Dangerous Souls

Hoax

Chapter 2-Used

March Day 1, 7:31 P.M.

"So, Naru and Lin are looking to see if maybe the blood came through the pipe?" Yasuhara asked, sitting next to Mai and in front of the monitors.

"Fake blood, and yeah," Mai said with a shrug. After her meeting with Kawaguchi, she was sent back with Masako on walk-arounds and someone was sent to clean up the mess in the bathroom. She took a sip of her tea. "We didn't have our equipment up so we can't see who might have done that, but Naru did look at the security footage. Again he couldn't see who might have done it, but the intern swears that the blood didn't appear until after she turned on the faucet."

"Fake blood."

"That's right." She shook her head and shivered. "I can't believe Naru tasted it!"

"And you did too!" Yasuhara quipped with a smirk. "Licked it right off of his fingers all seductively, from what I hear."

She playfully smacked his arm. "You're making crap up," she said with a roll of her eyes. She turned her attention back to the monitors and saw John and Masako walking around trying to bless the energy in the building. If the activity continued after that, it was probably caused by a person. Meaning Naru would be right, the annoying thought rang in her head.

"So, what do you think our next step is?" the college student asked soberly. "I'm surprised Naru took this case if it really is just pranks gone wrong."

"I'm surprised too," Mai said with a shrug.

"Really? Word on the street is that you're the one who convinced him to take the case." But Mai shook her head.

"I told him to reconsider, yeah," she admitted. "But he was adamant that this case was a hoax. I told him that regardless he would get paid. He then asked me if I was caught up in school, and I am, hell, I'm even ahead. I asked him if he would reconsider and he said no. That was the last I heard out of him until getting the call last night that he had taken a case and you were to pick me up."

"Interesting."

"What? That your source isn't reliable?"

"No, the opposite."

She was about to question it, when Naru and Lin came back to Base with a small tube and bucket filled with fake blood.

"The day has finally come where we feast upon the blood of your enemies?" Yasuhara asked with maybe a little too much enthusiasm.

"Yasuhara-never mind." Mai shook her head and resisted the urge to facepalm. "That was in the sink?"

"That restroom is in dire need of renovations," Naru explained as Lin placed the evidence on their small table. "It's not set up like most, instead of commercial restroom sinks you would find just about everywhere, the one here is more like one found in a private residence. There was a cabinet underneath it."

"The cabinet was locked, but once we opened it, we found the bucket and the tube connected to the faucet," Lin added. "Once you turned on the faucet it would draw up the fake blood through the tube and mix it with water so it would flow out, but still remain its thickness. A lot of work to be put into for a prank."

"But not something a ghost would have done," Mai said, crossing her arms and leaning back. She turned to the college student next to her. "You're interning right now, is it common for companies to pull pranks on the new interns? Shouta never mentioned it to me when we were together."

She didn't notice the tension felt by the men in the room at the sound of her ex's name. Probably best that way. Yasuhara just shrugged. "I mean, sometimes there's an initiation, but it's usually something small and benign. I had my lunch stolen out of the fridge on my first day, but I got it back after my lunch break was over. So I had to eat it while completing whatever tasks were given to me."