A Lich to Scratch - A Ghost Hunt Fanfic

Chapter 3 - Late Night Conversations

 Nearly all of the members of PRI lived on the top floor of the old school building. Each apartment floorspace wise was the size of two classrooms, and they simply had taken out a wall to accommodate. The apartments weren't all that spacious but they had room for a small sitting area, a full bathroom, and a bedroom. When Mai thought of what it took to have the bathrooms installed she shivered. She hoped to never have to deal with having plumbing installed again.

It was ten o'clock at night and normally Mai would be getting ready for bed but right now she knew that she would just lay there and think of him. She thought of the sake at the back of her cabinet. She could drink to calm down her mind and heart. She received the sake on her twentieth birthday as a celebration of drinking legality. But, indulging in alcohol seemed like a bad idea. The meeting with Naru was scheduled for two in the afternoon. If she started the day hung over she was sure her schedule for the whole day would fall behind, and last thing she wanted to do is have the meeting get held back from her poor decisions. She also really didn't want to hear Naru try to condemn her with a, "You're late, Mai."

Mai got up from her couch in her living space and decided to go talk things out with a friend. She thought of going to see Ayako and Monk but honestly they were probably otherwise entertained with each other at this time of night. They started officially dating two years ago and would be celebrating a year of living together in about three months.

Mai knew John wouldn't repeat anything. He always listened but didn't make rash judgments. She left her room to go talk to him. His door was only two doors down from hers. She crossed her fingers hoping that he was still awake. She would have felt awful for waking him up. She knocked hesitantly.

John Brown answered the door. He didn't appear as disheveled as she feared he might. In fact he looked like he hadn't been to bed yet. "Mai, come in come in."

John knew that look on Mai's face. She was confused and a certain member of the male persuasion was what put her in this state. Of course John already knew about the call she received earlier in the day. All of the members of PRI that were originally members of SPR knew. The news spread like wildfire and of course the forefront of everyone's mind was concern for the feelings of their new boss.

Once they reached the couch, John turned to her. "Something is bothering you, talk to me."

"I thought I had finally put him out of my mind. But now he shows up when I feel like things are finally starting to feel normal without him." She sighed.

"Mai, you can't just turn off your feelings like that. We might not talk about it but we all know how hurt you were. It took you a good while to even act like yourself completely again." She looked at him perplexed. She never once showed how much she was hurting outwardly. She had always tried to be the silly fun loving girl they knew. Before she could interject and argue that fact John continued to explain his rationale behind their concern. "I mean you showed you were happy go lucky on the outside but on the inside I could see how much it bothered you. We all worried over how you hid your feelings."

She sighed again. She wanted to be surprised but in all honesty she couldn't. Of course she had no one fooled. But still...if they had truly known the amount of depression that hit her in one fell swoop they would have worried immensely about her. So she knew that she at least accomplished keeping that from her friends.

"It's strange it hurt me a lot but at the same time I can understand why he might have thought it was Gene. I mean the two are polar opposites but when Gene smiled at me in my dreams all it did was show me the potential of what Naru could be like." Mai sighed. "The rare occasions he did smile at me what I felt for him was so different then when Gene smiled in my dreams. I wish I could have thought of this reasoning when he asked me though..."

"You know why you are so out of sorts right now, yeah?"

Mai nodded. She knew the reason she was out of sorts was because she still had feelings for him. She had went on a couple of dates in the four years since his departure but she never had the urge to pursue a second date with any of them. So here she was twenty years old and fearing her first love was her only. It was the only explanation to why no one else would do. But she also hoped that this time maybe her feelings might actually be reciprocated.

"I'm not saying show him you still have feelings for him, Mai. In fact I discourage that. You are both four years older which means you are both different now. I am sure you will need to get to know each other again."

"True, but honestly I'm still so many parts hurt that I wouldn't be able to let him in yet anyway. I'll warn you. Be prepared for a lot of arguments in the future on this coming up case. I am sure there will be an abundance of them."

"Why would we be prepared for anything less? You and Naru are always arguing."

Mai got up from the couch battling against a fit of giggles. "G'night Mai, glad I at least got ya to laugh again."

Atsuko would always have preferred to live alone. It would be easier for her to deal with the peace it would bring her. Instead she had to deal with other people's emotions running rampant. It wasn't like she could afford a house on her own. If she could she would be out of the apartment she lived in now. Granted, living on the top floor of her employer made it for a definite easy commute. Plus sometimes the children needed her in the middle of the night and she would never turn her back on the kids.

Tonight she had been feeling a lot of jumbled emotions coming from the opposite hallway. The top floor was like a box. There were the apartments for the residents on the outside of the box. On the inside box was a large recreational area for times when they had a holiday event or a pizza party. The inside box also had a stairway to the roof so they could indulge in rooftop parties. Atsuko had chosen the apartment in the furthest corner from the main street. It didn't help a lot but it was easier to put her away from as many people as possible. Mai of course had chosen one of the apartments on the main street.

From the direction of the emotions she was feeling she would guess it was all stemming from Mai. Atsuko noted that it was 9:55 PM, not overly late. She made the decision to go seek out Mai. She put on her robe and exited her apartment. There wasn't a need to lock her door since she trusted all of her coworkers/neighbors. Plus even if she hadn't she would be able to feel any malicious intent anyways.

Once she turned the corner she saw Mai coming out. Looks like Mai didn't need to talk after all. She was going to seek out a friend. It didn't surprise Atsuko when Mai reached John's door.

Atsuko hated to eavesdrop but the energy coming from John's door had her hesitating. She waited out the anxiety, the confusion, the concern, the hope, the fear, and once she felt the contentment she walked back down the hall a bit. Mai walked out giggling. Well, that had to be a good thing. But then she felt doubt, worry, self-loathing, and turned her head back to the door behind her.

Poor John, he felt these emotions so often. She knew he doubted his own self worth and identity. He had lied to so many people. He came into the orphanage side of the business looking overly tired and distraught many mornings. Atsuko doubted he got much sleep. She knew that he felt he had cheated his education. But he really needed to realize that he did it for a greater purpose and that he was loved.