Chapter 5: Case I - Suspicion

A/N: I'm so sorry! I know I promised to update more frequently and now it ended up... yep. I'm sorry. OTL After my major exams passed (or even before) I got very hung up on AoD fandom and then.. yeah. Sorry, I'll try to update faster from now on, seeing that my holidays are approaching. This chapter is more of a filler and quite short, but the next chapter will be when they crack the case, I estimate.

On that note, I lost my notes for this case! And now I'm just gathering what I remember and putting them together. I guess it can't be helped that I'm so muddle-headed.

Thank you for still being with me and reading this despite my late updates! (I'm sorry!)

"Mai, have you packed everything?" Yasuhara yelled out from the room opposite hers as she shoved the last article of her clothing into her backpack.

Zipping her bag and sweeping her eyes over her room to check for anything she might have forgotten to bring, she nodded, "Yes!"

She turned, bag in hand and jolted, surprised, to find Yasuhara leaning against the doorframe of her room with his arms folded, an unusually serious look on his face as he studied her. She squirmed, a little uncomfortable. "What is it, Yasu?"

"Are you okay?"

Mai knew what - or rather, who, he was referring to too well. She averted her eyes back to her bag as she slung the bag over her shoulder and started straightening her bedsheets - she never could lie in the face of Yasuhara, plus, he was far too sharp for that. Tension coiling queasily in her gut at the thought of Naru, she allowed a small sigh to escape her. "I'm fine."

Yasuhara hummed, and Mai could tell he wasn't going to let the matter go easily. "Let's go. We'll be late."

Mai whirled around, slightly startled by his reaction, but he had already turned for his room.

\\\\\+\\\\\

The group had been waiting outside of the SPR building for thirty minutes past the meeting time, and when Drake finally arrived, coat billowing behind him in the same manner as their first meeting, Mai had to duck her head to hide her smile.

Gesturing for Rose to go through the procedures of the investigation, he pulled out a silver box and took a cigarette out, proceeding to light it up as he leaned against the railings. Mai didn't like the heavy, burning tobacco smell of cigarettes, but she didn't say anything as she took a step back in an attempt to avoid the greyish whisps of smoke. Yasuhara nudged and whispered, "That isn't going to help, little boss."

She smacked him on the forearm in reply, huffing indignantly. Like she didn't know. Drake seemed to know her sentiments for smoking, directing an apologetic look to her. "Sorry, habit."

She immediately felt bad and made a sheepish grin. "It's fine."

"So, have you guys came up with anything?" Drake asked as stepped on the cigarette he had been smoking on a moment ago, grinding it with the heels of his shoes.

"We've a few speculations, but we can't be completely sure yet. But we don't think it has anything to do with the supernatural, too," said Yasuhara.

Ash leaned a casual arm on Zen's shoulder, eyes glinting with interest, "What speculations?"

Zen tried moving away from Ash with a grunt, but instead, the latter slung an arm around his shoulder to pull him close. "Aw, c'mon, stop moving around, Zen. So, what is it, Yasuhara-kun?"

Yasuhara flashed him a bright grin. "Once we confirm our suspicions, you can be the first to know."

Ash's lips twitched. "Well, good enough."

Mai shook her head, punching him on the shoulder lightly, amusement coloring her tone, "You're supposed to report to Drake first."

Rose let out a loud, deliberate sigh, flicking at her newly-colored nails, "Can we go now?"

"Yes, the clients are waiting," Tally said, directing a stern look at Drake, who shrugged, straightening from the railings with a lazy stretch.

"Get in the van," Drake drawled, before a yawn escaped. Mai lifted her brows at Yasuhara who simply shrugged as the group piled into the van one after another. She was intrigued by Drake's behavior - he was unlike any investigator she had met before... She wondered if he had any psychic abilities.

\\\\\+\\\\\

Zen dropped down from the van with Ash first, before the rest of the group followed their lead. As Zen and Ash walked to the rear of the vehicle, pulling the doors of the back of the van open, Drake and Tally made for the doorbell.

A lady in her late forties opened the door, a relieved smile on her face when Drake flashed his SPR identity card to her.

"Ah! I've been expecting you!"

Drake grinned. "Mrs. Wood, right?"

She nodded, pushing against the door to widen the entrance for them. "Come on in. We've prepared a room for you."

Drake and Tally followed them in. Mai turned to see Ash and Zen starting to move the equipment, piling the taped boxes on the concrete ground. Rose pressed her fingers against her forehead, almost delicately, eyelids fluttering dramatically, "I'm feeling faint."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Mai and Yasuhara both chuckled. "We can help."

\\\\\+\\\\\

"Well, you guys are already used to this already, right?" Drake asked the Japanese newcomers, and they both nodded. "Then go do your jobs."

Mai blinked, taken aback. "Um - there isn't anything - "

Drake waved his hand dismissively. "Temperature, measurements of the rooms, cameras - they are all basics. I expect you two to already know how to."

Mai gaped at him: What? No instructions of any sort? They were after all, still unfamiliar with the procedures here, they might have had experience in Japan SPR, but the way they operate couldn't be completely the same.

Yasuhara's glass flashed. "Ah. All right then."

Mai tugged on the sleeve of his shirt, hissing through clenched teeth, "Yasu!"

"No choice, Mai," he whispered, turning to survey the equipment. "You'll be okay moving them, right?"

Mai let out an exasperated sigh. She suddenly felt someone move next to her and was startled to realize it was Zen, his face phlegmatic as his eyes flickered over her. "Tell me where you need them," he said gruffly.

Oh, he's nice. Mai grinned at him. "Thanks!"

Ash got up from the couch at the corner of the room. "Yeah, yeah, I can help too."

"Thank you," Yasuhara said as he bent over to get the cameras. "I'll be moving them first."

\\\\\+\\\\\

"The measurements are here," Mai said, handing the clipboard to Yasuhara before she leaned over the round table to get her cup of tea.

Yasuhara flipped the page over. "As we thought, land subsistence isn't the issue here."

"We'd need to observe for at least one night," Mai said as she sipped the tea, enjoying the warm, smooth liquid running down her throat. "Ah."

Yasuhara's lips quirked. "Mai - "

The girl turned and clamped her hand over his mouth, scowling. "Don't even start with me, Yasu."

"Stop flirting and get your things done," Tally muttered, throwing the temperature readings she collated over the past three hours on the table.

Mai's cheeks flamed at her comment, feeling the twinge of annoyance as she swallowed her protests. Why is Tally taking on this attitude? "We aren't flirting. And we're talking about it." Tally didn't say anything to that and returned to her seat in front of the monitors beside Ash, whose hands are gripping the headphones on his ear, listening intently.

"We can be up for the night shift today," Yasuhara told Mai, after Tally had seated herself, as if he hadn't heard the latter at all, "and check the strange noises out."

"I'll go pull up the files for Stella and Maris," Mai said as her fingers flew over the keyboard, dragging the particulars of the two women on the screen. Yasuhara hummed thoughtfully. "Their balance in the bank accounts.."

Mai tapped her finger on the mouse pad of the laptop, nodding in agreement, "I get what you mean."

The door swung open and Drake and Zen strode in briskly, the latter passing a disc over to Yasuhara. Drake continued chewing on his gum, dropping down on the sofa beside Mai and Yasuhara before he whipped out his phone.

"The interview," Zen said simply as Yasuhara took the disc.

Mai grinned. "Thank you, Zen!"

Zen grunted, moving over to the monitors and clasping his hand on the back of Ash's chair, eyes flickering to look at the black-and-white screen. The boy looked up and pulled down his headphones. "Anything suspicious?"

Zen shook his head. Ash nodded. "Okay, good. Do you want to take over here?"

He shrugged in reply. Ash laughed, clapping Zen on the back as he stood. "Okay, here, take the headphones. I'll get Sprite for you."

"Where're you going?" Mai asked, curious, looking up in the midst of discussion with Yasuhara and Drake. She found herself unable to shift her attention from Zen and Ash: something between them intrigued her.

"Toilet. Want anything?" Ash asked, flashing her a grin as he opened the door of the common room.

Mai shook her head. "No, thank you."

After the door closed, Mai nudged Yasuhara, whispering in a low tone, "Hey, don't you think the two of them.."

Yasuhara pushed up his glasses. "It's a bonus."

Mai smacked him on the arm and Yasuhara arched a brow, giving her a disbelieving look that made him look absolutely ridiculous.

Mai's lips twitched.

After a second, Mai and Yasuhara both burst out laughing. Drake sighed. "Kids."

"Sorry," Mai and Yasuhara both chorused.

Sobering quickly at the warning glance Tally shot them, Mai pushed the clipboard to Drake. "The temperature and measurements all look normal, for now. There're no signs of land subsistence and we're considering to do a RSPK test."

"Personally, I think she may be suffering from stress that she may not be aware of. Her father's death, perhaps, along with the preparation for University," Yasuhara reasoned. "And her relationship with her mother is strained."

Drake placed the clipboard on the table. "How did you know about the strained relationship?"

"Oh." Yasuhara's glasses glinted as he smiled. "Observations."

Ignoring Yasuhara who seemed like he was about to go on rambling a whole load of evidence that she had overlooked herself, she asked, "Maybe we could get some dices and an object of her mother's?"

\\\\\+\\\\\

"Yasu, before we conduct the test," Mai paused, looking around the room, then continued when no one seemed to be paying any attention to them, "can we go see the grandmother's room?"

Yasuhara's lips stretched to a grin. "You beat me to it. You didn't get the measurements for the room?"

"I couldn't, Stella was changing in the room when I wanted to, and then," she glanced at Yasuhara sheepishly, "I forgot to backtrack."

Yasuhara rolled his eyes. "Brilliant work, Mai."

"Hey!"

\\\\\+\\\\\

Stella's room was clean and uncluttered; a single bed placed at the corner with a small, round table situated next to it. Mai stepped around the tall, wooden cupboard next to the entrance of the door and made for Stella's bed instantly.

Stretching her measuring tape, she peered at the white walls which the bed was pushed against. "It's clean."

Yasuhara reached her and studied the area she was looking at for a few moments. "It's too clean. Look at this region," he circled the part he was referring to with his finger, and sure enough, it seemed whiter than the others, "compare the colors."

"Someone scrubbed it off," Mai murmured, taking out her phone and snapping a photo. "But who?"

"What are you two doing?"

An icy trickle of fear ran down Mai's spine as she jolted, measuring tape almost falling out of her hand. Turning, she saw Maris standing at the doorway, a small smile on her lips. Somehow, it unsettled Mai as she took a step back. Yasuhara placed a comforting hand on her back, and answered smoothly, "We were just taking measurements. If you can give us a few minutes to finish up?"

"Oh, God," Mai whispered to Yasuhara. Maris' smile widened. "Sure. Go ahead." With that, she made her way back down the corridor without another word.

"Shit, I can't - " Mai's sentence broke off as she inhaled deeply to settle her nerves. "She's so scary popping up like that."

"Hn, scary, eh?" Yasuhara said lightly as he started scribbling the measurements down. "Get the width now, we better get back to the rest soon. We've to conduct the test."

Mai eyed him dubiously. She knew that look. "You've something on your mind."

"I'll tell you about it soon, darling," Yasuhara replied cheerfully, "now hurry and take the measurements."

Note:

RSPK: Recurrent Spontaneous Psycho Kinesis; usually believed to be the source for most poltergeist activity, term for when unexplained events happen repeatedly in the vicinity of an agent, usually a teenager under psychological stress, majority of the cases have age ranging from 12 or 13 to early 20s.

A/N: Yeah, it's really more of a filler. I'm going to try hunting for that piece of paper again. Hopefully it isn't crammed with my school's notes or it'd take me forever to find them. OTL Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this! Do drop me a review to tell me your thoughts!

May Dream!Naru and/or Gene visit your dreams tonight.

~mysticflakes