Altering Years || Ghost Hunt || Mai x Naru || MATURE

Altering Years

Chapter Two - The Phantom Of The Opera (Part Two) **NOT EDITED**

Mood: Christina Aguilera - The Voice Within </3

~Naru~

"Mai! Tea!" I shout, staring at the picture of Sama Anii, Mai's footsteps heard as the door opens, her soft breathing barely audible over the steps she's taking.

"Here you go, Naru!" Mai hums, setting the cup down carefully, standing straight again, staring down at me.

"Did you go home and pack a bag for the week?" I ask, looking up at her slowly after grabbing the tea, taking a sip.

"Yes, I did. Ayako, Masako, John, and Monk all went home to grab there things." I nod my head and notice she's still wearing my shirt. I don't say anything, but just look back up at her, her eyes staring at the top of my laptop, no doubt wanting to know what I'm looking at.

"I'm looking at a picture of Sama Anii. Mai, this case is deadly serious. Out of Miss Hara, Miss Matsuzaki, and you, you're the one that looks most like Anii. You're to be with someone at all times. Understand?" I scold, still staring at her, not daring to smile or anything.

"I understand. Who do you want me with? Monk, Ayako, or Lin?"

"Lin can protect you at all costs, but he'd get annoyed having you follow him all the time since you're an agitator. Is there any reason in particular that you wanted me to take this case?" I ask, having recognized her urgency earlier to tell me about this case.

"Well you see, my mother used to perform there. She wasn't an opera singer of sorts, but she was a singer nonetheless, and she performed there when she was in the orchestra." Mai explains, taking a seat in front of my desk, looking at me as I type this down in some notes.

"Is that so?" I ask, turning my laptop towards her. "If that's the case, find a song that she sang." Almost instinctively, Mai starts typing things in on my laptop, the same speed that I type. I see her turn the volume up before turning it back around to play. The stage is black, and slowly lightly up, revealing a woman that looks almost exactly like Mai.

I notice the long brown hair, the reddish-brown eyes, and the same smile. I flick my eyes up to Mai momentarily to find hers closed, ready to hear her mother sing. "This is a song that my mother created. It's called The Voice Within. I was sitting in the front row when she first performed this song. It was truly emotional." Mai whispers, as the instrumental starts.

As I watch the video, the camera pans away from her mother momentarily to a little girl in the front row who's smiling. I slowly realize that it's Mai, sitting by herself in a crowd, clapping, cheering her mother on.

"Did you inherit anything from your mother after she passed?" I ask, my voice barely louder than the song.

"I inherited all of her dresses and jewelry. I was also offered the place my mother had in the orchestra and as a singer in general." Mai mumbles, keeping her eyes closed as she basks in her mothers song.

I keep quiet now, watching the woman perform, the little girl now on stage, the the woman spinning the little girl around in small circles, the crowd cheering. "This song was also a lullaby my mother created for me after my father died." Mai finally speaks up, making me look at her again, her eyes a glossy.

"Do you know the words to this song?"

"By heart." Mai agrees quickly, moving to the other side of my desk to watch her mother sing.

Instead of watching the video, I watch Mai, noticing how bright the screen is in her eyes, her tears making it shine even more, the unconscious lip biting she's doing, and how her fists are clenched at her sides.