."
"Some just don't have the capability of being punctual…" Masako commented from behind her kimono sleeve.
"What'd you say? Sorry I didn't hear you," Monk replied, raising a brow.
"Nothing at all."
"Wait!" a cry came out of no where. The group turned their heads, confirming their suspicions.
"Who wants to bet she overslept?" Yasuhara offered with a chuckle.
"There's no bet, you know that's why she's late," the priestess scoffed as the petite brunette raced up.
"Sorry…pant…I'm…pant…late…" she panted, trying to catch her breath. "I overslept."
"Called it!" The priestess and college student high fived each other with smirks on their faces.
"Did you guys really take bets?" A sweat drop appeared on Mai's forehead.
"Don't worry about them, Jou-chan." Monk ruffled the girl's head. "You should probably be worried about Naru, you know how he is when you'r-"
"You're late." The cold, ruthless voice rang throughout the parking lot. The hairs on the back of Mai's neck stood up as she turned to see her not so happy employer.
"Gomen ne," she bowed, another sweat drop appearing on her forehead as she straightened up. "I overslept."
"I pay you to work and be on time, not to sleep." He turned to head toward the van where Lin was finishing loading the equipment.
"As I recall, my sleeping has solved several cases…" she grumbled, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.
"Excuse me?"
Mai perked up with the fakest smile she had ever given. "Nothing, Naru!" she exclaimed, trying her best to look sweet and innocent.
"I'm glad I don't have to sit between them on this trip," Monk whispered to the priestess and college student beside him.
"So am I, considering the traffic is going to be brutal, I don't know how those two will manage an already five hour drive," Ayako muttered back.
"I forgot this was going to take five hours," Yasuhara said thoughtfully. "Say, Ayako, you up for driving after we reach a rest stop." A cheeky ginned plastered over his face.
"Now you decide to take my offer…"
September Day 1, 3:45 P.M.
"Thank you for coming such a long way," a man around his mid to late thirties said, bowing. "I understand how the traffic must have been a nightmare."
"It's no trouble at all," Yasuhara bowed in return. "After hearing about your situation over the phone, we knew we had to come quickly."
"I take it you're Shibuya-san?" the man asked the college boy.
"Hai, I believe we spoke over the phone, Ishikawa-san."
"The rumors of your age are true, it's very admirable of you at such a young age to be running such a successful business," the man smiled in approval, then gesture to the young woman by his side. "Please, call me Ryouta. This is my wife, Akahana."
"Pleasure to meet you both," Yasuhara bowed. "These are my acquaintances whom I have done many cases with, Matsuzaki Ayako, Takigawa Houshou, and Hara Masako. "he gestured to the people behind him, each bowing at the call of their name. "And these are my assistants, Kojo Lin, Taniyama Mai, and Narumi Kazuo."
"Nice to meet you all, why don't you come in and we can talk in a more private location," Akahana suggested, placing a hand on her swollen belly. "I can also show you to your rooms and give you a tour of the property."
The group agreed, walking into the massively gorgeous hotel. All trying their best to not show their fatigue after the seven and a half hour drive to the woodsy area just outside of Kyoto. The ride should have only taken about five hours, but with two rest stops (thanks to Mai and Monk respectively) and quite a bit of traffic, their arrival was delayed.
Naru had been hearing much about the paranormal activity going on at the Suiren Yadoya (Water Lily Inn) for a while now. The activity had even been reported on the news several times. With danger becoming ever greater, this business needed help, and Naru needed a body double.
"As I explained to Shibuya-san on the phone, my wife and I are fairly new to the hotel business," Ryouta began, as the group sat in the mess of papers that appeared to be his office.
"What Ryouta means, is that we have both worked in hotels in the past, but we're new to owning a hotel," Akahana defined, carrying a large tray filled with tea and cups. Seeing the large amount of items, Mai immediately raced to help the pregnant woman. "Thank you." She smiled.
"We met when we were both hired at this specific hotel by the previous owners, things were fairly creepy back then, however…" The man took a cup from his wife.
"It wasn't until after we married two years ago and we ended up buying this place from the former owners, did we realize how severe things were," Akahana finished, taking a seat with the help of Mai. "Thank you again."
"Can you explain to us what sort of experiences you have had here?" Yasuhara asked, as Lin sat laptop ready at one side of the room.
"A feeling of uneasiness and things that go bump in the night are common in almost every building, but that's not why we called you here," the woman explained, taking a sip of her tea.
"Even when we first started working here, things had been going missing, of course we figured the items were simply misplaced," Ryouta added. "That was, of course, after we found many of the objects in rooms that had been closed off for years."
"Then things had begun to escalate, especially once the man staying in room 534 committed suicide," Akahana added with a sigh.
"Committed suicide?" Monk repeated.
"That's right, he left this note in his room where he slit his throat." Ryouta handed Yasuhara the folded paper.
"'The devils drove me to do this! You're all next!'" Yasuhara read aloud. "Had he been making claims of spirits, or as he put it, demons, roaming around the hotel?"
Akahana shook her head and looked to her husband. "No he hadn't," her husband replied with a sigh. "Not too long after that several of the staff members had been acting strange."
"I assumed they were just overworked and had them take a day or two off, but…" the woman added, then shook her head. "Many of them were too afraid to return and quit. Thos who stayed seemed even more exhausted when they came back."
"I decided to look into the idea that this place may be haunted and came across some disturbing things." The man looked worriedly at his wife. "Nothing about the property itself, but about how spirits will tend to target women and children, especially women who are pregnant."
"Ryouta, I told you, I'm fine," Akahana grumbled, closing her eyes. "It was nothing."
"We have to tell them," he argued, then turned back to the group of people he hired. "Just a few days ago, I was walking through the hallway of the fifth floor and found one of our doormen trying to strangle my wife."
"Ryouta," the woman warned. "I told you I'm fine."
"Show them you're neck!" Ryouta snapped, then softened his face. "Akahana, I'm worried for your safety."
"Fine." Hesitantly, the young woman pulled down the turtleneck she had been wearing, revealing the purple and black bruise around her neck. "The doctor said I was all right and it should heal within a couple weeks."
"Did the doorman have anything against you? Perhaps jealousy was a factor." Naru's cold voice interrupted.
The woman just shook her head. "He was so ashamed at what he had done when we told him. He had no recollection of the event."
"Maybe he had that multiple personality disorder?" Monk threw in.
"Unless multiple personality disorder also changes someone's dark brown eyes to fire engine red, I highly doubt it," Akahana dismissed with a shake of her head. "He had to quit fearing he had gone crazy."
"As you can see, I'm terrified for everyone's safety, especially Akahana, but she refuses to leave until this matter can be settled." He sent the woman next to him a worried glare.
"You've known me for a while now, you know I simply can't just walk away from something like this."
He ignored his wife's comment. "Our business used to be thriving, but once several of our guests claimed to be pushed down the stairs by some unseen force, virtually no one will come."
"I can assure you, Ryouta-san," Yasuhara stood looking at 'his' clients with kind eyes. "We shall do everything in our power to help you."
"Arigato." Ryouta stood and bowed as well.
"I'll show you to your rooms and where you can set up your equipment." Akahana stood as well, with the help of her husband.
"That would be great," Yasuhara smiled.
"Matsuzaki-san, Hara-san, do a walk through of the building and report to me anything you find," Naru ordered after they had set up Base.
"Hai," the two replied, heading off.
"Monk, Yasuhara-san, set up cameras in these rooms." He handed the two a list of rooms. "Take temperature readings as well."
"On it, Boss," Yasuhara unknowingly replied, only to be elbowed by Monk. "I mean, Narumi."
"And Mai…"
"Hai!" Mai exclaimed eagerly.
"Tea." Queue Mai's pouty face.
It probably would have been smart had Mai found out where the kitchen was before they set up Base. Naru didn't even give her a map or directions! He was going to pissed at her directionally challenged-ness, but she had more important things to worry about. Such as how when she went down stairs from the third floor she ended up on the fifth?
"534?" she read allowed the numbers on the hotel room door. "But I went down not up?"
Then it clicked. An uneasiness settled in the pit of her stomach. Added to the fatigue of rushing out the door and spending a seven hour drive in silence, she knew this couldn't be good.
"That's where the guest committed suicide," Mai whispered to herself.
The air grew thick and heavy. Her breathing became ragged and uneven. They became little puffs of see-through white as the temperature dropped.
She was frozen. Her heart began to beat rapidly, but she couldn't move. No matter how much her judgment was telling her to.
A cold, icy weight of a hand rested on her shoulder. She held her breath. Help me…
She ran. Her feet finally about to obey her commands, she raced down the hall and away from whatever she had experienced.
That voice! It was in my head! She exclaimed in her mind. Someone had been pleading for help, but inside her head?
So engrossed in her internal debate she didn't see the six foot man standing right in front of her.
They collided.
"Holy crap, Mai! What are you running from?" the ever lovable monk exclaimed, having been thrown to the ground from impact.
"Naru told me to get him tea and-"
"There's a kitchen on the fifth floor?" Yasuhara cut in.
"That's just it!" Mai exclaimed. "I don't know how, but when I went down the stairs, I went up!"
"Wait, you got freaked out, because you went the wrong way and thought Naru would get mad at you?" Monk concluded, crossing his arms.
"Where did you get that!" Mai raised a brow. "No, I got freaked out because when I realized I was on the fifth floor, the air grew cold and I heard a voice."
"What kind of voice?" Yasuhara asked.
"It was in my head."
"Mai…" Monk said slowly. "You've lost it."
"No I haven't!" she argued, stomping her foot much like a child. "It was a man's voice! It said 'Help me' in my head!"
"So you didn't hear it with your ears?" the college student confirmed.
"Right. I heard it in my head."
"Mai, I think you need a nap." Monk ruffled her hair.
"No, I need to make Naru his tea."
"Mai, you're subject jumping."
"Do you need help finding the kitchen?"
The new female voice made the three of them jump.
"A-Akahana-san!" Mai stuttered seeing the woman appear around the corner.
"Sorry, I was just speaking with one of the maids and overheard something about tea," the woman explained. "I'd be happy to show you to the kitchen."
"Arigato, that would be great," Mai accepted, following the woman down the hall.
"This place can play tricks on you, I kept getting lost my first month of working here," the woman assured Mai after a while.
"Thanks," she smiled back, unconsciously looking down at the woman's belly. "May I ask, when are you due?"
Akahana laughed a little at the girl's nervousness. "I'm entering week thirty-four, if things go well this little guy won't be born for another month."
"So it's a boy?"
"That's right," she smiled as they entered the non-busy part of the kitchen. "So how are you your boyfriend doing?"
Mai choked on her own spit. "Excuse me?"
"You and Kazuo-san, I saw the way you both would look at each other. I assumed you two were dating." Akahana pulled out the kettle.
Mai chuckled a little bit. "Gomen ne, Akahana-san," she set the kettle with water to boil, "but Naru and I are not dating."
"So you came up with pet names for fun?" she teased.
"Huh?"
"His name is Narumi, right? You called him Naru." Mai just started laughing.
"I nicknamed him Naru, because when I first met him, he was such a narcissistic jerk. He's Naru the Narcissist!" Mai explained.
Akahana just laughed. "Kind of reminds me of how I met Ryouta."
"He doesn't seem like a narcissist," Mai commented.
"He was when I first met him, but I changed him, I guess." The teakettle began to whistle. "And he was a bit of a jerk, thinking he was all high and mighty since he was working the front desk while I had to work in housekeeping. He thought he could order me around, making me get him tea and other random jobs."
Mai's jaw almost dropped. Sounds like my job now.
"One day, he made me get him tea and it wasn't one he liked and ordered me to get another type." Akahana continued, as Mai put the tealeaves into the pot and poured the hot water. "I took his cup, and said 'Certainly.' Before I left for the kitchen, I dumped what was left of the tea on his head with a huge smile on my face."
"What possessed you to do that?" Mai asked in wonder.
"He pissed me off, and I would be lying if I said that I didn't have a temper all my life. Nevertheless, I went of the kitchen and made another pot of tea. When I came back and place the cup of the desk, the next thing I knew he kissed me. And that's how this and this happened!" Akahana laughed as she pointed to her wedding ring and belly.
Mai couldn't help but laugh as well. "At least it turned out well!"
"Yeah, I just wish he wouldn't worry so much over me. I mean I'm pregnant, not helpless!"
"I think it's more of the part where you were almost strangled, he's worried about." Mai raised a brow.
"That's just when he went overkill, when he first found out I was pregnant he tried to protect me from a ladybeetle…" Her face was straight. "The diamond on my ring was bigger than it."
"I can honestly sympathize with you," Mai sighed, as she poured the tea into a cup. "I'm a bit of a magnet for ghosts and danger, so the guys end up taking ridiculous precautions."
"Gets annoying, right?"
"You can say that again."
The woman laughed. "We'll just have to get through this together." She looked at the clock. "Dinner will be served soon. Sorry, Mai, I have a few things to do, but I'll see you at supper right?"
"Right." Mai smiled as she and Akahana parted ways.
Steaming cup in her hand, Mai headed from the staircase to the hallway of the third floor. Just a right and a left and she'd be at Base.
But she never made it to base.
The corner was only about a few meters away.
And everything happened too fast.
She stopped short.
The air grew cold.
Her breath was visible.
The tea in her hand became hotter despite the chilling air.
The world went black as she felt an unpleasant heat fall upon her arms.
Me: muahahaha! cliffhanger!
Yasuhara: plz excuse her she didn't get much sleep last night so she worked on this
Me: it's not my fault my tooth decided to cause me pain in my sleep!
Ayako: just go to the dentist
Me: easier said than done
Monk: Anyway Kiki would like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter t received the most reviews so far
Masako: Thank you to Ariana Taniyama, PhoenixNimbus.292, Jade Starlight, XxHate's-A-Strong-WordxX, Hikari Reizumi, and Trowa'sDancer
Mai: and thank you to every one who is following this story
Naru: You've annoyed them enough.
Mai: *looks at Lin after Naru walked away*
Lin: he never got your tea in this chapter
Mai: oh
John please review :D
jaa nee!