The Story Continued (Ghost Hunt)

Chapter 8

The time for the dinner came and everyone gathered in the dining room. Each group was seated as far away from the other as possible. The last to arrive were Naru and Mai as the girl had problems pulling him away from the monitors. It wasn't hard spotting their friends as again, with the teenagers gone, they were the loudest group.

"An hour after the dinner Lin and Madoka will take over at the base according to the plan. If anything happens wake us up." Naru said taking a seat.

Lin nodded. "Did you talk with the owner about the ghost from the morning?" He asked. Naru shook his head slightly. "Not yet, we will ask tomorrow." Mai smiled. "We are ahead of other teams anyway."

"It doesn't really matter, does it? We all will be paid anyway." Bou-san added chewing his food in between every word. "Well, yes." Naru started, then finally decided to add an aspect he hadn't mentioned before. "But whoever solves the case, meaning gets rid of the ghost and provides an explanation as to why it was here in the first place, will be paid a lot more."

"How much?" The monk asked and in response was handed a small piece of paper that was ripped out of his boss's notebook. He almost choked looking at the numbers written on it. "Dang it, how rich is this dude." Mai, as much as everyone else, was curious about the number. "How much is it?" She asked.

"Just with a small portion of it, you wouldn't have to work until you are out of college." Bou-san answered. A question then popped into his head. "Actually, Mai. What do you plan to do in the future? Where do you wanna work after college?" He asked and Madoka nodded. "It's time to make some plans for the future, isn't it."

Mai then thought for a second. "Then where do you guys see yourself in let's say five years?"

"Me, Lin and Gene will probably stick with Naru and the SPR." Madoka said followed by Ayako. "It's a good job, well paid, and a hobby of mine. So I'm not going anywhere."

"I met many weird people here. The atmosphere is different than on a set. I'll stick around some more." Masako added.

Mai listened to everyone's replies. She needed some more answers. "And you Yasu?" She asked.

The boy scratched his head. "I was planning to go to college... but to be honest I don't even know what I really want to do. I like researching the paranormal and it's never boring here. I could see myself staying for good. Not many people work with the paranormal." Mai nodded and then turned to John. "And you, John?"

"Well, I just left the priesthood, and visiting the office almost every day became the norm for me."

Mai nodded again and thanked everyone. "I'm not planning to leave either. To me, you are my family." She dared to call them that. "I'll be working at the office until I'm too old to move." She laughed. "Or until Naru decides that he had enough of my tea and fires me. Besides I have no idea what I would like to do in my life either."

Naru was eating silently listening to their conversation.

"Then what if you want to start a family?" Ayako asked.

"Who is crazy enough to date a girl who dreams about dead bodies and spirits?" Mai laughed. "Besides I could ask you and Madoka the same."

Madoka spoke again. "If we were to have children we can bring them along once they are old enough. Naru went on his first case when he was what, 10?"

"That is not normal." Mai sighed looking at her boss.

Suddenly Gene cut in in a happy ringing ton. "Then how about Mai marry Naru." The two mentioned almost choked on their food as the boy continued. "Masako will marry John and I will marry Yasu and we will all stay together." He said laughing at his own words. Mai laughed too. "How come you come up with even weirder ideas than Yasu?" She asked.

"Ey, Naru. Say something. It's your office we are talking about. You are the head of the family." Gene said slightly annoyed by his brother's silence. The other boy sighed. "Do what you want. I don't plan to fire anybody in the near or far away future." He was referring what Mai said.

"I guess this means we can stay." Takigawa said as he got up. Everyone was at that point pretty much done eating. They left the dining room and parted at the top of the stairs as Lin and Madoka headed to the base and the rest to their rooms.

Mai opened the door to room 006 and froze in the doorway after switching the light on. Now she too could experience the horror of the double bed. "Naru, what's up with the bed?" She asked taking a few steps in to let her boss in. "They are the same in every room." He answered. "Is there a problem?" Mai was too tired to make a big deal out of it. "No." she murmured then headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower. She couldn't even bother to unpack her things just took what she needed out of her bag.

As she was done she left the bathroom to notice Naru lying on the bed reading a book. "You can go." she said nearing the bed. No answer. "Naru, you can go now." she said again sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Let me finish this part." he answered finally. The girl turned to him. "What are you reading?" She asked noticing the book was in English. "Murder on the Orient Express." He answered looking up from his book for a moment. "Murder? I'm scared to ask but do you ever read comedy or something like this?" The girl laid down on her side of the bed facing the dark-haired boy. "Of course. And every Saturday I go to a stand-up comedy show. Lin sometimes joins me." He stated secretly looking at the chuckling girl.

"You know. Maybe if I never met you I would end up working for the police. Or being a detective." Mai started wondering. "Would you prefer that?" He asked not really focusing on the book anymore. Mai shook her head. "I never thought that I would earn my living while hunting ghosts. Nor did I think that my boss would be a well-known figure from England or that he would have a twin who was supposed to be dead. But here I am. And I'm very very happy I broke that camera back then."

"Well, I hope you are happy because you turned my office into a Caffè." Naru said looking the girl dead in the eye like he was angry about it but Mai just got up and snatched the book from his hands. "Don't act like you hate it. I bet you would die of boredom if we weren't here." She laughed. "Now go take a shower. You are not even reading anymore." Naru did get up but proceeded to fight back. "I was in fact reading. Until someone stole my book that is."

"Since when does the great Oliver Davis need more than five minutes to read a page?" She yelled as the door to the bathroom closed.

When Naru got out the lights were turned off. In the dark, he could see the silhouette of his assistant lying on the bed. Assuming the girl was already asleep he made his way to his side of the bed soundlessly and laid down. "Naru" he heard. "You're not asleep?" He asked but the girl just turned around to face him. "I'm really glad I broke the camera back then." she whispered half asleep which made the boy smile. 'Me too' he thought. "You know Lin landed in a hospital because of that?" He asked softly. "Yeah, I'm sorry." She then paused. Before drifting off she managed one more whisper. "A camera....will break again."