The Story Continued (Ghost Hunt)

Chpater 45

"No." Naru frowned as soon as he saw the board. He could feel his assistant tense up. "We are not touching that. Especially Mai, Gene and Masako."

"What, why. It isn't going to work anyway." Nao commented. All of a sudden Lin got up and headed for the door. "Idiots." He called before leaving. "Well, I have to agree with him on that one." Madoka spoke up as she also headed for the door. "I'll go talk to him."

"Naru?" Mai asked concerned.

It was obvious the boy wasn't willing to explain the situation. Gene took over for him. "We had an incident with an ouija board in the past. Well, we were still young back then, so it was Lin and our father taking care of that case but we still remember a lot. Lin hates these boards with a passion, to be honest."

"I understand but weren't we kinda going to use Mai and Masako as a bait? It would be much quicker to let them play, you know?" Yasu said with some hesitation and instantly regretted his action. "I just said, especially not them. Was it not clear enough?" Naru almost hissed which shut Yasu up instantly.

"Why not them?" Kaoru asked. "What's going to happen?"

Gene knew Naru was about to throw everyone out so he took over again. He was surprised his brother endured it this long. "Masako and I are mediums." He began. "We can't control what might get attracted by the board and stay with us. Many ghosts attach themselves to people who can see them in order to tell their story."

"And Mai?"

"Well, knowing Mai, if she touched the ouija board it wouldn't only open a portal but a whole railroad." He laughed. Mai, slightly offended, somewhat knew that what Gene was saying was probably true. At least, she would make some kind of mess for sure. "Naru, were you laughing?" She blurted out as the smile on the boy's face quickly faded. "Not really." He answered.

"Then how about we be the bait?" Nao suggested. "We were going to play anyway."

"Wait a moment. I don't wanna play anymore. I thought nothing would happen but now I'm not sure anymore." Yume protested.

"It doesn't matter because I'm not gonna use students as a bait and Lin would kill me if I allowed you to play." Naru responded, kinda ending the whole conversation. Until Kaoru spoke up that is. "Well, I'm gonna play anyway." He stated as he grabbed the board from his friend.

"I'll remove you from the school grounds. You shouldn't be here in the first place." Naru threatened, done with this child's play.

"I'm sure if rumor got around about a ghost hunting team in the school the students would be quite in shock. It may affect their performance in school. And if this got outside of school people might think of our principal as crazy. Not everyone believes in ghosts after all." Kaoru smirked. Naru frowned. He was done. "Go. I don't care where you will play. We are not going to help you." Kaoru felt like he won. "Come on, guys." He said standing up. The group followed him to the door.

"I can't believe you agreed. Since when do you care about the school's reputation?" Mai asked as she neared her boss, smiling widely. "I don't. You do. So don't you try to tease me." He explained as he noticed the stupid grin on Mai's face. "I could throw them away but it would result in you throwing a tantrum and getting in some dangerous situation." A smirk appeared on his face. "Like always."

Mai pouted. "Not always." She tried to object. But gave up once she saw the look on Naru's face. "Thank you for sparing me this whole cycle but now our classmates might be in danger. They have no protection."

"Mai." He emphasized.

"Why don't you just give up, Naru? You know you're not going to win against Mai." Gene interrupted their conversation. "Just let me, Masako, John and Takigawa go."

Naru sighed. "Takigawa, John, Masako. Go find them and stay until they are done. I do not trust Mai and Gene there." He ordered.

"Why?!" Mai and Gene cried out at the same time. The two of them were probably the ones that wanted to witness the whole thing the most. "They seem to be in the storage room." Naru stated as he watched the group on the monitors. He completely ignored the childish duo. "We'll be heading out then!" Takigawa waved as he left the room with John and Masako following him. In the doorway, he passed Lin and Madoka heading back to the base. "You don't have to get involved. Just don't ask, please." That was the first thing Naru said to Lin. The man simply sat down and pulled out his laptop. "I'll start writing the report." He answered.

Those who remained in the base moved in front of the monitors to watch the situation unfold. "Will it even count as evidence?" Mai asked. "The game itself? No. But if the spirit appears Masako will try to make it do something." Gene explained. "Wait, doesn't it mean that Masako is acting as the bait alone now? There is no way that spirit won't focus on her." She realized. Gene didn't say anything. Mai focused on the monitor. She was worried for her friend even though John and Bou-san were there. As she looked closer she noticed that Masako was holding something in her hand. She quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie that was on the table in front of her. "Masako, are you ok?" She was glad her friend always thought in advance. "She's here." The girl heard back. "She's moving the planchette." Mai could hear in her voice that the medium was scared.

"Masako?"

"She's looking straight at me, Mai." Masako herself couldn't explain why she was so afraid. She has seen the girl before but now her presence was overwhelming. Masako could feel the anger, sadness and pain coming from the spirit. But she knew what she was there for. "Since you're already here, why not show yourself to them as you did to Mai." She told the spirit. "Come one, throw something. You're angry aren't you?" She continued.

Out of blue something flashed in front of Mai. Like a photo has been taken. Then a series of scenes played in her head one after another. It took her less than a second to make a decision and she decided to run. If what she saw was about to happen then Masako was in great danger. She will be taken away. And neither John nor Takigawa will be able to protect her. She left the room so quickly that Naru barely had any time to react. "I swear this time I'll fire her." He murmured as he took off after the girl. "No, you won't." Gene commented but the boy was too far away to hear. "Lin, aren't you going to join him." He turned around but the seat Lin was supposed to be in was already empty. "When..."

At the same time, Mai already jumped down the stairs and ran down the hallway barley managing the corners and almost slipping once. She might have heard Naru call after her but she wasn't sure. Mai made it to the gym. One more door. She pushed it open. "Stop playing! Now!" The girl yelled as she ran towards the group. She saw Masako in the same position she was before. She saw the spirit facing the medium. In the heat of the moment she didn't even realize she could actually see the spirit again nor could she hear Kaoru yelling. "We need to say goodbye."

Mai rushed to the board ignoring how the spirit turned around to face her. She wanted to snatch the planchette from the board so that the game couldn't continue, however, the moment she touched it she knew she made a mistake. She, the ghost, was now on the opposite side of the board, face to face with Mai, smiling. "You'll do too." Came out of her mouth without them actually moving. Another flash. This time it filled the room. After that, Mai was gone. Naru was standing in the doorway with his mouth open.

"She disappeared." One of their classmates commented equally shocked.

"That's why you don't play with the ouija board!" Naru screamed as he forcefully took the piece from underneath the students hands and broke it in two.

Gene watched his brother's actions through the camera knowing that shit is about to go down.