The Story Continued (Ghost Hunt)

Chapter 40

"Mai, are you ok?" Yasu asked after hearing Mai yell. All heads of the room were on her yet again. The girl looked around trying to evaluate her situation. "Yeah, I'm fine. Bad dream." She stated. Well, it was true after all. Mai noticed that the class resumed whatever they were doing. No one was looking at her anymore. Except for Kaoru. As their eyes met she simply smiled at the boy but he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. "Mai." The girl heard a familiar voice. It sounded a little dry. She turned her head to see Naru standing by her table. "Get up. We will go get the bandage."

Mai sighed but listened to her boss. She got up and followed him out of the classroom. "Do you have to be the center of attention everywhere you go?" He asked. His voice sounded neutral. "I'm not doing it on purpose!" She argued. Silence. As they kept going Mai kept looking all around. That's when she noticed all the stares she was getting from the students. She then remembered that she had been carried to the infirmary the day before. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed. "So, what was the dream about?" Naru asked.

"Tae." Mai stated causing Naru to glare at her. As if he didn't know that.

Mai could feel his glare and sighed. "She took me on a trip."

"You followed her?" Naru asked. The answer was obvious. Naru, however, couldn't believe how naive the girl was. Despite how many times she proved it to him, he still had some hope. "So, where did she take you?"

"The gym storage." Mai started. "There is something wrong with that one wall." She murmured thinking back to the wall the spirit was pointing to.

"Why? Because of the camera today?"

Mai shook her head. "No...well, yes. That too."

"Let's keep it in mind. Now, we have to get your bandage." Naru said as he opened the door to the infirmary letting Mai in.

After that, they returned to the classroom and the day continued. The classes ended and the group waited for everyone to leave before getting the vans and setting up the cameras. Yasu and Madoka were occupied with the research while the rest started their own work. "In the same place, right?" Masako asked as she was placing the camera in the storage. Mai nodded. "I don't like it in here anymore." She said as she remembered her dream. "Not just that. I kinda hate it. Like I really want to get out." She added. "No wonder." Masako answered still working on the camera.

"No, really. If I could I would start punching this wall until my hands started bleeding." She said approaching that side of the room. As she stopped right next to the wall she felt the temperature drop a bit. "Masako, come here." She called. "Mai. Why would you go there right after you said you hated it? Come back here. I don't need the ghost kidnapping you! Naru will eat me alive!" Masako called the girl as she finally was done with the camera. Mai rolled her eyes. She quickly noted the difference in temperatures and joined Masako as the girls left the storage.

"Done?" Naru asked as the girls neared the van. "Yep." Mai answered passing the boy by. "Found anything?" She then asked looking over Madoka's shoulder at the woman's laptop. No answer. The woman kept scrolling and taking notes. Mai looked over at Yasu. Equally focused. Confused she turned to Naru who signed for her to be quiet so she decided to leave the two of them be. Instead, she went over to bother Masako who was grabbing a water bottle from the other van. "Nervous?" She asked. But the medium gave her a confused look. "John wanted to talk to you." She cleared. "Thank you for reminding me. Yes, now I am." Masako answered before taking a sip.

"Ops. But what would you do if he asked you out?"

"I mean I have no reason to refuse. We haven't spent any time together outside of work. I would love to get to know him better. But let's be real, it's probably about something else." Masako explained.

"We'll see. Maybe our team will get another couple on this case." Mai smiled.

"Hell no, even if. It's not gonna happen overnight like with those two." The medium protested thinking of the two wild cards. "And you better think for yourself. I'm sure you will have a similar conversation with Naru soon." She shifted the conversation.

"No, Masako. It's not like that." Mai still refused to believe the obvious.

"Really? Is it not? Or do you refuse to admit it?"

Mai didn't answer. Her eyes locked on the ground.

Masako sighed. "It's ok. You don't have to speak. I'm sorry."

"Can we talk about it later? Not out here." Mai asked. Guessing Naru's feelings based on his actions was hard enough. It would be embarrassing if she got it wrong. Denying it was much easier. She was still getting used to having someone to talk about these things about. "Of course." Masako answered and smiled. As soon as Masako said that she noticed Takigawa approaching. He was waving his hand at the two girls. "Mai, Naru wants you back. We will be leaving soon." Mai nodded. "Then, I'll see you later." She quickly waved at Masako and made herself on the way to the other van. On her way, she passed by Yasu, Ayako and John heading to their van. She gave the miko a small smile. She wondered how her job as a teacher was going.

"Mai." She noticed Naru standing by the van's door. "Come on, get in." The girl nodded and got into the car. She leaned into her seat and closed her eyes. "Tired again?" Gene asked. "Yeah." She answered shortly so that she wouldn't have to hold another conversation. "Why don't you rest?" Naru suggested as he sat next to the girl like it wasn't the exact thing she was trying to do. "Need a shoulder?" Gene said before Mai could answer Naru. The girl opened her mouth to say it was unnecessary but Gene spoke again. "Not mine, sorry. It's reserved for Yasu. But you can ask Naru." he added smugly.

Mai closed her mouth. She did not want to deal with Gene. She shook her head. "I'm fine." She murmured finally. Mai couldn't tell if Gene said anything after that. She couldn't focus anymore. Instead, she noticed a headache that was becoming greater as seconds passed. Now that she thought about it, it might have been there the whole day. She gave up on holding on. "Naru..." she grabbed his sleeve opening her eyes. "What is it?" He asked, noticing that the girl was very much uncomfortable. "My head." He sighed. "It hurts right? You can lean against me if you want to. I have painkillers in my room."

"Thank you." She said leaning against his shoulder. Turning away from any source of light coming from the streets. "Maybe we should take her to the hospital after all? Just to be safe" Gene suggested. Naru thought about it for a second. "Lin, drive to the nearest hospital. Gene, tell Takigawa to follow. Ayako, Mai and I will stay there. The rest can go back to the hotel and get some sleep. Naru thought to himself how the girl really loved being the center of attention. Mai wailed and turned her body around to hide her face further in his arm. Naru gently put his hand on the girl's head. Out of the corner of his eye, the boy saw a smirk on his brother's face.

Sometimes he just hated that face.