A/N: Just corrected a mistake made. Thanks to Kyia Star for pointing it out.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.
Italics denote thoughts.
Bold denote written texts e.g. notes, messages, etc.
oOo
It all happened so quickly, so unexpectedly. One minute he was standing there watching Lin and the next, he was thrown backwards against the wall. His back still ached a little now.
But that wasn't the point. The entire point here was that he, Shibuya Kazuya aka Oliver Davis, head of Shibuya Psychic Research and ghost hunter extraordinaire, had been bested by a spirit. If the spirit had not already been exorcised by Lin, he would make sure that the spirit never made it to Hell in one complete piece.
The plan they had was a perfectly flawless plan, nothing was supposed to go wrong. Heck, his plans never ever went wrong owing to his great intellect. But this … he clenched his jaw.
-- Flashback --
Dark blue eyes scanned the cold, quiet room.
"Lin, how is it?"
"The spirit has been summoned. We'll be able to exorcise it without much trouble."
Naru nodded and watched with folded arms.
A pale purple figure appeared in the centre of the room. The spirit's features were blurred and rather difficult to make out but one could hardly mistake the strong aura of hatred that emanated from the specter.
This is one unhappy spirit, Naru thought wryly as Lin began chanting in a low tone.
A loud grating noise that sounded akin to that of nails being dragged across a blackboard reached their ears as loud wails and piercing screams filled the room. The windows began rattling with such force that cracks appeared on the panes. Yet both men remained as cool as two blocks of ice.
The last syllables of the mantra he was chanting had barely left Lin's lips when the spirit suddenly shrieked out, "CURSE YOU, YOU DOGS!"
A bright flash of what looked like a bolt of lightning shot towards them. Lin's eyes widened marginally and he quickly called upon his shiki to shield the both of them. However, they did not make it to Naru in time.
The younger man was left in the open without any form of protection.
Naru was hardly fast enough to evade whatever the spirit threw at them. The light bolt hit him squarely in the chest and threw him against the wall.
Unconsciousness overtook him.
-- End Flashback --
How could the spirit of a witch still be able to curse a person? He'd known of ghosts who take lives, haunt buildings and people, but ghosts who curse people?
He let out a growl loud enough for his assistant, Lin, to cast a sidelong glance at him before turning his eyes back on the road.
"It was unpredictable, Naru."
Another growl as he glared, or rather tried to glare, daggers at the man. Too bad it wasn't working.
Naru pushed himself up and gazed at his own reflection in the window.
A pair of large deep blue eyes stared back at him. Glossy, slightly curly, black hair covered his entire face, and, turning his head over his shoulder, his entire body as well. He's even got a little black tail! Said appendage twitched slightly in response.
Great, he thought as he slumped against the seat. However the smooth leather caused him to slide down until he was lying on the seat. Even the van is conspiring against me, he thought bitterly.
The van rounded the corner and soon they pulled up in front of the building that housed their office.
"I'll find a way to reverse this, I promise," Lin said quietly, in what he supposed was a comforting tone.
It'd better be soon, thought Naru before Lin carried his small body out of the van.
oOo
When they reached the SPR office, Naru was glad to find it empty. His other assistant, Taniyama Mai, had not come in for work yet and seeing as how there weren't any remarkably interesting cases lately, the others had stopped dropping by so often.
Which is a good thing because this office is not a café, he thought as Lin set him down.
Four little paws met with the cool tiles of the office floor. He wanted to go straight to his office and stay there until Lin discovered a way to reverse this curse but somehow his feet would not cooperate with his mind.
Poor Naru tripped over himself and ended up sprawled on the floor in a very undignified position. Having walked on two legs for the past 17 years, trying to walk around on four suddenly was a rather daunting task. He couldn't figure out which foot was supposed to go first for crying out loud.
Lin seemed to sense his predicament and gingerly picked him up by the scruff of his neck. But instead of being deposited in his own dark office to brood over what had happened earlier, his assistant brought him to his office.
Naru tilted his little round head and looked at Lin quizzically as he was set down once more on the floor.
"So I can keep an eye on you," said Lin before settling down into his chair to begin searching for a way to reverse the curse on Naru.
oOo
"Lin!" exclaimed an exuberant voice.
Seconds later, the owner of said exuberant voice bounded into his office and threw her arms around his shoulders over the back of his chair before giving him a peck on the cheek.
"I got all A's for my finals!"
Lin smiled slightly, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. As much as he liked the young girl, he had never been one for public displays of affection. It didn't help matters when the one watching was his employer seated barely five feet away from him, even if said boss was currently a –
"Lin, is that a puppy on your chair?" Mai asked incredulously.
Naru raised his furry head from where it rested between his front paws and looked directly at the girl, annoyed. Do I look like a kitten to you?
"Aww, he's so cute, Lin!" Mai exclaimed as she walked over to where the puppy was. "It's a he, right?"
"Yes." Naru would skin him alive if he said otherwise.
"He's so adorable! Oh look, he's got blue eyes!" she gushed as she lifted the black puppy and brought it up to her face. "Where did you get him? What's his name? What kind of puppy is he?"
"I found him outside," he said, hoping that it would answer all three questions.
How was he supposed to tell Mai that the puppy she's holding is actually her boss who had, unfortunately, been cursed by a witch's spirit?
Mai nodded absently as she grinned at the furry bundle in her hands.
All this while, said puppy was trying his very best to wriggle his way out of Mai's hands. Darn, let go of me, girl! I am not your plaything nor am I a lost puppy! He wiggled harder this time, hind legs pawing at the air.
"Hey, I know! We can call him Naru-chan!"
Lin nearly choked on the tea he was trying to drink.
"Wh-What?"
"He," replied Mai, thrusting the puppy into the surprised onmyouji's face, "has got blue eyes like Naru. So we'll call him Naru-chan."
Oh dear Lord in Heaven, Buddha, Kami and every other beings holy. Why am I still stuck with that silly name? It even has '-chan' attached to it now! What happened to Buster? Or Max? Or whatever?
Lin looked at the pup's face and then at his girlfriend's. Slowly he said, "I suppose we could."
You …you … traitor. Naru glared as well as he could with his large puppy eyes but needless to say, it failed spectacularly.
"Yay! So Naru-chan it is! Naru-chan! Naru-chan!" she said in a sing-song voice as she twirled around.
Lin chuckled softly as he returned to his work.
"By the way, Lin, where's Naru? He hasn't called out for his tea ever since I came in. Is he out?"
"Yes. He, er, probably wouldn't be back so soon." Technically, it wasn't a lie. Naru, the human version, that is, won't be back until he managed to reverse the curse. So, no, he's not lying to Mai.
"Oh," she said, setting the puppy in her hands down. "Are you hungry, Naru-chan? Come on; let's go get you something to eat. I'll be back in a jiffy, Lin."
oOo
A white Styrofoam plate was set in front of him, a generous amount of little brown colored bone-shaped stuff in it. Great, dog biscuits. Surreptitiously, he took a sniff. Smells like beef. Lovely.
Not.
"You're not hungry, Naru-chan?" asked Mai.
Naru simply turned and walked away from the plate with his short tail in the air. No way was he even going to touch that stuff, as hungry as he might be.
His little stomach let out a pitiful rumble.
Naru's soft paws made no sound on the floor tiles as removed himself from the kitchenette. His short legs led him back to Lin's room.
The Chinese man didn't even look up from his laptop when the coal black puppy entered. On the table before him sat a sandwich wrapped in clear film, undoubtedly made by Mai. Naru eyed it hungrily.
All he needs to do now is to look for a way to reach the tabletop.
Stupid witch. Why couldn't she curse me to become something bigger? Like perhaps, a Great Dane or even a Dalmatian. No! She had to turn me into a puppy! A puppy! And a Schnauzer pup of all things!
Yes, he's a Schnauzer, a pure black Schnauzer pup with blue eyes. A trait the owner of the pet shop around the corner where Mai bought the dog biscuits said he'd never seen before. Of course you haven't seen it before, stupid man. How often do you see a man get turned into a dog?
One fur covered ear twitched when the sounds of Lin's continuous tapping on the keyboard of his laptop reached him. He raised his head and looked at his assistant. An idea entered his mind and something that resembled a smirk appeared on his face.
Now, why can't I just get Lin to get me the sandwich?
Naru walked forward and closed his mouth around the cuff of Lin's trousers, his sharp little teeth sinking into the soft material. Catching the onmyouji's attention by barking was out of the plan because Mai might hear him and he doubted that she'd feed him the sandwiches she made especially for Lin.
Well, here goes. He tugged. Hard.
Lin looked down in surprise at the puppy tugging at his trousers. For an animal so small, he sure is aggressive. He wouldn't be surprised if he were to find holes in them later.
"What is it, Naru?" he asked, quietly.
Naru continued tugging.
"Are you hungry?"
Another hard tug.
Okay. So now he's got one hungry puppy on his hands. What do you feed puppies that were once human? Come to think of it, he doesn't have any f-
His eyes fell upon the sandwich on his desk.
"You want the sandwich? It's egg, I think."
Who cares? As long as it's not filled with beef flavored dog biscuits, I'm fine.
Naru released Lin's trouser leg and sat back on his haunches, his expression clearing telling the man to hurry up and give him the sandwich before he dies of hunger.
Lin glanced out the door before slipping Naru the sandwich. Mai was not at her desk so she's probably still in the kitchenette. The girl would probably be hurt if she knew that he had fed the food she made for him to a puppy.
The ebony haired puppy took one sniff at the sandwich and began wolfing it down. It smelled nice and tasted even better. Way better than beef flavored dog biscuits. Lin is one hell of a lucky guy.
Naru was about to finish the last of the sandwich just as Mai stepped into Lin's office with a cup of hot tea.
"Naru-chan! You can't eat those sandwiches!"
Can too, thought Naru as he looked at her and swallowed the last bite defiantly.
"That's for Lin, Naru-chan. Your food is in the kitchen," she admonished the puppy.
Naru opened his mouth to retort with a bark but all that came out was a sharp yip.
A … yip?Undaunted, he tried again.
"YIP! YIP!"
The loud, high-pitched noise he emitted surprised even himself.
Growling, he stomped, or rather, tried to stomp as best as he could with soft paws, out of the room. Everything is against him today, first he gets cursed, then he couldn't get proper food and to top it off he couldn't even bark properly. He yips, for heaven's sake, yips! How humiliating is that?
A pair of brown eyes and a pair of black eyes watched his exit.
"Is it just me, or did Naru-chan just act like Naru in a bad mood?" asked Mai.
oOo
Naru lay on the leather couch with his small furry head between his equally furry paws. It had been two days since the incident with the witch's spirit and Lin had yet to find a way to reverse the curse.
That meant two, no, three, if you count the first day (he did), agonizing days of being stuck in the body of a Schnauzer pup who yips instead of barks. There, his mood just went down the drain once more.
The only good thing was that Mai had stopped trying to feed him dog biscuits. He would not be held responsible for further damages to Lin's trouser legs.
Ignoring the world at large, he lifted his head and gave a little yawn, something you would never see him doing when he's a human. His Chinese assistant had long since moved on from looking through past cases to poring through the thick books related to the paranormal in his collection.
Mai looked up from her filing just in time to see Naru-chan yawn. Large brown eyes glanced at the clock on the wall before getting up and going over to where the black puppy lay.
"You poor thing," she said, picking him up and cradling him in her arms, "are you bored, Naru-chan?'
Naru, as usual, started to wriggle his way out of her arms. Just what is your problem? Stop cuddling me!
"Oh, wait, I've got a ball somewhere for you to play with. Hang on Naru-chan, I'll go get it," said the girl, putting him down on the floor and making a beeline for her bag.
"Here, boy," she called out cheerily, tossing a small rubber ball at him.
He sat looking at it with a bored expression as the red and blue ball hit the ground, squeaked like someone had just stepped on a mouse and bounced twice before rolling into a corner.
Looking up, he saw Mai looking at him with an odd expression on her face. What? I'm supposed to chase after that abomination called a ball?
"You don't like the ball, Naru-chan?" asked Mai with a hint of disappointment in her voice.
Do I look like I enjoy playing with balls?
He turned around and walked away towards Lin's office, barely casting a glance at the rubber ball when he passed it.
oOo
The lump underneath the blanket moved until a small black head poked out. The room where he slept was still dark but he could hear sounds of running water coming from the bathroom down the hall. Lin must be up already.
Speaking of running water, he had not had a bath in the past five days. Well, he nearly had one yesterday …
-- Flashback --
"Naru-chan, where are you?" a warm female voice called, rousing him out of his nap.
Yes, his nap. It was either nap in his very own office chair or play with the rubber ball. He'd rather die than play with that squeaking, sorry excuse of a ball.
"There you are! You can't sleep in Naru's chair, Naru-chan. He'll be furious if he finds dog hair on the seat. Come on," she said, advancing towards him.
He leapt down and walked to the door before Mai could pick him up in her arms again.
Not in the least bit perturbed by the puppy's behavior, Mai headed out of the room, saying, "Come along, Naru-chan."
Naru cocked his head to the side, wondering where his assistant was leading him. He was slightly torn between following her and staying put. In the end, following won. He blamed it on his curiosity when he began trotting after her. What did they say about curiosity? Curiosity killed the cat? Oh well, I'm not a cat.
His curiosity peaked when Mai led him into the washroom. Can someone please tell me what are we doing in the washroom?
"Naru-chan, you need a bath."
That answered his question. But it wasn't until he saw Mai filling up a small pail under the tap that it really registered in his little puppy brain.
He took two steps backwards. Images of Mai's hands wandering all over his body entered forbidden into his mind. I am not letting Mai give me a bath. She can go give Lin a bath for all I care.
With that, he did what any self-respecting man, er, dog, would do when faced with a situation like this. He turned tail and fled.
"Naru-chan! Wait!"
-- End Flashback --
The sound of running water had stopped and soon footsteps could be heard in the hall. A switch was flicked on and bright light flooded the once dark room. Naru crawled out from under the warm blanket just as Lin walked into the living room with a cup of what smelled like hot green tea.
"Good morning, Naru."
A saucer containing green tea was set in front of him. Lin noticed offhandedly that the ebony haired puppy wasn't drinking it as usual but was instead staring at the greenish liquid in the white saucer.
"Is something the matter, Naru?"
Without another sound, Naru turned and ran into the study as quick as he could on his short furry legs. Lin followed close behind.
It's in here somewhere. I know it. Top or bottom? Tilting his head as far back as he could, he decided on the one closest to his height.
Blue eyes scanned the lowest shelf.
The Unexplained Mysteries. No. PSIence: How New Discoveries in Quantum Physics and New Science May Explain the Existence of Paranormal Phenomena. No. The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe. No. Where is it?
His gaze fell upon a thick, black leather bound volume at the end of the rack. There.
Lin watched the little puppy scurry to the end of the shelf and reach a foreleg forward to paw at a book.
"You want that book, Naru?"
More pawing.
Lin silently took it out for him.
It was a plain looking book, with no title whatsoever on its cover, or anywhere else for that matter. Come to think of it, he can't remember coming across this particular book ever. And that was saying something because although he may not have read as many books as his boss, but he had at least read every single book in this particular study.
Yet, the book rang no bells in his mind.
Carefully, he opened and placed it before Naru who immediately pounced on it, literally nosing through the yellowed pages with his little black nose.
The Chinese man merely watched as the puppy flipped through the book with his nose, pausing every so often to glance at a passage before moving on. Finally, he stopped midway through the book.
Lin peered at the page. There was a diagram with some weird symbols and beneath it, the small caption that said …
One of the most complicated and dangerous spells for reversing a form-changing curse. It is believed to have been first used in the Warring Era by a small group of mikos.
His eyes quickly skimmed the entire text in the page as Naru looked up at him expectantly. Well, as expectantly as a Schnauzer pup can get, that is.
"You want me to do this?"
Naru gave a soft yip in response. Having endured five whole days of being a puppy, he is desperate enough to try anything and everything.
"No, Naru. This is a very dangerous spell."
The puppy sat back on his haunches and glared at the man. I am willing to take the risk here, Lin.
"I've never done something like this before."
It was not the whole truth but Naru didn't have to know that. Being a high-level onmyouji, he had cast countless spells as complicated as this although perhaps not as dangerous. There was even the off chance that he would be successful upon his first try. That is, if the diagram and the description given in the book could be relied on.
However, he did not want to take the risk. What if something went wrong and Naru got killed?
The glare Naru sent him intensified. There's always a first for everything.
"No."
Naru bit back a growl. Five days, and they have not found anything remotely usable. So why was Lin being so difficult when they have finally found something? Just how can he convince the onmyouji that this was his only hope of ever becoming a human being once more?
He looked at the Chinese man carefully. Shibuya Kazuya aka Oliver Davis never begged for anything in his entire life but right now, he thought nothing about it. He discarded his pride and trotted up to Lin, large blue puppy dog eyes looked straight into the man's black ones.
Please.
Minutes ticked by slowly. At long last, Lin sighed.
The younger man turned puppy looked like he would go to someone, anyone for help in getting his human form back using this particular method.
"We'll do this tonight," he said quietly.
If something were to go wrong, he'd rather that it went wrong in his hands and not in the hands of someone else.
oOo
That night saw a furry little black puppy sitting in the middle of a collection of odd-looking symbols in the living-room of the apartment Lin shared with his boss.
"There, it's complete now," said the Chinese man, drawing the last symbol down on the floor with black ink.
Naru cocked his head as if telling Lin to proceed with next part of the procedure.
The onmyouji nodded and began chanting softly as his right hand replicated the symbols on the floor in the air before him.
An overwhelming sense of déjà vu washed over the both of them as the last syllables left Lin's lips.
The trepidation in the room was so thick that it was suffocating them as they waited for something to happen.
Nothing did.
There was still a puppy sitting there in the middle of the living room with a whole bunch of symbols surrounding him.
A million questions ran in Lin's head. Had he drawn the symbols incorrectly? Had he misread the incantation? Were there some other criteria to be met for the spell to work that the book failed to mention?
Suddenly, a flash of bright yellow light burst out from the center of the diagram Lin had drawn on the floor. Right beneath where Naru was sitting.
oOo
"Lin, have you seen Naru-chan today?" asked Mai the minute she saw SPR's resident onmyouji and her boyfriend of close to a year enter the office.
"No, I haven't."
"That's odd. You won't happen to have accidentally left him in your apartment, would you?"
"No. He was with me this morning when I came."
It was the truth, the whole (although slightly altered) truth and nothing but the truth.
"Perhaps he went back to wherever he came from," suggested Lin.
"Perhaps," echoed Mai thoughtfully. "I certainly do miss having that little fur ball around even if he's got an attitude problem."
Lin raised an eyebrow in amusement.
"Mai, tea!" a voice called out from behind the closed door of an office.
"Yes, dealing with his attitude problem is definitely better than dealing with narcissistic bosses who demand tea instead of asking for it," Mai grumbled under her breath as she got up to fix Naru his tea.
oOo
A/N: Look what finals did to me. My only defense is this: I like puppies and I like making Naru squirm. No animals were harmed in the writing of this fic though. The books (or rather their titles) found here are genuine. Got them from Amazon . com ::grins::