Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt nor any of the characters- I just like to make them do random things for my own amusement.

Rated M for: gore, violent scenes, possible lemons in future chapters, and swearing.

"Talking" - 'Thoughts'

"Deamon/Spirit Talking" - 'Deamon/Spirit Thoughts'

Story: A Life Worth Sacrificing

Chapter Eight: Discovery

Mai screamed as she propelled herself forward, landing on the cool hard ground with a mean thud. Twisting herself into a ball, she let herself bawl. She couldn't remember the last time she cried so hard. She was torn between laughing hysterically, or just throwing things around her. She couldn't get the scene out of her head.

Panic swelled up in her chest, a needle like feeling. Her air was coming in loud pants, her hands pressed firmly against her breast bone trying to stop the horrid feeling.

"M-!"

All she could see was Karin's death over and over. How Hisashi tore into the little girl with no care at all. She watched as the blood poured from the ripped flesh of Karin's face. How the young girl laid across the ground, wheezing. The pain and fear in her eyes. The look before her eyes became dull and lifeless.

"Mai-!"

The way Hisashi repeatedly bashed the girls head into the floor even after her death. How he stood over the pile of bodies with a morbid smile, a cackling laughter ripped from his bloodied chest.

"MAI!"

How she couldn't stop Hisashi as he picked the bodies up one by one and chopped them into small little pieces. She watched as he buried the pieces- other than the heads and hearts- in the backyard. 'He wouldn't stop laughing. He wouldn't stop laughing. He wouldn't st-'

"MAI!"

Mai's head whipped towards the noise, her eyes wide with tears cascading down her flushed cheeks. She just wanted to forget what she saw, she didn't want to remember it. Feeling hands touch her face, she flinched away- making the person sigh.

Koujo was scared, no, he was frightened. Mai hadn't woken for eight hours now and her face was deathly pale, her lips raw, eyes building tears and pushing them past her thick eye lashes. He couldn't do anything. He sat by her, watching as she dreamt about whatever- it tore him to pieces watching his love in so much pain.

He watched as the young woman threw herself on to the floor, her head hitting the harsh wood. He stood, trying to get her to calm down. Watching as Mai curled up into a ball, her chest heaving with choked sobs- he tried to reach her.

"Mai!"

Still nothing happened, the girl was lost inside herself. Lost from their world. She was still curled up in a tight ball, her eyes pinched closed. Koujo tried again.

"Mai!"

She didn't twitch, not a single word of acknowledgement came from her mouth. Koujo felt torn, what was it he was suppose to do? She seemed to caught up in whatever she saw. Kneeling down by the frightened woman, he tried again.

"MAI!"

She seemed to hear him this time, but made no move to reach for him. She continued to stare at nothing, her sobs heart-wrenching.

"MAI!"

He reached forward, caressing her tear-stained cheeks. Feeling her flinch under his touch, he sighed. Placing his hands underneath her, he lifted her up. Moving back towards the couch he sat down, Mai pressed firmly against his chest. Koujo's hand reached up, dancing through her hair. Racking his nails against her scalp softly, he slowly continued to soothe her. Whispering sweet words to her deaf ears, hoping to give her some sort of comfort.

He was the only one in the room, having taken her to another room across from the base. 'The others should be asleep by now', he mused. Rocking the girl in his arms, he placed his cheek against her forehead. "Shhh, Mai. Shhhh, you're fine." He continued to murmur sweet nothings.

Mai felt her self being picked up and placed against a very hard and broad chest. Snuggling closer to the man, she smelt the shirt. 'Koujo.' She continued to cry, letting him hold her. She listened as he tried to placate her, but she couldn't stop crying. She didn't understand why this was worse than what she has seen before, but it was. Some how she knew that Hisashi had done something sick and twisted with the heads and hearts. The bloody symbol painted on the walls were important somehow. She just didn't know why.

Feeling the tears slowly coming to a stop, she felt drowsy. Lifting her arm up, she gently trailed her fingers down Koujo's face. "I-i'm f-fine Koujo." She whispered weakly. Her arms felt like jello and her body was aching in places she never knew to ache. Yawning loudly, she cuddled back up against the man- knowing full well he will take care of her, she drifted off to sleep.

Koujo smiled as he felt the girl finally succumb to sleep. Placing Mai closer to his chest he laid back against the couch, pulling her protectively against him. He was tired, having stayed up for the last 24 hours watching over Mai. Looking at the slumbering girls face, his lips twitched into a gently smile that he reserved for Mai only. "Sweet dreams, Mai." Leaning forward he kissed the girls forehead. His eyes shutting.

"Should we wake them up?"

Mai found her ears picking up random bits of conversations. Feeling the fog of sleep still hovering over her, she continued to lay where she was. Smiling in her sleepy state, she smelt Koujo. Cuddling up closer, her ears picked up Naru's voice.

"No. Let them sleep. Lin needs some sleep and Mai just got out of the hospital. If you are all done doing nothing, perhaps you could all go back to doing your jobs."

'How nice of him.' She thought happily, as sleep pulled her in once again.

"They've been out for a while. Should I wake them up for food?" Ayako questioned herself. She could feel her legs about ready to collapse. Without Lin or Mai around Oliver had been twice as hard on them than usual. Looking at the snuggling couple, she couldn't help but to smile. They both needed the sleep, but she (being the doctor and all) knew they needed some food in their stomachs.

Gently placing a hand on Mai's shoulder, Ayako whispered in the girl's ear. "Hey, Mai- sweetie, time to get up." She continued to shake the girl. Feeling eyes on her, Ayako peered down at Lin. Startled Ayako jumped back, her hand on top of her chest. "Dear god Lin! You scared the living hell out of me!" She snapped. Watching as the man blinked listlessly up at her, an eyebrow raised.

"I will wake her up. You can leave." He felt his shiki swarming the area, all feeling a bit anxious. "How long have we been sleeping?"

Ayako frowned, her hands planted on her hips. An annoyed look crossing her face briefly before she answered the insensitive man. "It's 12:15 in the afternoon. You have been sleeping for a while. Be glad you got the sleep. Naru has been quite short with us."

Lazily turning so he was propped up on his elbows. His eyebrows both raised into his hair-line. "Why didn't someone wake us up sooner?"

"Naru wouldn't let us. He said you both needed some sleep." She huffed, looking at her nails. "Be thankful that we are nice and let you both sleep. We had to do all the running around and grunt work." Pouting, Ayako turned towards the door. Stepping out into the hall, she looked back at the man and woman. "Lunch is ready. You best get some food in you." With that she shut the door none to gently.

Mai blinked back the blurry images, her mind focusing on the muddled conversation around her. Feeling a deep rumble from where her left ear laid, she listened to the heartbeat and voice of Koujo. Not wishing to make it known that she was awake, she continued to listen with only a half ear.

Watching the fiery red-head shut the door, Lin sprawled back against the couch. Carding his fingers through Mai's hair, he gently spoke to her. "Mai, we better get up and get some food." He watched amused as Mai shook her head and snuggled closer to him. "Mai..." His lips twitched, the hand in her hair never stopping its motion. "Come on."

Mai sighed, pushing herself up. "But I dun wanna." She yawned, her eyes blinking down at Koujo. "Can't we just lay here all day?" She didn't want to get up and face the music. She knew Naru and Koujo both were going to ask her questions on what happened and she was more than happy to put it off. 'Forever.'

"Come on. We need food and you and I are going to have a long conversation on what happened last night." He watched her eyes dull at his words.

Mai sighed as she stood up from Koujo's warmth. "Food it is."

It was after lunch and she was sitting on the couch, everyone staring at her. She had just got done retelling her dream to all of them. The atrocities that were committed and carried out in the same house they were investigating and sitting in now. She could feel the worried glances Koujo, Bou-san, and Ayako were shooting her, but she ignored them. She just wanted to forget the horrid vision and get on with her day. She still needed to do some research on deamons and her vision. If things continued on the way they were- she was never going to get any studying done.

Sighing, Mai glanced at Naru. He was in his thinking pose, his hands intertwined beneath his chin and a dull look to his dark blue eyes. "Can I get the books I wanted to read? Since I am not allowed to leave the base?"

Naru nodded, his eyes resting on her. "You can go with Yasuhara to the public library, maybe you can find something that we couldn't."

Mai nodded, more than ready to get on the road. Glancing at Koujo from the corner of her eye, she found him frowning. "I will be fine Koujo." She whispered, her hand automatically reaching for his. Her fingers caressed the slightly calloused hand, a grin on her face.

"What about the fact that the ghost can reach you as far as the hospital? It's too dangerous for you to go unprotected."

"Yasuhara will be with me and if we have any problems we will call. If you are so worried I could get a charm from Ayako? And I am pretty sure you will send one of your shiki with us anyways." She raised her eyebrow challenging him to refuse.

Koujo sighed not liking the idea, but knowing Mai was stubborn and would go with or without his permission. Looking over at Ayako he asked her to draw up a charm for Mai.

Ayako nodded, picking herself up off the couch she went to draw one up for the danger magnet.

Everyone seemed to be in a funk, or were just too preoccupied to encourage any conversation. The silence was broken again once Ayako returned with the charm. Handing the piece of paper to Mai, Ayako sat back down. "Now what?"

"Mai go with Yasuhara. Ms. Matsuzaki, Ms. Hara, Madoka go around the house and see if you can find anything that could help with the investigation. Takigawa, John you both will be with Lin and I." Hearing their orders every one got busy.

The library was stuffy and humid. The smell of books was irritating to her nose, but she would rather be here than at the house. Snapping another book closed, she sighed. Mai couldn't find any information on what she saw. She could still see the bloodied mark Hisashi drew on the walls inside the house. She couldn't place where she had seen them before. It was like a distant memory that you could only get glimpses of- never actually the full vision.

Reaching for another book, Mai let herself be drawn into the book. It was interesting on how many books this library offered about Deamons. How they are created- all the way to what kind of deamon and sealing. How to perform the rituals- everything. It sickened her on how people could just waltz into a library and get the information without any trouble. 'Though half of them are fake, still... some of the information is pretty legit.'

Turning the page again, her eyes widened. Right there on the page was a picture of the crudely drawn symbol she saw in her dream. As she read the page, her face lost color. Her pale skin was a sickening white. Her eyes flashed to the symbol again, a twisting in her gut telling her that what she was reading was true and more than likely the same book Hisashi read for his ritual.

'...A blood ritual to gain Satanic power. The symbol is used when sacrificing their victims. The blood ritual is usually used in rising a deamon or when one wants the power of Satan. If used incorrectly the individual performing the task will be consumed by hate and rage, causing the person to go insane. If used properly the man or woman will gain power beyond the gates of hell...'

Mai shuddered, her hands shaking. She couldn't believe anyone would want to do something so horrendous. Taking in a deep breath, she continued to read- jotting notes down every few sentences. 'The monstrosities people will do just for a little power. I wonder if he succeeded or not. Did he go insane or was he gone before he did the ritual?'

It wasn't until two hours later that Yasuhara found Mai surrounded by books. A look of pure terror painted on her face. Feeling edgy, Yasu placed his hand on Mai's shoulder- causing the younger woman to startle. "Hey, you okay? You look a bit sick." He worried over her health. It was only a day ago that she was released from the hospital. She shouldn't be under this much stress after everything that happened.

Mai jumped, feeling a hand on her shoulder. Looking up at Yasu she smiled. "I am fine. Just a bit freaked out by this book." She shivered, shutting the book roughly while standing up. "Time to go?" She questioned, picking up the books she gathered around her person from the last few hours of constant reading.

"Yeah. Did you get any information about the case?" He asked, helping her pick up the few books she couldn't carry with her. Looking at the title, Yasuhara's brow lifted. "The Book of Deamons?" He muttered the title out loud, confused. "Why are you looking at these books?" He questioned her, skimming the other titles and finding them to be all the same.

Mai stiffened, her eyes panicked. "U-h ah... well I just wanted to make sure on a few things. Nothing really interesting and nothing about the case." She was nervous, she didn't need him going to Naru with his suspicions about her studies. 'If he tells Naru.. I wont be able to save everyone.' Her gut was telling her she had to do this on her own. Not to get anyone else involved, unless she wanted them hurt or killed.

Yasuhara watched her, taking in the stiffened shoulders and her nervous behavior. "I don't believe you, but I will keep my mouth shut for now." He stated, frowning at Mai. 'She's hiding something from us, but what is it?'

Mai beamed up at Yasu, her eyes dancing. "Thanks. Shall we be getting back now? Naru is going to be wanting tea and is probably in a horrible mood." She giggled.

Yasuhara nodded, both walking towards the exit. "Yeah, Big Boss sure acts like a kid when he doesn't get his tea." They both laughed.

Yasuhara glanced out of the corner of his eyes, watching the lively expressions dance across Mai's face. She was talking about her school and friends and what they were planning doing on their next outings together. 'What are you hiding from us Mai? What do you know that we don't?'

'So she found the book. Perhaps it's time to show myself again to our pretty little ghost hunter.' The dark shadow followed the two- his cackle going unheard by Yasuhara and Mai.

"Come to me." Mai stopped mid step, her eyes wide and frightened. "Yasu, did you hear that?"

Yasuhara shook his head, looking around for anything that could possibly hurt his friend. "No. Nothing."

"Come to me, my sacrifice." Mai whimpered, grabbing Yasu's hand she forced herself to move forward. Quickening their pace. "We should hurry. I have a really bad feeling." Looking up at Koujo's shiki she found it racing in circles around them. Protecting them from any harm.

"Come to me or your friends die."