Allo! Hey I'm back! After a relatively short break (although longer than I expected!), I am here with the next story! I didn't really know how to write a description for this... But yeah! You guys wont be upset about that right? Yeah okay!
This is the sequel to my other story (Clouds), it happens after it (Whenever that is...). After this, I am planning a third... Anywho.. yeah there are a couple references to the story but, you don't have to worry about that... and you'll get it when you get there. Don't worry this chapter has the most. So that means that if you didn't read it, I guess it was pretty long, you probably shouldn't worry about bothering. Althoug for the next one (Ive decided it will be called. The Only One) You will have needed to read the first, but the second wont be necessary.
Whatever! I gess it doesn't really matter that much. Enjoy, onegaishimasu!!
Updates may be a bit slower than with my other story, because I am now in school... Ahh how terrible! I have such a hard semester! Not that the other is better... (phwoo)
Disclaimer: I don't own ghost hunt. This disclaimer applies to all subsequent chapters in this story.
1-
It had been at least 2 months since Naru had accepted any sort of case. Mai wondered how they managed to stay open full time when there was rarely anyone asking for help.
Honestly, she was willing to take any sort of case that came through the door. But Naru maintained his standards. There didn't seem to be any less people coming in(not that Mai thought there were a lot in the first place). There just seemed to be less people with anything promising.
But it couldn't stay like that for much longer. Honestly! Surely there had to be one person who could have something for them to do!
Mai yawned as she looked outside. It was already dark. "I'm going home now!" she called, in case anybody cared.
There was no response, so Mai took that to mean that nobody did care. She grabbed her jacket, and made her way into the evening. It was chilly with a little bit of a breeze, but Mai's coat kept that out.
After school, Mai showed up at the office. Neither Lin nor Naru were visible. But they were there. So Mai immediately got to work with a pot of tea.
There was a knock on the door. Mai's ears perked hopefully. Maybe someone has come with a case! Maybe Naru would be desperate enough to take it!
Mai opened the door. Sadly, her boredom would not yet be cured. "Good afternoon Mai!" Ayako said, and walked in past her.
Mai closed the door, and Ayako sat down on one of the couches. "What brings you here?" Mai went back to the kitchen and began to prepare tea.
"Well, somebody I met thinks they have a problem with a spirit, and they want it dealt with. And while I really want to help, I have some business and I will be away for a week." She looked over to Mai. "I know, a week isn't that long. But she needs it dealt with right away."
Mai finished with the tea, and set two cups on the table before returning to the kitchen to bring Naru's cup to his office. "I guess, so long as there is actually a problem in Naru's mind." She knocked on the door. "Naru I have some tea."
Mai opened the door, and set the tea on Naru's desk. "You're welcome." She said, without bothering to wait for a thank you she knew wasn't coming, before leaving.
Back outside, Ayako sighed. "Honestly. If I were you, I would wait in there every time until he says anything. He has to earn eventually. And I think that since you like him it is your responsibility." Ayako said, shrugging, and drinking some tea.
Mai stared for a moment, blushing. "Ayako..." She looked back to make sure the door was completely shut. Because if it was open at all, there would be no way for her to think that maybe Naru hadn't heard. Luckily, it was.
Ayako noticed her discomfort and laughed a bit before continuing "Anyway. I asked her to come by today. I don't know if you remember, but its a receptionist at the hospital from the last case. Do you remember her? Komaya?" Ayako looked to see if Mai recognized the sound of the name. Mai thought, but couldn't bring to mind the image of the person. "Ahh, its okay. You'll see her in a minute or two. I'll be staying to hear what she has to say, but other than that, I won't be able to be of any more help. I'm leaving today. I'll be back next monday."
Mai looked to Naru's office's door. "Maybe you should tell him to expect someone. It might be nice for him to know that we have a potential client coming."
Ayako sighed. "Gosh I don't think it matters that much does it? Anyway. From what it sounds like, people who stay at this place wander off into the woods, and don't get found for few days no matter how carefully the people look. But I'm not to positive about the details, so You're going to have to wait for Komaya to get here."
Mai nodded a bit, and went back to the kitchen, where she made sure there would be enough tea for at least her, Lin, Ayako, Naru, and the guest. When she picked up the pot, she debated. It would be close... Mai sighed, poured it out, and started some more water. Ayako started to drink her tea.
Another knock on the door brought Ayako and Mai's attention away from their tea. Mai went to open it. Outside the door stood a woman probably around Ayako's age. "Hello? Is this the SPR office?"
Mai pointed to the plaque on the door. "Yep! Come on in! Can I get you a cup of tea? Or something to eat? Or..." Mai left it open for anything the guest might want.
"Just a cup of tea, thank you..." The guest said, searching for a name.
"Taniyama Mai." Mai said, and stepped out of the way.
The woman nodded. "I remember you. You were the girl who got a broken leg!" She looked past Mai, to the couch where Ayako was drinking tea. "And you were her guest. Its good to see you walking fine." She said to Mai. "I'm Komaya Ako."
Mai was surprised. "You mean you remember me? Really? Thats a surprise. You must see so many patients every day! How did you..."
"I guess I just do. I don't have great memory, but some people are just easy to remember." She looked to Ayako. "Plus I heard about SPR from Matsuzaki-san."
Mai nodded, and went to get Naru. She knocked on his door, while Ako sat down. "Naru, we have a potential client here. Please come out." She went back to the kitchen, and checked the water. It was hot, so she set about preparing the tea. Naru came out of his office.
Ayako looked over. "Naru, this is Komaya Ako-san. She is here because she thinks she has a case that will interest you."
Naru looked at Ako, and then knocked on Lin's office door. He then sat down on the couch beside Ayako, across from Ako. "All right then. Once my other assistants are ready..." Lin came out of the office, and Mai came into the room with the tea. She set a cup in front of each person. She also took back Ayako's old cup, which was now empty.
Naru looked at Ako. "Thank-you. Now if you will."
Ako nodded. "I own a piece of property in the middle of no where, by a small lake. My lodge, I call it. Its the only building on the lake, so its very secluded. Although, I do lend it out." She paused here to take a sip of her tea.
"This is good!" She said to Mai. Naru nearly sighed. "Anyway. The last few times I've lent it to friends, one of the people staying there has gone missing. The other people staying there wake up in the morning and someone is gone. They just disappear. Of course, everyone looks though the surrounding forest area. However, no one is ever found for a few days afterwards." She stopped here to make sure all the information got taken down.
"No matter how hard they look, they just can't find anyone right away. I know you must be thinking that they just got lost. But when we find them, they look like they have been in major accidents, with bruises and lots of small cuts. And the amount of time that passes has been increasing. The last one was missing for a week until we found her. It was just a little girl. We found her on top of a huge pile of rocks. There was no way to climb up, so we had to carry a ladder through the forest to get to her. She was so sick... Luckily I was able to get her to a hospital."
"Why didn't you call an ambulance, or for air assistance?" Naru asked.
Ako frowned. "I did say that it was in the middle of nowhere didn't I? It would take a lot longer for emergency crews to make it, and I really didn't want them mushing all the wild flowers with a helicopter or something. Plus, theres no phone service at all out there." She drank some more of her tea.
"Honestly I don't really believe in spirits, or curses or stuff like that. But something is seriously wrong. And I remember Matsuzaki-san telling me about your work when Taniyama-san was in the hospital."
Naru looked to Ayako, who was listening carefully. "Well then. Is that all?" Ako nodded. "All right then I will take this case. But I want detailed instructions on how to find the place. As you said, it is in the middle of no where. We should be able to work out all the details in three days." Naru looked to Lin.
Lin clicked a few things on his laptop. "Can you give me the instructions to the house?" Lin asked. Ako nodded and started rattling off street names, and directions to turn.
Naru looked to Ayako. "Where did you meet her then?"
"Just like she said, at the hospital when Mai was injured." Ayako said, having more tea. She was quite calm. "Right. Well I have to go. So I'll see you all later then." She stood up, and put her cup in the kitchen before heading out.
Ako finished giving instructions to Lin, then looked to Mai. "Is there any way I can ask a few questions about your recovery?"
Mai nodded. Naru made himself busy at the table in the main room flipping through his book, while Lin went back to his office.
"All right. Does it hurt at all to walk? Were there any complications when you were taking the cast off?"
"No, and no. At least if there were, I didn't notice it." Mai said, thinking back.
Ako nodded a bit. "Oh, and do you remember the address of the last house you lived in with your last living relative? If I remember right, when you came out of the hospital you said you lived on your own now."
Mai looked at her strange. Naru paused to hear the answer to this, but didn't look up. "Why do you want to know?"
Ako looked at Mai. "It is important. And you don't have to say what the address was, just if you remember it."
Mai shook her head. "I don't see how this is relevant. But there's no way I'd forg..." Mai trailed off as she tried to remember. She drew a blank. Something wasn't right. "I... can't! Is that okay?"
Ako nodded. "That was to be expected. Keep thinking about it, I'm sure it will come back."
Mai looked at her watch. "Oh I need to get something for my diner before the stores get busy. Naru, I'll be back." Mai grabbed a coat, and was out the door before Naru or anyone else could say otherwise.
"Well, I guess I don't have to stay any longer either." She looked to Naru. "Please make sure she is careful. If you're going to my lodge, theres a lot of walking that will need to be done, over rough terrain." She said to him before leaving. With a bit of a bow, she left.
Naru stood up and went back to his own office.
Mai came back to the office the next day after school. They were going to go out to Ako's 'lodge' on Wednesday. It was Tuesday. Mai wondered whether it was safe to go some place with a ghost if there was no phone service. Plus, if it was so secluded, they would have to probably spread out quite a bit. Meaning everyone would need their own microphone set up on their person.
Another problem would be powering all the equipment. And what if they needed to contact anybody else? Like Yasuhara? Or Madoka?
The SPR office was now in her sight. Mai picked up her pace, and made her way to the door. As she was about to go in, she wondered about Ako again. Why had she asked about her old house? Mai shrugged, and opened the door in front of her.
Nobody was in the main area, so she set her bag down on the table, and sat on the couch wondering how they were going to deal with the things she thought of. Naru would probably have also thought of many other problems that could arise. After all, he was the boss. And he would without a doubt point out things that a 'stupid' assistant would miss.
Mai frowned. She hadn't announced her presence like she normally did, so she had some time to herself without the bother of making tea. Although, what if she were to get that dealt with right away? Then surprise Naru?
Oh yeah right. Like she could surprise him.
Mai stood up, and went to the kitchen. "Good afternoon Naru, Lin." She said.
After a few moments of silence, Mai started to feel as if she really was alone. She started slowly making her way towards Naru's door. She debated whether or not open it. If he was there, it would be awkward to explain why she did that, but she really wanted to know if somebody else was in the office.
"Mai. Make me some tea." Naru's voice came from within the office, just as Mai was about to open it. She froze for a moment, like an animal sensing danger, then sighed.
"yeah yeah, okay." She wandered into the kitchen, and sighed with a stretch. Thats when she noticed Naru's coat by the door. She sighed at herself for not realizing that it was there earlier.
Once she finished preparing the tea, the rest of the regular SPR team had assembled outside (less Ayako), waiting for whatever information they were going to get.
Mai knocked on his door. "Hey Naru, every one is here you know. Are you going to come out?" There was no response, so Mai thought for a moment. "Your tea is out here for when you are ready to talk to us."
Mai carried his tea to the table, and set it down in front of his place. Everyone else was silent.
Naru made his way out of his office, and sat down by his tea cup. After a few moments, he pulled out a piece of paper. "From what we heard yesterday, We will be a bit limited as to a few things. One of which will be power. In order to run the cameras and monitors, we are going to need a generator of some sort. That has been dealt with.
"Also, we need extension cords for the cameras. Many more and much longer than we have now. I have obtained a few, but I need you to bring any you have around.
"We will be working in a much larger environment than before, so will will also need a microphone with a large range capability, and wireless activation, for each person. They have been purchased, but I took the money for them from the amount you will be paid.
"And while there will be three proper beds, there will be minimal space for the others to sleep, so I must ask that the smallest people, Mai and Hara-san, sleep on the ground. Everyone will be in the base area. Its the largest room.
Naru looked to see the reactions. Mai was confused. Sure, maybe she hadn't thought of all those things, but what about the lack of phone service? Did Naru miss that? She wasn't too upset about sleeping on the floor, although Masako certainly was.
"All right then. Thats all that is really..."
Mai cut him off. "What about communication with people who aren't at the lodge?" Mai asked. "Didn't Komaya-san say that there was no cellphone service out there?"
Naru paused. "I didn't hear that."
Mai huffed. "Oh come on! She said that she didn't call an for assistance that one time because she didn't want a helicopter to land there. Also, she said, there was no phone service. She didn't because couldn't call." She felt a little proud that she pointed that out.
Takigawa thought. "Wow! Naru you did miss that?" Mai felt as if she had won. She was about to cheer when Naru spoke again.
"Since you think think it's a problem, you can find a solution." Mai glared, and Masako brought her hand to her mouth (But anyone could see she was snickering a little).
Mai grumbled a bit. "If theres nothing else then. Mai, I hope you will have something ready. Tomorrow, be here at 6 in the morning. It will be quite a long trip to get there, so we need to leave right at 6:15."
Naru left. Mai started thinking. What could convey a message really far without a cellphone? A radio maybe, but would it go far enough?
Thats when she got an idea. Coloured flares maybe? They could have different colours mean different things! Like a white one could mean everything is okay, a red could mean someone is injured severely and requires assistance, a green one could mean we need their assistance right at the lodge! And they could be lit off at a very specific time.
Takigawa watched as Mai thought. "All right. Well I'm going to go get packed."
Mai turned. "Hey wait. What time did Naru say to show up? I seem to have missed it."
Masako sighed. "you are such a burden to the rest of this team sometimes..." She looked to the door and started heading, but turned back with a bit of a smile. "6 in the morning. I guess I'll see you then." She waved a bit, then left. Takigawa also did.
Mai waved a little back to her friends. Even if Masako acted very superior, she was nice sometimes.
Mai wondered how she would ever be able to get up on time. If she were to get up in the morning at 5, she might have time for a shower. But then she'd have to go home early, so she could pack tonight. And leaving early was not a good idea. But she still had to worry about what Naru thought of her idea.
She walked over to Naru's door. An idea presented itself in her mind. What if she were to go home, pack then come back and spend the night at the office? She would have a shower when she went home to pack, and then there would be no way for her to hold up the team!
With a new resolve, she knocked on the door. No voice came from it, but she opened it anyway. "Hey Naru, I have an idea!"
He looked up from his desk. "What if we were to use coloured flares? We could send them off at a certain time! A white one could mean no problems, a green could mean we require their assistance at the lodge, and a red one could mean someone is really hurt." She felt really proud of the idea.
Naru thought about it, then nodded. "All right. I'll have Lin go look for the equipment to do that." Mai was really surprised at his lack of reaction to the fact that she picked something out that nobody he hadn't noticed.
But then again, he didn't really react to much of anything.
Naru walked out of the room. Mai figured it was to talk to Lin. She heard the door open to the other room. For some reason she just stood there, waiting.
When Naru reentered his office, Mai heard the door to the outside open and close. "Yes?" he asked.
Mai herself wondered why she was standing around. Then she remembered.
"Oh. And I think that it may a bit hard for me to make sure that I get up early enough tomorrow morning." She was about to put forward her idea, but Naru had obviously thought she had no solution to the problem.
"If you're late we're not waiting at all." Mai nodded a bit.
"Yeah. Thats why..." she swallowed. "I was wondering if I could spend the night on the couch here at the office."
Mai waited for a rejection, or just anything. Which apparently wasn't coming. It was silent for quite a bit before Mai decided to say something again. "I would go home now, and get cleaned up as well as pack up, then I'd come back, that way in the morning I'd be already here, and ready to go. I wouldn't have to run over here or anything."
Naru actually seemed to be considering it. "Fine. Have a pot of tea ready for when everyone else gets there." Mai nodded a bit, then retreated to the door.
"Then I'll go home now, and come back with everything I need." Mai grabbed her bag before leaving, but then turned to the kitchen.
Before she left, she made a pot of tea. She knocked on Naru's door. "If you want some, I just made a pot of tea. I'm going now! Bye!" She said, knowing not to expect an answer.
She got exactly what she was expecting. Silence filled the building, so she left. But she was happy that she had figured out the solution to two problems. Besides, Mai wondered how long Naru worked after she left in the first place. She would have the opportunity to find out now too.
This case thought Mai might be very interesting. Especially after such a long break.