Hey guys, sorry for the delayed updating, I've been revising my old, unfinished story, "The Higurashi Case".

Don't forget to check out my latest NaruxMai oneshot called, "Naru the Narcissist"! It's Naru's thoughts on the nickname Mai gave him on that first case and also what he thinks of Mai.

Enjoy

Mai's POV:

"Yasu, what did you find?"

We were all around the coffee table now. Monk, Ayako, and I sat on the couch with Monk in the middle. John sat in an armchair to my right while Yasu and Masako sat on the couch across from our couch. Naru simply leaned on the armrest next to me. He was so close that his arm almost touched my head and his scent filled my nose. I was almost unable to even think, much less listen, but I forced myself to pay attention.

"Construction on the mansion began in early Kaei era, approximately sometime within the year 1851, under the order of the owner of the land, Hiroshi Kinoshita, a very successful medical doctor. Construction was officially completed later in the beginning of the Ansei era, in 1854," Yasu paused as he continued to flip through the file in his hand.

"Whoa, it took three years to build this place?" Bou-san gave a whistle as he lounged next to me at the end of the couch, his arms along the back of the couch with his ankle crossed to rest on his knee.

"Not surprising. Have you taken a long look at this place? It's probably got enough rooms to house half the city of Japan," Ayako said, clearly annoyed by the monk's question, with her arms and legs crossed.

"Well apparently, the owner, Hiroshi wanted it perfect for his wife, an english woman named Eleanor O'Connor. Hence why he hired all english architects and craftsman, emulating the grandeur of english composition. According to city records, two years after the completion of and living in the house, Eleanor gave birth to a pair of twin sons, Takeshi and Jiro. However, due to Eleanor's advanced age she died from complications during the birth. According to close friends and family, and the staff at the time, Hiroshi practically disowned his children and lived in complete solitary after the death of Eleanor. Five years later, Hiroshi committed suicide by hanging in the Grand Hall. According to Hiroshi's will, the estate was to be passed to his good friend and neighbor, Satoru Takenawa to care for until his sons were of legal age to inherit it." Yasu placed a few more photos and a copy of the will on the table. One photo was of an oil painting of a couple, the man I recognized as Hiroshi. He was standing beside a beautiful, red-headed english woman. Unlike the portrait in the front hall, the man looked much younger and happier.

The next photo was that of another oil painting of two identical young boys. They were both standing beside one another holding hands with pitch black hair, darker than Naru's hair and warm dark brown eyes. They both were smiling hugely, but it was the one on the left that caught my eye. His head was turned upward just enough to see a little bit of a mark on his jaw.

I pointed at him, "That one's Takeshi. He has that birthmark!"

I looked up at Naru and noticed a weird, almost grim look in his glazed over eyes as he stared at the picture of the identical boys.

'Naru.. I wonder what you're thinking right now..Do they remind you of you and Gene..? I wish you wouldn't have that look...' I sadly thought, my mind flashing to the framed picture of my boss and his identical brother that sat on my desk at home before Bou-san voice broke through my thoughts, drawing my eyes back to him.

"Whoa, Yasu, I think you got your research mixed up or someone's pulling your leg. That's Ryo-san," Bou-san said as he pointed to another photo of an oil painting of two young men who, if I didn't know any better who have said they both looked like Ryo too. They were dressed in a formal tuxedos, standing in the library on the second floor, both leaning on a large armchair.

"You idiot, there's two of them. It obviously can't be Ryo-san," Ayako smacked the back of monk's head and pointed at the picture.

"Well, since you're such an old hag, there's a thing called photoshop now, you know?! It's super easy to mimic these things. Same, with "ghost photos". Anyone can photoshop a white ghostly figure in a hallway with some simple tricks on a computer. Same with just duplicating an image," Bou-san explained as he grabbed the photo to look at it closely.

"No, that's definitely Takeshi. I don't exactly know how I know for sure, but.. Looking at them, I get this feeling.. He and Ryo just seem to have different.. energies.." I say, taking the photo from bou-san and staring at Takeshi, my fingertips ghosting over his image. The photograph was cool and smooth to the touch, but when my fingers brushed over Takeshi's face the surface felt as if it had heated up and a warmth radiated from underneath my digits, it felt as though he were almost looking back at me. His eyes were happy, but there was a feeling of mental anguish or torture coming from him. It was definitely different from when I look at Ryo's eyes and I get a feeling of weightlessness, almost as if nothing is wrong nor could it ever be wrong.

"That's right, you had that dream with that guy in it," he mused, breaking my attention from the photograph before continuing. "I mean, I guess you would know, from what I hear, you were getting pretty close with both of them." A sly wiggling of the monk's eyebrows with a mischievous smirked earned him a smack not just from me, but from Ayako.

"Takenawa. Could he have had a daughter named Haruka Takenawa, perhaps?" Naru asked from beside me. I quickly looked back up at him, and to my surprise he was glaring at Bou-san before turning to stare at Yasu, his gaze still a little harsh.

Yasu looked slightly surprised, and flipped through a few pages, searching as he nodded.

"Yes. He had two children. A son, Yuki Takenawa, and a daughter, Haruka Takenawa," he said reading the page.

"And did you look up the genealogy I had asked you to," Naru asked, his eyes narrowed at Yasu.

"Genealogy? Why're you looking that up? We already know who the descendant is, Ryo Kinoshita," Ayako snapped at Naru.

"Yes, that is true. Ryo-san is the great, great grandson of Hiroshi. However, it wasn't that family tree Big Bossman wanted me to look into," Yasu said as he fished for another paper from the file.

"You wanted to look into the Takenawa family descendants," John softly deduced, looking at Naru who simply nodded.

"Apparently, Mai has an uncanny resemblance to Haruka Takenawa," Naru stated, his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

Yasuhara made a small sound of triumph as he revealed another photograph from his stale of files and placed it upon the coffee table as he spoke, "this, is Haruka Takenawa."

General POV:

Everyone leaned in to view the photo, including Naru. Causing his arm to brush against the side of Mai's head, a few strands of her hair being pushed by the movement to rest on his arm. But he didn't move, neither did Mai. Though she was blushing slightly at the closeness, while Naru absent mindedly enjoyed the smell of her shampoo wafting up to him. Mai secretly mused for a second at the progress they had made as far as their friendship and closeness goes before drawing her attention back to the photo.

It was a photo of an oil portrait of a young woman, with long reddish-brown hair and large chestnut brown eyes with little to no makeup. A graceful and mature smile graced her lips as she sat on a chair alone in front of a fireplace. She wore a beautiful emerald green and black victorian like dress with the top of the dress wrapping around the middle of her upper arms, bearing the tops of her breasts and shoulders while a single black choker wrapped around her neck. She was almost identical to Mai, except she looked a bit older and wiser.

"What?! That-She looks exactly like Mai!" Bou-san boomed in disbelief as he grabbed Mai's chin and pulled her in front of him as he compared the two.

No one had noticed Naru's eyes still lingering on the photo of Mai's double, his heart rate a little higher than usual.

"They are eerily similar," Masako agreed uncomfortably behind her kimono as she stared at the girl in question.

"Well, reincarnation is a widely believed theory and a prominent belief of many eastern religions. Perhaps, this may be a case of metempsychosis," John thought out loud, his chin pinched between his index finger and thumb.

"Says the catholic priest.." Ayako gently teased, making John smile and give a small chuckle.

"Quite the looker too, aye Mai? She looks a bit older than you, so it's kinda like looking into the future to see how you'll turn out. Now that I know you'll be even more beautiful in the future, I'll have to prepare to beat up even more guys away from you," the monk joked as he flexed his bicep.

"My thoughts precisely. Though I think Mai should wear more clothes like that as well," Yasuhara teased along while pushing his glasses up with a slight blush on his cheeks and a cunning smile.

"Oh please," Mai just scoffed as she waved her hand before chuckling as Monk elbowed her with a laugh. Yasuhara cleared his throat before his face took on a serious look as he straighten the papers in his hands

"Anyways, back to the genealogy report. Haruka Takenawa was reported missing on August 23, 1876 at around one in the morning. She was only twenty years old. She was never found, and eventually declared deceased by the state. Yuki, her younger brother by seven years, had married and had two sons, named Toru and Kenji. Toru had married, but had no children. Kenji Takenawa married and had four children. Two sons, Toshihiro and Satoshi, and two daughters, Cho and Kamiko," Yasuhara placed several photos, some black and white while others were polaroid onto the coffee table as he described the families, "However, the two daughters and one of the sons were killed in the second world war. With the siblings having passed, that left the only son, Toshihiro who married and had one child, a daughter named Kana Takenawa. Who married a man by the name of Izumi Taniyama, who had only one daughter.. Mai Taniyama."

As Yasuhara's words rang through the silent room, he placed one last photo on the table. However, this photo was different from all the past ones, this photo was more recent and was trapped inside a light, wooden picture frame. The photo was that of a small, but happy looking family. You could tell it was old, it was taken on a polaroid camera, and had begun to yellow with age. There were only three people in the photo, standing in front of a modest, urban home. The three persons were a young, energetic looking hetero couple, aged mid to late twenties, and a small little girl who looked no older than five.

The woman, had light brown wavy hair that was cut just above the shoulders. She had a slender body with fair skin and big, cinnamon brown eyes. A lavender cardigan was buttoned over a purple dress. Her face held an energetic and slightly mischievous smile as she held up a 'V for Victory' sign with her fingers. The woman bent slightly over the young girl, her hand on the girl's shoulder.

The man in the photo also had brown hair that was cut short and darker than the woman's. He had a more muscular build and wore a casual, unbuttoned yellow checkered shirt with short sleeves with a burnt orange t-shirt underneath, and a pair of dark denim jeans. He had a goofy and wide smile slapped across his face as he bent down near the young girl that stood between him and the woman. A hand resting on the girl's head while the other gave a thumbs up.

The little girl had reddish-brown hair that flowed long and down to the middle of her back, the sides of her hair tied back with yellow ribbons. The young girl wore a pink dress. The young girl's fists were in the air, as if she were cheering when the picture was taken. She had large cinnamon eyes, clearly a trait she had inherited from her mother. Like her parents' the daughter wore a huge blissful smile of what one could only call, pure childhood innocence.

All the members of SPR could clearly identify the young girl. Without a doubt, it was Mai as a child. She clearly had not changed, the exception being the absence of the older couple.

"Just from seeing this photo, I realize where Mai got all her attitude and fight from," Ayako chuckled as she snatched the picture frame between two red nailed fingers.

"Yasu, is that the one from my apartment," Mai accused slightly surprised and a little miffed.

"Is it? I never really paid much attention to the pictures hanging up in your apartment, Mai. But looking at this I want to see more pictures of little Mai! You were so cute," Bou-san sang as he grabbed the photo from Ayako and pressed it to his cheek while twisting his torso from side to side.

"It is! There are no photos of your family online anywhere or in public records and I wanted to get a family picture to conclude my research," Yasuhara had stated happily while Mai just sighed.

Bou-san reached across the small table and passed the photo to Masako who stared at it with a soft look in her eyes and a smile.

"Wait, Yasuhara-san, how did you get the picture from Mai's apartment if she was already here before you began your research," John asked innocently.

"I have a spare key to Mai's apartment," the bespectacled young man innocently answered as if it were a known fact that he was just repeating. A beat of silence blanketed the room. Naru only raised his eyebrow, a frown on his lips as he glared at the young man.

"What?! You have one too?! Why," the older monk yelled. Yasuhara nodded and happily replied, "yep! We hangout quite often, and I help her with homework. Are you jealous Bou-san? Maybe you should give me a key to your place too." Yasuhara gave a wink to the monk as he passed the picture of Mai's family to John absently as he toyed with the older man.

"Wait, monk, why do you have one? Don't tell me you really are a pervert.." Ayako silently accused as she shook with rage.

"How unladylike.. to entertain a monk of all people in your home," Masako scolded, her eyes closed and her kimono sleeve drawn over her lips to conceal the teasing smirk she wore.

"Ayako! Masako! No, it's not like that," Mai yelled, flabbergasted by what they were suggesting, her cheeks burning red.

"What, no! I just check in on Mai every now and then, and maybe hangout.. but nothing else. I swear," Bou-san explained, his cheeks getting a little flush from the unspoken accusation.

"Um, Mai.. Didn't you know your own family history. I mean, your mother's maiden name was Takenawa, didn't you at least know you were a descendant of the name," John quietly asked, trying to steer the conversation back to the case before the monk and miko got into another fight. The Taniyama family picture temporarily forgotten in John's hands.

"No.. not really. Actually, I don't even know the Taniyama family line. Shortly after my dad passed away, his parents died too. As for the Takenawa name, my mom never spoke a word about her family or past, her parents were extremely… strict and never approved of my mom and dad's marriage or of me. I remember only meeting them a handful of times, which weren't pleasant before they both died. My mother never told me their last name nor anything about them and since I was so young, I never questioned it," the young brunette explained, surveying the sympathetic eyes around the room. She gave a warm smile, not liking the looks of what she perceived as pity.

The room was silent as everyone processed everything that has been revealed so far, even Lin wasn't typing. During all the commotion about the photo of Haruka's portrait, he had turned around in his seat at the monitors and observed from afar.

"Haruka.. She seeks Takeshi through Mai. I sense she is very determined. After years of being separated, she doesn't want to leave him," Masako softly broke the silence as she stared at Mai.

"Hara-san, could you sense anything else when you walked into the house," Naru asked, his cold eyes staring emotionless at Masako. She nodded.

"I sense a dull ache of pain that resonates throughout the house. It is like an old and deep wound that has been covered over with layers of tissue and time, but not healed. There is still a prominent and harrowing scar in this house. I feel as though the souls of the home have been sleeping and just recently have begun to waken up. They feel.. foggy and as they are gradually recharging," she paused as she assessed the rest of the feelings that percolated into her upon arriving to the house.

"As if they have begun to waken up? That could explain why Kinoshita-san found SPR only a few days ago. He didn't mention any previous residents having issues," Naru mused, pinching his chin in thought as he absently took the framed photo of Mai's family from John's outstretched hand.

"Maybe the spirits were lying dormant up until now," John suggested.

"If that were the case, what could've been the trigger? And why did they go dormant to begin with? Spirits don't just go into hibernation then wake up randomly whenever they feel like. Whatever the trigger was, it must have been huge in order to wake up an entire house of activity," Bou-san said as he leaned forward, pressing his elbows into his knees.

"Maybe it was Mai? Maybe she ran into Ryo-san somewhere and her spiritual residue was brought back to the house on him, like a flea on a dog. I've seen it where just the mere existence of a person or just from a certain person being born in this world created spiritual activity in a certain location, even if that person was nowhere near the area," Ayako added, waving her hands as she spoke, sitting back onto the couch confidently.

"But I don't remember ever running into Ryo anywhere, and I'm pretty sure I would have. When we first met, we both felt this weird.. connection. It was almost like I had known him my entire life yet I had just met him. Looking back on it, I think it was Takeshi and Haruka's feelings. I mean, it would make sense, right? Since we're both their descendants," Mai finished, her brow was slightly furrowed as she looked around at the rest of the occupants of the base.

"That could make sense. There's an old saying that the memories, thoughts, and feelings of our ancestors flows through our blood. Some even believe déjà vu as proof of this theory. Perhaps, since you strongly resemble her, you resonate more with her than any other of the descendants or ancestors. Making her spirit stronger in you, and same goes for Ryo-san," Yasuhara explained as he pushed up his glasses with his middle finger on the piece on the bridge of the nose while he pointed to photos of Haruka and Takeshi with his brother Jiro.

"Maybe you two were destined to be together. You know, finish the tale of the two tragic star crossed lovers from long ago. Quite the romantic story, don't you think," Ayako impishly mused with a dramatic flare of her hands while turning so her back was wedged in the corner between the back of the couch and the armrest. Resting her arm on the back of the couch and bending it so her chin rested on the back of her hand, a foxy smile on her lips as she stared at the younger girl.

"That's crazy," Mai huffed brashly as she turned away from the miko, an obvious blush on her cheeks. Naru simply observed her blush, a heavy feeling weighing silently in him at the miko's words. He didn't like that thought. No, not one bit.

"That could be why, I cannot exactly see her. I could sense Haruka's spirit immediately when Mai walked into the room this morning, however I could not actually see her spirit. She has latched herself onto Mai, and looks more like a ball of light within her rather than a human form. However, I cannot see any other spirits here directly. Though there are many distant feelings throughout the house. But when walking through the main hall, I felt a great heat coming from the room to the left of the entrance," Masako cautiously described.

"That could be from the fire," Mai offered to the medium, a finger pointed in the air.

"Fire?" Yasuhara asked then snapped his fingers as he searched through his back to pulled out a manila file and opened it on the coffee table. Several aged newspaper articles and clippings along with photos of people and buildings spilled out.

Mai suddenly got a bad feeling, biting her lip viciously and uncomfortably shifting in her seat knowing what Yasuhara was about to talk about. Her heart rate began to rise as her stomach became suddenly uneasy, doing flips and somersaults.

Mai's fidgeting didn't go unnoticed by her raven haired boss or by Lin. They had both remembered her response to the information last night and right as Yasuhara began briefing the rest of the team about the fire Mai, Lin, and himself were told about at dinner, Naru and Lin both interrupted.

"There was a fire that-"

"Yasuhara-san," Lin warningly called out a second before Naru spoke, causing everyone's head to snap to Lin then to Naru.

"Mai, go make some tea." Mai's head whipped from Lin to Naru, who stared down at her with a hard look.

She stared at him, processing what was happening, then it clicked and she smiled gratefully up at him. She nodded enthusiastically and jumped up, striding to the door quickly.

Opening the door, she turned around to give a small nod to Lin, but addressed the entire group with a, "I'll be back!" Then exitted as everyone besides Lin and Naru looked confusedly between the two.

"Continue," Naru commanded the bespectacled college student, ignoring the questioning stares.

"Uh, there was a fire that broke out in the ballroom, also known as the Grand Hall on August 23, 1876 and around one in the morning. The same day and time that Haruka was reported to have gone missing. The fire was believed to have been set during an aristocratic charity ball that was thrown for the Ando Orphanage, hosted by Satoru Takenawa and Takeshi and Jiro Kinoshita on the night of August 22, 1876. After a thorough investigation of the fire, local officials had concluded it was arson and that the one who set the fire was set by Masahiko Kato. He was a japanese politician who was close friends to Satoru Takenawa and was also Haruka's fiancé. He was tried and found not guilty on one count of arson and third degree manslaughter on a grand scale," Yasuhara finished.

"Kinoshita-san's grandmother, Mizuki Kinoshita had told us the same story only a little bit differently the other night. Apparently Kato had set the fire out of rage of learning that Takeshi and Haruka were eloping and killed Takeshi, while Haruka's blood was found in the library. Stating that Kato had been sentenced to death for his crimes. Obviously his sentencing was dramatised, but as for the other facts, can you confirm any of that as true," Naru asked, his arms still crossed and staring at the other man.

"While there was no physical proof that he actually killed Takeshi, his body was found in the greenhouse. But that's where it gets a little slippery. You see, the original police and coroner's reports regarding the state in which Takeshi's body was found were suddenly destroyed a few days before Kato's trial. It was more or less brushed under the rug, so to speak and covered up during the trial until it was over and a verdict was met. Kato hired the best attorneys from around the world. They had instead placed the blame on Haruka and said that she had set the fire and simply ran off, not wanting to marry either Kato nor Takeshi. When a few of the cops that were on the scene of the fire checked the files from the case, they all had been replaced with forged information. A separate case was opened later for tampering of evidence. The police officers that found Takeshi and the coroner who performed the autopsy, stated that his body wasn't semi burned, or even a little burned. He was stabbed fifteen times in the chest and face areas to death with a kitchen knife. Proving it was a personal killing, which would no doubt convict Haruka or Kato even more of the murder. However, there was no proof when the case was reopened and investigated since Takeshi had been cremated almost immediately so the case was dismissed. There was a heavily believed suspicion that Kato had paid off some of the cops to cover up Takeshi's murder. No one was sure if it was because Haruka had murdered him and out of love for her, Kato covered it up or if he himself murdered Takeshi.

"Since he was a very well known politician and a big influencer, working beside the Prime Minister Osachi during this time, this case was a high profile scandal. When he was found not guilty, there was huge public backlash. Apparently, many people believed Kato had not only set the fire, but also killed Takeshi and Haruka. Which might explain why Ryo-san's grandmother told you the rumor. It was such a popular and widespread rumor that it is even documented as truth in a few conspiracy books. The rumor had caused such an uproar that thirty years after the crime had taken place, the case was officially reopened by the local police for reevaluation and was once again closed due to lack of evidence.

"As for Haruka, there was blood found in the library, but it was such a small sample and could not be concluded if it was hers with the limited equipment they had at the time. Though, Mizuki-san wasn't too far off with Kato's sentencing. Four months after his trial had ended and the case was closed, Kato was found dead in the middle of the south wing of the second floor hallway, just in front of the library of the Kinoshita Estate. The cause of death was unknown, but the police report simply said 'his face was contorted in that of intense fright'. None of the residents or staff at the time reported seeing him in the house or even enter the premises."

Just then Mai entered the base with a tray of cups and tea, a blush on her face.

...

Mai's POV:

⏪ A Few Minutes Earlier ⏪

I ran out of the base, thankful that Lin and Naru saved me back there. The uneasiness in my stomach going away.

I quickly walked to the kitchen, once again greeted by the heavenly smell of the lunch the cooks were preparing.

"Hello again Taniyama-san! Wonderful to see you again! What may I assist you with today," a high pitched voice bubbled up from somewhere beside me, making me jump.

Oh no, the maid from yesterday! I fearfully thought before I gave a nervous chuckle and turned to her. There she stood, wearing the same uniform as yesterday and holding a ladle that was still dripping with soup slightly.

"U-Uh tea," I say and she nods and immediately jumps towards a kettle and fills it with water before placing it on a burner that wasn't being used on the stove.

"Um, if you don't mind, I would like to make the tea. My boss is very particular about his tea. He can only handle so much of regular tea until he starts getting cranky and demanding me to make it to his liking," I laugh as I lean on an empty counter far away from the bustling cooks.

"Oh, how cute! Your forbidden lover boss only likes your tea! You must teach me your ways of persuasion, Taniyama-sama," the maid almost pleaded in a high pitched squeal. While changing the honorific on my name she bounced towards me, swinging her hands and the ladle happily.

"Uh, Maid-san, we aren't a f-forbbiden c-couple. O-Or even a couple," I weakly stutter, raising my hands in front of me hoping to tame the girl's ever growing excitement.

"Taniyama-sama, you don't need to play pretend with me, I will keep your secret! I know all too well about forbidden love for your boss. You see, I am secretely in love with.. Ryo-kun," the blonde girl lamented sadly, gripping the ladle to her chest.

She continued to explain before I had a chance to reply.

"Ryo-kun and I used to be schoolmates from the time of grade school until we graduated. He was my best friend, and would protect me if someone was bullying me. I was bullied a lot since I am not Japanese. He would console me, and even once he.. He.." she paused blushing madly as she cupped her cheeks, the ladle still in hand and slowly dripping a few drops of soup in her hair.

"He kissed me! Granted, we were in junior high and it was during a school play of Romeo and Juliet. And of course we played the couple, it was meant to be! I knew then that I had fallen in love with him! My Romeo! But then I found out that my family had worked for his for a long time, and by high school I had started working as a maid for him and his family. And I couldn't call him Ryo-kun anymore, but I still do secretly! When I began working for him we would still talk and laugh like we always have, but as of a week ago he had stopped talking to me all together! And then I found out that he had become engaged to that woman! They had only met once! It was his father's decision since he works at this very big medical company and she is a lobbyist for hospitals, it would be a very diplomatic and benefiting marriage no doubt. But my heart broke, Taniyama-sama, absolutely broke. And I try so hard to get his attention or to even say something to me, but he just walks away," the young girl began to sniffle as her green eyes filled with tears.

I mentally panicked as I patted the girl's shoulders and tried consoling her.

"Ah, Maid-san, it's all right! I'm sure he still cares for you, he just has a lot on his plate right now, you know? First he's got these spirits in his house, and now a new fiancé. I'm sure, he's just stressed. The best thing you can do is be understanding and do your best to help him and love him," I gently advise as I pat her back. She nudges her purple glasses out of the way and rubs her eye as she stares at me, still sniffling.

"Really? But what if he marries her? Then he'll never know my feelings for him," she whined dejectedly. Slightly blushing, I couldn't help, but compare her to a sad and sniffling child.

She's just too cute! I thought as I gave a warm smile to the girl who had moved closer to me.

"Then, you must tell him before he marries her. Or else you'll regret never telling him. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? About a year ago, I confessed to my boss and you know what he said? He asked if I was in love with him or his deceased brother," I gave a short, bitter chuckle and a smirk while I clenched my fist to my chest. Anger slightly billowing up through me at the thought of that condescending jerk before it was flicked away by Maid-san's gasp. I gently smiled again and continued though, "but I didn't let that stop me. I continued to love him, and now we're super close. And I'm happy, even though I'm not exactly where I want to be. I'm happy, because when we met, we hated each other. And he's not the kind of person who let's people in easily, but he let me in, and just being close to him is enough for me for now. And now we spend everyday together and I know that no matter how dangerous a case is, Naru will be there to protect me."

I laugh when I finish, realizing how happy I was just by being considered a close friend to Naru, but I know that deep down I want to be more. I needed to be more..

"Taniyama-sama.." Maid-san blubbered as tears flowed down her cheeks. She jumped at me, wrapping her arms around me and causing us to fall backwards, my back hitting the counter roughly.

She hugged my neck tightly as she squealed about how cute my story was.

I wasn't even trying to be cute! ACK! I can't breathe! I thought as I struggled with the maid on top of me.

A loud whistling halted us and Maid-san and I jumped and ran to the tea kettle. As I moved the kettle off the burner, Maid-san asked how many cups I needed and what kind of tea.

With a smile I answered Earl Grey.

While I was preparing the tea, Maid-san continued to gush about Naru and I's "love". I mostly tuned her out until she blew cold air onto my neck, making me freeze.

"So.. Taniyama-sama.. I'm curious," she murmured into my ear from behind me. Freaked out, I slowly turned around to face her.

"Y-Yes, Maid-san," I say, scared of what she was curious about. I could feel the sweat start to accumulate on the back of my neck as I fearfully think, I'm not sure if I even want to hear her question.

"Exactly how close are you and your beloved boss?" I paused for a moment, sighing at the seemingly normal question. Well, normal enough coming from her.

"Oh I don't know. Some days it feels like I've taken three steps forward and some days it feels like ten steps back," I laugh as I turn back around and finish preparing the tea.

"Well, have you.. become intimate," she lowly asked, a blush on her cheeks as she moved to my side, her intense stare boring into me. My hands freeze as I turn to look at her once again.

"I-Intimate?!"

"You know, kissed! Touched! Has he seen you naked?!"

The incident from this morning popped into my head, as vivid as when it first happened. I could feel my cheeks flush with color as I scooped up the tray and made a run for the door.

"Th-thanks Maid-san! I-I'll uh- see you around," I yell behind me as I book it into the hallway and through the short distance to the base.

Balancing the tray on my hip, I opened the base door and close it. My heart still beating wildly as I try to walk calmly to the coffee table, not noticing the heavy aura in the room until I had walked right in the middle of it.

"Wow, so we've got to uncover a full on mystery murder and arson in order to purify this place," Monk complained, throwing his head back over the back of the couch as I set the tray on the table. Instinctually, I picked up a cup and saucer and handed it to Naru, who hadn't moved from his spot on the armrest. He merely nodded as he took the saucer in his hands. I blushed when I noticed he was staring at my family photo in thought before placing it carefully in his lap and taking the tea from me.

I took a cup for myself and sat back down in my original seat between Naru and Bou-san.

"The cause of death was unknown? If his face was contorted in fear, then perhaps he died from fright. It is a possible cause of death, rare. But possible. Did they find anything during the autopsy," John asked, after sipping some of his tea and placing it back down on its respectful saucer on the table.

"No. And that's what I originally thought. But usually those types of death are proven with the evidence of cardiac arrest or even a heart attack. But the autopsy showed no physical ailments or dysfunctions. He was a healthy man that just seemingly keeled over dead one day," Yasu stated, his furrowed eyebrows showing his suspicions.

"One thing I have learned while working in this line of work: no one just keels over dead randomly. Especially in a place where they were accused of heinous crimes such as murder and arson," the young ceo of SPR voiced, as several nods were directed at him. Monk sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"This is becoming quite the case, Naru. I guess we should start with trying to find out who started the fire and killed Takeshi, whether if it was Haruka or Kato or someone completely unrelated. Then we'd need to see if Haruka did in fact runaway and why," Bou-san said, his voice taking on a serious tone, unlike his usual carefree tone of voice he usually used.

"Well, if you think about it, it isn't that hard," Ayako stated uncharacteristically soft as she stared at the teacup in her hands, making everyone look up at her.

"What do you mean," Yasu asked.

"Haruka's spirit is here, so she couldn't have run away. Or if she did, she obviously didn't get off the property. Or maybe something had tied her soul back to this place after she died if she did run. That something that's tieing her here, could very well be the guilt she holds for setting the fire and killing countless people and the man she claimed to love. But usually earthbound spirits are bound to their place of death, not to a tragic place somewhere else. And according to what you guys told us about Mai's dreams and her and Ryo-san's interactions, Haruka was clearly deep in love with Takeshi. And if what you said about ancestors' feelings and thoughts running through us is true, then I don't think Haruka was the one who set the fire. I mean, could you really see Mai setting a fire to a charity ball in honor of an orphanage? Killing innocent men, women, and children?" Ayako asked into the silenced room.

I sat there, not really sure what to think as I stared around the room. Everyone was looking down, all thinking.

Haruka loved Takeshi. She wouldn't kill him.. No.. never. I thought, a warm feeling in my chest began to bloom as I remembered the feeling I felt in my dreams when I looked at Takeshi through her eyes, and when I looked at Ryo during those little moments of possession.. But the strongest times that I feel that certain feeling is when I look at Naru...

The silence was broken by the australian priest to my right on the other side of Naru.

"I would have to agree with you on that, Ayako-san. Surely Haruka-san and Mai aren't so different, and Mai wouldn't hurt a single person if she could help it," John finally said as he smiled at me.

I smiled back, his comment on my character warming me. John always seemed to have a good thing to say about everyone on hand, just in case they needed vouching for. He was so kind, I often wondered if he wasn't an angel himself.

"I too agree with the priestess. Her spirit feels very much aligned with Mai's. I don't believe she would be able to carry out such crimes, even on accident," Masako confessed, giving me a soft look which I happily returned with a smile. We had definitely started this friendship off rocky when we first met, but we ended up growing closer together ever since Naru left for England, and maybe even before that.. In our own way.

"That's true, Mai is too nice. So then I guess that's the step in unraveling this mystery," Bou-san laughed as he ruffled my short hair, making me half yell in surprise-half laugh. The air in the room suddenly lightened just a bit.

"By the way, Shounen got anymore adorable baby pictures of Mai," Bou-san cheekily asked Yasu as he wiggled his eyebrows at him.

General POV:

"Monk!" Mai yelled as she smacked his arm while Ayako smacked his head yelling about how he really was a pervert.

"No, not really baby pictures. But I did happen to find pictures of her from junior high up until now," the young man beamed as he pulled out an entire file full of pictures of Mai. He continued joyously as he opened the file, "gathered from the internet, her school, friends, and some of the teachers that Mai had lived with temporarily! Unfortunately, Mai doesn't have too many pictures of herself in her apartment anywhere, so I had to make due!"

Once again everyone leaned in curiously, even Naru leaned ever so slightly which Mai had missed since she was too busy staring in shock from Yasuhara's "research", her mouth hanging open.

"Awww, you had long hair! And it looks about around the time when we met," Bou-san yelled as he picked up a photo of Mai. In the photo her hair reached to just below her breasts as she wore a plain white tank top and red skirt while cradling a fluffy puppy, her smile as bright as ever.

"So you have always been a tomboy then," the china-doll of a medium analyzed as she examined a photo of a young Mai with her mother in their backyard garden. Her mother was kneeling on some grass and wore a white, wide brimmed sun hat with a pink t-shirt and jean shorts with gardening gloves, holding a spade as she laughed with her daughter. Young Mai was covered in mud from head to toe and sitting happily in the dirt as she held up a worm to her mom and was laughing. Turning the photo over, Masako read the single sentence, 'Kana and Mai in the garden.'

Smiling, Masako then compared that to a photo of a high school Mai during her school festival. She had clearly won some sport and was covered in dirt and scrapes, a ribbon tried across her forehead and she wore the school gym uniform as she posed triumphantly with her fingers in the 'V for victory' sign, smiling widely. As the rest of her teammates looked relieved and worn out, Mai was still full of energy.

"Wow, Mai. I never would have pegged you for the bikini type," Ayako blurted out slightly shocked as she held up a photo of Mai and Yasuhara at the beach from the past summer, she had on a baby blue bikini top with dark blue trim and a small, light pink bow between her breasts, with a matching bottom. Yasuhara wore a pair of dark blue swimming trunks, both of them were soaked and giving an energetic thumbs up to the camera while hanging onto each other. Mai's arm around the young man's shoulders while his was around her waist.

No one seemed to notice Naru's eyes glancing over all the photos, but stayed glued to the one of Mai in a bikini. Taking in her thin yet slightly curved frame. The bikini seemed to leave so little yet too much to the imagination for Naru's greedy gaze. A small bubble of jealousy rising in him as he scrutinized Yasuhara's large hand resting on Mai's smooth, bare waist in the photo.

"Hey four-eyes, when did you and Mai go to the beach and not tell us," Monk complained, slumping down as he retrieved more photos. Masako and John both had photos in their hands, one of Mai winking at the camera in a fake seductive manner while wearing a cute orange sundress made John blush just a little.

"Plenty of times! You adults were sooo~ busy that we just couldn't possibly annoy you with such frivolous kid stuff like going to the beach," the young man in question replied with a wide smile, his glasses gleaming with reflected light, hiding his dark grey colored eyes.

"Mai, you look just like the scream painting by Edvard Munch," Yasuhara happily pointed out, snapping her out of her state of shock.

"YASU! You don't need all these for research about the case," Mai growled as she shook with anger in her seat, before standing up and snatching all of the photos up, throwing them back in the manila folder and picked all the files up from the table and held them over her head dramatically. A single photo slid out of the file, because of Mai's sudden action and slowly floated down to the floor, sliding a little to the right of Mai, landing gracefully at Naru's feet, the white back facing upward at him, catching his attention.

"Hey Mai! I think you gave me a papercut," Bou-san whined as he held his hand in front of her face.

Curiously, while ignoring the fighting between his team members, Naru swiftly bent down and retrieved the photo, turning it over as he straightened. His eyes widening ever so slightly as he looked at the photo in his hand, he felt his heart thump against his chest as a pleasant feeling washed over him, making him want to smile. But of course, his ever stoic mask gave nothing away.

"Good," was all Mai angrily huffed out, causing the monk to call her a brat.

"Of course, I needed those pictures, Mai-chan! I believe Big Hauss said that he wanted thorough research done on the descendants of the Takenawa clan," Yasuhara simply explained blissfully while pointing a finger at Naru while shrugging his shoulders.

Before Mai could react, she felt the files she held above her head being pulled away from her grasp. She turned around to see Naru standing beside her, his hand swiping the files from her. He sighed and moved to the monitors with the files in hand, including the folder that held all of Mai's photos, to Mai's dismay and Naru's amusement.

"Na-" Mai began, but was cut of by Lin's urgent sounding voice.

"Naru! It's Kinoshita-san. He's on the second floor, in the south wing hallway. He seems to be in distress," the usually quiet man said as he pointed to a monitor labeled 'Camera 8'. Everyone turned towards Lin startled, but only Mai and Naru ran over to the monitors to look.

There on the monitor, the view was from the end of the hallway where that large window that overlooked the Ume trees was, spanning down the hallway towards the top of the grand staircase. With the light shining in from behind the video recording device, a lone form lay on the ground of the hallway on the left side of the screen, close to the wall. All you could see was the top of his head with his arms wrapped over it protectively as if something was being thrown at him. Then in an instant his body was forcefully pushed into the wall a foot or two away, his body almost coming off the ground completely in that short distance.

"Monk," Naru called as he turned around.

"On it," Bou-san yelled as he ran out the door with Naru, Mai, and John on his heels.

Running up the steps and turning to their left, peering down the long hallway all they could see was Ryo lying face down on the ground, his back heaving from his labored breaths. The midday light shining brightly from the window at the end of the corridor made it difficult to see if he was severely injured or not.

"Ryo," Mai called out as she ran down the hallway towards the man.

"Mai, wait," Bou-san called after her as he followed.

Mai crouched down beside their client, placing a hand on his shoulder as she examined his face that was turned toward her. A slight shiver ran down her spine at the coldness in the air. His eyes instantly opened at the contact and he gave a weak smile.

When their eyes met, they both froze. Mai sucked a breath in sharply as the electricity between them from last night began to come back to life. Her heart began to beat faster as her hand moved on it's own towards his face, and gently, lovingly brushed his jet black hair out of his eyes. Her hand remained there as his smile grew, unconsciously both leaning in slowly towards the other. It was only for a moment, before Bou-san made it to them, but it felt like an eternity to Mai when she stared into Ryo's chocolate brown eyes.

"Kinoshita-san," Naru's cold voice snapping them out of the moment. Bou-san awkwardly looked between the two before he crouched down next to Mai.

Mai suddenly froze, feeling the cold air that was once lingering around them condense into what felt like a hand that rested on her shoulder. As the young woman shivered, she slowly turned to look down at her shoulder to see it vacant of a physical hand, yet the sensation was still there.

"He-" She began to say before the hand roughly jerked her back. Mai was pulled back with such force and speed, she didn't even register what was happening. The men in the hallway watched with wide eyes as Mai flew backwards, her arms flailing in front of her while on foot was in the air and the other lightly dragged on the ground.

Mai's back hit the wall with a hard thud and a loud crack from her skull. Just to the right of her spine the protruding mold of a door frame struck her, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She gasped as her vision blurred for a moment, sparks exploding in front of her eyes from the rattling of her brain.

The men yelling her name seemed to be muted by the ringing in her ears as she slumped down, wheezing and coughing. Naru was the first to be at her side, kneeling down beside her with a glare fixed over his eyes. John followed him and kneeled on her other side, while Bou-san helped Ryo up as both watched in shock. The frigid air that hung in the hallway seemed to warm up.

"Can you breathe," Naru asked, but was ignored as Mai grasped at her chest. She was bent over gasping in between her coughing, her eyes wide. John simply rubbed her back, his hand moving back and forth across her shoulders.

"Mai, are you alright," John tried to politely ask, but was ignored like Naru as the girl simply continued to cough and gasp for air, her hands clutching at her chest.

Her lungs felt tight, as if they were closed off. She couldn't get any air in no matter how hard she gulped in the air around her. Her heartbeat began racing with the lack of oxygen mixed with her growing panic. She couldn't get a word of help out and it seemed as if everything around her was beginning to blur as her head spun and became light headed. She shook and her mind went blank as fear and panic took hold of her, not even registering that all eyes were on her.

"Mai, can you breathe," Naru repeated angrily, his voice was even more harsh which made his question sound more like a growl. Once again he was ignored, and he hated being ignored. Especially when it was by his assistant who he wasn't sure if she was on her way to dying or not.

With a small growl of frustration, Naru placed a hand on her lower back and a hand on her shoulder and swiftly straightened her up so he could get a look at her properly.

When she finally straightened she gasped, and drew in a huge, shaky breath. A few tears escaped her eyes and slid down her cheeks as her body relaxed a little, her glazed over distant stare pointed wildly up at the ceiling.

"Idiot, just breathe slowly," Naru harshly instructed, his voice a little softer when he saw that she was at least somewhat breathing now. She shakily nodded at him as she rested her head back against the wall/door frame and closed her eyes to focus on just her breathing. Her shaky hands still clutched tightly at the material that covered her racing heart. Her boss withdrew his hands from her and observed her closely.

"Mai, what happened," Bou-san asked as he stood, helping Ryo to his feet as well.

"I.. just felt..a..a han..hand on my..shoulder," she managed to say between her short breathes. Her chest heaving with her panting and her throat and lungs burning.

"Can you walk? I'd feel better talking about this back at base and out of here," John said as he looked down at the girl who just smiled back at him and nodded. John smiled and offered his hand to her which she gratefully took, but was surprised when another hand was offered to her from her right. She turned to see Naru offering his hand to her, his eyes downcast so she couldn't see the emotions of anger, frustration, concern, and panic still coursing through his eyes.

She took his hand as well and they helped her stand to which Naru immediately let go and walked to Ryo.

"Thanks guys," Mai panted while smiling at the concerned men. John didn't let go of her hand, but simply tightened his grip.

"If you'd like, since you're still a little shaken, I'll help you back to base," the young priest suggested with a small smile.

"That'd be great. Thanks, John."

"Don't mention it!" As they both smiled at each other, Mai draped her arm over John's shoulders as his wrapped around her waist. Mai mentally noted how surprised she was by John's slightly large yet soft hands, how gentle and soothing they were. It just made her love the kind australian even more. He had always been like an older, caring brother to her and she felt he added that soothing and understanding personality to their ghost hunting family.

"Hey Ryo, are you alright," Mai asked as she turned her attention back to their reason for rushing up here.

"Ah, I should be asking you that! I only feel light headed and my arm feels a bit bruised, but I think I'm alright save for a few scratches," he faintly chuckled.

"Kinoshita-san, if you feel up to it, I would like for you to come back to the base and answer a few questions," Naru stated with a cold glare.

"Ah, yes that'll be fine, Shibuya-san. Just give me a moment to freshen up and I shall be down there shortly," Ryo said contently, brushing off the glare and with that Naru nodded before turning on his heel and stalking off back to base.

Though as he turned his eyes flickered for a second to John's hand on Mai's thin waist. Her shirt had ridden up a bit and a few of his fingertips rested on her pale, bare skin. As Naru turned his back towards them and walked away, he inwardly growled.

He is a priest. He is her friend. He is celibate. I know all this, yet it still bugs me. Perhaps, it is because of the possibility. The possibility of him being with her, he is still a young male. Many priests much wiser and experienced than he have broken that same oath of celibacy for a multitude of reasons, why is he any different? He is a charming, kind, young man with, at least to the japanese striking features that are considered attractive, even by western standards. Naru thought bitterly, not necessarily towards the priest, but towards the possibility of him..

Naru's steps down the stairs faltered for a moment before continuing as he thought. The possibility of him what? Stealing Mai from me? You cannot lose what you don't have. Yes, she is technically nothing more than my assistant and friend to the untrained eye. However, I don't want any other man to hold her.

Briefly pausing before he reaches the door to the base, he sighs as he hears Mai's yelling voice, no doubt complaining about him. He smirked then sighed again. This is a load of rubbish. I can't think about this right now. And with that, he walked through the door.

…

Ryo gave one last smile towards Mai and then left to his room, leaving Mai, John, and Bou-san to walk back to base.

"Jeez, what is with Naru?! The guy was just attacked, and all Naru does is glare and demand him to answer some questions," Mai fumed, still a little breathy as she hobbled along the hallway towards the stairs with John supporting her partially.

"I suppose he figures if we finish this case as soon as possible, then that'll be more productive," John politely guessed, trying to appease the short fiery girl that he held pressed against his side.

"And I guess with the way you were getting pretty close to the guy may have ticked Naru off a bit. Mix that with the fear of you getting attacked and you've got yourself one hell of a Naru tirade," Bou-san said as they began descending the stairs, Naru already long gone. Mai's head snapped up to look at the monk.

"What do you mean," she asked, slipping down a marble step since she wasn't looking where she was going, causing John to panic for a second. His free hand shot out to grab her shoulder, wrapping the girl in his arms and pulling her into his chest. They both blushed as he steadied her, before releasing the arm around her shoulders. Though after that John kept the arm around her waist tight in fear that she would trip again.

"Sorry, thanks," she smiled apologetically, and John returned it while thinking that he couldn't blame their boss for always dogging Mai about paying attention and being safe.

"Ah well, if you don't see it then I guess there's nothing we can do to aid the blind," the monk cryptically said as he dramatically sighed.

"Huh? I don't get it! Tell me, Bou-san," Mai whined as they made it off the rest of the stairs safely and rounded the corner towards the base.

"I can't! That's the rule," Bou-san sang as he made sure to stay out of Mai's range of motion, she tends to grab him when he annoys her. Mai's heart lightly fluttered at what the meaning behind the monk's words could be.

"Rule..? But what's the point of mentioning it, if all you'll do is tease me?! John, do you know," Mai's head spun to look at John who turned to her. A blush forming on his cheeks at their close proximity and the sudden attention of an answer he very well knew yet didn't feel appropriate to tell.

"Uh, it's uh-" John's attention was nabbed by the dirty blonde haired bassist behind Mai waving his hands in the air and shaking his head from side to side as he mouthed the words 'No! Don't tell her!'

"It's uh- the rule..? I'm sorry, Mai," the young priest gave an apologetic smile as the girl who was wrapped in his arm pouted, giving him what the team had dubbed, her "lost kitten" face. Her cinnamon eyes were big and pleading, her cheeks slightly puffed, her lower lip was plumped out just a bit and quivering as she gave a small, innocent smile.

She never did the look intentionally, it was just a natural reaction for her. However, it worked almost all of the time. Especially on John. While the other's could put up some form of weak defiance before giving in, the naive and kind hearted man usually crumbled and caved immediately.

John gulped and began to blush and sweat, but was saved by Bou-san cutting in.

"It's the rule, Mai! You're just gonna have to live with that! Maybe you should ask Naru since we're at the base," Bou-san rushed the words as he opened the door and pushed the pair in, praying Mai would put away her dangerous lost kitten look.

"Hey, are you alright," Ayako asked as she and Yasuhara stood and walked to them as they entered the base.

Mai simply waved and John helped her sit down on the couch near the armrest. When John had let her go, Mai realized just how much John was supporting her weight, how heavy her body felt and how tired she was.

"I'm fine, just had the wind knocked out of me," the young girl lazily laughed off the concern and thanked John who sat beside her. Mai's eyes swiftly fleeted towards her raven haired boss who was sitting at the monitors looking through the files Yasuhara had brought, partially turned towards her.

He really is quite handsome no matter what he does.. Mai thought as she looked at what ever parts of his face were turned towards her. She took in his perfectly imperfect hair that fell just over the tips of his ears and eyes, his bored looking sharp, deep blue-grey eyes, his lips-

Mai's gazing was interrupted by the door to the base opening with a bang, making everyone aside from Naru and Lin jump.

There in the doorway stood the young maid that Mai had come to know as Maid-san. The maid's eyes scanned the room, searching and finally found Mai sitting on the couch, her green eyes glew from behind her purple framed glasses.

"Taniyama-sama! There you are," the eccentric blonde chimed as she bounced over to Mai and fluidly squeezed herself in the small space between Mai and the armrest of the couch. Maid-san wrapped her arms around the brunette's neck causing the girls to be completely flushed up against each other's sides. Mai, being used to a lot of physical contact from her school friends and Bou-san just accepted the tight hug around her neck and placed a hand on the maid's arm that crossed over her chest.

"What's with that honorific," Bou-san amusedly asked as he observed the two girls.

"Hello Maid-san," Mai smiled over at the girl who was beginning to grow on her.

"I came to tell everyone that lunch is ready in the dining room! I was also hoping I could talk with you privately soon since you gave me such wise advice! And I wanted to hear the rest of your story since you blushed when I asked if you had kissed or been seen naked by your lover bo-" the enthusiastic foreign woman was cut off by Mai's hand clamping over her mouth, a deep blush instantly heating up the brunette's cheeks.

"Mai? Giving wise advice? Since when," Ayako snorted as she smirked and crossed her arms.

"Lover?" Masako questioned, her eyebrows high on her forehead.

"Kissed?! Been seen naked?!" Bou-san gawked in horror at the two seated girls.

"Taniyama-sama, huh? My, it seems Mai must be very cognizant of something. I wonder what it is, aye Mai-sama," Yasuhara teased as he smiled a mischievous smile at the girl in question who grimaced.

No one other than Lin seemed to notice Naru's head slightly turned towards the girls, and how his eyes flicked towards them as well at the last sentence the maid had spoken. His sharp blue orbs only narrowing at the maid's next words.

"Oh! Is this your boss," Maid-san blurted coyly, ignoring the team's questions as she leaned forward and looked at John who was sitting on the other side of Mai.

John simply blinked and nervously laughed. Mai's head spun around to look at John, then Naru whose eyes bore into hers with an unreadable look in them.

"No! Uh, you said lunch was ready, right?! We should go," Mai nervously urged everyone, the blush on her cheeks seeming to only deepen. With little convincing they began to shuffle out of the room.

"Maid-san, we can talk after lunch, okay? In private," Mai promised, still very much worried that the maid would say something embarrassing while everyone else was around. The maid simply smiled excitedly and nodded before skipping out of the room to guide everyone to the dining room.

Mai let out a sigh and relaxed against the couch, her eyes closing as she threw her head back over the back of the couch with a sigh of relief and exhaustion. Hearing the soft click of the door closing, she began to drift to sleep when a deep but soft spoken voice broke the silence.

"Why must you feel the need to sleep all the time," the attractive voice said from directly above her. Cinnamon eyes shot open to stare into blue ones. He was standing behind the couch and leaning over her.

"Ah, Naru! I thought you had left too! I'm just feeling a little tired after what happened in the hallway is all," Mai replied as she gave him a bright smile, her head still thrown back and looking up at him. Her body had felt too fatigued to even move away. He stared at her warm yet wan smile for a minute before straightening and walking around the couch, her head lifting up to watch him.

"If you're tired then take a nap," he said as he moved to sit at the monitors, his black notebook in his hand.

"Hey Naru, you should go to lunch. It smells good," the girl sitting on the couch yawned as she got comfortable on the couch, still watching him her eyes softening. Her eyes beginning to droop as she stared lazily at his handsome form while her head lulled to the side.

"I'm not hungry," was all he said, his voice as emotionless as ever, yet not cold or harsh.

"Hmm, you should be. You work so much.. So much.." Mai mumbled as she finally succumbed to sleep, her body going limp.

Mai's caring words and a soft and muted thump drew Naru's eyes towards the sleeping girl who had collapsed on her side on the couch.

The man's blue-grey orbs watched the girl's peaceful sleep, her shoulder rising with her deep breaths. One arm protruded from underneath her small body and dangled over the edge of the couch while the other arm laid in front of her and was bent so her hand rested in front of her face on the cushion. Her hip pressed into the couch cushion and her legs were bent slightly and dangled off the piece of furniture. After a moment of a small internal battle, he stood and moved to stand in front of her.

Her short hair was strewn haphazardly around her face in a halo of chestnut locks, some of it covering her cheeks and eyes.

Slowly and with a gentle hand, Naru brushed his fingertips across her cheek, pushing the hair away from her face. His fingers steadily trailed up her face to her temples and forehead to brush her bangs out of her closed eyes. The way her abundant and bare black eyelashes fanned seamlessly over the tops of her cheeks looked soft, he absent mindedly burned the image into his mind. For some reason, although it was an insignificant detail usually that he never payed attention to on other people, when it came to Mai, it was a new and undiscovered detail of her visage that he so desperately wanted to become acclimated with. He stayed looking at her serene face, his fingers lingering on her soft skin. Slightly awkwardly and testingly, he trailed the backs of his fingers down her cheek and traced her jaw. Like a scientist making observations of his test subject, he traced along her jaw and chin carefully, soaking up every bit of information about her skin he could. Finally, hypothesizing what it would feel like, he traced a line to her lips. He made the observation that they felt more like flower petals that have been warmed up by the midday sun rather than a part of a human's anatomy. Steady and cool fingers feathered over her warm lips, afraid that if he pressed too hard, her delicate skin would crumble and break beneath the rough pads of his fingers. Her tantalizingly pink lips were parted ever so slightly and he could feel her warm breath blowing against his hand, tempting him to lean in and feel them on his own lips.

As his curious fingers lingered against her soft and moistened lips, his eyes trailed over the rest of her. He then noticed that apparently when she had fallen over, her skirt flipped up higher on her thigh. If anyone were standing by the armrest by her thigh, they would get a clear shot of her underwear.

The stoic man's eyebrows furrowed as he frowned, his heartbeat rising at the exceedingly tempting situation he found himself in. His fingers withdrew from her warm lips and reached for the hem of her skirt. Fighting his own inner demons, he swiftly grabbed the material and slowly pulled it down her thigh while his fingers skimmed over her skin. All Naru could think of was how soft, warm, and incredibly smooth her legs were. He wondered how any human being could possibly be this soft and unintentionally alluring.

How can a girl who is as inept as she look so extremely appetizing even as she sleeps? The young man thought as his eyes hungrily drank in every bit of the image of her sleeping form, storing the charming sight in his mind.

I have never been effected by anyone like this before, and yet she's not even aware of it.

His hand lingered on her thigh much longer than necessary. Giving in slightly to the enticement of her skin, he rested his entire palm on her thigh, enjoying the feel of her warmth. A feeling of pride and some other pleasant feeling, adoration maybe washed over him as he watched her body react to his touch, goosebumps formed on her legs and arms as she gave a sigh of content. Then the image from this morning flooded through his mind. The sight of her in nothing, but a towel. Quickly snapping out of it and berating himself he withdrew his hand, but was still dissatisfied with how short her skirt was.

Then again, it was because of said short skirts that he was granted the rare glimpses of her underwear every now and then. It was a shameful guilty pleasure of his that he would be too proud to admit to anyone that he had given in to such a lowly pleasure, yet he could not help himself when it was her.

He sighed, feeling his control breaking ever so slightly as he continued to stare at the young woman's exposed legs. Slipping of his black jacket, he gingerly covered the girl's lower half and bottom with it. He was thankful that she was rather petite, much smaller than he so that the jacket covered more of her body.

Pleased with his work, he let out the breath he wasn't aware he was holding in then retreated back to the monitors. Ignoring the ache of hunger in his stomach he returned to reading and watching the cameras. He wasn't about to let the girl who attracted danger like a magnet sleep defenselessly alone.

…

Mai's POV:

Warm.

I feel warm. I must've fallen asleep when talking to Naru. He's probably annoyed that I did. I should go apologize..

I look around to see only darkness. The air seems stale and musky.

Huh.. I must've slept until really late. It's so dark, I can't see a thing! Why isn't anyone in the base with me? Even Naru and Lin aren't here. I should go to my bed..

With it being so dark I had to rely on my other senses. I noticed that I was lying fully on my back. Whatever I was lying on was hard and warm. I recognized the surface underneath me to be wood.

Funny.. I thought I fell asleep on the couch in HQ. M-Maybe I just rolled off and onto the floor?

I moved my arms to stretch out from my sides by was restricted by more wood. A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach began to fester as my hands traced small line patterns dug into the wood. They were thin lines that my fingers fit perfectly into. There were several of these lines carved into the wood duly, some deep and some shallow. Some of the lines went diagonally down towards my feet, while some went straight. I mentally noted that they never went sideways.

That's when I felt it. My own warm breath being just barely rebounded back into my face. I swallow whatever spit was left in my now dry throat and slowly reach my hand in front of my face. My fingertips hit solid wood a few feet above me. It was warm and like the wood that was on either side of me, there were several long, thin, and dull lines carved into the solid wood. I traced my fingers through them, the lines matching perfectly to my digits.

No.. These were made from.. fingers..

Trying to suppress the feeling of dread, I try to listen, see if I could hear anything to give away where I was.

A heartbeat. Was it my own? It was certainly beating rapidly in time with mine.

Another sound softly caressed my keen ears. Muted ticking of a clock through the wood around me. It was slow and low, probably a grandfather clock.

Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...

I sighed. That means I'm not buried alive underground. Good. But that still begs the question: where am I? I then tried to wiggle down only to have my feet hit more, what I assume to be wood.

My heartbeat rising as the realization of being confined in a small space began to dawn on me.

I shivered when I felt a tiny fuzzy thing brush my leg. I flinched away from the unknown creature that was touching my calf. I took a deep breath. Bugs or little critters were the least of my problems. The clock continued to tick somewhere around my wooden confinement.

Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...

I could feel my underarms start to warm up as my breathing began to shorten, the warm, stale air around me begin even warmer and humid. I can't panic. I know I shouldn't panic, but I couldn't stop the fear from slowly creeping through my very being.

I try to raise my hands above my head into the darkness and to my delight I feel nothing but air. I turn over onto my stomach, scrapping my elbows and knees against the confining wood around me and try my best to peer into the darkness. But to no avail, it was completely black.

Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...

Thump.

I freeze. That was a sound.. from within the small space I am in. And it wasn't me.

My eyes widen. The sweat began to pool in my armpits and on my stomach, back, and neck. My heart beating relentlessly against the wood my chest was pressed onto. I stared into what I guessed wasn't too big of a space ahead of me. My breath hitched in my throat and dry throat began to ache.

The little fuzzy creature slowly crept towards my upper body along the side my leg. The fuzz of its small body prickling my warm skin. I felt it pause, and a tentative fuzzy stub poked my knee. It was too small to determine if it was an animal's foot or a paw or an insect, but the bottom of the stub felt rough and tugged at my skin like bristles. The fuzzy stub poked a few more times before another one joined it, both the stubs resting fully on the side of my knee. Then a third fuzzy stub joined, it was trying to climb onto me.

Without breaking my eyesight from the dark abyss in front of me, I gave my knee a rough shake. The fuzzy creature moved away from me silently.

I listened intently, my ears straining to hear even the softest of possibilities.

Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...

I laid frozen to my spot. Trying to hear something, anything other than the incessantly off putting ticking of the clock.

Maybe I had imagined that sound. It's too quiet, if it was real then I would've been more sure of it. For now I need to figure out where I am. Had someone moved me while I was asleep? No, that can't be right. I would've noticed, I would've woken up. Then that means.. this is a dream? But I didn't see Gene. I can't b- My thoughts were interrupted by another sound. This time louder than the last.

Thump.

Again, it came from in front of me. My heartbeat raced as I felt the sweat at the hairline on my temples slowly trickle down past my sideburns and onto my jaw. My palms that were pressed against the wood below me clenched.

Thump. Shhhhh. Thump.

Was that.. Was something dragging? It sounded like a hard object was being dragged against the wood. I could feel the vibrations underneath me. Whatever it was that was being dragged was heavy. And it was being dragged towards me.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with an intense and urgent fear.

I'm not alone.. Someone's here..I need to get out. I need to wake up!

I listened into the silence once more.

Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock...

I absently felt the fuzziness brush lightly against me, my thigh this time.

Shhhhh. Thump.

The dragged object was closer now. But was accompanied by a rattling and cracking sound. It sounded like the juggling a pair of dice. Hard, solid, and smooth. The cracking sound was what made my heart stop though. It sounded as if you were cracking your knuckles or neck only louder and deeper. It was a sickening sound that made my stomach flip.

Thump. Shhhhhhh.

"Guhguhguhh.." a low guttural gurgling noise sounded from in front of me, much closer than I expected. It was almost a human voice.

Wh-what is that?! I thought as I winced and tensed. The fuzzy creature at my thigh slowly creeping up the side of my body.

I couldn't think. I couldn't speak. I just listened to the sound of what could only be conceived as teeth chomping loudly in front of me. The chomping teeth were joined by the deep cracking and rattling.

Shhhh. Thump. Shhhhhh.

"Guhguhguh.." the low gluggle continued as the dragging sound drew ever so closer to my face.

Th-that is definitely a person's voice! I tucked my arms closer to my sides as I stared in fear, waiting for whatever was dragging towards me to finally make an appearance. The vibrating from the dragging creature grew stronger as it neared.

"Mmmmmaah guhguhg.." the voice moaned as it clacked its teeth hard together again. The strained guttural moan was closer now, so close that I could reach out and touch whatever it was.

Naru.. please.. help.. I weakly thought, transfixed in place by the sheer fear I felt in my heart. My wide, fear filled eyes prickling with the threat of tears as my breathing was almost to the point of hyperventilation. The back of my throat was becoming sore from the lack of hydration as the sweat trickled down from my hairline, trailing into my eye.

I felt the small fuzzy creature now slowly brushing against my forearm, all the while it had a little fuzzy stub poking and prodding my skin as it crept forward.

A foul odor of rotting meat hit me. It was thick and muggy from the warmth of the small space. I could feel the thick bog resonating from the creature. The nauseating scent wrapped around me, forcing me to taste it in my mouth, making me gag.

Shhhhhhh. Thump. Thump.

"Mmmmmaah guhg.." the voice gluggled from right in front of me. There was a raspy, quiet sound coming from it, as if it were struggling to breathe. Every few seconds, it would blow warm, muggy, and humid air into my face. The rancid smell invading my senses much more than before.

Then silence. It felt as though my heart stopped. I held my breath as my wide eyes stared in front of me, frozen with fear. The only sound in the small coffin of an area we were trapped in was the raspy breaths the creature took and the ticking of the muted clock.

Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock… Ti-...

The sound of the clock. It stopped mid tick. Leaving me with nothing but the sound of my heartbeat and the creature's strained, pain filled breathing.

Help.. I need to wake up.. I thought as I the anticipation grew within me..

That's when I felt it.

My cheek. A cold small stub poked deeply into my cheek. The darkness didn't allow me to see anything, and I wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse.

The cold stub retreated and then jabbed again, this time a little harder. I winced and gasped. The poking thing retreated into the darkness. Then I felt about four of the little stubs, but this time they spanned out over my cheek becoming elongated.

F-Fingers..? The cold, long objects rested on the skin of my face. Then I felt one on the underside of my chin. Five more long and cold objects cupped my other cheek as they began to caress my skin..

They are fingers…But the-they feel like.. like cold stone.. I could feel my heartbeat rise even more as the realization hit me.

These fingers felt like stone, because they didn't have any warm and soft flesh on them.

"Mmmaaah guhguh… Mmmaaaiii guhguhg…"

My name.. It said.. My name.. Something in me snapped as I listened to the creature chomp its teeth together again.

"AHHHHHHH NOOO! SOMEONE! NARU! HELP ME PLEASE!" I screamed as I ducked away from the creature's grasp. I try to bend my knees to the side and scooch down towards my feet away from the bones touching me.

"Mmmmmmaaaaaiiii guhguhg nnnnnuu.." the guttural gluggle moaned again.

Shhhhhh. Thump.

I felt the vibrations as the creature dragged after me. I pressed my back against the wood beside me. My hips dug into the wood as the tears fell from my closed eyes. I wedged myself as far away from the creature, but could not go anywhere else. The warmth from the wood seeming to radiate through my jacket, heating my body up more.

With nowhere left to go, turning to lay on my side I began frantically beating my hands against the wood above me.

I felt the little fuzzy creature at the back of my neck now underneath my jacket collar, with two little stubs poking at the sweaty nape of my neck underneath my hair. A shiver ran down my spine as I desperately begged myself to wake up.

Please wake up! Please! Wake up! Wake up! Naru, wake me up! Please!

I felt a cold and hard hand grasp my wrist tightly, stopping my hand in mid air. And I felt some of my hair being pulled from my head. I let out a blood curdling scream as my head shot up to look in front of me. And there, finally I got a faint glimpse of the creature.

A faint outline of an all white, round head was mere inches away from me. Two black holes bore into my eyes as the teeth clacked together once more.

My heart stopped. The tiny fuzziness creeping slowly along the back of my neck.

"NO!" I let out another scream as I shake my captured wrist violently, desperate to get away from the creature's cold grasp.

I shoot sitting straight up, my eyes searching wildly around me. The red light from the sunset filling the space all around me.

The hand holding onto my wrist had tightened, and I immediately shook my wrist forcibly and moved to pry the hand off. But when I looked down, I realized the hand was much bigger and had flesh on it now.

My head snapped up to see the SPR team members staring at me in a mixture of shock, horror, and concern.

My heartbeat was racing and my breathing was labored as I shakily look back down at what I had been laying on, the couch in the base where I had fallen asleep.

I noticed Naru was sitting on the edge of the couch, his hip pressed against mine as he stared at me with his eyebrows furrowed. One of his hands was crossed in front of me to rest on the back of the couch while the other still wrapped around my wrist.

It… It was Naru.. the one holding my wrist..

I then suddenly felt a tickling at the back of my neck. I jumped, causing Naru to flinch slightly. I snapped my hand to slap the back of my neck, only to realize it was only my hair.

Pulling my hand back, I realized that I was drenched in sweat and swiped at my forehead and at my collar bone and base of my throat where the sweat had pooled. I then rubbed the part of my head where I felt the creature pull some of my hair out, the skin sore.

"Mai, are you alright," Bou-san asked, his voice was low and soft as he stepped closer.

For some reason I couldn't calm myself down. My breathing was still heightened to near hyperventilation as I continued to shake. I dropped my head down to stare at my lap, noticing I had a black jacket strewn over my lower half.

"Mai," Naru's deep voice reverberated beside me. I turned my gaze towards him and realized just how badly I wanted to be alone with him, how badly I just wanted to hug him. I felt safe with him and didn't want everyone's eyes on me. I just wanted to sit together alone with Naru.

What is wrong with me..?

Something in my eyes seemed to convey my silent wish to him, because he swiftly turned around and immediately assigned chores to everyone.

"Hara-san and Matsuzaki-san, do a walk through. John and Bou-san, I want you two to go around and take readings. I want accurate and thorough readings of EMF with the K 2 meter, measurements of each room, and take the geophone to detect any unseen vibrations. Also, take the EVP recorder with you as well and have them on at all times. Yasu, I would like for you to locate Kinoshita-san and begin investigation on what he knows and experiences, I have written down a few questions I would like him to answer on that piece of paper by the monitors."

"But what about Mai," Bou-san challenged, sounding a little concerned and angry.

"Don't worry, I will handle, Mai. Now get to work," Naru snapped, no doubt throwing a glare towards them and swiftly turned back to me. Bou-san gave a low and short growl before following the rest of the team out. Lin simply sat silently at the monitors, eyes still watching.

"You had a dream," Naru simply deduced as his sharp blue eyes cut into me, analyzing every little movement I made.

I merely nodded, gulping heavily as I lowered my gaze to his shoulder. The tears flowed from my eyes once more as I remembered the image of the barely visible skull in front of my eyes. The sound of the dragging.. And the putrid smell. My still slightly shocked and exhausted mind piecing it together.

That was a corpse.. touching me..

I could feel Naru's and Lin's stares on me, but I just wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep dreamlessly.

Naru abruptly stood up, letting go of my wrist and for some reason that caused me even more anxiety. I quickly reached up and grabbed his sleeve, the fear once again flowing through my veins.

"Nn-" I couldn't finish the word, but instead I merely stared up at him pitifully, silently begging that he didn't leave me. I felt embarrassed and ashamed, gazing pathetically up at him. My brows pinched together as I attempted to contain my tears and my mouth slightly open in a frown as I lightly panted, still affected from the dream.. no nightmare. I had never begged anything of Naru, I had always tried to never show vulnerability to anyone, especially my cold and narcissistic boss. But right now, I couldn't help myself. Something in me needed him there beside me to mitigate the fear and uneasiness in my heart.

His expression unreadable, Naru seemed to be searching my eyes for something, before his own deep blue eyes narrowed and offered his pale, slender hand to me. I blinked and slipped my shaky and clammy palm into his. In one motion he had pulled me up, his pull was firm and strong yet gentle. I yelped and my knees gave a little under my weight. Wrapping his arm around my waist while still grasping my hand, he straightened me up.

Pressing me against his warm side tightly, he steered me towards the door, forcing my wobbly legs to just barely work. I glanced up at him questioningly, but he just kept walking out of the base and up the stairs. Ignoring my silent question as he walked me through the house, or rather he practically carried me.

Even in my shaken and slightly out of it state, I couldn't help but be over aware of his supportive hand on my hip, pressing and holding onto me through my clothes. His other hand still held mine own, his long fingers wrapping around to rest on the back of my hand. Although his grip was tight, it never hurt.

Finally we made it to the room where I was staying, he opened the door and walked us in. Closing the door behind us, he walked me to the bed.

Naru gingerly pulled back the sheer, rosy canopy that surrounded the bed and sat me down on the neatly made fluffy comforter before sitting beside me.

I scooched further onto the bed and pulled my knees to my chest. Naru simply turned towards me, his knee coming to rest on the bed in front of him. We both sat there staring at each other. I watched as Naru's already naturally thin patience had begun to wear against his will. His eyes that were once soft while looking at me down at base earlier, were beginning to sharpen again at me as his eyebrows knitted together, the wheels in his head turning probably a thousand miles a minute. He looked like he was almost struggling to be gentle. My heart softened at the observation. He was clearly trying to be patient with me, knowing I'm already shaken.

Naru really is such a caring man.. Even if he doesn't want to admit it. He's trying.. I thought affectionately.

"Stop that," Naru demanded, his voice back to the usual emotionlessness. I blinked.

"Huh?"

"Your lip. Stop biting it." His blue-grey eyes flickered to my lips to emphasize his demand. My eyes widened. I hadn't noticed I was doing it. His sharp eyes stayed on my lips until I liberated my bottom lip from my teeth and licked it with my tongue.

I watched as his eyes lingered on my lips just a bit longer, his eyelashes fluttering when his gaze returned to me eyes.

"Sorry.." I mumbled, but he merely continued to bury me with his stare.

"Can you tell me about your dream?"

My breath hitched a bit in my throat and I gulped, my throat dry. Naru's eyes narrowed at my actions and I nodded.

"I-I was in a dark and cramped place surrounded by wood that was carved by someone.. someone's fingers.."

…

Wonder what photo Naru had picked up! ;)

How did you like it?! Please review and tell me what you thought.

Ciao

-Nekothorn