The Story Continued (Ghost Hunt)

Chapter 18

The girl's room was exactly like Mai expected. Tatami mats on the floor instead of beds there were funtos. It was a nice change for the girl. Mai placed her luggage to the side. "Is there no wardrobe or something?" She asked looking around, noticing the very little furniture in the room. Their futons were laid on one side of the room and what looked like a coffee table. Well, it might have been a nice change but still something more or less new to Mai. If she was this confused by her own culture she couldn't imagine what Gene and Naru were thinking. "You can place your stuff here, Mai." Masako said as she pulled a sliding door. A few wooden shelves were behind. "Thanks, Masako." Mai smiled.

The girls then started unpacking, Madoka and Ayako followed them. "Ey, Madoka." Mai started as she grabbed a few items from her bag. "What is it?" The woman smiled at her. "It's kinda weird to ask now but... you and Lin. How did you two get together? I was kinda surprised when the information about your marriage reached my ear." She asked. "True, It came quite unexpectedly." Ayako agreed. Madoka chuckled. "Well, I was surprised myself, to be honest." She added. "Lin and I had feelings for each other for quite some time now. We both knew what we felt but...well, we never talked about it Then Lin went to Japan with Naru...I thought that would be the end."

She chuckled again thinking about her story. "When they came back after finding Gene, Lin told me how someone else's density made him aware of how strong his feelings were for me." Madoka stopped for a second. "Ah, he was so cute saying this. He barely managed to say it." Mai rolled her eyes and the woman continued. "Well, he proposed. But then Naru said he wanted to go back to Japan and Gene followed and I knew Lin wouldn't let them go alone." She paused. "I made my choice. We got married in England and I followed him here."

"It looks like you knew what you wanted." Ayako commented. With this, the miko made herself Mai's next target. "And you, Ayako? How come I never heard the full story of you and Bou-san getting together?" The girl asked which made the priestess blush. "It's not that interesting. We just started hanging out more after work. I went to a few of his concerts. It kinda worked for us."

"Thank god. You two are fighting less now." Masako said. Ayako remembered her previous behavior. "Excuse my childish behavior. He sometimes just gets on my nerves." She said. Her eyebrow twitched. "You are joining us more often these days, right?" Ayako noticed. The question was pointed at Masako.

Masako smiled awkwardly. "It seems like you'll also have to excuse my childish behavior." She blushed. "I was acting so weird back then, wasn't I? Now I see why Mai can call SPR her family. I enjoy the time I spend here so I try to join you more often." The medium with a smile on her face like she was truly happy. Until Mai broke the silence.

"So~, Masako. How is your love life going now?" Mai found her next target. The medium blushed. "What do you mean? You know I don't like Naru. And why do we always end up talking about embarrassing things." Mai rolled her eyes and then smirked. "Of course. But I'm not talking about Naru. Come on, tell me. We are friends, right?"

"Well, yes we are but...." The medium was embarrassed. "Well, yes but... I can't say it." She protested. She once tried to... in front of a mirror in her apartment but her voice would crack every time she was about to say his name. 'I love...' and silence. No name ever came through. "But it's one of the SPR members, right?" Mai asked and Masako nodded. Mai decided to drop it for now.

"So, what do you all think about Yasu and Gene?" The girl asked casually.

"What about Yasu and Gene?" Ayako asked.

"Don't you see it?" Madoka added but Ayako and Maako shook their heads.

"Yasu once told me he had a crush on Gene. I'm not sure if he was joking or not but they seem to be getting closer rather quickly" Mai explained.

"They look cute together. But I still find it, I don't know, weird? Gene has the same face as Naru after all." Masako stated.

"Really? Their personalities are very different so I don't see it that way. I got them mixed up once in my life and never again." Mai laughed.

Madoka smiled as she knew the two boys the best and knew exactly what was going on inside their heads. She decided to question Mai as she was interested in any developments. "How is your love life going, Mai? Well, particularly the one with your boss."

"Ah, the non-existing one?" Mai said jokingly.

"I mean the very existing one. Everyone talks about Naru acting weird towards you." Madoka argued knowing what she knew. Mai sighed. "Well, he is acting weird. Sometimes he is genuinely nice, sometimes it looks forced, sometimes he teases me and I can't tell if it is a 'joke' or if he means to insult me."

'Seriously?' That's what Madoka's face was screaming. If she could she would yell the truth into Mai's face that very second. But she knew better than to get involved. Before anyone could say anything a knock on the door caught their attention. The sliding door opened. It was Ryoko. It looks like the family was ready to meet them.

The girls left the room to see the boys do the same. Meeting them right after the conversation from a minute ago was a bit much for Mai and Masako. A faint blush was still visible on both girls. They decided to walk at the end, behind everyone, so that they wouldn't attract too much attention. Well, too bad for Masako as John also liked to walk at the end of the line. The boy noticed her red face and got concerned. "Are you ok, Masako?" He asked but Masako couldn't look him in the eye. "Yeah, I'm fine." She managed a whisper. "Are you sure? You don't look like you're well." He continued making Masako blush harder and harder every time he spoke. Mai on the other hand was quite enjoying seeing Masako like this.

They arrived. The room Ryoko took them to was in the main house and a lot bigger than the first one. The family members were all present and sitting at a wooden table. Ryoko disappeared as soon as she led them to the room. "Have a seat." A man's voice instructed. Mai looked to see who was talking as she did as instructed. "My name is Fujiwara Iwao. The current head of the family."