ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ AKEMI OTHERS ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
"Any movement?" Akemi asked as she got inside the base, handing Naru and Lin their tea with Oliver still stuck beside her. Akemi also gave Bou-san and Ayako coffee, both giving their thanks.
Mai shook her head at her sempai's question. "Nothing yet..." Mai was starting to worry, 'If that vase doesn't move then...'
BLAG!
The sudden open of the door made Akemi jumped, the whole crew inside the room turned to see a panting Kana, her eyes lit with fear and worry.
"Come quickly!"
With haste steps, everybody except Lin followed the owner of the house, Akemi nudging Oliver and let herself be dragged by him upstairs— it was fortunate enough that the staircase is wide and held no trouble for them, as practically everybody tried to reach the stairs at the same time and soon they all stopped by Ayami's room and the sight didn't seem to shock most of them— Mai, maybe.
The others stayed quiet in their opinion, for now.
The whole room was a mess, the shelves and wardrobe that at least takes two men to carry was either flipped or moved out to the other side of the room, even the carpet was moved.
'Just what happened here?!' Mai thought in shock as she gazed around the room.
It seemed that only Mai was able to express out her shock as this might have been her first experience of real poltergeisting, "Everything is slanted!"
"I was coming to tuck Ayami-chan into bed, when I saw this!" Kana said, her eyes narrowed at the ruined room before turning to question Naru and the crew. "What's going on? I thought you came here to get this under control!"
"Are you sure the little girl didn't do it?" Ayako, narrowed her eyes at the meek Ayami standing in the middle of the mess, clutching her doll tightly.
Observing the spike of Ayami's feelings, Akemi leaned down and let Oliver comfort the little girl.
"Ayako, a child couldn't simply have done all this mess... The furniture needs at least two grown men to lift one of these things— suggesting that an 8 year-old would be able accomplish such mess in just a few hours is highly unlikely." Akemi spoke up, placing a comfort hand on Ayami's head with a small unnoticeable frown on her lips as she stared at Minnie.
"You're right," Bou-san spoke up, and the girls turned to see Naru and Bou-san inspecting the furniture. "-The furniture is still on top of the carpet, even I couldn't move the furniture if I tried."
"There aren't any signs of anything," Naru added as he inspected the furniture, "-if there were a human who could do this, I'd sure like to meet them."
"I was just saying..." Ayako pouted, regretting ever suggesting such a thing.
"It wasn't Ayami..." Ayami said as Kana took ahold of her hand.
"Uh-uh! It sure wasn't!" Mai bent to pat Ayami, and Akemi kindly smiled but it didn't seem to reach her eyes like it usually did, but all that peace vanished as they heard a scream downstairs.
Mai and the others straightened at the shriek, all of them except Akemi— who this time decided to lag behind and let Oliver carefully guide her through the dark stairs— running down in time to see Noriko standing by one of the living rooms, shaking.
"Noriko-san?" Mai stared at the room in shock, as she caught a glimpse of the cause of Noriko's scream. "-this time everything is upside-down, even the carpet is upside-down!"
"That settles it, it's a poltergeist."
"The culprit is an earth spirit, I'll have it driven out by tomorrow. Just you watch, goodnight." Ayako nonchalantly waved as she went to one of her designated guest rooms as if what they have discovered was a day to day occurrence and is nothing to be afraid of.
"Where does she get her confidence?" Bou-san muttered to himself and Mai couldn't help but wonder as well.
Both were distracted by trying to solve Ayako that they didn't notice Akemi.
"This work... It's not by an earth spirit, it couldn't be." Naru glanced at Akemi, being the only one to hear her murmur. She was kneeling down to touch the carpet— it alerted him on how serious Akemi seemed, her purple orbs didn't hold any haze into them for once as she inspected the fabric of the carpet, with something close to aching and sadness. Both of them kept quiet, letting everything process in their heads before coming to conclusions.
"What's wrong? You look like you're deep in thought, is something bothering you?" Bou-san took note, his eyes focused on Naru, still unaware of akemi's actions.
Mai then snapped out of her thoughts as well and glanced at her sempai, only to see Akemi, calmly standing by the sides petting Oliver with a soft stare.
"Don't you think the spirit reacted too quickly?" Akemi placed her attention away from Oliver and focused on Naru, her brows furrowed— feeling her shoulders grew heavy and the frown on her lips worsening, it concerned Mai, seeing her sempai so serious and affected by a thing such as furniture ruined.
"So you have noticed as well," Naru sighed, but both Mai and Bou-san just tilted their heads in question at the two. This left Naru no choice but to speak up.
"Paranormal phenomena usually don't happen when strangers are around. Normally they temporarily go into hiding when outsiders get too close."
"Is that so?" Akemi nodded in Mai's question, her care-free nature back on track but something about it felt off and lacking as she lifted a finger to point out a teaching.
"You see it on psychic phenomenon television shows all the time~" Akemi spoke up, the sudden change of air around her cause Mai whiplash. "-Investigators go to a well known haunted house but nothing happens! Sometimes it only ends up on getting a weak response such as rapping sounds would turn into a squeak or you get the opposite type of reactions to that, perhaps meaning repulsion."
"Woah~! Akemi-sempai, you really are knowledgeable in these kinds of stuff," Akemi sweat dropped.
"You think so too, Bou-san?" Naru turned to the monk as second opinion, noticing how the monk seemed too quiet.
"Uh-uh. The spirits sensed that we were here and got angry besides the fact that they showed us such a big poltergeist... these are some serious spirits."
"More like children..." Bou-san and Mai turned to place their gazes at Akemi, who was staring sadly where the doors were wide open as if she was...
"Akemi-sempai? Did you say something?"
"Eh? Ara~ nothing.... never mind."
"This may take some time." Naru muttered, his sharp indigo eyes glancing at Akemi, who kept her gaze by the doors, unmoving.
~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ MAI ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
The next morning, Mai stood by the sides and watched Ayako perform her exorcism around Ayami's bedroom. So far, she was a little nervous as Ayako continued waving the stick on her hand.
Mai gulped down imaginary air as she waited around with baited breath— remembering how the vase in the locked room was never touched proving that this might indeed be a work of haunting, Mai's thoughts continued wishing that maybe Akemi-sempai should have been with her right now rather then circling around the house for a dozen times now, but since Naru didn't seem to voice any concern or tell Akemi off, Mai didn't bother to speak up and let her sempai walk around the halls with Oliver— unaware that somewhere upstairs, Akemi felt worried about Ayami and managed to let Oliver guard the little girl instead, to keep Ayami company.
"That was easy, too easy!" Ayako gloated as she came back to the room, but Mai and Naru didn't pay the girl any heed.
"Here you go, Naru." Mai handed a list, "I checked the temperature in each room and Ayami-chan's was lower than the others..." Mai internally winced at the mention. 'Naru did say that when spirits are present, the location's temperature lowers... then that means this house is really haunted?'
"The house isn't crooked and the floors aren't warped and the floors seem to be very stable," Naru pointed out.
"Then the house is really haunted?" Mai gulped, and shivered in fear as Naru nodded,
"KYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" they heard a scream, and Mai couldn't help but shake at the sudden coincidence. Just as they reached the kitchens, Mai noticed the huge flames by the stove and Akemi-sempai not too far from it with her skirt lightly burnt.
"Kana-san! Akemi-sempai!" Mai yelled for them, as she went towards Kana and pulled her away from the flames reach while Naru went towards Akemi and did the same.
"Everyone please stay back. Noriko-san get a fire extinguisher!" At Naru's orders, everybody moved and Akemi backed-off her eyes lit in realization,
"We need to shut the gas off!" and without waiting for anything else, Akemi ran out of the room and outside the house with Noriko-san to shut off the gas. If Mai weren't so panicked by the huge flames she would have heard Akemi and rush off to help as well, but it seemed Ayako needed help with filling the pail she was holding with water every second.
And when the flames were finally out— everybody slumped in exhaustion.
'Thank goodness it's all gone...' Mai let out a sigh of relief and glanced by the kitchen window, 'Huh?'
"Are the flames—" Akemi just got back with Noriko following beside her when Mai stood up in quick motion and pointed at the kitchen window,
"Naru! The window!" at her shout, everybody except Akemi turned to look. Naru walked towards it and slid it open.
"There's no one there."
"Yes there was!" Mai assured, her brows furrowed in confusion. "It was a silhouette!...someone small like...like-"
"Like a child?" Akemi asked, Mai turning to face her sempai, nodding vigorously.
"Un! Soudayo!" Akemi heard Noriko muttered something beside, Mai and the others heard the voice as well and all turned their attention to Noriko's shaking figure.
"But... Ayami should already be in bed." Almost as if they have an internal agreement, everybody made their way towards the stairs, Akemi was about to follow last but a hand on her arm stopped her.
~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ AKEMI ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
"Eh?" Akemi tilted her head, staring at Naru in confusion.
"Your skirt..." by the mention of her clothing, Akemi looked down and felt her cheeks warmed up. Turns out the flames managed to burn the side of her skirt much more than she thought as it revealed a few inches of her milky thighs, Akemi went to cover them but at the contact of her cold skin she winced.
"It seems to be a mild burn," Naru said, and Akemi felt even more embarrassed as she saw Naru continued to inspect her thigh that was turning red by the second. "-Go and take care of it at once, there's a medicine kit by the base." Akemi nodded, but stopped mid step as she thought this could be a perfect tease.
"Ara~ would you help me apply some ointment on it?" Akemi giggled as Naru just responded with his cold comment and left Akemi by the kitchen without as much as looking back.
'How cute~' Akemi giggled at the back of her hand before going out of the kitchen with light steps. 'One.. Two.. Three...'
"Onee-san.... have you seen my mom?" Akemi froze, turning her head to glance at the small child standing by the sides with teary eyes. Akemi calmly smiled and knelt down to match the child's height— ignoring the searing complains of her thigh.
"I'm sorry but I haven't seen her anywhere.... what if we both look for her later? Okay~" and just like that the child, despite his tears nodded. "Now can you help me look for the bathroom? Onee-san's handsome wizard took off and this princess needs a brave escort to light her way~" Akemi gleefully smiled, continuing to let a calm air exude around her.
The little boy once again nodded and Akemi stood up straight, this time feeling her back protest. 'Next time I'll prepare a futon and a pillow before suggesting on sleeping on the van.' Akemi sweat dropped, as she massaged her back before extending her hand for the little boy to hold. "Shall we?"
Akemi managed to reach the bathroom, opening the light and closing the door after telling the little boy to stay outside to guard Akemi from bad people. She turned to open the faucet for the tub and Akemi let her burning thigh get flushed by cool water for a few minutes before finding an antibiotic ointment and apply it on where the mild burn is located,
"Good thing they keep a medicine cabinet in here... I hope Noriko-san and Kana-san don't mind..." Akemi sheepishly said to herself as she forgot that Naru insisted about their own medicine kit.
Akemi frowned and looked up the ceiling just as she finished wrapping her thigh with a cool compress— hearing a few thumps and rapping sounds. 'If I remember correctly, above me would have to be Ayami's bedroom...'
~~~
ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ MAI ʕ•ﻌ•ʔ
"I DIDN'T DO IT!" Ayami yelled, the rattling and shaking of the furniture intensified as the sounds of the walls banging— even the decorations on the ceiling started shaking as if every thing in the room had their own anger and protested along Ayami.
Mai's eyes widened at the bookcase that shook too much and was starting to fall down, close enough to squash the person under it. "NORIKO-SAN!!"
"SISTER!!"