Woohoo! New chap everyone! I hope you all enjoy! For some weird reason the site wouldn't let me upload the document but I managed to get it to copy and paste after like two days of trying -_-" but hey! I updated! Enjoy!
Chapter 7-Kagome, Kagome
January Day 5, 5:30 A.M.
Mai knew she wasn't going to sleep the rest of the night. She wasn't sure she wanted to even try. Once her sobs had subsided and her hands had ceased shaking, she decided she may as well be productive. She managed to finish all of her homework and even managed to get a head start on most of the topics for the following week. Not wanting to overload her brain, she decided to take a break and shower.
That was when she remembered the burning sensation from the day before. She thought it might have just been something with her jeans, but she was wrong. She found that out when she stood in front of her mirror with her shirt off. Right by her hip was a red scratch. Nothing to be too concerned about right? Wrong. It wasn't just a scratch, but writing.
Hi!
Yes, that's right. Written on her hip was the word "Hi!" with the exclamation point. And it was in that moment that Mai realized that the spirit they were dealing with, really liked fucking with people.
I'm getting real sick of this case…She shook her head and went to the shower.
Mai managed to work on her English while she waited for Lin to pick her up. Her mind continued to return to her dream. She couldn't speak even there. Looks like she wasn't going to be doing anything on her own for the remainder of the case. If she were to be attacked again, how would she be able to cry out for help if she were alone? Then again, she has been in those situations with a voice and no one was able to hear her.
Well, Mai, at least you're no less useless than you were with a voice, she told herself as she made the silent drive with her coassistant.
Lin walked her into the theater after they parked. I guess Naru really doesn't want me alone, she concluded. At least she didn't have to worry about bringing a change of clothes or changing before she had to climb a ladder. She didn't have to worry about having to go up on the bridge anyway. Naru would never let her up there after what's happened.
So it was no surprise when she made it to Base where everyone was waiting and Naru assigned their positions for the investigation today. "Yasuhara and Matsuzaki-san are on their way to visit the families. In the meantime, Monk, I want you to stay with Hara-san and John to continue keeping an eye on Hoshiko," he ordered the remainder of SPR that were in Base. "Mai, you will stay here in Base and help examine evidence."
Everyone nodded and split up into their roles. Mai was left with Naru handing her a pair of headphones. "Here, I want you to examine the audio from the attic last night. Let me know if you hear anything that might be substantial."
Mai pouted and pointed to her mouth like he was an idiot for asking her to communicate. Can't talk, idiot scientist.
"I'm aware that you can't speak, but that doesn't mean you can't write," he responded to her unspoken argument, by handing her a black notebook and a pen. Damn it, Mai, you're the idiot.
Rolling her eyes, Mai accepted the notebook and headset. She turned to the small computer that she could analyze the audio from.
"Is Mai-san alright?" Hoshiko asked, as she came out of the dressing area in her costume.
"She was attacked like you and now lost her voice like how Masako went blind," John explained, turning around to see the finished costume. "She's not happy about it, but she is fine." He gave her a smile. "You look great! Is opening night this Friday?"
"Thanks and we're hoping it will be," she replied, crossing her arms. "But I don't know what we'll do if people are still being attacked. If Masako and Mai don't get better soon I don't think we'll ever have our opening night."
"Everything will be just fine," he said. "There was only one case that we weren't able to exorcise or cleanse ourselves." He noticed the worry that came over the teen's face. "That's not what going to happen here, on that case we were dealing with an entity that was inhuman. He couldn't be exorcised because he wasn't dead."
"You never told me about that case," she said quietly.
"It wasn't exactly a case any of us wanted to remember, yet we always seem to have a reason to bring it up," he said, scratching his head. "Like I said, I doubt we're dealing with that sort of situation here, all of the activity has been fairly benign. If we were dealing with anything demonic, with you being the prime target, we wouldn't be worried about equipment falling on you."
"What would you be worried of then?" she asked as the seamstress came out as well.
"I think you're wanted," he smiled, pointing at the woman behind her. Hoshiko turned her head to see Shion standing there.
"I'll be in in a second," she told her, before turning back to him. "What would you be worried about?" The priest looked hesitant. "C'mon, John, I want to know."
"We'd be more worried about you becoming possessed rather than hurt by the spirit," he said, but then smiled. "But you have nothing to worry about! You have the charm that Ayako made, right? Those haven't failed us yet!"
"Thanks, John," she replied with a smile. She walked back into the dressing room, unsure of whether or not to believe him.
"Wouldn't we cover more ground if I just drove to the other family while you interviewed this one?" Ayako asked as Yasuhara pulled up to Oshiro Kyou's cousin's apartment complex.
"Most likely, but for in person interviews, I'd rather have a witness," he explained, parking.
"What for? Why would you make anything up?"
"I wouldn't but after last case I'd rather have someone with me to verify everything," he answered, as they entered the building. Ayako gave him a confused glance.
"Yuudai didn't accuse you of fabricating research, did he?" The two ascended the staircase.
Yasuhara shook his head. "Luckily, no, but he sure could have and with some of the people involved with this production, I'd rather be safe, than sorry." They turned to go up another flight. "Besides, Naru always brought someone with him, granted I don't know if he has a license yet, but he brought Mai with him before. So I guess he likes to get multiple opinions from a single interview."
"Makes sense," the priestess agreed. "Do we think that maybe there might be another culprit than the suicide victims?"
"Unlikely," Yasuhara said as they reached the floor their appointment was on. He held the door for Ayako to go ahead of him. "With all the research I've done, there were no significant deaths other than the four suicides. No murders. No dumped bodies. No unexpected natural deaths prior to a show. While it is possible that one of the actors or crew might have fooled around with a Ouija board and brought a spirit in, that would be the only reason why we wouldn't know the culprit."
"Point taken, but the Ouija board might be a good thing to consider." They walked down the hall. "It would explain why Masako wasn't able to sense it if it was hiding it's power, and would explain why it was able to take her sight and Mai's voice."
"But why wait for the team to show?" They had reached the apartment number and Yasuhara knocked. "Hoshiko was the original prime target, why not take her voice or sight? Why wait for us to come in and then after several days of investigation make a move like that?"
"I'm not sure, to be honest, but I don't think we should rule that out-" The door had opened and a woman in her late thirties stood in the frame. She was about as tall as the priestess was in her heels, carried a little weight in her stomach area, dark brown hair in a short pixie cut and chocolate brown eyes. "Hi, would you be Maeda, Yuzuki?"
"Yes, and you two are?" the woman appeared a little skeptical as she spoke.
Yasuhara took over. "I'm Yasuhara, Osamu, we spoke on the phone last night," he introduced, extending a hand toward the woman next to him. "This is my classmate, Matsuzaki Ayako, she's my partner for the project that I told you about."
"Yes, I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you to bring someone with you, but please come in. I have tea ready," Yuzuki said, opening the door further and inviting the two investigators in.
The two were ushered into the living area and sat down on the couch as their host wen to the kitchenette for the tea he made. She came back out a moment later with the cups, along with cream and sugar on a small tray. "So you wanted to know about Kyou-chan's death? Sorry, I'm just a little confused as to why you're looking into it now, being students, that it."
"I know it's a little strange, but what we're looking into is the coalition between suicides and small time actors," Yasuhara covered smoothly. Ayako tried to hide her surprise at how easily this kid could cover. "Because the theater your cousin worked at was close to our school it was kind of our first stop."
"Okay, well, I'm not sure how much help I will be," the woman said honestly. "We were close when we were kids but when I went to college and she went into acting we sort of parted ways." She fixed her tea to her liking and took a sip. "I was kind of surprised that she invited me to opening night of the play she was working on before she died. She sent me a ticket and everything. Even took me to lunch like two months before the opening night was supposed to be."
"Was she excited for the performance?" Ayako asked.
"Oh, yes. Definitely." She placed her cup back on the coffee table. "That was why it was such a surprise that she killed herself. Her note mentioned her family not approving of her lifestyle, so I could only assume that she had an argument with her mother about the show."
January Day 5, 11:11 A.M.
Mai was still going through the audio, Naru had wanted her to go through what he recorded after she went home, but she wasn't getting anything. Then she hit the timestamp of 12:14 A.M. What is that? She wondered, turning up the volume and pressing her headset closer.
It was a slight, soft hum. Mai looked at the time that this had been recorded and remembered waking up at the same time. Listening closer she seemed to recognize the melody that was sung. Yet she couldn't make out any words.
Naru, noticing her concentration, tapped her on the shoulder. "Find anything?" he asked, she nodded and took off her headset. He put it on his head and she played the isolated clip. "Humming. Was that all?"
Mai grabbed the notebook and pen and began writing. She turned the notebook to him. Did you find anything from the time I was attacked?
"Nothing like that, do you think we might have missed something?" She wrote in her notebook again.
I want to listen to it. The time period I was attacked.
Naru nodded and clicked a few times bringing up another audio file. Mai mouthed a "thank you" and listened to the feed. C'mon. C'mon! She mentally willed the feed. There's gotta be something you can tell me.
Truth be told, Mai was more annoyed that she couldn't remember the song that the melody belonged to. She knew it. It was on the tip of her tongue. Like that helps…
Monk once again went through watching another rehearsal of his baby sister making out with her costar. He knew the two weren't really romantically involved, however, there was that other actor, Kuniharu. He was pretty close to his baby sister and a good deal older than her, what exactly did he want with a seventeen year old?
He had somehow managed to convince the priest to switch positions, have him walk around with Masako for a bit while Monk watched over his sister. It was about time they had a talk anyway.
The scene performed was finished and Hoshiko was told to go to take a break. Backstage was getting stuffy so she snuck her way out to the back door of the building. She told Fuyumi what she was planning, who nodded, seeing Monk was the one keeping an eye on her. Hoshiko, unaware of the shift change, figured John would find her eventually and walked outside into the cold late morning sun.
Taking a breath, she stretched her arms, reveling in the quiet openness of the back lot. Well, it was quiet until she heard the door open and close. "You found me," she smiled, turning to her temporary bodyguard friend. But it wasn't whom she was expecting. Suddenly, she felt the cold air become colder. Perhaps going outside wasn't a good idea.
"I did," Monk answered, walking down the three steps to the courtyard. "Why are you out here?"
"I needed some fresh air," she answered, crossing her arms. "It's been a long morning."
"Yeah, that was a pretty intense scene with your boyfriend." Hoshiko raised her brow.
"Yuito? Ew no, he's Ichika's boyfriend he just plays my character's husband," she said, shaking her head.
"C'mon, Star, what are you doing here? He's older than me, doesn't that gross you out?"
Hoshiko rolled her eyes. "It's called acting, Nii-san, something I happen to be pretty good at."
"You don't have to go through this, it's not too late to go back to school and get a real job."
"Why is it perfectly fine for you to pursue your band, but the moment I decide I want to act it's like I'm the family disgrace?" Within her crossed arms, her hands clenched into fists. "We're not on the mount, Houshou, you can have your CDs and I can have my movies. Why is it not okay for both of us to pursue something we love?"
"Because, it's not a good idea to get yourself involved with such a lifestyle, not while you're so young. Too many will try to take advantage of you. And it's worse for you, because you're young and you're a-"
"A girl? Is that what you were going to say?" She moved her handed to her hips. "Do you not see what I was able to accomplish? I'm the youngest one here and managed to land the lead role in a very well known play! I finished school early, top ten of my class, mind you, and you want me to go back? I graduated! I'll be eighteen in a couple weeks, I'm giving my dream a shot!"
"But at what cost?" Neither of them were sure of when their voices rose or when they had advanced closer to each other. "You're not home, you're away from your friends, your castmates are trying to make your life hell, some of these actors are trying to-"
"What about you?" She stopped him. "You left home, you don't see any of your friends, I'm sure you've dealt with some shitty people, no matter where I go there will always be someone who wants to take advantage of me. Besides, I've made friends, I'm living with one, and I'm starting to get along really well with the other actors-"
"Like that Kuniharu kid? I can tell you like him, so don't deny it, but he just wants-"
"You think I'm into Kuniharu?" She raised her brow. "You're kidding right?"
"C'mon, Star, I've seen how you look at him, I'm not stupid. You obviously like him and I really think you should be more careful-"
"You're such an idiot, Nii-san! I'm not into him like that! I'm not into anyone on cast like that! I am careful! Besides the guy I-" She had to physically bite her tongue to stop herself. She crossed her arms and turned around to hide her blush. She said too much.
"The guy you-what? Oh…" Then he realized it. He should've recognized it by her reaction when he came out. She was never expecting him. She was looking forward to someone else. "Star, this is…it's not something that will work out. It can't work out."
"Don't you think I know that?" The venom that dripped in her voice was enough to make her brother shut up. "I know it'll never work out, and I'm slowly accepting it. But the least I can do is try to be as good a friend to him as he was to me. He was the first real friend I made since coming to Tokyo."
The young woman took a breath and rushed to the door. After this conversation, Monk wasn't sure if he could stop her. "For the record, I would have told you about the play and sent you your ticket already, but I didn't know if we would even have a play with the crap going on."
Monk heard her footsteps as she clomped away to rehearse another scene.
Mai continued to listen to the audio until she was well passed the time that she was attacked. Nothing. Nothing popped out at all, not a single sound was made other than the wind. It was a perfectly normal night. In a perfectly normal attic. That is, if she hadn't been possessed and almost jumped off the roof of said attic. Spirits usually remain quiet at the beginning of an investigation, they are shy of humans, but they were almost a week into this case. There were two deaths right outside of that room and there were no weird occurrences the night before other than the humming.
There's gotta be something, she told herself, pausing the feed. Something was telling me to put a camera up there in the first place. We should have caught something during my attack. So why didn't we? And why do I know that song?
She took off her headset and assumed a similar thinking pose as the man next to her. "Find anything?" he asked. Mai shook her head.
She mentally hummed the tune. I'm such an idiot, why would I think that there was another time where the song might have been sung? If anything I should listen to the audio from this room during the attack- She really was an idiot.
She grabbed the notebook and began to write. Could I listen to the audio from this room yesterday?
"Lin and I already analyzed it, there was nothing abnormal hidden in the attack," he answered, turning back to his monitor. It looked like he was reviewing the thermal imaging from the attack.
She thought again, what other areas held a lot of activity? Then it hit her and she began writing again. The basement?
Naru nodded and took the mouse from her, a few clicks later and Mai had the audio from the basement. Thanks!
She put the headset back on. The basement always seems to have something going on, especially during attacks on other parts of the building, she told herself. She hit around the time of six forty and soon she heard that humming again. She couldn't make out the words and tried turning the volume up.
She still couldn't quite hear the words, but that's not what made her throw off the headset and jolt back from the table. She pushed herself back from the table so hard that the chair she was sitting on fell back and she was standing ready to run out the door.
The action startled her boss who was standing now as well. "What's wrong?" he asked. Her pounding heart had subsided and she took a breath. She reached for the mouse and stopped the feed, she then grabbed the pen and wrote in the notebook again.
Sorry. I turned up the volume and a loud voice began laughing. It just startled me is all.
She didn't wait for him to respond before putting the headset back on and rewinding the feed. She highlighted the area where she heard the humming and cleared the background noise while boosting the volume for that specific spot. She knew the melody, but why? She played the feed.
"Itsu deyaru…" she could finally make out. She boosted the sound more and replayed the clip.
It was a female voice, an adult by the way it was singing. "Kagome, Kagome. Kago-no naka-no tori-wa. Itsu itsu deyaru? Yoake no ban-ni. Tsuru-to kame-ga subetta. Ushiro no shomen da-a-re."
Mai remembered the tune now. It was a game that she and her friends would play in elementary school. Similar to the games of duck duck goose and ring around the roses, one person would stand in the middle blind folded and everyone else would go around the circle singing the chant and when they stopped, the person in the middle had to guess who was behind them. If they were right, that person would have to go in the middle. If they were wrong, they would play another round. It was a fun game, but the way it was sung by this spirit, it was just taunting her.
She tapped her boss on the shoulder and handed him the headset. He listened and repeated the lyrics.
"Kagome Kagome. The bird in the cage. When, when will it come out? In the night before dawn. A crane and a tortoise slipped. Who is behind me?" he said taking off the headset once the maniacal laughter started. While he had listened she had written down some things in the notebook. "Does this mean something to you?"
She handed him the notebook. It's a game. A children's game. The lyrics are nonsense.
"Perhaps not to this spirit," he replied, the look in his eye changed. Mai couldn't quite describe it. "You have a scratch on your face."
Mai reached up and touched it. Confusion on her face. She got up and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"
Bathroom.
"On your way back make sure Monk and John are where I assigned them." She nodded and rushed out.
Mai looked at her face in the mirror of the bathroom. A fine, scabbed scratch ran along her temple and cheek to her ear. Now that she could see it, she could feel the burning heat of the flames from her dream. Was that caused by the spirit that took her voice? Had it tapped into her memories and dreams and learned about that case? If not, had that demon followed her?
Impossible, she told herself. You've been under a lot of stress lately and your arguments with Shouta haven't helped. You must have just scratched yourself just like in the dream. She splashed some water on her face and looked back at the mirror. Yeah, that's it. That's why you could feel the scratch in the dream, because you felt yourself doing it.
She dried her face with a paper towel and gave a long, silent sigh. This no sleeping habit was starting to weigh on her. She seemed to be sleeping less and less each night. Soon she might just go days without sleeping at all.
But that was a concern for another day. Her only concerns right now should be helping to solve this case and to get her voice back. She walked out of the bathroom and found Masako sitting in the lobby alone. Monk is supposed to be watching her.
Unable to announce her presence with anything other than her footsteps, she hoped she didn't startle the medium where she sat. "Hey, Mai," she said, startling the psychic instead.
Her mouth open wide, Mai stared at the medium in amazement. "How did I know it was you?" Mai nodded. "No, I can't see you, I'm still blind." Mai's head slowly cocked to the side. "My ability doesn't just allow me to see spirits, but sense them as well. Because we've worked together a bit and you're in tune with your spiritual abilities, your presence is easier to sense." Masako patted the space on the bench next to her. "Sit, Monk and John switched for a bit, but John was worried Naru would get angry and went to bring Monk back over."
Mai nodded understanding the explanation. She sat down next to the medium. "It's unfair and cruel of me to say this, but I'm glad someone else is sharing my hatred for this case…"
"So, Kyou's family turned out to be a dead end," the priestess sighed as her chauffer made a left turn. "No connection to the wise monkey folklore, no known obsession with the blind or mute, questionable motive to die, it's sounding like she might not have killed herself."
"I wasn't able to get Kyou's parents' contact info, Yuzuki didn't have it so we're going to have to assume that she really did overdose on her prescription."
"What was the prescription for? That could help us with whether or not she was suicidal," Ayako pondered, reading over the notes that they took.
"Ayako, we're not trying to solve a cold suicide case, we're here to figure out whose spirit might have attached itself to the theater. Once we solve that mystery we will be able to exorcise the spirit and Masako and Mai will be back to normal."
"Well, what if she was secretly murdered by the other actress? Masuyo took Kyou's role after her death."
"But she jumped off the roof after opening night." He pulled up to the apartment complex of Masuyo's brother. "Why don't we get through this interview and see if we can connect any dots? Then we'll discuss theories."
Ayako let out a breath and got out of the car. "Fine, why are you in charge all of a sudden?"
"Because I'm the research specialist and you're my faithful lackey." Ayako sweatdropped.
"I hate this case," Masako admitted. "I hate everyone involved with this theater."
Mai kept her eyes on the medium. She knew the girl was annoyed with the case and not very comfortable having to come back and finish what she thought had been finished earlier. Mai never considered she might have such a hatred for it.
"And I'm sorry to say, I hated you too for a bit," she said, letting out a breath. "But I think it's the cause of the spirit here, influencing my emotions. The longer I am blind here, the more I understand what the spirit is trying to do to me. It wanted me to be jealous of you. And honestly, I was. Your powers seem to be growing and evolving, you may actually turn out to be a medium like me. Meanwhile, I'm not able to properly cleanse a building."
Mai watched as Masako fiddled with the ends of her kimono sleeves. "And everyone here was ridiculing me for being incompetent. That my show is a con. It hurt." She let out a shaky breath. "And I missed a couple of cases and you had to fill my spot. And you succeeded. Soon Naru's going to ask me not to accompany you on cases. I've been replaced."
Mai reached for the fidgeting hand that had begun to tremble. "'Don't think that way.' 'Naru would never do that.' Is probably what you're trying to tell me right now." She clenched her other hand into a fist. "And you're right, I do have something on Naru and just to keep up appearances he will continue to invite me on cases, but soon he will only see me as a nuisance."
Masako…
"I was so sure that there was nothing here. That I had successfully cleansed the property and the actors were just overreacting. That they just didn't want to believe that there was no curse. I couldn't care less if they didn't believe me, many don't, but when I turned out to be wrong I felt like I had lost all credibility. How would anyone believe me again?"
Mai watched as a single tear escaped the medium's eye. "I'm afraid, Mai." She wiped her face of the tear. "What if I have lost my abilities permanently? I may gain my sight back, but what if I can never do my job again? It might be silly of me to think this way, but I'm deeply afraid. This isn't the first time I've felt this way. To be honest, the feeling has only gotten stronger over the last couple of months. What if the people here are right? What if, because of this spirit, I am unable to do my job again?"
Mai couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why was Masako telling her all this? What provoked her to make such a confession? Was she searching for answers too?
"Why me? Why you?" The question broke Mai of her reverie. Masako turned her head to face her friends as though she could actually see her. Tears had stained her face and she wore a sad smile. "Why am I confessing all this as though I expect you to answer?" Out of nowhere she began to laugh as though she was at her favorite comedian's show. "I'm sorry, Mai! I guess I really needed someone to talk to, thanks for putting up with it!" She continued to giggle like mad on the bench.
Mai watched her with unsure eyes. Is she possessed? She wondered, but laughed despite no sound coming out. I guess since I can't speak, Masako feels that she needs to fill the spot of my voice.
"I've finished watching the footage from the attack yesterday," Lin announced typing his notes on his laptop. "The camera in the hall doesn't give a good angle of the incident, but you can see her fall to the ground. And just as suspected, no sound was picked up during the incident."
"You found nothing sufficient?" Naru turned to his assistant in his chair. Lin nodded and let out a breath.
"Just an employee who probably should have been taken to a hospital after the incident." He stopped typing and looked up to his boss. "Why didn't you call me? Or call for an ambulance?"
"It's hard to dial when you're trying to get your assistant to start breathing again. It's not like a paramedic would be able to stop a spirit's attack." Lin just nodded and continued his typing. "Do you think she's had any visions?" He didn't wait for an answer. "She doesn't look like she slept well, if at all. Have you asked her?"
"A little difficult, seeing as the only way she can communicate is through writing and I barely managed to decipher the few sentences she's written." He handed the little booklet to Lin. "Japanese may be my first language, but I'm still pretty clueless when it comes to reading it."
"I guess I just needed someone to talk to so that I could explain it to myself," Masako said after the two had calmed down. "Why I felt so angry about this case and everyone involved. I guess I was more angry with myself." She shrugged her shoulders. "Angry that I doubted myself. Angry that I felt everyone doubted me."
Mai nodded and held the medium's hand again. She felt like this might have been how she was acting when she had been possessed a year before. Unable to speak, but giving nods and big smiles as answers. She still couldn't believe what Masako had been revealing to her. This big shot TV star really was just a normal teenaged girl with the same insecurities as any other. Well, maybe not exactly the same insecurities.
"I guess, I was afraid that no one would believe me. Like when I was little and no one believed me when I said I saw the little boy in our house. No one believed my night terrors were about the boy's death."
Mai squeezed her hand. Is she going to start crying again? She wondered. And where is Monk? He should have come back by now, right? This thing isn't going to attack again, is it?
Or maybe the attack already happened? And Masako's emotional state was influenced by it? If Hoshiko was attacked just now, that would explain why Monk hadn't shown up yet. Mai wondered if maybe the young actress was attacked again and was now deaf to fulfill the criteria for the Wise Monkey theory. She wondered more about what Masako had said. Perhaps there was a clue hidden in her words. The reason why she was targeted…
Then it hit her.
She gave the medium's hand a squeeze and proceeded to stand up. "Mai? What are you doing?" Mai gave a smile but couldn't answer.
She raced out of the lobby and towards back stage. Ignoring the medium's cries. "Mai! Come back! Don't leave me here alone!"
I'm sorry, Masako, but I need to tell Naru what you helped me figure out. She apologized in her head. She continued to rush towards Base, but stopped herself. Why am I so eager to tell him? He probably figured it out already anyway.
She stood still in thought, catching her breath after her quick burst of adrenalin. She hadn't felt so sleepy in a long time, she noted. She didn't have a watch and left her phone in base, but she could take a guess that it was probably around two o'clock.
Looks like I've skipped breakfast and lunch, she said to herself. She looked around backstage and found it odd that she hadn't seen a single actor or crewman back there. Maybe Hoshiko really was attacked.
The sleepy feeling escalated to a dizziness, as she felt herself sway side to side, she knew this couldn't end well.
Especially, since she watched her eyelids fall closed and felt her body leaning forward.
"Masako, sorry I left you alone for so long," Monk apologized as he raced into the lobby. "I was about to run over, when one of the wheeling sets came flying towards Star." He sat down next to the medium. "We thought it might have been paranormal, but turns out Fuyumi wanted Yuito to push the set to the other end of the stage and he tripped, shoving the set into Star's direction." He smiled despite seeing the medium's worried face. "But I'm here now."
"Did you run by Mai?" she asked, confusing the monk.
He shook his head. "No, I didn't. She should be at Base with Naru and Lin."
"She was just here, I just talked to her and then she just ran out." Masako held a concerned look in her eyes. "I don't know where she might have gone but it sounded like she ran towards the stage."
Monk shook his head, forgetting the girl couldn't see him. "I didn't pass her and to my knowledge no one's seen her since this morning in Base." He felt a shift in the air and watched as Masako's expression slowly changed to one of terror. "Masako? What's wrong? Do you sense the spirit? Is there going to be another attack?"
But Masako shook her head. She found it very difficult to swallow. She didn't notice her trembling hands or her haggard breathing. Monk of course noticed all the physical reactions she was giving. "Masako? Masako, what's wrong?"
He grabbed her hand to attempt to comfort her, but it still continued to shake. She swallowed and took a deep breath. "Masako! Answer me!"
"I…" She took another breath to settle her nerves. "I see something."
That's it for now! The case itself will be solved next chapter and then probably 2 post case chapters and then we will get to some good, gut-renching, cringeworthy, and satisfying scenes. I'm not going to give a huge note like last time, but I do want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, yukihime88, Ghost loves japan 77, Ghost. Zer0, bewitchedquill, Guest (elizabeth), SSTrans, Naruisawesome, and LOV3SICKF00L.
I wanted to point out something bewitchedquill mentioned in their review as well as something that I've been told in several others. My Naru and Mai. A lot of Mais have been made into the butt of the joke and too naive for the amount of things she's experienced. I've subconsciously noticed this when I first started writing and after rematching the anime for the nth time, I determined that my Mai would go down a darker path. Luckily, I seem to be doing a good job. :)
A lot of Narus also tend to turn into tyrants or too emotional too quickly. I'm even guilty of it, to be honest. After I watched the anime again about a year ago I realized I may have made my Naru too harsh. I worked to not necessarily change that but to make the instances more believable if that makes any sense. Anyway, I'm still working on it and I encourage anyone who wants to write to really try to become your character, even if you have to watch the show or read the book a thousand times. Do it, but have fun! I consider fan fiction to be the best way to learn to become a character and learn how to have a character grow. It may sound silly to others, but it's probably one of the greatest writing tools created.
So my little mission statement is done, sorry, I tend to rant a bit if you haven't noticed lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and hope you review. Thanks for your support!