Prologue

As soon as she got through the door of her flat, her facade crumbled. She let the tears pour out of the brown pools that were her eyes and tried her best to keep her whimpers quiet so as not to alert her neighbours. She made herself walk to her bedroom where she promptly collapsed on to her bed. Curling herself into a ball she placed a pillow over her mouth so she could howl into it, and although it was against her will, she let the thoughts of that day consume her until she was rocked into a turmoil of ragged sleep. Naru's face haunted her dreams that night and his eyes pierced her straight through to her core, as if guaranteeing her already broken heart was smashed into unfixable pieces.

6 months later

Mai had decided that for her new year's resolution she would cheer up for her friends, she could tell that they were starting to get depressed themselves and she didn't want to cause trouble for anyone. She looked at herself in the mirror, right she decided, time for a change.

A further 6 months onward

She stared at the room. The curtains were shredded, the carpet was torn up from the floor and the coffee table had been thrown and smashed against a wall. The sofa had flipped over and there were little remains of anything else in the room. Had she really done this with her powers? She pulled her phone from her jeans pocket and called Monk with a slightly shaky voice.

Chapter 1

Present day

Mai Taniyama was nearly all grown up. She had grown her hair out so it now sat a couple of inches below her shoulders. Her style had changed from her comfy tomboy clothes to a more on trend fashion, she wore make up now but it was always natural, highlighting her brown amber eyes. At 18 she had just left college and was heading towards University this year. She was currently driving to Monks house for her daily psychic session, her powers had grown considerably in the last two years and she had asked monk to teach her how to control them.

She had stayed in touch with everybody after Naru's departure, phoning them up every now and then to catch up on each other's lives. Yasu didn't attend the same university as Mai but the buildings were close enough so they could go and grab lunch or study together. Masako had gotten over Naru rather speedily as she was now the proud girlfriend of a producers son, whenever they were together you could see how much they adored each other and their parents had both given the relationship their blessing. Ayako and Monk were still exactly the same however there was certainly a something going on. John now commuted from australia and still exorcised spirits on the side of his church duties. Turning right into a side road, Mai pulled up outside Monk's bungalow and grinned as she saw Ayako step out the front door . . .

7pm, The Corner (AN: this is the name of the restaurant Mai works at. I know it's lame but ya know, my creative thinking dried up)

Tucking the black tailored shirt into her black slim fit trousers, Mai proceeded to tie the small, equally black apron around her slim waist and closed her locker door before stepping out on the restaurant floor. "Tables 3, 9, 10, 16 and 21 please Mai" said the head waiter "Sure thing" Mai smile, walking over to greet her first table. Returning to the kitchen she gave the order before turning to do another table. She felt a sudden sensation of someone watching her and she turned, but the head chef was yelling at the cooks and they were obediently following his orders. She frowned. Exiting the kitchen she shrugged of the feeling and carried on with her work. Behind her a pair of unseen eyes vanished in the steam of the kitchen.

LineBreak-LineBreak-LineBreak

11:30pm The Corner Mai was feeling exhausted. She was also extremely unnerved. The feeling of being watched hadn't gone away all evening and she kept spinning around because of a presence she felt directly behind her. She tried her best to ignore it, seeking comfort in the fact that she was not alone at any time during the evening with all the customers and staff around. Contrasting the lively customers that had now left the classy dining area, Mai was now alone with less than a handful of staff and she was very aware of that fact.

"Um, Haruhi, have you felt like you've been watched this evening at all?" Mai asked turning to her work friend. Haruhi's eyes widened and nodded her head, her black hair bobbing in its pony tail as she did so.

"Yeah, I have! It's the strangest feeling, I keep seeing something out the corner of my eye as well or I'll think someone's behind me." she gushed.

"Really!? I thought that was only happening to me! Hey Takahiro!" A sleepy looking teen about Mai's age with great hair looked over towards them.

"Have you felt like you've been watched tonight?!" He stared back, slightly shocked, "Y-yeah I have. I've felt kinda strange all the time I've been here" They looked at each other, something spooky was going on.

"Hey Mai, didn't you use to work for a ghost hunter?" Haruhi questioned innocently.

" I did but he's in England now so he wouldn't be much use." She replied cooly, "I can ask my old colleagues if they could do something. Although we may just be over reacting" she tried to joke. Unsuccessfully.

They were standing together in a group now, deep in thought.

"Well it wouldn't hurt would it?" a voice asked making all three jump. Natsume closed the locker door that had been concealing her face. She smiled at them "and if Mai knows them then they would probably do it for free right? Besides, I'm really creeped out by it, I don't like being spied on at the best of times."

With that she bid them good night and left via the backdoor.

"She does have a point" Takahiro offered. "Hmmm. Well we'll ask the manager tomorrow night that way we can see if this is gonna keep occurring." Haruhi said, they agreed and prepared to leave together. They were now the last ones left in the buildings and they hurried to get out of it, the presence of someone watching their every move was gradually building up. Suddenly the light bulbs blew and the temperature started to drop.

They all froze and looked at each other.

"Whatever you do," Mai said calmly, "stay together and away from anything that could fall or fly at you."

They stood in a huddle with their backs to each other so that there was a pair of their eyes on every inch of the room. Mai felt a cold space to her left . . . Suddenly Haruhi flew across the room and landed in a heap against the wall, she yelped as a slow burning pain spread steadily through her ankle. Her head yanked up as an outline of a person slammed her head back against the wall. Mai and Takahiro shouted her name and ran over to her.

"I think now would be a good time to leave" stated Mai. Takahiro nodded and picked up the unconscious Haruhi and walked very quickly to the door. Mai gripped the handle and pulled it down. It stuck. She tried again. It stayed stuck.

Turning she whispered to Takahiro, "It won't open." He visibly paled and tried to think of another exit route. Mai was starting to panic. 'How on earth are we going to get out?!' The lockers started to tremble and shake and Mai had a feeling that the ghost was about to send them right towards her and her friends. She whirled around to the door, prepared to use her powers to open it when an unseen force started to drag her back.

She screamed and struggled to escape. She could hear Takahiro calling her name. Think Mai! She slammed her hands together and started chanting the warding magic Monk had drummed into her long ago. Letting her psychic barrier open a little, she instantly felt her powers swarm through her and she raised her voice as a low howl began to stir in the room. The grip loosened on her arms and she quickly tore free. She whipped around to find herself a couple of inches away from a twisted face. Its eyes were blank, staring her down, the iris and pupil compressed so small you would've thought they weren't there at all.

For a whole second Mai faced off with this unknown terror before her adrenaline swelled and coursed through her veins. The mental shield she had spent months building disintegrated in a heartbeat. Her power flooded through her. She felt alive again. Leaping back she hollered the nine cuts into the ghosts face. With a scream, it dispersed into nothingness but she knew it was still in the room.

Bolting to the door she yanked the handle and with her sheer force of will the door flew open, yelling at Takahiro to hurry up the three friends dashed out the restaurant. Mai slammed the door and locked it shut. The adrenaline was still pumping through her causing her hands to shake. Haruhi was beginning to come round and Takahiro looked to be in utter shock. Mai tugged her phone out her jacket pocket and called Monk, then Ayako and told them the address and what had happened. She fell to her knees beside the two shocked colleagues.

"Well" she breathed, "that happened."