Well, I'm back! I am really sorry that this chapter probably sucks but that's because i needed this chapter to be able to move onto more interesting things! You officially get to meet Hozumi along some other tricks and twists. I'm sure you will enjoy this case despite this chapter being more like a filler episode from an anime. Okay, maybe more of a recap episode. Anyway my summer vacation is here and i passed my first year of college! Meaning that I'll be writing more! I plan on rewatching the anime for the nth time just for fun and I need to get yet another one of my friends into anime! whenever one of my friends is considering watching anime I make them watch ghost hunt and they fall in love with it! Anyway i will stop blabbering so you can enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 1- Better
November, Day Before Case 7:30 A.M.
Mai never did go back to sleep after she had awoken that morning. She had just finished her small breakfast and grabbed her books as she remembered what happened earlier that morning.
"Hozumi desu."
"Hai, my name is Taniyama Mai and I'm sorry for calling so late…er…early…but I was told you might be able to help me," Mai stuttered into the phone as she took a breath. "Please, I don't know where else to go."
"Okay, Taniyama-san," he replied, still sounding a little sleepy, but at the same time concerned. "Whatever is bothering you must be pretty urgent to force you to call me at this hour. Who gave you this number anyway?"
"You're grandfather, Enomoto-san. I was a patient of his a little while ago-"
"Say no more, Taniyama-san," he interrupted. "My grandfather may be a goofy old man, but he wouldn't just hand out my number to just anybody. Tell you what, a couple of my appointments were cancelled for later today, would it at all be possible for you to come by around three this afternoon?"
"Yes, of course!" she answered, as he told her his address and she wrote it down.
"Try to get a little rest in, Taniyama-san, and I will see you later today."
"Thank you so much!" With that they both hung up the phone.
She had the address in her pocket and locked her door. She knew that she would be able to get out of class early, she had an appointment and with her agreement with the school she would be allowed to leave class early. Everything was set. "Mai-chan! Thank goodness you're still here!" exclaimed the relieved voice of a neighbor.
Okay, maybe everything wasn't set. "Hiramoto-san, is everything all right?" Mai asked as the young mother motioned the girl over to her door.
"Yes and no," she replied. "No one's hurt or anything, but my nanny cancelled last minute. Would you be able to watch the kids for a few hours?"
"I'm sorry, Hiramoto-san, but I have an appointment at three-"
"I already called my husband about the nanny thing, he said if we could get someone to watch the kids he would be able to get back around noon. I know it's a lot to ask of you so short notice, but please, I 'm running out of options."
Mai let out a breath. How could she say no? "Let me give my school a call."
"Thank you so much, Mai-chan! You're a lifesaver!" the woman cheered. "I can't thank you enough!"
"It's no trouble," Mai replied, half-lying. "But would it at all be possible to use your computer? I would like the double-check where my appointment is supposed to be."
"Of course! The password is in the upper drawer," she agreed as they both ran into their respectable apartments.
Sure enough, noon came around and Hiramoto's husband returned and paid Mai for her trouble. Mai tried not to accept so much, but he insisted since she had to call out of school. Soon, Mai found herself on the porch of a second story office, much like where she worked. The porch was adorned with Charlie Brown Christmas tree-like bushes that were dying due to the change of weather. It was a few minutes past three and Mai was about to get cold feet, if a gust of wind hadn't beckoned her to knock on the door.
Nerves shook her body and soul as she waited for the door to open, for a sign that this might help. A young man opened the door. He was tall and lean, probably somewhere in between Naru and Yasuhara's height, and between Lin and Monk's built. He had dark brown hair and deep cerulean eyes, similar to her employer's, but there was something to them that differed the two men. This man's eyes held a wise yet childlike presence, something that she couldn't quite explain, but they calmed her down. "Taniyama-san, perfect timing, I was just making some tea. Come in," he greeted with a smile, gesturing her inside.
Mai nodded and stepped inside. The interior was as much like the one of her workplace as the outside had matched. A couple closed offices, a kitchenette, and a sit down area. To think that there was another paranormal investigation service not too far from the one she worked.
The young man asked her to take a seat while he grabbed the tea. When he returned she thanked him for the tea and the two sat there in silence for a while. Am I supposed to say something? She wondered, sipping her tea. The last time I had to have this sort of confrontation was when Mom died. And that was for a different reason entirely! I don't know what I'm supposed to do!
"So…what now?" she finally gathered the courage to speak. "I'm kind of new to this."
Hozumi put down his teacup and crossed one leg over the other. "Well, you certainly haven't come to me because you are the victim of a haunting." Mai gave him a look. "And by that, I mean, you would not have seen my grandfather in Kyoto to come all the way over here to see me in Tokyo. Unless you made that long journey by yourself." Mai's look softened. "And if you were to see my grandfather and he told you about my profession, it means, either you have a haunting in your home or school, which does not appear to be the case, or you are in the same profession as I am. Making you in the same position I was. A teenager pulled into a world of darkness and spirits where sometimes the darkness overpowers the light." Mai's face softened to pure curiosity. "Tell me, Taniyama-san, how old were you when you were thrown into that world?"
"F-fifteen…" she stuttered. "You can call me Mai."
"And you may call me Hozumi," he answered. "Okay, Mai, you were the same age I was when I was thrown into that world too. For different reasons I hope." The teenage girl had abandoned her tea a while ago, entranced by what this man said. "And how old are you now?"
"Seventeen."
"And I was that age when things began to become a little too much. The little flame on the candle I held in this field had finally blown out," he explained. "I was having nightmares, rarely getting sleep, my nightmares even came while I was awake. The fatigue and fear consumed me to the point where I went through a total personality change. I used to be smiley and outgoing, then I was tired and cranky and cynical. My friends and coworkers worried about me, but this wasn't something I could talk with them about. I finally gave in and spoke with my grandfather about it." Before she knew it, her mouth was hung slightly open and her eyes widened just a tad. "What I am trying to say, Mai, is that you are not alone. I hope that by telling you this, you might be able to trust me enough to tell me everything. I can tell just by looking at you that something is troubling you, and has for a while, perhaps the exact same thing that happened when I was your age. However, you are going to need to do something pretty hard, and that is to trust me. Are you up for it?"
Mai gave a sigh. She should be suspicious, she knew. She shouldn't have come, she knew. She truly didn't know if she could trust him. Yet, something in her mind and heart put her at ease. It's okay. A little voice said. He can help.
That voice hadn't spoken so clearly since the case at Yuasa High School, when everyone was blaming Kasai for the incidents. Her intuition, was what Naru had called it right? Perhaps she should listen to it.
"I-I just have no idea where to start," Mai finally answered, truthfully.
Hozumi smiled. "Well, why not start from the beginning? When you first started working with the paranormal."
November, Day Before Case 4:30 P.M.
Once again, Mai was late. Not that the narcissist could really hold it against her, she really had only been late to work a handful of times. However he was starting to get a headache from lack of tea and Lin just couldn't make it right.
The black clad president of Shibuya Psychic Research looked at the clock. She wasn't that late yet. She was usually excused from afternoon cleanup because of her situation, but she might have gotten held up, it wouldn't be the first time, but it was a rare occurrence. There could have been some sort of traffic incident that has caused her to make a few detours. Again, not the first time, but not exactly common, either.
Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to contact the school and make sure she left on time or if she got held up. He has had to do that once, but that was probably a year or so ago, the school had been under lockdown due to a tip about drugs one of the students was seen carrying. A false alarm, no drugs were found, but Mai did miss a day's worth of pay.
Before the narcissist knew it, he had dialed the phone number and was waiting patiently for the line to connect. The school's secretary had answered cheerfully. Naru quickly explained his intentions for his call. "Oh, I'm sorry, Shibuya-san, but Mai-chan actually called out earlier today, saying she had work. I had assumed she was with you , seeing as you travel with your job," the secretary answered in a surprised tone.
You're kidding me…Naru's mind reeled. "She did, did she? Well, she has yet to arrive for her duties," Naru answered. "Thank you for the information, Matsumoto-san-"
"Before you hang up, Shibuya-san!" the secretary interrupted quickly. "Mai is a very bright girl and is not one to lie. In the past, before she accepted the job you offered her and even now, she was known to babysit or take up random one-time jobs to help support herself. I'm sure she just hasn't had a chance to get to a phone or just simply lost track of time."
"Thank you, Matsumoto-san." Naru hung up the phone.
Where the hell was that girl!
Three cups of tea, a glass of water, several packs of pocky, and two bathroom trips later, Mai had probably relayed only the outline of the cases she had been a part of. Only adding detail to the first case at her school, where everything began. Learning that Hozumi had gone through a similar situation, though he never elaborated on it. They never even got to her nightmares, but for some reason she was starting to feel better. She was finally just talking to someone who didn't already know the exact events of her cases, but understood the field she was in. It wasn't like she was talking to Monk or Ayako or even Kiko. And it wasn't like she was speaking with her friends or even Riku or Setsuko, or Shouta. It was different from when she spoke with Enomoto at the hospital. She felt a sense of security that she hasn't felt in a while.
"I am still surprised that it was Kuroda causing all the activity back then," Mai finished, sipping the last of her water. It was like she was speaking with an old friend, whom she had not spoken with in years. It was so easy.
"Because she was your friend?"
"I guess…I mean we were never close but I knew her. It's not like she meant to, she happens to have latent psychic powers that cause poltergeists when she's under stress," Mai began to babble. "I mean, it's not like I mean to have visions and dreams and the ability to see certain spirits. It just happened."
"Now, that's something you haven't told me," the young man smiled as he leaned back. "You have psychic abilities? When did you find out about them?"
"Not until after my second official case as an employee of my boss. It ended up making a lot of sense now that I think about it." Mai looked at her hands and then gave her companion a thoughtful look. "You said you were thrown into this business the same age I was, and you said you hit a sort of depression when you were my age. How old are you now?"
Hozumi chuckled a little. "I probably should have told you earlier," he smiled. "I just turned 20 a couple weeks ago."
"Happy belated birthday," Mai answered. "So, you've been doing this for five years? And you were able to get this far?"
"Of course, and so can you," he answered. "It won't be easy, but you probably are already starting to feel a little better, right?"
"Yeah," Mai smiled. It had been a while since she could smile truthfully like that. "How can I repay you? I'm taking time out of your schedule, there has to be a fee or something. I don't have much, but I can at least try to pay you."
The young man thought for a moment before he answered, "Well, Mai, tell you what," he sat back up into a more professional position. "I'm not going to charge you a thing." He eyes widened and she opened her mouth the protest. "It's going to take more than one session for your nightmares to go away, next time we'll try to go more into your more recent cases and your dreams."
"So, I'll pay next time? What do you charge, I appreciate that you are making this consultation free, but I don't have much money since I am a part time worker and full time student-"
"I won't charge you a thing because we are going to hold our next session on Sunday, if that works for you." Mai's jaw dropped once again as the young man continued. "We close early on Sundays, so if you can be here around five on Sunday we can continue where we left off. Without a cost to you."
"But…why would you-"
He held up a hand to silence her. "I know what you are going through and I'd like to think of this as helping out a friend. I would never charge a friend for me being there when they needed someone to talk to. We can work out the details later, I think your boss might be worried by now."
"My boss?" Mai turned toward the clock and let out a sharp squeak. "Naru's going to kill me!" Quickly she grabbed her bag and gave a gracious bow to Hozumi. "I can't thank you enough! I will see you on Sunday!"
Hozumi stood up and opened the door for her. "I'll see you on Sunday."
November, Day Before Case 6:14 P.M.
Naru's headache had escalated to a migraine, especially since he called Monk and Ayako to see if they happened to hear from his petite employee. The answer was no, along with worried exclamations from both parties. After promising to call them back when he found her, he hung up and rubbed his temples. He could really use that tea!
Which is probably why he ended up finding himself pacing in the consultation area of the office. Had he not send his tall Chinese assistant out searching for Mai, Naru probably would have heard a comment about wearing a whole in the floor. Not that he would listen to him anyway; his mind was preoccupied. He should be out there with Lin. Searching.
And if Mai does come in and neither of us are here? He begrudgingly heard Lin's voice from earlier. If she does come back call my cell and I'll do the same if I find her.
That was about a half hour ago. No word from anyone. Sometimes Naru just couldn't be patient.
Which is probably why when he heard footsteps coming towards the office he stood next to the door with his back against the wall. The door slowly opened and the tingling of the bell announced that someone had come in. The guest never saw Naru because the open door hid his slender body perfectly. The guest gave a sigh and began to close the door, believing she might be safe. "And where have you been this whole time?" The cold voice made the girl squeak and jump back.
"Naru!" Mai squeaked as her heart threatened to thump out of her chest. "Don't scare me like that!"
"You never answered the question." His cold demeanor would have made anyone run scared, but there was something in his eyes. Was he worried about her? "Where were you?"
Mai forgot to come up with a cover story. She never expected to be this late to the office, but should have known Naru would interrogate her. "Sorry, Naru, I ended up having my last session with my doctor about my arms. He asked if we could bump it up to today and I forgot to tell you I would be late." She rolled up her sleeves to show her slightly scarred arms. The injuries had become small dark patches on her arms, the scar cream had really done wonders, unless you really stared at them, you could barely see the scars.
"You also never went to school."
I should have known he'd give them a call… "My neighbor's nanny cancelled on her and she asked if I could watch her kids until her husband got home." At least that one wasn't a lie.
They held an almost-stare-down. By almost, I mean Mai looked innocent as always and Naru waivered whether to believe her or not. Finally with a sigh, Naru retreated back to his office to give several people a call. Before he fully closed his door, he gave one order, "Tea."
And things were back to normal. Mai breathed a sigh or relief when she began making tea.
Naru called her school first, gave the message that she had turned up safe and sound, then called Lin and told him to get back to the office, then gave brief phone calls to Ayako and Monk, hanging up before either of them had the chance to chitchat. Mai brought him his tea and he began looking at their next case file. Curious, the brunette leaned over and looked it over as well.
"We have a new case?" she asked. He nodded.
"I already contacted the rest of the team while you failed to call to let me know you were going to be late. You will come here tomorrow at your usual time after school and Lin will drive you over."
"Where is the case?" She couldn't help but lean over and felt a chill roll down her spine. "A cemetery?"
"That is correct," Naru answered. "The caretaker has been having problems with disturbed and vandalized graves."
Now that sounds exactly like something he would just dismiss and have the caretaker contact the police. "What makes him think it's a spirit?"
"He had contacted the police a week ago. They sent a couple of officers to investigate; apparently while they were on duty they heard a scream. Thinking that someone had snuck in and possibly was hurt, they followed the scream and found three headstones had been smashed and a hole was dug in front of one," Naru explained flipping through the file.
"Sounds like some kids were either performing a dare or doing some sort of initiation or something." Mai gave a shrug. Just what made her employer interested in this case?
"The event happened last Thursday," Naru continued. "Do you remember what the weather was like that day?"
"Remember it? I came home from here drenched!" she replied with a huff. "It poured for an hour straight, what about it?"
"Because of all the rain the ground would have been soft." He rummaged through the file until he pulled out a photograph of the damage. "Yet, there were not footprints at the crime scene."
Mai examined the photo that her boss had given her. Sure enough, not a single footprint could be seen around the scene. A quizzical look appeared on her face. "You're right…" she breathed.
"Thank you for telling me something I already knew," he remarked coldly, earning a glare from his assistant. "There are several files of paperwork on your desk, they are our past cases, I need you to give them a follow-up call."
Interesting, Naru normally had either Lin or himself do those. "You want me to do them? How many are there?"
"Five, because of how busy we have been the last few months, neither Lin nor I have had a chance to make the calls. Since we now have to make preparations for a new case, you're the only one who can do them." He continued to flip through their newest case file. "By the time you finish with those, I'll need more tea."
And he's still pissed that I never called… Mai's mind groan and sweat dropped. May as well start those calls, before he decides to drink his tea in one gulp and force her to make more.
The first case file on her desk was their case at the former Prime Minister's mansion. Another chill rolled down her spine as she remembered Urado's face so close to hers in that blood covered room. His hot decaying breath making her eyes water. She shook off the feeling as she dialed the number to Ohashi who had represented the former politician. "Moshi moshi," Mai said once the man picked up. "This is Taniyama Mai, from Shibuya Psychic Research, I'm calling in regards to your claim last April. We would just like to know how things turned out and if there were anymore problems with the property."
Just as she suspected, since the mansion was purified by fire there had been no more activity and the former Prime Minister had decided to turn the property into a playground for the nearby children, just like how the kids had once played soccer in the courtyard. Needless to say, Mai was happy with the turn out of a once horrifying case. Next she called the Yoshimi residence.
Akifumi answered, delighted to hear from Mai seeing as it had been a while since their case there. As Mai had suspected, there was no more activity and the family had gone back to normal. Katsuki and Wakako were back to their old selves, but oddly enough were just a little closer than they had been before the whole ordeal. "That's great to hear!" Mai exclaimed through the receiver, earning a chuckle from the young man.
"It really is, we can't thank you enough for helping u out, despite everything that happened," he replied.
"No need to thank us, we're just glad we could help." Mai couldn't stop the smile on her face.
"Well, if you and your friends are ever in town stop by, Wakako has been asking about you since you guys left."
"I will," Mai replied, before hanging up. Weird, Wakako only spoke with me a few times, all of those times she had been possessed. Mai's mind wandered as she dialed the next number. I wonder why she suddenly likes me.
"Moshi moshi?" That was when Mai had realized the number she had dialed was none other than the Kimura residence. Why did she really need to call for a follow-up when she had just seen her psychic friend a little while ago?
"Hey, Kiko, it's Mai. Naru is having me call our clients to see how things turned out since our cases with them. Your file happened to be in my pile, too," Mai explained as she slipped the notes she had written about the Yoshimi call into its designated folder. "Everything is all right, I presume? How's Satoshi doing?"
"Everything is great, and so is Satoshi. His physical therapy is over and he's running around like a nut like nothing ever happened!" Kiko laughed. "How about you? How are your arms doing?"
"A little scarred, like I expected, but not nearly as bad as I had anticipated," she answered, glancing down at the patches slightly darker than her skin. They really weren't that bad, if only the memories of that case weren't so horrifying.
"That's good, no more bandages?"
"No more bandages." Mai chuckled back.
"I'll let you get back to work, before Naru screams for you to get him more tea-oh!" Mai could hear a little girl's voice behind Kiko's. "Sorry, Mai, someone wants to say 'hi.'"
"Mai-san!" the five-year-old's voice exclaimed through the phone. Mai just smiled.
"Hi, Sakurako! How are you!"
"Good! The bad man is gone! You scared him away!" the little girl cheered.
"I don't think I scared him away all by myself, you helped too," Mai replied.
"I scared him!" the girl gasped in surprise, earning a chuckle from bot her older sister and the girl on the phone. "Nuh-uh!"
"Yuh-huh!" Mai played along earning a giggle from the little girl. "I need to go now, Sakurako, can you give the phone back to your sister?"
"Yeah! Bye-bye Mai!" she shouted as the phone was passed to Kiko.
"All right, now I think that's probably proof that things are back to normal here," Kiko laughed. "I should probably let you get back to work, Naru is probably going through withdrawal right now."
"Thanks, Kiko, I'll talk to you later."
"Good, let me know when you have some time off, not sure about you, but I could use a little girl time and with Naru working you to the bone, I'm fairly certain you could use a break too!"
"Will do." They said their goodbyes and hung up their phones.
Mai quickly dialed the next number and put her notes in Kiko's file. "Samurakami-san! This is Mai from Shibuya Psychic Research, I'm just calling to follow-up on our case at your camp. Has their been anymore activity?"
No surprise to Mai, seeing as she pretty much saw the children's spirits off to the next world, that there had been no more activity. No more children had disappeared and surprisingly enough none of their current campers, except the ones passing the age limit had decided not to attend then next summer. In fact, all the campers had actually signed up for the upcoming summer. Makoto had gone back to her old chatterbox self, apparently asking everyone when Mai might come back to visit them, or if she could go see her, flattering the high school student. Why were so many children fascinated with her?
Their conversation was brief and Mai just had one more phone call to make. Boy did she remember this case, it was one of their shortest and most interesting possession cases. Mai briefly remembered her co assistant in the middle of a make out session with their client. Of course he had been possessed by said client's deceased husband, but it was agreed that it was best not to tell Madoka the details of that case. Despite any claims that Lin made about the two not being involved, the team didn't buy his excuses. "Moshi, moshi, Gensai Jinru-desu!" an excited voice answered the phone.
Stunned, Mai nearly leaped out of her seat. That couldn't have been Jinru, right? "Hai, this is Taniyama Mai from Shibuya Psychic Research, I'm just calling to check up on you since our investigation at your home," Mai explained despite her surprised state.
"Mai! It's good to hear from you! We can't thank you and your team enough for helping us!" the high school girl exclaimed through the phone. "Truth be told, if it weren't for my father possessing your friend I don't think my mother would have changed," she added quietly.
"I take it things have turned around and your mother is sober, Jinru?" Mai was still in awe at this girl's turnaround! It had only been two months she had been there herself, where the spirit of Jinru's father had actually forced Mai to go through the same pain that the high school student's drunken mother had inflicted on her daughter.
"Oh yes!" she nearly shouted into the phone. "Oh, Mai-san! Things really turned around once I heard my father's voice again! I found my confidence again. I don't stumble on my words anymore! I can't thank you enough!"
"I'm very glad to hear that!" Mai replied smiling despite knowing that her friend couldn't see it. "No more levitating?"
"No more levitating!" she laughed. Mai heard another voice in the background. "Oh, Mai-san, Okaa-san would like to speak with you."
"Mai-chan! What do we owe the honor of your call?" Nishi answered into the phone.
"Just a follow-up call since our investigation a couple months ago." Mai continued to write notes on the slip of paper in front of her. "Seems like everything has gotten better since we were over there?"
"Yes, Tsuyoshi's spirit is finally at peace, thanks to you." Her voice became quieter after Mai heard faint footsteps over the phone. "And thanks to you, my drinking days are over. I haven't had one drink since that day."
"I'm very glad to hear that."
"Jinru is back to her old self again, she's going out with friends, her teachers have notice an improvement in her, and it's all because you helped Tsuyoshi stop me. Thank you."
"Nishi-san, we only did what you hired us to do. To solve the haunting, it just turned out that the only one who could stop the haunting was you. And you did it."
"Just…thank you for doing this…" Mai heard Nishi stumble for words, was she getting choked up? "It was very good to hear from you, Mai-chan, I hope everything is well with you and your team."
And the last phone call she had to make was finished. She tucked the notes into the folder, closed it and headed for the kitchen to make Naru his tea. Mai started to see what Hozumi meant, sometimes in this profession, darkness can overpower the light. Now that Mai realized just how many people she was able to help, how many wanted to thank her and the team for what they had done, the little flame on her candle in this world sparked again. Just sparked, but it was something.
Just like she had hoped, Hozumi was able to bring out her determination. This time her determination wasn't set on beating Naru at his own game, but beating her own mindset. She never let ghosts cause her so much fear before, why should she let it now?
It also helped that she had someone just as attractive as her employer actually believing in her for once. Instead of berating her abilities and barking orders for tea. Things just may get better.
Well, I hope many of you are happy with this chapter. Next chap will get more into the case and Mai's nightmares (possibly). Next chap will not be up for at least a week if it is not up by next week then i probably won't be up until sometime in mid June for several reasons. I will be on a weekend retreat this weekend so no time to write…period. and after that I will be pulling double-time at work filling in for people left and right. Then in about three weeks my two younger sisters will be confirmed into the Catholic church and one of them has asked me to be their sponsor! If John were a real person he would be so proud of me! lol then my sisters will have their graduation and the list goes on and on, but I can assure you your wait will not be too long, I have many ideas for this case and the cases to come.
Also several of you have asked me questions about Kiko and how she knows Naru and Gene, well, doesn't it make more sense that she was able to stand up to Naru in the very first chapter? Perhaps I will go further into that side plot at a later time, for now I will probably focus on Mai and Hozumi.
Hope you enjoyed!
:D