Chapter Text
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ARC III: PLEASE BE MY HUSBAND! (02)
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“Macchan! When are you going to write your next novel?! You promised Editor Souta you’ll pass your draft by December!” Yukino barked as she barged into Mai’s bedroom and started nagging her while pulling her blanket. The woman curled on the bed groaned and pulled the blanket closer to her body, but she was no match for someone who works out regularly.
“Yukino! Do you really have to make a fuss early in the morning?!” Mai yelled at her before throwing a pillow at her assistant/manager/representative.
“Morning?! It is already noon. And why haven’t you started writing your book yet?! Your deadline is coming!”
“And it is only October, Yukino.” Mai answered, covering her eyes with both her palms.
“Yeah! And you had not written a thing!” Yukino screamed back at her and pulled her up from her bed. “I know that you have no inspiration but don’t worry. I solved that problem for you so hurry up and take a bath!”
“Uh?” Mai, who was not fully awake, noticed her last sentence and was about to ask what she meant but Yukino already shoved her to the bathroom. Mai sighed and took a cold shower to wake herself up. The next thing she knew, Yukino had already been driving her to Suwa Province to visit a haunted mountain villa.
Yukino, who is the representative of the LINEN Foundation in Japan, had made connections with the former prime minister and when she heard about the haunted house he wanted to remodel, she decided to send Mai there to gather inspiration. Of course she didn’t tell them that Mai is the owner of the LINEN Foundation so Ohashi-san just thought that Mai is a friend or a sister of Kawana Yukino when they arrived at the mansion.
As soon as Mai entered the mansion, she felt many presences of spirits. Since this is really a haunted house, Mai agreed to stay. Yukino left her and went to a meeting. Mai hid her bright aura and observed the mansion while walking around with Ohashi-san. It almost looks like the Winchester Mansion in California.
She remembered visiting that house with her Mom on her 10 th Birthday. Mai was really interested in the rumored haunted house and asked her Mom if they could visit it. That house was really spooky to her as a child but it is a pity she didn’t visit it after she got these abilities. It would have been fun to see whether or not the haunting is true.
Similar to that house, the Miyama Mansion was also renovated every year in the past and it was full of architectural oddities. There are beams that were placed on the floors, walls or ceiling that you might trip or bang your head if not being careful. There are staircases that lead to nowhere and there are doors that open to a blank wall. Not only that, there are also small rooms inside a room and windows that open to another room with no doors.
This house really looks like a maze. Mai was careful not to touch any spirits until she knew why there were so many of them here. After unpacking her things, the news of a missing person reached her ears. That is when she saw an impostor calling himself ‘Oliver Davis’ . Mai rolled her eyes and almost couldn't stop herself from exposing the guy. Mai knew that this old man and his companion were just fooling Ohashi-san out of money so she warned the caretaker to investigate them.
Other investigators do not welcome a young woman like her and would not hide their disdain while looking at her. Aside from the incompetent Minami Psychic Research Center and that fake Oliver Davis, Ohashi-san hired an old Buddhist monk, a medium and a séance specialist. All of the agencies brought one or two assistants over. Out of all of them, the séance specialist and professor, Igarashi Chie, was the only one who treated her decently.
The staff went to search for the missing assistant, Atsugi Hideo around the mansion as Igarashi-sensei invited all of the guest including the fake Oliver Davis and the president, Minami Remei to join her séance to ask the ghosts where is Atsugi-san is. Mai also joined the séance and they had really summoned spirits but they didn’t tell them where Atsugi-san was. The séance ended with a poltergeist activity that scared the hell out of those fakes.
The candles went out, taking away their only source of brightness. Moreover, the room they are in is filled with agonizing cries and begging from multiple ghosts. Their resentment and fear was clearly felt by all of the people in the room. The situation got worse when other furniture began rattling and flying all over the place.
Mai was almost caught up by this situation. If she had not used her aura in full power, she would have been drowned by the memories of those spirits. Not only did her aura protect her from those memories, it also nullified any harmful forces that came her way, thus she survived unscathed. The brightness of the light coming from her also scared all the ghosts away.
Mai was quite surprised that the fakes did not sustain any injuries. Supposedly in fear, they went to hide under the table and that table protected them from those harmful flying objects. Mai was really amazed that the fools are quite blessed.
Contrariwise, some people who also joined and watched the séance were also caught on the poltergeist activity. The monk and medium are the ones who got injured the most by the broken glasses and flying furnishings. With those injuries, the Buddhist monk and that medium were forced to leave the investigation with their assistants.
Nevertheless, the séance was, at least, a bit productive. Using Igarashi-sensei’s assistant’s hand, the ghosts wrote ‘HELP’ on those papers. All of them are written in a black marker except one. ‘I DON”T WANT TO DIE’ . On one of the papers, those words are written in red ink. And Mai had a hunch that these words are connected as to why these spirits still lingered here.
Not a day passed after Atsugi-san disappeared, Suzuki Nao, the assistant of Igarashi-sensei also disappeared without a trace. Mai didn’t like what was happening here so even if she was not here to investigate, she went to the nearby village to gather information.
Many old locals have tons of stories related to the Miyama Mansion, especially when the original owner and his son were still alive. They said that Miyama Kaneyuki-shi, the original owner, would fire workers from his mansion and business. They also told her that his personality is nasty and that his philanthropy was just an act. Woodcutters and hunters are said to smell something rotting from that house while they are passing by.
The locals speculated that Miyama Hiroyuki-shi, Kaneyuki-shi’s son, was afraid that ghosts would come out so he started renovating the house until it became what it is now. Mai also heard this story from Ohashi-san so after asking the locals, she went to a library to gather old photos and news about the house. Fortunately, she found many photos and information like how many people had disappeared in that house ever since it was built.
Miyama Kaneyuki-shi’s body was frail ever since young and he would often get sick. He went abroad to seek medical help from doctors to prolong his life. But he came back to Suwa Province after a few years and lived in that mountain villa until he died. It is rumoured that even doctors overseas couldn't find a cure nor treatment for his illness.
Mai was shocked at the number of the reported disappearances eversince this Miyama Kaneyuki came back to Suwa Province. There are over a hundred reported missing files and none of them was ever found. Most of these disappearances were reported in Meiji 40 and they were about to arrest Miyama Kaneyuki-shi to interrogate him but they heard the news of his death.
The locals’ plan to capture him was cancelled. Miyama Hiroyuki-shi and his family also ran abroad and they had no way of following them. And their descendants only came back to the province after the riot calmed down. The locals also didn’t harm their reputation so the problem was done after that. The former prime minister, a distant relative, purchased the mansion afterwards.
Mai returned to the mansion and decided to touch a soul or two to know what happened to them. Upon returning, she noticed new vehicles parked in front of the mansion. That must be the other agency that Ohashi-san had hired. Passing by, she entered the house and saw some cameras and microphones lying around the hallway. Mai was a bit impressed that this new agency knew a bit of what they are doing. The equipment was also expensive and suitable for hunting ghosts. Nodding at the quality of equipment, she continued to walk deeper into the mansion to do her job.
After a while of ‘touching’ ghosts, she found out how and why there are many spirits in a mansion that was located nowhere. Many people were killed by Miyama Kaneyuki-shi himself. Mai was shaking in fear after a few visions. She initially thought that this incident was only a one-time thing but after touching a few souls, she confirmed that they all died in the same way. Mai gagged and spilled her guts out after witnessing something horrid and gore. She was a bit surprised that she could withstand ‘touching’ fifteen different souls just to make sure.
The victims were all captured by two men, unknowingly during their sleep. They were all invited by Miyama Kaneyuki to tea and he would get them to join him, not knowing that the tea he offered was laced with medications that would make one drowsy. Once they retire to their room, the drug will take effect and the men hired by Miyama Kaneyuki will capture them in their sleep. They would take their victims to a room and that is where the crimes took place. Their heads would be chopped and those men would collect their blood in a bucket for Miyama Kaneyuki to bathe in.
Mai’s visions would always end after their necks were chopped but she luckily found ghosts that knew what was happening in this house before their deaths and had witnessed what happened before those men targeted them. It is not an easy feat to get them to talk because almost all of them weren’t aware of their deaths. It is also hard for Mai to listen because all of them would talk simultaneously, making Mai dizzy with disembodied voices. Most of the spirits are workers that were hired in the mansion and Mai was sure that almost all of them died the same way! Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Mai suddenly felt an evil presence behind her.
“I don’t want to die.” A creepy raspy voice echoes in the hallway she was in as four pairs of dark hands reached out to her face.
Mai immediately activated her light aura, stopping those hands while running away from them. Her heart was beating loudly as she ran and her nausea wasn't helping. But she was now sure of something. That creature is not just an evil spirit, it is a demon! Those hands belonged to evil spirits but the owner of that disgusting raspy voice belonged to a demon! He must be the one who wrote those words with red ink! ‘Is that even a red ink?’ Mai’s instincts told her that she is currently in danger right now!
“I don’t want to die!”
“Yeah! Me too! So go away!” Mai screamed back and tried to attack them with prayers and her light but she couldn’t exorcise them! She is anxious and she wants to spill her guts out. She can smell a metallic scent and her nausea is getting worse.
The young woman screamed in frustration and tried her best to escape. Mai can smell blood and rotting coming from the dark place in the hallway. Her instincts are telling that once that creature got her hands on her, she would be dead!
God is really fair. He made geniuses but he also gave them defects and eccentricities. He gave riches but he threw those trials for them to overcome. And in exchange for a second life, Mai gained scary psychic abilities.
Mai cried her eyes out as her adrenaline forced her body to move at her fastest speed. She didn’t mean for this to happen. In fact, if she knew this would happen, she shouldn’t have come to this place. ‘Is this the end?’ God may have given her an ability to see another person’s death but why didn’t He give her the ability to change her own future?!
‘Why?! Why is God fair?! Many people may say that He is not but He is really fair! Take this advice from a person who lived twice! Why is this happening to me?!’
‘Damn, Yukino! If I get out of here alive, I will kill you!’
Mai felt that familiar chill again and closed her eyes while picking up her pace. She can feel the danger on her back. She knew that if that entity caught up to her, she would be done for! She didn’t want to die! At least not in this way! She wants her life to end in a peaceful way, not to be a sacrifice for something evil!
Spreading the light coming from her body in full power while running really exhausts her, both physically and mentally. But since she doesn’t want to die yet, she threw the strings of complaints in her mind and focused on surviving. She didn’t even see her idol’s face yet. How could she die?!
She already died once but she doesn't want to die early! She still wants to live until she’s two hundred years old! Mai ran for her life. Speaking of death, her brain suddenly remembered her first death. She was with Oliver Davis at that time. She was almost blind and she couldn’t even speak. All she can remember is his dark silhouette and a pair of dark blue eyes. That is the only colour she can remember from him. Mai regretted not seeing his face once after her rebirth. When she applied as his sponsor, she thought that he might not want to show his face like what happened in her past life so she did not request an audience nor pictures of him. Besides, she was only after his books and reports, not his face.
She was also busy with the LINEN Foundation in Japan, with travelling and her novels that she couldn’t attend nor accept any of the agency or the Davis’ invitations. At that time, she was so excited to do everything that she couldn’t do in her past life that she neglected the BSPR and just cared about the report and books. Mai really regretted it!
‘Besides, I don’t even have a husband yet! I swear I’ll start searching for a husband if I survive. I can even marry the guy I will first see after I escape this incoming death! If he’s a bit like Oliver Davis, then it would be even better!’
Mai moved and lifted her head. At a distance, she can see a group of people not far away from her. Her eyes first landed on the black silhouette in the centre. She cannot see clearly because of tears. ‘Please save me. I really don't want to die again.’ The blurry image of Oliver Davis in her memories overlapped with the black figure in the centre.
‘He also emits the same aura as Oliver Davis. Ah, I don’t care. You’re the first guy I saw so you’ll be my husband. I don’t care if you are ugly or poor, I will pay for your plastic surgery and will support you.’ Mai closed her eyes and spread her arms. She threw herself to the black figure and clung unto him!
“Please be my husband!”
-o0o-
Everyone stood frozen as their wide open eyes stared foolishly at the young woman hugging the young boss’s body. She is trembling as she wraps her arms around Oliver. Her face also burrowed closer to his neck an her legs are also stuck to his waist. Oliver felt warm water dampening his skin as the ‘octopus’ continued to hug him tightly.
Lin and Masako watched them in daze like they had seen something out of this world. A young woman is bear-hugging Mr. ‘Mt. Everest’ and he had not pushed her after a few seconds! They can also see on Oliver’s face that he was completely caught off guard by the newcomer. The woman sob as she drew her closer to Oliver as her shoulders relaxed in relief.
Eugene never imagined in his entire life that somebody would dare to say those words to his brother. Though his brother is very handsome, girls would usually be scared by his scary glares and venomous tongue. ‘Oh. And my brother's stunned face was priceless, by the way.’ Eugene was the first one to wake up and started laughing hard. He pressed a hand on his stomach as he slapped his leg with the other.
“E-Eh?” Mai blinked her eyes, confused, after she heard a man’s laughter. She raised her eyes and nervously turned her head behind her, fearing that the demon had not stopped chasing her. Seeing that the evil presences vanished and are nowhere to be seen, she rejoiced and hugged the warm ‘pillow’ that she stuck to. She totally forgot that she was hugging a man after feeling the lack of that ominous presence.
“He is gone!” Mai screamed in delight and giggled victoriously but it wasn’t long before she noticed something wrong. “Wait, what am I hugging? Kyaah!”
Mai fell on her butt as soon as she let go of her human-sized ‘pillow’ . She couldn’t believe she was shamelessly hugging a man like that! It is true that she thought of hugging the person that was oddly similar to her idol but she acted like a bear and wrapped herself around him! She covered her face with her hands to hide the blush on her face. Mai remembered her promise just moments ago and felt her face get even hotter. She couldn’t find the strength to look up. He’s the first person I saw after spacing that hell so he is my husband. What if this future husband rejects her because of her ungraceful actions?!
‘Uh? Though his spirit is quite handsome and warm.’
“Hahaha! Mai! I can’t believe you just proposed to my brother like that! Ahahaha!” Eugene cackled as he dropped down the floor. He could not even properly say his words because of his hysterical laughter.
Eugene caught Mai’s attention, wondering how someone knew her name. She turned her head and saw Eugene laughing beside her. He was practically rolling on the floor while the other people around them suppressed their laughter. Mai stared at Eugene for a few seconds before she stood up in shock, pointing her finger to the laughing young man.
“AAH! You are not dead!”
Oliver woke up from his daze and narrowed his eyes towards the young woman. He heard the name Eugene had called her and the sentence she just said. It seems like the person they had been searching for a long time had finally made an appearance.
Taniyama Mai.
-o0o-
All of them went back inside the base with Taniyama Mai who is checking Eugene with her eyes. She suddenly moved and touched Eugene’s hand before standing frozen for a few seconds. Eugene had seen this familiar scene before. It was that time he stopped her in the elevator to ask her how she knew Miura Suzuki’s background.
“Oh! You really changed your fate! You are very lucky!” Mai said with an excited voice and smiled at him, suddenly hugging him tight. She was laughing in relief and patted Eugene’s shoulders after separating herself. Masako frowned at the woman in front of her, but she knew addressing her now jealousy would be inappropriate.
“What do you mean? What did you just do?” Eugene asked, the mirth in his eyes is replaced by seriousness and curiosity.
“That means your life would not end in a car accident! Now, you would die due to old age! That is great!” Mai answered him, honestly. The young woman was very glad that someone had changed their tragic life again. She happily clapped her hands and hugged Eugene again. She doesn’t even notice that there are people around and she’s spouting bits of her secret.
“Excuse me, Taniyama-san?”
“Eh?” Mai jumped back in shock, her eyes searching for the voice that uttered her name. She covered her mouth as soon as she saw that familiar glow of light and screamed. She stumbled a few steps away from him to take a good look.
“My future husband has the same face as Eugene!”
“You only noticed that now?!!” Eugene asked as the others gave her strange looks.
‘Is she stupid?’
“I hate to burst this ridiculous delusion made by your foolish and senseless brain, but I am not your future husband.” Oliver answered, annoyed but Mai only disregarded his words like she’s telling him, ‘you-say-that-now-but-I-will-still-marry-you-in-the-end’ . Her look made Oliver’s blood boil even stronger. Eugene cracked again and his laughter is irritating Oliver even more.
“Enough of this nonsense! Eugene, stop laughing before I pull your tongue out.” Oliver coldly stated. The whole room became colder and Eugene straightened up, covering his mouth in fear. Oliver turned to Mai and smiled at her but his smile contained a dagger and ice, silently showing his dislike.
But instead of cowering, Mai was greatly fascinated at how the twin’s souls vibrated and reacted to each other. They are also shining in a very beautiful midnight blue light. It was like a void that sucks in anyone that wants to look within. Like a siren calling for its prey. Mai’s eyes switch between those two of them.
“You guys are beautiful! How do you do that?” Mai asked while looking at their souls. She wanted to touch them.
All of them thought that she was talking about their looks but her fascinated eyes were not focused on their faces. She is looking at something within them. Like that pair of chocolate brown eyes are an x-ray that has the ability to see through the two of them. Lin, who was the twins’ guardian for ten years shielded them with his body and glared at Mai who kept on hungrily watching their souls.
The room temperature returned back to normal and the incandescent blue light from their souls became white. It became the same colour as Mai had seen from most people. Mai looked up at Lin, who blocked her view, and saw five different coloured blobs around him. Those blobs may look fluffy and cute but they stand on offensive against Mai. Her eyes widened and stared, amazed by how fascinating they were.
Mai had seen something like this before. Those are shikigamis, spirits that are captured and made to be one’s familiars. This man had five of them. That shows how capable and dangerous he is. Mai suddenly felt threatened and activated her light, pushing away the shikigamis that were ready to attack her like swords.
Lin widened his eyes in shock as he felt his familiars being pushed backwards by an invisible power. Lin cannot see it but he felt how powerful it was. He tried ordering them to attack whatever but his shikigamis couldn’t enter her one-metre space. The guardian glared at her and raised his hand to ready himself in case she attacked.
Mai couldn't understand why this man suddenly went into defensive mode. ‘I had not done anything wrong other than push those shikigamis.’ The young woman thought of what she just said and acted. She replayed the scene again and again. Mai cringed at how suspicious she was acting and bowed her head in apology.
“I’m sorry! No need to be aggressive here. Rest assured that I will never harm my dear Hubby and my brother-in-law.” She said, her face showed its usual indifference and boredom. She reverted back to the Mai that Eugene met a year ago but…
‘You just ‘proposed’ a few minutes ago, when did you get married?’