Haunting at Soma Mannor

Chapter 1

Mai and John were sitting at a local dinner talking about how their summer break had gone. School had started back up at the beginning of the week. Mai was finishing her third year of college. She was studying Parapsychology and she was doing very well. Kara, Mai's adopted daughter, was returning to third grade.

"I wish Kara and I could have gone with you to Australia. It would have been so amazing." Mai said, pouting a bit.

"I do too. It was very boring and quiet without you both." John said, smiling. "but there wasn't much I got to do because I was stuck at the church most of the day." John had just returned after being in Australia for the summer. Sadly Mai and Kara couldn't go along because they couldn't afford to travel at the moment.

"Oh right, sometimes I forget you're a priest. Kara was so happy to hear you were coming home today. She made sure to look her best. She doesn't know you're picking her up from school though." She told him, making the young man smile. He loved his goddaughter with all his heart.

John had stayed by Mai's side after Naru and Lin left for England 5 years ago. She was like his little sister. They ended up moving in together during her last year of high school because her apartment complex needed major renovations and released her from her lease. Masako moved in with them too but ended up moving out shortly after for work. When Mai finished high school she started volunteering at John's church where she met Kara. They instantly formed a bond because they were both orphans. Mai, with John's help, was able to foster Kara. She was able to officially adopt Kara 3 years ago when she was 5. That didn't stop her from calling Mai her mom. Mai had named John her godfather. Kara's godmother was Sofia, Mai's best friend.

All of a sudden John's phone went off. "You can answer it. I'm going to go pay." Mai said as she grabbed her purse.

"Hello?" he answered, reluctantly.

"John, buddy, hey it's been a while." A male voice said. It sounded familiar but he couldn't put a name to it.

"I'm sorry but who is this?" he asked

"It's Takigawa man. How could you forget about me?" This made John stand up abruptly. Why in the world would Houshou be calling him now. They hadn't seen each other for about three years.

"Takigawa! Wow, it's been a while." He stuttered, shocked.

"Ya it has but we can catch up later. Listen, Naru and Lin are back from England; they even brought Yasu with them. They are wanting to reopen Shibuya Psychic Research with the same team members. We are all meeting at the office tomorrow for lunch. The reason I'm calling is that none of us can get into contact with Mai. Could you try and get a hold of her?" he finished, just as Mai walked back. She could see the shock on John's face. Are you ok? She mouthed. He shook his head no.

"UM, Ya I'll see what I can do. Bye." hanging up before the monk could say anything else. John looked at Mai. "You're not going to believe who that was," he said, as they walked to pick up Kara from school.

"Try me." Mai had her suspicions but nothing prepared her for what the priest said next.

"It was Takigawa. Naru and Lin are back from England. They want to reopen SPR." he told her. Mai stopped walking. She didn't know what to do or think. She hadn't seen any of her old family in five years except John and Masako. They informed her about what they were up to; like Ayako and Monk, they got married. Ayako was finishing up medical school and Takigawas was still in a band. Yasu moved to England to study business. Masako and John were the only ones that stayed in Mai's life. Well, Masakao tried but was constantly working. "Mai are you ok?" John asked

"Yes, sorry, I don't know if I'll be able to see them. I'll probably just start yelling at them." the young woman said, honestly.

"Then yell at them." It wasn't like John to promote confrontation but they hurt his little sister. "You need to tell them how you feel. Bottling yourself up is not good for your health," he said putting his arm around Mai's shoulders. They stopped walking when they got to the elementary school. "The meeting is tomorrow at lunch. You have till then to decide, and I'll support your decision." When the bell went off kids came out running to their parents or older siblings.

"I think I see her," Mai said, looking for her daughter. There was a girl with light brown hair that was put into pigtails and reached her shoulders. She had bright green eyes and the second she saw her mom she made her way to her. All of a sudden she broke into a mad dash to the entrance.

"Uncle John, Uncle John, your home," she yelled, jumping into the priest's arms. "I missed you."

"I missed you too kiddo. How was your first week back to school?" He asked picking her up

"It was ok." she said "When did you get back to Japan?"

"About two hours ago. Then your mom took me out for lunch" he said. They were walking back home which wasn't too far. When they got there Kara changed out of her school uniform and did her homework while her mom and uncle talked. Their apartment was pretty big. It was 2 stories. Mai and Kara's rooms were upstairs with a connecting bathroom. John's room was downstairs with a small full bathroom. The kitchen was small as well but the living and dining area was a good size.

"If I do go I'll have to bring Kara with us," Mai told John. Tomorrow was a weekend so Sofia would normally be watching Kara while Mai worked but Mai had just quit her job and Sofia was busy fixing a small manor she inherited from her grandfather on her mother's side. "Naru doesn't like kids. So maybe I shouldn't go."

"He might have changed. It has been 5 years, Mai. Also if he gets mad that Kara is with us we can just leave." John wouldn't put up with anyone being mean to his niece or his sister, "I won't leave you." This made the girl smile. The rest of the day flew by and they went to bed.

Mai couldn't get the memory of the last time she saw Naru out of her head. How could he ever think she was in love with his twin. The handsome narcissist was a complete Idiot. When she had finally fallen asleep she realized that she was on an Astral plane.

Please message me if you have any criticisms. I would greatly appreciate them. <3 :)