Ghost of a Chance

The Bloodstained Labyrinth (Part 2)

Upon entering the mansion, they were met by the client's representative, who was waiting for them in front of a grand staircase that was just inside the main foyer.

"Welcome, and thank you for coming. My name is Ohashi," the middle-aged man greeted them politely with a bow. "I have been given full authority in this matter. You may think of me as your client." Mai was so nervous she had a twitch. "Incidentally, your president is...?"

"Oh, that would be me," Yasuhara said, stepping forward with a bright smile. "I am the president, Shibuya Kazuya." Mai sweat-dropped.

"I heard that you were extremely young," Ohashi said. "As for the rest of you..."

"They are all spiritualists who are also close acquaintances of mine. I asked for their cooperation on this case," Yasuhara explained smoothly.

"Uh, my name is Takigawa Houshou," Bou-san introduced himself.

"I'm Matsuzaki Ayako."

"And I'm John Brown."

All three bowed as they introduced themselves, feeling a little nervous in the presence of the man acting as a direct proxy of a former prime minister.

"These four are my assistants," Yasuhara added, gesturing towards the official SPR employees next.

"I am Matsumoto Hitomi," Hitomi introduced herself calmly with a polite smile and a graceful bow.

'Wow, as expected of Sempai...' Mai thought nervously as she bowed and introduced herself too. "I'm Taniyama Mai." She glanced sideways at Naru, wondering what he was going to say.

"My name is... Narumi Kazuo," he introduced himself, standing straight.

'Who's that...?' Mai thought, staring at him as if he had suddenly become a stranger. Hitomi smiled wryly at the expression on her face. Since they always called him by his nickname, Naru had thought it would be best to have 'Naru' as part of his alias. She had helped direct him to a website that had names in both kanji and English. It was kind of a joke, actually, because 'Narumi' was written with the kanji for 'become' and 'beautiful', and the given name 'Kazuo' was written with the kanji for 'peaceful' and 'man'... the same as her father's. She wondered if Naru had been aware of that when he chose it.

"My name is Lin Koujo," Lin said, interrupting their musings. Hitomi was almost as surprised by the others' reactions as they were when they heard his full name. Their eyes were wide, and they had all turned to look at him as if he had said something strange. This couldn't be their first time hearing it... could it?

"Are you from China?" Ohashi asked with a polite curiosity.

"Hong Kong, originally," Lin replied.

"Whattt!?" most of the others exclaimed, shocked.

"Really!?" Mai asked, surprised. Mai gulped nervously when her wide eyes met with Lin's narrowed ones, and Naru added his own signature 'shut up' look to silence them. 'Unbelievable. He's a foreigner...?' Mai thought, seriously taken aback by this revelation. 'I know they don't all look like John-san, but... Lin-san looks more Japanese than Hitomi-sempai!'

"Well, that solves one mystery," Bou-san said.

"Huh?" Mai said, glancing at him in confusion.

"Nothing, I've just always wondered were 'Lin' or 'Rin' came from," Bou-san explained. "Was that his family name or his given name? I mean, wouldn't it be kind of sad to be born with that name? As in... Rin Tin Tin-chan..." Mai's eyebrows shot up and Hitomi had to bite her lip when they heard that. That's right, as a child, Lin or 'Rin,' would have probably been called 'Rin-chan' if he were Japanese—just like the dog! That was way too adorable. "Don't you think that's hilarious?" the monk asked as he, Mai, and Ayako burst out into a fit of giggles. Hitomi smiled wryly and sweat-dropped, feeling a little sorry for Lin-san, who was now staring at them.