PSC Series: The Haunted Celebrity | 4/XX
Title: PSC Series: The Haunted Celebrity
Chapter: 04
Author: アキ
Fandom: the GazettE, SCREW, Alice Nine, more to come
Disclaimer: I don't own the guys. Just the story.
Pairings: AoixRuki, ByouxRui, probably more to come
Genre: AU, horror, supernatural
Rating: PG, for now
Warning: None
Beta: None
Summary: "PSC, which stands for Paranormal Studies Center, is an institution whose main object is to investigate various paranormal and supernatural events. This is the Department of Investigation and Recovery, where all investigative tasks are being done. My name is Kai, and I am the head of this Department. Welcome. How may I help you?"
Chapter 4
Ruki stood in front of the massive gate, vaguely wondering what on earth he was doing here. It was his first time ever visiting this exclusive area, and so far, everything he had seen had successfully intimidated him. The streets were really quiet compared to the awful traffic outside the area, with sophisticated, expensive-looking cars roaring by every once in a while. A few times people passed by, joggers with their purebred dogs, ladies with designer clothes shouting for their drivers, etcetera. Other than those, their surrounding seemed almost deserted. Even the usual noises that one would hear in a big city didn’t reach this region. It was as if an invisible dome was covering the entire complex, secluding it from the world outside.
There was a name for phobia of being alone in a wide open space, but Ruki couldn’t quite remember what it was. He was beginning to think he might have developed something akin to it at the moment.
“I wonder how much you have to spend to be able to rent a place here.”
Hiroto’s voice shook Ruki out of his stupor. The small, blonde man was standing beside him; his round eyes were focused on the mansion that stood before them, a few feet ahead behind the gates. Ruki followed his example, and took in the view of the building.
It looked elegant, although a bit plain in Ruki’s opinion. The walls and window sills were painted in white and gray, and together with the modern, minimalistic architecture, gave the entire building a rigid, almost cold appearance. There must be at least ten stories in total from top to bottom, added with a parking lot in the basement. Each apartment seemed to have its own balcony. There wasn’t much of a space for playgrounds in front of the building, but Ruki had a feeling there must be a yard at the back-probably big enough to fit a fancy swimming pool including a private restaurant.
The more Ruki looked at the complex before him, the more reluctant he felt about getting inside. He grew in a common family, and he had always been surrounded by common people. At work, he had average salary-although the job itself was nowhere near average; but throughout, he was living the average life. He’d like to think it was quite reasonable that he felt rather daunted at the moment, being surrounded by all these luxurious facilities.
“I have no idea,” he finally answered Hiroto’s previous musing. “But by the looks of it, I’m not sure either of us will be able to afford living a day here, not with our paychecks.”
“You’re probably right,” Hiroto chuckled. “I might just collect my salary for a whole year and still won’t be able to afford a place on the lowest floor. I wonder what our client will say if I ask him how it feels to live here… Speaking of which, have you called him?”
Ruki shook his head. “I was just about to,” he said, hesitantly reaching for his phone in his pocket.
Even before Ruki had the time to unlock his phone, Ayame was suddenly standing right beside him. The woman did have the tendency to show up when you least expected her to, which always made Ruki feel a bit queasy to be around her. This morning she might look like a teenager in her black t-shirt (which had ‘I WANNA HEAR YOU SCREAM’ printed in bold, white letters) and black jeans, but Ruki knew better than to underestimate her. He had had enough experience working with her to know that she was more of a worthy companion than a burden.
“You don’t have to call,” she spoke up calmly. Ruki and Hiroto looked up at the same time as she pointed ahead. “He’s here.”
Walking past the now opened gate was Shiroyama Yuu-or more widely known as Aoi-and all of a sudden Ruki was reminded just why exactly he felt doubtful about coming here at the first place.
***
Despite Ruki’s initial presumption, Yuu’s apartment didn’t quite show that it was inhabited by a famous actor. No posters were stuck on the wall, no award trophies displayed on the racks. The place seemed like a normal place for a civilian to live-an awfully rich civilian, Ruki might add-but then again, so far they had only been into the living room.
The room was spacious, and Ruki could not help to notice that almost everything in it was monochrome. White curtain and black carpet; polished ebony tables and fluffy white sofas, white walls with black accents. Ruki was particularly interested in the onyx desk that was situated on one side of the room-it was very stylish, with classic, Baroque-ish engravings on its sides. On top of its smooth surface were a number of candles, aromatic ones if Ruki wasn’t mistaken. And snuggled in between those candles was a large, egg-like object that glowed with gentle, golden light. A lamp, Ruki supposed; a uniquely shaped lamp. He wondered where Yuu had bought it.
Sounds of the morning news channel filled the room, coming from the 90 inch flat screen television on the other side of the room. Ruki honestly had only seen such a large television in the commercials. It was rather overwhelming to see the real thing. He wasn’t technologically-impaired, and he did love electronic devices, especially the ones he could actually afford-this TV was definitely not one of them.
If Ruki had been trying his hard to stay calm, Hiroto was the complete opposite. The guy was helping himself with a tour around the living room, admiring and commenting on almost every object he saw. He took his time in front of the bookshelf, wondering aloud about each and every title he could find. Once he was done with that, he sat beside Ruki, and shrieked happily at the sight of the massive television.
“Oh my God, I’ve always dreamed of having such a big TV in my own apartment!” said Hiroto, practically hopping on the sofa. “I bet it’s going to be awesome playing video games with that. Do you play video games, Yuu-san? I haven’t seen any game console or DVD in this room, so probably not, huh? Well you might not have the time, what with all the shootings, interviews and whatever…”
The man Hiroto addressed to was smiling, as if it was actually amusing to see someone so hyper about his furniture.
“As a matter of fact, I do play games,” Yuu answered lightheartedly. “I usually play in my room. It’s more comfortable in there.”
“Awesome! What games do you like to play?” Hiroto asked cheerfully, which was immediately cut off by Ayame’s cough.
If Ruki hadn’t known her for so long, he would have thought she had done nothing more but clearing her throat. But obviously not; that cough meant she wanted Hiroto to stop wasting their time. And she was right. They couldn’t spend all day here while Kai was waiting for their reports back at the institute.
So, finally, Ruki took over. “Hiroto, you can talk about video games later,” he said, trying to sound stern but it didn’t come out quite like he wanted to. It was difficult to act like he wasn’t bothered by the fact that Shiroyama Yuu had been his senior in high school, but he had to do his best. He was, as he’d like to say, a professional. “I’m sorry, Yuu-san, but I think it’s best if we just start conducting our investigation right now. This is a big place and there are so many things to examine. I hope you don’t mind showing us around, and we might have to ask you some questions.”
“Of course,” Yuu nodded and stood up, brushing his hands down his navy-blue button-down shirt. “So, where should we start?”
***
The first room they went into was the main bedroom, under the consideration that most of the disturbances happened inside it. The moment Ruki walked in, he was surprised to find that it was unlike what he had imagined. He thought it would be like the living room, classy, elegant, and mostly monochrome, but it wasn’t. The room was positively more colorful, with blue curtains and burgundy bedcover. The walls were covered with posters-not of the actor himself, but of various rock and visual kei bands that were pretty legendary in Japan.
Ruki spun slowly on the fluffy sky-blue carpet, staring at the walls. It felt like entering a completely different place, although they were still in the same apartment. It was almost as if he had just walked into a teenager’s room, a teenager who happened to have a very wide taste in popular music. And then his sight fell on the sleek, black guitar that was leaning on its stand in the corner of the room, and the amplifier right next to it.
“You still play?”
Ruki hadn’t had the time to stop himself before it was too late. Now he could only freeze in horror, fretting that he had said too much. He was just remembering his high school days when he saw his senior-now the famous actor standing in the very same room as he was-playing guitar in a school festival, and then it just… slipped out of his mouth.
“Ah, my guitar…” Yuu strutted from the doorway, approaching Ruki and the rest of the team. “I did mention it in an interview once or twice, didn’t I? Well, I do still play every once in a while, but really, my skill is not exactly something I’d like to boast about.”
Ruki could just feel a breath of relief leaving his lungs. So Yuu thought he had read it from an interview. That’s better, he supposed, than having to explain how he truly had found out that Yuu played guitar.
Before Hiroto had the chance to find Yuu’s stash of game DVDs, Ruki rushed all three of them to start conducting their search. To start it with, Hiroto did a thorough scanning of the entire room. He and Byou possessed the same ability, which was to sense astral presences that were better known as auras. To a certain level, Hiroto’s ability was stronger than Byou’s, but he had a tendency to get distracted very easily. Ruki supposed that was why Kai had assigned Ayame along with them; she knew exactly how to stir everyone back to their main job.
Yuu was also of a big a help. Ruki believed it was because he was desperate to be free of all the supernatural disturbances he had been experiencing. He showed the team around the room, and in the process, Ruki found even more interesting things about Yuu that reminded him of high school, but this time he managed to keep his mouth shut.
A few minutes later, Hiroto shook his head and said he didn’t find anything specifically threatening in the room. There were a couple of ‘passerby’s (a term he used to name the entities that were simply ‘floating’ by, not staying on one particular spot for a very long time), but they were harmless.
“Are there any connecting room? For example, a closet, or a bathroom?” Hiroto asked Yuu.
Yuu nodded. “My walk in closet is right there,” he pointed to a door, right next to a stylish dressing table (which was full of various skincare products). “I have a smaller closet, but I use it as a store-room for some of the gifts I received.”
“Gifts?” Ruki felt a surge of suspicion washing through his mind.
“Yes, gifts from the fans,” Yuu laughed sheepishly. “I can’t exactly throw any of them away, but I’m worried the room is getting too full…”
As if on cue, Ruki and Ayame turned to each other. It seemed like they were both thinking of the same thing. A celebrity of Yuu’s caliber must have received a lot of gifts… and Yuu wouldn’t have had the slightest idea if some of those things had been jinxed, or worse, cursed.
“Can we see what’s inside the gift store-room, please?” Ruki asked. In his stomach, he felt the familiar tug that usually, in most investigations, told him that he was heading toward the right direction.
***
It didn’t take them long to finish their work; it took approximately half an hour. Most of that time was used to push their way through tons of gifts. The inside of the closet hadn’t been messy-in fact, considering the number of things stuffed into it, Ruki thought it was rather tidy and most importantly clean. It seemed Yuu had spent a few times a week cleaning it. And it seemed, quite obviously, that he truly never threw away anything his fans gave him.
But as soon as they were inside, the work was swift. It hadn’t been too difficult recognizing the exact item they had been looking for-it was almost as if it had been sitting there, waiting for them to find it. It was in the form of a brown teddy bear, not an unusual item one would get as a present, but Ruki could tell something else was stuffed into the bear besides Dacron fibers. Careful not to touch it for too long, Ruki had wrapped the teddy bear with a plastic bag and stuffed it into his backpack.
“There’s nothing on the bear that can tell us who it’s from,” Hiroto said, now that they were all back in the living room again.
“I’m not sure if there was ever any note that came with that bear,” Yuu was staring at the bear unsurely, as if afraid the fluffy little thing would jump right out of Ruki’s bag and attack him.
“Who’s responsible for sorting out the gifts and handing them to you?” Ayame asked.
“The staff in our management,” Yuu answered. “It can be anyone in the company, really, from the security guards to my manager himself.”
Ayame stood quietly, her eyes staring emptily toward the floor. Ruki knew she was thinking hard, the Analyst that she was. He could only wonder about the possibilities that she was thinking of at the moment; sometimes her analysis could be very much unpredictable.
“Alright,” Ruki said. “I think it’s enough for today.” He turned to Hiroto, “Do you see anything else that is suspicious?”
Hiroto shook his head. “Nope, nothing but that ominous thing in your bag.”
“Good. Then we should get back to the institute and report to Kai. The sooner we find out what is hidden inside this bear, the sooner we can figure out how to cleanse it.”
Hiroto and Ayame nodded in agreement, and then, led by Yuu, all of them headed toward the exit.
“So, does this mean from now on I won’t be experiencing anything… weird again?” Yuu asked just when the team was about to walk out the door.
“Hopefully no,” Ruki answered, careful not to promise their client anything. In some occasions it could be fatal to tell their clients that the situation was already secured when the investigators were not sure of it themselves. “If you still experience anything out of the norm, you may immediately contact the institute, and we will send someone over as soon as possible. But I do hope it won’t come to that, Yuu-san.”
Yuu smiled. “I understand. I’ll store the institute’s number in my quick dial, just in case.”
The inspection team filed out into the hallway, Ayame leading the way, Ruki right behind her, and Hiroto following close. Before they walked away, Yuu bid them goodbye. Ruki noticed the sense of relief etched on the actor’s face, and couldn’t help to feel a twinge of worry-worry that Yuu would again be a victim of some hostile paranormal presence, or worry that he wouldn’t be able to see Yuu again since they had gotten their hands on the suspected cursed item; Ruki couldn’t tell which.
Heavy with the burden of both his mind and the teddy bear in his bag, he walked along the hallway, leaving his very first experience of visiting a famous actor’s apartment behind.
- TO BE CONTINUED -
Previous chapters: 1 ; 2 ; 3
Fanfic list here.
Chapter: 04
Author: アキ
Fandom: the GazettE, SCREW, Alice Nine, more to come
Disclaimer: I don't own the guys. Just the story.
Pairings: AoixRuki, ByouxRui, probably more to come
Genre: AU, horror, supernatural
Rating: PG, for now
Warning: None
Beta: None
Summary: "PSC, which stands for Paranormal Studies Center, is an institution whose main object is to investigate various paranormal and supernatural events. This is the Department of Investigation and Recovery, where all investigative tasks are being done. My name is Kai, and I am the head of this Department. Welcome. How may I help you?"
Chapter 4
Ruki stood in front of the massive gate, vaguely wondering what on earth he was doing here. It was his first time ever visiting this exclusive area, and so far, everything he had seen had successfully intimidated him. The streets were really quiet compared to the awful traffic outside the area, with sophisticated, expensive-looking cars roaring by every once in a while. A few times people passed by, joggers with their purebred dogs, ladies with designer clothes shouting for their drivers, etcetera. Other than those, their surrounding seemed almost deserted. Even the usual noises that one would hear in a big city didn’t reach this region. It was as if an invisible dome was covering the entire complex, secluding it from the world outside.
There was a name for phobia of being alone in a wide open space, but Ruki couldn’t quite remember what it was. He was beginning to think he might have developed something akin to it at the moment.
“I wonder how much you have to spend to be able to rent a place here.”
Hiroto’s voice shook Ruki out of his stupor. The small, blonde man was standing beside him; his round eyes were focused on the mansion that stood before them, a few feet ahead behind the gates. Ruki followed his example, and took in the view of the building.
It looked elegant, although a bit plain in Ruki’s opinion. The walls and window sills were painted in white and gray, and together with the modern, minimalistic architecture, gave the entire building a rigid, almost cold appearance. There must be at least ten stories in total from top to bottom, added with a parking lot in the basement. Each apartment seemed to have its own balcony. There wasn’t much of a space for playgrounds in front of the building, but Ruki had a feeling there must be a yard at the back-probably big enough to fit a fancy swimming pool including a private restaurant.
The more Ruki looked at the complex before him, the more reluctant he felt about getting inside. He grew in a common family, and he had always been surrounded by common people. At work, he had average salary-although the job itself was nowhere near average; but throughout, he was living the average life. He’d like to think it was quite reasonable that he felt rather daunted at the moment, being surrounded by all these luxurious facilities.
“I have no idea,” he finally answered Hiroto’s previous musing. “But by the looks of it, I’m not sure either of us will be able to afford living a day here, not with our paychecks.”
“You’re probably right,” Hiroto chuckled. “I might just collect my salary for a whole year and still won’t be able to afford a place on the lowest floor. I wonder what our client will say if I ask him how it feels to live here… Speaking of which, have you called him?”
Ruki shook his head. “I was just about to,” he said, hesitantly reaching for his phone in his pocket.
Even before Ruki had the time to unlock his phone, Ayame was suddenly standing right beside him. The woman did have the tendency to show up when you least expected her to, which always made Ruki feel a bit queasy to be around her. This morning she might look like a teenager in her black t-shirt (which had ‘I WANNA HEAR YOU SCREAM’ printed in bold, white letters) and black jeans, but Ruki knew better than to underestimate her. He had had enough experience working with her to know that she was more of a worthy companion than a burden.
“You don’t have to call,” she spoke up calmly. Ruki and Hiroto looked up at the same time as she pointed ahead. “He’s here.”
Walking past the now opened gate was Shiroyama Yuu-or more widely known as Aoi-and all of a sudden Ruki was reminded just why exactly he felt doubtful about coming here at the first place.
***
Despite Ruki’s initial presumption, Yuu’s apartment didn’t quite show that it was inhabited by a famous actor. No posters were stuck on the wall, no award trophies displayed on the racks. The place seemed like a normal place for a civilian to live-an awfully rich civilian, Ruki might add-but then again, so far they had only been into the living room.
The room was spacious, and Ruki could not help to notice that almost everything in it was monochrome. White curtain and black carpet; polished ebony tables and fluffy white sofas, white walls with black accents. Ruki was particularly interested in the onyx desk that was situated on one side of the room-it was very stylish, with classic, Baroque-ish engravings on its sides. On top of its smooth surface were a number of candles, aromatic ones if Ruki wasn’t mistaken. And snuggled in between those candles was a large, egg-like object that glowed with gentle, golden light. A lamp, Ruki supposed; a uniquely shaped lamp. He wondered where Yuu had bought it.
Sounds of the morning news channel filled the room, coming from the 90 inch flat screen television on the other side of the room. Ruki honestly had only seen such a large television in the commercials. It was rather overwhelming to see the real thing. He wasn’t technologically-impaired, and he did love electronic devices, especially the ones he could actually afford-this TV was definitely not one of them.
If Ruki had been trying his hard to stay calm, Hiroto was the complete opposite. The guy was helping himself with a tour around the living room, admiring and commenting on almost every object he saw. He took his time in front of the bookshelf, wondering aloud about each and every title he could find. Once he was done with that, he sat beside Ruki, and shrieked happily at the sight of the massive television.
“Oh my God, I’ve always dreamed of having such a big TV in my own apartment!” said Hiroto, practically hopping on the sofa. “I bet it’s going to be awesome playing video games with that. Do you play video games, Yuu-san? I haven’t seen any game console or DVD in this room, so probably not, huh? Well you might not have the time, what with all the shootings, interviews and whatever…”
The man Hiroto addressed to was smiling, as if it was actually amusing to see someone so hyper about his furniture.
“As a matter of fact, I do play games,” Yuu answered lightheartedly. “I usually play in my room. It’s more comfortable in there.”
“Awesome! What games do you like to play?” Hiroto asked cheerfully, which was immediately cut off by Ayame’s cough.
If Ruki hadn’t known her for so long, he would have thought she had done nothing more but clearing her throat. But obviously not; that cough meant she wanted Hiroto to stop wasting their time. And she was right. They couldn’t spend all day here while Kai was waiting for their reports back at the institute.
So, finally, Ruki took over. “Hiroto, you can talk about video games later,” he said, trying to sound stern but it didn’t come out quite like he wanted to. It was difficult to act like he wasn’t bothered by the fact that Shiroyama Yuu had been his senior in high school, but he had to do his best. He was, as he’d like to say, a professional. “I’m sorry, Yuu-san, but I think it’s best if we just start conducting our investigation right now. This is a big place and there are so many things to examine. I hope you don’t mind showing us around, and we might have to ask you some questions.”
“Of course,” Yuu nodded and stood up, brushing his hands down his navy-blue button-down shirt. “So, where should we start?”
***
The first room they went into was the main bedroom, under the consideration that most of the disturbances happened inside it. The moment Ruki walked in, he was surprised to find that it was unlike what he had imagined. He thought it would be like the living room, classy, elegant, and mostly monochrome, but it wasn’t. The room was positively more colorful, with blue curtains and burgundy bedcover. The walls were covered with posters-not of the actor himself, but of various rock and visual kei bands that were pretty legendary in Japan.
Ruki spun slowly on the fluffy sky-blue carpet, staring at the walls. It felt like entering a completely different place, although they were still in the same apartment. It was almost as if he had just walked into a teenager’s room, a teenager who happened to have a very wide taste in popular music. And then his sight fell on the sleek, black guitar that was leaning on its stand in the corner of the room, and the amplifier right next to it.
“You still play?”
Ruki hadn’t had the time to stop himself before it was too late. Now he could only freeze in horror, fretting that he had said too much. He was just remembering his high school days when he saw his senior-now the famous actor standing in the very same room as he was-playing guitar in a school festival, and then it just… slipped out of his mouth.
“Ah, my guitar…” Yuu strutted from the doorway, approaching Ruki and the rest of the team. “I did mention it in an interview once or twice, didn’t I? Well, I do still play every once in a while, but really, my skill is not exactly something I’d like to boast about.”
Ruki could just feel a breath of relief leaving his lungs. So Yuu thought he had read it from an interview. That’s better, he supposed, than having to explain how he truly had found out that Yuu played guitar.
Before Hiroto had the chance to find Yuu’s stash of game DVDs, Ruki rushed all three of them to start conducting their search. To start it with, Hiroto did a thorough scanning of the entire room. He and Byou possessed the same ability, which was to sense astral presences that were better known as auras. To a certain level, Hiroto’s ability was stronger than Byou’s, but he had a tendency to get distracted very easily. Ruki supposed that was why Kai had assigned Ayame along with them; she knew exactly how to stir everyone back to their main job.
Yuu was also of a big a help. Ruki believed it was because he was desperate to be free of all the supernatural disturbances he had been experiencing. He showed the team around the room, and in the process, Ruki found even more interesting things about Yuu that reminded him of high school, but this time he managed to keep his mouth shut.
A few minutes later, Hiroto shook his head and said he didn’t find anything specifically threatening in the room. There were a couple of ‘passerby’s (a term he used to name the entities that were simply ‘floating’ by, not staying on one particular spot for a very long time), but they were harmless.
“Are there any connecting room? For example, a closet, or a bathroom?” Hiroto asked Yuu.
Yuu nodded. “My walk in closet is right there,” he pointed to a door, right next to a stylish dressing table (which was full of various skincare products). “I have a smaller closet, but I use it as a store-room for some of the gifts I received.”
“Gifts?” Ruki felt a surge of suspicion washing through his mind.
“Yes, gifts from the fans,” Yuu laughed sheepishly. “I can’t exactly throw any of them away, but I’m worried the room is getting too full…”
As if on cue, Ruki and Ayame turned to each other. It seemed like they were both thinking of the same thing. A celebrity of Yuu’s caliber must have received a lot of gifts… and Yuu wouldn’t have had the slightest idea if some of those things had been jinxed, or worse, cursed.
“Can we see what’s inside the gift store-room, please?” Ruki asked. In his stomach, he felt the familiar tug that usually, in most investigations, told him that he was heading toward the right direction.
***
It didn’t take them long to finish their work; it took approximately half an hour. Most of that time was used to push their way through tons of gifts. The inside of the closet hadn’t been messy-in fact, considering the number of things stuffed into it, Ruki thought it was rather tidy and most importantly clean. It seemed Yuu had spent a few times a week cleaning it. And it seemed, quite obviously, that he truly never threw away anything his fans gave him.
But as soon as they were inside, the work was swift. It hadn’t been too difficult recognizing the exact item they had been looking for-it was almost as if it had been sitting there, waiting for them to find it. It was in the form of a brown teddy bear, not an unusual item one would get as a present, but Ruki could tell something else was stuffed into the bear besides Dacron fibers. Careful not to touch it for too long, Ruki had wrapped the teddy bear with a plastic bag and stuffed it into his backpack.
“There’s nothing on the bear that can tell us who it’s from,” Hiroto said, now that they were all back in the living room again.
“I’m not sure if there was ever any note that came with that bear,” Yuu was staring at the bear unsurely, as if afraid the fluffy little thing would jump right out of Ruki’s bag and attack him.
“Who’s responsible for sorting out the gifts and handing them to you?” Ayame asked.
“The staff in our management,” Yuu answered. “It can be anyone in the company, really, from the security guards to my manager himself.”
Ayame stood quietly, her eyes staring emptily toward the floor. Ruki knew she was thinking hard, the Analyst that she was. He could only wonder about the possibilities that she was thinking of at the moment; sometimes her analysis could be very much unpredictable.
“Alright,” Ruki said. “I think it’s enough for today.” He turned to Hiroto, “Do you see anything else that is suspicious?”
Hiroto shook his head. “Nope, nothing but that ominous thing in your bag.”
“Good. Then we should get back to the institute and report to Kai. The sooner we find out what is hidden inside this bear, the sooner we can figure out how to cleanse it.”
Hiroto and Ayame nodded in agreement, and then, led by Yuu, all of them headed toward the exit.
“So, does this mean from now on I won’t be experiencing anything… weird again?” Yuu asked just when the team was about to walk out the door.
“Hopefully no,” Ruki answered, careful not to promise their client anything. In some occasions it could be fatal to tell their clients that the situation was already secured when the investigators were not sure of it themselves. “If you still experience anything out of the norm, you may immediately contact the institute, and we will send someone over as soon as possible. But I do hope it won’t come to that, Yuu-san.”
Yuu smiled. “I understand. I’ll store the institute’s number in my quick dial, just in case.”
The inspection team filed out into the hallway, Ayame leading the way, Ruki right behind her, and Hiroto following close. Before they walked away, Yuu bid them goodbye. Ruki noticed the sense of relief etched on the actor’s face, and couldn’t help to feel a twinge of worry-worry that Yuu would again be a victim of some hostile paranormal presence, or worry that he wouldn’t be able to see Yuu again since they had gotten their hands on the suspected cursed item; Ruki couldn’t tell which.
Heavy with the burden of both his mind and the teddy bear in his bag, he walked along the hallway, leaving his very first experience of visiting a famous actor’s apartment behind.
- TO BE CONTINUED -
Previous chapters: 1 ; 2 ; 3
Fanfic list here.