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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

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Icing on the Cake

For: @books-tea-ghosts

From: @samantha-girlscout

Hello lovely, Lily! I’m sorry that you were the one ghosted this year. I thought about continuing Quality Ingredients (I swear I will some day), but nothing was coming out for that and instead this did. In a way it’s kind of a spiritual successor to that and A Small Reprieve (where the OC in this came from), But it’s also it’s own thing. It mostly came from your comment about how Naru deserves to be happy. I agree whole-heartedly. I hope you like this!

Naru knew something was up the moment he opened the front door.

It was just him and Ellen this Month. Mai had some business back in Japan and they’d decided it was better for the two of them to stay behind. It was the start of Ellen’s ninth grade year and Naru had work he still had to attend to at the main SPR office. It only made sense for the two of them to stick it out until she came home.

Currently, they were almost three weeks in, and they’d established a system. Unless Ellen wanted to hang out at a friend’s house, she would come home and work on homework until Naru came home with dinner. Occasionally, his mother and father came over to cook, but that was only about once a week. Otherwise, it’s easy, familiar, and routine.

Until today.

It had been a rough day at the office. One of their investors wasn’t happy with the results of one of the most recent cases coming out of the Japan office. It had taken far too much of his day calming the man down so that he wouldn’t pull his funding. Between the amount of time it took and just how demanding the man was, Naru was ready to call it a day.

But, as he entered the house, he gave pause. It smelled as though something were burning. Thinking the worst, he immediately dropped everything and ran into the kitchen. As he crossed the threshold he found Ellen, in tears, looking dejectedly into a baking dish.

“What’s wrong?”

His daughter started and looked at him with fearful eyes. She couldn’t hold his gaze for long, though, and cast them to the ground, her lip quivering terribly.

“I’m sorry, D-Dad,” She hiccupped. “I wanted to bake you something, but now—”

“Are you hurt?”

“No… But the cake is ruined.”

That gave Naru pause. “Why were you baking a cake?

Naru gestured to the kitchen table and Ellen sat without much fuss. He then took stock of the kitchen. Ellen had cleaned up most of her mess, though it looked like there were dishes soaking in the sink. The ‘cake’ though was burnt to a crisp.

He turned on the fan above the stove and went about opening the kitchen windows as he waited for his daughter to answer.

"It's… It’s your birthday.” He turned and saw her fiddling with the table cloth, a habit she picked up from her mother. “I know you don’t like gifts. But I… I still wanted to do something for you.”

A pain went through him at the realization. He looked to the wall calendar and, yes, it was September 19th. How had he lost track of time so much so that he’d forgotten what day it was?

No matter how much time had passed, his grief was always strongest on his and Gene’s birthday. His brother had always enjoyed celebrating. Whether it was just the two of them, or then the four of them, or a whole slew of people, Gene thrived on the excitement and theatrics that came with it. Naru wasn’t all that keen on most of it, but he still usually found himself enjoying the time with his brother, regardless.

Knowing what day it was, Naru wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep the rest of the day away. He was so exhausted already that he didn’t even have the energy to process his grief how he normally would, through self-reflection and writing a letter that he would never send and that his brother would never read.

But he couldn’t do either of those things.

“Now I’ve just ruined it,” Ellen said bitterly. It looked as though she was going to nearly tear the table cloth in her upset state.

Naru took a look at the cake. Now that he wasn’t fearful of his daughter’s well-being, he could see that the cake didn’t look nearly as bad as Ellen was making it out to be. It looked a little dry, and the sides were most certainly a little hard. But memories of his brother’s poor attempts at baking told Naru that the chocolate cake was by no means unsalvageable.

“Did you plan to frost the cake?" Naru asked as he walked over to retrieve a bread knife.

Ellen shook her head. "I forgot to buy any.”

“Fortunately, your mother keeps us well stocked. Go get powdered sugar, vanilla, and butter from the pantry and milk from the refrigerator.”

Ellen looked up at her father, confused. “Why?”

“To make frosting.” Naru took out a cooling rack and placed it atop the baking dish. “And get milk and butter from the fridge as well.”

Ellen did as she was told, albeit with very visible confusion on her face. While she was scavenging for the necessary ingredients, Naru went about the task of cutting off the worst bits of the cake. It wouldn’t be a very pretty one, but he supposed that it would be fine for the two of them.

By the time that she returned, Naru had disposed of the worst of the cake and leveled it off as best he could. In that same time, Ellen had composed herself as well she could. Which he was grateful for. Because while his ability to comfort others had improved over the years, he still didn’t know what to do when someone was crying.

Ellen placed the ingredients on the counter. “What else do we need?”

“That’s it. Unless you’d prefer something besides vanilla. I’d have to consult a recipe for that, though.”

“Vanilla is fine…” Ellen watched attentively as he began mixing the ingredients with the mixer. “How do you know how to make frosting?”

“Your grandmother taught your uncle Gene and I when we were younger. Though, he always forgot to set a timer so he always burned whatever he was trying to bake.”

Ellen giggled.

Good. He hated when either of his girls were sad.

“Your grandmother and I always tried reminding him, but he’d always forget.” He sighed. “That left me to salvage whatever I could.”

“Do you miss him?”

Naru paused, staring at the frosting. He sighed and then nodded as he retrieved a frosting knife and went about the task of adding it to the cake. It was still a bit warm for his liking, it would most likely melt the frosting some, but hopefully that would help moisten the cake some as well.

A silence of sorts fell between them. He could tell that his daughter was trying to piece something together. She was just as easy to read as Mai was, though there were times when she adopted his mask. He was grateful that she didn’t do that too often, though, as it always worried him when she did.

“Did you want any toppings?”

Her look of concentration broke as she considered his question. “Do we have anything?”

Naru hummed as he went to the fridge. There was a package of cut strawberries from his mother. On top was a note reminding the two of them to not eat out so much. He retrieved it and handed it to Ellen.

“Put these on top however you like. I have to go get something.”

“Okay!”

Naru went to the entrance way and picked up the carry out that he’d dropped on the ground when he’d first entered the house. He shook his head at his own carelessness. Thankfully, after a quick inspection, he found the food to be alright. He locked the door and returned to the kitchen, food in hand.

Ellen raised an eyebrow at him.

“I left it at the front door.”

She laughed.

“It smelled like the house was burning down,” Naru grumbled as he set the plastic bag on the kitchen table.

“What’d you get?”

“Curry.”

Ellen’s face brightened. “Yay! Thanks, dad!”

“Of course.” He walked over to the cake and inspected it. The strawberries were a little unevenly placed around the top, but still looked carefully placed. “Looks nice. Let’s eat dinner first then we can see how it turned out.”

“Thanks.”

Dinner was mostly uneventful. They chatted a little bit about their days, but otherwise there was a comfortable silence that Naru welcomed with open arms. Before Ellen was born he’d have only found solace in silence with a book in his hands, but he’d begun to appreciate these small moments more and more as the years went by.

Once they were finished, Ellen pushed their disposable dishes aside and went to retrieve the cake from the counter. The frosting had held up surprisingly well. After setting it down he expected her to go and retrieve a candle or sing, but instead she just stood there, contemplative.

Over the years, most everyone gave him space on Gene and his birthday. Beside the gifts that everyone still felt obligated to give him, they didn’t ever plan any celebrations for him. They allowed him to retreat into himself and grieve the loss of his brother.

Except for Ellen.

No matter what either of them did to deter Ellen, she always attempted to force a small celebration, such as today’s, on him. When she was younger she would toddle behind him singing happy birthday. As she got older she mellowed out her attempts, but every year, without fail, she’d attempt to force him to celebrate.

It usually hurt some, despite how adorable her sincere attempts to cheer her father up were. Normally, Mai would catch her halfway through and shush her or distract her with something else. Without her mother around to curtail her excitement, Naru was fully prepared to take the brunt of her excitement.

But, instead, she just stood there, looking at him.

It was obvious that she had something that she wanted to say, but was unsure of how to. A younger Naru might have lost his patience minutes ago, but he allowed his impatience to dissipate. Instead, he sat there, expectantly and waited for her to speak.

Eventually she took a deep breath and spoke.

“Do you hate celebrating your birthday because Uncle Gene isn’t around?”

Naru closed his eyes. He’d never said as such to anyone, but, considering her mother’s intuition, it didn’t exactly surprise him that she’d picked up on why the day upset him so much.

“Yes,” he said after quite a bit of time passed. He was sure that his face was pained, but he decided not to mask it. He was too tired for that right now. “It wasn’t supposed to ever be just my birthday.”

He opened his eyes and found Ellen looking at him, contemplative. After a few moments, she nodded and went to retrieve utensils and plates for the two of them. As she went about the task, Naru stood and made tea for the two of them.

As he waited for the kettle, he watched as she approached him. She was somewhat hesitant, but he could recognize Mai’s determination a mile away.

“I don’t really know what it’s like to lose a brother. Or anyone really…” She trailed off for a moment and then continued on. “And, I never met him… But wouldn’t Uncle Gene want you to be happy?”

That gave Naru pause.

There was a part of him that wanted to immediately shoot her down. That, because she didn’t know anything about his pain, obviously she was wrong. That, because of his failures, what he deserved was to suffer.

That he didn’t deserve to be happy.

But there was another part of him, a quieter part, that said she was right. That, he could grieve, but he shouldn’t torture himself in the process.

That of course Gene would want him to be happy.

Naru felt torn on which side to listen to. But as he stared at his daughter’s quickly deteriorating face, there was only really once choice to make. If not for his own sake, but then for the sake of others.

He stepped forward and pulled his daughter into his arms and hugged her. It was awkward, as he was not nearly as well-versed in them as Mai was, but Ellen immediately returned the gesture.

“You’re right,” he said as he pulled away. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

He went about finishing the tea as Ellen retrieved a candle and lighter from another drawer. They bantered a bit about making sure that she didn’t actually burn down the house this time. But, otherwise the kitchen was mostly silent.

Once the tea was finally done, and Naru was seated at the table, Ellen lit the candle.

“Happy Birthday, Dad.”

She didn’t sing, but he took the invitation to blow the candle out all the same.

“What’d you wish for?”

Naru stared for a moment.

“Don’t tell me you forgot to make a wish!” She sighed and lit the candle once again. “You have to make a wish when you blow it out!”

He sighed and rolled his eyes, though he didn’t work too hard to cover up the small smirk that was worming its way onto his face. Of course she’d insist on such a superstitious act.

“Alright. Fine.”

He watched the flame on the candle dance for a few moments. He had most of what he could wish for, aside from Mai being away from home. But perhaps…

He blew out the candle and wished for the strength to accept the happy days that may come.

“What’d you wish for?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Isn’t it tradition to not say the wish aloud for fear that it won’t come true?”

A bright smile broke across Ellen’s face. “So you do know what you’re supposed to do. You were just being silly!”

He crossed his arms. “Of course I know about it. Gene always made me make wishes. I just thought that I’d be able to get away without this time.”

Ellen rolled her eyes. “Well, if I have my way you’ll never get out of it.”

“And there’s your Mother’s stubbornness.”

“You’re stubborn, too! And don’t make fun of Mom when she’s not around to defend herself.”

He sighed. “Fine. But just wait until the moment your Mother is back."

Ellen giggled as she cut out two pieces of cake. She set one in front of him and took her seat as well. Naru paused before taking a bite. It was a pretty good. A little dry still, but nothing a little tea couldn’t help.

"I love you, Ellen.”

His daughter paused to smile at him.

“I love you, too, Dad.”

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #oliver davis #books-tea-ghosts #Samantha-GirlScout #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

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Are We Breaking Up, or Is It Just the Heat?

She served him unfiltered Earl Grey tea. Post-canon.

For: @sprghosthunter

By: @dreams-of-kalopsia

Prompt: Noll having his tea leaves read (before or after the series)

Hi, sprghosthunter! Here’s your fic~ :3 Thank you for your prompt; I didn’t know anything about tasseography before, so writing this was an educational experience for me. The title is still subject to change since I just wrote the first one that came to mind. Suggestions are very welcome. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! ^u^

____

The past three weeks had been rather… trying.

June had quickly switched to July, like a spark that set Japan on fire. To Noll, whose body could not ventilate itself as efficiently as an average human’s could, any venture outside his apartment or the office was hell. On particularly hot days he would hole himself up in his apartment and leave the office to Lin, who never failed to set out in time to open SPR at 10 AM. On cooler days, or when he needed to consult a reference book in the office library, as was often the case, Noll would begrudgingly take the cab to Shibuya early in the morning, his mood spoiled for the rest of the day.

It did not help that whenever he mustered the effort to go to the office, he was forced to put up with the usual bothersome rabble. Yasuhara had recently started part-timing again despite being well into law school, saying that he needed the money to get his air conditioner repaired, but Noll could tell that it was just an excuse to stay somewhere closer to his school. The others had been shamelessly and unapologetically forthright with their intentions, much to his annoyance. It also did not help that Mai was on leave until she finishes gathering data for her thesis, which meant there was no one to remind those noisy people to keep their daily contributions to the world’s noise pollution to a minimum.

Thinking of Mai only turned his spoiled mood absolutely rotten.

Despite being gone from work for three weeks, she never thought to phone and check up on her workplace. He understood that data gathering was a time-consuming, important step in writing an excellent thesis, and he would have overlooked her radio silence had the others been treated the same way. But according to what he would overhear from the chatter outside his office (and, given the noisiness, he heard a lot), Mai had been in contact with everyone else but him. That presented the possibility that she had developed some sort of aversion to him. Perhaps all the months they had spent together finally convinced her that his bad personality would never change, and she grew tired of it.

Noll knew what was happening. He had heard about this situation from Madoka before, witnessed Gene use it as an excuse to almost every girlfriend he had lost interest in. The time of onset at eight months into the relationship seemed to fit, too.

‘End of her honeymoon phase?’ Gene laughingly said through their mental link the last time he had woken up, completely unaffected by Noll’s death glare. ‘I can assure you, Noll, the real thing’s so much messier and more troublesome.’

Coming from someone who had the attention span of a goldfish when it came to relationships, Noll did not feel the least bit assured.

The hot summer days dragged on without any reprieve from his rotten mood. He soon started wondering if he could blast the whole world away.

His suspicion came to a head the day Mai returned from her leave. She acted so normal, so happy to be back.

And then she served him unfiltered Earl Grey tea.

Noll stared blankly at the cup, watching the floating tea leaves sink to the bottom. “Do you expect me to drink this, Mai?” he asked just as blankly.

“Yup,” Mai answered with an eager nod. “But before you start drinking, you have to think about what could happen in your immediate future, and keep thinking about it while you drink.”

He narrowed his eyes in distrust, but her eagerness did not waver even under his scrutiny. “What are you planning?”

“To read your tea.”

Tasseography?

“Why?”

“Because I learned it recently and wanted to try it.” She checked the cup’s temperature with the back of her hand before gently pushing it towards him. “Drink it while the temp is right. Leave a tablespoon’s worth, though.”

Noll considered glaring and shooting down her request, but he knew that that would not work on her. It never did. Nevertheless, he glared at her as he sipped the tea to express his displeasure, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of loose leaves brushing against his lips.

While he knew enough about tasseography to disqualify it as an authentic demonstration of ESP, he decided to momentarily suspend his disbelief in favor of Mai. He reflected on the question she wanted him to ask.

His immediate future… Why would it interest her? Was there some event in his future that she wanted him to be aware of?

A breakup, for example?

If this was how she had planned to break up with him, she sure was putting too much effort into it. Noll would have to appreciate the painstaking way she chose to end things. He should make it easier for her, then, as courtesy.

He swallowed against the sudden bitterness of the Earl Grey.

In a few minutes, the cup of tea dwindled into a tablespoon of tea. Using his left hand, he swirled the teacup three times counter-clockwise before inverting it on the saucer. Then he rotated the cup three times again at Mai’s signal. As he turned it upright with the handle facing south, he surreptitiously rearranged some leaves into certain shapes.

Twisted figures, to denote disturbances. A deer, denoting quarrels or disputes. A raven, disappointment in love. Scissors, separation of lovers.

Four ominous symbols. Those should help her open the topic so they could get this over with quickly.

“Let’s see…” Mai said, pulling up a chair to sit across from him. She peered into the cup and concentrated on the figures formed by the leaves.

He unconsciously held his breath.

“I see an… uh… umbrella on the rim?” She pointed at one of the figures he had distorted with his PK. “You must be experiencing difficulty and annoyance recently.”

It appeared to him more like a mushroom than an umbrella, but he held his tongue. It was not like she was wrong with her interpretation.

“I also see… a ladder. And a line going west. There’s a ship, too, and… a bird?” She squinted. “A swallow. So I guess you’ll have a successful journey westward, and it’ll have a pleasant ending.”

Noll studied the scattered tea leaves in the cup. Aside from the symbols he had formed, he could barely see anything else. His brows furrowed. Was Mai looking at the same things as him?

“At the bottom… there’s an abbey, surrounded by squares. You’ll eventually be free from worry and find comfort and peace.”

None of the symbols she just mentioned were in his teacup. Now that he thought about it, she could not have possibly found time to memorize tasseography symbols and their meanings while preparing to write her thesis, much less learn to read tea leaves. Her swift, confident reading and interpretation could only mean that she had memorized this particular set of symbols beforehand, and that she had been merely pretending this whole time.

He regarded her with a cold glare. “Mai. Stop wasting my time and get straight to your point.”

Mai had the nerve to look sheepish. “Ehehe~ You got me,” she easily surrendered as she produced a white letter envelope from her jacket. She handed it to him.

It contained a flight ticket to London via Heathrow. His flight ticket. He met her gaze with wide-eyed confusion.

“I thought you needed a vacation,” she answered his unsaid question with a smile and explained further, “So I talked to your parents, Madoka-san, and Lin-san as soon as I was free. They were happy to arrange things. I also cleared up our schedules for that time period; I’ll take care of the office while you’re away.”

“What makes you think I needed it?” he finally managed to ask.

“Well…” Mai propped an elbow on the table, resting her chin on one hand. Her other hand held up a finger for each of her reasons: “I heard from Ayako and Masako that you’ve been unbearably grumpy for weeks now. Bou-san complained that you rejected seven promising cases consecutively. John told me he’s worried about your health because you barely step out of your office. Even Yasu volunteered to take care of you in my stead, though honestly he just wanted to stay in the office because your ‘colder treatment than usual added to the air-conditioning’.” She chuckled. “I figured the heat was getting to you.”

“You sure have a lot of free time, chatting with the others in the middle of data gathering,” he commented, his tone disapproving and acerbic.

“Of course not! But they kept calling even if I don’t answer. It was really bothersome!” She crinkled her nose, then smiled again. “But at least I got updates on you and the office.”

With this piece of information, Noll’s earlier suspicion was dispelled, and for once he willingly acknowledged that his brother had been right all along.

He released a long sigh, weary but relieved. If he had gone so low as to jump to an irrational conclusion, then the heat must really be affecting his mental processes. Maybe he did need to go home for a while, at least until it cooled down in Japan.

For him to accept the time off, though, he required one condition met.

He slid the envelope back to Mai to start bargaining for it. “I don’t need it.”

Her smile fell. “What do you mean you don’t? Haven’t you been in a constant bad mood lately?”

He shrugged. “I feel fine.”

“Just take a few weeks off, Naru,” she said as she slammed her hands on the table, her frustration visibly mounting.

He raised a brow. “And leave the office to you?”

“Yes! It’s not like you haven’t done it before!”

She was right, so he disregarded her reply.

“I’d rather keep working.”

“I won’t let you work yourself to exhaustion!”

He crossed his arms and scoffed at her words. “Well, what will you do, come with me to Cambridge just to make sure I’m taking a break?”

“If I have to!”

There it is.

Noll took the envelope. “It’s settled, then.”

“Wh-What?” Mai spluttered, thrown off by his abrupt turnaround.

“You said you’ll come with me to Cambridge.”

“Eh—You were serious?! I thought you were mocking me!”

He gave her a dull look. “Am I the type of person who took vacations?”

“N-No.”

“So do you think I’ll stop working just because someone told me to?”

“I guess not…” she agreed but still looked unsure.

“You look like you need the break more than I do, anyway.”

She scowled at him. “Hey, what do you mean by that?!”

“It means I want you to come with me.”

Noll watched, amused and secretly in awe, as Mai’s angry expression froze, morphed into open-mouthed surprise, and became flushed with a radiant smile.

“Okay,” she finally said.

He couldn’t help smiling back.

For the first and last time in his life, he believed what was foretold in his tea. Mai had read him well.

____

References:

- “Tea-Cup Reading, and the Art of Fortune-Telling by Tea Leaves” (2006) by A Highland Seer, found in the Project Gutenberg website.

- “Your Essential Guide to Tasseography, the Practice of Reading Tea Leaves” (2018), an article by Aliza Kelly Faragher, found in Allure’s website.

- “Tasseography Symbols for Reading Coffee or Tea Leaves: What Do the Forms in Your Coffee or Tea Cup Mean?” (2019) by Lindsey Goodwin, found in The Spruce Eats website.

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Naru #oliver davis #Mai Taniyama #sprghosthunter #Dreams-of-kalopsia #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

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Enemies to Lovers

Mai’s POV:

‘I still remember the day we first met. It wasn’t really a good start.’

'I always seem to get on your bad side but…’

'You have this charm that I can’t seem to avoid.’

'I think you didn’t like me, but all these events keep on happening. Now, I am not so sure.’

'Is it okay to assume that you like me too?’

'Your aloof face tell nothing much of you feelings.’

'But, you smile reassures me somehow…’

'That the possibility of you liking me too was not zero.’

Artist’s Note: It would seem that my creative juices to make an AU ran out huhu thus I made a little snippet from the scenes I loved which fits the theme. I will make something better I promise.

Made by: @allaroundgamerkay

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Mai Taniyama #Oliver Davis #Naru #allaroundgamerkay #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

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Familiarity

For: @samantha-girlscout

From: @frenchcirce

The lovely Sam asked for something fun and fluffy, if possible about minor characters. I hope I won’t disappoint with this little story about a blooming friendship (or more hehehe). I’m rusty and it shows, but I did my best!

“Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research… Oh Masako! What a surprise, we were not expecting you!”

Masako watched with hidden amusement Mai’s expression change from her perfunctory professional smile to wide, surprised eyes to a happy welcoming grin in less than two seconds.

The girl really was an open book.

“Good evening,” she greeted back in cool politeness, eyeing intently the door Mai was still holding half-closed. “May I come in?”

“Ah sorry, of course!”

Mai had the decency to look ashamed while opening the door in full and making way for Masako to step in.

“But what brings you here exactly?” Mai asked with furrowed brows. “Because if you’re here to see Naru–”

Masako shot her an annoyed glance. Was that a proper way to welcome visitors?

“What do you think I came for?” she interrupted, determined to mirror Mai’s level of rudeness. “Work of course.”

“Ah, but–”

Masako ignored Mai to greet Yasuhara, who was coming back to his desk with several folders in hand. He stopped and saluted politely, and Masako shot Mai a significant glance. At least someone here had manners.

“Yasuhara-san. Good evening.”

“Hara-san,” the young man answered.

“Hara-san,” echoed a sharp voice behind her.

Naru.

Masako smiled despite herself. She turned to greet him back, but Naru passed her without stopping, his features set in this focused look he only sported when he was absorbed with this work.

“Mai, get ready, we should be on our way already.”

The smile on her lips fell as suddenly as it had appeared, and Masako thought it wiser to hide her treacherous mouth behind her kimono sleeve.

She regretted stopping by the office already. It was obvious Naru had other plans and would only see her presence as a bother.

“Geez Naru, we’re not even a minute late!” Mai scolded.

Naru put his coat on with a little more determination than necessary and glared at his assistant. Mai didn’t flinch, too used to being the aim of his death stares.

“Plus Masako is here for a case, it may be important, you know?”

That made Naru pause.

Mai let out a triumphant huff and Masako tried to ignore the pang of disappointment in her stomach.

Work. Of course. She only existed in his eyes through work..

“Is it an urgent matter, Hara-san?”

Even the way he was addressing her was ever mindful of putting a respectable distance between them. The very professional Hara-san.

She despised the honorifics in his mouth.

Masako bit her lip, tempted to lie and say the case needed his immediate attention. But the bitter reminder that deceiving Naru had proven to be a poor choice, always, made her reconsider.

She shook her head. “No, it can wait.”

The flicker of interest in Naru’s gaze died immediately and Masako could only watch him forget her presence altogether. He went back to glaring at Mai who took too long to get ready, and Mai, of course, was glaring right back at him while haphazardly throwing things into her purse and berating him for his lack of manners.

The situation was nothing out of the ordinary, really. If anything it should have been comical, the way those two were arguing. But Masako caught herself clenching her jaw.

Surprised by the surge of jealousy she forced her muscles to relax, grateful for the secrecy her sleeve was providing.

She had thought she was over it, over him.

Yet the intimate, almost fond way Naru called Mai, just Mai, had made her yearn for the level of closeness those two were sharing.

Why couldn’t she just be Masako?

Masako willed herself to smother the embers of longing in her heart. It was just a stupid name, it was no reason to feel inadequate and lonely. She knew where Naru’s affections lay, and she had made peace with the situation a long time ago.

She couldn’t let herself get troubled over this.

She schooled her features and allowed her sleeve to drop, revealing her best neutral expression. Thankfully Mai and Naru were too busy bickering to notice her discomfort.

She took a steadying breath, her mind racing to find a dignified way to make her exit. Whatever she had to say about her case could wait until she recovered.

“I see my timing is most inconvenient,” she started, satisfied by the firmness of her voice. “Maybe–”

“On the contrary, your timing is perfect Hara-san.”

Masako bristled, startled. Yasuhara. She had almost forgotten his presence.

“I was about to have a cup of tea and some company would be appreciated, if you don’t mind staying.”

Masako turned her head slowly to face him, slightly panicking.

Did he notice her little display of jealousy?

She found him smiling politely like usual, his penetrative gaze unreadable behind his spectacles.She narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge his intentions.

His intervention did spare her the embarrassment of leaving like the unwanted guest she was, but Yasuhara was known for having his own agenda. What exactly did he want her for?

She hesitated a moment, but the option he was offering was less mortifying than being shooed out so she gave her assent with a graceful nod.

“That would be my pleasure,” she muttered

Yasuhara grinned widely, his gaze leaving her for Mai. Who had stopped putting her coat on to look between Yasuhara and Masako, an insufferable knowing smirk blooming onto her lips. Masako refrained an exasperated roll of her eyes. For someone supposedly so instinctive her friend could be quite oblivious.

“I’ll let you enjoy some quality time together, you lucky ones–” Mai smiled, the teasing light in her eyes soon disappearing as she remembered the actual reason why she was heading out “–while I do Naru’s biding. Can you believe it? He is using me as his henchman to carry his heavy stuff!”

“And I pay you for it, so you have no ground for complaining,” the young man tersely countered, his hand tapping the door handle impatiently.

Mai stuck out her tongue at him but obediently followed nonetheless when he kept the door open for her.

“Yeah, yeah I know. See you later guys! ” she waved.

“Yasuhara, you can close the office when you’re finished, I won’t come back.”

“Understood boss. See you tomorrow, Taniyama-san!”

After a brief nod en lieu of a goodbye Naru shut the door, leaving Masako alone with Yasuhara in a silent office.

Masako realized with a start it was the first time she had to deal with Yasuhara without Mai or the SPR extras around. It was somehow unnerving.

The awkward atmosphere drew for a few moments before Yasuhara dispelled it with a practiced host smile.

“Please take a seat Hara-san. I’ll be back immediately.”

He then disappeared in the little kitchen, the sound of of clattering cups soon filling the void Mai’s chatter had left.

Masako let herself drop on the nearest sofa with a tired sigh.

She shouldn’t have come.

It had been a mistake using this case as an excuse to see Naru. She should have just called, but she had been looking forward to chatting with Mai, too.

Mai. If only she hadn’t shown this stupidly genuine smile when she had recognized her at the door. If only she could hate Mai and blame her for the heartache.

Of course she couldn’t.

Because of the happy way she called her Masako. That was what had started their friendship, the unaffected way Mai was treating her, calling her by her first name. Like she had done with Naru.

“If only she wasn’t so familiar,” she sighed out loud.

“I suppose you’re talking about Taniyama-san?”

Masako almost gasped. How come she hadn’t heard Yasuhara approaching? She was starting to believe he was making a point catching her off guard.

The young man was standing right in front of her, a tray in hand and a slightly amused smile on the lips. He didn’t wait for her to confirm and carefully put their two mugs on the table.

“Speaking of whom, she’s the one who made the tea, so it is safe drinking.”

Masako took the cup wordlessly, trying to hide her blush with the motion. She hoped he hadn’t hear the resentment in her voice.

“She does act too familiar,” she defended meekly.

Yasuhara sat on the couch, putting the empty tray next to him.

“It is what makes her so easy to befriend–”

Or to love, Masako thought wryly. But didn’t dare say it out loud.

“–Let’s say that’s part of her charm.”

Yasuhara’s voice was even and light, but Masako could swear there was something in the undertone. Something deeper and darker.

It was as if…

Oh. Oh.

She put her cup back on the table, her full attention now on him. It was time to ask about something that had bothered her for quite some time, and to confirm her little theory.

“Is that why you keep calling her by her family name? To avoid falling pry to her charm?”

The question was asked in a mundane manner, but the atmosphere shifted as soon as the words left her mouth.

She watched Yasuhara’s reaction closely. His easy going smile tightened and his back straightened imperceptibly in a rare display of discomfort.

Touché.

He recovered at an impressive speed though, flashing a playful grin.

“Would you believe it if I told you it is out of pure politeness?”

Masako arched doubtful eyebrows.

“No.”

The unexpected bluntness of the answer had Yasuhara laughing out loud. He sighed in mock defeat and looked at Masako with something akin to appreciation.

“I figured.”

Masako should have felt relieved. She had the upper hand in their conversation since she had confirmed what she suspected about Yasuhara’s inclinations. However it was sympathy instead of triumph that was creeping into her chest.

Funny how sharing a similar pain could make you feel closer to someone.

In the meanwhile Yasuhara had engrossed himself in the thoughtful contemplation of his mug. It was the one Mai, Ayako and Masako had bought him right before Naru had left.

“You know,” he mused with a half-smile, “you’re the first one to ever ask.”

His gaze was unexpectedly honest behind his glasses, and Masako’s scruples about having wrangled this secret out of him vanished at the sight. How lonely must he have been, bearing the weight of his feelings by himself?

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said softly, ‘they’re all idiots.”

That earned a chuckle from Yasuhara, and his lips turned into a boyish grin which spoke of mischief.

“How dare you call big boss an idiot!”

Masako couldn’t help a laugh at the mock offence. If felt good to make fun of Naru after this disastrous evening.

“He deserves it,” she huffed. “He and Mai are two peas in a pod in that regard.”

The memory of Mai teasing them about having tea together had Masako wrinkle her nose in distaste. There should be a limit to obliviousness! Poor Yasuhara.

“And the rest of them are no better,” she resumed after a thoughtful pause, “You never denied you liked Mai but you never made any fuss about it, so people just assumed your feelings weren’t deep. That was actually a really clever way to hide it, provided you didn’t give her special treatment calling her Taniyama-san, of course.”

Yasuhara raised falsely scandalized eyebrows.

“That’s a flawed argument, I call you Hara-san too.”

Masako pressed her lips together in displeasure. Everyone was putting her at a distance with these stupid honorifics. It made her feel left out somehow.

“You do,” she admitted, ignoring the sting of the comment. “You give almost everyone else a nickname though, even your elders. As you junior and your closest colleague it would be normal you called Mai by her given name. Especially since everyone but you does.”

Yasuhara put his hands up in surrender.

“I can’t hide anything from you, Hara-san. You’re far too observant.”

Masako shook her head, a wry smile on her mouth.

“No, I’m just another victim of Mai’s familiarity. I tried to keep my distance from her the same way. And now I call her Mai and can’t help thinking of her as a friend,” she grumbled. “How am I supposed to compete against someone like her?”

Yasuhara took a sip from his mug and leaned into the couch.

“You think you have it bad?” he asked in a joking tone. “I was doomed from the start! Having big boss as an opponent was terrible, he put my good looks and intellect to shame!”

Masako put her finger on her chin, falsely pensive.

“You’re right, I can at least console myself thinking I’m the more beautiful of the two. You don’t have such a luxury I’m afraid…”

Yasuhara made a face and clutched his heart as if mortally wounded.

“Hara-san, have some mercy!”

Masako couldn’t help but laugh at the theatrics. It reminded her of the Yoshimi’s case, when Yasuhara had raised everyone’s spirit just by joking with Bou-san. Making fun of himself for the sake of others.

“It’s better to admit the hard truth,” she deadpanned. “By the way,” her tone softened, “I owe you some thanks for today.”

A flash of understanding passed in Yasuhara’s gaze. Masako wondered if today’s scene had been painful for him, too.

The man really had a good heart, it was a shame he got it broken.

Did Mai even know what she was missing?

“Not at all. Actually, I’ve wanted to talk with you for quite a while. I never got the chance to ask before today, I figured it was now or never.”

“I-Is that so?”

Masako couldn’t determine if Yasuhara was trying to spare her feelings or if he was sincere, but she appreciated he made it look like he really wanted to get know her better. She had had enough of feeling unwanted for the day.

“Thank you for asking then.” She let a sincere, grateful smile brighten her lips. “I’m glad I stayed.”

Yasuhara’s eyes widened like he just realized something, and his own mouth split into a hearty grin before letting a hearty laugh out.

“I’m grateful you accepted my invitation,” he said. “I should have done this a lot earlier. It really cheered me up and I feel up to some competition after all,” he muttered.

He ignored Masako’s questioning stare and flashed his best charming smile.

“What about we do this again some other time Hara-san…”

He hesitated a second.

“Or do you mind if I call you Masako?”

Masako nodded wordlessly, ignoring the blush the use of her name was putting on her cheeks.

Masako.

A word that started a friendship.

And for some reason she didn’t mind the familiarity in his mouth.

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Masako Hara #Yasuhara Osamu #Oliver Davis #Mai Taniyama #Samantha-GirlScout #frenchcirce #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

Text

The Difference of a Minute

from: @rmnitb

for: @eyeliner-vampire

I went with Luella’s perspective! I thought it would be fun to look through her eyes for once. Fair warning: the main theme of this piece is astrology, and if your not familiar with that, I’ve included a short explanation below. (Also, I was inspired by the fact that my twin brothers are Virgos. And do you know who else are Virgos??)

sun sign: generally represents an individual’s basic nature and their constant personality traits

moon sign: describes an individual’s inner self; rules over one’s emotional and more intimate side

rising/ascendant sign: the outer self; the mask one shows to other people

If you would like to know more, I suggest going to cafe-astrology! And if your curious about your own signs, you can also calculate your signs there~

Hope you enjoy~

-:-

[The Difference of a Minute]

I. Moon Signs

It was a little known fact that Luella was interested in astrology. And by interested, she actually means she’s obsessed with it.

It all started in college, and as an arts major, it was inevitable that she would be exposed to ideologies previously out of her reach as a child coddled by the vast reach of the sciences. Astrology was one field that she was raised to scoff at, as the metaphysical was not enough grounds to build evidence upon. Another notion she was discouraged to pursue was parapsychology, since ghosts and other paranormal and supernatural phenomena simply could not be real. (Religion is still a relevant path for her to study however, she was told.)

It goes to say, then, that she first fell in love because of the fact that he would be pursuing parapsychology for his graduate studies. What a lunatic, her first thought was after he introduced himself in a party they both attended during their final undergraduate year. Thus, she was set on marrying the man. It was a horrible decision, economically speaking. But Luella would be glad to support him and their soon-to-be family if it meant the rest of her life would at the very least be interesting.

She continued to be an active enthusiast, and while she once contemplated to pursue a career as a full-time astrologist, she decided after marrying a parapsychologist that a 9-5 job would be more lucrative.

She was a Capricorn sun, Virgo moon, Capricorn rising. A workaholic, in other words, but at least she’s self aware. Martin’s an Aquarius sun, Pisces moon, Aries rising. Nothing to say other than he was a mess of a man, but at least he’s affectionate.

What puts her on a loop was how Noll and Gene had completely different natal charts despite being born just a minute apart. It’s entirely accurate to say that only thing they shared in common were their faces, and from her first interaction with them, she had a clear premonition. They would be entirely worse once they become teenagers. And yet, she knew she’d love them still.

“Hello there, my name is Luella,” she said in a hushed voice, as if she was scared that the orphanage’s walls would crumble at a pitch higher than a whisper. “I’m your new mum. I hope we can get along well.”

Gene ran into her arms and embraced her with as much strength as he could. “Will you really?”

“Yes, of course.” Of course. A Leo moon.

And Noll, the Aquarius, snatched Gene’s arms and dragged him away. To the other room, without a word said.

-:-

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Luella Davis #Oliver Davis #Eugene Davis #rmnitb #eyeliner-vampire #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

Text

from good friends and true

For: @dreams-of-kalopsia

From: @samantha-girlscout

You asked for a glimpse of your fave. Well… I hope you don’t mind a whole fic about him.

It’d been an especially tiring day. He’d had a couple of tests and an unexpected amount of homework had been assigned for the weekend. Add in the especially long train ride and all he wanted to do was make something simple at home and go to bed.

But, a figure standing just outside the entrance to his apartment building gave him pause.

“Oh, hey Yasuhara,” She said as she gave him an awkward wave from where she stood.

Yasuhara blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected any of the gang to come and visit. It wasn’t as though he was keeping his residence a secret from any of them. Or that none of them were welcome. He just hadn’t taken the time to update anyone besides Naru. But, he supposed, it wasn’t all that surprising considering just how close Mai and Naru had become over the past two years.

He returned her wave and gave an easy smile.

“Hey, Mai! What brings you all the way out here?”

“Well…” She dug the toe of her shoe into the ground below and did her best to hide a bag behind herself. “I was just in the neighborhood and thought it’d be a good idea to stop by and say hi!”

Yasuhara raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh? Isn’t your school about an hour away?”

Her eyes widened as she realized that he’d caught her. “Yeah,” she laughed. “I guess I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. It’s been a while since anyone’s heard from you.”

He winced. Yeah that was mostly his fault. He was getting pretty invested in his studies and hadn’t quite remembered to reach out as much as he’d planned.

“Sorry about that.”

“No, it’s okay.” She smiled. “I figured that since the office is closed today it’d be the perfect opportunity to check in.”

“Well thank you for that. Did you want to come in?”

“No, I just wanted to stand outside and talk.” Mai rolled her eyes.

“Well, suit yourself. I’m going inside.” He started towards the entrance.

“Wait! I was just kidding!” Mai waved her hands in an attempt to placate him. “I’d love to come up.”

“I don’t know…” Yasuhara pretended to think about whether he wanted to let her come up or not. It was hard to not break into a grin at how hard she was trying to not seem overly eager, but also not be left behind. Eventually he broke down and laughed. “Alright, alright.”

Mai sighed in relief and laughed a little herself.

“Follow me,” he said as he led her into the entrance of his apartment complex. There wasn’t a whole lot on the first floor besides apartments and a small office. “Hope you don’t mind climbing stairs. There isn’t an elevator here and I’m on the fifth floor.”

“I’ll be fine.” Mai laughed. “So how’s school going?”

“Hey, that’s my line.” He laughed as Mai stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s fine. Just lots of home work, but I wouldn’t expect any less. How about you?”

“It’s going pretty well. It’s been pretty tough working and studying for exams.”

“Do you need some help?”

“Maybe?”

“Well, I’m always willing help if you need it.” He came to a stop before his door to unlock it.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Mai smiled as she followed him inside.

He flicked on the light, revealing his small apartment. “It’s not much. I think it’s even smaller than yours.”

“It’s fine. In fact I think it looks pretty cute!” Mai toed off her shoes and walked into the center of the studio apartment, looking over what little he had. Besides his bed, a small bookshelf, a floor table across from a television, and a small night stand, he had no other furniture. There were a few pictures on the walls, mostly taken with his high school friends and the SPR gang, and one poster that he’d snagged at one of Monk’s concerts a while back. Otherwise the walls were bare.

Yasuhara took off his own shoes and set his bag beside the door. “ I was thinking of making some ramen noodles and then just chilling out. Did you want any?”

“No…” Mai turned and watched him as he turned on his electric kettle and pulled out a package from his half-stocked pantry cabinet. He then pulled out a drink for each of them from his fridge. As he turned to offer one to Mai, he found that her face was concerned. “Yasuhara, have you been eating well?”

He arched an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“What have you eaten this week?”

He had to stop and think. “Mostly instant noodles…” She frowned. “But I was planning to cook this weekend! I just have long days is all.”

Mai sighed. “C'mon. Let’s go get something. My treat.”

“Mai, I’m perfectly fine with—”

“Nope.” She walked over and turned off the kettle and put the package back. She then grabbed his arm and tugged him towards his door. “Let’s go.”

He tried to dig his feet into the ground, but he found himself sliding on the wooden floor. “Mai!”

“I’m not taking no for an answer, Yasuhara.”

He sighed in resignation. He could tell that he wasn’t going to get anywhere with her. “Fine. But I’m paying for myself.”

“No. I said I’d pay, so I’m paying.”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses. She really could be stubborn sometimes. He was pretty sure that if he wanted to pay he’d have to steal the bill or something if he wanted to keep her from spending too much money on him.

He’d watch for an opening.

It took far less time to get downstairs. He was pretty sure that it was going to be pretty tiring to have to climb up the stairs again after this little escapade, but he couldn’t say that he minded all that much.

It was nice to have some familiar company after nearly a month of trying to make new friends. Not that he didn’t enjoy them, most of them were pretty nice. But he hadn’t been able to hang out with them much outside of classes so they weren’t much outside of convenience friendships, yet. So it was nice to spend time with an old friend.

“Where should we go eat?” Yasuhara asked as they started walking towards the road.

“I’m thinking… Barbecue.”

Yasuhara’s eyes widened. “Mai, that’s usually expensive. Why don’t we—”

“Doesn’t matter! C'mon!” She grabbed his arm and dragged him in the direction of the nicer restaurants.

“Y'know I think it does matter. I know you don’t make a whole lot. I’d hate to put you out.”

“It’ll be fine. Trust me, okay?”

He sighed. “Fine.”

“Yay!” She didn’t let go of his arm as she continued to lead him away from his apartment. “This is going to be so fun!”

“Yeah.“ They slowed down to a more easy pace. "Hey, how’s everyone else doing?”

“Pretty good. Everyone’s been kinda busy lately, but I think Naru’s found a case for us to do in a few weeks. He hasn’t said much about it, but apparently it’s a few hours away and is taking a bit of coordination.”

“That’s good.” He felt a bit sad at the prospect of missing a case, but it was bound to happen. “If you guys need any help from Tokyo, just let me know.”

“Will do! Though depending on how crazy it is, don’t be surprised if Naru asks you to come out for the weekend”

He laughed. “I’ll be sure to keep my schedule open.”

It took a while for them to finally get to the barbecue. It was an enjoyable walk as they passed quite a few shops and some parks on their way. Mai kept fawning over all of the cool things that were in his area. He had to admit that he was in a pretty great location, but hadn’t really had the time to go exploring like this to find out what exactly he had.

“Do you think we should have called ahead?” Yasuhara asked as they approached the crowded entrance.

“Naw, we’ll be fine.” Mai smiled, a small mischievous glint lighting up her eyes. She walked up to the counter and greeted the hostess. “We’re here for the Taniyama reservation?”

“Right this way, ma'am.” The woman said as she started leading them towards the back of the restaurant where a couple of party rooms were located.

As they walked along, Yasuhara tried to catch Mai’s eyes in an attempt to ascertain what exactly was going on. No matter what, had she planned to drag him here? Also, why were they heading to a party room? There were only two of them so they should only need a small table, unless—

Unless everyone was here.

The door opened and a wall of sound hit him as everyone from the SPR gang shouted “Surprise!" Well, everyone save for Naru and Lin, of course.

"What’s all this about?” Yasuhara asked as he and Mai entered the room.

“Well, a little birdy told us that we missed your birthday last month,” Monk said as he patted the open cushions on either side of him. “Add in the fact that it’s been a long time since all of us hung out, and we all thought it was about time to organize something.”

Yasuhara raised an eyebrow at Mai.

“It wasn’t me. My job was just to get you here.” She covertly glanced at Naru as she took the seat to the right of Monk and next to Masako.

Yasuhara looked to the man sitting at the head of the table. He was reading something, probably something paranormal related, but he looked up when Yasuhara sat beside him on the other side of Monk.

Naru shrugged. “There’s a case coming up that I needed to speak to everyone about. Considering the office is closed in the evening, this was the most logical type of place to gather.”

“I suppose.” Yasuhara wanted to tease his boss, but his attention was stolen away soon enough with all of the gifts that were thrown into his lap. Some were far heavier than others and he nearly dropped all of them when Ayako tried to put her large gift into his arms as well.

“Calm down there,” Monk said as he helped set the gift to the side. “Wouldn’t want you to break my gift.”

“Considering who gave it, I’m sure he wouldn’t miss it.”

“Excuse you. I’ll have you know I worked really hard to find something that he’d like.”

“Oh? Was it a CD of your band?”

Yasuhara looked down at the small package in his hands that Monk had handed him. It did have a very particular shape to it…

And from the look on Monk’s face, Ayako probably hit the nail on the head.

“Oh my god, Monk,” Mai said through her hand as she tried her hardest to not laugh at his expense. “Don’t tell me you did!”

Monk looked away, embarrassed. “It’s the first copy of the newest album,” he muttered as Yasuhara tore into the wrapping paper. “No one else has a copy yet and it’s signed by everyone. You mentioned you liked our music so I thought—”

“I’ll only accept it if you sign it with a kiss.”

Monk spluttered. “Wh-what?!”

“Well how else would you sign it? C'mon I’m sure Ayako has a spare tube of lipstick.”

“Like I’d waste a tube on a miscreant like that monk,” Ayako pulled her purse tighter to her body and glared at her compatriot.

“What’d you say? I’ll have you know that I look way better than you do in all shades of lipstick! I just. Don’t feel like wearing it right now!”

Yasuhara lost all composure and laughed out loud at the scandalized face that Ayako gave Monk. As if the thought of him looking better than her was ten times worse than the idea of him using her lipstick. It was just too much!

It took a little while for he and the rest of the group to calm down enough for him to finally speak up.

“I love it Monk, thanks.”

“No problem, kid,” Monk groused as he glared at Ayako.

The rest of the gifts were a bit more practical. Ayako gifted him a large box filled with various kitchen supplies. Something he’d, admittedly, neglected to buy for himself. Mai gave him a blanket. It felt handmade and from the tag that she’d sown into the corner, he was pleasantly surprised to find that she’d knitted herself. Masako gave him an ornate set of chopsticks and some teas. Lin gave him a gift card to a convenience store nearby. John gifted him a set of high quality towels. And, lastly, he received a set of paranormal books from Naru.

It was far more than Yasuhara ever expected from any of them.

There were a lot of things that Yasuhara expected to change when he went off to college. The most of which was getting to spend less time with this group. He wasn’t sure why, but he’d just figured that they’d all go their separate ways eventually. But it seemed as though he’d been wrong.

He should have realized that it wasn’t necessarily an option at this point, though.

They were his family, after all.

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Yasuhara Osamu #Mai Taniyama #Dreams-of-kalopsia #Samantha-GirlScout #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

Text

Technical Difficulty, a short story

He’d done it. Noll finally convinced Martin to give him his first solo case – but there is still one valuable lesson he has yet to learn. (mild language)

For @atalieaoi

From @eyeliner-vampire

Hello! I couldn’t decide which genre I should write for you, so I did them all. I hope you enjoy my attempt to write fluff, family, angst, hurt/comfort, supernatural/mystery, and horror all in one short story. ENJOY!

Technical Difficulty, a short story

Call me if you need help.

Martin’s words filtered back to Noll’s brain. At the time they had felt like a safe haven, a back-up plan, but now it sounded like a taunt. Noll shook his head. He stuck by his decision. There was no need for a whole crew of people to take on such a simple case, they would just get in the way. All Noll need was Gene. Gene who was nowhere to be seen, Gene who had left Noll to setup the control room alone.

Noll sat on the pocked wooden floor, picking at the nest of tangled wires. The rest of the room was filled with boxes of equipment; cameras, microphones, EMF readers, everything an investigator would need – if only he could get the damn wires.

He yanked the AV cable he’d spent the last some-odd minutes detangling, and it came free. Finally. He rose to his feet, a slow process given his legs had fallen asleep. Every movement was pins and needles as he coaxed his legs to move.

Braving a few steps to the pile of sleek black cases, he pulled a camera free from its padding — and swore. On closer inspection, it wasn’t the AV cable at all, but a microphone adapter just pretending.

“Gene!” Noll snarled because he needed something to yell at, “Where are—"

“Tea?”

Noll spun on his heel. Gene was making his way around the metal skeleton that should have been shelving, balancing two steaming cups.

Noll wagged the cable at him, accusingly. “Where have you been?”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” Gene said setting one cup precariously on a stack of boxes. “I thought you might want…”

The floor creaked. Both boys glanced sideways at the door. The sound had come from somewhere outside the room, but they were supposed alone in the manor.

“Did you hear—” He didn’t get to finished as the sound of wood slamming deafened him. Creaking wood, metal clanging, the manor felt as if it were trembling beneath them.

It was early for activity to be starting, but neither of them waited. Noll bolted for the kitchen and Gene for the foyer.

In the kitchen, cabinets were slamming open and shut of their own accord. Drawers were pulled from their places, silverware scattered over the floor. As Noll watched, the long wooden table trembled and shifted sideways as if pushed. Across the manor, the foyer was a cacophony of sound. It was a jarring mix of stomping and screeching, an argument in full force. Gene struggled to pick out individual words or meaning, and then it was over.

The cabinets stilled, the blinds rocked back and forth but they no longer flipped around as if controlled by some unseen force. In the foyer, the thundering of footsteps fell away.

“That was… unsettling.” Noll hummed to himself. What kind of spirit could do something like this? It was unlike anything Noll had seen on other cases. He ran a hand over one of the marble smooth counters. Images sprang to mind; a woman baking, a boy sitting, legs swinging, up on the counter. Noll dismissed them.

They met back in the hall where Gene described what he’d heard.

“It was like screaming, but more intelligible?” He questioned himself. “Definitely an argument.”

Not only was the activity strong, but it was in two places simultaneously? Noll motioned to the base. “We need to get the cameras up.”

And so they did. Together they set up two cameras, one in the foyer and one in the kitchen, and finally managed to untangle the cables. By the time they were finished it was nightfall.

“I don’t think that’s a job for two people,” Gene complained, fanning his sweaty face.

Noll didn’t answer. He was listening for any creaking or clanging or anything out of place, but the manor was quiet. And it remained quiet well into the night. It was as if they both imagined the chaos of only a few hours ago. In fact, if the silverware weren’t still scattered all over the kitchen floor, Noll would have seriously questioned himself.

Sometime in the early morning, when the sky was a pleasant pink color, Gene suggested one of them should sleep.

“You go,” Noll said. His eyes were beginning to hurt from looking at the screens all night, but he wasn’t quite ready to sleep yet.

“I slept on the ride out here,” Gene insisted, “you look like you’re about to pass out anyway and I’d rather you not anything knock over.”

In the end, Noll couldn’t refuse, especially once he started yawning. He draped himself over the love seat that was stuck in the back of the room with only his jacket for a blanket.

He had only just managed to fall asleep when Gene called his name.

“Noll? I think there’s something wrong with the cameras.”

Noll groaned. He rolled off the couch with as much elegance as a newborn deer and squinted at the screens. There was no reason to, there was nothing on them. He starred down at a completely black screen for a full minute before he said, “Did the power go out?”

“The lights are still on,”

Noll rubbed his eyes. “Is the night vision on?”

“They’re night vision cameras, Noll.”

Noll waved a hand. He wouldn’t have put it past his brother to forget. “Have you checked the battery?”

Gene snapped his fingers and bolted from the room. Noll padded after him, stumbling into the kitchen as Gene flicked on the light. Blinded, Noll could only listen to the click of plastic as Gene tried the camera’s power button.

“The battery’s dead.”

“You’re welcome,” Noll yawned. At least it wasn’t something worse.

“Were did you put the spares?”

“In the duffel…bag…” Noll closed his eyes, coaxing the answer from his tired mind. He could see the battery packs, sitting by the door of his office in a blue duffel bag. Forgotten. Damn it.

Call me if you need me. Noll pushed the words out of his mind so violently, his head ached.

Gene said, “We don’t have them, do we?”

Neither of the boys needed to point out that, without them, they had no case. They might just as well have been two teenagers sleeping overnight in a haunted manor. But Noll would be damned if he stopped here.

He turned and started down the hall. “We don’t need them,” he said, and for a moment, he wasn’t sure if he was talking about the batteries, or Martin.

Gene wasn’t an exorcist. He wasn’t any kind of religious figurehead with some uncanny ability to banish ghosts. He didn’t dress up, didn’t pray to the other side, and he certainly didn’t have a crystal ball, but he was still a medium, and sometimes that was all that was needed. Other times, it was all they had. This was one of those times.

Without any cameras, they had no means of continuing the investigation, but there was something they could do. Researching the spirits in a location and gathering evidence was only one of an investigator’s tasks. The other was making sure the residence was safe, which often meant getting rid of the spirit.

Gene stood in the center of the foyer, hands in his pockets and eyes closed. Noll stood by the front door, arms crossed, watching his brother carefully. They had already tried the kitchen to no avail. If they didn’t get anything now, Noll didn’t know what to do.

Gene sighed and shook his head. “I don’t hear anything. I don’t see anything.”

“I thought you were a medium.”

“And I thought you were an asshole.” Gene said, but his voice was different, deeper and heavily accented. He shrugged. “Guess we’re both right.”

Noll leaned forward. “Gene?”

Gene didn’t respond. Eyes still closed, he swayed dangerously. Then, voice normal again, he said, “You are no longer of this plane, spirit. Please cross over.”

A moment of silence passed, and Noll thought that was it. The spirit was gone. The morning sun shone golden through the windows, bright and light and it must have been over. Boy, was he wrong.

Noll’s knees buckled under him as the floor trembled. The air whipped and whistled around them, screeching higher and higher until they formed words Noll couldn’t understand. Gene clamped his hands over his ears, the floor rippling around him. What felt like hours but must have been only seconds later, it all stopped. Noll was bleeding from the elbow, having scrapped it across the floor when he fell. Gene was wide eyed and shaking.

“What the hell was that?” Noll whispered, afraid if he spoke any louder, the screaming would return.

Gene shook his head.

“What are we gonna do?”

Noll sighed. Back at base, he had managed to get the bleeding to stop, but his head still throbbed, and Gene was still pale. Rubbing his forehead with one hand, he dug in his pocket with the other. “We could call Martin… Lin probably has a hirogata somewhere. It would be the easiest way to…” he drifted off.

Call me if you need me, that’s what Martin had said. But what did that mean? Did he expect Noll to call him, or was it a test to see if they could make it on their own?

Gene leaned his elbows on his knees, weary. “We could…”

Noll flipped his phone open. “We should.”

“We should?” Gene mimicked. “Are you sure? You’re not giving up yet, are you?”

“I’m not giving up,” Noll was already dialing the familiar number. “But we can’t do this by ourselves.”

It wasn’t a test, meant to trick them. They were words of advice from an expert in the field and Noll realized that now. And he was going to take them.

The phone rang twice before the line connected in a burst of static.

“Martin?” Noll paused, waited for the static to clear. “We need help.”

“Oh?” On the other side, Martin chuckled, “Well it’s about time.”

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Oliver Davis #Eugene Davis #atalieaoi #eyeliner-vampire #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

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Inspiration

Hi, @rmnitb! I’m your ghostly giver! XD And I gotta say thanks for the prompt! This was a ton of fun to write and I seriously hope it comes up to par for you! *^_^* Enjoy your favorite bassist monk!

Written by: @amynchan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day was fresh and young. With the sun barely peeking out over the horizon and the air so crisp and clean, one might venture to call the scene picturesque. Serene. Beautiful.

That one person would not be Houshou Takigawa.

The man had climbed through the ages, kicking each year away stubbornly and denying his body’s need for sleep until he could no longer keep up the façade. When his mind finally agreed with the reality that his body required more sleep in order to be productive, his life had gotten a great deal easier. Unfortunately, the rest of the band hadn’t gotten the memo yet.

“I need an iced coffee…” the man grumbled as he followed the far-too-awake leader of the group.

“You need to wake up on time,” replied Yuki as she adjusted her sunglasses. He didn’t see why she needed them, she was already wide awake. “Seriously, didn’t you have to wake up early and fight bears or something when you were on the mountain?”

Houshou sighed. “I’ve told you: monks don’t fight bears and I don’t have to do early morning meditations anymore. Let me have my sleep.”

Yuki hummed thoughtfully and Houshou wished that whatever source she got her ‘fighting bears’ idea from would burn. Burn in the early morning light. It would be better for it to suffer like he was suffering.

“How early did you have to wake up for those meditations?” Yuki’s voice pulled him to the present. The far-too-early present.

“Too early.”

“To ask or you woke up too early on the mountain?”

“Yes.”

Yuki’s response was drowned out by the early morning traffic. Houshou glanced blearily at the passing cars. At least they weren’t honking yet.

Before any bad luck could befall him for his observation, Yuki and Houshou turned right and into an alleyway that had blessed little light. It wasn’t long before they were ushering themselves in through a side door and greeted by their resident guitarist. He sat on the stage, calmly strumming as he waited.

“Kyorin!” Yuki’s greeting was too loud. “Where’s Umito?”

“He said he’d be right back.”

Houshou sighed quietly, mourning the loss of extra sleep. But he was awake now, so he supposed he would just have to wait with everyone for Umito to return. He glanced over at Yuki, who seemed annoyed but unsurprised. Their drummer often got in trouble for being too late or showing up too early before popping off somewhere and showing up late anyways.

“Honestly. It’s like he doesn’t take rehearsal seriously.”

Houshou and Kyorin exchanged a look. They both knew this particular gripe by heart. Fortunately, both were spared from any further mutterings about drummers who slacked off when the front door burst open.

“Everyone!”

Three heads turned towards the front door, where they found two faces. Umito grinned proudly as he silently showcased his prize, coffees for everyone, while standing behind Naoki, who had a rather worrisome expression of unbridled glee on his face. Houshou wondered what their manager had in store for them this time.

“First off, everyone performed really well in that last concert. Naara, those vocals were on-point. Norio, you could be a bit louder with the bass. Naka, Namae, perfect volume, but make sure you’re together.” Houshou made a mental note to speak with their sound director about the sound issue. “Now then, we’ve been working on our old hits and they’re fine, but audiences can get them all on CD now. Those sales are through the roof, but concert attendance has been going down.”

“We’re not doing another street campaign, are we?” asked Kyorin, an air of hesitant wariness about him. Houshou shuddered. The last time they had done that, he’d been assaulted by so many people. So many. Naoki laughed.

“No, no. Even better. You’re going to release a new song!”

Four faces stared blankly at their expectant manager. He seemed to have no idea what he was asking of them as he merely grinned any potential issues away. “It’s perfect! A song we don’t release on CD to encourage concert attendance!”

Houshou looked at his bandmates. Umito’s grip on the coffee had gone slack. Kyorin’s grip had tightened on his guitar. Yuki was staring directly at Naoki, her mind already at work. As expected.

“How long do we have?”

“We want this done by the next concert.”

Houshou slipped. Umito actually spilled a little bit of the coffee. “But… That’s tonight!”

“Exactly! We’ve given you over 8 hours of preparation,” said Naoki, looking rather pleased with himself. “I’ve heard the best songs are composed in a less amount of time, but we thought we’d give you time to practice.”

Houshou bit back the remark that bubbled to the surface. There were a lot of people who went into making these executive decisions. Their manager was just the messenger for these people. A far too excited messenger.

“Well, I’ve got to get back.” Naoki looked at each of them in turn. “Good luck!”

With that, the man walked past Ubito and closed the door. Houshou sighed. Their fates were sealed. Might as well get started. He glanced at Ubito.

“Hey, Ubito?”

“Yeah?”

“Please tell me one of those coffees is iced.”

…/…/…/

They had been at this for two hours. They had practiced all their other songs, decided that the new one would be a special encore, whatever it was, and were staying out of the way of the stage crew as they worked on their new song. All of that had only taken an hour.

The quiet was a bit unnerving. Houshou had started tapping his foot three minutes ago.

“I’m stuck!” complained Kyorin. “I have almost no inspiration!”

“Almost?” wheedled Yuki, eyeing him suspiciously. Kyorin looked back at Yuki before replying in a deadpan voice.

“Totoro to-to-ro! Totoro To—”

Kyorin was interrupted by a pillow to the face. Ubito didn’t even bother trying to look innocent. “Copyright.”

Houshou didn’t know much about whatever they were talking about. Instead, he was trying to scrounge up some inspiration himself. He knew each of them had the musical talent to string something together that would sound nice, but making it consistent? They needed some sort of plan.

“Houshou.” The bassist looked up at Yuki, who was staring at him with intent eyes. “You said earlier that you had to wake up too early for meditations, right?”

The man rose an eyebrow. “You wanna write a rock song on meditating? I’m not against it, but it seems a little…”

“I don’t wanna do a song on meditating,” complained Ubito. Suddenly, he sat up straight. A giant grin was on his face as his eyes pleaded with Houshou. “Let’s do one on fighting bears! That’s much more exciting!”

“Where did you guys even get the idea that monks fight bears?” The irritation swept through his system for a moment before letting itself out.

“Still, maybe we can use something like that,” said Kyorin, sounding the most hopeful since their manager had made his big announcement. “Is there anything about monk life that’s rock-worthy?”

Houshou hummed. Sure, there were lots of things they could make exciting. Other rock groups did it to stuff like the Bible all the time. “The problem is that they wouldn’t be able to hear any of it. No one might be able to identify with monk life.”

“What, do they think we’re not good enough for them?” asked Ubito indignantly. Houshou shook his head.

“Nah. Music’s just distracting. They don’t let any of it up there at all. It’s why I left.”

Ubito continued to grumble about the unfairness of it all, but Houshou paid him little mind. Instead, he focused on Yuki, who was beginning to bear a devious smirk. He knew that expression when he saw it. Kyorin saw it, too.

“You’ve got an idea?”

She looked at her band members, her confidence shining through. Oh, she had an idea all right.

…/…/…/

Thread Topic: Secret Concert Song

NFan1987: omigosh, i <<33 that new song!

Naaralover74: ‘why am I not good enough for you?’?? who else relates??

Jamingw/Naka: So relatable!! Why won’t he notice me???

…/…/…/

The band scanned through yet another fan forum, watching the chaos unfold in the threads. The reaction to the night previous was strong and still going, which meant they would probably get a visit from a visibly pleased Naoki any moment now. For now, though, they amused themselves with the comments.

“How many of them do you think are going to figure out that it’s about monks not being able to listen to music?” asked Yuki. Her voice was a mixture of amusement and pride.

“I don’t think anyone will. They’re all talking about crushes and upperclassmen that won’t notice them.” Houshou was just glad they’d managed to get something to paper and that the audience seemed to like it.

“Well, at least we managed to get something out there,” said Kyorin. The relief in his voice was something Houshou could relate to.

“Yeah, this calls for a celebration!” Classic Ubito. “Houshou, think you’ll teach us how to fight bears now?”

Moment shattered. The bassist huffed. “We do not fight bears.”

“Oh, come on. Please??”

He was going to burn whatever it was that gave them that idea.

#GHW2019 #Ghost Hunt #Houshou Takigawa #rmnitb #amynchan #GHHQ #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

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Memento (Part 1 of 2)

For: @seoulsborne123

By: @csakuras

——

The trees on the mountain path shimmered with morning dew. Gene passed through a row of red-orange torii gates lining the path, so dense that they practically made a vermillion tunnel.

Fushimi Inari Taisha. He had come here first thing in the morning, to beat the crowds and the heat. Gradually, he made his way up the mountain, snapping pictures now and then.

It was like he’d entered a different world. He could sense it, in the trees, in the shrines, in the thousands of torii gates. This was sacred ground.

This place is fantastic, Gene thought. You’re really missing out, Noll. Told you you should’ve come.

He knew his thoughts would not reach their intended recipient. Their abilities had weakened enough by now that their telepathic link no longer stretched across oceans. And yet, throughout his trip, Gene kept trying. Maybe it was just habit. He’d grown used to the fact that, no matter where he went— even when he was alone— he would always be able to reach his brother.

Which meant this was one of the few times in his life that Gene was truly alone.

On one hand, it was liberating. Being able to go anywhere and do anything he liked without anyone to caution or complain. But now, nearly a week into his trip, he was starting to realize just how isolating that could be too.

After making his way through another tunnel of torii, Gene stopped by a small shrine to catch his breath. The hike was tougher than he’d anticipated, and the humidity didn’t help. He sat on a mossy rock and sipped from his bottle of tea.

He sensed it before he saw it. A familiar tingle up his spine. He turned to his left, just in time to see it appear from behind a tree.

A white fox. Said to be the messengers of the Inari Okami, he had seen many statues of them along the way, many of them holding keys in their mouths. This fox didn’t look quite as fearsome; actually, it looked downright adorable.

“Hey, there,” Gene said. “Come to check on me?”

The fox stood still, staring at him.

“I’m no threat, I swear. Just visiting.” He gave it a disarming smile, and a short bow for good measure.

It sat, tilting its head curiously at him.

Slowly, Gene set down his bottle of tea and raised his digital camera, getting the fox into frame.

“Shhh…just hold still a second, okay?”

Briefly, he wondered if this might be considered disrespectful. Well…hopefully he wouldn’t be cursed afterwards.

The camera clicked, and the picture was taken. The fox didn’t seem perturbed; it merely stood and wandered away, having seemingly lost interest, and disappeared in a sunbeam.

Gene looked at the preview screen of his camera. There was no sign of the fox anywhere in the picture, even when he zoomed in. No smudge of light or anything. Just background scenery.

He smiled wryly. Gene knew that a camera couldn’t capture everything that he saw. Not even SPR’s high tech cameras could do that.

It was a shame. Noll might have actually liked to see this one.

The main reason for this trip was a client’s request, of course. And some research on the side. But also, Gene had hoped to visit his ethnic homeland someday, so he had been grateful for the opportunity.

Their ethnic homeland. Unfortunately, Noll hadn’t been interested enough to join him. But Gene still wished he could share what it was like. In one form or another…

——

It was on the weekend after the Agawa case. Mai brought Naru tea in his office as usual, but instead of leaving right away, she spoke up.

“Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you something. I mean, I would’ve told you when you first came back, but we had that case… Anyway, Mori-san already approved it, but since you’re my boss, you should know too.”

Naru sipped at his tea. “Please get to the point.”

“I won’t be here next weekend.”

He blinked. “Huh?”

Mai grinned. “That’s right, this time I’m the one going on a trip! To Kyoto!”

He stared at her, looking a bit lost.

She took a moment to enjoy that rare look on his face before explaining. “It’s my school trip. Do you have those in England? My whole class is going for a few days.”

Understanding dawned in his expression. “I see.” Then he nodded. “I will make note of it.”

“Come to think of it, you went to Kyoto too, right? A little after I started working here? How was it?”

“Hot.”

She waited for him to continue, but that seemed to be all he had to say about it.

Then again, he didn’t exactly go there to sightsee, did he? He had gone to search for Gene…

“Wait, does that mean Gene went to Kyoto too?”

Naru nodded. “I’d been retracing Gene’s steps during his trip, and learned that he had gone there to meet with a spiritualist. As far as I know, the man was one of the last people to have spoken with him before the accident. I went to ask if he had any idea where Gene had planned on going next.”

“Did he know?”

“No. It seemed they only discussed mediumship or trivial matters. If it had gone that easily, I would have found him much sooner.” Naru sighed.

And then, within only a few short months of them meeting, Naru would have left. And Mai would have never found out anything— about Naru’s identity, why he was here, or…about Gene. Selfish as it was, she was almost glad that things played out the way they did.

“Hey…” she began, hesitantly. “Do you think I could meet with that spiritualist too?”

Naru frowned. “Meet him? Why?”

“I guess…I’m just curious. Maybe if I talk to him, I could find out where Gene visited in Kyoto. I could see the same things, walk the same places…and stuff.” She blushed and shook her head. “N-nevermind, it’s stupid. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

She took her tray and quickly exited his office.

What was she thinking? There was no use trying to explain something so sentimental to him. As if he’d even care.

——

Later that afternoon, John dropped by the office for a quick visit. Mai welcomed him eagerly; she had been hoping they could talk.

“Hey John, you lived in Kansai for a while, right? Do you have any recommendations for places to visit?”

John did indeed have a few recommendations, beyond just the usual tourist sites too. Mai took notes, nodding with excitement.

But partway through, the door to Naru’s office opened, and he poked his head out.

“Mai. Bring me a large trash bag.”

“Huh? Right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

She pouted.

John gave her an understanding smile and whispered, “We can talk again later, Mai-san.”

She sighed. “Sorry.”

Grumbling, she found a trash bag and took it to Naru’s office. “Here, I got you the—” she stopped.

A heap of maps, travel guides, notebooks, and paper was piled on top of Naru’s desk. As she watched, he rummaged through a desk drawer, pulling out another handful to add to the pile.

“Bring it here,” he said.

She closed the door behind her and walked up to the desk. “Don’t tell me…you’re throwing all this away?!”

“I found Gene. I don’t need them anymore.”

“That’s true, but…you should at least sort them for recycling!”

“Then I’ll leave that to you.”

Mai groaned. She just had to create more work for herself.

Having cleaned out his drawers, Naru sat on the edge of his desk, sifting through the pile. He gave each item a cursory glance before tossing it into the trash bag she held open for him.

This might take a while. She was tempted to just leave the bag with him and return to her conversation with John, but since Naru hadn’t dismissed her yet, she decided to stay for now.

Besides, she was curious what had spurred on this sudden cleaning spree. It had to be what they talked about earlier, right?

“I kinda forgot you still had all this stuff,” she admitted.

“Yes, well, I didn’t have time to throw them out before I left for England, and I didn’t have time when I came back, as someone immediately forced me to take on a case.”

Jeez, he was still holding a grudge about that?

Mai peered inside the trash bag. “You know…this stuff has been here since before I began working at the office. It feels weird to see it all go away. Like it’s the end of an era…”

She thought back to all those times she caught Naru in the office, pouring over maps. She used to think it was just a weird hobby. But she should have suspected; that look of concentration he had while tracing his finger over roads, mountains, lakes…she should have known the reason couldn’t be so frivolous as that.

Naru tossed several travel books, clicking his tongue. “Madoka had plenty of time while she was here,” he muttered. “She could have cleaned this out herself.”

“She probably thought you’d complain about her touching your stuff,” Mai sniffed. “Besides, she was busy. Actually teaching me stuff.”

He frowned. “…She never cleaned Gene’s desk either.”

Now this got her attention. “Gene’s desk?”

“At the Pratt Laboratory. I didn’t get around to cleaning it before I left for Japan, as I had too many other things to worry about. But I assumed Madoka would do it eventually. And yet when I returned, after the funeral, I found it exactly the way it was two years ago.” He shook his head. “Ridiculous.”

Mai gulped. If she were in his position, coming back to see that desk unchanged after all that time would have felt like a punch in the gut. “So…you cleaned it out yourself?”

“What little there was to clean, yes. It was mostly odd scraps of paper he had doodled on. He was active in the field, but the rest of us generally took care of the paperwork.”

She bit her lip. Now she felt torn. It seemed like such a waste. Gene would never put pen to paper again. To her, even little doodles would be priceless.

“But…if there wasn’t even that much stuff, it couldn’t have hurt to just leave it that way, right? Did you even need the space?”

“That is not the point.”

She looked at him, inviting him to explain.

He sighed. “My parents are free to preserve Gene’s bedroom as they wish. But we don’t need a shrine in the workplace as well.”

There was something about the way he said that. Not quite annoyance, more like…a deep discomfort. It made her hesitate. But at the same time, the dismissiveness of his words bothered her.

“And why do you get to decide that? Gene was an important member of Mori-san’s team, right? Are you saying her feelings don’t count, just because she’s not family?”

Naru paused. “…Even so, it’s been two years.”

“You don’t get to decide how long it takes!”

“It’s just paper.”

“Maybe to you, it is. That doesn’t mean you have to remove everything that reminds you of him!”

She had been wondering for a while. Why exactly Naru decided to return to Japan. He said it was for research, and that might really be all it was. But she also wouldn’t be surprised if he was just running from something.

“Is that what you think I’m doing?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Isn’t it?”

A bitter smile crossed his face. “I see his face every time I look in the mirror. What other reminder do I need?”

Mai shut her mouth. She couldn’t argue against that.

An awkward silence passed. Naru lowered his gaze back to the notebook in his hands, flipping through the pages. Mai looked away.

When he finished flipping through the notebook, Naru tossed it in the trash and picked up another map. “Okinawa,” he said, looking at it with disgust. “He made me go to Okinawa.” This also went in the trash.

Mai rolled her eyes. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“I never intended to come to Japan in the first place. But he ended up dragging me here after all.”

“He didn’t drag you, Naru. Complain all you want, but no one forced you to come here. You made a choice.”

He scoffed. “The only other choice was to leave things to the incompetent police. He would have never been found.”

“But he was. Thanks to you.”

That was one thing she could say in his favor. Whatever his reasons— whether out of brotherly love, or merely because he wanted to dissect his brother’s brain— despite all the odds, Naru didn’t give up. She could admire that level of dedication.

And now, this clearing of the past seemed to signal a new start. His life had been in stasis for nearly two years, devoted to the search. Now, he could finally live for himself again. So, did that mean…that this time, he was here because he actually wanted to be?

Mai glanced at him. Maybe that was just wishful thinking. But it would be nice, if that were the case.

Minutes later, Naru was flipping through another notebook, when he stopped to tear a sheet out of it.

“Here.” He held it out to her.

“Huh?” She took the paper. “What’s this?” On it was a name, written in romaji, and a phone number.

“The man I met in Kyoto.”

She gasped and looked at him in surprise. “You found it for me?”

“It turned up while I was cleaning. It’s going in the trash anyway, I don’t care if you feel like salvaging it.”

“Uh-huh.” She wasn’t entirely sure she believed that excuse. Mai turned back to the paper and read the name out slowly. “Suzuki…Akitarou?”

“I’m surprised you could read that much,” Naru smirked.

Mai glared at him over the sheet of paper. “What’s the kanji?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Pfft. Even if you could, I bet you couldn’t write it.” Mai grinned, in better spirits now. “So I should just give him a call, ask if we could meet? Can I tell him I work for SPR?”

“Yes. He might be more willing to see you if you mention my name.”

“Which name?”

There it was. The ‘Are you an idiot?’ look. “Oliver Davis, obviously.”

“Well sorry. How was I supposed to know you didn’t introduce yourself as Shibuya Kazuya?”

He sighed. “It doesn’t take more than two brain cells to figure out that if I went asking about my identical twin named Eugene Davis, using an alias would be pointless.”

“My bad. It’s just that you have sooo many names, it’s enough to confuse a girl.”

“I have, at most, three.”

“Not counting nicknames, you mean.” She laughed, and waved the piece of paper. “But thanks, Naru. I appreciate it.”

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Naru #Oliver Davis #Mai Taniyama #csakuras #seoulsborne123 #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

Link

For: @csakuras

From: @snavej

Preferred Gift to Receive: Fanfiction

Themes Preferred to Receive: Romance/Fluff, Friendship/Fluff, Fluff, Family, Supernatural/Mystery, AU

Themes Unwilling to Receive: Crack Fic

Content you are uninterested in receiving: Rape, incest, pairings between adults and teenagers

Characters or content Preferred to Receive: Twins (platonic), Naru/Mai (platonic or romantic), Twins/Mai (platonic or romantic). Possible prompts: “I didn’t expect to see you here” or “Secret”

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Naru #Oliver Davis #Mai Taniyama #csakuras #snavej

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

Text

Zoo Day - Part 1

for: @theroyalprussianarmy

From:@beejinki

Naru and Mai enjoy a day at the zoo, but things don't quite go the way Mai hoped.

fluff/angst/domestic Mairu

“When we get there, we have to go to see the pandas first,” Mai says, practically humming with energy. She’s bouncing in the passenger seat as Naru drives them in their rental car towards the San Diego Zoo.

Naru nods, but his blank facial expression remains in tact.

“Aren’t you excited? This zoo is so cool!”

Naru shrugs as he hits his turn signal.

“It’s odd driving on the right side of the road,” he says, slyly changing the subject.

Unfazed, Mai looks back to her phone and continues looking at the San Diego Zoo website.

When she found out that they would be travelling to California for Naru’s speaking engagement, Mai immediately began begging Naru to take her to the zoo. She’d heard that it was one of the best zoos in America and had always wanted to visit.

Naru couldn’t resist his girlfriend’s pout, and he booked tickets with VIP access to training sessions for them.

Mai was properly at a loss for words when they pulled into the parking lot past the giant lion statue at the park opening. She’d been babbling nonstop the whole car ride, so her silence was almost jarring.

“Are you okay?” Naru placed a hand on Mai’s knee as he asked this.

She, in turn, scooped up his hand and planted a ferocious kiss on the back of it.

“I’m so happy!”

Naru chuckled, “I’m glad it’s meeting your expectations already.”

“It’s exceeding them!”

As they climb out of the car, Mai pulls up the zoo map on her phone.

“This app is so cool,” she says, “I have all of the times for when they feed the animals and everything!”

“You lead the way.”

Mai, despite her excitement, could tell that something was off with Naru. He seemed to be his usual self, calm and collected, but Mai knew him well enough to tell that there was something off, just under the surface. Naru could fool most people, but he could no longer fool his girlfriend.

“What animals are you most excited to see?” Mai prodded, gently attempting to gather intel without letting him know that she could tell he was upset.

Mai’s heart leaps as Naru glances down at her and offers a lighthearted grin. She has to remind herself to focus.

“I haven’t really thought about it.”

“Oh,” Mai frowns. “Okay.”

Before going into the park, Mai makes Naru pose with her to take a selfie next to the lion statue at the entrance. He loops an arm around her and smiles one of his charming Naru grins.

“I’m going to send this to Luella so she knows that we’re having fun,” Mai says, tapping a short message to Luella on her phone before putting it back in her pocket and taking Naru’s hand in hers and pulling him towards the ticket counter. When she gets to the window, she pushes Naru forward so that he can handle all of the interaction in English.

“We have two tickets reserved under the name Davis,” he says. “I booked them online.”

The woman at the ticket counter nods as she looks down at her computer.

“Yes, right here. Oliver Davis?”

“Correct.”

“Alright, here are your VIP wristbands,” the woman says, handing Oliver two pink paper wristbands with the zoo logo printed on them. “There are maps on that kiosk to the left. Enjoy your day!”

“Thank you.” Naru gives her a nod.

Once out of the line, Naru and Mai stop so that they can put on their wristbands. Without being asked, Naru puts Mai’s on her wrist for her which earns a not-so-serious rebuff accompanied by a giggle.

“I’m not a baby,” she laughs.

“No comment.”

#ghost hunt #ghw2019 #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

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Memento (Part 2 of 2)

For: @seoulsborne123

By: @csakuras

Mai stood on the wooden platform of Kiyomizu-dera, overlooking the surrounding wooded hills. Fall foliage lit up the landscape in red, orange, and green, with a view of the city beyond. But sadly, the scenery was almost spoiled by the constant droning voices of tourists crowding the platform.

“Wow, it’s packed, huh?” Keiko said, beside her. At the moment, Kiyomizu-dera’s veranda was at nearly full capacity.

Mai laughed. “Yeah…Naru would hate it here.”

Michiru nudged her with an elbow. “Oooh Mai, why are you bringing up Shibuya-san all of a sudden?”

“Do you miss him?” Keiko teased.

“Yeah, right. Besides, I only just saw him yesterday.”

A cool breeze wafted through the treetops. Mai leaned on the wooden railing and took a breath of fresh air.

“It really is a beautiful view though.” She raised her camera, taking a picture.

The bulk of that day had been devoted to group tours of several popular tourist sites: Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion; Ryoan-ji and its famous Zen rock garden; Sanjusangen-do, with its main hall filled with 1001 statues of Kannon.

At each location, Mai couldn’t help but wonder. Did Gene come here too?

——

The next morning, Mai woke up at the hotel, and let out a deep sigh.

Last night, when she went to bed, she had foolishly hoped that Gene might appear in her dreams. As if just the energy of this place could summon him to her.

Of course, she saw nothing. Maybe if Naru was here, and they had a case, she might have had a chance. But Gene didn’t tend to appear only for her sake. The only time she could recall that he did…it was right before his body was discovered.

She knew, Naru was probably the reason Gene still lingered. That was fine. She wasn’t jealous or anything. Not like she could even come close to comparing to a twin brother anyway.

Not like she’d even known him when he was alive.

But she couldn’t mope forever. That afternoon, the class was free to go wherever they liked within their groups. Mai managed to convince Keiko, Michiru, and the others in her group not to tell the teacher that she would be slipping out on her own for a few hours.

She had called Suzuki earlier in the week, explaining that she was an Investigator from SPR and would like to speak to him in regards to his meeting with Gene. Suzuki had suggested they meet at a teahouse in the Gion entertainment district.

And so she went. The address he’d provided led her to a quiet side street. Mai found the teahouse and waited outside. The surrounding buildings looked ancient, though well-cared for. This whole street looked like it had barely changed in centuries. Standing there, Mai almost felt like she’d slipped back in time.

A few geisha passed by and she blushed. She’d never entered this kind of establishment before, and she wasn’t sure it was really a place for teenage girls to hang around. She probably should have mentioned her age to Suzuki on the phone. But even then, why did they have to meet here? Why not a cafe or something?

Soon, a middle-aged man walked up to the teahouse. He had long, graying hair and a goatee. He was a bit handsome too. Mai wondered if Bou-san might look like this someday.

“Excuse me, are you Suzuki-san?” she asked.

He blinked at her. “Ah, you must be Taniyama-san. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He spoke with a (now familiar-sounding) Kyoto dialect. Though, John’s version of the dialect tended to be comical. Somehow, the real thing sounded much more elegant.

They entered the teahouse, where a kimono-clad hostess welcomed them. Suzuki mentioned a reservation, and they were promptly led down a long hall.

The hostess opened a screen door and motioned them inside a room.

The interior was traditional, with tatami flooring. The two of them sat on cushions with a low table between them. Screen doors opened to a courtyard with a beautiful garden; there were Japanese maple trees, moss-covered rocks, and a small pond where koi fish swam, shimmering red, white, and gold in the dappled sunlight.

Shortly, another woman in a kimono came and served them green tea.

Mai fidgeted, feeling out of place in her school uniform. Masako would fit into this kind of environment much better, with her beautiful kimonos. Then again, Masako said she wore a uniform to school too, so would she also be in a uniform on her school trips?

Whatever, that wasn’t important right now. Mai shook her head.

Once they were left alone, Suzuki spoke up.

“So, Taniyama-san. You are quite young to be an Investigator, aren’t you?”

She laughed nervously. “I know it’s surprising.”

Suzuki smiled. “Well, after meeting both of the Davis brothers, I suppose I’m not as surprised as I perhaps ought to be.”

“You didn’t think I might be an imposter?”

“I had my suspicions. Out of precaution, I called the number Oliver had left for me last time and confirmed beforehand that you are indeed who you say you are.”

She blinked. “You talked with Na— I mean, Oliver?”

“Yes. If I understood him correctly, he seemed to imply that Eugene was very important to you as well.”

Mai clenched her hands in her lap, gripping the hem of her skirt. Naru.

“I…yes. He is. But…I’m sorry, I’m not here for anything nearly as important as Oliver was. I just wanted to know what you talked about with him…with Gene.”

Suzuki smiled kindly. “It’s no problem at all. But, I do apologize if you feel uncomfortable.” He gestured to the room around them. “There is a reason why I thought it appropriate for us to meet in this establishment.”

“O-oh?”

Suzuki took a sip of tea. “I think it may interest you to know, that I have been coming to this teahouse for over twenty years.”

Mai tilted her head slightly. Why would that interest her?

“This is where I always prefer to have my meetings, you see. I’ve become such a regular, that the owners have this same room reserved for me every time.”

She finally caught on. “D-do you mean, this is…?”

“Yes. This is where I met Eugene, two years ago. And where I met Oliver as well. They both sat in the exact spot you’re sitting in now.”

A shiver ran down her back. Two years ago. Gene was alive. And sitting right here.

Suzuki nodded to himself. “Eugene was a remarkable young man. Truly an expert in his field. And very open and friendly. He was also quite taken with the geisha,” he laughed.

“Oh…was he…” Mai didn’t know how to take this information.

“His brother, on the other hand, was very…business-like. Straight to the point, you might say.”

She laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

“It was the honor of my life to meet them both. Despite the…circumstances.” The man’s smile faded and he sighed. “It’s truly terrible, what happened. I wish I could have done more to help.”

She nodded. They lapsed into silence. Mai sipped her tea.

After a moment, Suzuki resumed talking. “Taniyama-san, is there anything you wanted to know in particular?”

“Um, yes. Did Gene mention anything about what he did in Kyoto?”

Suzuki put a hand to his chin in thought. “Yes, he seemed quite impressed with a number of tourist sites. Fushimi Inari, in particular.”

“Fushimi Inari…” She made a mental note to visit there later.

“He claimed to have seen a fox spirit there, and attempted to capture it on camera,” he smiled.

“Oh wow.” Mai leaned forward. “Did it work?”

“Unfortunately, no. He said he would have to resign himself to taking ‘regular’ scenic photographs instead.”

She laughed.

But then Suzuki sighed, smile falling again.

“…Suzuki-san?”

“I’m sorry, that just reminded me of something.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Toward the end of our conversation, I got the impression that he was becoming quite homesick. He began reminiscing about road trips his family used to take when he was younger. He also mentioned that he and his brother had grown apart in recent years, and that he was starting to miss the closeness they once had.”

Oh no, Mai thought.

“He wished his brother could have been here to see the sights as well. However, he thought Oliver wouldn’t appreciate the crowds. So he was planning to take plenty of pictures instead, so at the very least, Oliver could get some idea of it.”

Mai swallowed against the lump in her throat. “I…see.”

They fell into silence again. This time, the atmosphere remained heavy.

Unwittingly, her eyes drifted to the garden. A scarlet maple leaf drifted slowly to the surface of the pond, causing silent ripples.

Two years ago, in the summer, Gene was in this exact spot, admitting that he missed his brother.

One year ago, in the spring, Naru was also here, searching for leads on Gene’s location.

And now, it was Mai sitting here, looking back on the brothers’ separate journeys.

Though the seasons were all different, time still seemed to overlap in that moment. She could almost feel them there with her, gazing out into that garden together, both thinking of the other.

Where was Gene’s camera now? At the bottom of the lake? Abandoned on the side of the road? Or in his killer’s possession?

Gene had wanted to show Naru the beauty of Japan. But in the end, all Naru saw was his brother’s death.

Tears welled in her eyes.

“Um, did you tell Oliver about this too?” she asked quietly.

“Yes. And I did suggest that he do some sight-seeing while he was here. However, he respectfully declined.”

Mai nodded slowly. “…Even if he wanted to, I think back then, he would have been too preoccupied with finding Gene to appreciate any of it.”

“Yes. I’m sure you’re right.”

And in that moment, Mai decided.

She had to do something.

——

Two days later, Mai returned to SPR carrying bags of souvenirs. The gifts were modest, but she had fun picking them out. The Irregulars gathered at the office to hear stories from her trip, and they had a little party, eating snacks from Kyoto. (Of course, Naru only made a brief appearance to complain about the noise.)

But once everyone had left, and she and Yasuhara had cleaned everything up, Mai slipped into Naru’s office with a paper bag.

“Hey, I’m going home soon.”

“Oh,” Naru said, not looking up from his computer.

She gathered her courage. “By the way, I got you something too.”

Mai reached into her bag and pulled out his gift. But unlike the others, this wasn’t a simple souvenir. It was a small photo album.

She placed it on his desk, and Naru looked at it, perplexed.

“Open it,” she urged.

He opened the cover. Fall colors immediately sprang off the page.

“This is…?”

“What it looks like. Photos from Kyoto.”

“And you are giving this to me, why?”

Mai took a deep breath. “Gene took a lot of pictures on his trip too. He wanted to show them to you when he came home. But he never got the chance.”

She pointed to herself. “I’m kinda similar to Gene, right? Personality-wise. That’s what Mori-san told me, anyway. So, I pretended to be Gene for one day. To do what he couldn’t.”

Naru frowned a little, but returned his gaze to the album. He turned a page.

She had spent all the rest of her free time in the city hunting for picturesque locations. Among the pictures in the album were ones she’d taken at Kiyomizu-dera, as well as from the Gion district, Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the Philosopher’s Path, a tranquil stone path running along a canal. The lighting in the pictures reflected the fact that she had been taking them from morning until sunset.

“You sure went to a lot of trouble for Gene’s sake,” Naru said off-handedly.

“I did it for you too.”

He looked up and blinked.

Blushing, she pushed on. “Before, you gave me a picture of Gene, right? So in return, I’m giving you pictures from Gene. Or…something like it, anyway…”

He stared. Mai averted her eyes.

When he told her about Gene’s desk. And when he asked why she wanted to meet with Suzuki. She’d thought Naru just didn’t understand why such things would matter to people. She’d thought he wouldn’t care to even try to understand. But in reality, he’d helped her every step of the way.

She’d misjudged him. If he didn’t understand the value of a memento, he wouldn’t have given her that picture of Gene in the first place. If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have stayed with her that day while she cried.

She took a deep breath, forced herself to look at him straight on again.

“I know you’re not really interested in looking at travel photos. But, if you could just…keep it on a shelf somewhere. Maybe look at it once every few years…I think it would make him happy.”

Naru raised an eyebrow. “Him? Or you?”

Mai sucked in a breath. What was with him and these heart-stopping questions that had no easy answers?

He looked at the album again, flipping through more pages.

“…You’re right,” he said at last.

“Huh?”

The corner of his mouth turned up just slightly, half-amused, half-nostalgic. “This seems exactly like something he would do.”

Mai let out a sigh of relief. “Really?”

“Yes. He was always sticking his nose into other people’s business, doing things no one asked for.”

She winced. “Yeah, well…that’s just who we are, I guess. Learn to live with it.”

He shut the album. “Unfortunately, I already have.”

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Mai Taniyama #Oliver Davis #Naru #seoulsborne123 #csakuras #submission

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ghosthunthq · 6 years ago

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4th annual Ghost Hunt fandom exchange! April 27th & 28th

Do you want to make your last weekend in April something that transcends human understanding, or perhaps for the more analytical of us something that at least deviates from the natural?

Silly question, of course you would!

How to have a hauntingly good time?

First things first, make sure you follow @ghosthunthq so you can participate and get all of our updates.

Then, sign up for our:

Ghost Writer/Artist media exchange!

Rules: You must give in order to receive. This is an exchange, so signing up means you are willing to create something for your client. It really is obvious, but it’s always important to spell it out.

Ghost Writer/Artist: you are a ghost, your haunting can vary in intensity, but should remain anonymous. That is part of the fun.

Minimums: Fics must be 1,000 words + and art must be more than a quick sketch (multiple sketches or a singular more intense work for example). If you aren’t sure check out our previous years’ works here to get an idea of what people have done in the past.

Step 1: Sign up for the GH Ghost Writer/Artist media exchange!

You will sign up for the exchange via a submission form on which you will provide information for both what you will like to give as well as receive. Sign ups will be from January 27th(now)- February 10th. The information to provide is:

Your tumblr name. This is important for a litany of reasons not the least being so your ghost writer/artist can creep on you to get a better idea of what you want or annon message you to more directly try to get info.

What type or types of media you would like to receive

A small prompt for the subject of the media. Don’t get your case rejected, so please keep it at least semi-professional guys.

What type or types of media you are willing/able to create

Using a number of spreadsheets and a complex algorithm we will match a Ghost Writer/Artist with their client. Prompts will be ready for pick up Feb 11th or 12th. We will send out an announcement when the assignments are ready to hand out and you will send us an ask which we will answer privately with your client information.

Step 2: Get to work, this isn’t a cafe.

Last day to drop out is March 10th. If you can’t continue please send us an ask and let us know. Anyone who loses their specter or client will be provided with the assistance of a gifted medium to search for a new match.

Check-ins/Reminders will go out: March 3rd and again March 31st.

Step 3: Submit!

Submit your completed gifts to the exchange blog making sure to mention/tag your client so they know their gift has arrived. The exorcism is set for the weekend of April 27-28th so we area setting up a soft deadline of the 25th for submissions. This will help us with making the schedule.

Reach out to GHHQ if you have any questions!

And please share this with your friends!

Interested in seeing the works from the first three years’ exchanges?

Check it out here!

#ghost hunt #ghw2019 #ghhq #Here we go again.#It is hard to believe this will be our 4th year!#Very exciting!

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