In Vino Veritas:
Chapter 8
Dinner was a subdued affair. Ayako and Bou-san had been attacked whilst they were in the onsen- the priestess had been pulled under and only after starting the 9 cuts incantation did the ghost release her. The monk himself had simply been pushed in and neither had seen their attacker so Naru had not been in a good mood with them when they returned.
Masako had gone to the library with Yasuhara and had nearly been knocked out by Yasuhara accidently dropping a book whilst he was on a ladder. The college student himself had eye strain from skin reading 15 books on local history.
Maaya had been suffering from insults from the narcissist who was the only person who didn't seem to be in a black mood. Lin had been present during all of Mai and Naru's disagreements and had developed a headache.
"Wow, the boss looks happy," Yasuhara whispered to Bou-san.
The pony tailed monk glanced over and pretended to drop his chopstickful of rice.
"I think you're right. His mouth looks more curved than usual and he's got that sadistic look in his eye..."
"Shall we all take bets on how long until Baby no.2," Yasuhara grinned demonically.
"Shounen, surely you're not planning on making a profit out of Naru's predicament?"
"I say a year," Ayako interjected. "¥20,000 if I am right."
"2 years, ¥30,000," Masako joined in. "Brown-san?"
"I'm not going to bet, but I'm sure that Shibuya-san will soon realise that he loves her," the priest said solemnly.
"Personally I would give it a couple of months. When Mai regains her memories, Naru-chan is going to have to answer some serious questions," Bou-san mused. "Shounen?"
"Naru seems to be a repressed 19 year old boy. Once Taniyama-san regains her memories... a week."
The participants in the conversation gasped before glancing over at the narcissist on the other side of the room who was still calmly eating, leading them to believe that they hadn't been overheard.
Then he put his chopsticks down and demonstrated his best saccharine smile.
"Yasuhara-san, I'm glad to know that you have volunteered to clean all of the Ryokan's bathrooms. Maaya, how many are there?"
Naturally Maaya had no idea of the conversation that had taken place regarding her so she was confused as to why the narcissist had volunteered someone to clean toilets. "Um, 48."
"I retract my bet," Yasuhara said hastily.
Naru's mouth curved into one of his more genuine smiles, albeit an evil one. "That's what I thought. You can clean 24 then."
Yasuhara put a hand to his heart in a theatrical fashion. "Is this how you repay me for all the research that I did? Even you admitted that the information was vital to solving the case."
"Naru, how come you didn't mention this before!?" Ayako demanded angrily. "We need to prevent any further attacks occurring before someone actually dies."
Naru sighed. "I was getting to that. I have not yet solved the case, but I am very close. Yasuhara-san, please explain to everyone what occurred in 1925."
Yasuhara pulled out his notebook. "The daughter of the family that owned the Ryokan was discovered to have been having an affair with one of the guests who was an outsider here. She was forcibly engaged to her childhood friend as she was the only child and had to inherit the Ryokan. The man she was having that affair with was forced out of the village and her wedding date was pushed forward."
"I'm guessing that she never got married. Did she run away and get hunted down by her family?" Bou-san questioned. "It's a familiar story."
Yasuhara shook his head. "She didn't take that route. She was found on the morning of her wedding with her wrists cut, holding hands with her lover who had matching cuts."
"So it became a suicide pact? That's strange, they should be at peace now," Ayako commented.
"Her family mourned her death and buried the lovers together in the garden of the Ryokan which passed into a distant relation's hands after her parents' death."
"All the more reason why they should be at peace and not haunting this place," Masako said. "Their spirits did not feel at peace."
"There was no sign of any graves in the garden and Hana Kudou-san had never heard the story which led me to believe that the Ryokan's extension is built on top of where they were buried," Naru explained.
"That is probably true," Bou-san acquiesced. "But if the new building has been there for over 30 years, why is Jou-can being targeted now? She has nothing to do with their past."
"Well, she is a magnet for trouble..." Ayako commented.
"We may have to perform some tests as we seem to be stuck for a motive. If we have not made any progress in 3 days time we will just have to use Maaya as bait to lure them both out and exorcise them, but I don't want to use this idea before we know the motive and it would be dangerous. The pair of ghosts seem to be very volatile considering their attacks on the monk and priestess," Naru said.
"Do I have to be bait?" Maaya asked Naru beseechingly. "It's frightening not knowing how they are going to attack me."
He turned to her, ready with a reply, but was taken aback by the sad look in her brown eyes and he lost his train of speech.
"...Only if there is no other alternative. It is a last resort and you will be protected at all times."
"I suppose so," she replied doubtfully before perking up. "What is it that you do?"
"What do you mean?" he enquired with a raise of an eyebrow.
"Well, Ayako-san is a priestess, Takigawa-san is a monk, Brown-san is a priest, Hara-san is a psychic and Yasuhara-san is a researcher, so what are you?"
She had been wondering how he fitted in the equation as he didn't seem to have any abilities like the others. All he did was order everyone around, drink tea, read books with complicated scientific words and make fun of her.
"I'm the brains of SPR as well as the handsome face," was the reply.
The room became so silent that a grain of rice could be heard falling off Maaya's chopsticks.
"That was supposed to be a joke," Naru said irritably a few seconds later.
"I bet it wasn't," Bou-san muttered.
"What are you really?" Maaya pressed on.
The narcissist realised that she was not going to give up and he was still having fun playing with her. "I will tell you if you behave for the next 3 days. For now, I'm a paranormal researcher and the manager of SPR."
"Remember you promised to show me that video with the PK demonstration," she reminded him.
Bou-san spat out his mouthful of salmon, "Naru-chan! That's not fair. If you show her you have to show me too."
Maaya turned to him with a teasing glint in her eye. "So, you really are a fan of Dr. Oliver Davis!"
Bou-san backed down as he realised that Naru had essentially said the Bou-san was his hardcore fan which was embarrassing considering that he hadn't worked who Naru really was until the end. He waved his hand dismissively.
"Actually, I think I will pass, my interest in Oliver Davis has abated over the years."
Next to him Ayako and Yasuhara sniggered and John hid a smile.
"Is that so?" Naru smirked. "In any case, Maaya, could you ask Yakumo-kun to decide whose room he wants to sleep in."
She nodded and tapped her son's shoulder. He had been sitting in the base with her all afternoon and had been very quiet, taking in all the equipment in the base with wide eyes. Unusually he had not tried to sneak off at all.
"Yakumo, you are going to have to share a room with someone else tonight, but you can choose. Yes?"
The boy made a noise which she interpreted as an affirmative from previous experience.
"You can share with him," she pointed at John. "Or him." Bou-san was next. "Or him." Her finger came to rest on Naru.
The child stared all the prospective candidates down with a chilling stare, reminding the monk and priest that he was definitely Oliver Davis' son. Naru was struck by the resemblance to himself and he knew for certain the child was his son and he didn't hate him for it.
Yakumo reached out and pulled on Naru's black shirt sleeve. Naru stared down at his son, feeling please about the choice. His son appeared to have good instincts; he would not mind admitting to his parents that he had a son.