Mirror Mirror (self-insert #9)

Chapter 3

Lin was very, very, very right.

"Eh? Hirota-san, are you serious?!"

"I'm serious." Hirota said, oh-so-seriously as he knelt on the tatami mat. "Please don't hesitate to use me."

Mai shot me a panicked look. I just shrugged. "Why would you do something like that...?" She managed weakly.

Hirota eyed Naru before speaking. "Earlier, Taniyama-san said you would only observe the situation because you don't want to act without actual evidence of paranormal activity. Is that true?"

"We only want to investigate matters related to spirits. We don't want to waste our time on things that aren't related."

A simple 'yes' or 'no' would've worked, but Hirota nodded shortly.

"I also want to know what's happening here. So instead of doing nothing, I thought that if we could cooperate, then I'd find out much more."

Naru allowed himself one of his small, cynical smiles that occasionally made me want to bash his face in. "On us?"

Hirota hesitated for a split second. "I won't deny that."

"I won't hesitate to order people around."

"I don't care."

Naru shrugged lightly. "Fine, then. Let's do it like that. Mai, he's your assistant now. Use him as you like."

Mai blanched. "But..."

"It's fine." Hirota interrupted. "I'll do my best no matter what you ask of me to do."

"But we work all day and night. Don't you need to work?"

Hirota blinked. "If it's like that, don't you need to go to school?"

I tilted my head. Why couldn't he just answer the question?

Mai didn't seem to find his response fishy, and of course Naru was an expert at keeping a poker face

"I'm taking a break from school right now because of work, and I have permission from the principal."

"So that's why. I'm also on temporary leave, so it's not an issue."

"What a lenient workplace." I murmured.

"Hm?" Lin asked absently, scrolling through his windows.

I watched him for a moment. "What are you doing? Nothing's happening."

"I'm keeping an eye on things. What were you saying before?"

"Wha—oh, right. Does it seem normal for a workplace to let someone have a temporary leave just because he wants to play watchdog?"

"It depends."

I dug through the papers until I found the request. "Here—'Seigi Hirota, 24. Government worker'. Forget a lenient workplace, what a lax government. What do you think?"

"He may be hiding something, he may not. It could be either. There are many government jobs, you know." Lin glanced at me. "If you think it's worth looking into, then do it."

I shrugged unenthusiastically. "I'll ask Naru and see what he thinks."

"Ask me what?"

I jumped violently before twisting around in my chair to glare at the unfazed boy. "Why would you do that?"

"I assume that's not what you wanted to ask me."

I exhaled. "It looks like Hirota is hiding something. Do you want me to investigate?"

"Leave it. With his temper and lack of tact, he'll end up giving himself away." Naru said, allowing a slight smile to spread across his face. The smile was gone in a flash. "Mai and I will be performing the autosuggestion experiment. Lin, keep an eye on the equipment."

"Right."

I waited for him to leave before making a face. "What does he think you're gonna do, tango?"

"Why is this the first time you're having a problem with this?"

"Huh." That was a good question. I slipped into my thoughts as I pondered it. Lin gratefully seized the moment of silence. We carried on like this for about twenty minutes before the speaker crackled to life, making me jump.

"Lin. Did the microphone in the dining room receive any sort of sound?"

Lin clicked a button. "Nothing."

"Ah. I understand." The line turned off.

I frowned. "Something happened?"

"That's not likely. We'll see when Naru gets back."

Naru and Mai returned shortly and explained Midori's mother's intense paranoia. Within the next four hours, Naru was called on six times to listen patiently to the older woman's complaints and worries.

"Then auntie and Midori-san haven't received any sleep at all? What should we do?"

"It's better to ease their minds." Naru leaned forward as he sat on one of the equipment crates. "Should we try using fake medicine?"

Mai blinked at him. "What? Fake medicine?"

"Ignorant fool. It's fabricated medicine."

Like that was a better explanation. Sure enough, Mai exploded. "Isn't it just wrong to carry out such a deceptive lie?"

"That's not what I mean. If you don't know, then just be quiet." Naru said irritably, waving her away.

"How should we do this?" Lin inquired, bringing the conversation back on track.

"The more dramatic, the better. Is it possible?"

"I don't think I'm suitable for this."

Naru nodded slowly. "You're right. Mai, when it's morning, call Bou-san to come over."

"Why? Is Bou-san medicine?"

I snorted. "As if." I muttered. It was safe to say that despite the man's cheerful personality, we definitely clashed. I blamed him for not having a better sense of humor.

Naru ignored me. "In these times, it's better for someone associated with Buddhism rather than Lin—who's associated with Taoism—to perform exorcisms."

Mai brightened. "Ah! I get it! We disregard whether it really is spiritual. So basically, we arrange for auntie to see Bou-san exorcise spirits, allowing her to feel more at ease. This is your so-called "medicine", right?"

Ring! Ring! Ring!

"It's that phone." Mai grumbled.

Naru was on his feet in a flash. "Mai, go answer the phone." He ordered, making his way over to where Lin and I were sitting. "Lin, record the conversation with the microphone."

Lin's fingers flew over the keyboard, and a second later the sound was coming through the mike. "Hello?" Mai's voice inquired politely. "Ah. May I ask who this may be?"

I shifted uncomfortably. It was a lot like listening to the phone call from the JonBenet Ramsey case, but with a lot less raw panic.

"Is it recording?" Naru asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"The recording started as soon as the line was picked up." Lin replied over the jarring static.

"Hello? Hello? I can't hear anything. Hello? Hello?" Mai's patience was very audibly being stretched thin. "Hello?"

There was just the faintest bits of laughter buried in the static before the line ended.

Naru gazed at the screens, thinking hard. "Can you take the staticity out of the conversation?"

"I can."

"If there are any more phone calls, immediately record it. Once it's midnight, we'll answer the calls ourselves."

"Yes."