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

Altering Years

Chapter Nine - Clown Posse (Part Two) **NOT EDITED**

Mood: Paper Aeroplanes - Same Mistakes </3

~Mai~

I look at everyone as we sit across each other from around the fire; Naru directly in front of me, everyone having a good time. Juro starts handing out some hot drinks for us all because of the cold weather. I glare at Naru when he rejects it.

"I'm sorry, Juro. Naru only likes to drink tea." I bite, Juro's chuckle making me smile at him.

"I completely understand. Now that everyone has gotten their drinks, how about I play some soft guitar?" he offers, pulling out an acoustic guitar. That looks like mine.

"I wouldn't mine playing and singing." I offer right back, his smile widening.

"If you'd like to." Juro passes the guitar to me.

Once it reaches me, I tune it to the song I have in mind, everyone watching me patiently, smiles on all of their faces except for Naru and Lin of course.

"The song I'll be singing is called Same Mistakes. It's one I wrote a long time ago. A few years ago actually." I murmur, starting the songs.

"Save it, please. Savor sweet simplicity. And you'll rise up gently, to float like a bird on the breeze. And you'll climb down slowly, taking to feet gracefully; treading soft on the soles of your feet. And you won't make the same mistakes as me."

After I finish the song, everyone claps, with the excepting of Naru, making me smile. "What's that song about, Mai?" Ayako questions, taking a sip of her hot drink.

"Well, it's about how impulsive my emotions can be. The lyrics savor sweet simplicity relate to my emotions because I tend to get angry or sad rather fast, ruining the calm." I explain, Ayako's smile widening at my honesty.

After that, everyone starts telling pointless jokes, allowing me to look around our surroundings. I stare off into the woods where the practice station was for the circus members. There's something strange going on here, and Juro seems to know what it is. Maybe my perception is off or something, but I don't trust him, nor these woods.

"Mai? We're all heading off to bed." Monk voices, his hand going to my shoulder to wake me from my trance.

"Right," I mumble, standing up and saying a good night to Juro. Once we're all sure he's gone, we climb into the tent, all of us having changed separately into our pajama's.

"So, what do you guy's think about Mr. Isamo?" Monk whispers in case he's still around.

"I don't trust him." I immediately respond, everyone looking over at me in surprise. I continue my reasoning at their glances, "Maybe I'm still angry, but he seems to possibly know what's going on here. In the note Naru showed me, it seemed pretty clear then." I defend, crossing my arms and falling backward onto my sleeping bag, not knowing whose is next to me.

"Mai's right, there's something strange about him. Maybe it's just because he owned a circus. I'm not sure, but he is weird." Ayako sticks up for me.

"Well, I think he's a nice guy. He gave us hot drinks around a fire he started and was going to play some guitar music." John tries persuading.

"Why would he want to play guitar music around a fire at night?" Ayako argues. I ignore their arguing, thinking about it myself.

I start to remember the note. The beast lives, out of the raging storm in the dead of night. Come on Mai, think. The beast lives, night. Night. Guitar music. Campers. Circus. Wait, what? I stop my thinking, feeling I'm getting onto something.