Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ghost Hunt.

Comments: Erm… *nervous twitch* This is my first Ghost Hunt fan fiction… I'm not very good with writing anything long, humour, or romance, so I'm trying to work on it. I tried to imitate the original novel, but… Any of your advices or guidance will be very helpful to me. Please enjoy!

[[HOUSE OF EVERGREEN]]

Episode 1: The Visitor

Hi. I'm Mai Taniyama, 16, a regular high school student.

Like regular high school students, I have a part time job. But it is a part time job that is not so… regular.

The place I work is called "SPR", abbreviated for "Shibuya Psychic Research". We investigate, study, and analyse anything related to paranormal science. Sounds good?

Speaking of which, the job itself isn't as interesting as it seems, when I'm just working at the office. All I do most of the time, is just like any O.L.s*: paperwork, making a cup of tea, filing, making tea, photocopying, making more tea, minor domestic jobs, and making more and more tea. Sometimes I even wonder whether I've been hired to make tea.

So, does it sound boring? By what I've just said, you probably think so. The truth is, not at all. This job is the best! You can trust me on that!

Firstly, the pay is pretty good for a part-timer student. Secondly, this job has many exciting aspects: the investigations (although they can be a bit dangerous and spooky), warm-hearted and fun co-workers, and the man – I glimpsed at his private office door, which is closed – who is my "boss".

Kazuya Shibuya. I call him "Naru", shortened for Narcissist. This man is the most egoistic and arrogant person you'll ever meet. Trust me. He is. I know he is my boss, but he commands me to do this and do that without any reasoning or "please", and whenever I deliver him the tea I made with all my heart, he simply nods, without a single word of "thank you".

Huh – sometimes I wonder why I love him…

Just then, I hear his voice.

"Mai, Tea!"

…Geh. See what I mean?

###

The reason we do not conduct many major investigations is, because there are not many. It can't be helped; not many people take paranormal science seriously. Of course, there is lots of "strange" people visiting SPR office during the day, but serious clients are very rare.

The bell on the elegant blue-gray door of SPR chimes. Maybe it is a client? I automatically head towards the door. Before I could greet her, a graceful middle-aged woman enters with a faint echoes of the bell. There is anxiety on her face. She asks politely.

"Hello. Is this… Shibuya Psychic Research?"

Maybe this person is a serious client.

###

I serve a cup of warm black tea for her. I smile politely and ask.

"Would you like some milk or sugar?"

"Oh, thank you. I'd have some milk please."

Her name is Kayako Iwazaki, 32 years old, a house wife who works part-time as a translator. She is polite and elegant. She has the most perfect manner I've ever seen! Still, Naru only speaks with standoffish and unfriendly manner.

"We'll go straight to the business."

I growl softly. He shoots me a very quick and sharp glance.

"Yes, of course.

It all began when my sister and I first started dreaming about a woman with a small cloak and a long black hair hanging down by her face, weeping by the forest. It was very vivid and her grief so intense, so we couldn't forget it. That day, I found this out while talking to my sister. And that evening, our father passed away."

She paused, and snatched a breath. Her voice was a little shaken.

"Things were becoming worse; sometimes, when I was by myself in the house, I heard some mild sighs, like someone whispered or breathed into my ear. Others have also heard that. There were violent noises like loud banging and thudding, but none of us could locate where it was coming from."

I stared at her, absorbed in her story. The woman sipped her cup of tea, and began again.

"Nothing bad has happened, except the noises continued. One day, my sister had a dream of that weeping woman in a cloak again. This time, my nephew – who is my sister's son; Shinogu-kun was badly injured while playing in the garden. It seemed like he had tripped over a rock or a tree trunk or something.

When we found him, he had a leg broken and was unconscious. His breathing was irregular and his temperature was dangerously low. He was immediately hospitalised, but the doctors couldn't find out the reason. Later, he told us that his heart, or somewhere near it, felt like it was burning. It seemed like he staggered in the garden, unable to call for help because of an acute pain… and fell in to the pit accidentally.

But I noticed something odd; very peculiar. He was found in a sand pit – we discovered him there – and it wasn't even there an hour ago."

Words you might not know:

*O.L.: stands for "office lady", is a female office worker in Japan, who performs generally minor tasks such as serving tea and secretarial or clerical work. (Last episode; Source: Wikipedia)