sorry for the long wait but as promised a new case a new mystery and some new twists! please read the note at the end about the delay for this chap and possible delays for future chaps enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt nor its main characters. Characters you have never encountered in the show or manga belong to be
thanks to NoCoolNameHere and Damaged Forest Spirit for case location ideas!
Chapter 1-Stress
October Day 1, 2:48 P.M.
It had been about a two-hour drive from Shibuya into the Ibaraki Prefecture where the nursing home had been built. Thankful for the short drive compared to earlier that month, the group hopped out of their respective vehicles to greet their client and receive a tour of the property. "Thank you all so much for coming so quickly!" a middle aged woman bowed, then searched the group with her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I was under the impression Madoka-chan would be arriving with you as well."
"Please, forgive her," said a familiar girl with light brown hair and blue eyes, she had dressed in a blouse and pencil skirt in order to introduce the group. "I'm Mori Akiko, Madoka's younger sister, something came up and she was unable to make it, so she sent me instead."
"Oh my! I hope everything is all right!" the woman gasped, but the girl just waved her hand with a dismissive laugh.
"Yes, yes, everything is fine she ended up having to revisit a past client, but she knew she promised she would help with the investigation, so she sent me in her place," she explained, then gestured to the group behind her. "Now, I assume my sister has told you about this magnificent team she referred you to." She motioned to the boy clad in black behind her. "This is the ringleader of the team, Shibuya Kazuya, and on either side of him are his two main assistants, Lin Kojou and Taniyama Mai."
"Pleasure to meet you," Mai said warmly with a bow.
"And you as well, sweetheart," the woman bowed back.
"Then we have several other respectable spiritualists who give their assistance as well, Father Brown, Takigawa Houshou, Matsuzaki Ayako, and Osamu Yasuhara," the young woman introduced everyone who bowed respectively. "Unfortunately the renowned medium, Hara Masako-san was unable to make it as well on this trip, her director asked her to go in for a shoot."
"That's quite all right, I'm just glad so many of you were able to come in such short notice!" the woman exclaimed, gesturing to the young man next to her. "This is my nephew, Shouta, he will be giving you a tour as well as helping you set up your equipment in any way he can, right Shouta-kun?"
"Hai, Chiyoko-oba-chan," the boy replied, giving a smile toward a certain brunette in the group.
Huh, this is just like back in April when Yasuhara first impersonated Naru, Mai wondered to herself as Shouta gave a quick smile at her. She tried to ignore it. There was a reason why Naru didn't just have me impersonate Madoka's sister, what was it again?
A few days ago…7:13 P.M.
"Hello!" sang a cheerful voice as the bell attached to the SPR front door jingled. "Naru-chan! Mai-chan! Lin-san! Anyone here!"
Mai was somewhat startled and dropped the can of tealeaves in the kitchenette to greet their visitor. "Madoka!" Mai's eyes lit up as she saw the young auburn haired woman grinned at the high schooler.
"Mai-chan! It's great to see you again!" The two gave each other a big hug as they began chatting to catch up. "I trust the last six months have been eventful!"
"Hai!" Mai nodded, leading her friend into the kitchen where she finished Naru's tea. We've had a lot go on since the case you had Naru do back in April."
"Was it really back in April? Geez! It's nearly November! I've meant to come back much, much sooner!" Madoka exclaimed smacking herself in the head. "Forgive me for that, Mai, and for the fact my visit today will be brief. I've been unbearably busy the last couple of months. Good grief, girl! What happened to your arms!"
Mai looked down and realized she was still a bandaged up mummy like earlier in the month. Granted, most of the burns had finally began to heal she was really just relying on the anti-scar cream to limit the scarring. "Our last case was pretty brutal," she explained, pouring the tea into a cup and placing it on a tray. The image of the underworld she had nearly been dragged down into flashed into her mind, but she brushed it away quickly.
"Naru better have given you a vacation after it!" Madoka cried crossing her arms. "If not then I'll have to have a talk with him!" Mai only laughed.
"Don't worry!" she giggled, waving her hand dismissively. "I had close to a week off of work after that case. Naru wouldn't even let me come in to pick up my jacket that I had left there! Instead he had Lin drive over to my apartment to return it."
Madoka couldn't help but laugh as she followed the small girl towards the offices. "Naru is in, I presume?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Hai, do you have a new case for us?"
"Oh, it's pretty likely, if he doesn't accept I don't know what I'll do!" They reached the office door.
"I'm sure he will, if you bring it up, if I were to suggest a case, he'd turn it down in a heartbeat!"
"I'll have to have a talk with him, then." The two giggled as Mai knocked on the door.
"Naru! You have a guest!" Mai called as she opened the door. She and their guest walked in and Mai placed the cup on her employer's desk. He took a sip and grimaced.
"It's cold," he complained then turned to the woman who had taught him everything he knew about ghost hunting. "What brings you here?"
"You know, purposefully using your psychic abilities to cool down the tea so Mai can make you another cup is cruel," she scolded, then took a seat in front of the desk. "However, I have a case you might be interested in."
Mai found herself feeling ignored but listened to the potential case. A nursing home run by a friend of Madoka's had some strange things happening. Many of the occupants were terrified to go to sleep after supposedly hearing about psychotic beings attacking several people in their sleep. And every one of those who claimed they were attacked had died within two days.
"The staff have had experiences as well, seeing shadows, things being misplaced, and one occupant believes an 'angel of death' comes to her at night and tells her when her friends are going to die!" Madoka finished as she crossed her legs. Naru folded his hands and rest his chin on them. "Will you take the case? Chiyoko-san doesn't think she can last there much longer before whatever is terrifying everyone will come after her and her family!"
"I supposed you'll wish to take part in the case as well," Naru sighed as he sipped the cold tea anyway.
"Actually, I cannot make it," she said, shocking the two in front of her. "What's worse is I already told her that you would take the case and I would be there for it as well, however, a former client of mine needs to meet with me during the next few days, meaning I'll be going back to England-"
"You've done cases in England?" Mai's eyes widened with wonder.
"Yes, I've actually traveled quite a bit for investigations, but Chiyoko needs help now and so does my former client, so I'll need you to find someone to portray my younger sister, Akiko," Madoka explained.
"You have a younger sister?" Mai was in awe at this new revelation.
"Mai can pretend to be her," Naru decided, opening a new black folder.
"Sorry, I kind of already explained everyone in the group, including Mai-chan, she won't believe Mai is Akiko. You'll need to find someone else around the same age," she shot the idea down with a sigh. "Me and my big mouth, at the time I had thought I would be accompanying you, but…"
"We'll figure this out somehow, worst case scenario we investigate without someone pretending to be your sister," Naru conclucded turning to his assistant next to him. "Call the others, tell them to prepare to leave in three days."
"Naru, you need to find someone to be my sister, otherwise, Chiyoko won't trust you or at least feel comfortable with you investigating her business," Madoka argued, refusing to leave until the matter was settled.
"What about Kiko?" Mai suggested. "She's about the right age and I believe she said she would be able to get some time off from school soon."
"Kiko?" Madoka repeated, as her eyes lit up. "Sounds wonderful! Give her a call!"
"Mai takes orders from me, Madoka," Naru retorted, taking another sip of the cold tea. "Mai, call Kiko as well and when you're done the phones calls, make me more tea."
"I'm on it, I'm on it," Mai sighed as she left the room only vaguely hearing Madoka's scolding voice behind her.
"She's not your slave! Try to treat her with at least a little respect!"
October Day 1, 2:56 P.M.
Yup, that pretty much sums it up. Mai sighed as Shouta lead them to room they would be using as base.
"I hope this room will work for you," he said, walking everyone into the large room. Several tables and chairs had been set up nearby some sockets; two couches were also placed in there along with a coffee table.
"Perfect, thank you, Shouta," Kiko said with a smile as she turned to the man in charge behind her. "Well, Shibuya-san? What would you like our next move to be?"
Naru's eyes scanned the room and the people in it. "Matsuzaki-san and Mai will do a sweep of the property, mark down any room where you feel a presence or any room with a large difference in temperature," he ordered, then turned to the young man who had escorted them. "I'll need to speak with anyone who has had an experience, gather them here if you can. If anyone is unable to leave their rooms or get here, please show Akiko and Yasuhara to their rooms and they will interview them. Everyone else will unload the equipment."
Everyone nodded, but Mai raised her hand like the student that she is. "Yes, Mai?" Naru's voice was impatient.
"What if the witnesses come and everyone's still loading in the equipment?" she asked, her boss looked at her, not with annoyance but curiosity.
After a moment he turned to the young man. "Anyone who wishes to speak with us about their experiences may do so at four o'clock." With that he left the room towards the van.
"Nice one, Mai," Monk commented, patting the girl on her head. "Well, you heard the man, Ayako and Mai you go do the sweep, we'll bring in the equipment and Shouta think you could show Akiko around and make note of who might need to be interviewed in their rooms?"
"Sure thing," he agreed. "Let's check Ume-san, I'm pretty sure she's still bedridden…"
"Sounds good," she replied. "Let me just grab a pen and pape-choo!" She sneezed and blew her nose on the tissue John gave her.
"God bless you," he said.
"Arigato," she replied with a smile. "Now, let's get going!"
The two left the room momentarily leaving the rest of the group to get to business.
"So, what supposedly happens at this place?" the priestess asked as Mai wrote down the temperature.
"Eerie feelings, feeling like you're being followed, things going missing, occupants being attacked by psychotic beings in their sleep then dying two days later, an angel of death, the same basic stuff we deal with all the time," Mai answered without missing a beat, causing the priestess to raise a brow. "What?"
"Since when have you been so cynical?" Ayako asked picking up the thermometer. Mai's face looked confused and innocent.
"What do you mean? I'm not cynical," she replied as they walked toward the next room.
"You were just now…" Ayako's eyes held a glint of worry. Once she set up the thermometer in the next room, she put a hand on Mai's shoulder. "Did something happen, Mai? Or does this have to do with our last case?"
Mai just raised a brow. "I don't know what you're talking about. Or why you think what happened last case would affect me somehow, but we have a job to do and I don't feel like getting yelled at when it's only three thirty."
Ayako was curious at the usually bright and chipper Taniyama Mai's newfound sour attitude, but let it go. Something was on her mind but right now was not the time to pry. Instead she followed the girl into the next room after having taken down the temperature. "Okay, then," she started; deciding that perhaps try to sense what might have been in the room with them might be a good idea. "What do you think of this place then?"
"Why are you asking me?" she replied, Ayako shook her head.
"Don't even try to pull that, you and I both know how with the last few cases your thoughts have been crucial. And now that we've acknowledged it several times, it's about time you've gotten used to it."
"So, I was right a couple of times and I have dreams of events from the past, doesn't mean I'm any different than I was when Naru hired me last year." She was rambling now, but hey it had been a long week at school and she was tired, as much as she loved cases she wasn't ready for another week of sleepless nights, the pile of homework that awaited her, and ghosts after her. Why did they go after her anyway?
"Is that what this is about?" Ayako had Mai put down her clipboard and sat her down on the bed in the abandoned room. "Mai, it's been over a year since I met you and I can tell you that in that time you have grown and matured and despite all the darkness we go through you always find a reason to smile. You found out you had latent psychic powers and guess what? They've grown as well, your visions are becoming clearer you were even able to communicate with Dai in your dreams! You are different now Mai, but that doesn't make it a bad thing."
Mai gave a sigh. Everything Ayako said, she already knew. She also knew that all of that was spot on. "And I know you already know all of this, so why don't you really tell me what's going on?" the priestess's voice broke her from her reverie.
"I don't know." It was partly a lie, she'll admit. But she didn't feel like explaining her lack of sleep over the last couple of weeks after their last case. It wasn't like she was having nightmares about it either; in fact she had been having a dreamless sleep, but only four hours worth. "I'm sorry, Ayako, things have been a bit stressful lately with school and I'm just in a bad mood from it all. I'm fine, really, thank you, though."
Mai hoped that would end the conversation. Ayako knew that this was a bunch of crap, but figured she could get to the bottom of this later. "It's okay, if you need to talk you an come to me anytime."
"Thanks, Ayako." Mai smiled; even she knew that it was half-hearted. Something was bothering her, but she wasn't entirely sure herself what the cause was.
"Sure thing, Now let's finish this up and head back to Base, I'm sure Naru's going through some tea-withdrawal by now," Ayako laughed.
"Probably," Mai laughed as well.
"Thank you for your time," Naru said dismissing the last staff member who wanted to give his story. Shortly afterwards Kiko, Yasuhara and Shouta walked in. "What have you found out?"
Yasuhara flipped through the pages on his notepad. "Mainly, just reports of things being moved, however a few believed that they were pushed as they were walking to their rooms just last week. Also, one woman, Takara Yuina claims that she was visited last night by what she describes as the 'Angel of Death,'" he explained.
"She described the angel as a shadowy figure with a very soft voice, telling her that the next person to be attacked was occupant Fukuoka Hayate, who claims he was attacked in his sleep just last night, meaning if the pattern is the same with the last three victims we have until tomorrow to figure this out," Kiko finished, taking a seat next to Mai on the couch. What about the staff? What have they experienced?"
"Shadows, voices, the feeling of being watched, and items being misplaced. The basics of any normal haunting, and then a couple of the nurses said they were pushed near the stairs. But the Angel thing is what interests me," Monk answered, as the guest in the room cleared his throat. "Sorry, Shouta-kun, what's up?"
"My aunt wanted me to let you know that dinner will be ready by six, since she forgot to tell you when you arrived," he said. "Also, is there anything I can do to help you guys?"
Naru looked through the notepad Yasuhara had handed to him, taking mental notes on where most of the activity seemed to be occurring. Lin handed him a clipboard and he went to Monk. "Set up cameras and microphones in all of these rooms, in the rooms that are circled place a thermal imaging camera in them," he ordered, then faced two other members of the team. "Take Yasuhara and Matsuzaki-san with you." He turned to their new helper and incognito guest. "See if you can obtain permission from Takara-san and Fukuoka-san to place equipment in their rooms. If so, set up a camera and microphone as well as a thermal imager in each of their rooms and a camera and microphone in the west stairwell. Mai and Father Brown will go with you."
"Sounds good," Kiko replied, locking arms with Mai and stood up. "Let's go!"
"So, how're your arms doing, Mai?" Kiko asked, she really would have asked during the drive or even before they left, but they had to help pack up the van and she rode with Yasuhara and the others, while Mai took her usual position between Lin and Naru in the van. "Not in as much pain as earlier, I hope."
"Yeah, I have actual use of my arms and hands now," Mai laughed then looked at the bandages. "The blisters are mostly gone and the scabs are healing well, I've really just need to keep putting on the anti-scarring stuff my doctor gave me and then I should be almost back to normal."
"If you don't mind my asking," Shouta interjected with curiosity. "But, what happened to your arms in the first place?"
Mai gave a bit of a sigh, raised her head up and walked just a little faster then before. "It was nothing, just an accident that happened on our last case earlier this month," she answered. "Nothing that won't heal in another two weeks or so."
"I'd hardly call it nothing," John argued quietly, but still caught the ear of the young client.
"Here we are!" Kiko exclaimed. "Fukuoka Hayate-san's room. Shitsurei shimasu!"
"Douzo," they heard the old man's voice say and entered the room. The man turned off the T.V. and slowly wobbled over to greet his guests. "Shout-kun, Akiko-chan, was there something else you needed? I thought I answered all your questions."
"We only have a request this time," Kiko smiled. "With your permission, the lead investigator would like to place some equipment in your room to monitor you and to make sure you do not have another attack."
"What for? Please excuse my stubbornness, however, I do like my privacy. Is this really necessary?"
"Fukuoka-san, please, you know what has happened to the tenants who had the experiences that you did. It is very likely you could have the same outcome," Shouta persisted.
"Oh, poppycock! How do I know that it isn't one of the nurses who are just causing this? You're better off keeping an eye on them!" the man argued.
Mai noticed his change of behavior and made a note to tell Naru about it later, but right now she needed to get Hayate to allow them to set up their equipment. "Fukuoka-san, I understand that you want your privacy, however, all we want is to stop what is causing the strange occurrences here. Whether they are caused by the paranormal or if it is like you just said that a human might be causing them, we want to stop it," Mai debated. "Please, any irrelevant footage captured will be thrown away immediately."
Fine that last part was a lie, but Naru and Lin did throw away a lot of the footage caught once a case was closed. And cases like the Minnie doll that moved on camera they would save that footage, once Mai asked why, Naru just said it was for educational purposes. When she further questioned what he meant, he sent her to get tea.
"What kind of equipment will you be setting up?" the man started to give in.
"One camera, one microphone, and a device that records the temperature of the room," Mai answered.
"And none of what you record will be used for anything without my consent?" Hayate questioned.
"That's right," Mai answered, trying her best to look as nice as possible. It seemed just a little harder to do that today, she couldn't figure out why.
"Fine, do what you will, but I better not see my hairy back plastered all over some billboard!" He waddled into the bathroom connected to his room as John and Shouta quickly set up the equipment.
"Thank you, Fukuoka-san!" Shouta called as everyone dismissed themselves from the room.
"I can't be the only one to notice his change of behavior," John commented as they walked down the hall toward Takara Yuina's room.
"No, you weren't," Mai confirmed. "Kiko, how was he when you interviewed him?"
"He was very friendly and frightened by what he went through last night. Just like how he was when we first walked in, then his mood just flipped," she replied perplexed. "It's the strangest thing." Kiko stumbled slightly in her heels and bumped into Mai.
"Are you okay?" came the response from the group.
"I'm fine, just lost my footing," she laughed it off.
"Shouta-san, how does Fukuoka usually act?" Mai asked the young man with them.
"Just as Akiko-san said, he is normally very friendly, and treats just about everyone like they are his grandkids. For him to blow up like that is unheard of," he replied. "Think it has anything to do with the attack last night?"
"It could be possible that whatever attacked him last night possessed him," John offered, shifting both the camera and thermal imager into an easier position to hold. "Even still, his mood change was very spontaneous. Perhaps the sign of a mental disorder?"
"Like schizophrenia? Or Multiple personalities?" Mai's head tilted to the right.
"Or even something more common like bipolar disorder," John responded as they reached Takara Yuina's room.
"Impossible, we would have noticed something like that a while ago," Shouta argued.
"Takara-san! Shitsurei shimasu!" Kiko called opening the door.
"Come in!" called the sweet old woman's voice.
"Somehow, I don't think we'll have any trouble with her," Mai muttered as they continued their job.
"Dinner's ready," Shouta told everyone at Base when all the equipment had been setup.
"Sweet! I'm starving!" Monk cheered jumping up off the couch.
The priestess's stomach growled. "I haven't had much of a lunch," she commented, eagerly standing up and heading out the door. Even Naru and Lin followed as everyone filed out. Except Kiko.
"Kiko? Are you coming?" Mai called at the door, seeing the girl staring at the monitors.
Kiko swayed to the right but caught herself as she turned around. "Nah, oddly enough, I'm not very h-huungr-a-choo!" She sneezed again and grabbed her forehead as if to relieve pressure. "Hungry."
"Are you sick or something?" Mai began to get a little worried as she noticed how pale her friend was. Was she like that all day? "Do you want me to get Ayako? Or take you to our room?"
But Kiko just shook her head. "No, no, you guys go eat, I'll just lie down on the couch for a while," she insisted, taking a step. Her head spun and she fought to keep her balance. Mai was by her side in an instant. "Thanks, but I'm fine."
"What's taking you guys so long?" Monk asked in the doorway where the entire team seemed to have gathered with impatience.
"Go down without me, I'm not very hungry," Kiko insisted.
"She's not feeling well," Mai added, turning to Ayako. "Ayako, can you help me get her to our room?"
"I'm fine, just got a little dizzy." Kiko gave a sheepish shrug.
Ayako rushed over and placed her hand on the girl's forehead. "You're burning up!" she gasped as Kiko's face began to flush.
"I'm fine, I'll just lie down on the couch," she offered, not wanting to be a burden.
"I don't think so," Ayako ordered, helping her move toward the door. "You are going to sleep in an actual bed."
"John, would you mind going down and eating now?" Naru asked the priest who just blinked. "When you're done, come back up and stay in Kiko's room."
"Naru, that's unnecessary, I can sleep on my own and you all can eat and continue the investiga-"
"Mai is already spirit and danger magnet, to have another member of this team ill without the strength to defend themselves from an entity would hinder the investigation," Naru interrupted and turned to the priest again. "Father Brown?"
"O-of course." John was a tad startled, but went to the dining room with Shouta in tow.
"Fine, you win, just…just stop spinning the room, please?"
Downstairs in the dining hall, all we accounted for except John and Kiko, the latter having taken some Benadryl from Ayako to help her fall asleep and some Motrin for her headache, the former reading a book he had brought with him at her bedside. The table was quiet, save for the soft clatter of forks hitting the plates of their western style supper.
"Tasukete!" Mai's forked dropped and her eyes widened. "It's not my fault! I didn't mean to! Onegai! Tasukete!"
That sounded like a kid! Mai noted to herself, but quickly noticed the eyes staring at her.
"You okay, Mai?" Yasuhara asked, breaking her from her reverie.
"Yeah, my fork just slipped." She continued her meal, knowing that her friends knew her all too well. They would hold off on the explanation for now, but once they were in Base the interrogation would begin.
Naru stood and turned to leave. "Mai, when you're finished, bring tea," he ordered heading off.
"Sure," she shrugged the grumbled. "I'm not your slave, a 'please' would be nice."
"Did you say something?" Naru didn't even bother turning around, he knew he caught his assistant off guard.
"Nothing," she replied, suppressing the blush that threatened to creep into her cheeks. "Nothing of importance."
"Matsuzaki-san, accompany her when you're finished." Then he left.
"I don't need a babysitter…" Mai muttered under breath.
"No, but I'm fairly certain you don't know your way around their kitchen," Monk teased, ruffling her hair.
"Fine, you got me there," she replied, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Well, maybe he just doesn't want another incident to happen like last case?" Ayako offered, taking a sip of her water.
"See, Mai, he does care!" Yasuhara teased as Lin excused himself.
"Ha ha." Mai rolled her eyes as she finished her plate. "I should probably go make his majesty's tea."
"Here, I'll go with you, in case you need help finding the kettle," Shouta offered standing up.
"Shouta, that's a good idea," Ayako agreed, standing up herself. "I want to check in on John and Kiko."
"Alright," Mai nodded, standing up and taking the priestess's plate. "I guess we'll see you up in Base?"
"Yup," Monk and Yasuhara answered, finishing their meal. Mai and Shouta headed off to the kitchen.
"So, your boss doesn't like you walking around on your own?" Shouta began, trying to make some sort of conversation when they reached the kitchen. "Sounds a little controlling, don't you think?"
"Pretty much," Mai sighed, then laughed after she thought about it for a second. It was annoying, but the whole ordeal made sense. "I can't blame him too much though, I'm a bit of a danger magnet, especially when it comes to haunted buildings."
"And because you were injured on your last case?" Mai turned on the stove after placing the kettle on it.
"I guess, come to think of it, I don't think there was a case we went on that didn't involve me getting injured in some way." Her face scrunched up in thought.
"How many cases have you gone on?" Shouta grabbed two jars of tealeaves. "Does he like Mint? Or Green?"
"He prefers Green," Mai answered, pulling out several cups from the cabinet. "And this is my thirteenth case with the team."
"Wow, how long have you been ghost hunting?" He placed a teapot between the cups and the jar of tealeaves.
"Over eighteen months, I think," Mai stopped and contemplated it. "Yeah, because Naru tricked me into working for him April of my freshman year."
"Tricked you?"
"I may have accidently broken one of his cameras and caused Lin to be injured when they were investigating a haunting at my school," Mai said, sheepishly scratched her head. "Naru came up to me and said that I could work in order to pay for the camera."
"Not seeing how he tricked you." Shouta raised a brow.
"The camera was insured, he just needed someone to fill in for Lin." Mai pouted and Shouta burst into laughter.
"Man, you must have been pissed when you found out!" he laughed and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Of course I was! I wanted to beat him to a pulp!" she confirmed then laughed herself. "I have to admit though, I was pretty stupid for falling for it."
"Well, you were what? Fifteen at the time? I probably would have fallen for it too," Shouta assured her.
"At least I'm not alone," she laughed as the kettle whistled.
"So, Shibuya-san is your boss, right?"
"That's right."
"Why do you call him 'Naru?'" Mai closed the lid on the teapot and let the tea stoop.
"Just a nickname I came up for him when he annoyed me, it caught on," she shrugged, leaning against the counter. "Not meaning to jump topics or be a workaholic like Naru, but what kind of activity have you experienced here?"
He leaned against the counter next to her. "Well, let's see, I just seem to lose things more easily here than if I were at school, or a friend's house or my Dad's house. Footsteps in the middle of the night. Whispers and voices. The sort of thing that you see on those ghost reality T.V. shows." He shrugged, crossing his arms. "Although, there was one thing that stood out from mine and others' experiences."
"And what would that be?" Mai couldn't help but feel a little chill run down her spine.
"I've been hearing this-" He didn't finish. The temperature dropped significantly ina matter of seconds and the lights began to flicker. "What the hell?"
Rapping sounds were banging on the walls and ceiling, shaking the room. The hanging pots and pans began to fall. Mai could see her breath and feel the heat radiating off of the teapot behind her. "Move back!" she ordered over the noise of the room, pushing the young man back away from the counter.
"Tasukete!"
It's that voice again! Mai concluded, getting ready to perform one of her chants.
"Please! Help me! It's not my fault!" the voice wailed, judging by the light red glow beneath the teapot, Mai guessed that she only had maybe a minute to at least repel the spirit before she or Shouta were injured.
"Nau maku san man dabazara dan kan!" she repeated two more times and changed positions. "Rin! Pyou! Tou! Shah! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen!"
"Tasukete!" the voice shrieked one final time before the activity ceased and the lights flickered back on.
"That." Shouta managed to exhaled. His face blanched in the last minute. Mai gave him a quizzical look. "I've been hearing that."
So yeah long chap i could have ended it earlier im sure however i just kept writing lol anyway as some of you might remember i was able to get another job and well...it didn't end so well...i was working about 20+ hours a week there plus an extra 10 hours at my other job and 30+ hours of work plus being a fulltime student and trying to have some sort of social life and trying to get in shape just wasn't going to work plus my manager there hated me and told me numerous times in the month i worked there to find another job i finally stood up to her right before my last week and i found a new job at my gym where the manager is supposedly a bitch but i work weekends so i dont see her! lol
anyway so now i'm only working about 20 hours a week plus i am a full time student and i've been going to the gym and exercising more and because i am now totally responsible for my schooling and income and such i have very little free time so the likelihood of another chap within the next two weeks is pretty slim as i will not have much time to write i should be able to put some sort of dent in the next chap around thanksgiving which if you for whatever reason don't know when that is is the last week of november this year if nothing is updated around then, then i will update when this semester is over in december
and thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited and followed this story up to this point i wouldn't have done it without you guys!
jaa nee!